should we pledge our allegiance to our flag?

The other day in class we talked about people that think we should not have to pledge our allegiance to our flag in class rooms or in other places. well I don't think that is right to say, if you think about what that stands for and what it means to our countries soldiers that are fighting for us right now what do you think they would say and how it would make them feel to no that people don't want to do something that means so much and stands for so much. I under stand that some people dont think they should say it beacuse they dont belive in God and thats fine if you dont want to say it dont even though I think you should, but it's not right to just get rid of it, it simpley means to much to this country.

America's Favorite Fuel

After watching a video about "clean coal" I had a renewed sense of opinion. I was always told that coal, no matter how efficient it is, is a horrible source of energy. But this video opened my eyes for a new perspective. For instance, I never knew that coal was the most abundant source of fuel in America. People have a tendency of leaving out those positive little facts about things they so badly wish to demean. Being told strictly what was so bad about coal never left an opinion open for the good aspects of it until now.
Yes, coal is slightly environmentally unclean but it provides roughly half of our electricity! The very electricity that keeps us warm in the winters and cool in the scorching summer's heat. Are we really so quick to dismiss a product that keeps many of us comfortable in such a stressful world? I'm not saying that coal is the best choice of energy but it's readily available for use now while other experiments are ongoing to test for more positive solutions to a cleaner world. Once an effective alternative source of energy is found I'll gladly change my vote in favor of a cleaner fuel!

Does the idea of "Clean Coal" strike you?

Robert Cox, the author of Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere, believes that "environmental communication is a study of the ways in which we communicate about the environment, the effects of this communication on our perceptions of both the environment and ourselves, and therefore on our relationship with the natural world." Like Cox, I agree that communication about the environment matters. As quoted by Cox, " Its matters in the way we interact with our friends, at work, and in naming certain conditions in our environment as "problems." "And it matters ultimately in the choices we make in response to these problems."

Coal is used to create almost half of all electricity generated in the United States. Almost 93% of the coal used in the United States is used for generating electricity. This electricity that's used powers America's industries, the millions of homes , and it even powers trivial things such as a electric toothbrush. Without coal America would be in serious turmoil.

Environmental communication is being used to inform and educate the public sphere about the serious issue of what to do when our main source of energy runs out. This environmental communication is distributed throughout America in the form of commercials, magazines, newspaper articles, YouTube clips, etc.

Every year "clean coal" is brought up as the major contributing factor to "GLOBAL WARMING," and every year millions of dollars are spent on advertising for the "clean coal" campaign. What I want to raise to you is that instead of spending millions on advertising why don't we spend it on research and technology to finding a better way to fuel America. "Clean" coal doesn't exist, no matter how control the emissions of coal are we are still polluting and still contributing to the build up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

In conclusion, America should stop wasting time and money on a cause that in the end will still have the same negative effect. We as Americans need to realize defeat. With the issue concerning coal we have been defeated. Instead putting all our efforts into a battle that is already lost, we should put them towards finding a "clean" reusable source of energy to power America.

www.washingtonpost.com