Topic # 8

The video that I selected for this blog is talking about wind turbines. I chose this topic because it is what I talked about in my previous blog. In this video, a family has bought wind turbines to generate electricity for their own household. These wind turbines produced enough energy for them, and had the potential to produce energy for seven other households. It seems to me that the wid turbines may be the way to go. These turbines cost about $2,000 U.S. It is a big price to pay, but I think it will pay off in the future.

Topic # 7

Wind is seen as an important component of future clean renewable technologies. Last year, wind energy capacity in the United States grew by 45%. Wind projects are in the midst of a huge growth spurt in many parts of the country, driven by government incentives to promote alternatives to fossil fuels. In 2007 alone, the U.S. wind industry installed 5,300 MW of new generating capacity more than one-third of all the new capacity added to the U.S. power grid. Wind energy seems to be the new answer to fossil fuels used as energy. Fossil fuels are still in full supply however, there will come a time they will run out. It is known by all reserves that fossil fuels can still last at least another 300 years. This is a long time considering we have not even been a country for that long. So, should there be such a huge push for alternative energy sources? Wind energy is expensive to get started. You have to build hundreds of those massive turbines throughout the country. They will be a blemish to the country as well. Wind is not always relaible as well. There will be days when the wind does not blow at all. It takes many wind turbines to produce the amount of energy that one coal refinery could. So is wing energy good or bad? That is a question American people will need to answer in the future.

topic #6

Water is a must have for any community or place to survive. Water is a scarce resource in the state of Israel. Many people struggle to get enough drink, let alone water their crops in the fields. In this clip, a man living in the West Bank is visited by the Israel military and has his water reservor broken up because he is not alowwed to own a tool such as this. Water is a shortage in Palestine, howerver it seems to prosper in Isreal. The Palenstine community is accusing Israel of holding water. Palestinienes beleive that Israel is using water as a weapon to drive them out in order to build more Israel settlements in the region. Israel government disagrees with this and says that they have supported the Palestinian Water Authority. Israel tries to get them all the water they need. This is an arguement for both sides.
This water issue is a major problem and fight amongst people in the state of Israel. Everybody wants the amount of water they need to live, but sometimes it can be hard to disperse water because of the lack of it. Israel is a Mediterranian Climate area. It is characterized by long dry summers and cool winters. Seventy percent of the regions rainfall come between November and March. These are times when the crops are not growing, so water needs to be saved up. The water that is being saved up cannot be done by average citizens because they do not have a liscense for it. This gives Israel government the power to control the water distribution. One side sees it as good because they get enough water to support themselves and their crops. The Palestinians see it as a slap in the face from the Israel government.
This problem is also linked to the wall being put up in Israel. The Israel and Palenstinian people are at constant fights with each other. Israel is trying to protect their people and give them all the means necessary to live on the land they have. Palestinian people think they are being cheated. These groups are constantly at each others neck. I do not think there will ever be peace in the Middle East in my lifetime.

Topic #5

The Human Development Report is national report that uses many things to determine how developed the people are of a country. There are many different areas this report uses to compare and rank countries. Some tools used are the income of countries, the life expectancies in a given country, the gross enrollment ratio, the GDP, the adult literacy rate, the migration of the people in the country, and probabilities of surviving. It is a great tool in showing where they can go and live to lead productive lives and development to their full potential.
The geographical pattern is easily seen when you look at the world map used to show the higher developed countries. Generally the countries that have a high HDI are the countries we condidered to be more develpoed. As you click on the different years on the map, you can literally see the countries grow. The countries now considered high were not always considered high. Russia ia a great example. In 1980, they were in the low stage, but as time went on they developed and got stronger to become in the high range. Generally all of the low countries are centered in the sub-saharan Africa. The other low countries are in the Middle East.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the center of the low countries. But why are these countries so low compared to the other countries of the world? Well I have some thoughts in that. In Africa, there are many tribes and cultural differences. In most areas the people hold pride in tribes and not in the state. The state government have a hard time uniting the people so the state is divided. The government is not getting much help from the people which is hurting them. They are not able to put plans of action together to solve problems in the state. The fundings are not there also. Disease is another factor. Middle Africa is the leading area of HIV in the world. This puts life expectancy at a very low age. Poverty and malnutrition also puts these countries in the low range. Many people cannot find work and are forced to make money anyway they can. Families are so large, but the money os not there to support such large famalies. All of these factors make the countries not wanted to live in and therefore give the country a low HDI rating.

Topic #4

The article that I have chosen to use for this blog is about the growing of the cocoa plant in Peru. For years, Peru has been one of the leading countries in the production of coca plants whuch are used to make cocaine. However, in recent months, the price for cocoa has gone up and many farmers have replaced coca plants with cocoa plants for the production of chocolate.
By raising the prices of the cocoa plant, many farmers have recognized the open market. The market for the chocolate is much better than the market of coca. The market ia actually legal, and farmers can sell the plant at much better convience. This good news for the government because it lowers the production of the illegal drugs. Cocoa can also bring in money to the government to help better the country. This new cocoa idea needs to catch on. Governments can establish companies for this fast growing market and bring jobs to the country. This can cut down on the people leaving the country for better opportunities.
Looking at it from an American view, cocoa can help Peru as well as many other Latin American countries. Not only does it give the countries money for development, it cuts down on illegal drugs coming into our country. That problem is a big one for the USA right now because Columbia and Peru are the two leaders in the coca production. With the cocoa bringing in money and jobs, it will cut down on immigration into America.
Overall, this rise in the market is a good thing. This new market can bring much needed help to the governments of Latin American countries. Hopefully this idea catches on with many other countries to so that Latin America can reach the goals it wants to.
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Topic #3

The first chosen for this topic is a map showing the prisoners held in each country of the world. The country holding the most prisoners is the United States.We account for 24% of the worlds prisoners. China is the second country with 17%. My question is why do we have the most prisoners? As I thought about it, it became clear to me. America is the leading country in immagration. This brings a lot of people from other countries to America. We also have a strict justice system that other countries do not have.Illegal immigration is also a problem for the U.S. We put many people in prison for coming her on an illegal basis. The final reason I saw was the amount of terrorists we hold in our federal facilities. People around the world seem to not like America to much sometimes, so they try to attack us. We catch these terrorists and out them in our jail facilities.



This second map shows the international amount of fast food. As you can see, America is the biggest country on the map. In America, we have 45% of fast food. This is one astonishing number. It goes to show how popular fast food is here. People no longer want a meal they have to cook themselves. We are leaning more and more to convienance in this society. When people try to lose weight or go on diets it almost seems impossible for them. Well I can see why with all of the temptations of fast food in this country. Maybe if America wants to be skinnier, we should cut back on the fast food.

Topic #2

This first image is a usual look to central America. I liked this image because it gives us an idea of how there are so many volcanoes here. Many people, like myself, would not know that there are this many volcanoes in the central part of the Americas. This image can broaden our understanding of just how the geography of the area of the land is really situated.

The second image chosen for this topic is the kind of side way, upside look at south America. When we think of southern America we tend to think it is very warm and near the equator of the earth. That is why i like this image. It shows us how really close the tip of America is to Antartica. This bottom half of the continent is no where near the equator of the earth. this gives us a little understanding of how massive the continent of South America really is.