April 7

Ninemile Wolves by Rick Bass and The Gulf Between Us by Terry Tempest Williams

“I can say what I want to say. I gave up my science badge a long time ago. I’ve interviewed maybe a hundred people…The story is rich. I can begin anywhere” –Rick Bass

“The oil is not gone. This story is not over. We smelled it in the air. We felt it in the water. People along the Gulf Coast are getting sick and sicker. Marshes are burned. Oysters are scarce and shrimp are tainted. Jobs are gone and stress is high. What is now hidden will surface over time. ”
–Terry Tempest Williams


Opening Journal:
Respond to one of the following questions-
1-Aldo Leopold said, “Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land”—How has that harmony been violated in the incidents that incite both the writing of both Williams and Bass? How would you suggest re-establishing that harmony?
2-In Wendell Berry’s essay we read about “marginalization”—how have both the gulf and the wolves been marginalized? How do both writer’s reclaim a marginalized environment?

TED lecture:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZhL7P7w3as


In Groups:
1-Do you see Bass, Williams, and Klein as related? Why or why not?
2-How do all three pieces address the idea of ecology? (the interrelationship between any system and its environment)
3-Pick a favorite passage from one of the essays or a favorite quote from the speech
4-Compose a discussion question to share with the class

Homework:
-"Consider the Lobster" by David Foster Wallace
(http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2004/08/consider_the_lobster?printable=true) (please print off and bring to class)
(Journal)