End: Reducing Ecological Footprint

My altered ecological footprint score decreased to 3.2. I do feel that an attempt to reduce waste is important to the world. I turned my TV off at night instead of leaving it on all night like I usually do. I also attempted to recycle more and eat less meat. Despite the lower score I received, I still feel I should keep living the way I am, maybe with some more recycling. Eating meat is important to my personal health and I, like everyone else, put my health first. Not only do I feel it is good for me, but I love to eat meat. Leaving my TV on all night is wasteful but I am never home during the day so my TV is ONLY on at night. I leave it on because of a fear of the dark and again, I put my self comfort first. I probably sound really selfish but that is what I learned from this assignment.

Start: Reducing Ecological footprint

First score: 4.8 worlds

End: No Technology Reflection

From abstaining from the use of cell phones, internet, television, and radio I learned that these things are not as necessary to my existence as I once believed. Not using my cell phone was absolutely the most difficult hurdle, but instead of listening to the radio in my car I just planned out my day and thought about papers I had due. Instead of watching TV before bed, I hung out with my mom and sister and cousin and had a great time. I'm not usually on the internet unless for homework or to check my email, so that wasn't too difficult. This assignment gave me time to reflect on what is important in my life and what should be my first priorities. Honestly I got more out of this assignment than I expected.

Start: No Technology

Blog 1: One Challenge

One challenge that may exist in the next four years is universal healthcare. I am aware that the majority of my classmates will disagree with me after hearing their opinions in our class discussion. However I feel that the cons of universal healthcare outweigh the good. Doctors in the United States are highly educated and trained. The process to become a doctor of any sort is grueling and very difficult. Yet when they overcome the hurdles of training, they are highly qualified and reap the rewards of the time, money, and effort they spent in order to become doctors. So if healthcare is altered to accomodate everyone with an ache or a pain, those doctors that were so highly trained will be no more. Who would go through the process of becoming a medical professional only to make the salary of a public school teacher? The qualification of our doctors, as well as sheer number of doctors, would exponentially decrease. I don't believe that our healthcare system is perfect by any means, but solutions to this system are not found in a socialist system because America is not socialist. To prevent universal healthcare we as Americans must reform our healthcare system that does not compromise the democracy and capitalism that our country was built upon.