To be or Not to Be

Often doing the right thing can lead to a bad thing. An example is how shark nets prevent swimmers from having fatal attacks, however the nets also catch non harmful creatures such as dolphins, whales, and manta rays. The question now being brought up (from ABC Science) in Australia is whether or not the nets should be taken down. For some 70 years or so, the nets have kept Aussies as well as tourists safe and able to swim freely. Due to the fact the nets are catching friendly creatures, they are thinking about removing the nets. Also, a specific type of shark is being commonly caught, which could negatively effect the food chain: the great white shark. In my personal opinion, I would continue to keep shark nets up in public and common beaches. However, I would remove them where able to. This way some sharks would be eliminated, some would stay away from crowded waters, and the number of dolphins, whales, and manta rays being caught in the net would decrease. There is data given that there are 1.25 fatalities in Australia each year. This is upsetting of course, but there were 212 accidental death in 2006 because of drowning. Unfortunately, water cause a lot of deaths whether it is accidental or from a creature. Sharks are a marine animal important to the food chain and we cannot just kill them off. They are necessary for the food chain to remain stable and healthy. As I previously stated, the nets that can be, should be removed. This will compromise the situation until a less harmful solution is found. I am not sure the public would be happy with this descion, but you have to respect both sides of the situation.

Dark, Cold Winter

I have been recently talking with my dad about the stress of school and soccer these past few months. The winter is the time for my biggest tournaments, holidays, and of course school and finals. My dad informed me the winter months and the end of the year are the time when people most commonly get depressed. Is it the weather, the projects, family, work, or all of these? I have thought it out and decided it is a combination of the bunch. Projects are do at work or school and your running out of time because it's the end of the "year". People don't seem to stop a notice that besides new years, days blend into one another and those projects can be completed in the next week in January. The weather is bitter and cold and it is also extremely dark. No one wants to get up in the morning and no one wants to do anything other then drink hot chocolate and sit and watch movies. Another factor of this time of depression is family and the holidays. Between buying the perfect gifts and being forced to see your great Aunt Susie, you are panicking constantly. All of these are causes of stress which are common during the end of the year. As humans, I feel we must embrace all of these stresses. Your finally going to finish the project you have been slaving away on, you get to celebrate the holidays with family members you haven't seen in months and you get to play in the snow and see it's beauty each morning. We tend to look at the negative aspects of everything, take out the bad things in good things so we have a reason to complain. We have to realize to pick out the best traits, appreciate everything including working late at the office or staying up late to study for a test. The new year is the start of a new yearly purpose, you fulfilled your previous one and it is time to do new things. I personally look forward to the new year and appreciate every aspect of winter, including finals!

"Do something."

As humans we often question what is the purpose of our life. Unfortunately, some spend a life time figuring out what they were supposed to do with their time on earth and others never find their purpose. I came upon this concept while watching a commercial, a young lady was speaking and said "Do something. Doing nothing is boring." Who knew such a powerful and truthful statement could be made during a 15 second commercial. This commercial could let someone come to the realization of time. We do not have an infinite amount of time to do everything we want in a lifetime. However, we must spend our time doing what's most important and helpful. This commercial helped me by forcing me to think about my purpose. Ones life is placed in the hands of the beholder. It is up to each of us to do something. Do what we were meant to do on the earth. So many people are cut short on their life due to accidents, sickness and misfortune; those of us who aren't, must not waste our life by doing nothing. We must pursue the cliche of living life to the fullest. We must carry out our purpose and fight to reach our life dreams. I am only 17 and I am not even close to figuring out the world, but I know my purpose. I am meant to bring smiles across others faces and help lead when chaos is present. I was born with the attributes of a good friend and I must continue to be a good friend to those in need. By no means do I feel limited to my current purposes. One's purposes in life change ad vary whether or not they are carried out. We come across different situations and paths in which our purpose is either tweaked or changed. I hope you have the chance to see this commercial, which surprisingly was found on MTV. It is a powerful statement and I hope others can come to the realization that every person's life is important, everyone was put on the world for a reason. You may also be asking, why a sailboat? To me a sailboat represents absolute freedom. I feel completely at peace with the world and feel everything is aligned while sailling.

Chicago's Corrupted Politics

Chicago governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested due to suspicion of corruption. Blagojevich was supposedly trying to make a profit for Obama's soon to be open senate seat. There is a recorded conversation of Blagojevich discussing how he will be getting something for Obama's senate seat. Supposedly, he even considered giving himself the senate seat. To me, this comes as no surprise for Chicago is known for having corrupted politics. As of now, Obama says to have no knowledge of Rod Blagojevich's actions so I believe we should respect that. Here is a quote I found from the recording:

“I’ve got this thing,” Mr. Blagojevich said , “and it’s [expletive] golden. And I’m just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing. I’m not going to do it. And I can always use it. I can parachute me there.”

I mean of course we should look into it to make sure Obama took no part in this, but this should not be effecting Obama. There is talk of this hurting Obama when it is possible he is completely innocent in this situation. I think people should stop making assumptions and wait to hear the facts and believe the facts they hear. As a local Chicagoan, I am disappointed to know we can't trust the people we appoint to powerful positions. This current Rod Blagojevich scandal creates all types of questions as to who was involved and what other corruption has Blagojevich taken part in in the past. This scandal is still evolving and it will be interesting to see where it all ends up.

Silky Teeth

One my favorite websites, ABC Science, I found an interesting article in which scientists discussed how silk might be the key element in replacing damaged teeth or bones. Professor David Kaplan (from Tufts University) says, "Spider and silkworm silks are among the strongest natural fibers." I found this fascinating because you always see how strong silk is in spider webs and such when you see insects getting stuck in them. Other scientists throughout the article talked about how the silk has incredible attributes among tension and compression. It is tough and has more strength then one could know. Knowing these characteristics, scientists are looking into using silk to rebuild teeth and bones. Testing shows it is not harmful to humans, therefore it could be used for these wanted purposes. Silk is also extremely durable so it will not break down easily and if it did, no harmful acids would be placed into the human body. I personally feel, the more natural and non harmful substances we find, we should use. The planet as a whole will run out of resources and technology and man made substances will not be able to fix and create everything. We must keep finding more and more natural resources which we can use to create important things such as using silk to make bone matrix to help create new bone and teeth.

ICE AGE: THE "MELTDOWN"

Scientists believe that our planet will go through another ice age due to changes in its orbit years from now (around 10,000 to be exact!). However, a new study shows it is possible the ice age may be prevented; instead the planet will continue in a "meltdown" or remain the same. I came across an article on ABC science news which discusses this possible ice age. Professor Thomas Crowley and Dr William Hyde recently created a journal entitled Nature. They believe it is possible the ice age could be by-passed or simply not occur due to the Co2 levels in the atmosphere. Don't confuse their opinion as a defense to Global Warming, it simply is just a theory that our planet will remain the same instead of freezing over.

"In September, a scientific research consortium called the Global Carbon Project (GCP) said that atmospheric concentrations of CO2 reached 383 parts per million (ppm) in 2007, or 37% above pre-industrial levels."
"Present concentrations are 'the highest during the last 650,000 years and probably during the last 20 million years,' the report says"

These two quotes are facts in which our CO2 levels are higher then they have ever been and scientists believe even if we were to cute back on our CO2 emissions, it would probably be enough to stop a future ice age. I think it is important for our planet to go in and out of different climates whether it is a meltdown or an ice age. It creates a clean slate to start with new, fresh resources. However, an ice age would obviously be a major set back in our society and the progress we have made as a species. Good think this ice age is planning to come for thousands of years and I hope we know either how to take care of it then or hope the CO2 emissions can help prevent freezing!!

Is it worth the risk?

Reading has never been something I do for fun, until now. For English this year, I am being forced to read a certain number of pages each quarter. I finally found a book I loved and couldn't stop reading!! I just finished reading a book called "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer. The book is asbout his journey climbing 29,028 feet to the highest possible location a human could stand on earth, Mount Everest. This book is filled with pages and pages of interesting facts such as the price in which it took to climb the mountain to the training it took to be prepared. After reading the book however, I realized no one is ever fully prepared. No one can prepare themselves for HACE which is a dangerous mountain sickness, frost bite, brutal weather conditions, barely any oxygen or even death. The list goes on. My question after reading about the horrible 1996 tragedy where eight climbers were killed (Krakauer managed to survive the mountain) is simply, was it worth it? To be able to say you are physically and mentally tough enough to take on the massive peaks, simply to say you were on the highest land elevation in the world, to say you battled loneliness, hunger, and sickness seems worth it to me. Though the challenge is unlike any other, I feel it would be one of the most gratifying moments to be able to say that you literally conquered the world. You climbed Mount Everest. This book was very inspiring to me and I feel like I can conquer anything my heart desires. You never know, maybe in 30 years I will be standing on top of the world at 29,028 feet.