Graded In-Class Writing

When examining the speech "The Living Spirit of the Indian" by Luther Standing Bear, one can pick up on the theme of Indians verses Europeans in relation to ruling the land. He says that the white men are "too far removed from [Earth's] formative processes," so how can they have any say in the ruling of the land? Standing Bear points out that the Indians are and have always been deeply rooted in the Earth and all of its processes; they are the most in tune with the spirit of nature, so they should ultimately be there rulers instead of those of European descent.

Similarly, the speech supposedly given by Chief Seattle also depicts a theme of Indians verses Europeans; however, this theme of this piece compares the religions of the Indians and the Europeans, rather than land ownership. In this speech, Chief Seattle talks about how the European people's God has no interest in helping the Indians and He only cares about the interests of his "pale-faced children" as opposed to his "Red children." Chief Seattle goes on to say that since the European's God never cared for them, that they are of two completely separate and distinct origins. He goes on to list all of the blatant differences between the two cultures, such as how the Indians always stay near their buried ancestors while Europeans move away from them, or how their religion is based on their ancestors while the European’s religion is based on God’s law.

The controversy centered on Chief Seattle’s speech deals with the actual originator of the speech. According to the article, “Chief Seattle's Speech Revisited,” by Arnold Krupat, there are several reasons why Chief Seattle could not have given this speech as recorded by Henry Smith. One of the biggest reasons is because there is no record of Smith ever being present at the time Chief Seattle supposedly gave this speech. Another reason is because in two separate events, Smith describes Chief Seattle’s physical appearance in two radically different ways. According to Krupat, Smith described Seattle as “was the largest Indian I ever saw, and by far the noblest looking. He stood nearly six feet in his moccasins, was broad shouldered, deep chested and finely proportioned (Krupat np).” Another writer about 4 years later describes ‘"Seattle was short and heavy, weighing as much as 180 pounds. He was round-shouldered. . . . His face was refined and benevolent but not particularly strong.” (Krupat np)’ These are obiviously two completely different descriptions of supposedly the same person so this evidence, in addition to the lack of records confirming Smith’s attendance at Chief Seattle’s speech shows how Chief Seattle may not be the true author of the speech.

Krupat, Arnold. "Chief Seattle's Speech Revisited." The American Indian Quarterly 35.2 (2011): 192-214. Project MUSE. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.

"Authorship" of Chief Seattle's Speech

Peer-Reviewed Article

Based on the article, "Chief Seattle's Speech Revisited," there are several reasons why Chief Seattle could not have given the speech as later 'recorded' by Henry Smith. The first reason is that there was no record indicating that Henry Smith was ever present at the speech that Chief Seattle made. The second is that Smith describes Chief Seattle's physical description in 2 totally different ways, so there could be no way from him to have seen Seattle when he made the first speech. If both of these are true, then there could have been no possible way for Smith to have taken accurate "notes" at Seattle's speech, which indicates the very real possibility that Smith made the speech up. Even though this speech is very moving and descriptive, there is no way the Seattle could have said this speech in the way the Smith outlines it in his writings.

Eco-Friendly Building Materials

Eco-Friendly Building Material to be Presented at Conference

This article describes a small, one-room model house that was constructed out of eco-friendly building materials. It says that this model house will serve as an example for builders and architects all over the world to use in construction of new homes or retrofitting existing homes with completely "green" materials. It is important for people to start thinking about using these materials so that we can reduce waste products and cut the amount of energy our houses use. These materials will not only cut down on costs that used to be associated with building or remodeling a house but also help to make our environment a cleaner, safer place to be.

Environmental Ethics Artifact

I thought that this picture was very interesting in dealing with environmental ethics. This picture displays different forms or energy (windmills and a incandescent light bulb) with a picture of nature inside the light bulb. To me, this demonstrates how everyone should be responsible for taking care of our environment. One way this is illustrated in this picture is by using alternative energy sources. When people start using alternative energy sources, we can all help a little bit in cleaning up our environment.

Religion and the Environment

I read the article "Religious environmentalism as a vital contribution to sustainability" by Anne White of University of Calgary for this assignment in interdisciplinary subjects. In this article, Anne White discusses the spiritual and other reasons for why humans do not treat Earth as we should. The main reason is because we are a self-serving people by nature, as described in most world religions. We all like to make things more centered the individual as opposed to the community as a whole. As outlined in most world religions, we need to shift the focus from ourselves to the world around us. I tend to agree with the conclusions that Ms. White reaches because I too believe that the world is too focused on the individual and we need to make a drastic change to save our planet.

"The 5 Best Nature-Inspired Green Technologies"

This article outlines 5 unique and interesting technologies that have been developed by studying different aspects of nature, like how plants make energy. My favorite technology that is outlined in this piece is the LEAF, which uses dew-drop formation, like in the leaf of a plant to collect, and store water for household environments. I also thought that the jellyfish inspired air purifier was quite interesting because it uses the body structure of a jellyfish to balance the weight evenly so it can stand upright on its own. This technology uses a liquid inside the "jellyfish" to purify the air. The other technologies are also interesting, making use of solar panels and other durable materials to be able to function in our environment without actually damaging it.

http://www.greendiary.com/entry/5-nature-inspired-green-technologies/