ADB3
Anell,
Have we arrived at the point where we must be willing to accept and just live with the growing contamination and even destruction of certain resources (like air and water) in order to maintain our way of life?
Upon watching the documentary "Gasland" by Josh Fox, I was completely blown away by the deliberate destruction of our natural water. Before watching this film I had never even heard of the word fracking, let alone know that this one word was the meaning of the massacre of one of our natural resources. I will admit that since taking this class, I have learned more about global warming in the last two weeks than I have my whole life. I'm embarrassed to say that I had never given it too much thought about where our comfortable lifestyle comes from. I would call my actions being naive and also wearing blinders at the same time. Boy have my eyes been opened to a whole new picture.
Although it is very evident that our natural resources are suffering and plummeting, I do not think we are too late to do something about it. I do however think we as humans tend to be selfish and not want to be uncomfortable, and therefore have a hard time with changing our lifestyle. Fortunately, there are simple ways of making a big difference in the long run. For example, purchasing vehicles that are more gas efficient and simply checking your home for water leaks. In the article "How To Prevent Depletion of Natural Resources", The author Brett Smith states that "A faucet that drips once per second, can lead to 27,000 gallons of water loss in 1 year" (Smith, 2018).
I agree with New York times columnist Bill Vlasic, who concludes in his column, "U.S. Sets Higher Efficiency Standards" (New York Times, 08/28/2012), that one way to help is to change the standard of fuel economy in new cars. Two reasons given to reaching this conclusion are: 1) President Obama ordered automobile manufacturers to double the fuel economy of trucks and cars by 2005, which will force manufactures to make more electrified vehicles. 2) These standard changes will reduce oil usage by 12 billion barrels thought the use of the CAFE program.
As human beings we should want to make an effort to change for the better. It is quite evident that nothing last forever, and that includes our natural resources. I feel that we are not on this planet to own it, but to simply borrow its wonders until it's time for the next generation to have a say.
In conclusion, If we all come together and all make changes in our habits and life styles we can make a big difference in our world. We owe it to our future generation to preserve our natural resources.
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Robert,
In this week’s documentary “Gasland,” by Josh Fox, Dr. Theo Colburn states that he discovered 596 chemicals used in the liquid injected deep into the Earth as part of the fracking process. The chemicals are dangerous to plants, animals, and humans. The process of fracking is being done all over the US. One place in particular that has stirred much debate and protests in North Dakota where the fracking process has affected farmers and native Sioux reservations. Companies produce millions of gallons of salty, chemical-infused wastewater, known as brine, as part of drilling and fracking each well. It’s supposed to go back into the ground thousands of feet deep in storage wells. But increasingly, a lot of it is being spilled into rivers and onto the land, causing an ecological nightmare. Oil companies operating in North Dakota reported more than 1,000 accidental releases of oil, drilling wastewater or other fluids in 2011. Many more illicit discharges went unreported. State regulators have even acknowledged the dumping of toxic fluids along roads in pits or ponds and streams illegally. (Kusnetz, 2012) One incident involved a couple of workers noticing dead grass along a pipeline route. The next day the oil company reported 12,600 gallons of salt brine spilled. After state officials investigated, they estimated 2 million gallons had spilled. A year later, weeds won’t even grow on the 24 acres of land surrounding the pipe. (Kusnetz, June 2012)
I agree with Nancy E. Lauer with Science Daily in conjunction with Duke University, who concludes in “Contamination in North Dakota linked to fracking spills” (Science Daily.com, 2016) That accidental wastewater spills from unconventional oil production in North Dakota have caused widespread water and soil contamination. Two reasons she gives for reaching this conclusion are: 1) The research provided by Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment showing clear evidence of direct water contamination from fracking. 2) The sheer increase in the volume of oil being produced by hydraulic fracturing in North Dakota itself has led to negligence and an increase in accidents.
We, the people of the United States, should not have to live in a contaminated wasteland where greedy oil companies are permanently destroying natural resources under the guise of freedom and prosperity. Therefore the industrial operation, more commonly known as fracking, should be outlawed.
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Miguel,
As a recruit, you have just joined the military and you desire to participate in counter-terrorism operations. What kind of training might you undertake in the future?
First off all, as a new military member there is generalized Counterterrorism training that every service member is required to complete. Many of them are completed by the computer-based training delivery method that veterans are very familiar with. Some examples of these are Antiterrorism Awareness and Cultural Awareness training. In the foreseeable future, the dominant challenge facing the United States is the asymmetrical threat of terrorism, especially in the form of Islamic extremism (Snodgrass, 2015). To combat this ever-worsening rise of Islamic extremism requires the focused dedication to the creation of hybrid joint forces that are culturally sensitive, religiously respectful and possess enhanced language skills (Snodgrass, 2015). Expanding the cultural awareness capacity of the traditional units normally engaged in missions that put them in constant contact with the local population in foreign lands will serve us well in our efforts to minimize the instances of Soldiers engaging in offensive actions, often accidently, through a lack of understanding of the local customs and traditions, or a basic exposure to the values of respecting other cultures that are most likely very different from those they were exposed to growing up in the United States (Snodgrass, 2015).
As a recruit who desires to participate in Counterterrorism operations, I would want to be assigned to a job that focuses in that arena. That job would tailor training specific to conducting Counterterrorism Operations. There are specific Specialty Codes or Occupational Specialties that military members can possess directed toward engaging in Counterterrorism activity. These require an increased level of access and Security Clearance level. Many of these jobs in the military require service members to acquire and hold Top Secret Sensitive Compartmented Information clearances. They typically work as apart of the Intelligence Community focused on Joint Operations. Here’s an example of the Air Force Intelligence Career Field for an Enlisted member. The Air Force refers to these specialists with a designator of 1NXXX. This designation specifies that they are part of the Operations Intelligence career field. During my military career without mentioning too much, I became aware of this Air Force Specialty Code first-hand. The training received by these individuals is very intensive and changes constantly to adapt to the evolving tactics of the enemy.
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Brittany,
As a new recruit, you have just joined the military and you desire to participate in counter-terrorism operations. What kind of training might you undertake in the future?
When doing research I came across the U.S. Department of Defense anti-terrorism training. In this training if you are a level 1, meaning you are in a low treat area you must watch a service selected video and read pamphlets that are designed to reinforce those awareness techniques. If you are in a medium to high treat area you must get a country clearance from the combatant commander. Those individuals also receive a briefing that stresses personal protective measures. Other training that would be important is intelligence training, and a training course for if you got caught by the terrorist and how to handle that situation. In training its important to learn how to mitigate the threats and also how to analyze the information that is given to you about possible threats. Other training that could be important is weapons training and the types of different weapons that are commonly used and what explosives are available and how they are used by terrorist. As discussed before no terrorist is exactly the same but there are times that studying the different types of behaviors can also be beneficial. When I think about training I would want to make sure I not only had classroom instruction but also physical practice and scenarios given to help sharpen my views . Things change as time goes on so I think its important to set standards and have training at least once a year and a briefing every 6 months in order to stay up to date on new ideas.
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