Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Reflections on 1/8/07 class

I found Monday's class to be very stimulating. I greatly enjoyed our group discussions about several controversial issues that are making headlines around the planet. It awakened me to the reality that I am disconnected from world and national news. I went home and immediately sent in my order form for Time magazine, which I've been meaning to do for months. And since our class I've gone on the NY Times website almost every day. I used to pride myself on being an "informed" citizen, but with the crazy amount that we have to study I haven't made the time for it. Thank you all for fueling my passion for global current events and I look forward to our sharings and debates over the course of the semester. It was lovely to meet the new students. Welcome to AIMC!

I have not been able to stop thinking about the Overpopulation article. I was stunned by the fact that we added 76 million people to the planet in 2006 alone. And the estimate that the population will be 9 billion in 2050 has honestly made me question the idea of having children. I'm getting anxiety right now in writing about it. I notice that I've been more conscious about my sustainability practices since learning this information. But I want to take my fear and channel it towards a bigger effort. Does anyone know of any local environmental organizations that I could volunteer for?

I'm really excited about this class and exploring biology from a modern-day, integrative medical perpective. I'm off to check out the links on evolution. Stay tuned for my impressions.

Gratefully your awakening global family member,
Lindsey

3 comments:

MandyBiologyBlog said...

I understand what you mean about being informed. Sometimes I feel like there's not enough time everyday to really keep up with all the news. Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming as well. Larry's class definitely helps to keep you inspired to be informed and aware.

Donna said...

I too have been out of touch on what's going on the world. I went through periods of time when I would check out the BBC and other sites for latest news and discoveries. Then I would depressed about the state of the world and go off the circuit for months.
The Union of Concerned Scientists has a good site if you want to find even more on environmental problems and solutions:
http://www.ucsusa.org/

Also, here is a link with good tips on reducing environmental footprint:
http://www.faystudios.com/WYT/actions.cfm

See you in class!

Unknown said...

Hey, I just wanted to add to the sites Donna gave you. I got an email about this website that collects a large list of different types of volunteer activities you can look into in the bay area so you should check it out.
www.onebrick.org

I also had a question...how did you get your pic to post? I have been trying for the last hour and I am clearly doing something wrong. Thanks