The Price Minnesotans Pay to Stay Warm

It's that frigid time of year again - walking out of your house in the morning and immediately wanting to sprint right back inside and curl up under cozy blankets to stay warm.  Winter is a very tough time for northern states, because the freezing weather means those heating bills get qutie a bit higher.  Many northern states, including Minnesota, heat their houses with natural gas energy.  Demand all around the country for natural gas goes up during the winter months.  However, in many places, last winter was milder than normal, so working natural gas in storage rose and increased the stored supply, so the demand for natural gas went down and natural gas prices dipped lower.  But, the production costs of the natural gas are high, so since it costs a lot to produce, but not as much is getting used up and prices are getting lower, the natural gas industry fluctuates in spurts due to milder and harsher seasons.  This winter, however,  it is predicted that these stores of already-produced natural gas will get used up due to harsh winter conditions, which will cause the natural gas system to fluctuate again and allow for more production.  These fluctuating prices are a strong indicator to Americans to shop for cheaper means of electricity. 

http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/2011-natural-gas-prices-and-how-they-effect-fallwinter-electricity-rates-3883732.html

Birds and Peace - Dead or Alive?

http://www.startribune.com/galleries/112902264.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1PciUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUoaEYY_1Pc_bDaEP7U  (3rd cartoon)

The shocking and mysterious story about the approximated 5,000 birds dropping dead from the sky is portrayed in this cartoon.  The top section shows an appalled citizen staring at all the dead birds on the ground in front of him.  The second section shows two more citizens in shock looking at the dead birds in front of them.  The third is a couple of people in the Middle East who witness the same death scene, but of doves holding olive branches in their beaks, which are a symbol of peace, and they hardly even acknowledge that the birds are there and are strolling past them.  This is very significant because it is showing that peace is right in front of the Middle East, if they stop to notice it then maybe they can do something about it, but they are just overlooking it.  So on and on the war in the Middle East goes, a huge problem that the citizens, as portrayed in this cartoon, are recognizing but not admitting to, and therefore no progress is being made in retaining peace and solving their governmental and economical hardships.  Peace there is dead, and only discovering a means to save it will provide good hope for the future.

College and Unemployment

Today's rising unemployment rates spell disaster for fresh college graduates.  The unemployment rate for recent college grads is about the same as the national unemployment rate, a little more than 9%, which is causing college graduates to take lower income jobs that are attainable without a college degree.  This creates even more trouble because as the economy hopefully starts to improve and conditions in the job market fluctuate, newer college grads will be searching for and probably taking some of the jobs that previous college grads had searched for but were not available when they needed to be hired.  A college education is vital for being successful later in life; it makes possible the dream of having an enjoyable career, making a sustainable income, and being able to do with and without certain wants and needs of choice.  Our economy is being pressured to explore new industries, which will hopefully in the near future create new jobs and career paths for the younger generations of America.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/opinion/14tue1.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=college,%20jobs%20and%20inequality&st=cse

iPads in Schools

From my parents growing up without computers, to nowadays having the fastest touch-screen gadgets, technology is making humongous advances. This article explains how many schools are adopting the iPad as a way to convert to all electronic learning.  Now, as some say this is a great thing, there are cons to the concept as well.  Many school districts around the country are financially  struggling, and trying to upgrade to these hand-held computers isn't the most budget-friendly idea.  If schools are serious about converting to all-electronic systems, the demand for iPads will go up because schools will be competing to provide the best education possible with new innovative and advanced ways.  But even though the iPad replaces old, heavy textbooks and provides a quicker way to exchange information between students and teachers, our parents, and generations before them didn't have the luxury of learning with iPads, so is it really that necessary?  For high school students the option to have these devices is clearer and the benefits of using them are easy to understand, but I find it a bit troubling for kindergarden and elementary level students to be starting out on these high-tech gizmos when they barely even know how to read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/education/05tablets.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general

Housing Cartoon

This past year, the housing market was not a buyers market.  Housing became more expensive due to the recession of the economy, so people who were looking to buy houses were turned away because of the steep prices. This caused the people who were trying to sell their houses to become desperate because nobody was willing to buy.  This is represented in this cartoon in a humorous way; the homeowners are willing to do anything, basically sacrifice themselves, just to sell their house in such hard times.  During class this semester we watched multiple videos/video clips on this housing issue, and hopefully now that the economy is turning back around the housing market will become more buyer and seller friendly and allow for a more successful year to purchase homes.