Ann's Blog On E.coli

Ann's Blog #9:

"Wild Pigs eyed in E.coli outbreak" (cnn.com, October 28, 2006)



The investigation on the E.coli outbreak in spinach of September continues. In the outbreak, three people were killed and over two hundred were sickened. Investigators are working to try and pinpoint the cause of this outbreak. They have found the exact ranch that the bad spinach came from which is four ranches in California. In their research they have found some fragments of the same kind of E.coli in the cattle's manure, thus hinting that the bacteria must have came from the cattle. The question that now puzzles them is that the cattle are kept about one mile away from the field where the contaminated spinach was found, so they are unsure how the E.coli made its way that far. In investigation they studied the water in and around the ranch. They looked at the irrigation, runoff, and flooding of the area. Then they examined the wildlife animals around the spinach field. In looking at that they came across a type of wild pig that could have done the spreading of the bacteria. They are still in the process of examining their manure and other things that could prove that they are the source of the spreading of the E.coli.

Its crazy to me how something happening on California farms could effect people all around America. Even I, in Alexandria, Minnesota, was effected by something that was occurring on only four spinach fields in California. A couple of weeks ago my family and I decided to get some pizza at Pappa Murphy's and we like specialty pizzas and so we wanted to get a type of Medditerean Pizza. Unfortunately, we were told that we couldn't because an ingredient in it was spinach. The next week I wanted to order a salad at Subway, and was told I couldn't get spinach leaves because of the outbreaks. To me this seems like a huge overeaction. Out of all the spinach farms in all of America, only four contained contaminated spinach. And, they were all in the same valley of California. First of all, it effects normal people like me, but it has a huge impact on the farmers of other farms because they are unable to sell their spinach because of paranoia. I feel so bad for those farmers; they can't even get business from a pizza restaurant in Minnesota. To me, it seems overboard. These ranches were punished for the other four ranches problems. Business for them went way down. The punishment should go to the four ranchers that produced the bad spinach. They should be daily testing their spinach and making sure that there are no contaminations. If the pig theory is correct, what are wild pigs doing leaving manure on the fields of the food that Americans eat? When looking for additional information I came across a picture and an article of a boy who died from the bad spinach. The little boy below was two years old, and probably only trying to obey his mommy when she told him to eat his vegetables. Obviously the farmers didn't do the food poisoning on purpose, but deaths like these should be prevented by extra safe procedures on the ranches. That is where there should be overeaction; in the preparation not the after effects. The whole situation should have been prevented, maybe then that cute little boy would be out playing with his play cars, I wouldn't have had to eat sausage pizza for lunch, and the rest of the spinach farms could be prospering.




News Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/10/26/tainted.spinach.ap/index.html
Pig Picture Found On:
http://www.cohsoft.com.au/nature/gallery/p/peccary.jpg
Spinach Picture Found On:
http://www.playfuls.com/bizworld/gimages/spinach22092.jpg
Two Year Old Picture Found On:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2006/10/05/2003291123.jpg
Additional Information Found On:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003291391_spinach06.html

Ann's Blog On College Prices

Ann's Blog #8















"Average College Cost Breaks $30,000" (cnn.com, October 26, 2006)

Every year the cost of tuition for 4-year colleges increases, and this year was no different. Of course private and public schools make a difference, but there is no question that the the price of an education is getting more and more costly. The average cost to attend a private school has just tiptoed over the $30,000 mark. This amount comes from the necessities of a college education; a combination of school tuition costs and room and board. For the average college student wishing to attend a private school, the cost of tuition is $22,218 and then with the addition of $8,149 for room and board it is $30,367. A public school's average tuition cost is around $5,836 with an additional $6,960 for room and board. Even though the prices are continually increasing, the rate at which the tuition costs for public colleges has decreased slightly. This year the rate of increase is at 6.3% whereas last year there was an increase of 7.1%. While there is all this increasing of prices there is also an increase of financial help for these students. The article stated that the amount of student aid has increased by 3.7%. This goes hand and hand with the fact that almost 2/3 of college students get help financially on the prices of tuition. This financial help has a huge effect on the actual amount of money that these individual students have to pay. A student who has enrolled into an average private school will pay, after grants, an average of $13,200. This is considerably lower than the $22,218 that would be paid without help. This financial help comes in both loans and grants. Grants make up 44% of the total amount of money funded to students while loans make up 51% of that money. The reason that the price keeps increasing on tuition costs is because the government is not able to provide the money that would allow the colleges to make profit, so they have to factor that into the tuition costs for the students.

The majority of the article makes it seem like the costs of tuition in this day and age is unreasonable to some extent (although the article is not at all opinionated - the facts alone lead the reader to this conclusion). The last segment of the article changes my mind completely. It states the fact that although the cost of getting a 4-year college degree is very high, the average amount that is made after receiving this education (as opposed to a high school diploma alone) is 70% higher for women and 63% higher for men. Those are some pretty high percentages. I would choose to pay the costs of receiving a college education over trying to skip it, hands down. Then again, that has been my goal all along. Even if I look at the decision through the eyes of someone who hasn't always seen college as their future destiny, I still think it seems like an easy choice. When I began to get started on my bloggin tonight, I ran across the title of this article and immediately I knew that I wanted to do my blog on it. With junior year flying by, my college decisions are looming over my head, so my interest level in college information is at an all time high. Even while doing some of my prior blogs I have taken the time to read other college-related articles. But this article especially peaked my interest because at this point I haven't put a single thought into the price of college. Thus far, my only concerns involving college have been grades and the thought of choosing a college. I must be some spoiled brat if I am a junior in high school and I have not yet thought about how much college is going to cost! (hopefully not!) So being that I had not thought about it, I had no idea how much the actual amount was going to cost. I had an idea roughly, but my estimate was very broad. Reading this article really opened my eyes. An education is quite a sum of money. Then I got to thinking that I have spent six hours a day, five days a week for eleven years just getting myself ready for this next level of education that will allow me to have a job that I will enjoy and prosper in. Suddenly that sum of money does not seem so big. Now that I have in mind the cost of my college tuition, the article on statefarm.com helps me to visualize the amount of money that I will be spending on my children 30-40 years from now. Now I see that I really need that 70% more income that I will receive after going to a 4-year college. Everything is building on itself and it is clear to me that the amazingly high costs of a college education are well worth it.

Information found:

http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/24/pf/college/college_costs/index.htm?postversion=2006102410

Additional Information found:

http://www.statefarm.com/mutual/sc/invest_know/costofcollege.asp

Graph found:

http://www.statefarm.com/_images/college_graph.gif

Ann's Blog On Spacecraft To Mars

Ann's Blog #7:

"Spacecraft brings Mars into focus" (cnn.com, October 19, 2006)

The gap between the unknown and the known of the universe continues to get smaller and smaller. In August of 2005 a highly advanced spacecraft was sent to capture images of the planet Mars. It wasn't until September of 2006 that the spacecraft was able to get into position to orbit Mars and send images back to Earth. The images are showing signs of possible water and ice. This would mean that oxygen could be extracted from the H2O and a manned exploration could be possible. There are things like valleys that could have been carved by water, clay deposits that that hold standing water and streams. The camera also detected melting frost and layers of ice and dirt. Within the layers of ice, the oldest layer resembles the newest which indicates that the amount of dust in the Marsian atmosphere is dependent on the movements of the planets. There is reason to believe that there has been major climate changes within the last 100,000 years. Scientists are now working to pick apart the data that their spacecraft has been sending them. They hope to find out things like how much water vapor is getting through Mars' atmosphere.

Space exploration is always an interesting subject. Somehow I'm not always able to keep up to date on the events. I had no idea that that over a year ago there was a spacecraft sent to investigate Mars. I know that budget is always an issue, so I guess I just assumed that we couldn't afford to explore and investigate space. Reading the article on cnn.com confused me slightly, so I decided to look further into it. I was able to find an article on msnbc.com that was easier for me to understand. After reading it I better understood the mission of the exploration. They're looking around the area of the Victoria Crater and are currently 50 meters away. They hope to look into the surface of Mars to find water or ice and to examine the crater. They can then decipher things like the amount of time that there has been an environment that contained water. In the end they will take 3D pictures that they can decode to find the answers. I think that it is great that we are following our curiosity and exploring the unknown of the universe. There are many things that can be learned by studying things outside of our atmosphere. To me, its exciting to think about possibly having people up on other planets. First spacecrafts, then humans; step by step! When I really stop and think about it I begin to wonder what difference it makes if we know what the rest of the universe is like, but then the nature and strength of my curiosity pushes my doubts away. The only other issue that I have is that America is currently involved in a costly war. I'm not quite sure where The United States Of America is finding the money to put into such expensive experiments. Apparently the leaders of our nation find it appropriate to spend some money on space exploration. In my opinion, if the money is there, there is no reason as to why we shouldn't explore our solar system.

News Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/10/17/mars.picture.reut/index.html
Additional Information From:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14945044/

Ann's Blog On Florida Murders

Ann's Blog #6:

"Adults, Children found dead in gruesome highway shootings" (cnn.com, October 13, 2006)

This article is about a mysterious shooting that occurred on a busy interstate in Florida. There was one woman and one man and two children found dead with bullet wounds. The woman was found with her body covering the two childrens in what seemed like an effort to protect them. The Florida police don't have any major suspects because evidence is scarce at this point. They have professionals working to dig up something that could begin to point them in the right direction. The incident occurred sometime in the middle of the night on Friday the thirteenth of October. There were people who live in the area who awoke around 2:30 am to the sound of six gunshots. A man on a motorcycle found the bodies along the edge of the road around 7:30 am and called the police.

Friday the thirteenth sure does rise some suspicions for me. Not that I normally believe in superstitions, but it is ironic. What a baffling event. It would be hard to be the detectives involved in the investigation because (as far as they are letting the public know) there isn't any major evidence that could help to find any suspects. As of this point it is a weird case because there is no knowledge of what went on to lead to these four peoples deaths. All that they know for sure is that these people were killed by bullets. Detectives found bullet wounds and bullet particles in the area around the scene. I am sure that everyone involved is simply holding their breath in hopes of finding some sort of clue. It must be awfully disturbing for the couple who awoke to the gunshots during the night and then later come to find out that four people were killed near their home. Then for the poor man starting his day off with a motorcycle ride who happened to glance at the ditch to find four dead bodies. I can't imagine what that would be like. I would be so shook up after witnessing that. The weirdest part, to me, is that two young children were involved. The article stated that the children seemed to be between the ages of four and six years old. It's quite the grotesque scene to find a woman sprawled across two dead children. The whole article just leaves me, and seems to leave the personnel involved, puzzled.
My prayers will go out to the families and friends of these poor people.

Ann's Blog On North Korea's possession of Nuclear Weapons

Ann's Blog #5:

"Vote On North Korea Sanctions Expected Saturday" (cnn.com, October 13, 2006)

Lately North Korea has been making headlines left and right and the article that I read was yet another dealing with North Korea's Nuclear weapon possession. This one deals with the positions of other countries like the United States, Japan and China. The issues over the sanctions that are being debated are again discussed in this article. U.S. Ambassador, John Bolton is quoted on this subject while the U.N. Security Council decided to postpone their decision on whether or not to sanction North Korea. There is still questioning on whether the nuclear test was real not just a threat to remove sanctions. Even under suspicions, the United States just wants a resolution to the conflict. In an attempt to do just that the United States has removed the ban on the imports from North Korea. The Bush Administration has warned North Korea that if they make any sudden violent action the United States would stand behind Japan and South Korea.

I hope that I am not mistaken on my interpretation of the issue, but it seems to me that the leader of North Korea is using this in a dangerous way. I understand that he needs some bargaining power to be able to get rid of the sanctions being put on his country and to help the people of his nation who are so poor that they are starving to death. I just feel like there are many alternative options for him. In my opinion, it is ridiculous for anyone to desire possession of nuclear weapons. That should be one of those lessons that are learned by our ancestors mistakes, without actually having to go through it ourselves. It isn't necessary to go to such destructive lengths just to make a point. I think that there are other ways to let the rest of the world know that changes need to be made for the people of North Korea. Obviously nuclear weapons are a huge threat to the rest of the world, but, to me, it's poor of the leader to have to resort to that. From there comes the issue of whether or not the sanctions should be lifted or not. North Korea put the rest of the world in a hard position (I suppose as was their intention) because no one wants to mess with a country who has nuclear weapons and isn't afraid to use them. At the same time it's hard to justify giving in to a force whose purpose is mass destruction. How does a country get around circumstances like these? Especially when a country refuses to negotiate. It looks as though the leaders of countries like ours and Japan and South Korea are doing a good job of figuring out the best way to handle the situation. They are deciding to join forces if necessary. All the circumstances leave the world tiptoeing around the issues. I am glad that I am only a student at Jefferson Senior High and don't have to be the leader in the matter.

News Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/10/13/nkorea.sanctions/index.html

Ann's Blog On US School Shootings

Ann's Blog #4:

"U.S. School Shootings Raise Fresh Questions" (cnn.com, October 4, 2006)

An issue that is always lurking around the corner is the issue of school violence. The whole world holds their breath between big events hoping that it won't happen again. Recently our worst fears have been realized when it has, in fact, happened again. There have been three recent events involving violence in schools. One in Pennsylvania, one in Colorado, and one in Wisconsin. Each involved shootings and innocent deaths which ultimately lead to suicides. The issue of gun control is brought up and debated. This has been an issue since Colombine and even before. The question of the causes of these extreme conditions of stress, depression, and violence remains unanswered. Some fingers point to music, video games, and bullying to find the solution.

I have never and probably never will be able to understand how someone could pull a trigger on another human being. No matter how someone may have been wronged or how depressed someone is, how can anyone ever see a solution in murdering another person? It is especially disheartening for me when, in the end, they turn the barrel to their own skull and kill themselves. If only that could have been their first step. At the same time, it makes me so sad that there are people who have nothing to live for, no one to turn to that they go insane. It almost makes me guilty because I have so many good things in my life. I wish I could even share with them some of my positive outlook, show them a glass that is half full. Then comes into play the debate over gun control. In my opinion, it is not the guns that are the problem. If anything guns should become more easily accessible. If a teacher or principle would have had a gun (or even some sort of temporary paralyzer) then many innocent students and faculty could have been spared. If anything should be further looked into, it is depression. If everyone in this world could have one person who befriended them the chances of these tragic events would drastically increase. The feelings of love, want and need are all it takes to create some sort of happiness. School shootings are the ultimate heart-breakers for me. I strongly believe that the issue lies in love or lack there of, not guns. Acceptance is all that is needed.

News Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/10/02/crime.schools.causes.reut/index.html