Warmer, Warmer, Warmer

 

    One of the biggest environmental issues of the 21st century is the climate change of the planet. A big part of climate change is global warming, which is the gradual increase of the Earth’s temperature. This is usually caused by increased levels of greenhouse pollutants, such as carbon dioxide.

    The effects of global warming are vast. Some effects include the fast incline of sea water levels, melting of large sheets of glaciers, and the rapid temperature increase that doesn’t allow the ecosystems to adapt naturally. But one of the biggest effects of global warming is the hole in the ozone layer. The hole was formed mainly from the increase of carbon dioxide, the remnant of burnt fossil fuels. With the depletion of the ozone layer, comes the increase of ultraviolet rays from the sun. These UV rays can damage your eyes and cause skin cancer without proper protection. To plants in the ecosystem, UV rays can tip the delicate balance in the environment. It can cause diseases to the plant just like it does to our skin. In the ocean, UV rays also reduce the survival rate of plankton, the base of the marine food chain, therefore toppling the food web.

    This issue is very important to me because I would like to live in a clean environment, like everyone else. But I would also like to allow my children, if I have any, to enjoy a clean place as well. With global warming comes more pollutants, and I am pretty sure they are not good for anyone’s body. So, by reducing global warming, it can ensure a longer human life-span, for us and generations in the future.

    One of the biggest roadblocks to reducing climate change and global warming is probably the heavy reliance on automobiles. The biggest percentage of gases involved in global warming and ozone depletion is carbon dioxide, which comes out of cars’ exhaust pipes. Although auto-industrial engineers have successfully made cars with reduced carbon dioxide exhaust, most are either too expensive or too small for the majority of people to own. Because the United States is so vast, there is basically no way of getting around without a vehicle of some kind.

    Since there is no single solution to reducing global warming, let’s just take one small step at a time. One step is to try to drive as little as possible. For example, if your house is close enough for you to walk, skate, or bike to school, then do that instead of having your parents drop you off. Even if your home is slightly farther away to walk or bike, you can still reduce global warming a little by carpooling with 1 or 2 other families in your neighborhood. Or, with a couple of friends, take the Foothill Transit to school together.

These are only some of the ways of reducing climate change and global warming. If there are any other ways, be sure to try them.You’ll do it not only for us, but for generations to come.

Another Year Has Gone

 

   Another wonderful year has passed! It happened so fast I barely noticed it. Although there were more than a few disappointing events, the majority were positive and encouraging.

There were many times during the year when I enjoyed myself greatly, like watching movies, going to Indio last week, and attending various different parties. But one of the best times of 2013 was my summer vacation to China. Sadly, we only stayed in China and Taiwan for about one and a half months because of all my different summer activities. During that shortened vacation, we squeezed in a lot. About 3 weeks was spent in China, and 2 weeks in Taiwan. Almost a third of our meals were eaten at great restaurants, and the food cooked by my grandparents and uncle was just as delicious, if not better than some of the restaurants we went to.  My great grandpa, who recently 96 years old, attended some of the more fancy banquets, but not all of them, because of his bad left leg. But he still ate almost as much as the rest of us, and one of my aunts laughed and said, “Being old surely doesn’t diminish his appetite.” Watching my great grandpa wolf down every morsel of food placed in front of him was surprisingly interesting for me to watch. It was probably because for every bite of food he ate, a piece of food would attach itself to his nose, his chin, and even his cheek. This supply of food on his face would build up for a while until my great grandpa noticed the morsels on his face.

One day, my mom and I visited my great grandpa. He was in his bed, taking an afternoon nap. I said hi to him when he noticed we were there. Suddenly, he asked me, “Who are you? Are you a Japanese?”Then he seemed to know who I was, but didn’t get my age correct and asked again, “Do you have a job?” After a split second’s silence,we all doubled over in laughter. But then my great grandpa seemed to connect the two snapped nerves and his brain was functioning properly again.This was probably the most comical part of my summer vacation. To this day, I could still explode with laughter when I am reminded of that event.

One of the most challenging events of 2013 was my first, 2 day 36 hole tournament about two weeks after my 12th birthday. I was dwarfed by the surrounding big kids, for I was the youngest of the tournament. Luckily, the game started out pretty well, but got steadily worse. The continuous walking wasn’t helping , either. Minor blisters started to form in the uncomfortable golf shoes and the unbreathable leather material of the shoes was making my feet stuffy. There was also a constant mental pressure that kept taunting me and sometimes it would make me mess up a shot. After the first match, I spent a pretty uncomfortable night with sore leg muscles. The second match was slightly better, but not by much. I was lucky not to get last place, for a lot of these people practice almost everyday.

A goal I have set for the year 2014 is to never have a missing assignment, whether if it is my fault or not. This has happened a few times before and I certainly do not want a repeat of the consequences. The missing assignments took a long time to get full credit and were just an extra load I didn’t need. A way I think will stop having missing assignments is to check my agenda every night to make sure I did an packed away all the assignments I was supposed to do.  

       Even with some drawbacks, 2013 has been a great year overall. I hope that 2014 will be just as great as the previous year.