The Internet, Unplugged

The violent situation in Egypt

       Among the escalating chaos in Egypt, the internet fell.  In response to the growing number of protesters and demonstrative riots against President Mubarak filling the country, the Egyptian government shut the internet down in an effort to lessen the crisis occurring.  Civilians began rioting soon after January 15th, when they saw via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and various other internet sources Tunisia's revolution successfully dethroning its authoritarian ruler and encouraging Egyptians to do the same.  Such is the extent of the power of the high and mighty internet - where simple fun can turn into dangerous and revolutionizing information in less than a second.

      Spurred by the extreme scene in Egypt, many articles have been talking about Congress's recent discussions about formulating an "escape key"(esc. key) for the internet.  Defending this suggestion with concerns over possible cyber attacks, many have been pushing to give the President the right to close the internet off from foreign material if threatened by one.  However, it is easier said then done, as always.  Although it was possible in Egypt, flipping the switch in America is no simple feat.  It's just not feasible at this point in time.  Constructing a "switch" like this would be extremely onerous due to the fact that there are multiple routes that data can travel from.  Information originating from foreign countries could come from satellite, submarine cables, packet radio, or sent through other countries.  Forged IP addresses are yet another way to fool the protective bubble of the "off" switch.  It would not even be as effective as wanted when there are a multiplicity of ways to use it against us.  Hackers could easily get into America's internet system by using proxy servers or developing other means to circumvent the blockade.  Furthermore, cyberterrorist's could simply fake a cyber attack to trick us into turning the internet off.  As you can surely see, Senate Bill 3480, a suggested bill that would allow for the President to order the shut down of the internet, would ultimately be disadvantageous to the U.S.
       The information I used came from here and here.  Some general information and my first picture was also obtained from Time's recent article, which can be found here.  The article, On the Arab Street, Rage is Contagious, has not yet been published in its entirety on Time's website and can only be found in the tangible magazine itself.  However, the link leads to an excerpt of the article.  My second picture came from here.

~ Starflower794!!!

Global Warming: Horoscope for the Year 3000

        As has been emphasized by media all over today, global warming is an increasingly worrying dilemma that must be acted upon soon... Or else.  Scientists predict that even if we stop producing excess carbon dioxide by 2100, the long term effects of the numerous harmful pollutants will not fade away so soon.  "Even if humans were to stop emitting excess carbon dioxide — or if they figured out a way to completely capture it — the effects of global warming would continue to accumulate."  Some carbon dioxide lingers in the atmosphere long after it has been released (sometimes up to 1,000 years), causing further damage to the natural environment.  The fact that land warms and cools comparably faster than water contributes to the aftereffects of our pollution.  They could cause the West Antarctic ice sheet to collapse, which in turn would cause sea levels to rise approximately thirteen feet. This would obviously cause various problems from decreasing land mass to even more drastic climate changes.  The most ongoing change would occur in the Southern hemisphere due to the prevalence of water.  The oceans would heat up considerably, and then stay that way for a while because of the slowly cooling nature of water.  Meanwhile, the Northern hemisphere would cool quickly and reverse the effects of global warming.  However, the simultaneous cooling of the Northern hemisphere and warming of the Southern hemisphere would impact the intertropical convergence zone.  This zone is the place that trade winds meet, causing thunderstorms and cloud coverage.  It would move southward which would mean that 30% of precipitation in North Africa would be lost and the predicted drying would continue.  All of these long term effects are only a snippet of what may very well happen in the future. And remember, these changes are predicted for if we stop emitting too much carbon dioxide in 2100.  If we don't, the changes will surely be even more hazardous and drastic. Obviously, we all must work hard to reduce our carbon footprint or the ramifications will be nature's revenge. 


The article I used was from here.  The picture I used can be found here. 


~Starflower794!