I found this article from the New York Times magazine.

This article is about Obamas opinion on  the epidemic of gun violence in our country as a crisis.

“A national crisis like this demands a national response” Obama said. Reducing gun violence yes, will be hard. It’s clear that common-sense gun using won’t happen during this Congress. and gun violence still goes on as obama stays in presidency. Still, there are steps we can take now to save lives. And everybody at every level of government, in the private sector and as citizens — have to do their part. Everybody has to do their part and have a responsibility.

Obama says that,Even as he continues to take every action possible as president, he will also take every action he can as a citizen. He will not campaign for, vote for or support any candidate, even in his own party, who does not support common-sense gun reform. And if the 90 percent of americans who do support common-sense gun reforms join him, he will elect the leadership we deserve.

I agree with Obama as we all need to have leadership and commonsense while using guns. We all have a right to use and own guns, and that right should not be taken away from us.

This article is about the Ducks Unlimited carbon offset program being awarded two USDA grants.

I found this article on the Ducks Unlimited website.

Ducks Unlimited received two grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to further carbon market development in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR). The first grant will improve the grassland carbon offset market, following the process for landowners to sell their carbon credits and invest in new credit contracts on about 10,000 PPR acres. The second grant will investigate the science and market potential for carbon offsets from wetland conservation in the Northern Great Plains. Both efforts focus on providing more incentives for waterfowl habitat conservation and financial benefits for private landowners.With this grant, DU developed an industry approved accounting method and contracts with nearly 50 different landowners.

By recieving these grants, Ducks Unlimited is helping grow the duck population all across the globe. They are giving the ducks an abundant place for habitat, breeding grounds, and a place to hangout without people shooting them all the time. Last fall, DU successfully developed nearly 40,000 carbon credits from at-risk grasslands, which were the first of their kind and resulted in a monumental sale to Chevrolet. “We are working with landowners who are predominately ranchers facing economic pressure to plow grasslands for more lucrative crop production,” Gascoigne said. The program protects grasslands that are at risk of conversion to row-crop production, which releases below ground carbon reserves.

I found this article on a website called scientific american.

The topic of this article is why wetlands are so important to preserve.

Wetlands include swamps, marshes, bogs, riverbanks, mangroves, floodplains, rice fields—and anywhere else. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that saturation with water is the dominant factor for determining the nature of soil development and the types of plant and animal communities there. They are widespread in every country and on every continent except Antarctica. If all the world’s wetlands were put together, they would take up an area one-third larger than the United States. According to Wetlands International, a global non-profit dedicated to the conservation and restoration of wetlands around the world, wetlands are on the “front-line” as development pressures increase everywhere.

In my opinion, environmentalists, biologists and others concerned about the health of the planet and its inhabitants recognize the key role wetlands play in life on Earth, and if they really recognize the danger the animals are in, then they should do more to help. While the issue lingers on in municipal planning meetings around the country, the federal government does what it can to protect wetlands. It does so through regulations spelled out in the Clean Water Act, which include providing tax incentives for selling or giving wetlands to land trusts or other conservation groups, via cooperative efforts with state and local entities, and by acquiring wetlands outright to add acreage to public lands systems. And several states have passed laws to regulate activities in wetlands, and many municipalities include wetlands conservation in their development permitting and zoning processes.

I found this article on a website called Bio mass magazine.

This article is about how researchers are now tapping into the plant’s innate environmental benefits, from desalinating wastewater to exploring its potential as a viable starch-based feedstock for ethanol production.

Duckweed has traditionally been studied because of its inherently rich protein content at 30 percent to 35 percent on a dry-weight basis. The purpose was to explore whether duckweed could be a protein source for animal and human food. A growing interest in sustainable ethanol feedstock development, however, has researchers exploring the plant’s starch content. The research, funded by the Biofuels Center of North Carolina, was presented at the annual conference of the Institute of Biological Engineering in March in Santa Clara, Calif.The one challenge that has impeded duckweed’s progress in becoming a sustainable, dedicated energy crop for biofuels production or being used as a bioremediator for farm or city wastewater treatment operations is the fact that it wasn’t domesticated.

The drive to develop sustainable nonfood, starch-based ethanol feedstocks and more efficient conversion processes is intensifying as the U.S. attempts to reduce ethanol’s carbon footprint by transitioning from corn to cellulosic ethanol. That has prompted researchers at North Carolina State University to take a closer look at plants, such as duckweed, that could be a potential feedstock for ethanol production. The one challenge that has impeded duckweed’s progress in becoming a sustainable, dedicated energy crop for biofuels production or being used as a bioremediator for farm or city wastewater treatment operations is the fact that it wasn’t domesticated. “The trick to domesticating duckweed is going to be how much it will cost per ton to grow this stuff,” Stomp says, adding that data on economic feasibility will be released later this year. “That number provides a threshold for commercial viability,” she adds.

I found this article on a website called science daily.

This article is about how duck migration studies have revealed the importance of conserving wetlands across the world.

During the 2011 and 2012 migration seasons, University of Missouri researchers monitored mallard ducks with new remote satellite tracking technology, marking the first time ducks have been tracked closely during the entirety of their migration from Canada to the American Midwest and back. The research revealed that mallards use public and private wetland conservation areas extensively as they travel hundreds of miles across the continent. Dylan Kesler, an assistant professor of fisheries and wildlife in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at MU, says these findings illustrate the importance of maintaining protected wetland areas. I tremendously agree with him, we have to help save wetlands and build them back up if we want the ducks to stay healthy.

“We have lost nearly 90 percent of wetland areas in Missouri in the last century and 50 percent of wetlands across the country since the early 1800s,” Kesler said. “This loss has affected migratory bird populations and migration timing and routes. Our research shows the importance of these wetland areas to maintain healthy populations of migratory birds and other species, especially in an age of budget cuts for government programs protecting these few remaining wetland areas. If we don’t maintain these wildlife preserves it will put dozens, if not hundreds, of wildlife species in danger.”

For the project, the MU researchers attached small solar-powered tracking devices to the ducks, which transmitted their locations every four hours. Using the new technology, researchers monitored the ducks’ progress in real time.

I like this story because it shows the impact of what little kids have in this world. Although they might be little, we tend to disgaurd the fact that some of them are prodigies. This kid tries to explain how smart he really is, and gives some examples. Speaking a little cocky if you will, but as we all know kids think they’re everything, he says he knows any math fact, and to ask him any math fact and he will tell you! Blogs like Humans Of New York are very inspirational, from little kids thoughts, to grown ups emotions.

http://www.humansofnewyork.com/

The journalism class is asking to rent computers in need of finishing the yearbook due to the breach in the schools network.The school board will be holding an emergency meeting on Friday, February 6th to vote on renting new computers.

The system has been hacked and teachers had lost a lot of files , including tests and grades. Robles and Leaguetown Police Department had started an investigation, but so far, nobody has been named.

“They have several leads and expect to make an arrest within the next month.” Said Robles

Because of the breach, the district has shut down fall access to the computers. With Journalism staff having a 48 page deadline for the yearbook coming up in 3 weeks.

“I asked the superintendent to rent computers for my class to finish the yearbook.” Head journalism teacher Mr.Stephan said.

Yearbook day is one of the biggest highlights for the senior classes, and to give the seniors a day for a signing party is very special for them. Journalism has to make the deadline.

“ It would be weird not to get my friends to sign my book before I go off to college”, “ Yearbook day is more important than prom!” Said senior Roggie White.

The topic of this article is wildlife concerns over the past 40 years.

I found this article on a website called National Geographic.

The 2014 living planet report gives an index that tracks the number of animals in selected porportions. It has shown animals to be decreasing in population tremendously.  More decreases in the water side of animals, such as frogs  or fish.

I feel that we as humans should figure out what we need to do in order to keep the population of animals alive. If the population is currently dropping, we have to fix it. Helping animals live is more important than most of the things we do now days anywase. Instead of being lazy and not doing anything, if you want your grandkids to grow up with the animals we have today, we have to help them out. This event affects me because I would like to keep the animal population alive so the following line of my family can have the same animals as I have today.

This event effects the World by having too much or to less animals. If the world stops dropping in animal population, it could affect world hunger tremendously. The whole world would change because animals have a connection with humans that is very strong. You can either be with them, or without. Animals have a huge role in our economy, lets not make that stop.