What in the world (March 18th)

Article: 

• http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/12/world/europe/spain-lebanon-mayor-organ-allegations/index.html?hpt=imi_c2
• http://www.netkafa.com/2014/03/12/804496/mayor-arrested-accused-of-attempted-organ-trafficking

·         A wealthy mayor from Lebanon offered $55,000 to poor people for liver tissue. The mayor, 61, was arrested on January 30 at an airport in Valencia, Spain. Authorities would not name the mayor because of an ongoing court investigation. Accomplices allegedly recruited nine people to have liver compatibility tests at a clinic. Spain is considered a world leader in legal organ transplants, and under its rules, human donors must do so only for altruistic reasons and must be family members or close friends of the recipient. The mayor eventually got his liver transplant in Barcelona, using tissue donated by his son, who had earlier been turned down as a donor in Lebanon. The combines tests cost $16,000 , which the mayor's aides allegdely paid. Some of the nine people also received small sums of money for taking part. 

Questions: 

1. What happened in Peru? (http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/15/world/americas/peru-earthquake/index.html?hpt=wo_c2)

- A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck about four miles from the coastal city of Sechura in northern Peru on Saturday. No damage or injuries were reported in the quake, which happened at a depth of six miles. The quake happened in a region that marks the boundary between two tectonic plates, where the oceanic crust of the Nazca Plate moves under the South American Plate. 

2. Why did six people die in china? (http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/13/world/asia/china-knife-attack/index.html?hpt=wo_c2)

- The incident took place in Changsha city, the captial of the province. According to an official statement fro the city's police department, at around 10.15am, local time, two vendors got into a fight after a quarrel inside the Shahuqiao wet market in the Wuijialing neighborhood of Kaifu District in Changsha City. One person was hacked to death The fleeing perpetrator then stabbed at four innocent bystanders two of whom died on the scene. Police quickly responded and killed the perpetrator upon arrival at the scene. The two injured later died after being sent to the hospital. The two vendors were Hebir Turdi and Memet Abla. It is said Turdi killed Abla before stabbing four people as he fled, adding that he eventually shot dead by police. They used kitchen knives. 

3. Who and how many were arrested in Spain? (http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/14/world/europe/spain-militants-arrested/index.html?hpt=wo_c2)

- Police in Spain and Morocco arrested seven suspected Islamist militants who recruited and sent fighters for al Qaeda terrorist organizations in Syria and Mali. 

What did I learn from everyone else's presentation?

Tseki - Solar power
From Tseki's presentation, I learned that solar cells require photovoltaic cells in order to operate. Also, solar power panels are good because they have no gas emissions, are a good investment and it is easy to find space accommodations on a small scale. On the larger scale, it creates more jobs because a solar project requires people to build the plants. However, solar power also has some disadvantages. It is an intermittent source because the solar panels can only absorb the sun's heat during the day. Large scale solar power projects can also destroy animal habitats. Not everyone can afford solar power because the materials to make the solar panels are rare and expensive. Even buying batteries to store the energy prove to be expensive.

Saw - Solar power
Photovoltaic is required in solar cells and it is one of the most common renewable energy source. It is cost efficient, meaning it is very cheap to maintain since it only need sunlight and once the solar panels are made, it just needs sunlight to be stored and converted to energy. As there are no space limitations, as many can be made and it will just be more beneficial. However, when the construction of the solar cell and panel is taking place, it will produce global warming and it might damage some natural habitats. Also it is very expensive to make them. Solar power is getting cheaper each year and we are improving its efficiency with technology.

Sonam - Wind energy
Through her presentation, i learned that wind is caused by the rotation of the earth, uneven heating of the atmosphere of the sun and irregularities of the earth's surface. There are two types of turbines: the horizontal axis and the vertical axis wind turbine. Although beneficial, it can be a threat to wildlife and the wind is unpredictable, so it is hard to capture and store amount of energy constantly everyday. By 2040, wind energy will exceed hydropower and be the most used renewable energy source.

Freddie - Wind energy
There are many sorts of objects that can produce energy. Turbines that make electrical energy, wind pumps which makes energy by pumping water, windmills that make mechanical power and sails which use propelling ships. Wind power is solar energy. The turbines use sophisticated technology to catch the wind's energy. There is small, intermediate and large wind turbines. They all produce different amounts of energy per year according to their size. This adds up to the country's GDP and is 100% renewable. However, it disturbs many wildlife creatures like birds. the solutions are that the turbines could be manufactured in isolated areas such as in oceans or in the middle of nowhere.

What in the World (March 11th)

Article:

• http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/07/justice/florida-mother-minivan-ocean/index.html?iref=obinsite
• http://news.yahoo.com/mother-drove-van-waters-off-florida-beach-charged-190647710.html

According to CNN, in Florida, a woman named Ebony Wilkerson, was accusedof attempted murder for trying to murder her children. She tried to kill them by driving into the Atlantic Ocean. She told the kids to close their eyes and go to sleep in order to make the children not notice what she was doing. While they were in the minivan, lifeguards and other spectators helped the victims and after they were rescued, the mom just silently walked away. Yahoo News have added that the mom was pregnant and the oldest sibling, who was 10 and a girl, was fighting over the steering wheel while they were headed to the ocean. The mom told the children that they were going to a 'safer place'. She was supposedly running away from an abusive marriage and it was found that she has been to hospitals and the results showed that she had mental problems which she always denied.



Questions:

1. What was found by the Serbian scientists? (http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/05/world/europe/siberia-giant-virus-discovered/index.html?hpt=wo_mid)
- scientists have found a giant virus more than 30,000 years old from the frozen soil in a remote region in Serbia. They say it is not harmful to humans, but if the virus is active and many are together at once, it can be a threat to us. The name of the virus is Pithovirus sibericum.

2. How old is the ancient crystal found in Australia? (http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/24/world/oldest-earth-fragment/index.html?hpt=wo_mid)
- In western australia, a crystal called zircon was found and it is 4.4 billion years old. It is translucent red but glows blue and is about 400 cm long.

3. What is Drybath and what is the purpose of it? (http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/10/business/drybath-how-to-keep-clean/index.html?hpt=iaf_t4)
- It is a germ-killing gel which allows us to take baths without a single drop of water. They say Ludwick Marishane, the inventor, thought of the idea in 2007 when his friends complained about taking showers and wished there was something that you could just put on without having to take a shower. It replaces water, soap and body lotion.

Return for investment

For each of the 6 alternatives to oil find out and write down how much energy do you get back for the energy that is put into creating/ harnessing or storing the energy?

1. Human/animal corpse/organs/waste - 
It is said that treating the corpse/organs/waste of humans or animals can produce a fairly large amount of gas and this can be converted into energy. With the daily wastes, it can produce 1.5 million cubic feet of gas and it can fill 1250 tanker trucks. 

2. Wind power - 
A modern wind turbine has a maximum capacity of around 2000 kilowatts or  2 megawatts and it can generate enough energy and electricity for the average annual need for 1000 houses. Each house needs about 4700 kilowatts of electricity consumption. The wind turbines could produce more energy if it functions in full capacity, but it only operates 75% ~ 90% of the time. 

3. Solar power - 
If the solar paints that are 100 million square meters of a steel building are used to consvere energy for a year, it will produce 4500 gigawatts of electricity through the solar cells and this is equivalent to the production of energy of 50 wind farms. The cost of a solar panel that is 3Kw costs 6500 pounds. 

4. Coffee grounds - 
16 billion pounds of coffee is produced each year and with the amount of coffee grounds it produces, 340 gallons of biodiesel can be produced. It is said that starbucks wastes 210 million pounds of coffee grounds annually and this can produce 3 million gallons of biodiesel and 90000 tons of fuel pellets. 

5. Cows - 
Methane gas from cows can provide the drivers in a single country with a daily amount of 138,000 cubic feet of energy to run a car. Researches by Argentinian scientists have revealed that a single cow that  weighs 550 kg lets out 800 to 1000 litres of methane each day. Also, cow wastes produce 250 to 300 kilowatts of electricity daily which is enough to power 300 to 350 houses. A herd of cattle emits an average of 275 litres of pure methane and this can easily keep a refrigerator running for 24 hours. 

6.Hydropower - 
Hydropower is generated from falling, flowing or running water. With the pressure that water creates, it is converted to electrical energy. Dams are made to create such mechanical energy to electricity. The average power that a turbine creates is about 97 megawatt and a dam produces 2969640 kilowatt hours.

Why do we use fossil fuels?

If fossil fuels are so bad why do we still use them? 

• The guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/17/why-cant-we-give-up-fossil-fuels)

The author of this article in the guardian argues that even though we use renewable energies or any other "green" alternative, it will emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide that will affect the climate. There have been researches and proven that the temperature of the Earth increases and changes throughout the years and despite using an enormous amount of fossil fuel, the rise in temperature has been constant since the Ice Age. Everyone will need to prioritize and use fossil fuels because using reusable energies take up only a small portion of the world's contribution in helping the environment. Also, the difference in cost is extremely noticeable.

• The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/opinion/the-poor-need-cheap-fossil-fuels.html?action=click&module=Search&region=searchResults%230&version=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry32%23%2Ffossil+fuels&_r=0)

According to the New York Times, many people in the world are poor and they are in desperate need to heat their homes and cook and both of them require fossil fuels or coal or any sort of objects that emit carbon dioxide and exacerbate global warming. More than 1.2 billion people in the world live without access to electricity and in order to lift them out of the smoke and darkness of energy poverty, the low-cost fossil fuels should be utilized. By using the cheap resources, it can build on and the poor can use it until we make a global transition into a greener energy future.

• Climatecentral.org (http://www.climatecentral.org/news/fossil-fuels-to-dominate-world-energy-use-through-2040-16284)

Andrew Freedman, a science writer for climate change mentions that carbon dioxide emission and global energy consumption increases and will increase every year. Especially for developing countries, using cheap fossil fuels instead of costly renewable resources can really contribute in their enhancement of their city and and in the nation's economy as well. China and India are two main examples. Even though fossil fuels are limited and finite, after the country is developed and is financially stable to acquire foreign products or expensive things, they can use renewable energy to prevent global warming. Hence, using fossil fuels can be very beneficial to specific areas and can affect the world positively.

What in the world (March 4th)

Article: 

• http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/02/world/asia/china-railway-attack/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
• http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/02/china-train-station-knife-attack-police-suspects

According to CNN, in a Southwest city in China called Kunming, men who were armed with long knives attacked a train station and killed dozens and wounded hundreds. Kunming railway station is one of the largest in China.  Experts believe it was a terrorist attack and the ones who assaulted were members of a separatist group from Xinjiang. The police have killed four of the attackers and one of them were a female suspect who was part of the massacre. Theguardian mentioned that 5 of the assailants who killed at least 29 people and injured more than 130 people are still being searched. It happened on Saturday, at 9pm. The scene was a bloodshed and there were a couple of footage that contained vigorous scenes, but it was all deleted that were uploaded in the internet. Chinese president, Xi Jinping, told security officials to have no mercy and kill the guilty criminals.

Questions: 

• How and how many people died in the Pakistani court? (http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/03/world/asia/pakistan-violence/index.html?hpt=wo_c2)
• Who did North Korea free and why was he captured? (http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/02/world/asia/north-korea-australian-missionary/index.html?hpt=wo_c2)
• Who killed civilians in Nigeria and how were they killed? (http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/02/world/africa/nigeria-blasts/index.html?hpt=wo_c2)

Pros and Cons of methane gas

Pros:

• Burning methane gas only emits half the amount of carbon dioxide compared to burning fossil fuel or oil. 
• Unlike oil or fossil fuel which is very limited, there is an abundant amount of methane gas available since cows let out a lot of fart and manure. 
• A new process was invented to remove the carbon from the methane gas and the leftover, carbon black, could be used for other purposes like tires, printer inks and other products. 
• Methane gas can be transported through pipelines very easily and it is very cost effective. 
• Unlike coal or oil which pollutes the ground and underground liquid, burning methane gas will not affect land and water negatively.
• It is very beneficial to the economy since the country does not have to acquire foreign oil. 

Cons: 

• Methane gas is 21 times more effective in trapping heat than carbon dioxide so there is a high percentage of the tank or container to explode and cause great damage. 
• If it is exposed to humans and is inhaled by us, it can pose a great threat to our health and cause various problems and even death. 
• In order to detect the methane gas, carbon monoxide is added, but this makes it more dangerous and hazardous to our health.
• Once the pipline carrying the methane gas explodes, leaks or breaks, it is very expensive and difficult to repair it. 
• Even though there is a sufficient amount of it, it will not last long and is not profitable in the long-run term.