MSB people, groups & orgs!

The San Diego River Park Foundation offers the public the opportunity to preserve and enhance the river’s valuable natural resources by preserving and celebrating the river’s rich cultural history, maintaining and improving the flood plain, preserving and enhancing the natural habitat and expanding and connecting recreational opportunities. It will offer mixed uses, throughout a unified park system, based on community values. The green ribbon, growing cleaner and stronger, can serve to connect and unify the local landscape, and serve as a source of local pride well into the future.
http://www.sandiegoriver.org/


The Nature Conservancy
http://www.nature.org/

Lakeside's River Park Conservancy

http://www.lakesideriverpark.org/

MSB comments, ideas, plans, critiques and more!

From D'Vaughn's Blog #15 I realized what possible topics I could have in my photo essay and examples of final products at could be similar to mine

From Dani's MSB Resources and Questions Blog I not only found good  possible products but also good questions. 

From Kim's idea #1 Blog she has a really good example of a final product I could have

Industrialization and Coastal Environments

New Law Hopes To Break Border Tire Cycle

A new law will allow California to help fund recycling and reuse programs for discarded tires in Mexico. California ships millions of discarded tires to Mexico annually, thousands of which flow back across the border as litter to San Diego.

California's Integrated Waste Management Board sends millions of tires to Mexico every year to keep them out of California landfills. Many drivers in Mexico wring more road life out of the old tires before finally throwing them out. People also use the discarded tires to build structures like retaining walls and staircases. Come rainy season, thousands of those tires wash back into California.

1. What is the issue, controversy or event in the story? What are the basic facts?

Tires that are shipped to Mexico that end up in the TJ River Valley

2. What information is missing from the story?

How they will implement the building and operation of the recycling plants

3. What would be your next steps if you were creating a follow up to this story?

The changes that have been made and how that has effected waste in the water

Confederates in the Attic Essay

The Continuum Of The Civil War

Although the people of the South seem to coexist, beliefs that were fought for in the Civil War are etched in minds of the people of the South. These worn out beliefs that cause serious racial tensions range from plain ignorance to a continuum of racism, which sometimes leads to a general distrust of others. This is why the Civil War is still being fought today.

            Poorly educated and misinformed people cause problems for society. In the chapter titled, “Dying for Dixie” in Tony Horwitz’s book, Confederates in the Attic, he talks to Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members in the South.  Velma, a member of a local chapter of the KKK, tells the Horwitz about the process of joining the group.  She recalls the test she took and how prior to the test she was unaware of the fact that “Jews put Christ on the cross” (98).  It was obvious that she didn’t know that Jesus Christ was also Jewish, so therefore they also hate Jesus. Her limited knowledge of Christianity, and how easily she could be led to follow others that have an altered view of history and reality is an example of the lack of education in her community.  Another example is the town of Guthrie, Kentucky. In this town the high school mascot is the Rebels, and there is lots of Confederate pride, including a Miss Confederate pageant. The only problem is that this town was never part of the Confederacy. Kentucky never succeeded from the Union, and on top of that, most of the people in the county sided with the Union. This town’s ability to change their history to fit their current beliefs is a clear sign that many people are misinformed and that causes problems for others.

            Many people hold grudges through the generations. White people who were upset about the outcome of the Civil War raised their children to believe that the future will never be as good as the past. They tried to control what they thought would be the negative effects of slaves being free with Black Codes and Jim Crow laws.  The next generation in turn was upset over the Civil Rights Movement and saw it as proof of the changes taking them further away from the good old days. Justification of the racist beliefs of society continues through generations.  A community gets used to what they hear and are taught. Prejudice and unwarranted hate breed from a false sense of righteousness.

General paranoia and distrust are other reasons that the Civil War continues.  Communities feared the perceived and real changes emancipation would bring.  Where would the newly freed people live?  Where would they work?  Would the white community have to compete with the newly freed slaves for jobs and land ownership?  The uncertainty caused the white community to panic and react through laws and violence.  The Black codes were established to legally control all aspects of the newly freed slaves.  Citizen groups like the KKK used violence and intimidation to silence any resistance.  These acts   happen today but in different forms.  Illegal immigrants are blamed for taking jobs from American citizens; but in reality the immigrants often take low paid dangerous jobs Americans don’t want. Citizen groups such as the Minutemen are against the immigrants.  The distrust and unwarranted dislike of people just because of their race cause the Civil War to continue today.

The Civil War was a war based on fear. The South feared that if they didn’t have slaves their plantations could not continue to make a large profit. That fear continues. Many people today are afraid that illegal immigrants will get free health care. This fear slows down progress in America. This fear is also shown in topics like Prop 8. This fear is a fear of the unknown. The Civil War continues today because of fear.

 The South is a constant battlefield for the war that started there. Misinformed people and racism are the main reasons it continues today. The Civil War started what could never be finished, a war between races. This war will never end when there are people with different views of other races and cultures.