Blog # 11

I was raised Baptist but this really has no affect on how I view social ecology. My views have changed as I have gotten older and I tend to view things as they are presented to me with an open mind. I do not agree with the Gaia hypothesis. I do not think that Earth is a living breathing organism. It is an ecosystem that changes based on the what change each organism makes. If there were no organisms changing then there would be no change in regards to Earth. I do however see the thinking behind it. I believe that it is trying to say that both are codependent on each other and cause change in each other. This can be seen with changes that are caused by inorganic actions of the earth such as volcano and earthquakes. I however do not think this is enough to suggest that the Earth is a living organism by itself. I do believe that in some aspects that we live in a hyper-masculine society but I feel that it is some what exaggerated and villainized. I think that there is no question that being masculine is portrayed as a good thing in our society through the media, which can be seen in the movies and TV shows. I however do not think that in everyday life that such things that a idolized on TV are not so in reality. Things such as being violent and having an aggression toward women is not seen as a good thing. If one is over violent this is seen as for lack of a better word being a dick.  

Blog # 10

Social ecology is defined as the science of the relationships between human populations and communities and their environments. Social ecology advocates an empowered and re-constructive view of environmental and social issues, and envisions a moral economy that moves beyond scarcity and hierarchy toward a world that re-harmonizes human communities with the natural world while celebrating diversity, and creativity.

I found the readings to be very interesting and informative. The readings really made me thing about the way I see our environment. I really started to think about the hierarchies that we have in place. I have to be honest and say that that even though this way of seeing the world is a great thing to imagine I however do not think it possible for it ever to be like it. I see this way of viewing the world as ideal which is not how life works. It is like looking outside and seeing that it is raining but telling yourself “hey I wish it was not raining so I am not going to take my umbrella.” The fact still remains that your going to get wet. I do not not think there is a better alternative. Utopias do not work. Everyone that has ever tried to exist has failed. If they could work there would be one. There are to many different wants and ideas on how society should exist. Without hierarchy there would be ciaos because there would be no checks and balances. It would be akin to a football game where there is no refs, no coaches, no making play calls. It would be a cluster.

I firmly believe that hierarchy is a natural fact of being not only humans but also an animal. I think this a trait that is carried through out the animal kingdom. Hierarchy is needed, it makes things run smooth. People are to complex of a species not to have classes. 

blog #9

Deep Ecology looks at the world and sees social and ecological problems that are accelerating to a point where our very existence is threatened. Deep Ecology is the belief that the world does not exist purely as a resource for man's benefit. The world exists for its own sake. We are a part of this wonderful and diverse creation but we do not own it.

I would not say that agree with one view over the other. I think that they both have their places. Deep Ecology is a great place to look at how humans should view themselves in the web of nature however at this time I think that Shallow Ecology has the better chance of making the greatest impact on helping the environment. People tend to resest change and I worry that Deep Ecology is to far of a leap for most people to take at this moment. This may not be right or how things should be but it is the way things are. I agree with most things that Deep Ecology says but I think it is hard to believe that humans do not stand at a higher place in nature than other things. Just as the lion is the king of the Savannah, humans are the king of nature. I think it is our place to protect it and cherish it. I cant help but think of a Native American proverb that says "WE DO NOT INHERIT THE EARTH FROM OUR ANCESTORS, WE BORROW IT FROM OUR CHILDREN"

Blog # 8

Preconditions for Consensus Decision Making:

Common Goal: everyone present at the meeting needs to share a common goal and be willing to work together towards it.

Commitment to reach consensus: consensus can require a lot of commitment and patience to make it work. Everyone must be willing to really give it a go. This means not only being deeply honest about what it is you want or don't want but also able to properly listen to what others have to say.



Trust and openness: we all need to be able to trust that everyone shares our commitment to creating true consensus decisions. This includes being able to trust people not to abuse the process or to manipulate the outcome of the discussion.



Sufficient time: for making decisions and for learning to work by consensus. Taking time to make a good decision now can save wasting time revisiting a bad one later



Clear Process: it's essential for everyone to have a shared understanding of the process that the meeting is using.

Active participation: if we want a decision we can all agree on then we all need to play an active role in the decision making. This means listening to what everyone has to say, voicing thoughts and feelings about the matter and pro-actively looking for solutions that include everyone.

Good facilitation: When your group is larger than just a handful of people or you are trying to make difficult decisions, appoint facilitators to help your meeting run more smoothly. Good facilitation helps the group to work harmoniously, creatively and democratically.

Consensus decision making does has it weakness one being that up to 49% of participants can still wind up being "losers" even though they were included in the decision-making process. This outcome is less than ideal when an organization is counting on everyone to implement a decision enthusiastically. In addition, a vote may be slanted by apathy, inadequate information, or the influence of authority figures who express compelling opinions. Even when discussions do take place before voting, many members of a group may choose to keep important questions, concerns, or alternatives to themselves.

Blog # 7

       Culture jamming is define as a form of political and social activism which, by means of fake adverts, hoax news stories, pastiches of company logos and product labels, computer hacking, etc, draws attention to and at the same time subverts the power of the media, governments, and large corporations to control and distort the information that they give to the public in order to promote consumerism, militarism, etc.

       The idea behind culture jamming is that individuals are not given the choice as to whether they are exposed to ads or not. Without consent every individual in our communities are exposed to thousands of corporate ads each day. Jammers believe everyone should have the opportunity to voice their opinions just like the corporate advertisers. They believe in the opportunity to respond to the advertisements. It is a great tool for activism. It goes to the core of advertising and goes directly to the people.

        Adbusters is at the forefront of an insurgent political movement known loosely as

“culture jamming.” This movement seeks to undermine the marketing rhetoric of

multinational corporations, specifically through such practices as media hoaxing,

corporate sabotage, billboard “liberation,” and trademark infringement.

Here is a link to an example of culture jamming on youtube.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vJVMIYffWQ

Blog # 6

My group teaching project is social ecology. I choose social ecology because I found it to be the most relative and most interesting subject out of all of the subjects we had to choose from. I found the readings on social ecology to be very informative and interesting. It is very in depth and will take time for me to digest everything.

I truly found Bookchin’s “What is Social Ecology” a great reading and thought his challenge of Darwinism to be very interesting and would like to bring it up during the teaching. I also found Trainer's “Third World Poverty” to be very powerful and touching. I think this will be the best to focus on during our GTP leading of the class. I feel that this would touch the class in the deepest way and will make this most profound effect on the class.

The GTP leading our class should be very interesting and I am not sure exactly how we should go about it. I think we should make it as interesting and as informative as we can. Seeing that social ecology is

an interesting and important topic it should not be to hard to get the class involved.