September 2015 archive
This past Tuesday, an avalanche which occurred in the French Alps killed seven people. This has been the deadliest snow slide to hit this mountain range this year.
The title of this article is “Avalanche Kills Seven In French Alps” and I found this article on the Discovery News website.
This article makes it known that a recent avalanche caused seven people to lose their lives and one person to be injured. It was also added that rescuers are continuing to search to make sure that there are no other victims. This tragic snow slide occurred around midday in the Snow Dome in the Alps, which is quite popular with climbers. The victims of the avalanche were foreigners and their nationalities are currently unknown. According to a local official, the toll of the number of deaths to occur has increased from five to seven people dead.
My reaction to this article was shocked that this tragedy occurred but I was also in awe that the forces of this earth is so powerful to be able to take so many lives. I feel that this situation should not be taken lightly, and situations like this are impossible to control due to them being natural disasters. Therefore, people should be more careful and aware of these kinds of things to avoid them because they are unpredictable.
This event affects the world by making it more known that tragedies like this do happen and we should try to take precaution as best we can to prevent the deaths of people as much as possible. This applies to any situation relevant to this, not just avalanches. To protect the lives of people all over, we must try to be more aware of future disasters likely to occur even though they cannot be predicted easily.
Link to Website: http://news.discovery.com/earth/weather-extreme-events/avalanche-kills-seven-in-french-alps-150915.htm
This past August has been the hottest month in modern history. The US government scientists noticed that it has been unusually warm across the world’s land and sea surfaces.
The title of this article is “August Breaks Heat Records Worldwide” and I found this article on the Discovery News website.
This article states that this past August has broken the record of warmth, especially across South America and parts of Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Last month has been the hottest it has been since 136 years ago, putting 2015 on pace to beat 2014 as the warmest year ever. Scientists say the heat is caused by fossil-fuel burning and is worsened by the presence of El Niño, which has a warming effect on some parts of the world’s oceans. Much of August’s warmth is affected by water.
This article took me by surprise because I didn’t realize that this past August had gotten so hot. I think that it is impressive that this year is making history as one of the world’s hottest years, but I also think that if the heat gets a little out of control, it can be hazardous to the earth’s environment.
This outburst of excessive heat could affect the world by causing change in environments such as altering the habits of animals that are more used to cooler weather, modifying plant adaptations and more. Hopefully this heat will not increase much more for the sake of the earth and everything living within it.
Link to Website: http://news.discovery.com/earth/global-warming/august-breaks-heat-records-worldwide-150917.htm
Beaches in Florida’s Miami-Dade and Broward counties are running out of sand. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are trying to figure out where to get more sand to replenish the shorelines as fast as possible to prevent erosion caused by future hurricanes.
The title of this article is “Florida Beaches Are Running Out of Sand” and I came across this article on the Discovery News website.
This article is about how a few Florida beaches are running out of sand and how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is trying to figure out where to get more. According to the Associated Press, the Army Corps is holding meeting on the subject. Because we have dammed up rivers and built up harbors there’s less sediment replenishing the shore these days. The AP also states that there is enough sand off southeastern Florida shorelines to replenish five counties for over 50 years. Beach nourishment can be expensive so the federal government and local entities split the bill for the first 50 years of nourishment and after that the federal funding will stop. The Senate recently passed a bill that will last for 15 years and the White House will take up its version of the bill next month.
I feel that this is a situation that should not be taken lightly. If this issue is not handled quickly enough, the beaches shorelines will not be protected from erosion caused by future hurricanes. I believe the Army Corps is doing everything in their power to replenish and nourish the beaches and hopefully they will be able to figure out how to keep this from happening anywhere else.
This shortage of sand in Florida affects the world by changing a few of America’s most famous beaches. It causes change by making it known to humans that we can either help or hurt our environment with great impact. Due to structures and other manmade things, humans are the greatest shapers of landscapes because we move much more Earth than wind or water. This event reminds us that we have more power than we realize when it comes Earth’s nature and we need to be more careful with what we build in our environment.
Link to website: http://news.discovery.com/earth/oceans/florida-beaches-are-running-out-of-sand-130816.htm
Alaska’s recent massive wildfire caused by a lightning strike is melting glaciers, changing animal behavior and causing climate change. People are worried that the climate change will affect the rest of the U.S.
The title of this article is called “Is Alaska our Future?” which refers to the concern that the change in climate in Alaska will spread to the the rest of the 48 states.
I found this article on the Discovery News website.
This article was about the recent wildfire caused by lightning in Alaska, which burned more than 5 million acres and is now documented as 2015 being the second most devastating fire year on record for Alaska. President Obama flew to Alaska on Monday, August 31, to cover climate change issues, and at the same time, NASA officials announced new programs of airplanes, satellites and on-the-ground field work to get more information on what’s happening in Alaska and how it will affect the rest of America.
I feel this tragedy is a big situation that is going to be hard to handle due to it being a natural disaster and something out of America’s control. If the predictions of officials of NASA are accurate, this event could greatly affect myself and America as a whole with there being changes in climate, animal behavior and more in Alaska today. As of now, NASA officials are researching and coming up with answers of what exactly is happening with Alaska’s situation, how fast it will affect the U.S. and why it it happening.
This issue in Alaska impacts the world by possibly being able to change one of its continents, if the assumptions of NASA are correct, by changing the climate of America. If America’s climate changes, it could affect the animal habits and habits of other things in the U.S. Therefore, the world would be greatly impacted if Alaska’s wildfire caused the rest of the United State’s climate to change.
Link to article: http://news.discovery.com/earth/global-warming/is-alaska-our-future-150831.htm
The River Valley Civilizations that we have discussed so far are of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, and India. Some similarities that these civilizations share are their agriculture, their religion, all polytheistic, and that they all had interesting architecture. Also, India and Mesopotamia both had grid-like building systems for their cities, which means that their city structure looked more modern. A few differences between these civilizations are that, while Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India all grew basic crops such as wheat and barley, China’s primary food source consisted of rice and millet. Another difference is that all the civilizations hunted their food except for India, who felt that animals were sacred and not to be hunted. Some basic characteristics of all the civilizations include art and culture, demonstrated by the paintings, writing systems, weaving, pottery, sculptures, jewelry, and more. Other characteristics include government, with most of them closely linking to religion with the exception of Egypt and China, architecture, such as buildings, pyramids, and ziggurats, and science, demonstrated by inventions and technology like weapons, the study of astronomy, geology and countless others.