The Earthquake in Indonesia

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Cedric Dauteuil.France.

Indonesia’s death toll from the earthquake and tsunami which struck  last Friday has risen to 1,234, according to officials.

The figures come after the bodies of 34 students were found in a destroyed church which was hit by a landslide during a bible camp in the mountainous Sigi Biromaru region.

The Indonesian government has begun mass burials for victims – most found in the city of Palu.

On Monday, about 3,000 residents flocked to Palu’s airport, trying to board military aircraft or one of the few commercial flights using the facility only partially operating due to damage.

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“Nearly 50,000 people have been displaced from their homes in Palu alone,” Nugroho said,” and hospitals were overwhelmed.”

Many people are believed trapped under shattered houses in the area, where the earthquake caused the ground to heave up and down violently. One official described the twisted buildings and rubble as looking like the town had been “blended”

 

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The Indonesian Air Force confirmed a Hercules aircraft carrying an unspecified number of survivors were able to leave Palu for South Sulawesi’s capital of Makassar.

More than 100 police officers from the capital, Jakarta, were sent to Palu and additional Hercules aircraft carrying soldiers and supplies, including food and water, from East Java were en route, local television reported.

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My opinion about that :

I think all of these people need our help. We need to send a food and money for helping all of these people because they have lost everything.

We can create an association for them or just check this association :

https://www.directrelief.org/

 

 

Self Driving Cars, Are They the Future?

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Leonard Storch, Germany

Think of the self-driving car, an idea that seemed impossible 10 years ago and yet it’s already a reality on some highways.  It is not like they are regulary on the streets, but although some of them are being used by companies like Tesla or Uber. These companies are seeing like many others the future of traffic and cars in these autonomous vehicles. So, in case you are asking yourself why these cars aren’t used much more on a daily basis, it is because with every new invention comes also a new danger. Even though  the vehicles have an impressive safety record compared to the carnage wrought by human-driven vehicles, their excellent performance is largely enabled by machine-learning algorithms that have been trained on torrents of data about roads, intersections, street furniture, etc. But sometimes there have been fatalities. In 2016, for example, a  self-driving Tesla  drove into the back of a white tractor-trailer; in March this year, a self-driving Uber car killed a woman pushing a bicycle and so on.  These accidents are called “edge cases” because the cars’ software encountered scenes or objects that it didn’t recognize for the simple reason that they had never appeared in the software’s training datasets. Given that the real world is full of things that cars’ sensors and software have never seen before, these edge cases will continue.

So in the end I would say that there is certainly a need, and many benefits, for autonomous cars, but on the other hand, the current technology doesn’t quite seem ready for full autonomy all the time.

 

Plastic Trash – One of the Main Causes of Environmental Pollution

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Lina Steffens, Germany

About eight million tons of plastic trash end up in our oceans every year, which is affecting the wildlife in the ocean and on the coast. Annually, about 100,000 marine mammals die due to plastic pollution and millions of birds and fish mistake plastic debris for food or get stuck in them. Along the shores, thousands of bird corpses rest on the beach with their stomachs full of plastic trash. From whales, sea lions, and birds to the zooplankton, plastic is greatly affecting marine life, and those who suffer most are the animals.

Why is the consumption of plastic so tremendous? It is lightweight, flexible, moisture resistant, strong and inexpensive, qualities that make the use of plastic in different areas of industry and production very attractive, which leads to an over-consumption of plastic goods such as plastic bags, packaging, straws or bottles. Coupled with littering and polluting, plastic represents a danger for nature, our environment and the animal kingdom.

A plastic bag takes about 10-20 years to decompose, while a plastic bottle needs about 450 years until it’s completely decayed. If you imagine the amount of already existing plastic trash, and the amount that is added daily, the likelihood to eliminate it from our oceans completely seems impossible.

One of the main problems is recycling, or the fact that many people are not aware what proper  recycling, and the conscious use of plastic goods could change. Different types of trash are usually put in one bin together, regardless of the possibility to help saving the environment by just separating it. Bags, bottles and packaging are often dropped on the ground where they start polluting the environment.

Each and every person that consumes plastic goods daily has to rethink their use of it. Even small changes of the amount we use and how we recycle it can make a big difference. Separating our trash, recycling plastic, minimizing the use of plastic or the use of biodegradable plastic can help. There is no way to undo it, but we can prevent the worldwide problem from getting worse.

Global Warming

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By Romane Millet, from France

The Global warming has increase since the last 20 years. Global warming is already having significant and harmful effects on our communities, our health, and our climate.

 

The Global Warming cause a lot of difficulties in the world :

  • Sea level rise is accelerating.
  • The number of wildfires is growing.
  • Dangerous heat waves are becoming more common.
  • Extreme storm events are increasing in many areas.
  •  More severe droughts are occurring in others.

 

On our planet, many people use large quantities of products and objects every day for their daily work. Unfortunately, this craze is harmful for our natural environment, the product of the production and the waste of these products. Smoke and fumes from factories are concentrated in our atmosphere, leading to global warming. Carbon dioxide thickens in the ozone layer, a sort of shield that filters the major part of the UV rays all around the globe. The Earth is warming up little by little because of the greenhouse effect. Around the world, a random collection of waste affecting the health of animals and insects. Garbage destroy the beauty of our landscapes. In any case, there are many ways to contribute to the destruction of the planet. We must stop this for the future and for us. We must make efforts to limit pollution and for the next generation.

In conclusion, we must take immediate action to address global warming or these consequences will continue to intensify.  The global warming destroy the planet everyday. We need to stop this for the future and for us. We have to make effort for limited the pollution.

 

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Are Electric Vehicles green actually?

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Michikazu Kitaoka, Japan

Now, we are facing global warming. Many countries, especially developed countries, are trying to reduce CO2 emissions. At the Paris climate conference (COP21) in December 2015, 195 countries adopted the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal. To achieve lowering 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels, they are taking actions in some way. It is said switching gasoline-driven cars to electric vehicles is one of the most efficient actions. They do not need gasoline to drive, so some researchers predict it is going to save amount of emissions. Some countries have already released banning sales of gasoline cars actually. Norway is going to prohibit them by 2025, India 2030, the UK and France 2040.

Electric vehicles have some advantages. As I mentioned before, there is no CO2 emissions to drive. In United States, a typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Cars and trucks account for nearly one-fifth of all US emissions, emitting around 24 pounds of carbon dioxide and other global-warming gases for every gallon of gas.

On the other hand, some people say they have bad effects for environment. Electric vehicles use electricity for driving, and we emit CO2 to generate it. How they are generated is really important. For example, in China, the biggest energy of generation is coal which emits lots of CO2 emissions. According to researchers, for environment, electric vehicles are less effective than gasoline cars in China. In addition to resource of generation, electric vehicles emit more than gasoline cars in manufacturing process. According to a research, manufacturing a mid-sized EV results in about 15% more emissions than manufacturing an equivalent gasoline vehicle. For larger, the manufacturing emissions can be as much as 68% higher.

Electric vehicles could be ‘earth savior’ in a way of emissions reduction. They have some proved advantages and people seem to be excited to this solution. However, I feel people are in blind to disadvantages of electric vehicles. There is possibility make the situation worse because of the electric vehicles. It depends on the resource of generation or manufacturing process. Now it is time to think about how they are green actually.

05/08/18 – Hawaii is on alert since the Kilauea volcano woke up on Hilo Island.

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Chloé Nabavi – France

Kilauea erupted last week, and the increase in volcanic activity has forced a dozen vents, bringing with it spewing lava, earthquakes and toxic gas that made the island peaceful, now unrecognizable.

On April 30, the floor of a crater on top of thehawaiiiii Kilauea volcano collapsed, sending its pool of lava back underground and causing small earthquakes. Days later, the ground split open on the east of Leilani Estates. Molten rock burbled and splashed, then shot dozens of feet in the air. Soon, another such fissure had formed a few streets to the west. For days, hot steam and noxious gases rose from the vents, before magma broke through, with some lava fountains shooting as high as 330 feet into the air.

Images of lava destroying homes, cars and power poles have been increased. The Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency called it “active volcanic fountaining.” Some residents said it was Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess, coming to reclaim her land. About 1,700 Leilani Estates residents were ordered to evacuate because of “extremely high levels of dangerous” sulfur dioxide gas. Lava isn’t like water, snow or mud. It’s liquid rock, so it’s heavy, sticky and moving underground. And it’s also nearly 2,000 degrees.

Residents’s frustration and anxiety have been felt after being forced to evacuate their homes. Many of them fought with uncertainty, not knowing whether their homes are intact or have been engulfed in lava flows. On Monday night, Hundreds of evacuees have been waiting out at local churches, shelters or elsewhere on the island, seeking answers.

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Most people’s orientation on this kind of thing comes from movies. However, they forget how unrealistic it is. Even among evacuees, the attitude toward Kilauea’s latest explosion has seemed to be a blend of sadness, acceptance and, for some, respect to Mother Nature. 

In interviews and in online forums, several  residents have invoked Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess said to live inside Kilauea, when asked about the fate of their homes. Currently, it is impossible to say when the island will be safe for its residents.

easy consumerism

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By Jeanne Beaudoin from France

 

Consumerism is the protection or promotion of the interests of consumers and the preoccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods. What is the great danger of consumerism today? First of all, we will talk about the danger of consumerism for each one, and then we will talk about how consumerism is dangerous for the world.

 

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The society is dangerous for every mind because everything is too easy: we want tomato; we just have to go to a shop and buy tomato. Everything we want is possible because of the consumerism. This facility is negative for everybody because we become selfish; we are just some complacent yet covetous heart. We don’t know the real difficulty; everything is served on a silver platter. We’ve never have to fight to eat, to drink water, to take a shower… Everything we need is available. And because everything we need is given, we are every time searching something better, something we can’t have. We cannot appreciate a glass of water because it is unlimited. We are eternally unsatisfied. We do everything for our own interest and it is always difficult to do something if it is against our own inte

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rest. Why would I like help each other if it’s difficult and if I can stay in front of my TV? Consumerism cut our interest for the world off. It is very dangerous because often some people never realize this. But, it is also dangerous for the world.

 

Consumerism is daRésultats de recherche d'images pour « consumerism »ngerous for everybody because it gives us everything we want, letting some people being selfish. But it is also dangerous for our environment. Due to consumerism, the world is going to die slowly. To have beautiful clothes and furniture we kill lots of sheep, elephants, snakes and other animal species extinctions have happened at times. To give us lots of paper, we create deforestation. It is very selfish because we won’t have enough oxygen since trees are lungs of the Earth. Consumerism entrains climate change from the smog of enterprises and powerful countries. Consumerism also creates a big difference between rich and poor people. When someone is poor it is very difficult for him to leave this circle of poverty. Poor countries have lots of difficulties to live next to very rich countries because of this consumerism. It’s almost impossible to become a rich country for a poor country because rich countries try to steal their wealth (petroleum…).

 

In conclusion, we can say than consumerism is negative from every point of view. I hope in the future we will find a solution to have less selfish people and a better world.

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Should animals be used for scientific and commercial testing? by Stella, Germany

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General information:

An estimated 26 million animals are used every year in the US for commercial and scientific testing including mice, rats, fish, birds, guinea pig, farm animals, cats and dogs.

They are used to develop medical treatments, determine the toxicity of  medications, check the safety of products destined for human use.

In additon, to the torment of the actual experiments, animals in laboratories are deprived of everything that is important and natural to them.
They are confined to barren cages, socially isolated and psychologically traumatized.
Most of the torture is legal.

Legal tests include: burning, poisoning, starving, forced, smoking, mutilating, blinding, electrocuting, drowning and dissecting without painkillers. They also get cut open without any painkillers.

The reality is that the majority of animal experiments do not contribute to improving the human health.


AGAINST the scientific and commercial testing

Many organizations try to follow the three R rules to improve the torment of the animals using for scientific and commercial testing:
Replacement
replacing animals with non-animals tests
Reduction
using fewer animals to do research
Refinement
emphazies the fact, that if companies are going to use animals for your research, they have to make sure that those animals are treated at the highest (ethical) level

Alternatives to replace animals in science:

  • in vitro (test tube) test methods and models based on human cell and tissue cultures
  • computer models and simulations
  • stem cell and genetic testing methods
  • microdosing (in which humans are given very low quantities of a drug to test the effects on the body on the cellular level, without affecting the whole body system)

Why is replacing animals in science much better than using animals for testing? Are there any advantages in non-animal testing?

Yes, replacing animals in science with different alternatives has several advantages.
It is cheaper, faster and companies can test more chemicals.
It is not only more effective for science, but also more reliable and more human.

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PRO the scientific and commercial animal-testing

  • Animals themselves benefit from the results of animal testing
  1. If vaccines were not tested on animals, millions of animals would have died from rabies, distemper, feline leukemia, infectious hepatitis virus, tetanus, anthrax, and canine parvo virus.
  2. Treatments for animals developed using animal testing also include pacemakers for heart disease and remedies for glaucoma and hip dysplasia.
  3. Animal testing has also been instrumental in saving endangered species from extinction, including the black-footed ferret, the California condor and the tamarins of Brazil.

 

Vegan/Veganism

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by Katharina Coenen

 

Veganism is a type of vegetarianism diet that excludes meat, eggs, dairy products and all other animal-derived ingredients. Many Vegans also do not eat foods that are processed using animal products, such as refined white sugar and some wines. They also don’t wear particular types of clothing, such as leather, fur and wool.

Vegan refers to either a person who follows this way of eating or to the diet itself. That is, the word vegan can be an adjective used to describe a food item, as in, “This curry is vegan”, or, it can be used as a noun, as in, “Vegans like cookies, too.”

But why would you choose to become a vegan ? They are many reasons. Let’s have a look.

Animals are a constant part of our lives. We share our houses with them, our beds, and we even consider them to be members of our family. While they may not be able to speak our languages, we value them highly. We interact with them and we often turn to them for emotional support. When they pass away, we mourn them.

We also believe that they enjoy being alive as much as we humans do, as they enjoy the company of others. Yet for other animals we stick forks and knives into their bodies and wear their skin as clothing. Is that morally right ? Maybe you think it is wrong to act violently against dogs or cats, but why do we think this? Animals around the world are dying just because we want to wear their skin, eat them or their products.

Some of us try to defend this by purchasing products that are marketed as “humane” or as produced “ethically.” However, these words are meaningless and actually do very little to give animals a better life. In any case, these terms comfort the public to believe it is okay to exhaust animals simply because we enjoy using them. We can change this social affliction and respect life by going vegan.

Consuming a plant-based diet also has significant benefits for our environment and health. Many studies show that eating more fruits and vegetables can dramatically change rates of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Raising animals for food is also the single greatest human-caused source of destruction to our environment. In the rain forest, areas as big as soccer fields were cut down and used for growing soy beans for industrial livestock farming. Many rare animal species are in danger of extinction.

Personally i decided to going vegan. For me, its the next logical step, after being a vegetarian for over six years, to do the best as you can to help our environment and to reduce my ecological footprint. I never felt so happy with myself. 🙂

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Santa Barbara, Young Students Night Lifestyle

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Gabriela Fernandez-Chile

 

Have you been to Santa Barbara, California? If you have been there, you will know a little bit about the parties there. I have been here for almost 3 months and I have been out with my friends a lot of weekends. There are parties for young students of the universities in Santa Barbara… but, Are the parties fun? In my opinion, they are. Can you find a party every weekend? Yes, you can. But the real question is, Are the parties of Santa Barbara safe?

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Most of the parties are in Isla Vista, that is a few minutes from Santa Barbara and is the place where the UCSB campus is located. There are parties every weekend, but one of the things that caught my attention was how early the parties end. The parties are between 9:30 and 12pm. There are a lot of cops, going around the streets and my first question was ‘Why?’ The parties in my country are between 11 pm until 5 or 6 am, and I was wondering why it is so different here.

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I asked and I found out that a few years ago, on May 23, 2014, in Isla Vista, a 22 year old killed six persons and injured fourteen others, before killing himself inside his car. I think that is one of the reasons that the parties end so early and that is full of cops. Also two weeks, ago a 24-year-old woman was taken to the hospital late Friday, after being stabbed in Isla Vista (she was a student of UCSB).

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I think that the most of the parties in Santa Barbara are really safe, because the police have taken precautions and security measures. If you are a young student that wants to have a fun night, IV is for you, but you always have to be careful and consider every risk all the time.

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