Analyzing Bullshit

          Penn & Teller are making the argument that recycling is not as great as most people make it out to be and it's actually bad for the environment. They claim that recycling is not only a waste of time and money, but also a waste of our resources. Penn & Teller back up their arguments by interviewing both experts that support the benefits and deny the benefits of recycling. I feel they were convincing and effective at proving that taxpayers are paying more to recycle items than it would be to make new ones from scratch. They responded to many counterarguments by interviewing average people off the street and providing answers to their questions. Penn & Teller proved that it costs three times more to recycle our garbage & costs us about eight billion dollars a year. I think they exposed a lot of myths that most people had about why we recycle in the first place. They explained how there is no actual landfill shortage. Most landfills are covered up to have golf courses made and trees planted on. They also uncovered that gases from lanfills are stored and used to energize homes, debunking the theory that the gases were polluting the atmosphere.

Prewriting Activities #2, Pg. 435

Loneliness

• Loneliness is a depressed feeling of worthlessness and looks like a person who is secluded from any emotional contact from others.
• It can make a person withdraw socially when they are at their lowest point. It can occur when someone has moved far away and is in a new area where they don't know many people.
• Moving to another state for college, where you have no relatives or familiar faces around you can cause you to feel loneliness. If a beloved family member that you're especially close to dies, you may feel an intense loneliness.
• Loneliness can take many forms, such as causing someone to feel so miserable that they contemplate suicide or cause them to simply withdraw from communicating with others.
• Loneliness can start off small by becoming quiet and reserved, then limited communication with others, no longer going outside and shutting yourself in at home, until finally the person may consider suicide as a last resort to stop their hurt feelings.
• Loneliness is like being depressed, feeling miserable, not accepted by others and is unlike happiness, fullfillment, and joyful.
• Secluding yourself and not talking to people about your uneasy feelings can lead you to become loney.  

Revising Activities, Pg. 401

The banking industry responded to inflation by introducing a new technology, the automated teller machine, also known as the ATM.The ATM makes money readily available to the average person by giving them cash to buy goods, regardless if they can afford them. Automated teller machines have had a number of negative consequences for the average individual. Machine-vended money means more impulse buying and since people know they can get cash at any time, they will most likely use their luch hours for shopping instead of going to the bank. People no longer need their checkbooks to withdraw money, so they will often have trouble trying to keep track of their account records and develop a casual attitude toward financial matters. It is not surprising that children end up not appreciating the value of money. The ATM has many advantages and disadvantages that should be considered when being used by the public.