Carbon Footprint Confusion

One aim of my journalism's final project is to calculate our high school's carbon footprint. I've calculated my own carbon footprint before, which didn't require much information. I assumed that I didn't need much information for the school's, but I was very wrong. I contacted the man in charge of Branford's Board of Education Facilities to see if I could get some electricity and gas consumption amounts. I forgot about all the energy measurements and units for electricity and gas, not to mention the amount of gas used to transport children to school, amount of kids who drive to school, and the amount of garbage generated in a given time.

I am beginning to get nervous about my topic. It seems like I'm going to need to contact a lot of outside sources, mainly people in charge of Facilities and Transportation in the Branford Public School District. However, I think that there are many people who are willing to help me and that the end product will be very informative. Knowing what eco-friendly actions our school's taking is very important to a large percentage of students who attend the high school. Yes, every class has a recycling bin. But we don't know if the material in the recycling bin is actually making it to the recycling stations. I must remember to be patient and kind with the people I'm in contact with. This is going to be a long, tedious process, but I think it will be worth it.

Final...y

Our final projectfor journalism is very simple. We are required to choose a topic that interests us. Then we must utitlize the internet to research it and present the information using some sort of internet or publically aplicable software to present our final product. It sounds really easy. A bit too easy for me. Without academic structure I am clueless. In classes that are mostly self-taught research classes there is no way I can fend for myself. I am very much lost. I had very little idea of what I would do for my final because the topic was so broad and a bit vague. So the first thing I did was analyze some interests of mine. The only one I feel strongly enough to pursue was environmental issues. I consulted with Mr. Miller and asked him to give me an assignment so I could focus more time on my final assignment than thinking about what my final assignment should be.

We decided that I would write a feature article for the school newspaper. The article would discuss our school's environmental do's and don't's, and the role it plays in the environmental world. It would also compare schools across the countrys' carbon footprint with our own school. This assignment would be very informative and would be accessible to many students since all students receive a copy of the school newspaper in advisory. Yay

This I Can't Believe

After writing my This I Believe essay, I recorded it using a headset and the Audacity recording program. Initially I thought if I recorded myself speaking that my message and moral would have a stronger effect on the reader. When I read a book, I am narrating the story in my head. If I'm in a bad mood, I add a negative tone to the story. This may not be the tone or attitude the author wishes the reader to have. Since I recorded the story that I wrote, the reader will have a better understanding of how I want them to interpret it. For example, when I was recording the part of my story when I had a revelation, I spoke a bit louder with a brighter, more optimistic tone. I wanted the reader to hear how delighted I was to finally get past my obsticle of selfishness and how accomplished I felt. Also, I was happy that I read my essay for grammar purposes. I didn't realize how awkwardly I had described what I saw in Venezuela until I read it outloud. Hearing myself say some of the poorly written sentences outloud helped me to edit and revise them accordingly.

Although I did enjoy recording my story, I can't believe how rediculous I sound! I sound much different when I speak than I do in a recording. After I came to the realization that I sound like that to other people, I decided that I did not like this assignment very much after all. I think that when my voice is recorded that I end up sounding unintelligent and fake, although I'm neither. That's all I have to say about that