Hormuz Strait Impact

            There are many reasons why we should switch to renewable energy sources. For starters, they are renewable which means that they won’t run out, while non-renewable resources are finite, and can only last so long. Another reason is the cost. As non-renewable resources become scarcer, prices rise. Lastly, making use of renewable energy sources makes it so we don’t have to rely heavily on other countries and nations for things such as oil.  

            Having to rely on other countries and nations for important things like oil has recently become quite a problem. The problem stems from Iran, who has been threatening to close the Hormuz Strait. This is in response to the oil embargo and other sanctions put in place by the UN in order to try to stop Iran’s nuclear power program. Iran is most likely using this problem as a guise to create nuclear weapons. If the Hormuz Strait were to be closed it would affect the entire world’s economy. 20% of the world’s oil passes through the Hormuz Strait. That’s 17 million barrels everyday. The closing of the Strait would cause oil prices to skyrocket, easily doubling the cost. If the Strait is even partially blocked, experts have predicted that it could cause $50 plus increase in prices. Just Iran’s threat has kept oil prices above $100 a barrel. This is because we depend on oil for almost everything. Some say that if Iran closed the Strait then it would essentially be declaring war on the whole world. France, Britain, and US have already sent in warships to the Strait.

            The threat of the havoc it could wreak could easily be avoided if we were able to become more dependent on renewable resources. Renewable resources could easily replace oil. The thing is, the government and people need to be motivated to change. The increasing oil prices and Iran’s threats might help push America towards exploring alternate, and hopefully renewable, energy sources. No nation should be able to have that kind of effect on our economy just by closing a Strait. 

Evergreens Moving to China is Bad for America

I recently read an article about how Evergreen Solar was moving its headquarters to China. This move will lay off over 800 workers. I think this is horrible. To begin with, America already has a high un-employment rate. Also, the government of Massachusetts gave around $43 million to Evergreen Solar.

            Tensions between the US and China have also increased. The New York Times stated, “The Obama administration has been investigating whether China has violated free trade rules of the World Trade Organization.”

            The other problem we are facing is that our reliance on oil can’t last forever. Eventually we will have to turn to China for their solar technology. This will put China ahead of the US in the long run. We will also end up dependant on China for energy, which is a really bad thing.

            Evergreens moving their business to China illustrates a more wide scale problem; a lot of work is moving overseas. The reason for this is because labor overseas is a lot cheaper. This creates more lost jobs in America. The problem is, Americans can’t really lower their wages because our standard of living is so high. America really needs to find a way to bring more industries back to America. This way there will be more jobs. Hopefully, it will also lead to us exporting more than importing. I think in the long run, it will help our country’s economy substantially. 

Loughner's School Should Have Taken More Measures

I feel that there were not enough measures taken with Jared Loughner. It was obvious that there was something wrong with him. All the witness reports are all very consistent and tell the tale of a psychotic young man with anger management problems.

            The school was completely aware of Jared’s mental instability. Yet, it seems that the school did not take any measures to get Jared’s mental state evaluated. He scared both his fellow students and his teachers. Teachers reported that he made sudden outbursts in class and that he would often has “incoherent” questions; questions that had nothing to do with the topics being taught. Kent Sinker, Loughner’s “Intro to Logic” professor, stated, “I was never able to talk to him on a one-to-one basis and I did worry about him a lot. I do recall thinking I hope his parents know what’s going on and that they have a handle on things.” If Sinker was so worried about Loughner, why didn’t he take the time to have a one-on-one chat with him and make sure everything was ok, or even take ten minutes to call his parents and make sure they were aware of the situation.

            Loughner’s ex-girlfriend, Ashley Fugueroa, broke it off between them because she was afraid of him. She said that, “He used to scare me sometimes and that’s why I left him. He kind of made me feel uncomfortable at times. He’d get really mad, clench his fists and then throw a kind of little tantrum. He’d flail his arms and walk off.” Then again, this alone is not nearly enough evidence to mark him as psychotic. I wonder if she ever talked to a teacher about his odd behavior.

            It was very clear that there was something seriously wrong. He was so unstable that he drew the attention of campus law enforcement on multiple occasions. Though the icing on the cake was two reports. The first, was made by the Pima College Department of Public Safety; it said, “[his comments] “were a huge leap from the context of the poem and said things about abortion, wars, killing people, and ‘why don’t we just strap bombs to babies.” I can’t get over how disturbing that is. It was taken so seriously that it was filed with the Pima College Department of Public Safety. They had to know something was seriously wrong, so why didn’t they do anything about it? The other report was made by Ben McGahee, he said, “ I was scared of what he could do. I wasn’t scared of him physically, but I was scared of him bringing a weapon to class.” When a teacher has these kinds of fears about a student, something should be done. The only thing that was done was he got kicked out of college until he received a letter that stated that he wasn’t harm to himself or others. Kicking someone out of school is not going to make him suddenly stable. They really should have checked him into a psychiatric ward. If they had done that, this entire situation may have been avoided.

            Honestly, I don’t know if the school has the power to do the things I wanted them to have done. If they don’t, maybe they should.  It might go against the constitution. It also brings back into question how right Bush’s “preemptive strike” methods. Though when is preemptively taking action right, and when is it wrong. Looking back it is obvious that preemptive action should have been taken, but if we were looking forward instead, would the course of action be so obvious.

Dilma Rousseff Will Do an Incredible Job as President of Brazil

            Dilma Rousseff was sworn in as president of Brazil on Saturday. I think it’s such an incredible thing; having a woman as president. It really is an inspiration for women everywhere. When I read this, I was so happy. It really shows how the world is slowly progressing towards giving women true inequality to men. Hopefully the world will follow Brazil’s example. In the U.S. women get paid less than men, and women are less likely to be hired and/or promoted because they are women.

            I think That Dilma Rousseff will do a wonderful job and really help lift a lot of the poverty in Brazil. She has had a life much unlike many politicians, and I think that will give her the edge and empathy she will need to achieve her goals. Before becoming President of Brazil, Rousseff fought with a guerrilla regime against the dictatorship. She was imprisoned and tortured for years. Just from having that experience, I think that she really understands the importance of changing things in Brazil.

            I am really excited to see how things will progress under her. I think that Rousseff will be able to prove to the world that women are just as good as men, and should be treated equally because women have so much to offer to the world. 

What's Wrong With the News

            Right now, the majority of the news is made of sad and troublesome reports. Unfortunately, it is so hard to come across an optimistic article. Sadly, people would rather read about death and destruction than the good that is going on in the world. If a person where to just read and watch the news they would get the idea that the world is an awful place. A place filled with murderers, bigots, and criminals. A world where there is always an economic crisis, or a natural disaster going on.

            Yet, there is so much good. There is so much success, and progress, but for some crazy reason we tend to turn a blind eye to all of the positive things and zoom in on the negative things. Reports of deaths fill the news, yet there is nothing mentioned about births. There is so much about tragedies, yet so little about miracles. It has been proven that America’s stock market depends on the confidence and happiness of Americans. So, how does reading about the horrors of the world help this at all?

            Of course, people have the right to know about everything that is going on, good and bad. I just think we need to include more good things in the newspapers; no matter how miniscule and small they are; just to show people that there is just as much good as there is bad.   

America is Moving in the Right Direction

            The “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Act” was finally deemed unconstitutional. Lately, it seems that America has been making a lot of progress in the rights of minorities. For example, Obama was elected president. Now homosexuals can openly serve in the military.

            Although we are making progress as a whole, there are still those who refuse acceptance of minorities such as African Americans and Homosexuals. Though it is now legal, I think that there will be many problems for homosexuals in the army. Unfortunately, bigots can be found everywhere and I’m sure that homosexuals won’t be treated equally to heterosexuals serving in the army.

            Even though women are allowed to work, they still are treated like they are unequal to men. Women receive lower wages, and they have to work harder to achieve the same things. We still have a long way to go, but we are getting there slowly as we have shown with electing Obama and deeming acts, such as the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Act” unconstitutional. I hope we can continue to make more progress.  

Upper Class Life Expectancy Higher Than Middle and Lower Class

Upper class citizens tend to live longer than the middle class citizens. How long a person lives is affiliated with many things.  A few of these things are diet, access to medical facilities and treatments, living conditions, and stress. People who make more money are able to afford better quality food. They also have better access to medical facilities and treatments, and can afford more sanitary living conditions. On top of that, people who make more money may be able to work fewer hours, take more vacations, and sick days. On the other hand, people on lower incomes can’t afford top quality foods, medical facilities and treatments, and living conditions. They may not be able to take sick days. All of this builds up and is a big reason why upper class citizens tend to live longer.

I also noticed how the difference between male life expectancy of upper and middle class changed from 1986 to 2006. My teacher explained that Upper class incomes skyrocketed, middle class incomes stagnated and health care costs also skyrocketed. I know how hard it is to pass laws, and I know how hard Obama is working, but I feel that more has to be done to make health care more affordable.