Millions Join Earth Day Observances Across the Nation

I really don't know what to think about this piece by Joseph Lelyveld. From what I understand about the piece, it sounds like Lelyveld is just telling us what happened on the first Earth Day. There were many crowds along the streets of New York City either celebrating Earth Day the right way or protesting different opinions about the subject. I believe that Earth Day should not be celebrated the way you might think, by having a party or gathering with people. I think Earth Day should be a work day where nobody has to work and kids don't have to attend school. It should be a day where everyone goes out into ditches, river and streams, and fields and picks up trash to make our world cleaner. I think you would be surprised how much we could pick up in one day.

The Song of the White Pelican

I really enjoyed this piece by Jack Turner. I always like reading about how a certain species lives and interacts with nature. Turner provided a lot of information about pelicans that I never knew. I never really knew anything about pelicans until I read this piece. Turner talks about whee pelicans live, what they eat, and how they interact with their environment. Also, Turner's writing flows smoothly. His transitions are smooth and make you want to keep reading. He asked questions throughout this writing as well which also kept you reading because you wanted to see what the answers were. Lastly, I found it intriging how Turner ended this piece with a question. It makes you think about everything he has set in front of you and it tells you that there is still things that need to be talked about about pelicans, yet we may not know what those things are yet.

A Sand County Almanac

I found this piece by Aldo Leopold somewhat interesting. It wasn't as good as I personally would have liked, but it got the point across. I understand what he was trying to say. He basically just explained how conservation is being used throughout the world and how it has developed over the years. I agree with him in his beliefs that we need to conserve the land as best as possible and not try and harm it unless it is absoulutely needed and can only help the rest of the ecosystem. At times, though, the piece seemed boring to me and it didn't capture my attention too well. I felt like Leopold was basically just repeating himself and I wasn't really focused in on reading his work because I felt it lacked in-depth meaning of conservation.

Introduction to Personal Essay

Throughout my life I have gone on numerous vacations. I have been to Florida, New York, and Washington D.C. I have been to Niagara Falls, Canada, Kentucky, and the Black Hills in South Dakota. I have been to a lot of places, but going to Arizona is my favorite vacation. I have been to Arizona three or four times I believe. I'm not sure because I think I may have gone when I was to young to remember. Anyways, my grandparents live in Arizona during the winter season to get away from the harsh Iowa winters. When my family goes to Arizona, we go during Christmas break because we usually stay for a week or so. My most recent visit to Arizona was this past Christmas. After high school, two of my best friends, Kyle and Blake, and I talked about going on a vacation somewhere for winter break. I mentioned Arizona because I knew we would have a place to stay with my grandparents (my Dad's parents). We didn't really talk about it for a while until I realized that our football team had a chance to play at the Insight Bowl there. It would work out perfect if that was the case; they would be able to enjoy our game and then we could have fun hanging out afterwards. As it turned out, we ended up playing in the Insight Bowl and I flew down to Arizona with the team. Blake and Kyle drove down with my parents, my brother and sister, and my other grandma. They all stayed at my grandparent's house until the game and then my family left and I stayed with my grandparents, Kyle, and Blake for another week! We had a great time enjoying ourselves; just relaxing and living what seemed to be a life in paradise. While we were there, we knew we wanted to climb some mountains. So, we looked into some of the most toured mountains and made our decision on which one to climb. From here, our adventure began.

Buffalo for the Broken Heart (p.3-68)

Questions:

1) Even with a few neighbors, do you think O'Brien is lonely living where he is or do you think he enjoys his time living by himself with the beautiful landscape surrounding him?

2) What do you think will happen to the thirteen buffalo calves O'Brien now has? Will they all survive or will some die? Will O'Brien become very close to them or will they become wild?



Right away this book captured my attention. As Dan O'Brien was driving he encountered a buffalo in the middle of the road. Instead of trying to get the buffalo to get up and move away, he watched it until it moved on its own. This little scene seems like the focus of this book. Buffalo are completely innocent and people should not bother them for they will cause no harm unless aggravated.

As for the rest of the book so far, I believe that it can be a good book, but it hasn't quite got there for me. I am interested in all of the parts where he is actuallly talking about the buffalo rather than his property adn how he came to be a rancher. there just seems to be some dull parts scattered throughout the reading. I'm sure there is reason behind these scenes. I know they are creating background information that many readers may like to know, but I don't really have as muchg interest in those topics as I do when he talks about the buffalo. Personally, I would like to learn more about how the buffalo live. And when O'Brien explains how buffalo once thrived and how they live today, it really captures my interest.

Now, looking ahead, I am expecting to learn more about the trhirteen buffalo calves O'Brien picked up. I hope the other readers and I see how the calves grow and how O'Brien cares for them. I would rather like to read about the present than the past in this book.

American Behavior "snapshot"

Americans view the world as if they have control over everything. They seem to stick our nose into anything that captures our attention. If something clear across the world hardly has any effect on them, they always barge right in and think it has to be fixed for their better well-being. On the other hand, Americans are caring people. They help poverty throughout the world and the resources and wealth they have usually go to good causes. Some may say Americans are lazy. This may be true in some cases, but in reality it goes to show how technologically advanced Americans have become. Without America, just imagine what our world would be like today.

The Making of a Marginal Farm

I really like Wendell Berry's writing in this piece. It was a relaxing tone and was an interesting, yet somber reading. There was no real affect it had on me, except that it made me feel good. The character in the writing was just living life as it was set before him. He never really wanted to be a farmer, but he turned into one. It was almost like it was his destiny. He loved nature and the Kentucky area, and his father was also a farmer. I think it would be cool to live in such a way. Today, I am striving to achiece an education for what I think I want to do. Berry's character didn't have to do any of that. He did go to school and stuff, but not to be a farmer. It's almost like life is cyclical. Where you started in life as a child is where you will eventually end up when elderly. Inbetween is when you explore and discover the world that you don't know.