2

The era of procrastinations of half measures, of soothing and baffling expedients of delays is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a PERIOD OF CONSEQUENCES. (Sir Winsron Churchill) Global warming refers to the continuous rising of Earth’s the temperature due to greenhouse effect. Initially, the greenhouse gases maintain the Earth’s temperature at 33^oC that sustain the great biodiversity of life in Earth. However, industrial revolution in 18th and 19th centuries boosts up the demand for energy which mainly obtained from combustion of fossil fuel. (Woodford 2006) Concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased drastically for the past few years. Now, it has been more than 300ppm which is far off compared from decades ago and it keeps increasing. Usually concentration of CO₂ was only about 250ppm. This change helps the temperature to increase up to 0.6 ^oC-0.9 ^oC. (Riebeek 2007) Apparently, with the rising of temperature, it has changed the geography of the world. At the Colombia national glacier park, the glacier retreats year by year and there’s more avalanche which make things worst. 75 years ago in Patagonia, the tip of South America, there was a vast of ice on top of it. But now, it’s already gone. This isn’t a coincidence but it happens everywhere in the world. The climate change is caused by global warming and prompt action should be taken before its too late.

For the record, the ten hottest years was recorded in the last 14 years. The hottest year was on 2005, these high temperatures send enormous heat waves which can cause death. In 2003 heat wave, it has killed more than 35000 people across Europe. In the same year, India’s temperature also reached 50^oC which is also hit new record. West America also faced the same situation as there was more number of consecutive days with more than 1000^oC. (Gore, 2007) An overall, all cities faces the same thing. (Nzone Tonight 2008) The increasing of temperature also affected the oceans’ temperature. Hurricanes, typhoon and tornados, all of them set new records in the early of 21^st century. Things can’t be taken for granted as the scientists have once said that there will be no hurricane in the southern America but in 2005, it hits Brazil. The worst ever hurricane was Katrina. This has been explained scientifically. As oceans temperature increased, the velocity of wind will increase. The moisture content will also increase and it gained greater energy when it hits the land. (Gore, 2007)

With the climate changes, the rain pattern also changes and causes more storms. Besides, it also relocates the precipitation. In 2005, in just 24 hours, the rain in Mumbai falls about 37 inches and the water level reached seven feet. China also was hit by heavy rains.(Gore, 2007) According to some prediction, the climate change could make about 200 million of people become homeless in 2100 because of flooding and other phenomenon likes hurricanes (NASA,2009).However there are also places that faced draught. Darfur and Niger were among those places that faces the worst situation of draught. Due to high temperature, soil evaporation makes the draught even worse. Lake Chad which is near Sahara desert became dried after a few decades as the lake being evaporated. (Gore, 2007) In addition, drastic changes in weathers have also put animals and plants in danger as they are unable to adjust themselves accordingly to the weather in a short period. For example, parts of coral reefs died due to the warming of the ocean (Woodford 2006)

Without any actions taken by now, things can get worsen. We are capable of getting used to the evolution of climate as it changes slowly. (Nzone Tonight 2008) Some of us might not realise it. However sooner or later, it will be too late for us to take actions. To avoid such catastrophic, we as the residence of the world should overcome the damage that we’ve done. Some practical ways are choosing energy-saving fluorescent lamps in home, switch to utility company which generate energy from renewable source and bicycle or walk instead of driving in daily life. (Chris Woodford 2006) If everyone is doing the simple things such as recycling unusable product and plant more trees it will gives greater impact. Besides, using appliances that are electrical efficient can help to arrest the effect on global warming. (Nzone Tonight 2008) What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know; it's what we know for sure that just ain't so. (Mark Twain) Instead of believing we aren’t the cause of global warming, well think again.

'Predatory' lesbian teacher banned from school in Queensland

• By Alison Sandy and Tanya Chilcott
• From:The Courier-Mail
• March 26, 2010 4:42am

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A HIGH-profile Queensland sportswoman has been banned from teaching after having a lesbian affair with one of her students.

The former teacher, who has collected many sports accolades and played at a national level, developed the "sexual relationship'' while working as a PE teacher at a Brisbane high school in 2007.

She already had a history of dating her students, after being investigated over a similar case at a Brisbane Catholic school five years earlier, also involving a Year 12 student.

Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) documents obtained by The Courier-Mail under Right to Information show she took at least one of her under-aged students to gay nightclubs using fake ID and gave gifts and fluffy toys - identified as a "classic signpost of grooming behaviour", along with provocative photos of herself taken in her bedroom.

She also asked whether the student would kiss her and do more than kiss her.The latest relationship involved an email, where the teacher asked the student: "Do you think I'm hot?".

The disciplinary committee, which conducted the investigation, said it would be concerned if the offending teacher was placed in a position of trust with students again, "particularly young girls".

"There is definitely a pattern of behaviour," the report said.

"The QCT suggests that (the teacher) has approached her teaching positions as someone who is a predator towards young girls."

The committee said the fact the students were "willing participants" did not "diminish the seriousness of the teacher's misconduct".

The maximum penalty for the case was applied, which provided for the cancellation of her registration for five years. She can re-apply again in 2014.

The Courier-Mail has not named the former teacher. The newspaper has repeatedly tried to contact her, but she remains unavailable for comment.

A principal from the school where the sportswoman was first found to have had an inappropriate relationship said they only became aware of allegations after the student had left.

"Our legal advice informs us that the college fully complied with statutory obligations in dealing with this matter," the now principal said.

Education Minister Geoff Wilson refused to be interviewed and Education Queensland said in a statement that the checking system had improved since this incident occurred.

The sportswoman is one of three female teachers who had their registrations cancelled in the past year after having inappropriate sexual dealings with female students.

The other two teachers are also prohibited from re-applying to teach for five years.

summary .

this case happened at Queensland. A teacher who is popularly known with her achievement of playing at the national level in have been caught having lesbian affair with the students. After being investigated, the teacher already had history of dating her students for the last five years. the teacher was banned from teaching as their registration have been cancelled. however, after an appeal the teacher can re-apply teaching in five years. the sportswoman is one of the few teachers who had their registration cancel in the past few year because of having special relationship with the student.

Critique.

well, we really cant expect anything from a person. Even though the person have a very high credibility we cannot be so sure. Human aren't perfect.

1st

What are the potential effects of global warming in terms of climate change and how can they be arrested?

Concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased drastically for the past few years. Now, it has been more than 300ppm which is far off compared to from decades ago and it keeps increasing. Usually concentration of CO₂ was only about 250ppm but now it has changed. This changed have help the temperature to increase up to 0.9 ^oC. With the rising of temperature, it has changed the geography of the world. We can see with our naked eyes, Italian alps, Switzerland alps, Argentina alps, all of these alps have changed. There’s no more snow mount there. At the Colombia national glacier park, the glacier retreats year by year and there’s more avalanche which make things worst. 75 years ago in Patagonia, the tip of South America, there was a vast of ice on top of it. But now, it’s already gone. This isn’t a coincidence but it happens everywhere in the world. Within a decade, there will be no snow mount in Mount Kilimanjaro.

For the record, the ten hottest years was recorded in the last 14 years. The hottest year was on 2005, these high temperatures send enormous heat waves which can cause death. In 2003 heat wave, it has killed more than 35000 people across Europe. In the same year, India’s temperature also reached 50^oC which is also hit new record. West America also faced the same situation as there were more number of consecutive days with more than 1000^oC. An overall, all major city faces the same thing. The increasing of temperature also affected the ocean. As the temperature of the ocean increased beyond the natural range, stronger storms likely to occur. Hurricanes, typhoon and tornados, all of them set new records in the early 2000. Things can’t be taken for granted as the scientists have once said that there will be no hurricane in the southern America but in 2005, it hits Brazil. The worst ever hurricane was Katrina. This has been explained scientifically. The oceans temperature increased, the velocity of wind will increase. The moisture content will also increase and it gained greater energy when it hits the land.

With the climate changes, the rain pattern also changes and causes more storms. Besides, it also relocates the precipitation. In 2005, in just 24 hours, the rain in Mumbai falls about 37inches and the water level reached seven feet. China also was hit by heavy rains. However there is also places that faced draught. Dafur and Niger were among those places that faces the worst situation of draught. These places are also known as Sahara desert. Due to the high temperature, soil evaporation exaggeratedly and makes the draught even worse. Lake Chad which is near sahara desert became dried after a few decades as the lake being evaporated.No living things can survive in this place and this has consequence all over the world.

without any actions taken by now, things can get worsen. We are capable of getting used to the evolution of climate as it changes slowly. Some of us might not realise it. Sooner or later, it will be too late for us to take actions. To avoid such catastrophic, we as the residence of the world should overcome the damage that we’ve done. By doing simple things such as recycling unusable product, switching to a renewable source of energy and plant more trees. If everyone does this, it will gives greater impact. If possible, we should buy hybrid cars as it is environmental friendly and sell cars at higher mileage. Besides, using appliances that are electrical efficient can help to arrest the effect on global warming.

Storms . :s

By Steve Lillebuen From: The Sunday Telegraph March 07, 2010

MELBOURNE airport was closed, cinemas evacuated, trees and power lines brought down and footy and horse racing cancelled as hail up to 10cm in diameter fell over the city like snow yesterday.

In one of the most severe storms to hit the southern capital, 19mm of rain fell in just 18 minutes, causing havoc as streets were flooded and trains, planes and cars brought to a standstill.

Tullamarine Airport, where gusts of 100km/h were recorded, was closed and the deluge stopped trains and forced the evacuation of Southern Cross Station and a popular cinema complex in South Yarra.

"It was a very dangerous thunderstorm," senior weather bureau forecaster Richard Carlyon said. "We don't often see storm cells like that."

The storm forced the cancellation of the NAB Cup footy game between Brisbane and Geelong.

At Flemington, racegoer John Bell said: "Marble-sized hail stones came down for about 10 minutes. The track was covered in hail. It was all white. It looked like it had snowed."

Meanwhile the southwest Queensland town of St George is preparing for a flood peak that is expected to inundate 80 per cent of the town tomorrow.

The news is better for Sydney, with a few showers expected over the next few days and a forecast maximum of 27 today.

Summary

Melbourne was hit by heavy storms yesterday. In just 18 minutes, the rain falls about 19mm. Everything was shut down. A marble-sized rain falls came down about 10 minutes. The storm is expected to be continued tomorrow. Most places except sydney will be expecting rains.

Critique

Weather can't be predicted, things can get so fast and nothing we can stop it. We can plan things, but bad weather can spoil it. Just like in this article, everything was just cancelled. Football games being postponed, trains service and the airport are all closed.

Family pleads for help to find Trinity's killer

Family members said Trinity was a fun-loving water baby who loved butterflies. (Qld Police)
Relatives of a murdered eight-year-old girl in Bundaberg in southern Queensland have issued a public plea for information about the crime.
Police say they believe Trinity Leigh Bates, known as Trinny, was abducted from her home and her body found in a nearby drain.
As floral tributes piled up outside the girl's home this morning, Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said the force was pouring "every possible resource" into the hunt for the killer.
The site remains cordoned off and extra police have arrived to help with the investigation.
Grandmother Kerri Hanlon and cousin Suzie Cavallaro spoke of their loss, describing Trinity as a fun-loving water baby who loved butterflies.
"She was one of the most photogenic creatures you'd ever find - if there was a camera, she'd be there," Ms Cavallaro said.
Mrs Hanlon says someone must know something.
"If anybody's out there that saw anything or thought they saw anything or think they know something, they need to tell somebody," Mrs Hanlon said.
Residents say they are living in fear after the murder.
One woman said she cannot believe it happened in her neighbourhood.
"I have a young girl of my own and now she's frightened - she's too frightened to walk to school by herself," she said.
Others are in shock.
"I lost a grandson to cancer but this is worse than that - this is horror," another resident said.
Local resident Caroline says she is shocked.
"I think for something to happen in a town like this is just unreal," she said.
Neighbour Jim says the community is now questioning itself.
"It does worry you that there's somebody like that around," he said.
Police are expected to give further details at a press conference later today.
The cause of death has yet to be determined.

Summary

Bundaberg which is located in southern Queensland, a place where people don't expect this kind of things to happen. A girl was recently murdered and left in nearby drain. The site of the incident were guarded by the police as further investigation will be carried out soon. Residents started to be aware of the situation and the children especially, became afraid to go out from their house. Some of the people still can't believe that there's murder in their town as they have been staying in such a peaceful place for years. However, the cause of the death has not yet been confirmed.


Critique,
Well, we should always be careful. Unexpected things can happen everywhere at any time.

Even in a place such where there's very tight security, a crime can happen.

Car size matters in safety, say experts
Philip King, Motoring editor From: The Australian February 23, 2010 12:00AM

A SMALL car would always come off second best in a collision with a heavier vehicle and it was more difficult to make them safe, experts agreed yesterday.

Just nine models on sale in NSW fall below the 975kg threshold for the transport levy and, with the exception of three Lotus sportscars, all are lightweight runabouts with a range of crash test results.

Two -- the Fiat 500 and Mazda 2 -- achieve the maximum five-star crash rating commonplace for larger vehicles.

Jack Haley, a technical specialist with the NRMA, which sponsors the New Car Assessment Program crash tests, said many drivers were more comfortable with small cars and manufacturers were now fitting sophisticated safety features, such as multiple airbags and electronic stability control.

Mr Haley said the aim of crash-test ratings was to help buyers make informed decisions.


"People normally buy a vehicle within a certain size range, and we try to steer them towards the safer vehicles in that range," he said.

He said smaller vehicles could be engineered to absorb crash energy effectively, but there was no dodging physics.

In multiple-vehicle collisions, weight played a role and occupants in a heavier car would be better off. "Mass has an effect," he said. "A car that's twice as heavy has twice the energy."

Stuart Newstead of the Monash University Accident Research Centre said that driving a car weighing less than a tonne -- much less than the fleet average of 1450kg -- meant you were automatically at a disadvantage.

"If you're in something light you're going to get hit by heavier things on average," he said.

Smaller cars were also more dangerous in single-vehicle crashes. "They have less room to absorb impact energy and inside the vehicle there's less survival space," he said.

Crash results gave a distorted picture, Dr Newstead said, because not all stars were equal.

"It's much harder to design a small vehicle that is ultra-safe," he said. "The NCAP ratings don't reflect that because their tests are independent of mass."

He said that as people were encouraged into smaller vehicles for environmental reasons, it was important to recognise that there was a safety trade-off.

fooled !

hahaa..what a day. Its our day man, 15 nov 09.