Jeremy's Reaction to JUA

While I learned a lot on our “Save us or Slay us” Junior Urban Adventure trip, I found that our questions can’t be answered in two days. I learned that medicine causes more good than evil because it saves many lives and increases the quality of life for everyone else. I learned that we can be environmentally friendly in our buildings in an affordable and time-efficient way. However, I don’t think these lessons teach us about how to proceed with the technologies we are currently developing. We know we should use caution and we know that we need change. But how? What can one person do? I think our biggest lessons were not in the exhibits we visited and the people we interviewed, but rather what we did in-between. Cell-phones helped us communicate with each other and the busses and trains helped us get around. Many of us took medicine on the trip to stay healthy and ate food wore clothing processes in distant factories. We recognize that these phones created waste in their production, that the bus added to global warming, and that the food and clothing wasted water, electricity, and likely caused much pollution. However, we used these technologies because they added to our trip- they made life better. Leading up to the 19th century, technology drastically increased the quality of life for almost everyone. People began living longer, healthier, and happier lives. But since the mid 1800’s, the world has experienced problems with global warming, over-population, starvation, and epidemics. As we discover new technologies, the quality of life is no longer increasing. In fact, it seems to be getting worst for most people and only better for the few. The rich get bigger tv’s, smaller phones, and fancier houses. The poor get sicker and hungrier. So what has changed? I have learned that nothing has changed, but rather, the consequences of our actions are finally being realized with the help of technology. We see the impact of global warming and widespread poverty. It has always existed, our factories have always caused pollution, but we only now realize it. We used to be ignorant and blissful. But now, we are no longer ignorant so must do something to increase the quality of life for all. But what? We want our phones and computers and big cars, as evident on our JUA trip! I have learned that we can’t just take one big step over night- people don’t want to hurt their quality of life. However, it’s just the rich who don’t want to hurt their quality of life. By becoming more energy efficient, using less, and being aware of our surroundings, we may not have all the luxuries that we want, but the majority of people’s lives will improve. We can’t make this change overnight. We need to take baby steps. I think we need to start by creating a pamphlet of how to make a business green. What businesses need to be used? How much would it cost? How long would it take? How much money would house-owners, businesses, and communities save? By doing this work, we can create a system in which people have an incentive to use. If New Hampton then takes this guide, uses the buildings on campus as the tester, then we will be an example of how technology can be implanted to save the planet.