Luxury vs. Environment

Every family imagines of having a luxurious car like a Lexus, BMW, Mercezdes or an Audi. These luxury cars come with many benefits. Luxury car owners can drive down the street in style and have more options to their cars like touch-screen navigation, heated-seats, power-windows, and a bluetooth machine. Although driving in style is what many look for, these cars are far from being environment friendly, not to mention the money that goes into oil changes, and maintence checkups. With numbers reaching the high 3-4 dollars a tank, gas prices are now a highly discussed problem in modern society. As new technology, such as phones, internet, navigation start rolling in- people have now searched for a better way to save money and to help save the environment. The mass of the average personal vehicle in the U.S. has gone up 29% since 1987. There is a misconception based on a common assumption of: "heavier the car, the safer it must be". SUV's put out 43% more global-warming pollutants (28 pounds of carbon dioxide per gallon of gas consumed) and 47% more air pollution than the average car. In life, many wrong turns always end up with a single right and that's where fuel-efficient cars were created.

Fuel-efficient cars are more costly, in the long run, however it can save gas money and it can also help the environment. For a person that drives long distances, fuel-efficient cars may be the answer to their gas price prayers. Companies like Honda, Toyota, and Volkswagen take the lead in the top 10 fuel-efficient cars, if you're interested in buying one.
But times are changing, and many newer models are now equipped with fuel-economy computers that give information for the driver to do a better job in saving the environment. Chevrolet, Toyota, Nissan and others are planning to add fuel-economy features to all new models in the next few years.

What's newer than a fuel efficient car? Now, there's a submarine car invented that was once never imaginable. So what's next? A car that can soar through the sky or a car that can launch into space? What newer inventions do you think will be likely to come next, and will they be successful in the long-run?

Is Globalization really flattening the playing field?

The commencement of globalization, its effects and adverse effects are something we have been reading in the book “The World is Flat” for the past few weeks now. The effects of globalization are something that we are learning about everyday from all the aspects of our life. How is globalization affecting the middle class? Is it making rich people richer and the poor poorer? It maybe collaborating and connecting people and companies around the world. But at the same time is it creating a social hierarchy of class more prominent? When you think about it computers and the usage of internet is so common in the world. It is used for almost everything. We are so dependent on internet. It has minimized the time we need to finish any job. Answers to our questions can be found at our finger tips with the help of an amazing piece of hardware called “mouse” and a search engine called “Google.” Literally all answers are found between the letters “g” and “e”. Sometimes I wonder how I/we ever lived without internet. It has made the global market a competitive market. This is the story of one side of the world. All though the usage of computers is fast spreading, there is a majority of the population who still don’t own a computer and some percentage who don’t even know how to use a computer. These people do not have an opportunity to compete in the global market. There are so many people who are being deprived of this opportunity. No doubt globalization is making people rich and economies stronger. What about the people who are not able to take advantage of this boom?

Is the fast paced growth of globalization, ever going to strike the balance between the economies of class? Is it having a positive effect on people? Is it making the existence of class system more prominent in the society?

Cellular Phones Around the WORLD

Mobile phone's have a great impact on our lives. We probably talk on the mobile at least once a day if not more. Technological advances that have happened in the past few years in the Mobile industry is remarkable, from just talking with each other all the way to talking to each other face to face. I have been buying and selling mobile phones just for the fun of having a better phone than the one I had last week; and I'm from Kuwait! You would think that such a small country would not be very technologically advanced but, I guess it is because of the oil. Anyways, I was sitting in the Cafeteria the other day and I took out my phone, just to check my email, for free!!! Can you believe that! A few years ago, if I said that then, I would be pushing it. But look at your reaction right now. It's an everyday thing, because you were eased into the idea of having internet on your phone. First it started with just talking then they added color screens, then they added a small resolution camera, then Bluetooth, then wireless. Now we are at a point where some mobile phones have cameras that have higher resolution than most digital cameras. Using camera phones to take pictures is so easy, because you don't think about all the hard work that was put into that phone. You just know that you want to save this picture and upload it onto your Facebook account. Another example of how people with camera phones can become reporters; On the day of the 7/7 bombings in london there were videos that were uploaded on Youtube. A person was there when is happened and took out his phone and choose to be a reporter for the BBC news. Another example is how we can capture celebrities out of their role. You could be walk in Beverly hills and you see a famous rock star that you love, or a famous actor that you admire. To tell your friends and prove to them that you actually saw that person, what is the first thing that comes to your mind if you have a high powered camera/phone in your left pocket? Exactly what I thought, USE THE CAMERA!!!. I use my camera phone to see my family back at home and they are half way around the world, and I talk with them as if they are sitting right next to me. The world is getting smaller at every technological turn we take.

Do you agree that having a cell phone increases the idea of how anyone can be at liberty to do what ever they want?
If so please explain.
What would life be without that kind of technology?
How would the world be affected if that kind of mobile phone technology suddenly taken away?

The Democracy of Blogging

Jessica Cutler, of Washingtonienne fame, thinks blogs are “the most democratic thing ever,” and she’s right. You don’t have to have a journalism degree to publish your own blog, and you don’t have to buy a newspaper or magazine to read them. You don’t even have to have your own computer and Internet connection. Just waltz in to your local library and read the blogs that interest you. Blogging gives everyone a chance to be an author, no matter who you are or where you live.

You don’t have to be a particularly gifted author, either. The very nature of blogging allows writers to suspend the rules of composition, and to attract attention, bloggers often put good manners aside, hurl insults, make accusations, and stir up controversy. If they happen to be wrong in what they say, it’s okay. It’s tough to get a libel charge leveled against a blogger, and besides, the offended party can simply set up his or her own blog and return the insults.

Is this a model of democracy that Americans should celebrate and export around the world? Or is this merely the yammerings of an unruly mob who have exploited the freedoms that democracy should protect?

J.