An Ebola Orphan’s Plea in Africa: ‘Do You Want Me?

Gettleman, Jeffrey. "An Ebola Orphan’s Plea in Africa: ‘Do You Want Me?’." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Dec. 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

            The article that I read is about is how a young orphan who has lost her family from Ebola and there are no files identifying who she is or who her family is. The only thing left is her sweet, loving heart. This young orphan, who is called by the name of Sweetie Sweetie, lost her whole family except her mother, but soon that was lost too. Sweetie Sweetie would spend her time taking good care of her mother. She would wash her mother’s soiled clothes, not very well, but the effort shows how much she cares. Nurses say she is about the age of four and her name is unknown, which is why they call her Sweetie Sweetie. After Sweetie Sweetie’s mother died, she stood outside the clinic’s gate, just letting her eyes wander. She waited and waited, but no one picked her up. She was taken to a home, where social workers are trying to find someone to adopt her. One day Sweetie Sweetie asked a visitor, “Do you want me?” Roeland Monasch, head of Unicef’s office in Sierra Leone said, “If there’s an earthquake or a war, and you lose a mother or a father, an aunt will take care of you. But this is different. These children aren’t being taken in by extended family. This isn’t like AIDS orphans.” For now, Sweetie Sweetie remains living in a group home with nine other children, who have either lost their parents or other who’s have been lost in the maze of isolation centers and Ebola clinics.

            This article is a very good example of well-written work. The story flows nicely and sounds good and dramatic. When I was reading this article, it really touched me. The information that they provided makes you feel really bad for Sweetie Sweetie. It makes you think about, what would you do if you were in this position? After reading this article, I had a very good understanding of what the author was saying. One thing that the author could have done better was providing a few more quotes. Doing this will help the readers know what the victims feel like. Otherwise, I thought this article was well written.

            One thing that I found very interesting in this article was how bad Ebola really is. The article said that the United Nations officials estimated, “More than 3,500 have been infected and at least 1,200 have died. Overall, I found this article very interesting to read.

by Ava Austi 

A Cape Cod Mystery: a Surge of Stranded Sea Turtles

Core chemistry                                                                                                            12/12/14

Current event                                                                                                               Olivia Scotti

Citation/ Link:

Gorman, James. "Cape Cod Mystery: Surge of Stranded Turtles." The New York Times. The

New York Times, 12 Dec. 2014. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.

                       

The article I read for my current event was A Cape Cod Mystery: a Surge of Stranded Sea Turtles by James Gorman. This article was about how there was an increased amount of turtles that have washed up on the cape cod shore sick. Over the years the number of sea turtles washing up on shore has increased. There are many volunteers who are helping collect these turtles off the beach and bring them to aquariums sanctuaries and many other facilities for help. They have not figured out why so many sea turtles have been washed but they have made some assumptions. Mr. Prescott the director of Massachusetts Audubon’s Wellfleet wildlife sanctuary said “What is known is that they often caught in cape cod bay as do dolphins and whales sometimes because of the shape of the land or the currents and the tides.”  The coast guard helped with situation by flying 163 turtles to Florida. They have found 1,200 baby turtles on the beach.        

This plays an affect on the world because if the amount of turtles washing up on shore increases then many turtle species could become endangered. This could also affect other animals in the ocean because they’re a major part of the ocean. This does not affect me because my life will not change because of this.

There were many good and bad things about the article. I think they did a good job on incorporating quotes from many different people because you could trust the article. Also you could see what other peoples opinion was on this topic. The article was not to short so you could get a good idea on what this topic is about. Although there were many good things the article had bad things like the organization. One thing that could improve this article is more information on the treatment the turtles are going through to get better.

                                                                              

The Energy Boom You Haven't Heard About: Wood Pellets.

Marks Sears
CE #9
URL: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/12/141208-wood-pellet-energy-boom-driven-by-exports/

I read the article, "The Energy Boom You Haven't Heard About: Wood Pellets." In this article it talks about how the US is creating pellet mills & exporting these pellets, mostly to the UK, so that they can be burned and used for energy. The UK is contributes to more than half of our exports and the high demand has doubled our biomass exports in the last year. Mills are being created rapidly as two more mills, being built by Drax (a UK wood pellet industry), are supposed to open next year in Louisiana and Mississippi. Many people criticize that it hurts our forests and climate, but wood pellet industries claim they are using wood by-products, that would otherwise go to waste. Adam Macon, a campaign director in a North Carolina Enviromental group says, "It's just crazy that there's an idea out there to cut down the things that are supposed to protect us from climate change. It's backwards thinking."

This is very relevant to us as humans on this Earth because if critics are saying that it's not by-product wood and they're cutting down trees, then that could be very bad for a major climate change. Trees help protect and help us prevent all this global warming and climate change, but if this pellet industry continues to grow as rapidly as it is than we could see some major damage in our forests, which will be very bad for our earth. Therefore, hopefully the companies are only using residue, waste wood and not hurting our environment.

This article was pretty good. It had lots of great information, but the author didn't organize her ideas well. She kept going back and forth between opinions and topics. She would throw in a paragraph about other random facts all of this made it very hard to follow. Also, I think she could have compacted her information better because there was some unnecessary information that made her article lengthy. Overall, I enjoyed reading this article because it was about something people don't usually pay attention to, and I hope in the long run this doesn't affect our planet.

Chemists Pick New Leader for World's Largest Science Society.

Robert Schetlick

Chemistry 9H Odd C

Current Event 9 Review

12/10/14

Fischman, Josh. "Chemists Pick New Leader for World's Largest Science Society." Scientific

American Global RSS. N.p., 10 Dec. 2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.

The article I read was about Thomas M. Connelly Jr., who is to become the CEO of the American Chemical Society. He is a chemical engineer who spent his career at DuPont, as the company’s chief innovation officer. In February 2015, the old CEO will retire allowing Thomas M. Connelly Jr. to step in their place with new ideas and plans. His goals as the new CEO are to educate everyone he can about chemistry to help find solutions to big problems. He plans to educate the general public as best he can, not just students in the K-12 grade range. Connelly wants everyone to understand the science behind modern major health, food, and energy issues. When asked to give an example in an interview he said, “Chemistry is key to protecting crops in our food supply, for instance. Soil chemistry is important for that, as is crop nutrition. In the environment, chemistry is important for maintaining ecosystems. People need to understand geochemistry and atmospheric chemistry in order to do that” (Fischman). Connelly hopes that clearer messages and proper education will help consumers understand how to live better lives through using chemistry as a tool to help them solve problems and be a healthier person. Everyone will be able to utilize chemistry for universal good.

When Thomas M. Connelly Jr. assumes the role of CEO, our society will be affected greatly. If he succeeds in carrying out his plans to educate and assist the public, everyone will live better lives. People everywhere, including bronxville will make healthier choices and have the basic tools they need to use chemistry to solve their problems. For example, citizens could alter their diet based on what they learned about chemistry to be more energized and more productive during their day. These changes could also improve the efficiency of our workforce. If the goals set by the new ACS are met, everyone will benefit.

The article was fairly well written, and delivered its points well in a shorter amount of writing. The article, although it is lengthy, uses fewer words to say more. This is a strength, because readers get a better understanding of the author’s ideas in less time. The article also relates the information frequently to everyone in society’s life, which interests the reader. The article was somewhat weakened by the exclusion of the full interview. Only parts of the interview were included in the article, and a better understanding of Connelly’s ideals could be reached with the other parts of the interview. The article could be improved by adding more material from the interview and some quotations from the new CEO as additional proof of his goals. This article is a very positive outlook and leaves the reader feeling very inspired, which is why the article is well written.

Study Gauges Plastic Levels in Oceans

Alston Tarry                                                                                       December 10, 2014

CE 9                                                                                                    Mr. Ippolito

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/science/new-research-quantifies-the-oceans-plastic-problem.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

I read the article “Study Gauges Plastic Levels in Oceans” written by John Schwartz. This article talks about how much plastic is in our oceans. Giant plastic masses float around al over the place, causing trouble for sea life and much more. Not only are there giant plastic masses, there are little pieces scattered all over the place. There is so much waste that it is hurting the ocean life. Some people think nets on fishing boats could help with this problem. The nets could pick up the debris and take it out of the water. The smaller pieces of plastic seem to be less than thought. Researchers are taking a look as to where they may have gone, and how this could be a problem in the future.

Researchers are concerned that the fish are eating the plastic and getting the toxin in them. They could then pass of along the toxin to other predators. “Plastics are like a cocktail of contaminants floating around in the aquatic habitat,” said Chelsea M. Rochman, a marine ecologist at the University of California. The small fish may get the toxin at first, but when they are eaten, the toxin spreads and spreads. This can be very troubling for the human race. People eat fish all the time. Where do we get fish? The ocean is the answer. Some of these fish that are caught and eaten could have this toxin in them. This would pass the toxin on to many people and make people very sick. It is hazardous to eat a fish when you don’t know what it has eaten. Not only is all this plastic in the ocean dangerous to sea life, it is dangerous to humans as well.

I thought this article was very well written. The beginning paragraph or two talked about what the main problem was. Then it got into the details after that. A problem would be stated and then a solution for that problem would come after that. There were quotes from researchers, which helped get a view of what people on the job thought, and helped to understand how important this issue really is. The ending paragraphs summed up the article, and I thought the closing paragraph was really good. It gave readers something to look for in the future. It said how to move forward and how they would work to make the sea a cleaner place. 

Mars One (and Done?)

Citation:

Chu, Jennifer. "Mars One (and Done?)." MIT News. MIT, 14 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

In the article, “Mars One (and Done)” by Jennifer Chiu the technical feasibility of humans living on Mars in the near future was discussed by the team at MIT. They debated about the “Mars One” project, that announced plans in 2012 to establish a human colony of Mars by 2025. Run by a Dutch non-profit, the mission would send 4 astronauts on a one-way trip to Mars to spend the rest of their lives building the first human settlement on another planet. It seems to be quite the daring mission as the company claims all the technology necessary for its success already exists. According to the company’s website this mission is, “the next giant leap for mankind.”  MIT engineers looked into the technology behind it and believe the company should take a step back and reconsider. According to these engineers, many new technologies would be needed before human life on mars could successfully exist. For example, if the food had to be grown only on Mars, which is a vision of Mars One company, there would be production of unsafe levels of oxygen leading to suffocation of any human inhabitants. A technology to remove that excess oxygen would have to be implemented, a technology not yet developed for use in space. Additionally, water is a huge issue. Although, the Mars Phoenix lander discovered evidence of ice on Mar’s surface, and it seems that it could simply be melted into fresh water, this is not as simple as it sounds. Another contradiction to the Mars One Company’s belief that all necessary technology is available is one that could melt this frozen water especially ice in space. Such a technology has not yet even begun its existence. Another matter to be dealt with is the cost, about 4.5 billion dollars. This cost would only grow with additional crews and supplies sent to Mars over the years. According to MIT Professor of aeronautics and astronautics and engineering systems Olivier de Weck, “The prospect of building a human settlement on Mars is an exciting one. To make this goal a reality, however, will require innovations in a number of technologies and a rigorous systems perspective.” There is no back and white right now about going to Mars and settling there. But, according to engineers at MIT it will not happen for a long time. “There are just so many unknowns,” says graduate student Sydney Do, “And to give anyone confidence that they’re going to get there and stay alive – there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.”

This article is consequential to everyone all over the world, including us here in Bronxville. The fact that there is even the slight possibility of a human colony on Mars is outstanding. It will encourage technology to improve and provide us with the ability to imagine. Just imagine life on a planet other than Earth. To see Earth in the night sky would be amazing. Thinking about life on another planet really gets us thinking about what we need to live. We take it for granted how well fit Earth is for life. We are so fortunate and this article really brings to light how precious all our natural resources are. There is no other planet like Earth. No other known liquid water in the observable universe. No other life as we know it, anywhere, but here on our exceptional planet Earth.

To conclude, this article was overall very well written. It included key quotes from students at MIT and information from the various professors working on the project. The author clearly explained everything in the article so that anyone could easily understand. I really enjoyed how the information was presented and the fascinating photo on the top of the article of what a colony on Mars would look like. This photo was a beneficial addition because it gives a great visual to what life could be like on the mysterious red planet. This article really leaves an air of mystery as I analyze all that I have read and the real possibility of living on Mars. It makes me appreciate the uniqueness of our home planet and how blessed we truly are to live here, on the Blue Planet.

Low Oxygen 'delayed Life on Earth

Charlotte Prior

December 7 2014

Chemistry Block D

Citation:

"Low Oxygen 'delayed Life on Earth'" BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. <http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29832046>.

The article I read explains the effect of oxygen levels on earth had on the rate of evolution. These new studies of rocks show that oxygen levels a billion years ago had 0.1% of the oxygen present today. The lack of oxygen prevented the evolution of complex life forms. 800 million years ago the components found in rocks began to change and oxygen became more abundant, the quick rise in oxygen levels led to the Cambrian explosion. This explosion is a sudden increase in the development and evolution of complex life forms, they did not change overnight or every generation, but the change was faster than it has been before. This is only a theory and it has been a question in science for so long, the reason that our animal ancestors took so long to develop lies in the chemical makeup of our atmosphere. This is a new development and some scientists are skeptical but by repeating these tests scientist can conclude more solid results.

This discovery does not affect our lives directly, but it provides an answer to a question that has been debated for a while. The question of how we got here is a difficult one, and the answer is not solid or straight forward. This discovery is just another piece in the puzzle of evolution. A billion years ago only simple life forms existed, modern animals, which led to human evolution had not formed. Scientists wondered why this was the case, and then suddenly 500 million years ago there was a spike in this evolution. By using this new technology scientists can use it to look at these oxygen levels in old rocks and find the reason for this spike. This evidence is a big piece of our puzzle and it means we are one step closer to the answer and full understanding.

This article has very skeptical evidence, whether or not the dating of these rocks and the measuring of the oxygen in them, is valid is a question of the technology. This article was well written and everything made sense. The language in the article was not to complex so that a person would not be able to understand, and the author did a good job explaining the discoveries from the experiment. The author also gives a view of both sides of the argument of the validity of this data, the author is not biased and gives facts not opinions. Overall this article was intriguing and it has a great impact of our knowledge of how we came to be on this planet and with this form.