rika

2007-03-06T07:02:00.000-08:00

The Age of Solar Energy

Recently, a lack of fossil fuels is a serious problem in the world. We have a comfortable life by depending on fossil fuels. If fossil fuels run out, it will have bad effects on our life. Can you imagine how change our life after fossil fuels are exhausted? Undoubtedly, we will have to lead inconvenient life. Therefore, we have to find alternative sources of fuel. There are some alternative sources such as hydropower, nuclear power, wind power and solar energy. Solar energy has adopted as alternative resource by some countries. According to “Solar Power” the author explains “In Japan and the USA, billions has been spent on developing PV [photovoltaic] over a number of years, and more recently, Germany has started to push lots of money into the development of it for projects there” (n.d. , para.11). Those counties consider solar energy as important alternative resource and we wrestle with developing solar energy. This is a great activity. However, it is essential that all countries have to work on the problem of fossil fuels and adopt the alternative resources like those countries. Solar energy should be used to solve the problem of limited resources because it is unlimited, useful for homes and cars, environmentally friendly and economical.

Solar energy is “energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy” (Dictionary.com, 2006, para.2). Solar energy is produced by solar panels that are a group of solar cells. The solar cells gather the sunlight, and the electromagnetic radiation from the sun is changed into energy that is available to homes and other buildings. In “The History of Solar Energy” the author states in 1860s, the solar energy history was begun by Augusted Mouchout who made a motor that ran on solar energy. After that, some people invented systems for using solar energy. In 1883, the sun was converted into electricity by Charles Fritz. Moreover, a solar energy system was put in on his house by Charles Tellier at the end of 1880s (Clarke, 2006). Solar energy systems which produce electricity or heat water are used till today. In addition, some people support using solar energy because the energy from the sun is almost free and solar energy is renewable. On the other hand, others disagree with using solar energy because it depends on weather and locations of the sun (Short, n.d.). In fact, solar energy is not popular among people, but solar energy can be the alternative resource instead of fossil fuels.

First of all, solar energy should be used as an alternative resource because it is unlimited. Solar energy needs only sunlight. Sunlight is natural thing and it can be always available. On the other hand, fossil fuels are limited and we can not use them limitlessly. Recently, we can have a comfortable life by depending on fossil fuels. However, when fossil fuels run out, our lives will change extremely. Therefore, we should use solar energy as alternative resources to keep our lifestyle. Whenever the sun has risen, we can use solar energy. Although solar energy systems can not collect sunlight at night and in bad weather, it means that we can not use solar energy at that situation because it can be stored in batteries and we can still utilize it (Short, n.d.). In “Discover the True Facts about Solar Energy” the author explains “A 1 kilowatt home solar system will generate approximately 1,600 kilowatt hours per year in a sunny climate (receiving 5.5 hours of sunshine per day) and approximately 750 kilowatt hours per year in a cloudy climate (receiving 2.5 hours of sunshine per day)” (n.d. para.16). Furthermore, “an average American household used approximately 866-kilowatt hours per month” (n.d. para14). As a result, solar energy can produce electricity that people need. Solar energy is endless resource, so it should be used to solve the problem of limited resources.

Secondly, people should utilize solar energy to solve the problem of limited resources since it is useful for homes and cars. If people install solar panels on their house, they can get electricity from solar panels. For example, solar energy is used to heat water, turn on lightings, televisions and air conditioners, and other domestic electrical appliances (“How Solar Energy Panels Work”, n.d.). They do not have to spend money for the cost of home’s electricity. They can be self-sufficient. Furthermore, solar energy can be used as energy of cars. Cars which use solar energy as a fuel call solar power cars. Solar power cars have some advantages. One is solar power cars do not need gasoline to run, and they just need solar energy. Therefore, people who have solar power cars can save money. Also, using solar power cars can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and it can help to stop the problems of global warming and air pollution (“Solar Power Cars”, n.d.). Solar energy is beneficial for our life, so we should use solar energy as alternative resource.

Next, solar energy is environmentally friendly unlike fossil fuels. The use of fossil fuels emits toxic things which cause air pollution and global warming, and they have some harmful effects on the earth and our life. Moreover, in “Geography Energy and the Environment” the author states “Atmospheric temperatures could rise by 1.4° - 5.8°C in the next 100 years” (n.d.para.2). This is a serious problem because it means we can not live on the earth in the future if the global warming continues. However, we can protect environment by using solar energy instead of fossil fuels. According to Short (n.d.) “Solar energy does not pollute our air by releasing carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide or mercury into the atmosphere like many traditional forms of electrical generation do” (para.11). It shows that solar energy is harmless to environment. Therefore, solar energy should be used as an excellent alternative resource to prevent the environmental destruction.

Finally, solar energy is a good solution to the problem of limited resources because it is economical. Some people who oppose solar energy criticize the cost. They insist that solar energy systems are expensive. In fact, the initial cost of solar energy systems is not cheap. However, there are some economical benefits about solar energy. One is that government gives people some financial support systems such as tax credit, loans and tax exemptions (Ahmad, 2006). Those supports encourage people to install solar energy systems. Furthermore, the solar energy is more economical than the energy produced with traditional ways. According to Ahmad (2006) "The average homeowner pays about $ 500 per year to heat water, but with a solar thermal system, the owner only pays the $ 4,000 up-front cost" (para.7). As a result, solar energy's homeowners can recover the initial cost for eight years and after that they do not have to spend money for home's electricity. Finally, solar energy's homeowners can earn money by solar energy. When the electricity is left, they can sell it to the electrical company and can get money. Solar energy is economical and people can get economical benefits by using it, so it should be utilized as alternative resource.

In conclusion, solar energy is a good solution to the problem of limited resources because it is limitless, beneficial for our lives, sustainable and money- saving. Now we depend on fossil fuels too much in our daily life and we receive a comfortable life by using them. However, fossil fuels are limited, so they run out in the near future. If we keep depending on fossil fuels, our future will be dark. Thus, we must not leave other people to solve the problem of the limited resources. Although some people know that fact, most of them do not care and think about it optimistically. This is a serious problem. Governments should give people the more information about the problem of fossil fuels and encourage them to use solar energy instead of fossil fuels. Solar energy is one of the greatest alternative resources. Consequently, it is a time that human beings seriously consider the use of solar energy instead of fossil fuels.

References
Ahmad, J. (2006, December 13). Solar energy sources catching on slowly.

Chapel Hill Herald. Retrieved February 21, 2007, from LexisNexis.

Clarke, A. (2006, August 07). The History of solar energy - It Is Longer Than You
May Think. EzineArticles. Retrieved February 18, 2007, from
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-History-of-Solar-Energy---It-Is-Longer-Than- You-May-Think&id=263023

Discover the true facts of solar energy. (n.d.). Fact about Solar Energy. Retrieved
March 1, 2007 from http://www.facts-about-solar-energy.com/facts-about-solar-energy.html

Geography energy and the environment. (n.d.). BBC NEWS. Retrieved February
21, 2007 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/
energy/energydemandrev5.shtml

How solar energy panels work. (n.d.). Fact about Solar Energy. Retrieved
February 28, 2007 from http://www.facts-about-solar-energy.com/solar-energy-panels.html

Krauss, L. (2007, February 09). Solar world: Climate reports support solar. VPI
Energy. Retrieved February 18, 2007, from LexisNexis.

School cashes in on solar power. (n.d.). BBC NEWS. Retrieved February 18,
2007, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_3485614.stm

Short, P. (n.d.). Solar energy advantages disadvantages. SolarEnergyMag.
Retrieved February 18, 2007, from http://www.solarenergymag.com/ 2005/09/14/ solar-energy-advantages-disadvantages/

“Solar energy” Dictionary.Com. (2006). Retrieved February 21, 2007 from
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/solar%20energy

Solar power. (n.d.). BBC Weather Centre. Retrieved February 18, 2007, from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/adaptation/solar_power.shtml

Solar power cars. (n.d.). Facts about solar energy. Retrieved February 22, 2007,
from http://www.facts-about-solar-energy.com/solar-power-cars.html

2007-03-06T06:50:00.000-08:00

Pro or Con about Taking the TOEFL Test

Have you ever taken the TOEFL test? If you want to study abroad in America, you have to take the TOEFL because American universities require the TOEFL score for admittance to the universities. Therefore, the TOEFL test is considered the most important test to enter American universities. The TOEFL test was made in 1964, and then every year more than 703,000 people have taken the TOEFL all over the world. (TSE, 2007). Furthermore, some students spend a lot of money to take the TOEFL test because they want to get a high score in the TOEFL. However, the TOEFL is not a good way to show own English skill. The PBT TOEFL should not be used to decide if non-native students can be accepted to an American university because the PBT TOEFL cannot measure all English skills, and the test does not encourage students to study correctly, and the TOEFL scores go up and down too much.

First of all, the TOEFL should not be used to decide if foreign students can be admitted to an American university because the TOEFL cannot measure all English skills. The TOEFL does not include speaking section. It is not fair for some students. For example, Saudi Arabians are good at speaking but the TOEFL cannot measure speaking skill, so it is difficult for them to get good scores and to show their speaking skill. In addition, the TOEFL cannot measure writing skill. For instance, if foreign students go to American university, they have to write a lot of papers. However, the TOEFL cannot measure writing skills, so students cannot know their writing skill. Also, university cannot know students’ writing skill from the TOEFL score. Therefore, the TOEFL is bad for students and university.

Secondly, the TOEFL does not encourage students to study correctly. There are four choices in each question. If students do not study for the TOEFL, they can answer questions by choosing one from four choices and it is possible to get better scores because they can just choose one in four choices. However, it is difficult to get high scores in the TOEFL test. Therefore, some students cram for the TOEFL to just enter American university. Actually, they do not understand English correctly. It is not good way to acquire English skills.

Finally, the TOEFL scores go up and down too

2007-03-05T23:09:00.000-08:00

Bush and Alternative Energy

McClatchy-Tribune News Service’s article “Alternative Energy: Talk Isn’t Strategy” states that the author criticizes Bush’s speech. He wants Bush to do more work than talk about alternative energy. According to in the article, Bush states that he spends money for researching and solving problems about new energy sources. Also, he says that houses with solar panels are made to produce electricity. However, the author claims that the oil companies receive the billions as a tax breaks and it inspires them to drill for oil. Moreover, he states that the government does not work actively to make houses with solar panels. Therefore, the author wants to make Bush to seriously wrestle with the problem of alternative energy.

It is apparent that the author’s opinion is right in this article. President Bush should struggle with the energy problem in America. Although he proposes some solutions about the energy problem, he does not bring his idea into practice. The author’s idea of using alternative energy should be supported because fossil fuels are lacking, and they affect economy and environment.
First of all, we use fossil fuels in daily life in things such as vehicles, air conditioners and television, but fossil fuels are lacking. Fossil fuels are not renewable resources but nonrenewable resources. It means we cannot use fossil fuels endlessly; thus they are limited resources. However, we waste fossil fuels every day as if fossil fuels exist to infinity. In “How Will We Fuel the Future?” the author claims, “Over the next fifty years scientists predict our supplies of fossil fuels will run out” (2006, para.1). This is the unbelievable fact, but it is true. Therefore, we have to face the lack of fossil fuels and have to find alternative sources.

Next, fossil fuels affect our economy because fossil fuels are not endless resources. Mainly, fossil fuels are used as the energy in the world. Especially, we use gasoline as fuel for cars. However, the price of gasoline is not stable. Recently, a lot of people use cars and those people need gasoline. While the number of car increases, the amount of gasoline decreases. We can make cars by our technology but it is impossible for us to make gasoline because it is a natural re

2006-12-08T15:27:00.000-08:00

Premature babies ‘are less intelligent’

In this article, “Premature babies ‘are less intelligent’,” the author claims that children born prematurely need special help because intelligence of children born prematurely is lower compared with that of mature babies. First, he states that premature children have more learning and social problems at school than other children. In addition, the author says that it is not easy for pre-term children to succeed at society. Finally, the author explains that parents have to pay more attention to children born early in order to develop intelligence and sociability. In the author’s opinion, immature children tend to be beneath the others in intelligence, so it is indispensable for them to get aid from other people.
I disagree with children born early should be supported by society because they are not sick, and intelligence is not essential.
First of all, children who are born early don’t have mental retardation. Generally, people regard premature babies as sick, but it is not true. They are just born early, and they are normal. Although some of them have trouble with a speech skill or the intellectual faculties, they are not usually a serious problem. According to some researchers, some premature children have a problem of speech skill and intellectual faculties, but they can recover the problem until 8 years old. They learn a speech skill and intelligence in daily life. Therefore, they don’t need special treatment.
Furthermore, intelligence is not the most essential thing for life. When we make friends, we don’t need intelligence. Also, when we get a job, we are never asked IQ score. Intelligence is one of the characters, so all children don’t have the average of intelligence. It is said that pre-term children tend to have lower IQ score, but also some of full-term children have lower IQ, too. Therefore, it doesn’t mean premature children are stupid. All of children have strong points, such as art, music or sports and weak points.
In conclusion, infants born prematurely don’t have mental deficiency. If they have the problem of the intelligence, it is not vital things for our daily life. Therefore, it is not indispensable for them to get extra support. I think premature children are stronger than other children because they can be alive even if they are born early. In addition, if they have a learning problem, they hang on to catch up with other children. I think pre-term children are tough mentally and physically.

Premature babies ‘are less intelligent’. (2000, August 8). BBC News. Retrieved
October 27, 2006, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/871115.stm

2006-12-08T15:21:00.000-08:00

Working Women More Likely to Seek Divorce

In Roger Dobson’s article, “Working Women More Likely to Seek Divorce,” he claims that working women are more apt to get divorced than non-working women. Firstly, the author says that working women economically live their own life. Therefore, it is easy for them to get divorced when they are dissatisfied with their marriages. Next, he claims that men think that to get divorced from wives who have a job is easier than from non-working women because working women are economically independent, and don’t need to worry about money. Finally, he states that women who have a job can get a mental “support system”. For example, they can talk about their problem and to share experiences with coworkers. In Dobson’s opinion, full-time working women have a stronger possibility of divorce as compared with stay-at-home women.

Dobson, R. (2005, July 10). Working women more likely to seek divorce.
Independent on Sunday. Retrieved Oct 26, 2006, from LexisNexis

2006-11-27T14:57:00.000-08:00

Intelligence is Related to Three Factors.

Have you ever thought about what affects one’s intelligence? Some people will answer it is nature. Other people will answer it is nurture. The answer depends on a kind of intelligence. Intelligence is not only studying skill but also other skills such as music, sports, art, and interpersonal intelligence. Therefore, there are three factors that affect one’s intelligence: genes, home environment, and education.

First of all, genes are one factor that influences our intelligence. When we are born, we get genes from parents. These genes affect our character and ability. If one of our parents or both parents are hard workers, it is highly possible that our personality is diligent. On the other hand, if our parents are lazy, we are probably idle. In addition, we are affected by our parents’ ability. When our parents are good at sports, art, music or study, we are also capable having the same ability. Therefore, heredity is an important part of intelligence.

Next, the second cause that affects one’s intelligence is home environment. We learn a lot of things from family, especially parents, because we spend time with parents at home. Parents teach children general things such as table manners, speaking and behavior. Furthermore, children learn sociability from siblings, and they acquire interpersonal skill through listening to grandparents or parents’ experience. As a result, domestic environment is indispensable to acquire universal things and sociability.

Finally, education is the third factor that influences one’s intelligence. Children go to school to study subjects such as math, science, language or history. To study subjects might stimulate children’s curiosity or interest, and they might think they want to know more about one thing. As a result, they are skilled at a specific thing and they can have expert knowledge. Moreover, teachers influence children’s intelligence. When teachers encourage students in study or praise them, the students might start to study hard. In contrast, if teachers say to students, “you are stupid,” the students will lose the motivation to study and they will become dull. Therefore, schooling has a good or bad effect on one’s intelligence.

In conclusion, heredity, home nurture and school have important effects on one’s intelligence. When we want to know one’s intelligence, we sometimes use IQ test score. However, we can’t know a person’s intelligence by using only IQ score. When measure a person’s intelligence, we have to take account of these three things that affect the person.

2006-10-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

rainy season...
a smile on everyting
the child draws
-Paul Pfleuger, Jr.

2006-10-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

AE2A Writing
New Views on Video Violence
In the article “New Views on Video Violence” by Dorothy and Jerome Singer, the authors state that watching violence on television has more negative effects on children than reading violent stories. Firstly, the authors think that the picture on television that uses special effects has a harmful influence on children. Secondly, they say that television has a lot of violent scenes, so it is not good for children to use their free time to watch television. Also, they mention that children begin to watch aggressive programs on television before reading violent books. Next, they think that unlike reading parents can’t change the violent scenes on television which they want their children to watch. Finally, the authors state that children can change the speed in reading. In conclusion, children are seriously affected by watching violent scenes rather than reading about violence. I agree with the authors that watching violence on television is more harmful than reading violent books.
First of all, watching television strongly affects children’s behavior, thought and speech more than reading books. When children read books, they imagine scenes in their mind by reading sentences. On the other hand, when they watch television, they don’t need to imagine scenes, and they just listen and watch screens. Therefore, children become more passive while watching television. Besides, children are more sensitive than adults. They easily absorb anything that they see and hear, and want to imitate them. For example, some children start to use dirty language, and become aggressive after watching violent programs. They are influenced by those programs. Since special skills are used or people playing a role on television, many programs are created vividly and with reality. Therefore, unlike reading violent books, watching violence on television has more serious effects on children.
Secondly, children can see any violent programs on television in spite of the age limit whenever children want to watch them. Violent programs are harmful for children, but it doesn’t always mean that all of them are evil. However, there are some violent programs that are really harmful for children, especially, since they have the age limit. When children see violent programs that have the age limit, they receive a severe shock at first because they are not a mature age. But gradually they get accustomed to violent scenes, and at last they feel nothing even if they see cruel scenes.
Finally, watching violence on television has a great influence on children unlike reading violent stories. Watching aggressive scenes is stronger and more serious impression than reading books. Also, when children watch television, they are exposed a lot of danger of seeing all kinds of cruel scenes. Recently, children who commit a serious crime are increasing. I think children watching violent programs on television are one of the reasons. Since children see people kill on television many times, some of them don’t understand the meaning of death and importance of life. As a result, some children commit a serious crime. When children watch violent programs, parents have to pay attention to children.

2006-10-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

Weblog Assignment#5

I visited this website . This website is written about gender wage gap in certain jobs. When you click on this site, you can see a chart of occupations, percent of women and earings ratio. You will find there is no occupation that women can earn the same money as men and women get lower wage than men by looking at the chart. Also, you can know even if jobs in which the majority of workers are women, women can't receive the same wage as men.

My opinion
When I looked at this site, I thought the status of women was still weak in a work place. According to the chart in the website, women can't receive the same wage as men. Even though women work the same number of hours as men, the wage of women is lower than that of men. I think this is gender discrimination in jobs. I was shocked at the fact. Especially, a registered nurse, social worker or teacher are said women's jobs,but they earn 80 or 90 percent of men's wage. The wage of these jobs is higher compared with that of other jobs. However, women get still lower earnings than men. Therefore, women have to struggle with this problem to get the same wage as men.

2006-09-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

Weblog#4

I visited this website. There is a Schwarzenegger photo gallery in the web site, and you can see 655 different pictures of him. On this site is written a lot of information about Arnold Schwarzenegger, but we can't read it in English because the site is created by an Italian Fan Club. However, there are some galleies such as muscle, cover and art. Even if you can't read Italian, you can enjoy just watching those pictures.

My opinion
I think this site is interesting because there are a lot of pictures of Schwarzenegger. I saw some pictures of him on the web site, and I found my favorite picture in which Schwarzenegger wore a Hakama which was Japanese traditional clothes. In Japan, he is famous as an actor. He has strong muscles, and it is one of his attractive personalities. His charm is not only powerful muscles but also his cheerful character, so I think he is popular among people.

Rika

2006-09-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

Weblog Assignment#3

I visited this web site. It is written about how EU's gender gap is still wide open in this article. There are a lot of women who go to university in EU. However, their salary is lower than that of men, and they can't get the same pay as men. Also, even if women reach better educational levels than men, it is difficult for them to get a good job. Moreover, in this article you can see some bar graphs of each country which are about gender pay gap, share of female managers and part time workers. They are useful in knowing which country has more gender gap.

My opinion
This site is interesting for me because I didn’t know much about EU’s gender gap in business. In Japan, also women can’t get the same opportunity as men in business. Furthermore, women are lower position than men. These are common problems between EU and Japan. Therefore, we have to struggle with this problem to get equal situation in business.

2006-09-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

Weblog Assignment#2

If you want to visit Grimm Fairy Tales web site, please click here.
This web site’s design looks fancy. It uses a lot of colors and unique characters. This web site is designed by EnTechneVison. In this web site, there are several programs. The main program is fairy tales. You can read the Grimm fairy tales and all of them have illustrations. Also, you can read them while listening to the narration. Other programs are games and coloring pages. There are different kinds of games and pictures in this web site.

My opinion
I think this web site is useful not only for children but also for people who study English. We can read and listen to fairy tales in English, so it helps us to improve English reading and listening skills. Also, this web site is so interesting because there are a lot of programs which we can enjoy. When we want to play games, we can enjoy games in this site. This site is used for children, so there are a lot of characters. But those characters are not cute but weird. In my country, children prefer cute characters to weird characters. I think the taste is different between America and Japan.

2006-09-04T23:57:00.000-07:00

"The Grateful Crane"

Once upon a time, there was an honest young man. One day, when he walked in a forest, he found a crane which was caught in a trap. He was sorry for the crane, so he released it from the trap. After few days and nights, a beautiful woman visited his house. She said to him, “I lost my way, so could you lodge me in your house?”, and he let her stay at his home. The next day, she began to weave in gratitude. The textiles which she made were beautiful, and they could be sold at a high price. She kept weaving for several days in a shed without eating food. “How about having a rest and eating something?” he asked her, but she didn’t reply. He couldn’t see her because she told him to please never peep inside while she wove. However, he worried about her, so he opened the door of the shed. He couldn’t believe because the person who had been weaving was the crane which he had saved from a trap several days ago. The crane pulled out feathers one by one with her bill, and she made cloth with her own wings. She had to leave him because he saw her identify. Finally, she flew up to the sky, and he cried to her to come back because he loved her.

There is another version of this story here.
You can make any comment about it that you like.