Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Mr. Pettit II

Everyone had to give a global warming speech in Mckenna's 'life skills' class. Most were gloom and doom. Mckenna's was very upbeat, challenged the BS numbers given by Al Gore and others, showed how just recently the fear was the coming ice age, and dealt with the 'overpopulation' myth....(pointed out that you could put the entire earth population in Texas, and they'd each get 2000 square feet to live in)
Mckenna was sure she'd get a bad grade since she challenged Mr. Pettit on everything he claimed. The class got to vote for the best speech and she won. Mr Pettit, to his credit, gave her a 49 out of 50 possible points.
What's too bad is, kids will eventually see through the rhetoric and gross overstatements, and make the conclusion that conservation doesn't really matter. If we concentrated on teaching kids the benefits of acting locally--how eating food cooked at home generates less trash, is cheaper and better for you; how bottled water is a waste, and how biking somewhere nearby instead of driving is an option.... instead of telling them our whole way of life is killing the planet, you'd probably have a greater impact. A kid can recycle a can. A kid can't understand a gross reduction of their carbon footprint...

8 comments:

Tina said...

happy earth day.

My most un-favorite un-holiday ever created.

It's a load of propoganda. I still can't find any answers on how to safely dispose of the few CFL lights we bought (that burned out faster than the regular ones!).

I really wish they would have chosen a different day vs. my birthday. Feb 29 might have been okay...

Unknown said...

Not sure if they subjected your kids to Gores film or not.

This should be of interested either way. http://newsbusters.org/node/20680?q=blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/04/22/abc-s-20-20-gore-used-fictional-film-clip-inconvenient-truth

princess slea said...

i spent yesterday afternoon at our local nature preserve, "Humiston Woods".
we had tables with basic easy information on what you can do to re-use and re-think items so that they don't go in the landfill.
say what you will but the drive to and from the beautiful woods is interrupted by two enormous mountains of garbage that is growing and growing. with the summer heat will also come the awful stench. whatever you think of "global warming" you cannot deny we humans are making a big mess.

glad you got the shirt, hope it fits. i wasn't sure on the size and that style looked to run a little big.

Unknown said...

Hold people accountable for the mess they make?

keeka said...

It would be a happy earth day if we didn't have the doom and gloomers ruining it for everyone who actually does things like recycle etc. I mean, yes, our family drives an excursion, but we recycle, we don't drive willie nillie everywhere, we walk when we can, we use the small car when we can, but hey if you are going on vacation to canada, and you are driving, you want a nice roomy vehicle that can carry all the cr--, I mean junk that two adults and two kids bring! Plus eight seats fills our car when we have to bring kids or family along somewhere!

flyingvan said...

Well, my whole point is, there ARE things we can and should do. We cook from scratch and sevelop very little trash.....if we picnic, we end up throwing out a few scraps of saran wrap---that's it..... My beef is with having to grossly overstate stuff to try to get people to change or feel guilty for living

princess slea said...

i don't think i'm the doom and gloom type but i do have to fess up that after our son's birthday party last night, i did dig out all the cans and bottles that people put in the garbage instead of the recycle bin.

i tend to pretty much be level on most issues. not too far left or right. don't think things are black or white. independent vs. rep. or dem.
i will make a stand on one issue though. Gene Wilder is definitely the better Wonka!

Tina said...

Leaving out the bit with his father, the Johnny Depp version of the book is much more true to Roald Dahl.

I would LOVE to see Charlie & the Great Glass Elevator - my favorite Roald Dahl book by far (over Matilda & the BFG, etc.)

SCRAM!

Love it.