Current Event: Population and Resources

I. Summary of the Topic of the Two Articles

The two articles discuss the importance and efficiency of biofuels, or agro fuels, in our world today. They discuss the pros and cons of the production and usage of biofuels from plant sources (such as crop from sugarcane). Biofuels are considered as an efficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and are commonly used as alternative fuels for automobiles. However, recent developments imply that some biofuels contribute more to global warming than the fossil fuels they replace. This issue has been taken up in the two articles.

II. Graphic Organizer

Biofuels cut Greenhouse Gas emissions

Ø Producing biofuels from a fast-growing grass delivers vast savings of carbon dioxide emissions compared with petrol.
Ø Studies calculated that the production and consumption of biofuels such as ethanol cut CO2 emissions by about 94% when compared with an equivalent volume of petrol.
Ø Burning biofuels releases carbon dioxide, but growing the plants absorbs a comparable amount of the gas from the atmosphere.
Ø A team of US researchers also found that switch grass derived ethanol (biofuel) produced 540% more energy than was required to manufacture the fuel.

Common Points

Ø A number of organizations, including the UN, have expressed concern that biofuels may do more harm than good.
Ø There are certain factors within the process of producing the biofuels that limited its financial and environmental feasibility.
Ø The criticism of the biofuel technology include taking large areas out of food production, inflating crop prices, and limited carbon emission savings.

Biofuels Need Strict Standards

Ø Biofuels should only be produced if they meet strict environmental standards, as was concluded by a G8 meeting.
Ø They say that biofuels should not be made from materials grown on land with recognized value for biodiversity.
Ø Also, the greenhouse gas emissions involved in their production and use should be significantly less than those produced by fossil fuels.
Ø The rapid expansion of energy crops could threaten global food security, and add further pressure to sensitive ecosystems including rainforests.



III. Commentary on Why this Issue is Important

Today, our planet is constantly battling against sweltering heat, unfathomable weather patterns, rising sea levels, and air pollution, all due to greenhouse gas emissions causing the greenhouse effect. Among many proposed solution arises that of using biofuels. These would supposedly dramatically lower the greenhouse gas emissions. So far, they’ve been regarded as the best way in nearing our goal to lessen pollution and greenhouse gas levels, but now arises a new debate- are they really working? The fact that biofuels really are eco-friendly is a fact that is now being seriously doubted. Surveys in the US have revealed that some biofuels plants are exploiting the water resources to an extreme extent. Factories producing ethanol have been placing orders for huge quantities of water, and thus their true value is being doubted. The food security in countries with poor circulation may be seriously affected. Estimates show that by the year 2050, biofuels may provide as much as 65% of the worlds current energy demands. The regions with the highest potential for bioenergy production today are Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Caribbean along with Latin America.

IV. Bibliographic Information

Article # 1
Title: Grass biofuels ‘cut C02 emissions by 94%’
Author: None Given
Publishing Date: 8th January, 2008
Source: BBC News
URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/hi/science/nature/7175397.stm

Article # 2
Title: Biofuels need ‘strict standards’
Author: None Given
Publishing Date: 22nd February, 2008
Source: BBC News
URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/hi/science/nature/7259593

Additional Sources (Background Info)

Ø United Nations Foundation (Official Website)
Ø www.energyfuturecoalition.org/biofuels/
Ø The Economist (March 1st-7th Issue), “Ethanol and water don’t mix”

The Revealers
Blog Response
Second Blog

In the novel, The Revealers, the students of Parkland Middle felt connected through SchoolStream or as the students called it KidNet where they were able to chat or instant message. Most of you do this nightly through MSN Messenger. With KidNet and MSN nobody could break into or eavesdrop on your conversation without it being known. Not anymore. Today’s technology allows you to assume the identity of another person. Do you really know whom you are talking to in the cyber world?

It is 10:00 pm on a Wednesday night; you have finished your homework and you are chatting on MSN with three other friends. After 10 minutes two more friends ask to join the chat. By 10:30 pm five more people have joined and it is fun; however, there is a joke said about one of the people, rapidly followed by an insult. At first, no one knows how to respond, then seconds later a message pops up stating, “I didn’t say that! It isn’t me saying these things. Someone is using my name. What is going on here?”

What is the issue involved in this scenario? Why is this serious?

What would be a responsible way to handle this situation?

How could a situation like this be resolved? How would one of the three main characters from The Revealers deal with this situation?

Answer: In my view, its not safe to chat on the net for reasons such as the one mentioned above. People can hack and misuse your account.You can also end up chatting to people you don't even know! In this scenario, we see that a person's account is being hacked and words that are not typed by him are appearing on the screen. This can be serious as the hacker can spread bad rumors and insult others under that person's name.

A responsible way to deal with this situation could possibly be to confide in/involve an adult and try to find out who did it (if they think its anyone) they know. To prevent such problems in the future, they should seek technical support to make their account safer.
As we read in The Revealers, Catalina sent out information about her background to her classmates via schoolstream, to convince people that the rumors being spread about her were untrue (she sent out the truth, so that people could judge her in a better way).this could be a possible solution as well.

The Revealers
Blog Response Topic
First Post

Blog Question: Is bullying a rite of passage of childhood and adolescence? Is it part of the maturation process one needs to go through to reach adulthood? Explain. Mrs. Hogeboom brings up this process on page 108.


Answer: In my view, bullying is not a rite of passage through adolescence. Its more like a choice people make or a medium someone chooses to vent their feelings/express themselves. It could be due to anger, sadness, to create an image of "coolness" or aggression, or maybe even just for fun. Bullying is like a personality trait one may develop to show assertiveness,or as a result of some weaknesses or complexes. I think some more positive ways to share their feelings would include socializing, talking to friends or consulting your parents.
However, if you are the person being bullied, it can make you miserable and ruin your school life. You can turn into into a person who very frightened and diverts all of his/her efforts in evading the bully. On the other hand, it may spark a sense of retaliation and that person may begin to stand up to others.

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