River Valley Cancer Scare

I live in the northern part of Delaware county, about 20 minutes away from River Valley Schools in Marion, Ohio. Some of the schools in the district were built on top of land that the US Army had used as a waste site for various toxic chemicals. Medical officials in the area had noticed a spike in cancer rates, especially leukemia, among students. The Ohio EPA announced that a new high school, new middle school, and two new elementary schools were to be built else where. The cost for these new schools was just shy of 10 million dollars, all paid by the government. The new schools were completed in 2003 and clean up for the waste site began in 2004. I do not think that this has affected me personally, it has definitely affected the area around where I live. I do not know for a fact if wildlife has been hurt due to the waste, but if people were developing cancer, why would animals be excluded from this? The area in which this is taking place, has many many farms. Corn and bean fields are what make up most of this part of the county, so it is kind of scary to think that maybe the waste could be affecting the crops as well. If this is so, then it is no longer just the students of River Valley that are being effected, but now the entire surrounding community.

Technology!

Where would my life be without technology? Everything would be so much more difficult. I could not imagine not having a cell phone. I have had one since I was in the 5th grade. Especially now that I'm in college, not having a way of talking to my family and friends whenever I want would be awful. When I'm not on my cell phone, I'm usually on the computer. So many things are dependent on computers just for college. In high school I didn't really use a computer too much, but now everything college related evolves around it. Technology has done nothing except made our lives easier. The one draw back to technology would be the amount of energy it uses. I really don't know much about what energy is used to power things, but it always has a negative connotation. We always hear about conservation of energy, so I'm sure it can only help the earth. Another bad thing about technology would be the amount of hours I have spent wasted creeping on Facebook. Facebook is the reason why I wait until about 1:30 or 2 to start my homework. I just can't help it, I tell myself do not go to that site, and there it pops up. My fingers automatically type in Facebook, its really an addiction. Other than that, technology is great. It does so much, keeps us connected, saves lives, informs people, in addition to many other things!

Why I'm not going to buy a computer

The author makes valid points regarding technology and the dependence the world has on it. While it is true that technology is a huge part of our lives, that does not necessarily mean that it is bad. So many diseases have been cured because of technology, in addition to countless other things that have come from it. I think he is being a bit dramatic about not buying a computer. Computers are made to make our lives easier, so why wouldn't he partake in one? Also I did not really enjoy his writing style, the introduction was kind of all over the place. He mentioned something about the 'rape of nature' and I was just completely confused. It is easy to understand his overall message, it's just things like that that really confuse me.

Inconvenient Truth

I have seen the movie "Inconvenient Truth". I was younger when I saw it and thought it was kinda scary. Could this actually be happening? Everyone hears about global warming, but how many people truly know the meaning of it? And those who do know the meaning are they doing anything to prevent it? Experts say that recycling is great and will make the earth last longer. If this is really true then why do people still not recycle eveything they can? I rarely recycle, that sounds awful, but sometimes it's just really inconvenient to separate things and then dispose of them properly. If the earth is in such a terrible state, shouldn't it be made mandatory that everyone recycles?