oil spill at sea is five times greater than expected

At least 5000 barrels of oil are leaking daily in the Gulf of Mexico, a volume five times higher than previously estimated, said on Wednesday the U.S. Coast Guard.

"They discovered a fresh leak," said Officer Erik Swanson told AFP. This is equivalent to "5000 barrels a day." Emergency workers on Wednesday began a controlled burn of the massive oil slick caused by the explosion of a platform in the Gulf of Mexico, the threat of oil reaching the coast of Louisiana.
"It burned with a small buoy that moves the spot and ignites. The burning occurs satisfactorily," said Coast Guard officer Cory Mendenhall about the operation to alleviate the effects of the spill caused by the sinking of the oil platform on the American coast in Thursday evening.
The drastic decision to fire the oil slick was adopted after being spotted arriving at about 40 km from the swamps of Louisiana, habitat for many species. A fleet of Coast Guard ships and the British oil company BP pushed the densest parts of the stain to a floating fire-resistant barrier.
"The plan is to burn, so restricted and controlled, thousands of gallons of oil, and each operation should take about an hour," explained the authorities and the BP. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) U.S. warned earlier that the strong southeast winds planned for the coming days could push the oil slick into the swamps of Louisiana.
The Deepwater Horizon platform, operated by BP, sank on Thursday afternoon 240 km southeast of New Orleans, two days after an explosion that killed 11 workers.
The burning of the oil slick to protect the coast will cause its own environmental problems, creating huge clouds of toxic smoke and leaving waste at sea. On Tuesday, failed attempts to close two foci of leakage in the pipeline connected to the platform, carried by four robotic submarines to 1,500 meters deep.

Bullying

Bullying is an act of repeated aggressive behavior in order to intentionally hurt another person, physically or mentally. Bullying is characterized by an individual behaving in a certain way to gain power over another person.

Norwegian researcher Dan Olweus defines bullying as when a person is

“exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons." He defines negative action as "when a person intentionally inflicts injury or discomfort upon another person, through physical contact, through words or in other ways ’’.

Bullying behavior may include name calling, verbal or written abuse, exclusion from activities, exclusion from social situations, physical abuse, or coercion. Bullies may behave this way to be perceived as popular or tough or to get attention. They may bully out of jealousy or be acting out because they themselves are bullied.

USA National Center for Education Statistics suggests that bullying can be broken into two categories: Direct bullying, and indirect bullying which is also known as social aggression.

Ross states that direct bullying involves a great deal of physical aggression such as shoving and poking, throwing things, slapping, choking, punching and kicking, beating, stabbing, pulling hair, scratching, biting, scraping and pinching.

He also suggests that social aggression or indirect bullying is characterized by threatening the victim into social isolation. This isolation is achieved through a wide variety of techniques, including spreading gossip, refusing to socialize with the victim, bullying other people who wish to socialize with the victim, and criticizing the victim's manner of dress and other socially-significant markers (including the victim's race, religion, disability, etc). Ross outlines other forms of indirect bullying which are more subtle and more likely to be verbal, such as name calling, the silent treatment, arguing others into submission, manipulation, gossip/false gossip, lies, rumors/false rumors, staring, giggling, laughing at the victim, saying certain words that trigger a reaction from a past event, and mocking. The children's charity Act Against Bullying was set up in 2003 to help children who were victims of this type of bullying by researching and publishing coping skills.

Effects of bullying on victims

The effects of bullying can be serious and even fatal. Mona O’Moore of the Anti-Bullying Centre at Trinity College in Dublin, has written, "There is a growing body of research which indicates that individuals, whether child or adult, who are persistently subjected to abusive behavior are at risk of stress related illness which can sometimes lead to suicide."

Victims of bullying can suffer from long term emotional and behavioral problems. Bullying can cause loneliness, depression, anxiety, lead to low self-esteem and increased susceptibility to illness.

The National Conference of State Legislatures said:

"In 2002, a report released by the U.S. Secret Service concluded that bullying played a significant role in many school shootings and that efforts should be made to eliminate bullying behavior."

Suicide

There is a strong link between bullying and suicide. Bullying leads to several suicides every year. It is estimated that between 15 and 25 children commit suicide every year in UK alone, because they are being bullied.

Characteristics of bullies

Research indicates that adults who bully have personalities that are authoritarian, combined with a strong need to control or dominate. It has also been suggested that a prejudicial view of subordinates can be particular a risk factor.

Further studies have shown that envy and resentment may be motives for bullying. Research on the self-esteem of bullies has produced equivocal results. While some bullies are arrogant and narcissistic, others can use bullying as a tool to conceal shame or anxiety or to boost self esteem: by demeaning others, the abuser him/herself feels empowered.

Researchers have identified other risk factors such as depression and personality disorders, as well as quickness to anger and use of force, addiction to aggressive behaviors, mistaking others' actions as hostile, concern with preserving self image, and engaging in obsessive or rigid actions.

It is often suggested that bullying behavior has its origin in childhood:

"If aggressive behaviour is not challenged in childhood, there is a danger that it may become habitual. Indeed, there is research evidence, to indicate that bullying during childhood puts children at risk of criminal behaviour and domestic violence in adulthood."

Bullies may bully because they themselves have been the victim of bullying.

The truth about..

Crack Cocaíne:

There’s no way back

Street Terms for Crack Cocaine

24-7 Badrock Beat Candy Chemical Cloud Cookies Crumbs Crunch & munch Devil drug Dice Electric kool-aid Fat bags French fries Glo Gravel Grit Hail Hard ball Hard rock Hotcakes Ice cube Jelly beans Nuggets Paste Piece Prime time Product Raw Rock(s) Scrabble Sleet Snow coke Tornado Troop

Let’s call it just Crack..

 The High from crack begins after immediately after the vapor is inhaled and lasts just for a few minutes (5-15).

 This is a very powerful addicting drug, causing you to addict after the first hit.

è             èAt short term, the drug causes:

        

• Increased blood pressure and heart rate

• Constricted peripheral blood vessels

• Increased rate of breathing

• Dilated pupils

• Hyper-stimulation

• Intense euphoria

• Decreased appetite

• Anxiety and paranoia

• Aggressive, paranoid behavior

• Depression

• Intense drug craving

• Sudden death – even one use can cause overdose or death

è At long term (Prolonged crack cocaine abuse) causes:

• Severe depression

• Irritability and mood disturbances

• Aggressive, paranoid behavior

• Delirium or psychosis

• Tolerance and addiction, even after just one use

• Auditory and tactile hallucinations

• Heart attack and heart disease

• Stroke

• Respiratory failure

• Brain seizures

• Sexual dysfunction (for both men and women)

• Reproductive damage and infertility (for both men and women)

• Increased frequency of risky behavior

• Death

è A crack user is easily spoted, just take a look in this Warning signs:                                                

•  Red, bloodshot eyes
• A runny nose or frequent sniffing
• A change in groups of friends
• Acting withdrawn, depressed, tired, or careless about personal appearance
• Losing interest in school, family, or activities he or she used to enjoy
• Frequently needing money

But, we all are tired to know this problems and bla bla bla, so, who uses this drug?

People who has used at least once:

Age: 12-17 : 150,000 individuals

         18-25 : 1,003,000 individuals

And this list still growing up...

We need to do something, you need to know…

  

Crack affects your brain.

Crack affects your body.

Crack affects your emotions.

Crack is addictive.

          Crack can kill you.

                                                  

http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/drugs/crack.pdf

http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs3/3978/index.htm

http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/govpubs/phd640i/

Amazonia endangered

Champion of terrestrial biodiversity, Brazil is nearly 12% of all natural life on the planet. Concentra 55 000 species of higher plants (22% of all that exist in the world), many of which are endemic (only available in the country and nowhere else), 524 species of mammals and more than 3000 species of freshwater fish; between 10 and 15 million insects (the majority yet to be described) and more than 70 species of parrots: macaws, parrots and parakeets. (Conservation International)

The Amazonia: It is the largest tropical rainforest.- It extends over an area of 6.4 million square miles in South America- 63% in Brazil and the rest are distributed in Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador and French Guiana.- Covers the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Tocantins and Maranhao much. - The Amazon corresponding to about 61% of Brazilian territory (5,217,423 km²).- It has 20 million inhabitants (IBGE, 2000) and low population density.- Saves about one-fifth of the freshwater Amazon River is the world.The world's largest volume of water.- Megabiodiverse: it is rich in plant and animal species.- The forest absorbs carbon reducing the consequences of global climate change.- Huge potential for plants to be discovered for use in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, chemical, food, etc..

According to IBAMA, the soil fertility is low. The Amazonia rainforest is a self-sustaining ecosystem. It stays with its own nutrients in a permanent cycle. There is a delicate balance in the relationship of biological populations that are sensitive to anthropogenic interference. The Amazon has a great variety of ecosystems, among which are: dry land forests, flooded forests, wetlands, flooded forest, open fields and pastures. Consequently, the Amazon is home to myriad species of plants and animals: 1.5 million cataloged plant species, three thousand species of fish, 950 kinds of birds, and even insects, reptiles, amphibians and mammals ...The destruction of tropical forests and reduce the planet's biodiversity, cause soil erosion, degradation of watershed areas, releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, causes social and environmental imbalance. The reduction of moisture in the Amazon has reduced rainfall in south-central Brazil.

Air pollution

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matterr, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damages the natural environment into the atmosphere

The atmosphere is a complex dynamic natural gaseous system that is essential to support life on planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has long been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the Earth's ecosystems

Major primary pollutants produced by human activity include:

Súlfur oxides

Súlfur oxides

NItrogen oxides

Carbon monooxide

Carbon dioxide

Solutions

Despite the negative news, man has sought solutions to these problems. Technology has advanced in the sense of generating machinery and cleaner fuels or that do not generate pollution. Many cars are already using natural gas as fuel. In Brazil, for example, have millions of cars running on ethanol, not fossil fuels, which pollute little. Tests have shown that hydrogen in the near future, the cars can go with one type of fuel that releases in the atmosphere, only water vapor.