Macedonia

While not about natural resources (which might be something to be looked into) , this book looks into the measures that have kept Macedonia from war even though experiencing the same problems that caused turmoil in Kosovo.

Snippet on Superlife

I would have liked him to talk more directly about the reality and superstitions of managing natural resources. The book does allude to it, but more in overtomes. Why didn't he dish it out straight if that was his purpose?

Random?

Cancelling class Thurs 9 JULY

I must cancel class this week. Please see the email I sent for further information.

Changing Value

Is it concievable that water may become more valuable than gold? Will oil ever have more value for it's uses to make things (e.g. bottles, furniture, clothes) which can be recycled vs. being burned to produce energy?

Climate change

If climate change is a certainty for the globe and we know that the plant community of Montana is changing. Should the Forest Service stat considering planting new plant species? Should they use exotic species that are better adapted to these new conditions?

Fire issues

The public has contradictory views on forest fires. The public does not wan the forest to be allowed to burn, but then the fires can help clear the underbursh and thinning fo the forest to make it less flammable. They want it the be in its natural state but yet this natural state isn't so natural..... are forest issues important to our society or is this only something of importance to a fringe element in society?

On Wilderness

I took Introduction to Outdoor recreation last fall, and it was driving me crazy b/c I couldn't remember the wording in class:

“A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man’s work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value."

-The Wilderness Act of 1964

I think some of the key elements are 'untrammeld by man', 'man does not remain' and retaining 'primeval character and influence'.

-Jessica

One of the great questions has always been where did I come from. Most groups believe that they (and everything else) was created by in a higher power.

Other groups noticing that everything changes over time coined the term evolution. The problem is that while evolution can explain a great deal about our planets past, it can not answer the above stated question. Life had to evolution from something.

In the beginning something had to create life. It comes down to would you rather think of yourself as a creation, or as a cosmic accident.
George

I just wanted to clarify something I was unable to do so in class yesterday. When I asked if the science community was resistant to any other train of thought when it comes to the beginning of life, I was not trying to infuse religion into the discussion. Calling intelligent design creationism is a fallacy. This would be like me automatically calling someone who believes in evolution an atheist. Is that a true statement? I hope we would agree it is not. Just because the science community has agreed as of late that the theory of evolution is probable without any proof, does not mean we should take it as fact or stop searching for alternatives to the age old question "where did we come from?".

You requested it, so here it is....

Greetings everyone,
You asked for it so here it is, the Critical Thinking Blog space for our class. Hopefully this will work well. I hope you all are enjoying this class, I certainly am.
Please feel free to post ideas here, but let's remember to continue to respect ideas different than our own, while being open to disagreeing and presenting an alternative point of view.
Cheers,
Michael