Illegal, Illegal - punishable, up to 2 years in prison, Illegal - punishable, up to 2 years in prison to death penalty, Illegal - punishable by death, Illegal – punishable by expulsions from country, Men illegal/Female legal, and Legal. These are the words you will see when you look at the homosexual policies for different countries. These names are just from the 'Same Sex Sexual Activity' column. Some people can't even openly say they are homosexual because they will either die or go to jail. Homosexuals can't travel to some places because they are going to be put in jail. No wonder why homosexuals have to hide who they are.

         What does this mean for other homosexuals in other countries? If teens are being bullying to death just because the religious groups are saying this wrong, but in other countries it is illegal, what happens to them? What are their stories? Do they even get bullied or do they just get killed? What are the emotions they feel when they realize they are homosexual but where they live it is illegal? The teens must receive hell in these places like Afghanistan, Barbados, Somaliland, or Sudan.

         We need change, I may just be on teenager at Science Leadership academy, but I know we need to change. Teens are the future; these teens that are attempting suicides could’ve been something special. How would we know though? We wouldn’t, but we can find out. Maybe if people realized that homosexuals are regular people then we can change the world. It may take time, but it would be better for everybody. I WANT to change this. WE NEED TO CHANGE THIS. Next time, you see a teenage being bullied for their sexual orientation, help them, defend them, or tell a teacher. Be a friend. 

For the last two blogs I have informed you of the facts of teen suicide and depression. There are many things that can lead to depression and then suicide. Some teens commit suicide due to religion. Bobby Griffith was one of those people. Bobby had discovered that he was gay and feared what would happen to him. He grew up learning that if you were homosexual that you would not be worthy of Gods love. He also often overheard his mother saying how much she disliked homosexuals. Feeling as though God and his mother would have turned there backs on him and would not love him, he hated himself, he then took his own life by jumping off a bridge. This made his mother devastated. It was only after his death that she realize her view on gay people was wrong, but it was too late for bobby. This all shows that suicide can also be caused by pressure of religion, and pressure of being good enough for your parents. Bobby thought that he could never be good enough for his parents, he took his life.
http://lakeweedatarrowhead.net/1atragic.htm

Jill was a girl who had tried to kill herself three times. She was also easily aggravated and had low self esteem. She had went to therapy to get some help. This is one of the conversations they had, "I want to commit suicide because..." Jill responded, "I want to commit suicide because I feel trapped. I can't be myself. I have to take care of my mother." Then I continued, "Jill if you could be free to live your own life, would you want to live? "Yes," she replied." This shows that when a teenage feels trapped, they will try to release them self. This is the sad reality of life. We teenagers wish to go out and do what they want and be able to live free, but not all of us can.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Teen-age-Suicide:-A-True-Story&id=179598

"The sharp knife winked at me in the dark closet and whispered softly in my ear, "Come play with me. There is nothing called failure here. You will surely win. Just strike me deep down your nerves and I will set you free from this painful world." It almost hypnotized me. I could see nothing but the sharp edge. I closed my eyes, with a warm breath and a smile I accepted the challenge that leaded only to victory." Victory, that's what some teenagers think it is when they have no option left. The way out of there pain. But that is not true. By doing that you plunge yourself into darkness an will be more alone than ever. And they never think about the ones they left behind, the ones they beat, the ones that last a friend and family member. They lost something permanently because of a bet they never made. They lost someone close to them, and will forever grieve. Believing it was their fault. Thinking they were the reason you were depressed, the reason you took your life. When you kill yourself you lose your your life, they all lose a friend. I believe its not worth it. So should you. No matter how alone you feel, someone will always miss you.
http://living.oneindia.in/expressions/personal-expressions/2008/suicide-true-stories-life-decisions-210708.html

The leading cause of death for people 15-24 is suicide. Don't be a statistic. Don't be the one that abuses substances and become depressed. There is always someone there for you. If it isn't your parents maybe it is a friend. For some people, it was there friend that came at the right time to hang out that stopped them from contemplating suicide and helped then realize life was worth living for. And there is always a reason to live. it is just a matter of finding it. Life is such a beautiful thing and should not be shortened. You never know what the future holds so keep a firm grip on life. We are all born for a reason. Find that reason.

Peace out,
Nick M.   
  

So last time we left off with some information about the different toxins that are going into the air and what we should be aware of. This time we will be talking about the emission trends & projections of the environment. From statistic's the Fifth U.S Climate Action Report concluded, in assessing current trends, that green house gas emissions increased by 17 percent from 1990-2007. Over time, the U.S. GDP increased by 65 percent and the  population increased by 21%. The  dominant factor affecting U.S. emission trends is CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion, which increase by 21.8 percent over the 17 years period. Methane and nitrous oxide emissions decreased by 5 percent and 1 percent which is a good thing. The decline in nitrous oxide emissions is largely due to the installation of newer N2O control technologies in motor vehicles throughout the past decade. I think that we should try to increase the production of hybrid cars instead of continuing to make cars that give off gas. If we stop the production of gas powered cars then the percentage of N2O would decrease rapidly. 

If you want to know more click here.
If you want to know more click here
If you want to know more click here

​To sum this whole "Gay is the New Black" controversy, gay rights is a civil right. However, should not even be thought about being compared to the black human race. People of African decent have been separated from other races because of their skin color. White people and black people had to be separated in school because of their skin color and the discrimination. However, please sit a think... has there ever been a school for straight people and gay people?

 Dont get me wrong, gays have endured a lot throughout their entire lives. No one asked to be gay. It is a proven fact that people are "Born This Way". I totally think it is wrong for a person to sit down a lecture a homosexual about the wrongs of being gay. I believe that people should be able to do what ever they want to make themselves happy, as long as it is not harming anybody else. People can say that "it hurts to see a gay person because they are so disgusting". However, all it really is, is a person being selfish. I have never witnessed a gay person walking around discriminating against straight people.

The world would be so much of a better place if we could stop worrying about the minor things in life and worry about tackling the bigger issues. Homosexuals are not doing anything to anybody. I believe that gays are just trying to feel comfortable in their own skin. When people discriminate against gays, they are just being a bully and need to go get a hobby because making people miserable for something they cannot help is awful! 

Citations-
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/2011/2011/05/22/erica-essay-2/

http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/genetics_of_homosexuality.html

​Since the food industry has grown and there's always more people to feed, the quality of food coming out of factories isn't the same as they used to be 40 years ago. A large factor to that is corn. Cows bred by big coporations are fed corn mil. Cows stomachs are supposed to be fed grass. This species for centuries of generations were raised on the open land of grass. Corn messes up the digestive system of a cow and as a result, they need to be given antibiotics by the time they start eating corn. Which is once they come out their mother's uterus lining into a world where the calves purpose is to be eaten. 

Two men, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, decided to become farmers to learn were the food they eat so much came from. After a nine month period, after planting 31,000 seeds of corn on one acre of land, turned into 10,000 pound harvest. Ten thousand pounds of corn can produced 57, 348 cans of soda, 3,894 corn-fed hamburgers, 2,301 pounds of bacon, or 6,726 boxes of corn flakes. Both of these men realized corn was literally in everything they ate. Doughnuts, bacon, beef, soda, etc. In the conclusion of gaining this knowledge, they decided to get their analyzed to exactly see how much corn was in their bodies. Cheney had a 58% make up of corn in his body and Ellis 53%. 

Cheney and Ellis actually made a film called King Corn to show regular Americans what most of their food consists of. Cheney and Ellis say Earl Butz, the 18th secretary of agriculture, is the blame for this big industry of corn production that caused the fast food industry to boom in the past twenty years. After being in office from 1971 to 1976 under Presiden Nixon's appointment, Butz's idea was to genetically modify corn to create a surplus of the product. 

So, Butz who died in 2008, could be the primary blame for this vegetable that colonized all of Americas died, but regardless, since it's a big money maker for corporations and no farmers, it's going to be hard to wean of off such a highly used project. 

Sources:

Fueling The Fast Food Industry

    I completely understand that there are people in the world who are going to argue against the title of this blog post. However, to me, it's just a rhetorical question. There are so many other things in the world , that are actually wrong, that those people can be spending their time on.

    The United States has come so far over the years with same-sex marriage. Granted, there has been over a  half a million hate crimes for same - sex couples. Keep in consideration that there weren't that many people coming out in the 1920s, so that number of hate crimes was a lot.

    There was a change that came for same-sex couples. In 1972, East Lansing, Michigan banned the discrimination against same sex couples.  However, with change, there are always going to be people against it.  Many people thought that it was a "threat" to the American way of life. Also, some Americans didn't want to have a gay airplane pilot, school teacher, or even doctor. However, when you think about it, we need those people. Why would you stop someone from helping you get to where you want to go, learn, or even cure your disease. WHY?

    When you just sit there and ask yourself the question "WHY" , it is hard to think of an excuse. Any type of discrimination is wrong. There is a wide variety of people who are discriminated against on a daily basis. There are people that really take that seriously. There are people who take their own lives BECAUSE of it. But what I wan't you to do is just as yourself "WHY". You know the reasons why they are doing this. But why do most people want this for same-sex couples or anyone who is teased. These are the consequences. WHY? WHY? WHY and HOW can  people so cruel?



The Link were I got all of my statistics is here.

 

 

            Some of you people that are reading this are probably thinking that childhood obesity can’t affect much of our general public.  You are wrong.  16% of children are obese.  That is a large enough of a percentage to be called an epidemic.  Out of those obese children, ½ of them become obese adults. 

            If you are a parent and your child is obese, don’t just think that they will magically become fit.  That is a process which lasts for a long time.  Diet and exercise affect your Child's weight, and so does mindset.  You need to make them think, and be strong enough to get through each day’s workout.  You need to encourage them, and push them.

            As I have previously stated, obese children are 51% more likely to get heart diseases, diabetes, or some other possibly fatal disease.  About half of all obese people have diabetes as well.  Also, people with a lower education have a higher chance at becoming obese.  These are staggering statistics.

            Throughout this project, I’ve discussed obesity through the lens of an academic.  I cannot fathom being obese, but I know that this is an issue that needs to be pursued.  America is slowly becoming more obese, and I don’t want the future of our country to look like the movie Wall-E.  Help America by checking out the links below, and doing research yourself.  With our help, this topic could become a first priority.

Bibliography:

http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa010803a.htm

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09317.html

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/obesityinchildren.html