Natasha+Tate


 * Saturday, April 21,2012**

This website is a stark demonstration of what development has done to our environment. If you've got some time this weekend before finals please take some time and flip through these images. It's astonishing to see what has been done.


 * Tuesday, April 17, 2012**

Something that really struck me with the end of the movie that we watched yesterday was the interview with Earl Butz. When the two 'hosts' were talking to Butz, I could not help but get the impression that everything he did while he was in office was with the ultimate goal of improving our lives. He spoke about all of the wonderful things that his policy has done for our generation, the abundance of food, the way in which our food abundance has contributed to our global power. It made me think about Scott's arguments. Our current agricultural policies have been put into place with the intention of improving our existence - or in Scott's language, our condition - but the success of these policies is up for debate. I think we're a bit quick to throw blame on people who were just wanting to do good by us.

I think the movie did a really good job demonstrating the relationship between the government and the farmers. It's not about the food - it's about the money. It's about the system. It's about creating a profit and not a product, achieving abundance at the expense of quality.

It's a good movie. I plan on watching the full movie at a later date.


 * Tuesday, April 10, 2012**

Just some article drops for today. First, the bacon article I mentioned in class yesterday. Reading over it again, perhaps not as demonstrative of a market-driven obsession as I remember it being, but still an enjoyable read.

Second, a federal court just overturned an EPA veto on a permit for mountaintop removal in West Virginia, claiming it would violate the Clean Water Act. Click here to learn some more about this and to sign the petition to urge the White House Council on Environmental Quality to uphold the EPA's decision. The group hosting this petition, iLoveMoutains.org, really goes out of its way to fight against mountaintop removal - if you think it is an issue you would like to fight against, I highly suggest signing up for their email notifications. They will keep you in the know about the different court battles that could endanger our mountain ranges.

That's it for now. See you all in class tomorrow!


 * Sunday, April 8, 2012**

As much as I hated Scott's book - trust me, I have never critiqued a book as much as I did __Seeing Like a State__ for our last paper - I freaking loved it. Or, rather, my mind loved it. Let me explain: I hated the organization, I hated the hypocritical manner in which Scott presented his argument, but the main conflict he presented has really shaped the way that I think about citizen/state relationships.

Metis and techne - goodness, what lovely concepts. As much as I despised trudging through this book, and as much as I still loathe nearly everything about it, I'm actually pretty happy that I read it.

This crazy dichotomy of loving something that I very blatantly hate made me question whether this book should be included in our class reading roster at all, or if we should just discuss the ideas of metis and techne alone. I wasted hours of my life reading all 350+ pages of Scott's confounding narrative. Was that investment worth it? Actually, yes. I don't think I could have identified and understood the importance of the m/t conflict if I did not rage so hard against this book and subsequently try to uncover the reason for my anger. It was during the process of sloughing away all of the bad arguments, organizational issues and unnecessary details that Scott's purpose came to light. Or, well, what I assume his purpose was. I'm still not convinced he even knew what was so important about his argument.

Understanding the concepts of metis and techne is important for us as students because it helps define a major conflict that we are going to encounter time and time again in the social sciences - that between authority and the general lay-person. They both bring very different but equally valid arguments to the discussion table. In order to analyse the situation adequately we need to be able to understand what each party brings - and the concepts of metis and techne give us a good starting point in order to do that. Personally, I know this understanding will enhance my analysis of international and domestic policies, something I do regularly with my Model United Nations volunteer work, as well as strengthen my anthropological analyses of social relationships and hierarchical social and political structures. I am absolutely certain that the conflict of metis and techne will surface in my semester wiki-project, perhaps more so than any of the arguments presented by the other more enjoyable assigned readings we have had so far.

In all, this book has made me a better academic, which almost makes me regret my negative feelings about it. Almost.

TL;DR - I hate this book, but I'm so glad I read it.


 * Friday, March 23, 2012**

Here is the link to the book we should read the first 40ish pages of for class on monday.


 * Sunday, March 4, 2012**

Yet another quick article drop for this installment, this one regarding farmers v. GMOs and Monsanto. According to this site,

//"// In what can only be called a travesty of justice, Judge Buchwald sided with Monsanto, stating that the farmers overestimated the threat posed by Monsanto’s genetic contamination of their crops. Buchwald’s ruling was an insult to farmers everywhere and we believe that her flawed assessment that organic and non-GMO farmers imagined the very real threat by Monsanto. //"//

The site this quote is from also includes a petition where you can 'add your voice' and speak out in support of farmers. A quick search reveals a plethora of articles concerning this case, though none of the results on the first page (or potentially beyond) are articles from major news sources such as CNN or NYT. Nothing the average American is going to encounter without actively seeking it out.

The same goes for recent news that Walmart is going to start selling GMO sweet corn this summer but is not going to label what of their corn is natural and what isn't - removing the potential fear (fear that has yet to be debased in any manner) but, even worse, removing the option of even having a choice. Much like the recent court case, when you search for information on this, none of the top results are from major news sources.

Is agricultural news considered too boring for the general public? Has it been gradually phased out as people have lost interest? Who is deciding that we do not need this information, and who gave them that authority? Do we seriously care more about Danika Patrick's yearbook photo than we do about the untested genetically modified foods that we aren't even told when we're consuming? Really?




 * For class Friday, March 2, 2012**

Strangely enough, in my search of Hudson River School (HRS) paintings, the majority of the ones that I saw depicted man interacting with nature rather peacefully. Most of these paintings, however, depict maybe a few individuals dwarfed by the grander scale of nature as the artist saw it. Regis-Francois Gignoux, (French-born American Hudson River School painter, 1816-1882), however, seems to portray people differently. As seen in the slideshow below, he does not depict them so drastically dwarfed as many other HRS painters do, and he actually has them either going about their business or doing something fun, like ice skating.

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 * (source)**

But then in contrast to that, we have pictures like this one (source):



... and this one (source):



... so it's pretty obvious not everyone saw things through Gignoux's rosy french glasses. The artists make it pretty clear in their paintings how they feel the relationship between humans and nature really is. Those like Gignoux show the two being of somewhat equal worth, as signified by the relatively realistic proportions, living harmoniously; those like Cole not only use darker colors and heavier moods, they dwarf their individuals in comparison to nature, showing where their true alliances lie.

The biggest thing I take from this rough comparison is that even these romantic era HRS painters didn't agree on what the true relationship between humans and nature really is, so it is no surprise we spent so long debating that in class ourselves. The relationship is complex and multifaceted and while such characteristics make for a sparkly diamond they make a hell of a logical debate.

On a relatively unrelated note, Albert Bierstadt has to be my favorite HRS painter I've encountered thus far. I highly suggest checking out his work. Amazing stuff.


 * Thursday, March 1, 2012**

Considering we just spoke at length about Chicago, when this email (also copied below) was sent to my inbox this morning I immediately thought to share it. Apparently a large company in Chicago has agreed to shut down its coal plants over the next few years, something that I presume will open up a larger dialogue about alternative sources of energy. Though technology has evolved past a complete reliance on the railroad and coal powered engines are considered now more a novelty than the norm, I think this is certainly something worth noting.


 * __Full disclosure__**: While this has been emailed out by Greenpeace and posted to their facebook wall, I have yet to find any news source verifying it. Take that as you will.

 //Dear Natasha,//

//**Yesterday was a big day for clean air.** For nearly 100 years, Edison International’s Fisk and Crawford coal plants have loomed over the City of Chicago, fueling climate change, exposing families to dangerous levels of chemicals and polluting the air.// //But the people of Chicago fought back-- and won. **That’s right, the city of Chicago has quit coal!**// //For over ten years, community members in Chicago have been standing up to Edison International and demanding their right to clean air and a safe climate. With your help, they achieved an historic victory today - **the Fisk coal plant in Pilsen will shut down in 2012 and the Crawford coal plant in Little Village will shut down by 2014.**//

//And as if we didn’t already have enough to be excited about with the victory in Chicago, we had ANOTHER victory for the people of Pennsylvania and Ohio. GenOn announced that they will close seven coal plants including the Portland, PA plant which was responsible for over 500 asthma attacks and 54 heart attacks.//

//You have a lot to be proud of.//

//These victories are not only for the people of Chicago, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, but for local activists all over the country who are workin// //g to shut down dirty coal plants in their communities.//  //Thank you for your continued support and dedication. Together, we will quit coal.//

//Sincerely,//

//Kelly Mitchell// //Greenpeace, Coal Campaigner//


 * For class Monday, February 27, 2012**

My idea of 'nature': Waimea Canyon, Kauai, HI Reflection after class: I didn't have much to say about my choice when I stood up to present it, and I was honest in my confession that I did not spend the same amount of time thinking about this as it seems the rest of you did. In retrospect, my choice seems to explain itself, the realization of which certainly made me pause. I really do idealize nature. For me it is peaceful, an escape from the hectic lives we live today; in fact, the quickest way for me to de-stress is to open a window or just walk outside and sit. I see nature as a complete system - it creates and destroys, and it manages things rather nicely when humans aren't systematically destroying it. Nature is, of course, far more brutal, harsh and unloving than this. Some might argue that it is in fact a completely broken system constantly trying to fix itself but unable to keep up. Altogether, though, my idyllic representation above is an accurate portrayal of what my conceptualization of nature is, and I'm okay with that. But now it has me thinking, in what ways does my view of nature influence my activism? Or more off, does that even matter?


 * Sunday, February 26, 2012**

Much like Armando, the discussion on friday, as well as Cronon's book in general, has really brought the idea of consumerism to the front of my mind. It feels like our society has been driven by the idea of 'more, more. more' for longer than I thought, and the kinds of injustices that have resulted from it make me feel almost residually guilty for the actions of individuals I have no relation with. Advertisements, public individuals, every day conversations, we are told innumerable times everyday that we need to have something else - you need Nikes to get the most from your workout, you need Apple products or you're out of date, you need a certain car to feel secure in your 'individual, unique' identity as the best soccer mom/business man/college student. Consumerism is pushed down down our throats - and it seems like it was the same in the era of western expansion. Rails were built to promote travel and expand markets, salesmen would travel through rural areas to sell a lifestyle that people got by without quite well for quite a long time.

That is not to say that all consumerism is bad - it helped improve the income and livelihoods of many people. I just feel like it did so by taking advantage of a lot of people along the way, and that exploitation (that still goes on today all over the world) is what makes me feel guilty for what I have.




 * Monday, February 6, 2012**

One of the things that really made my inner Anthropology nerd geek out today was the idea of Mutuality systems. As Dr. Lester was explaining what this system is, I immediately thought of Marcel Mauss and his publication "The Gift." In it he explains what some call the politics of gift exchange. You can read more about Mauss and a summary of The Gift here.

Mutuality systems, though carried out quite a bit differently than, for example, Native American potlatch, seem to have achieved somewhat similar ends. Through the exchange of goods and labor, subsistence farmers demonstrated not only their respect for the others in their community, but, according to Mauss' theory of exchange, reinforced their own power and influence. I wonder if this exchange value transcended generations as well, such that 'debts' were not credited to individuals but rather entire families, or perhaps the farm at large. It would provide another means through which one generation could provide for their offspring.