Cleveland air pollution

According to the Environmental Health Watch, the Medical Center Company (MCC) in cuyahoga county has applied to renew a permit that will enable them to operate two coal and five natural gas-fired boilers and five cooling towers. This company sells heating and cooling units to huge companies located in University Circle, which is a huge portion of downtown Cleveland. University Circle is in downtown Cleveland, and encompasses Little Italy, Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals and much much more. These are just a few of the things in University Circle. MCC is emitting a great amount of pollution into the air by burning coal. This pollution is then traveling through the air and affecting the health of many people who live and work in Cleveland. Currently the Ohio EPA has given MCC a temporary permit, and if a permanent permit is granted then MCC will continue to burn coal. This is detrimental to the health of people in cuyahoga county as well as people in surrounding areas, because the air and pollution will travel. People may begin to have heart and lung problems if the air becomes too polluted. Then, they will have to go to a hospital such as UH, which is one company that is increasing the problem by buying from MCC. It's ironic that a hospital which is supposed to help people is only helping increase the pollution which will make people sicker. Another problem is people will not want to be anywhere near University Circle if the air is dirty and full of smog. University Circle is one area in Cleveland that is still fun, safe, and full of life, but this will quickly change the air becomes dirty and gross. I love going to Little Italy in University Circle, but if I have to breathe in dirty air I won't be going there anymore. I'm sure other people will feel the same way which means Cleveland will continue to lose more money and just get more depressed. I really hope MCC does not attain the permanent permit or else we will all suffer negative effects.

Extra Credit

The straw man fallacy involves misrepresenting your opponent's position. No valid points are proven, but because you  disprove your opponent's side, you have essentially won. An excellent example of this fallacy is in the movie Thank You For Smoking, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrnZdFFovBE.

Technology

I think technology is awesome. I don't know a lot about computers or anything but I can normally figure out how to get things set up and I know how to operate my computer and phone so that's all that matters. I use my computer and phone all the time to talk, text, do research, homework, shop, and just browse the web. For example over the weekend my parents were here and we were going to dinner. We didn't now exactly where the restaurant was so I looked it up on my phone and found directions. Technology is a major convenience for me. I could not imagine not having my phone or computer or all of the other advantages of technology such as electricity, washers, dryers, and microwaves just to name a few. All of those appliances are things I use at least once a week. I love having all of those forms of technology at my fingertips, but I know too much energy is being used. People including myself are taking advantage of all of our resources, and before we know it those resources will be gone. We need to be more conscientious and energy efficient in everything we do.I don't think we need to give up technology or stop making advancements, but we definitely need to be more conservative. If everyone would minimize their individual use of technology we could really make a difference. Hopefully, we all realize that and put it into action before it's too late.

Why I Am Not Going To Buy A Computer

Wendell Berry had some good points in his essay. We all depend on technology much more than necessary. Also, technology is constantly being improved so it's hard to own the best or newest technology for long. However, I didn't agree with everything he said. He told readers he would lose his best proof reader, his wife, if he got a computer. I use a computer and still have people proof read my papers because the computer doesn't catch everything. I like having both resources because most of the time one resource is not enough. Also, technology is not always bad. In hospitals technology can save lives and give really important information regarding peoples' vital signs and so on. Technology is also a huge part of going to college. I have needed a computer for almost all of my classes so even if I didn't own one I would still have to find one to use. With the world today depending so much on technology, it is not realistic for most people to not own a computer. It may work for some people's lifestyles such as Berry's, but for many others it would not. As a whole we need to be more energy efficient and conscious but cutting out computers is simply not a reasonable solution.

"Inconvenient Truth"

I don't really like the topic of global warming because I don't know enough about it to have an opinion on it. However, I did like this reading because the author seemed to present basic facts that I could understand. He also wasn't too one-sided. He would offer Gore's claims followed by a scientists beliefs. I thought that was interesting, and he did it in a respectful way which I liked. Overall the reading was informative without being too long, boring or one-sided.