First off, what is biofuel?
Well, it comes from biomass, which is actually something that has been recently living, such as animal waste, carcasses, etc, etc. Biofuel isn't known very well in the world for powering our lives. In fact, it's used mostly in developing countries to get electricity. But is it better than:
Wind power
Hydroelectric power
Solar power
Geothermal power?
Well, we'll see.
First, biofuel is renewable. We're not sucking up coal, natural gas, and oil for electrical power. Instead of using up all of our resources, we're making the most of our surroundings. Since the beginning of time, animals have been around - and with them, their waste and carcasses later on, which we can use to transform for electricity. But we're not blocking rivers and stopping the trout reproduction, like hydro power. With coal and natural gas, we're using up all we have fast, and it's not reliable. Eventually, we'll run out of this nonrenewable fuel and we'll find ourselves stunned and lost. Instead, biofuel is renewable and will continue being around forever. It's constantly available and we have no fear of running out, whereas with nonrenewable energy sources, it will eventually run out.
Biofuel is also reliable. For solar and wind power, it depends on the weather, so we can't rely on our power sources. Who says it'll be rainy one day, windless and dry the next, or sunny and windless the other? Weather is unpredictable, and we can't rely on it for power. True, solar and wind power is efficient, but we don't know when we can use it or not. Biofuel, on the other hand, doesn't rely on much. We'll have this source for a long time, and not much will be able to wipe it out. It's very reliable.
Next, biofuel is also cheap. Geothermal power, solar power, wind power, and hydro power is very expensive to gather and create. A dam is very expensive, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to create. Solar power is just as costly. Let's not even think about geothermal power, drilling holes into thinner surfaces of the Earth. It could cost millions of dollars! Instead, we can just go to the nearest farm and collect animal dung for biofuel. A farmer might not even charge for that unpleasant task! It's simple to collect, but it's still pretty hard to make. Turning animal waste into fuel! That's a true transformation, but it's only a hint of human brilliance.
Biofuels also help the environment. Plants create oxygen and clean our air, which is now filled with pollution! We can grow so many crops intended for biofuel and clean our air at the same time! That's very effective. Especially because we're ensuring childrens' futures. Eventually, they'll grow into adults, and kids wouldn't want to grow into a desert that was once a beautiful forest, or a run-down town that was once a big city. By using biofuel, we are reducing pollution and protecting the environment that has been our home for thousands of years.
Countries are beginning to use biofuel more often now. Biodiesel - "a diesel-like fuel commonly made from palm oil" (National Geographic) is used more often in Europe now.
But biofuel also has a downside. It takes a lot of chemicals to purify animal waste and carcasses into fuel. We end up throwing in lots of chemicals to process it, and lots of it ends up polluting the environment, so it's not perfect. And, if we're using biodiesel more, palm plantations are actually wiping out corn, wheat, potato, and other vegetable plantations. That means farmers are getting less to eat and fuel is becoming more important than food. Palm oil makes a lot more money than, say, potatoes, so people will naturally plant palm trees and abandon potato crops. However, biodiesel is renewable and we're making the most of our surroundings.
But, with coal and natural gas available, we don't need to worry about those things yet, do we? But those problems will eventually come. Electricity makes things so much more easier for us, but we've become dependent on technology, and if it's not available, we'll be lost. Utterly lost.
What do you think? Is biofuel better than other renewable energy sources?
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Book Review: Main Street Series by Ann M. Martin
Main Street Series
(Photo is book #8)
Main Street Series
10 books
Type: Community life and friendship.
Style: Family-friendly, close-knit community, showing close friendship and community, not very descriptive or richly written.
Length: Fairly short - about 190-200 pages, print is fairly large. Better for younger children that can read well.
Age rating: 8-12
A series that shows a community helping others get over tragedy, forming relationships and bonds, close-knit friends and neighbors, etc. It's not a very rich book - just a bit of fun or amusement to take a break from deeper subjects. May be tedious for older readers, but amusing and entertaining for younger children and tweens.
Overall grade:
to 
A cute series, showing how friendship and community life can help you get over tragedies and overcoming problems and challenges. It's nicely paced, taking a somewhat sleepy, boring town into something more exciting. Overall, a pretty good read.
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
(Photo is book #8)
Main Street Series
10 books
Type: Community life and friendship.
Style: Family-friendly, close-knit community, showing close friendship and community, not very descriptive or richly written.
Length: Fairly short - about 190-200 pages, print is fairly large. Better for younger children that can read well.
Age rating: 8-12
A series that shows a community helping others get over tragedy, forming relationships and bonds, close-knit friends and neighbors, etc. It's not a very rich book - just a bit of fun or amusement to take a break from deeper subjects. May be tedious for older readers, but amusing and entertaining for younger children and tweens.
Overall grade:
A cute series, showing how friendship and community life can help you get over tragedies and overcoming problems and challenges. It's nicely paced, taking a somewhat sleepy, boring town into something more exciting. Overall, a pretty good read.
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Book Review: Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze
Award-winning
306 pages
Type: Historical fiction
Style: Fairly descriptive, intensely involves life lessons and old sayings, old-fashioned speech.
Length: Solid read, a bit long for younger readers but nicely sized for older readers.
Age rating: 11-20. Highly recommended for older readers who can follow along easily.
A well-written novel, a door into times, very accurate and capturing the old-fashioned Chinese times. Young Fu is a complicated, interesting character and his story is as well. It has a lot of life lessons that can be valuable to young readers.
Overall grade:
A good novel, some beautifully written sentences, good morals, solidly written, and portraying the main character, Young Fu, quite well. A good book to be enjoyed, but may be hard to read for some people. Overall, a good read.
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
Book Review: The Owl Keeper by Christine Brodien Jones
The Owl Keeper
306 pages
Type: Adventure/fantasy
Style: Descriptive, third person point of view.
Length: A nice size, fairly long for a younger child.
Age rating: 9-15. Highly, highly recommended for children 8-12 years (an excellent reading for very good readers ages 8-13)
A fascinating, elegantly and expertly written novel ideal for good readers, a perfect amount of descriptions, very well written. Not inappropriate at all, good use of language, but may be hard to grasp for slower readers, demonstrates a love for nature and to maintain the importance of the environment and fighting against government propaganda and dictatorship.
Overall grade:
A very skilfully written novel, portrayed very well, fast-paced, suspenseful, and demonstrates the importance of thinking for yourself, the environment and animals, and friendship. However, it may be too quick and hard to read for some readers, but overall, excellent.
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
306 pages
Type: Adventure/fantasy
Style: Descriptive, third person point of view.
Length: A nice size, fairly long for a younger child.
Age rating: 9-15. Highly, highly recommended for children 8-12 years (an excellent reading for very good readers ages 8-13)
A fascinating, elegantly and expertly written novel ideal for good readers, a perfect amount of descriptions, very well written. Not inappropriate at all, good use of language, but may be hard to grasp for slower readers, demonstrates a love for nature and to maintain the importance of the environment and fighting against government propaganda and dictatorship.
Overall grade:
A very skilfully written novel, portrayed very well, fast-paced, suspenseful, and demonstrates the importance of thinking for yourself, the environment and animals, and friendship. However, it may be too quick and hard to read for some readers, but overall, excellent.
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
Friday, May 24, 2013
Book Review: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Hatchet
186 pages
Type: Adventure, fiction, survival-type
Style: Not elaborately descriptive but portrays feelings and characters quite well.
Length: Well-sized, a little too short for fast readers, long enough for slower readers.
Age rating: 9/10-14
A book that grasps the survival/adventure story, describing in depth the main characters feelings and how humans can adapt to their surroundings to survive. Not inappropriate at all, although some more sensitive readers might cry in some parts. Easy to understand and follow.
Overall grade:
A well-written book, demonstrating human brilliance, adaptations, and intelligence. A relatively simple plot turned into an interesting story. Quite well-written, an excellent reading. An excellent book, highly recommended for children, shows how we depend on nature and its beauty. Overall, a very good reading.
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
186 pages
Type: Adventure, fiction, survival-type
Style: Not elaborately descriptive but portrays feelings and characters quite well.
Length: Well-sized, a little too short for fast readers, long enough for slower readers.
Age rating: 9/10-14
A book that grasps the survival/adventure story, describing in depth the main characters feelings and how humans can adapt to their surroundings to survive. Not inappropriate at all, although some more sensitive readers might cry in some parts. Easy to understand and follow.
Overall grade:
A well-written book, demonstrating human brilliance, adaptations, and intelligence. A relatively simple plot turned into an interesting story. Quite well-written, an excellent reading. An excellent book, highly recommended for children, shows how we depend on nature and its beauty. Overall, a very good reading.
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
Book Review - A Dog's Journey by W. Bruce Cameron
A Dog's Journey
336 pages
Type: Fiction, animal point of view, tearjerker.
Style: Fairly descriptive, first person point of view, deftly written.
Length: A nice size and length, excellent reading.
Age rating: 12+ (mature read)
Kissing, bulemia, a troubled adolescent lifestyle, a rocky relationship between mother and child, and may trouble younger readers, but not a depressive book. Just shows some different lifestyles.
Overall grade:
A Dog's Journey by W. Bruce Cameron is a touching, heartfelt book beautifully crafted and showing the loyalty of a dog and its owner. It has a good amount of descriptions - not too flowery or heavy, just sketching a quick picture of the characters. Good plot, demonstrating literary ability and very sentimental and emotional. Shows life, loyalty, navigating through the maze of life, rejecting unhealthy influences and deciding what is best for yourself. Overall, a great read.
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
336 pages
Type: Fiction, animal point of view, tearjerker.
Style: Fairly descriptive, first person point of view, deftly written.
Length: A nice size and length, excellent reading.
Age rating: 12+ (mature read)
Kissing, bulemia, a troubled adolescent lifestyle, a rocky relationship between mother and child, and may trouble younger readers, but not a depressive book. Just shows some different lifestyles.
Overall grade:
A Dog's Journey by W. Bruce Cameron is a touching, heartfelt book beautifully crafted and showing the loyalty of a dog and its owner. It has a good amount of descriptions - not too flowery or heavy, just sketching a quick picture of the characters. Good plot, demonstrating literary ability and very sentimental and emotional. Shows life, loyalty, navigating through the maze of life, rejecting unhealthy influences and deciding what is best for yourself. Overall, a great read.
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
Book Review: The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott
376 pages
Type: Historical fiction
Style: Graceful and descriptive
Length: Good size, a good reading.
Age rating: 11+
Very good but for 11 and up, may be hard for younger children to understand.
Overall grade:
The Lost Summer of Louisa portrays a young, energetic, independent Louisa, with a good use of words and good descriptions. Leticia and Elise found it both intriguing and well-written. Kelly O'Connor McNees writes this novel elegantly, stylishly, and keeps the reader hooked. Excellent for a book club. Shows sacrifice, big choices, independence, change, the start of a new life mingled with romance. Overall, highly recommended.
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
376 pages
Type: Historical fiction
Style: Graceful and descriptive
Length: Good size, a good reading.
Age rating: 11+
Very good but for 11 and up, may be hard for younger children to understand.
Overall grade:
The Lost Summer of Louisa portrays a young, energetic, independent Louisa, with a good use of words and good descriptions. Leticia and Elise found it both intriguing and well-written. Kelly O'Connor McNees writes this novel elegantly, stylishly, and keeps the reader hooked. Excellent for a book club. Shows sacrifice, big choices, independence, change, the start of a new life mingled with romance. Overall, highly recommended.
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
Should Textbooks be Replaced by Laptops?: Leticia
Note: Some of these facts may be inaccurate - sources were not entirely reliable.
People now use laptops to replace TVs, books, information, and lots of other things - including textbooks. According to university professors, 85% of students will have an electronic device in class. Eventually, all of the 85% will use their technology inappropriately. These new, sleek, ultra-modern devices are rapidly replacing textbooks, and dilemmas are emerging. Students and computer companies like Apple want textbooks to be replaced by laptops in class, but some teachers and school boards are opposed. You may want laptops to become the new source of information, but I'll tell you why they shouldn't and show you some things you might not know.
Everyone wants good grades, right? They can help you get to a good university and later a good job. But think, a laptop in class is a whole world of disruptions. Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Netflix are suddenly available to be accessed. Students can play games, check their emails and chat, wasting valuable learning time. During their tests, they will be bewildered, since they didn't listen. They'll get bad grades that limit chances to a good university or college. Grades and the level of educationwill slump, and children that wasted their time will get bad jobs that won't help build the country.
Still not convinced? In addition to being disruptions, computers have short lives. The average computer will last 4 years, and constant use will shorten their brief lives. Planned obsolescence makes it so that computers crash and eventually need to be replaced. Imagine all of the time wasting fixing, updating, and buying new computers when books can last for years! Laptops also carry dangerous chemicals that poison the Earth and contribute to global warming, affecting the fragile food chain. There are 500 million computers in the world that end up harming the environment, slowly decaying in landfills. With schools using laptops that end up poisoning the Earth, the rate of global warming would skyrocket up! What's the point of closing coal mines to help the future generations if we're going to multiply our use of computers?
Lastly, thousands of dollars would be spent on computers. The average school has about 300-500 students. There are 100 million elementary schools in the world. On average, the world would spend 4 000, 000, 000 in elementary schools alone, if each child had a laptop! Cut that in half and it's still an enormous sum. This only lasts for 5 years! A math textbook costs 100 dollars or so, while a cheap laptop costs 300 dollars. Imagine the hundreds of thousands of dollars we'd save by buying textbooks! This money could be spent on better education and material, public health and transportation, and so many more things to ensure a high quality lifestyle.
Are we really going to spend this money on 5 year lasting laptops? We're endangering our future, poisoning the Earth, killing animals, making students more vulnerable to bad grades, helping people think they need laptops, and wasting money. We should invest these giant sums into better thins. This has to stop now, or we'll be in big trouble! Because of these reasons, I think laptops should not replace textbooks.
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
People now use laptops to replace TVs, books, information, and lots of other things - including textbooks. According to university professors, 85% of students will have an electronic device in class. Eventually, all of the 85% will use their technology inappropriately. These new, sleek, ultra-modern devices are rapidly replacing textbooks, and dilemmas are emerging. Students and computer companies like Apple want textbooks to be replaced by laptops in class, but some teachers and school boards are opposed. You may want laptops to become the new source of information, but I'll tell you why they shouldn't and show you some things you might not know.
Everyone wants good grades, right? They can help you get to a good university and later a good job. But think, a laptop in class is a whole world of disruptions. Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Netflix are suddenly available to be accessed. Students can play games, check their emails and chat, wasting valuable learning time. During their tests, they will be bewildered, since they didn't listen. They'll get bad grades that limit chances to a good university or college. Grades and the level of educationwill slump, and children that wasted their time will get bad jobs that won't help build the country.
Still not convinced? In addition to being disruptions, computers have short lives. The average computer will last 4 years, and constant use will shorten their brief lives. Planned obsolescence makes it so that computers crash and eventually need to be replaced. Imagine all of the time wasting fixing, updating, and buying new computers when books can last for years! Laptops also carry dangerous chemicals that poison the Earth and contribute to global warming, affecting the fragile food chain. There are 500 million computers in the world that end up harming the environment, slowly decaying in landfills. With schools using laptops that end up poisoning the Earth, the rate of global warming would skyrocket up! What's the point of closing coal mines to help the future generations if we're going to multiply our use of computers?
Lastly, thousands of dollars would be spent on computers. The average school has about 300-500 students. There are 100 million elementary schools in the world. On average, the world would spend 4 000, 000, 000 in elementary schools alone, if each child had a laptop! Cut that in half and it's still an enormous sum. This only lasts for 5 years! A math textbook costs 100 dollars or so, while a cheap laptop costs 300 dollars. Imagine the hundreds of thousands of dollars we'd save by buying textbooks! This money could be spent on better education and material, public health and transportation, and so many more things to ensure a high quality lifestyle.
Are we really going to spend this money on 5 year lasting laptops? We're endangering our future, poisoning the Earth, killing animals, making students more vulnerable to bad grades, helping people think they need laptops, and wasting money. We should invest these giant sums into better thins. This has to stop now, or we'll be in big trouble! Because of these reasons, I think laptops should not replace textbooks.
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Welcome to Schoolgirl's World Reviews
Welcome to Schoolgirl's World Reviews, a site entirely created by two budding young schoolgirls, Leticia and Elise, who want to share their ideas and opinions about the world with everyone. Do you think Google is making us stupid? Should computers be replaced by laptops? What do the Parthenon and the Great Pyramids have in common, and what are their differences? Should we buy as much organic food as we can, or should we stick with the cheapest? What about global warming? What do you think?
Questions like these will be answered by Leticia and Elise, and they'll give their opinions and reviews. You'll find book reviews, movie reviews, and thoughts and opinions. Stay tuned for the posts!
If you would like to ask a question, contact Elise at eluriana@ymail.com, and Leticia at leticia.ah10@gmail.com, for them to answer your questions!
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
Copyright © 2013 schoolgirlworldreviews.blogspot.ca
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