An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's movie on global warming, is now the fourth-largest-grossing documentary of all time. But apparently, it isn't young adults who are paying the price of the ticket—or, more important, taking the truth about the environment to heart.

In fact, the inconvenient truth today is that youths' willingness to conserve gas, heat and energy has taken a steep plunge since the 1980s. According to data from Monitoring the Future, a federally funded national survey on trends in the attitudes, values, and behavior of high school seniors since 1976, there has been a clear decline in conservation behavior among 18-year-olds over the past 27 years; although, we are not yet sure whether these attitudes follow youths into adulthood. One of every fifteen teens participates in conservation. Compare that to one in five during the 1970s. This decline, interestingly, is coupled with a rise in materialistic values.

In fact, trends in materialism and conservation are highly related. At times when youths place higher value on material goods, they are also much less likely to say they would conserve resources. And when youths are more materially driven, they are also less likely to believe that natural resources will become scarce in the future. Since the 1990s, the trends in materialism seem to have topped out at a steady high level. The willingness to conserve keeps declining. These opposing values should raise a red flag about the consumer culture and its influence on youth.

Youths also believe that government is more responsible for the environment than they are personally. When they think that the government's role in solving environmental problems is declining, so does their belief that they, personally, must do their part to save the environment.

Conservation is a collective responsibility. Likewise, in the minds of youth, their own actions to preserve the environment are linked to their view of the government's role in environmental conservation. Indeed, environmental attitudes of youth seem to mirror the opinions of those in the White House at the time. The highest levels of conservation took place in the mid-to late 1970s when President Carter was asking citizens to be responsible for conserving resources.

The steepest decline in conservation took place during the Reagan administration. That administration has been widely criticized for its environmental policies. Willingness to conserve enjoyed a slight surge around 1992, when President Clinton first took office. This increase was short-lived. (Mr. Gore must not have been speaking up too loudly about the environment back then. )

The good news in these trends is that when government responds, so do youth. If our country's leaders follow the example of Mr. Gore and start to genuinely explore real solutions, it's likely that young people will follow suit.

Policymakers and elected officials might also want to note that when youths think conservation and pro-environmental attitudes, they are more likely to engage in conventional politics, from writing to officials to giving money to a political campaign, or working on a campaign.

Mr. Gore argues that in America, "political will is a renewable resource. " Perhaps one way to renew this resource is to start focusing more on young people and their understanding of, as well as contribution to, environmental problems.

Which of the following statements supports the author's claim that "conservation is a collective responsibility"?
A.
The steepest decline in conservation took place during the Reagan administration.
B.
These opposing values should raise a red flag about the consumer culture and its influence on youth.
C.
This decline, interestingly, is coupled with a rise in materialistic values.
D.
And when youths are more materially driven, they are also less likely to believe that natural resources will become scarce in the future.
E.
The highest levels of conservation took place in the mid-to late 1970s when President Carter was asking citizens to be responsible for conserving resources.

Preparing for a group discussion the first step in participating in a group discussion is to understand the purpose and process of a group discussion. your approach to a group discussion will differ from other assignments, such as writing a research paper. read through the discussion guidelines to understand how you should prepare for a group discussion assignment. your discussion process for this task, you’ll need to work as part of a group of three or four students who can meet together for a face-to-face or virtual discussion. your teacher will identify a process for this task that fits your learning situation. for instance, if you’re working primarily on your own in this course with no on-site classmates (self-paced course), the process will be a little different than if you are learning with at least two other students in the same building and on the same schedule (group-paced course). discussions in those two cases are outlined below. group-paced course the teacher organizes groups or enables students to self-organize. in the discussion session, students take turns presenting their thesis and then discussing each thesis with the group. one student (not the presenter) acts as a discussion facilitator. the discussion will be a round-robin, rotating the presenter and facilitator roles for each thesis. plan to spend at least 15 minutes to present and discuss each thesis. refer to the discussion summary below. you will want to take brief notes during the discussion so that you can easily complete the discussion summary afterwards. self-paced course you will find at least two people to participate in this discussion with you. they could be classmates from other courses, friends, or siblings. they should be roughly your age, if possible, so you can have a thoughtful discussion with peers. you will set a time and place for the discussion and share the discussion guidelines for them to read prior to the discussion. you will be the only presenter for this discussion. you will also play the role of facilitator. you will present your thesis and then discuss it with your group. your invited group members are only required to be active, thinking participants. except for reading through the discussion guidelines ahead of time, they do not have to prepare for the discussion beforehand or do any follow-up afterwards. since you will be presenting and facilitating during the discussion, you may want to ask one of the participants to take brief notes for you on key points that come up during the discussion. these notes will you compose your discussion summary below. since there is only one thesis to discuss, plan to spend at least 30 minutes presenting and discussing your thesis. here is an outline of the whole process for this task: 1. you will formulate a thesis and outline a set of points that support your thesis. this may include some initial research. 2. depending upon your learning situation, you may need to organize the discussion group, place, and time. 3. read the discussion guidelines for how to conduct, facilitate, or participate constructively in a discussion with your peers. 4. the group meets to discuss the theses for your learning situation: the discussions should be fair, democratic, and orderly. each member of the group should have an opportunity to express their views; all members should actively contribute to the discussion. group members should show respect for others' views and make their points politely. the goal of the discussion is to gather opposing viewpoints and additional perspectives that would support or oppose your thesis. each participant should come to the discussion prepared to the presenter deepen the understanding of the topic. 5. after you've discussed your thesis, you will complete the discussion summary section below and submit it to your teacher. leading a discussion be sure that all the participants have read the discussion guidelines before beginning your discussion. with three or four peers, start the discussion by presenting your thoughts and findings from your research. present a question to the group to begin the discussion. allow your group to ask you follow-up questions. using an audio recording tool, record the questions your team asks as well as your response to these questions. finally, consider how the discussion changed or influenced your initial research and thoughts about the discussion questions. you will submit your responses to the questions asked in the discussion summary. use your notes from your research and your discussion to you complete the summary. discussion summary part a using an audio recording tool, record the names of the discussion participants below. if you organized the discussion, using an audio recording tool, record how you know each person and summarize how you chose and invited the participants and how you organized the time and place for the discussion.

In the space below, write a five-paragraph, 600-800 word persuasive essay arguing whether or not your chosen speech is effective in communicating its message, based on how it uses rhetorical strategies. include a clear thesis statement identifying whether, in your view, the speaker's argument is effective, based on his or her use of rhetorical strategies. explain why or why not. give your audience a sense of closure by providing a clear conclusion. throughout the essay, be sure to: use formal, objective language for an academic audience, connect your ideas using transitions that clearly tie together your ideas, base your argument on evidence from the text of the speech, and provide a clear conclusion about the speech's effectiveness.

()activityconstruct an argument about a topic, theme, or idea that you read about in william shakespeare's romeo and juliet, act ii or act iii. make sure you create a central claim for your argument that is debatable. provide textual evidence from the play to support your argument.my analysis juliet shows maturity by putting their needs before hers. after juliet has arranged her 'death' with friar lawrence, she is an emotionally awoken woman who will do anything to be with the one she loves. "and i will do it without fear or doubt, to live an unstained wife to my sweet love". juliet faces her fears and trusts in god and friar lawrence. she is forced to use trickery in order to stay true to dear romeo. this showed remarkable courage. before she takes the potion she uses a soliloquy that confronts all her fears. she speaks in blank verse showing the seriousness of the situation. when juliet awakes to see a lifeless romeo lying beside her, juliet's maturity and loyalty takes over and she takes the decision to choose eternity over the present. the quotation "then i'll be brief. o happy dagger! this is my sheath; there rust, and let me die." shows the quickness and determination of juliet's death. during the period of a few days juliet matures into a committed and reliable woman and wife, capable of taking decisions without the of others. shakespeare shows this by clearly stating the different stages that happen and by making everything occur in a short period of time.part cwrite a 300-word essay arguing the thesis of your analysis.