Monthly Archives: February 2013

My Moderating Philosophy

Having been a member of the debate team in high school, I only ever saw debates, arguments, discussions, deliberations, so on and so forth, from the perspective of the participant. Through moderating a deliberation, I gained a new level of respect for individuals that can moderate discussions or debates. I couldn’t help but think of presidential debates. How hard must it be when the outcomes of the discussion are actually really important?

My moderating style

  • Let the People say what they need to say
  • Build on their opinions/statements to provide any clarification to the rest of the group
  • Provide guiding questions that force the audience to think of topics from a new perspective

Strengths as a Moderator

  • Loud (haha)
  • Good at trying to understand what people are trying to say
  • Good at clarifying these thoughts
  • Can often see new sides of an issue – or holes in someones argument for a proposal

Most Challenging Part of Moderation

  • I am pretty passionate about sustainability (which may sound funny because I think this was selected to be a neutral topic), so containing my “passion” when I disagreed with other people’s opinions was difficult. 
  • I have done my fair share of research as well, so I could tell when someone was just blatantly wrong in their statements or beliefs.
  • I tried my best to allow other members of the deliberation to deal with these flaws, or to provide guiding questions or “other views” that may make the speaker realize his or her mistake, or provide them a chance to back up their views with credible information.

The Tortoise!

turks-and-caicos_h

google.com

Let’s just get one thing straight right now. I love turtles. I’m not sure why, but I just think they’re adorable. Before I left for Penn State, my best friend gave me a turtle ring which has given me lots of luck on many exams (I’m looking at you CHEM110). When I was younger, my family went on a trip to Turks and Caicos. For those of you who don’t know what that is, here’s a picture.

While I was there, I went snorkeling with my dad, and I was really scared to be so far out in such open water. It was a completely new experience for me, and I wasn’t a huge fan of feeling so helpless. But, as I was floating atop the water, I looked below me and saw a HUGE sea turtle, who, I swear to all that is holy, waved at me. I’m not kidding. Just call me Dr. Dolittle. I was instantly relieved, and I was no longer worried about being out in the ocean.

The tortoise is basically the land version of a sea turtle. He likes warm weather, so the southern hemisphere of the world tends to be a good home to a tortoise. Tortoises are almost always herbivores, and if they live in very hot climates, they may reserve their scavenging for dusk and dawn, since the temperature is cooler.

Tortoises lay eggs, usually about ten at a time, but not all of their babies survive (lots of predators like to eat tortoise eggs and little bitty tortoises). Mommy tortoises don’t care too much about their kids. They lay their eggs and leave, and when the eggs hatch, the young tortoises pretty much sit around for a week until they are strong enough to venture out and get their own food.

Some species of tortoises can live for about 150 years, so if you ever plan on buying a pet tortoise, you better make sure you can will him to someone when it is your time to pass on. However, if you are thinking about a pet tortoise, here are some adorable videos to make you sure of your decision.

http://a-z-animals.com/animals/tortoise/

Disappointing Deliberation

Frankly, if my deliberation attempts on the internet are any sort of reflection of how “deliberation” really occurs in this country, I can’t say I’m all too surprised that it never seems like we’re getting anything done.

I commented on several articles, all in different disciplines. I commented positively and negatively. I commented as a new comment thread and in reply to other comments. I addressed the views previously stated by individuals and offered new ways to look at specific parts of the issue. And yet, nothing. Sure, plenty of people “liked” my comments, but nobody took the bait and commented back.

I had no idea how frustrating it could be to deliberate over the internet. At least if I’m having a conversation with someone in person, I know they’re going to respond. I mean, they’re not just going to sit there and stare at me, which is the equivalent of “liking” my comment on a post. Like, come on.

I will try a few more times to get an actual conversation going for my data, though I’m not too sure what I can change. However, if my struggles prove fruitless, at least I can say that I tried. I have a feeling the discussion of my data will have much more to do with the lack of conversation than wether or not that conversation was productive.

If I had to pick a reason why people just don’t seem to be commenting back, I would probably blame the fact that I am not normally involved in internet forums. Next to every commenter’s username is a brief summary of their activity. The people who were getting responses all had more than 100 “fans” and had been active for years. They surely look much more credible than my 0 fans and active for three hours detail. But my comments were just as good as those other commenters! Maybe we can all take a lesson away from these deliberations: even if someone may appear to know nothing about a topic, we should give them the benefit of the doubt, because in some cases (LIKE MINE), they actually do.

The Cutest Monkey, Ever.

For the past few weeks, we have focused on a lot of cute animals that call the desert their homes. This week, were moving to a whole new climate: the rainforest! The rainforest is home to a multitude of adorable animals that live in the trees, on the ground and in water, but a lot of these animals are also super dangerous, so I wouldn’t advise going on a rainforest expedition to meet any of them.

Anyway, this week brings you information about one of the cutest monkeys I have ever encountered in my life. The Emperor Tamarin normally lives in the thick forests of Brazil or Peru, and the breed is thought to be named after once-Emperor Frederick Wilhelm II of Germany because of their glorious long white mustaches.

monkeywilhelm

Emperor Tamarins are omnivorous, but their diet is composed mainly of sap, fruits, green plants and insects. Occasionally, the monkeys will feast on small rodents or reptiles. The little monkeys weigh less than a pound, and are only about ten inches long. They are most active during the day, and at night, they rest safely in the treetops. The monkeys are hunted by jungle cats, snakes, or large birds, but their greatest threat comes from deforestation by humans.

The monkeys live in “troops,” that consist of less than eight members, and are led by the oldest female tamarin, but a majority of the group members are male. The female is responsible for carrying one to two infants for a gestation period that is usually about five months long, but after the babies are born, responsibility falls mostly with the male monkeys. Though the females of the group may take care of the monkeys, the males groom and carry them around much more frequently.

Enjoy this video of Emperor Tamarins!

http://a-z-animals.com/animals/emperor-tamarin/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/303.shtml

A “Green” Diet

“Going Green” or “Living Sustainably” involves changing a large aspect of one’s life to a more environmentally-friendly alternative. There are many aspects that can be changed, but what could be as life-impacting as the food you eat?

When it comes to sustainable living in the way of food, there are so many options: buying organic produce, free-range meat, locally grown crops, milk from cows not treated with rBST or other growth hormones, eating food that is only in season or even growing it on your own! There are so many options, that it can be easy to become overwhelmed and give up, or even just to forget about the options entirely. For this reason, I will dedicate this Civic Issues blog post to two pretty different ways to eat sustainably. First, eating locally-grown crops has a wide-range of benefits for you and the environment. Second, making an effort to consume meat or animal by-products that are derived from animals not treated with hormones is good for both you and the animal. The general theme? Going green is good for everyone! (Except maybe profit-driven, money-hungry big business producers).

First and foremost, buying local produce can lead to a healthier lifestyle for both you and the earth! On average, fresh food items travel about 1,500 miles to get to our local supermarkets. This makes sense – think of how many banana trees or broccoli plants you see in State College. This transport distance is a big deal for two reasons: it causes a huge amount of fossil fuel usage and it requires foods be picked before their prime. A Rutgers University study estimated that bringing in enough out-of-state tomatoes for one year in the state of New Jersey used enough fossil fuel to drive an 18-wheeler 249 times around the earth. That’s just one crop, in one state, in one country of the world. Furthermore, these driving times require produce be picked before it is ready. The produce inevitably “ripens” on its way to your grocery store, but it doesn’t get any more nutritious. A plant gets it nutrients from its stem, and once picked, the fruit is as nutritious as its ever going to get. Sometimes, fruits are picked way too soon, and they don’t even ripen on their own. In this case, they are sprayed with with ethylene or acetylene gas or calcium carbide, which reacts with moisture to form acetylene, which is similar to a fruit’s natural ethylene emitted for ripening. All in all, it’s just more natural to buy locally, where farmers don’t have to pick food before it’s ripe or ship long distances. Plus, the reduced transport cost means local farmers get to keep a larger percentage of their total sales, and more money is funneled into your local economy!

Another practice that currently occurs in our food production system is the utilization of growth hormones, specifically in dairy cows. A growth hormone similar to those naturally occurring in dairy cows, called rBST, is used in dairy cows as a means of increasing milk production. However, rBST usage has been linked to cow lameness and mastitis, a painful disease that involves swollen udders. The increased disease leads to increased antibiotic use in cows, and these antibiotics can ultimately be secreted into the milk that we drink, causing antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in our bodies. Additionally, there have been studies that link rBST usage in dairy cows to breast cancer in humans, mainly because of the increased levels of IGF-1, which are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, that accompany rBST usage.

I think these are just two examples where going natural is just better. It’s better the environment, its better for the animals, and its better for you! Proponents of both transporting food and utilizing growth hormones often cite the world’s dramatic need for food, but what do you think? Is it worth it?

Lovable Lions

The much-requested animal of the week is the ever-majestic lion. There are two main types of lion: the African Lion and the Asiatic Lion. Asian Lions are more endangered than African Lions, but both only live on land that is designated as reserve. Did you know that the word “lion” in Swahili is simba? Betcha thought Disney was super creative with that one – turns out I could have come up with it using Google Translator.

Grown male lions weigh about 450 pounds and females weigh about 325 pounds. Lions live in a pride, which is a matriarchal society that can have between three and thirty lions. If resources are scarce, prides tend to be smaller. Lionesses stay in the pride for life, and they make up the bulk of the pride. Male lions may only stay in a pride for months or years, and there are usually only a few unrelated males in a pride.

Lionesses definitely take charge in a pride, as they are the permanent fixtures. They do almost all of the hunting, since they are smaller and more agile than their larger male counterparts. Lions eat antelope, crocodiles, baby elephants or rhinos. They may also steal prey from other animals. Lions have eyes with a horizontal streak of nerve cells so they can look across a whole plain to help them hunt.

Male lions stay behind and watch the cubs. They also patrol and guard the pride’s territory. Males are not permanent to a pride, and they have to fight to keep their spots when a new lion tries to infiltrate the space. Whoever wins gets to stay in the pride. This intense activity doesn’t last for much of the day – lions spend up to 21 hours laying around. 

Cubs are raised by the pride until they are about two years old. Female lions remain with the pride, usually for their whole lives. Males on the other hand, are run out of the pride and they must fight to find a space in another. They typically wait until they are older and fully grown to fight their way into another pride, but until then, they may run in “bachelor groups” with other young lions.

Speaking of young lions.. enjoy these ADORABLE videos.

Topic Change

Well, as I was researching articles and forums to comment on for my Sustainability topic, I came across an article online published to the Huffington Post. It was about PETA, and since I like the organization, I clicked on the link.

It. Was. Awful. The article was about the recent release of PETA’s yearly kill rates. You see, every year, PETA takes in animals from shelters, or those that have been found abandoned and are left on the organization’s doorstep. Some of the animals are delivered to PETA in such a poor state that they are euthanized, since it is the most humane way to deal with the circumstance. This is normal, and it is the same procedure at most shelters.

However, PETA’s released kill numbers were astonishing. The organization killed 97% of the animals it took in. 97%. As in 3% survived. Dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens and exotic animals were all murdered at the hands of an organization that broadcasts itself as animal-loving.

What’s worse, many of the animals killed were in good health and adoptable. Veterinarian testimonials reported that some of the animals killed were puppies and kittens that were perfectly adoptable. This is sickening to me, and I can’t believe that I believed in the good intentions of PETA for so long without realizing how they really operated.

For this reason, I decided to change my deliberation topic to be more animal-centered. (Real) ethical treatment, treatment of animals in the food industry, utilization of animals for their fur and skin (I’m looking at you Beyonce), and no-kill versus euthanasia shelters are all issues I would like to look into. I’ll probably stick with finding articles that I can comment on, since that has worked well for me so far.

I thought seeing this article today, after watching the in-class video on labels, was excellent timing. When you see a non-profit organization that is literally called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, you wouldn’t think for even a second that anything different could be occurring. However, this article was proof that an organization is much more than its title when it comes to how it operates, and what it truly stands for.