Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Hurricanes & Tornadoes

Nowadays, the weather is affected by many things like volcanoes and storms. From this table, I will describe the information about two strong winds which are hurricanes and tornadoes.

First of all, the minimum speed of a hurricane is 74 mph, whereas the tornado’s is 40 mph. Next 155 -200 mph is the maximum speed for hurricanes, and 250 – 300 mph for tornadoes. The classification scale for hurricanes is the Saffir – Simpson C1 – C5; however the tornadoes are measured on the Fujuita F0 – F5. On the other hand, the duration of hurricanes is 1 week average, but tornadoes mostly only last a few minutes, some up to a few hours. Another point is average width of storm; hurricanes with 300 miles are more than the tornadoes with 100 – 600 meters. A hurricane can be predicted 2 -3 days in advance but tornadoes only 20 minutes. Finally, the hurricanes start over warm oceans, but the tornadoes start over land.

The outstanding feature of the table is the hurricane with 300 miles in width. However, the tornadoes have more speed with 250 – 300 mph.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Mobile phones and driving..

Today people can not leave home without carrying a mobile phone. There is no doubt of its value, but a lot of people using mobile phone while driving is not safe. In this article I will argue on the prohibition of mobile phone use while driving.

In fact, every argument has two sides as to whether we agree or disagree. People tend to use a mobile phone all the time everywhere in all cases, for example, states of emergency, business, and to connect people. Today the mobile phone can also be used in the car as a GPS, to identify sites that provide navigation to your destination. In addition, most cars are equipped with the new Bluetooth system, which is the option to use your phone hands-free safely while driving.

On the other hand, it has been proven that mobile phone use while driving reduces the concentration of being alert to the road, which constitutes a major threat to your life and others. A large number of incidents occur as a result of mobile phone use while driving, which includes holding the phone and face-to-use package. The driver must park safely for the duration of a mobile phone call to avoid the risks.


In conclusion, it was possible to multi-task, but not when it is in danger. In my view, I fully agree that mobile phone use should be prohibited, despite the fact that everyone has the right to use one but not while driving because it is not safe. I think that one of the main causes of accidents is to use a mobile phone while driving.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

A woman's role

Is a woman’s proper role in society to pursue a career or to be a mother and wife?

Traditionally a woman’s role has been as a mother and wife. However, more and more women worldwide are being educated to a high level and are pursuing careers. Does this pose a threat to the upbringing of young children and to social stability?

There are many reasons why a woman should be at home to look after her children. Children need their mother’s love and attention. A mother substitute, like a maid, however caring, cannot provide the same emotional support that a child needs. In addition, a maid may not speak the child’s language and there may well be cultural differences. A mother plays a crucial role in developing her child’s language and cultural awareness. Even worse, if there is no mother and no maid at home, children will feel neglected.

On the other hand, women have an important role to play in society. If intelligent women want to pursue careers, why should they not have the same opportunity to do so as men? Women have a lot to offer to society, which would be poorer if they couldn’t do so. In the West, it is generally accepted that women have the choice of whether to pursue a career or not. Of course there are more traditional societies where this is more difficult.

In an ideal world, a woman should be able to pursue a career and also have time to bring up a family, but it’s not an easy task to get the balance right.

Monday, April 26, 2010

U.S Farm Workers

This graph shows the number of workers compared with the number of farms. I’m going to describe this situation below.

In 1910, there were nearly 14 million workers, working on 6 million farms. In that year there was the highest level of workers in the U.S until now. In the 30 years after that there was a decrease in the number of workers and a slight increase in the number of farms. Between the WW1 and WW2, the number of workers and the number of farms increased. In the following years after there was a huge fall in both of them. In 1985, the numbers stabilised until 2000.

These statistics show that with the years, there was a shortage of the farms and farmers. In 1990, there was the lowest level of the number of workers and the number of farms.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Water shortages

The UAE is a desert country, with very little annual rainfall, and so there is a persistent problem of water shortage. The most obvious reason for the lack of water is rapid population growth. More people means more food and this led to the increasing demand for an increase in agricultural production, which in turn means more irrigation, and therefore more water. In addition, the country's economy has expanded significantly over the past 50 years. Manufacturing has increased dramatically the demand for water. Climate in the UAE makes it difficult to meet the growing demand for water. There is very little rainfall and surface water does not exist. Wastage of water and leaking water pipes to make the situation worse.Desalination solution might be the most obvious. It's expensive but the UAE is a rich country. Similarly, making better use of groundwater is not cheap but it does help to answer this problem. Dams to store rain water are already built in Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. People charging more for water, and educational programs in schools and colleges, and national publicity campaigns can also raise public awareness for the exercise of restraint.The UAE gets most of its fresh water from desalination plants. This is the most obvious solution in the short term. In the long run, however, to raise public awareness of this issue and encourage people to use water more responsibly is the most important factor in solving the problem of water shortage.

Traffic congestion & parking problems

When you mention any big city you must link that with traffic congestion and parking issues. Abu Dhabi is a big city so it suffers from traffic jams and parking issues. I’m going to write about the causes and solutions for it.

There is a huge increase in population, an increase in the number of citizens and foreigners. Abu Dhabi is an economic city and because of that there is an increase of commercial vehicles. The weather here in Abu Dhabi is not helping to walk or bike to work or any place. Another point, there is a lack of adequate public transport.

There are many solutions to write about. First, we must make sure any new building has adequate parking. Second, improving public transport and Abu Dhabi government has started with providing buses. The license department should raise the age of license holders. The municipality has started a new plan to improve the existing road system with bridges, overpasses and underpasses.

In conclusion, the problem with regard to greater restrictions on motorists is that many people will see them as an attack on individual liberty and no doubt they would prove unpopular, at least to begin with.

Mobiles in the classroom

Years ago, there weren’t many mobile phones in students’ hands during the classes. Nowadays, however, all students use mobile phones and laptops in their studies.

Using mobile phones is essential during the classes. In an emergency situation, students need mobile phones to contact with others to solve their problems. For example if there are many problems that happen with a student in class, they can try to contact with the first one who can help them. More examples are if somebody is waiting for me or sending emails. Furthermore, most students use mobile phones to calculate in math class and as a dictionary when they have any strange words.

On the other hand, mobile phones have many negative effects on students and many schools ban using mobile phones during classes. When students use mobile phones during the class, they don’t pay attention to the lesson from the teacher. Also students affect their grades by chatting, talking and playing games.

In summary, students can bring their mobile phones but they should make them silent. They also should not use them during the class without permission from the teacher.