Are we really “clean and green”?

I believe that New Zealand is really clean and green and are doing well to maintain this image. Unlike other countries, New Zealand has made a lot of effort in conserving their greenery by controlling urbanisation from disturbing nature. New Zealand has barred the entrance of any nuclear armed or powered ships as it is a nuclear free zone. Furthermore New Zealand has also developed a “zero waste policy.” However there is the fact that New Zealand is responsible for having the second highest rate of car ownership, yet the government is putting a reasonable amount of money and time towards the reduction of this rate so that the rate of emitted carbon could be effectively reduced to allow New Zealand’s image of being clean and green to be retained.

I believe that New Zealand is a clean and green country because a lot of New Zealand’s landscape is effectively being preserved so that urbanisation is controlled in particular areas unlike other countries who have failed to do so. New Zealand is very green with its many national parks and reserves where human intervention is banned so that New Zealand’s valued wildlife such as the kiwi and parks such as the Tongariro district could be preserved for current as well as future descendants to enjoy. Agriculture is one of New Zealand’s highest sources of income from overseas whereby the export of New Zealand’s dairy products is playing a significant role in the country’s economy. Furthermore New Zealand’s image is also enabling people from overseas to trust and favour New Zealand’s dairy products. Due to New Zealand’s clean and green image, a large number of tourists have been attracted to New Zealand to admire the country’s clean and green feeling. Hence, internationally it is clear that New Zealand has been condemned to have been a really clean and green country and it is important that this image is maintained.

New Zealand is a nuclear free zone, whereby the entrance of nuclear armed or powered ships to the country’s waters or ports is prohibited. New Zealand has also put a bar towards the dumping of radioactive waste within the nuclear free zone, which clearly shows how concerned the nation is in maintaining their clean and green image. Nowadays there a more developments that are being made towards the country where the population is constantly encouraged to save power, in fact most New Zealanders prefer to use solar or wind energy as a power source as opposed to nuclear energy, which from my perspective is a real good thing as it reflects on the support that is put towards the country of keeping New Zealand clean and environmental friendly.

New Zealand has introduced a zero waste policy that has encouraged the society to reuse as many items such as paper, plastic, glass etc to allow a reduction in the amount of waste and landfills and instead allow as may resources to be reused in one way or another even if only a part of it is used so that the environment is kept clean and green. In fact this tactic of the zero waste policy has allowed an advantage to the country financially whereby a business doesn’t need to produce and mould as much as “milk bottles” as before, because this environmental friendly scheme allows a “milk bottle” to simply be treated so that it could be used as a milk bottle again for the consumers to use, so that the amount of landfills could be reduced in order to maintain the greenery, wildlife as well as the clean feeling of New Zealand.

However, there is the fact that New Zealand has the second highest rate of car ownership in the world, which means that New Zealand would have a higher amount of carbon monoxide emitted from the car fumes, which if it is not controlled may not only have an impact on the population but also on the environment. Although there are a lot of improvements that are currently being made to reduce the number of cars on the country’s roads with the bar on the amount of cars older than 2000 entering New Zealand, which means that the lower the number of old cars the lower the rate of production of dangerous fumes. Furthermore the government is putting a lot of money and time in the development of public transportation so that the nation is encouraged to take up these cheaper facilities or even more environmental friendly options such as walking or bussing as opposed to cars that cost more with the petrol prices gradually increasing. Clearly despite the high rate of car ownership in New Zealand the development of such facilities and awareness of the impact of the fumes is allowing an improvement to the state of New Zealand with the image of being clean and green preserved and valued.

Therefore it is clear that New Zealand are doing fairly well in maintaining their image of being clean and green whereby a lot of effort is being put in conserving the countries greenery by controlling urbanisation from interfering with the environment. New Zealand has also made a good decision in developing its nuclear free zone. Furthermore the zero waste policy has enabled the amount of landfills to reduce. However there is the fact that New Zealand has the second highest rate of car ownership although this has been effectively dealt with as the society is gaining more awareness or the damage the car fumes are doing to the country and are being provided with improved and developing public transport so that the amount of carbon emitted could be reduced leaving New Zealand to sustain clean and green.

The drinking age should be raised to 21.

The drinking age should be raised to twenty one as the current drinking age is having a huge impact on the development of the younger society. The current drinking age of eighteen is making alcohol more accessible for thirteen to eighteen year olds as although ID is mostly always required, there is still the possibility of a sixteen year old purchasing alcohol or simply an eighteen year old purchasing alcohol for the sixteen year old. Hence the easy access would with no doubt have an effect on the mental development of today’s teens, which would have a bad influence towards the future generations. The consumptions of alcohol at a young age is putting the teens in danger as the uncontrolled consumption at an age where basic skills such as driving is still developing is causing an increase on the rate of car accidents encountered by younger people. Furthermore, due to the early exposure to the substance of alcohol it is more likely for the rate of diseases such as liver disease to have an increase. However in today’s society the drinking age is considered to be the purchasing age as opposed to the legal drinking age, although if the drinking age was to be raised to twenty one, at least the well being of the future generations would be improved and that a clear boundary would be set for descendants to respect and follow.

The drinking age should be raised from eighteen to twenty one as the current drinking age is allowing more of an ease towards accessing alcohol, which is putting the younger generations in danger. For example, seeing that the legal age for drinking alcohol is eighteen, there is a fair chance for younger teens aged between thirteen and eighteen to develop a habit of drinking. The reason for this being that although identification should be always required to purchase alcohol, there is still the possibility of a sixteen year old purchasing alcohol as their age can be mistaken. However with no doubt it is easy and possible for an eighteen year old to simply purchase alcohol for the sixteen year old, what’s more even for a twelve year old. Furthermore with the early exposure of alcohol at an age where the mental well being is still being developed, it is easy for the education of today’s teenagers to have been interfered with whereby due to the lack of concentration and good health the future of these teens would be regrettably ruined. Hence the allowance of an eighteen year old to drink is not only putting young adults at risk but also young teenagers in danger.

The consumption of alcohol at an age where the mind is still maturing and distinguishing right from wrong is clearly putting young adults in danger. The unrestricted and uncontrolled consumption of alcohol is causing an increase on the rate of car accidents encountered by younger people, whereby although eighteen year olds are given the fair opportunity to show their maturity and be allowed to drink, they do not realise the responsibility ahead of them that they need to take in order to ensure safety towards themselves as well as their future. For example, seeing that it is common for a teenager to have a drivers licence by the age of eighteen although they are still developing their basic skills such as decision making and on top of that have access to alcohol despite the risks of committing to regrettable tasks such as drink driving, this is leading to serious injuries encountered in car accidents as a result of the drinking. Clearly, although young adults are given the privilege to drink it is still fair to say that they are not old enough to take up the responsibility of their own actions. Hence, it would be a better decision to increase the drinking age to twenty one as by that age they would have developed more of a sense of maturity and have realised the convenience of the raised age to make an improvement to the future.

As a result of the early exposure to alcohol there would be a huge risk put towards the well being of the under aged drinkers whereby the intake of this substance would result in a wide range of short term as well and long term effect. For example, seeing that the current legal drinking age of eighteen not only gives access for alcohol to young adults but also to secondary school students, who may as stated before have contact with eighteen year olds who may purchase alcohol for them, will with no doubt have an impact on the total well being of the user. Whether it may be emotionally with depression, mentally with addiction or even physically with more serious damage such as liver disease, this would clearly have an impact towards the lifestyle and future of these teens. Hence raising the drinking age to twenty one would enable the rate of damage to the well being of young adults to have a decrease and instead allow more of a development in the skills, habits and behaviour of today’s teens so that by the age of twenty one, they would be mature enough to take responsibility of their own actions such as drinking.

However by raising the legal drinking age there may be the risk of increasing the desire within the younger people to obtain alcohol, which may lead to more law breaking. For example, seeing that the younger society see the drinking age to have been more of the purchasing age rather than the legal drinking age, they may have more of the urge to obtain alcohol by bribing elder friends or even strangers with money or even become involved in other illegal activities such as developing false ID. Yet raising the drinking age to twenty one would still sustain a graduating space for improvement in the society’s habits as it is more likely for the majority of the population to be mature enough and take the responsibility to reject such offers of younger teens and instead lead them towards the right direction. Hence raising the drinking age to twenty one would reduce alcohol access to teenagers, which would help improve the lifestyle of their future as well as set a good example for the generations to come.

Therefore it is clear that raising the drinking age from eighteen to twenty one would result in an advancement to the society whereby this change would reduce the rate of car accidents or any violence, lower the rate of diseases to be found in the early years of teenagers, reduce the easy access of underage drinkers to alcohol as well as improve the mental well being of the teens of today’s society to allow a maximum amount of concentration and effort put towards education. Hence, raising the drinking age to twenty one would allow room for development so that a good example of healthy practices could be set for future generations to follow and respect with ease.

Briefly describe ONE important scene or event in your film or television programme and explain why it is important.

An important scene in the film Mean Creek directed by Jacob Aaron Estes is the scene of Georges death. This event is important as it allows the audience to better understand how each character develops after this particular scene. Through the event of Georges death the characters develop a sense of responsibility as well as a loss of innocence, which has an overall impact on the relationships between the characters.

One of the significant scenes in the film Mean Creek would be the event of Georges death. In this scene George is introduced to the revenge plan that he was supposed to be a victim of and consequently releases all of his shock and anger on the rest of the characters on the boat by mocking them one by one; when he gets to Marty, he goes over the borderline by mocking him about his father. This causes a fight between George and Marty that is attempted to have been stopped by Rocky who accidentally knocks George off the boat when he cannot swim at all. This is where the characters start to mature whereby after realising George was drowning, Rocky takes the first step of responsibility to save George as he realises the consequences of this event hence takes direct action to prevent this. Soon all the characters fully contribute in saving George by lifting him onto dry land with Millie putting all her effort in to resuscitate him. However, after all the characters had come to know that George had gone for good and there was nothing they could do to fix it they all spread out around the setting in thought with no noise but the sounds of nature. The silence after Georges death forced a realisation within the characters of what they had done, which removed their innocence, developed responsibility, and also started to change the relationship that they had among them. This clearly highlights how this scene of a turn point had played an important part for the overall film.

The scene of Georges death is important because it gives the audience an idea of how one major event can transform each character. In this case Georges death develops a loss of innocence within the characters. For example, in Mean Creek when there is a time of silence during the scene of Georges death, all the characters realise what they had become involved in and thought about all the consequences that they would have to deal with as a result of this event. This removes the sense of innocence from each of the characters and arises a sense of regression and guilt within them. Therefore the scene of Georges death should be considered to have been an important one as it enabled the audience to gain an insight of the emotional and mental changes that the characters had experienced as a result of this particular scene.

One important scene in the film Mean Creek is the scene of Georges death as it helps improve the audiences understanding of the changes that occur in the film as a result of this tragedy such as the introduction of the value of responsibility obtained by the majority of the characters. For example in the film Mean Creek, as a result of the scene of Georges death all of the characters gain a sense of responsibility whereby the entire group of teens with the exception of Marty, with guilt reveal the truth of their involvement in Georges death to Georges mother despite the many consequences that they were aware of that they may have to deal with. This shows how radically the characters have matured to take full responsibility to admit what they had done rather than keeping with Marty's plan to hide their wrong doing and get on with their lives. Hence the scene of Georges death is an important scene for the film as it had allowed the characters to mature and take responsibility of their actions, showing the audience how easily such situations can mature the mentality of teens.

An important event of the film Mean Creek would be the scene of Georges death seeing that it was the turn point of the film, whereby instead of the plot flowing along the revenge plan it is interfered by the tragic death of George, which changes the motive/morals behind the introduced storyline. This turn point causes a disturbance within the relationships of the characters as they come to recognise the different values that each of their peers held and lacked. For example in the film Mean Creek, before the death of George, Sam had looked up to his older brother Rocky and had held a lot of respect and trust towards him, however after the death of George, Sam had realised that Rocky had been a negative influence towards him and that he should not follow his footsteps seeing as they lead to a bad future. Knowing this, Sam by the end of this scene had lost his hope, respect and trust for Rocky, which resulted in a weaker relationship between the brothers in comparison to the strong bond that they had before this scene. Therefore the scene of Georges death should be known to have been an important scene as it had allowed a sense of realisation of their doings and beliefs in life and had furthermore allowed the audience to easily bare in mind the impact that such events have on the relationships of today's teens.

Evidently, in the film Mean Creek directed by Jacob Aaron Estes, the scene of Georges death should be considered to have been significant as it allowed the audience to better understand the development of each character as a result of this scene. Subsequently, the event of Georges death had evolved a sense of responsibility yet a loss of innocence that had an overall impact on the relationships between the characters. Hence this particular scene of Georges death and the characters reaction to it is known to have been significant as it enabled the audience to gain an insight of the impact that such events have on the maturing of teens.

Describe an important idea in the text. Explain how verbal and visual features of the text help you to understand the ideas.

An important idea in the film Mean Creek directed by Jacob Aaron Estes is the coming of age. The idea is conveyed through the verbal features of music and dialogue and the visual features of lighting. Through the use of these techniques we are able to understand the ideas much more clearly.

In the movie Mean Creek, the theme of the coming of age is explored right through the film whereby the characters mature drastically as they are introduced to responsibility, love as well as their loss of innocence. For example before Sam had become involved in the revenge plan he was carefree, happy and innocent, however after the death of George, Sam had changed as he had gained responsibility, had been exposed to negative influences such as drugs and alcohol as well as lost his innocence. This shows how the theme of the coming of age plays an important part in the movie Mean Creek to help highlight the impact that such exposure and experiences have on the maturing of today’s teens.

The theme of the coming of age is conveyed through the verbal technique of music whereby the use of this feature has helped highlight and contrast the major changes that the characters had experienced through out the film. For example in the movie Mean Creek the use of the verbal feature of music before the coming of age emphasized the idea of the characters being noisy, playful and full of life as the background music was loud, fast and teenage like. However after the death of George when the characters had been through the coming of age, the music was quite slow and tense with it turned down showing how the mood of the characters was down and stressed as they had lost their innocence and were introduced to a lot of responsibility. Evidently, the use of the verbal feature of music contrasting before and after the death of George had made the theme of the coming of age much easier to understand.

The idea of the coming of age is also shown through the visual technique of lighting whereby the use of this feature helped show the radical changes of mood that take place as the characters mature during the film. For example in Mean Creek the visual feature of lighting has helped show the mood and feelings of the characters where before the death of George when the characters were innocent and had not been introduced to responsibility the light is spread all around the setting (room) in a goldy orangey bright tone of colour that helped illustrate the childish, joyful atmosphere of happiness among the characters. However after the death of George, the lighting is focussed in one corner of the room with the rest of the room dark and shadey in a grey tone of colour showing how serious, gloomy and mature the characters had been. Hence the use of this visual feature of lighting had clearly made the audience better understand and recognise the changes in the coming of age caused by their loss of innocence and responsibility obtained from Georges tragic death.

Another verbal technique that helped explore the theme of the coming of age would be the use of dialogue whereby the use of this feature had helped enhance the audiences understanding of the vast changes that had been developed by each character as a result of Georges death. For example in the start of the film Mean Creek, the dialogue of Millie was quite girly, soft and childish, however as the plot ran on after the death of George, Millie had changed her dialogue to a much serious, mature yet rough type of language whereby her exposure to older teens such as Marty had given her negative influences that involved the use of foul language after Georges death, with her dialogues evolving to have lost its playful girly touch. As a result it is clear that the use of the verbal feature of dialogue has made a huge impact in developing the theme of the coming of age to be more recognisable as well as shown to have played a significant part in the entire movie of Mean Creek.

Therefore in the movie Mean Creek, directed by Jacob Aaron Estes, it is important that the theme of the coming of age is conveyed through the verbal features of music and dialogue and the visual feature of lighting to enable a better understanding of this particular idea of the film and also enhance the idea of relativity that this movie has towards today's society in a clearer manner.