The terrible earthquake in Nepal is a tragic natural disaster.  The magnitude 7.9 earthquake has caused severe loss of life in already poverty stricken Nepal.  The capital, Kathmandu, has been severely hit.  The death rate at this point is 3,210.  This is without going to many of the more remote villages.  The roads to this villages are almost impassible because of the ruble on them.  The only way to reach the villages at the epicenter is by helicopter.  Many of Kathmandu's ancient culturally significant buildings were destroyed.  Some of these temples were centuries old and extremely significant to Buddhists.




This earthquake is a terrible natural disaster in the long list of  disasters striking impoverished areas of the world.  The fact that many of the modern buildings lasted was remarkable.  It is a shame that areas like Nepal are unable to build earthquake safe buildings.  Hopefully other areas that are prone to earthquakes will remember this tragic event and build all their new buildings up to code.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32483119

The Pine Beetle is such a disaster. Throughout the country there are vast swathes of pine trees that are brown.  Whole mountainsides a grace yard for the magnificent forest giants.  The pine beetle is actually native to the west coast. It killed one or two trees here or there but never half the country.  Global warming is what caused the beetle to become so out of hand.  It is devastating to the ecosystem when all of the trees die within a year.

The pine beetle is just another in a long line of species that have been altered to to humans.  Usually it is the invasives that cause the most damage.  Unfortunately even native species can be demolish an ecosystem.  Unless we as a race are able to reverse the trend of the global warming and ecosystem alteration, then a pine tree might become a rare sight.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/pine-beetles/rosner-text

Al-Shabab

Al-Shabab is a terrorist group located in rural southern Somalia.  It has direct links to Al-Qaeda and wants to create an Islamic state in Somalia.  It targets Kenya because Kenyan troops entered Somalia in 2011 to try to stop the kidnappings along the border.  The terrorists were kidnapping foreign tourists and holding them for ransom, hurting Kenya's tourism industry.  In the Westgate mall massacre, the terrorists claimed their actions were in retaliation for Kenya entering Somalia.  They have been accountable for numerous other atrocities throughout Kenya.  In all the attacks, Muslims were singled out and allowed to go free.  Many Kenyan's fear that their government is not doing enough to protect them from Al-Shabab.  There have been numerous protests for better security in Kenya.  Hopefully these terrible atrocities will cease in the future.

The Yemen Crisis

The situation in Yemen is becoming dire.  The Houthi rebels have taken over two of the largest cities, Sanaa and Aden.  The rebels are trying to oust the current government led by President Hadi.  They support Ali Saleh who was ousted in the Arab spring.  All of his supporters are joining the rebels.  Saudi Arabia is harboring President Hadi after he fled the country.  The rebels also claim that they are supported by Iran.  Iran denies this but if Iran and Saudi Arabia take larger roles in this conflict, then this could become a very dangerous and widespread conflict.


 The Red Cross has said that the humanitarian crisis is worsening by the hour.  The water lines into Aden have been damaged and bodies are piling up in the streets.  If this trend continues then civilian loss of life would be quite severe.













      The Red Cross has been trying the aid some of the citizens in Aden, where the fighting is most intense.  They say that the water lines into the city have been damaged and that the bodies are piling up in the streets.  There is a lack of water and very unsanitary conditions.  If this trend continues then there may be large civilian loss of life.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32188017

The Time My Family Went to Yellowstone

When I was in sixth grade, my dad, brother, and I went to Yellowstone National Park.  My Mom wimped out and so we took our friend Mike Galeski along.  We met up with his family at Yellowstone.  We had a lot of fun on the first couple of days, but the final 24 hours would prove to be the most intense.  Our harrowing final adventure began when we were setting up the tent for the Galeskis.  We had learned from a park ranger that a man had been gored in that campsite the night before.  We began to unpack the supplies and noticed a bison placidly chomping on grass in the meadow.  As we started erecting the tent, we noticed that the bison was steadily but surely coming our way!  He began to walk very slowly and methodically towards our campsite.  We started to slowly back away.  My heart was pumping double and my breath got caught in my throat.  I saw his crazed, bloodshot eyes goring into my very soul and his massive head lowered, a sure sign he was going to charge.  I thought that this was it, my young life snuffed out by this massive, shaggy beast.  All I could think about was all the things I was going to miss if I died.  I closed my eyes and when I opened them, the bison had just started walking away, much to my relief.  After that experience I couldn't move for about ten minutes I was so scared. Finally I returned to a normal heartbeat and went on with our day, but the most exciting moment was still to come.
      When I woke up the next morning I was still a little shaky, but a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, grits, and sausage really made me feel better.  On our final expedition we decided to hike up to a lake where some trout were spawning.  We arrived at the lake but much to our disappointment it was crowded with people.  A local guide advised us to climb to a still higher lake where a family of otters lived.  We decided to climb the mountain towards this lake.  As we reached the summit of a hill we could not believe our eyes, down below under the cliffs we saw a grizzly bear swimming in the lake.  It was magical.  The majestic, magnificent animal that we had heard so much about was swimming after ducks in the lake.  We sat under a tree and watched him for half an hour.  It was a magical trip and I won't it forget it as long as I live.