Honors Vocabulary- Week 4

For this week we only had to choose five words and do "photo vocabulary entries," where we describe a picture depicting the word and expand with our thoughts about it.

1. intrepid: fearless and courageous. To be intrepid means to be bold and dauntless. This is a word typically used to describe superheroes or someone who stands up for others. The picture I chose is of Chuck Norris, popular icon in television show Walker, Texas Ranger. In the show he plays a police officer who chases villains. He is amired widely for his bravery and intrepid risk-taking style to conquer evil and restore justice for humanity.

2. decorum: politeness. Decorum is dignified habits and speech, used often to describe good manners. In the days of the monarchy in England, young figures of royalty such as Princes and Princesses were taught decorum at an early age. The picture I chose was from a scene in "The Princess Diaries." In this scene she is learning to walk down stairs in a dignified manner to practice for her coronation dinner. She is learning decorum for her new lifestyle.

3. aspire: to desire or aim for something. It is often used in the place of the word "dream," it is something aimed for or wished. On college applications, it is common for the school to ask about the student's dreams or aspirations to determine the level of ambition in applicants. This picture is from the movie "Goal: The Dream Begins." The movie is about an aspiring soccer player who starts his adolescent life as a gardener. An agent sees him playing and eventually his greatest dreams are realized as he starts to play professionally.

4. fallacy: a falsehood. A fallacy is a misconception, deceptive or misleading, that is essentially false. It is often used to describe oximorons. The photo I chose is of a newspaper ad, stating that doctors smoke Camel cigarattes. By looking at this ad, you can realize that this headline is obviously a fallacy, as doctors in general do not condone smoking in any way. It is completely counterproductive to their profession.

5. formidable: causing fear or apprehension. Something formidable often arouses awe and admiration because of strength. It is often used to describe a worthy, powerful opponent of some kind. This picture is from the movie "Rocky." The storyline describes an aspiring boxer who slowly rises to fame. In the movie, famous boxer Apollo is trying to find an easy win in a match, but ends up facing the formidable Rocky and wins only by a small margin, proving Rocky's power and determination.

Project Abstract

This next assignment is a requirement for our Resource Management Project. We had to research resources being mismanaged by the world's governments. After writing an in depth research paper, we were supposed to create a shortened abstract highlighting its main points.

Brazilian Sanitation Abstract

Unfortunately, many countries fail to offer the vital necessity of sanitation for their population. The Federative Republic of Brazil, in particular, provides one of the worst public health systems known to man. According to UNICEF and the World Health Organization, 46 million in Brazil do not have basic access to sanitation. This lack of public cleanliness is characterized by a shrinking amount of potable water, unorganized waste management, and industrial pollution. Brazil’s national hygiene system has been going downhill for centuries, and in some regions citizens now fear for their future water supply. Of almost 200,000 inhabitants in Brazil, about 2/3 do not have access to basic sanitation. Most of these people do not dispose of their waste properly; an estimated 53% of the population is not connected to the main sewage system. People are dumping tons of waste into the rivers without realizing the consequences; this is contaminating their drinking water supply. These issues are causing further problems with the health of the people; they have contributed to approximately 700,000 extra hospitalizations. Death from infectious, waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid, and cholera, are extremely common among children. Public ignorance and government withdrawal are only adding to the problem and rendering the population helpless.
However, the fact remains that there have been several tentative steps from the Brazilian government towards fixing the problem. In the early 1970s, it launched its national sanitation plan, PLANSA; its main achievement has been to distribute the sanitation responsibilities throughout the country, giving them to state powers rather than local municipalities. This resulted in the creation of new water and sanitation companies in each Brazilian state, which in turn became responsible to fund sanitation systems. In the end, the system backfired because the state rejected its duties, claiming they fell to the companies who couldn’t fulfill them as the power remained in local management. In the year 2000, the Brazilian government joined the Millennium Development Goals initiative, aimed to decrease by 50% the number of people in need of sanitation and clean water by 2015. However, at its current rate of improvement, only half the goal will be reached, the government needs to put as much emphasis on sanitation as it does on water access.
Sanitation is essential for all human beings. Every community requires clean water and a certain level of hygiene to sustain itself. Water and hygiene are essential to human health and sustainability, and without a solution these increasingly helpless civilizations will soon hit rock bottom. Although the government is making attempts to remediate, Brazil’s situation isn’t progressing fast enough. Drastic measures must be taken to create restrictions on companies to implement water-purifying techniques and better water drainage and waste treatment systems, and to educate the public about the importance of sanitation. To finance these potential projects, the government needs to encourage and create incentives for companies to invest, such as tax breaks and grant money. We must strive to show Brazil that sanitation is not a commodity.
In order for Brazil to achieve universal sanitation, we must offer assistance. The United States should step forward and provide support and request to the U.N. to pressure Brazil to come forward with a plan for public health. With many nations encouraging immediate change, the Brazilian government will undoubtedly take a firm hand in solving this crisis.