Environmental Ethics

On Wednesday October 20, 2010, we were fortunate enough to have three environmentally conscience guest speakers: Zaccarai Free, Michele L. Roberts, and Angela Ardrar. I was only able to see the second half of Mr. Free’s presentation, and the Q&A session. Mr. Free spoke about the negative effects big businesses can have on both the environment, and those without corporate power. Throughout his presentation he very sarcastically repeated the phrase, “That’s business”.  No one can deny that many large corporations make some decisions that are not ethical, but I do not believe these decision makers are entirely at fault.

            The competition of today’s market, even more so in a down economy, forces companies to choose between cutting corners, and their survival. We live in a capitalistic society and the objective of all businesses is to make a profit. The point that was made about not buying from the large companies is a valid solution, but nearly impossible. Consumers desire to buy the best products, products that are usually produced by large companies. Large companies have little incentive, other than personal beliefs, to be ethical as long as people are consumed with materialism. 

Self-Assessment

            I think my blogs have covered a wide variety of topics, partially because of the given prompts. I enjoyed the current event posts the most because they broadened the spectrum of possible posts. Reading my posts leaves me wanting more in the future. I don’t feel like I discussed my topics in enough depth.  Instead, only giving a brief summary followed by a very brief analysis. The weekly blogging fosters class participation if utilized correctly. I try to use this tool to its full potential. I need to improve on my critical responses to other posts.  My comments on other posts were very short and not very productive to the reader. This class has been my first blogging experience, so I was initially hesitant.

            I have been happy with my participation both in class and the online discussion board. I have not used the Writing Center as much as I could have but my first essay turned out as I wanted it to. I think the lessons on Expository writing serve as concrete definitions of ideas we were aware of. Like most students, I have read process essays, or causal analyses. The lessons transform these abstract ideas into useful strategies for my writing. I make a conscious effort to involve all races in my writing because of the global community. Minorities and well as Caucasians have opinions and add to the overall perspective.