Blog #1 The Environment

List of Ten Things I Did Today

1) Brushed my hair
2) Got dressed
3) Took my son to school
4) Went back home and dressed my daughter
5) Smoked
6) Washed my hands
7) Brushed my daughters teeth
8) Took my daughter to school
9) Drove to LaGuardia College
10) Bought my Psychology text book

Driving to school and to my children’s school everyday is effecting the environment by polluting the air and contributing to global warming. Smoking is also polluting the air and my lungs. One thing that I try to consciously do to help the environment is to conserve energy by not always turning on the heat in the winter and in the summer I try not to keep on the air conditioner for long periods of time. These small efforts might not be much but I feel that it helps. One thing that concerns me about the environment is the over consumption of our natural resources such as water. There is such a shortage of clean water in this world that many people in other countries do not have access to any and Americans take for granted the access they have to clean water, that is why they should not waste it. If you go to http://www.wfs.org, The Futurist Magazine’s Annual Outlook Report it states future predictions of the world. One of the things it predicts is, “Water will be in the twenty-first century what oil was in the twentieth century. Global fresh water shortages and drought conditions are spreading in both the developed and developing world. In response, the dry state of California is building 13 desalination plants that could provide 10%-20% of the state's water in the next two decades. Desalination will become more mainstream by 2020”. Another issue that is disturbing is overpopulation. This is scary because with the combination of the lack of natural resources in the future and overpopulation there will be a lot of suffering for human beings in this world. The Future prediction is, “The earth is on the verge of a significant extinction event. The twenty-first century could witness a biodiversity collapse 100 to 1,000 times greater than any previous extinction since the dawn of humanity, according to the World Resources Institute. Protecting biodiversity in a time of increased resource consumption, overpopulation, and environmental degradation will require continued sacrifice on the part of local, often impoverished communities. Experts contend that incorporating local communities' economic interests into conservation plans will be essential to species protection in the next century” ( The Futurist Magazine’s Annual Outlook Report)
ABOUT ME
My name is Lisa Morales. I am married to a wonderful man and I am a mother of two beautiful children. This is really my purpose in life, my two children that is why whenever I am asked to write about myself I start of by introducing the fact that I am a mother. I am finishing up my last semester here in LaGuardia and hope to transfer to NYU on a scholarship that I was nominated for. I then hope to finish my BA and eventually acquire my PhD in neuropsychology. I have had personal experience with mental illness in my family and see how stifling it could be, not only for the individual with the disease but for everyone who cares for them. This is why I chose to study and one day become apart of the field of psychology. I am also fascinated in other cultures. I have not been able to personally experience a lot of them because of many reasons one being that I am terrified of flying but I hope to one day get over that phobia and expose myself to all the different cultures this world has to offer. I am also interested in the arts and fashion. My husband is a fine artist and I am a hair stylist. I know this line of work seems to be the complete opposite of the field of psychology but they do have a lot in common. Being a stylist does not only consist of styling someone’s hair, it also includes being there friend and therapist. Stylists get to here some of the most personal issues in their client’s life and have to console them or give them advice when the client asks because that is the typical bond clients expect from their stylist. It is not so different from a therapy session. I once read that most hair stylist who go back to school end up majoring in psychology because of these reasons. In my profession I get to meet a diverse group of people. It is an interesting and creative line of work but it can be testing. My greatest achievement is being able to raise my two children, work full time and go to school full time while keeping a good grade point average. It is not easy and I did not know when I decided to start school whether or not I would be able to maintain everything well enough but it has been very rewarding. I am also what I like to refer to as, in the words of Hillary Clinton a progressive person, which in the past has been called a liberal. That word, Liberal has acquired a negative image throughout the years but I don’t see anything negative about it. I believe in the plight for the needy people of this world. I believe in tolerance of difference. I believe that as human beings we have a moral responsibility to everyone in this world. I also believe in equality. Every time I say this some people think I am a communist especially since my family is from Cuba (Ha,Ha). I don’t believe in communism, I simply feel that people have lost sight of caring about one another and that individuals should not only think about what is best for them and start thinking about others. Now that I have lectured everyone who is listening I am really a very lighthearted person and I try not to impose my views on others I just like to speak about what is important to me.