Reflection Indigenous Resistance

This paper talks about the Coast Salish people of British Columbia and Washington State.  The Coast Salish people have resisted modern education as a tool of cultural eradication.  The schools reject the indigenous discourse and it is creating problems with Coast Salish people.  Integrated public schools became worse for racism in the 1960's to 1970's.  Education from the North American perspective seems to only concern things within their borders.  From the Coast Salish people, looking in, they see the presence of multiple empires that we as Americans, cannot see.  There is currently a blending of language and culture in America, why can't there be a blend of education?  The Coast Salish people believe that they are a culture without borders unlike the Aboriginal people.  In the early 1900's, residential schooling helped keep other races from being in the schools.  When integration happened, the issue of racism became apparent.  Discrimination became worse and most adolescents were forced to go to boarding schools to escape the corruption.  The Coast Salish people represent the struggle to integrate indigenous people into modern education.

Meatrix

The idea of the meatrix is that consumers don't know where and how their food is being made.  I can relate to this as a consumer because on several occasions, I will eat fast food without wondering where it came from.  Consumers have the most power when it comes to what supermarkets are putting on their shelves.  Most people don't understand the steps that are involved in making a cheeseburger at a fast food restaurant.  I know that I didn't before I watched Food Inc.  If we make the public aware of this disturbing information then we can put a stop to the inhumane treatment of animals.  The public needs to know about the hidden meatrix.  Large food corporations don't want the public to know the truth because they fear that it will hurt their business, but the consumers need to stand up against this potential crisis.

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is an advancement that is helping to feed the population growth worldwide.  The biotechnology is being applied to the food sector, which is helping to create more modified crops for an ample supply of food.  Genetic engineering is a part of biotechnology that is really helping the advancement of the public sector.  This is made possible through genetically modified crops engineered for specific defenses or traits.  For example, if there is a crop that is needed in a region where insects are a problem, scientists can genetically modify the crop to be resistant to a particular insect.  In the past, scientists have also modified crops to make them grow larger and to the fullest potential.  This is essential to sustaining our growing population.  

Linking Fracking to Water Pollution

Water contamination is a serious issue in the United States right now and needs to be addressed.  Hydraulic fracturing has been used in the U.S. for over ten years and researchers just now identified contaminants in central Wyoming.  “Fracking,” short for fracturing, is what scientists call the seepage of pressurized liquid being forced to the earth’s surface, thus causing fractures in the rock.

             This is the environmental downside to America’s quest for oil.  The drilling industry is just on one big treasure hunt; drilling first, asking questions later.  Although excavating for oil and natural gas is important for the U.S. economy to grow, at what cost to the environment will the drilling companies go to in order to ensure economic sustainability?  And is economic sustainability more important than ecological sustainability? 

            The EPA’s findings of hydrocarbons and other trace contaminants in residents’ water supply shows that fracking could be polluting the environment.  Futhermore, the same chemicals that are in the fracking have been detected in the local water supply in Wyoming.  This concludes that fracking is linked to water contamination.  The drilling industry needs to take the environment into account before they start drilling everywhere.  I am curious about how the federal government addresses this issue.  Since it is so key to the U.S. economy, will they just overlook the underlying problem?  What the federal government should do is put a halt to further drilling and come up with a plan to reverse the damage and pollution from fracking.