2012, what to expect

                2012 has just began and it has much expectations to be a better year than the one before. Whether it becomes a better year or not, depends differently on each person. If a person works hard, has passion in what they do, and learn to compromise, they will succeed. But if a person is selfish, and decides to sleep at home in front of the television all day and put life on God’s hands instead of going out and working their hardest, this might not be the best year for them. 2012, like many years before it will undergo big changes and many deaths caused by natural disasters. This year, technology will improve and become more efficient has users increase, economy is under a lot of stress, and third world countries have more investors and are slowly growing.

                As European countries owe banks money and have not returned it, the European crisis has occurred. The United States are quarrelling with Iran which could make Iran stop trading oil with countries who are allies with the United States. And with deadly natural disasters occurring in many different countries, 2011 was a year where the economy worsened and people investing in stocks lost a lot of money. However, 2012 is a year in which the economy could increase rapidly or decrease rapidly. Facebook is selling its stock this year as well as other big tech companies; stocks are starting to recover in this early month. However, if the US and Iran’s conflict is not resolved, and European countries do not resolve how to pay bank the banks, the world’s economy and stock could worsen even further than 2011.

                Each year, technology improves and 2011 was a year in which technology exploded and there was an increased amount of people using smart phones which made life easier and more efficient. However, in 2011 there was a technology war between several companies suing each other but what matters most is that the technology keeps on getting better and keeps on making our life easier. Take the invention of the iPad for example, and the inclusion of Siri in new Iphones. In 2012, there will be a significant increase in usage of social media which would mean that information and ideas will move around to more people and also at a faster speed. People’s lives and time are spent more on technologies such as computers. People used to play games using boards but now social gaming is becoming more popular such as friv.com in Thailand. News will also be more social as people get news from social media websites. The world will continue to be more connected as Facebook’s predicted users will surpass 1 billion users.  

                Africa is being recognized by foreign investors who are now investing in businesses and land in Africa as they see potential of Africa. Land prices are rising, and businesses are increasing in the continent. This is great for Africa because these businesses employ people and when these people have income equivalent to people from other countries, the continent can grow and move forward. People will head out of poverty and more will enter the middle class. Africa is moving forward into the right direction. Also with businesses comes the need for infrastructure and a better environment which will help Africa and its people get out of poverty and have a better life with a higher standard of living. Americans and Europeans are also purchasing a 2^nd residence in developing nations such as Guatemala.

Also, prices of books and movies are heading nearer and nearer to zero which means more people can afford them. There are more 1 day specials in price of books where the price decreased from $20 to $2. E-learning and E-books are also used more often and the users have increased from last year. More people area reading books and buying them on their Ipads for example. The price of movies in some places have decreased and people continue to illegally download movies from websites such as piratebay which is now banned in some countries.

As we all know, 2011 was a year of many deaths. Powerful and great men such as Osama Bin Laden and Steve Jobs had both passed away. Each equation needs to be balanced, and these great men have paved way for younger men to rise and enter our hearts as they change the world again.

Bibliography:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/post/patent-wars-2012-heres-what-to-expect/2010/12/20/gIQAruLpcP_blog.html

http://socialmediatoday.com/jsncafe/418461/social-media-what-expect-2012

http://mashable.com/2012/01/06/social-media-predictions-2012/

http://www.perrymarshall.com/20326/10-predictions-2012/

 

 

Will the world end in 2012?

           In 1999, there was a rumor that the world was going to end in 2000. Various fortune tellers confirmed this and people set out having fun and spending all their money. On the morning of January 1, 2010 people were angry when they woke up to see that the world did not end and they had cashed out their bank accounts. The same rumor arose in 2003 but when it didn’t happen, the date was moved to 2012. The rumor suggested that the world was going end by severe natural disasters caused by a planet approaching Earth. There were several severe natural disasters in 2011 which lead to some people starting to wonder if the rumor were true. However it was not true and 2012 began with much expectation as people hoped for a better year. New Year’s Resolution were written and as this year approached, people hoped to check off most of it as possible. 2011 brought the deaths of many great and powerful men, and there were big political changes. What will happen in 2012?

2012, is predicted to be doomsday. The world’s weather is starting to become unpredictable. Take Thailand for example. One day it is very cold, while the next day it is very hot. Natural disasters are also occurring more often and are very severe. Will 2012 be a year with an increased occurrence of natural disasters? Will 2012 be a year where weather cannot be predicted? Will the world end in December 21, 2012?

The world has been going great for over 4 billion years, and scientist suggest that the story of the world ending is all a hoax. The rumor suggests that the planet Nibiru, which was discovered by Sumerians, is headed towards Earth. The rumor also suggests that a solar storm will appear, and that there are planetary alignments which could threaten life. The Mayan calendar was pulled in to support the arguments. Several other evidence was given but scientist does not find any of them have correlation or are true. Scientist is tracking asteroids and meteors and confirms that there are no threatening asteroids. Scientists believe that there is no evidence supporting this theory and that it is all made up.

Some people totally believe that the world is going to end on December 21, 2012. They have gone ahead and quit their jobs and spent their moneys as they believe they wouldn’t need it again next year. They are enjoying themselves and living life to the fullest which is great! But when 2013 starts, like many before them, they will have to face the truth that the world did not end and that they will have to suffer the consequences.

Personally, I do not believe the world is going to end in December 2012. I am a man of science and agree with scientists saying that there isn’t enough concrete evidence to support this theory of a doomsday. Claims of the world ending have occurred before and this is not new. However, I do believe that there are some things we cannot explain and that a man of higher authority such as god exists. But I totally support the scientists who claim the world will not end on December 21, 2012. As we all know, natural disasters will occur this year and might take the lives of many of our fellow humans. However, this is normal and happens every year. We shouldn’t think it has any correlation to this rumor and “fake” theory.

Bibliography:

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html

http://www.endoftheworld2012.net/

http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=5301284&page=1

http://www.lifexpert.com/special/is_21_december_2012_end_of_the_world.html

 

Another year of great change, the summary of 2011

2011, like many years before it, was a year of great change and moving forward. Many of the world’s great men had died. Some like Steve Jobs had made our lives easier, while others like Osama had threatened our lives for many years. Both these men were different, but both were great and powerful. 2011 was also a year of disasters, major political change, technological change, ending of terrorism and a more united world, as well as a year of protestors.

            The most important thing in 2011 is the downfall of terrorism and a more united world through the cooperation to eliminate terrorists and dictators such as, Gaddafi, Osama Bin Laden, and Kim Jong-Il. This sent a positive message back to the people. It’s a year we moved forward in terms of eliminating the world’s most feared people. And it’s important because terrorism has just taken a step back. Worldwide cooperation improved and countries helped each other in eliminating terrorists. The deaths of these evil men has just made our lives safer but as we all know, the world is balanced and evil men will soon rise to replace these men. Let’s just hope that when they do rise, worldwide cooperation will have taken a step ahead and will help us catch and stop these men before they can cause much harm.

            2011 was a year of natural disasters which have impacted many countries greatly. There was the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March 11 which killed an estimated 15,836 people, the flood and mudslides in Brazil which killed 1000 people, and the devastating flood in Thailand which lasted several months. Each year, there are many natural disasters but this year was the year we had more of those. The natural disasters in 2011 were deadly and had a large death toll which entered Wikipedia’s list of deadliest natural disaster. The tsunami and earthquake in Japan followed by the nuclear issue brought 350,000 people to become homeless while another 1.4 million of the population were living without water. The Fukhushima nuclear eruption lead to the evacuation of over 180,000 people while many other people were said to be infected by the radiation exposure. It was the worst crisis in 65 years. The flood in Thailand leads to business, economic, and tourism downfall. It showed the vulnerability of the country to deal with these issues which occur often and this event has lead to the government saying they will deal with this issue and insure it does not happen to this extent again. People were homeless, trapped without food, and the damages were severe.

            2011 was also a year of major political change which will enter history books and remembered in time. There was a death of dictatorships such as the death of Kim Jong-Il. The death of these dictatorships allowed for countries to have a change to become a country of democracy with higher freedom and more rights. Sudan was also split into two, with South Sudan gaining independence. Popular uprisings in different parts of the world also occurred often this year as well as the gaining of more rights such as the ongoing Yemeni uprising, and the Syrian uprising. However, there are still political problems needing to be dealt with such as the issue in Bangladesh where women are slaves to men and have much less rights and freedom. The government must change and the issue must be dealt with. The United States and Iran are fighting verbally, meanwhile there are ongoing conflicts such as the South Kordofan conflict and the operation Linda Nchi which is part of the war in Somolia which started in 2009.

            In conclusion, like many years before it, 2011 was a year of great change. Mainly there was the death of powerful and great men, big political changes, and destructive natural disasters. The death of powerful and great men will pave way for new and younger men to enter our hearts and change our lives. Big political changes will be remembered in time as it entered history books and lead to many changes in different countries around the world. Destructive natural disasters have alarmed governments who will work together to make sure they never happen to this extent again. Another year passes, another year of great change, say your goodbyes to the beloved year of 2011.

Bibliography:

http://www.er-d.org/JapanEarthquakeTsunamiMar2011/

http://baleta.blogspot.com/2011/03/natural-disasters-2011.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_disasters_by_death_toll

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_2011%E2%80%93present

http://www.googlezeitgeist.com/en

       

Is cotton the core of life?

There aren’t many products around the world that everybody uses and can afford. For example, computers are used every day by people in first world countries yet many poor people in third world countries are deprived of it. However, there is one product that the rich and the poor, the young and the old use daily, without this product; our lives will be much different for it’s of great importance. Cotton is one of the most important resources today as it is the center and base of medical and textile field, it the world’s leading cash crop which is used more than any other fiber, and it has a high demand and is consumed everywhere.

This cash crop’s origin is unknown but remains of cotton textiles were found in the Indus Valley and it is believed that the Harappan civilization were the first to grow the crop to be used as fabric for clothing and towels in 2500-3000 BC. The Harrapa people migrated from Africa to India and were hunters but eventually became farmers and grew the crops next to the Indus Valley. The farming techniques of cotton were developed in India and were soon exported across the monsoons and the Indian Ocean through ships. Due to its high price it limited supply it started off not being very popular.  Cotton was soon spread to China, East Africa, and then to Muslim nations in the Middle East. Cotton was very popular in Muslim nations and soon they started producing textiles made from cotton. The supply for cotton then increased but its demand has risen slowly. Many years later, cotton had spread to Europe, America, and most of Africa and more techniques on producing longer fibers were found. In the 1700’s cotton became more valuable, popular and England saw its potential after cotton has replaced flax and wool as many countries’ most popular fabric. England’s industrial revolution was based on importing raw cotton and dispersing them throughout the world which lead to the growth of their empire. The supply had risen and so has its demand. Many countries such as India, China, United States, and France also had begun producing cotton to meet its growing demand. The demand had risen sharply and became very popular and cotton industry was profitable. As there was much more supply to meet the demands cotton has became inexpensive and appealed to the majority of the world’s population.

                Cotton was first produced and consumed in India. Then a big amount of it was produced by the Muslim nations for its textile industry. After cotton had became the most popular fabric in Europe, several of the world’s powerful European nations such as England had began producing a lot of it at a high rate. Then in 1914 most of the cotton used in the world was produced by America. Cotton was first consumed in South Asia, then in the rest of Asia and the Middle East. It was then consumed by Europeans and the Americas. Cotton business revenue in the U.S. economy exceeds 120 billion. The top six cotton producers are China (33 million bales), India (27 million bales), America (18 million bales), Pakistan (10.3 million bales), Brazil (9.3 million bales), and Uzbekistan (4.6 million bales) who account for 83% of the world cotton production. The top five exporters in 2011 are America, India, Brazil, Australia, and Uzbekistan. Top cotton importers are South Korea, Taiwan, Russia, Hong Kong, Japan, Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, and Italy. Today, cotton is consumed in most parts of the world because it can be used for many things such as textile and clothing, bedding and curtains, and in the medical field in terms of bandages and cotton buds. 2.5% of the world’s land is now used for the production of cotton.

                Cotton is easy to farm, and people were discovering that it could be used for many things. Cotton being warm, soft, clean, and natural made it more popular and a better mode of clothing. It was a good business and due to its popularity it created a huge demand that persuaded many countries to produce the fiber. People began consuming it more and using it for a range of products which lead to the demand rising.  It was used more and inventions made the production process faster. Cotton shaped many countries economy and became more important over time. Its demand has risen over the years and many countries have tried to produce more cotton to meet the growing demands. The demand for cotton is the highest it has ever been with a demand of 23 million tones but a production of 26 million tones has met the demands and kept cotton affordable and inexpensive as there is a surplus of supply.

            There are many ways to do something just like there are many different ways and techniques to grow cotton. Some ways are simple, yet some are very complex. There are also many detailed steps involved. A cotton plant takes around 4 to 5 months before it is ready to harvest. Its development starts off with germination and emergence, seed establishment, canopy development, flowering, and maturation. Cotton’s growth can be affected by cold temperatures and bad soil moisture which would damage the plant. When there is a natural disaster such as a tornado or earthquake, the supply of cotton decreases leading to a shortage. People will complain as prices rise and companies will try to meet the demands.

                Cotton is a major industry in many countries and the most used fiber. It is America’s leading cash crops, and cotton is used daily by everyone in all cultures, races, genders, and social classes. Cotton is soft, warm, clean and natural. Cotton exists in our shirts, jeans, underwear, undershirt, socks, turbans, pillows, bedding, towels, curtains, cotton buds, bandages, thread, and fabric. Most textiles and clothing we wear are made from cotton because it keeps us warm and it is soft. Without bandages, cotton buds, and other medical tools made from cotton, medical care wouldn’t have been able to come this far. Our life is based upon this luxury crop which we use so often.  We use cotton so much that we don’t appreciate and notice its significance and importance. Imagine life without cotton today. We wouldn’t be able to use soft towels to wipe our face and body after taking a shower. We wouldn’t have warm and soft clothing to wear. Our pillows will be hard, and our beddings will have to be made with something else, thus not keeping us warm at night. The demand for cotton has risen annually because we find more uses for it and it is a very important crop that we have grown used to. Cotton is clean which gives us good hygiene and keeps us healthy too. Cotton’s impact on us is that it has made improved our life and is the best mode of clothing. It has changed what most things are made of and it replaced wool. However, recently cotton is being replaced by synthetics and one reason is because synthetics and polyester are cheaper and its thread is stronger. 

                The moving of cotton has caused Southernization to occur. Without Southernization there wouldn’t be westernization because why would Europeans want to be involved with countries like India and China. They must be involved with India and China because the techniques of growing cotton, etc came from India. India and China are also a big exporter of cotton.

  

African Diaspora

The African Diaspora refers to a time period where Africans were transported in the world to work as slaves against their will. The main time period is from 1500-1800 where the Atlantic Slave occurred. The Atlantic Slave trade was African slaves who were traded across the Atlantic Ocean into Europe and The Americas. The African slaves usually came from west or central Africa. The African Diaspora was the largest forced slave trade in volume where an estimated 4-12 million slaves were traded and taken.

These slaves were often kidnapped or caught in wars in Africa and sold to Europeans and other nations in the ports. The Europeans never entered Africa to capture these slaves for themselves in fear of diseases. Kings and businessmen became very rich as they employed and funded these kidnappings and raids and earned a very large income selling these slaves to rich countries. Criminals were sold to make sure they no longer committed crime or caused any more trouble in the area. People were taken from their homes and sold. These slaves were purchased from tribal leaders who often sell the caught Africans from another ethnic group.

About 10% of these slaves die during transport. These slaves were overworked, tortured and not even paid. They were abused and mistreated. These slaves often died from overwork or diseases that spread to them or appeared due to the low sanitation and hygiene available to them. African slaves who were shipped away never returned. These slaves worked on coffee, tobacco, sugar plantations, mines, construction, and were servants. The plantation economies of several countries were built on slave labor as seventy percent of slaves were used to produce sugar. This slave trade made sure that the human resources of Africa were gone.

Since land was cheap in Western countries and slavery helped many business bloom, people often looked to invest in land and build a business using these slaves who lead to a constant shortage of workers or in other words, slaves. The countries buying these African slaves benefited and their economies agree with this statement. These African slaves were often the backbone of many countries. Due to this event, Africa suffered with a huge rich poor divides.

People who were rich or looked to further their education or for a better job opportunity would emigrate abroad which leads to a brain drain in the country, stopping it from moving forward and developing. Therefore, Africa had a huge shortage in human resources and the Africans continued to suffer.

These African slaves were seen as inferior due to their skin color which was dark. Since they could not speak English or a Western language, they were looked down upon. They did not have a united front which leads to them being taken advantaged off.

Although the African Diaspora is a very tragic event that everyone would like to change, it leads to the spread of culture, religion, and ideas. It created permanent ties between Africa and North America. Africans in the Americas speak pigeon English which is still spoken in some parts of the United States today which shows us part of the African culture that survived injustice slavery. The integration of native culture with traditional European culture was shown with the African American mixing old and new styles when they cook, sing, carve, and tell stories. These traditions are still there today.
 

 

Other used websites: http://www.niica.on.ca/diaspora/
http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-14470-4/the-african-diaspora/excerpt
http://www.diaspora-centre.org/98FD02EE-27D3-4F7B-9401-4FD03E5EE9CB/FinalDownload/DownloadId-85BC5175A7735817A1616134B6B4AF47/98FD02EE-27D3-4F7B-9401-4FD03E5EE9CB/DOCS/EU_and_diaspora_De.pdf
http://www.theposthole.org/read/article/105
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_diaspora
http://www.modernghana.com/news/276805/1/are-we-blacks-really-inferior-the-case-of-the-afri.html

Mexico Population Analysis

Mexico’s current population is 113 million people. 50 years ago in 1960 the population was only 38 million people and from then on the population of Mexico just kept increasing by 5-10 million each year. The population stayed the same for thousands of years but during recent centuries such as the 20^th and 21^st century, population has increased dramatically and the resources aren’t enough.

                The highest age-group population is the young. 4.8 Of the men’s population are aged 0-4, and 4.6 percent of the female population is aged 0-4. 3.7 And 4.0 of men and women are aged 30-34. And around 0.8-0.9 of the population of men and women are aged 70-74. These statistics show us that there is are higher birth rates then death rates and that more people are young rather than old.

                Mexico has close to 800,000 people leaving its country each year usually migrating legally or illegally to the United States, and it has fewer migrations into the country. The people leaving causes a brain drain with the country’s smart people looking to migrate elsewhere for a better life and a higher pay. With 113 people, Mexico is one of the most populated countries, ranking eleventh most populated country in the world. It is also the most populated Spanish-speaking country. As the country was a colony of Spain and gained independence during 1810, most of the people in the country speak Spanish.

                In 1990, the population was around 80 million.  In 2000, Mexico’s population was around 100 million.       These ten years alone shows how fast the population of Mexico is increasing, and the population increases faster and faster. In 2000, the birth rate was estimated to be 23.15 per 1,000. This is about 4 times more than the death rate of 5.05 per 1,000. The annual growth rate is over 1.8 percent in 2000. From 1940 to 1970 the population increased by over 250 percent !

The currency in Mexico is the Peso. Its total GDP is $1.69 trillion, and per capita GDP is $15,113. Its population density is 142/sq mi which is the 142^nd densest country. Its total area is 761,606 sq mile, and about 2.5% of the country is water.

                Since Mexico has a high population, the government cannot take care of everybody. Mexico has an increasing crime-related violence. If you include the deaths of this violence along with the emigration figures, Mexico has lost 11% of its population since 2007. But on the bright side, people who migrate elsewhere send back money to the country which provides capital inflow.

                Mexico’s overpopulation has lead to a competition for jobs. There aren’t enough sources of jobs in Mexico and people without jobs cannot support their families.  Mexico’s unemployment rate is estimated to be 5.4% and the underemployment rate could be as high as 25%. The second negative effect of this overpopulation is the high level of pollution. Traffic jams are caused because people use cars to drive to their jobs at the same time. There is noise pollution and water and ground pollution as well as a lot to trash. There isn’t enough food and water and therefore there is a lot of hunger and thirst in the country. There aren’t enough schools and teachers therefore the education and literacy rate is quite low. Also, since there is a lack of hospitals and a lot of people to cure, people who need attention aren’t given it so there are a lot of diseases. It becomes a cycle because pollution causes diseases and diseases can’t be cured because of insufficient hospitals. We need to create a better environment and have a better quality of life. We must take good care and share natural resources even though we know they are scarce. If we continue to use up a lot of resources in so less time and continue to pollute, our sons and grandsons will have a problem.

                Other issues concerning Mexico because of overpopulation are medicine and sanitation. It was very hard to control diseases such as the yellow fever.

                Mexico must generate more jobs so the overpopulated people can work and support their families otherwise they will find other ways to get money by committing crime. The crime violence rate has increased over the years in Mexico and this issue must be tended to immediately.

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Americas/Mexico.html

http://eslbee.com/effects_of_overpopulation_in_mexico.htm

http://www.financialtaskforce.org/2010/08/11/mexicos-population-problem/

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/mexico_statistics.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Mexico

    

      

What a flood!

The current flood in Thailand is the worst in a decade and shows the need of an improvement in Thailand’s flood prevention system. Following the situation with the red and yellow shirts Thailand has faced a huge drop in tourism, and this event is leading and will continue to lead to a drop in tourism for a while until Thailand gets back on its feet.

58% of the natural disasters that occur in Thailand for the past twenty years have been floods, but the government and country has not focused much on improving the flood prevention program because the flood doesn’t usually reach Bangkok. This tragic flooding we are experiencing is good in terms that after the event, Thailand will hopefully focus and have a better flood prevention system for the future.

Many people in Thailand who does not live in Bangkok is complaining because when they are flooded for two months, the government does not pay much attention to them but when there are rumors of flood water reaching Bangkok, they are freaked out and fully focused to prevent this. I would like to say the government has to care more for Bangkok because it is hope to a majority of Thai citizens, it is the capital and business city of Thailand and it is in the top five most visited cities every year in the world! However, I think the government should also pay attention to other cities who have been flooding for a while now, and have floods often every year.

Water covers more land than 3G and Wifi today in Thailand.  Many factories in places such as Ayutthaya have closed down and need lots of repair and money. They have closed down, and need about 5 months after the flood before they can get back to work. The Honda car factory has over 300 cars flooded and a lot of their factories have flooded. This will lead to a shortage of Honda Cars, and let lead the company to have minimal profit from Thailand at the end of the year. Also, a majority of the world’s computer hard disks and rice are produced in Thailand and the flood has led to a shortage of these products. Computer prices are expected to rise around 2000 baht per computer especially in Thailand. Starbucks in lots of places in Thailand has to close down, partly because of flooding, but also because they don’t have paper cups to serve their drinks with because the factory that produces it for them is flooded. Half of swensens menu are unavailable, and Burger King in places such as Chiang Mai does no longer sell burgers but only the French fries!

In some parts of Thailand, animals along with people have died. Animals such as crocodiles have traveled along with the flood and can cause people a lot of harm. Fifteen green deadly African snakes which have been imported for research are now out in the wild and with a bite; it can kill the person within minutes. Even if the person somehow manages to escape from it and get to a hospital, it is no use because there is no antidote for it that exist in Thailand yet and the government are currently talking about buying and importing these antidotes from areas in the world that have it, such as Africa.

                Many people are hurt and injured or even killed. Hospitals are flooded and have some problems getting people in and curing them. Businesses are going down and universities and schools are flooded. Schools and universities close down and this greatly affects children’s schooling and education. They will have to make up these weeks of absence during the holidays. Houses are destroyed and people have to evacuate and leave their possessions behind. These possessions will be destroyed, robbed of, or lost with the flood when they come back.

                However, the flood can be good for some people who seize the opportunity. Some people go out and buy dozens of packs of water in the supermarket for around less than ten baht a bottle and then in a few days when water bottles and beers cannot be bought in the markets anymore, they go out and sell each bottle for close to a hundred baht. Businesses that sell boats, lifejackets and umbrellas are having their best ever year!

                Although people may blame the heavy rainfall for this flood, the flood could have been prevented and the amount of water could be decreased. The dams in Thailand has been 99% full for a few months now and with each year it is almost being overflowed. The government received warnings but they ignored it. They were all full at the same time, and the government issued an order for all dams to let the water out. These waters, fueled by the rainfall caused this massive flooding along with other factors. If the government had let each dam let their water out one by a time before it was full, the water level of flooding would definitely decrease significantly.  Another reason that people say lead to this flooding is the huge deforestation which prevented the absorption of water.

                Every town which has been alert that the flood might reach their city, has tried to prevent it using sandbags but none were successful as the water level was stronger and higher than the sandbags. If none were successful, why should we believe that Bangkok will be successfully relieved of flooding? The flood water has already caused trouble and is leaked in into some parts of Bangkok. The newly elected prime minister knows she is in trouble with a lot of pressure with her inability to deal with the deeply concerned issue of flooding.

                Since I live in the heart and center of Bangkok, Sukhumvit 24 next to Emporium, the flood might not reach my condo. However, life is precious and one should take precautions and be cautious. If the flood reaches our condo, it would mean that we would have to “hibernate” and if the government turns off the light and electricity we would be in trouble therefore my mom evacuated our family to my grandparents’ house in Chiang Mai where we have been safely living for a few weeks now. Since Chiang Mai is on high ground and have a good flood prevention system, the flood came and went within 3 days and the water was usually no higher than 20 cm! Bangkok is on lower ground and for the water to get out of Thailand, and so that other cities can stop suffering from the floods, the water must go through Thailand into the sea/ocean. The government is finding ways for the flood to not enter the center of town where the majority of businesses and hotels are stationed. The government is also trying to find ways for people to travel as cars cannot run in the roads and transportation has been greatly affected and most are unavailable.

                The flood showed why Thai people are known for their generous and kind heart. Several people donated food and money and went to help. When sandbags were lacking in some areas, people went into the water and held hands, using themselves as a blockade by forming a chain. They risked their lives for the better of the community which I believe needs applauding. I can only hope that Thai people remain united and together we can stand up and fight the floods. I would also like to thank other countries such as the United States who have remained concerned and tried helping Thailand with this flood issue.

  

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-11-03/asia/world_asia_thailand-floods-before-after_1_floodplains-chao-phraya-moderate-resolution-imaging-spectroradiometer?_s=PM:ASIA
http://newsautoreview.com/news/honda-cars-destroy-a-flooded-in-thailand/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-06/thai-floodwaters-threaten-second-honda-factory-inner-bangkok.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Thailand_floods
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/comics/thailand-devastation-1317830757-slideshow/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15615876
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-08/toyota-honda-may-not-recoup-output-until-2012-due-to-thai-flood.html
http://www.thamai.net/2011/11/thailand-flooding-november-2011/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15610536
http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/01/technology/thailand_flood_supply_chain/index.htm