By Nicky Lee
Introduction
Recently, one big shock damaged Haiti. It caused numerous effects to wound many people and damage many buildings. Earthquakes are one of many catastrophes. Sometimes an earthquake is related to a Tsunami which is a hazardous natural disaster from the deep sea or ocean. According to the experts, “Tectonic earthquakes will occur anywhere within the earth where there is sufficient stored elastic strain energy to drive fracture propagation along a fault plane. In the case of transform or convergent type plate boundaries, which form the largest fault surfaces on earth, they will move past each other smoothly and seismically only if there are no irregularities or asperities along the boundary that increase the frictional resistance” (“Earthquakes”). As you read, the natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis or avalanches damaged nature and people who are especially poor and completely destitute. Of course, some of the geologists who are specialists of plate tectonics are still studying up on earthquakes and researching the makeup of the soil. A great amount of pressure will occur underneath the mantle of the Earth while the Earth’s plates are moving in the opposite direction of each other. The lithosphere, which is the rigid outer layer of earth, would break when the pressures from the Earth break out. For instance, think about a little stick. When you give a force to each side of a stick, it is easier to break than when you just set it in a normal position. Actually, this is similar to earthquakes. It means that two forces between different sides of the lithosphere are powered to each side. When these pressures and stresses are great enough, the crust will break. After the crust breaks, the pressure will decrease as energy is moving among the Earth's layers in form of waves, and earthquakes happen. People need to recognize some information about earthquakes, especially, the size and frequency of occurrence, records of earthquakes’ effects, and how to measure the earthquakes’ degrees.
Size and Frequency of Occurrence
Usually minor earthquakes are taking place nearly constantly around the world like in Alaska or Oklahoma in the U.S. as well as on the Asian continent. Also, these usually occur in Chile, Peru, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, the Azores in Portugal, Turkey, New Zealand, Greece, Italy, and Japan, but earthquakes can occur almost anywhere, including New York City, London, and Australia. Larger earthquakes, however, come about less frequently. Therefore a few countries or cities are damaged badly seismically by magnitudes 4~6 in a particular time period.
Most of the world's earthquakes (90%, and 81% of the largest) take place in the 40,000-km-long, horseshoe-shaped zone called the circum-Pacific seismic belt, also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, which for the most part bounds the Pacific Plate. Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate boundaries, too, such as along the Himalayan Mountains. With the rapid growth of mega-cities such as Mexico City, Tokyo and Tehran, in areas of high seismic risk, some seismologists are warning that a single quake may claim the lives of up to 3 million people(“Earthquake”).
Measuring the Size of An Earthquake
Magnitude (“Earthquakes and Volcanoes”)
Modern seismographic systems precisely amplify and record ground motion (typically at periods of between 0.1 and 100 seconds) as a function of time. This amplification and recording as a function of time is the source of instrumental amplitude and arrival-time data on near and distant earthquakes. Although similar seismographs have existed since the 1890's, it was only in the 1930's that Charles F. Richter, a California seismologist, introduced the concept of earthquake magnitude. His original definition held only for California earthquakes occurring within 600 km of a particular type of seismograph. His basic idea was quite simple: by knowing the distance from a seismograph to an earthquake and observing the maximum signal amplitude recorded on the seismograph, an empirical quantitative ranking of the earthquake's inherent size or strength could be made. Most California earthquakes occur within the top 16 km of the crust; to a first approximation, corrections for variations in earthquake focal depth were, therefore, unnecessary.
Largest and Deadliest Earthquakes by Year (1990 – recent)
The largest earthquakes since 1990 occurred off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra in Southeast Asia. Many people who enjoyed the leisure on the beach were killed or wounded by the biggest earthquake. Actually it was the Tsunami made by earthquakes. It was initially reported as moment magnitude 9.0 (“2009 Sumatra Earthquakes”). The hypocenters of main earthquakes were approximately 160 kilometers (100 miles). According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a total of 227,898 died and this is one of the ten worst earthquakes on record (“2009 Sumatra Earthquakes.”).
The deadliest earthquake occurred in Haiti in January 2010. Until now, it is impossible to count and estimate how many people have died because there has been a lot of destitution and rescue and search team have had problems.
Conclusion (Prevention)
As you know, earthquakes, which are kinds of natural disasters in the world, are shaking of ground caused by movement of the earth’s crust. Although the Earth’s plates are moving in the opposite directions of each other, they make great impacts on the lithosphere. When the plates move, they stress on each other and themselves. When these pressures and stresses are great enough, the crust breaks. After the crust breaks, the pressure will decrease as energy moves among the Earth's layers in the form of waves, and earthquakes happen. Many scientists are continuously thinking of ways to try and reduce earthquake power. Some are trying to lessen the friction between colliding plates. According to the special instruments that are now in existence to give warnings in California, Japan, and New Zealand, little vibrations show if land has begun to shift dangerously on a certain side of a fault. Other instruments are used to detect certain gases collecting in groundwater.
Architects are also designing earthquake-proof buildings, constructing on rock instead of gravel, or on soft sand or clay. Large structures are made with strong frameworks of steel or reinforced concrete, so that the frame stands firm even if the ground is shaking. The pyramid-shaped Transamerica building in San Francisco was designed in this fashion. Researchers are always trying to reduce the impact of earthquakes. They continue to study and experiment with ways to tame the Earth. However, we all still have much more to learn before we can control the power of one of nature’s most amazing phenomena.
Works Cited
“2009 Sumatra Earthquakes.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Sumatra_earthquakes
Archer, Jules. Earthquake! New York: Crestwood House, 1991. 10 Feb 2010.
“Earthquakes.” Wikipedia. Web. 28 Jan. 2010.
“Earthquakes.” http://mediatheek.thinkquest.nl/~ll125/en/earthqke.htm
Lampton, Christopher. Earthquake. Brookfield, Connecticut: The Millbrook Press, 1990. 10 Feb 2010.
Spence, William, and Stuart A. Sipkin, and George L. Choy. Earthquakes and Volcanoes. Volume 21(1). Web.1989. 4 Feb 2010.
Van Rose, Susanna. Eyewitness Books: Volcano & Earthquake. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. 10 Feb 2010.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Finding a Solution to Smog
By Vincent Chan
People who live in cities and metropolises are facing the problem of pollution. If a city’s economics were flush, it would make lots of pollution by the economics developing, people consuming and traffic discharging fumes that pollute the air. Nowadays, more and more people would rather commute a long distance betweena city and a suburb for working every day because of the effect of pollition. They give up living in the centre of a big city and ove to a suburb. However, when a place becomes crowded with people, the problem of pollution is inevitable. Therefore, cities are always covered by hazy smog. Everyone knows smog is made by air pollution and is bad for our lungs. Learning how to conrol the pollution is what everybody has to pay attention to. There are three workable solutions to the smog problem: technology improving, policy revising, and habits changing.
Human technology has been developing quickly in different fields, such as exploring outer space, devising new weapons, inventing hi-tech products, and so on. But how about the inventions for reducing the smog appearance? Car companies and oil manufactories should take on this responsibility first. Of course, they can’t stop manufacturing cars and drilling for oil, but they can invent a solar car and refine virgin oil more purely. Those are practical ways and they are good for the environment.
Restrictive policies are also good ways to control the pollutants, not because we want to reduce our civil freedom, but because we don’t want our cities covered by toxic smog. So the policies should be revised to restrict manufactories to not over discharge pollutants. If manufacotries can reduce the discharge, the blue sky will be brighter and the air will be fresher.
Because of our selfish attitude, every day we are making lots of pollution. For instance, people like to drive their cars instead of taking public transportation. Moreover, traffic jams could hold up cars and make more and more discharded pollutants. To solve the smog problem, everyone has the same obligation to support the solution. Start using public transportation, ride a bicycle or even walk instead of driving your own car. As long as people can change their bad habits, the smog will disappear faster than we expect.
In conclusion, after listing the problems and solutions in this essay, of all we can do the priority is to REDUCE and CHANGE. The future is in our hands: the less the pollution, the clearer the city sight!
People who live in cities and metropolises are facing the problem of pollution. If a city’s economics were flush, it would make lots of pollution by the economics developing, people consuming and traffic discharging fumes that pollute the air. Nowadays, more and more people would rather commute a long distance betweena city and a suburb for working every day because of the effect of pollition. They give up living in the centre of a big city and ove to a suburb. However, when a place becomes crowded with people, the problem of pollution is inevitable. Therefore, cities are always covered by hazy smog. Everyone knows smog is made by air pollution and is bad for our lungs. Learning how to conrol the pollution is what everybody has to pay attention to. There are three workable solutions to the smog problem: technology improving, policy revising, and habits changing.
Human technology has been developing quickly in different fields, such as exploring outer space, devising new weapons, inventing hi-tech products, and so on. But how about the inventions for reducing the smog appearance? Car companies and oil manufactories should take on this responsibility first. Of course, they can’t stop manufacturing cars and drilling for oil, but they can invent a solar car and refine virgin oil more purely. Those are practical ways and they are good for the environment.
Restrictive policies are also good ways to control the pollutants, not because we want to reduce our civil freedom, but because we don’t want our cities covered by toxic smog. So the policies should be revised to restrict manufactories to not over discharge pollutants. If manufacotries can reduce the discharge, the blue sky will be brighter and the air will be fresher.
Because of our selfish attitude, every day we are making lots of pollution. For instance, people like to drive their cars instead of taking public transportation. Moreover, traffic jams could hold up cars and make more and more discharded pollutants. To solve the smog problem, everyone has the same obligation to support the solution. Start using public transportation, ride a bicycle or even walk instead of driving your own car. As long as people can change their bad habits, the smog will disappear faster than we expect.
In conclusion, after listing the problems and solutions in this essay, of all we can do the priority is to REDUCE and CHANGE. The future is in our hands: the less the pollution, the clearer the city sight!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Worth Living Again
By Viviana Rodriguez
It is never easy to say good bye to great experiences. I remember when my family and I moved from our first house. I was six years old and as my dad drove away from our first home, my tears ran down my face, and all the memories you can possibly have at the age of six were flashing in my mind.
About twelve years later I was, again, saying good bye to another important and remarkable part of my life, my high school life. Melancholy and excitement filled my heart at that time. School has been the best time in my life, thus every single memory from my school life makes me smile and sigh. Nevertheless, I understand those moments have to finish in order to allow new experiences to come.
The year and 3 months I spent in Fort St. John will also be recorded in my mind as one of those experiences that have added spice to my life. My classes at the college, the weather, and, of course, the people I met and the friends I made are unforgettable.
When I first arrived at Northern Lights College (Fort St. John Campus) I felt scared and anxious. It was a whole new world to me. People spoke a different language, the weather was definitely different than the one I was used to, and I was by myself.
The college offers a variety of programs, and English as a Second Language (ESL) is one of them, in my opinion the best ESL program in the world. The ESL classes are incredible; it’s like going to meet with friends every day, and have fun, rather than going to boring lectures and sleeping through them. The classes are interactive and you actually feel as an essential part of them. The fact that the classes are small in number of students makes it easier to give your opinions, to ask and clarify questions, and to get more personalized attention and help. I think these are, without a doubt, a fundamental advantage when learning another language.
These, of course, would not have been possible, and as fun as it was if the teachers and the staff who work at the college would not have been as wonderful and dedicated people as they are. They are creative, patient, responsible, comprehensive, and always helpful. While I was there I could feel they do love to teach and care about the students, thus they do it in a high quality manner. Everything I learned at the college I learned because I had people who cared about me and motivated me to improve day by day.
Besides having the experience of having classes in a different language, during that year and three months I also experienced having classes in winter. This is normal for Canadians or people who live in countries that get all the seasons, but for me it was a complete new experience. I remember the day when I first saw snow. It was November 11, 2008. That morning I woke up and when I looked through the window I was shocked as I saw everything was white. I cannot describe the way my heart jumped and shrank when I saw the backyard of the dorms. I remember wanting to take pictures the whole day, as if the snow was going to disappear that night (of course it didn’t; in fact, it stayed until the beginning of May 2009). During the winter time I experienced what the word "cold" really means. It feels like if the heat of your body is being sucked by, pretty much, everything that is around you (while being outside).
Winter is the season that starts a new year and the one that lasts the most in Fort St John. Besides winter I also experienced the incomparable smells of the spring, which filled me with new energy and fed my senses with beautiful colors, odors and sounds. Most of these features stayed through the summer, yet the summer has its own sparkle. The colors are brighter and the sun, finally, seems to work. With the end of summer, the fall arrives and it becomes the perfect ending for such a lively season that summer is. Fall is the season that turns the summer lights down, the colours are a little darker and brownish, but still unforgettable. During the fall I used to go for a walk in the forests that were around the college and feel the peaceful agony of the bright summer. I am so thankful and happy that I had the opportunity to enjoy all the four seasons, for first time in my life.
One of the best things of studying abroad is the chances you have to meet people. For the most part, while I was at Northern Lights College I meet Canadians and people from different parts of the Asian continent. Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China, and Nepal were some of the countries from where my classmates came from. I also met a Hungarian, Turkish, Austrian, French, Nigerian, Ethiopian, Swedish, and Spanish speakers. Having met all of them was my favorite part of being at the college.
Canadians are very welcoming people and surely excellent hosts. They are very helpful, generous, and, up to now, they are the best pastry cooks for me; no wonder why people like to come to Canada! Besides Canadians, the other big group of people I shared with were the Chinese people. I have to admit I did not know too much about their culture, and it was a pleasure to get to know them. In particular I met a big group of guys from Macau, a former Portuguese colony in China. I learned that it is something like "Las Vegas" of China. It sounds like a very interesting place to visit. They were also very friendly and kind. They care about their friends and they are very helpful.
Nowadays I am in Ottawa, another stunning place in Canada. I am studying at the University of Ottawa and one day I will become a translator and interpreter. I would like to thank everybody who helped me while I was in Fort St. John, and particularly everybody from Northern Lights College. I own them everything I learned during that year and three months, not only my English – which allowed me to be here at this University pursuing my goal - but also for all the priceless lessons that helped me to become a better person.
It is never easy to say good bye to great experiences. I remember when my family and I moved from our first house. I was six years old and as my dad drove away from our first home, my tears ran down my face, and all the memories you can possibly have at the age of six were flashing in my mind.
About twelve years later I was, again, saying good bye to another important and remarkable part of my life, my high school life. Melancholy and excitement filled my heart at that time. School has been the best time in my life, thus every single memory from my school life makes me smile and sigh. Nevertheless, I understand those moments have to finish in order to allow new experiences to come.
The year and 3 months I spent in Fort St. John will also be recorded in my mind as one of those experiences that have added spice to my life. My classes at the college, the weather, and, of course, the people I met and the friends I made are unforgettable.
When I first arrived at Northern Lights College (Fort St. John Campus) I felt scared and anxious. It was a whole new world to me. People spoke a different language, the weather was definitely different than the one I was used to, and I was by myself.
The college offers a variety of programs, and English as a Second Language (ESL) is one of them, in my opinion the best ESL program in the world. The ESL classes are incredible; it’s like going to meet with friends every day, and have fun, rather than going to boring lectures and sleeping through them. The classes are interactive and you actually feel as an essential part of them. The fact that the classes are small in number of students makes it easier to give your opinions, to ask and clarify questions, and to get more personalized attention and help. I think these are, without a doubt, a fundamental advantage when learning another language.
These, of course, would not have been possible, and as fun as it was if the teachers and the staff who work at the college would not have been as wonderful and dedicated people as they are. They are creative, patient, responsible, comprehensive, and always helpful. While I was there I could feel they do love to teach and care about the students, thus they do it in a high quality manner. Everything I learned at the college I learned because I had people who cared about me and motivated me to improve day by day.
Besides having the experience of having classes in a different language, during that year and three months I also experienced having classes in winter. This is normal for Canadians or people who live in countries that get all the seasons, but for me it was a complete new experience. I remember the day when I first saw snow. It was November 11, 2008. That morning I woke up and when I looked through the window I was shocked as I saw everything was white. I cannot describe the way my heart jumped and shrank when I saw the backyard of the dorms. I remember wanting to take pictures the whole day, as if the snow was going to disappear that night (of course it didn’t; in fact, it stayed until the beginning of May 2009). During the winter time I experienced what the word "cold" really means. It feels like if the heat of your body is being sucked by, pretty much, everything that is around you (while being outside).
Winter is the season that starts a new year and the one that lasts the most in Fort St John. Besides winter I also experienced the incomparable smells of the spring, which filled me with new energy and fed my senses with beautiful colors, odors and sounds. Most of these features stayed through the summer, yet the summer has its own sparkle. The colors are brighter and the sun, finally, seems to work. With the end of summer, the fall arrives and it becomes the perfect ending for such a lively season that summer is. Fall is the season that turns the summer lights down, the colours are a little darker and brownish, but still unforgettable. During the fall I used to go for a walk in the forests that were around the college and feel the peaceful agony of the bright summer. I am so thankful and happy that I had the opportunity to enjoy all the four seasons, for first time in my life.
One of the best things of studying abroad is the chances you have to meet people. For the most part, while I was at Northern Lights College I meet Canadians and people from different parts of the Asian continent. Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China, and Nepal were some of the countries from where my classmates came from. I also met a Hungarian, Turkish, Austrian, French, Nigerian, Ethiopian, Swedish, and Spanish speakers. Having met all of them was my favorite part of being at the college.
Canadians are very welcoming people and surely excellent hosts. They are very helpful, generous, and, up to now, they are the best pastry cooks for me; no wonder why people like to come to Canada! Besides Canadians, the other big group of people I shared with were the Chinese people. I have to admit I did not know too much about their culture, and it was a pleasure to get to know them. In particular I met a big group of guys from Macau, a former Portuguese colony in China. I learned that it is something like "Las Vegas" of China. It sounds like a very interesting place to visit. They were also very friendly and kind. They care about their friends and they are very helpful.
Nowadays I am in Ottawa, another stunning place in Canada. I am studying at the University of Ottawa and one day I will become a translator and interpreter. I would like to thank everybody who helped me while I was in Fort St. John, and particularly everybody from Northern Lights College. I own them everything I learned during that year and three months, not only my English – which allowed me to be here at this University pursuing my goal - but also for all the priceless lessons that helped me to become a better person.
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