DIRT THE MOVIE

DIRT THE MOVIE REFLECTION

In class we watched a very interesting documentary about soil. The movie talked about how soil is essential to us and how we recently have been wasting and destroying it. Soil is essential to us because soil provides us with nutrients to grow plants. Plants produce oxygen and oxygen is one of the necessities of life. If there were no soil there would probably be no life on Earth. For a long time we have been relying on plants and trees to get food. So even if there is a steady oxygen supply we would still die out because of starvation. Soil also provides us with a layer that is easy to live on. In other words, underneath soil is mostly rock, and sand and plants cannot grow on these materials only. Soil also provides us with water and nutrients. If there were no soil we would not have anything to drink. Our bodies need certain nutrients that the soil provides us. Humans also have been using soil to build shelters. Since there is so much soil it is easy to dig out and build a small structure out of it. Now only poor people usually build their houses out of dirt or clay.

The movie also talked about how we have not been using dirt properly. When we mine we want to get valuable resources like coal and metals. But most miners throw away all of the soil. This is dangerous for several reasons. The first reason is that all of the dirt and soil they dug up is thrown away while you could use it for farming. A second reason is that since you dug up all of that dirt without replacing it, it could have an impact on the local ecosystem. Overuse of fertilizer over many years can actually harm certain plants, the air, and creatures. Farmers use a method in which airplanes spray fertilizers over a crop field. Usually this is too much fertilizer. The movie also talked about how we can help the environment. We can help by protesting and also start forming organizations that build dirt shelters for the poor. We can also use dirt in poor countries for other ingenious reasons like using it to fill in gaps in roads, building bases for falling trees, and making walls around farms to keep animals out or locked in a certain area. 

Current events

The Search For Aliens Is About To Get More Intense 

By Meera Dolasia 

On DOGO news 

This is a very fascinating article about how many astronomers, scientists, and space research organizations have gathered together to make a design of the biggest telescope on earth. This project will cost a total of 1.5 Billion USD. Even though the construction has not started yet, it is planed to be up and running by 2020. Many scientists from around the world have began designing complex instruments that will help us give a clearer picture. The purpose of this telescope is to be able to see even farther into the universe and pick up more radio waves from space. The telescope will be built in the middle of the Atacama desert in Chile. 

I chose this article because I thought it was very intriguing that scientists will be building a gigantic telescope that can look even farther into space. I know this article is valid because it is on a reliable website and also it is on BBC news so I know it is a true and valid story. This article proves that technology has not only helped us in everyday life, but even when we are exploring the farthest edges of space itself. What caught my attention in this article is that it costs a lot of money, 1.5 Billion USD. This makes me wonder, who is funding their project?

Current events

PORTUGAL BUILDS THE CITY OF THE FUTURE

By Meera Dolasia 

Article on DOGO

I read a very interesting article about how Portugal is designing a city in which a super computer called the Urban Operating system, is running the city. The Urban OS will run the critical functions of the city. For example if there is a fire the Urban OS will alert the firemen and guide the fire trucks to where they need to go. They will place sensors around the city to monitor traffic control, water, electricity, heat systems and tons more. They are testing this in a 4,000 acres area near Porto in Northern Portugal.  That is not all citizens can program their smart phones to interact with sensors to do functions from a mobile location like turning on their house lights.

I chose this article because I think it was very unique because you usually do not read about these type of articles. I know this article is valid because it is by DOGO news, which is a trusted site, and it was also on some other news companies like BBC. This article proves that many strong nations, like Portugal, are putting in their time, money, and research to advance human technology. This is not similar to the topic we are studying, but is still considered science.  

Current events 10/4/11

The Amazing Tail Behind Winter's Bionic Tail 

By Kavi Dolasia for DOGO News   

written on 10/03/11 

I read this article and I thought it was a very fascinating article. This article is about a dolphin named Winter. Winter is no ordinary dolphin, he lost his tail and now has a prosthetic one. On a winter morning a fisherman headed out to sea on the Florida coasts in the year 2005. He saw a buoy bobbing and decided to check it out. As he got closer he heard struggling noises and found a dolphin trapped in a net. He immediately took his knife and set the dolphin free. It had one problem though; the net had been tied hard around his tail and he had lost blood supply to his tail and could not move it. The fisherman called an organization called the Hubb-Sea World Research Institute. They had to amputate the tail of the dolphin. The dolphin tried to swim with a stump for a tail and started to swing it side to side. The institute was worried that this would hurt the dolphin's spine. They had almost lost all hope when a prosthetic company called and offered to give it a prosthetic tail. They decided to name him Winter because they found him on a winter morning.Up to this day Winter is the main attraction in an aquarium. Winter has inspired many people that lost their limbs as well. Winter has been in several movies for the past five years. 

I chose this article because I had heard about winter many times but never read an article about him. I think this article is reliable because it is by DOGO News which is one of the most popular sites for reliable articles. I felt very inspired by this article because it made me think and feel the pain of those who have lost limbs. It also makes me feel sorry for them. This is somewhat related to what we are talking about because we have recently been talking about living organisms. This is similar because we learned about the characteristics of life and this event is kind of like respond to change. Winter could not survive underwater if it was not for his prosthetic limb.  I still think that winter is very vulnerable because his prosthetic tail is more fragile and weak than his real tail. I myself have seen winter on a field trip since I lived in Florida.