Author Archives: Patrick Terry

Should Cigarettes Be the Main Concern?

We have all heard it before: Cigarettes kill, cigarettes kill, cigarettes kill. One of the most popular habits in the United States is a known killer of both the American youth and the American general population. We heard it so much that we convinced almost an entire generation that if you even as much as tried one cigarette, you would fall into an addictive and sad death. The attitude among youth has changed over the past couple years and I want to know if we should begin to put our effort elsewhere regarding youth health.

One aspect of lessened cigarette smoking is the growing cultural trend of looking down on cigarettes and cigarette smokers. Although teens may now do other things with their time, there is a big step in the right direction with lessened cigarette smoking. According to the CDC, cigarette smoking among middle school students has declined 4.3% over the past four years, and declined 15.8% among high school students in that same period.

This is a product of improved health practice but even more so, a product of instrumental awareness efforts. Commercials and advertising alone have dismantled the cigarette community. Numbers of tobacco smokers, especially among youth, are decreasing rapidly as part of both a health and cultural trend. If tobacco is on its way out, should we not turn our attention towards other pressing issues that trouble today’s youth?

Texting while driving is more dangerous than driving drunk; why is it that drunk driving is more frowned upon than texting and driving? We must rid ourselves of thee cultural trends and become realistic with the problems of the world. I suggest we turn cigarette awareness partly into texting and driving awareness.

 

Poladian, Charles. “World No Tobacco Day Continues to Increase Awareness.” Medical Daily. N.p., 30 May 2012. Web. 04 Dec. 2015.

“Youth and Tobacco Use.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14 Oct. 2015. Web. 04 Dec. 2015.

What is the Best Beach in the World

Beaches are the most spectacular creation given to us. They signify simplicity, oneness with yourself, and satisfaction. No other kind of natural creation is so universally loved. The catch is that some of these beaches are nicer than others, but no one can agree on which ones. Being from Long Island, I claim that the best beaches in the world are the Hamptons, and pretty much the entire southern coastline – but I have had the pleasure of visiting and hearing about some truly fantastic beaches around the world.

nice-beach

Based off an online survey done by CNN that involved 4,000+ people, the most beautiful beach in the world is in Seychelles, which is an island off the east coast of Africa. It won most beautiful especially on account of its surfing nature. Second on the list is Rabbit Beach in Italy. Opposite from the violent surf of Seychelles, Rabbit Beach’s calm surf and wild life make it number two on the list. Beaches on the list range all the way from a small beach in the secrecy of Hawaii’s islands to a huge beach in South Africa.

This shows that there are so many different beaches and places to explore, and they are all so different from each other. Bermuda has reddish sand; Jamaica has white sand; Hawaii has dark sand. Even the color of water changes, depending on latitude mostly. Some beaches like Hawaii’s have a very rough surf compared to the gentle lapping of waves in the Mediterranean Islands. The study was well done by CNN; having 4,000+ participating in a survey is a good sample size for an observational study.

So what is the best beach in the world? Seeing as beaches differ on so many things like privacy, location, and accessibility, the best beach in the world is the beach where you want to go and spend hours on end in the sunlight, enjoying the water. It does not really matter which one has the whitest sand or the bluest water, just as long as you love where you are. I still think it’s Long Island.

Staff, CNN. “World’s 100 Best Beaches – CNN.com.” CNN. Cable News Network, 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2015.

Strutner, Suzy. “Best Beaches in the World.” Huffington Post. N.p., 24 Feb. 2015. Web. 04 Dec. 2015.

 

What if the Earth Stopped Spinning?

Our planet does a lot: it shakes, revolves, tilts, and spins, and it does each one of these differently than it did some hundreds of thousands of years ago. So if the Earth no longer rotates, we must wonder what will become of us.

To begin, the Earth rotates because of the conservation of angular momentum, which explains that as something brings its mass closer to itself, it will begin to spin faster. The Earth normally spins at the equator at around eleven hundred miles per hour, and slower at the poles. This basically says that as the Earth rotates counter-clockwise, from west to east, friction develops and inertia acts on us. So if the Earth were to suddenly stop spinning, we would be thrown eastward at a violent pace.

atmosphere

The Earth’s atmosphere would be gone on account of the strong winds and partly a byproduct of this, mile-high tsunamis would sweep over land because of the sudden lack of interaction with the moon and tides. One day on Earth would last what is now three hundred and sixty-five days; the two main factors that affect seasons are rotation and even more importantly, the 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth. Because the strongest gravity would be at the poles, the water will move towards the poles, leaving a big continent wrapped lengthwise across the planet.

There is not much bias to this blog, considering it is not an experimental study and simply an observational one, and also because it is not attempting to make a point, only analyze. Also there is no counterargument considering the science is all there and it is a subject that is agreed upon.

Bottom line is that if the earth were to stop spinning, there would not be a thing to worry about because well, none of us will last very long anyway. If you are not history by way of being thrown 1100 mph, then you will certainly be blatantly exposed to the cosmic rays that are currently kept at bay by our atmosphere, or even worse, have to experience a 365 day “day” in wintertime State College.

Cain, Fraser. “Why Does the Earth Spin?” Universe Today. N.p., 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.

Cain, Fraser. “What Would Happen If the Earth Stopped Turning?” Universe Today. N.p., 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.

“Here’s What Would Happen If the Earth Stopped Spinning.” Tech Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.

Initial Blog Post

Hi everyone, I’m Pat and I am from Long Island, New York.  I am a sophomore finance major and economics and French minor.

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I am taking this course one hundred percent to fill requirements; if I did not have to take a  science course, I would not be – but this class has something to it, and I’m excited to see where it will go.

I’ve never been a science person.  I feel that science is too open-ended and there is not enough practical rigidity for it to be something to pursue in the long-term.  Engineering is a different story (who would submit himself/herself to that?).

Good luck to everyone!