Monthly Archives: August 2019

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Methane madness

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An article in the New York Times, called “E.P.A. to Roll Back Regulations on Methane, a Potent Greenhouse Gas” talks about efforts made by the Environmental Protection Agency to deregulate the emission of methane gases, which is a known greenhouse gas coming from oil wells, pipelines and other facilities in the oil and gas industry. In the light of all the awareness brought to climate change and environmental problems, this article seemed very newsworthy to me, as it shows that the US continues to reduce their efforts to combat climate change, while most of the world is trying to up their efforts.

The article does a good job staying objective and presents the facts of the matter as well as quoting both sources supporting the role back as well as sources condemning it. It also briefly talks about the role of oil and gas companies in this issue and states that most of those companies actually do not support the rollback. This is an interesting aspect in my opinion since the rollback on methane regulations is a result of Trump’s executive order to eliminate regulations that hold back growth in those oil and gas industries.

The high volume of information and lengthy nature of the article aims at an older audience that has enough interest and prior knowledge to value all the extra information.

Link to the article: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/29/climate/epa-methane-greenhouse-gas.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Stories

Introducing Ashley Boer

During our last class period, I was able to sit down with my classmate Ashley Boer and ask her a couple of questions in order to get to know her better.

Ashley is from Rock Rapids, Iowa, which is approximately one hour and 15 minutes away from Sioux City. She found her way to Morningside to play Volleyball and pursue an Advertising degree with a graphic design minor. She also said that she came to Morningside because “it felt like home”.

Ashley enjoys hanging out with friends, listening to music and watching all kinds of sports when she is not on the court herself. When asked what three things she likes best about Sioux City, she was quick to respond that she likes the food options here, especially Buffalo Wild Wings, the size of the city which she described as “Not too big and not too small” and the close proximity to home, which allows her to see friends and family often.

Politics

HONG Kong’S QUEST TO KEEP IT’S FREEDOM

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An interesting news story on Vox, called “9 Questions about the Hong Kong protests you were too embarrassed to ask” gives insight into the protests and demonstrations in that emerged in Hong Kong during the last months, sparked by the proposal of an extradition law, allowing foreign governments to extradite Hong Kong citizens without a formal treaty with the city, as well as growing Chinese influence on the city and its election system. This story is very newsworthy in my opinion because it provides a timeline and information about protests for freedom and democracy that the American public has not heard much about, and shows that not only Americans are currently struggling with their governments and for their rights.

This article is aimed at a younger, politically interested audience, that doesn’t know much about the subject.  It uses simple language with little political jargon and makes sure that everybody can understand the inner workings of these protests by providing basic information about why Hongkongers are protesting and background about the city and its unique situation within China itself. The format of asking nine questions and answering them one by one makes the story more engaging and easier to follow for younger people. The author does a good job of presenting the facts about the timeline and background of the protests in an objective way until the very last question, where the author somewhat condemns western countries for taking a weak stance against police brutality and violence against the protesters as well as offering little support.

Overall, this article was very informative and gave a very thorough insight into the situation, especially for readers who were not well aware of the protests. It also gave some commentary on how western countries should act towards this problem without becoming too subjective.

Link to the story: https://www.vox.com/world/2019/8/22/20804294/hong-kong-protests-9-questions