Grizzly Man

The documentary Grizzly Man is an intriguing video that I seem to have a hard time forgetting. The whole video is comprised of footage from this mans 13 summer voyage with these magnificent creatures. This man, Timothy Treadwell, spent summer after summer filming and trying to become one with these animals. There is much controversy over whether or not he should have been able to do this. I truly believe that however crazy it may be, this expedition into the wild with the Grizzlies is acceptable. I think his reasoning behind being out there with these animals is strong enough to permit him to do so. People think that this guy was crazy and disturbed. Who in their right mind would want to walk up to a Grizzly and pet it on its nose? Who would want to sleep every night in a little tent, providing very little protection? Why should this man be able to go into the wild and disturb these wild animals from their normal everyday lives? These are just a few questions that people may be asking themselves, and they definitely make for good debate. No one will ever truly understand what Treadwell was thinking but people will each have their interpretations. I believe that Treadwell’s past had a big influence on his decision to live in the wild with these animals. I have a good feeling that he might have been depressed to a certain degree. He was a heavy drinker, probably due to depression. In his early years he had a near fatal overdose, which for sure changed his perspective on life. He got injured during his younger years and lost his scholarship to the school of his choice. Also, his father mentioned that the thing that ruined him the most was probably not getting the job he applied for. Without understanding Treadwell’s background you may be quick to assume that he is a deranged and crazy man. I tend to believe that he is just very dedicated and addicted to his obsession of wildlife. “I had no life. Now I have a life.” This is a quote that Treadwell stated in his documentary. It shows you how he feels about his life. Before his experiences with the bears, he was depressed and considered himself to have no life. After his encounters with the bears, he claimed to have a life. So basically, I feel it all comes down to how poorly life was treating him before his travels into the wild. He found a new life and new friends on the flat lands of Alaska. It was here that he finally starts to realize that he belongs out with these bears. He thought the bears needed a caretaker, someone to look after them. Everything he did was with the right intention, but outsiders viewed it as not normal, crazy, and just plain right unacceptable. I agree with his morals and ideas of life. He truly wanted to become one with the bears. The more you know about these animals, the easier it is to understand them. I can relate to Treadwell in that I used to always go fishing when I was in the US. Everyday after school I would be out on the stream, deep down in the woods. I guess you could say fishing consumed my life. During these adventures each day, I would think of myself as a 20 inch palomino trout. If I were a trout, what kind of food would I want today? Its sunny, kind of windy and the water looks clear. These are things I thought about while I was wading up and down the stream. I really had to become one with the fish, so I could understand them, and in my case catch the fish. Treadwell was doing what he loved to do. I think people need to realize that what he was doing was for the good. Was he on his butt talking about what he COULD do? No. He was out doing it! That is something people don’t understand. His motives were all for a good cause. He wanted to become a better person. He wanted to create awareness around the world about the dangers of hunters and the dwindling populations of animals around the globe. He taught classes to young students in hopes of educating them about the problems these bears are facing. Throughout the movie you could really see the emotional side of Treadwell. You can tell that he was dedicated to these animals and would do anything to help them. I think the use of foul language is crucial to this documentary. Treadwell freely expressed all of his ideas. This makes me wonder, Did he want people to see this? What was his intention to do with all this footage? Would he have made his own documentary? Watching this video made me think of a lot of things. I thought about how very few people have such close connections with animals. I think its great that Treadwell had such close relationships with these Grizzlies and even the foxes. I thought it was amazing to see Treadwell interact with these wild animals. I think being able to form a relationship with the foxes made him that much more eager to form relationships with the bears. So all this comes down to one simple question. Was Timothy Treadwell a hero? I would start by pondering what exactly being a hero entails. When I hear the word hero, I think of someone who is admired for certain achievements or the bettering of society. So, would I classify Treadwell as a hero? I would have to say yes. He was out trying to make a difference in the world, regardless of what others thought. No not everyone agrees with what he was doing but you got to give him some credit for being an individual with drive and passion. He had a fond love for animals, more specifically, the grizzly bear, and didn’t let anyone stand in his way. I thought it was cool to see Treadwell walking with the bears in the very last scene. The whole movie Timothy wanted to become one with the bears and in the end that was the feeling I got. Its incredible to watch him get so close to these wonderful yet scary creatures. Timothy Treadwell’s story is the epitome of people taking their passions in life to the furthest extreme. He did what he loved, and no matter what people say about him, he had good intentions and died the only way he would have wanted to. RIP Timothy!

I could write so much more on this video, so if you have any questions let me know!

Peoples Temple

Influence of Prophets


Today in Global Ethics class we watched a very shocking and mind-boggling video. The video was about the People’s Temple founded by a man named Jim Jones. Jim Jones was obviously a very influential person seeing as though he caused over 900 people to commit suicide. He was responsible for the November 18, 1978 mass murder-suicide. The people of the People’s Temple took cyanide poisoning and many young children died as well. I found this video to be very disturbing. The influence these prophets have on people is ridiculous. What kinds of things was this guy saying to cause such a crowd? Why would people kill themselves just because he said so? I don’t understand why people pay attention so much to prophets. This video made me think of Ishmael because in the book Ishmael, Ishmael talks about how we humans always turn to our prophets for advice. That seemed to be the case for the People’

Jane Goodall Connections

“There isn’t a sharp line dividing humans from the animal kingdom,”

This is the focal point of Jane Goodall’s Ted talk. Throughout most of her ted talk she is trying to bring the voice of the animal kingdom into affect. There isn’t a great distinction between the human race and that of other creatures on this planet. Human arrogance has led us to believe that humans are far greater and advanced than any other living animal on this earth. As Jane points out, this belief is false. Jane Goodall’s speech closely relates to the novel Ishmael. Ishmael expresses essentially the same concerns about the human race as Jane does. Both of which provide us with different viewpoints or perspectives on how humans inevitably supposed to go about living. Mutually, both Ishmael and Jane Goodall have are trying to address the fact that humans are not as dissimilar from other animals as we are told by Mother Culture. Chimpanzees are doing many things that would lead us to believe they are closely related to humans. Some of these marvelous creatures are so intelligent that they are capable of using a computer. These chimps are able to use sign language as a means of communication. One of the most astonishing things that helps me prove further that the line between humans and chimps is distinct is the fact that these chimps have been observed using grass to fish termites out of wood. They have even made their own tools by stripping the leaves off of a branch and later using it to fish out termites. This accomplishment would be considered a human characteristic yet these chimpanzees are capable of doing it. “ We must now redefine man. Redefine tool or accept chimpanzees as humans.” I think this quote is very powerful. It makes you realize that although we have been told different, chimps are more or less very similar to us in many regards. These chimps can kiss, hold hands and make movements similar if not identical to humans. These creatures are able to hunt just like human beings and they even share their pray. All of these things are thought to be human prerogatives in which only we humans are able to accomplish successfully. Both Ishmael and Jane Goodall are trying to raise awareness to the human culture. There are things that we don’t understand and these two are trying to help us understand these things. Ishmael talks about how any organism will automatically assume that it is the juggernaut and the world was made for them. Ishmael and Jane are very similar because they want to create awareness of the problems that we are facing but seem not to care about the after affects. We just take it all in as though its inevitable and destined to happen. These qualities that we assumed were strictly human characteristics are being observed in other species. I think the quote I used before demonstrates this whole idea very well. “ We must now redefine man. Redefine tool or accept chimps as humans.”

Another point that Jane Goodall focuses on is the way humans have carelessly destroyed our environment. She talks about her time in the deep deep tropical rain-forest of Ecuador which can only be reached by plane. She spends time with Indigenous people who are fighting every day to keep their forests. Every day they have to worry about Deforestation because these ignorant and selfish people want oil and wood. This made me think back to the part in Ishmael where he introduces Takers and Leavers. I think this is a perfect example of that. The takers would obviously be the people trying to destroy the forests of these Indigenous people. I don’t see why these people would have to come all the way into the “deep deep tropical rain-forest of Ecuador which can only be reached by plane.” These leavers, Indigenous people, are living reasonably good lives without the fear of the poisoned world. We humans(takers) are destroying this world slowly but surely. We are using up resources like we have an endless supply of them. If we keep on living as though this world was made for humans and only humans we will run into major problems down the road.

One thing Jane Goodall, Wade Davis, Ishmael, Phil Borges and E.O Wilson all have in common is the willingness to explore different ideas. Each one of these individuals are attempting to spread awareness in hopes of making the world a better place. Humans are destroying the world we live in and unless we start to realize that we are not alone on this journey we are doomed. More and more research is being done to prove that humans are not as separated from all other creatures on this earth. Chimpanzees seem to be closely related to us and the only thing that really differentiates the two of us is that we have a sophisticated spoken language. Although we have this language that is so powerful we tend to abuse it. We can use communication to get across just about anything we want. We have the internet, television, videos etc. So much can be done to save the world and I think that’s what each of these individuals is trying to accomplish. Inevitable we’re harming ourselves. The Roots and Shoots program Jane Goodall has started is only a start. The program is in place to give us each hope and to change peoples lives. Hope is in our hands It is up to us. We’re the ones that can make a difference. We can change the world.

Walmart: High cost of low prices

Tyler: “Hey Ryan. You want to go get some fishing lures and go fishing?”
Ryan: “Yeah man. I was thinking we could go over to Dicks or that one small shop downtown.”
Tyler: “Nah, why don’t we just go over to Wal mart? They have cheap stuff and lots to choose from.”
Ryan: “Yeah that’s cool with me”

This is a conversation I actually had with my friend Ryan this summer. I’m sure it would have been said a little bit different but the main idea is still clear. Wal Mart is the answer to many people’s problems. Before watching this movie I would have said only good things about Wal Mart. My friends have worked there. I buy all kinds of outdoors stuff there. I even buy food there sometimes when I’m out with friends. Heck, I’ve even bought clothes there because of the low prices. Wal Mart was like my home away from home when I lived in the US. Anything you could possibly think of you could purchase at Wal Mart. After watching the whole movie it kind of made me sad and angry at the same time. Wal Mart is responsible for worker exploitation; nastily raising prices, practicing monopoly illegally, tax scams, censorship and fraud, for making us believe that Wal Mart is just a normal everyday retail store. This wonderful place that I once knew it is hurting America drastically. I used to love going into Wal Mart because you never knew what new things you would find. I would always get that sticker from the old man who welcomes people. Everybody always seemed like they were in a good mood and pleased to help you find things. What I once thought to be a spectacular place is turning out to be a devastating cause for not only the US but also the entire world. One of the biggest problems people have with Wal Mart is that it is taking over and causing small businesses to shut down. My fondest memory of the video is the very first story. This little store named H & H Hardware located in Middlefield, Ohio was run out of business by the all and powering entity, Wal Mart. This little shop was around for 43 years and was making everybody in the town happy. People would come in for their everyday needs and each person knew one another. I think its sad to see how powerful Wal Mart truly is and how it’s hurting local economies. For every Wal Mart that opens, two small ma and pa shops close down. These Wal Mart CEO’s and managers don’t care about the people. They don’t consider all the things that we are forced to sacrifice. They don’t care about the people who lose their families. All they care about is making money! “We used to drive through town going, 3 months, 6 months, 3 months, 6 months of when they’ll be closing.” This is a quote from Weldon Nicholson, Manager of a Wal Mart for 17 years. It just shows how selfish these people really are. Its sad to see all these little ma and pa shops who regularly received good business be forced to shut down because the drop of sales. I think it’s very cool to see that in some cities people are standing up and saying, “No, you are not building a Wal Mart in our town.” This movie reminds me of Al Gores movie on Global Warming. Both movies are about very serious topics that are happening as we speak. Both are affecting the world but it seems like not many people are aware. I think the best way to get points across is to spread awareness. The more people know the truth the better off the world will be. We need to spread this information and get people to join the bandwagon. Another big problem surrounding Wal Mart is its Inadequate Health Insurance that is remarkably high. “They are a billion dollar company. Why can’t they provide better medical packages for their employees so they can actually afford it.” This is a quote from an irritated employee trying to raise a family. Wal Mart is actually encouraging employees to go on welfare. I think that is ridiculous. Wal Mart is making over 220 billion dollars a year and they can’t provide a reasonably priced medical package? Wal mart doesn’t provide its employees sufficient amounts of money. Most of these people that work at Wal Mart are trying to raise families and bringing in 7 dollars an hour just isn’t cutting it. Low wages and expensive health care packages are causing great distress for these workers. Wal mart drives down its retail wages 3 billion dollars every year. A recent study by the University of California- Berkeley says that Walmart costs tax payers in California 86 million dollars a year. Wal Mart is the world’s largest retail chain and it can’t afford to assist its employee’s one bit? They are able to keep low prices because they are underpaying their workers. They can afford to sell things cheap because they are getting the money they would have lost from their employee’s. Wal mart is destroying the world. People can’t provide their families enough food and small businesses are being shut down because of the competition. Its like trying to race a car on foot. Its physically impossible. After watching this movie I would have to recommend not shopping at Wal mart. The money you spend at wal mart is going up the chain and right into the CEO’s pockets. I don’t think I will shop at Wal Mart anymore because I know that the money I spend will go towards the expansion of more Wal Marts. People have workers right and they aren’t getting that working at Wal Mart. Wal Mart is messing up America and is working on China as we speak! I think this video is a lot more interesting the second time you watch it. After the first time you really don’t have a complete grasp of what is being said. The second time you have a good foundation on the context and it makes it easier to follow. This movie has definitely made me think twice about shopping at Wal Mart again. It will be super hard to convince all of my friends back home but I will give it a shot.

Tyler: “Hey Ryan. You want to go get some fishing lures and go fishing?”
Ryan: “Yeah man. I was thinking we could go to Wal Mart?”
Tyler: “No way man! Wal Mart is bad news. Haven’t you watched the movie, Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price?”
Ryan: “No. Should I watch it?”
Tyler: “Yeah. In the meantime, lets go to that little sports shop downtown.”
Ryan: “Yeah sure!”

Ishmael blog #1

In Global Ethics class for the past few weeks we have been reading the book, Ishmael. In a nutshell the novel is about a gorilla named Ishmael that presents an alternative view of human history to a pupil who is looking to save the world. This alternative view is a proposal for a different program for human lifestyle change. We are at the point now where Ishmael introduces the presence of a law. More specifically, it is the Law of life.

“It is the peace-keeping law, the law that keeps the community from turning into the howling chaos the Takers imagine it to be. It’s the law that fosters life for all---life for grasses, life for the grasshopper that feeds on the grasses, life for the quail that feeds on the grasshopper, life for the fox that feeds on the quail, life for the crows that feed on the dead fox.”

This quote makes me think back to E.O. Wilson’s ted talk about interconnectedness. In his ted talk he talked about how all things are connected and if one thing gets disconnected a catastrophe is bound to happen. That’s exactly what this law is stating. We all must follow this law or else death is inevitable. Take for example the A,B and C society. You would look at their way of doing things as inhumane and horrible but in reality it is working. They have a law that they follow invariably and they are a successful society. The only problem is that this example is not in any way real. We have this problem in our own society. There are rules that we must abide by and if we don’t we are inevitably going to become extinct. One thing we know is that Man is subject to unalterable Laws of life. This meaning that we have a Law for life just like we do for aerodynamics and gravity. We must follow this law or we will be forced to pay major consequences. We takers are assured that these laws don’t apply to us. What we don’t know is that whoever and whatever violates the laws will become extinct. We tend to be ignorant towards the whole idea that we have a law. We have gotten to the point where we think we are better than everything else and that it doesn’t need to apply to us. Ignorance of these laws does not in any way lessen their effects. I like the analogy about how we’ve jumped off a cliff in our civilizational aircraft and that although we believe we’re flying, we are actually accelerating at a constant rate and are bound for collision with the earth. A crash is imminent but we tend to avoid that and say that there is no problem. We think we will be OK if we just keep pedaling harder. There are many things that the Takers do that native people or natural systems would not. We exterminate our enemies. We don’t just kill because we need food. We kill because we want vengeance for something that has happened. We are the only species on earth that will purposely kill another living creature because we can. Hitler is a prime example of how we exterminate our enemies. We also destroy our enemies’ food supply. The rule we are following right now is that every square foot of this planet belongs to us. We can put it all under cultivation, which means that our opponents are out of luck and are forced to become extinct. We need to take what we need, and leave the rest alone. This leads me to the last thing that takers do that is never done in the rest of the community. We store excess food when we don’t need it. We are greedy and take as much of a certain something as we can because we can. You don’t see a lion kill 2 gazelles in hopes of saving one for the next day. One of the main ideas that I have drawn from this reading is that with diversity of species we are ensuring ourselves survival and peace for all. One species exempting itself from these laws would undoubtedly threaten all other species. We would end up with a community in which diversity is destroyed in order to support the expansion of one species. This again goes back to the few ted talks that we watched. Right now it seems that the takers are at war with the world. This seems kind of strange because we are actually trying to make the world a better place. How can so many people think we are making the world better when we are really making it worse? I don’t think we would necessarily have to be at war with the world if we would just give up on trying to reach unlimited growth. I think if we had to define the biggest problem with our society(taker society) it would have to be Competition. Competition is the lead cause for almost all of our problems. We compete for so many things and its hurting us in the long run. I will talk more about this problem in a later blog entry. The law of life is not optional. “Any species that exempts itself from the rules of competition ends up destroying the community in order to support its own expansion.” There’s one thing we need to remember. If we all obey the laws of life we can live in a nice, peaceful and diverse community where everybody and everything is happy just like the A, B and C community.

Artic Tale

This documentary film from the National Geographic Society about the life cycle of a walrus and her calf, and a polar bear and her cubs, is just phenomenal. I thought the footage was very professional and remarkably done. I think it’s incredible to actually see the lives of these animals so intimately. I couldn’t believe some of the camera angles that these photographers were able to utilize. As you can probably tell, I am extremely fond of the way this video was created. I love animals, and by scrutinizing the polar bear and walrus’ life, I learned a lot about how these animals live. I thought it was unbelievable how the baby walruses memorize the whiskers on the elder walruses. This whole idea is just unbelievable. Another thing that I felt was pretty interesting was the fact that the polar bears can smell through 3 feet of ice. That just goes to show you how much stronger some animals noses are than ours.

Throughout this video, a few things struck me pretty hard. First, I will talk about animal emotions, specifically, the polar bear and the walrus. These animals showed so many signs of emotions throughout this video, that I began thinking human beings experiencing the same emotions as these bears and walruses. It actually made me think of Jane Goodall. She said in her Ted talk something about how humans aren’t as far above all other creatures as we would like to think. I thought it was incredible to watch these animals show emotion. The fact that these photographers were able to capture it all on tape is extraordinary. I can vividly remember four good examples of emotion being portrayed in this documentary. When Nanu’s brother became ill, and eventually passed away, Nanu and her mother actually cuddled with him. Instead of continuing on their way(due to Global Warming, which I will touch upon a bit later), they stayed and showed the brother that they love him. This was one of the times I took these animal emotions and tried applying them to my family. I think it is amazing to see these animals express themselves the way they do. Also, during this same scene, Nanu can be seen licking her mothers head, which I feel shows empathy. She knows, she being Nanu, that her mother is hurting because of this loss and she tries to comfort her mother. When Nanu and her mother had to part ways is another example of these bears showing emotion. You can speculate, just from watching the relationship between the mother and daughter, that they were feeling pain and were both sad. This scene actually made me feel kind of sad as well, but for another reason. Not because the bears were parting ways, but because I know I will have to do the same in a year and a half. All of us will be leaving for college, and our parents won’t be coming along for the ride. The only difference between us and the polar bears and walruses is that we have had 18 years with our parents, while they only have three years. Nonetheless, this scene made me think of my future and really had an impact on me. The scene where Auntie sacrifices herself definitely shows emotion as well. She doesn’t want anything to happen to Seela, so she did what she had to do. You can sort of see the sadness that Seela felt during this part of the film. In the end of the film, they show Nanu and her new “boyfriend”, playing around in the snow. This was a good example of how these bears can show love and affection. At one point, the two bears just lied on the ground, motionless. There were many other times throughout this film that these animals expressed certain emotions but I think I touched upon the more important ones.

I think the main message of this documentary had to do with Global Warming, which again made me think back to our first semester. I remember watching Mr. Loken’s polar bear video back when we talked about endangered animals. Now, I feel like I have a better understanding of why Polar bears are becoming extinct. These bears, and other creatures, are forced to partake in a trek across the Artic to more suitable land/ice. The reason they are forced to travel is due to shorter winters and ice that freezes later and melts sooner. The ice is melting faster and faster each day and is expected to be completely gone by 2040. I was shocked to hear that Polar bears miss their prey 19 out of 20 attempts. So, between not having strong, sturdy icebergs and having a shortage of food, the polar bears (and Walruses and other Artic creatures) face much adversity. The reason Nanu actually had to leave her mother earlier than is customary is because of the changing climate conditions. Global Warming is very detrimental to our earth, and if precautions are not taken, we are in for a short and abrupt ending. I thought this video was very powerful and an ideal portrayal of what we are doing in the classroom.

(Sorry if my wording gets a little messy towards the end. I’m really tired!)

Animal Emotions Questions

Ask the experimenters why they experiment on
animals, and the answer is: "Because the animals
are like us." Ask the experimenters why it is
morally okay to experiment on animals, and the
answer is: "Because the animals are not like us."
Animal experimentation rests on a logical contradiction. ~Charles R. Magel


Do we have an ethical responsibility toward animals?

I really don’t know the answer to this question. I’m sure we might have some obligation to respect animals but it doesn’t seem like this is happening. We kill animals for food so we don’t go hungry. I was thinking yesterday about how many animals we must kill each day just to support our needs. Almost everything I eat can somehow be tied back to an animal. I think its easier to accept the fact that I’m not the one killing the animals. I just eat them which is fine with me because it tastes good. I think if I were to experience the whole process I would be sad and think twice before I stuck another piece of steak in my mouth. I respect animals and I think we might have an ethical responsibility toward animals but I’m really not sure. I hope to learn more this semester so I can answer this question with certainty.


Do animals have emotions? Give examples if possible.

Again, this is a really tough question. I don’t have enough background information to answer this at a high level. I’m not sure if all animals have emotions though. I kicked my cat down the stairs last night and she kept coming back. You would think she would have stopped but she didn’t. Animals don’t stay mad. Its hard to believe that animals could have emotions but then I don’t know a lot yet. My guy instinct tells me that they do have emotions, which is why we are covering this topic this semester. We will see how us humans are determining how the destiny of these animals. I really look forward to seeing some examples of how animals have emotions. I think it will be pretty interesting.

Fast Food Nation

I thought that the movie Fast Food Nation was very interesting. It was a real wake up call for me. My whole life I grew up in the United States eating fast food. I never took into consideration that I could possibly be eating meat or all the animal cruelty that has gone into the production of our food. The main reason this video interested me is that in the US I butcher pigs with my family. Once a year we order around 15 pigs and shoot them one by one in the head. I always accepted it as normal and part of every day life. I actually helped slit the pigs’ throats so they would die sooner. I kind of just did it because its what I was told to do and because I wanted to eat pig meat. I honestly never thought about animal cruelty or how animals have emotions. Those pigs don’t want to die. Now that I recall, I can remember the pigs screaming for their life as blood gushed from their throats. I thought the movie was very informative in that it provided examples of how we are abusing animals. I don’t know if it will prevent me from eating fast food but it definitely made me think. I sincerely believe that if I were involved in the production process, I would be a vegetarian. I think its easier to be on the receiving end of the meat process because then you don’t really know what has been put into it. I’m thinking about reading the novel, Fast Food Nation. I heard its better than the movie and provides more examples. Overall I thought the video was good because it didn’t just talk about the fast food side of it. It included Mexicans jumping the border and it really portrayed reality. I will write a second blog entry in the future after I read the novel.

God's Must Be Crazy reflection

The past two days in Global ethics we watched a very funny movie called, The gods must be crazy. Before reading the novel, Ishmael, this video would have just been a comedy to me. After reading Ishmael I was able to make connections between the two that I wouldn’t have been able to previously. This movie helped me picture what we have been talking about in class the last few weeks. We have been talking a lot about the takers and leavers and what each group does differently. In this video both stories are being told. The Bushmen are obviously the Leavers while the guys with guns would be considered the Takers. I found the main character, Xi, to be very interesting. In the beginning he was oblivious to everything. He knew only what he had been taught and knew nothing about other things. I guess that makes sense. How can you know something you don’t know? In the beginning Xi was innocent and was living a happy life. He and his tribe were able to find food when they needed it, and they put leaves out to collect water. There was no crime, fighting, punishment and no bosses. I think the main thing I got from this movie was comparing and contrasting the two concepts of takers and leavers. The first thing I saw that reminded me of Ishmael was when they killed that animal with the dart. I remember talking about the laws of life and how the Takers kill even though its not for food. I think its cool how the Bushmen were able to kill this animal and then apologize to it, saying the family needs it to survive. This is one difference between takers and leavers. Takers will kill for the sake of killing while leavers will only kill if its necessary. The Bushmen had no sense of ownership either. They didn’t even know what ownership was until the coke bottle arrived. Something that stuck me was the American lady who delivered mail to her neighbor by car. I think that demonstrates how much we take advantage of things. We created the car in hopes of being able to travel long distances because other wise its too hard. We the takers are lazy!!! I thought it was also neat how the Bushmen didn’t have any set schedules or times. I think the takers tend to get too caught up in schedules and having to be here at this time and then there at so and so time. Throughout this movie I actually thought about what it would be like to be part of the Bushmen tribe. Walk around half naked and never have a fight or argument. I wouldn’t have to worry about SAT’s and getting into college. I wouldn’t have to buy an apartment and settle. I wouldn’t have to go to the grocery store every week to buy food. I wouldn’t have to buy gas to drive my car. I wouldn’t have to wake up each morning knowing that I could die today. I said I thought hard about wanting to join this leaver culture but in reality, I don’t think I could. Not after living in the taker culture anyway. I appreciate the things I have here and although a lot of my troubles would go away, I would most likely want to stay. This reminded me of Ishmael when they talk about the homeless person. A homeless person doesn’t reap the benefits of society. They are poor and don’t have enough food. They sleep outside and get weird looks. With all this happening they would still be hesitant to go back in time and become a taker. I think the fact that we wouldn’t want to go back in time is astonishing. I guess you would have to wipe my memory for me to do it: because without the knowledge of this place I could be content living in Africa with the Bushmen. I think the biggest turning point in the movie, The God’s must be crazy is when the coke bottle falls from the sky. From there on out you can really notice a change in the way the Bushmen behave. All those things that I was saying they didn’t do started to become apparent in their everyday relationships. Wanting of ownership sprang about as well as anger, jealously, hate and violence. It made them unhappy The way they treated the coke bottle amazes me. They started using it to play music, rub snake skin, make headbands, smash roots and beat things. It became a tool that everybody wanted because no one had seen it before. That single coke bottle took their innocence without them knowing it. Eventually they realize that they don’t want this change in the tribe. They decide that its causing them too much trouble and they must get rid of it. They believe the gods gave it to them, which again shows their innocence and how much they know outside of what they have. An example I saw of a taker culture is when the men with guns raided the small city and took their food. That’s one of the four things takers do to disobey the laws of life. Like I said, the main thing I got from this video was a comparison between taker and leaver culture. Its neat to watch Xi, a leaver, react in a taker environment. When he gets put in prison he doesn’t know how to act. He doesn’t know what prison is. For all he knows it could be a good thing or a bad thing. Also the gunshot was another new experience for Xi. He must have thought it was thunder. He’s never seen a gun in his life so its all new to him. I think this video was very interesting. It’s an older movie but I didn’t seem to notice too much. It was very funny and helped me to picture our discussions in class. I would definitely watch this movie again.

Unicorns of the sea: Dying in the depths

Species are at risk as global warming makes feeding, migration and even breathing critically difficult. By Geoffrey Lean

Narwhals, the "unicorns" of the sea, are in particular danger as whales and dolphins, already depleted by centuries of hunting, are driven towards extinction by global warming, a new report reveals.

Whales that depend on the edges of rapidly retreating polar ice - the narwhal, beluga, bowhead and right whales - are especially vulnerable, as are those living in particularly restricted areas, such as the northern end of the Gulf of California. Those that migrate thousands of miles may be at risk from changes along their route.

The narwhal, the male of which has a left tooth that juts eight feet from its skull, has long fascinated the world. Elizabeth I paid £10,000, more than for a new castle, for a single spiralled tusk. The royal sceptre is made from one.

By some estimates, narwhal numbers are now falling by as much as 10 per cent a year. As the Arctic ice shrinks, their food is also diminishing.

To make things even worse, adds the report by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society to be published soon in the nature conservation journal 'Oryx', an anomaly in climate change is leading to more ice in and around Baffin Bay, in northern Canada, the narwhal's main wintering area. This is freezing over the cracks in the ice and patches of open water where they need to surface to breathe.

White beluga whales and the bowhead whale are similarly threatened by the retreating ice, while the right whale is a victim of changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation, which is related to the Pacific weather system that causes El Niño.

But perhaps the most endangered species of all identified by the report is the rare vaquita dolphin, found in the Gulf of California. As the seas warm, marine species usually head for cooler waters, but the vaquita has no escape route as its way north is blocked by land. Mediterranean fin whales and humpback whales in the northern Indian Ocean may be caught in similar marine cul-de-sacs, while white-beaked dolphins living over continental shelves off north-west Scotland also have nowhere to go.

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