by Eleanor Frances Imminent! Rescheduled population explosion set for this Wednesday! Overpopulation doomsayers have become cliché, with the theory so fully assimilated in our culture that many people adhere to the politics of scarcity without questioning the assumptions and arguments on which it is based. Subscribing to this population myth makes people zealous for a […]
By Eleanor Francis Where do babies come from? Most teens know the answer to this. What most teens do not know is the extent of the health risk they take on when a doctor prescribes hormonal contraceptives in the form of the pill, the patch, or an injection. Ok, so not all teens are taking […]
By Eleanor Francis You might assume that the recommendations by the World Health Organization, as well as a variety of studies done in England, the Netherlands, and Denmark, might give pause to the German-owned Bayer company in its promotion of their newest incarnation of the hormonal birth control pill Yasmin, which contains an estrogen compound […]
By Eleanor Frances The people of India love their rivers. In fact, the country is named for the Indus, a major river that flows through northern India and Pakistan. The beauty of India’s majestic rivers is evident to all, not just to its people who consider their rivers sacred (Ghosh). Source: http://www.indiawaterportal.org/post/36052 Even so, about […]
by Eleanor Frances A British economist recently published an article in Forbes proposing that women on birth control should pay a higher tax than other people. Citing the pollution costs calculated by the European Union for household or residential water pollution, Tim Worstall proposed what economists call a Pigou Tax, or a tax intended to […]
by Eleanor Frances Melinda Gates [wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates] means well. She wants African women to use contraceptives. She is reaching out to poor African women, and her idea sounds helpful till you consider how Africa’s drinking water, often lacking modern treatment facilities, is negatively affected by the estrogen contamination that accompanies widespread […]
by Eleanor Frances In May of this year, an expert in heavy metal pollution in water and a former researcher at the University of Hawaii named Liangjie Dong reported in the Journal of Environmental Sciences, that China has high levels of estrogen disrupting compounds or EDC in its drinking water (Wencong). An artificial hormone known […]
by Adrianna Kuzma Note: This is not the typical “World Around Us” essay; it’s an allegory that I wrote. –Adrianna One day Elephant was pregnant with her first baby son. The next day Elephant woke up to find a very small but unique baby elephant standing in front of her. “Hello small one,” said Elephant, […]
by Adrianna Kuzma On a hot summer day, a bottle of cold water tastes gloriously refreshing, but have you ever looked into what bottled water actually contains? When looking at a label on a bottle of water, you might think it comes from a natural spring. In reality, about 25 % of bottled water comes […]
by Adrianna Kuzma A popular game allows kids to play with a band and score points by playing notes on the screen. Guitar Hero is popular because a person can sing, dance, and perform to be part of their favorite song. Today in Mozambique, there is a man who actually is a guitar hero. In […]
by Adrianna Kuzma Quantity is every bit as much an issue as quality when it comes to water for developing nations. In my last column, I talked about the benefits of using a nano-teabag technology as a short term solution to global water problems in third world countries where infrastructure is unavailable. Many developing countries […]
By Adrianna Kuzma The United Nations has pledged to make clean water available to developing countries by 2015 (Crossette). Is this realistic? The UN recently completed a progress report on how well they were meeting the goal: “the report admits candidly that the world will not reach the mark, probably by a wide margin” (Crossette). […]
By Adrianna Kuzma Water is essential for life. Everyone, not just for the rich, needs water to survive. Three major companies from Europe have supplied water to countries suffering from a lack of public water structures: they are Suuez, Thames Water, and Vivend (Flow). Supporters of privatizing water utilities claim success both in service quality […]
The World Around Us, by Evangeline. American Amanda Knox and Italian Raffaele Sollecito are finally free. They were convicted of murdering British student Meredith Kercher but an appeals court overturned the conviction after overwhelming evidence and testimony presented by independent experts and defense teams. I am exceedingly glad that they have been released from this […]
By Maria Rainier Thanks to recent developments in technology, the methods in which students can learn to read, speak and write in another language can easily be done in one simple click. Furthermore, one of the many advantages to being homeschooled is that you can use the Internet and various different programs, websites and online […]
The World Around Us, by Evangeline A few months back, an author sent me his book pitch. I declined to review his book because I did not feel comfortable reviewing a book with an explicit image on its cover. Included in his reply to me was: “Thank you for the reply, dear Evangeline.” Dear?! Seriously? […]
It recently occurred to me that the majority of news in the papers isn’t good at all. Most times, it is depressing. As someone who reads the British and Malaysian news online everyday, I don’t know why it has taken me so long to realize this. In the local Malaysian news, there are reports […]
It did not take long for the British press to swing from reporting about the Royal Wedding to reporting about the now infamous privacy injunction saga. This privacy injunction in concern is a gagging order on the British press and public, stopping anyone from divulging details or the name of a mystery famous British footballer […]
I changed my opinions about the Royal Wedding after watching it. I am not a person who changes opinions easily as I can be pretty stubborn about what I think. Before watching the Royal Wedding, I thought that it was overrated. Now I think that it was overrated, but worthwhile watching. The run-up fuss over […]
February was a month of unrest and bloodshed. Protests were held in many countries and many people died for their dream of having a better government. What I admire most about these protestors is their guts. They have the guts to go out into the streets where they know they will be gunned down, bombed […]
This month, I want to write about something different. I have been writing about current events around the world, but I thought that for a change, I would write about reading current events. I love reading current events, and yes, I am a teen. Some might think I am a weirdo for checking out the […]
Many Britons had been anticipating this and their expectations were finally met when the royal engagement of Prince William of Wales and his longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton was announced. Their wedding will be held in Westminster Abbey in April next year and is to be the biggest royal wedding after Prince William’s parents wedding in […]