My Reflection
This course expanded horizons that I never knew existed. When it came to gathering research, my grasp of the idea included only printed works. I never utilized all the forms of informative pieces for previous research papers. The great thing about Gateway is that it not only taught me to consume these new forms of research, but how to create these informative pieces myself.
The technological element of this class was the most strenuous for me because in high school I was taught the traditional way to gather information. I think that my past teachers would have laughed if I used “YouTube” as a source. I really appreciated the concept of the Gateway program in that college students, when preparing for their journalism majors, need to prepare for the future. The future encompasses digital videos, blogs and articles. Everything will become technologically advanced.
Since I had never produced anything digitally before, each project in the Gateway program was an exciting challenge. I learned many new things with each ‘adventure’ I went on while creating each project. Since it was the first time I had created and edited a digital audio interview, photo slideshow and video, there were definitely mistakes and stressful tasks I had to overcome.
To focus on a specific project, I learned the most from the audio interview. I learned the most from this project because it was the first project that entailed me to use final cut pro. I had to learn about converting file types, editing sound clips, inserting audio clips and making a staggered interview turn into a smooth story. Since it was my first digital project ever, I wish I had become more familiar with Final cut to utilize the program to its fullest. When I entered the lab to make my project, I was completely lost. Luckily, I had Michael Werner’s videos to help, but they were very time-consuming to watch, especially when I only needed information on a specific action.
My Gateway Video Project
The University of Oregon is considered a top environmental campus in the United States and encourages student’s daily to lead more ecologically efficient lives. From setting up recycling areas all over campus to building energy sustainable buildings, The University of Oregon improves their green movement everyday. Monique Charbonneau, a student at the University of Oregon, has altered her lifestyle to be ecologically friendlier since moving to Eugene. By following her for a day on campus, it is apparent that the University of Oregon must be doing something right. Just from the campuses’ green enthusiasm and encouragement, students, like Monique, are easily able to lead an environmentally friendlier life.
Follow Monique Charbonneau for her typical day at the University of Oregon. Become inspired by her ecological ways in the same way that The University of Oregon inspired her to become environmentally friendlier.
Make Your Case Assignment
Government Policy with Energy and the Environment
President Obama Desires to Steer America to an Energy Efficient Nation
In 1773, American colonists reacted to a high embargo tea tariff by revolting against Britain, throwing tea into the Atlantic Ocean and creating the historical event known as The Boston Tea Party. When prices of necessary goods are substantially too high, it appears reasonable for the consumer to respond by revolting, replacing the good and ultimately reducing spending costs. Yet, what happens when there is not another reliable outlet to replace the item? With fuel prices’ continual rise in the current economy, many Americans support Obama’s plan to eliminate dependency on foreign fuel trade and become an independent energy-producing nation. Should The United States steer toward becoming an energy efficient Country and eliminate fuel dependency?
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden’s ultimate goal in their New Energy Plan for America is to eliminate international dependency on foreign fuel trade. The Plan entails decreasing the amount of consumed fuel by increasing the amount of hybrid vehicles on the road. The plan will also help stimulate the economy by creating five million eco-friendly jobs and investing one hundred and fifty billion dollars into efforts for a clean energy future. Lastly, the plan includes long-term goals for renewable energy, such as utilizing ten percent of renewable energy for electricity by 2012 and then twenty percent by 2025. The Obama-Biden New Energy Plan’s ultimate goal is to create the base for change in energy to continue through the future.
Although minor economical changes are necessary in the United States, is it absolutely pertinent to eliminate fuel dependency? The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) plans on investing and expanding their crude oil capacity. This will create a bigger supply of oil and contain trade prices to a reasonable amount per barrel. Crude Oil Prices have been analyzed and have already started to display a decrease in price. Although the price of oil will always be capable of fluctuation, OPEC’s expansion will help maintain oil prices to a reasonable spectrum. This investment affects the United States in a beneficial way not only by oil trade, but also with the decrease of price for fuel.
One of the biggest advantages the Hybrid brand has in the vehicle market is its capability to conserve fuel. During high inflations of fuel prices, Hybrids seem extremely appealing to any individual who wants to save money on gas. For the environmental movement, it is a perfect candidate; however, for an individual solely concerned with saving money, the hybrid brand is not as praiseworthy. Compared to a normal car, the hybrid version of the vehicle costs about ten thousand dollars more. For example, on the Ford Website, the Ford Escape starts at the price of $20,550 and the Ford Hybrid Escape starts $31,500. Even though a hybrid saves money with fuel, the consumer will ultimately spend more money with the hybrid vehicle, instead of saving it. One individual, “The Captain,” writes on his blog that for his personal lifestyle, he would actually have to drive his Hybrid for twenty years to make up the difference in price and actually start saving money.
On a positive note, President Obama and Vice President Biden are budgeting one hundred and fifty billion dollars to invest for production of energy efficient outlets in the future. For energy sustainable building productions, the white house should take after the lead of the Lillis Building, at the University of Oregon, that receives and conserves its energy by architectural means. If building designs like Lillis were implemented throughout the nation, America could renew energy everywhere. The only project downfall is that Lillis cost approximately 40 million dollars to build. With only one hundred and fifty billion dollars for investment, The United States could only build three thousand, seven hundred and fifty buildings. That is only seventy-five energy friendly buildings per state, and would only occur if America allotted the entire budget to energy sustainable building production.
Although Obama and Biden’s New Energy Plan will help stimulate the economy by creating jobs for unemployed Americans, the cost of energy will simultaneously increase and create a higher cost for living. As John Harwood states in his New York Times article, “No Clear Map for Democrats on Path to New Energy Plan,” those who use light in their homes and businesses will be at a disadvantage because the energy will cost more.
Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) has successfully strategized their organization to utilize energy to it’s fullest, while continuing to provide relatively low prices to its community. So far, EWEB’s statistics are incredible. From their energy conservation, they have reduced their utility’s wholesale power bill by $103 million. Had it not been for conservation, EWEB would now be buying much more power on the wholesale market, at higher prices. By this conservation program, EWEB has already been able to steer away from relying on fuel for energy because they can recycle and conserve energy that they have produced.
However, EWEB has its advantages for such great rates when compared to similar United State Electric Companies. One advantage, the Norwest Power Act, helps their energy conservation. Rob Roy, the Energy Management Programs Supervisor, explains the competitive advantage EWEB has over other companies, “When utilities across the country need to know how they will acquire more power resources, they have to work with their regulators to bring benefits to their shareholders within their company. [EWEB] is a public utility, so we have more flexibility since we do not have to deal with shareholders. Therefore, our main focus is bringing benefits back directly to our customers. We are able to propose and document credible savings estimates.” In order for results like EWEB has achieved to suffice in the United States, President Obama would have to reorganize many prominent businesses throughout the United States.
Although environmentally, there are many benefits from deriving an energy efficient country, fuel will need to remain in the United States’ future. President Obama and Vice President Biden’s New Energy Plan for America is a good starting point for reducing the amount of fuel consumed in The United States, but economically and financially, The United States is not currently in a position to completely eliminate fuel dependency in the nation. Until then, the government should continue to promote and install environmentally friendly programs at a slow pace so the energy cause will continue to grow.
SOURCES
Eye Witness History informs its peers about historical events, like the The Boston Tea Party. It is institutional-business source because it is funded and presented by Ibis Communications and includes advertisements on the webpage. Its intended audience is for students and those wanting to learn more about historical events. This source references James A. Hawkes’ Retrospect of the Boston Tea-Party, which also includes a memoir from George R.T. Hewes. This source works for the EyeWitness History Program because their goal is to retell history through eyes of those who lived it. This source was published in 2002. I accessed the site on December 1st, 2009.
2. New Energy Plan for America
This document summarizes President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden’s plans for Energy changes in the United States. Published by Obama for America Organization and “printed in house”, it is an institutional-government document. Obama for America is funded by Hope and individual supporters. It is now linked to the White House for contact information. Its intended audience is for Americans in the United States, but it is biased because it only discusses the advantages for this plan. The government wants to gain American support. This document helped develop my essay because it was a guideline to what the white house wanted to implement in The USA for the energy movement. I accessed the site November 14th, 2009.
3. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
OPEC’s goal is to promote fuel on an international level and keep the world informed on what the organization is doing. Created in Baghdad, OPEC is a permanent intergovernmental organization. Countries in Asia, Africa and America participate in this organization. I tried to find the funding source of OPEC by going to their funding link (http://www.opecfund.org/) but it is invalid. After reading about OPEC, my best guess is that the 12 member countries primarily fund OPEC. I would classify this source as an institutional-nonprofit source. Its intended audience is for an international level, where countries all over the world can be updated with what OPEC does. This source related to my essay because it explained OPEC’s goals of expansion and investment for the future. There also was graphs that displayed OPEC crude oil prices over time. I accessed this site on November 13th, 2009.
4. Price of Natural Fuel Imports
US Natural History relays data with historical imported fuel prices. It is an institutional- government source. The information comes from The Energy Information Administration, who gathers its information from public citizens, congressional staff, journalists, and energy producers & consumers. This source is a government funded website that reached 279,000 individuals in 2008. The information will promote government trade in a positive light since it is a governmental source. I used the charted data of natural gas imported prices for my case, so there should not exist a biased viewpoint. This served my essay in that it showcased that fuel prices were decreasing. I accessed the site on November 14th, 2009.
The hybrid website compares the benefits and disadvantages of owning a hybrid vehicle, along with supplying information about the brand. This source falls underneath the category of mainstream journalism because it says on their website that they are neither employees nor carmakers and maintain a strict policy of editorial independence. Although they maintain a level of editorial independence, with variated opnions, their research page does not include a section that deals with the disadvantages of hybrids. It suggests that the webpage’s true intention is to promote hybrid vehicles overall. This website has a wide audience. With debate, this website serves as a good resource because it highlights the benefits of hybrid cars and how they serve the economy. This source relates to my essay because it explained to me the benefits of a hybrid vehicle, so I could balance out my opinion between the comparisons of cost versus what hybrids provide to the environmental movement. I accessed this webiste November 11th, 2009.
6. Ford Vehicle Prices v. Hybrid Vehicle prices
This website supplies information on new Ford Vehicles in the auto market. This source is institutional-business because it isn’t reporting on vehicles but selling them in the market. Ford receives it’s funding by shareholders who own stock and investors. Since these shareholders want to make a profile, their opinions will impact the website to promote all Ford vehicles in the best light possible, for the result. For my essay, I only compared the prices between the Ford Hybrids and a regular Ford vehicles, so the persuasiveness on the website was not necessarily applicable to my research. I have contacted this site numerous times, ranging from August 2009 to December 2009.
This blog takes a personal example of how a Hybrid would factor into the average american’s life. The Captain, the blogger is a student at Bard College. This blog can be categorized as a citizen-amateur commentator, because The Captain just reflected on the aspects of the Hybrid Vehicle and compared it with a Normal Vehicle and set up a hypothetical situation based off of his own personal research. I do not believe there is strong funding for the blog particularly, however for the domain site, there are advertisements from bing and progressive auto insurance. This source was helpful in supporting my argument because it not only highlighted the benefits of the hybrid but depicted the struggles American’s may face when dealing with the price increase. It also highlighted the element that if cost plays a factor with purchasing a future vehicle, the Hybrid will ultimately not be the cheaper candidate when compared to other vehicles. I accessed this site December 1st, 2009.
The Lillis Business Complex is an environmentally and energy efficient building at The University of Oregon. This website page summarizes the production the cost, which helped support my essay by stating the cost it took to build Lillis. This source can be categorized as Citizen-Stakeholder because the instituion Solarc is relaying their personal company success stories with buildings in Oregon that have been architecturally manufactured to sustain energy and be environmentally friendly. I believe that their personal company’s revenue is the source of funds. It’s audience serves those who want to engineer buildings that they specialize in, such as institutions, residential homes or restaurants. I accessed this website November 14th, 2009. However, it has not been updated since March 2009.
9. New York Times Article, John Harwood, “No Clear Map for Democrats on Path to New Energy Plan”
This Article discusses the difficulty the democratic party experiences with getting pro-energy plans passed by congress and discusses reasons why there is opposition. This source was helpful with my essay because it clearly depicted a sensible reason for opposition with energy efficiency in America. After reading this article, my viewpoint of my topic altered dramatically, because I began realizing the cost factor with all of my topics. I would classify this source as Journalistic-Mainstream because it is an article that appeared in the New York Times, a widely popular newspaper in the United States. This source allowed me to find a follow up piece in Time Magazine that helped formed concrete opinions with this topic, and ultimately create my should answer. I believe that the New York Times is primarily funded by advertisements, and has minimal interference with the government with what is published. I accessed the New York Times article December 10th, 2009 and followed with the Time article December 11th, 2009.
10. Interview with Rob Roy from EWEB
My interview with Rob Roy primarily dealt with EWEB’s system of maintaining low energy rates for their customers. This source can be categorized as a citizen-expert because Rob Roy has worked for EWEB for over 10 years. His sources seemed reliable because he explained all of EWEB’s energy plans for its customers along with many analytical graphs of how much money they save per year from their renewable energy systems. Since it was an interview, I was the audience, and nobody was paying him to speak with me. Since EWEB is a public utility, there was not a strong impact from those paying. This source was extremely useful for me because Rob helped explain the whole process of energy consumption and how EWEB maintains its energy supply. He also provided information about how EWEB had a competitive cost advantage with other utilities across the United States because of the Northwest Power Act. This interview occurred November 3rd, 2009 at the EWEB facility.
10 Links
10 Preliminary links
Should The United States steer toward becoming an energy efficient Country?
President Obama wants to drive away from fuel dependency in the United States and create an energy efficient nation.
1. Eugene Water and Electric Board
The Eugene Water and Electric Board discusses energy conservation in Eugene along with their many successful energy saving programs. This website demonstrates the power a simple organization can utilize to make a greater change for a local region in the United States with saving energy. If more electric companies followed Eugene’s energy efficient opportunities in a more grandeur scale, President Obama’s goals for the United States becoming energy effecient seem more concrete and possible. EWEB discusses their goals for energy in the future on their website, along with describing multiple ways for the Eugene individual to save energy with different scenarios. One can also find success stories on their website and where Eugene Electric and Water Board receives their electric resources, where fuel is an miniscule portion. If this regional organization could influence and inspire others in the United States to follow their example with energy efficiency, President Obama’s goal to become fuel independent and energy dependent could be closer in reach with a shorter timeline to acheive it. This is an instituational source that was paid for by the organization EWEB. The intended audience is for Eugene homeowners who want to use their organization for energy and water resources.
2. Hybrid Cars
The biggest consumer industry of oil and fuel is the vehicle industry. Nearly all American families and individuals own a car that relies on fuel for usage. In order to steer The United States away from being heavily dependable on fuel, we need to steer American’s from consuming as much fuel as we currently do. This is where Hybrid Cars come in. With minimal fuel consumption, not only are Hybrid’s earth-friendly but they are economically advantageous because less money is spent on fuel. States such as California believe that Hybrid Vehicles are the future of the United States and thus has created a Hybrid Plan for the future. They predict that Hybrids will become the dominant vehicle by the year 2030, until a car similar to Honda’s Zero emission electric and fuel cell vehicle take over the market. This is an institutional source, Car Companies that produce hybrids probably paid for this website to encourage potential buyers to “go green” and buy a hybrid.
3. Univerisity of Oregon Recreational Center’s Reusable Energy Program
http://insideoregon.uoregon.edu/machines-in-the-uo-student-rec-center-harness-human-energy/
The University of Oregon has a Student Recreational Center that implemented an energy efficient program at their facility. Their recreational center recycles energy from workout machines for lighting and other electrical needs. The UO Recreational Center basically harnesses the energy human’s produce during their workout. This concept is brilliant in the sense that an individual has thought up another way to be energy efficient in Eugene. If this program was implemented around the world, we could recycle natural energy that would help us conserve energy at an international level. Specifically for President Obama’s goal to steer away from fuel usage, this program in the United States could create other outlets where energy could be dominant over fuel and where the price of energy could still remain at a relatively low price, even with a higher demand. This is an institutional source that The University of Oregon is paying for, to highlight their campus in a positive way. The audience intended for this website are potential students and alumni. This article is could be considered biased because it may not note on how certain machines and parts of the recreational center were closed in order to implement this project or other negative aspects that were entailed.
4. The United States Natural Gas History
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/ng/ng_sum_lsum_dcu_nus_m.htm
How has our dependency on gas affected international trade in the past? Instead of completely focusing on the future goal of energy efficiency within President Obama’s political plan, I wanted to spend some time to focus on the past. This website shows The historical price changes in fuel over the 35 years and compares it to energy prices. It reports on imports, exports, production and many other elements that deal with fuel and energy. For the prices of fuel imports over the past 10 years, there is a consistent rise. With the combination of inflation, lack of supply, and the goal to lessen demand, fuel prices are expected to continue increasing in the future. This helps exemplify the importance of steering The United States from a fuel dependent country to an independent energy-efficient nation. This is an academic source that researchers are paying to produce.
5. Oil Price History Analysis with OPEC
http://www.wtrg.com/prices.htm
Fuel prices shot up to shocking prices during the summer of 2009 due to the imported barrel pricing rising. The last time this happened with in the 1970’s when OPEC gave us a limited supply of fuel due to weak foreign policy. The United States is a powerhouse in the world and should not succumb to foreign trade that weakens our economy. By becoming energy efficient in the United States, we can steer away from being dependent on OPEC and avoid high prices from imported fuel in the future. If we steer our country to be more energy efficient, The United States local oil production will ultimately become a sufficient source for the United States to depend on. This will help with foreign relations along with strengthen our country as a whole. I would classify this as an institutional source, that OPEC or Energy institutions are paying for. Since this is a chart, it will not be entirely biased. It is just relaying facts, not necessarily in a brutal or friendly way, just facts.
6. President Barack Obama’s plan for the United States
http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/factsheet_energy_speech_080308.pdf
A concrete version of President Barack Obama’s plan to steer the United States to becoming an energy efficient country is a necessary source to obtain. Their goal is not only for ecological reasons, but also for the economy. By implementing this plan in the United States, President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden want to create 5 million new jobs by investing over $150 billion dollars into this plan for the future. Not only will this help our economy, but it will also help conserve necessary resources in The United States. The document also states their goals for the short term, middle term and long term future. This document is a governmental institutional source, that the government is paying for. It will nationalize President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and speak of their plans in only a beneficial way. This document can be biased in the sense that it is only elaborating on certain information, n0t entirely the whole picture of what the consequences will entail.
7. LILLIS CENTER
This website discusses the Lillis business center’s ecologically friendly building. Although this information can be found on the EWEB website, I found on this site that states that it cost $40 million in order to produce the building, which I found to be substantial information because it altered my opinion with the level of ease President Obama will endure with creating an energy efficient country quickly due to financial constraints that may occur. The Student Recreational Center at the University of Oregon focuses on recycling human energy, but Lillis receives its energy from the building itself and conserves energy by architectural means. I would classify this as an institutional source that is explaining a successful process. I do not think this website will be extremely biased, because the topic is pretty specific. It is an informative website of what Lillis’ business center does with energy.
8. OPEC
Since OPEC has caused the United States high gas price, I thought it would be beneficial to do research from a pro-fuel point of view, or a company who’s main goal is producing and effeciently distributing a supply of fuel to nations across the globe. On the Website, there was a press release that stated the daily basket price for Thursday, November 12th was $76.06 a barrel. This shows how The United States is truly powerless with controlling fuel prices. There is a global press announcement daily that merely states the price of fuel. I found it interesting that on the website, they discuss increasing OPEC’s capacity to produce more fuel in the future. This was substantial information for me because as The United States is trying to condense their fuel imports, OPEC is trying to expand their exports. I thought that this was interesting because as countries begin to desire energy efficiency, I thought OPEC would want to remain the size they currently have and produce the same amount of fuel in retrospect. I would classify this as an institutional source, that OPEC is paying for. They will be biased by focusing specifically on fuel production, instead of the combination of energy and oil working together simultaneously. This website will not highlight the negative effects of fuel in the world, but only defend the idea by promoting fuel production in a positive light.
9. Energy Tomorrow Organization
http://energytomorrow.org/?gclid=CKLIg_Keh54CFR4HagodYjHOtA
Energy Tomorrow Organization’s website not only discusses fuel and oil, but also discusses energy security. Although EWEB is also a energy conserving organization, they still run a business. I thought it would be interested to have a non profit organization as a source. This is an institutional source but could also be seen as a citizen source because there is a blog section on the website where many individuals can express their views. This website can also be seen as journalistic because it incorporates Energy related youtube videos of reporters pertaining to the topic of energy. The audience is anyone interested in energy consumption, but the people creating the website is the API (American Petroleum institute). Therefore, this website is pro-petroleum and may be biased with the information they are giving.
10. New York Times
The New York Times Editorial “Culling the Gas Hogs” discusses the “cash for clunkers” program that car dealerships utilized in order to stimulate the economy and put more fuel efficient cars on the road. It also mentions that the government helped pay to continue this program until labor day. However, it highlights the national situation not just in the positive reference way, it also discusses what will need to be continually done in the future to actually decline fuel consumption. This article is journalistic, because the writer explains to the average american the problems that fuel and big SUV’s enforce on the economy today. It is important for class because although the “cash for clunkers” programs were advertised on car dealership’s websites, this article appearing in the New York Times probably reached a broader and bigger audience than advertisements. The Car dealership promotional advertisements probably reached an audience to those buying a car, but since the overall program was directed toward those with SUV’s and maybe not necessarily looking for a car, this editorial reached a broader audience.
Visual Analysis
This image of President Barack Obama appears on Michigan News article that discusses President Obama’s goals for an energy efficient country as opposed to a fuel dependent one. This image is important because it shows President Obama signing bills in order to instigate his plan of creating a cleaner, friendlier environment that is also supposed to create job opportunities for the unemployed and ultimately boost the economy. This photo is strategically cropped around President Obama, so that the focus is on his signing a bill, which infers that he is making decisions to progress the United States into the future. However, peers can still view the vibrant red stripes of our flag in the background. This still promotes nationalism and infers that these drastic decisions are ultimately to better our country. Since President Obama is the only individual in the frame, it enforces his leadership as president. This photo appeared in January, after the inauguration of President Obama, when many American citizens were anxious to hear of his plans and watch them course into action.
This photo of the Presidential Inauguration appeared on the Consumer Energy Report in January, when Obama highlighted energy as one of the major challenges that America will face in the future during his inaugural address. The government is paying the photographer to take this photo while strategically instructing him or her to be located in a specific spot for the snapshot. This photo is purposely taken from the side of Obama, so that the solar panel is shown in front of Obama’s podium. With this angle, President Obama’s hand can also shown in a powerful position that displays that he is making an important point. This provokes a revolutionary mood that serves to show American’s that change will be made under Obama’s term in office. Obama’s audience is also cropped out of the photo so that President Obama is the focal point because it his inaugural speech. This photo would be considered journalistic because this photo can be used to summarize Obama’s inaugural address event. When a peer looked at this photo in January, they would know that the article attached to the photo would cover the inaugural speech.
This is an interesting Nike advertisement featuring Maria Sharapova that was created to promote their athletic gear. The ad reads, “Just a t-shirt, the way Maria is just a tennis player.” This ad was displayed in magazines in 2008; the year Maria Sharapova had won her third Grand Slam Title at The Australian Open. Using Maria Sharapova as a model in the advertisement was a perfect correlation with their slogan for the piece because the Australian Open was her first Grand Slam Title since her shoulder injury in 2007. This period of her life had set her aside from other tennis players and made her a tennis icon. Along with Maria being a popular icon for the advertisement, Nike has made millions with their famous Nike logo of the check mark, which makes an appearance in this advertisement on the ball Maria holds. It would make sense for Maria to be holding a tennis ball; however, a tennis ball would have too small to place the Nike logo on to make a noticeable impact in the advertisement, so it appears that the photographer arranged for some other sphere for Maria to hold.
Mary Sue… or Iris.. is Goo Goo for Johnny
“Mary Sue is Goo Goo for Johnny” is about Iris’ encounter with her idol Johnny Reznick from The Goo Goo Dolls.
This narrative is an example of bad story telling because it is neither compelling nor interesting. The horrific grammar makes the story hard to read because many sentences have fragments and do not make sense. The sentences do not contain structure and thus, creates run on sentences that contain multiple subjects. Ultimately, this makes the narrative confusing and dull for the reader.
Although the characterization first person writing element is fabulous, certain elements of abbreviations placed in the story makes the character seem like an incompetent, obnoxious valley girl. (Like, AKA a totally unrelatable character WHATsoEVER OMG).
Information is placed in the narrative that has no purpose to the story and does not help relate to or pace events that occur. It forces the story to pause and become chunky, as opposed to flowing events that lead to the climax and resolution of the narrative. However, the climax is so miniscule that a resolution is not anticipated by the reader. Basically, the only tension occurs when Iris initially rejects Johnny’s date because he is married, but then accepts after he explains that he doesn’t like his wife, Laurie, anymore.
After there fantastic date, (I mean, Johnny DID let Iris lick his chin cleft), Iris wonders if she will ever see Johnny again. This is another element of bad story telling because the ending states ‘TO BE CONTINUED.’ An audience always likes to be left with a substantial resolution, a definite ending.
Lastly, the title is “Mary Sue is Goo Goo for Johnny,” yet, the main character is Iris. I’m a little confused. Who is Mary Sue?
Ten Entry Timeline of United States Economic Trade Dependency History
UNITED STATES STEERING AWAY FROM DEPENDENCY ON FOREIGN PRODUCTS:
Colonial Period:
1773: With The Boston Tea Party, colonists rioted against the unfair tax rate of tea from England by dumping pounds of tea into the Atlantic Ocean.
1776: The United States fight in the Revolutionary War to break economic and governmental ties with Britain to become an independent country.
Industrial Revolution
1780-1830’s- The Industrial Revolution revolutionized the production making process. By making raw materials into manufactured goods, more money could be secured in the world market. Since the United States was still a newly founded country at this time, Britain would take raw materials from the United States and would sell the manufactured goods back to the United States at prices the US could not afford.
1850’s- The Middle Class (bourgeois) grows in the United States after the Industrial Revolution- to compensate The United States begins to heavily rely on imports of products like China.
The Great Depression
June 7th, 1930- The Tariff Act of 1930 (Smoot-Hawley Tariff) raised tariffs on imported goods. This ultimately cut imports and exports by half and contributed to the Great Depression.
1930’s- The Great Depression causes less production in the United States and ultimately hits the world harshly economically. Trade falters between many countries, including Great Britain and Germany.
1970’s
1973-1974: October, OPEC placed an embargo against the US because of US support for Israel in the war. This caused shortages in fuel. Rations of gas were implemented based on license plate numbers and service stations were closed on Sundays. Summer of 1974, the United States reached an agreement with OPEC, rationing ended and the prices went sky high.
1979-1980: Due to the Iranian Revolution, fuel production was cut back, and The United States had to ration again, but this time within regions. Places in the west were hit first, and then it spread eastward. By the time shortages in fuel hit New York, California was back to normal. This caused prices to rise.
21st Century
1998- Trade deficit in the United States reaches an estimated 249 billion dollars. This is due to a greater amount of imports than exports in the United States.
Sept 2009- President Obama signed an order to impose a 25 percent tariff on Chinese-made tyre imports over the next three years. Economic commentators predict a wider trade war from this act.
2009- The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included more than $80 billion in clean energy investments that will jump-start our economy and build the clean energy jobs of tomorrow
Other Links:
1. Energy in the United States
This is a simple explanation of energy in the United States. It depicts the consumption rate of petroleum and gas. It will be a great reference to use when wanting to compare imports of different time periods.
2. Trading Diplomacy with Thailand
This website discusses the trading diplomacy struggles the United States has faced when dealing with medicine trade in Thailand. I’m still debating whether or not I want to expand into this complex history of the trade industry.
This is a website that expands on the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was a dominant period in time where types of trade between countries changed tremendously.
This website expands on Obama’s goals of making the United States a fuel independent and cleaner environmentally country.
5. The US Trade Representative’s View
This is the website of Ron Kirk, who is the U.S trade representative. This website explains the White House’s tactics when dealing with foreign policy and trade.
Conclusion
These links, along with my timeline, expand on important events in the United States history that deal with economic dependency with foreign countries. I decided to start with the Boston Tea Party because I feel that is the beginning of the United State’s history with becoming an economically independent nation. They started fighting against Britain who was unfairly taxing them for imported products. Then I transgressed to the United States becoming an independent nation as a whole, because America’s initial roots were so dependent on Britain it will be interesting to display how we slowly became more independent as a country. Then I jumped to the Industrial Revolution, because this was a monumental period in time where trade was reorganized and redefined. Instead of raw materials being traded, manufactured goods were traded instead. However, this had a negative effect on the United States. Since fuel is the most recent debate with trade, I focused on past events where fuel trade caused tension within the United States.
A Fuel Dependent Country vs An Independent Energy Nation
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/energy_and_environment/
My topic focuses on the reasoning for The Obama Administration’s desire to become a nationally independent country and how they plan to steer the United States in toward that direction. The goal is to utilize a maximum amount of energy production within the United States in order to eliminate the dependence toward other countries for their fuel.
I chose this issue because it not only deals with policies within the United States but with foreign policy as well. I am interested to find out how the United States plans to direct our nation to a cleaner economy while improving foreign relations as well.
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