Stella's EduBlog

As the world population grows, we face a major crisis of food shortage. Many people in the world are homeless and jobless. China’s One child policy is one very effective way of maintaining a stable population. Because of this policy, China’s every high population growth is slowing down. One child policy is when a couple was only allowed to give birth to one child. So that people would follow the policy, the government award people who has only one child and punishes who has more.

There has been many debates about whether the One Child Policy as worth all the negative effects. Although this policy may have its negative effects, it’s a very efficient way to slow down the population growth in China. People debate about how cruel this policy is, how it has killed a lot of unborn babies, how people can’t past down their generation, and how humans should have rights to choose their own number of babies but if these situations are balanced out with the population crisis we’re facing today, it’s nothing.

The whole world is running low on resources. The earth can only hold so much and at one point, it’s going to reach it’s limit. We’re already using up “ancient sunlight” (fossil fuel) because of all the cars. If we run out of resources, the whole world is going to face major problems like hunger. Then, no one’s going to be complaining about how they can’t past down their generation or how we need human rights, we’ll all have to be fighting to survive.

Instead of going through the crisis, the whole should be having the One Child Policy.

Everyone do things that are considered as a stupid or a great thing to others. In my opinion, Christopher McCandles was not really an idiot. All he wanted was to have freedom. He wanted to feel the what it’s like to be away from society, away from all the anger, all the pain. What he did was remarkable. Not everyone is brave enough to actually follow their dreams but Christopher McCandles did.
Even though I don’t really think of him as an idiot, he’s still a little crazy. It’s crazy for someone to think that they would actually survive in the wild without really knowing how to survive.

Last week Thursday, the 8th grade class went on a field trip to FXB. FXB is mostly a place for women who are suffering from HIV or AIDS and that have been looked down by their community. It is a place where women could start over and make the most out of their lives. FXB is not only for women, it’s also for children and men.

As I walked around the place, I felt hopeful. I see women working very hard and heard the beautiful ambitious sound of the weaving machines; I saw colorful threads moving as the women pushes the wooden planks beneath them with their feet. The guide told us that they were being trained so that when they graduate, they could start their own weaving businesses. After the women graduate, they will get a small loan from the FXB. Overtime, they will be able to pay back their loans with the money they earn from their own business.

I kept exploring the place and saw that there was also a learning place for children. I wondered around the place and saw the children’s eyes sparkle as they gave all their attention to their teachers. I asked one of the teachers what happens to these children when they finish school. The teacher explained that that were being prepared for the real world, some of the kids were suffering from HIV or AIDS, some kids’ parents couldn’t afford to let them go to school. After they graduate from FXB, they are able to start attending 4^th grade in government schools.

As I got to the furthest side of the building, I saw men making furniture and women making candles. I wasn’t really interested in furniture so I went to the candle making place. I found out that the process of making candles was beautiful. After looking at those women making candles, I was DYING to make (at least try) some candles myself. Last but not least, I went to the “feeling’s center” where women gather and talked about their problems.

FXB touched my heart, after looking at all the ambitious people there, I figured that I will start an organization like this someday. I want to help people who are actually willing to work to have better lives.

There are also many organizations like this in Africa. There is too much poverty in Africa and it needs to stop. Children aren’t getting enough health care or food. People are helping to start micro loaning businesses so that the people in Africa can still change their lives.

My name is Mariama Dijre and I’m 45 years old. I was born and raised in a town called Pelegana, Mali. My family was very poor. Everyday my mom would go to the street market to sell bananas and my dad would go to work at a shoe factory. I have three sisters and two brothers. My parents couldn’t earn enough money to send us to school. Every day, ever since I learned how to walk and communicate, my sisters and I would go around the neighborhood to do chores for our neighbors. That way, we could still have some money to fulfill our needs. I even saved up enough money to buy a doll from the market!

As I grew up, I figured that I wanted more in life. I wanted a better future… but without any education, I couldn’t do anything that would make me earn more money. I was stuck selling bananas at the street market.

I got married to Dulijeah when I was 35 years old. I wanted to start my own business so I joined a group called the Djiguisseme Group. There were four members in my group. We started out selling grains and clothing. We weren’t very successful but we never gave up. I am now 45 years old with 3 children. I want my kids to have a better life than I did. I want to save up enough money so that I could send them to school. I want to save up enough money so that I could buy a better house in Segou. But in order to do that, I must have more supplies to sell at the market to make more money. But the problem is that I don’t have enough money to buy more supplies. That is why I joined Kiva for a loan. When I earn enough money, I will pay back all the people that loaned me the money.

My sweet Marian,

I am truly sorry for leaving you for so long. People were questioning about the beginning of the great Nile River and East Africa. I had to leave to find the answer and mark my place in history.

I’m on my way to this great lake, it is known to be the beginning of the Nile River. I have travelled long and far, along with English companion, Richard Burton and some African Tribes. It’s been a long hot day. I always think about you my love, I always miss you. My nights have been empty without you. I hear noises that haunt me, that make me think something would jump on me. I wish you were beside me.

The people say that we are very close to our destination. I was truly excited. I was about to make one of the most important discoveries in the world. Some bad things are happening along the way. I’ve been suffering my dear, this might probably the last time I’ll ever write to you again. A beetle went into my ear and the people from the expedition had to take it out with a knife. Ever since then, my vision’s been fading and I can barely hear a thing. Before I go blind, I wanted to write to you, to show you how much you mean to me. I’ll always love you my dear.

Eternally yours,

John Hanning Spekes

Himalayas News- Breaking World Himalayas News-New York Times

The Andes and the Himalayas are both very high mountain ranges. While the Andes’ highest peak measures over 22,000 feet, the Himalayas’ highest peak measure over 26,000 feet. The Andes lies in South America while the Himalayas lies in Asia. They were both formed by plates colliding into each other. The Andes Mountains are the longest mountain ranges in the west coast of South America. There are more people living in the Andes Mountains than there are in the Himalayas.

There are many conflicts occurring on who makes the strongest case; loggers, rubber tappers, Native Amazonians , settlers or cattle ranchers for how to use the rainforest. Governments are having trouble deciding on the usage of land in the rainforest. The loggers want to cut down trees for the sake of the economy. The rubber tappers want to continue getting sap from the rubber trees. The Native Amazonians want the development in the rain forest to stop so that they could live peacefully. The settlers want their own land in parts of the rain forest where they could start a living and the cattle rancher want land to feed their cows and produce beef.

In my opinion, the cattle ranchers have the strongest case on the usage of the rain forest. Even though they are harming the environment, they have a reasonable statement on why they should keep on doing whatever they are doing. First of all, cattle ranchers use the land that has already cleared by the loggers to raise their cows to import all over the world. Cattle ranchers are providing beef which is a good source of healthy food all over the world. Food is one of the most important thing that people need to survive. Cattle ranchers provide beef for most parts of the world.

If I were to choose to be a member of one of these groups, I would want to be a rubber tapper. Rubber tappers make money and they are not harming the environment in anyway. The rubber tappers have a good reason to be staying in the rain forest because of their sustainable development. Last but not least, they have a very peaceful way of making a living unlike the loggers or the Native Amazonians because they are not becoming endangered and they are not harming the environment.

Dear Diary,

I can’t believe mom’s making me live with dad this summer. I know he lives in a beach house and beach houses are supposed to be cool and fun but I’d rather stay at home in New York. These past few years didn’t really go great for me. I totally flunked my SATs, I stole some stuff from a store and got into HUGE trouble. I’m a big disappointment to my mother and my little brother. Mom said I need time away from my friends, sort things out and have a little bonding time with my dad (like that’s going to go well). At least my brother is jumping up and down to the idea of staying with dad.

Two long hours later we arrived. Ok, I admit, the view from the front porch was really beautiful and peaceful but that doesn’t mean that I like this house. Just to get this clear, dad left us when I was 12 so I have no reason to forgive him or be nice to him. As soon as we arrived, I ignored my dad and went straight to the carnival.

The carnival didn’t turn out very well either. I bought a milkshake and I was heading for the Ferris Wheel, there was a volleyball match going on, as I walked pass beside the game, this dude fell on me. Lucky me! The milkshake spilled on me and now I’m a total mess. This place just loves me. Look on the bright side, the dude was kind of hot… but i was too angry to think about it. Conclusion, I HATE this freaking place!

Hello reader. I’m a lonely cheese on the middle of a basketball court at a middle school. How did I get there? Well, it’s a sad, sad story. My home used to be in a fridge at McDonalds until one day, a customer bought a burger with me in it. He was eating it happily, and then suddenly, I slipped out of the burger and dropped in the middle of a basketball court. I had no idea where I was! I looked around and saw a lot of kids in their early teens with backpacks walking inside a building. That was when I knew that I was on a court of a middle school.

Years passed and surprisingly, I was still laying in the middle of the basketball court. I was all green and ewwy obviously… I just don’t get why people won’t sweep me off or throw me away! People were TERRIFIED to touch me, especially the students. One time, a kid named Chirag touched me with curiosity and BOOOM! He got the Cheese Touch. It was worse than cancer or rabies! Everyone else ran when Chirag was near them. Everyone was TERRIFIED of the Cheese Touch. It was so amusing to watch them all run when Chirag enters the hallway. Then one day, Chirag had nothing else to do but to pass on the cheese touch to someone else. The cheese touch went on and on until it was passed on to a foreign student. Luckily, he had to go back to his home country so, he took the cheese touch back with him. Peace was brought back to the school. Sadly, till now, I lay in front of a middle school, all green and rotten waiting for my next victum.

Hello. I’m Elizabeth Dillinger, a graduated environmental scientist from Yale. I’m 25 years old and I’ve been interested in studying the Great Lakes since I was a teenager. I travel around the Great Lakes every month to observe them. I know basically everything about the Great Lakes because I’ve been studying about them for all the years that I’ve been studying in Yale. I’m qualified enough to write this essay and publish it on New York Times.

One of the problems we’re facing now is the pollution in the Great Lakes. There’s been a serious amount of PCBs and DDT found in the fresh waters of the lake. It is extremely dangerous to the ecosystems in the Great Lakes because it can cause great harm to the food chains and food webs. Because of these dangerous chemicals, some fish cannot be eaten since they have harmful chemicals in their bodies, the newborns of the animals that have these chemicals in their body usually come out distorted or unwell. Dangerous chemicals aren’t the only thing that is polluting the Great Lakes. Wastes from developments and building, urban and agricultural runoff are examples of other types of pollutions occurring in the Great Lakes today.

Another major problem occurring in the Great Lakes today is the invasion of non-native species. We estimated that there are more than 170 invasive species in the Great Lakes today. These species include: zebra mussels, Asian Carp, sea lamprey, alewife and many more. These creatures steal food from the native species and cause harm to the environment. For example, zebra mussels clog pipes and attach to docks and makes swimming harmful because of their sharp shells. Another example is the invasion of Asian Carps; they were brought over from Asia by some farmers to clean their fish ponds but unfortunately, some has escaped and have gotten into the Great Lakes. Asian Carps are a threat to the food chain and could destroy them. Other invasive creatures are threatening the ecosystems of the Great Lakes too.

Habitat lost is also a big worry in the Great Lake regions today. Today, people are destroying forests to create farmlands. Forestry can cause habitat lost, meaning that the plants and animals that live in that region are lost as well. Forests are cleared for development as well. Just like the forests, wetlands are also disappearing. The wetlands control flooding during storms and provide habitats for a lot of wildlife, but since they are disappearing, habitat losses are increasing.

These problems are very harmful to the Great Lake regions. People should stop polluting these precious fresh water lakes. The government should make harsher laws to reduce pollution.  People should not build more buildings, skyscrapers, or factories on the shores of the Great Lakes. There should be laws stating that no species that are not native to the Great Lakes should enter the Great Lakes. People should be more careful about where they put their trash and where they build their buildings, losing the Great Lakes could be a huge threat to the world.