IHSS Blog 2019-2020

Henry Quillin Mr. Roddy IHSS 25 March 2020 Prison Conditions  I chose to read “Objects Made by Prisoners in the United States”. This article is very interesting and provides a small insight as to what it might be like to be incarcerated in an American prison. It shows that inmates are not given many basic items and don’t have access to some of the things that we, as free people, could not live without. It is astonishing to me that inmates don’t even get access to a proper toothbrush, and are instead given toothbrushes that don’t have a handle. It could be argued that this is sensible because there are many instances where prisons have made shivs out of the toothbrush they were given; however, I believe that this is a problem that starts with the harsh prison conditions, not the inmates themselves.  If prisoners were given the proper resources that they need, there would be less violence, as inmates would not have to fight for basic items. Overcrowding, insufficient staf...

Andreas Cantu Mr. Roddy  IHSS 25 March 2020 Prison Inventions  In prisons all over America the rights of the prisoners have been stretched to near nonexistence and there is not a lot the prisoners can do about it. They are left to rely on the public and those who believe in in prisoner rights. With the lack of rights comes the lack of necessities for basic hygiene and everyday life. However this is not the case because the wardens have just decided to take them way, there are multiple safety hazards that come with these objects. One of the biggest examples of this are toothbrushes. Toothbrushes can pose as extremely dangerous weapons when put in the hands of a prisoners. In just a few minutes the harmless toothbrush has transformed into a shiv of mass destruction. The prisons recognize this and began taking them away from prisoners in order to prevent murders inside in the prison walls. Another large staple that is getting taken away are pens. Similar to the toothbru...

           Clothing production around the world has doubed since the year 2000, making the fashion indsutry the second biggest polluter in the world. The impact of the indsutry on the enviroment has always been substantial, but in recent years as it has continued to grow, the impact has grown with it. It is estimated that aproximately every second a truck load of clothing is dumped or burned in a landfill. Not only is this a huge amount of resources, but it is also clothing that could easily be reworn or recycled. This is an extremely wasteful amount and is not only affecting the resources that are used, but also the workers who are being forced to produce materials at extremely fast rates.            Wasting these materials is one of the major ways that this is having an effect on the enviroment but another is the waste that is produced and put into the enviroment. Often when factories produce clothing, once they are done the...

In 2014, Seattle's minimum wage was slightly over nine dollars while the federal wage was $7.25 per hour. However, in 2014 Seattle passed a law that would gradually increase minimum wage to fifteen dollars per hour by 2021. This is law is currently supported by two Democratic presidential candidates: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. However, when this law was implemented within Seattle, there were some unforeseen problems that occurred within local burger joint, Dick's Drive In. The president of the burger joint thought that the higher wages would make people want to work more hours. Unfortunately it was quite the opposite. Instead of taking more hours, employees decided to work less forcing the burger joint to raise prices for the first time in the restaurants history. Although Dick's already paid above minimum wage, starting at seventeen dollars as well as health insurance, because of the rising wages this puts pressure on employers and businesses to pay more "in order ...

Asher Forman Mr. Roddy IHSS 25 March 2020 Unsustainable Fashion Week Carbon emissions are a serious problem that affects the Earth and everyone on it. When one thinks of carbon emissions, they think of people burning fossil fuels, but something that many people overlook is the fashion industry. Although, how is it that the fashion industry contributes to carbon emissions? Well, this is because of all the clothing that is made. As of the year 2000 and onward, this industry manufactures around 150 billion articles of clothing annually. With all of this clothing being made, the factories are constantly running. This makes it so these factories are regularly releasing large quantities of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Over the years, this industry has gotten worse and worse in sustainability. As of recent studies, the clothing industry contributes to about 10% of all total carbon emissions. This is partly because of everyone feeling the need to make new clothes. In the ...

How does creativity persevere behind bars? While a body can be held captive, the creative spirit and survival instinct of the mind is harder to constrain. Mmueseumm , an educational institution based in New York, collects historical artifacts, each bearing the story of their creator. This article discussed inventions created by inmates in the U.S. prison system. Living in unpleasant captivity, these individuals were forced to be innovative in hopes of making their life more pleasurable. After all, the strict guards refused to give the prisoners access to any material that could potentially be used as a weapon or transformed into a weapon when melted. In their eyes, even everyday items could give the prisoners leverage in escape or attack.  For example, the handles of toothbrushes were deemed too dangerous, thus prisoners were given “safety fingertip brushes." In other words, they were given only the bristles of the toothbrush. To form a contraband toothbrush, prisoners took...

Andy Walsh Mr. Roddy IHSS 25 March 2020 Are Electric Cars Better for the Environment The article Electric Cars Are Better For The Environment Than A 50 MPG Gasoline Car: Report claims that electric cars are much better for the environment than a gasoline car. I disagree, for example, the Tesla model S has a lithium filled battery pack that weighs 1,200 pounds. It does a great job powering the car and it does have a zero emission “Rating”. Electric cars are not completely safe for the environment. Gas powered cars last much longer than an electric car and once they die out they can be salvaged for stealing and parts. An electric car, on the other hand, leaves a 1,200 pound battery behind when they are left for parts. Tesla does have a way to recycle these batteries but the recycling process has a huge carbon footprint and is worse for the environment. The average gas powered car has to drive for ten years until it makes the same carbon footprint as an electric car battery a...