Global Competition

"Frankly, if I had my wish, we would be on our way out of Afghanistan not in, we would be letting Pakistan figure out which Taliban they want to conspire with and which ones they want to fight, we would be letting Israelis and Palestinians figure out on their own how to make peace, we would be taking $100 billion out of the Pentagon budget to make us independent of imported oil -- nothing would make us more secure -- and we would be reducing the reward for killing or capturing Osama bin Laden to exactly what he's worth: 10 cents and an autographed picture of Dick Cheney" (Freidman, 2010).

While I agree with this author that our money would be well spent on making us independent of imported oil, I believe our country needs to understand the impact our dependence has on us.  While gas prices continue to climb, there has been limited advancement in fuel alternatives.  Until we are truly inconvenienced by our dependence on foreign oil, I don't believe we will see a change.  It would take a drastic shortage to spark attention and get us on the course towards improvement.



References:
 Friedman, T. L. (2010, January 17). What’s our Sputnik? [Op-Ed]. The New York Times [Late Edition (East Coast)], p. WK.8.

Natural Disasters

In order to develop compassionate citizens about natural disasters, I would have students research a natural disaster that occurred in our state, the eruption of Mt. St. Helens.  I would have them research the lives lost, the devastation left behind, and how many people were affected by the eruption.  I would also have them research the possibility of another eruption, either at Mt. St. Helens or Mt. Rainier.  How would such an eruption impact them? What kind of assistance might we need here in Moses Lake?

This activity could also lead into the study of earthquakes and plate tectonics since we live along the Ring of Fire.  Knowing that these disasters could occur where we live should increase students' sensitivity when disasters strike in other areas.