You Tube Blog #2

Video #1

1.       A polyp is what a coral larve grows into after it finds a place to grow. A polyp needs zooxanthellae to enter it to be considered coral.

2.       Coral is sensitive to change, namely temperature.

3.       When temperature goes up in the ocean the coral is stressed and the zoox. leave it making it white and eventually dies.

4.       Scientist think it’s happening more because of air pollution from cars, planes and factories.

5.       Saving energy, avoiding driving places, and recycling as often as possible.

Video #2

1.       1500 species of fish, 360 species of hard coral, 1/3 of the world’s soft coral, 22 species of sea birds, and 22 species of shore birds.

2.       Pollution is responsible for warming our oceans.

3.       Flooding pollutes the reef, which makes the fish leave and there is less food for the birds.

4.       Carpool, buy environmentally sustainable products, open windows and don’t use air conditioners, and donate instead of throwing things out.

Videos #3/#4

1.       Benefits: children pay better attention to cartoons. Children learn better visually. Drawbacks: it’s through technology. Children don’t want to hear that things are dieing.

2.       Tourists: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0kacyyLVB4&feature=related     Because it is short and to the point and explains what is happening to the reef. Foreigners not from Australia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJbyC-eqrfs&feature=related     Because people tend to believe the news about world affairs such as this. Adults from Australia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glhT59NUnjs  Because it’s a video from Australia and there are Australian scientists in it.

apology to aborigines blog#

1.      What is the brief history of when aboriginal people and westerners began interacting in Australia?

When the British arrived in Australia they made the aborigines move elsewhere because they didn’t have government or “land ownership.” Also when the British came they brought disease with them and many aborigines died due to things such as small pox, influenza, and teburculosis. They also brought foreign animals such as sheep and cattle. The aborigines were at war with the settlers over land and water.

2.      What negative things did white Australians do to the Aboriginal people during these early times and through the mid 1900’s?

White Australians forced the aborigines out of their homes and put restrictions on the aborigines owning land. These restrictions were also on where they could live and who they could marry.

3.      What is the “stolen generation”?

The “stolen generation” was a generation of infants that were taken from their aboriginal parents to be brought up in white Australian homes. They wanted these children to eventually reject their aboriginal heritage. This child removal lasted until the late 1960’s.

4.      Explain the how being part of the stolen generation can affect you throughout your entire life.

Being part of the stolen generation affects the type of person you become. Many children from the stolen generation ended up in very cruel places and were physically and sexually abused. Things like this will scar a person for the rest of their life, many were led to alcoholism and violence. Also because these children were taken and deliberately separated from their siblings, the majority of these people never knew their families or were able to find them. Because this went on for so long many people in their thirties and forties still don’t know their families.

5.      How is the country of Australia still feeling the impact of the negative treatment of the Aboriginal people?

Australia still celebrates “sorry day” now known as Journey of Healing day. The parliament issued a statement of regret, but what current aborigines want is an apology from the heart.

6.      Explain to the prime minister the reasons why an official apology needs to be made.

Apologies need to be made because the “assimilation” of aborigine infants ruined lives and tore apart countless families. The cruelty that faced these children will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Even if it was in the past a true heartfelt apology is needed because the hurt that was caused can never be healed. From the very beginning the aborigines were treated as less than the white Australians. Because of what happened human lives were ruined how can any one nation not feel enough regret for such a horrible thing to apologize?

Blog #5 Technology article response

“Technology isn’t really the issue. But too much of it is. It trivializes travel, turning it from a much-needed, multisensory recreational experience into fleeting and utterly forgettable entertainment. You might as well stay home and throw a bag of popcorn in the microwave”-Christopher Elliott.

Upon reading this article I first thought of how much I agree with his philosophy and I then thought of how ashamed I was of myself and my dependency on technology. I am always on my phone and computer at home and on vacations I am looking through the camera. I even realized how I have a ton of pictures saved to my computer that I don’t even need. I wonder what experiences I could have gained from not texting or snapping tons of pictures, which is why I feel that we should limit the technology use on our trip. I don’t want to lose any experiences that I could have had because I was busy taking a picture of something as insignificant as a pretty flower I could see at home.  Knowing these things sort of made me think harder about why I want to travel to Australia and New Zealand and what I want out of it. I want to step outside my comfort zone and grow. I truly believe that this experience will help me learn more about myself. I feel as if vacation /travel should mean “leaving the world you [know] for a world you [don’t]” (Elliott). And through a discovering a world you don’t know you’ll discover a side of yourself you don’t know. This is what I wish to achieve during my journey.