Ivusich's Ideology

Upon entering my first college level English class I soon learned that I would be creating a blog as a portfolio for my writing. The context of this blog, I would soon learn, was to be about nature and the environment. Throughout the semester we have read articles and pieces of writings from various authors with the main theme revolving around the coexistence of man and nature on the Earth. These posts serve as my interpretations and, in some way, responses to the readings in the class. We have read a wide variety of material ranging from calls to actions, to hypotheses about man and nature’s connections. In this blog I have discussed such topics as important natural causes, natural phenomena, what a place a can mean to a person, and how a person and place can be connected. In many ways my writing is not as radical as those that we have read, but I hope that people that read my work can have an appreciation for my point of view on the importance of nature in everyday life.

Since the beginning of time there have been people that have worked for the cause of conservation and environmentalism, but I never took the time to concentrate on their voice until this class. After reading such authors as Rachel Carson and Margaret Atwood, I have learned how important and how easily a person and a place can be connected. After reading Edward Abbey and Aldo Leopold, I have realized that what some people might see as extremist is just their way of showing that they care. After this class I have realized that an environmental movement shouldn’t just involve the so-called “tree huggers”, but it should include all people. Each person in the world has their duty to make the world a cleaner and safer place. Thanks to this class, I have been introduced to a cause that I would have probably never paid attention to before. I now understand how man and nature influence one another on an extremely fragile balance.

It is my hope that this blog will serve as a reminder and as a point of emphasis for those in the environmental movement, that their cause it not a lost cause and that people do truly care. One of the hardest things for an organization to gain is the faith and belief from the majority. I hope that my blog, and the blog of my fellow classmates, will show those people that with a little bit of information it is possible to get anyone to believe in their cause. I also hope, for the betterment of society, that environmentalist movement continues to strive and grow. Not many people truly understand the extent to which we humans are destroying our Earth. The balance between man and nature is a very fragile one, and it is because of the environmentalists that man doesn’t destroy. Overall, I am glad that this class took on the topic of nature, because it is not something that I would normally indulge myself in, but now that the class is over I realize that my actions can either help or hurt the delicate balance between man and nature.

The City and Its Savior

No matter what the extent of your love of comic books is if anybody says Gotham City one person comes to mine: Batman. Batman has been influential in the formation of Gotham City since he was born. He uses both of his identities to ensure the safety and growth of Gotham. As Bruce Wayne, he uses his monetary influence to keep the city afloat financially. But as Batman, Bruce is able to protect his city from harm and wrong doing. In turn, Gotham takes care of Batman giving him an innumerable amount of villains to prosecute and giving him a stable home to fight crime. Gotham City could not function without Batman and Batman could not function without Gotham City: it is a two-way road.

Bruce Wayne was born into a wealthy and powerful family in Gotham. His father was a wealthy physician and his mother was a stay-at-home mom. After witnessing his parent’s death at such a young age, Wayne is influenced to fight crime in the city and to rid it of its evil. Throughout his adult life Wayne builds his reputation as an industrialist, becoming the main source of economic power in Gotham. He builds his company into a monopoly in the power industry, essentially controlling all of Gotham. Wayne’s economic power is only out done by his playboy attitude. Wayne is a celebrity in the city and is known by all. Wayne can use his economic power to influence the media and the way he is perceived by the citizens of Gotham. Although he is seen by most as a superficial playboy, he actually contributes a lot to Gotham through his charitable work. Wayne uses his playboy image to help hide is identity as Batman; hoping that people will stay out f his business since he seems to be a prick in real life. With a sense of privacy from the public, Wayne is able to keep under the wraps whilst he protects the city from evil as Batman. Without Wayne, Batman would not exist because Batman’s powers are derived from Wayne. Therefore Wayne and Batman coexist as one. Without Wayne, Batman would not be and vice versa. Wayne is what holds Gotham together from a financial standpoint. From 9 am to 5 pm, on a working day Wayne is the one that runs the city through his financial and economic power.

After the working day ends and the sun sets, Batman reigns over the city. Batman is the bodyguard for Gotham. He is normally depicting sitting atop a high-rise building on the edge just listening intently to the world below him. He is the definition of a watchdog, waiting for his moment to strike the trespasser on the streets of Gotham. Batman is an interesting character to analyze. Since he has no superpowers it seems that he would be useless as a superhero. But Wayne’ experiences in Gotham have shaped him into an intimidating creature. He has seen the evil that lurks around the corners of Gotham and he has devised ways t defeat this evil where most normal men would fail. The evils of Gotham have formed Bruce Wayne, a normal man, into becoming the Dark Knight. He takes his bad experiences in Gotham and uses them to motivate him to do good things for the city. He acknowledges the evil in the city and fights to minimize it and do away with it. The city has helped shape Batman into the type of superhero that he is.

Gotham City is like any other metropolis city in America. It contains high-rise buildings and an economic infrastructure that influence the way people live. Gotham contains people from all economic status from the very rich to the very poor. The mix of people leads to the high crime rate. The high crime rate then leads to the need for a leader. Gotham is constantly under attack from evil-doers and is always seeking a hero. This need for a leader is what drives Wayne to help the city. If the city was a blissful paradise there would be no need for criminal justice. Gotham needs Batman just as much as Batman needs Gotham. Therefore, they coexist in a society that if one were to fall, the other would not be able to exist on its own.

Gotham and Batman are one in the same. Without Gotham City, Batman would have nowhere to live, and nowhere to protect. But without Batman, Gotham City would just be another regular city torn apart by crime. Their relationship is like a computer. A computer has two main parts, its screen and the tower. Without each other the computer is not whole but as separate parts they can still function individually. But it is not until they are whole that the picture can be drawn. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between the city and the man. Both rely on each other so much that it is impossible for them to coexist without each other. Batman needs Gotham City for a source of a job and a need for a lifestyle. Coincidently, Gotham City needs Batman to protect it from all the evil that embodies it.

The Home for Many

Living in the same home all my life has been an experience I will never forget. As my friends around me changed places and lives, I remained constant. I have lived at 675 Towne Center Dr, Joppa, Maryland since June 2, 1990 until the day I left for college. It is easier to think of my house not as a pile of bricks, or as a structure that gives us shelter, but as a home that defines my family. The people that have ventured to our house have shaped both our family and home into what they are today. These people have helped me realize what the important things in life are, like family and love, and given me stability in my own house.

My family loves to entertain. It could be Tuesday night in the dead of winter, but if my parents deem it acceptable, a party will be thrown. For this reason, I have met people that I thought I would never know. People are constantly moving in and out of my house, whether I know them or not. To make matters worse, my house is a bi-level so there is no escape from the crowd of partiers. No matter where I go, upstairs or down, people are bound to be around. My family has entertained people from all walks of life: friends, acquaintances, and random people we met that day. But no matter who or where the person comes from, each person that has entered my house has left something of themselves with my family has helped us grow as a unit. Each person brings their own unique personality and lifestyle that has contributed to our family. It’s as if a piece of every person is left behind in our house and each little piece from each person, brings the puzzle of my house to life.

My house has transformed itself from when I was younger to the house it is today. My family, being as dramatic as we are, has changed as well. With the introduction of big screen televisions, pool tables, ping pong tables, and couches my house has turned into the essential party house. When our house started it was an old, rickety dump, now it is the center for town fun. We live in a small town of about 300 people at most, ranging from all ages. My family happens to be highly involved in the community, which, in turn, makes people know us. We are recognized by people around town, sometimes by those we have never even met. My parents tend to be very polite and friendly and have never been known to turn anyone away from our house. We once had six people living in a house built for four. It was my sister and I, my two parents, and two of my mother’s friends who decided they needed to get away from their significant. One showed up on Tuesday morning with all her suitcases at the front door. Without hesitation, my mom called to me and I helped her moved in. Two days later, another showed up in tears on the front stoop. Once again, without even saying a word, my mom consoled her as I lugged her suitcase downstairs. And these aren’t distinct instances, it happens all the time, but it isn’t awkward. It’s as though in these instances the person is automatically assimilated into our family. They eat dinner with us, attend sporting events and just assimilate into our lifestyle. They become an Ivusich and they bring their past to our future. They bring their values and customs from their family to ours and add their piece of the puzzle to the overall picture.

As my parents have aged, so has my house along with them. It has become less of a hot spot for others and more of a comfort zone for my family. I have one of the smallest families of anyone I know. We consist of six people: my mother, father, sister, grandmother, great uncle, and me. Because of our size, we are very close-knit. The size of my family has helped shape our house. Our house is not the biggest, nor is it the most lavish. The size of our house has in turn helped mold our family. The fact that both are small means that there is no escape. I am always surrounded by my family because there is so few of them in such close quarters. The fact that we spend so much time with each other makes us closer. Some people would see our size as a downfall considering we are so small, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. The dynamic of a small family is full of life and our house has given us that love and stability under our own roof.

The transformations of my house and my family have correlated to one another equally. As my family threw party after party and entertained more and more people, my parents learned that it was less about making others happy than about having stability in their own family. We have become more comfortable with each other, and ,in turn, our love for one another has grown immensely. This new found stability and comfort has helped me become a better part of my family. I’ve grown closer to my family and learned how influential they are in making me the person that I am today. The journeys of our house and of our family are very similar. In the beginning, both were young and naive and now both are older and wiser than before, thanks to the paths each has traveled and the people they traveled with.

The Big Hole in The Earth

(Photo Taken By EWG and Nogwater via flickr)


Dawn rises over the dry desert of the western United States. The clouds are few and far between as the sun rises above the horizon. The shadows are deep and bottomless as the sun continues to creep upwards. As the animals awake for a new dawn, a caravan of cars buzzes down the highway. As each car stops, the sun creeps a little higher, revealing the bottomless river that is the Grand Canyon. From early morning to noon the animals own this land; it is their domain. They own the land as if it is their own, only to have to relinquish it to man once tourism thrives. Geckos, lizards, and other types of desert creatures run around the corners of the canyon as if it is nothing new to them, just another part of their home. A buzz then fills the air, a humming sound that feels like its approaching: a coach bus, followed closely by three more. Footsteps follow as hundreds of people flow out of the narrow opening of each bus. They flock to the edge of the road each with their disposable cameras to take pictures to commemorate the day. As each finger pushes down and each camera flashes people thrive to see the full picture of the Grand Canyon. But no matter what type of camera, whether disposable or a Nikon, it is impossible to capture the whole picture of the huge part of the Earth that is apparently absent.

Day after day hundreds of people venture to the canyon to hope that they better understand the gap. Over millions of years the canyon has been forged from erosion of the Colorado River. Millions of years ago, man and creature would arise in the morning and use this massive river for everyday things. It was the provider of life for an area of North America that was not conducive to life. Now the canyon provides a financial boost to an area not conducive for tourism. The canyon is the backbone for an area of the southwestern United States. Everyday people are drawn to the area to see what earth’s natural powers can do. The air is filled is smog and black clouds from the fast import of human life. As each bus leaves with its tour and people start to clear out the air clears, the natural dew reenters the atmosphere and the animals come back out to reclaim their land. Every morning the canyon smells of fresh, clean mountain air but by noon the area is contaminated by the human touch but by night the air is as fresh as the morning.

Beer cans, soda cans, and food wrappers all douse the rim of the South Edge of the canyon, the most visited tourist spot. Cigarette buds and cigars have helped taint the air as the animals are left to feel the wrath of what the humans have left. Every day in the canyon is different, some days the land is barely visited leaving the animals to live as though the humans knew nothing of this great tear in the Earth’s crust. Other days the canyon is overrun with human interaction. As each human steps forward to drink in the canyon, in turn they are pouring contaminates into the air. If you can fathom the number of people that venture the Grand Canyon in a day, and then extrapolate that to a month, a year, two years, you can imagine the damage we are doing to the atmosphere and the land. It is another perfect example of Leopold’s nature paradox. Each day man goes to a place, created by nature, to better understand the environment, and by in turn does his or her part to further destroy the environment they wish to understand.

As the day winds down and the sun starts to set, the natural beauty of the canyon is at its greatest. The sunset of the canyon is a sight unmatched by another of natural beauty on the earth. The irony of this situation is that sunset is when the least amount of people are visiting the canyon. As the sun continues it’s decent and night approaches the canyon starts its endeavor back to normalcy. The tourists leave, their cars pull away onto the buzzing highway and the canyon again belongs to the animals. A strong statement can be made here about the impact of man. No matter how many people visit this place and hope to understand it, every night the land belongs to the animals, until the next morning and the cycle starts over.

Offshore Drilling: Not the Answer

Dear President Bush,

In dire times like these, when fuel and energy are of the utmost importance to the American wallet, it is easy to bypass what we would consider morally correct in order to find a quick fix to our energy crisis. Although, many people consider offshore drilling a great way to fix the growing need for oil, I would implore you to look past the need for an immediate relief and appreciate the ill effects that offshore drilling would have on the environment in which we live.

When a time of crisis reigns over a mass of people, many times they look for the easiest solution, in terms of energy this would be the equivalent of offshore drilling. Although offshore drilling may help account for an increase in oil production in the U.S; there is no need to destroy our lands in order to provide the people with more burnable fossil fuels. Many times during offshore drilling, the environment is ignored in order for our economy to thrive. Offshore drilling can account for oil spills in the waters in which we drill. Many times species that are unique to the area are killed due to oil spills. Every year thousands of sea creatures lose their lives, or are somehow disabled due to oil spills in the ocean, caused by offshore drilling. The other environmental downfall that results from offshore drilling is the production of polluted water. This water, that contains oil and other chemicals made during oil production, can be harmful to dump in the water. Each year marine life are subjected to harmful environments due to the ill effects from oil production. The marine lives are not the only species that can be harmed by the effects of offshore drilling. Drilling is one of the major contributors to pollution in the air, which can destroy the ozone and the air that we as humans breathe. With all the negative effects that offshore drilling has on the environment there is no reason why should have to resort to such feeble attempts to gain oil.

I believe in a movement toward a more “green America”. I believe that as a nation we can find a solution to two of the major problems in our country, the economy and energy, with a progress toward a more environmentally friendly world. The development of a green nation can provide millions of jobs for people during an economic downslide and also answer the energy crisis. That is why I implore you not to write any legislation in your last few months as President of our dear country that would jeopardize the environment and call for a beginning of offshore drilling. The incoming President-Elect has a system ready to be put in place that would help research for alternative sources of energy while providing jobs for millions. Offshore drilling is not the answer to our energy crisis, so there is no reason to implement this inhumane practice in the latter end of your Presidency.

A Loving American Citizen, Adam Scott Ivusich (Photo credited to Minerals Management Service, US Department of the Interior)

Mariner Pride

As I look out my window from the second floor of my home, I see the water. It has been there for millennia and it will be there for millennia after. It is the one constant in the ever-changing neighbor that is Joppatowne. My neighborhood is quite small, maybe 4,000 people at most. That is what makes the area unique; it is like one large family. The area of Joppatowne is defined by three distinctive characteristics: the land, the people, and the attitude that those people carry.

Joppatowne is its own little peninsula on the northern end of Harford County, making its people secluded from most of the other county. This seclusion leads to the feeling of isolation that brings the people of Joppatowne together in almost a familial sense. Joppatowne is unlike most places in the country because it doesn’t just follow one kind of geographical stereotype. It has everything from mountains to plains, from wetlands to barren fields. That is what sets this area apart from most others in the state. Rumsey Island is the part of Joppatowne that I live in. It is an area of natural beauty unlike any other. As I enter the Island from Shore Bridge, the eyes are first met with a thick infection of cattails. The wetlands then open and you see a huge mansion, built in the early 1800s. The area is full of historical points that have stood for many years. The wetlands in the area are protected by the government and hence have been untouched for years. After I pass the mansion, the area opens, as if it were a turning the page in a novel. The neighborhood opens to waterfront townhomes on the left and single water-view homes on the right. As I drive around the neighborhood, there is ever-present distinction of pride in the land. Many people take care of the wetlands in their front and back yards. The water is always in view on the left hand side of the island. As I exit Rumsey Island and enter back into suburbia, you leave the wetlands and are met with more concrete norms of suburban life. The geographical beauty of Joppatowne and more specifically, Rumsey Island is unmatched by most neighborhoods in Maryland. The fact that Joppatowne is defined by its geographical boundaries that offset it from the rest of its county, leave the people that inhabit it with a sense of connectedness within its community.

Although there is a wide range of people that inhabit Joppatowne, the people tend to always get along. There is barely any hostility between people. Even if people do not know each other they show a sense of friendliness in that people will hold conversations with strangers and are always open to meeting new people. On any given Sunday morning while walking through the grocery store, the very routine trip could be elongated by a conversation with a coach or a neighbor. The area is so close-knit that everyone knows everyone by name. On that same Sunday morning, as I chat with a friend many people will pass by that know me by name. In addition to seclusion that the land provides, the people of Joppatowne have established connectedness with one another. Most families are in tune with everything that happens within the community and they strive to make the area a better place for everyone in it. People in Joppatowne tend to look out for each other and have one another’s back, which gives the sense of familial love within a community. Growing up in Joppatowne has given me a place I can hang my hat on and trace my values back to. Being raised in such a close-knit community in which people are so closely connected, has molded the type of person I am when it comes to the type of relationship I make with others.

People of Joppatowne are always optimistic, through even the worst of times, which has taught me to always look at the glass as half full in any situation. They are also very proud people, taking pride in their community and holding its reputation in high regards. Sometimes Joppatowne is looked down upon by the rest of the county, for superficial reasons such as bad test grades from our schools or a heightened crime rate in our community. But the area is not as bad as it is portrayed in the minds of others. The people within the community generally seem to be optimistic about the area they live. In 2003, a hurricane destroyed a lot of the property in Joppatowne. Against all odds, people stuck together to help rebuild the community rather than watch it crumble under stress. It is a testament to the character of our community that through hard times, the people stuck together to bring the community out of the rubble. You will most likely never see a person from Joppatowne with their head down; in general as a community, we see the glass as always half full.

A community is a combination of many things, from the people that inhabit it to the land itself that the community lies on. Joppatowne is molded by not only its geographical landscape, but the people that live there and the attitude that those people hold. The seclusion that the peninsula provides for the community and the close-knit atmosphere within the people give the community of sense of family. That sense of family has been instilled in me and even now that I am out of Joppatowne the values the community has taught me still mold the way I interact with people today.

Brains or Brawn: The Basis of Survival

People have argued the importance of both instinct and intelligence in terms of the survival of a species, but which is more vital? I believe that both are equally important for survival but each characteristic tends to produce different species over time. The wolf has been around since the earliest men on this earth. Those certain wolves that befriended man in the beginning, after years of breeding, came to be known as dogs. Dogs and wolves come from the same genetic lineage, but each personifies a different characteristic: intelligence in the dog and instinct in the wolf. Although both species have survived over time, the survival of the wolf has relied heavily on its natural impulses on how to live, while a dog’s intuition and intelligence has been the key to its’ survival, producing two distinct animals out of one genealogy.

After befriending man, the dog been able to use circumstance and smarts to secure its’ survival throughout time. It has taken advantage of man and used us in order to have us take care of them. Whether intentional or not, dogs use their looks to get their way in almost as a sense of flattery. The term “puppy eyes” has been derived from the look a dog gives his or her owner when it knows it has made a mistake; showing that dogs can read people’s emotions and be able to evaluate situations. Many dogs will return to a home after they have escaped realizing that they have it better where they were rather than being out on their own. More importantly, dogs can also find their way home, showing a simple form of memory. Dogs also form relationships with man, which their counterparts do not. The only part of instinct that dogs show is in terms of mating. Dogs mate using the animal instincts imprinted in their genes. The majority of the dogs existence is based on intelligence while only a small part, mating, derives from instinct. Although dogs are not as intelligent as man, they can use a simpler form of aptitude in order to outsmart man and take advantage of its circumstance in order to get taken care of by man.

The dog’s more animalistic counterpart, the wolf, uses its imprinted instincts to feed, hunt, and pass its genes throughout history. The wolf is a hunter in nature, stalking and killing its prey, using its simple impulses in order to feed itself. Although a bit of intellect is needed in order to capture its prey, the instinct of the wolf is the basis of its survival. Wolves also travel in packs, which is based on their impulse for attachment. Wolves are very impulsive animals that tend to act on reflexes. Place a hand in front of a wolf and when I pull it away I might lose a finger. In contrast, place a hand in front of a more docile cousin, the dog, and he might sniff and lick your hand. Wolves tend not to take their time to think through situations, rather when they see an opportunity for food, they take it. This causes wolves to be seen as reckless because they don’t always think through situations. Wolves also use their animal character when it comes to mating. Much like dogs, wolves find a mate and then proceed to pass along their gene to secure its survival over time. Although wolves use intelligence in certain circumstances of hunting, much of the survival of their species is based on the instinct a wolf has for mating and feeding.

Although these two animals have branched from the same common genetic traits, each has harbored the majority of a different characteristic in order to survive: the dog has relied on smarts and intelligence, while the wolf has remained more animalistic. Yet both have been able to successfully pass their genes through time. This shows that although an animal may rely more heavily on one characteristic than the other, both attributes are present in both animals. All animals have instincts and impulses that they follow no matter how intelligent the animal may appear to be, and no matter how instinctive an animal may seem in order to survive it must have some capacity of learning and intellect. One genealogy has produced two different animals in the dog and the wolf, but the genetic makeup of each animal contains both intelligence and instinct, which provides the sanctuary of their pedigree throughout the rest of existence.