Focus While Driving

Staying focused while driving has become increasingly difficult. With new technologies coming out constantly there are more things that can distract people. Cellphones are an obvious distraction while driving. However people are trying to remedy the situation. "California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington and the District of Columbia prohibit hand-held cellphone use"(2). People are trying to enforce the laws that make driving safer for everyone. Accidents can be prevented if people pay attention. "Studies show that as many as four of every five crashes are caused by at least one driver being distracted"(1). If one person stops talking on their phone while driving four crashes can be prevented. "90 percent of crashes might be prevented if drivers had one extra second to react(3). One second makes all the difference. If people pay attention then a lot of crashes don't happen. A DVD player can also help. if kids in the back are watching a cartoon they are less likely to do things that would distract the driver. The most important thing for drivers these days is to pay attention to the road and don't do anything that would divert your attention away from it. This article had some very interesting facts i did not know before. This article is great and should be read by anyone interested in the subject.
Bunkley,Nick. "Oct. 30, 2008: Keeping Your Eyes On The Road."
New York Times. 30 Oct. 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/automobiles/autospecial2/30distract.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin

New Technology in Photgraphy

Photojournalists use different epuipment for stills and video. "using separate equipment for each medium, which is awkward, cumbersome and requires additional training"(2). However with new chips and semiconductor technology cameras are able to take high quality stills and video without an extremely high cost. "I think this is the holy grail for news photography," says Randall Greenwell, the director of photography"(2). People are very intrigued by this technology and are eager to try it out. With the new technology the price of these cameras are much lower than previous cameras needed to produce the same quality. "Laforet predicts that this low-light sensitivity will lead moviemakers to dispense with expensive, bulky, and obtrusive lighting equipment, shooting their movies entirely with available light"(3). Vincent Laforet,a Pulitzer prize winner, believes that the new camera's ability to capture high quaility photos in the absence of a lot of light will lead moviemakers to throw out huge lighting equipment. These new innovations in photography can change the entire industry. The cost of good quality cameras decrease significantly alloqing more people to join into the industry. This article presented many interesting points and i would recommend this article to anybody interested in photography.
Tweney,Dylan. "Oct. 9, 2008: New Chips Poised to Revolutionize Photography, Film."
Wired. 22 Oct. 2008

Ozone Hole

The Antarctic ozone hole extends so far north that health officials in Punta Arenas, Chile, start warning residents not to go out in the midday sun(1). The ozone hole is resulting in serious side effects for the people living in the affected area. People were being warned to be careful but some people just don't listen. The city's one dermatologist calculated that skin cancer cases jumped from 65 cases to 108 between 1987-1993 and 1994-2000(1). Skin cancer kills many people and even though they have been warned, some people refuse to listen and don't take safety precautions. However it can be misleading because the temperature doesn't go to extremes so some people might not even realize the danger they're in. I think they should keep a closer watch to their enviroment and be more careful. This is damging to people in the area but there are also other catastrophic results. The ultraviolet radiation damages the DNA of marine plankton, which could lead to plankton die-offs and local or regional food-chain collapses that destroy the supply of fish available for human use(2). If plankton dies off then the animals that feed on plankton will also die off. This could result in a chain reaction that could devastate the affected area. People should do things like wear long-sleeved shirts,shades,and hats. These are all things that can protect you. However everyone can help. They can do things that limit air pollution. Helping the environment is not a job for one person. This issue affects everybody so everone should try to help in one way or another. This was an interesting article that I would recommend to people that are looking for a good article.
Alfred,Randy. "Oct. 9, 2000: Ozone Hole Exposes Chilean City." Wired. 09 Oct. 2008