Lifestyle Change Week 4: Weekly Update

My SMART goal: I will read/watch 2 environmentally related articles/videos each week. They will be from a variety of reliable sources.


I think I was successful again this week, but wish I would have done more reading/watching just for my own education - there is so much happening right now!
Something that helped me be successful was the huge amount of articles, pictures, videos, tweets etc. popping up everywhere about the Occupy protests and also about Gilad Shalit. Since I covered the Occupy topic last week, I chose to look more into Shalit.
Some challenges are sometimes not having reliable sources, or bias sources, especially on topics that I don't know much about.
Feelings I experienced were typical of most world news: frustration, sadness, shock, happiness, confusion, curiosity...

What I learned #1:
So I hadn't really heard of this man previous to this (which is a perfect example of why I need this lifestyle change!). I started with a few brief statuses from friend's on Facebook, most following the lines of "Welcome home Gilad!!". Then, on the MSN.com homepage, I watched this quick video. Then the first article to come up from a Google search was titled: "Gilad Shalit returns: One Israeli for 1,027 Palestinians?", so I read on. I was hoping for a little more history on the subject, but I was very intrigued by the numbers - that is quite a trade!
To get more background, I read this article which gives some information on Gilad's capture (along with others) and the wars between the two countries.
It's all very sad, but thankfully he is on his way home. The exchange has sparked a lot of criticism and fear from Israelis. I plan to stay updated on this, and hope that the death and war will come to an end.

This is Gilad Shalit. He is talking to his family on the phone after his release. His family was not updated on his conditions during his five years captive.









What I learned #2: 
Earlier this week I read this article, about the world's population nearing 7 billion! Holy Hannah.. that's a lot of people. The extremes are interesting: one man they interview has two wives and fourteen children (more to come), while other countries place limits on the number you can have. This article says that most of the growth will happen in Africa, which is already pressed for resources. Clearly, family-planning programs are needed in many places around the world.
"'Extreme poverty and large families tend to reinforce each other,' says Lester Brown, the environmental analyst who heads the Earth Policy Institute in Washington". Parents want to be taken care of in old age, and while more children means more mouths to feed, it also means more workers to bring in the bacon.




Bonus: In searching, I came across this article! Since we watched the video in class, I thought I'd provide you guys with the story.


Also just wanted to post this photo from a friend's Facebook:

I think what is happening right now is amazing in many ways. It is something that my kids will ask me about in the future, and I want to be able to tell them about it. There are a lot of supports and critics of the movement, each with some valid points, but I am really rooting for the 99%. I hope we can make positive changes.