Tuesday, February 24, 2009

#3 culture different from my own

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E0D9143AF934A25753C1A9629C8B63

this article from newyork times, talks about Indian women wearing their traditional dresses as an "act to honor the past" The author of this article doesnt think that they need to wear these traditional dresses because being in their culture shouldnt be a cultural duty to have to wear them. He also thinks that wearing these dresses puts them in danger. i thikn that he thinks this becuase in America people are very critical and might think that some one is a terrorist or some one who isdangerous and harmful to the US if they are wearing clothing of their culture while in the US. HE is also worried about different cultures dying. i agree with this, since so many cultures are mixing together, especially in the US, soon some cultures will be gone, maybe not 100% but none of them will ever be the same.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

facing a difficulty: food chain in the midwest

 Midwest facing coice between crops and water

The middle east and places in north Africa have been forced to choose between being able to grow more crops, or preserve their supply of water. Their population has already increased rapidly within the years and is predicted to reach  nearly 600 million by the year 2050. And this isnt a good thing, because each persons amount of food is already scarce, and by the year 2050 it will be about half of what they get now. I think that this is a very hard choice to make, because water is a must, and so is food. i think that either way they go it will lead to disaster. 

Naturaly Disaster: Heat waves

Most deadly of the natural disasters: the heat wave

Did you know that heat waves in the united states kill more people than all other natural disasters combined?!? thats amazing! but sad... about 1500 people die each year in the US from heat waves, and less than 200/year from tornadoes, earthquakes and floods. the most deadly heat wave in recent years (in the US) was in Chicago, in July 1995. This heat wave lasted about a week and killed 739 people! People who are most at risk to die from a heat wave are "the poor, the old, residents of abandoned and violent neighborhoods who lived alone, lacked access to transportation and lacked air conditioning" (quote Dr.Klinenberg) Also it is predicted that by 2050 that heat deaths could increase from 1,500-3,900.  Dr. Klinenberg see's this as a big problem, mostly because there is already a high death rate in alot of cities that dont even have high enough temperatures for a heat wave. also that most people dont take heat waves seriously, and they should start to. he says that if this many people died from a huricane then people would remember it, and if you ask some one about an old and very dangerous heat wave that they wouldnt even remember it. 
I agree with his opinion. I never thought about heat waves before, and i never knew how deadly they were.