Technology

Overall, our futuristic use of technology has helped our society make great strides.  Our medical advancements alone have allowed people to live much longer lives on average than in the past thousands of years.  These technological discoveries have all come about within the last couple hundred years, yet the improvements have been very drastic.  Computers have made everyone's lives much easier.  For example, the research involved in the project for our class would be much more tedious if we didn't have access to web databases and we had to type them on typewriters without a delete button and spell check.  This is just one example among many.  There have been countless new and improved processes as well as products that have made all our lives more convenient.  I couldn't even begin to talk about them all.  Just imagine life without microwaves, lawn mowers, and X Box 360's.  Technology has helped our standards of living and entertainment.

As much as technology has helped us, the down sides are undeniable.  Our population has become increasingly obese due to the influx of driving our cars to the nearest fast food restaurant and eating our cheeseburgers in front of our 52 inch flat screens.  We have become lazy.  New and improved machines have caused industrial workers to be laid off.  It can also be argued that computers have made people a lot less personal than in the past.  I feel that right now I am living fine without a hovering car, so is it really necessary??  Right now we may be content but in the future certain technologies may seem like no-brainers.  As long as we are able to assess the ramifications and needs for technologies in the future and don't overkill, it will continue to be helpful.  Progress is generally good.

Ok bye.

Learning from the past

I can't pretend I am as knowledgeable about current world events as I should be.  So my opinions may not be based on enough information.  But I will attempt to give my two cents on the U.S. attacks on Libya.

Since I've only been on this planet for 20 years and I'm hesitant to believe everything I've read in my history books during high school, I will have to parallel the United States' involvement with the Libyan affairs to our Invasion of Iraq in the mid-2000's.  Regardless of the administration or party represented, questionable decisions are questionable decisions.  The United States apparently intervened not because we were threatened but for the well-being of the Libyan community.  Sounds eerily similar to our reasoning behind "liberating" Iraq.  The problem is, there seems to have been much more harm done with the war in Iraq than good.

As the war in Iraq was supposed to be quick and to the point, we still have many troops out there fighting years later.  Civilians and soldiers alike have been killed over the course of 8 long years for an unclear reason.  All this for what America has deemed to be the appropriate form of government.  Like Muammar Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein had his share of issues with the U.S. government through out his term.  Both nations also coincidentally happen to be rich with oil.  Now I know that oil prices are important and none of us want to pay $5.00 for a gallon of gas but is there not a better way of going about your agenda that doesn't involve risking the lives of human beings?  If the U.S. is so concerned with other nation's problems, how come we have sat back and watched plenty of other genocides and "injustices" though out the world?  Because we have nothing to gain?  We need to view things from a more humanitarian perspective in the future and use force as a last resort.  As cliche as it may be, it is probably in everyone's best interest for us to mind our own business.

"Those that ignore the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat them."

If we do not take our past failures seriously as lessons, we will never be able to move on and improve as a nation and as humans.  We can't be stubborn.

Maybe I'm completely off base though and not well-informed.  Or maybe I'm right.  Not sure.

Ok bye.

Economics & Environment

I feel that a lot of where we are at now economically can be attributed to increased awareness of environmental issues in recent times.  Many companies and government agencies have used "Going Green" as marketing campaigns as well as policy.  This directly affects the ways companies operate business decisions as well as the way consumers spend their money.  On the other side of the coin, many companies show complete disregard for the environment in order to cut costs and see the highest bottom line.  Economies may benefit in the short run by these decisions as GDP increases for that year but in the long term consequences are dire when we have run out of resources and end up being very inefficient.

Issues such as global warming, pollution, land destruction, among other detriment to the environment have all occurred because of economic pressures and for the "convenience" of people.  Billions of tax dollars are being spent on wars fought over natural resources such as oil.  Natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina destroy local economies, putting many residents out of work as well as owners out of business.  This disrupts all types of flow within small economies, which later affects bigger economies.

We exist within our environment, which means everything is affected by it.  Environment can place economic constraints on nations and it can allow nations to flourish when they take advantage of it.  The influence is definitely larger than it may seem on the surface.

Ok bye.