SPOILER!!: Responses

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daydreamer11

Naya was glad to know that the earth’s death was not imminent. That would have definitely been a buzz kill. AnYwAy, class was starting and the Gryffindor turned her attention to the professor. It seemed that the topic of the day was going to be pollution. That made sense. It would certainly contribute to the earth dying.

When the first questions were asked, Naya raised her hand immediately. “One type of pollution is water pollution.” Being a lover of the ocean, lakes, any bodies of water really, she had an interest in this topic. “It can happen because of people throwIng trash into the water, factories pouring chemicals into the water, oil spills, waste finding it’s way there. There are a million ways it could happen, all of them bad. Basically, it involves things in the water that don’t belong there naturally.” Naya could go on and on about how water pollution could affect people and animals, but she decided to stop talking and listen to her classmates’ thoughts on the matter.

He wasn't surprised to see Naya's hand shoot up first. Could always count on her. Consistency was something Finneas could appreciate. He gave her an encouraging smile. "Yes, water pollution comes in many forms." He nodded along. A thorough answer indeed. "Makes a mess of underwater habitats and errr is not good news for the creatures who live there." The opposite of good news. Very, very bad news. AnYwAy. More on that later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fireheart

Inspiring? How, in any way, shape, or form, was that message inspiring? More like sad and depressing. Avalon nodded back at Professor Schmoe somewhat skeptically as she took a seat. Sure, the Earth had some issues with natural resources and bad air and all that, but was it really dying?

Well, the ominous message made a little bit more sense now that she knew they were talking about pollution. Avalon thought back to some pictures she saw at the Muggle news stands in London, specifically a newspaper headline featuring a photo of a sea turtle with a plastic bag stuck around its neck. How could people be so stupid as to throw their trash into the water? How would they feel if some other, larger creature was throwing trash into their house? It really infuriated her, how careless some people could be. But Naya had already mentioned water pollution, so Avalon decided to talk about a different type.

"Air pollution is really dangerous, too. Chemicals from Muggle cars and machinery affect the air quality." That was why her mum's family had one of those special cars that was supposed to be environmentally friendly. On road trips, her grandfather always used to stop at gas stations to plug the vehicle into some box. "It can make it difficult for some people to breathe, and some of the gases are extremely toxic." She was pretty sure it had something to do with temperatures getting warmer, too, but she wasn't all too familiar with that issue. Avalon much preferred wizarding transportation, thank you very much. Faster, safer, and no pollutive side effects.

The next hand belonged to Ms. Sinclair! Finneas was always thrilled to have her in class, always setting a good example. "Excellent point, Ms. Sinclair. Sometimes these gases that are released into the air can be poisonous. Not only does this cause issues for the environment, but it can also errr increase the chance of health problems." Did everyone see why they needed to care?

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

Morgan continued to squint at the doomsday message on the board from his seat. It probably would have held more weight last term with the red sky and the crazy storm and the progressive disappearance of their corporal bodies. So, he just kind of stared at it until he eventually lost interest and turned his attention on Schmoe when he started class.

Oh. Pollution. As in it was slowly killing the earth? Morgan would have to admit that he'd never really given that subject all that much though, be he DID know what pollution was. In a very elementary way at least.

"Yeah, cars make pollution," he offered after raising his hand, expanding on what that other girl said. His parents had a car so he knew a little bit about them. "There's this pipe at the back of them and sometimes smoke comes out of it." Don't ask him specifics, he wasn't a mechanic. "And that kind of pollution makes it hard to breathe."

Finneas enjoyed calling on raised hands. Almost felt like a game show. AND ANOTHA ONE! "The exhaust pipe! Very good, Mr. McCarthy," Finneas gave him an appreciative nod. "A car's exhaust emits a compound known as hydrocarbons! Very, very toxic." You would think with Finneas' energy that he wasn't speaking about something so horrible and concerning. Heh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrocat

"Cars and buses pollute the environment," Ashley volunteered. "Muggles use cars as their main forms of transport, so there is a lot of pollution from that." Another thing that muggles didn't have. Magical transport. She waited for someone to start talking about how everything was muggles' fault. "Pollution is bad because it messes up the environment. It's burning a hole in the protective layer of the atmosphere, which means the sun shines extra hard, and the gasses like carbon dioxide I think trap the extra warmth, and it bounces around the earth frying everything and causing natural disasters. Basically. In a nutshell." See? Simple. Just like muggle science class.

Finneas wasn't too surprised to see that cars and transport were a fixation. They contributed more visibly, so it allllll made sense. "Thorough answer, Ms. Fox!" He nodded along. Yes, yes. Very good. "The trapped warmth changes the environment in drastic ways causing problems for muggles, wizards, and creature kind. Scary, no?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by littledhampir

Pollution, huh? That didn't sound very fun. In fact, it was definitely not fun. But Alexandre was still choosing to remain hopeful about the remainder of the class. In the meantime he tried to think about what he knew about pollution. He raised his hand. "Pollution is like when you eat a candy bar and throw the wrapper on the floor. Wait.. actually that's littering. But.. I think they're kind of the same thing. It's bad for the environment. If an animal or something comes and eats it it could get sick." And that was bad. Alexandre knew that his answer wasn't quite as sophisticated as some of his classmates, but he was pretty satisfied with it.

Hope was appreciated. "LITTERING!" Finneased grinned sO big. The Ravenclaws were killing it today! "Littering is a simple, yet has incredibly harmful effects on our environment. You're very correct in this assertion, Mr. Pascal." PROUD professor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pundantic

This was a distressing topic, especially for one such as Kale that lived in fa-lee-la-dee land pretty much every moment of day. The world was ending and Schmoe had doubled down instead of being reassuring. WHaT eveN wAS ClasS tODaY?

With a little bit of distress still present in his voice, Kale said, "Pollution can make some really beautiful sunsets. He quickly added, "But its, uh, bad. Really bad."

Listen, kid, sometimes you have to check in with reality. Unfortunately, it is not always musicals and sunshine. Sometimes it's the slow breakdown of the earth's protective o-zone layer over time. AnYwAy. Sunsets?

Errr..............

Finneas blinked. And then he scratched his head. And then he blinked some more.

"It is very bad." He agreed. Errrrr.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by love-for-HP

"Well the amount of plastic human's use is ridiculous." Blake added, "The pollution it does to our oceans is insane." Blake remember a family trip to the beach once that was literally more plastic than sand. It was rather sad ... and must humans didn't care about it anyway.... "Or wait ... is that littering? Or both?" Blake may have mixed the two terms together but the end result was still the same ... the oceans were more plastic than water ... and the ocean life was dying because of it.

Mr. Ryan hit the nail right on it's head, though errrr... Finneas tried to keep himself from girinning too much. Ridiculous wasn't exactly scientific terminology. "That would be littering, yes, but littering does lend itself to pollution!" Cause and effect. You know? He bobbed his head, lingering on this answer for a little while longer before moving on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2111jen

Austin thought about this for a minute. He had an answer up but he wasn't sure if it would be right or not. He shrugged and raised his hand.
"Noise polution perhaps professor," he said. He wasn't sure why but he has heard about it before.

This next answer made Finneas all sorts of giddy! "Excellent point!" He raised a single index finger into the air for emphasis! "Noise pollution may not be as visible, but it can also cause harm to the environment and wildlife! I, err, read this one study that noise pollution can raise caterpillars heart rates." Which he could likely go on about for a while. But AnYwAy. He wouldn't bore them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aRogueOne

With a polite smile towards the Professor, her attention quickly turned back to the children in the class around her.

The smile on Ingrid’s face had almost faltered for a moment as she turned back in her chair, her eyes moving from the familiar face of Ashley to the loud, obnoxious Gryffindor girl who seemed do have a very high opinion of herself. [B]“Well if the the problem kidsget detention, that must mean that you must have had several off him then”[/I], her eyes now sarcastically rolling as she turned back around, ignoring the stern look? Ingrid couldn’t really tell and didn’t care. Just let her try and be a big bad fourth year. Pathetic. She may have been a first year but she was still a Luck and Luck’s were not intimidated easily.

With her attention almost firmly on the lesson, her eyes fixed on the professor as he awkwardly brought their attention to him, she brought her quill to parchment ready to take notes because she had indeed brought her thinking cap.

With so many of the other children in the class coming up with so many good ideas, Ingrid simply listened and copied down what they were all saying for a moment. She too had thought about all of the harmful effects of pollution but for her, it mainly came in the form of how it would affect the magical creatures that she helped look after at home although that had been already covered by one of the older Ravenclaws that she didn’t really recognise (Alexandre Pascal). Maybe Leighton knew him? She’d have to ask. Flashing the boy a timid smile because, you know, she really appreciated his good answer, she raised her hand to try and answer too.

“Everyone, not just creatures, could get hurt by pollution. If they swim in the polluted water or their homes are affected by the waste, it could really have an impact on their species and the numbers in the wild and they could even get extinct” and extinct magical creatures was not something that she would allow, that was, if she could actually do something about it which she couldn’t. Not yet at least.

Yes. YES. YEEEEEES. Was anyone else as jazzed as Finneas was? Because he was JAZZED. Finneas nodded very quickly, though he waited until Ingrid was done before jumping in. "Excellent point, Ms. Luck! Pollution has an effect on us ALL! Which is why we ought to be concerned."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nyx

Sophie groaned inwardly. Their unit was going to be on pollution and climate change, and that was just such a depressing topic. She knew it was important. At least her dad thought so. He was always going on about recycling and sustainability, whatever that meant. As she listened to her fellow students, she became increasingly distressed. They were taking all the good answers! What was left? She wracked her brain.

"Um, how about space pollution, Professor?" she asked. Before anyone could shoot her a look like is this girl crazy, she elaborated. "My dad says muggles shoot up a bunch of satellites and junk into space and it just stays there orbiting the Earth and occasionally falling back down but eventually the planet is just going to be surrounded by a bunch of floating garbage basically."

It may be not-so-fun topic, but it was a very important one! Finneas was completely oblivious to distress though... Errr. Sorry.

"Way to think outside the box!" He paused, before wearing a silly smile. "Or should I say.... outside the planet." Hah. hah. hah. He cracked himself up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by siriusblackliveson

Charlie groaned when she saw the board. Earth Dying. Why was everyone wanting to teach them about dirty things? First the elder wand, then the trolls, now pollution. What gives this term. She had taken her seat in a normal place among the crowd. Ah so they were talking about pollution today. Raising her hand and twisting a curl in the other she waited to be called on. “Well trash, you know the landfills the muggles use can hurt the soil, water, or air. And the amount muggles actually recycle to prevent waste is minimal.”

Dark subject, but important!!! More on that later. "Recycling isn't just a muggle problem." Finneas felt it important to note. "But yes, very good point."

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Was Torin reading her mind? Claudine threw him a sideways glance but said nothing on the subject. She was interested in hearing Schmoe’s response to the question. As her gaze shifted to the other students arriving, a hint of a smile graced her usually serious features. She tried to hide it but realised that these days, she smiled more whenever Heath came around. “Hi, yourself,’’ she said quietly, her tone warm. It was only natural that the conversation among the group led by that first year Ravenclaw {Ashley}. Claudine arched an eyebrow. Wasn’t she the little know-it-all. She tried to ignore Grantham, however. It was just like the Gryffindor to be bossy. Was she aiming to be a prefect? This Snakette couldn’t care less about either Grantham and a badge.

Claudine absently doodled in her notebook until class got started. When Schmoe addressed them all, the doodling stopped. Yes, she’d brought her thinking cap. Now, pollution was a topic that she rarely thought of. Of course she knew what it was. Claudine knew one type of pollution but first, she wanted to listen to these know-it-alls, especially that first year Ravenclaw. Did she swallow every text book on the topic?

The fourth year perked up when Austin gave his answer. Noise pollution was exactly what she’d been thinking and her hand went up. “Like Austin said, Professor, noise pollution is one form. I’d consider any person speaking loudly to be contributing to that form of pollution. That’s harmful because it can make others’ ears hurt.’’ Not to mention, it annoyed Claudine to the maximum. Then again, she considered most people speaking noise pollution. Especially the ex best friend that came in the form of Bernadette Grantham.

Errrr...............................

This answer felt pointed. And Finneas did not know how to respond to the dramas of adolescence. So he simply wiggled around uncomfortably as he tried to come up with a suitable response. "Thank you for sharing your opinion, Ms. Blaze."

Uh. Yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady of Light

Uhhhhh... so this wasn’t going to be a cheerful lesson. Why OH why did the professor have to come up with such a sad topic?? Valentina looked at him, extremely unimpressed. She waited until the girl nearby finished before raising her hand to answer the question.

“Light pollution, Professor.” .... wait, it was a type of pollution, right?? She was pretty sure that she had read about it somewhere.

Sad, but important!!!! "Very good! Light pollution," he turned to the class, "is excessive and obtrusive artificial light. Too much of it can disrupt ecosystems, wastes energy, and it can have adverse effects on health! Thank you for... bringing this to light, Ms. Nichols." Ha. Ha. GET IT?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayquilz

POLLUTION. The bane of her existence. Of all their existences, actually. She raised her hand. "Well, professor, muggle factories produce a lot of waste and our carbon footprint is HORRENDOUS." She wasn't an expert on pollution, but she was trying not to repeat something someone had already said!

Plastic...water...someone had said noise pollution, which was complicated...she had heard of light pollution, but she didn't fully understand it...so...

Yeah.

"Mmm. Yes." He nodded for a moment, taking all things into consideration. "The release of carbon into the atmosphere breaks down the ozone layer, which er..." Sometimes in the middle of his speech, he remembered he was speaking to children with no prior experience of the subject matter. "Is not good news for earth's inhabitants." Nailed it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deezerz

The Earth is dying. Just great. Neddie was completely unfazed by it. Lately going to class was becoming a struggle, and it was evident in her usual cheery face that has gradually lost its smile. Watching the Muggle Studies professor, she sat a little straighter. He is one of the professors she’s learning to appreciate. Therefore, he has her attention.

Alsoooo. The Slytherin prefect was there, and...yeah. She was cool.

For whatever reason, her hand shot up into the air. She has answers. Lots of them. “Uhm...pollution is harmful and has side effects. For example, it can hurt our respiratory system and/or make existing health issues worse.” And that’s all she wanted to offer for now.

The opposite of just great, actually. But AnYwAy. Finneas called upon the next student. "Excellent reminder that errrrr pollution not only has detrimental effects for the creatures that inhabit the earth, but also for US." See? This is why they all needed to care! This was exactly the point!

Quote:

Originally Posted by LilFox06

Valencia. Was. Excited. This appeared to be a SCIENCE lesson. That's what the Ravenclaw had been hoping for. It seems like all the types of pollution had been mentioned -- air, land, water, light, and noise.

She wracked her brain for something obscure that she could mention. Then she had an idea and raised her hand. "I've heard people call things like water that's used in factories are put back at a different temperature as pollution. They're not putting any chemicals or anything in it -- which I think is the tradition definition, but they're altering something about it which affects local wildlife, which I think fits the definition of pollution."

If fish can't survive because the water is too hot then that's a problem regardless of what they decide to call it.

Valencia always had a creative perspective to contribute. It was wonderful. Finneas grinned with all the excited anticipation his body could handle. "Excellent point, Ms. Phillips. I'm glad you errr brought this up! Messing with the environment in such a way will have damaging effects regardless of the introduction of toxins."

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Heath blinked, slightly caught off guard by the professor’s offer. While he was curious about what a slinky would do on the moving staircase, he wondered if that was something that might get him into trouble. He did not want to wind up on the headmaster’s bad side this term or any term, come to think of it! Still, it was a nice offer. “Thank you, sir,” he replied with a small smile, unsure what else to say.

Claudine also got a smile from Heath as she returned his greeting, but his smile faded when he overheard Bernie talking to Ashley and Ingrid. Blink, blink. Was she actually trying to scare the first years, or did she just not consider how her words sounded? That was something Heath could never figure out about her, and that was the only thing stopping him from saying something to her now. Well, that, plus the fact that he was too far away to talk to her without shouting across the room, and Professor Schmoe probably would give detention for that!

Never mind, class was starting anyway. Heath looked up as Professor Schmoe spoke, and it was only then that he saw the ominous writing on the board. HOW did he not notice that until just now?! Inwardly berating himself for his obliviousness, he listened to the professor. Pollution, yes, that made sense. Heath couldn’t think of anything else the topic could possibly have been with that message on the board… unless it was a quote from some movie he didn’t know. He paid attention to the others’ answers as he considered the question, and he had to stifle a smile at Claudine’s answer. He felt the same way about noise pollution! Loud talking always flustered him, but he’d never be bold enough to say that out loud. The thought crossed his mind to piggyback off of that answer and offer a broader definition of noise pollution, but he didn’t want Claudine to think he was copying or trying to one-up her.

Instead, Heath decided to go a different direction with his answer. Unfortunately, someone else (Valencia) gave the exact answer he had in mind before he could speak. Ugh! Now what was he going to do? He couldn’t think of anything other types of pollution that hadn’t already been said, so he supposed the next best thing would be to give a different example of one of those types. “Thermal pollution,” he said after raising his hand. “Another cause is cold water released from reservoirs, which has eliminated native fish species in some parts of the world.” He couldn’t recall exactly where, but he remembered reading that it happened.

Something Finneas enjoyed greatly was the variation of answers offered. He encouraged Heath with a big smile. "Excellent point! And along the same vein as Ms. Phillips. Excellent!"

SPOILER!!: Josh & Olivia

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh.

What had he done? What? Whaaaaaaat had he done?

He was asking the ceiling this as his head rolled back a bit and he stared up at it, because of all the random seats to flop in...it had to be here. Because of course it had to be here. There were worse people he could have flopped next to, but this was probably top ten. And he felt like if he were to bend at this...then, well, then he would lose the game. Whatever the game was.

"Then she can sit there," he said in a rather dignified manner as he set his notebook down on top of the desk purposefully. "Class is starting anyway and it would be rude to get up and disrupt the professor."

Who apparently thought the made up word of slinky was going to calm his skepticism. It was not and Josh simply squinted a bit more at the silvery metallic string. Sure. Okay. Sure.

Sooooooo pollution. Having no idea what a carbon footprint was or this carbon dioxide several of his peers were going on about...but he knew about trash or, er, land pollution...he supposed that could be categorized for. "Well...we, er, wizarding kind, take muggle forms of land pollution...the trash and such...and turn it into portkeys. So...we sort of benefit from no-maj waste and it helps protect the Statute."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samia

See, she made sense. But honestly, how could anyone not be aware of pollution? Wizard or not, they all lived on the same planet. Or were the wizards now secretly planning to shift to another? Of course, Olivia wouldn't be surprised if they were.

Back to the class though, she didn't particularly wait her turn - the moment someone stopped speaking, she spoke up, "Visual Pollution is also a thing; anything that can cause you eye or mental fatigue just by sight alone"

And while she would have waited to speak again, but then Josh spoke up, and she couldn't help but make a face, "you know it's not just muggles who cause pollution" - since it was a running theme in the class "wizards are just as capable of producing waste"

She didn't have an example on top of her head, but she needed to say it. Hmpf.

Completely unaware of the seat debacle, Finneas turned his attention to Mr. Miller now. He always had something to say. Many somethings. Sometimes too many somethings. But Finneas listened patiently. "That is....... Errrr..... A unique perspective, he nodded as he tried to come up with a way to address it...

"Ms. Caffery is correct," though the faces, maybe less of those? "And err... While wizards may be able to make use of some waste, the ratio is very disproportionate. So err.... It wouldn't be right to encourage it." Yeaaaaaaaaaaah. Less trash = Much better.

As for visual pollution, "You raise an interesting point! Visual pollution is also defined by the unnatural changes to the environment. Harmful for more than just the eye." He winked. But it looked more like a spasm than it did a wink. He needed to work on that. Errrrr.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Emeerson's brows crinkled in obvious confusion, the kind that said the gears in her head were working overtime to no avail. Find out how to save the Earth? "But then we'll still have class and I'd rather just have the cake." It seemed like less work and tasted way better. Where was the Professor's head today? It was simple math really.

The little Gryffindor tried listening to whatever else the professor said about the planet but all she could really hear was J O S H U A trying to steal her bestfriend's seat and basically take her place and erase her from existence. "WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS SHOWING UP TO RUIN THINGS??" She demanded. Nearly releasing her baby dragon onto the train and now THIS. Why couldn't he leave them alone? Did he want to see what happened when tables were turned?? Kid had a lot of time on her hands.

This was practically war.

"Fine. Stay." You stay right there, Mr. Jo-shu-a. Right there. She didn't know how yet, but she would make him regret it--to avenge her friend who would now have to take another seat.

Rude.

After such an affront, who honestly CARED about a dying planet?? "Idiot pollution Professor. They come in and ruin things and give you headaches and make you itch and drain all the oxygen out of the air with their big, dumb boy brains--but there's idiot girl brains, too. They're the worst kind 'cause half the time they don't know they're doing it and only you suffer. Then the W E I G H T~ of all the stupidity weighs you down over time til your back hunches and your eyes glaze over until you pray for the sweet release of someone putting them out of their misery for you."

She had delicate hands, couldn't possibly do her own dirty work.

Perhaps he would take cake into consideration for their next lesson. Uh. Yes.

.................................................

Er.

Finneas was taken aback. Very taken aback. He simply blinked. A lot. Probably silent for a lot longer than he ought to be after a student answers a question. "I've......... Er. Never heard of this one." .............................. Uh.

He scratched his head. Moving on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by natekka

Eimear listened, an elbow on the table and her chin resting in her hand, and tried to engage with the topic. She wasn't really a morning person and Professor Schmoe's cheeriness was - especially when she was in a grumpy mood (thankfully she wasn't in one of those today) - too much for her sometimes. Today, however, it made her smile just a little. He was a goof. And he definitely had a way with words. Not at all soul crushing topic. Riiiiight.

She continued to listen as her classmates began giving their answers, though she ignored some of the more dramatic one. Eimear had never done muggle science classes, so words like... 'carbon footprint' meant very little to her. She made a note of them to look up later if they weren't explained during class. From context, she could sort of understand what they meant but some of it was still confusing to her. Like the carbon footprints. What did that mean?

After she finished making a few more notes, she raised her own hand. "I don't know that much about pollution, sir," she admitted, "but I know that the word pollution comes from a Latin word that means defilement... so, um, pollution is defiling the planet... ruining it and making it unhealthy for us and creatures to live in." Her voice was small, naturally, but she had a New York confidence and a no-nonsense air to her regardless. It wasn't a mind-blowing answer but at least she had said something. In the past, teachers had criticised her for not contributing much in class. She didn't want to give them that opportunity again.

She may not know a lot about pollution, but her answer was INCREDIBLE. Finneas gave her two thumbs up as she spoke. "Thank you for that valuable nugget of knowledge!" Everyone was taking notes, yeah? Very, very good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hjhm

Guess Eron thought of the text more panicky than he should. Mr. Finneas seems to be all chill about it so Eron shrugged his shoulders lightly before taking his seat and smiled at the man. His attention quickly turned back at the professor the moment he started the class with of course, the topic they will be discussing today.

The earth is dying. Depends on how you read it and somehow, even despite Professor Schmoe's chill vibes from earlier Eron is still reading it like it's the end of the world. Whats up with him today? The answers have mostly been called out already so the seventh year is just looking for more answers but unfortunately he can't think of anything else. Insisting on answer right now would just be repeating what the other 10 students had just pointed out.

He smiled. Not that he was shy but yeah, what they said.

Finneas smiled back, giving Eron an encouraging look. Nothing? He looked like he was paying attention though, so Finneas wasn't too worried. He paused his gaze on the Ravenclaw for a little while longer before moving on. Surely if he had a question he would voice it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

Minjae turned his gaze away from the window and placed his chin on the palm of his hand, his elbow resting on the table. He was not in the mood for classes, that much was clear. He also wasn't in the mood to interact with others so he sat in his seat until the professor started the lesson.

Pollution. He felt a tiny sting of guilt because he knew he was probably a big cause of it as he drove everywhere. Well, not him personally because he did not have a license but he did make the orders to his driver to drive him everywhere. It was easier, and much safer.

Of course he wouldn't say this, he'd be stupid to especially in a room with some of them being so... Against it.. The teenager held his hand in the air before lowering it without an answer. Most was said already so who cared?

Finneas was entirely oblivious to whatever mood Minjae was in. "....... Er." Just as he had gone to call on Minjae, the hand was lowered. Uh. "Did you have something you err wanted to add?" If not, they could simply move on. AnYwAy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by the whiteboard

Brainstorming Types of Pollution
- Water pollution [throwing trash into the water, factories pouring chemicals into the water, oil spills]
- Air pollution [chemicals from cars and machinery, toxic gasses, smoke from cars (exhaust)]
- Littering [discarding waste products incorrectly]
- Plastic waste
- Noise pollution [unwanted sound that has an effect on the health and well-being of organisms]
- Space pollution [machinery or debris left by humans in space]
- Trash from landfills hurting the soil, water, and air
- Light pollution [the presence of excessive, misdirected, and obtrusive artificial light]
- Pollution from muggle factories
- Thermal pollution [ex. factories introducing hot water into a cool water habitat]
- Visual pollution [disturbs the visual aesthetics by creating harmful changes in the natural environment]
- Idiot pollution ???

SPOILER!!: Responses

Quote:

Originally Posted by love-for-HP

Well it's true his mum (who was a muggle) used way more means of polluting, Professor Schmoe was right ....... but Blake didn't want that to go to his head .. so he kept quiet about that part. "Well I know some muggles recycle their plastic, but it's not enough. We need more people to do it .. and to reduce the overall use of plastic in general ... like reusable water bottles instead of plastic ones." Blake added ... eyeing up Schmoe's bottle to see which of the two it was ... ... What kind of water bottle do you have with you there Sir?" Blake asked ...

Finneas let out a chuckle. It looked like Mr. Ryan was getting a little suspicious, no? No matter! Finneas raised his bottle into the air with pride. He had gotten it at a conference over the summer. "This err... Is a reusable bottle! Comes in handy when in need of a quick sip." Like now. GULP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrocat

"Well you always need to reduce the bad stuff that you use, reuse the stuff you have, and recycle the stuff that you can." Y'know, the muggle saying, 'reduce, reuse, recycle'. "And since wizards have magic, we should try and use it to be environmentally friendly, like by using magical transportation. A lot of muggles don't want to pollute the environment but you can't exactly walk to work if your work is in a different state, you need a car or train. But wizards have brooms and floo powder and apparition." She was glad that the professor didn't want to blame muggles for everything.

"Reduce, reuse, and recycle!" He powerpointed. "MMmm yes, lessening reliance on muggle means of transport could help lessen the overall demand, which may lead to a lessening of supply. Interesting thought processes, Ms. Fox." They were THINKING it was good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlwaysSnapesGirl

It wasn't a super cheery topic, pollution, but Ivy did agree that it was important for them to understand and discuss it. She liked living on this planet after all! It was good to do what they could to take care of it.

So how could they all help reduce it? "Well, for things like litter," she began, raising her hand, "maybe wizards could go around Vanishing pieces of litter when we see them. And when there are no Muggles around to see us do it, of course. So then that's less rubbish that has to go into a landfill or anywhere else."

Finneas turned to call on the next raised hand. "That is a very good thought! Perhaps we can do our part in lending our magic to help with litter reduction, yes. Yes. Creative!" He liked answers like these. Muggle Studies wasn't JUST about muggles afterall, but more so coexisting with them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Sooo whoever assigned Muggle Studies the nine am slot on a Monday it was honestly brutal! Although it could have been worse as it could have been a class like History of Magic or Ancient Runes that required much more brainpower (no offense, Schmoe), so for that Carsyn supposed she was grateful that it was just Muggle Studies. The lesson was kicking off with talk about what pollution was and it was weird because Carsyn's first thought was literally that homework was pollution because well paper, which came from trees and contributed to climate problems. Also the litter problem of parchment too.

Moving on though to what they could do to combat the pollution problem? Carsyn chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip. "We could like not ... have physical homework because less paper which would mean less litter and pollution and better for the forestry."

Err.........................

.........................

........

Finneas simply smiled because he had no idea as to how to respond. "That is a ...... interesting thought. What would you suggest as an alternative to physical homework?" Because.... technology did not work at Hogwarts so they couldn't just.... do it digitally. Unless she was trying to get out of homework all together? HM?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nyx

Sophie wasn't sure what to think of Professor Schmoe. He was very clumsy and said um a lot and struck her as rather silly. She found it a bit hard to take him seriously. He was like the exact opposite of the Headmaster. Still, he was a Professor, and he automatically deserved respect in her eyes.

She thought about his question. Although he said that both Muggles and wizards were responsible for pollution, it seemed super obvious that it was mostly the Muggles' fault. Why did they have to clean up after their mess anyway? Yeah, yeah they all lived on the same planet, but it was their fault! It seemed like witches and wizards were always cleaning up Muggle messes or trying to avert Muggle disasters. Sometimes Sophie thought that the wizarding world should just reveal itself to Muggles already, because clearly, in a lot of ways, they were the superior world.

This is why the Sorting Hat put you in Slytherin, she thought to herself with some amusement. Then she sighed. She shouldn't really be so hard on Muggles though. After all her dad was a Muggle, even though she didn't really think of him that way usually, and she loved her dad.

"Professor Schmoe, I've heard about sustainability when it comes to the environment," said Sophie. "Sustainability is important to prevent more pollution and is better for the environment, and I think it's something both us and Muggles could practice."

"Errr... Yes, very good. When we speak about sustainability, we must errr be careful, however, because it's a BIG buzzword that may not be clearly defined." They couldn't just go around and sprinkle big words everywhere. That's called academia. "Can you think of any specific examples of sustainability?" The specifics were IMPORTANT!

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayquilz

Aboli's mother, Ziggy, was very in touch with being green. There were many rules Aboli didn't even realize other households had, and the most COMMON one that most people were aware of was something Aboli would raise her hand and say!

"Professor - straws. Reusable or even EDIBLE straws can replace plastic ones....I really like the edible ones, but they get slimy if you forget about them in your drink!" she crinkled her nose. "Straws are bad for sea creatures." Aboli didn't think she had ever used one in her life. "Lots of muggle businesses got rid of straws awhile ago.....using lids that don't require them or whatnot...but I think since it's been so cheap to use plastic...it makes it hard to get rid of completely," she sighed and shrugged.

"Err.. Yes. Money does become an issue here. Convenience too, is another obstacle that must be... overcome." He nodded in agreement. "When people are so set in their ways, change may not be so errr easily adopted." But straws. Yes. Plastics straws were bad. Not the most pressing issues in terms of saving the environment, but notable all the same.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Professor Schmoe was very much welcome even though Claudine could see that she had made him somewhat uncomfortable. A mental shrug came from her; after all, a lot of students and situations probably made him feel weird and awkward. The girl ducked her head and made her notes ardently. There were more forms of pollution and information about them than she had ever considered. It was decided that she liked this topic. Great choice, Professor Awkward.

The man’s loud gulping amused Claudine. Poor Schmoe; he talked a lot and probably needed just as much water. This gave her time to finish up with the notes. Looking up at Schmoe, she immediately realised that he was staring at the back of the class. He didn’t know this, but this action of his was something that had made Claudine feel there was kind of a… kinship? between the two of them. Why? Simply because she didn’t exactly look at anyone in the eyes. The exception was Heath. Sort of.

“Fireworks… they’re a hazard in terms of noise and air pollution to humans but such loud noise is especially harmful for animals.’’ Claudine lowered her hand thoughtfully. “Professor? Is there such a thing as silent fireworks in the Muggle world? If not, Muggles should look into inventing that. As for wizards, I guess we can cast Silencing Charms on them.”

A lot of students and situations did make him feel weird and uncomfortable. That was.... correct, yes.

"Good thinking, Ms. Blaze," he gave her TWO thumbs up. "I don't believe muggles have silent fireworks, but err.... they can certainly reduce their use of fireworks. That may help." Finneas was never a fan of fireworks to begin with. He was a jumpy man and fireworks were slightly terrifying when unexpected.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

"NOISE POLLUTION IS WHEN YOU---" Bernie started to answer, fully intent on demonstrating her answer to the first question, in lieu of just vomiting up a textbook like everyone else, buuuuuuut there were already moving on.

Oh well. Those who knew her and used-to-know-her (lookin' at you, Blaze) were familiar with her shenanigans in this class. They knew she knew what noise pollution was.

"To REDUCE noise pollution," Bernie switched gears real quick, like the Muggle Studies genius she was, "you could close your windows, stop honking at idiots who cut you off, play your music at a reasonable decibel, uhhhhhhh, not yell at your kids in the supermarket queue...." Did she need to go on? Well she was gonna. Bernie took a big breath to continue. "Wizards could also use more of those muffliato spells? Like to silence things? And silencio! It works wonders on whiny little kids....er, so I've heard."

She shot an extra-dirty look at the back of the heads of the first year Ravenclaws in front of her. Didn't take her threat seriously, did they? Little did they know... LITTLE. DID. THEY. KNOW. ABOUT. HOGWARTS. Sofar. Probably.

Well, you have to admire her chutzpah. She had lots of that. "All good suggestions, Ms. Grantham." Also? Could she perhaps keep her own noise levels down in the classroom? That would be nice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daydreamer11

Naya took notes as her classmates answered the question and the professor gave his comments. Good notes were essential, especially with NEWTs coming this year. Then it was time to move on to the next question. What could muggles and wizards do to reduce pollution? Naya thought about it. ‘At the same time, she was listening to all of the answers given by others. She smiled when her housemate, Carsyn, gave her response. No homework. Save the trees. Worked for her.

Finally, Naya raised her hand. “Since muggle cars contribute to air pollution, switching to electric cars would be a better option. They wouldn’t have as much of a negative impact on the environment. Oh.....and planting trees could help the air as well.” A totally random addition, but it was true.

Finneas smiled even before Naya began answering the question. He always expected something serious from her. "TREES! Save the trees!" He gave her a thumbs up for her answer before moving right along.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady of Light

Valentina couldn’t help but giggle at the professor’s response. She definitely caught the wordplay there, mr. Schmoe! UMMM. WAIT. She noticed that people around her were actually taking notes so she pulled out a quill.. and started drawing a cat because?? that was a lot more fun?? and it wasn’t like the Professor was going to notice anyway.

Ooooh!! OH! She raised her hand eagerly. “Muggles should use cars less often!! Cars cause pollution, don’t they??”

The best feeling in the world was to make a student laugh. Finneas Schmoe did not do that very often. Most of the time, the laughter was at his expense. SO he appreciated the giggle. She received a funky smile for that. AnYwAy. "Yes, lessening reliance on automobiles could help lessen air pollution!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Yikes.

You know, if he had a sickle for every time his mouth turned the shape of his foot he may not have to be pigeon holed down the path of becoming a quidditch player.

But anyway...aNyWaY...

Josh found himself looking over at Olivia with nothing short of an apologetic glaze to his eyes because he could tell that he had touched a nerve. Or hit it with a beater's bat. He wasn't quite sure but his statement had meant to be something productive and positive, in his mind at least...execution almost always left much to be desired. But the look was short-lived as Thing 1 started shouting at him about how he ruined things. And...Professor Schmoe was...not going to acknowledge that? Cool...cool cool cool cool ... fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. But before he could return her frustrations with some of his own dry commentary on how he was not out to ruin her life because he was entirely too busy ruining his own and she was just catching some by product, she went on to stir the pot with Idiot pollution. "That's not even a real thing," he grumbled to himself as he idly drew some music notes in the margin of his parchment, outlining a verse to a song he had had in his head for a while now.

Moving on though...well, his quill was moving on at least, finishing up the verse he was writing and scratching out a few notes that he changed his mind on when he hummed them under his breath to himself. It wasn't that he wasn't an environmentalist or that he didn't care about the topic of saving the planet and reducing waste...he just...didn't have much to say on the topic. And a lot of what he was half hearing seemed to be bits of magic that would just expose the wizarding world somehow among other thoughts swirling around in his head.

Also, so many of these suggestions were just...way over his head. Electric cars, what?

"Whatever we do...it should be things that ... educate and are also things those without magical ability can do, yeah?" He was half thinking aloud here despite raising his hand. "Like...a Vanishing Spell would just be covering up the problem, in a way. So...organizing events for us to work along side no-maj, a litter walk. Everyone walking together in a certain area and picking up whatever trash they see and then deposing of it appropriately."

Was Finneas supposed to comment on whatever was going on between Joshua and Emmerson? Maybe. Did he definitely choose to side step and avoid any sort of involvement within the adolescent horror scene? Absolutely. Did he regret any of it? Er... No. No, he did not.

anYWAY.

It took Joshua a while to get to his point, but Finneas nodded along with encouragement the whole way through. Kid was getting somewhere good, Schmoe could tell. "That is an EXCELLENT idea, Mr. Miller! Something that can double as a collaborative effort and an educational opportunity! Wonderful thinking!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fireheart

Professor Schmoe did make a good point. It was definitely harder for Muggles to live without causing pollution, because they didn't have magic to get by. How else were they supposed to get around without broomsticks or apparition? Cars already seemed like a slow method of transportation to Avalon, so biking or walking would take them even longer to get from place to place. Maybe the Muggle governments could make a rule that all cars should be electric.

After she jotted down a few notes, Avalon felt herself zoning out just a bit. Her mind drifted to other things, like the fabric she would need for her latest dress design and a cute Slytherin boy she had see in the courtyard the other day. It wasn't that Muggle Studies bored her, but the topic of pollution was a little.....well, dry. Blinking a few times, she tried to regain focus before offering an answer to the last question. "What about using different forms of energy, rather than the types that cause pollution? Like those windmills out in the countryside. Or those metal panels on Muggle roofs. I think they're called space panels?" Her mom had told her the name of them once, but she couldn't remember for sure. Space panels, star panels, sun panels, maybe?

"Alternative energy sources are a wonderful way to lessen negative impacts on the environment!" EXCELLENT. He very much appreciated this wonderful answer from his prefect. Ms. Sinclair never failed him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Heath wasn’t crazy about the answer he’d given, but Professor Schmoe accepted it so it must not have been as terrible as he thought. He returned the professor’s smile with a slight nod, then got to work jotting down the other answers. He was almost finished when an unexpected voice startled him. Gah! Okay, that was loud! Why? He inwardly groaned; he didn’t even have to look up from his notebook to know whose voice it was. It seemed he’d be used to it by now, but loud noises never failed to catch him off guard. Sorry, Bernie! It was nothing personal.

Heart still racing slightly, Heath attempted to refocus his attention on the professor and the next question. Ways to reduce pollution… He could think of quite a few examples off the top of his head, most of which were already said by his classmates. Maybe it was his interest in machinery, but whatever the reason, his mind kept going back to thermal energy. His hand shot up and he said, “There are lots of measures industries can take to reduce thermal energy. For warm water pollution, they can use cooling towers to transfer heat into the atmosphere instead of water. For cold water pollution, they can redesign their dams to release the warmer water at the top, rather than the cold at the bottom.” It was quite fascinating, really!

It was only after he’d spoken that Heath realized he went into full Ravenclaw mode with his answer, and now the nerdy side of him that he tried so hard to hide was on display for the entire class to see. Embarrassed by his blunder, he looked down at the floor so that his hair would fall into his face and hide him from any judging eyes.

Finneas was quite pleased with Mr. Jones' dedication to the subject. There was absolutely nothing wrong with going into full Ravenclaw mode. Finneas LOVED it when his students went into full Ravenclaw mode. He hoped that Mr. Heathcliff did it more often. It was peak good times. "Excellent points, Mr. Jones." He gave him an APPRECIATIVE SMILE too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aRogueOne

The smile was wide and it was back better than ever as Ingrid grinned at Professor Schmoe’s enthusiasm at her answer, glad that he understood how important it was to preserve the habitats of magical creatures although she didn’t quite understand his apologetic nature for muggles. They didn’t have to pollute so much. It was a choice for them. A choice of convenience. She did agree that it was a problem for everyone though so her ears still listening intently.

Her eyes wandered around the class from person to person as she took in the answers of the other children and just nodded as each gave an answer. It seemed that recycling was a big deal because it kept on coming up but to her, just like Ivy had mentioned, their rubbish had always been recycled. A small smile was even spared for the Gryffindor prefect as she mentioned no paper homework (Carsyn) and secretly, she agreed, not that she really minded homework.

And then there was the LOUD Gryffindor girl sitting behind her. The definition of noise pollution. She may not know much about Hogwarts, but she knew enough to know that some people were just hot air. “Silencio does work well on whiny little kids”, her head now turning around to shoot a glance at the little hot air balloon behind her, “But really, I think there are more important things to tackle than a little noise pollution. Priorities Professor”.

Turning back around, she paused for a moment to listen to another answer before she continued “ I think teaching people what they could do differently is important. Or maybe even trying to find new and better ways to live. Like uh…someone said (Valentina), muggles should use cars less. Finding a better way to travel I think is the most important thing. They use those cars a lot, right?”. Her knowledge of muggles wasn’t exactly extensive, but she had read a book or two about muggles although they had been somewhat out of date.

Once again, Finneas was absolutely oblivious to any of the dynamics at play within his classroom. Were Ingrid's answers to be pointed at someone in particular, he had NO clue! "Priorities are quite important, yes, Ms. Luck." He hoped everyone was listening. "Very good." They'd touch upon this in juuuuust a moment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Schmoe looked confused, super confused, like he'd never heard of idiot pollution confused. In fact, he just admitted he'd never heard of it and there was nothing more tragic--in this second. She would have to tell him all about it, help him screen the kids that came in, starting with a certain Gryffindor who was not nearly half done being aggravated by her yet.

Not by a half.

Emm would get back to him in a bit, for now Schmoe was moving on and it was another thing that wasn't her problem. "If you ask me, we should leave them to it. I don't like fixing other people's messes and I don't own a car that makes messes. I don't do anything that makes messes." Practically a perfect human being, her mama said so...sorta...in less words.

It was the feeling that counted.

"But if you really want an answer, the only way to reduce idiot pollution is to reduce idiots. Pack them all up in once place and send them off down the river. You're a delicate sort, you probably wouldn't have the stomach for it. I can help. I'm always helpful."

This is it. This was the one who would end him, it seemed. Finneas' face contorted in all sorts of ways as he listened to her answer. Er.... He... Uh... How.... Err..

"Well.... Errr.... While I cannot force you to care, Ms. Cambridge... Err... It is our mess too because.... we occupy the same planet as our fellow beings and errr..." Yes. Hopefully that made the point.

As for this other thing. The idiot pollution. Finneas Schmoe had no idea how to address it. He sat on this for a little while. Gave it ample consideration. And then, decided to simply say "...... Thank you."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom

Reducing garbage and waste was actually something Adam had learned a bit about. He remembered reading in a book about how to help save the oceans - and of course he had been drawn to the book in the first place due to his LOVE of amphibians. He eagerly raised his hand for the first time in the lesson. "Well, muggles have these things...it's a drink, sort of like butterbeer, but they sell them all connected in these plastic ring things....you're supposed to cut them up before you throw them out or recycle them because they can get stuck on birds or turtles and then they could CHOKE!" he said in one long, hurried breath. SAVE THE TURTLESSSS!

Finneas loved to see a student raise their hand for the first time in a lesson. It was like watching a bird take flight for the first time. Or witnessing the birth of a baby shark. Perhaps. Finneas had no experience with either, but ... AnYwAy. "Ah, yes, I have seen such a thing." Did they have a name? Finneas had no clue.

OOC: Hello, this is the Mini-Activity!

For this activity each student (or pair of students should you choose to partner with someone), will be making an educational poster. Feel free to do this via descriptions, drawings, or create a graphic!

Below are the requirements for this:

Name the Problem: (ex. Air Pollution)
What can we do to fix it or Suggest an Alternative: (ex. Reduce your meat consumption)
Catchy tagline or motto: (ex. #BetterBeBroccoli)
Describe with words or share via graphic or drawing what the poster will look like

You'll have at least 70 hours before we move on.