Scientific Breakthrough to Stop Malaria

Blogged by Zach

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/11/23/scientists-hack-mosquito-dna-to-spread-malaria-resistant-gene.html

We all know about pesky mosquitos and their thirst for blood. When your main food source is blood then there is a good chance that you will contract and even spread diseases. This is common with mosquitos. Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that can affect both humans and other animals if an infected mosquito bites them. Malaria can cause any of the following symptoms which include fatigue, fever, vomiting, and headaches. In some more severe cases it can even cause yellow skin, seizures, coma and sometimes even death.

On Monday November 23rd there was an experiment reported, this experiment involved U.S. researchers who hatched some malaria-resistant mosquitoes. The scientists used a groundbreaking technology to ensure the insects pass on the protective gene that prevents Malaria, as they reproduce. This means that the population of malaria-resistant mosquitoes will continue to grow.

Malaria kills at least half a million people each year and sickens about two hundred million more. Mosquitoes can pick up the malaria parasite by biting an infected individual, and then can spread it when they bite someone else. Mosquito-killing insecticides and bed nets are the main protection but is little comfort to those in poverty who have no access to these prevention methods. However, with this scientific breakthrough of malaria-resistant mosquitoes there is a hope for those who are at higher risk of being affected by the malaria infection.

End hunger in your own way!!

By: Vincent, Rachel, and Chantel

When first seeing the word rafiki you’re probably thinking about the baboon from the Lion King.

Photo of Rafiki the Monkey from The Lion King.http://lionking.wikia.com/wiki/Rafiki

Although this baboon plays an important role in The Lion King many people do not know the real meaning of rafiki.  For any of you who don’t know rafiki means friend.

You are probably wondering now what do rafiki’s have to do with ending world hunger. Well  Me to We sells rafiki bracelets! The bracelet they sell each have their own meaning and each supply something different to developing countries. Some help supply access to clean drinking water, healthy school lunches, note pads and pens for students to write on and with, and tons more. Most of their bracelets are only $10.00 and they make for an amazing birthday or Christmas present!!  The also make a perfect gift to tell your friends how amazing they are!!!

Food rafiki bracelet you can purchase from me to we!http://shop.metowe.com/ca/rafikis

If you are a student or teacher who attends  Nottawasaga Pines Secondary School and would like to buy a rafiki bracelet the Global Action club will be selling rafiki bracelets in the coming months!! Come see Miss.Mcleod or Miss. Cryer for more information!! If you do not go to NPSS but would still like to purchase a rafiki bracelet go to: http://shop.metowe.com/ca/rafikis

Remember: Don’t forget to go follow our teacher on twitter @misssmcleod or look up the hashtag #npssglobalgoals

Which is Worse? Boko Haram, or ISIS?

Blogged By: Samantha K.

Over the past few months, the news has been focusing on ISIS, and the associated attacks, however, within the middle east, the extremist group, Boko Haram, have still been terrorizing the lives of locals.

Boko Haram:
A terrorist group, that is an extremist Islamic group, located in Nigeria, that engages in guerrilla warfare, across Northern Nigeria. They violently attack, government offices, the UN, as well as civilians, as they try to destabilize Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon.

For More Information: Boko Haram Information

ISIS:

A structured extremist organization, that is attempting to consolidate its power as a government within the Islamic Caliphate. Also referred to as Islamic Extremist.

For More Information: ISIS Information

Boko Haram was considered the deadliest group in 2014, since they contributed to more deaths than any other militant group. Last year they were responsible for 6,664 deaths, compared to ISIS’ 6,073 deaths. The two groups, together, are equally deadly considering together, they were responsible for 51% of all claimed global fatalities in 2014.

Unfortunately, Boko Haram is learning from ISIS, which it pledged allegiance to in an audio message from the group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau.

The general population fears ISIS more, as they are currently publicized, especially after the recent attack on France, however both extremist groups are dangerous, and should not be causing massive amounts of people to cower in fear, instead we should be deciding on a solution to the problem.

Your Part in the Global Water Crisis

http://www.charitywater.org/blog/pod03192012/

http://ithirst.org/blog/page/7/

Blogged by: Leah

“Almost everywhere, water is wasted, and as long as people are not facing water scarcity, they believe access to water is an obvious and natural thing.” Water is something that I and most citizens in developed countries can say we take for granted. We shower as long as we wish, drink as much as we please and have massive swimming pools at our leisure. It isn’t much of a common thought that in other parts of the world, these are things that would only be seen in dreams. Can you imagine that 1.1 billion people live their everyday lives without access to clean drinking water? I want you to really think about this statistic. Visualize your everyday life without taking a shower, without washing your dishes, without getting a glass of water whenever you feel thirsty. If you did give into dehydration and drink that water, you would be in fear as to what it is doing to your body. As of 2004, 3900 children die every day from diseases in their water. Would you take the risk of doing such a normal routine?

http://www.charitywater.org/blog/pod03192012/

http://ithirst.org/blog/page/7/

As a country develops the water can only then afford to be treated, eventually making it proper for consumption. Unfortunately, many countries are far too poor and dangerous to worry about purifying water. The threat of personal safety is far too evident to think about the consumption needs of citizens. Even if a country decides to take action regarding clean drinking water, it is far too massive of an issue to take care of alone.

For more information on this topic as well as incredible and innovative solutions go to: http://www.triplepundit.com/2015/06/innovative-solutions-water-shortage-crisis/

Statistics from:

http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/library/archives/water-crisis/

The Rapid Decline of Bees: Why are the Bees Playing “Hive and Seek?”

Blogged by: Emma G

http://www.custommade.com/blog/content/uploads/2014/09/bee-001.jpg

Over 250 billion bees have died in the last four years alone,which is about 90% of our bees each year. Although many different types of bees are included in this number, the majority of them were honeybees. Bees are responsible for approximately 80% of all fruit, vegetable and seed crops in the US alone, which clearly shows us how much of an importance they are for ecosystems around the world. If the bee population collapsed, it has been said that humanity as we know it would collapse with them. So, what has caused this rapid decline in bee lives? Are humans to blame for this tragic trend that is occurring?

   The answer to that question is yes and no. There are various reasons behind the disappearance of bees that are both natural and anthropogenic (caused by humans). Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is one of the many reasons for the decline of bees. The main symptom of CCD is very low to no adult bees present in the hive but with a queen who is alive and no dead honey bee bodies present. Despite continued research, there is currently no scientifically proven reason behind the cause of CCD.

Viruses are also a culprit behind the disappearance of bees. A virus is an infective agent that typically consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein coat that is too small to be seen by light microscopy and is able to multiply only within the living cells of a host (Dictionary.com). One of many viruses that affect bees are varroa mites which cause Varroosis. Varroa mites are reddish-brown in color and have a flat button shape. They are common nearly anywhere honey bees are found, and every beekeeper should take immense precautions if they are in a geographic area in which Varroa mites can be located. They suck the blood from both the adults and the developing brood, leaving open wounds, weakening and shortening the lifespan of the ones they feed on.

Cell phones are also a main cause of the decline of bee lives, or more specifically the radiation that is emitted from them and their service towers. The massive amount of radiation produced from towers and cell phones is destroying the navigational skills of the honey bees and preventing them from safely returning to their hives. A small study at Landau University in Germany had also proven that bees wouldn’t go back to their hives when there was cell phones present. The vanished bees may never be found again, though they are thought to be located far from home. Since they don’t have a habitat any more, they eventually die due to lack of nutrition. One might argue against this point by stating that humans aren’t dying because of radiation, but this can be easily shut down due to the fact that insects and small animals would naturally be affected more by this increase of ambient radiation since they possess smaller bodies which contain less flesh to be penetrated by exposure to microwaves, which then results in a different behavioral patterns. If towers and mobile phones continue to expand at the rate they have been in the past few years, the bees as a species could disappear in approximately ten years.

Clearly, bees are a crucial component to our ecosystems all over the world. In order for us as humans to help the bees we need to take better care of our planet and take precautions so that we don't destroy life on earth as we know it. Things that you could do to help the population of bees that are still alive could include; buying local and organic food which is healthier for your body and for our environment due to lack of chemicals during the production of the food, leaving dandelions on your lawn which serve as some of the most important food sources for North American bees, and leaving a small basin of fresh water outside of your home for the bees to drink. All of these are simple yet effective actions to ensure the future existence of our bees. Do your part and “bee the change!”

“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” -Albert Einstein

References

Beesfree.biz,. (2015). Honey Bees Dying - Why Are Bees Dying Worldwide | Bees Free. Retrieved 8 November 2015, from http://www.beesfree.biz/The%20Buzz/Bees-Dying

Greenpeace International,. (2015). Bees in Decline. Retrieved 8 November 2015, from http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/publications/Campaign-reports/Agriculture/Bees-in-Decline

The National Beekeepers Association of New Zealand,. (2015). Beneficial Plants for Bees - The National Beekeepers Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 11 November 2015, from http://www.nba.org.nz/learn/beneficial-plants-for-bees/

Gianni, K., & Gianni, K. (2012). 4 Reasons the Bees are Disappearing. Renegade Health. Retrieved 12 November 2015, from http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2012/09/24/4-reasons-the-bees-are-disappearing

Ars.usda.gov,. (2015). ARS : Honey Bee Health and Colony Collapse Disorder. Retrieved 15 November 2015, from http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572

(2015). Retrieved 20 November 2015, from http://www.ipublishing.co.in/jesvol1no12010/EIJES2044.pdf

Ending Child Poverty in Canada

High hopes for federal action in 2016

Blogged By: Rebecca, Brittany, Rosalyn and Emma

As our Global Action T-shirt campaign wraps up, we are beginning to focus more on our Local Actions; tackling local poverty through making an awareness video. In order to have this video be as successful as possible, we have begun to research Canadian Poverty- something that is much more present in our communities as we may think. The newly elected federal government has made some promises regarding child poverty, with a list of progressive measures and the aim to lift more than 315,000 children out of poverty.

The government has promised to invest in affordable housing and childcare, reforming employment insurance and make maternity and parental level much more flexible. In fact, more than 1.34 million Canadian Children- close to one in five- are living in poverty. This figure has grown since 1989, when parliament vowed to eradicate the problem by 2000. The pledge to end Canadian Poverty was repeated 2 more times in 2009 and 2015…. Experts say that this may be the first time that Parliament creates a concrete goal that they can stick too! This new action plan will include comprehensive strategy and work with the legislation for a goal of cutting child poverty from 19% to 9.5% within five years. The framework will be developed collaboratively with provincial and territorial governments, as well as aboriginal/first nations governments and NGO’s in order to help people of all ethnic groups.

The above statistics are a representation of poverty in Canada by numbers. Many of the numbers are very surprising, and serve as more proof that poverty in Canada is a major problem.

This is a big step forward for Canada…. We hope to see some positive changes in our local communities in the very near future!

Statistics, Photo and information; http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/11/24/high-hopes-for-federal-action-to-end-child-poverty.html

UN sustainability goal 15: Life on Land

Challenges Along the Way

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By Janson, Matt, Sam, Brendan and Tristan

On Monday, November 23rd, our group ran into an obstacle. We found out we are not allowed to use the equipment in the wood shop room to help further our productivity. This means that our work flow has slowed down immensely.

Since we did we not have our safety forms signed, and we weren’t actually in the wood shop class, it wouldn’t be safe for us to use the equipment at school.

This changes our schedule and plans to continue on, this is because we are going to have to find and use our own equipment and cut by hand. We completely understand why we are not able to use the equipment and will strive to stay on schedule and work through our challenge.

See if we were able to overcome our challenge by following the blog for updates and our Twitter page @sam_sammyjane or “Upcyclingtosavearth”.

HIV/AIDS: A Global Virus

Blogged by:  Alyssa

HIV/AIDS is a deadly disease that first originated in the 1800s in Africa. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency) is the first stage of the virus. HIV can be contracted by sexual contact, blood transfusion, injection drug use, and even pregnancy and breastfeeding. This virus attacks the immune system, leaving the body vulnerable to other dangerous diseases. People who are able to get early treatment can live almost full lives. Without treatment the immune system becomes very damaged, and AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) develops. People who are diagnosed with AIDs have a life expectancy of 3 years.

12

HIV/AIDS affects 35 million people worldwide. That is equal to almost the entire population of Canada. 5.1 million people died of Aids in 2013. These facts are saddening, but the good news is that organizations such as AVERT have been making big differences by raising awareness and encouraging testing in places like sub-saharan Africa where the disease is most prevalent. Being knowledgeable on how to avoid getting the virus and knowing that early detection is key can save many lives and slow the spread of the deadly illness.

For more info go to AVERT’s website here.

Bibliography

http://www.avert.org/

https://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/global-statistics/

https://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/what-is-hiv-aids/

Pictures

1.http://www.eschooltoday.com/hiv-aids/what-is-hiv-aids.html

2.http://hivaidshelp-please.wonderhowto.com/inspiration/hiv-aids-symptoms-0127692/

Why Are We Doing This?

By: April, Josh Leah and Sydney

The Marine Team has been working hard to promote ocean sustainability and spread awareness regarding plastic pollution in our oceans. We feel it is important to remember why we chose to tackle this topic in the first place. Plastic constitutes for around 90% of all garbage floating on the surface of the ocean, with 46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile. It has been documented that due to this abundance of plastic pollution, 44 percent of all seabird species, 22 percent of cetaceans, all sea turtle species, and a growing list of fish species have been found with plastic in or around their bodies. These facts came as a shock to our group, and it inspired us to take action against this massive environmental issue. Although we are only four high school students and the issue at hand may seem dire, this never prevented us from believing we weren’t capable of making a difference. In order to follow through with our initial hope, we decided to focus on promoting UN Global Goal 14. With this, our movie buy-out and hashtag were created. What we are doing may seem insignificant compared to the size of the issue, but we have learned during this project that awareness is one of the greatest factors in making a change.

Update: Along with spreading an incredible amount of awareness among our community, we have raised a total of $195.20 in proceeds from our movie buy-out, for the WWF’s ocean sector. Thank you for all of your support and contributions in helping us hold this amazing event!

Photo:http://cdn.sailingscuttlebutt.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/trashed-ocean-whale-cartoon.jpg

Statistics:

http://thegreendivas.com/2014/04/04/21-preposterous-facts-plastic-pollution/

Recycling for change collection statistics

      By: Tanner, Zachary, Zack

We did it! We have completed our consumption for change collection drive. We would like to thank everyone that donated their used clothes, toys, books and E-waste. In total we have collected 21 toys including an Xbox 360, 31 books, 33 shirts, 15 sweaters, 13 pants, 13 pairs of shoes, 10 accessories, 9 pairs of shorts, 3 dresses, 3 jackets, and 2 pairs of socks. We also received a microwave, a drill, and a printer. all of the stuff that we have collected will be donated to goodwill and all of the E-Waste will be given to company that recycles it and the reason we collected all of this stuff was to promote sustainable consumption which show people that they don’t need to buy everything new and that they can buy recycled items instead.  

Global Goal #5
Beyonce’s Essay on Gender Equality

Avery, Avrielle, Cassidy, Emily, Jessica

Beyonce makes it no secret that she is a feminist. She discusses gender equality and empowerment of women in many of her song lyrics and interviews, and now she has made her views even clearer in a essay about equality of the sexes.

The essay titled, ‘Gender Equality Is a Myth!’ discusses the false belief that women and men are equal in today’s society. “Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes.” She openly talks about the difference between men and women in the workplace, and her ideas on how to change society. “Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted equal pay and equal respect.”

http://cdn3.pitchfork.com/news/53563/db39e38d.png

Beyonce believes that the way to achieve gender equality and equal pay is by suggesting that men also take part in demanding it. We have to teach our boys the rules of equality and respect, so that as they grow up, gender equality becomes a natural way of life.”

It is great to have a well known celebrity to be speaking up about such an important topic. We believe that other celebrities that have many people looking up to them is a good way to get a message across dealing with global issue and start educating young people to the topic more. Beyonce is truly inspirational and uses her fame to educate and inspire the world.

Dodgeball for Charity

Blogged by: Alyssa, Zach, Samantha, Jarrett

The staff vs. student dodgeball game is a charity event, the money raised is going towards two charities, The Thirst Project  and AVERT.

Thirst Project is a charity that provides clean water to people who do not have access to flowing water, or non-diseased water. They focus on providing clean water because they know once a family has water or access to a well, the children can work, play, or attend school, since they no longer have to walk miles to fill a bucket in the local river.

AVERT is a charity focused on preventing and minimizing the spread of HIV and AIDS. There mission is  share knowledge, empower people to protect themselves, reduce stigma, and implement HIV Programs.

Operation: Birdhouse

By Janson, Matt, Sam, Brendan and Tristan

http://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/beautiful-birds-wallpapers_blue-bird-wallpaper-free.jpg .

We have just received another piece of furniture from our school vice principal! We are not going to refurbish the cabinet into a nicer cabinet like the last one we’ve were given, instead we are going to take it apart and use the wood to build a birdhouse. 

By removing all usable pieces of wood from the cabinet, we were able to come up with a plan. Using the hardwood drawers and side panels, we figured there is enough good quality wood to start building bird houses.

Hopefully have the bird houses done next week, stay posted by looking on the blog and following our twitter page @sam_sammyjane “Upcyclingtosavearth”.