Semester Reflection Part 2

What is the greatest challenge facing your generation? What will be necessary to address it?

The greatest challenge facing my generation would be the amount of pollution due to oil spills, litter, plastics, and toxins we're releasing into the environment. I think that we have taken advantage of the world and it's natural resources. Overfishing, storing oil in the wrong environments, and other factors are hurting other living creatures. We, as humans and as a fast developing generation, have taken way too much of the earth's natural resources, and I am sad to say that it will not be completely fixed in my lifetime.

For example, the Exxon oil spill was the largest oil spill in US history in 1989. It still has not been fixed today, and it's been 21 years since. Now, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is far larger than the Exxon oil spill, which means that the effect will last several more years, maybe even twice or triple the time. If my upcoming generation does not help the environment, then the environment will not coexist with us. More natural disasters will be frequent due to Global Warming.

If we ever can fix it, we need to take large and definite steps to heal the world. We need to have a law where everyone recycles and cleans after themselves, and uses less water, gas, and electricity. We need to have a law that protects more animals and their environments. Just recently, I watched a documentary called The Cove. The Cove explained the amount of overfishing Japan is doing and how many dolphins they are killing. They also explained how much mercury levels are in the dolphins, and how the Japanese are exposed to it because they eat it. First off, high mercury should not be in dolphins. But because of the toxins that poison the ocean, the mercury travels up the food chain, which in turn, gets to us. Mercury is dangerous to animals, and will soon cause a major disruption in the food chain. Also, if people, if human beings, are eating fish containing Mercury, then it will affect and disrupt their immunity systems and whatnot. We need to take steps to stop this by stopping overfishing altogether. Scientists have predicted that if people keep fishing at the rate they are going right now, then the fishing industry will be gone in 40 years. We have to stop overfishing and harming the sea life.

What is the greatest contribution you/your generation are in the process of making to America and American culture?


The greatest contribution my generation is influencing is the rate of technology that is produced. When I was first born, CD's were barely used. But CD's and DVD's soon replaced Cassette Tapes and VCR's, and laptops soon replaced large desktop computers. I think that we as a generation have influenced marketing companies to create higher quality products, like sleeker phones, with more attributes. Even today, we can see a huge transition from the iPhone to the iPhone 4G. The iPhone 4G now has the ability to video chat, on a phone. No one 10 years ago could imagine something like that.


What in the world do you care about and what are you doing about it?


As I've previously implied, I'm very passionate about marine life. Recently, I've thought a lot about Japan's overfishing, due to the recent documentary I saw (The Cove). I think that there's way too much sea life being abused. This can be seen not only in The Cove, but in the Gulf of Mexico's oil spill crisis. As thousands of barrels leak into the ocean, many animals are dying from the thick oil that covers their skin and poisons them. It's so heartbreaking. And after completing my Media Saves the Beach project, I've been more aware of the cleanliness that the ocean needs to have, and what we need  to do to protect it. Instead of washing my car at home, I wash it at the actual car wash, so that my water and dirt does not flow into the storm drains. Instead of using plastic bags, I take reusable ones. I recycle now too. I also am planning a trip to Florida to volunteer to clean up the coast.

What four year colleges are you interested in and why?

I am very interested in UCSD, UCSB, UCSC, and UHM. I think all of these schools specialize well in what I want to do with my life: Marine Biology. I have scuba dove for two years already, and I hope to use this when I study Marine Biology. I specifically want to help in tropical places, with coral reefs and all species!