Global Warming

Title: Big Chill vs Global Warming: What's Going On?

Author: Jeanna Bryner 

Published: January 14, 2013

http://www.livescience.com/26235-big-chill-global-warming.html

Summary:  In this article, it is stated that during this past weekend the United States wasn't the only place getting weird weather patterns.  In Jerusalem and other hot parts of the world it was also very cold.  It is explained that even though this is happening, the world is still breaking heat records right and left.  Over the course of 2012, it was found to be the hottest year ever, going far beyond the records from 1998.  From this year, and last, it was found that we broke 630 records regarding heat, and only 114 for the minimum temperature.  It is said that the greenhouse gases we are constantly burning are heating up the world at a much faster rate than if they weren't there.

Opinion:  My opinion on this topic is that we should do everything we can to slow the process.  Many people say that the world heating is a weather cycle that would have happened anyway, but with us it is happening much faster.  In order to preserve the world as long as we can, we should work on the level of greenhouse gases that we burn. 

Picture:  This picture shows the causes and effects of global warming.  

Questions:

1.       How do you think we could help with the global warming problem?

2.       How can we get awareness out to the public that this is becoming a big problem?

3.       To reduce global warming we need to create a cleaner greenhouse gas.  Do you have any ideas on how we could do that?

4.       What is your opinion on this topic?

5.       Do you think this is a big problem world-wide?   What could that weather patterns be showing?

Air Pollution: Smog elevates stroke risk

Air Pollution: Smog elevates stroke risk
Article By: David Danelski
Date: March 17th 2012

 http://www.pe.com/local-news/topics/topics-environment-headlines/20120317-air-pollution-smog-elevates-stroke-risk.ece

Summary: This article talk about how pollution or smog is causing a higher risk of having a stroke. A stroke is cuased when a blood vessel in the brain is ruptured or clogged, then the brain is deprived of oxygen which will eventually kill you. Research has showed that long term exposure to fine particles in the air and smog is the cause of the dangerous build up of plaque in the arteries. About 130,000 people die each year of stroke which is the 4th largest cause of death in the US and pollution and bad air quality has alot to do with this. Also 800,000 have strokes but most of them live.

Opinion/ Reflecton- I thought that this was an interesting article and I found out how strokes are cuased. It makes sense that the fine particles in the polluted air build up in your arteries and blood vessels then your brain can not get oxygen and you get a stroke. Im also suprised by the number of strokes people have per year, it is almost up to 1 million! A temperature inversion would be a nightmare trapping all the smog in one spot.

Questions
1.) How badly do you think the air pollution is afffecting the amount of strokes per year?
2.) What could be done to prevent having so much air pollution?
3.) Did you ever even think that air pollution could end up kiling somebody?
4.) Do you think air pollution can get so bad that it ends up killing the whole human race?
     or do you think we can find a solution to all this?

Picture- This is a piicture of smog and this is what is causing the strokes and you can see how bad it looks. Theses particles build up in the atreries and end up getting clogged. Imagine breathing this air in. You can bareley see 10 yards in front of you!

Beijings high air pollution

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57563685/beijing-air-pollution-off-the-charts/

Beijing's high air pollution

On January 13th Beijing experienced the awful effects of their pollution. The air quality was recorded over a 24 hour period. Out of those 24 hours 18 of them recorded results that were off the index. A safe normal level is considered to be only 25 micrograms per cubic meter. Beijing had surpassed 700 micrograms per cubic meter. All though the EPA advised everybody to stay inside there were quite a few who ventured out. The air quality they're receiving started on Thursday and is said to linger until Tuesday. 

Opinion/reflection

It's insane that people would even go out in that kind of air. I believe that the whole world needs to either help china find a way to pollute less or not allow them to pollute as much. Eventually it's going to effect the whole world. 

This picture shows just how bad the air pollution was 20 hours ago from now.

Questions:

1. What do you think other countries should do to try and prevent this from happening again?

2. Would you go out in that bad of air quality?

3. How should china cut down on the amount of air pollution they produce? 

Crowded Cities Are Being Affected By The High Smog Levels

Beijing Residents Choke In Record Breaking Smog Levels
By: Steven Jiang and Faith Karimi
Published: Sunday January 13th 2013 (China Time)

 http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/13/world/asia/china-smog-blanket/index.html?iref=allsearch

Crowded Cities Are Being Affected By The High Smog Levels:
By: Ben Kron

The skyline of Beijing is no longer visible due to the overwhelming amount of smog that surrounds the city. The residents of Beijing are starting to wear air masks around the city to protect them from the air pollution. We learned in our class that anything past the level of 500 on the AQI scale is considered hazardous to human life. The data in China shows that on Sunday the AQI exceeded 500 and maybe even over that extreme number. A Beijing resident states, "As the number soared, the streets got emptier. The sun, peeking shyly behind the hazy blanket, was barely visible." People living there knew something was wrong and the air seemed barley breathable. Reports of respiratory problems soared the next day as people would check into the hospitable. The U.S. embassy in Beijing recorded an index over 700 but the numbers decreased by Sunday. The people of Beijing say the air quality is worsening but government officials state it is improving since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The air quality has gotten so bad that some flights were cancelled do to the poor viability surrounding the airport. Scientists compare Beijing to Los Angeles but sometimes a little worse. The reason of why these cities have so much air pollution is do to the high population. The more people you have the more amount of pollution is produced due to each person producing their own input. They go on to talk about how L.A. has started it's famous smog output since the late 1950's. 20 years later people began to notice the tremendous difference in the amount smog surrounding L.A. The Chinese officials advised the city's people to stay indoors for the day.

Opinion/ Reflection:
My opinion on this matter is that people should start to learn how to clean their air. Almost everyday in Beijing people are being diagnosed with some form of lung disease due to the terrible air. Beijing is an industrial city, so that is one reason of why there is so much smog surrounding the city. As we learned in class the highest color humans can tolerate orange. The city of Beijing was reaching a color of Maroon which is listed as hazardous to human health. The U.S. embassy officials said they recorded an AQI of 700! that is 200 over the highest on the scale! I'm surprised many more people did not die. I was also surprised it related to our own city of L.A. That means we also have a big problem with our smog conditions. Those are my thoughts on the subject of air pollution in cities. I do think we should do something about it.

Questions:
1. What do you think we should do about the increasing smog output?

2. Do you think if someone in Beijing develops a lung condition due to the city's smog, the government should pay for their treatment?

3. What laws should be passed limiting the pollution outputs in big cities?

4. Do you believe the more people you have in a city, the more pollution there is?

5. Do you think Beijing gets allot of acid rain/ other variables of a great amount of pollution?

6. Do you think people living in these high pollution cities should relocate due to the hazards?