Avid Weekly Article: Onward Online Privacy

In the article it explains and informs the readers about the growing epidemic of privacy violations online. The article continues by saying how the government is getting involved and it in fact making efforts to fix it.  Recently, the White House introduced a privacy bill of rights for internet users that could allow them to have more control over how their personal information is collected and used in relation to the public. One proposed solution to this issue was made by California Attorney General Kamala Harris.  It stated that it was to be "required of companies developing applications for smart phones and tablet computers to disclose their personal information without hindering innovation or quickly becoming obsolete". In my opinion the "Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights" is a good start to helping protect privacy rights online.  This offers certain principals such as, "calling on Web companies to minimize their collection of personal data, help users make informed choices about the information they reveal, and not use personal data for new purposes without the users content". Although these may seem like a good idea when talking about it, the main problem is how to enforce these proposals.  One possibility is the White House officially making turning these ideas into laws, but thats only provided that lawmakers resist the urge to require or ban specific technologies.  However, according to the article a discloser-based approach maybe be the best solution.  I completely agree with this viewpoint because the Federal Trade Commission and California prosecutors will be able to crack down on companies that make misleading statements about their privacy policies.

Avid Weekly Article Response: Actions to Take Against Global Warming

                      There are many actions the United States can take as a whole in an attempt to solve the growing and pressing issue of Global Warming.  The first step we need to take in order to make ideas turn into reality is to alert government officials about this problem and make the rest of America aware.  Without awareness there is no hope for change.  People can write to their local newspaper about the significance of global warming and the need for U.S. leadership, or respond to stories and letters that dismiss global warming. Also, it would help to contact your U.S. representatives and senators to encourage them to support actions that reduce the emissions of heat-trapping gases. Ask your governor, state legislators, and public utility regulators to promote energy efficiency, nonpolluting transportation alternatives, and the development of clean, renewable sources of energy, such as solar and wind power. At a local level, communities and individuals can encourage the use of clean, renewable energy in publicly funded projects. For example, suggest that new construction or significant remodeling projects incorporate passive-solar techniques.  Another helpful thing to do would be to reduce the amount of gas you burn by choosing a fuel-efficient car or other transportation that uses less (or no) fossil fuel per person, such as trains, subways, and buses, car pools, walking, and biking.  Or even, buy efficient appliances that use less electricity. Another important aspect of this is to make sure you reduce every day electrical use.  You should think of ways to electricity use between you and whoever else lives with you at home. There are easy things that can be done that make a big difference in the end such as, turning the lights off when you leave a room, unplugging appliances when they’re not being used, or even replacing your regular light bulbs with fluorescent light bulbs, which are more energy efficient. Greenwich High School has a good amount of clubs formed that are made to help make people aware and try to put a stop to global warming. Some examples of this are the “Students for Energy Conservation Club” and the “Go Green!” club.  It is important to take action against the worldwide issue of Global Warming because we can no longer just sit back and hope others will do something about it.  If each person does something small to contribute it will end up making a big difference.

Avid Weekly Article: What Stereotype Does Lin Need to Overcome?

If I were to conduct a study confirming college discrimination against Asian- Americans, I would first examine the reasons why certain Asian-American students were denied admission into colleges across the country.  After examining the reasons I would look for patterns in similar ideas between admission departments and see if they match up.  Also I would have to look at SAT scores and grades from high school and see whether or not the Asian-American students were rightfully denied admission or whether it seemed that even though they had exceptional grades, they were not let in due to their race. I do agree with the results printed in this article.  Even though I wasn’t previously aware of these shocking realities, I now realize that some colleges really are denying admission just because of nationality or race, which is extremely wrong. I was especially shocked when I read the part of the article that stated that Asian-American students need SAT scores about 140 points higher than white students.  It is extremely unfair that essentially these students are being punished for doing well in school, simply because it is too close to their stereotype. A point proving this is a stuffy conducted that states, “The 1990 probe determined that Harvard admitted 13.2 percent of its Asian American applicants and 17.4 percent of whites, even thought the Asians had better grades and scores.” This whole situation overall is shocking and flat out wrong, I think that this issue should be shown to more people in America to allow them to be aware of what’s really going on in college admission departments. 

AVID Weekly Article Response (Natural Gas Use)

Although there are many pros and cons to natural gas use, I believe that over time if we continue to use this risky source of fuel, it will end up destroying our environment. On the basic overview of it, natural gas looks promising and efficient. The cost is about one third less of that of oil. It’s cheaper and fast to build power plants fueled by natural gas.  As well as these advantages, natural gas only emits half as much carbon as coal. So what problems are there with this energy source? In reality natural gas isn’t what most people perceive of it.  “Under the best conditions, we may enjoy those benefits, but under more adverse conditions, gas can be a worse generator of greenhouse gas than coal, can wreak massive local environmental destruction and can undermine energy efficiency and renewable energy.  And without a strong set of policies to guide natural gas development, the worse case is far more likely.” One of these cases is climate change.  By generating a kilowatt-hour’s worth of energy with a natural gas turbine this only produces about half of the amount of CO2 that could be generated by electricity at a coal plant.  This unburned natural gas eventually ends up becoming a very powerful greenhouse gas.  For example only one molecule of leaked gas contributes as much to global warming as 25 molecules of burned gas.  In conclusion to these statistics, if the whole system of exploration, extraction, and compression leaks by even the mere amount of 2.5 percent, it is as harmful as coal.  In addition to all of this there is the damage that the wells can do to a gas site. Most wells today produce brackish water and many other gross byproducts, such as benzene and toluene from underground.  If these materials spill onto nearby farmlands, they literally salt the earth. Gas can be a major contributor in our energy future, but there is no room for mistake with this energy source.  It can produce great problems such as land destruction, water quality, and climate change. 

Amish Project Article Response

I think that this "Amish Project" is actually a really good idea that more people in America should try.  If I were to try this I would definitely end up spending a lot more time with my family and building better relationships with each person.  Another thing I would try to improve in my life by undergoing this project would be certain aspects that I am struggling with in school.  I would have a lot more free time to work on studying for longer periods of time or putting more time and effort into things like homework or projects. One last thing I would do in all the extra time without electronic distractions is give back more to my community by doing a lot more community service.  Overall trying out this project would be a healthy change in the lives of most American's today.

How was the periodic table originally organized?

Scientists have been trying to categorize elements since ancient times. By the start of the 1800's, several scientists started to attempt completing a system that organized the elements into a chart.  They grouped these elements according to shared properties.  A Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev categorized the 63 known elements at the time, according to their atomic weights.  He arranged these elements in manner somewhat like the grouping of cards in the game solitaire. Eventually he drafted this chart in rows of increasing atomic weight, and as a result these elements were grouped with similar properties in the same vertical columns. Mendeleev correctly predicted that scientists in the future would discover more elements and therefor left gaps in the chart that could be easily filled in.  Although Mendeleev's periodic table was useful, it also had its disadvantages. He realized that some elements shared characteristics that belied their atomic weights.  A couple years after the table was made, new elements caused problems because scientists didn't know how to accurately and easily obtain their atomic weights.  In the 1895 discovery of Argon, scientists weren't sure whether to group it in accordance to its atomic weight or its characteristics.  In the start of the 1900's a man by the name of Henry Moseley's research showed that the best way of ordering the periodic table depended not on atomic weight, but by atomic number.  In the early 20th century quantum mechanics was discovered and this showed how the number of protons in each atom corresponded with the number of these electrons, determined an elements chemical behavior.

Source: http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/periodic-table-original-organization

Neutron Short Story

Once upon a time a teeny, tiny thing was discovered in 1932 by the English physicist James Chadwick, called a neutron.  The neutron is a particle found in almost every atomic nucleus (the tiny spec of matter at the heart of an atom). It has no electric charge and its mass is nearly 1,840 times that of the electron. Neutrons and protons constitute almost all of an atom's mass. They stick together because of the strong nuclear force to form all the different kinds of atoms. Like the proton and other baryons, the neutron consists of three quarks. A free neutron will decay with a half life of about 10.3 minutes but it is stable if combined into a nucleus. The neutron is about 0.2% more massive than a proton. A free neutron is radioactive. It undergoes beta decay to form a proton, an electron, and an electron-antineutrino. This is what happened to most of the neutrons created by the big bang.

Free neutrons easily pass through atoms, because they have no electrical charge.