February 2009 Archives

Not only has the ailing economy affected our pocketbooks, but it has also changed our built environment. Here in Rio Vista, California, the housing market crash has halted development of this subdivision. Elsewhere in the world, similar scenarios are being played out in the form of abandoned high rises, derelict shopping malls and unfinished luxury resorts.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/185678

"I have a student who has three interests in life: science, animals, and media. Can you suggest any cool software programs that her parents can purchase for home or that I can buy for the classroom? She is a very, very bright kid, mature, and academically super advanced."

Mariana Mujica-Parodi, 4th Grade Teacher, Washington D.C.

Hi Mariana,
There are loads of resources available on the My Wonderful World and National Geographic websites--for free! Here's a list of some online learning tools relating to science, animals, and media:

• My Wonderful World Fun & Games for Kids
• National Geographic Kids: Check out the many great sections of the website including animals, activities, photos, videos, and games.
• National Geographic's Jason Project offers full science curriculum and support for classroom teachers, as well as tools for at-home learning like the Resilient Planet game.
• National Geographic's Animals page features photo galleries and a Wildlife Filmmaker where you can create and share your own nature movies using National Geographic stock video and audio clips.

Those are just a few ideas. MWW parents and educators: Do you have suggestions of other software programs for Mariana and her students?

 Sarah Jane for My Wonderful World

Image courtesy National Geographic.com

All around the world this week, people celebrated the final days before Lent, a 40-day fast that is typically associated with Catholicism. National Geographic News featured these photos on their website today and I would like to share them with all of you. Compare these photos with the ones featured on the guest blog about Mardi Gras celebrations here in the United States. Enjoy!


February 23, 2009--Above, a dancer fearlessly performs atop an intimidating float during Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday. 
 
--Photograph by Natacha Pisarenko/AP


February 22, 2009--Clouds of fire emanate from the mouth of a performer in Barranquilla, Colombia, on Sunday.

The city's version of Carnival was declared a "Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO in 2003, which means the international organization urges protection of the event as a cultural treasure.

--Photograph by Fernando Vergara/AP

The French Quarter is the quintessential center of Mardi Gras in New Orleans and traditionally what people associate with the celebration. Here, debauchery is at its most extreme and anything goes. Locals work on costumes for months and concerns of too much glitter, too many feathers and beads, too much naked skin never come to mind. But Mardi Gras is much more than this.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans is (now) as diverse as the city is. Uptown parades are family-oriented with cookouts on the neutral ground (the median the streetcar rolls along). Families set up ladders for children to stand on to better see and have a chance at catching throws. It is not uncommon to see tents, large areas taped off, couches, and other assorted furniture on the neutral grounds of the city during Mardi Gras.

One of my close friends has lived in both Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans, Louisiana--two cities that have always observed Mardi Gras and squabble over bragging rights concerning which stately southern city first celebrated the historically Catholic event. Mardi Gras began about 60 miles south of New Orleans at Point du Mardi Gras, or Mardi Gras Point, in 1699. Mobile's first official celebration was in 1703. Since New Orleans was not "founded" until 1718, Mobilians consider the Point du Mardi Gras celebration in 1699 null and void!

 

National Geographic Books has produced a new work for young people called "Every Human Has Rights: A Photographic Declaration for Kids."

Based on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this compelling book combines stunning National Geographic photography and poetry from students in the ePaLs community with kid-friendly adaptations of the Human Rights Declaration official text.

Among the more geographic rights outlined in the book are human equality, safety, movement, refuge, nationality, religion, health, and education. Graffiti-like script and judicious incorporation of white space, coupled with bold statements about the track records of various world nations, create a dramatic narrative: "Tanzania has a mixed record on human rights. It honors some, like freedom of speech, but not others, such as equal rights for woman....Cuba, where everyone has the right to free education and free health care, but elections aren't free and fair."

My favorite excerpt is this simple testament from 11-year-old Anjali Nemorin:

This was a busy week in the world of U.S. public policy and public affairs.  Brush up on the week's events with Five for Friday below.

1. Obama establishes the White House Office of Urban Affairs

Yesterday, Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing the White House Office of Urban Affairs. In the order, Obama stated that, "About 80 percent of Americans live in urban areas, and the economic health and social vitality of our urban communities are critically important to the prosperity and quality of life for Americans." Additionally, he explains that, "Vibrant cities spawn innovation, economic growth, and cultural enrichment through the businesses, universities, and civic, cultural, religious, and nonprofit institutions they attract."

Indeed, cities can be vibrant and full of culture, but in order for this to happen, they must be planned accordingly. Fortunately, the fields of urban geography and urban planning concern themselves with just this. Can you think of any cities that really 'strike you' as centers of innovation and cultural enrichment?

2. The United States and Canada unite in a pledge for a "Green Energy" future.

In President Obama's first foreign trip since taking office, he headed north to attend a joint news conference Thursday afternoon where he and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that the two countries would work together on research and development to advance carbon reduction technologies and develop an electric grid that can deliver clean and renewable energy in the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, discussions centered on how these new technologies can provide a boost to the ailing economy. Both Obama and Harper hope to reduce reliance on Canadian tar sands and U.S. coal-fired power plants due to environmental concerns. Obama added," We can't afford to combat these issues in isolation."

According to this article in the Daily Telegraph (UK) and this ABC News article, Thomas Gillespie, a UCLA Geography professor, claims to have narrowed down the probable locations of Osama bin Laden to just three particular houses in Parachinar, a large town in Pakistan.

According to Gillespie, his team used biogeographic theories to pinpoint the terror leader's exact location. Specifically, they employed established animal distribution theories to predict the location of possibly the world's most wanted criminal. Syncing their findings with satellite imaging techniques, and taking bin Laden's known "life history characteristics" into account, they managed to narrow their search to an astonishingly discrete spatial area.

Perhaps the claims are too extraordinary, though, as some experts, including a CIA official, have voiced skepticism. Kim Rossmo of Texas State University, who has worked with the military to find terrorists, told USA Today that, "The idea of identifying three buildings in a city of half a million, especially one in a country the authors have likely never visited, is somewhat overconfident."

 Despite the detractors, I still find this to be an intriguing use of geographic expertise. I'd be interested to hear your opinions on the accuracy of Thomas Gillespie's findings.

Cameron for My Wonderful World

Sources: Telegraph.co.uk & ABC News

We here at My Wonderful World just got wind of this event and thought it would a great resource for all of you teachers out there! Check it out and spread the word about the world!

The International Cartographic Association invites all of the students in your schools, 16 and under to participate in an international map event.
 
The exhibit was developed to promote children's creative representation of the world, to enhance their cartographic awareness and to make them more conscious of their environment.
 
Children across the world will create maps and submit them for evaluation by a panel of judges. The judges will evaluate the maps based on the following criteria: a recognizable message, cartographic content, and quality of execution. Six maps will be selected from each country and will be sent to the International Cartographic Conference in Santiago, Chile.
 
Maps are to be submitted to Tanya Buckingham, address below, by May 15, 2009.

Read the February 2009 Newsletter: "Tell President Obama to Make Geography Education a Priority"

Inside:
GeoFeature: Brown v. Board of Education: A Geographic Review
Geography in the News: The Guantánamo Bay Conundrum
Blog: Arne Duncan: Good for Geography? (by MWW Director Chris Shearer)

Plus:

I don't know about you, but when I see photos or hear stories of interspecies animal friendships it just makes me happy. I feel like if two completely different species can hang out, have a good time and be friends, then there truly is hope for the world.

Take the case of Owen and Mzee, for instance. Owen, a baby hippo, was orphaned by the tsunamis of 2005 and brought to an animal sanctuary in Mombasa, Kenya. While there, he met Mzee, a 130 year old giant tortoise. They soon became great friends and are now inseparable. Check out their website here.

My personal favorite is the 'foster mom' Labrador retriever named Lisha. She has cared for over thirty different animals, including a porcupine, cheetahs, kittens and a pygmy hippo. Right now, she is taking care of a couple of tiger cubs... CUTE, right? 

So, on this Valentines Day, take a cue from these animals and be a good friend to someone--it will be appreciated. 

Cameron for My Wonderful World

Images: www.gigglerific.com and http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/

1.

So you have decided to cook dinner at home tonight. You go to the store and you buy some pork chops, some greens, some potatoes and all the assorted 'fixins' that go with your meal. You head home and you dice your potatoes, coat them with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper, and then throw them in the oven which is heated to 400 degrees. Next, you season your pork chops with Dijon mustard, black pepper and coriander and let them sit for a moment. You then wash and cut your greens and set them aside. You turn your attention to the skillet that you have been preheating on the stove, it looks hot. Now you take your marinated chops and you place them into the hot skillet, searing them on each side and then lowering the heat to cook them through. As the chops near completion you place your washed greens on the plate and top them with gruyere cheese and walnuts; you finish them with a light balsamic vinaigrette. Turning back towards the stove you remove the chops from the skillet and plate them. Finally, you open your oven and pull out your casserole dish of potatoes and situate them between the chops and the greens. Voila, dinner is served.

2.

This process, when explained in detail seems like quite the accomplishment, but even more astonishing than the shopping and preparation process is the entire interconnected web of events that have come together to make your dinner possible.

Take that little pile of greens for example; where did they come from? Let's say that you live in Oklahoma (like me) and the greens came from Napa Valley, California. That means that those greens, which let's assume are not organic, were shipped over 1700 miles to get to your plate.

3.

Consider the amount of energy that was required to transport your salad to your plate. Seventeen hundred miles at roughly seven miles per gallon equals 242.9 gallons of diesel fuel to make that meal happen. If diesel fuel is $4 per gallon, that is nearly $1000 dollars in transport costs, not counting maintenance.

 4.

That is a LOT of fuel to get those greens to your plate... but let's talk about the green revolution. If you are unfamiliar with this concept, please read the linked article. In short: During the mid to late 1960s, agriculture was transformed by the introduction of genetically altered strains of crops, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The resulting yields were much higher when compared to pre-green revolution agriculture yields. So what is the problem with higher yields? The issue is that it is extremely inefficient, meaning that it uses huge amounts of oil, manpower and electricity to produce negligible increases in total output. Also, the practice is generally not considered to be congruent with proper "land stewardship techniques."

Our own Danny Edelson, vice president for education at the National Geographic Society, recently authored an op-ed for Education Week. In his commentary, Edelson makes the case that restoring geographic education in the K-12 curriculum is necessary to prepare the current generation of students for an increasingly globalized world. Read the full text article, titled "Geography and Generation G."

What do you think of the piece and the concept of a new "global generation"     (Gen G) ?

Today, two men who helped shape the world celebrate their birthdays--posthumously. On February 12, 1809, both Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln arrived into the world, and both went on to change history.

Abraham Lincoln would become the President of the United States of America in 1861, four years before his assassination at the hands of Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. He presided over the Civil War that split the fledgling nation between North and South, issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, outlawing the social/cultural/economic/legal --geographic-- institution of slavery with the passage of the 13th Amendment, delivering the Gettysburg Address, and ultimately preserving the Union. He was also the first president to sport a beard, and what a beard it was.

Perhaps no other figure in U.S. history has been celebrated or elevated to a higher status than Lincoln, but much about his true intentions and personal life has remained shrouded behind a veil of adoration. This month, PBS airs a new documentary hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. of Harvard University, titled "Looking for Lincoln." In it, Gates explores the true intentions and motivations behind Lincoln and his presidency.

Also, check out these cool interactive maps on the PBS website that showcase locations of Lincoln statues, historical sites and cities/counties named after the former President.
 

Charles Darwin is one of the most well known and celebrated scientists in history. It was whilst sailing around the world aboard the H.M.S. Beagle that Darwin first began to formulate his theory of natural selection, which stipulates that "only the strong survive"... and then mate to pass their "strong" genes on to their offspring. In this manner, natural selection allows species to adapt to the changing conditions of local environments.

Geographically, the implications of natural selection are enormous--as the theory essentially states that your environment (i.e. where you are) plays a huge role in how your species adapts and evolves. Roughly twenty years later, Darwin released his compiled thoughts and theories in the book titled On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. The book was received well by most, but not religious leaders. Despite the criticism, natural selection became the foundation for the theory of evolution, which revolutionized the world.

February is Black History Month! Today, we remember the landmark educational legislation that changed the course and composition of American schools. In 1954, the Supreme Court case Brown vs. Board of Education called for an end to segregation in U.S. institutions of learning. However, implementation of the law varied by geographic location across the country, and continues to be an issue even today.


The 1957 integration events at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, are some of the most well known of the Civil Rights era. Following the 1954 Brown vs. Board decision, the Little Rock School Board agreed to proceed with desegregation of local schools, beginning with Central High School. In September 1957, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus called in the Arkansas National Guard; ostensibly to maintain peace and order. After the Arkansas Guardsmen prevented black students from entering the school, President Eisenhower got involved, sending 1000 members of the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock. Nine African-American students attended Central High School that year, including Minnijean Brown, who was famously suspended after dumping a bowl of chili on the heads of white bullies. Ernest Green became the first black student to graduate from Central High School in 1958. Little Rock schools were not fully integrated across grade levels until 1972.

Read more about integration at Central High School:

Little Rock Integration Timeline
From the Central High 40th Anniversary Web site

Choices in Little Rock
From "Facing History and Ourselves," this teaching unit challenges students to consider Central High school integration in the context of civic choices today.

Warriors Don't Cry
Warriors Don't Cry is the autobiography of Melba Pattillo Beals, a member of the Little Rock Nine. Make sure to check out Facing History's companion study guide.

In January, President Obama appointed the young superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, Arne Duncan, to be the next United States Secretary of Education. (Well, I'd call him young; we are very nearly the same age and I'd feel pretty youthful to be heading the US educational system.) Although never a teacher, Duncan is an experienced administrator and he embodies Barack Obama's educational goals. What does his appointment mean for Geography education?

First off, Duncan would not likely have gotten much geography in college at Harvard. While he made it to be co-captain of the varsity basketball team, his Ivy League alma mater doesn't even field a geography department. In fact, of all the Ivys, today only Dartmouth retains a geography program. This is a terrible situation for the country, since many of the emerging leaders who graduate from these august institutions are underexposed to the spatial perspective and tools.

However, Secretary Duncan does have a lot of hard-won experience about the importance of "space and place," as geographers say. His senior thesis was based on research conducted in the Chicago inner-city Kenwood neighborhood. After college, he lived abroad and played ball in Australia. And, as past CEO of Chicago's Public Schools, Duncan has an acute understanding of the import of where schools are placed,  which communities they serve, and how geographic issues such as demographics, tax base, and racial distribution affect a school system.

This past week, Australia has been the scene of raging brush fires that, at the time of this posting, have claimed nearly 200 lives (NPR). This number of deaths seems ludicrously high, and I have tried to mentally justify how something as simple as a brush fire could kill so many people. According to some scientists, reasons for the high death count include climate change and dwindling water resources. This is in contrast to my initial conclusions of poor emergency management and geographically isolated areas, which however, probably did exacerbate the problem.

 This morning, Freya Matthews of Australia's La Trobe University wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald that, "Saturday's events showed us the terrifying face of climate change. The heat was devastating, even without the fire." Matthews implies that fires such as the ones that barreled through Australia this weekend are now going to become commonplace. I can't say that I disagree with her on this matter. Here in the United States, many climatologists and geographers have attributed the fury of Hurricane Katrina to rising oceanic temperatures. Similarly, if one takes the time to actively seek out environmental destruction stories (such as Australia's brush fires or Hurricane Katrina, but perhaps much less publicized catastrophes like the expected extinction of salamanders), they will find that many of these disasters are theoretically caused by a rapidly changing climate.

The closing of Guantánamo Bay was one of President Obama's chief promises on the campaign trail and one of the first executive orders issued this January.  The prison camp, which houses 250 inmates on the southern coast of Cuba, will be gradually shut down over the next year. Yet the question remains as to where former detainees will be sent.  Fifty to one hundred detainees await federal or military trial and will be placed into the U.S. prison system, but nearly one hundred fifty prisoners remain in international limbo. With U.S. penitentiaries protesting the absorption of potentially dangerous prisoners and the prisoners' countries of origin refusing to readmit them abroad, the closing of Gitmo will challenge ideas of federal security and national identity.

We want to know:

How can a geographic perspective help U.S. decision makers solve the problem of what to do with Guantánamo prisoners?

Read more about the Guantánamo Bay conundrum:

CNN.com: "What's next for Guantánamo Bay detainees?"
Al Jazeera English: "Guantánamo Bay: Obama's options"
Citizen Sugar: "Guantánamo"

Image of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, courtesy NASA.

Addendum! One final entry for the Youth Media Blog-a-Thon on "regime change."

If there was any question about young people's power to change the world, the 2008 presidential election answered it. Beyond the fact that 66% of young voters (18-29) voted for Obama, the real impact was on the primaries. Obama consistently outpaced Hillary Clinton among the younger age groups. When you consider the razor-thin margin by which he won, you can state with certainty that if it wasn't for young voters, there would have been a Clinton vs. McCain general election. "Yes We Can" is only true because so many young voters can say "Yes We Did."

For a nonpartisan organization like HeadCount (www.HeadCount.org), the actual outcome of the election is not our concern. But the facts are the facts, and it can't be ignored that the very demographic we targeted for voter registration are the ones who skewed strongest toward the candidate who won. It means our work really does have political impact, and that young people really have become a key voting bloc.

As part of the Youth Media Blog-a-Thon, the My Wonderful World team has been sharing our insights on the topic of regime change. For the past week we've reflected on how the American youth initiated change and how we believe they can sustain it.  
We couldn't think of a better way to wrap-up the week than by highlighting your responses to our first question on Monday:
What issues do you hope Obama tackles in his first 100 days in office?

 As part of our Five for Friday series, we'll share our five favorite replies:  

•    Education: "I think the first issue we need to tackle is our schools. Obama should work closely with educators and administrators to reform the system of NCLB so that it benefits students first."
•    Economy: "To revitalize the economy, Obama should immediately create government-funded infrastructure projects that embrace green technology and sustainable development."
•    Environment: "I don't think we can afford not to focus on the environment. We can not go on like we have been or else we will deplete it all and have to revert back to the 19th century. [I'm thinking of oil] Sounds harsh and unrealistic, I'm sure, but that's how I see it"
•    Immigration: "I want to see some serious statements made about immigration reform. I hope Obama will find a way to protect our nation but also address the fact that our economy thrives on the work of immigrants (both at the bottom and top of the "food chain")  
•    Security: I hope Obama can formulate real world solutions to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We owe it to the citizens of both countries, to every service member and to ourselves to focus on foreign policy that works.


Thanks for participating, and don't forget to check out our previous posts that track the long road to change.

March 6, 2008: Headcount:Stand up and be counted in the presidential election
August 28, 2008: Geography at the Democratic National Convention
September 29, 2008: Tell Us: What's your Take on the Foreign Policy Debate?
October 14, 2008: Geography: Debated
November 4, 2008 Election Fever Sweeps the Nation
November 5, 2008: 2008 Presidential Results: International Edition
November 7, 2008: Five for Friday: Election Wrap-Up
November 21, 2008: Guest Blogger Daniel Edelson: A Hope for Obama
January 21, 2009: Geo-technology and the Inauguration
January 21, 2009: Five For Friday: Washington D.C. Welcomes its First African-American President.

-MWW Team



Images courtesy of MediaCircus.com, Youth Outlook Media.

This post is part of a series for the Youth Media Blog-a-Thon on the topic of "regime change."The year 2008 taught American youth that change was something we could believe in, but is it something we can still define?  The word change gained popularity quickly, and like anything else, lost its grounding.  While change had the ability to cross racial and generational lines, it did so like a chameleon, shifting forms and definitions to fit the situation.  Every American had their own ideas as to what the "new America" would look like and as to what Obama could do for their community.  Change grew to be a nebulous cloud filled with hype, hope, and determination that engulfed the country and eventually the White House.  

Even with these affective results, I think we need to bring change back to its roots. We've been using change as a noun, "the replacing of one thing for another--substitution", but perhaps we should see it as a verb, "to cause to be different."  Change as a verb isn't as popular for the sole fact that it needs an actor: a person to assume responsibility for initiating and sustaining its course.

It's my belief that American youth should not only assume responsibility, but are already on the path for, adopting change (v). In this age of information, majorities of us are well-informed on various issues and will "spread the word" to others. Yet, we can't let dissemination and self-education become our sole definitions of activism, and our only attempts at change (n). The time has come for our generation to make a difference and play a physical role in reshaping our country starting with our communities.

This post is part of a series for the Youth Media Blog-a-Thon on the topic of "regime change."



How can one man move the majority of the country to vote for him? One man can't, but his network can.

On November 4, 2008 Barack Obama won what will be called a historical election not just because he's the first African-American president elected in the United States, but also because he's the first presidential candidate to win the election in the era of digital communications.

Digital communications broadly describes most of the technology you use to get in touch with your friends and family--mobile phones, the internet, social networks such as Facebook or MySpace, YouTube, blogs, text message, email, Twitter--basically any information you share on your phone or online.

Think about it: The last time you got together with friends, how did you organize yourselves? Did you send a text message? Did you email each other? Call? Send a message on Facebook or MySpace? Tweet?
 
During the 2008 presidential primary and race, the Obama campaign did all of the above.

What do Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton have in common--other than their roles as previous leaders of the free world? A penchant for international travel!

I'll admit that even as a travel junkie experienced in the ways of fitting my life into a 20 lb backpack for months on end, many of our nation's greatest leaders put my past travel itineraries to shame. Even prior to the boom in transportation technology President Teddy Roosevelt, the first to leave U.S. soil while in office, traveled by presidential yacht and safari, visiting foreign destinations such as Brazil, the African regions of Congo, Kenya, and Sudan, Cuba, and Panama.

Despite his love for hometown Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Eisenhower found himself visiting nearly 35 countries while in office, a far greater number than any previous president. Following close behind, Nixon became quite the globe-trotter, making perhaps the most important overseas trip in presidential history when he touched down in China and changed relations between the two nations forever. Regardless of being the oldest candidate ever elected, Reagan found himself in Berlin at the ripe age of 69 demanding that Gorbachev "tear down this wall". And though Clinton had previously poked fun at Bush Sr.'s frequent flier track record, declaring "It's time for us to have a president who cares more about Littleton, N.H., than about Liechtenstein", he racked up a total of nearly 133 trips in an effort to build better international relations, tackling issues such as AIDS and the eradication of poverty.

While it would be inaccurate to say that every great president in American history was well-traveled (case in point: Abe Lincoln never left the U.S.), today's interconnected world demands a greater sense of responsibility to the global community. Establishing personal contact with the populations of faraway regions is advisable, especially when trying to boost one's international image. The advent of Air Force One, the most impressive and sophisticated means of presidential transportation to date, leaves little excuse for neglecting to visit and engage in shuttle diplomacy in distant locales.

For newly-elected president Barack Obama, choosing to embark on an overseas tour during his candidacy helped him win over the hearts and minds of not only voting U.S. citizens, but people around the world. The Washington Post provides a picture documentary of Obama's international travels. His visits to Afghanistan, France, Germany, Iraq, and the U.K. have racked up an impressive number of miles, a figure which is likely to increase as he plans to spend more time in the developing world while in office. Check out the Dopplr 2008 Personal Annual Report for details on Obama's travels.

This post is part of a series for the Youth Media Blog-a-Thon on the topic of "regime change."



I'll admit it, though it seems almost blasphemous now: I was not an early supporter of Barack Obama.

Call me a Washington insider bent on maintaining the status quo (perhaps my brief residence in the District has infected me with the noxious virus), but Hillary was my girl in the primaries. I trusted her experience in the White House and Senate, valued her track record of working across party lines to get things done, and respected her tenacity. And perhaps an iota of my inner-feminist self felt warm and fuzzy over the prospect of a woman cracking the whip as Commander-in-Chief.

I, like some others, initially underestimated the titanic power of Obama's message of change in steering the course of the 2008 election. Americans had more than enough of "the failed policies of George Bush," and Obama's team artfully crafted his campaign to reveal a picture of a man diametrically opposed to his predecessor. Mr. Obama won over the hearts and minds of Americans from all walks of life, evincing a remarkable ability to transcend traditional boundaries of age, race, income, and geography.

Following Hillary's defeat in the primaries, I quickly found myself doing a 180 and drinking the Obama Kool-Aid--along with a lot of other young people across the nation. Record numbers of youth forked over hard-earned cash and peeled themselves away from Guitar Hero long enough to canvas door-to-door and scream for their new favorite rock star at political rallies. But the ever-dramatic pundits questioned: Would they turn out at the polls?

How could the political analysts be so pessimistic about the youth vote? Simple: people like me.

To kick-off this week's transition to our new blogging home-sweet-home, My Wonderful World is participating in an exciting blog-a-thon.

The blog-a-thon, organized by YO! Youth Outlook Multimedia and Wiretap, is a "multimedia collaboration of youth perspectives."

The topic: regime change.
A new administration based on change entered the White House on January 20th. The youth of America played a huge part in the success of Obama's campaign, but how will we sustain the energy and support in keeping the new administration on task?

Get ready for a week of posts from your favorite hip My Wonderful World staffers, as well as a few treats from our guest blogger friends.

Topics to be covered include:

These days Barack Obama has a lot on his plate. With the world watching, Obama must balance economic and environmental policy (CNN article).Many scientists are optimistic about his plan regarding clean energy and carbon emissions reduction. However, some economists fear that a focus on the environment will detract crucial attention and money from addressing the issue of the economic slump.

Ideally, new jobs and profit pathways will be created from investment and development in the renewable energy sector.  I'm interested in your opinions regarding this matter- do you think that investment in renewable energy is going to be beneficial to the environment, the economy, or both? Thinking about this in a geographic sense, will certain places stand to benefit more or less from increased funding of renewable energy?

Cameron for My Wonderful World