9/11

I remember 9/11 very vividly. I was in Pre-K at the time and my memory of it was when the principal of TCS, my school at the time, shut school down for the day because she didn’t know if they were going to hit Atlanta. I went home and my mom watched the news the whole rest of the day, she thought Atlanta was a possibility since we have a lot of important buildings such as the CDC. Also, that same morning my aunt, who lives in New York, had a doctor’s appointment in the city for my two twin cousins. Her appointment was at 9 o’clock in the morning, which was approximately when the plane hit. Luckily, she was running late, because my grandma was able to hear it on the news, call my aunt, and my aunt went back home. I still think about how lucky I was that my aunt was able to turn around, every time I hear the national anthem. If she was on time and didn’t get stuck in traffic, something might have happened to her. There are a lot of images of tragedy in my head right now, and most of these images come from the media, and from hearing about it from my family.
The causes for 9/11 were that it was The World Trade Center, which is the building that is the head of our economy. Also another cause for this was, because the terrorists were looking for an important building in the U.S with a lot of people in it. That is why they tried the Pentagon, and the White House too. The effects of 9/11 are almost as tragic as the event. There is now a ton of security everywhere, no one is trusted to do anything, and especially Middle Eastern people can’t go anywhere without people looking at them funny, and thinking they are terrorists. It has also had a big affect on me, I am now afraid to fly on a plane, especially one going to New York. This is a big problem since my family lives in New York and we go there often. Although, I am afraid to fly it has also had an affect on me since I am also one of the people who judges Middle Eastern people. I know I shouldn’t and I am trying not to, but it is scary to me since 9/11 was so personal to my family and me.

Tri-State Water Wars Liam/Ben

Georgia, Alabama,and Florida have been arguing over something different than who’s better at football for almost 20 years. These three states have been arguing about allocation of water from two large bodies of water that cross their borders. The outcome is a critical, environmental decision in this area. Georgia is trying to make sure that it has enough water for its expanding population especially in metro Atlanta. Alabama is worried that if Atlanta uses too much water it won’t have enough for its needs. Florida wants to make sure that it can sustain its very successful shellfish industry.

Water used to be very abundant, but water issues began with droughts in the 1980s causing debates over water that have gotten progressively worse. The drought in 2007 was the most recent one when Lake Lanier got twenty feet below normal level. Some groups of people are proposing that Lake Lanier be raised two feet above it normal level to add 26 billion gallons of extra storage incase of emergencies. Georgia says it has the right to the water in it’s rivers and lakes, but Alabama and Florida blame Georgia for using to much water and not enough is getting down stream to them and that the lack of water is destroying ecosystems down stream especially in the gulf.

After the Chattahoochee River enters Florida it becomes the Apalachicola River. By the time the Apalachicola enters the gulf it is very low and polluted. If too little water flows into Apalachicola Bay then salt level increase. This was especially bad during the drought of 2007. The high salt levels kill oysters and other animals caught in commercial fishing. This threatens the lively hood of the fisherman and ruins the local economy because commercial fishing is one of the most important businesses in the region.

The three states are involved in a court case in the United States DistrictCourt. In 2009 the judge ruled that metro Atlanta has very little right to take a lot of water from Lake Lanier even though almost 3 million people in the Atlanta area get most of their water from that lake. Georgia population has doubled since the 1960s and more people means it takes more water to sustain them. The judge has given these three states until July 2012 to negotiate a deal. If these states don’t reach an agreement the judge will order severe limits on the amount of water that can be withdrawn from the lake. The state of Georgia has filed an appeal that will be heard on March 9, 2011.

Georgia must continue to conserve water in order to prepare for the drastic measures that will be imposed in 2011. The Georgia legislature passed some laws in 2010 to help with Conservation. Conservation is important but Georgia needs to find ways to increase their water supply. If Georgia is not alowed to use much water from Lake Lanier this will have a huge impact on the environment, agriculture, and the economy of this state.

Citations:
"Georgia Once Prayed For Rain, Now Plans For Drought : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125190243>.


"Water Wars Background — Alabama Rivers Alliance." Alabama Water Rally Online Registration Is Open! — Alabama Rivers Alliance. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.alabamarivers.org/current-work/water-wars>.

"Tri-State Water Wars History." Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.chattahoochee.org/tri-state-water-wars-history.php>.


"Tri-state Water Wars: Act Now on Water Contingency Plans | Ajc.com." Atlanta News, Sports, Atlanta Weather, Business News | Ajc.com. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ajc.com/opinion/tri-state-water-wars-527806.html>.

"Tri-State Water Wars." Southern Environmental Law Center. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/tri_state_water_wars_al_ga_fl>.

"Arguments Set in Tri-state Water Wars Case." The Augusta Chronicle. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2011-01-26/arguments-set-tri-state-water-wars-case>.

WATER

Ben Siegel

World Today

February 5, 2011

There are many water issues facing every part of the world today. A water and sanitation has hit our world and has caused a lot of health problems, and deaths. A lot of statistics are mind blowing like the fact that 884 million people don’t have the access to safe water. A person from the U.S taking a five-minute shower uses more water than a person in a slum uses in a whole day. Also, one last crazy statistic is that the water and sanitation crisis have taken more lives than any war has with guns.

Although this is such an intimidating issue people are doing a lot to help, and it is making big impact. For instance, in 1999 a seven-year old kid named Ryan Hreljac heard about the water crisis in Africa and started a foundation called Ryan’s Well Foundation, which puts water pumps in Countries where there is not access to safe water. Ryan is not the only one, after hearing about what he could do many other people have made a pledge to help this issue also, and are making a difference.

About 12% of the people worldwide don’t have access to safe water and as a result of water related diseases more than 3½ million people die every year. There are more than 1 billion people who don’t have access to sanitation facilities at all. One way to try and resolve some of these problems would be to invest in safe drinking water and sanitation facilities everywhere. If water systems were improved around the world the number of missed school days would decrease by nearly 300 million. The conservation of water would also help in terms of more water preserved plus the sanitation systems would work better.

There are a few ways that we as a class can help this global crisis. One is that we can spread the word, meaning tell everyone what’s going on in the world in which they live. Second, we can fundraise for Ryan’s Well and other organizations like that. Lastly, we should educate people on this horrible topic, by going to schools or places where we could speak and tell everyone how big of an issue this really is and that everyone should help.