{"id":310,"date":"2010-04-10T21:41:50","date_gmt":"2010-04-10T21:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2009-10\/?p=310"},"modified":"2017-10-13T01:31:09","modified_gmt":"2017-10-13T05:31:09","slug":"environmental-science-your-key-to-a-successful-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2009-10\/environmental-science-your-key-to-a-successful-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental Science: Your key to a successful future"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

AMY KIKUTCHI \"Environmental<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you want to be when you\u2019re older?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

How many times have you been asked that question by your parents, grandparents, and especially those distant relatives that you see once a year at those dull family reunions? Countless times, no doubt. You see, it\u2019s not too bad when you\u2019re younger because you still have many years of schooling to think about your options. The problem really starts to sneak up on you once you enter in high school. There you are sitting at your gum-infested desk, staring indifferently at your course selections sheet. Hmmm\u2026 what to choose\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What we all worry about is keeping our \u201coptions open.\u201d The major decision for you is the sciences. You need a group three elective to graduate, which means you need to take a grade 11 science, co-op, or a tech class. Most of us NT students go for the science option. Chemistry, biology, and physics. Which ones(s) should you take? But wait! Let\u2019s not get sucked like an unforgiving tornado into that stereotypical way of thinking that those are the only three sciences we can take! As long as you have passed grade 10 science you can take earth and space science and\/or environmental science. And I know you want to take environmental science.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Your face goes blank. Environmental science? What\u2019s that? But do not fear, you aren\u2019t the only one feeling so lost and confused. After asking some people what they thought environmental science was, these were some of their answers\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, you learn about the environment?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s ecology all over again\u2026it\u2019s stupid. You learn it in grade 10 anyway.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA useless course. Who cares about weather and stuff like that? You wouldn\u2019t learn anything useful from taking that course.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, alright. So you think that you might take it because it sounds like an easy course.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

WRONG.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At this point I get ticked. Environmental science might not be numbers and formulas but it is in no way a bird course. Those answers you just read were complete balderdash. Think I\u2019m just joshing you? These are some quotes from students who actually take environmental science.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think it\u2019s some stupid course but you learn so much from it.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike a lot of other courses, you learn things that are actually useful to you.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh my god, I LOVE environmental science!\u201d (Yes, love is supposed to be capitalized)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There you go, you have solid proof.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Yet perhaps you are still thinking physics would be a more practical course. But so you know that the speed of light is c=3.00X108 m\/s? Unless you are going to become some physics engineer, will it really help you in your future career? Probably not. But knowing that breathing in air fresheners can kill your cilia and cause lung disorders, now that would be helpful to you.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Hoooold on! Rewind that thought. Air fresheners can cause lung disorders? You mean, that stuff that I see in those commercials with happy, smiling families kills you? Yes. To put it bluntly, it can kill you. So now you wonder what else you don\u2019t know about the society you thought cared about your well-being. That titanium dioxide in your foundation can also give you lung cancer? That trisodium nitriloacetate in Tide laundry detergent can give you cancer? That your deodorant can give you cancer? That your insect repellent, your mascara, your baby wipes, your toothpaste, your juicy steak, and your supposedly healthy whole milk can speed you up on your road to the grave? These are the kinds of things you learn in environmental science.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

People are just too ignorant. Only too often do we fall into that venus fly trap that the multi-million dollar corporations have set for you. If you want to avoid those deadly digestive enzymes that slowly corrode your soul, you must learn about the things that are really going on around you. An easy way to do that? Take environmental science.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Let me give you an example. I was sitting in environmental science class the other day and my teacher asked us what kinds of foods give us calcium. As if they had practiced this their whole lives, my whole class chorused in unison, \u201cMILK!\u201d I was stunned into complete silence. I felt as though I was the only living being surrounded by a bunch of milk-drinking robots. Fact#1: Just drinking milk does NOT give you all this calcium you thought it would. You need magnesium to fully absorb calcium so that your body can use it. How many people know this? Definitely not enough. Let me re-enforce this. Dairy products aren\u2019t the only calcium supplying foods out there. Other calcium high foods include tofu, spinach, broccoli, peas, sesame seeds, bok choy, almonds, rhubarb\u2026 the list goes on. Fact#2: The milk you drink (unless it\u2019s free range organic), contains more harmful substances than that calcium you are trying to get at. The cows are injected with growth hormones, which could give you or your future child premature or abnormal body development. That\u2019s just the milk. Certain containers contain dieldrin, heptachlor, and hexachlorobenzene which could leak into the milk and increase your chances of getting breast, colon, and prostate cancers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So I ask you, do you really want to drink that glass of milk every morning? Think about it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So here you are, back to staring at that darn course selection sheet. If you want to become an engineer, than by all means, go for the usual three. But honestly, make sure you know about all your available course options. Environmental science is not useless, and is not a course for airheads. For most of us, it will be more useful for leading healthy lives. Break through the stereotypes, learn to be an individual, be aware, and know what is in the products you buy.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If that smelly Uncle Mitchell of yours asks you what you want to be when your older, even if you still aren\u2019t sure, at least you can tell him that you are well on your way to becoming a healthy and socially active citizen that will one day help crush the corporations\u2019 hold on innocent victim\u2019s lives.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So make a healthy choice that will help you through these vulgar socially constructed norms. Go on, checkmark that tiny box for environmental science. Your future could depend on it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AMY KIKUTCHI \u201cWhat do you want to be when you\u2019re older?\u201d How many times have you been asked that question by your parents, grandparents, and especially those distant relatives that you see once a year at those dull family reunions? Countless times, no doubt. You see, it\u2019s not too bad when you\u2019re younger because you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2009-10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2009-10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2009-10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2009-10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2009-10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2009-10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":432,"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2009-10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310\/revisions\/432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2009-10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2009-10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2009-10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}