Last Class

Today was our last class. We watched a weird video from David Bowie that was about him dying and going to heaven. We also got back our exam grades. I got a 95 and I'm pretty happy about that. I got a 99 on my essay (should have been a 100 *cough *cough)

Today's test

Today we had our last test on environmental geography. It was pretty easy and I should have done well. I hope next semester is just as fun and useful as this one was.

Test Tomorrow

Tomorrow we have a test and we reviewed the power point on the environmental geography unit. We got a 30 minute study hall afterwards.

Bill Nye

William Sanford "Bill" Nye was born November 27, 1955 to Jacqueline and Edwin Darby "Ned" Nye, both World War 2 veterans. From 1991 to 1993, he appeared in the live-action educational segments of Back to the Future: The Animated Series in the nonspeaking role of assistant to Dr. Emmett Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd), in which he would demonstrate science while Lloyd explained. Nye's Science Guy personality appears alongside Ellen DeGeneres and Alex Trebek in a video at Ellen's Energy Adventure, an attraction that has been playing since 1996 at the Universe of Energy pavilion inside Epcot at Walt Disney World.

Cows and Methane Gas

A new snapshot of U.S. methane emissions in 2004 shows livestock — primarily cattle and pigs — were the country's worst gas emitters at the time. The study also found that livestock expelled 40 percent more methane than had been estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency, a result in agreement with a recently published review of hundreds of emissions studies detailed in the journal Science. The animals also bested the oil and gas industry.Methane is less abundant than carbon dioxide, and disappears faster in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. However, it is more effective at trapping infrared radiation. The picture below was from a story about a German barn fire caused by the static electricity in the air mixed with the methane gas from a cow and burned the barn to the ground.

History of Electric Cars

An electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using electrical energy stored in rechargeable batteries or another energy storage device. Electric motors give electric cars instant torque, creating strong and smooth acceleration. They are also around three times as efficient as cars with an Internal combustion engine. The first electric cars were produced in the 1880s. The energy crises of the 1970s and 1980s brought a short-lived interest in electric cars; although, those cars did not reach the mass marketing stage, as is the case in the 21st century. As of September 2015^[update], there are over 30 models of highway legal all-electric passenger cars and utility vans available for retail sales, mainly in the United States, China, Japan, Western European countries.

Climate Change

Climate is a long term change in the Earth's overall temperature with massive and permanent ramifications. 97% of scientists believe that human action is mostly responsible for the recent spike in temperatures. Scientists have observed that the last 10 out of 13 years have been the warmest in recorded history. Overall, there has been a 1.2-1.4 degree increase in the overall temperature of the Earth. The increased greenhouse gases that we release likely lead to this increase. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap heat and energy close to the surface and warm the temperature.

Political Geogrphy Test

Today we took the most frustrating test ever. As soon as Mr. Schick read the directions, he announced that we could use our blogs.  Great. Except that my computer took 40 out of the 50 minutes to update and restart. It wasn't like it was a hard test, I did it without my blogs. Then I got on my blogs and realized all of my countries project didn't post and I only had Dilma Rouseff's biography. It was all on word instead.

Dilma Rouseff's youth

Dilma Rouseff is a Brazilian economist and politician currently serving as the 36th President of Brazil. She is the first woman to hold the office. She was previously the Chief of Staff of the President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from 2005 to 2010. The daughter of a Bulgarian entrepreneur, Rousseff was raised in an upper middle class household in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. She became a socialist during her youth, and following the 1964 coup d'état joined various left-wing and Marxist urban guerrilla groups that fought against the military dictatorship. Rousseff was eventually captured and was jailed between 1970 and 1972, during which time she was reportedly tortured.

feild trip

on field trip to the basilica

Somalian Pirates

Piracy off the coast of Somalia has been a threat to international shipping since the second phase of the Somali Civil War in the early 21st century. Since 2005, many international organizations have expressed concern over the rise in acts of piracy. Piracy impeded the delivery of shipments and increased shipping expenses, costing an estimated $6.6 to $6.9 billion a year in global trade in 2011 according to Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP). A United Nations report and several news sources have suggested that the piracy off the coast of Somalia was caused in part by illegal fishing by foreign boats taking advantage of the war, which resulted in lost fishing income to local communities. Combined Task Force 150, a multinational coalition task force, took on the role of fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia by establishing a Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) within the Gulf of Aden. The increasing threat posed by piracy has also caused concern in India since most of its shipping trade routes pass through the Gulf of Aden.

History of Israel

On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly recommended the adoption and implementation of the Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine. This UN plan specified borders for new Arab and Jewish states and also specified an area of Jerusalem and its environs which was to be administered by the UN under an international regime. The end of the British Mandate for Palestine was set for midnight on 14 May 1948. The borders of the new state were not specified in the declaration. Neighboring Arab armies invaded the former Palestinian mandate on the next day and fought the Israeli forces. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states.

Isis solution day 2

The problem Isis presents is very complex, there is no definitive, or proven way to remove Isis from the Middle East. One way to stop the financing of Isis would be to further fortify nearby cities, and towns that could become potential targets. To reinforce these cities, and towns we should add a larger military presence by adding more soldiers or more air support. This could be done by slowly bolstering forces in Syria and Iraq with some US soldiers that could help train local forces. After that we could handle Isis by targeting their oil refineries, and try to take them over with soldiers. Isis makes approximately one to three million dollars a day by selling oil to different black market dealers. It is also theorized that Isis sells oil to the Syrian government. If we were to take over some of the oil refineries controlled by Isis it would be a detrimental blow to their finances and also to their moral. To capture the oil refineries we would have to send in ground troops to acquire the resources, or train enough locals to allow them to conduct the raids themselves. This would be made even more possible if we were to ally with other nations like France, and Russia to send in troops. This could both relatively contain Isis, and further damage their economic situation.  The only problem with this solution is that we have to send in our own troops to solve the problem. But in the end the US, and allies will most likely end up sending ground troops in anyways. So we should attempt to eradicate Isis before they become more of a problem for the world.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/paris-attacks-where-does-isis-get-its-money-and-arms-a6736716.html

http://time.com/3512917/isis-funding-stopping-iraq/

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=isis+oil+fields&view=detailv2&&id=75E00366B5F23194CA2C098631D13143ABDC6FDE&selectedIndex=0&ccid=eO0Uht4M&simid=608021620192575712&thid=OIP.M78ed1486de0c09d83f5c5a476536580fo0&ajaxhist=0

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=isis+controlled+territory+2015&view=detailv2&&id=767BBD2B6368141AEA4088F5915293BF862FA9FD&selectedIndex=1&ccid=BfT%2blfNo&simid=607988613367204427&thid=OIP.M05f4fe95f36841d464abc5cffd6eb621o0&ajaxhist=0

ISIS Solution

The problem of Isis is very complex, there is no definite way to remove Isis from the Middle East. One way that we could handle Isis would be to target their oil refineries, and try to get rid of them with firebombs. Isis makes approximately 1.5 million dollars a day by selling oil to different black market dealers. It is also hypothesized that Isis sells oil to the Syrian government. If we were to get rid of the oil refineries controlled by Isis it would be a detrimental blow to their finances and also to their moral. To capture the oil refineries we would have to send in ground troops to acquire the resources. This would be made even more possible if we were to ally with other nations like France, and Russia to send in troops. Another way to stop the financing of Isis would be to further fortify nearby cities, and towns that could become potential targets. This could both relatively contain Isis, and further damage their economic situation.  The only problem with this solution is that we have to send in our own troops to solve the problem. But in the end the US, and allies will most likely end up sending ground troops in anyways. So we should attempt to eradicate Isis before they become more of a problem for the world.

Syrian Refugee Situation

More than four million refugees of the Syrian Civil War have left the country during the course of the war. The Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya inspired the Syrian people to take to the streets in peaceful demonstration against the Assad regime’s lack of political progress and extreme responses to anti-government graffiti. The government responded fiercely, torturing, killing, and shooting at the protesters. The situation escalated to a civil war. Syria is now divided into territory occupied by the regime, rebel fighters, and Islamic extremists. The war is still raging today.

Country	£ GBP value of aid sent
United States	2,800,986,584
United Kingdom	920,646,584
Kuwait	764,149,331
Germany	633,585,440
Saudi Arabia	387,077,881
UAE	359,148,206
Canada	341,430,640
Japan	310,032,640
Norway	171,992,010
Qatar	157,992,727
Netherlands	135,988,173
Switzerland	114,747,197
Sweden	113,030,788
Australia	98,394,682
Denmark	94,068,068
France	70,017,598
Italy	64,432,296
Finland	40,287,318
Belgium	31,791,564
Ireland	26,782,302

Paris Bombings

On the evening of 13 November 2015, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks—consisting of mass shootings, suicide bombings, and hostage-taking—occurred in Paris, France, and Saint-Denis, one of its northern suburbs. Beginning at 21:20 CET, there were three separate suicide bombings outside the Stade de France and, nearer central Paris, there were mass shootings and a suicide bombing at four different locations. In addition, the deadliest attack took place at the Bataclan theatre, where attackers took hostages and engaged in a stand-off with police which ended at 00:58 on 14 November. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attacks.129 victims were killed, 89 of them at the Bataclan theatre. A further 415 were admitted to hospital with injuries sustained in the attacks, including 80 people described as being seriously injured. In addition to the victims, seven attackers died, and the authorities continued to search for any accomplices remaining at large. The attacks were the deadliest in France since the Second World War, and the deadliest in Europe since the Madrid train bombings in 2004.

Religion and Babies

In the TED talks video, I learned that there is no correlation between religion and the TFR of women. There is more of a relation between the GDP per capita of the nation and the TFR than the dominant religion of that nation. Countries that have a lower GDP per capita tend to have more children on average than countries with a high GDP per capita. Religions like Christianity however, spanned across the entire board, ranging from a TFR of 7 to a TFR of just above 1.
I think that the chart was the most amazing thing evah. The chart covered all aspects that might effect population growth like the size of the nation, the religion, GDP per capita, and the year. I like how the chart is very interactive and you can slide around the year, countries, highlight religion, and size of the nation.
The video does make me feel optimistic about the future of the planet because it reassured me that the population growth is slowing down and that it will eventually stop growing. Over population is ending up to be a bi problem and I do not feel that many leaders are addressing it to the extent needed to end this problem.
I got a 45% on the sporcle quiz

The Life of Buddah

Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama, Shakyamuni, or simply the Buddha, was a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He is believed to have lived and taught mostly in northeastern India sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE. The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one". "Buddha" is also used as a title for the first awakened being in a Yuga era. Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral tradition and first committed to writing about 400 years later.

Christian and Muslim Wars

Fighting between religious groups has been going on for centuries. One of the greatest conflicts between religious groups is between early Christians and Muslims. These were known as the Holy wars or the crusades. The Christians launched a total of eight major crusades lasting from between 1095 to 1272. The center of the war centered around the control of the city of Jerusalem, a holy land to both religious groups. The first crusade produced the Knights of Templar, a legendary fighting Christian group that protected Holy land for centuries. It is rumored that the Knights also protected the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant.

Test Review

Today in class we went over our test. I am very glad that this was not a soul crushing test even though those are still very easy if you pay attention in class and look over your notes. Mr.Schick came late and I was kind of hoping nobody showed up so that I could have another free mod but he is one of my favorite teachers so it was ok. He was telling us about how part of the test got messed up and that how the other section didn't want the entire class to get extra points because "It's not fair!" I'll take the extra points. No complaints here.