Jan 26 Daily

In some circumstances, modern life is better than it was in the past.  With modern scientific and technological advances in today’s world, there have been several inventions and discoveries that have made life better and easier for humans today.  For example, if I lived in ancient Egypt (obviously before the modern advances of today’s world), I would not have the medical advantages of today’s world, electricity, running water, and my shelter would not be as sophisticated as it is today.  Yes, the ancient Egyptian culture flourished during its time, but it does not even come close to the technological, scientific, and medical sophistication of today’s general society.  However, sometimes, there are circumstances in which past civilizations are “better” than modern ones in some ways.  For example, there are civilizations today where people have little freedom and choice.  Despite this being a modern civilization, past civilizations with more freedom would be “better” in my opinion.  There are also downsides to many of the advances of today’s society, such as pollution.  In our world, there are many environmental issues related to industry and other man-made inventions, such as cars and many homes.  In the past, however, there were not as many environmental issues.  So, it can be said that one way that past civilizations are better than modern ones is the amount of pollution produced.  The civilization that is better – past or modern – can be argued both ways.  Some characteristics of past civilizations make them worse than modern ones, and some make them better.

Jan 25 Daily

In some circumstances, modern life is better than it was in the past.  With modern scientific and technological advances in today’s world, there have been several inventions and discoveries that have made life better and easier for humans today.  For example, if I lived in ancient Egypt (obviously before the modern advances of today’s world), I would not have the medical advantages of today’s world, electricity, running water, and my shelter would not be as sophisticated as it is today.  Yes, the ancient Egyptian culture flourished during its time, but it does not even come close to the technological, scientific, and medical sophistication of today’s general society.  However, sometimes, there are circumstances in which past civilizations are “better” than modern ones in some ways.  For example, there are civilizations today where people have little freedom and choice.  Despite this being a modern civilization, past civilizations with more freedom would be “better” in my opinion.  There are also downsides to many of the advances of today’s society, such as pollution.  In our world, there are many environmental issues related to industry and other man-made inventions, such as cars and many homes.  In the past, however, there were not as many environmental issues.  So, it can be said that one way that past civilizations are better than modern ones is the amount of pollution produced.  The civilization that is better – past or modern – can be argued both ways.  Some characteristics of past civilizations make them worse than modern ones, and some make them better.

Jan 24 Daily

            History exists, and is always being created with every thought, action, and feeling; therefore, history does progress.  History is made up of events in our world, which is constantly moving forward.  People are always doing, thinking, and feeling new things - which in turn creates history.  This proves that history does indeed progress.  For example, in school we learn about history of the ancient world, as well as the history of the twentieth history.  Events that occurred earlier in history influenced those that occurred later in history.  The progression of history allows it to continue being created.  By studying human civilizations, it is safe to say that life has improved over the course of history.  So, one could say that yes, in a way, an elephant really is better than a mammoth.  The mammoth became extinct, but with time, the elephant evolved from the mammoth.  Evolution of animals tends to make them more able to adapt to their surroundings.  However, in some cases, such a change does not yield positive results.  A change in something such as an animal or a civilization will change history, but its effects are not always what is best.  Yes, the mammoth evolved into the elephant; however, the mammoth was a fully functional living creature.  The elephant was just a result of the natural process of evolution.  The mammoth died because of the unbearable conditions of the ice age, not because of its own inability to live.   So, it can be argued both ways that an elephant is better than a mammoth.  It can also be argued that some modern civilizations are not “better” than some ancient civilizations.

Exam 14

1. Spread the word of God and Archbishop John Carroll on the internet.

2. Using social networking media to connect with others.

3. Better the learning experience by exposing students to other parts of the world - on the computer.

4. Advertise the school and what it stands for online.

5. Communicate with others using the internet.

6. Share ideas with other on the internet.

7. Use a blog to better the learning experience.

8. Since our current world uses technology for just about everything, we should be prepared for that by using it everyday in school.

9. Learn not only the curriculum, but how to integrate technology into it.

10. Learn to love technology, as you will use it for the rest of your life.

Exam 7

A regional food hub is a local facility in which locally grown food is stored and distributed.  For example, if I was a farmer at Travis Nelson Local Farms, I would grow my food, send it to my local regional food hub, and it was be stored and distributed for me there.  They are essential to sustainable agriculture and food distribution for many reasons.  First, because they are local.  Regional food hubs are local places that you can send your food to (if you are a farmer).  Yes, huge industrial facilities that do sort of the same thing do exist, but the fact that they are local makes a difference.  In class, we watched Food, Inc., which documented the American food industry and how they handle things.  Personally, after watching this, I am glad places like regional food hubs exist.  In the movie, it really did not look like things were being properly handled and taken care of, and I would not call their methods "sustainable" at all.  Things are different at these local regional food hubs.  

The closet place to JC to get organic poultry is Andy's Eggs, located at 2601 Harford Road, Fallston, MD 21047.  The closet place to JC to get organic beef is at the Mill of Bel Air, which sells Deer Creek Organic Beef.  The closet place to JC to get organic vegetables is at Andy's Eggs.  See above for address.

To the JC Cafeteria Staff:

In order to accommodate for rising health standards in our country and in our world, schools must change their cooking, preparation, serving, and eating methods.  Buying organic is one of the easiest ways to help our school be more healthy and more green.  Andy's Eggs and the MIll of Bel Air are great places to find organic foods.  They may be a little more expensive, but then again, you can't put a price on your students' health!  Just talking to the student body about buying and eating organic are just some of the ways you can encourage students to be more healthy and more conscious of the environment around them.  I am already starting to spread the word about organic foods by writing you this!

Thanks,

Travis Nelson

2601 Harford Road   Fallston, MD  21047

Exam 6

1. Climate change can be caused naturally and unnaturally.  Volcanic eruptions, for example, release ash, gases, and other "natural pollutants" that contribute to climate change.  In unnatural terms, many human actions can contribute to the climate change.  Even though they may not directly cause it, many of them accelerate climate change in one way or another.  For example, driving a car releases CO2 as it burns gasoline, heating systems for homes may burn oil and gasoline, which releases pollution.  The NOAA states that the rise in temperatures over the past couple of decades has not been global.  In fact, some areas of Earth has actually cooled, while other areas, such as North America and Eurasia have been warming.  Yes, even though global warming is real, the United States east coast has still had some serious winter weather over the past couple of years.  Just because the average (key word: average) global temperature has been rising does not mean that no major winter weather will occur.  Again, the NOAA states that in some parts of the world, the average temperature has risen, not fallen.  So, these blizzards are not a huge surprise, despite all of the confusion with global warming, climate change, and the existence of them both.