A Way Forward: Facing Climate Change

Global Warming

Why care about water?

What on EARTH are we doing?

One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth forever.

 Ecclesiastes

No, not forever. At the outside limit, the earth will probably last another 4 billion to 5 billion years. By that time, scientists predict, the sun will have burned up so much of its own hydrogen fuel that it will expand and incinerate the surrounding planets, including the earth. A nuclear cataclysm, on the other hand, could destroy the earth tomorrow. Somewhere within those extremes lies the life expectancy of this wondrous, swirling globe. How long it endures and the quality of life it can support do not depend alone on the immutable laws of physics. For man has reached a point in his evolution where he has the power to affect, for better or worse, the present and future state of the planet.

Through most of his 2 million years or so of existence, man has thrived in earth's environment -- perhaps too well. By 1800 there were 1 billion human beings bestriding the planet. That number had doubled by 1930 and doubled again by 1975. If current birthrates hold, the world's present population of 5.1 billion will double again in 40 more years.

The reason is not so much the sheer numbers, though 40,000 babies die of starvation each day in Third World countries, but the reckless way in which humanity has treated its planetary host.

A stubborn seven-week heat wave drove temperatures above 100 degrees F across much of the country, raising fears that the dreaded "greenhouse effect" -- global warming as a result of the buildup of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere -- might already be under way. Parched by the lack of rain, the Western forests of the U.S. went up in flames. And on many of the country's beaches, garbage, raw sewage and medical wastes washed up to spoil the fun of bathers and confront them personally with the growing despoliation of the oceans.

Similar pollution closed beaches on the Mediterranean, the North Sea and the English Channel. Killer hurricanes ripped through the Caribbean and floods devastated Bangladesh, reminders of nature's raw power. In Soviet Armenia a monstrous earthquake killed some 55,000 people. That too was a natural disaster, but its high casualty count, owing largely to the construction of cheap high-rise apartment blocks over a well-known fault area, illustrated the carelessness that has become humanity's habit in dealing with nature.

 
The further depletion of the atmosphere's ozone layer, which helps block cancer-causing ultraviolet rays, testified to the continued overuse of atmosphere-destroying chlorofluorocarbons emanating from such sources as spray cans and air- conditioners. Perhaps most ominous of all, the destruction of the tropical forests, home to at least half the earth's plant and animal species, continued at a rate equal to one football field a second.

What would happen if nothing were done about the earth's imperiled state? According to computer projections, the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere could drive up the planet's average temperature 3 degrees F to 9 degrees F by the middle of the next century. That could cause the oceans to rise by several feet, flooding coastal areas and ruining huge tracts of farmland through salinization. Changing weather patterns could make huge areas infertile or uninhabitable, touching off refugee movements unprecedented in history.

Toxic waste and radioactive contamination could lead to shortages of safe drinking water, the sine qua non of human existence. And in a world that could house between 8 billion and 14 billion people by the mid-21st century, there is a strong likelihood of mass starvation.

Let there be no illusions. Taking effective action to halt the massive injury to the earth's environment will require a mobilization of political will, international cooperation and sacrifice

We owe this not only to ourselves and our children but also to the unborn generations who will one day inherit the earth.

Source: Online Time Magazine (abridged)

Celebrate the 10th anniversary of the European Day of Languages with us!

At the initiative of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, the European Day of Languages has been celebrated every year since 2001 on 26 September.

Throughout Europe, 800 million Europeans represented in the Council of Europe's 47 member states are encouraged to learn more languages, at any age, in and out of school. Being convinced that linguistic diversity is a tool for achieving greater intercultural understanding and a key element in the rich cultural heritage of our continent, the Council of Europe promotes plurilingualism in the whole of Europe.

Learn more about this, click here.

For some language fun, click here.

Self-evaluate your language skills here!

 

A day at the beach (logic problem)

Yesterday was such a beautiful day, four couples decided to spend the day at the beach. They had a great day of fun in the sun. At one point, each couple went off on their own for a while to enjoy their favourite beach activity.

Determine each couple's full names (one man's name is Hank), the color of each woman's bathing suit, and each couple's favorite activity.

1. Mark Collins and his wife were not the couple that liked to swim in the ocean. Rachel wasn't wearing a green bathing suit.

2. Mr. Bailey and his wife collected shells, but they didn't have blue bathing suits. Tabitha's husband wasn't Mark.

3. Peter's last name wasn't Delgado and his wife didn't wear a green bathing suit.

4. Sally and Peter were not the couple that liked to climb on the rocks along the shore's edge.

5. The woman in the red bathing suit loved swimming in the ocean. Louis, whose last name wasn't Colby, enjoyed sunbathing with his wife. Tabitha didn't wear the purple bathing suit.

6. Vanessa, whose last name wasn't Collins, went swimming with her husband.

Try to solve this problem and check the answer with your English teacher.

Describing a place

“Descriptive writing is an art form. It’s painting a word picture so that the reader ‘sees’ exactly what you are describing.”

Brenda Covert

(High school teacher)

What’s the big deal about writing descriptively?

For one thing, it’s much more than page-filling fluff.

Descriptive writing imprints images into the reader’s mind, making you feel as though you’re “right there.” It‘s all about engaging the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch to transport the reader and stir emotion. By choosing vivid details and colourful words, good writers bring objects, people, places, and events to life. Instead of merely telling you what they see, they use their words to show you.

Writers use this powerful method to make their pieces memorable—even brilliant—rather than dry and boring. In many ways, description is the most important kind of writing you can teach your children because it supports other reasons for writing such as storytelling, informative reports, or persuasion.

Vivid writing is especially important when describing a place—whether to describe a vista for a travel guide or flesh out a scene in a novel.

Master storyteller Charles Dickens was also a master of using description to create a particular mood or idea.

It was a town of machinery and tall chimneys, out of which interminable serpents of smoke trailed themselves for ever and ever, and never got uncoiled. It had a black canal in it, and a river that ran purple with ill-smelling dye, arid vast piles of building full of windows where there was a rattling and a trembling all day long, and where the piston of the steam-engine worked monotonously up and down, like the head of an elephant in a state of melancholy madness. Charles Dickens, Hard Times

Here, a ninth grader draws on all five senses to describe a place and set an effective mood.

Moist and salty, a chilly breeze blows in across the swells, bringing with it the pungent smells of seaweed and fish and making me pull my jacket a little closer. Sea spray transforms into fiery prisms as the waves splash against the shore, catch the last golden rays of sun, and toss them up like liquid crystals.

Read more here.

Going back to school after the holidays

Going back to school after the holidays can be difficult. You might be really excited to get back to school, catch up with all your friends and start the new school year.

Or you might be sad that days of sleeping in, going to the beach, and having extra time on your hands are over until the next holiday.

No matter what you might be feeling, here are a few tips that can help you get back into the right headspace for going back to school and get you motivated for the new school year.

Some suggestions for making the move back to school as stress-free as possible are:

Set yourself some goals for the year - A good way to get motivated for the new school year might be to think about the things you might like to achieve during the year. These might be school related goals - for example, to get good marks in English and Maths. Or, they might be more personal goals, for example to get your drivers licence.

Get involved - A good way to get back into things at school and to make new friends is to become involved in activities that interest you. This way you are meeting people whom you have things in common with. You may want to get involved in:

• sport (most schools offer a range of different team sports)
• music
• debating
• Student Representative Council.

Breaking the ice - It is possible that you will find yourself in classes with people you don't know very well when you go back to school. Often other people are feeling nervous about making new friends. It can sometimes take someone to suggest doing something to break the ice. You may like to ask someone in your class to kick the footy or head down the street together.

It is often easy to identify different groups within schools: popular, academic, sporty, rebellious, etc. However, interacting with anyone (no matter what group they sit in at lunchtime) can help you to be more open-minded.

Express yourself - Being able to express how you are feeling may help to release some of the tension you may feel. There are a number of ways that you are able to express yourself safely, such as exercise, writing in journal, or share your experiences and find support.

Have something to look forward to - Sometimes it is helpful to plan ahead so that you have something to look forward to. You may want to plan to catch up with friends after school or plan to do something special over the weekend.

And there are always next holidays to look forward to!

Your holiday checklist

Planning and preparing for a big break is really important and taking a few minutes out to get organised can save money, stress and hassle.

So what are the things you need to remember?

Creating a checklist of things you need to take on your holiday can save you a lot of time money.   Bob Atkinson, a travel expert, givse his advice and tips to make your holiday plain sailing...

And don't forget... Enjoy your holidays!