Technician - March 19,2013

Page 1

TECHNICIAN          

tuesday march

19 2013

Raleigh, North Carolina

technicianonline.com

Duke Professor lectures on Keystone pipeline and security issues Taylor O’Quinn Staff Writer

PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. ARMY

Iraqi children gather around as U.S. Army Pfc. Shane Bordonado patrols the streets of Al Asiriyah, Iraq, on Aug. 4, 2008.

Iraq: 10 years later

Tim Gorski & Mark Herring Staff Writer & Editor-in-Chief

Today marks the 10-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by the coalition of armed forces led by the United States. The war left a definitive mark on the lives and experiences of students across the globe and here at N.C. State. The war began in a time when global terrorism, for the first time, hit the U.S. at home and allegations of weapons of mass destruction were as genuine as they were ominous to the George W. Bush Administration. Faced with the perceived threat of Saddam Hussein’s prolonged tyrannical rule, the militaries of the U.S., Great Britain, Australia, Poland and Peshmerga Kurdish militia invaded Iraq to, in the words of George Bush in his radio address to the U.S. peo-

Raleigh hosts bluegrass festival Alden Early Staff Writer

Get ready for banjo music! Raleigh will play host to the annual International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass festival for the next three years. Previously held in Nashville, Tenn., the IBMA is planning a fiveday format for the festival and the 24th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards Sept. 24-28 at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. � Katherine Coe, an administrative and media assistant with the International Bluegrass Music Association and a former Raleigh resident, said the IBMA was attracted to the city because of the close proximity of conference venues like the Raleigh Convention Center and the Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts. “The prices are very good in Raleigh,” Coe said. Coe said the IBMA estimated 13,000 people attended the event over a seven-day span during the 2012 festival. Nashville experienced a $3.7 million boost to its economy from the people who had visited the city during the 2012 event, according to Coe. World of Bluegrass, with its Wide

BLUEGRASS continued page 3

ple, “to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people.” Polls conducted by The Gallup Poll, CNN, and USA Today in 2003 indicated that most Americans were in favor of the war in Iraq under the condition that the United Nations would have approved of the invasion. This, however, was not the case: The U.N. Security Council found there was not enough evidence of weapons of mass destruction to authorize the use of force. March 19, 2003, the U.S. made the decision to invade Hussein’s Iraq. A decision a majority of Americans — 53 percent, Gallup Poll — today view as a mistake. Justified or not, those who were involved or directly affected by the war have insights unmatched by the general population. Russell Snyder, a graduate of N.C.

State, veteran of the Iraq War and author of his accounts of psychological warfare in Iraq, Hearts and Mines, was permanently changed by the war. “[The war] transformed me in ways I still don’t understand. The sort of sensory experiences and emotions that one struggles with in such an environment have a tendency to be intense and long-lasting. They infect my dreams and waking thoughts. I don’t really count years. Iraq is always with me, and probably always will be in some form,” Snyder said in an email. Mohammad Hamoudi, a sophomore in textile engineering who has family Iraq, has been personally affected by the war. His uncle, an Iraqi native, was killed in Syria by vengeful Iraqis. Hamoudi’s uncle was a pilot in Saddam’s military, and

IRAQ continued page 7

Stephen Kelly visited N.C. State Monday to discuss the logistics of the Keystone XL Pipeline and possible security threats from China because of Canadian oil. Kelly, a professor at the Duke Sanford School for Public Policy, said most Americans would be shocked to know the United States imports most of its oil from Canada. Canada accounts for a quarter of the oil the U.S. has to import, with Saudi Arabia being our second highest supplier, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “We are the only country that buys Canadian oil,” Kelly said. “Mostly because we have the industry to refine their heavy, crude oil.” Kelly said Canada currently has 98 percent of its oil reserves in the Oil Sands region of Alberta. All of the oil the U.S. imports from Canada comes from underground pipelines. Five years ago, Canada proposed a plan to build the Keystone XL Pipeline that would run from the Oil Sands through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska to the Gulf Coast, Kelly said. Kelly said the pipeline has not been fully built yet, due to discussions concerning environmental issues around the Ogallala Aquifer in Nebraska. “If Keystone isn’t built, the

current pipelines will reach capacity by 2014,” Kelly said. Nebraska recently proposed a new route that would go around the aquifer instead of through it. The proposal is currently under review by the State Department, according to Kelly. Kelly said the United States’ decision to build the Keystone XL pipeline could help improve gas prices, especially on the West Coast where gas prices are currently higher than anywhere else in the U.S. He added that since national oil companies are controlling 80 percent of the world’s oil, Canada is a special case because its oil companies are open to the private sector. Canada currently owns 64 percent of its oil companies, the U.S. 12 percent and China 7 percent, according to the Environmental Information Administration. “Our energy security position is getting stronger and stronger,” Kelly said. China, as a current world power, could pose a threat to the oil industry if it continues to buy small shares in Canada’s oil companies, Kelly said. In 2004, China didn’t own any percentage of Canada’s oil companies, and now it owns seven. “I’m not sure if we need to be worried,” Kelly said. “It’s up to each individual, but this stuff is damn interesting.” Kelly said China completed its first purchase of an entire Canadian oil company in the Oil Sands region Feb. 25. This investment cost $1.4 billion — the largest offshore

NUCLEAR continued page 3

Cows and pigs and goats – oh my Jessica Hatcher Staff Writer

Cow moos throughout the Brickyard Monday signified the beginning of Agricultural Awareness Week, put on annually by the Alpha Zeta fraternity. The purpose of the event is to expose and educate students about agriculture’s role in the world, according to Tommy Batts, senior in horticultural science and head chair of Agricultural Awareness Week. “There are a lot of people who have never seen a cow,” Batts said. “We want to show people that there is more to food than a grocery store.” Cory Robbins, senior in animal science, said he agrees agriculture is often out of sight and out of mind for students. “There are a lot of misconceptions about agriculture,” Robbins said. “Very few people know where their food comes from.” Sheep, goats, cows, chickens and pigs are on display for viewing, along with a tractor and crop sprayer. There is also a roping dummy for students and curious passers-by to try their hand at the rodeo event. “Roping dummies are used as tools to improve roping skills or for practicing roping skills when a real horse or steer isn’t available,” April Boggs, sophomore in fisheries and wildlife sciences and treasurer of the Rodeo Club, said. Inside the information tent, students can speak with representatives from clubs like Future Farmers of America, Poultry Sci-

CAIDE WOOTEN/TECHNICIAN

Lisa Angermeier, junior in animal science, (right) and Taylor Jones, junior in microbiology, check out the poultry science club’s live exhibit in the Brickyard March 18, 2013. The exhibit, as a part of Agriculture Awareness Week, illustrates the genetic improvements made in meat-producing chickens over the past sixty years through selective breeding techniques alone.

ence Club, Rodeo Club and Horticulture Club. Each club will have a display featuring information about their organizations during the week. Events will be held throughout the week as well. On Monday, Alpha Zeta held an “ag. olympics” where two faculty members, Lynn WorleyDavis and Lori Snyder, participated in competitions like a peddle tractor race and an egg-on-a-spoon race. Tuesday, there will a milking contest at 11 a.m. between Elizabeth Gardner of WRAL and Joe Reardon, the consumer protection assistant commissioner of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Wednesday, an Agricultural Forum will be held in 341 Riddick Hall at 5:00 p.m. The forum will discuss food security and safety and will feature a panel of experts, like Reardon. The “Kiss the Pig” contest will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. Up to that point, students can vote for who they want to kiss the pig by placing a donation in that person’s container. Among the contestants are Andy Walsh, student body president; Dave Doeren, football coach; Richard Linton, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; and Nancy Thai, president of the CALS Agri-Life Council.

In addition to educating people about agriculture, the event “gives people an opportunity to ask questions to people who have agriculture-related experience,” Lauren Mabry, graduate student in animal science and chancellor of Alpha Zeta, said Kathleen Wood, senior in animal science, agrees. “It’s especially important for people who are not agriculture-related majors to visit our exhibits. A lot of people hear about it, but they don’t know what we really do.” All exhibits will remain in the Brickyard until Thursday at 3:00 p.m.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.