Terrorism ... [final]

Terrorism is a problem that the world is dealing right now. This problem is spreading too fast that even the most powerful countries are affected. Ever since the famous 9/11 terrorist attack, the world has been aware of what the terrorists are really capable of. Terrorist are capable of attacking even in the most crowded place. They can sneak through the securities and set off an explosive that can harm a lot of people. They often target the innocent ones to get the attention of the government.

Many countries nowadays are making moves to solve this crisis. They tend to make an army to oppose the terrorists. Yet there efforts are still in vain. The terrorists are still able to do harmful acts in many countries. Even after studying how the terrorists attacks we are still unable to figure out what they're planning to do next. They are like a nightmare just waiting to happen. They also sent threats to a country like when they are going to strike and how they will do it. This causes many people to panic and sometimes made them think if they are safe in where they are standing now. This is a reason why many countries' economies are falling. Small countries are having less opportunities because the investors on their businesses are scared because of the spread of terrorism in a particular country.

Fighting against the terrorists isn't working out well for the government. They are wasting the lives of the person that they are sending to fight the terrorist. We must think of a new way to deal with them. I think that we should try to negotiate with the terrorists. There must be something that they are fighting for that we must understand to solve this problem. We must do the first action to solve the problem of terrorism.

On the other hand, the government is still doing their best in solving the problem of terrorist in whatever way they can think of. We as citizens should help in any way we can as well. We should know more about the terrorism that is happening in our country. Ignorance is not an excuse. We should always be aware of what is happening in our community. We don't want more lives to be wasted in this useless fighting.

Other countries like the United States of America have resorted to fight with the terrorists as well. This solution appears to be the easiest but I think that is not. Some people will agree that war is the only answer. But there are some people that would prefer less bloodshed.

After saying all this, Terrorism is really hard to solve. I suggest to use diplomacy with this guys. We want to save as much life as we can. If this method isn't working with this guys and that's the time when we should go with our last option and that is to fight with them.

The Energy Crisis[FINAL]

Abundant and economical energy is the life blood of modern civilizations. Oil powers almost all machines that move and that makes oil uniquely versatile. Machines powered by oil are ubiquitous. Clearly, we live in the age of oil, but it is drawing to a close.

If oil production remains constant, there is enough to last 42 years. Oil and gas wells produce less as they become depleted which is just one reason production will not stay constant.

There's still plenty of oil in the ground but it's deeper in the ground which raises extraction costs and its lower grade which means it yields less refined products such as gasoline or heating oil. Everyone should realize that oil and gas will become scarce and expensive within the life times of living humans.
`

The new era of limited and expensive energy will be very difficult for everyone on Earth but it will be even more difficult if it is not anticipated. It is of utmost importance that the public and especially policymakers understand the global energy crisis and the underlying science. Because of our numbers and our technology, we humans greatly influence the ecology of Earth, we have to rely on science to find more alternative ways on producing energy.
`

We will be paying much more for not only our gasoline, but also for heating energy and electricity. The cost of food will rise steeply as most of our modern fertilizers are made from petroleum products and food is transported by oil-burning trucks. Plastic items and pharmaceutical medications will also rise as they are also made largely from petroleum products.
`

There are several ways on how we substitute producing energy, this is where alternative sources comes in; such as biofuels, solar power, wind power, wave power, geothermal power and tidal power – let us leave this to the experts.
`
The only way that we can make a difference is if we make our own contribution in trying to fight this crisis. This includes everyday things that we do; small things can make a huge impact if done collectively. Here are 10 easy but effective ways on how we can be part of a sustainable solution:

1.In most of the modern homes there are heating, and cooling system that consume a lot of energy and if we put a check on the use of these systems energy saving would be significant. In order to have better cooling and heating of your home one should check for the insulation of walls and ducts from which unnecessary heat might escape putting extra strain over the heating and cooling devices. When the thermostat is set down only by one centigrade you can save up to 10% on the monthly utilization. If we save electricity we become part of the solution instead of the problem.

2.For warming up food we can use the microwave instead of a stove because a microwave consumes 50% less energy than regular heating appliances.

3.Many people are also careless with their refrigerators and think that keeping the refrigerator door open doesn't mean wasting energy. However, the truth is that if a refrigerator door is kept open the cooling system of machine needs to use a lot of electricity in order to keep things cool and this certainly adds to extra consumption of energy. The refrigerator door should work like a complete seal and for this its rubber gasket should be in good condition.

4.Turn off all lights when these are not in use. Fluorescent lamps and other types of light bulbs, when left on all day, can spell a big waste of energy – not to mention the fact that it can also spell big unnecessary expenses on your part.

5If you have an air conditioner at home, keep your thermostat meter at a reasonable level. There’s really no need to keep it at a high level if the season’s cold anyway, is there? Also, if you know that you won’t be home for the night or for a few days, you need to make sure that you unplug the air conditioning unit.
`

6.Don’t use up too much water when you’re at the bathroom. Advocates of energy saving says that it’s better to take quick showers than to take baths. Also, keep an eye on your faucets at home. At the first sign of a leak, call your handyman right away.
`

7.Always turn off any appliance or electronic device off when these are not in use. There’s no point of turning them on if you’re not going to use them anyway or if you just turned them on just for the sake of it.

8.It is also important that you look after your vehicle well with regular maintenance. As well as ensuring that your vehicle is in full working order and therefore as efficient as possible, this also includes making sure that your tyres are not under-inflated and that you are not carrying unnecessary weight by using your boot as a storage area! Both of these are bad for fuel economy. Also remove roof racks as these increase air resistance and fuel consumption.

9.Using your car less by cutting out journeys and car sharing or using public transport will make a big difference. For the journeys you do make, plan ahead to avoid wasting fuel by sitting in congestion or getting lost!

10.How we drive also plays a big part. Higher speeds are less economic with fuel as are braking and accelerating hard and using air conditioning also increases fuel consumption.

We can still do something about the energy crisis; let us not wait for gas tanks to run dry and the lights begin to blink out, because when this happen it only means one thing… it’s too late.

Terrorism: Can it turn into Peace? [FINAL]

Terrorism has many definitions that are not agreed internationally. But the common definition is related to the acts of a human that creates fear (terror) for a purpose. Other definitions are including acts of unlawful violence and war (Wikipedia).

The term terrorism internationally, is linked with a factor: terrorist. If a suicide bombing occur, then the actor will be labeled terrorist then the act will be called terrorism. Terrorism is a worldwide problem. This is one fact: terrorism can be solved but can’t be erased in the world forever. It has started at the beginning of civilizations or at our ancestor's time even the term terrorism was not yet used and until now, it still is in present. This is because of the psychological and ethical reasons.

Terrorism's origins are charged psychologically and emotionally. Why do terrorists acts like this... or like that.....Their primary goal is to attract attention. Just like in the bombing of the World Trade Center, they immediately attracted attention of the people. This is to make and leave fear which they succeeded. Another reason that triggered them is by prejudices (flashpoints. info). Politically, they have been controlling the government by killing their unwanted politician. Religion is one of the root causes of the problem. They fight because of their difference in beliefs. Terrorists have been a big influence to a country's economic situation. Like in Israel, Israel’s low private savings rate is mainly the result of political instability because of terror attacks (Judaism.about.com). Citizens were the most affected of these war. Death, loss of livelihood and phobia were the most horrible outcome of these rebellions. Terrorist's beliefs maybe right but to do an outrage killings and crimes was extensive.

Here in the Philippines, terrorism is spreading not only in Mindanao region but also in centralized areas like Manila, etc. Terrorists here were unstoppable. Most members were the Islamic people. They loot towns, kill innocent people and leave nothing but fear.

What is the solution to this problem? Can it be halted? Or is this problem will last forever? Some countries have done some domestic solutions like tightening securities of some crowded areas like malls, airport and etc. In Sri Lanka, their counter-terrorist action has been fighting against the terrorists but not yet solved (defense. lk). War alone can’t solve this problem. Another solution is deterring terrorism and prosecuting terrorists. If we do this we it will be insufficient to end terrorism, especially when a large population supports the terrorists' cause. In such situations, negotiated settlements may provide the only solutions. The final and most effective solution is to arrange the conflict with them. We should understand them. Most terrorists turn to terrorism because they feel their beliefs are the only right way to believe. By teaching tolerance, we could hope to reduce the terrorist activity.

Terrorism might be halted in a country. But it doesn't mean forever and maybe not so long, terrorism might be triggered again in that country. Only God knows the real solution to the problem. Maybe, the problem was let to be happening to control population? Peace was unattainable in this world. Maybe in the other world we were going, we might attain it finally.

Terrorism: an international conflict [FINAL]

Terrorism is a world-wide problem. It occurs everywhere, from local communities to the largest of cities. People from other beliefs form groups to rebel against certain things in society. It brings fear to nations that are enemies of their group. Their act of rebellion ranging from kidnapping to hijacking brings chaos to a country and innocent people are most likely the victims of their acts.

When certain groups see things that contradict their beliefs, they tend to fight for it. They use violent methods to silence anyone all who are against them. Usually, they are the cause behind many historical tragedies. These terrorist groups have different reasons as to why they perform rebellious acts. Most terrorists fight for their religion, which is very common in our generation. Their religion tells them to fight unbelievers (people who are not in their religion or those who do not follow their beliefs). With this in mind, Fanatics from their religion join their group to follow their beliefs. Others terrorist groups fight for their ideologies, ethnicity, and nationalism but they usually use violent methods in order to induce the change they want to see in the current society.

Terrorism brings fear to nations due to their frequent attacks on innocent people. Their attacks send a message to the government and the people, as they bring fear to the community. Terrorist groups want the people and the government to fear them in order to control their actions. In turn, this degrades our economy. People lose trust to those nations who have terrorists. Foreign investors fears to invest in our country due to their violent attacks. It would kill firms and business establishments in any country. Thus, the country’s growth is stunted.

Heavily influential, terrorism has greatly affected nations that have been in conflict resulting to war. Victims of terrorism are not limited to people alone, as even the ecosystem and the natural world as a whole are damaged in the process. Billions of dollars has been spent for ammunition during terrorist encounters. Despite the attempts to heal the heavy damages of terrorism on the world, future generations are still liable to suffer from terrorism.

However, we would not like the future generations to experience living in fear. Even so, children from terrorist groups are being trained to use firearms at a very early age. These children are trained to kill, educated to terrorize and are living a life to fight for their beliefs, or rather, the beliefs instilled into them by their parents. They will inherit the same concepts of their parents’ beliefs and will continue to pursue their goals. Sadly, terrorism will still exist in the succeeding generations.

Currently, Solutions are now undertaken by the international, national and local communities for they don’t want to be controlled by those terrorist groups. People should be aware that there are no exemptions in regarding who they will attack. Many organization and groups has ways to help in the prevention of terrorist attacks. Schools can educate people how deal in situations when the terrorist groups attacks. It can also educate children to develop love for the society and to be better citizens in their country. Business establishments tighten their security to prevent bombings. Our national security places checkpoints to various highways and posts the faces of the terrorist to warn people while our national army is planning man-hunt operations to certain terrorists and is in Mindanao to fight terrorist groups that harms the community. However, these solutions can only prevent terrorist attacks and protect the innocent people but it does not entirely wipe out terrorism.

Although certain acts are being done within the country, there have been suggestions to ban the religion Islam within the country despite it composing more or less ten percent of the religious population; kill every terrorist, or bomb Mindanao. In relation to religion, many believe that there should only be one religion. Consequently, if the country is ever going to implement such a tactic, a religious war could ensue. In terms of killing terrorists, such an act is at most, if not completely, impossible because these people disguise themselves as normal people in our society. As for bombing Mindanao, it’s a shallow reason and is highly homicidal, as many innocent people could be killed in the process. As others point out, Blood cannot be washed out with blood.

Terrorist groups fight for their beliefs. If they could just settle their beliefs in means that are less violent and try to understand how important life is, a peaceful resolution could be attained just like the first and second People Power Revolutions of the past.

-Yuri

TERRORISM: A problem that MUST be solved, [FINAL]

“Building up and not tearing down”- Richard Vague

That’s the belief of Richard Vague against terrorism. If force can’t terminate terrorism, then why still practice it? War is not a solution.

“Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion….Common definitions in terrorism are those acts which are intended to create fear (terror)" (Wikipedia, September 2008)
“In terrorism, terrorist attack will have many direct and indirect victims.” (Dr. Mark Lerner,2006) As what people are introduced about terrorism, many will say that terrorism is present if there are bombings and killings by cutting their heads suicide bombers. Those are the things that will come out of many of the people’s mind if they hear the word. “Terrorism is recognizable by a following statement from the perpetrators:

a.) Violence
b.) Psychological impact and fear
c.) Deliberate targeting of non-combatants
d.) Disguise
e.) Unlawful or illegitimacy” (Wikipedia,2008)

Dr. Stephen Younger, Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, recently lamented that too much effort has been placed on technological solutions to the war on terrorism, stating "this is not a technology problem" and asserting that "the single most important thing we can do to predict future acts of terrorism is to understand the causes of terrorism." Then what are the causes of Terrorism? Amy Zalman says, “There are two causes of terrorism: 1.) Social and Political Injustice: People choose terrorism when they are trying to right what they perceive to be a social or political or historical wrong—when they have been stripped of their land or rights, or denied these. 2.) The belief that violence or its threat will be effective, and usher in change. Another way of saying this is: the belief that violent means justify the ends. Many terrorists in history said sincerely that they chose violence after long deliberation, because they felt they had no choice.” Terrorism mostly become present because of terrorists attempts of putting down the government or the people who engages in ruling a country. In addition, one of the factors that causes terrorism was poverty.

To a research by Colonel Ahmad Al-Thagafi, Saudi Arabian National Guard, he state the economical, political, social, psychological, educational causes of terrorism. The outcomes are as follows:

Economic causes of terrorism:
“The shifting global economy greatly impacts the poorest communities and is one of the most important reasons for the growth of terrorism in the world.”

Political causes of terrorism:
“Two phenomena help explain the political motivation behind international
terrorism. First, there is a contradiction between the international political system’s charters (e.g., the UN Charter) which are based on values and ideals, and what is reflected in the actual behaviors of those actors in the system. Second, there is a clear lack of ability by the international community to respond to and stop irregularities, human rights violations, and other threats to security.”

Social Causes of Terrorism
Terrorists may be terrorized too, they may be terrorized when they’re still a child so they have come up terrorizing. Disrespect on one’s ideology may lead to terrorism. Varying of interpretations can be one of the causes in terrorism between two groups.

Psychological Causes of Terrorism
“There are numerous of psychological reasons leading to violence, terrorism and extremism that can be put into the following categories. First, there are inherent destructive psychological motivations. Second, the lack of self-control in individuals leads one to be manipulated and follow undesirable actions, ideologies, and leaders. Individuals who are manipulated may believe they are a symbol of strength, freedom and the ideals. Third, some individuals become frustrated when they are unable to achieve their goals, sense of belonging, their desires or position in life. This frustration leads to depression or low self worth in many young people. Fourth, megalomania is a mental disease where an individual is delusional in his belief about his own greatness and total disregard for human life. This delusion is not supported by any logic or reality. Adolf Hitler was a clear example of this character trait in his rise to power, the extermination of millions of Jews, gypsies, and other groups, and the administration of the war against his enemies. Fifth, the split personality is one of psychological factors in the recent emergence of violence, terrorism and extremism. This is the case of a person who is able to satisfactorily separate himself from facts, mistakenly underestimating conditions, and is devoid of feelings.”

Secretary of State for International Development of the UK, Hilary Benn (2005), argued that “terrorism can plant its roots in poverty. Corruption, poor governance, economic mismanagement and a lack of representative politics all can play a part in alienating and radicalizing poor people.”

Terrorism erodes at both individual and community level. Terrorism may result to once psychological trauma especially for the children who have been present on the attempt. It also may cause a Community to experience poverty because of their damaged properties like companies that pays much tax that helps a country. Terrorism can not only destroy ones property but also a country’s reputation among their neighbors because others may think that that country was not a peaceful country and they may be harmed when they visit that kind of country and so on. There are many things or effects of terrorism that people can think of. Nature too, can be destroyed by some terrorist attacks, some ideological type of terrorism may also be one of the reasons of Global warming that we are encountering as of today. Some of these terrorists tactics were killings of whales that is widely done in Japan also the arson can hurt our nature not only the people who owns that property. Those bombings cause Carbon Dioxide that is thinning the ozone layer and cause global warming. A bombing attempt on a day on one country is not only that country’s problem but will be a problem worldwide and may be hard to be resolved.

Terrorism causes a country terrible. It made people grieve and feel unsafe of their own country. Terrorism must be resolved because of those harmful effects on the people that have been in the incidents. So what does people thinking to terminate terrorism? Many said that it’s hard to stop terrorism so they proposed to stop it with full force. So, there comes Counter Terrorism that enables the military, police and others to catch or put into jail those suspected terrorists and have some kind of “war” against them. No proposed force did terminate terrorism because this world is too powerful that no one can destroy it unless we will unite and help each other against it stop it. “We can accomplish far more in the so-called Òwar on terrorÓ by building up than by tearing down.” (Richard Vague, May 27) A fight with forces, guns, bombs will be fought back by the same strategies. We should take the risk to talk to those people and dig upon them what causes them to terrorize and make a move through it. According also to Richard Vague, “we should focus this building up in places like Morocco, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Turkey--countries that are already on that tenuous path to political and economic democracy—because positive accomplishments in any Muslim nation will have good effect in all other Muslim nations.” If people want peace terribly then we should take risk on building up some friendly talk with them. It may be hard but it’s not bad to try.

The Worsening Energy Crisis [FINAL]

The energy crisis is beginning to damage our Mother Nature and we might not have our home soon. It has grown to an alarming level and is more than just affecting the whole world. This crisis in our planet is caused by a multitude of things, from lifestyles that are dependent on oil to energy consumption. For one thing, we are very abusive of transportation. Most of us lead sedentary lifestyles and prefer driving short distances rather than walking or cycling to it. Even in the midst of crude oil price increase, we still insist on being sheltered by the comforts of our cars rather than save money and walk the way. We’re failing to see that our abundant forests and animals are beginning to decline and the things we are now able to enjoy in our current lifestyles may not be available anymore in the future.
A crisis could possibly emerge after infrastructure damage from severe weather—which brings us back again to our environmental problems. We have to rid ourselves of the addiction to crude oil, and must get accustomed to the utilization of renewable energy. Also, the periodic disruption of oil and gas production may create shortages and that won’t be very good for us. This will likely be ensued by a massive growth in global demand, which will only result in more problems. The majority of the people in the whole planet are dependent on the many uses of oil—trying to wean the whole world off it would be hard, but it is a task we should all be willing to partake. In addition, I think the world has to think about its overall stand on family planning. The world's population continues to grow at a quarter of a million per day, increasing the consumption of energy. Simply put, that just can’t be good for any of us.
The energy crisis can be connected to a lot of things in our lives. For example, as mentioned above, we have been using cars even for short distances when we could be using bicycles and path walks instead. Also, we consume too much LPG everyday when we could use it only once the whole day and use electric stoves or other alternatives. The energy crisis is keeping the prices high and just might put an end to the comfortable little luxuries that we have right now at our disposal. The rapid changes in weather brought about by mankind’s alterations in nature only worsen our situation. This calls for a solution because our world should not be thrown away like this. We should take care of it and make it the perfect place to be in for the children of our future.
How do we solve this enormous problem? According to Kidzworld.com, hydropower is one of the best ways to go. It is very clean—it doesn't produce any greenhouse gases or other air pollution. It also doesn't generate any waste products that might need special handling or disposal. Because it's carbon-free energy, hydropower doesn't burn fossil fuels, which release the same amount of carbon dioxide as the annual exhaust of 62.2 million cars. Another good thing about hydropower is it's flexible and reliable. Hydropower can be turned on almost immediately to meet the fast growing electricity demands. Facilities can easily respond to emergency power situations and provide constant energy with water.
Although there are several downsides to hydropower, like changes of water flow that can cause damage to animal and plant life along the way, it is still a very good replacement for crude oil. Hydropower doesn't cost a lot of money. On the average, the cost for hydropower operations and maintenance is only one-third the cost of a nuclear or a fossil fuel powered facility. That's not including fuel costs. Lower costs mean more jobs and also help the economy in getting back up to a decent state again.
With the price of non-renewable energy sources soaring high every day, why do we still insist on using them?
We have options to choose from if we want solutions. Solar energy is the energy we acquire from the sun. Millions of years before humans realized the sun's potential as a renewable energy source, plants were already using the sun's energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars to eat. Enough sunlight falls to Earth every hour to meet the world's energy demands for an entire year - the trick is learning how to extract that energy in a cost-effective way.
I’ve been thinking of a solution for this, in my own way. I’ve come up with something a bit far from possible, considering the state of our country. But I’ve also been thinking that the government apparently does everything it pleases, so maybe they can make the use of gasoline-only cars illegal. I know it’s a very expensive step—but in the future that ensues, it’ll be very cost-effective and will save everyone money and resources.
That solution is not doable at this point in time so I’ve come up with something cheaper and feasible. I think the government should have bicycle and walk lanes constructed on the sides of the road. If there were these things to begin with, we can hit so many birds with only one stone. First and foremost, we can reduce our use of crude oil—which will help fulfill our crusade to put an end to the worsening energy crisis. Second, we can promote cleaner air in our community—this will encourage more people to switch to walking and cycling instead of driving their cars—which in turn will diminish slowly the air pollution. Third, people walking to school and work will be able to uphold a healthier and more active lifestyle.
Bottom line, we need to have the discipline to utilize everything in moderation because this will help. Also, we should be more resourceful and start thinking of how we can stop contributing to the energy crisis.

Energy Crisis[Final]

As of today, all of the people in the world are suffering from energy crisis. Energy crisis is the scarcity in the supply of energy resources. We depend so much on oil and now we are threatened by the rapid increase of the price and demand of oil because of insufficient resources.

One of the major causes that we may consider regarding the scarcity in the supply of energy is its availability. As an example, the oil depletion that we are already experiencing is caused by the insufficient resources of oil and the very high demand on it. Another cause that we consider is the abusive use of the available energy. Energy is limited, thus, wasting such limited energy is a very big “no-no”. Another cause would be the too much dependence on a single source of energy. We have to explore to discover new things that will help us cope up with the kind of world that we are living nowadays, especially now that we have been experiencing rapid changes not only in the society but also to the whole world.

Energy crisis widely affects everything that we need to sustain our way of living. Since the resources of oil is already depleting and we demand so much of it, we are now facing many problems such as the rapid increase on the prices of almost everything starting from the price of oil to the transportation fares and up to the prices of consumer goods which we need everyday.

When the prices are high, we try to lessen everything down just to budget all that we have earned with the high prices of everything, thus, creating a very fast and bad chain reactions.

Unemployment also happens because some of the companies that manufacture the consumer goods that we opt to lessen shut down because of bankruptcy. When the number of unemployed individuals increases, some of them do some disturbing crimes such as robbery and kidnapping just to earn something for them to sustain their way of living.

Today, there are many possible solutions to “end” this energy crisis. One of those solutions is the use of wind turbines which converts wind energy to a useful form such as electricity. The discovery of using wind turbines is very helpful since wind energy is copious and it is renewable.

Another source of energy that is being used is the sun. Solar energy is the use of radiant energy from the sun. It uses solar cells to harness solar power then converts it to electricity. However, a piece of solar cell costs about $1,206. Since a single solar cell won’t be able to create enough energy to power a single house, a person must buy several solar cells just to produce enough energy for his house and it is not easy to look for money nowadays so it is somewhat hard to attain.
Many bad effects may happen if the energy crises that we are facing today worsen. Some may experience malnutrition because they cannot afford to buy food which is considered as a consumer good. Unemployment is likely to happen. Our security may also be affected since some of the jobless people are forced to do disturbing crimes just to earn a living.

So you see it needs to be solved because we are so dependent on it that it affects everything that has to do with our daily life. We already suffered some of the consequences, and we know that we don’t want everything to happen again. So let’s start doing something right. We should not depend on just the use of crude oil but we should also look at a new perspective. We should look for other sources of energy. We need to value everything that we have right now for the future use. We must not waste anything, because everything is connected in every way. Let us always remember that for every decision that a person makes widely affect the lives of the people who surround him. Let us be reminded of the consequences that may happen, and some of the verdicts that many of the people who surround us had faced already and may happen.

ENERGY CRISIS- LADY REYES [FINAL]

In the past 2 years, oil prices have continued to soar, hence causing record-breaking fuel and heating costs throughout the world. So, what is behind the rise in oil prices? According to OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro, scarcity is not the issue. “OPEC already oversupplies, but oil prices are too high.... This is not a supply and demand balance problem. This is not because of fundamental factors.” (http://www.oppapers.com) Is he right? Let’s explore further. Over the last few years, it seems that we are becoming tremendously defensive over their natural resources-specifically crude oil which we need in our everyday life. Those people who have been waiting for crude prices to fall might have to keep on waiting because there was news that Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) may cut production is an understandable warning that they are trying to defend higher oil prices. That will be certain if oil supplies continue to increase. Despite investing more than $60 billion in capital spending, the major oil companies are finding it difficult to boost their production. The largest drop came from Shell, which experienced a 4.5% decline in oil and gas output. (http://www.energyandcapital.com). The limited supply of fossil fuels coupled with their contributions to global warming, air pollution and acid rain makes it clear that alternative forms of energy will be needed to fuel industrial production and transportation.

The modern world survives on a steady diet of energy that is obtained from a wide variety of places and is used in an even wider variety of ways. The undeniable dependence of our modern culture on energy has both positive and negative effects on the world we live in. While our lives get more convenient, the environment is suffering. While technology is used to improve the quality of life, our non-renewable energy resources are depleting. The double edged sword that is our energy reliance is a constant compromise between what the world wants, and what the world has. While solutions to these problems are difficult to enact, the world must be wise in the way that it consumes and uses the energy resources it has. Most of us have heard about something called the “oil crisis.” Many people understand the basic idea, but what most people don’t realize is that the oil crisis is an unstoppable global phenomenon that will permanently change the way we live.

There is a solution to the threatening energy crisis--a solution that will include many energy technologies and practices. The plan for success will not only include alternative and renewable energy, but the economic harvesting of remaining and unconventional oil sources as well. There are many causes why this happened and I would like to point out some of the highlights.

First, pipeline malfunction and other accidents may cause minor disturbances to energy supplies. It may happen after infrastructure dame due to terrible weather. Since oil and gas pipelines are an important asset of the economic development of almost any country, it has been required either by government regulations or internal policies to ensure the safety of the assets, and the population and environment where these pipelines run. Pipeline companies face government regulation, environmental constraints and social situations. Pipelines can be the target of vandalism, sabotage, or even terrorist attacks. In war, pipelines are often the target of military attacks, as destruction of pipelines can seriously disrupt enemy logistics. The major and even minor attacks by the terrorists on foremost infrastructure are probable headache for the energy consumers because it can cause global shortages. Take in consideration the political events. When the governments alter because of regime change, monarchy falls down, military career, and coup may disturb oil and gas manufacturing and thus creating shortages. Second, monopoly manipulation of markets is the reason why market failure happens. Crisis may grow because of industrial actions like union organized strikes and government restriction. The cause may be over-consumption, ageing infrastructure, choke point interruption or bottlenecks at oil refineries and port facilities that control fuel supply.

In addition to these causes, there are also effects that we must consider. The macroeconomic implications of a supply shock-induced energy crisis are great, because energy is the source used to make use of all other resources. Energy shortage develops when energy market fails. Electricity consumers may experience blackouts which are on the loose during periods of inadequate supply or unanticipated power outages, not considering the root. Developed nations are reliant on oil, and efforts to control the supply of oil may have an unfavorable result to the economies of oil producers. Because of increases to fuel costs which are passed on to customers, tourism trends vary and ownership of gas-guzzlers differ. People may choose not to travel or to go to other places because it will cost them a lot. The increasing price of man’s necessities like food, rental and fare are visible. For me it is like a chain reaction which means that if the fuel starts to increase, the next day or even later, our needs will also increase.

Meanwhile, we all know that this problem has a very big impact on our life. But are there really valid reasons why we should be aware of it? Or do we even bother to care for this issue? YES. It also needs to be unraveled as possible as can be because we are also the ones who will suffer the consequences of it. Energy is needed to lessen and eventually get rid of poverty, hunger and suffering. I am sure that if ever we ask a person what she/he would definitely like, I expect that she/he would agree that what she/he really wants these things: Freedom from hunger, freedom to believe and practice personal lifestyles; not infringing on others, freedom from infringement on personal liberties and lifestyles by others, freedom to love friends & family and freedom to pursue happiness. These things surely require direct forms of energy; which is used to build shelter and produce and distribute food, goods and services.

These are all revolving to personal liberty and freedom. While most may not believe that “freedom and energy” are linked, I believe they are but it is based on a Global scale. We need energy for everything, from power to paraphernalia and transportation, power to produce goods and transport services, power to rejuvenate our information networks; they are all related to energy! As conservation raise, energy lessens. These are my proposed solutions regarding this issue.

First is the Biomass which is plant matter such as trees, grasses, agricultural crops or other organic material. It can be used as a solid fuel, or can be transformed into liquid or gaseous forms for the production of electric power, heat, chemicals, or fuels.

Next is geothermal energy. How does it work? Some systems pump hot-water into permeable sedimentary hotspots found underground and then use the steam to generate electricity. Then the used steam is condensed and sent back down to the permeable sedimentary stream. Another system utilizes volcanic magma which is still partly molten at around 650 degrees, Celsius, to boil water which would generate electricity. Also there is a system which uses hot dry rock, which is just hardened magma, but still is extremely hot. To recover this heat from these rocks, a system is used which circulates water through the rock and transfers the heat up to a steam generator. The first system listed here is not as useful as other methods because of the acidic nature of the fluids found under the ground. These acidities require a lot of maintenance and upkeep on the equipment, and this cost reduces the economic effectiveness of the system. Therefore, geothermal energy systems are more inefficient than other alternative energy sources because of the costs required in upkeep and the shortage of potential sites. (http://home.utah.edu/)

Third, is the nuclear energy. I found several reasons why we should advocate this method: (http://www.nucleartourist.com/)

• the energy produced per amount of material consumed is the highest available
  
• costs are competitive with coal, the major source used in the world
  
• uranium, the source material, is abundant
  
• plutonium, a by-product of commercial nuclear plant operation, can also be used as a fuel
  
• the amount of waste produced is the least of any major energy production process
  
• Nuclear energy provides benefits other than electricity generation.

Fourth is the solar energy. One of the greatest advantages of solar energy of course is that there is no carbon dioxide, methane or other emissions that warm the atmosphere. Again, manufacturing and installation of solar appliances are necessarily accompanied by some of those emissions. It is not a finite resource as fossil fuels are. While the sun is up there it constantly produces all the energy we can use. In some poorer countries where people have used kerosene and candles for domestic heating and lighting, respiratory diseases and impaired eyesight have resulted. Many people have been burned through accidents involving kerosene heating. Solar energy, especially with excess energy stored for night-time use, overcomes these problems. (“http://www.alternate-energy-sources.com”)

Fifth and sixth are the hydro and wind energies. Many countries in the world use hydro energy for conversion to electricity. Canada maintains the highest use, while the United States comes in second. One of the main reasons that hydro energy is used is that it is a renewable energy, meaning it will not be depleted over time and it will consistently be replenished. It is also a clean energy source, as it does not emit any toxins. (http://www.greenenergyhelpfiles.com) Wind energy’s advantages on the other hand is first, is it is ample. Secondly, wind energy is renewable. It is widely distributed, cheap, and also reducing toxic gas emissions. It is also advantageous over traditional methods of creating energy and also along with economy, it is also said to diminish the greenhouse effect. It generates no pollution. The wind will exist till the time the sun exists, which is roughly another four billion years. Theoretically, if all the wind power available to humankind is harnessed, there can be ten times of energy we use, readily available. (“http://www.buzzle.com”)

Meanwhile, these are the "alternative fuels" that are fuels that aren't made from petroleum. There are many kinds of fuels that vehicles can run on that aren't made from petroleum. The United States Department of Energy, governmental department whose mission is to advance energy technology and promote related innovation in the United States, officially recognizes this list of alternative fuels: (http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/)

• Alcohols - ethanol and methanol.
  
• Compressed natural gas (CNG) - natural gas under high pressure.
  
• Electricity - stored in batteries.
  
• Hydrogen - a very special type of gas.
  
• Liquefied natural gas (LNG) - natural gas that is very, very cold.
  
• Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (also called propane) - hydrocarbon gases under low pressure.
  
• Liquids made from coal - gasoline and diesel fuel that doesn't come from petroleum.
  
• Biodiesel - a lot like diesel fuel, but made from plant oil or animal fat.

We use energy constantly at home, at work and for leisure. Energy maintains our standard of living and economy. Nowadays we take it for granted that energy is available whenever we want it. But once we only had candles... they were used to light our homes before the industrial revolution. Wood or coal fires provided heat for cooking food and for keeping us warm. Walking was then the only form of transport for most people. Since then, a vast array of energy devices and systems has been developed. These transform energy from sources provided by nature (coal, oil, gas, wind, sun and nuclear fuels) into other forms that we can use. As the population grows so do our energy demands. I hope that we can somehow try having a strict implementation in using the alternative forms of energy so that we can avoid depending on other countries. A sustainable energy supply, both in the short- and the long-term, is needed for promoting both economic development and people's quality of life, as well as protecting the environment. We also need a greater diversification of energy resources - if we are largely dependent on one fuel source, we risk price rises and supply disruptions. Energy is a precious resource which must be conserved. Improved energy efficiency, therefore, in our homes, factories and transport needs to be strongly encouraged.

Energy Crisis [FINAL]

“An energy crisis is any great bottleneck (or price rise) in the supply of energy resources to an economy. It usually refers to the shortage of oil and additionally to electricity or other natural resources. An energy crisis may be referred to as an oil crisis, petroleum crisis, energy shortage, electricity shortage or electricity crisis.” (wikipedia)

First cause why we are in this crisis is that oil in areas where we get our source of it is being depleted. Moreover, this means that higher demand of oil is equal to high price of. Second cause is that we consume energy too much and we do not bother to conserve it because most of us do not know where the energy comes from.

Every one of us knows that we consume energy even if we do not notice it. Sometimes in a single thing that we do we consume large amount of energy. Leaving the lights on, over charging a cell phone and other things that normal person does when using electricity. Therefore, when we conserve energy, we conserve oils because power plants use oils to produce electricity that we use in our everyday life. Therefore, our incomes or our salary sometimes depends on how we consume energy. For instance, we try to turn on our appliances even if don't use it. This may cause high bill for electricity. If that happens, our budget for our food and other bills that we have to pay are affected by it. Oil now has a high price; food and other goods are trying to make their price high too because they themselves uses vehicles to transport the goods that they deliver to every market.

In politics, they hold our freedom because they are the ones who implement the laws and rules that we are following. However, we know too that each one of us wants freedom in things that we want. When a person tries to achieve his goals with out the use of energy, it is harder to reach it. In contrary, when a person does use energy, it is easier to achieve it. Therefore, when politicians try to force us to conserve energy, it is harder to move or make an action. It is like reading a book in a dark room with out any light or lamp.

Energy crisis has different effects to us. One effect is unemployment. When oil companies raise their price, goods are affected and when that happens, consumers tend to buy cheaper goods or they don’t buy at all. The income of a particular shopping mall will gain less profit for their business and they will struggle in giving salaries for the workers. With that, they will try to fire some employees.

Peak Oil is defined as the point in the oil production cycle at which approximately one-half of the existing oil reserves produced. When that happens, we will consume all the oil in the world in the future and not a single drop we can use.
Solving this means a lot of cooperation in the world. We need to solve this because energy is one important part of our everyday living and without it, many changes will happen to our world. Another reason is our invention, gadgets, transportations and a thing that uses energy or oil will be useless unless we can use it with an alternative source of energy. And the last reason is, life depends on energy, without it hospitals are useless, fire trucks can’t stop fire without moving to the burning house, medicines can’t be made or be tested properly. Without these things, our life is harder.

We know that our gadgets, appliances etc. were made by the use of energy. So why can’t we use this things to solve our crisis?

In Japan, they created a car that does not use a gas rather it uses electricity. When cars like this commercialized around the world market, it will lessen the consuming of gas and money. Before, every nation showed their cooperation. They did not use any appliances or things that may use electricity for an hour. The reason behind this is to conserve electricity even for a small period.
“Employees have three rest days every week; supermarket workers are dismissed one hour earlier at night; streets are only colored by neon lights after 9:00 p.m.; and night golfing lovers have to temporarily quit their hobby. “ (Xinhua of People’s Daily)
The ideas above are the things that we will see in the future in our nation for controlling the crisis that we are experiencing right now. In the University Of Santo Tomas (UST), Biofuel is being practiced as an alternative source of energy.
There are many things that we can do to lessen and even get out of this crisis. Cooperation is the most important thing that we have to do; every nation should follow laws or rules when it comes to energy. We must try to help each other to find new things that can be use an alternative source of energy. What is the use of our so-called “modern technology” if we cannot use it to help us solve these crisis? I think the best solution is inventing and finding new ways that can help us conserve energy or make it as an alternative source of energy. In addition, implement a law that will help conserve energy.

In summation, conserving energy is a big part of our world, saving it can save our lives.

Terrorism [FINAL]

Terrorism is standardized use of terror through the use of force. There is no definite or precise definition for terrorism as to there are people who may define it as an act of unlawful war and violence or an act which tends to bring fear to people. Those who fight as terrorists will rule as terrorists, because people who attack innocent people will never become leaders who give equal rights and protect innocent people. In short, people resort to terror and others do not is not an absence of rights, but the presence of tyrannical mindset.


A lot of people believed that race riots of the 1960’s on racism and unemployment most probably the hopelessness among the Muslims makes it a root of terrorism, which can only be solved through implementing equality and prosperity. We can help them find jobs in order to have nice cars, live in upscale flats and attend West End theaters. But, how can we give them such life if we alone cannot give it to our own people? Or probably it is America that brought terror in our lives, if they did not invade Iraq, then people would not experience such agony. Some think it is the deprivation of rights, but these are all excuses. I think it is because of totalitarianism, only a totalitarian regime, it is a way of systematically brainwashing its subjects. Terrorists think that the cause they adopt is so all-encompassing, so total that it justifies anything. It allows them to break any law they want, abandon any moral code and crush any human rights. For terrorists, they think that it permits them to erratically murder most innocent people and blow up a bus full of children.

An example would be Osama Bin Laden, his goal is not to defend the Muslims, but basically to kill as many Americans as possible and to ultimately destroy its country. While Arafat is not seeking to build a state but to destroy them, the massacre of the Jews says a lot that if he only had power, that is how he’ll rule his country.

Terrorism is born out of different ideals from different people regardless of race. It is often met by authorities as defense. More so at times, war. As the democratic presumptive nominee Barack Obama says, he firmly believes that solutions can be met by sitting down and talking. Mahatma Gandhi fought for the Independence of India, same goes with the people of Eastern Europe in their effort to bring down the Berlin Wall, and Martin Luther’s campaign for equal rights, they succeeded without the use of violence. If it was really the deprivation of rights that caused these people to bring violence to innocent ones, how come these people pursued their cause without initiating violence? It is because they were democrats, not terrorists. They believe in the sacredness of Human Life, were faithful to the Ideals of liberty, and championed the values of democracy. In short, people resort to terror and others do not is not an absence of rights, but the present of tyrannical mindset. The totalitarian mind knows no limits. The democratic mind sets them everywhere.

Energy Crisis - The Bottomless Well [Final]

Energy Crisis is defined as “the bottomless well” because it is one of the great problems around the world that none of us know when to end. It is an extreme price rise of supply and energy resources that refers to the shortage of oil, electricity and other resources. According to the Law of Supply and demand, high demand = low supply. That’s what’s happening today, the demand of energy and other resources are increasing, but the supplies are decreasing. That’s why many countries today suffer from energy crisis.

Energy Crisis had been a burden of many countries years ago. In 1973, many of the Arab oil-producing countries suffered from oil crisis because of the Yom Kippur War. In 1979, Iran suffered from energy crisis, because of the Iranian Revolution. And in 2000-2001, California had an electricity crisis, because of failed deregulation and business corruption. In the Philippines also suffered from insufficient energy production. These are some of the escalating problems that the world is going through.

Energy Crisis can emerge in many ways. Examples are small accidents (pipeline failure, minor interruption), infrastructure damage from severe weather, and also terrorist attacks. People really do suffer from energy crisis because supplies of energy are insufficient and cause shortages. And this makes the demand of the people increase. With few supplies, only few people can benefit from it. Today Coal, nuclear and hydro is used primarily to make electricity. And people must keep on looking for alternatives before these resources are vanished.

It affects the social and economic aspects by a supply shock-induced energy crisis are large, because energy is the resource used to exploit all other resources. When energy markets fail, an energy shortage develops. Consumers may experience intentionally- rolling blackouts which are released during periods of insufficient supply or unexpected power outages. The economy is also affected because nations are dependent on oil, and most of the oil is used as a source of energy. But there is a strict supply of oil, and people can’t find alternatives for oil, so the people and the economy really so suffer.

Today, people are facing some problems because of energy crisis, and one of that is Global warming. Global Warming can cause climate change and unpredictable weather, because some of the machines we use affect the environment. People suffer from shortages, like supplies, oil/fuel, and electricity because of global increase on demand, and abnormality of the weather. Other countries suffered and are suffering from political riots, because officials couldn’t decide on one idea and and work together to solve the problem.

To avoid the worsening of these problems people are obliged to help and do its part well. To avoid the collapse of the world economy or the destruction of civilization and the environment, we must replace much of the "electrical energy from oil" heart of the crisis at great speed, and simultaneously replace a significant part of the "transportation using oil products” also. Such replacement by clean, nonpolluting electrical energy will also solve much of the present pollution of the biosphere by the products of hydrocarbon combustion. Not only does it solve the energy crisis, but it also solves much of the environmental pollution problem. The Government must also concentrate on the problem really well, they must be galvanized on it, decide and create a system that will work, and make developments.

Everyone has a role to play in the community they live in, a role to help save and protect. So everyone let’s play our part on saving the economy, and the environment. We must do it, and we must do it now, let us begin to solve and reach the end of the bottomless well.

THREATS SOLUTION FOR ENERGY CRISIS[FINAL]

Energy Crisis is a widespread problem and have been experiencing not only on a single country but almost all over the world. As the time goes by, this problem has getting worse and worse and time will come that it will come into worst if not given emphasis.

Energy crisis is simply defined as shortage, scarcity, lack and insufficiency of the energy resources that we have. We are lacking of those energy because we are depending on a single source of it and since that we are dependent of that single source, that resource is decreasing and decreasing until it gone and when it gone, it will be hard for the people to look for the other resources for the reason that they have been independent on that single resource. Many countries around the globe have been experiencing it since early 1970’s. US dependence on petroleum imports has grown steadily and commercial petroleum stocks to cope with an interruption in import matches the historic lows proceeding 1973 and 1979 energy crisis. Even here in our own country, Philippines is experiencing those bad effects of it for so many years.

Many case studies have proven and have come up a number of reasons why there is an existence of such serious problem. One of these major causes is the modernization related with the industrialization. The demand for energy rises as the technology improves since it is requiring more energy to generate different machines. Another cause is associated with high dependency on oil imports. We only have small and limited deposit of oil locally and internationally, and since that, it is possible that those deposits will be dried up.

There are so many bad effects of energy crisis that we might encounter. Some of these are: the global warming which includes the climate change, bad effects on economic, political and even social aspects, global famine, scarcity of energy supply, increase of illiteracy rate, emerging of many health related problems, being worthless of those hi-tech equipments, gadgets and other electronic devices and many other more. All those are terrible that we don’t want it to happen. Not only our government had the power to resolve this problem. Every individual have a significant role that can contribute to solve this problem. Not only those poor people but also those rich, not only those whites but also those blacks, not only those Christians but also those Muslims and not only those ordinary people but even those who are in government will badly suffer if not given emphasis fo it to solve.

Let us be awakened and stop our dependence on carbon fuels and other petroleum products. We still have other alternative energy resources. There are windmills generated by wind turbines, nuclear power plant, solar energy, hydropower energy from dams and rivers, bio-fuels and many other efficient energy resources that we can use instead of oils. We, people can do little ways that can contribute a big part for this matter. Conserving energy (so simple yet so hard to other people) like plugging out or turning off those electrical appliances when not in use. As a concerned citizen, we can walk or even ride a bike when going to a near places (instead of riding car) which will contribute not only to lessen the problem concerning oils, but as well as helping the environment as we lessen pollution and promote a healthy and physically fit lifestyle.

Energy crisis is a hard problem indeed that we can’t resolve it in just a snap. I understand that it's hard for everyone, but we'll have to draw lessons from the current crisis and now we'll have to work on overcoming it. Notice that as energy crisis arise, our environment also suffers. Environment has been devastating earlier than the birth of energy crisis. God made the earth not to be destroyed by the people but to be cared off. We, people are very blessed to have this kind of world that we are living in so in return, we should preserve its beauty for the other generation that will come. So let's all act as one, conserve energy, and maintain environmental beauty.

Terrorism[Final]

TERRORISM
“Great power comes with great responsibility” (Peter Parker, Spiderman). Terrorism is a crime that most people feared of because terrorists want POWER over the world. Terrorism includes only those acts which are intended to create fear or terror; we can also state that it is an unlawful use of violence to frighten people.

The main problem now is that many countries are having war as the solution for terrorism; the war between the different countries around us affects us. Of course we are affected because many people / places are being destroyed and maybe the terrorist are also planning to sabotage our country. Terrorism in the Philippines is being conducted by militant Islamic groups; they are killing people for them to fight for their religious beliefs. Based on the writings of their bible “The Quran” “it says there that Muslims should Strive hard against the unbelievers, and be firm against them.”(http://www.religioustolerance.org/) or terrorists just want to scare people out.

Suicide bombing is very common for terrorists and because of that, the military or the police investigators can‘t find an evidence whose group did that bombing .Hostage taking or kidnapping is also a common crime that the terrorist usually does because it really give terror to his/ her relatives or even in the people who is attached to the victim. Suicide bombing is the most sinful crime because they are not only killing themselves but everyone around them.

Many people today are suffering and dying because of those terrorists. They are so good; they plan all their tactics very well. Our government is being occupied with debates on how to stop terrorism, but still they can’t find the answer; even they found a solution still it doesn’t work well. In our economic world, businesses avoid places being targeted by terrorists so that they know that their business is safe.

In other countries, people have been finding some ways to solve terrorism. In United States they say that we have gadgets, we have technology, why don’t we use them, so that’s why anti-terrorist means eliminating all terrorists/ or fighting them because it’s the only way we could do. To fight them! The Department of Defense also suggests that we should eliminate collective social stress. No collective stress means no tension between the United States and other countries in terms of religious groups, and others. United states also recognize the most dangerous terrorists and they planned not to motivate them to find war as their only chance to spread their religion.

I believe that we can’t do anything to stop war, in and out of our country. The only way that I thought about how to stop terrorism is that there should be only one religion that we should believe in, because I thought that everybody can now understand everybody’s situation. But before we can have that one religion, there will be a great fight and those that are left behind will be the ones spreading that their religion will be the religion of all the people in this Earth. I know this is impossible, but it can be possible someday and it will be bloody (This solution is just playing on my mind; I’m not really proposing this solution). Our government should do something to prevent terrorism, I know they are doing their best, but their best wasn’t good enough. One of the solutions I thought about in bombing is that we need a scanner in all malls just like the ones we see in airports. It can detect guns, bombs and any gadget that can kill because inspection of bag is very disturbing and not 100% sure that a person has a gun or a bomb. What if that person hid his gun/bomb in the secret pocket of his bag and the security did not notice it. Many people will suffer and die. Hostage taking is very common nowadays so we need more protection. Even inside our house is not safe anymore. I got news from a friend that there is this family that is murdered inside their house. I blame the guard of their subdivision because he is not doing his responsibility. I suggest we need more trained security guards in every subdivision there is or for more protection. We need seminars for parents who are letting their children play outside their house because it’s not safe. Sometimes terror is also important to us because it serves us a wake up call and without it, how would we know if we need to act or do something to protect our family.

“Our war will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”p.24 (Time magazine, May 2003)

Energy Crisis [ Final ]

ENERGY CRISIS

The problem with energy hunts mankind like never before. Our dependence on petroleum products can be recounted several decades ago but the realization that the same commodity that was widely used as tool in the mobilization of modern technology will be the same tool that is affecting and hurting our present economy came quite late. Prices of all commodities from basic to luxury including services are now being dictated by the prices of petroleum products. It is because almost everything we use in our daily lives is being fueled by oil, and without the energy derived from petroleum products, needless to say that the world’s economy will be paralyzed.

Causes of our present energy crisis can be contributed to the relationship of our ancestors way back during the Bible times. Bible scholars and world historians alike, can attest that the strife between cousins, Arabs and the Israelite has something to do with this problem as 60% of oil are being produced in the Middle East while the United States of America known to be an ally of Israel and ranks only as the 11th oil producing country in the world consumes 25% of the worlds total oil production (What in the World Is Going On?, Dr. David Jeremiah, October 2008).

Another factor that cause energy crisis is the wastefulness of our lifestyle. It is undeniable that people are not realizing the need to conserve until that precious energy is almost gone. Figures shows that the world is consuming 1000 barrels of oil every second and while oil production had been reduced, the consumption had doubled in the recent years with no apparent evidence of slowing down especially on the European countries that consumed 14.59 million barrels a day followed by China (6.391 barrels/day) and Japan with 5.578 million barrels per day (What in the World Is Going On?, Dr. David Jeremiah, October 2008).
.

One alarming truth about energy crisis is the fact that we are not prepared for this, or shall we say that we the Filipinos were far from being prepared to counter this problem head on without suffering the consequence of our lack of foresight in dealing with this issue. Unlike the United States that had waged war with the Arab countries and led the formation of petroleum alliances between countries, we on the other hand had been dependent on the importation of this product for our consumption while the natural gas extracted from our very own Malampaya Island in Palawan are being enjoyed by other countries because again, I believe is a result of unwise decision of our leaders or perhaps, a political view and business influence?

While bills had been passed to develop and enforce the use of alternative fuels such as LPG, Bio Fuel, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), the fact remains that this problem will affect us longer than we think. First, our sources and their capacity to supply are still in question. Second, our transportation equipments are dependent solely on petroleum products (Dubai Crude) and the technology to convert these equipments from using crude to other fuel was launched only recently and their performances are apparently can only be warranted but not guaranteed to last.

Energy crisis is real and its effects can be felt from the smallest fragment to the upper strata of our society. From the laborers to their employers, the farmers and their consumers, the ordinary citizens and their political leaders from the poorest to the most developed countries look at the prices of petroleum products as a gauge in determining the uptrend and downtrend of market stocks on Wall Street and on every trading floor around the world. The law of supply and demand on petroleum products is vital because the world demands it yet the Arab countries can control it and wealthy countries can hoard it.

Most people think that there is nothing much we can do to help ease this problem but every single person on this planet plays a vital role in its conservation. Being aware that this problem is serious and the need to come up with a long term and well thought solution to confront it without compromising the real deal with wrong motives and personal gain on the part of our leaders is the first step towards achieving positive results in the future.

As we watch the prices of petroleum products dictate the prices of other commodities in the market today, we can only hope to wake up one morning knowing that we have won our battle over this crisis. While we wait for the launching of our own source of solar energy, the exploration of our own petroleum, the explosion of the use of alternative fuel, we can help by conserving whatever little energy we have to prolong use of power it provides and enjoy the comfort we can afford while forgetting not that petroleum products are “black gold”, so precious, costly and very powerful that when it falls to the wrong hands, it can create chaos around the globe and those who have it wins.

Terrorism: A Worldwide Crisis[FINAL]

Terrorism is a problem that began since man formed leaders and his own beliefs. It has become a worldwide problem nowadays and still exists even on this generation and will surely exist in more generations to come.

People have different opinions and view points for terrorism; but what is the real meaning of that vague word? The dictionary has these groups of words as definitions for terrorism:
1. The use of terrorizing methods
2. The state of fear and submission so produced
3. terroristic methods of governing or of resisting a government

From these definitions, one can conclude that everyone has capabilities to do terrorizing acts or commit terrorism; but lately, people can see that terrorism has always been associated with religion, or so the media have said. The definition of terrorism in the dictionary did not mention anything with differences in their religions; but why terrorism nowadays has been always about Islam versus Christians? Does it have anything to do about differences in beliefs; or just plain evil of the human being?

Events worldwide that are caused by terrorism have always been connected with the Islam personalities like Osama Bin Laden and the group Al Qaeda. In the Philippines, we have MILF that truly resist government and want to lead Mindanao to claim as their own. Some events that happened in the history were the 9/11 bombing and some hostage takings worldwide. Others even happened on small scale in the community.

All problems have the same behavior, and terrorism has it too: A CAUSE.
Terrorism was born when people tend to have different beliefs and became more independent of what they think. One cause of terrorism is the different beliefs and/or religion. When people believed in to something thoroughly, it is very difficult to change their perceptions.

Islam and Christian were the two major religions in the world. Both have many similarities and equally many differences as well. Looking in the history, many acts of terrorism happened between Christians and Muslims. Bombing, hijacking, suicide bombings and “holy wars” are examples of these incidents.

Another cause of terrorism would be the people that go against the government. Examples of these are the MILF, which became active again for its recent activities. We can see that religion can be a factor again because majority (or all) of the people in the government are Christians and majority of the people resisting the administration in the Mindanao are Muslims.

Next in line are the people who resist change; again, influenced by their religious beliefs and cultures. Example of which is Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, where change is not welcomed by everybody. “Mahatma Gandhi was shot by a Hindu fanatic extremist while walking to his prayer meeting in the lawn of Birla House, New Delhi.” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/1948/jan/31/india.fromthearchive)

Last in the list of causes is the greed of power. This is the most common trait that humans have. This is also a major cause of terrorism because people tend to sacrifice other’s life for their own sake. Example of this is Vladimir III’s reign in Walachia where he killed thousands of people by impaling them on stakes, which is, a gruesome act of terrorism.


Terrorism affects many innocent people and is the cause of countless deaths. The effects of it are also very considerable. It affects us socially, politically and economically.

Socially, fear among citizens develops which cause traumatic effects especially on young members in the community. People become less trusting and more paranoid in the environment around him. This can be proven by people who witnessed terrorizing acts around him.

Politically, it affects the country by having political breakdowns and more opposition arise. People tend to blame the government for all the bad things happening to the country and execute or organize rallies that affect the government and the country itself. Most people are one-sided or do not have an open mind, these people are the ones who always hard-headed and listening is not in their choice of actions.

Economically, terrorism affects us too. Firms and business establishments tend to halt their operations due to fear and bankrupt as a result of terrorism. Example is bombing, which can end lives and businesses too. Another example is the fear it brought to tourists which affect us greatly economically. Recently, fewer tourists visit our country because of terrorism threats, which affect our national profit as a whole. Take our landmarks for example; one can be sure that fewer and fewer tourists visit the Philippines due to safety reasons.

Although terrorism became a major problem to us, different solutions have been done to control it. Worldwide, security has been heightened to protect important people like leaders. United Kingdom’s also helped countries that have been terrorized by sending troops to help. Example of which is US, which gave American soldiers to protect Filipinos from MILF in Mindanao. The advantage of this can be seen from the decreasing crimes linked on terrorism while the American troops are positioned. Like any other solution, it also has a disadvantage; after the troops went back, crimes associated to terrorism began to rise again. This solution is very similar to a Filipino game called ‘patintero’; because the terrorists only became dormant when the American troops were here and became increasingly active again, when American soldiers were withdrawn. Just like in the game, the player is only active when the defender or ‘taya’ in Filipino is disturbed or not looking at a moment. With this solution, one can clearly judge how greatly trained soldiers are here in the Philippines (sarcastically).

I read an article that MILF should not take ransom to its victims when they take hostages or kidnap people:

The home network of Drilon and the largest broadcasting network in the Philippines, ABS-CBN, follows a strict "no ransom" policy but has said in a statement that they cannot object if the families pay for the release of their loved ones.
I wish I could say that there should be a law against paying ransom to kidnappers. But put in that position, I would also choose to pay for the release of a kidnapped family member. (said the negotiator, http://www.nowpublic.com/world/kidnap-negotiator-lucrative-career-philippines)

I found this law or agreement funny. First, who would kidnap and put his life in danger without being insured of having some favorable benefits with it? Who would take an ordinary person and held it captive for no reason at all? This law, in other words, does not need to be implemented at all because it will not be followed anyway.

Not like this failed solutions, I thought of my own solutions too. First, a non-violent approach: show your love and respect to other people even to your enemies. Talk to them as much as possible in a friendly way. But just like any other solutions, this seems impossible to solve the problem. People always (and I mean always) tend to be hard-headed.

Another solution would be to set aside the differences. Even though we have different beliefs, we should respect all man as our family and friends. Do not let the differences in the religion be a wall that separates every man with different beliefs. This will not be effective at first, but a calm peaceful way will always be the answer. I personally don’t mind religion differences when talking to someone.

Lastly, LISTEN. Have an open mind at all times and consider others feeling. Be the one to understand. Everybody needs to adapt in order to be in peace. Resisting change and having a close-mind is the cause of all problems.

“One can wake up a sleeping man but how do you wake up a man who is pretending to sleep". (We can change someone who does not know what is happening; but we cannot change someone who does not want to be changed.)

Terrorism [Final]

Terrorism

What is TERRORISM? What are the different acts of terrorism that is happening around us and how does it affect us politically, socially and economically? What are the possible solutions that can be done to solve this problem?

Terrorism can be defined as criminal act that influences an audience beyond the immediate victim. The strategy of terrorists is to commit acts of violence that draws attention of the local populace, the government, and the world to their cause. It can also be define as giving terror to the people.

These are some examples of Acts of Terrorism and their effects. One of them is bombing; it is the most common type of terrorist attack in the world. One effect of this is that many of the government properties are being bombed. Another example is kidnapping and hostage taking; this kind of crime is common here in our country by the Abu-Sayyaf and the MILF. Because of this crime tourists coming to our country became less. If there are no tourists there are no investments. Lastly, is the merciless killing that is usually done in different communities especially in Mindanao. One of its effects is that the people living in Mindanao became afraid of the terrorist. They became very aware of the terrorists. They learn how to defend them selves in able to survive.

In general, terrorism has occurred throughout history, but today the world is experiencing a global rebirth of attacks. Today, it no longer affects only small societies, such as isolated third world countries who fell victim to regular terrorist attacks, but the whole world is becoming more familiar with Arab and Muslim names. Many innocent people around the world are beaten, enslaved and killed by these terrorists. The terrorist violence that is on the rise today has informed citizen all over the world about different types of terrorism, the Nation’s have been doing what they can to eliminate terrorism. We need to eliminate terrorism so that we can have world peace. So that people can live freely without the fear of being beaten, enslaved or even killed by the terrorist. Also, the governments will be more focused on the problems in the society. If there is no terrorism our world will be more productive and happy.


In the given acts of terrorism here are some of the solutions the government has done. In bombing, the government put more securities in different public places to inspect the bags of the people. But in this kind of inspection sometimes there are people who are not inspected. Another solution in this problem is that the government became more focused on the places where the terrorists might attack. They put many soldiers and bomb sniffing dogs to different public places. In kidnapping and hostage takings, the government tries to communicate with the terrorists and try to know what they want in able to get the hostages from them. Another solution the government has done is they put many soldiers in isolated places where the terrorists are active in kidnapping and hostage takings. Last is merciless killing, actually this crime is usually in communities the government doesn’t do anything about this. They just keep it to themselves so that people may not be afraid.

In my opinion, there might be better solutions than what the government is doing. In bombing, I think it’s better if they would be stricter by putting more trained bomb sniffing dogs in public places. Also, if they put more effective gadgets that detect bombs, for example x-ray machines just like the ones in the airports. In kidnapping, I think that the government must relocate the people living in the places where the terrorist are active and put them in a safer place. In merciless killing, I can’t think of any possible way to stop this. But the only thing that I could think of is that they must learn how to respect humanity.

In general, to defeat terrorism they must learn how to respect each others opinion. Both sides, the government either the terrorists should be open-minded. The terrorists should not focused only in their own opinions, they must be open-minded about what will be the effects of their crimes in the environment and especially to their victims. As for the government, they should know and understand what the terrorists been through, and see why they view this as their only plan of action.

The energy crisis is beginning to damage our Mother Nature and we might not have our home soon. It has grown to an alarming level and is more than just affecting the whole world. This crisis in our planet is caused by a multitude of things, from lifestyles that are dependent on oil to energy consumption. For one thing, we are very abusive of transportation. Most of us lead sedentary lifestyles and prefer driving short distances rather than walking or cycling to it. Even in the midst of crude oil price increase, we still insist on being sheltered by the comforts of our cars rather than save money and walk the way. We’re failing to see that our abundant forests and animals are beginning to decline and the things we are now able to enjoy in our current lifestyles may not be available anymore in the future.

A crisis could possibly emerge after infrastructure damage from severe weather—which brings us back again to our environmental problems. We have to rid ourselves of the addiction to crude oil, and must get accustomed to the utilization of renewable energy. Also, the periodic disruption of oil and gas production may create shortages and that won’t be very good for us. This will likely be ensued by a massive growth in global demand, which will only result in more problems. The majority of the people in the whole planet are dependent on the many uses of oil—trying to wean the whole world off it would be hard, but it is a task we should all be willing to partake. In addition, I think the world has to think about its overall stand on family planning. The world's population continues to grow at a quarter of a million per day, increasing the consumption of energy. Simply put, that just can’t be good for any of us.

The energy crisis can be connected to a lot of things in our lives. For example, as mentioned above, we have been using cars even for short distances when we could be using bicycles and path walks instead. Also, we consume too much LPG everyday when we could only use it once and use electric stoves or other alternatives. The energy crisis is keeping the prices high and just might put an end to the comfortable little luxuries that we have right now at our disposal. The rapid changes in weather brought about by mankind’s alterations in nature only worsen our situation. This calls for a solution because our world should not be thrown away like this. We should take care of it and make it the perfect place to be in for the children of our future.

This is why I think hydro energy is the best way to go. According to Kidzworld.com, hydropower is clean. It doesn't produce any greenhouse gases or other air pollution. It also doesn't generate any waste products that might need special handling or disposal. Because it's carbon-free energy, hydropower doesn't burn fossil fuels, which release the same amount of carbon dioxide as the annual exhaust of 62.2 million cars. Another good thing about hydropower is it's flexible and reliable. Hydropower can be turned on almost immediately to meet the fast growing electricity demands. Facilities can easily respond to emergency power situations and provide constant energy with water.

Energy Crisis - Bicycle-powered TV sets… [Final]

Justine Rae M. Guinto
ABCA

”An energy crisis occurs when prices rise in the supply of energy resources to a community, society or country. It most commonly refers to the shortage of oil and other natural resources. It may be referred to as an oil crisis, petroleum crisis, energy shortage, electricity shortage or electricity crisis.” (www.wikipedia.com)

The current problem with energy crisis today: prices keep on rising like a loaf of bread.

The cost of gasoline (petrol) and other oil products are teetering sky-high. People find it hard to control. Back in the day you could pay a small amount of money and still get almost a full tank; pay the same amount today and you get less than half. Other difficulties arising from the energy crisis is the environmental perils it causes due to our constant reliance on fossil fuels. Here’s hoping that a real Wall-E will be created by the time this happens.

Causes of energy crisis are numerous: one of this is over-consumption. The current population of earth is growing and growing, and with that many number of people, there will be more demands for energy. The more demands for energy there is, the more people rely on getting more and more, hence the rise of gasoline and oil prices.

As well as the upheaval of prices, it also affects the social, political and economic aspects of either the community, society or even the whole country. Conflicts over energy access are sure to happen, because all will surely want to play for keeps. The coming years could be marked by frequent resource wars as more countries try to top each other for control of the world’s hydrocarbons.

“Three such vectors, in particular, demand attention: a slowing in the growth of energy supplies at a time of accelerating worldwide demand; rising political instability provoked by geopolitical competition for those supplies; and mounting environmental woes produced by our continuing addiction to oil, natural gas, and coal.” (Klare, 2006)

Some of the effects of energy crisis are the reduction in number of businesses which are dependant on gasoline to be able to operate. Since people spend so much on fuel, they have less money for other things. This means they cannot spend money on consumer goods, restaurants, entertainment which are all seeing less traffic but earning less money. It also produces devastating results for other stores who do not sell on the internet, like eBay or Amazon do. More and more people buy their things online rather than paying for gas to drive to the mall. The newest fashion trend is just about a double-click and two scrolls away.

When it comes to gasoline and cars, why not rig every vehicle sold in the country to be flex-fuel compatible so that it can run on just about any blend of hydrocarbon-based fuels—like gasoline, ethanol, methanol, etc? Technology for this already exists, and the process is remarkably cheap.

Improving technology could also be of great help. We need a good alternative to fossil fuels; for example, like harnessing vast amounts of solar power. We also need green buildings that demand less energy for heating and cooling, and automobiles that get vastly more miles per gallon. If your workplace is not that far from home, why not use a car powered by an electric battery? Although it is much slower than your average car (which requires gas), it nevertheless proves to last longer than the latter. Watch Mythbusters if you want any more proof.

In our small community, some of us have purchased a product called the Superkalan. Basically, it’s just your average ihawan (which, of course, you have to operate the outside the house lest you want it to be full off and smell like smoke). But with the all the commotion of the continuing rise of gas prices (for the stove), we have decided to resort to what Mother Nature still has to offer, just like in the good old days. Instead of using the gas stove to cook meals 24/7, we now use this instead (except in the morning and other special occasions that need quick cooking). We also use wood for fuel instead of your usual coal. It is a great means of using up the spare wood lying around after a storm and saving money because of our lessening need for the gas needed for our stove. Saves nature, saves money.

Take a break from reality and just imagine how great it would be if people take action and solve the energy crisis.