My Mother Always Said You Were Trash

Humans waste a ton of stuff, especially here in America. We don't really think about our trash. We take it out, push it to the curb, let the garbage truck collect it, and it never crosses our minds again. However, an estimated $20 billion is locked up inside landfills each year. The average American throws away about 4.4 pounds of trash a day.

We throw away way too much stuff. There's enough steel waste annually that we could level and restore Manhattan. The solution is really to make people aware. We just don't think about our waste. Maybe it's time for us to start.

In Losing Grip on Sinking Ships... Or Cities

Venice is a famous, very well known city. It's visited by numerous tourists this year and it's gorgeous. It's also slowly sinking under the ocean. In the last century, it's sunk 11 inches. There is an average of 100 floods a year. Obviously, this is a problem.





The solution is the MOSE Project, scheduled to begin operating next year. It is a system of floodgates designed to control the flow of water to the Venetian Lagoon. Hopefully this will solve the problem, but there are some doubts. Some people don't want to bother with the project. No one has died yet, after all. Some people don't know if this can be a long-term solution. Whatever the Italian government decides to do, I hope they save this beautiful, historic city.

The Sky is the Limit

The tallest building in the world is a title long-competed for. Back in 1931, three buildings claimed the title in one year. Currently, the tallest building is the Burj Khalifa at 2,722 feet. That leaves us with a question: Just how tall can the tallest building be?

Of course, there has to be a limit eventually. For example, we can't build something that reaches to the moon, because, scientifically, moon hit building and building go boom. Now, how do I feel about this? I very honestly don't care. I am being forced to write this blogpost at gunpoint please send help. Just kidding. But I am sort of being forced to write this. So, I don't care. Cool if we make tall buildings. Doesn't really affect me if we don't.

The Price of Car Food

Gas prices are going down and everybody is happy! The national average price of gas is currently below $3, and it's continuing to drop. Some places, such as Wyoming and Montana, have been falling more slowly. However, the prices are all falling. Time Magazine has said that a new national report predicts the average gas price next year (2015) will be about $2.94.

How do these prices affect our country and each of us individually? Great question. Most people see low gas prices and go, "Yeah! Whoo-hoo! Party time!" And of course, low gas prices are good, up to a certain point. People will buy more gas because it costs less, and there will be more money flowing in the economy- until there isn't. Eventually, if the gas prices get low enough, the gas companies will start losing money. Then they'll have to fire people, and our unemployment rates will go up. Yay. 


                                                                 

www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/why-the-sudden-drop-gas-prices-matters

Water for Rural Indian Schoolchildren

Many children in India live in rural areas. Those that do generally do not have any sanitary facilities. That's a fancy way of saying they don't have any toilets. Surprisingly, the is a reason that many girls drop out of public schools. While the boys can manage with nature, the girls and their families are uncomfortable with that idea, understandably. Besides simply providing clean drinking water and sanitary facilities, this project also helps keep girls on school.





I think this project is a great idea. Clean water is a human necessity, so this is great. Besides that, it makes school for girls more attainable. In poorer countries like India, girls often are not allowed to go to school. We should do what we can to help. When we are in a position to help, we always should.

Girls this new project will help.

Ebola in America

Ebola is a very dangerous disease for which there is no vaccine that originated in Central Africa. It's carried by bats to people. Highly contagious, the disease can be passed through simply touching something an infected person has touched. Symptoms appear roughly ten days after coming in contact with a sick person. There have been several outbreaks since the disease first appeared in 1976. Currently, there is an epidemic of it that is the worst outbreak to date. Since the disease's outbreak this summer, there has been one confirmed case of ebola in the United States.

As a country, we should be very concerned about this. I think we need to do two things. First, get tough. I don't care if people from Liberia want to get into the country. Too bad, so sad. If we aren't straight out banning all flights from central Africa into the U. S., then we need to at least quarantine them for two weeks (just to be safe). Also, I think we should shut Dallas down. It's bad enough that ebola is in America at all. We don't need to let it spread anywhere else. Being under quarantine for a month wouldn't be that bad, honestly. If we aren't tough for a few months, that's all it would take for the disease to spread. Second, we need to work on a cure. Obviously, it's only going to get worse if we can't cure it. Preventing it is the easiest way to deal with it.

Water in Africa

There are nearly a billion people worldwide who lack access to clean water. That's about a seventh of the world's population. Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease. 3.6 million people in total die a year from diseases carried in water. The fact is, water and access to clean water are the difference between living and dying, surviving and thriving, for millions of people, especially in Africa. African water contains several dangerous things, like human waste and bacteria, that these people are ingesting.





Obviously, lack of water is a problem in Africa. So, what are we going to do about it? There are several possible solutions. One is installing wells and rain catchment systems in the village for relatively small amounts of money. Another is using a solar panel pump, or more effectively managing the clean water.

In my opinion, we need to do a few things to solve unsanitary water in Africa. First, we need to recognize that this is a serious problem. Second, the water needs to be managed better. Third, the African governments have got to be able to get along for this to work. Finally, there has to be a way to pay for everything. Really, honestly, our government at this point simply can't afford to pay for everything. Of course, it's good to help as much as we are able, but the way things stand now, that wouldn't be nearly enough. Our best solution to the money problem is to find ways to lower the cost so that the African governments can afford to pay for everything. Heartless as it may sound, they really should pay for it. It's their responsibility.\



Sources: How To Beat Africa's Water Crisis, Water Aid, Can Matt Damon Bring Clean Water to Africa?