Monday, January 27, 2014

CE1: Natural Gas Usage — And Bills — Spike During Recent Cold Snaps

Article can be found here

In a recent event, a polar vortex has settled over the city of Chicago and any surrounding suburbs. This vortex has caused many school closings due to bringing about temperatures below. The most worrying effect of this vortex is the spike in heating and gas bills. Many homeowners are finding themselves with a much higher bill than usual. A report from ComEd says a majority of its customers find themselves relying on natural gas for heating instead of electric heating.

The use of natural gas over electric heat is a choice everyone with a home has to make. Both are used for heat, yet people tend to use the one that is cheaper because we all want to save money. The use of natural gas will become more and more scarce as the gas itself depletes. Electric heating will be the more depended and problems with keeping up with demand will arise.

Monday, January 13, 2014

The inside of North Korea

I recently watched a video titled VICE: Dennis Rodman goes to North Korea. The video has since been removed from youtube. The video covered the trip of the Vice crew, Dennis Rodman, and three Harlem Globetrotters players for a good-will basketball game. The beginning of the trip seemed eerie due to a celebration of a recent nuclear test launch. I believe celebrating the launch itself is a way to show prowess and strength not only to the people in North Korea but to other countries.

                Later during the trip, the group was shown various buildings of importance. One building contained large effigies of North Koreas previous leaders, Kim Jong-Il, and Kim Il-Sung. The previous leaders are treated as gods the video states. Their control on the people is further shown when the crew notices they themselves are among very few people for the duration of the tour. They are told what to film and what is acceptable. This insight shows how oppressed and controlled these people are.