It's Not Worth It

Author's Note: Intially I wrote this paper for my Social Studies Class, but I then I thought, why can't I write it for Language Arts too? By reading this paper you will understand why drilling in Alaska will not help our country very much.

Animals dying, economy changing minamally:this is what can happen if the US drills for oil in ANWR. Everyone has their own opinions, like some people may think that it is a good idea for the US to drill for oil, and then there are the people who disagree with that and say that the US shouldn’t drill for oil. Drilling for oil isn’t a good thing but it isn’t a bad thing, the US should not drill for oil because it could do so many bad things to ANWR. 

Drilling for oil can do so much damage to the ANWR; it could kill all the wildlife and ruin the environment. If the US were to drill for oil it could kill all the animals and wildlife. If that was to happen we could ruin something that we don’t even own. Think about all those poor helpless animals that would get killed for no reason at all. We should not drill for oil it could wreck the homes of animals giving birth and their natural habitats.

Say we go ahead and we drill for oil, and something goes wrong. We would be the people who would have to clean up our mess, that we created and help clean up their environment. If we don’t decontaminate their environment fast enough, we could start to cause pollution and kill all the animals that live in the ocean or lake. Think about what that is doing to us… that is making us look like fools, embarrassing us, showing Alaska that we are not responsible enough to drill for oil safely. We do not want that happening.

Trees, grass, and bushes are all other things that we could kill if we have an oil spillage. If we don’t have trees we don’t have oxygen, if we don’t have air we can’t breathe if we can’t breathe we will all die. Now is that something that you guys want to happen? I for sure don’t. I am only 13 years old I have my whole life to live… hopefully. If we kill the grass and bushes with oil, what will some of the animals have to eat?

The US should not drill for oil because it could do so many bad things to ANWR. Many people thought that we should drill for oil and gave me many good reasons to think about changing my mind but I am going to keep my ground and fight for the no drilling for oil. There are more reasons to not drill for oil in Alaska than there are to drill.

A Hero From The Shadows

Author’s Note: Every Day someone is dying somewhere around the world. In this short story by Lynn Rosellini, a man saves his co-workers who were trapped underground that were nearly drowning. What you are going to be reading about is not a tragedy but a delightful story in the end.

Four men, a tunnel, and a lot of water. Doesn’t nearly sound as fun as some people may think. In the short story No Escape, four men were working underground just like any other work day. Then one of the workers heard an unfamiliar sound, sort of like a whoosh of air and a clatter of rocks and debris. A second later out of nowhere came all this water pouring into the tunnel. One of the workers tried to get a hold of someone by using his radio on his tool belt but then it suddenly died.  At that very moment what was going through all of their minds was we are going to die. After a while of being stuck down in the tunnel and the water rising at 10,000 gallons per minute, one of the workers who were working above ground, Mike Salvador came to their rescue when he heard someone yelling for help. The workers were finally saved from drowning. To me this short story was trying to make a point, and the point I thought it was trying to make was that anyone can be a hero, no matter what anyone says about you.

On a positive note, if things start out poorly that doesn’t mean they will necessarily end up bad. For instance if you start the first half of a basketball game with multiple turnovers, you can still end the game with no turnovers and a bunch of points in the second half. After all, not everything in life turns out bad in the end.

I feel like I can relate to this story because when I was younger my grandma had a pool and my brother was supposed to be watching me when my grandma called for lunch and my brother left me. Of course this was when I didn’t know how to swim and I started drowning. My mom was the one who noticed me and came to my rescue. I guess what I am trying to say is, that I could relate to the almost death experience.

Many people can’t relate to having almost death experiences, but being a hero is something everyone can relate to. Being a hero isn’t just putting on an act it’s about how you treat people and how you make the best of every situation.  I am trying to make a point that it doesn’t matter if you are short or tall or young or old it doesn’t matter, anyone can be a hero. For example if someone was drowning at a swim at your own risk lake/pool anyone can help save the life of that person. By doing that they can become a hero.

Everyone gets a chance to be a hero. I think that is something that many people don’t take advantage of. In my perspective I think that being a hero can be life changing. Say someone is choking on a piece of food and you know how to do CPR, this could be your chance to show the world that you are a hero. Anyone and everyone has the chance to be a hero and save someone’s life.

Rain Rain Go Away

Author’s Note: Seven years; thousands upon thousands of days it has been raining nonstop. Every minute of every day it rains on planet Venus. A girl named Margot moved from Earth to Venus and she has lived on Venus for 5 years and still all these kids make fun of her, because she thinks that it will stop raining for a couple hours and then it will continue to rain for another couple years.

BOOM! ... BANG! The lightning struck as the class jumped from their seats. “Take your seats children class is about to start.” Said the teacher. It was a normal day at school for Margot sitting in the back of the room not talking to anyone. “Margot, it is your turn to read your poem.” Said the teacher. Margot began to read her poem, “I think the sun is a flower; that blooms for just one hour.” Then one of the boys yelled out Aw, you didn’t write that! “I did” yelled Margot from the back of the room. “William!” Said the teacher. This is just how the story begins.

In this book Margot has got a big situation; she has to move from Earth to Venus. I can relate to that because I have moved many many times in my life. In fact I just moved this summer and I am still kind of getting over the big change. Of course her move was bigger, but I can share my feelings with her. Having to get used to everything so fast and having to settle down in a place that you don’t want to be. Trust me, I’ve been there and many times. If I were in her position I would be doing the exact same thing that she is doing.

New school, new teachers, new friends, new everything. One day before the teacher came in the class room the class thought since they didn’t like Margot that it would be funny to lock her in a hall closet. Why? Because she said that today it was going to stop raining and they thought she was lying so the class locked her in the closet also because they thought it would be funny. Then suddenly something happened, just as the kids got back to the class room they didn’t hear anything. Which for them was very unusual, it actually stopped raining.  The class rain out into the fresh air and were so excited they started running around like it was the very first time they ever saw no rain. It wasn’t long though, before the rain came back and everyone had to resume their regular lives inside. Then they realized that Margot was telling the truth about it not raining and went to unlock the closet and set her free. Their lives would still remain the same though, not liking her and making fun of her.

Life in another world is not easy, I don’t know that for a fact but I do know that moving from your home planet to a planet that you thought didn’t even have life on, is ruff. On Venus it never stops raining, but on earth it doesn’t rain 24/7. That is something that Margot most definitely had to adjust to. Since Margot isn’t as tan as the other kids she always gets picked on because of how her skin is as white as snow and how she looks so pale. Life as the new kid isn’t as easy as you may think!

If you think about it Margot doesn’t live an easy life. Moving from one planet to another, always getting picked on for the color of her skin, and many more things. If you were living her life how would you deal with a situation like that? To me I wouldn’t want to go to school, I wouldn’t want to go to school because of all the nagging and being picked on every day for something that you believe in. Honestly to me I feel bad for Margot because she has a complex life.

Essays

A Tiger's Tale

Author's Note:  I had to find a topic to write about and it came to me, why don't I write about my favorite animal in the world.
Roar! Roar! That is the sound that a wild cat makes. One of the cats in the cat family is a tiger. Some people think differently, they think that all tigers are different; it doesn’t matter if the tigers are ugly or beautiful. Everyone has their favorite and so do I. All tigers are the same, but there are many different types of tigers, such as Bengal, Siberian, Indochinese, South Chinese, Sumatran, Malayan, Caspian, Javan and Bali.  Personally my two favorite types of tigers would have to be the Bengal and Siberian tigers because they are beautiful. Most tigers are beautiful but there’s just something about Bengal and Siberian tigers!

One really interesting fact to me is that of the tigers I named above, the last three are extinct, one is extinct in the wild, and the rest are endangered. Another interesting fact that I thought was weird but yet cool was that all tigers have a lifespan of 10-15 years. Also I thought this was a pretty cool fact that a male Siberian tiger and a male Sumatran tiger are way different in weight than each other. But yet the females for both of them are both very similar.

The Diet of all tigers is the same; they mainly eat ambar deer, wild pigs, water buffalo and antelope. Tigers are also known to hunt sloth bears, dogs, leopards, crocodiles and pythons as well as monkeys and hares. Old and injured tigers have been known to attack humans and domestic cattle.

Over all, tigers are alike in many different ways but then again tigers are different in many different ways. My point is is that no matter what type of tigers they are they are all the same in many different ways.

   

The Furry Animal From Down Under

Author's Note:  Everyone thinks that koala bears are the cutest and sweetest little animals in the world, I had to do something about that because koala bears are not the sweetest animals. I choice to write about this because koala bears are not the sweetest and cutest little animal in the world.
Soft, thick and pleasant to touch, what animal am I thinking of? If you said a Koala Bear you are absolutely correct. So many people think that Koala Bears are the sweetest little animals on earth, but I would have to disagree because they probably aren’t around humans that much unless they are in a zoo. So how do you know what a wild koala bear is going to do to a human?! Truth be told they are not the sweetest animals on the earth but they are not the meanest animal on earth.    

Koala Bears spend all day sleeping, they like sleeping in the fork of the tree. They start to move around just when the sun sets. Once the sun is down and it is nighttime you can hear the koalas “barking” aggressively at other koalas.

The population of koala bears is dropping as we are talking; presently up to 4,000 koalas are being killed each year by cats and dogs. You can find koala bears mostly in Eastern and Southern Australia. Also you can find them on coastal islands and tall eucalypt forests to low woodlands inland. You will never find a koala bear in a rainforest though.

Koala seldom drinks water obtaining it from the eucalyptus leaves, which are 50% consisting of water. Although, they can drink water if due to drought the leaves water content is reduced. Each koala eats 200 to 500 grams of leaves per day. Koalas have a slow metabolic rate due to their high-fiber, low nutrient diet. Because they store little or no fat, koalas must adopt strategies that conserve energy. Sleeping is one of them.
Koala Bears to me can seem like they are nice and you think that you can cuddle up with them. But honestly koala bears can be very aggressive and dangerous.



http://www.giftlog.com/pictures/koala_fact.htm

A bundle of joy

Author's Note: I chose to write about my cat because she really is a bundle of joy!

Kitten

Chunky, adorable

playing, cuddling, eating

My favorite cat

Bailey

By: Becca Groer