Weather

Forecasting weather is an unsure science. There are too many variables involved and we are, in my opinion, too far behind, in terms of technology, to be able to accurately predict the way the weather will turn out. However there are many natural disasters that exist in this world and that, in time, we developed ways of predicting when they will occur and how to protect and prepare ourselves against them. I am actually quite lucky because I live in Montreal. The reason why this makes me so lucky is because Montreal is a relatively untouched area when it comes to severe natural disasters such as harsher earthquakes and tornadoes. However, this does not mean that we have never been affected by natural disasters. In 1998 for instance, Montreal went through a snow storm and lasted for six days. I was two years old when it happened, but I remember it was dark, cold and we began to run out of drinkable water later in the snowstorm, which caused panic for some people. The little bit that I remembered however, was that I was running around with my flashlight and sleeping a lot. It obviously must’ve felt pretty stressful for many people because people tend to panic when something does not go according to plan; whenever something out of the ordinary occurs. The snowstorm did in fact leave Montreal in bad shape. The trees were destroyed along with the electrical lines. The roads were coated with a thick coating of ice and the atmosphere felt miserable. This is an example as to why weather predicting is an unsure science.

Lately the weather has also been changing quite a bit. Our winters are warmer and our summers are more humid as well as warmer. The temperature has been rising. I have no idea as to what the exact cause could be, however my guess, from what I have read up on, is that the U.V. rays have been getting more and more intense. I think that this could be the case because of the fact that the ozone layer is getting thinner. People have been suggesting that this could very well be the problem and that the only way to prevent this from getting worse is by becoming more energy efficient. Others say that this is just a phase that the earth is going through. Because nothing in this world is absolute until it has happened, all I can say is that we have nothing to lose by trying. If we’re right, then we will see the results. If not, then at least we will eliminate another possibility for the cause of this. All we can do is try our best and make the effort to test this theory.

When my parents were young, they always told me that the winters were cold and harsh and that the winters that we face now are nothing in comparison and that the summers were nice and warm with the occasional summer breeze. Do I believe them? Yes I do. I think that this seems to be the truth as because the temperature has been getting warmer every year, it would only make sense that it was cooler back then. However, I also think that because technology has been advancing, the efficiency of what they had back then, in terms of clothing and heaters, must’ve also been worse in comparison to now and as a result, affected whether they felt cold or warm. This is why I also think that the technology affected the way they felt too.

Some cities are near the ocean. They are threatened by the rising sea levels. The question that we find ourselves asking each other is: “what should we do?” “Should we get these cities to change location or do we think of another solution?” To be honest, when the sea is going to rise, if it keeps rising, changing location would not make a difference. They would end up being submerged one way or another. My suggestion is that they should install drains and pipes drain the water that comes into the city and keep a large container underground with pipes leading to it so they could dump the water into the container. Then they could pump the water that was collected and, once treated, use it to water the vegetation and maybe even try to make it into drinkable water. If well thought out, they could use the rising sea levels to their advantage.

ecological footprints

Sadly, my ecological footprint is about 20.0. If everyone lived the way i do, we would need about 10.4 earth's to be at the disposal of the population. My footprint is almost double the current number one country with the highest footprint average (United Arab Emirates with a footprint of 10.68 average). However I believe that the amount that I walk for and the energy efficient appliances that I use do infact make a difference in the long run because althjough it may seem like the amount of energy that it saves is quite small, it eventually adds up and can really make a difference. I find that for those who have the luxury of being more fortunate should be more responsible with their money and show their thanks by setting aside a little more money for more energy efficient products so they can show that the really do care about the world they live in. I think that to improve my footprint size, I shoud reduce the length of my showers because I have a bad habit of taking hour long showers. if i were to fix that up and lower it periodically to a goal of 10 minutes, that alone would help greatly. Another thing that I could do is snack less and spend less time on the computer because other then the sports that I play, I spend all my time either snacking, reading or spending large amounts of time on the computer. which brings me to my last point that i would like to mention. I have an incredibly large collection of books that although I do read often, it wastes paper and money if I can simply go to the library. If i can reduce the exageration of these things, I should be well on my way to improving my ecological footprint. I figure that since we're all imperfect, anyone who reads this could maybe share something that they could improve and maybe even challenge themselves to improve on it.

composting

Other than recycling, composting can be another way to be less wasteful when discarding things. The whole idea behind composting is to collect certain biodegradable materials and or products and confine them in a small space for insects and worms to break down these things into soil. There are a few general things that are commonly seen when composting that you should be aware of as they do not really pose any threat to contaminating the compost.





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• Paperboard or clean paper
• Dried-out egg shells
• Leaves, yard trimmings
• Fruits and vegetables
• Coffee and tea

There are a few ways to compost that I think are quite practical. There is the plastic storage composter, which essentially consists of containing your compostable materials in a plastic bin with the bottom cut out so worms can get to it and turn it to soil. Then there is vermicomposting which consists of dumping a certain amount of food waste in a small box/container
filled with about one pound of worms (generally red wigglers)
and adding small bits of damp newspaper on the top of the pile
every few days or so to attract the worms to their food and then
sit back and watch as they do all the work. Lastly, the lasagna method
consists of layering '' browns'' and ''greens'' on top of each other while
letting the pile grow, ideally in autumn so that the pile will have all winter
to turn to soil, so that when it turns into soil you can use this homemade
soil to plant your vegetables. here is a small list of a few things that can be
used for the lasagna composting method.

• Grass Clippings
• Leaves
• Fruit and Vegetable Scraps
• Coffee Grounds
• Tea leaves and tea bags
• Weeds (if they haven't gone to seed)
• Manure
• Compost
• Seaweed
• Shredded newspaper or junk mail
• Pine needles
• Spent blooms, trimmings from the garden
• Peat moss

Hopefully with these tips you might be able to give
composting a try and see if it makes a difference in your life.

Recycling

Hello there. As the god of nature i feel that the idea of recycling can be quite useful to keep nature a safe and clean place to be able to admire the gift of the god's when camping or hiking. But i find that being alerted to what can and cannot be recycled can help you know and make a habit of recycling the right materials subconciously so you end up starting your journey on helping the planet without even knowing it.

examples of things that can be recycled...                              examples of things that can't be recycled...

-glass                                                                                  -containers that have been soiled with food
-steel                                                                                     (unless cleaned)
-aluminum cans                                                                   -Drinks cartons i.e. orange juice
-paper                                                                                -food wrappers
-cardboard boxes                                                               -food
-plactic (except plastic no. 6)                                              -etc...
-etc...

These are just a few of the main things that we should be aware of as to what can and can not be recycled. Centennial Academy is a school that tries to apply recycling and composting into their everyday life while teaching their students the various skills needed in life. Their use of a container for specifically keeping bottles and cans apart from the rest of the plastic containers and food remains is quite a good idea. they even keep a recycling bin in each classroom and empty it twice a day. Once on monday and once on thursday. The plastic, paper and various other materials are then emptied from the recycling bin into a bigger one. The food remains are even deposited into a composting bin. This school has most definetley taken a step in the right direction and should serve as an example to all other schools who are considering to taking up the process of recycling.