2/28/12 Journal

I have been thinking a lot about cars this week. The environmental film I chose was fuel, so this really has me thinking. The film really was an emotional roller coaster. Not in the sense that I wanted to cry at parts, but there were some things that made me so angry and some that were really hopeful even. What I have been thinking about the most are the hopeful portions. This film is not new, but there does not seem to be much progress since then. If we have all these capabilities to get different sources of biofuel to drive cars why have we not seen this yet? My roommate drives a diesel car, and its hard enough to even find a pump for her. Flagstaff is known for being “environmentally friendly” and a hippie haven, but why in this place where people would be happy to help do we still not see a change? The only conclusion I have come to is that there is not enough money dedicated to research, and getting these alternative sources of energy accessible. Why do we subsidize oil drills and call for “domestic energy” if we already have the answer? As you can tell, this movie has left me with a lot of questions that I would like the answers to.

2/14/12 Entry

This week I've been thinking a lot about how just the simple act of driving is portrayed in music. In one of my other classes, I am doing a project on the automobile industry and the gasoline industry and how they use advertisements to make feel at ease about their unsustainable practices. The project for this class has made me think not only about the obvious billboards and commercials, but music too. Of course, when musicians are singing about their cars and driving, they are not meaning to influence others to buy a certain brand of car or even gasoline. But in reality, that is exactly what they are doing. People look up to musicians as idols, even gods in some cases. Waiting in line for hours to see live performances, it would not surprise me at all that people buy a car because it is endorsed by their favorite star, or sung about on their favorite album. While this definitely serves to make me less optimistic about the world becoming a more sustainable place, if it is directly addressed maybe this can be a good thing. Celebrities such as Mark Walberg are becoming increasingly more active in environmental education and awareness. If artists were to sing about driving around in their smart cars, people could be more influenced to do the same.