![]() Tiffany Ho In today’s highly globalized and technologically advanced society, processes that used to take large periods of time can now be done very quickly. The food industry, the manufacturing industry, and clothing industry are just some examples of highly efficient, reliable industries that depend heavily on technology to produce goods for humans to use and consume. The streamlining, however, comes with a major drawback - environmental impacts. Our bodies of water, skies, and natural habitats are all becoming more polluted with chemicals and other contaminants, and that has led to many other adverse effects becoming more noticeable. Pollution can be alleviated if more people raise awareness of the environmental issues, governments enforce stricter environmental protection laws, and businesses are held accountable for their actions. Firstly, people should become more informed about the environmental impacts of their habits. Recently, people have begun using straws made out of materials like metal, paper, glass, or bamboo instead of plastic straws and reusable water bottles instead of plastic water bottles because they’ve seen videos and pictures of animals choking on plastic straws or of oceans being littered with water bottles. Many other reusable items, on the other hand, haven’t become mainstream. Plastic bags are still commonly used at grocery stores, dining establishments, and many other public spaces, and they have similar effects to the environment as plastic straws. If people have more campaigns that showcase the effect that certain items have on pollution, people will be more informed and most likely less tempted to use things that are harmful to the environment. Additionally, the government should have stricter environmental protection laws in order to ensure that businesses are being responsible in regards to the environment. BP, an oil company, was responsible for one of the worst oil spills in US history. This would have definitely been prevented if the government was more strict with regulations for ships, containers, transportation vehicles, and employee standards. The waters were dirtied to an extreme level right after the oil spill, and even today, there are still remnants of oil in the waters. Another example of pollution from corporations is clothing companies. Fast fashion brands like Zara, H & M, and Forever 21 create lots of waste since they create clothes based on trends and have very fast clothing cycles. They also want to make clothes that are cheap in order to entice consumers into buying, so they use unethical employment strategies and don’t care about the environmental impact of their actions. Cheap dyes, cheap textiles, and the way both are made can have a tremendously negative impact on the people who make them and the surrounding area, so the government should punish companies more stringently for negatively affecting the environment, and having stricter regulations in order to prevent environmental damages from happening. All in all, pollution can be alleviated if governments pay closer attention to companies and don’t allow them to continue degrading the environment. People, on a smaller scale, can also make small choices that add up to a large-scale positive environmental impact. Items like straws and single-use plastics continue to pollute the environment, and being informed as a consumer will make it easier for people to want to stop using these items consistently. Customer demand can also lead to more options that are comparatively better for the environment, so that can also have a ripple effect within the product production agency.
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![]() Tiffany Ho Recently, a series of bushfires have been burning across the Australian continent. So far, approximately 46 million acres of land have been burned, thousands of buildings have been destroyed, and one billion animals as well as 29 people have been killed. Many celebrities and public figures have donated large sums of money, created fundraisers, and/or spoke about the fires in order to raise awareness of the issue and hopefully get others to do the same. Australian political figures have also been criticized for their lack of a response towards the problem, and protests have also begun to emerge. Those who are in a position to donate large sums of money should continue to do so. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, donated $690,000 to support the victims of the fires and firefighters. While this amount of money is quite substantial to most, $690,000 is the amount of money Jeff Bezos can make in several minutes. Many public figures who are less wealthy than him have donated a larger amount of money than he has, which shows that money isn't a big issue to those in positions of power similar to Bezos’s. Kaylen Ward, a model, was estimated to have raised around a million dollars by sending nude pictures to everyone who donated to the Australian bushfire relief effort. Even though she wasn’t as rich or influential as a traditional celebrity, she was able to raise a very sizable amount of money by incentivizing others. More should also be done to preserve the environment. While many have accepted that climate change is a real phenomenon, large corporations are operating in a manner that is extremely damaging towards the environment. The metal mining, fast fashion, hazardous waste, and food industries, as well as many others, have all contributed to the pollution of the environment. People also regularly drive cars, use single-use items, purchase non-recyclable and non-compostable items, and do other things that have a negative impact on the environment, and are either unaware of the impact this is having on the environment, or choose to prioritize their own comfort and convenience over lessening their environmental impact. This has led to a steadily deteriorating environment, which is a primary cause for the Australian bushfires. All in all, more should be done to address the Australian bushfires. Many people and animals have been negatively impacted by the continued fires, and firefighters in Australia have worked extremely hard in order to help alleviate the issue. If people keep ignoring the reality of global warming, more natural disasters like this will continue to happen. ![]() CoronaVirus A Coronavirus is a kind of common virus that causes an infection in your nose and upper throat. Most Coronaviruses are not dangerous but some types of Coronaviruses are. A Coronavirus can infect both animals and humans. Most Coronaviruses spread the same way other cold causes viruses do. Almost everyone gets a Coronavirus at least once in their life. Just december last year reports started to emerge that a coronavirus that specialist had never before seen in humans had begun to spread among the population of Wuhan, a large city in the chinese province of Hubei. Since then the virus has spread to other countries both outside of Asia leading authorities to describe this as an outbreak. The illness was first detected toward the end of last year.There had been another coronavirus that caused the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003. It takes a week after getting infected before showing any symptoms. Nearly a third of the confirmed cases of the viruses in the Chinese city of Tin The virus has been responsible for 31,211 infections in China and 270 across 24 other world countries. In China the virus has so far caused 637 deaths. It has also led to fatality in the Philippines. At Least 34 people in the united states are affected by the coronavirus coming from china. Based on some articles the virus spread to the U.S because of travelers that were in china and they got infected. At several US airports, passengers are being screened for symptoms such as fever, cough and trouble breathing, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The new name does not refer to any of the people, places or animals associated with the corona virus. The goal was to avoid stigma. The disease that has infected more than 40,000 people around the world and killed more than 1,000 are now called Covid-19 Coronavirus Disease 2019. Its name is Coronavirus because of its shape, it has a corona around the virus which they named Coronavirus. Viruses are named based on their genetic structure to facilitate the development of diagnostic tests, vaccines and medicines. ![]() Vivian Truong Puerto Rico has recently experienced many devastating earthquakes. Nearly 1,000 tremors and aftershocks, which have destroyed homes and taken lives, have shaken up the country so far. Since December 28, there have been over 400 earthquakes on the island that were magnitude 2 or greater. There has even been an earthquake that caused have of the island to have a power outage. On the other hand, the Trump Administration had been withholding billions of dollars of aid from Puerto Rico for months, stating vague reasons as to why. Of the $9.7 billion they were authorized to give by Congress, the administration had only released about $1.5 billion of those funds by early January, though they were supposed to release it by September. Many say this act is illegal, as it violates the Impoundment Control Act (ICA). Donald Trump tweeted that Puerto Rico “is one of the most corrupt places on Earth” and that aid money is sent to “Crooked Pols” on August 29, 2019. He released many other tweets around the same time, criticizing Puerto Ricans. Similarly, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) stated that the reason for withholding aid was because of “financial mismanagement” concerns. Some are suspicious, claiming that the US, more specifically, the HUD, has been fracking on the land, possibly causing these earthquakes. Fracking is the process of injecting liquid into rocks, forcing open fissures. This process can potentially lead to earthquakes, as it makes the ground By: Anthony Aquino
Racist groups The has KKK harassed a lot of people like African-American people since the 1860s. Racism is still a thing now and it is still a major problem in our society. Since 1900 a lot of white people have always thought that their race is the best compared to other races. It Breitbart, Stormfront Racism has been around for a very long time when the slave trade started was when racism blew up in the united states. The white people went to Africa and took a lot of Africans back to the united states in order to use them and sell them. The African slaves were used to cultivate farmland, they were also used to build buildings, and they also used to have them for servants. Some racist organization that started a long time ago is the kkk. Most of these racist organizations started after the civil war and they used to oppress people of color. In the south former slaves used to be hated by a lot of white men mostly but also by some women, racism started around the south so it was extremely influenced by racism which made the south a big place where trading African slaves were common. One very famous racist person is Donald Trump. Donald Trump is the president of the united states but is one of the most well known racist people because of his cocky manner he has and his hatred towards Mexican people. He has made claims that he would deport all of the immigrants in the united states and didn’t want to help out immigrants coming to the u.s. Donald Trump also has stated that he would build a wall for the border to keep all of the immigrants out of u.s but his plan didn’t go as a plan because it was never built and he said that the Mexicans would have to pay for it which was something dumb to think about. In conclusion, people shouldn’t believe stereotypes and they should also think of ways to prevent racist comments. For example, they should think first of what you are going to say before you say it so you wouldn’t affect anybody. Donald Trump should also be out of the office at least because of his racist comments and his disrespectful comments towards immigrants in the united states or help out immigrants by donating money for immigrant families that need help by starting a foundation to help out immigrant families that were affected by their family getting split apart. By: Leonardo Alonzo Rojas
Australia is being hit by a lot of wildfires that have started since late July. These wildfires have affected a lot of people and places. There are currently 28 people that have died nationwide, and there are more than 3,000 homes that have been destroyed. Natural causes are most of the reason why there are wildfires, but humans are also to blame because they deliberately have started bushfires. To begin with these bushfires have caused a lot of problems and a major one is the effects on animals. There are animals that are now endangered because of these fires, and a lot of animals that have perished. There have been an estimated 1.25 billion animals that have perished in Australia's bushfires. Gizmodo.com stated that “The losses mean Australia’s forests may never be the same, and they show that climate change is a form of violence on the natural world.” For those who were able to survive the bushfires, unfortunately for them they could have had injuries, which if aren’t treated will cause them to die. For others they might die from the lack of water and/or food which causes dehydration, and for them to starve. There are animals like kangaroos, koalas, wombats, wallabies, snakes, and other creatures that are dead or dying. The koalas have been said to have lost about 30% of its population, and that key feeding and breeding areas for cockatoos in Kangaroo Island have been destroyed. One other major effect that the Wild Bushfires have had was on humans. According to the United Nation’s meteorological agency and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, these fires have spread across more than 7.7 million square miles, and that it has even reached south america which is 16,087 km away. The Bushfires have also burned about 2,000 houses and have killed at least 26 people. Firefighters and experts say that there are petroleum-based plastics like plumbing pipes that are said to burn hotter, which cause there to be more smoke generated, which is more toxic than wood. For those who were heavily exposed to smoke as a kid, chances are they might have smaller lungs than usual, or develop diseases that are related to their lungs, from the smoke generated. Michael Kleinman said that “It’s safe to say there will probably be more effects at the long-term level.” People affected by the Bushfires have been required to be hospitalized or treated.These wildfires have caused a huge impact on us humans, and it is sad for those who have experienced it, especially with these huge amounts of smoke that covers them, and makes it seem as if it was midnight. With both animals, and humans impacted, Australia obviously needs aid. To help out with these Bushfires help was sent. There have been firefighters that have been sent from the united states to help out. There also has been money that was raised. In total they raised at least 70 million dollars. There were 8 firefighters that were sent from Alaska to go and help out in Australia's bushfires. They were sent to south wales to either work in managerial positions, smokejumper, or chena hotspot. Ultimately, the wild bushfires in Australia are a result of climate change. This is a result of climate change because right now there are very extreme weather changes like the heat that caused the fires in australia. The Australian Bushfires is an important event because a lot of people and places have been affected by this. It is important that we know and are informed about this so that we can find solutions, and ways to help. To this day though, we are not sure about what are or might be the long term effects of these Bushfires on humans, animals, and on earth, since this recently has happened. ![]() Are the tech companies in the Silicon Valley beneficial? The Silicon Valley is the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area and is home to some of the largest tech and social media companies. These companies are very successful and have branded the Silicon Valley (S.V.) as a place for start-ups and a place for prosperity. Some of the major companies are Facebook, Apple, and Google. On top of that, NASA and Stanford are among the companies. Although these companies are very important in the modern-day society, they have been rather problematic to Silicon Valley. In my opinion, the progression of Silicon Valley has negatively impacted California because it has increased homelessness and gentrification, but it has allowed more jobs to flourish. The companies that are centered in the S.V. are responsible for a housing crisis. The crisis is that prices for buying a home and rent are so expensive that people can no longer afford to live in the area. Because the expansion of centers like Apple and Google bring many tech workers in to California, nearby housing is a demand. It is then assumed that the people inhabiting the local houses have the funds to pay inflated prices, considering they have prestigious jobs. The housing market in the Bay Area, Silicon Valley specifically, has increased to the point that if you don’t make more than $120,000 a year, then you are considered to be at risk of having an unstable income to be a homeowner. Eventually, this kicks people who can not afford their new rent/prices out of their home and in many cases results in homelessness. This is a major issue, considering homelessness in Santa Clara County has increased to over 9,000 people. Gentrification is a process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. The blooming businesses of companies are the ones responsible for having so many cultured neighborhoods changed. Places like the south side of SF are basically under-attack by gentrification, especially after the ‘dot-com-boom’. This is the time period after the 1990’s that had the internet adapted. Nowadays, the cases of gentrification are worsening as companies are bringing more people. The need of tech-skilled workers has led to the gentrification of places like San Jose and San Francisco. This is alarming considering these are areas that are inhabited by many minorities. Since gentrification has raised housing and change the dynamic of communities, minorities often feel out of place and looking for a new home. Although there has been many cons to the expansion of the silicon valley, the fact that there are new jobs has been a great addition to communities. Not only are tech jobs available, but construction jobs have opened up. Along with blue-collar jobs that reside in the companies. Blue collar jobs are jobs that include manual labor and hourly wages, and typically they make up the “working class”. Jobs for carpenters, laborers, architects, and much more have now opened up because there is a need to build the expansion of the companies and the housing that is so much needed. This is good because the jobs are available for people in need and can help serve to stabilize incomes of those affected by the housing crisis. Overall my opinion is that the silicon valley has not been of great advantage to the Bay Area because of the problems that arise. Considering how many people of color have been affected, I would say it is negative. In my own community, inflation of housing pricing and homelessness is evident, which is very upsetting. If the companies were to expand, but not affect housing and communities, I would stand behind supporting the tech companies. ![]() When it comes to the Notre Dame de France, well what is it? Notre Dame de France is a medieval Catholic church and it’s known to be one of the finest examples of French gothic architecture. The Notre Dame de Paris is placed at Paris, France. The major components that make Notre Dame stand out includes one of the world’s largest organs and its immense church bells. Well recently on April 15, 2019, the roof of Notre Dame was caught in fire while undergoing renovation and restoration. It burned for around 15 hours and the cathedral sustained severely damaged. In this article, you will learn how the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral church was damaged and how it affected by many people. ![]() The cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris which translates to “Our Lady of Paris” was begun in the 12th century. The walls and interior vaulted ceiling are made out of stone. The cathedrals stonework has been severely eroded by many years due to weather and pollution. In 2014, the Ministry of culture estimated needed renovations for around 167 million dollars And in 2016, the Archdiocese of Paris(the district for which an archbishop is responsible) launched of appeal to raise 111 million dollars for around 5 to 10 years. At the time of the fire, the spire was going through investigation. Extensive attention had been given to the risk of fire at the Cathedral. The Paris Fire Brigade drilled regularly in order to prepare for emergencies there, including on-site exercises in 2018. When the fire happened at 6:30 pm, the fire alarm sounded and the guards rushed out of the cathedral within minutes, one of the guards beneath the roof but found no fire. Later at 6:50 pm the alarm sounded again, 6 minutes later two guards investigated again, this time finding flames. Firefighters arrived at the church within 10 minutes after the call was issued. White smoke rising from the roof turned black before the flames appeared from the spire, then turned yellow. More than 400 firefighters engaged from the fire and another hundred worked to move precious objects such as ancient paintings, sculpture, furniture, etc. to safety. The fire was primarily fought from inside of the structure, which was more dangerous to personnel but reduced personal damage to the cathedral. Within an hour of flames being seen, the roof and spire were fully engulfed and collapsed onto the stone vaulting that formed the ceiling of the cathedral's interior. Most sections remained intact, greatly reducing damage to the cathedral's interior. Around 11:15 pm officials reported that the towers were out of danger and the fire has weakened. One-third of the roof has remained. One firefighter and two police officers were injured. The cathedral contained a large number of artworks, religious relics, and other valuable treasures, including a crown of thorns said to be that it’s the crown that Jesus wore at his crucifixion. Many valuables that were not removed also survived, but the state of many others remains unknown. Some paintings, apparently only smoked damaged are expected to be transported to the Louvre (a museum in Paris, France) for restoration. Several pews were destroyed and the sculpted arches were blackened by smoke, though the church’s main cross and altar survived, along with the statues surrounding it. The French president and world religious leaders gave condolences to the fire. Through the night of the fire and into the next day, people gathered along the Seine to hold vigils, sing, and pray. There were no causes of what caused the fire to this day. On the night of the fire, President Macron said that the Cathedral which owned by the state would be rebuilt, and launched an international fundraising campaign. France cathedrals have been owned by the state since 1905, and are not privately insured. While Macron hopes the cathedral would be restored in the 2024 Olympic games in Paris, architects expect the work to be done for 20 to 40 years. The French Prime minister announced an orchestral design competition for a new spire “adapted to the techniques and the challenges of our era” Overall this is a devastation that many religious leaders lost one and I hope there are more positive outcomes to see in the future while rebuilding the new church. Hope you enjoyed reading this article.
Racism is a common theme in America, we see it in our everyday lives and even in the history of the country. Yet, Racism is still here and that’s not good. It has been in this country since the Colonial Era, when the colonists imported slaves and treated free blacks as less than what they were. We see racism in police brutality, often when white police officers are abusing their power and hurting or even killing black individuals. We saw more racism during the the Jim Crow era, between 1877 - 1960. In this time, Blacks and Whites were kept separate, and Whites included a number of privileges over the African Americans that lived alongside them. Racism is still seen today and should not be kept as a part of America.
Racism is in our history, when during the colonial era and the British occupied America then, the European Americans owned a lot of Black slaves and while there was a couple of free Blacks, they were discriminated by the other European Americans for the color of their skin. Often in Colonial America, Racism was very strong among European Americans and any other race. For example, the European Americans believed African Americans were inferior to them and that the Native Americans were savages. However, it was often said that Native Americans were even more civilized than the European American were. Not just that but a lot of decisions in America were often based around on the question of slavery or not. Many states were accepted into the Union if they were allowed to be slave states, or free states. There was a lot of Racism in the Jim Crow era, where everything in the Deep South was segregated, to keep White and Blacks separate. After the American Civil War, there was no need to have laws to keep the two races, Whites and Blacks, separate. This is because whites and blacks could work side by side, so long as Blacks understood that he is inferior to the whites. Even in the North, Blacks were often treated really badly too, sometimes even worse then they were treated in the South. Later on, Black people wanted more freedom, as well as the people of the North want to give Black people more freedom. This led to the South starting to panic, and then they created the first of the Jim Crow laws. Everybody was okay with this at first, even the Supreme Court, who said it was equal but fair. However, after a while, multiple people wanted to have equal rights again, but their just wasn’t much going on. However, Black people then started to get organized, and they were successful in taking out multiple laws and ending the Jim Crow segregation era. Also, Racism is still here today. We see it in police brutality, where White cops and shooting and killing people of color. When all of the times Police Violence were mapped out by Mapping Police Violence, they found that Black people were three times more likely to get killed than white people. Also in 2015, 30% of Black people that were killed, were unarmed. It’s also where you live that police brutality matters. That same website also showed us that were we lived in America, mattered. You are seven times more likely to get shot and killed in Oklahoma, than you are in Georgia. When comparing two places of similar population and percent of people that are non white (Buffalo, NY and Orlando, FL), they found that in Buffalo no people got shot from 2013-2016, while in Orlando there was 15. Plus no police officers are usually charged or convicted. Of the 351 cases in 2015, only 8 were charged and 5 were convicted. There is no excuse for all the violence in Racism. Things like this should not be happening because it puts a bad name on this country, and yet not much is done to change this fact. All in all, Racism is everywhere in this country, in its history, present, and we can only hope we don’t see it in the future. We see racism in police brutality today, and we racism in Jim Crow 60 years ago. Racism is basically intertwined with the foundation of this country. Throughout U.S history there have been multiple dreaded shootings. These shootings have been caused by people of all ages, starting from the age of 11 and up. In 2019 there has been 1 shooting and 5 people killed. There has been 161 shootings in the past 52 years in U.S history. There have been 165 shooters and 1,148 killed. There have been 308 guns that have been used in these shootings, but only 172 of these guns have been obtained legally. 58 of these guns have been obtained illegally and it is unknown how the 78 guns had been obtained.
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