I would like to sleep please by Maddie DiMarco

It there anything more recent than something that happens every day? (That's an arguable issue, but this is a one sided conversation.) Teenagers aren't getting enough sleep. No one is getting enough sleep, to be fair. We keep writing, and no one ever starts reading. Its a topic so drawn out, you'd think we would have exhausted (pun very much intended) it by now. But, alas, we have not, and I've always got time to complain.

The world is not in time with our bodies. Its a ridiculous way to live. We wake up and smooth our hair before the sun has bothered to roll out of bed, which is completely out of sync with our natural clocks. Biology gave us a schedule and we keep tearing it up and setting it on fire. The natural circadian rhythm (did you know rhythm is the longest word in the English language with no vowels?) of a teenager is set 11pm-7am at the earliest. Most of the time, its later. (did you know that in ye olde times, most people slept in hour long fragments, and woke up in the middle of the night for a bit before going back to sleep for another 4 hours? A good life to live, if not for the plague.)

The clock says I should be in bed. My body says right now is a nice time for a walk. It shouldn't be possible for someone to feel jittery and exhausted at the same time (it feels like someone mixed caffeine and melatonin in my blood and shook like a protein smoothie) but teenagers are constantly reaching past the impossible.

I've constantly got things to do and places to be. People always call teenagers lazy, which is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard (I have to choose my life-path at a grand old 17 years old and people expect me to just be real chill about making the biggest decision of my life? The first thing I do when I sit down is think if I've got any work due). One of my friends doesn't get home until 7 pm. I watch another wake at 4 am to finish her homework. Often, I see someone fall asleep on the bus. Every morning I pass dead eyes and tired shuffles. I put my phone's brightness all the way up, hoping it will burn my retinas enough to keep them open. It doesn't work. (My computer is scalding my eyes right now).

Sleep is a biological need. Deprivation messes with everything from your hormones to your moods and the way your body breaks down food. Not a good thing to be messing with, yes? But we don't learn. "Learning to work with what you've been given is a part of adult life" people say. Adult life is a scam. Everyone is constantly playing pretend at a sense of maturity you never really achieve and the preening is giving me a headache.

I'm writing this with minutes to spare even though I've had a month to work on it. I'm not even done for the night. If you catch me looking dead and depressed, at least you will know the reason.

I hope you can feel my bitterness through the screen. I'd apologize for the terrible writing and the remarkably aggressive attitude, but I'm not being paid nearly enough to bother being pleasant. There's nothing like writing things I'll regret in the morning >:)

Thank you all, and good night.

The Future for The New York Giants by Nick Furnari

 I feel like every month I write something about the New York Giants. Whether its their past Superbowl victories, or their new rookies and outlook for the season, I've decided I would try not to write about them anymore. Then, march 12 came around... I HAVE to write about this.

          On march 12, the Giants' General Manager, Dave Gettlemen, made the most unexpected, audacious decision possibly in Giants' Franchise History. On march 12, thousands of Giants fans expressed their thoughts and concerns on this decision, as it was the number 1 trending topic on almost every social media platform for the better part of 3 days. On march 12, the New York Giants traded wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns. Odell Beckham Jr., offensive rookie of the year in 2014, the cover man of Madden16, the highest paid player in NFL history, debatable one of the best wide receivers in the league, the face of the New York Giants, was traded out of the blue, without even a warning. At first, when I saw posts saying Odell was traded to the Browns, I thought it was a joke. Then, as more and more people began to talk about, I grew confused, why are so many people talking about this? I thought to myself. Then that confusion, turned to anxiety, did the Giants actually trade Odell!? What is going on?! I researched further, and as numerous sources confirmed, the New York Giants made the most idiotic trade in NFL history, or so I first thought. Similar to my first reaction, thousands of people started to lash out on this decision. "The Giants should have released Eli Manning!" "They have to fire Gettlemen!" "The Giants will never be the same!" "The team is dead!" Negative outlooks on this trade overwhelmed social media outlets, many fans lost faith in the Giants, but not me. 

       



          I took a little time to think about the trade in its entirety, and although it was definitely a bold move, I believe that it could be justified. I'm not saying that it was the best idea, and that it was the best trade, but there are a lot of little positives to counteract this huge negative. Although Odell was a phenomenal player for the Giants, they had to spend so much money just to keep him on the team. Also, his pessimistic and easily agitated attitude didn't give a good reputation to the Giants, and his negligence and selfishness proved that he wasn't a team player. Furthermore, Odell minorly twisted his ankle after week 13 of the 2018 season, he unexpectedly sat out for the game but was certain to return the next game, but he didn't show up. He sat out for the remainder of the season, but seemed to be fine. He was probably fine, and cleared to play, but just didn't want to since he was already making so much money just for being on the team. Also, during his apathetic leave, the Giants won 2/4 games, with the last 2 games narrowly loosing by a single point. With only 4 wins during the rest of the season, this proved that the Giants offensive doesn't revolve around Odell anymore, in fact, they did better without him.

          Now, when it comes to looking at the actual trade, it's pretty fair. The Giants got Cleveland's first and third pick in the 2019 NFL draft, as well as the former first pick, New Jersey born pro bowler, safety Jabrill Peppers, to replace Giants safety, Landon Collins who left the team to join the Redskins. Overall, as Odell was also a former first pick, this is a good trade, 2 first picks and a third pick, traded for a first pick. Although many people, including me, were upset about Odell's departure from the team, it's probably for the best. It gives the Giants a fresh start, with Saquon Barkley, an inspiring role model, and incredible athlete, now seeming to be the new face of the franchise. It also works out well for Beckham, since his best friend and former LSU teammate, Jarvis Landry is waiting for him in Cleveland, and he has also become good friends with, Baker Mayfield, the new quaterback for the Browns. With all of that said, I am nervous but excited to see the Giant's team next year. As for the trade, it could turn out to be the worst trade in history, or the best, we will just have to see who the Giants select with their new picks, and if it was all worth it.

Foldable Phones by Ula Bitinaitis

Foldable Phones by Ula Bitinaitis     

     For many people in my age group, the average teen's first phone experience was the starry-eyed unboxing of the iPod or iPhone 4. If you're like me, your first phone was flippable, with tiny letter keys that would cramp your hands or laughably low-quality camera features. Going back further, many people wouldn't have dreamed of having a phone at such a young age, let alone a flippable or touchscreen device. With the rapidly-evolving tech world of today, the computer science news realm is already an annoyance to catch up with; Nonetheless, many turn their heads at the headline appearance of "Foldable Phones" popping up this early in 2019.

     To begin, let's go to the roots. Companies have already tried this style of phone in the past, but have failed. Royole, for example, rushed to hold the standard as the first foldable phone on the market. The $1,300 Royole FlexPai was considered a horrible mess by many. At this flop, other bigger companies realized that the process would require heavy investment and research.

     Professionals and tech-geeks alike like calling the current standard of phones sporting the "candy bar" style (funny enough how due to the upcoming foldable phones, we need a new name for our current kind!) Huawei, and Samsung, both east-Asian phone manufacturers, are seeking to release this new generation of phone designs. For Samsung, the Samsung Galaxy Fold, similar to the Galaxy S10 (which was completely swept to the shadows in light of their new foldable phone), will hold many of the same features. This'll include running on a Snapdragon 855, holding 12GB of RAM, and having Samsung’s latest OLED panel technology, with minor editions to obviously accommodate the fact that you can bend the phone down its middle. Critics are already holding this new Samsung model in low regard. Vlad Savov, one of these critics, states that "the device is the thickness of two phones, has enough cameras and RAM for two phones, provides the same screen real estate as two phones, and, yes, it costs the same as two phones as well." Many aren't pleased, particularly at its price, which is just short under $2000. The Samsung Galaxy Fold plans to be released late April.

     As for Huawei, there seems to be a more positive outlook. Their Huawei Mate X, though a whopping $2600, is most certainly the slickest of its kind at the moment. Released this February, the phone provides the user three screens. Though thicker than our current smartphones, such as the common iPhones many people have, it is much thinner than Samsung's product. Not only that, but there is no gap in the fold, unlike the Samsung. The Mate X plans to ship in the summer of 2019. Though many had doubted the success and necessity of a folding phone, minds are being changed at the introduction of the Huawei and Samsung.

     Perhaps this style of phones won't be as uncommon in the future. In the way we laugh at flip phones now, who knows if the cycle will continue for the ones million possess today?

Above is the Huawei Mate X.

Above is the Samsung Galaxy Fold.

Borderlands 3 Release Trailer Review By: Zachary Merold

Last Thursday, Gearbox software officially released the first trailer for their newest game in the making, Borderlands 3. Now me, being a huge fan of the Borderlands game series, was really excited to finally see what kind of new content there might be, but to be honest, I was a little disappointed. So basically, Borderlands is an adventure first person shooter game. There are currently 3 of these games, Borderlands, Borderlands 2, and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. Each of these games are connected story wise, so it is interested to see how each character evolves throughout each game. One of the reasons why this trailer was sort of a let down was because of the new character models. A defining characteristic of the Borderlands games are these sort of weird, primitive graphics, which was something I really liked about the game (although my friend hates it because of this). In this new trailer, they haven't really changed that, but they have changed the way characters appear, despite having them look the same for 3 games beforehand. I don't know exactly what bothers me about this, but I just don't like it. Also, nothing in the trailer made me specifically think this game would be better than its predecessor Borderlands 2. The trailer said that there would be millions of new weapons, but the unlimited loot has always been a drive for people to play the game. So basically, all Gearbox has done is changed the game a wee bit, and spit back out the same content, which isn't what you want in such a highly anticipated project. The image below on the left is one from Borderlands 2, which the image below on the right is from the trailer, so hopefully you can see what I mean when I say they changed the way the characters look.

School to Prison Pipeline in New York City Protests By Chloe Maher

Recently, the New York City school system has come under fire for new budget proposals. Dozens of protesters went to city hall in a stance against a phenomena known as the school to prison pipeline. The school to prison pipeline is driven by zero tolerance policies which increase rates of suspensions, particularly among minorities. Suspensions of students during lower level education has been linked to a higher likelihood of incarceration later on. This is particularly an issue in New York City where currently police officers in public schools outnumber counselors, indicative of a huge issue with the school district. The 2020 fiscal year preliminary budget increases the NYPD's school safety division by more than twenty seven million, making the total budget at least 314 million and possibly even over four hundred million. To add even more fuel to the issue, the School Construction Authority wants to double their budget, for even more policing tools such as security cameras and metal detectors. Schools nowadays are increasing in similarity to jails with interaction with law enforcement on the daily. Sally Lee, a member of Teachers Unite, proposed that school systems invest in restorative justice initiatives. Restorative justice works in making amends and gives students more authority in school systems. It's been shown to have major results particularly within the San Francisco School District. In the seven years previous to incorporating it, they’d experienced a 152 percent rise in suspensions, mainly of African Americans. Despite them making up just one tenth of the school system, they made up half of these suspensions. School board member, Sandra Lee Howell, said in reference to San Francisco’s shift in school discipline policy, “Sixty percent of inmates in the San Francisco county jail have been students in the San Francisco public school system, and the majority of them are people of color. We just knew we had to somehow stop this schoolhouse-to-jailhouse pipeline.” They decreased their suspension rates using the restorative justice policies. However, Mayor de Blasio so far has shown no increase in budget for restorative justice policies. Personally, I think it's absolutely ridiculous that they're increasing the budget for NYPD within school systems when they already outnumber the counselors within their schools, especially when these security measures have been shown to be ineffective. Considering, all the issues with police brutality as well, they're teaching students to be scared of law enforcement. In addition, in the New York City school district there were 900 summonses issued for noncriminal misbehavior for blank and hispanic students, catapulting them into the criminal justice system which is ridiculous and a testament to how unfair these extreme measures in school systems are. I genuinely think all school districts should make an effort to adapt to restorative justice policies considering how effective they've been shown to be in recent years.


Sources: https://www.theroot.com/counselors-not-cops-new-yorkers-protest-millions-prop-1833464478

http://oxfordre.com/criminology/abstract/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264079-e-346

The SAT Scandal By: Jenna Blandina

        One of the most recent scandals in celebrity magazines and every newspaper in America, is celebrities and rich people finding a way around the SAT test to improve their childrens’ test scores dramatically. This is so their children can get into an elite school they would have otherwise might not have gotten into. The people committing this are using money to their advantage by paying people to do a variety of illegal things. One being paying doctors to write a fake diagnosis to allow for more time on the SAT test. Others, are paying other people to take the test for their children. Some, are photoshopping images of their child being involved in a sport such as rowing as well, to increase the chances of getting into an elite school. Teachers are even being paid to change test answers on the scantron.
         This scandal is one of the first major outbreaks where there is solid evidence that specific people actually cheated their way into college. People’s favorite TV stars such as Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, among other wealthy parents were found doing this by the FBI.
         Wouldn’t one think that the people who cheated their way into college should be thrown out? I certainly would think so, but, many of the parents are insisting that most children had no idea they were doing anything of the sort. If I was one of these people’s children, I would think that my parents did not do this out of love. If this happened to me, I would feel defeated because this implies that my parents did not think I could get into the college by being myself. I believe that everyone has the right college for themselves. If one doesn’t get into an elite or ivy school, there is a reason. Maybe it would be too sressful because the academic level wasn’t being met. Now, because parents are buying their childen into college, the whole purpose of the SAT is defeated. Someone can not measure the academic ability of someone and allow them to be accepted into a prestigious school, if the system is rigged.
        A major issue now, is the question of whether the SAT should even be a requirement for schools because there seems to be ways to cheat, as shown from the FBI investigation. Is the SAT going to be thrown away? Will people stop trusting the testing process? This is all an unknown for right now, but what we do know, is people are very mad about this. People who probably deserve to get into an elite school because they earned it, (not because they had the money to get in) but get denied are definitely feeling angered. If I was them, I too would be mad. Now, college admissions might be changing requirements for testing and scores to get into their schools which could change the way many people have been studying exams such as the SAT. Only time will tell on this scandal, and more information will be available once a more thorough investigation has taken place.
     

Two articles on this scandal:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-4753217
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/us/sat-act-cheating-college-admissions.html

Cheating College Admissions Scandal by Vincent Apostolico

        Earlier this month, nearly 50 people have been charged with bribing officials and university coaches to get their children into elite colleges. The parents would pay a great amount of money to Rick Singer, the man behind all of this madness, and he would either do one of two things. He would bribe officials involved with the SAT and ACT scoring process to have the scores of these parent's children raised or he would bribe college coaches to classify their children as athletes for their teams even when they never even played the sport. It has been reported that Singer had accepted payments in the amount of approximately $25,000,000 with the highest bribe being $6,000,000. Some of the schools that have been involved with this scandal include Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, and the University of Southern California. Lori Loughlin, the actress who played Aunt Becky on Full House, is the most famous person involved with this case. She was arrested for paying $500,000 to get both of her daughters into the University of Southern California by paying to have their SAT and ACT scores raised and to have both them classified as athletic recruits for the rowing team.

Lori Louglin and her daughter Olivia Jade

           This is completely unfair to all of the students who are more qualified but were not accepted into these schools because parents like Lori Loughlin bought their children's spots into these same schools. These parents think they are more powerful because they can buy a spot in a competitive school even if their children are unqualified and haven't earned the spot on their own. The parents are also sending a message to their own children that they are not good enough to make it into these high ranked schools based on their own credentials.  However, many of these students didn't even know that their parents were committing these illegal acts. This really angers me because since these parents bought a spot for their children at these prestigious schools, they may have taken a spot that might have been given to a student who was more qualified but less financially lucky. This really concerns me as the college application process is right around the corner because my potential spot at a high level school could be bought by another student who may be less qualified. I feel for all the students who got rejected by these schools because their spots may have been slotted for an applicant whose deceitful parents bought their way in. I am very fortunate though that all of this chaos has come out now so that these parents get punished for these disgraceful acts and deceitful others are now on notice that this type of bribery will not go unpunished.  Qualified, hard working applicants should be given a fair shot at a spot in their dream schools. The damage has been done and must be resolved right away so that no other future college student has his or her spot ripped away by an act of bribery by a less qualified student.

The phone that finally follows numeric order Akshat Iyer

Ah, yes. The time has come for new technology to arrive. With all of the recent mobile phones being put out (frankly, they are pretty lame), there has to be one that catches our eyes. One has finally been announced though. The new Samsung Galaxy S10 has many capabilities that seem cool on the surface. However, are they really necessary? Though the phone has many things to be questioned, they do get one thing right: their naming scheme. Finally, a company in the technology field has named its product in proper numeric order! Windows and Apple were just like, "Hmm, what should we name our products after the 8th iteration? I don't know. Let's name it 10 and X because that makes sense!" Samsung actually released the S8, S9, and the S10, in ORDER. Other companies have to learn from them, instead of releasing Windows 98, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and then Windows 10. Don't forget the USB naming scheme, with their infamous Gen. 1 and Gen. 2 naming on USB outputs that were previously called 3.2 and 3.1. That is an even hotter mess. However, enough about the names. Let's get into the actual features leaked from the footage in the advertisement.
First of all, the screen quality is gorgeous. Normally, for battery saving, you would be looking at a 2280x1080 screen resolution, which is pretty darn nice; however, you have the choice of boosting the resolution to a whopping 3040x1440 pixel display, which is amazing considering most of our computer monitors only have a 1920x1080 display. Samsung's display is going to make browsing the internet or streaming videos beautiful, which is always great.
Samsung has also somewhat solved the full-screen display feature that every phone company has been dying to try and fix, with the most infamous outcome being "the notch" (see Liam's blog post from last year for more details) for the front-facing camera. Instead of the notch, Samsung is trying something different. They are trying something that is known as the "hole punch." This is basically what it sounds like: a front-facing camera that looks like a dot on the top right hand of the screen. And while that may seem strange, this is the best solution so far, so Samsung has done a pretty good job with this issue.
However, one of the phone's biggest features is the wireless power-sharing mechanism the phone has. If two people have the Samsung Galaxy S10, and if one person is running out of battery, the other person can use their phone like a battery bank in order to charge the phone that is almost out of battery. While this may seem like an amazing idea at first, there are a few questions to be asked. First of all, let's consider the price of this product. Rumors are estimating this phone will cost about $1450 to have all of its features. Who is going to buy a phone for that much money, and then find someone else who bought that phone for that much money who needs the battery life? It isn't even like this phone loses battery that quickly. The S10 has a 24-hour intelligent battery, which means it is definitely not going to lose that much juice, so why would you need power sharing? In my honest opinion, it is cool, however, a little unnecessary.
All in all, this phone does come with some cool features, however, with the price tag attached to it, I wouldn't recommend it unless you have $1500 burning a hole in your pocket. Maybe wait until they release a cheaper version.
...Oh wait...

Well, I guess that's a topic for later. Bye!

The Disney Plague by Veronika Waltner

Early in the morning on the fourteenth of March went
The music people to Florida for times of fun
With high hopes and much money to be spent
After arrive they went ride to ride, underneath the beating sun

The second day came and with it a great sickness
Down they went, one, two, three, four
Falling they went with an immense quickness
As if to be warriors in a great war

The third day came, with uneasy hope
All of the fallen in bed mending
When half of those before followed giving us an idea of scope
The remaining doing their best to keep fending

On the final day only one more fell
The wayfarers went and were freed from the plague of hell

Oppression in Sub-Saharan Africa's Slums by Liv Przydzial

Oppression in Sub-Saharan Africa's Slums

by Liv Przydzial

Imagine, that in this world,
Millions upon millions live in 
constant, 
unrelenting,
gripping 

fear.

Fear of losing their homes,
if one could venture to give such primal dwellings a name.
Five to a room is considered lucky,
even luckier if that room had a scavenged, makeshift roof to protect from the elements.
Such rooms were arranged nearly on top of one another,
in an overcrowded, Ghetto-like arrangement.

Fear of disease,
from each other and from neighbors.
Entire families, even blocks, wiped out by diseases,
in the span of only a few days.
A flavorful palette of pathogens,
run rampant through the cities.
Those infected,
dead within a week.

Fear of not finding water,
in which many thousands die each day from dehydration.
No water was to be found here,
not a single drop.
And if happened to be water,
it was far, oh so far,
from being up to drinking standards.
One either died from thirst or from water-borne illnesses,
there was no in-between.

And such fears, only a few from the endless list,
continue to ravage the continent.
Millions of people struggle to survive,
fighting to live while seemingly,
the whole world was against them.

And to say that the world was against them,
may be a stretch,
but maybe not to such a dramatic degree:
the rest of the world turned its back on these millions upon millions,
leaving them helpless and unheard.

In blissful ignorance,
the rest of the world watches.
as more and more of Africa's urbanized poor
fall into the inescapable trap, that many refer to as 'slums.'

Context:

“While its [sub-Saharan Africa’s] total population has multiplied by 2.5 over the past 30 years, its urban population has multiplied by five,” from the report, Urban Planning and Environment in Sub-Saharan Africa, from the Africa Technical Department Environmentally Sustainable Development Division, confirms the mass migration of people to sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)’s cities from more rural areas. In such cities, a massive 72%, nearly three-quarters, of the urban population resides in slums, as revealed by the State of World Population 2007 UN Population Fund report, which further commented, “In sub-Saharan Africa, urbanization has become virtually synonymous with slum growth.” Home to two of the world’s largest slums, South Africa’s Khayelitsha (400,000 residents) and Kenya’s Kibera (700,000 residents), SSA’s rapid urbanization and slum growth have become a significant, urgent issue. The United Nations defines a slum household as one that lacks one or more of the following: protection against extreme weather, no more than three people per room, access to safe water, sanitation (private/public toilet shared by a sensible number of people), and security of tenure (legal rights to property). The UN-HABITAT State of the World’s Cities 2006/7 report also remarked that “...Sub-Saharan Africa’s slums are the most deprived; over 80 percent of the region’s slum households have one or two shelter deprivations, but almost half suffer from at least two shelter deprivations,” illustrating just how deprived sub-Saharan Africa’s slum living conditions are. The article “Towards Africa Cities Without Slums” from the magazine, African Renewal, published by the United Nations, further discusses how the critical living conditions of slums promote the spread of diseases. “The lack of adequate sanitation, potable water, and electricity, in addition to substandard housing and overcrowding, aggravates the spread of diseases and avoidable deaths, according to a recent report of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.” The crucially oppressive slums of sub-Saharan Africa bear hefty implications, such as encouraging the spread of diseases and implicating low life expectancy rates and low fertility rates. If action is not taken to gain control over the growth of the slum population (via urbanization), sub-Saharan cities will remain largely impoverished in severe living conditions, ultimately stunting the region’s growth as a whole in long-run.

The Most Amazing New Ever!! - Beth Nedelka

In my last current event blog post, I wrote about how pandas moved off the endangered species list. This month's blog post is very near and dear to my heart. Yet another amazing animal has been moved off the endangered species list. Manatees! Commonly referred to as the "sea cow" these gentle giants have fought for their survival.

The events leading up to my discovery of this amazing news are very similar to that of my panda story. As I prepared for bed, I did my rounds through my social media apps to make sure I didn't miss anything. While scrolling through my VSCO feed I was B-L-O-W-N away. My chin dropping to the ground as a huge smile spread across my face.On my screen was a picture of an adorable manatee and below it read "manatees are no longer endangered". This was the most amazing news I had received in a long time. But, once again I wasn't sure how reliable my source was so I went to the internet to do some research, praying this was right.

I came across a Washington Post article that confirmed the post. I also came across a lot of interesting facts on manatee's struggles leading up to this year. They were first put on the endangered species list in 1973 and their population lingered in the hundreds. Many professionals thought the species would die off. There are now about 6,000 manatees in Florida alone! Federal regulations set in place helped to increase this number. One of the main threats to manatee populations are motor boats. The propeller often creates deep cuts and imprints into the backs of manatees that swim underneath a boat. To prevent this from happening, the state of Florida set aside different parts of land as manatee sanctuaries to ensure their safety.

News feeds are blown up by devastating news, and nothing makes me happier than seeing how people have come together to help the planet and species that are at risk of extinction. If manatees were extinct we would never see them again, it would be completely over. But, by being mindful of the creatures we share this planet with, another species was saved from extinction. And I see no reason as to why we can't help other species in the future. :)

This guy was saved from extinction! 

Manatees are often referred to as "gentle giants"

2041 -- Rachel Young

Shoulders and elbows shoved her small body around as the woman made her way through the bustling city streets. It was early evening, she had just left the market, a bag of rice and beans tucked neatly under her arm, and in her other hand a small bunch of wilted greens. She hated the city. The amount of people squeezing through narrow sidewalks and streets made her feel trapped. Maybe she would have liked them in the past, but not now. Not with the dense crowds and the heavy smog that seemed to choke you even when she found shelter inside. There was no sun, but it was hot. The heat followed like a cloud overhead. There hadn't been a cool spell in months. The weather was unpredictable, unforgiving. The woman tugged at her loose shirt, the fabric itching her neck moist with sweat. It barely rained, but when it did, it rained hard.
Appt. Building 633. She was home. The woman punched in the code to the old key pad, something inside the door whirring quietly until finally, a familiar click. Closing the door behind her, she pulled off the white face mask that sat over her mouth and nose. She waved to the man at the lobby desk, but he didn't look up from the paper. The lights were dim and flickering as she made her way up the stairs to her room. She opened the door, hearing the familiar sounds of the day to day.
"You're home"
A little voice called out in acknowledgement. "Of course," the woman responded, "I didn't want to stay out late on your birthday".
He was 12 now, and the woman kissed her son on the forehead as he sat still turned to the television. She placed the groceries on the table, the greens on a wooden cutting board. She hated them, the GMO-Frankenstein plants they ate now. They were nothing like what she had as a girl, but it was all the world could offer at the present.
"--being forced out of San Francisco in droves. Officials say there is no other option for city inhabitants, as the sea levels continue to rise at alarming rates. Despite warnings and evident destruction, some citizens refuse to leave their residence..." 
She scoffed as her knife sliced through vegetables, listening to the reporter on the TV. There was no hope for them, everyone by the sea. Hawaii drowned out years ago, and some were saying that japan and Indonesia were on there way to a similar fate.
"... europe is being hit with their 3rd major storm this year, with winds and heavy rainfall devastating towns and cities..." 
The woman glanced out the window at the buildings piled on top of each other, the people swarming like ants on the ground below.
She missed the home she once knew all those years ago, that tiny cottage placed on South Carolina's quiet shores. She remembered waking up to the warnings, the day they left so suddenly. Everything she left behind, all those memories and mementos swallowed up by the rising ocean flooding in.
"I drew some new ones today," the boy placed papers covered with marker and crayon on the table in front of his mother, breaking her away from her memories of what once was. Giraffes, blue macaws, coral of all colors painted the papers in front of her. She studied them, heart heavy. They were all fantasy to him, only a story. The wonders of the world she grew up with were nothing but history to this boy. Gone. Extinct. "I love them," she managed to utter.
Holding her son to her side, she sighed. 2041. How the world had changed. 2019, 22 years old. She remembered the warnings, the efforts to make change. The Earth is Dying, A Rapidly Changing Climate, Extinction, were all headlines so present in her everyday life. And despite her concern, she always thought somehow things would be fine. Never did she think any of it could amount to the disaster that was her present life. 2029, her son was born. She remembered the warnings, the critical moments the world had left to make change. And yet, she did nothing.
A sigh escaped her lips. Was it fair to raise a child like this? Without all the glories of the life she once knew?
She wished with everything she had to go back. There was so much she could have done yet she was so blind to it, so passive. Solar panels, recycling, electric cars. Maybe if she knew that life on earth would go to such havoc and disaster, she would have tried more to make a difference. To save everything that gave the world so much beauty. She held her son close. Elephants, coral reefs teeming with life, polar bears, fields and fields of wild flowers. He will never know any of it.

Our Drowning World--- Jenna Marie

Our Drowning World

By, Jenna Marie

Here we lay, drowning in tears
of things that will never be.
Choking on our cries as water
slowly continues to rise.

The sharp bang of violence,
the croaking polluted lungs,
the final sighs of nature,
forever pushing it on.

The water is rising and
the heavens are crying,
joining the voices of dying green,
of hurting critters and rumbling stomachs,
persecuted lives and broken teens.

Sometimes we join in their lament,
that ever dissonant keen,
But even as we join their cry,
Here we lay, drowning in tears,

But never building a boat.

Twelve Years to Live By Jamie Rubin

The human race has officially sent the entire world into the biggest quagmire of all time. The United Nations has declared that we have 12 years to get a grip on climate change before the world ends. Climate change is no longer something that can be denied because, according to the UN, if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced by at least 45% by 2030 the planet is doomed. 

Fortunately, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently devised a plan for the U.S. addressing climate change called the Green New Deal. In this plan, she outlines what steps must be taken by the U.S. in order to transition the country from fossil fuels to renewable resources by initiating large-scale infrastructure projects. In addition, it will establish many clean-energy jobs. According to an article from Business Insider, "Ocasio-Cortez's version of the plan calls for eventually meeting 100% of national power demand through renewable sources, eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, and guaranteeing a job to any citizen who wants to work," which would significantly reduce the worlds greenhouse effect considering the U.S.  is the second largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions as of 2015. However, her plan will not be able to go into effect until the Trump administration is out of office. 

Opponents may argue that this idea is far fetched or will cost far too much money but we cannot put a price on our planet. Drastic measures must be taken immediately in order to save our lives, the lives of our children, the ecosystem, and ultimately the entire planet. We only have 12 years. It's time to make a change. 

https://www.businessinsider.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-green-new-deal-2019-1

https://www.nj.com/opinion/2019/03/climate-change-is-here-nj-and-we-need-a-green-new-deal-environmentalist-says.html

https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/science-and-impacts/science/each-countrys-share-of-co2.html

Ocean Garbage Dump by Ashley Rogers

                                                               Ocean Garbage Dump                                                                                                                                                                                                                        New York State took a commendable step to join California in helping the environment. The legislature of New York imposed a ban on single use plastic bags, in addition to charging a small fee for paper bags. This measure, which takes effect in March 2020, encourages consumers to use inexpensive reusable shopping bags which will significantly cut the amount of plastics that end up polluting our oceans and waterways, piling up in the landfills, and harming our wildlife. It is astonishing to learn that according to the Center for Biological Diversity, "Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year, which require 12 million barrels of oil to manufacture," (10 Facts). This means that plastics are doubly detrimental to our planet, since the use of fossil fuels in the manufacture of plastic leads to air pollution and ultimately contributes to global warming.                                 

     Equally upsetting, plastic bags pose both an entanglement and choking hazard for animals who unfortunately ingest this toxin. It is estimated that, "one hundred thousand marine animals are killed by plastic bags annually," (10 Facts). As an advocate for the environment, using reusable bags seems like only a small inconvenience which will bring substantial benefits. The United States, as one of the most developed countries in the world, needs to take the initiative in the fight to protect our earth, by developing materials that are biodegradable and enacting regulations that prevent the depletion of natural resources. Other states, like our own New Jersey, need to follow the example set by New York and California. The lives of birds, fish and sea turtles depend on it!                                                                                                                                                                                                 https://www.youtube.com/watch?                                                                                                  v=HQTUWK7CM-Y

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        http://awesomeocean.com/top-stories/fate                                                                                    thrown-away-plastic-shopping-bags/                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           For more information, visit...                                                                                              https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/sustainability/plastic_bag_facts.html. (10 Facts About Single-use Plastic Bags)