Note taking is a crucial part of a student’s understanding of the course materials. There are countless ways on how to jot down personal interpretations of various texts. Personally, I use the outlining method due to its concise yet informative format. This part of the portfolio demonstrates that notes help in better understanding of the reading context and in forming well-written responses for discussion boards.
Discussion Board Response:
Margaret Atwood’s writing untangles the leap of human desire from the purest beliefs to the most intricate and damaging effect to human health and environment. The words, “… money became a god. It was all-powerful, and out of control. It began to talk. It began to create on its own.”, establishes how money is the root of problems and solutions to today’s time.
In light of our previous group discussion, we tackled the ongoing environmental injustice between developing Southeast Asian countries and developed Western countries concerning plastics. Southeast Asian nations are forced to accept tons of toxic wastes which causes threats and ramifications to the environment and livelihood of its local communities (2). Since these wastes are “contaminated, mixed and low grade” (1) and unrecyclable plastics, they either end up in unregulated landfills or illegal incineration sites (1). In connection with Atwood’s piece, money becomes a source of exploitation of the rich to the loose regulations of poor countries.
The mass production of plastics emits tremendous amounts of greenhouse gases as they are made of fossil fuels (3). Similarly, the illegal incineration of mixed wastes and unrecyclable plastics only add to escalation of climate change and its effects. The manifestation of natural disasters like Hurricane Isaias and Apple Fire proves that money consumes not only our human lives, but it also desolates our environment, “It began to eat things. It ate whole forests, croplands and the lives of children. It ate armies, ships and cities. No one could stop it.”
Sources:
https://time.com/5598032/southeast-asia-plastic-waste-malaysia-philippines/
https://www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/plastic-waste-and-climate-change-whats-the-connection#gs.fkhuzl
Comments:
To Mohamed Elashry:
Indeed, money became a necessity for survival and a symbol of power which inevitably sways our life choices. Although I have not watched The Platform, it seems to dissect through underlying layers of human greed and hunger (as you stated). On the other hand, Snowpiercer another sci-fi action movie on Netflix showcases the same thematic approach of The Platform where survivors of the second Ice Age are divided by their social class standing. Those with riches are seated at the front-most trail of the train and provided luxurious food & amenities. While the poor are left at the end trail and given protein bars made out of insects. The movie expounds on the socioeconomic state of survivors as well as how they have altered the existing environment. The second Ice Age was due to their futile attempt to impede global warming through engineering the climate and this correlates to what you said that greediness leads to demise.
To Zeshan Rahman:
Hey, Zeshan! I like how you interpreted the ending of Margaret Atwood’s piece. Even though it was written years ago, it is still relevant and applicable to our time. That if we continuously deplete our once treasured resources, our environment ultimately will cease to recover. I also appreciate the fact that her piece provided an outlook that is not forceful but rather grows on you as you keep reading. At the same time, you presented an interesting point of view that people gravitate to becoming a materialistic person as a consequence of their enslavement to money. I agree that we are mostly motivated to work and live for money as it reflects a lot about us and our lifestyles. Furthermore, I concur that money is powerful and can manipulate people, government, economy, and so on.
