Reflection 4/24

I'm happy to write that I have had quite a lovely weekend so far! Life has been so crazy and so hectic. Because of this I have greatly enjoyed my slow paced day. I got to sleep in until eleven and then I ate lunch with my grandmother. After that my mom and I went shopping and got some insanely delicious limeade. We came back home and I did my toes. I don't know how to describe the color besides charcoal with a shimmer. Lets just say it looks nice. I've watched a couple episodes of Reba and now its time to hit some homework and clean the house. We have family coming in from out of town so the house needs to be in ship-shape. It's quite a task let me tell you. Areas of our house deserve avalanche warning signs, but after my day of relaxation I am ready to rise to the occasion :]

There's TOO Many Of Them!!

What is overpopulation? It is a condition. A habitat is considered overpopulated when an organism's number exceed the carrying capacity of the area. Often the term is used in reference to the human population and its environment- the Earth. But more than population density, overpopulation is directly related to the country's ability to feed its inhabitants as well as meet their other basic needs. The first picture below is a pie chart of the percantages of the Earth's surface covered by water, used for agriculture, under conservation, "intact", and used for human habitation. Note how little of Earth's land is dedicated to providing a place for humans to live. The map below that shows the population density of the Earth by country. Darker colors are areas with a higher density of people. Notice that three of the most heavily populated countries are China, India, and Japan.

In 1979 China's Communist Party implemented a "one-child policy" which is still in place today. It states that families in urban areas are allowed to have one child, while families in rural areas (which is about 80% of the population) are allowed to have two. Families that violate the rule could be forced to have an abortion as well as being financially penalized. On the other hand, families with only one child are given better child care and housing as well as cash bonuses. In the 1950's fertility rates averaged about five children per woman compared to the two children per woman today. Implications include favoritism of boys. This is a traditional preference, which under the "one-child policy" has led to the murder of many baby girls and a continuously growing gender imbalance in the country's continuously growing population.

India's family planning policy went into affect in the 1950's. India was the first country to create such a policy. Since then, the population of India has more than doubled, but the fertility rated has dropped by about 40%. This campaign is based on a change in attitude. It encourages the advancement of women economically, academically, and socially. The idea is that independent women are more likely to have smaller families. The nation tried to focus on sterilization, only to hinder woman's acceptance of family planning.

Japan's solution is unlike the two previous. Rather than the focus being on reducing its population, Japan has solved its problem through a high economic growth rate which they have sustained over the past several decades.

Lowering the population of a country is a difficult task. Obviously you can't become cannibalistic and start eating people. Also, you can't tell people that they can't have children simply because that is unfair and not right. So if I had to develop my own solution to overpopulation I would do so through education. The people need to understand the problem and they have to have a want to change it. Informing people about birth control as well as the benefits of smaller families coupled with individuals' motivation to do their part in helping their country is ultimately the best way to limit population growth. I would not impose a rule on the number of children a family can have. I feel that that would cause the people to be angry at their government when really the best thing to do is to give the population the right mindset. It's almost a matter of persuasion in that the task is convincing the people of your country that their efforts are in the best interest of themselves and their nation. Ultimately that's the most efficient way of handling overpopulation in my opinion.

Time Capsule

The concept of time capsules are the craziest thing ever. Whoever thought up the idea was genius. You always see them in movies and you always dream of what you would put in it. If i had to put one generational thing in a time capsule i would choose to do

CONVERSE SNEAKERS!!!

You may be asking how is this from my generation? I understand that Converse has been around since the 1940's. Even though converse have been around for such a long time a new aspect is the increasing (and continual increasing) of variety in design and color. This is something which came about in my generation. This new change, i feel, has become one of the defining characteristics of my generation. Almost everyone has a pair of converse sneakers whether low top or high top. Those who don't SHOULD!

You can buy crazy patterns. I own a pair that are made from a zebra striped fabric. Someone I know has hot pink with black zig zag stripes. another friend has neon blue and green double lace ups and yet another friend has knee high converse. The kid next to me in Teen Lead has bright red converse and my friends little sister has black to satisfy the black shoes required for the dress code at her private school. Personally, I think it's safe to say that converse sneakers are one of many ways individuals of my generation can express themselves.

I would create a custom pair through the converse website (you can follow the link to the website and customize your own!). This is another wonderful reason why it's a generational example. It showcases the technology we have and the ability we have to customize a pair our own shoes while sitting at home on our couch. My custom converse would be blue and gold (Anderson colors) with 2010 written along the side.

This would be my pick for the time capsule because it captures a glance at my school and the style of my generation.

Reflection!

It's been a really rough past month, but I'm hanging in there. I'm actually AHEAD on my homework which is a major first and it feels really good. (with exception of this blog which I'm doing for a late grade... ironic ;]) Yes this was the one thing I forgot to do.

I've been consumed with homework lately. But this weekend I have something fun to look forward too! My youth group is participating in World Vision's 30 hour famine. It's pretty much what it sounds like. We're not going to eat for 30 hours to raise money for starving children (through donation collections). But during those 30 hours (besides sleeping) we're going to serve soup at the soup kitchen and collect canned goods for the Capital Area Food Bank. It's an amazing weekend and there'll be plenty of time to hang with my friends. I'm so looking forward to it... I for sure NEED IT!!! ;D