Anna+B.

Phase I: Who Am I? What's My Place?

__ What really makes up your identity? __
 * I believe my identity has been most strongly influenced by my family. I come from a fairly large family. Being**
 * able to talk through problems, compromise on solutions, and help each other was very important.**

__ What really makes up your sense of place? __
 * I believe that my place is influenced most by my hopes for the future. I see my place as being in the classroom**
 * and helping to give the next generation the skills they need to be successful in life.**

__ What roles do your identity and sense of place play when you work with others in a group project? __
 * I feel that my identity helps me to understand my group members better and to be able to listen to thoughts and**
 * opinions of others with an open mind. I believe my sense of place helps me to see the importance of working**
 * with others and helps me to be encouraging to others in my group.**

__ What are the qualities that you bring to the GLIP conversation that will help you make a contribution to your global group? __
 * I am a very organized person and am very good at seeing links between concepts.**

__ What is one local problem (where you live) that you believe needs to be addressed? Suggest some steps could you take to try to solve it? __
 * I think that air pollution is becoming more and more of a problem in Raleigh and it is certainly a problem in my**
 * other "home" in Istanbul. Some possible steps to combat the problem of air pollution in Raleigh is to create a**
 * better public transportation system so that people can stop driving their cars so much.**

__ Finally, some problems have been around for a long time. What qualities do you think a person must have to step up and try to solve them? __
 * I think one quality people must have is creativity. People have probably tried to fix these problems that have**
 * been around for a long time before but have been unsuccessful. This means that we need to think about these**
 * solutions to these problems in new and creative ways. Another quality that a person must have to step up and try**
 * to solve these problems would be good communication skills. You would need to be able to share your vision**
 * with people around you and encourage others to join you in attempting to solve the problem.**

Phase II: Sense of Place

Upload image (s) here:



The picture I have posted is of an old farmhouse and the surrounding land near my hometown. I think this picture best represents my home state of North Carolina because my state is well known for its agriculture.

Here are 3 facts about what makes this location and North Carolina special and unique: (1) The house in the picture is called the Cullen-Pippen House and was built in 1790 by a soldier from the American Revolution. (2) There are over 400 different soils in NC. This means that a variety of crops will grow well on almost all of the soils. (3) North Carolina ranks #1 in the production of tobacco and sweet potatoes, #2 in the production of Christmas trees, and #3 in the production of strawberries.

One of the most well known charity organizations in my hometown is Habitat for Humanity. This charity builds and sells low-cost homes to families that cannot qualify for traditional home loans.

This final picture truly represents the culture of my hometown. In this picture, you will see the local grocery store, the Piggly Wiggly. Most of the vehicles are cars, but you will also find some tractors in the parking lot too.



Later, you will be working with the members of your group to create a travel package that includes visits to each group member's home location (see Phase II).

Phase III: Identify Local Issue:

What is your local issue?

My local issue is pollution. Air pollution especially is becoming more and more of an issue in bigger cities and Raleigh is no different.

What can you do to be address the issue?

There are many things that can be done about the issue. At a personal level, I can participate in programs like "Adopt-A-Highway" where groups of people agree to keep a 2 mile stretch of road clean. I can also follow the upcoming elections and support a candidate that has solid plans for combating pollution.

Local, state and federal governments can pass laws to regulate pollution. Many of these laws already exist, but need to be enforced better. The government can also give rewards to people who purchase cars that emit less pollution as a way of encouraging people to purchase energy-saving vehicles.

What is the global impact of your local issue?

Many of the largest cities in the world - from Los Angeles to Beijing - have problems with pollution. many people around the world are developing allergies and becoming very sick from the pollution in the air. Even undeveloped countries face problems associated with unsanitary living conditions due to pollution on the streets.

Add these thoughts to your Group's Discussion Forum on Local Issues