Change the world?

Recently a friend and I discussed our eating habits. We expressed our views on the ongoing debate of vegetarianism. Being a vegetarian for my entire life I was easily swayed to the affirmative side. He said something that sparked my interest so I went online and researched more about it and discovered something I’d never really given much thought to.

So starting with some statistics that relate to this topic. The number of people worldwide that will die as a result of malnutrition this year: 20 million. The number of people who can be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100 million. That’s mind blowing.

A question that popped up was that are humans really constructed to consume other species? Is our body type desgined to consume the things we already devour? Cardiologist William C. Roberts says without a hesitation that humans aren’t physiologically designed to eat meat.

Another thing to take in to consideration is the build of the human body. The human body is most similar to a herbivores body instead of a carnivorious animal. The carnivore’s intestinal tract reaches about three times its body’s length. A herbivores intestinal tract is about twelve times its body length. Clearly, humans are closer to herbivores.

If you take a look at the typical herbivore interior

And then take a look at the typical carnivore interior

Then you take a look at the human interior, you see that it is similar to that of a herbivore.

Not only is there a difference in the interior systems, there is also a difference in the exterior. For example humans and herbivores have small mouths in relation to their head size, unlike carnivores which are helpful in seizing and killing prey. Also humans extensively chew their food while carnivores eat it whole. A few other differences include that both herbivores and humans get their vitamin C from their diets, while carnivores make it internally; and both cool of their bodies by perspiring while carnivores pant.When hungry a carnivorous animal can think of nothing else. However when you’re hungry and you happen to pass a dead animal on the street you don’t begin to salivate and devour the animal. Humans also lack the raw abilities to hunt, we are not quick like other predators. It was only because the invention of tools such as hatchets that killing and capturing prey was possible.

Carnivores eat their meat raw, this however disgusts humans. We have to cook the meat for it to taste better. Generally meat isn’t consumed raw and bloody. Unlike carnivores who eat the entire animal including the organs. Meat also takes a while to digest in our system. We have stomach acid that is 20 times weaker than that of a meat eater.

This also ties into a large problem facing the world today: Global Warming. Did you know that 18% of green house gases are caused by livestock farming? And if every American gave up meat for three days of the week, this would have a greater impact on reducing global warming than if all cars in the US were replaced with Toyota Priuses.

Now for some more shocking statistics. Nearly half the water consumed in the United States is used to raise animals for food. A vegetarian diet takes 300 gallons per day while a meat eating diet takes more than 4,000 gallons of water per day. Also a vegetarian saves an acre of trees per year! The tropical rain forests are being decimated to create land for grazing cattle.

Do you want more information on this topic? Watch the trailer for the popular film Meat the Truth.

This film is quite beneficial, it ranks as high as the informative An Inconvenient Truth. The film simply displays facts, and ways to change the world for the better.

Here’s an excerpt of a film review: Meat The Truth starts where An Inconvenient Truth leaves off, that the American way of life, right down to what we eat, creates a larger carbon footprint than anywhere else in the world. We are just 5 percent of the world’s population yet we grow and kill nearly 10 billion animals a year, more than 15 percent of the world’s total. Americans consume on average 8 ounces of meat a day, nearly twice the global average. Data used in the film come from and have been validated by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO), the World Watch Institute, the Institute for Environmental Studies of the Free University Amsterdam, and numerous other sources…

For the full review click here.

Finally the benefits of vegetarianism

• Longer life expectancy
• Lower BMI
• Makes one less perceptible to deadly diseases.
• Helping the environment

Did you know that the average American consumes about forty pounds of meat per year?

Do you qualify for the cutest vegetarian alive?

“To dream anything that you want to dream. That’s the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed.”

- Bernard Edmonds

Dreams cultivate inspiration, change the world, and make falling asleep at night a little more desirable. Dreams reflect the best and worst of the inside tinkering of one’s mind. Dreams make us believe that a new world is possible. A world in which our desires become realities. An important aspect of dreams has to with the thoughts we have before we lose conciousness. It is said that the things you think about show up in your dreams. Sometimes these things appear as nightmares. The fears and insecurities we face have a clever way of showing up in our dreams.

No one actually knows the reason for dreaming, however doctor’s have theories. An intriguing theory that doctor’s have is when you’re at school, home, work, or are occupied with something you don’t take the time to actually think about all the things plauging your mind. However at night all your thoughts, worries, and problems come out. You think or dream about these things while you are sleeping.

Some people however, do not dream. Doesn’t that sound odd? There are people though that skip the fourth stage of sleep (REM). There are actually four steps to sleep. The first step is very light sleep. In the second stage you start thinking of images. The third step consists of deep sleep, your muscles become relaxed, your heart rate slows, your blood pressure falls, and you smoothly move on to stage four. Stage four is the dreaming stage. It’s almost impossible to wake you now. However a loud noise or if you are shaken will wake you up.

Dreaming is one of the best aspects of human life. All the dreams we have reflect on our lives.

Recently had a dream? Analyze it.

It’s at night, when perhaps we should be dreaming, that the mind is most clear, that we are most able to hold all our life in the palm of our skull.  I don’t know if anyone has ever pointed out that great attraction of insomnia before, but it is so; the night seems to release a little more of our vast backward inheritance of instincts and feelings; as with the dawn, a little honey is allowed to ooze between the lips of the sandwich, a little of the stuff of dreams to drip into the waking mind.  I wish I believed, as J. B. Priestley did, that consciousness continues after disembodiment or death, not forever, but for a long while.  Three score years and ten is such a stingy ration of time, when there is so much time around.  Perhaps that’s why some of us are insomniacs; night is so precious that it would be pusillanimous to sleep all through it!  A “bad night” is not always a bad thing.  ~Brian W. Aldiss

I’ve come to realize how important sleep is. Like right now, all I can think about is crawling into bed and sleeping for twelve hours straight. Studies say that teenagers require the most amount of sleep. They also state that 7:30 in the morning is not the proper time of day when teenagers can be reasonably expected to participate in class. Another study shows that because of our frantic lifestyles we are missing out on hours of sleep. It is also not a good thing to sleep late on the weekends because when Monday rolls around our sleep patterns shift dramatically to meet such early school schedules. I am a victim of this though, I generally get six hours of sleep during the weekdays and on the weekends twelve.

Could these erratic sleep patterns be considered the result of cultural pressures? Not many teenagers brag about how early they went to bed last night. Also there are other means of entertainment that can stop teenagers from getting their nine to ten hours of sleep. For example computers, video games, movies, and cell phones. These all stop teenagers from getting their much needed rest. Also as we get older our bed times and curfews seem to extend.

The National Sleep Foundation recommends seeing the signs for sleep deprivation:

• difficulty waking in the morning
• irritability in the afternoon
• sleeping in on the weekends
• falling asleep in school
• having difficulty remembering or concentrating
• waking up often and having trouble going back to sleep

Sleep deprivation can be fatal, 55% of some car crashes of in which drivers fell asleep involve people under age 26.

According to the American Sleep Disorders Association, the average teenager needs around 9.5 hours of sleep per night. This is because hormones that are critical to growth and sexual maturation are released while sleeping.

Here are some ways to ensure that you get enough sleep:

• Establish a reasonable bed time
• Take a hot bath or shower before bed
• Try not to exercise before bed (two hours before)
• Cut down on caffeine

Sleep is also required to live a healthy and full life. Sleeping also is important for staying fit (you lose weight while you sleep). Also sleeping relaxes the mind and the body. Studies say adults don’t require as much sleep as teenagers do, however I disagree. Sleep is important if you are a teenager or an adult. So I say, get off the computer and sleep.

“In your life, you meet people. Some you never think about again. Some, you wonder what happened to them. There are some that you wonder if they ever think about you. And then there are some you wish you never had to think about again. But you do.” -Unknown

Humans are social creatures and social interaction is vital in the world. Since I’ve been attending Tech High I’ve been around the same people for about three years now and to be honest sometimes I wish I had a larger social circle. There are a few people I’d like to meet that are completely different from me and each other in every way possible. They don’t have to play large roles in my life, I would just enjoy meeting them. There is no such thing as being original we are the bits and pieces of the people around us.

A confident person: Someone who always believe that they are right. They are comfortable in their own skin and enjoy being themselves.

The independent person: I’ve always wanted to meet someone who was completely self sufficient, as in they didn’t need someone to walk to the Commons with them or that they can be alone and not feel as though someone is watching.

Someone to admire: I’ve always wanted someone my age to look up to. I know it’s sounds a bit odd but still, it would be nice to have someone around who’d I’d learn from.

A very passionate person: Someone that is dedicated to a cause and gives it their all. I love to see dedication, especially if the efforts go to helping someone.

I would also like to meet someone who despite their background and everything they have gone through still lives each day to the fullest.

I’m sure you’ve heard of it before. It sounds like a cheap rip off of Hollywood, but it’s so much more than that. The term Bollywood not only has its own entry in the Oxford English Dictionary, but it happens to be largest film producer in India and one of the largest in the world. The term originates from the city Mumbai (formerly called Bombay). Bollywood produces a thousand films every year (this is double Hollywood’s output).

The language of films is Hindi. Most of the dialogues are spoken in Hindi, however there are usually some Urdu or English words thrown in. Hindi is one of the top languages spoken in India. It is not yet a universal language, but with the growth of Indian cinema it hopefully will be. Bollywood first began in 1913 when the first Indian short film was screened. Soon the industry began producing more than 200 films per year.

These films are generally three hours long and they contain music and dancing. Music is released along with the film in order to excite more people. Being Bollywood actor or actress requires not only acting skills, but dancing experience also. Just like Hollywood, Bollywood attracts many aspiring actors and actresses. Very few succeed but they never stop trying. The popularity of stars is like a roller coaster. They are generally considered to guarantee the success of a movie. Success also requires a good plot, this is where the writers come in. There is usually more than one writer that works on a script. Dialogues and lyrics are written by different people. Also dances require a special choreographer. In fact Bollywood employs about six billion people. The plots are written to excite and entertain the audience.

There is a wide audience to Bollywood films, India sells about 3.1 billion cinema tickets each year whereas the U.S. sells about 2.9 billion tickets. Also Bollywood’s gross is about eight billion to ten billion a year. However to make money you have to spend money. Bollywood’s films are multi-million dollar productions. Elaborate sets, costumes, cinematography, and special effects end up costing roughly twenty million dollars. Funding for these films comes from large studios or private distributors.

There are up to 4 songs in a typical film. Bollywood films tend to be melodramatic, there is usually a mixture of star-crossed lovers and angry parents, love triangles, family ties, sacrifice, and coincidences. There is usually a hero and a heroine. They fall in love and there is usually a conflict to overcome. There are music numbers weaved in and out of the film. In the end however the conflict is resolved and the hero and heroine get married and live happily ever after. Music numbers are generally done out of location. Some famous places for Bollywood songs are Switzerland, America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Africa.

Bollywood films are watched worldwide and the United States have even recognized a few. One in particular that comes into mind is Slumdog Millionaire. Slumdog Millionaire is of British descent. However it is still considered as part of Bollwood. Slumdog Millionaire won an Academy Award for best picture of the year. This award made Bollywood even more famous, and the industry hopes to see more collaboration with Hollywood.

Growing up I remember watching Bollywood films with great interest. To be honest I still do. The dialogue is well written, the dances (though slightly cheesy) are interesting, the music is catchy, and it gives me a chance to practice my Hindi skills. Bollywood has grown a quite a lot in the past ten years. There is more western influence and non traditional clothing, but it seems to be changing along with the times.

With recession today many disputes are arising. One of them is the Big Box Debate. The Big Box debate is a controversy over large scale retailers in Sonoma County. The two retailers are Walmart and Lowe’s. Walmart had initially planned to build a center in southwest Santa Rosa. However their environmental plan was rejected and they were apposed my many people. This environmental assessment took five years and several hundred thousand dollars to plan. This is a setback for those who were anticipating the creation of 300 new jobs, low prices and tax revenues. Walmart also offers low prices on everyday items. The initial plan was for Walmart to be built in Santa Rosa and stimulate the economy.

Walmart has abandoned their five year effort of building in Santa Rosa. Lowe’s is now currently hoping to take the place of Walmart. The city has planned to widen Yolanda Avenue, the area where the retailer will be built. Also Lowe’s has to pay $2.3 million in fees to help reduce traffic conditions. Also city approval is required for Lowe’s to reduce the minimum parking required from 648 spaces to 510 spaces. Many are apposed to this and continue to protest. They are concerned about traffic congestion and many say that the site is better suited for a mix of residential and retail development. The city council panel in March will have the final say in this heated debate. There were also many groups protesting, one group wore badges saying “Neighbor’s Supporting Lowe’s” and another group had small signs reading “Flawed FEIR,” which referred to the environmental impact. The opposition is very strong on this project, a Santa Rosa resident says “The Lowe’s project runs counter to our healthy neighborhood’s goals,”.

A point I would I like to bring up is the fact that Lowe’s is a home improvement store, while WalMart is a superstore. Walmart sells all sorts of items while Lowe’s is set on a specific field. Also with the economy down today chains like Walmart and the Dollar Store are thriving. Clearly Walmart will be success. Lowe’s on the other hand will slow down other local businesses and inconvenience the citizens of Santa Rosa.Another problem with building a Lowe’s in Santa Rosa is the fact that people will need to drive to Rohnert Park for their Walmart needs. This will require more driving and will waste natural resources thus encouraging global warming.

I think that that Lowe’s shouldn’t be give permission to build their store in Santa Rosa. The store would only cause problems with traffic and local business owners. If anything was to be built there it should be Walmart. They offer new jobs, tax revenues and the retailer would stimulate the economy. Also Walmart would have more business rather than Lowe’s. The city council should end this debate once and for all by shooting down the project. This will change the city of Santa Rosa for the better.

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.” -G.K. Chesterton

2008 was a year to remember. The world changed in so many ways, as did the people in my life. As I welcomed the new year my thoughts drifted back towards 2008. From the first African American president Barack Obama to the Beijing Olympics and finally the problems and events in my own life. From the economic downturn to the climate change, the world is plummeted with problems. This is the year to solve them. To change our beliefs and ideals for a new tomorrow.

Everyone seems to have new year’s resolutions this year whether it is to get in shape or to do better at work. Every resolution requires a little bit of will power. Every year everyone gets caught up in the hallmark madness insisting on change. Typically they last for about a few weeks and then everyone goes back to their usual lifestyle. This year my resolution is to be happy and do my best in everything I attempt. This will ensure that I work hard. My will power will be tested but I know I will do well.

In 2009 the world will change and I will change along with it. The new year will bring solutions for the old problems and new problems we will continue to scratch our heads about. Innovations will be created and new products will be introduced. Technology will continue to grow and opportunities will arise. Millions will die and millions will be born. In the new year I look forward to seeing some friends graduate, starting senior year, growing as a person, learning new things, and helping others. Let’s wait and see what the new year will bring. Hopefully it will be another year to remember.

Is apple taking over the world? Everywhere you look iPod, iPhone, iTouch, and Mac. Everyone seems to have on of these products. Even Steve Ballmer the CEO of Microsoft uses one for presentations. Well if there is a war between Apple and Microsoft, then Apple is clearly winning. To be honest, apple products are amazing. They prove to work well and prices are going down. When the first iPhone released the price was approximately $600. Today Apple is selling the iPhone for a low price of $199. A factor might be that Apple is universal. It’s products are being sold worldwide.

Apple was established on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniack, and Ronald Wayne. These brilliants minds are the reason for the company’s success. Their first product was sold in 1976, it went for about $666.66. The company has also struggled to ensure that their products are environmentally friendly. They are now advertising their new green products. Another important part of the company is the logo. Where does the apple really come from? The initial plan was to have Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree, however it changed to what you are familiar with today. The silhouette of an apple with a bite taken out of it. The logo is now apple’s trademark.

Apple’s competitor Microsoft has fought it’s own share of battles. Following the iPod with their Zune. However Apple won on that one despite the fact that the Zune made a steady profit. Microsoft is however still going strong. Backed up by the richest man in the world Bill Gates, the co-founder and former CEO of the company.

No threat to Apple however. Apple’s profits include $32.48 billion in worldwide sales. Apple has about 32,000 employees worldwide and is named the most admirable company in America. Apple is stronger then ever now with the Intel partnership. It also acquires profits from the iTunes Store, by selling music. Also Apple has launched The App Store, third party applications for the iPhone, and iTouch. The App Store sold 60 million applications this year alone which brought in $1million daily. Besides all of this Apple also offers Apple TV that can be viewed online.

With all these products and all the bright minds that go into creating them, it seems that yes in fact Apple is taking over the world. Apple will also continue to introduce new products that will in turn change the way we view technology. Despite the fact that Apple has announced that they will no longer be attending the Macworld Expo after 2009, the world still has great expectations for Apple.

The world is a fast changing place. New ideas, innovations, and products are breaking through and making their way into everyday conversations. It doesn’t seem that long ago that essays were written by hand, books were the main source of reference, and music was played on radios. Well today teachers insist on typed essays, one visit to google answers all the reference needs, and music is universal.

As young children few remember the show The Jetsons. They were the ideal futuristic family. Their lives were comprised of robotic contraptions and newfangled inventions. That was supposedly the 1960′s take on the future. A little out there, however we do live in a futuristic world today. With all the new innovations such as the computer, the internet, ipod, hybrid cars, cellphones, and many others. With all these products, you have the ability to insure that your voice is heard. Blogging, creating websites, commenting, and answering questions are few ways that create change.

Change is a big part of the revolution. The revolution is not violent but simply a change. The world is connecting, in unthinkable ways. Right now a person in China can get in touch with someone living in Canada. The fact that they are almost 8,000 miles away is irrelevant. Right now you have the ability to do and change so much. You are a revolutionary.

Some of the products that you use today were clearly new at some point. Such as the laptop, it first appeared on the market in 1982. Sold for 8,150 to NASA. During that time nobody thought they would be able to own one. Right now a Dell laptop costs around $1,000. These days almost everyone you know has a laptop or desktop. New jobs have also opened up that have to do with computers. With any new product new jobs are created. If it is to better or manufacture the product. The removal of old products pave the way for new products. The world continues to change and with change comes revolution.

Change.

“You want to know the taste of a pear, you must change the pear by eating it yourself. If you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution. All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience.” -Mao Zedong