Should We Use Wrapping Paper?

What’s your favorite holiday? Most people say Christmas. What do you use to wrap presents? Wrapping paper of course. But what if I tell you that wrapping paper is bad for the environment? Did you know that 2 million tons of wrapping paper are used each year? That must waste a lot of trees. Guess what, there are also cheaper, and also other ways that do not waste trees. People should not use wrapping paper to wrap presents for Christmas.

My first reason to not use wrapping paper is that wrapping paper is NOT recyclable. Wrapping paper is laminated which means it is covered in plastic. Plastic takes about 450 years to decompose in a landfill.

Another reason is that wrapping paper wastes trees. Wrapping paper wastes more than 3,000,000 trees each year! If we keep using wrapping paper there might not be enough trees left to take in the carbon dioxide. As the biggest plant on earth, trees give us oxygen and store carbon dioxide.

Lastly, is that there are MUCH cheaper ways that don’t waste resources. Here are 15 alternate for Wrapping Paper; baskets; wallpaper; newspaper; tissue paper; tins; cans; or jars; paper grocery bags; reusable fabric bags; fabric scraps; plain brown paper (butcher paper, freezer paper); reusable bags; pillowcases; maps; towels; blankets; or, scarves; feed sacks; and old calendar pages. That’s not all, there are probably hundreds of more ways to not use wrapping paper.

Other people may think differently about this topic. Some people enjoy the tradition of wrapping paper. Wrapping presents goes back to a really long time ago where ancient traditions celebrated holidays that involved giving gifts, so it kind of a tradition. People also like the designs on the paper for holidays like Christmas or birthdays. It does go with the season or celebration, but really, is it worth it?

In conclusion, wrapping paper is bad for the environment and also uses resources we can’t get back. Even though we use wrapping paper to feel festive on the holidays, it is still bad for the environment. There are hundreds of more ways we can substitute wrapping paper that are not only cheap, but also non tree wasting. Nobody should use wrapping paper.

Sources

http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-do-we-wrap-presents

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/holiday-waste-6-million-tons-of-trash-to-landfills.html

http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2013/12/15-ideas-for-wrapping-paper-alternatives.html

http://greenblizzard.com/2010/12/17/conserve-your-use-of-holiday-wrappings/

Category: Environment, Student Posts | LEAVE A COMMENT

January 29

Is Football Safe for Kids?

Image result for youth tackle football

Is the football field a safe place? Should kids in grades lower than grade 5 play tackle football? The following information about tackle football vs. flag football just might change your mind about your opinion about tackle football. I believe that kids should be allowed to play tackle football at all ages.

For example, to be safer on the football field, youth leagues like Pop Warner are banning kickoffs to prevent future injuries. The reason why there are more severe injuries during kickoffs is because people come head-on to the team that is catching the football. This ban will help prevent injuries for all youth tackle football players.

The youth league coaches are teaching their players how to tackle properly, so less injuries will happen. Also, kids are not allowed to swipe people out from the legs. Now it will be a lot safer when you get tackled during football.

Also, kids are now getting the proper protective gear to play tackle football so the hits don’t cause as many serious injuries. The helmet worn provides head protection so you won’t get a concussion if you get injured. The chest plate prevents you from breaking your rib cage or collar bone. The back plate prevents you from breaking your spine, a.k.a. your backbone.

Youth of all ages should be able to play tackle football. You may think that younger children shouldn’t play tackle football, but they are learning many new ways to be safer out on the football field. Instead of not allowing younger kids to play tackle football, coaches should make sure that kids are not allowed to do kickoffs, they should teach kids how to properly tackle, and they should enforce that kids use proper protective gear. Therefore, if all of these rules about playing tackle football are followed, kids of all ages should be allowed to play tackle football because they will be a lot safer out on the football field.

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January 29

Should There Be An Extra Tax On Sodas?

How many Americans drink soda each year? 48% and that’s almost half of the people in the United States but some laws might take soda away from some people. I’m here to make sure this doesn’t happen. You’re probably thinking why I said that the law might take soda away from certain people. This is because the state thinks that soda is bad for you in some ways and are putting extra tax on it. Some people might just say “ Well, I don’t want to spend extra money on a puny can of soda.” But I think this is wrong. Soda can keep you away from falling asleep from late nights driving. If you have an addiction to alcohol, you can drink soda instead. It’s a healthier choice. This helps with almost any addiction. If you’re bored you can get soda and collect the bottle caps. These are just some of the reasons I think soda shouldn’t be banned. Soda helps us in many ways, so go out there and drink some!

Brent Moore via Compfight

Category: Current Events & News, Health, Student Posts | 1 Comment

January 29

Should We Use Wrapping Paper?

Every holiday season wrapping paper Is one of the first items off the shelf, but is this cheerful wrapping really worth it? I say no! Lots of people use this paper but there are better ways to keep our presents a surprise.There are recyclable, non-tree wasting, cheaper alternatives that don’t use 2 million tons of paper each holiday! There are a lot of reasons not to use wrapping paper!

My first reason is that most holiday wrapping paper is laminated, so you cannot recycle it! That means when you use wrapping paper, you are using resources we cannot get back. According to Ask Pablo, Treehugger, “In the U.S. an additional 5 million tons of waste is generated during the holidays. Four million tons of this is wrapping paper and shopping bags.”

Almost all wrapping paper ends up in the trash

Also, 2 million of those tons is wrapping paper! Consequently 30 Million trees are cut down just to wrap our gifts each holiday season! Also, since you can’t recycle this wrapping paper, most of those 30 Million trees end up in the trash!

Additionally, People have found better and less expensive alternative ways to wrap our gifts that don’t end up in the trash! You can use bags, magazines, sweaters, and much more! Using these things you can make cheaper, recyclable,less tree using, and reusable wrapping paper!

Some people might argue that wrapping paper is a holiday tradition, but I still don’t think it is worth using up so much resources for something non-renewable.Wrapping paper wastes trees, is non-recyclable, and there are other better options. With so many other choices, why use something that is so environmentally unfriendly? To help save trees, stop using wrapping paper!

Source: Ask Pablo, Treehugger

http://www.treehugger.com/culture/ask-pablo-holiday-wrapping-paper.html

Category: Environment, Student Posts | LEAVE A COMMENT

January 29

Top 10 Star Wars SpaceShips

The best, a T-70 X-Wing Fighter.

Star Wars is super iconic, and some of the most iconic things it brings is the things are the things flying high in the sky, they are spaceships. Today we are bringing you are top 10 favorite Star Wars Spaceships! I have experienced watching all of those amazing Star Wars movies all those war scenes. But our favorite parts were always the Spaceships clashing to win the war that might not ever end.

#10 The Y-wing starfighter may be slow, but it looks very cool and can drop Bombs. That is why it has Earned #10 spot on this list.

#9 One of the sleekest ships in Star Wars, is the Slave 1 is a sight to behold. Belonging to the bounty hunter Boba Fett it is very impressive.

#8 The ARC 1-70 Starfighter has powerful laser cannons and serves the republic.

#7 The TIE Striker is a ship that battled on Scariff over the death star plans.

#6 The Millennium Falcon is an Awesome ship, but is very bulky.

#5 Darth Vader’s tie advanced is an awesome addition to the tie family. It is cool and would have blown up Luke’s X-wing if not for Han Solo.

#4 The first order troop transport has advanced shields and can carry 20 troops.

#3 The jedi interceptor is sleek and can fly very fast.

#2 The T-65 X-wing fighter blew up two Death Stars and is very cool.

#1 The T-70 X-wing fighter is the best spaceship of all it is very sleek and fast it has very high-powered ion and proton torpedoes. Can have a wider variety of droids as co-pilots than the T-65 and has a cool laser turret that pops up from the bottom.

Category: Movies, Science & Tech, Student Posts | LEAVE A COMMENT

January 29

NASA Makes Pumpkins

I read a great article on Dogo News about how NASA scientists carved pumpkins. That was the challenge posed to the excellent scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, CA in 2010 during Halloween. This interesting competition has turned into an annual tradition with partners trying to outdo each other with sky-high hi-tech carvings.

This year’s entries included a Pac-Man pumpkin, a replica of Darth Vader’s meditation chamber, a carousel, a Ninja Starshade, and even a sink hole pumpkin. While the creations are certainly quite strange, what is even more so, is that the engineers-turned-artists had just an hour to complete their masterpieces!

And now, watch this epic video. Continue reading

Category: Art, Games, Science & Tech | LEAVE A COMMENT

January 29

Do Elephants have Emotions?

Have you ever seen elephants holding trunks or putting them in each others mouths? This is one of a couple of reasons I think elephants have emotions. Elephants care for each other and they comfort one another.

First, elephants comfort each other when they are sad. They calm each other by locking trunks or putting their trunks in the other elephant’s mouths.

Another reason is elephants have one of the greatest memories and care deeply for each other. After 20 years of not seeing each other elephants will still remember each other. This happened to two elephants named Shirley and Jenny. They bent metal bar that were separating them to get closer together.

Elephants care for each other. Shirley and Jenny were the closest thing to family they ever had. They give each other baths. They snuggled with each other. They also comfort one another.

Finally, I think elephants have emotions. Just like humans. Elephants comfort each other. They also have great memories so they always remember each other and how they feel about one another. They help each other when they sad. Do you think elephants have emotions? If you don’t think about Shirey and Jenny? How they played with each other and loved each other. I think elephants have emotions. How about you?

Brian Lauer via Compfight