Light pollution:

Light Pollution

I am interested in light pollution because it  affects animals and the horizon and it is making animals unable to see the north star, to go south for the winter. Also we can´t see stars. I learned that it affects birds. It kills insects too. It is way too bright for the animals. Light pollution is when the sky is orange and foggy. It is about how lights at night can damage your eyes when you get older because the white lights is as bright as the sun. I learned how it affects insects, bugs, and nocturnal animals by making them lost without the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. In fact, light pollution is getting worse, and it can affect your health and your sleep.

Light pollution is an important topic to me because I miss seeing the stars. I always tell my mom to turn off the lights when we´re not using them because it affects our health and

wastes electricity. Light pollution is a widespread problem every year, but we can stop it by turning off the lights.

I don´t understand why people would need so many lights. Red lights are enough for big buildings. Street lights are okay, too. Fun fact! The bright lights confuse nocturnal animals at night for ex: turtles follows the light and end up on the boardwalk of  beaches. There are 10,000,000,000 lights in the united states. But Los Vegas has over 42.3Billion light beams in lukor sky.  That is about 32.3 billion more than the U.S.

   A psychologist found that the media’s portrayal of women and girls especially causes body image  issues and can cause dieting, wanting to be thin, and body surveillance. Body surveillance is when someone is constantly looking at the way there body appears and not always feeling comfortable with it.  Social media like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram images and reports can  cause this. I read this article and it was about a girl getting bullied for the way she looked. She even got rid of most of her social media friends because she was afraid of being made fun of. This is not just a teenage problem and this affects the adults. The article said that about 60% of the public feel ashamed about the way they look. Studies  show that girls are more vulnerable to what they see on social media. There are alot of statistics like 35% of them are worried about being tagged in a picture that is not attractive. There are 27% feel stressed about how they look in a picture that is already posted. There are 22% who feel bad about themselves if there picture is ignored. This needs to stop. Look at these 2 images and notice how one is photoshopped and one is not. His teeth are whiter and many of his face lines are gone. The media uses photoshopping a lot and Aerie is one of the few companies that has a promise to show people as they really are.

I am not saying that social media is a bad thing but I do think people but teenagers in general need to stop comparing themselves to other people or being worried about if  you looked good in that picture. I hope to learn a lot about this topic and also I hope to teach other people about this topic. I am curious about why there is not more research on how men and boys are shown in the media. I also want to learn about we can use the media for good. I am looking forward to helping the community.    

When I was a toddler, a 64 year old woman took care of me. She was married and had three children, two boys and a girl. Many years later, her children married and had their own children. One of those kids is my cousin. My cousin was the lady’s company until my cousin had to leave her. One day my mom called the lady and she asked to talk to me. We talked for a good half an hour. She told me about her life and how she missed me. I told her that I held her to a very high esteem. As we were talking, it was really sad when she “wished her family could visit her”. The last time I talked to her was two years ago. Now, I understand that she feels lonely and isolated from her family.  I used to call her grandma and she was really nice to me. Then, I realized that many people might feel isolated from the world and others might realize that they are alone and old.

I want to help people who feel lonely, therefore I researched what was like to live in isolation. Seniors who live in isolation are in the ages of 65 and older, most of these seniors don’t have any kids meaning that there is no one looking after them. Feeling isolated can affect them both physically and mentally. Seniors that live in isolation often experience elder abuse, seniors who are part of the LGBT community fall on the range of seniors that are isolated the most. Living in isolation can cause depression, high blood pressure, and long-term illnesses. Also, elders who feel isolated tend to be pessimistic about their future. All these things are something our community should be worried about. One day far from this one I would not like to feel like that. If I get to feel like that I will want someone to help me go through that moment in my life.

The website Senior Advice provides a video of two elders,Roy Croucher and Margaret Nickless. They talk about how it is like to feel that they are old and lonely. In the video, Margaret talks about how sad it is to realize that when you get home the only thing you see are “empty rooms”. Roy follows up with that and says that every Saturday night he waits for a call “sitting down near to the phone so I can answer right away”. Roy gets a phone call once in while from volunteers at the senior center he goes to. When he gets that phone call he claims that it might be the only call he could get in a day Like Margaret, he also talks about realizing that his house is empty. Adding to that Roy says that sometimes he waits for his dead wife to cross the door, but he knows that it will never happen. Their situation is really sad, as a community we should support people like Margaret and Roy. These people are in need of an “I care about you”.

Just imagine if that was the case of your grandma, the grandma that bakes cookies and brownies for you. If it was your grandpa, the man that enlightens your day with compliments and advice. Imagine if that person was your parents, imagine if that was you in the future. The website Aging Care, explains how we could  help our friends living in isolation. The person who is helping is called a caregiver, the relationship between the caregiver and the senior is all about listening and communicating. According to T. Byram Karasu, MD "They are lonely because they are alone," "They [seniors] are put in nursing homes, assisted living communities, etc. Those are totally disorienting experiences." Seniors are lonely because there is no one to help them, the mission of the caregiver is to listen and observe. It all starts when the caregiver offers their pair of ears to listen them, but while they are opening themselves the caregiver should be able to record those forgotten activities that the person used to do, after that,the caregiver could incorporate those activities in the life of the elderly person.

This picture shows that there is a higher percentage of people dying of loneliness than excessive drinking, obesity, and air pollution.

Sally Abrahms wrote an article about 6 steps that will help to reduce isolation among elderly people. Sally Abrahms says that if we know the situation in which the person is living in, if they like animals,, and acknowledge the resources we have available. We can help that person feel better, feel confident and important. It is time to help the people in our communities. Just like children, seniors are part of our community.

Knowing all that information makes me feel powerful, I feel I can make a change in someone’s life by telling them that they are important to me.  I Personally did not know that this was a serious problem in our community until one day I was going to school and a lady about 73 years-old got on the bus she was friendly and was going to her work like she had told her friends. I was amazed by what I’ve had heard that morning. Months later, I saw the same lady with a huge smile and tired eyes that could tell me that she has been through a immense adventure, a person who is full of advice to give, but she was staring at the window of the bus, she was tired and her smile disappeared. I don’t know if she is feeling isolated or if I am just making assumptions from what I saw on a ride on the bus. A senior could be feeling lonely and I would be glad to help. The elderly living in isolation is that topic that sometimes we want to avoid because we don’t know what to say or what to do about it. If we are so called the “change”and “the future”, then we should start caring more about huge issues like, seniors living in isolation.

This is the smile we want to see in someones face.

Annotated Bibliography

Many people say that a dog is a man’s best friend, but many people say that dogs are vicious wild animals. Pit bulls are great examples of these pets. While some of them can be tough animals, many of them are super sweet, caring, and compassionate dogs. This breed in particular matters to me because I have seen ugly, stereotypical “dangerous” pit bulls in the media, but I know they are not true. I have a pit bull of my own that counteracts these negative things. I have met so many pit bulls who are kind, loving, and loyal. My goal is to spread awareness so everyone can understand how lovely pit bulls really are. It is important for others to see this problem because of the high rates of pit bulls on the streets and in shelters. There are too many stray dogs, which can be dangerous to a normal passer-by. When there are too many dogs in an animal shelter, they are euthanized (or “put down”); then these dogs are killed for absolutely nothing.

Pit bulls, short for American Pit bull Terriers, were originally bred to be bait for bulls. They were later used to fight each other for entertainment. Because of this history, pit bulls can be a little more aggressive towards other dogs, but it does not mean they are vicious. The ASPCA says that “The reality is that dogs of many breeds can be selectively bred or trained to develop aggressive traits… Despite our best efforts, there will always be dogs of various breeds that are simply too dangerous to live safely in society.” This means that only so many efforts can be made to help these pets not be aggressive. While some pit bulls are still more combative, because of their nature, if they were not raised right, they are combative.

Statistics for lack of sleep from students and reasons for it, according to an article on The Tartan.

For my You and the World project I decided to talk about a very serious and life changing thing, and that is drug abuse. According to WebMD Drug abuse is when you use legal or illegal substances in ways you shouldn’t. You might take more than the regular dose of pills or use someone else’s prescription. You may abuse drugs to feel good, ease stress, or avoid reality. But usually, you’re able to change your unhealthy habits or stop using altogether.Many high school students take many risks and tend to try new things and one of those things is drugs. Most high school students use these drugs for recreational use and they do it because of their curiosity or from peer pressure. According to Luxury Rehab Center “Adolescence is a time to try new experiences, take risks and explore new identities. While all of these developmental changes can lead teens in a positive direction, they can also lead to drug abuse if a teenager falls in with the wrong crowd, has a difficult home life or is a victim of trauma. Today many teenagers have easy access to drugs and alcohol, and experimenting with chemical substances doesn’t necessarily mean that a teenager will turn into an addict. However, parents should be alert to the possibility that if a teen’s behavior or personality suddenly changes, drugs may be involved.” While highschool students are subject to try new thing, substance abuse becomes a growing problem when high school students become obsessive over the drug they are using. “Adolescence is a time to try new experiences, take risks and explore new identities”. While all of these developmental changes can lead teens in a positive direction, they can also lead to drug abuse if a teenager falls in with the wrong crowd, has a difficult home life or is a victim of trauma. Today many teenagers have easy access to drugs and alcohol, and experimenting with chemical substances doesn’t necessarily mean that a teenager will turn into an addict. However, parents should be alert to the possibility that if a teen’s behavior or personality suddenly changes, drugs may be involved.” According to a rehab center.  Drugs are anything ranging from marijuana and alcohol to harder versions of these substances like vodka and heroin. This information is important to prevent your friends and family from going down the wrong path to losing their social life, inability to keep up academically, lose organization in life, and damage their body in some consequences death.

This issue has affected teens all over the World but mainly the United States. Most drugs change your state of mind to a ‘high” state. This state alters your perception of reality and usually releasing dopamine in the brain which is the feel good hormone in your body which you usually feel when you are rewarded or feel pleasured. According to The Drug Abuse Website sponsored by the government most drugs affect the brain's "reward circuit" by flooding it with the chemical messenger dopamine. This reward system controls the body's ability to feel pleasure and motivates a person to repeat behaviors needed to thrive, such as eating and spending time with loved ones.  Teenagers often are willing to take the risk and drawbacks of the drug due to its outstanding positive effect of being high. The most commonly used drugs consumed by adolescents are marijuana, nicotine, and alcohol all of which have been fairly popularized around young adults and adolescents. The real issue with these two powerhouse drugs and more is not if they should be legalized or saying “Don’t do drugs” the real issue is the countless stigmas and false information about these drugs and since most adolescents do not know the real truth and drugs are more like the forbidden fruit adolescents are ambitious enough to try the substances to see what it’s all about. We need to come together and clear the air about drugs before it becomes a bigger problem like drug abuse to prevent teens from harming themselves.

Kayla Kelly                                                                                                                            2/23/18

English 9

Ms. Giknis

You and the world projet       

                       I Abhor Animal Abuse;I Amend Animal Abuse

                           My Dog

Before                                           After

How many animals get abused in the U.S

https://www.petsafe.net/learn/help-prevent-animal-cruelty

The Numbers are high considering the chart, 60% of all abused animal victims and 60% of them are dogs, 83% are cats and dogs, and if you think how many people abuse animal across the united state.The SPCA is is a good choice , because most time they have to euthanize animals if they don’t have enough room, but They said the don’t ethinzia adoptable animals, and they try to save as many animal as much they can which is also why it is also a good choice, and  they are getting less animals in so they don’t have ethinize as much, and maybe more room. And animal abuse is a very serious problem, and SPCA is still good because they try to help as much as they can, it is like me trying to help every homeless person of the street and taking them in to my home I can’t do that to all of them, I don’t have enough room to do that, not to mention I have small house, so I would have to let go of some people like what SPCA does, but now they probably don’t do it as much ( they do not accept birds , dogs, cats, small animals). An the ACCT is a good choice too because like my interviewer said the ACCT  is an open it take shelter,so they will take any animal bird, cats, dogs, etc. So if you know you can’t take care of an animal please take it to ACCT, or any shelter, because if you know you can’t take care of it it is a form of abuse and it is better off in any shelter. She also said that abuse is what they regularly see so don’t be afraid to take the animal in , but if it would be related to the police like your neighbor is the abuser then call the PSPCA.And if you help lessen the number of animal coming in , and to help people take care of animals, and if you don’t know how to take care of an animal but you enough money to take care of one then you can look on web sites and ask for help, don’t be embarrassed, there is more people like that than you think.

I have a dog(the first picture above) that is probably been through that, Although we don’t know her back story besides her being shot 16 times and her being still here, not to mentions she had a couple of disease before the adoption center got her, and usually dog adapt and if she was wild she probably would not have a disease, but who knows she may have escaped, but I mean she is in my family's care for about 2 years in march 12th and she is very happy and she is always wagging her tail, beside when she goes for a car ride, tha vacuum goes on , and if we put on a tv show that has a gun shooting a one point like a mystery show,or if there is a fake gun like a nerf gun near, which would be the trama

Rabies: why most people terrorize dogs.

https://www.tes.com/lessons/ZfjkR0gtFqB-jQ/animal-rights

Dog are Abused 20% More Than any Other Animals in the U.S

But  Abuse can’t get unnoticed, and that means we have to start speaking up, I mean the abuser doesn't have to know a thing, most calls are autonomous, and you don’t have to tell the person that you going to tell, like almost every one of my site say to do, because it is important.And what is even more important is that 100% of people who commit  sexual homicide has a history of animal abuse which is kind of bothering that a lot of them do that, and it doesn't mean the other way around so if there is a neighbor who is abusing an animal doesn't mean they will commit sexual homicide so don’t be afraid to do your own actions and report them.Not to mention abusers, abusers don’t give the animals enough room for  them sometime to breathe and grow, or give them too much room, like the whole yard but can’t use all of the yard because they are chained up from the picture in many sites. Which is again terrible, considering the effect, which is physical and mental health issues.Or animal hoarder, I mean they collect animals and are like I can take care of them even though they obviously cannot, but they completely think they can handle everything but they have a lot cats, dog, etc.

And to kind of wrap this up a bit, I read the laws(which I suggest for you if you care for animal, because one of my site suggests it too in one of the steps for reporting animal abuse). first, animal abuse penalty includes the officer to file a felony charge(a felony is a severe crime and is viewed severely by the society, and can include murder, robbery, kidnapping, etc)dog fighting is already a felony, and breaks down into different grade pentaly’s base on how hard the abuse is. And veterinarians have civil immunity( where you don’t get served the punishment) now I don’t get too much of this but if they actually harm animals I think they will get charged because rules are rules, I think it is only for checking things from the dog and stuff. And a little bit obvious but if they commit animal abuse they will have to give animals. And did you know there is a new law that if someone abuse horse’s they will be charge the same charge as abusing dog and cats.

                                          Annotated bibliography

1. “Animal Cruelty”Learning to give,https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/animal-cruelty

The definition of animal abuse is the acts of violence or negling the animal on purpose or at least mostly on purpose.and it is important to know which ones are which because, police or animal control will know and asses the problem, like if it is dog fighting, and you say i don’t know abusing an animal in a backyard, they might think oh only one and not bring enough equipment, to ring them to a shelter. This abuse can cause physical and emotional pain, considering my dog whenever she hears gunshots(even on TV, plus we live near an country club that has an gun range) she gets scared and when we first got her she was jumpy and whenever and man/boy try to take her collar off she would growl, but when me or my mom took it off she did nothing(she is fine now and is very happy and understands that we will not hurt her and stuff because now my dad and brother can take her collar off) so that memory will live on.

• Animal abuse is very cruel and hurtful to other animals (I do not trust SPCA because if they run out of room for animals, they ethiniza some animals)

• It is very horrible because animal are just like us, they have feeling just like us, so it is very unfair for someone to do that to an animal.

              2.“Animal abuse and Human Abuse: Partners in crime” PETA,https://www.peta.org/issues/companion-animal-issues/companion-animals-factsheets/animal-abuse-human-abuse-partners-crime/

Studies have shown that aggressive animal are likely to be abused because people are afraid and a coward. 100% of sexual homicide  has a history of animal abuse.Albert Desalvo killed 13 women and abused puppies so it can back up my reasoning.

• It is very usual for a sexual homicide person to abuse animals

• And I am not surprised that aggressive animal get abused more,because again people are cowards

3.“Animal Abuse”Amarican Human https://www.americanhumane.org/fact-sheet/animal-abuse/

4.I didn't know that there was steps, I kind of knew some signs but I am not sure whether I will recognize the signs.owners often neglect their pets because they don’t know there pets need, but most of neglect is on purpose.but outrageous because human system can take calls right at that minute, but they get a lot calls so they will not take the call right at the moment.

• We can testify or sign a complaint about the abuse like how you sign a complaint about noise

• Neglect in both children and dogs are horrible  and can result in death

“Reasons for abuse” wildlife rescue and rehabilitation http://wildlife-rescue.org/services/advocacy/animal-abuse/

5.Actions can be active and passive, like hurting the animal and not doing anything for the animal. Like some kid decapitated dog and stuff and setting fire on their tails and butts.Passive actions can cause severe pain to a dog or cat

“ U.S Animal Abuse records deleted-What we stand to lose”National geographics.https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/02/wildlife-watch-usda-animal-welfare-trump-records/

The roadside Zoo neglected the animals including premature death. And making the monkey Dehydrated while performing experiment on them that is just rude.and whipping elephants and changing them.

• I love elephants so I hate that they would do the elephants

• And I hate that the family zoo would do that and I wonder if they ethinza

Extra websites:

http://placerspca.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/faqs.pdf

http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-law-basics/what-distinguishes-a-misdemeanor-from-a-felony.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/animal-cruelty-pennsylvania-libres-law-20170628.html

https://www.today.com/pets/aspca-adoption-euthanasia-s-down-animal-shelters-t109029

It was 2017 in the late afternoon. I was in 8th grade, it was the 3rd day of spring break. I was hanging out with some friends near my old school’s playground. We were all just chilling doing what kids normally do. Then all of the sudden, I see a gang of 16 kids attacking a kid. I didn't want stand there and watch a helpless kid get beaten up, so I intervened by telling them to stop. What happened next was a blur. I felt a sharp pain on the left side of my face. The world was spinning, everything was spinning, I felt more pain on my face and a group of people surrounding me. They were taking turn, swinging punches at me. When it felt like forever, they stopped and fled the scene. I was then escorted to my friend’s house, my face and shirt cover with stains of blood. After I was cleaned up, I realized that none of the other people around us helped, they just watched. I thought to myself: “Why were we the only ones helping the poor child? Why didn't they help out when we started to become the victim?” That when I became interested in the bystander effect. My goal is to learn why bystanders just watch something bad goes down when they can easily intervene to prevent something bad from happening. So I decided to investigate more about the bystanders effect in my “You & the World Project”.

Many people have become victims to the bystanders effect each and everyday. Bullying happens in front of a crowd 88% of the time. Student do not like to see a bullying happen 90% of the time, but only 20% percent of the time people from that crowd actually take action to help stop it. Why is there only a low percentage of people help prevent bullying from happening, if almost everybody does not support what they see? Well for one thing, people fear of becoming the next victim. They don’t want the attacker targeting them and get harmed. Some bystanders actually join the bullying and making it worse. Some people would keep on encouraging it and with the digital age, we put it down on tape and posted it on social media.  People also think that it none of their business to engage and it not affecting them. People believe that they are powerless and have no idea what to do when trying to help someone out.

Bystanders can also be influenced by the number of people around the situation. People are more likely to intervene when there a few people to no one. But the more people their are, the less they are to intervene. When people don't react, other people think it is okay to do the same.

This line graph shows how the fewer the people around the person who needs aid, the more likely they will jump in and help them.

What I hope to learn as I dive deeper into this project is to understand what going on in the minds of bystanders. I want to interview people who have witness someone who needed aid but never did anything.  I want to know what they are thinking as they see this. I want to know why did they choose to either act or not act at all. Finally, I wanted to conduct a survey seeing how many people had recently been a bystander.