Citizenship

Anthony De Rosa is an adjunct professor of journalism at New York University. Today, he provided us with an important reminder of how it is still supposed to work in this country.

 

If you have thoughts about Syria and U.S. military action, please let Doris Matsui, our member of the House of Representatives, know as soon as possible.  Contact info here.

Ecuador Asked the World to Pay it Not to Drill for Oil. What was the World's Answer?

Time to check on the news from Ecuador.

Last year, our World Politics/Global Issues classes read of the estimated 840 million barrels of the oil under the Yasuni Rainforest National Park, one of the most pristine and biodiverse ecoystems in the world.   The oil under Yasuni represents an important revenue source in a country that despite marked achievements in quality of life still has nearly a quarter of its citizens living in deep poverty.   However, drilling in Yasuni raises obvious environmental concerns that trouble many Ecuadorians and people around the world.   In 2007,  Ecuador's President, Rafael Correa presented wealthy country donors with a bold proposal: pay Ecuador $3.6 billion and it would leave the Yasuni oil in the ground.

Now, nearly six years later, President Correa has his answer:  No.

In a televised address to the nation, President Correa announced the end of his Yasuni initiative, noting that "the world has failed us."  Oil exploration in the region is scheduled to begin within weeks.


The story is fascinating and important, with global implications stretching well beyond Ecuador.   Reading the articles at the links above are well worth your time.

Say no to Test Culture

     Haven't we learned our lesson from all the terrible unintended consequences of the test culture created by No Child Left Behind?  Then why compound those mistakes by creating a new test culture under a new name, Common Core?

(Note from Ms. Jablonski) I asked Mr. Tagg to test how others may write blog posts here in anticipation of the new school year.  All my government students will be assigned blog posting/commenting as a class requirement (details will be provided in class).  Mr. Tagg's test post takes off from the letter he wrote to the Sacramento Bee, which was published yesterday.