Week 7: Underage Drinking

I am writing this blog entry on this topic for two reasons: One, it is the subject of a scholarship essay that I need to work on, so maybe this will inspire me to work on it. Two, I believe that as an 18-year-old, I am given the right the vote and the responsibility to serve, both in the military and on a jury, so why am I not allowed to consume an alcoholic beverage. My goal in this post is also to try to maintain objectivity. Here we go. In 1984, Congress passed a bill that states who did not prohibit the purchase and possession of alcohol by minors would receive a 10% cut in the state highway budget. This bill passed mainly due to the increased number of alcohol related fatalities. According to this document, states who lowered the drinking age by 1997 have seen a decrease in highway fatalities, but at the same rate as states who maintained the drinking age. Therefore, the main reason that advocates of the 21-year-old drinking age in the eighties have not seen their argument bear fruit. Also, many college and university presidents have spoken out, saying that even if the number of highway fatalities has fallen, the number of non-highway alcohol related fatalities has grown. One example of binge drinking caused by the stigma of 21-year-old drinking is Gordie Bailey. Gordie was rushing a fraternity and one of the initiation rituals was to drink as much alcohol as possible in 30 minutes. Gordie consumed approximately 17 shots before passing out. When all of the brothers returned to the house, Gordie was placed on the couch and the fraternity president instructed others to check on him. When his pulse was found to have stopped, the brothers called for help at 6am, when they had gotten back at about midnight. Undoubtedly, this would have all be stopped if there were no such thing as initiation rituals, but this also could have been stopped if Gordie had been exposed to alcohol before, known the dangers, and consumed wisely. I hope I have maintained a mostly objective stance, but I think that because I can elect a President, fight in a war, drive a car, and serve on a jury, then I should be able to have a drink.

Week 6: Green Building

The presentation today made me really want to build a LEED platinum house and I was thinking of all the things I want in my house, but more importantly, how it will affect my family. I would like to have as many windows as possible, all openable. In the living room/den, I would like one of those walls made of multiple panes of glass that can be moved away to create an open space. That would increase the intrinsic value of my house and would allow for more communal living with nature. If I build a house in Washington, D.C. area or in Southern California (two hotspots for aerospace engineers), then I will able to take care of the amazing weather in the spring and fall there. Second, I would like to include solar panels on all of my roofs (or the majority of them) to power the house. I could even possibly make money by selling back the energy I make that I do not use. I would also condition my children to be more energy conscious so that they know how much energy they are using and they work to reduce that. I hope that making my children more aware will rub off on their friends and continue to inspire future generations. Maybe one day, in a perfect world...

Week 5: Gambling in Alabama

This would be the post my inquiry essay would stem from if that essay was not already complete, but I will do it out of order. I believe that gambling should be allowed in Alabama for many reasons. One, gambling does not directly kills anyone, but alcohol and cigarettes accounts for millions of deaths per year and they are legal to adults. Second, alcohol and cigarettes cost society billions of dollars a year, but gambling could actually contribute to society. Third, gambling addiction affects fewer people than either alcoholism or nicotine addiction.

Next, gambling has many possible benefits to a society. The profits from government controlled lotteries could be used to fund education, like in Georgia where the HOPE Scholarship is funded and so is the entire state's prekindergarten program. Money could also be used to fund local projects, like parks and roads and physical fitness centers. All of these things could be used to improve the living conditions of Alabamians and raise the rankings of the state of Alabama as a whole.

Week 4: Proliferation of Paper Media

Media is an intrinsic part of the lives of Americans. However, for the last century or so, media has been dominated by print. As the world as a whole becomes more digital, I wonder why almost all major publications remain on paper. If we are trying to reduce our carbon footprint, why are millions of paper products wasted everyday. I agree that some impoverished areas can only distribute news on paper as opposed to digitally, but for European countries and America, why can't we reduce our need of paper? All news should be able to be distributed digitally over the Internet. Some news sites, such as CNN, do publish much of their news online because they have no printed outlet, but periodicals such as the Birmingham News, The New York Times, or countless magazines, would do well to take a pseudo-page of CNN's book. Perhaps then, some of the paper that is wasted daily could be conserved.

Week 3: The World is Fat

After reading "The World is Fat," I understand some of the reasons why the world has come to gain so much weight and the number one reason is liquids. As we all know, not all liquids are bad. Water is the essential fluid, it gives life and helps maintain homeostasis in the human body and in the world. However, more popular drinks have replaced water as the number one form of hydration. I admit I have said, "I don't like the taste of water," but what I really enjoy is the sugary, syrupy taste of processed drinks (however, Alabaster's water has a distinct taste of lime because of the nearby quarry). As these drinks have grown more pervasive in society, the world has gotten fatter. Most people used to drink breast milk in the first year to 18 months and then drank water or milk during adolescence, and then beer, water, ale, milk, wine, etc. during adulthood However, in moderation, all of those things provide healthful benefits and that is why the obesity levels in early society were much lower than today. Now, Coca-Cola and Pepsi have at least 8 varieties of their name brand available at once (Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Cherry Coke, Diet Cherry Coke, Cherry Coke Zero, Cherry Vanilla Coke, Diet Cherry Vanilla Coke, Caffeine Free Diet Coke, etc.) and the wheel of capitalism has made these popular drinks more avaiable, and thus, made people drink more, thus making them FAT!

Week 2: INC(RED)IBLE?

Similar to week 1's post, I am going to critque another companies blatant branding. Anyone not living under a rock will have seen at least one person wearing a shirt that has said Inspi(RED) or something similar, the important part being the (RED). The purpose of the (RED) campaign is to eliminate HIV/AIDS in Africa. Like last week, I agree with the purpose of the program, but the means to acheiving it are, in my opinion, less than honorable. When I visited the (RED) website, the third thing on the navigation bar is shop (with Home being number 1 and Learn being number 2). Shopping is how I can eliminate AIDS? Wow, I better go buy something or I am a bad person. This is probably what (RED)'s creators were hoping to get out of shoppers. I have looked at (RED) products as a way to do something to help out if I purchase something, but a surprisingly small percent of the procedes go to (RED). The most recent example is a Dell Laptop. I am going to buy a laptop for college and I was looking a a Dell M1530 and one of the color options is Product (RED). I clicked that option and $25 of my purchase is donated. After customization (I customized this laptop to be ideal), the price can to a little less than $2500. That means that less than 1% of the purchase is donated. How can I defeats HIV/AIDS with less that 1%? Maybe if the whole world joins in, maybe...

Week 1: Going Green?

Today in Ms. Abernathy's class we discussed a bit on the difference between what people say and what they do. And that got me to thinking about going green. Many A-list celebs are going green because its the new "In" thing to do, not for the purpose of saving the planet. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the effort that celebrities are doing and I like the fact that they are using their wealth and fame to spread a message, but I think they are doing it for the wrong reasons. This article details how many carmakers are lending out prototypes of energy-efficient cars to A-list celebs to promote their companies. Could anyone in the real world even afford these cars: NO!! The Tesla Roadster costs $100,000, almost as much as my parents house 13 years ago! Another car, while getting 130 mpg of hydrogen, must be filled by a trained professional with negative 423 degree hydrogen. My advice to car makers, make the cars more affordable or at least more sustainable (negative 423 degree hydrogen?!) before you give one to Brad Pitt or Angeline Jolie.