The World Is In Our Hands

At this moment in time mankind is responsible for the extinction of approximately 322 animal species within the past 500 years. Of those 322 species, two-thirds had disappeared within the past two centuries.

As time goes on the human population becomes a bigger threat to the remaining species. Scientists have reported that more and more animal species are on the verge of extinction because of the developments made by mankind and the pollution that continues to contaminate the water and soil. Amphibians in particular are of great concern right now as it has been reported that their numbers have split in half while our population has doubled within the past 35 years.

With that being said we should come to realize that many of our actions do more harm than good. Although some things that we come up with seem beneficial to humans we must also take into consideration how it will affect the wildlife around us. To those who could care less how it affects the course of Mother Nature keep in mind that these species benefit twice as much as building a museum where a nature center is, or chopping down trees for a Christmas tree. Some of these animals have the ability to cure diseases, prevent diseases and help to eliminate pests. They help to maintain a natural balance in the world and if humans tip the global scale then there will be crucial damage done that we will not be able to recover from.

For years going green has been discussed among all people, with a huge emphasis of its importance put on the younger generations since they are more likely to turn things around. In the classroom students are being taught about the benefits of implementing carbon-neutral technologies, producing food and goods more efficiently. Whether or not the younger generations take this issue seriously can change the course of the world.

It is important for us to look at the issue before us and pass our knowledge onto others. If we decide to not acknowledge it then we will lose more and more animals and all the goods needed to sustain the human race will diminish. For those who are parents, teach your children to value nature and to conserve energy and not waste food or litter. For those who are teachers, continue to use your knowledge to inform students of how the extinction of different animal species will put the human race in danger and what they can do to help protect the environment. For college students like myself, prepare yourselves for the real world and be ready to join in the battle to turn things around.

Many people worry that going green will be very costly but in the long run investing our money in going green will be less costly in the future. Yes, at this moment in time it is cheaper to afford products that are not energy efficient but in the future all the investments made in these products will have a deadly cost.

 

The director of the Luc Hoffman Institute of the World Wide Fund for Nature stated that the Southeast Asia’s Mekong River Basin supports approximately 60 million people through their fisheries. If humanity continues to contribute a significant amount of pollution by neglecting to go green then you can imagine how that will put all living species on Earth in danger. If we work to reduce the amount of pollution then places such as fisheries would continue to flourish and sustain human life.

 

In a world that is dealing with several issues that have been linked to the pollution such as animal extinction, drought, an increase in the amount of forest fires, and mental disorders/disabilities, it would benefit us all to try to help protect the environment in any way that we can.

                                                                                                                   

Wish Danny A Happy Birthday

Danny Nickerson from Foxboro, Mass. Had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor last October and according to his mother the doctors have told her that her son only has a 10 percent chance of living longer than 18 months.

Like many people in this situation, Danny has a wish. He does not however want to view this as his last wish, instead he simply wants to see it as his birthday wish. On the 25^th of July Danny will be turning 6-years-old. For his birthday he is only asking that people write him birthday cards.

His mom says that his chemo therapy has forced him to miss a lot of school and that he gets lonely. Receiving cards helps Danny feel as if he is not alone and makes him so happy.

For anybody who reads this I ask you to write a birthday card to Danny. I know this is short notice but I am sure that Danny would be happy with late birthday cards as well. With what he is going through it would be nice to let him know that he is not alone and that people are thinking of him.

Visit the "Danny's Warriors" Facebook page or the "Daniel Nickerson's Journey" blog for more information. You can also make donations to their GoFundMe account by clicking here.

All cards can be mailed the Nickerson’s home: Danny Nickerson, P.O. Box 212, Foxboro, MA, 02035.

Kids, Cars, and Heat Stroke

Justin Ross Harris is one of many parents in the U.S. who have forgotten their child in their car. After being left in the car in 90-degree weather Cooper Harris died of heat stroke and was not discovered until hours after his death. His body lay in the car for approximately nine hours and his father apparently had no idea he had left his son there.

Since Cooper was left in an unattended vehicle his father was looked down upon and accused of murder and cruelty to a child in the second degree. Harris has pleaded not guilty claiming that he left Cooper in the car accidentally. I personally do not believe that his claims are truthful. How can you forget where your child is? I mean I understand forgetting for a brief moment but I would think that it would come to mind shortly after having left the child in the car. But going nine hours without having his son come to mind at all seems unlikely. Either he truly did intentionally leave his son behind or he is a poor father for not having paid more attention to his son.

This tragedy inspired a man named Bartley to demonstrate what children such as Cooper experience when they are left alone in a car. His experiment was meant to teach all parents a valuable lesson. He hopes that those who watch his video will never forget that simple carelessness leads to extreme consequences endured most by the children who are forgotten.

Bartley told ABC News Sunday that the "first ten minutes when I was in the car was just trying to get a glimpse of what it felt like for a child to sit in a car."

This year alone 17 children in the U.S. have died of heat stroke in hot cars according to kidsandcars.org. After hearing about these incidents Bartley took it upon himself to raise awareness to the issue by serving as a reminder to parents what can happen to their children if they are not aware of their children’s whereabouts and help prevent more deaths.  

I applaud Bartley for demonstrating what it is like to be left in a car and being overcome by heat exhaustion. Hopefully his video will help to prevent deaths and inspire people to be more responsible and careful.  

To see Bartley’s video click on the link below:

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/07/14/dad_swelters_in_30c_heat_in_locked_car_video_goes_viral.html

There Is No Excuse

A video was released showing a California Highway Patrol officer beating a woman down on the ground, because she had apparently refused to obey his orders. Regardless of whether or not the woman listened to the officer does not in any way excuse the course of action he took to handle the situation. He beat the woman relentlessly, hitting her as hard as he could with his fists. Yes, I understand that sometimes authorities must get physical when dealing with certain situations but there is a line which this particular officer crossed.

The incident took place Tuesday along the Santa Monica freeway and the video that has now gone viral was recorded by passing motorist David Diaz. According to Diaz the officer continued to beat the woman even after she stopped resisting arrest.  At the moment the woman stopped her resistance the officer should have had the sense to stop what he was doing to her, but he continued on with his brutality and for that there should be no excuse to keep him as a patrol officer.

The woman who was beaten was a 51-year-old woman named Marlene Pinnock. Pinnock suffered severe injuries from the beating. Her lawyer, Caree Harper, reported that there were multiple lumps bruises on her head and shoulders, some of the lumps were described as being the size of plums.

In the police report released Friday the woman is said to have been a threat not only to herself but also to drivers, because she was walking in and out of traffic lanes. When the patrol officer commanded her to stop she was said to have ignored him and then at some point she becomes physical.

Even though the woman became violent many feel that her reaction to the patrol officer should not justify how the patrol officer dealt with it, and I agree. Although what the woman was doing was wrong there has been word that she may have mental issues and anyone who suffers from mental instability cannot be at fault for something they cannot control.  And even if she does not have a mental health condition the excessive beating was absolutely uncalled for. All he had to do was find a way to pin her down so that she could get tired and stop resisting arrest, there was no need to punch her countless amount of times.

Authority figures might wonder how we cannot trust them, well, here is an example. If the people that are supposed to protect us are causing us harm then we have no reason to rely on them. It is situations like this that have people hesitate and question the intentions of officers. Yes, there are good officers but there are also bad ones.

At this moment in time the officer who beat this woman is on paid administrative leave. If the California Highway Patrol truly cares about the safety of the people then they should fire this man. If an officer shows that he cannot be trusted then he should not have the privilege of having a badge because he will abuse its power.

Politics and Religion: Hobby Lobby Dilemma

At this moment I am having a problem with Hobby Lobby.

Hobby Lobby proudly lets the world know that they are a Christian company that puts people over profits, and yet most of their products are made in China. Many of these products are delivered to them from factories that have a reputation for going against labor rights. Those that work at these factories work long hours and are paid less than minimum wage which is not enough to feed their families and only further prevents them from escaping poverty.

I am not going to lie, I have not made myself aware of where my clothes come from and maybe now would be a good time for me to start doing so. It is not fair that there are people out there who put in twice the work into their jobs than the majority of us do here in the U.S. To think that I might be one of those people contributing to the endless cycle of poverty makes me sick.

Now I know there are going to be time when the only option will be to go with whatever has the lowest price and that product may be made somewhere where the workers get paid next to nothing, but I will do all that I can to start looking for other options. 

As a "Christian Company", Hobby Lobby should do the same. I know that they know where their products come from and it is hard to understand how they can be fine with having products shipped to them from factories that treat their employees so poorly. 

"You cannot call your business 'Christian' when arguing before the Supreme Court, and then set aside Christian values when you're placing a bulk order for cheap wind chimes," wrote Christian author and columnist Jonathan Merritt in an article featured in The Week.

Aside from the company's use of products from China it has also caused much controversy in regards to women's rights.

Just recently Hobby Lobby has had a personal victory in the U.S. Supreme Court. Apparently the company felt the need to have the Supreme Court rule that "closely held corporations" do not have to provide certain kinds of contraception for employees, which basically means that in regards to the health care your job provides your employer can deny you coverage for contraception.

Their reasoning for making this an established law is simply due to the fact that they feel that by denying women the right to birth control is a good way to prevent abortion, which makes not sense since the pill is meant to prevent a pregnancy from ocurring in the first place. According to CEO David Green, those of Hobby Lobby believe that by denying women birth control they may have the ability to prevent ending a life at the moment of conception. Again, this is not a valid argument due to the fact that birth control prevents conception and therefore does not put an end to a life because it does not allow for new life to begin. 

Many of those who have critiqued Hobby Lobby have made sure to point out that the company is gladly making profits selling products from a country with politics that have led to millions of abortions. 

In a blog released 2013 in The Christian Post, Matthew Chambers, the director of a non-governmental organization called Safe World, had discussed how he disapproved of the way Hobby Lobby conducted their business.

"You see, when it comes carrying high the banner of 'Biblical principles', I believe a company who wanted that to be their public persona would be extra careful to NEVER do business with the very people who go against everything they claim to fight for as Christians," Chambers wrote.

Josh Stonestreet, a columnist for the Christian's post had argued that, "Doing business in a place where evil exists is not the same as directly supporting that evil. In fact, it may even be a force for good!"

The way Peter Dobelbower, the company's vice president and chief legal officer, see's it is that, "Those factories can't control what their governments do, so it's OK."

Well the way I see it is that if your company is going to claim itself to be so "pure" and "holy", then you should have the decency to stick by your values no matter the costs. You should also not blames the wrong decisions you make based on how others live their lives. If a factory from another country is being wrongfully controlled by their government then doing business with that factory does not help those workers in the factories. Instead, supporting those factories only gives their government more reason to treat them so poorly. As a "Christian" company, they should know that their actions are wrong and that by justifying their actions they are only becoming more and more corrupt.

In regards to their inability to provide their employees with birth control, they have no right to take away the right women have to obtain contraceptives. There is more to birth control pills than the immediate idea that they are to prevent pregnancy. Birth control also helps women deal with medical conditions they may have and it can also prevent future health problems. Instead of assuming that women merely want birth control to prevent themselves from getting pregnant, Hobby Lobby should have considered the other reasons one might NEED birth control.

And even if some women only intend on using it to prevent unwanted pregnancies it should in no way matter to the company. People will make their own decisions and you have no right to take away their freedom of choice. The freedom of religion is to grant people the right to have their own beliefs and worship them on their own time, it does not mean that you have the freedom to use your religion to control the way others live their lives.

To those of the Supreme Court who voted in favor of Hobby Lobby, you have let down all women by making a decision that takes away their ability to make their own decision.