Homework

 Homework should be used moderately in schools. Instead of all the students doing the same thing, students should be given homework where they need it. If a student has trouble doing something they can be given homework to help them practice in that area. To little homework makes school progress to slow. To much homework causes stress, and if you stay up late doing homework it will affect your ability to do well in school. Schools, for the most part, should not give more than two hours of homework per night. 

            They should also check in with the students to see how long their homework is taking him. Schools shouldn’t give busy work that just uses up time and doesn’t teach anything. Students should be given homework long in advance, so they have time to plan around their schedule, it should not be given the day before its due. Teachers should make homework as interesting as possible. Kids will rush through boring homework or not do it and they will come to dread whatever class it is coming from. Boring homework will have a negative impact on the class rather than helping the students.   

9/11

          

      On September 11, 2001 I was four years old. I don’t remember much about what happened. I only have vague memories of the panic and the adults talking about it. A few years latter was the first time I remember watching it on television. It was on the anniversary of 9/11 and I was watching a documentary about it on T.V. The documentary showed the planes hitting the buildings and burning Twin Towers collapse into the ground. I also remember images of people jumping out of the buildings because they were burning to death. I remember it was terrifying for me to watch this. My parents have told me what happened to them on that day. They were both at work. My Mom was working in a tall office building in downtown Atlanta. Her building was evacuated because they were afraid it might be targeted. My parents talked about where they would go if the city was attacked.                                                                                                                  

       I know that twenty terrorists hijacked several planes going to California. It was a Tuesday morning and the terrorists chose that day because it was the heaviest day for air travel, so they would be able to kill the most people. One of the planes crashed into the pentagon, two crashed into the Twin Towers and the other one crashed into the ground because the people took over the plane from the terrorists. It was what caused us to go into Afghanistan and Iraq even though that wasn’t where the majority of the terrorists came from. 9/11 also caused a lot of panic over air travel and they put heavy security in airports that has lasted for years. After 9/11 there was no air travel in the United States for several days.             

Tri-State Water Wars Liam/Ben

Georgia, Alabama,and Florida have been arguing over something different than who’s better at football for almost 20 years. These three states have been arguing about allocation of water from two large bodies of water that cross their borders. The outcome is a critical, environmental decision in this area. Georgia is trying to make sure that it has enough water for its expanding population especially in metro Atlanta. Alabama is worried that if Atlanta uses too much water it won’t have enough for its needs. Florida wants to make sure that it can sustain its very successful shellfish industry.

Water used to be very abundant, but water issues began with droughts in the 1980s causing debates over water that have gotten progressively worse. The drought in 2007 was the most recent one when Lake Lanier got twenty feet below normal level. Some groups of people are proposing that Lake Lanier be raised two feet above it normal level to add 26 billion gallons of extra storage incase of emergencies. Georgia says it has the right to the water in it’s rivers and lakes, but Alabama and Florida blame Georgia for using to much water and not enough is getting down stream to them and that the lack of water is destroying ecosystems down stream especially in the gulf. 

After the Chattahoochee River enters Florida it becomes the Apalachicola River. By the time the Apalachicola enters the gulf it is very low and polluted. If too little water flows into Apalachicola Bay then salt level increase. This was especially bad during the drought of 2007. The high salt levels kill oysters and other animals caught in commercial fishing. This threatens the lively hood of the fisherman and ruins the local economy because commercial fishing is one of the most important businesses in the region.

The three states are involved in a court case in the United States DistrictCourt. In 2009 the judge ruled that metro Atlanta has very little right to take a lot of water from Lake Lanier even though almost 3 million people in the Atlanta area get most of their water from that lake. Georgia population has doubled since the 1960s and more people means it takes more water to sustain them. The judge has given these three states until July 2012 to negotiate a deal. If these states don’t reach an agreement the judge will order severe limits on the amount of water that can be withdrawn from the lake. The state of Georgia has filed an appeal that will be heard on March 9, 2011.

Georgia must continue to conserve water in order to prepare for the drastic measures that will be imposed in 2011. The Georgia legislature passed some laws in 2010 to help with Conservation. Conservation is important but Georgia needs to find ways to increase their water supply. If Georgia is not alowed to use much water from Lake Lanier this will have a huge impact on the environment, agriculture, and the economy of this state.

Citations: 

"Georgia Once Prayed For Rain, Now Plans For Drought : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125190243>. 

"Water Wars Background — Alabama Rivers Alliance." Alabama Water Rally Online Registration Is Open! — Alabama Rivers Alliance. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.alabamarivers.org/current-work/water-wars>. 

"Tri-State Water Wars History." Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.chattahoochee.org/tri-state-water-wars-history.php>. 

"Tri-state Water Wars: Act Now on Water Contingency Plans | Ajc.com." Atlanta News, Sports, Atlanta Weather, Business News | Ajc.com. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ajc.com/opinion/tri-state-water-wars-527806.html>. 

"Tri-State Water Wars." Southern Environmental Law Center. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/tri_state_water_wars_al_ga_fl>. 

"Arguments Set in Tri-state Water Wars Case." The Augusta Chronicle. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2011-01-26/arguments-set-tri-state-water-wars-case>. 

“Chattahoochee From Water Wars to Water Vision”

Tri-State Water Wars Liam/Ben

  Georgia, Alabama,and Florida have been arguing over something different than who’s better at football for almost 20 years.  These three states have been arguing about allocation of water from two large bodies of water that cross their borders. The outcome is a critical, environmental decision in this area.  Georgia is trying to make sure that it has enough water for its expanding population especially in metro Atlanta.  Alabama is worried that if Atlanta uses too much water it won’t have enough for its needs. Florida wants to make sure that it can sustain its very successful shellfish industry.

     Water used to be very abundant, but water issues began with droughts in the 1980s causing debates over water that have gotten progressively worse. The drought in 2007 was the most recent one when Lake Lanier got twenty feet below normal level. Some groups of people are proposing that Lake Lanier be raised two feet above it normal level to add 26 billion gallons of extra storage incase of emergencies. Georgia says it has the right to the water in it’s rivers and lakes, but Alabama and Florida blame Georgia for using to much water and not enough is getting down stream to them and that the lack of water is destroying ecosystems down stream especially in the gulf.

      After the Chattahoochee River enters Florida it becomes the Apalachicola River. By the time the Apalachicola enters the gulf it is very low and polluted. If too little water flows into Apalachicola Bay then salt level increase. This was especially bad during the drought of 2007. The high salt levels kill oysters and other animals caught in commercial fishing. This threatens the lively hood of the fisherman and ruins the local economy because commercial fishing is one of the most important businesses in the region.    

            The three states are involved in a court case in the United States DistrictCourt.  In 2009 the judge ruled that metro Atlanta has very little right to take a lot of water from Lake Lanier even though almost 3 million people in the Atlanta area get most of their water from that lake. Georgia population has doubled since the 1960s and more people means it takes more water to sustain them. The judge has given these three states until July 2012 to negotiate a deal.  If these states don’t reach an agreement the judge will order severe limits on the amount of water that can be withdrawn from the lake.  The state of Georgia has filed an appeal that will be heard on March 9, 2011.

            Georgia must continue to conserve water in order to prepare for the drastic measures that will be imposed in 2011.  The Georgia legislature passed some laws in 2010 to help with Conservation.  Conservation is important but Georgia needs to find ways to increase their water supply. If Georgia is not alowed to use much water from Lake Lanier this will have a huge impact on the environment, agriculture, and the economy of this state.

> NPR- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125190243 

> Alabama Rivers Alliance- http://www.alabamarivers.org/current-work/water-wars 

> Upper Chattahoochee River Keeper- http://www.chattahoochee.org/tri-state-water-wars-history.php

> AJC- Tri-State Water Wars: Act now on contingency plans- http://www.ajc.com/opinion/tri-state-water-wars-527806.html 

> Southern Environmental Law Center- Tri-State Water Wars (AL, GA, FL,- http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/tri_state_water_wars_al_ga_fl 

> The Augusta Chronicle- Arguments set in tri-state water wars case- http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2011-01-26/arguments-set-tri-state-water-wars-case   

Water

                                                             

    The world is facing many water issues today. From shrinking water supplies to flooding. By 2050 one third of people will not have access to clean water. Many rivers have become polluted causing animals to go extinct. Farming has drained aquifers and released dangerous pesticides into the environment. Global warming is a major factor in

increasing numbers of droughts and floods.     

     People and organizations like Ryan’s Wells are helping by making wells, so more people can have access to clean water. Farmers are finding new ways of irrigating their crops that do not waste water. Sanitation systems are being built that keep waste from contaminating the water supply and prevent disease. Also there are many projects to help restore environments to their natural state.

    Water allocation is another major issue but it can be solved by using less water and using it more efficiently such as toilets that use less water. The  there will be more water to go around. Water safety can be improved by making laws to prevent companies from releasing waste into the water and by improving sanitation.

    In class we can help solve these problems by using the compost bin that we have sort of forgotten about and we can use less paper because paper takes water to produce and uses trees. 

State of the Union

    President Obama gave his 2011 State of the Union address on Jan. 25. President Obama started his speech by mentioning the Tucson shooting and Gabrielle Giffords.

Many people attending the speech wore ribbons in memory of those killed and wounded 

at the shooting and a seat was left open in Gifford’s honor. Some of the victims families sat with Mrs. Obama. 

      The speech focused on education, the economy, the deficit and clean energy along with several other things. Obama wants to increase spending on education, infrastructure(like high speed rail), clean energy and high speed internet. He said to prepare for 100,000 new math, science and engineering teachers to improve math and science education. Obama also wants to put in place plans for 80% of American’s electricity to come from renewable resources and 80% precent of American’s to have access to high speed rail by 2035. He also wants businesses to deploy high speed wireless to 98% precent of Americans.

          He asked americans let go of their differences to compete India and China, saying we need to “out-innovate, out educate and outbuild the rest of the world.” Democrats and Republicans, who usually sit on opposite sides, sat together during the speech for the first time.                      

     Obama also talked about budget cutting to reduce the deficit. With a five year freeze on spending in some domestic programs that could reduce the deficit by 400 billion dollars in ten years and a 78 billion dollar cut in defense spending. Despite this Republicans do not believe he is doing enough to decrease the deficit. Obama did say he would veto any bills with earmarks, trying to please Republicans. 

     When talking about the heath care bill, which many Republicans want to repeal, Obama said “lets fix what needs fixing and move forward.” He said he did not want to re-fight the battles of the past two years. Obama said the country can not afford the permanent extension of the tax cuts for the rich. Extending the tax cuts was part of a deal with the Republicans and they took it as a bad sign when Obama said he wouldn’t extend them.        

     President Obama finished his speech by saying, “The state of the union is strong because the future is hopeful.”

My sources were:

    > The New York Times- Obama Calls for Bipartisan Effort to Fight for U.S. Jobs- http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/us/politics/26speech.html?_r=2&ref=todayspaper

    > The Wall Street Journal- Obama: U.S. Must Compete- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704698004576104134043682882.htmlmod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories 

    >NPR- Obama: “Our Destiny Remains Our Choice”- http://www.npr.org/2011/01/26/133219913/obama-to-urge-a-united-focus-on-jobs

    >Huffington Post- State of the Union 2011: Speech, Reaction and Commentary-http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/25/state-of-the-union-2011-s_n_813477.html 

    >The Washington Post- Obama Challenges the Nation - and Republicans - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/25/AR2011012507377_2.html?hpid=topnews&sid=S   

    

Extreme Winter Weather Causes Debate Over Global Warming

  A large blizzard hit the east coast on December 26, 2010, causing widespread problems. One of the worst areas hit was NewYork City. The Blizzard shutdown the city’s three major airports and stopped trains. It was the six largest snowfall in New York

City’s history with twenty inches of snow.

     The clean-up of the blizzard has been slow causing officials to examine the response. The slow response left streets unplowed for days and many passengers were stranded on trains and in the airports. On Dec. 26, all flights were canceled at the Kennedy International Airport and the Newark Liberty International airport in New Jersey, but some flights did come out of La Gaurdia Airport. The flight

cancelations totaled 4,000.                                                                                                

    The New York Department of Sanitation has taken heavy criticism.  It’s workers have been accused of being purposely slow in their response because of anger about recent budget cuts. Some workers have said that their bosses ordered them to slow down. New York City’s Department of investigation is deciding wether to conduct a formal investigation. 

     Along with the people stranded, thousands of people were without power from the sixty-five mile per hour winds and falling trees. Five people died in car accidents during the storm.

     The recent cold has caused people to question global warming. Some Republicans have said that global warming is ending and that it was a hoax. This si a big blow for many left wing democrats because they support global warming and climate change where as the right wing republicans support big industry and spending. Many global warming experts now say that the recent cold temperatures are actually a sign of global warming. Some weather predictions have shown that January could be the coldest for the U.S. since the 1980s. Scientists have said that the melting sea ice and rising temperatures have caused changes in atmospheric pressure that has affected the jet stream, changing the way cold air moves.

Also the melting ice has created more moisture in the air which has turned into more 

snow over in Siberia. Some of the weather fluctuations in the US and Australia are due to the rise minimal rise in water in the ocean. Although the rise was small it created massive fluctuations in weather patterns. This was cause by there being more area for the sun's rays to reflect which caused the weather patterns to shift due to a small amount o cooling. When the weather patterns changed both countries were very unprepared which resulted in a catastrophe for them. In the US it shut down most of New York City and in Australia it resulted in a flood the size of Germany and France combined.

       Scientists do not completely understand how the melting ice will affect the climate, but its affects will increase as more ice melts. The cold weather has caused an increase in global warming skeptics. Studies have shown that the number of believers increases after an unusually hot summer and decreases after a very cold winter.

       Despite of the recent cold 2010 turned out to be one of the warmest years on record and the past decade has been the warmest decade on record. Also the record 

highs have increased compared to record lows to two record highs for every record low.

   I believe this is important because Global Warming is a major world issue.

     

   

My sources were: 

    >The New York Times-Science-Snow and Snowstorms http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/snow_and_snowstorms/index.html?scp=3&sq=northeastern%20blizzard&st=cse

    >CNN U.S.-NYC Officials to Probe Response to Last Week’s Blizzard-http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/01/04/new.york.snow/index.html?iref=allsearch 

    >The Scientific American- “Bulge” in Atmospheric Pressure Responsible for Cold Winter Amid Global Warming-http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bulge-in-atmospheric-pressure 

    >The Washington Post-Record Warmth in 2010 Despite Cooling Influences- http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2011/01/2010_dominated_by_record_warmt.html

     >The Wall Street Journal-Fear of a White Planet-http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203513204576047741057676566.html?KEYWORDS=global+warming