The Oracle: Day to Day

What’s G

d?

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No Pollution Is The Only Solution Lorelai Finch, Reporter Kennedy Stegall, Reporter You may be wondering why there is all this commotion going around on news and social media about the world coming to an end. The answer is simple and comes down to one word: pollution.

Plastic Waste

Plastic waste is a large contributor to what pollutes our world. Research shows that humans are producing approximately 300 million tons of plastic waste each year.

Plastic waste takes hundreds of years to decompose and therefore causes a list of consequences for the environment. These consequences can range from a littered city to the death of many animals and decrease the world’s biodiversity.

Marine Life

Waste that ends up in our oceans is likely to be consumed by marine life. Sadly, the outcome of an animal that eats plastic waste is not good. Animals cannot digest plastic which causes the plastic to build up in the its stomach overtime, eventually leading to starvation and death.

Consumption of plastic is not the only way that the waste can kill off a species. Another risk plastic poses to marine life is suffoca-

tion. Many lost or discarded plastic items, such as fishing nets, are likely to end up tangled around an animal’s neck, making it hard for the animal to breath or causing loss of circulation.

Air pollution

Air pollution is caused by the burning of fossil fuels which is a process that occurs in many daily activities such as driving cars.

Burning fossil fuels releases chemicals and particulate matter into the air we breathe.

These chemicals being in the air can cause a series of health problems in plants, animals, and even humans. Breathing in the harmful chemicals cause lung and heart disease in animals. Simply being in the presence of the bad air quality for extended periods of time can cause skin issues.

O-Zone

target for natural disasters.

The effects of climate change can eventually lead to mass extinction of many species.

Mass extinction is what will lead the world into its final days.

The earth is currently in its sixth mass extinction. If the rate at which plants and animals are dying off continues over the course of the next few decades, the earth is expected to reach its end by 2060 if not earlier.

Source: independent.co.uk

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However, polluted air has a larger issue than causing disease in animals. Polluted air causes o-zone depletion. O-zone depletion allows the harmful sun radiation into our atmosphere but doesn’t let it leave, therefore causing climate change.

Climate Change

Climate change is affected through the different weather patterns. It destroys ecosystems because of the harsh changes. There are also countries and areas more prone to be a

Ways You Can Help:

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-Ride your bike instead of driving -Don’t use plastic straws -Use reusable water bottles -Support your local farmers market -Plant trees and seeds -Make sure all lights are off before leaving your house -Participate in your local clean-up days -Recycle as much as possible -Use your own bags at grocery stores -Eat home cooked meals instead of fast food

News

Design: K. Stegall

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The Lost Connection

Laura Christensen, Reporter

Recently, Apple products has introduced a setting called "Screen Time" where it shows you how much time you spend on your phone, how many notifications you get and even how many times you pick up your phone throughout the day. We took a survey of 60 students at North who had iPhones and 25 teachers to compare how much time we really spend on our phones.

Average screen time in ONE day

Students: 5.6 hours Teachers: 3.1 hours

Students: Average 57.1 hours screen time Teachers: in ONE week 31.4 hours

Think about it: When you spend over 40 hours on your phone in one week that is equal to a full time job.

When you spend over 35 hours on your phone in one week that's equal to the amount of time you're at school.

Students: Average notifications number of 1,895 notifications Teachers: in ONE week 460 notifications Features

Percent Hours in Percent a day (students) (teachers)

<2

2%

28%

2-4

27%

40%

Students

Teachers

4-6

37%

28%

6-8

21%

0%

8-10<

13%

4%

Top Used Apps Students Snapchat

Instagram

Netflix/Hulu

Games

YouTube

Facebook

23 out of 60 12 out of 60

9 out of 60

7 out of 60 6 out of 60 3 out of 60

Teachers iMessages

19 out of 25

Email or other

6 out of 25

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OBVI

WBU YOLO

SUP

BFF

TBH JK

TMI

FYI WYD

GTG

NM

TTYL

BRB BTW

LOL OMG

Think you have a phone addiction?

Here's some solutions to help.

IDK

1. Set app limits for your most used apps and stick to it.

How to: click on settings - screen time - app limits - add limit 2. Set downtime up on your screen time so you can schedule time away from your phone.

How to: click on settings - screen time - downtime - turn it on and pick what hours you want to be off your phone 3. Get a job, you’ll be on your phone less and have money to spend on activities that don’t include your phone. (actually get a job, don't say there aren't any available.)

Design: L. Christensen

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He/Him

Features

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Michael Boyd teaches Earth science in room 1422 at North High School. Photo Credit: Piercin Blocker

Michael Boyd’s Take On Education Piercin Blocker, Reporter North High School gets many new teachers each year and Michael Boyd is one of them. Boyd is an Earth science teacher at North High School. Boyd received his credentials to teach in 2016 where he was a substitute teacher in Berkeley, California.

After Boyd moved to Iowa, he received his license to teach here, and continued to substitute teach in Ames.

Boyd eventually started working at Iowa State University and led a science-themed after school program for King and Moulton Elementary School students here in Des Moines, Iowa.

Boyd also co-taught a course to undergraduate students at ISU about how to teach science to students in grades first through

eighth.

Finally, Boyd became an Earth science teacher at Des Moines North High School at the beginning of this school year.

Boyd began teaching because he believes that one of the most important things that anyone can have to achieve their dreams is knowledge.

“The best goal would be to have as much knowledge as possible: math, science, history, languages; you name it,” Boyd said. “I’m constantly looking for ways to help people learn what they need to know to be happy, productive, and successful in life,” he said.

When Boyd was a student, school only started to feel challenging to him in his last two years of high school when they started the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma program.

Boyd’s school hadn’t done the program before, so they were the

test class; even their teachers hadn’t taught the program before.

“After many sleepless nights, 80 percent of my class passed. It might sound weird, but, after IB in high school, college felt easy,” Boyd said.

Boyd’s favorite thing about school is teaching.

“When we have really good science lessons where students have fun learning and teachers have fun teaching, those are the days I live for,” Boyd said.

Even if Boyd wasn’t a teacher, he said he would still be interacting with education in some way.

“If I had to have a job other than teaching, I’m not sure what it would be. I know I’d still want to help people learn what they need to know to be successful. Maybe I’d be a lobbyist to try to end the seemingly constant budget cuts to education in the United States,” Boyd said.

• Before Boyd came to Iowa, he lived in the British Virgin Islands, where he was born.

• He has only lived in the United States for five years.

• “I’m a huge geek,” Boyd said.

Design: P. Blocker

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Sara Perdue, Reporter