As I'm sure you've heard, the Earth's surface temperature is increasing because of anthropogenic (human-caused) pollution. That's the topic of a research essay that I wrote, so I know a lot about this phenomena. The essay covered four out of five subjects: Science, in the aspect of how the Earth is warming, Social Studies, represented in how people are affected and/or causing global warming, Literature, in researching and comprehending information, and Language Arts, in writing the actual essay. The only subject left out is Math, and my assignment is to relate global warming to mathematics. Well, scientists use math to predict the rates at which some factors may escalate. If math weren't involved, scientists wouldn't be able to predict how warm it may get, when it can get that warm, and the extinction rates of animals and plants. Math is also needed to find the rates at which the temperature has already changed, and the speed that it is increasing at. If you think about it, this is most of the information that we need to understand global warming. So if we didn't have math, global warming would pretty much be a mystery. Thank you, mathematics, for helping us understand why the Earth is warming, and why it's such a big deal!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Haitian Earthquake-- Why So Significant?
The story of the massive earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010 has been all over the news. But what makes this earthquake more significant than other earthquakes that have occured recently? Well, there are three good reasons:
- The earthquake occured extremely close to Haiti's capital city, Port au Prince.
- It occured only 10 or 15 meters below the Earth's crust, which is very shallow, and makes the earthquake notably powerful.
- Haiti is a poor counrty, and many people can't afford to build a strong building. As a result, many buildings were destroyed.
These factors coming into play made this earthquake a "worst case scenario," as Jian Lin, a senior scientist with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) said. The Haitian earthquake was caused by "a highly complex tangle of tectonic faults" underneath where the North American tectonic plate meets the Carribean tectonic plate. The strike-slip fault didn't cause a tsunami or any other type of dangerous or disconcerting wave because it was underneath land, as opposed to sea. Aftershocks are expected from any amount of time from days to decades. Unfortunately, about 50,000 people were killed. All of the other Carribean nations are advised to take note and stay alert- this could be their fate as well.
While I extend my deepest sympathy to Haitians affected by this massive tremor, I am glad that it didn't claim more than the 50,000 lives that have already been lost because of it. I can't imagine something this devastating taking place in my hometown, and I'd prefer not to. The terrible fact that this devastation took place anywhere in the world is upsetting. I anticipate and hope that Haiti will be able to rebuild, just as New Orleans, Louisiana did after Hurricane Katrina wiped out homes and buildings in August 2005.
Source: ScienceDaily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100114143321.htm