Al Wilson’s NIE Tips 1.24.12

AMERICAN HISTORY:

 

Item #1  Comedian Stephen Colbert said regarding the possibility of entering the presidential race, “I’m a one-man Lewis and Clark; and I’m just looking for my Sacagawea.”  Discuss this comment.

 

Item #2  The year 2011 was the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.  You might like to look at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, VA: moc.org  and the Louisiana’s Museum of the Civil War at Confederate Memorial Hall in New Orleans:  confederatemuseum.com

 

Item #3  Celebrations were held in Key West, FL, Sunday to mark the 100th anniversary of the Florida Keys Over-Seas Railroad.  The railroad that connected Key West with the Florida mainland.

 

BIOLOGY:

 

Scientists have found 314 slides from Charles Darwin’s research.  These specimens are 165-years-old.  What was his expedition on the HMS Beagle?

 

DRIVER EDUCATION:

 

Gadgets are now on the market to keep people from talking, surfing or texting while an automobile is in motion.  Check out:  Cellcontrol, iZup, Key2SafeDriving, Guardian Angel or Protector.

 

ECOLOGY:

 

The fight over water rights between Texas and Oklahoma is going to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Oklahoma has the water and Texas wants it.  Oklahoma does not want to sell it.  This should wake students up to many water shortage issues all over the country.  Will there be enough clean water in your city in the next 25-30 years?

 

ENGLISH:

 

If your newspaper carries the “Hagar the Horrible” comic strip, on Monday, Jan. 23rd, you might want to review the rules for adding the “ing” suffix with the words punching, kicking, gouging, smashing, cutting and biting.

 

GOVERNMENT:

 

Item #1  Governor Rick Perry has dropped out of the GOP presidential race.  Now there are four.  The South Carolina results were a surprise to everyone.  How will the Florida primary turn out?

 

Item #2  The United States largely abandoned the gold standard in 1933.  There was discussion of returning to the gold standard in 1981, but the idea was rejected.

Presidential candidate Ron Paul wants to return to the gold standard.  What are the pros and cons of this?  It’s an idea whose time has come, but it isn’t going to happen.

 

Item #3  President Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline.  It was stated before this was a lose-lose situation for him, so he punted.  Wait and see, he will make the decision when it is a personal and political opportune moment for him.  Would someone give a brief report on the Ogallala aquifer?

 

Item #4  The EPA is playing politics and not protecting America.  With the Clean Air Act of 1990, the EPA wanted reformulated gasoline to burn cleaner.  Science told them the addition of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) would foul water supplies, but they carried on.  The additive was dropped when contaminated water supplies were found in 1,861 locations in 29 states.  The EPA used the Clean Air Act to violate the Clean Water Act.

 

Scientists and the EPA know the use of ethanol creates more smog, but it’s good politics to keep promoting ethanol.  Promoters say ethanol will get us off Middle Eastern oil.  We have not decreased our import a drop.

 

HEALTH:

 

Health officials are saying aspirin therapy can harm you as well a help.  Baby aspirins may help prevent heart attacks, but may cause internal bleeding.  Research is from the Gill Heart Institute at the University of Kentucky, and from St. George’s University in London.

 

MATH:

 

Item #1  As NASCAR gears up for the Daytona 500, fans were asked who they thought would win the championship in 2012.  Of the 7,493 fans voting, 14% said Kyle Busch, 35% Carl Edwards, 24% Jeff Gordon, 17% Jimmie Johnson, 10% Matt Kenseth.

 

Can you figure how many fans voted for each driver?  Can you show these percentages on a circle/pie graph?

 

Item #2  A state lottery reported that 12 people won $3,283.00; 1,058 people won $55.00; and 22,341 people won $3.00.  What was the total payout?

Answer:  $164,609.00

 

VOCABULARY:

 

orthodoxy, connoisseur, pejorative, pragmatism, gamut, trepidation, augur, auger, rowel, weir, pliable, hegemony, insatiable, procrastinate, precursor, anomaly

 

WORLD GEOGRAPHY:

 

Venezuela, France, St. Maarten, Somalia, Nigeria, Brazil, Finland, Croatia, China, Sri Lanka, Kuwait