Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Summary and Response #1 - Climate change influence sea turtles’ lives

Velasquez-Manoff’s (2007) article expresses the fact that climate change has threatened the lives of the sea turtle. Sea turtles have existed for 200 million years, from the time of dinosaurs to the current time, but the sea turtle is one kind of endangered animal now. Global warming is causing a lot of climate change. There are some problem that will appear, like stronger storms, rising seas and higher temperature. They all influence their lives and cause them to be extinct. The author also mentions that temperature will affect hatchlings to be male or female, but eggs will not be hatched in too high temperature. Sea turtles are looking for new cooler beaches to make their babies survive in this hot weather. People also want to save their lives by unnatural methods like moving eggs in to the nursery. The author also talks about the fact that sea turtles can find a new beach to survive, but people also like the same beaches. People destroy this natural beach to build new houses. People use chemicals to change the original sand. This sand will not be suitable to eggs hatched. Sea turtles’ babies will die on this horrible sand. Finally, the author expresses that scientists are not sure whether extinction of sea turtles will affect the food chain or not. So we need to protect these endangered animals, and should not catch sea turtles.

It is apparent that climate change causes sea turtles to be endangered. The sea turtle is not the only kind of animals that are facing the situation of extinction. Sea turtles have survived on earth for over 200 million years. At the present time they have a large chance of disappearing from this warmer and warmer climate. Maybe people don’t care weather sea turtles exist or not. If they become extinct in the future because of global warming, people probably will die out in the same situation. Global warming is a serious problem that people shouldn’t neglect.

First of all, we need to attach importance to problems of global warming because global warming is threatening animals’ lives. Not only sea turtles but also other animals are endangered, like American pikas, penguins, albatrosses, and Polar bears. Some plants are also threatened by global warming; for example, coral reefs are bleaching because of warmer seas. Even though some scientists argue that climate change that is compared with the past billion years is not very serious, we believe that there are some reasons that cause warmer climate. Furthermore, many kinds of evidence can prove that we have done something that makes earth become warmer and strange climate also can cause a lot of people to die. If we still don’t face this problem, the next endangered specie is humans.

Next, high temperature is a killer for sea turtles. High temperature causes rising seas. The beaches will be smaller than before. The habitats of sea turtle will be less and less. Temperature also determines the gender of sea turtles. According to the article, most sea turtles will be males if eggs are hatched below 29.4 degree C. Now most sea turtles are females because temperature is higher than 29.4 degree C. As a result, it will be hard to reproduce babies in the future.

Finally, the human is an enemy of sea turtles. Global warming is caused by human beings. People are also destroying beaches now. People build houses to make money on the beach. Chemicals and garbage pollute the beautiful beaches. Some people make some tours about the habitats of sea turtle. They want to see sea turtles but also influence the lives of sea turtles. There are fewer and fewer beaches that are safe and no human beings will go to stay there. The human definitely is the biggest enemy of the sea turtle.

In conclusion, we should try to find some methods to prevent global warming from becoming worse. Sea turtles need to be protected by human beings because we cause them to be endangered. Sea turtles want to live continually in this beautiful earth. If we want to see sea turtles in the future, we need to protect them from a dangerous environment and make a suitable environment that sea turtles can live in forever.

References

Velasquez-Manoff, M. (2007, June 21). Climate turns up heat on sea turtles. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved October 23, 2007, from http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0621/p25s03-sten.html

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Summary and Response # Practice - Global Warming Threatens Million of Species

Bhattacharya’s (2004) article expresses the idea that global warming will be a serious problem. Many animals and plants will be endangered by 2050. Thomas, who is expert at the University of Leeds in UK, talks about his study that climate change is an important factor to influence lives of animals and plants. If animals want to live longer, they need to find a new place that is suitable for them. Pimm, who is an expert at Duke University in the US, claims that climate change destroys environment and makes animals and plants die. They will find a new place to live and this new environment will be smaller than before. Both of them suggest that control of climate change and actions of protecting the environment need to be started now by the government. The methods are about reducing carbon dioxide in the air and new use of energy.

It is clear that global warming is a big serious problem in this modern century. We have found that our weather has changed a lot. Rainfall is less than in the past hundred years. Huge changes of climate have appeared in current years. The flowers should bloom in spring, but they bloom in winter because winter is not cold enough. Climate change makes a lot of people die in unusual weather. We need to adopt some methods to stop global warming form destroying our environment.

The first way to reduce global is to cut CO2 emission. There is too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and it absorbs heat, which makes our earth warmer and warmer. Where is carbon dioxide mainly form? The answer is the car. It is very convenient for us to drive cars, but they also make exhaust gas in the air. What can we do for reducing carbon dioxide? We can take mass transit as mush as possible. If we need to buy cars, we should choose a new car that car company have designed for producing less carbon dioxide.

Next, using new clean power should be a goal for every country. There are many methods to make electricity. Thermal power plants are the cheapest way to produce electricity, but they make so much exhaust gas. Especially in summer, demand for using electricity is more than other seasons. Because the thermal power plant is the cheapest way to make power, thermal power plants will produce more waste gas in the air. So we need to find another way to produce clean power. A wind power generator is a good way to produce power. It also can decorate our environment and it is also a beautiful building for visiting. A nuclear power plant is another choice for producing electricity.

Finally, the government should play an important role in global warming. A lot of countries don’t want to keep their present situation to develop their countries. Protecting the only one earth is a responsibility for us. Governments need to make a law to stop the action that can cause global warming. They also have to spend some money doing some research to solve this serious problem. We need to maintain this beautiful earth for our next generation. The next generation can also enjoy any beautiful thing that I am enjoy now.

In conclusion, we can’t pretend that global warming is not our business. We can do our best in daily life; for example, we can take mass transit as much as possible. We can also reduce the use of electricity. Governments also need to have some strategies to prevent global warming from getting worse. After all, we just have one earth. We need to protect it and live in it forever. We take action now to protect our beautiful earth.

References

Bhattacharya, S. (2004, January 07). Global warming threatens millions of species. NewScientist.com. Retrieved October 16, 2007, from http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4545&print=true

Friday, October 5, 2007

Reading Reaction Journal #5 - Must-Have For Tweens: Cell Phone.

Reference:

Bora, M. (2007, August 26). Must-Have For Tweens: Cell Phone. St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved on October 2, 2007, from http://www.lexisnexis.com

Summary:

In M. Bora’s article, Must-Have For Tweens: Cell Phone, the author describes a situation in which more and more tweens have cell phones. First, many tweens want to ask their parents to give them a cell phone to be a toy or present because other classmates all have cell phones. Even five-year old children have cell phones. Next, the companies of cell phones sell specific cell phones to these tweens that can let parents control where their children are. Finally, the author claims that tweens don’t like this special cell phone for them. They want use the usual cell phone that general people use.

Reaction:

I am interested in the influence of technology on society. This article tells me some trends of using cell phones. I feel that tweens are living in a good period. Recalling in my memory, I was almost 19 years old when I got my first cell phone. But now 5-year-old people have their own cell phones. The time is changing very fast. I am even not able to imagine that this situation has happened. I think there are some advantages for tweens to have cell phones. Parents can easily contact with their children, and they can find their children by using new technology like GPS. But I think it is not a good phenomenon that children like to use the newest cell phone and like to compare who has the better cell phone. Parents should give children good concepts to have cell phones. After all, cell phone is used to contact with people, not compare with friends.
By Jeremy

Monday, October 1, 2007

Reading Reaction Journal #4 - How cell-phone-only use subtly affects the culture.

Reference:

Himowitz, M. (2007, August 19). PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY; How cell-phone-only use subtly affects the culture. Newsday. Retrieved on September 25, 2007, from
http://www.lexisnexis.com

Summary:

In Himowitz’s article, the author expresses the idea that the cell-phone-only use is a new phenomenon and affects Americans’ daily life in the United States. First, he talks about the change in using telephones from landlines to cell phones. According to the research, there are more than 10 percent of people who are cell-phone-only users. Next, more than 50 percent of people who live with unrelated roommates are cell-phone-only users. The young, poor, single, and black; people and non- homeowners have a high percentage to be cell-phone-only uses. Finally, the author claims that this change influences a lot of people, such as pollsters and telemarketers. Pollsters can’t do the correct survey and telemarketers can’t find people to sell products to from the white pages directory.

Reaction:

I am interested in the relationship of technology and daily life. This article makes me surprised that cell phone affect our life very much. Cell phone is very convenient and some one like me who lives individually doesn’t have any phone in the room. He just uses cell phone to contact with other people. In Taiwan the fee of making a call by cell phone is more expensive than by landline. Pollsters usually don’t make a call by cell phone to do surveys and telemarketers as well. But in recent times they have begun making a call to people who answer the call by cell phone. Even though this way costs more money than before, they still need to do these kinds of jobs by finding cheaper ways. I think the invention of cell phones will make different forms of lives for people. Maybe some day there will no landline at home.
By Jeremy