Stuff YOU Should Know
U.S. and China Agree to Climate Regulations
By now, you should be well aware of the many discussions centered around climate change. The big debate, however, continues to be over what steps should be taken to slow or reverse its effects. Earlier this month, President Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping co-announced a climate change agreement. Both countries–who make up a combined 23 percent of the world’s population but contribute 42 percent of carbon emissions–are committed to working together to develop long-range efforts to transition to a “low-carbon economy” by the year 2020.
While the joint commitment is a positive step in the right direction, some experts believe that the emissions reductions laid out in the plan would not be enough to ensure a target goal of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Others are concerned that the newly Republican-majority Congress will fight to block future environmental legislation. Regardless of the outcome, many are hopeful that other countries with large carbon emissions (like India and Russia) will follow suit.
Dig Deeper List at least three specific agreements each country (the US and China) have agreed to in combating climate change. Why are there differences between the two?
Gas Prices Fall
Do you drive? If so, you may have noticed that the price of gas at the pump has been dropping in recent weeks. Have you wondered what’s at the cause? Many experts believe that Saudi Arabia (the country largely responsible for our imported oil) have been responding to the rise in domestic energy production, such as the United States’ increasing oil output due to fracking. While some say that a decline in oil prices affects the oil company and its thousands of workers, others believe that the overall benefit to consumers far outweighs those losses. Industries likely to benefit from the low cost of gas are transportation, farming and consumer gas utilities.
Economists say this trend is good timing for Americans. The average household in this country consumes approximately 1,200 gallons of gasoline a year. As unemployment numbers continue to inch down, paying less to get to work will allow more workers to keep more of that income in their pockets. Plus, consumer planning for the holiday season who can save money at the pump are more likely to spend a little more on gifts for their loved ones.
What Do You Think? How long do you think this gas prices will stick around? Do some research and back up your answer based on at least two opinions.
A Fog of Concern
Credit: Martina Paraninfi/Getty Images
Last year, btw brought you a story about electronic cigarettes. In the year since, use of e-cigarettes (also called personal vaporizers or mods) has risen dramatically, especially among teens. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the federal agency created to protect the public health, released the results of a survey of high school and middle school students and reported e-cigarette use rose from 2.8 percent in 2012 to 4.5 percent in 2013. The fear is that e-cigarette use may be looking more and more like a gateway to traditional smoking.
A major concern of those who oppose the use of e-cigarettes is the misconception that it is an “healthier alternative” to traditional smoking. This is because there are toxins created by burning tobacco. The problem, however, is that e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which causes stress on the heart in addition to being highly addictive. There is also concern that illegal substances (such as THC, the oil found in marijuana) can be added to the vaporizers. Among the hundreds of available flavors available are chocolate, bubble gum, milkshake, and cotton candy.
In more light-heated new, however, last week the Oxford Dictionaries named “vape” as their word of the year.
Dig Deeper What other “unknowns” concern those who oppose personal vaporizers. Find out what kind of regulation is being put in place to regulate these items.
New John Green Movie News
Earlier this year, btw brought you a story about the film adaptation of John Green’s wildly successful book, The Fault in Our Stars. Earlier this month, pre-production began on the film adaptation of another one of Green’s novels. Paper Towns, published in 2008, is the story about Quentin, who get mixed up in the wildly unpredictable life of his neighbor and childhood friend Margo. While going along for the ride, Quentin and his friends learn more than they bargained for about Margo and their assumptions they had made about who she really seems to be. Nat Wolff, who played Isaac in The Fault in Our Stars movie, will play Quentin. Cara Delevingne will portray Margo.
While Green has developed a large fan base of Nerdfighters, Paper Towns was not initially a New York Times Bestseller like TFiOS. (btw, however, has been on the Paper Towns bandwagon for many years. It announced Paper Towns winning the Teen Book awards waaay back in 2009.) Still, Green’s fans are always passionate about his work as well as his efforts to promoting general awesomeness in the world. Making regular posts on Twitter, Instagram, and on his Vlogbrother YouTube account, Nerdfighteria is once again creating quite a buzz.