The End of 2016

Good day SE students! This month marks the end of 2016. It's hard to believe how fast a year flies by. And 2017 is quickly approaching. What kind of year will it be? I think it be a year of new experiences and of course, continual recovery from the earthquake of April, 2016. New achievements will be had for many researching the environment and sustainable energy, as this field is in its infancy. Perhaps many of you will be working in this unique and important field. If you are still wondering what area to research, or in what field you want to work, I think you should focus on alternative energy. Maybe this will be one field where you can be creative, and yet offer many ideas for the future.

This week is the end of classes for 2016. In the next class we will present our erosion control systems for the class. I hope to have you all come to the front and present to us as usual - your presentations are always interesting. If we finish presentations early, we will have an opportunity to learn about Christmas briefly, or work on English Central. See you all then!

World's Changing Weather Patterns

Since the dawn of the new age, the earth has seen many changes. Several of them have to do with advances in technology, medicine, and science. Inasmuch as we would like to believe that our actions have no impact on the earth, we go about our daily lives inventing, creating, using, and discarding. In the process trees are cut down and grasses plowed. But these actions cause erosion (this week's topic) in a big way - bigger than we might expect. A simple straightforward example of an effect are landslides that are easier to form due to the lack of trees holding soil together. Another problem stemming from human activity is global warming in general which causes temperatures to rise globally. These rises in temperature cause heat, condensation, cloud formation, and therefore more thunderstorms. These thunderstorms are becoming more and more severe every year. After hurricanes and typhoons, storm surges form more readily and wreak havoc all over the world. Coastal erosion is caused by beating and bashing waves, but also by the rising sea levels all over the world. More severe storms cause more wind and rain which in turn cause more and more erosion. Perhaps the fact that people have cut down trees from years ago makes the wind blow harder causing more erosion. And global warming causes it to rain more and industrial areas this rain could be akin to acid rain which yet causes more erosion. 
Eventually after millions of years wind will cause crevices that get wider each year, coastal erosion that forces us to move buildings and possible entire towns, and even islands that have been swallowed up for good. What is the key to erosion control? No deforestation, no global warming, and only infrastructure that is in tune with the future of nature in a positive way.

Erosion

Erosion is the process of wearing down the surface of the earth by natural processes such as rain, water, wind, and tectonic movement. Erosion happens over millions of years and shapes and reshapes the land endlessly. Some of the most fascinating sites in the world, such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, were made via erosion. The earth's natural processes don't stop depending on the location. Places in China, Estonia, Jordon, and Japan, all have been affected by erosion.Coastal erosion, meaning erosion around the coastlines of various countries occurs, too, and sometimes we can see it change before our eyes, even after a few years. Glaciers, huge drifts of ice, play a huge part in erosion. In fact, over millions of years, new continents could even be formed. How will erosion affect the earth in the next 100 years?

In this week's class we will start the topic of erosion. We will first read about the topic, and this will be followed by vocabulary. Then, we will complete a vocabulary word practice, and do our usual listening. Finally, we will write some sentences and share those, too. At last, we will design a project based on erosion. What will this project be? You will find out!