Marijuana
"Prohibition...goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."
-- Abraham Lincoln, December, 1840
Medical Marijuana is a very controversial subject. The Question, is should it be legal? Yes I think it should. Marijuana is misunderstood for something terrible like Coke, Meth, Heroin, or even Alcohol. You smoke weed and you either sit there or go get food, you don't go out and do stupid shit like driving drunk or just getting into trouble. You never here of anyone dying from smoking to much weed, but 15,000 people die a day from alcohol. Every 15 minutes someone dies in a drunk driving related accident. There has never been a single case of anyone dying from smoking weed., not ever. THC is one of the few chemicals that you can not overdose on. The federal agency NIDA says that autopsies reveal that 75 people per year are high on marijuana when they die: this does not mean that marijuana caused the deaths. The chart below compares the number of deaths that use these substances in a typical year:
•Tobacco 340,000 - 395,000
•Alcohol (excluding crime/accidents) > 125,000
•Drug Overdose (prescription) 24,000 - 27,000
•Drug Overdose (illegal) 3,800 - 5,200
•Marijuana 0
Seeing these numbers doesnt that make you think?
Has anyone noticed our economy right now? Dont you think you would want to help its growth? Wouldnt you want to open up new jobs and help the unemployment go down? By legalizing Marijuana, we could tax it and help our Economy grow. It would open up jobs for, people to grow, people to harvest, and people to open up new Businesses to sell the product. I honestly wonder why people think it is so bad? There are so many worse things that everyone could waste there time on enforcing.
Rancho Myths
-I am a Senior this year at Rancho Cotate, and if your looking to hear accurate information you should look to present students. The people who are writing that went here about 20 years ago should realize things change. We are not the first school in Sonoma County to have these same problems. No school is perfect, their are always the cliques, the pot smokers, the fights, the great teachers, and the bad teachers. That is HIGH SCHOOL, you cant stop it. Kids are kids theyre going to have to make choices for themselves in high school, not have you make every perfect decision for them. Your there to help guide them the best you can and hope that what you have taught them will help them choose wisely.
Back in my Sophomore year my family moved and I had to switch schools to Mario Carrillo high school. I saw the same things that I see at Rancho today, their were the cliques, the pot smokers, the weird teachers and a few good teachers. I did not feel welcome at all I hated every day of it, so I switched back to Rancho after a month. Rancho has had all these rumors haunting it forever. Didnt we all learn at some point, that you dont believe everything you always here. At Rancho I have had about 30 different teachers and most of them have been great. I have learned so much. Rancho is a great school and I have really enjoyed the past four years. I have been through so much and I think I really am ready to go out in to the big world.
Environmental Problems Now Compared to 1950
Things are not what they used to be. Sixty years ago no one was worrying about over-fished oceans, a depleted ozone layer, clear cut rain forests, the population growth out of control and the melting of our polar ice caps. However, as the impact of human cultures continues to grow, we have become aware of the terrible toll our activities have inflicted on our environment. If we dont change our ways then our environment will continue to drastically change, species will go extinct and temperatures will continue to rise.
The oceans may cover 71% of our earth, but that does not mean we cant overfish it. Back in the 1950s no one thought twice about being able to overfish the ocean. As our population increases we have a higher demand for food, which means more fish. The Western and Central Pacific Ocean have the largest Tuna fisheries and they are catching tuna at an unattainable rate. The rate the tuna are being caught at has already started to threaten the future viability of these stocks. The vessels that capture the fish take such a mass quantity that the fish cant replenish fast enough. As species start to disappear, so will the other species that are dependent on those for food. It will start a chain reaction through the ocean. If things dont change than it could mess up the entire ocean ecosystem, and those lovely meals we all enjoy so much would be maybe every once in while and it will be very pricey.
Our actions of taking the earth for granted are coming to an end. People all over the world are already starting to experience Global Warming. If you believe the global
warming is a myth or a theory then you are ignorant to what is in front of your face. The amount of greenhouse gasses produced and put into the air is causing more damage than you can imagine. We have already started to see some of the affects global warming is causing. Due to the Ozone layer depleting temperatures will continue to rise and UVB will increase and cause more skin cancer. With the temperatures rising it has already started to melt the polar caps, which will cause sea-levels to rise. We will have higher risk of extreme weather, such as heat waves, droughts, and flooding. We have experienced all three in this last year. Global droughts have already doubled in the past 30 years. We will have severe impact on a regional level, for instance in the United States our rivers will rise and cause flooding, costal areas flooding, major erosion problem and loss of wetlands. Our worlds ecosystems are being threatened such as glaciers, coral reefs, wetlands, grasslands, mangroves, tropical and boreal forests, and Arctic and alpine forests. An increase in extinction of many species will occur. Our agricultural production will become very difficult with new climates. Long term damage is when Greenland, Antarctica, and any polar ice sheets will soon come to a point where it will have an
uncontrollable and permanent melt down.
Forest destruction accounts for around 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Deforestation causes rise in climate, lose of communities and endangering species. All over the world our ancient forests are being cut cleared or heavily degraded. By cutting the forests down it will increase the climate temperatures because the trees help control the temperature by trapping carbon and when the trees are logged or damaged they
release all the carbon into the atmosphere. Also, there are many communities who still use these ancient forests as their homes and resources like food and medicine. Their drinking water also becomes polluted by soil erosion. The worlds most rare animals and plant species can be found in these forests and may face extinction soon. In South Americas Rain Forests they have found that when they clear cut a forest, it depletes the once fertile soil which dries and cracks like clay and may never grow anything again.
Our world population is increasing at an incredible rate. Since 1950, the population growth has been dramatically increasing and is not stopping anytime soon. In 1950, the population was 2,555,982,611. The world population today has almost tripled in size to 6,840,423,256. It is increasing at about 74 million people per year. With populations increasing, we need to think about the factors we need to live off of, food, fresh water and energy. Already countries in Africa and Asia are starving and dont have enough water to sustain crops. Only 0.014% of water is actually available for drinking and 0.26% of all water is for human consumption. We will most likely run out of water first, which then we cant grow anymore crops and raise livestock. As we run out of more land to graze and grow on, we lose more opportunities of food. However it is not like we can cut down forests for more land because by doing that it will increase climate and crops wont grow. Also our fossil fuels and oils are running out fast. Without these three factors we wont be able to sustain life on earth anymore.
Our Polar Caps that have been frozen solid for centuries are starting to decrease in size and break apart. Temperatures in the Arctic are increasing twice as fast as they are elsewhere in the world. In 2000, the largest single block of ice called the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, cracked and is now split all the way through and is breaking into pieces. That shelf had been there for more than 3,000 years. The permanent ice that once covered the caps is decreasing at 9% each decade. The effect it has already cased on the arctic is just devastating. It has affected the native people, wildlife and plants. The polar bears, walruses and seals are having to change feeding and migration patterns which is making it harder for the native people to hunt. The natives who live along the Arctic coastline have to move inland because of the danger of flooding. The melting of the caps will have a huge effect on the Global Warming because it usually gives a cooling layer over the Arctic but if gone, temperatures will rise. Scientists are estimating that sea-levels will rise to about 78M if all caps melt.
Back in 1950, people werent looking for ways to protect our planet and resources but to use them and advance. We may have some great technology that has been discovered but without our planet or our human race, how can we expect to move forward anymore. Our world that we see today is changing and we are the ones that have to do something about it and make a change. If everyone just watched how much fossil fuels they used, where their products are coming from, using safe products for the environment, and not wasting so much. Any changes big or little will help. We are all here on this earth together and are guilty for what we have done, so now it is our turn to change.
Our lives can be full of surprises whether they are good or bad. There are those things that can rip your whole world apart and you have to slowly re-build and get the pieces back. We also need to realive that we may not be the one to blame for the stress and the pain. Things can always get better, its the way you handle all of the pain building inside of you. Sometimes it is just alright to cry, you need to handle it somehow. From exprience it is so easy to let things build without realizing it and then one day it will just come flowing out. You just need to learn how to embrace the emotion and let it flow.
Where is our world headed
Here we are looking at our world seeing the damages we have done to it. We have caused so much pollution to our earth, to our home. We have caused so many drastic changes to our planet. Our Glaciers are melting, the ozone is depleting, and we have caused a global warming. In 2000, the largest single block of ice called the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, cracked and is now split all the way through and is breaking into pieces. That shelf had been there for more than 3,000 years. The permanent ice that once covered the caps is decreasing at 9% each decade. What will happen if all the glaciers melt and the temperatures continue to rise?
The year is 2030 and we are in big trouble. We dont have enough fresh water and we are running out of food. Our lakes, rivers and aquifers are almost completely all dried up. We have about 4 more weeks left of water. We need help fast. The world is falling apart and people are starving. Our planet is turning into a hot and dry planet. The only water we have left is salt water. We cant water our crops and cant raise live stock anymore. People in other countries have been dying in large numbers from dehydration, starvation and new diseases that are spreading from sewage and the high rate of waste we put on to the streets. We need to do something fast otherwise we are the next species to go extinct.
Breaking News! Scientist from around the world have gathered together and may have come up with some solutions. They have discovered an extremely cheap and environmental safe way to make salt water into fresh water. We just might be saved yet. If their plan works as they hope, stations along the coasts will be set up for you and your families to retrieve water. Soon they hope they can start irrigating the water inland and we can start growing crops and raising livestock again. Also the talk of all cars ran by gas are going to be banned to slow the depletion of the ozone layer. There will be drop stations were all cars are to be taken there for storage by a certain date that has not been issued yet. Trains and buses will be available for you to travel on, but absolutely no one can take their cars anymore. We recommend bikes, horses, scooters, skates anything non gas powered. If you are caught breaking the new regulations it will be considered a very serious crime and you will be arrested. The new regulation may seem tough, but it is necessary for our survival on this planet. This is all the information that has been released at this time, but we will keep you all informed.
BLOGGING:
Will I?
I have so many question for my life.
I always wonder,
will I be successful,
will I finish college,
will I love my job,
will I be happy,
will I follow in the footsteps of my mom
and drink that poison,
will I be a wonderful mom,
will I have one man for the rest of my life,
will I have children that i get to show life too,
will I have a beautiful house on the top of a mountain,
will I ever stop missing,
will I get to go camping and fishing with my kids
and show them Burney Falls,
will I ever make a difference in the world,
will I be able to put food on the table,
will I get to travel,
will I regret life,
will I be able to afford to take my kids on trips like Disneyland,
will I be able to afford a car of my choice,
will I have a dream wedding,
will I become famous,
will I ever be truly happy,
will I love life,
will I get to see all the wonders in the world,
will I ever own a horse,
will I get to backpack in the Sierras, Himalayas,
and the Trinity Alps
will I ever get to see the waterfalls in Yosemite,
will I ever get to see yellowstone,
will I force choices upon my children,
will I make the right decisions,
what will become of my life?
Its just around the corner.
I have been stuck in school for the last 13 years of my life and I am finally ready to move on to bigger and better things. I just have one problem I dont even know what I want to do with my life. Next week on Friday I graduate I have been waiting for this day since I can remember. When I reflect back on my high school days they were fun, but I could not be any happier then I am right now to be graduating. For a couple of the years I didnt even think I would be where I am today. I have changed a whole lot since freshman year. I am completely a new person. I actually have dignity and pride of who I am. I have changed from being a person walking on a broken path too nowhere, to being someone who actually might have a bright future. I have never had good grades throughout school. I have gotten into a lot of trouble over the past years, but this year was different I got myself straight. Last year I had six Fs and hadnt gone to school in months. Now I have five As and one C. That is incredible to be able to do that. I have proved to my dad and myself that I can really accomplish something if I set my mind to it. Now only if I could have just figured that out a couple of years ago I might be going straight to a four year or maybe have some more options of what to do after high school, but you know what; I am truly okay with where I stand today. I have accomplished a lot this year and I am proud of that and I deserve to get that diploma.
Backstabbing
How do you really know when someone is your true friend? Alexis Rockwell, my sister, my best friend, my friend who is forever and always going to be there. I have been best friends with her since we were two. I already know she is going to be my brides maid at my wedding. She knows me in and out. I feel very lucky to have a friendship so strong with someone. Friends like this dont come often and I feel blessed to have her in my life. She has been there through all the shit I have been through in my life. I really think I would be completely lost without her. She is my absolute dearest friend and I will love her till I die.
Now sometimes you dont always meet people like that. I have had some pretty hurt full things done to me by, so called "BEST FRIENDS". I just dont understand people sometimes. I dont get how some people can be so inconsiderate towards other. I mean I was raised in a strict and kind of proper family, but I could never do anything compared to what this one girl Jessica did to me. It was just unbelievable I dont understand how she is so selfish, knifing, manipulative, and a back stabber. I trusted her with so much and she just turns around on me and proved to me that we were actually never friends. That is what OxyCotten does to you. It changes people for the worse. It turns them into compulsive lyres.
Mr. Smiths class
For my senior year I took a class called contemporary literature. My teacher was new to our school, but brought a different way of teaching. He has come to realize that almost everything is done on computers and that as the next generation we should be familiar with what is all around us. I think that he is on the right track to what we need to be learning about, it is more update. All of his projects are what you think, not just facts and what everyone else says. All of our projects are our own opinions and what matters to us. I feel lucky to have been put into this class. The blogging was not my favorite project, but the rest of the assignments were not bad. I actually enjoyed a few of them. I like being able to put down what I am feeling and what I think. All year I have heard people complain about our projects and every time I tell them to suck it up because Mr. Smith is actually a pretty cool teacher and his class is a lot better than any other English class. I feel lucky that he would bring three tubs full of lab tops so that we would all have access to a computer. I feel lucky that we had the chance to have him as a teacher he inspired and showed us stuff that would really make you think about what is happening today in our world. His class was structured so much different than any other English class. Sometimes I think it can be hard for students who have been learning the same way for 13 years to all of a sudden have a new style were everything is not structured and laid out for us, but not in this class we get to choose what we say, talk and write about. Its more real.
Portfolio Defense:
I like the changes I made to my portfolio from last time. I really think I made it a lot more professional looking. Before I never was really happy with how it looked. It just didnt really match me, but now I think it is more me and not so dark looking. It has the pictures on the home page that I think really describe me as a person. The picture of Burney falls is just a place that makes me truly happy, the sushi is there because I absolutely love sushi, the flowers represent my growth of who I have become today and the light bulbs represent my bright future that is coming. I wish I would have had time to upload some of my photography on to the portfolio, I do like the final product that came out of this project.
Megan Paolini
Portfolio
