Take Back the Tap! (Lead Blog Length)

In honor of the approaching Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22^nd, I will examine the negative effects of bottled water. There is a certain ease and convenience of prepackaged bottled water. I usually grab one before heading to soccer practice or the gym. Vending machines cover shopping centers and college campuses which spit out bottles of water for the nearest paying customer. A nationwide Ban the Bottle Campaign has taken a stand against the use of bottled water. “Last year, the average American used 167 disposable water bottles, but only recycled 38,” states the advocates of the Ban the Bottle Campaign. The energy used to bottle a year’s consumption of water bottles could be used to fuel 190,000 homes. In short, water bottles are a wasteful use of resources and damage the environment.

Ban the Bottle claims that reducing the use of bottled water will improve the environment while keeping more money in the pocket of the consumer. The environmentalist claim, “The recommended eight glasses of water a day, at U.S. tap rates equals about $.49 per year; that same amount of bottled water is about $1,400.” The environmentalists recommend purchasing a high quality water bottle to fill with tap water instead of repeatedly using bottled water. It has been estimated that it takes 450 years for plastic to decompose after it has been thrown out. Ban the Bottle further claims, “Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year. However, the U.S.’s recycling rate for plastic is only 23 percent, which means 38 billion water bottles – more than $1 billion worth of plastic – are wasted each year.”

The most common excuse for Americans not using reusable water bottles is the claim that bottled water is healthier than tap water. However, considering the regulations of health and sanitation, Ban the Bottle states, “In the U.S., public water is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, which requires multiple daily tests for bacteria and makes results available to the public. The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates bottled water, only requires weekly testing and does not share its findings with the EPA or the public.” There is no reason to believe that bottled water is a safer alternative to tap water. Ban the Bottle recommends using a filtered water pitcher if you do not like the taste of your bottled water.

The effects of this campaign can be seen on Furman’s campus. If you look at our vending machines on campus, the price of each individual water bottle has increased by $0.25 totaling $1.50 for each bottle. Furman’s Plastic Bottle Campaign was implemented on April 1^st of this year, and will use the funds it earns from the tax to provide more water bottle filling stations in central locations on Furman’s campus. Their future goal is to “eventually eliminate the sale of plastic water bottles on Furman’s campus.” Similar campaigns have reached colleges and universities throughout America including “Take Back the Tap” at University of Nevada Las Vegas and “Tap That” at Vassar College. Perhaps this effort of colleges to eliminate the use of plastic bottles will spread across the nation and reduce our wasteful consumption of plastic.

http://www.banthebottle.net/bottled-water-facts/

Furman Engaged!

 The purpose of Furman Engaged is to “celebrate the wide variety of undergraduate research, scholarship, and creativity of our undergraduates” by showcasing undergraduate research in varying types of presentations around Furman University’s campus. I personally perused through a variety of posters in the PAC and attended the International Food Festival. I experienced the purpose of Furman Engaged first hand by witnessing the eclectic mix of research ranging from river cleanups to Disney World ride times.

The International Food Festival was arranged as a “tour around the world” with stations piled with food from different cultures. Each dish celebrated the culture and history of its country.

  

The first station featured food from the Middle East and India. Puff pastries and spicy chicken imported the mind directly to the Taj Mahal. 

         The second station featured traditional drinks from Mexico. Horchata, a sweet, spiced rice based drink was showcased. Other drinks included Limonada, sweetened lime juice rich in pulp and rinds, and Mango juice which also included pulp. The inclusion of pulp and rinds in these juices surprised me, considering American's usual aversion towards pulp.

                                   

        The Korean food station provided insight into one of the Korean traditions: drinking seaweed soup, miyeokguk, on birthdays. According to legend, this tradition started in the Goryeo Dynasty when people witnessed whales consuming seaweed after giving birth. Now Koreans drink miyeokguk on their birthdays in order to remember the hard work their mothers did birthing and raising them.

                                

        At the Japanese station, I learned that the uncut sushi is actually called ehomaki. They are also called fortune rolls and eaten on February 2, facing the year's lucky direction. The Japanese make wishes for the new year in silence while eating them during the festival of Setsubun. 

                                   

      The Russia station featured crepes, or Blini with fresh fruit. I was somewhat surprised that such a delicate dessert was a tradition in Russia. According to legend, the first blini was created by a weary traveler accidentally leaving oat jelly on the skillet, creating the first blini.

                             

      The last station featured spicy ground beef and rice from Cuba. This type of food likely originated after the introduction of cattle by its conquerors from Europe. This particular recipes symbolizes the spices of Cuba mixed with the cattle of Europe. A true mixture of cultures was represented in this dish that occurred from the Columbian Exchange.

      From this experience of tasting foods from many cultures of the world, I saw the influence of history and tradition in the preparation of each. The significance of each food is celebrated in each culture's festivals and holidays. 

Article Links:

http://russiapedia.rt.com/of-russian-origin/blini/ 

http://crazykoreancooking.com/recipe/miyeokguk-korean-seaweed-soup 

http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japanesefestivals/a/setsubun.htm

A Virtuous Inequality

The influence that sports have on American culture is massive. Millions of dollars are spent each year fueling the competitive side of America, as millions watch their favorite sports teams play one another. From this cultural phenomenon, spurs a puzzling conundrum: why do professional athletes make way more money than other professions which contribute more overall good to society?

For example, the noble profession of the teacher at the elementary school level make a mean salary of only $45,600 a year. Teachers are very important members of society, for they are responsible for educating America’s youth. This education sets children up for success in higher education at a college level, and instructs youth in the importance of continuing democracy. In contrast, the average salary of a professional football player is $1.9 million a year. No one would dispute that teachers are more important to maintain a successful country than professional football players; however, this importance is not reflected in their pay grade.

At first glance, this system seems to reflect injustice; however, the high wages of professional athletes is caused by simple supply and demand. Sports in America are massive revenue-generating opportunities, and there is simply a low supply of athletes that can compete at the highest level of skill that occurs in professional settings. A shallow view of the economy is taken when there is outrage at the large gap between professional athletes and normal professions. Personal significance is placed upon the teachers of our youth, who instructed us in the ways of the world, and prepared us for our future. We understand the intrinsic value of our teachers, but we must also understand that at the end of the day these same teachers kick back and watch their favorite sports team too.

Money does not reflect the intrinsic value that noble professions like teachers, soldiers in the military, policemen, and firefighters have in society. One could argue that there is a sort of a higher calling driving these men and women to work these occupations, and not the lure of high salaries. Does this make them more virtuous citizens for choosing to work for the wellbeing of society instead of higher pay grades?

Article Links:

http://www.careerprofiles.info/salaries.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/charts-expose-how-badly-nfl-players-get-paid-2013-9

On The Errors of the Sequel

    The movie industry is responsible for creating fantastic cinema to transport the seated mind into an alternative universe. As the average movie goer sits in his plush, oversized theatre seat with his bucket of buttered popcorn anchored between his knees and large bubbling Coke, he expects an experience instead of just a movie. The sounds surround him as he stares up at an epic car chase scene. She wipes her tears as two lovers must say goodbye. To go to the movies is an experience, that differs in compare to a Friday night rental. 
    However, the movie industry is very aware of the revenue it generates from the service is provides; and thus the sequel was invented. The sequel exists as a continuation of an original movie, often featuring the same characters. The merit of the sequel comes from the popularity of the original movie. Though the sequel can sometimes act as an individual movie, the interest that it generates stems from the fans of the original movie. The sequel is often a cheap imitation of the first movie, created not for its superior plot but for its ability to create profit from the popularity of the original movie. 
    A trend has surfaced over the past decade concerning series of movies like Harry Potter, Twilight, and the Hunger Games trilogy. The final movie of the series was divided into two feature length movies in order to make more profit. After the series has hooked fans into its fantasy, the need to know how it ends drives customers to shell out money for two movie experiences instead of one. The personal utility that a movie series offers a consumer causes his demand to become more inelastic, and the more money he puts into watching every movie in a series is a sort of investment to reach the end. The movie understands and profits from this as they stretch out the series to earn every scrap of money possible from these series. 
   When the purpose of the movie industry becomes making money through these tricks played on the consumer, the quality of cinema decreases. Consumers desire their favorite characters and movies to be treated with respect and not as a profit-generating ploy. Does anyone even like Rocky V?

The Pursuit of Wealth

The individual’s right to making decisions concerning the distribution of one’s wealth in the U. S. is that individual’s decision alone. Most tycoons of industry distribute some of their wealth to noble causes, while living lives of the luxury they have earned through their labor. Often, trust funds are set up to ensure the hereditary distribution of wealth. In contrast, Andrew Carnegie, mogul of the oil industry, set out to distribute his wealth to charity in his lifetime. He was one of the few wealthy industrialists to see the positive effects of his charity.

Perhaps Carnegie and other tycoons who followed his example had read what the Roman Catholic theologian, Thomas Aquinas, authored concerning the pursuit of wealth. Among his many various interests, Aquinas examined the factors which are typically associated with happiness including wealth, honors, power, health, and pleasure. Thomas Aquinas argues, “For wealth of this kind is sought for the sake of something else, as a support of human nature.” Pursuing wealth, therefore, is insatiable, for there will never an amount after it’s been acquired that can satisfy the soul. There is always a new technology, luxury, or pleasure for purchase. Wealth only offers the gratifying of wants and needs that continuously reoccur throughout a lifetime.

               Thomas Aquinas views the soul of a human as the only eternal element existing in a human. Therefore, the soul can understand eternality and finds happiness in the vision of the Divine Essence. It naturally seeks to know and understand its cause, or God. Only when a soul achieves this understanding of eternal law, or the inner workings of the universe can it attain its final happiness.

               From this one can imply that Carnegie understands the transient nature of life, and he nobly desires to rid himself of his wealth in his lifetime. He did not find happiness in wealth. Maybe this is something that the modern American can take into consideration when he chooses ambitious goals over virtue. The pursuit of wealth is not necessarily the pursuit of happiness.

Inconveniences

      There's something thrilling about boarding a flight. Whether it's to a foreign country or a conference for work or in my case, a flight home from Greenville, South Carolina to Fernandina Beach, Florida. Once you finally board the plane, you find your seat and gaze out the window. You watch as the proportions rapidly change, shrinking cars and trees, and buildings until you can see an entire suburban neighborhood from your seat among the clouds. Usually a flight attendant hands you a cold Coke product and a tiny packet of pretzels to thoroughly enjoy your flight. This entire experience is dependent on one simple fact, one must first make his/her flight. 
       On my journey home to Florida, it's necessary to connect in Charlotte due to the unavailability of direct flights. This particular trip home, I ran into a number of issues making my connection in Charlotte. Once I boarded my first flight, we took off 35 minutes late. Once we landed in Charlotte, I realized that I had a grand total of 15 minutes until my connection took off. I grabbed my shiny red suitcase and sprinted from Gate E to Gate A. Unbeknownst to me, one of my wheels broke off my suitcase, so I dragged a 30 pound suitcase for ten minutes to my Gate. Sweaty and exhausted, I made my flight by 3 minutes. 
      This narrow escape from having to shuffle all my travel plans made me question the efficiency of air travel. Passengers pay through their teeth for tickets, and yet are victims of gate changes, delays, flight cancelations, inept workers, and overall inefficiency. In a normal business structure in the United States, this inefficiency would not tolerated. The monopolistic power of airlines is difficult to break. There are often limited options concerning travel. Travel by air is the most direct and speedy option. Therein lies the power of the monopoly: consumer dependence on this service causes our demand to be inelastic. There is no other form of travel that can compete as a substitute service. Therefore, this international inefficiency continues to effect travelers in every continent. 

Meet Lammily

The typical American girl plays with Barbie dolls from the beginning of her childhood. Since 1959, Barbie dolls have been a staple in the every American girl’s toy box. Young girls sit around miniature tables and attend imaginary tea parties with Barbie as their guest of honor. They brush her long platinum blonde hair and dress her in the latest fashion. Barbie is perfect. She is tall, has long tan plastic legs, a miniscule waist, huge breasts, and flashes her plastic smile at the world. She possesses unobtainable measurements, yet serves as a role model for young girls everywhere. Barbie’s impossible standards are damaging to the developing mind of a young girl. Girls strive to achieve this unobtainable perfection that they see in Barbie, and this is an impossible task.

Last year, Nickolay Lamm developed an alternative take on the typical Barbie doll. She’s called Lammily. Lammily was created by taking the average weight and measurements of an American 19 year old teenager. The Lammily doll sets more realistic beauty standards for young girls. She has toned-down makeup, brown hair, and looks fit and strong (WIKIPEDIA). She is marketed by the slogan, “Average is Beautiful.” The company takes this slogan seriously. Lammily’s clothing is less extravagant and appears to look like the clothing of the average American. There is even a sticker pack that you can purchase which contains stretch marks, freckles, acne, moles, scars, and casts to place on your doll. The developers made Lammily into the “normal Barbie.” She represents real girls in the real world.

The “normal Barbie” promotes self-confidence by representing real life. Real girls have muscle, scrapes, and bruises. Real girls wear comfy clothing and get acne. Becoming a Barbie is an unrealistic expectation imposed on young girls who look up to this flawless figure and desire to have a tiny waist like she does. The Lammily doll is a step in the right direction for establishing self-confidence at a young age by providing an alternative role model for girls to follow because average is beautiful too.

The Economics of Valentine's Day

This year I experienced Valentine’s Day to the fullest extent. I live on a hall with twenty other girls, half of which are in relationships. Our hall was filled with balloons, Valentine’s Day cards, flowers, and candy. I personally passed out elementary school style valentines to my hall mates. There were romantic dinners and single ladies’ nights and even a “Love Sucks” party to attend. I witnessed every side of college student viewpoints on love. However, in the aftermath of the cheesiest day of the year, I could not help wonder what motivates people to participate in Valentine’s Day.

For those in relationships, Valentine’s Day is a tool to determine the level of your partner’s affection. “The value of Valentine’s Day is that it creates an environment in which those in relationships can get information about how committed their partner is. Of course, we look for this information throughout the year, but February 14 is the one day when you have to show your hand,” argue McArthur and Adshade. In fact, 53% of women say that they would end their relationship if they did not receive anything for Valentine’s Day (StatiticBrain.com). People in relationships impose a certain pressure on one another to show their affection through silly gifts like flowers and candy.

This social pressure is also coming from businesses and restaurants who generate revenue from this holiday. The average annual spending on Valentine’s Days gifts is $13.19 Billion, averaging out to $116.21 per average participating consumer. About 180 million Valentine’s Day cards are sold, and 196 million roses were given out in 2015. In fact, about 40% of annual revenue of florists is generated on Valentine’s Day (Barzel, Gary). With approximately 62% of consumers participating in Valentine’s Day, florists, jewelry stores, restaurants, and other chocolate rendering corporations send out thousands of advertisements making this holiday of love something of national importance (StatisticBrain).

This social pressure to be in love devalues the single phase of one’s life. Being single is the time in your life to figure out your life goals and the purpose of your life. This social pressure can be damaging because it coerces people to feel the need for a partner. Valentine’s Day for singles can be a lonely time, if they allow themselves to be subject to the societal pressure to be in love.

Bibliography

McArthur, Neil, and Marina Adshade. "Why It's Better to Be Single on Valentine's Day." Time. Time, 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2015.

"Valentines Day Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. Statistic Brain, 28 Jan. 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2015.

Barzal, Gary. "Connect With Us." MintLife Blog. MintLife, 9 Feb. 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2015.

Links to Articles:

http://time.com/3703157/valentines-day-single-is-better/

https://www.mint.com/blog/trends/how-valentines-day-helps-the-economy/

http://www.statisticbrain.com/valentines-day-statistics/

Adam Smith Disapproves This Message

Did you know that you have to own a license to braid hair? African immigrant, Jestina Clayton, moved from Sierra Leone to Utah and began to braid hair for a living. She was a professional at the braiding, and earned her living from this task. She had years of experience from her life in Sierra Leone and was well-qualified to braid hair for a living. Her customers proved this, as they returned again and again to Jestina Clayton’s services for four years. Then, in 2005, the government received word that she was braiding hair without a cosmetology license, and shut her business down. Jestina Clayton immediately looked into obtaining this license, and was dismayed to learn that it would require 2,000 hours of learning over a 50 week time period to obtain this license in order to learn a skill that she was already professional at. In order to restrict competition, a board of cosmetologists create the expensive price and time commitment of this licensing process, and control the issuing of this particular license.

This government regulation hinders the growth of vital competition. Competition is vital to any free market economy which utilizes competition to make society more efficient and reduce the price of goods and services for the consumer. With this licensing regulation that extends past hair braiding into virtually every part of our free market economy, it is more difficult for any American to start his own business. Licensing is a large time commitment and expense for brand new business to pay; and therefore is a way for the government to control competition (Stossel, John).

In this case, the ideology of Adam Smith is appropriate to respond to this movement. The laissez faire approach to government advocated by Smith is necessary to provide a gateway for Americans out of poverty. These restrictions on startup businesses are detrimental to the economy and reduce the freedom to begin or change careers. Smith’s ideas of the invisible hand guiding people to advance the common good by pursuing their own self-interest are present in the deregulation of licensing.

Bibliography

Stossel, John. "The Cancer of Regulation." Creators.com. JJCO, 20 June 2011. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Yawning

9:30 am on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I find myself in a classroom at Furman University, sitting in a hard plastic desk, purposely designed to keep its user alert, staring at my professor in order to learn Spanish. Some days, I am caffeinated and awake, appearing well-put together; other days, it is a mystery how I managed to drag myself into my seat. My troubles are universal to any college student: poor time management, late night cram sessions, or perhaps a spontaneous adventure to Waffle House at midnight are just a few reasons why I am currently still in the process of waking up in my early morning Spanish class. The trend of sleepy eyes and the occasional yawn has spread among my classmates, and caused my professor to make an announcement, “Yawning is not allowed in my classroom because it is rude and shows disinterest.” She went on to claim that yawning is a cultural phenomenon and in her native country, Spain, people do not yawn. I interpret her statement as inaccurate. My cultural environment did not teach me the ability to yawn. A yawn in innate as a cough or sneeze, and to forbid a natural bodily action is unreasonable. This classroom rule is a violation of my natural rights.

Yawning is not a product of the cultural environment. In fact, unborn fetuses even yawn. On Live Science, there is a video of an ultrasound of a 30 week old fetus yawning. According to their study, fetal yawning is linked to healthy brain development. An unborn fetus has no exposure to the culture of the outside world, proving that a yawn is innate and a natural bodily function (Ghose, Tia). In addition to this, animals also yawn. There are countless times where I have personally observed my two dogs yawning. Animals are not affected by the customs o the American culture in response to yawning. Yawning is natural process like breathing, coughing, or breathing. No other person is harmed from the process of the yawn. Prohibiting me from yawning is an infringement on my personal freedom. This is my body, the thing that I possess the most fully and entirely. I have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of yawning.

It is reasonable to expect a certain etiquette in stifling a yawn. One may cover the yawn with their hand. One may stop the noise that usually accompanies the best of yawns. Or one may try not to open their mouth and instead make a convoluted expression that is almost worse than the actual yawn. After the yawn, one could offer an apologizing remark to excuse the yawn. This is the proper etiquette of a yawn, and this is reasonable discipline to expect from the yawner; however, the right to yawn must always exist in these free, fifty states.

 Bibliography

Ghose, Tia. "Fetus Yawning Reveals Brain Development." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.

Facing the Statistics on Marriage

There is nothing simple about the typical modern day wedding. The bride, charged with the task of planning the wedding, spends innumerable hours shopping for the perfect wedding dress, picking out the right color combinations like champagne and blush for the decorations and flowers, choosing menu options, discussing venues, arranging schedules, and attending wedding expos in order to find a photo booth and DJ. It is a thrilling process filled with surprises, joys, setbacks and indecision. There are also mini events like bridal showers and bachelor/bachelorette parties. Planning these events alone are time consuming because it’s challenging to organize the schedules of the wedding party. Family feuds must be mended and seating charts carefully arranged. Who’s invited and who’s not? The couple must register for wedding gifts and select the furnishings of their new home. The amount of energy and money that go into planning a wedding is mentally taxing and costly. In short, the modern day wedding is elaborate. Months are spent planning the event, and the typical wedding costs $25,200 (http://www.costofwedding.com/).  

From all of this effort, a surprising statistic arises; according the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 50% of marriages end in divorce. Why does the average American spend $25,200 on an elaborate wedding ceremony and reception in order to take a vow that constitutes only a 50% success rate? Is there an excess in the amount of planning of the wedding day and not enough planning of a successful future with one’s potential lifelong spouse? The focus seems to be misdirected from the marriage to the wedding.

Facing an uncertain future, the bride and groom promise “for better or for worse” and “in sickness and in health.” I believe there is an underlying courage to take a vow to commit to love each other for the rest of their earthly lives and mean it. Perhaps their hope is stronger than their reason as a young couple prepares to take on the world together, unaware of the challenges that come with marriage. They cannot anticipate the hardships that they will endure together nor can they anticipate if they will be strong enough together to make it past them. This represents the nature of the human being to hope against all odds (50% not in their favor) that their marriage will last in love. This notion is romantic if not practical.

I am sure that there is no correlation between the percentage of divorce and the amount spent on wedding ceremonies and receptions; however, this trend in the increasing price of weddings in spite of these divorce statistics caused me to pause.

Bibliography

"Marriage and Divorce: Patterns by Gender, Race, and Educational Attainment : Monthly Labor Review: U.S.   

Bureau of Labor Statistics."U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Oct. 2013. Web. 04 Feb. 2015.

"Average Wedding Cost in the United States Is $25,200." Average Wedding Cost in the United States Is

$25,200. The Wedding Report, 2015. Web. 08 Feb. 2015.