As all of you know, many companies are tearing down rain forests for their own personal gain. Many of these gains can include more land for urbanization, trees for paper, wood, etc, area for agriculture and grazing, and the mass amount of water that they can accumulate. But the detriments and consequences of tearing down rain forests far outweighs the benefits of it. For once, the rain forests have many resources and herbs that can help aid mankind. For example, we may or may not know but one of those herbs in the rain forests for all we know could be the cure for cancer. The rain forests have many species of animals and plants. If we tear down and destroy these rain forests, we are nearing the endangerment and extinction of those species by destroying their habitat. In addition, we forget that rain forests are the lungs of the planet as they produce a large percent of our air. The rain forest has more resources than any other biome thus equaling giant disaster if humankind destroys it. If we do not wish to have the earth end, we should unite, stand together, and do something about this. I suggest starting out with mere simple things such as conserving electricity and water, and recycling. If you get more commited, you can start protesting acts of desecration of rain forests, even join organizations, or donate to help protect these wonderful oases of nature.
-Flaviu Delczeg
Flaviu Delczeg; The Detriments of Rainforest Damage
Non-electronic play with unplugged fun
As most of us might know, the Discovery green in Houston was home to about 50 globes that send out a very important message to all of us. The globe that I thought sends out the most important message and fun for everyone to enjoy was the “non-electronic play” globe. This globe was design by many students from Francis W. Parker School. The message they were trying to send out to everyone is to spend less time playing with your electronic toys and spend some time with family and friends as well as to conserve energy. This globe is covered with drawings of kids performing different activated what do now require electricity to enjoy. Some of which these activities are; reading a book, riding a bike, surfing, playing sports and much more, fun activities to do with friends and family to promote “TV tune out”. What is “TV tune out”? Well “TV tune out” is a week that every one turns off their electronics in their home and gathers together to enjoy activities that don’t use up electricity. By participating and promoting “TV tune out” week we can reduce the amount of green house gasses that are release in to our air.
-Betsy Garcia
A Plant Based Diet
As we look around, fast food restaurants are being occupied 24/7, seven days a week. We no longer eat healthy organic vegetables or whole grain foods. We are driven by a sense of taste and forget that the most important thing is that we lead healthy and productive lifestyles. It seems that we care more about our food than the fact that our lives are deteriorating or about our families and health. Our eating habits greatly affect who we are. We must revert back to eating more vegetables and fruits in order to maintain a healthy people and planet. Studies have shown that a low-fat vegetarian diet is the single most effective way to stop progression of coronary artery disease or prevent it altogether. Several other health conditions, such as diabetes,2 obesity,3 gallstones,4 and kidney stones,5 are much less common in vegetarians. If we care about ourselves we will go greener. It is understandable that a greener diet can take more work but now with modern minds have made available healthier and yet tasty dishes. Cookbooks can be purchased toenhance the meatless lifestyle.
-Gift Nleko
Step Away From The Chemicals: An Organic Outlook on Food
Salt, Oil, Transfat, Cholesterol, those and more always circulate the minds of those who are concerned with their own health. However, when people who are most mindful of their own health skim the ingredients list, they tend to look towards things which sound more synthetic and ignore that which seems inconspicuous. Take for instance, a comparison between the names of “Sulfur Dioxide” and “Diced Apples”, the latter seems much less dangerous and intimidating, but in reality, that innocent sounding apple may have lots of pesticides that are linked with causing cancer. Now of course, this doesn’t mean that the next apple you eat will surely end your life, but one should be more mindful of what they consume and purchase. Many of the pesticide residues don’t even exceed the allowed levels for adult consumption, but the problem is that the pesticides themselves have been proven to cause not only cancer, but a multitude of other conditions (brain and nervous system damage, disruption of the endocrine and immune systems for starters). These conditions are incredibly unsafe and can rend apart millions of lives.
Even so, the dangers of eating these foods spans not only with the actual consumption. Indeed, the longer lasting effects of employing pesticides prove to be highly detrimental to the planet as well. Soil erosion is a main issue, and it’s been said that America loses tons of topsoil a year due to run off! The depravation of nutrients also plays a major part, with artificially synthesized nutrients being added to the soil to make up for what is used. These chemicals are not only synthesized, but they also fail to replace the mineral elements in the soil. Worse yet is the fact that they can actually pollute sources of water if applied excessively, this leads to a growth of certain aquatic plants that can literally strangle the life out of the water source, along with effectively poisoning the people who depend on that water source for drinking water.
Even though organic foods seem to cost ever so much more in the short run, they inevitably cost so much more in the long run. So the next time you see organic foods, take those, and step away from the inorganic. You’ll be doing both your body and the environment a favor.
-Dennis Chau
Saving the Environment: One Search at a Time
At Kerr and schools nationwide, many of the students commonly use a popular search engine, Google. Now there have even been many phrases that go around, including the ever so popular, “just google it.” With many people today attempting to save electricity, “every single watt helps” to save electricity, but the saving of watts goes even further, every watt saved is not only one that you don’t have to pay for, but its one less that electricity companies have to generate, saving both you and the company money. A win-win deal sounds nice doesn’t it?
Of course, one of the multitudes of websites out there that are devoted to saving electricity through internet searches is “Blackle” a search engine that has the same basic formatting as Google, except with a black background instead of the customary white. In fact, the search is even powered by Google so you can get the same results that you look for while helping to reduce electricity costs. In fact, the interesting thing is that it even has a counter of sorts under the bar for the search query. The next time you look up some elusive fact for that English paper, or simply wish to learn something new, don’t just “google it” go ahead and “blackle it!”
-Dennis Chau
Copenhagen Predicts 2010 to be the Warmest on Record
Met Office predicted that 2010 will be the hottest year on record. And with the way the weather has been going lately, it’s no surprise.
A new forecast for 2010 predicted that it will be almost one degree higher than the long term average of 57°F across the globe as a result of natural weather patterns and global warming. The new forecast predicted 2010 will warmer than 1998, that was 0.9°F above average and the hottest year on record so far. The warming is expected because of the El Nino, an atmospheric phenomenon over the Pacific, which warms the Southern Oceans.
“As a result of the absence of any recorded 21st century warming trend, the formulation now favoured by climate campaigners is that the last decade has been the warmest since records began,” Lord Lawson of Blaby said. “It is rather as if the world’s population had stopped rising and all the demographers could say was that global population had been the highest ever recorded.”
~Almayra Porrata-Doria
Finally Some Clarity
The hopes of new automotive technology that will not only reduce fuel emissions but also drastically sever our dependence on foreign oil, has become a reality. But fuel cell vehicles will also have other benefits as well. Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are propelled by electric motors. But unlike a battery-electric car, which uses electricity from an external source and stores it in the battery, FCVs will create their own electricity through a chemical process using hydrogen fuel and oxygen from the air.
In 2008, Honda introduced a hydrogen fuel call automobile in Japan, known as the Honda Clarity. In 2009 the mid-sized 4-door sedan was released in the United States, but only in the greater Los Angeles area. Honda engineers are hoping to mass-produce the car by the year 2020.
Not only is this car stylish, but it is also 20% more fuel efficient (something everyone loves nowadays), over 397 pounds lighter than the average mid-sized sedan, has 120% better power-to-weight ratio, and is 45% more compact and 10% more energy-efficient.
If it’s safety you’re worried about, then worry no more. The FCX Clarity comes with six airbags, a reinforced unit-body structure, and a Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS). The CMBS helps alert the driver to certain potential collisions and, through the use of visual and audio alerts plus an automatic tug of the seat belt, prompt the driver to take action. If a collision cannot be avoided, the system automatically retracts slack in the front seat belts and applies braking force to reduce the vehicle’s speed and help lessen the force of the collision.
The bonuses with this ride just keep rolling.
~Almayra Porrata-Doria
Green Cleaners.
For all the busy housewives, there comes a new and fun activity to spend with family in helping tidying up your own household. By making your own cleaning supplies, many households could prevent using toxic and hazardous chemicals in their own homes and around their children. Windex, Pledge, and Mr.Clean all come with their eye catching commercials, but they also come with toxic chemicals that we’re exposing to those we love the most. A sit down family activity can end the toxic nightmare and create a new alternative many never dreamed of. A secret kept quiet to many American households is that you can make very effective and non-toxic cleaning products. And luckily, the ingredients can be found at home in our own cupboards and pantries. With a simple mix of ingredients ranging from baking soda, vinegar, lemon, and even soap, many families can control what they’re using around their children and what they’re putting on their countertops. Making your own cleaning products at home can save you time and money because you no longer need to run out to the supermarket to purchase a bottle of toxic hazardous cleaning product. The products that allow our furniture and floors to sparkle and shine contain phosphates that pollute groundwater and contain hazardous substances. Even though they’re cleaning our homes, they might irritate our skin, eyes, and allow for us to breathe in chemicals we shouldn’t be exposed to. By making your own products at home, you’re guaranteed a spotless shine and a satisfied peace of mind.
-Nicholas Chan
All Bottled Up.
When we first think of water, it carries the connotation of a natural thing necessary for life that we’re surrounded by with our oceans. However, the container carrying the resource is actually a bit more harmful to our environment than we ever imagined. In attempts to live a hydrated a what’s thought to be a cheaper and safer alternative to tap water, are we all willing to pay the price of harming our environment? The plastic bottles that are purchased by consumers actually rely on fossil fuels. The raw plastic material is heated and shaped into a bottle; however, the energy used to heat the material comes from electricity or natural gas. The shipping and transporting process also has a hefty price because trucks travelling across the country also run on fossil fuels. Combined with the cardboard boxes needed to ship the bottles and the mere production of this product is a disaster. Even though it is a common misconception that we can simply recycle the plastic bottles when we’re through drinking our water, rarely do they even land inside a recycling container and instead decompose excruciatingly slowly in landfills. And finally, as they decompose, a harmful gas is released from the plastic bottles. A simple alternative to this problem is to stop purchasing bottles of water and begin using filters that easily attach to our sinks. This process will s afely purify our water and make it a healthier resource without all the excess baggage…or bottles.
-Nicholas Chan
Rock On, World.
Tina Fey, a member of Saturday Night Live’s cast, was not shy when dressing up as once Vice President Candidate, Sarah Palin. In the humorous comedy sketch, she noted that global warming is just God hugging us a big closer to the sun. Instead of these illogical solutions to a much bigger problem, recent studies have indicated that there’s a new rock found near Oman that is capable of soaking up large amounts of carbon dioxide. Peridotite, has the ability to react with C02 and reduce global warming. Though lacking funding, the rock has the potential to be transported to factory plants, grounded into small pieces, and then combined with smokestack gases to collect emissions. Geologist Peter Keleman and geochemist Matter made the discovery in an Oman desert. Their discovery found that peridotite naturally absorbs anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year. New discoveries have found that the rock might also be found new New Guinea, Greece, and the former Yugoslavia. Luckily for the United States, some studies have found the resource new California. When the rock is exposed to high amounts of carbon dioxide it has the ability to convert it into other minerals like limestone or marble. Unfortunately, the funds to research further into peroditite and other rocks are quickly diminishing. Further research and development could potentially answer our prayers when it comes to the issue of global warming and greenhouse carbon dioxide.
-Nicholas Chan
