Radium Girls Reflection

I went to see a tri-school production of “Radium Girls”.  “Radium Girls” is set in the 1920’s just when Marie Curie discovered radium.  Radium is a chemical element that is both toxic and glows.  To help with the war efforts women were in factories painting watch dials for soldiers to see the time in the dark.  And for the women to get pointed brushes for precise painting, they put the paintbrushes in their mouths.  Over the years women from the factories have died with jaw complications and cells dying in the hand.  The remaining women from the radium plant fought against the radium corporation to get compensation for their medical bills and care.

The production of “Radium Girls” taught me that women fought for their justice so the radium issue was not just a science discovery but also a start for women to challenge society.  The radium girls from the plant challenged socially higher people and ultimately won against the big corporations.  Overall I believe that “Radium Girls” is a great production for showing young women to stand up for what they believe in and also a great insight to what’s to come in AP Biology!

November 9, 2017December 12, 2017 by kaitlynoshiro Tags: apbio, ndbtigers, play, radium girls, reflection, theater, trischool 1 Comment

Earth Science Week and Laudato Si

During Earth Science Week the American Geosciences Institute holds a contest which students can enter photographs pertaining to a theme.  This years theme was about human activity on the earth.  I took this prompt as how humans help the environment rather than hurt the earth.  Also last week at school we discussed Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si which is about how humans need to protect the environment and that a poor environment badly impacts the poor.  By corresponding our discussion of Laudato Si and Environmental Science Week helps our understanding of helping the environment is both a scientific and social issue.

This is my submitted photograph for the Environmental Science Week contest.  I chose this photo to embody human interaction on Earth since the photograph was taken at Yosemite National Park in California.  Human interaction with the environment is clearly seen by the people on the trail in the bottom right corner, but it is the mountains that are the epitome of our interaction with the earth.  Since Yosemite is a national park, it is paid by the government to be protected which is absolutely incredible.  People all over the world can then come to this national park to observe the beauty of nature and that is what I believe to be human interaction with the environment, enjoy and preserve nature.

Here is a short video describing Pope Francis’ Laudato Si.

October 19, 2017December 12, 2017 by kaitlynoshiro Tags: apbio, earth, earth science week, ESW, Laudato Si, ndbtigers, photo, Pope Francis 1 Comment

FLOW Reflection

Although water is the majority of the Earth, so many people die from not having water.  Water sustains life, and without there is no life.  The documentary FLOW discusses the topic of water, water privatization, bottling companies, and the hardships in third world countries on finding clean water sources.  The one thing that surprised me the most in the film was that bottled water is not any purer than tap water.  I always thought that bottled water was more pure and free of chemicals but it turns out that we don’t know what’s in bottled water.  Because of this I have been drinking more tap water rather than bottled water (another perk, using less plastic!).

The entire documentary was very informative and even though I have seen this once before, there were some facts that I forgot and shocked me again.  I learned that water companies unrightfully take water from poor families and companies then make these people either pay for the water or not even give them water.  The film’s main purpose is to spread awareness of water privatization and companies taking advantage of third world countries.  The filmmaker is trying to get across that water is not a privilege but a human right.  The filmmaker is ultimately trying to get support for Article 31 to be put into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which establishes access to clean water as a human right.

The documentary was released in 2008 and in the 9 years between then and now there has been a plethora of water charities that fund water to places where clean water is not accessible.  However, bottled water companies, especially Nestle, have continued to take water from public sources, claiming its theirs, and selling it for a huge profit margin.  As seen in the film, Nestle’s main source for spring water is in Michigan and there were many petitions and court cases saying that what Nestle is doing is inhumane and unconstitutional.  With that being said, today Nestle is still pumping from wells and springs from Michigan.  Even with successes of educating the population of the water issue, companies are still unrightfully taking water from people who need it most.

Here are some images from the documentary:

September 11, 2017December 12, 2017 by kaitlynoshiro Tags: apbio, cool, documentary, flow, movie, ndbtigers, save water, water Leave a comment