The last post

In the article “we’ll save the planet only if we’re forced to” the author says that it’s not enough for anyone to reduce the number of traveling hours or using public transportation and bicycles instead of cars or eating less meat or changing your regular light bulb to the florescent light bulb because some people wont do these things that’s why government should force people to change their living and behavior to become greener. Also he mentioned that people should donate to organizations like Green space, Friends of the earth, Plane stupid and Campaign Against Climate Change instead of buying green house products because you will help to change the law.





In my opinion, I totally agree with the author. Governments should set rules against those who harm our planet because some people don’t care about global warming and what is the point of buying green products while others are not. People around the world should co-operate with each other to reduce our carbon emission and to keep our planet clean for our generations.

Why I would like to live in Masdar city ?

Masdar city is under construction and it is supposed to be a cool-city that uses alternative resources that have harmless impacts on the planet. There are many reasons that make me want to live in Masdar City, the main reason is that it will help me change my way of using the planet’s resources. Also it will help me reduce my carbon footprint. Other reasons are that cars are not allowed in it which means less traffic and more calmness. Also there would be many job opportunities that would make me start a good life. Add to that, the city would be clean and have fresher air, and that’s a very good and healthy thing that every person would want for there family and the next generations.

My Carbon Footprint

Many people around the world are using energy and technology to live easier life. However, these kinds of resources are harming our planet and causing global warming. Each one of us has a carbon footprint which measures how much planets he would need if he continues living with the same lifestyle. I took the quiz and I discovered that I need 2.65 planets which mean that I’m using many things that have harm effects on our planet.

There are many problems but I think the main problem is driving my own car instead of using public transportation. Another problem is that sometimes I don’t support locally produced meat which releases more CO2 tones as a result of importing it from overseas. A further problem is that I travel a lot by plane and air travel has the fastest growing CO2 emission. Another problem is that I keep the lights on when I go out of my room.

The main solution is to use public transportation and transfer by bicycle to reduce my carbon footprint. Another solution is to support locally produced meat, fruits and vegetables instead of importing them. A further solution is to reduce the number of travelling hours during the year. Another solution is to switch off the lights if I don’t need lighting or if I’m not in my room.

In general, I think that our planet damaged because of our impact on the environment and the way we use the planet’s resources. I believe that energy and technology make our lives easier but we have to use alternative resources and change out lifestyles to save our planet.

American Cool Cities

1. Seattle: They reduced global warming pollution by more than 60 percent by constructing green buildings and operating alternative fuel vehicles.

2. Washington DC: DC has replaced 414 of its polluting diesel buses with buses that burn natural gases.

3. Houston: convert a substantial portion of the city of fleet of cars and trucks.

4. Marion County/Florida: they use gas-electric hybrid vehicles.

5. The city of Scottsdale: has introduced Arizona’s first green building program which helps builders and home owners learn about how to integrate energy efficiency and water saving.

6. Salt Lake City: they changed 861 traffic lights to LED light signals.

7. Colorado: is working to produce 50 percent of the city electricity with renewable energy by 2017.

8. Charlotte: they switched from a gas only Ford Taurus to a hybrid Toyota Prius or Honda Civic and that would save city taxpayers approximately $800-1200 per vehicle including over $400 in annual fuel cost.

9. Twin Falls/ Idaho: Reduce energy cost and cut pollution by increasing the energy efficiency of its 11 schools.

10. St. Paul: they use a system that uses heat drawn from a biomass-fired power plant.

Abu Dhabi - A cool city ?

I believe that Abu Dhabi is not a cool-city yet but i think that its working hard to reduce the carbon footprint with " Masdar City " project. As for the business i think you should sell things that have harmless effect on envinroment with a brief summary about global warming written on the cover of the product.

One Planet Living

If everyone lived like an average North American we would need 5 planets.

If everyone lived like an average European we would need 3 planets.

If everyone lived like an average Emirati we would need 7 planets.

Our global footprint grew by 150% between 1961 and 2003. It is now 25% above the planet’s biological capacity to support life on earth.




Masdar is going to be developed using these principles:

1- Zero carbon: The climate is changing as a result of the rising CO2 emission because of human being.

2- Zero waste: Canned products and plastic bags cause problems for valuable resources.

3- Sustainable transport: Traveling by cars and airplanes help causing different kinds of pollution.

4- Local and sustainable materials: To recycle the wastes and to use local materials instead of importing them.

5- Local and sustainable food: producing healthy food, to support local agriculture and boosting local economy.

6- Sustainable Water: increasing local water, reusing and recycling water.

7- Natural Habitats and Wildlife: increase the capacity of natural areas and using natural resources.

8- Culture and Heritage: Celebrating with cultural events and protecting heritage foundation.

9- Equity and fair trade: Promoting equity and fair trading to give a beneficial impact on other communities.

10- Health and happiness: raising health and quality of life members and others.

I believe that the Local and sustainable food and sustainable water principles are difficult to maintain for Masdar city.



The goals of our One Planet Living Programme:

1. To create a global group of One Planet Living environment and other projects to show One Planet Living in action.


2. To establish an education centers in each One Planet Living
environment.


3. To encourage the guiding principles to change with governments,
business and individuals.




The Emerging One Planet communities:

1. Meadowbrook
2. OPL London Project
3. Sibaya
4. JinShan
5. Masdar City


The Officially Endorsed One Planet communities:

1. Sonoma Mountain Village
2. Mata de Sesimbra
3. One Gallions & One Brighton

Global Warming

AIT summary

In this movie Al Gore talks about a truth that the whole world will suffer from if we didn’t change our life style. He spent his own time traveling around the world to make people aware of this truth and to help save the planet. Also he stressed that the climate is changing according to scientific opinions and charts as a result of the increasing CO2 emission. The film included many sections that disagree with people who say that Global Warming is not a problem like the collapsing ice in many countries like Antractica and the rising temperatures. Al Gore’s father used to grow tobacco and his sister used to smoke it until she died suffering from Cancer. After that his father stopped growing it because he didn’t want people die because of him and he told us this story because he wanted every one to stop doing wrong things.

Why it's called "An Inconvenient Truth" ?

“An Inconvenient Truth” is a movie that talks about Global Warming, the rising CO2 emission around the world and the use of energy. It’s called “An Inconvenient Truth” because the emission of CO2 causes many problems. Also it might force us to change our life style to reduce our carbon footprint which is uncomfortable for many because they are used to their routine and it’s hard to change it.

Introduction to Cool Cities

Global Warming is a worldwide case that may cause major issues in the next 50 years. What causes Global Warming is the rising temperature of the earth than the average because when the sunbeam is caught between the earth and the Ozone layer as a result of pollution like the increasing number of cars, factories and the use of the energy. Governments must get involved with this problem and think critically to help solve it. Many cities have signed to be cool-cities. Abu Dhabi is planning to create a city that is entirely powered by a renewable energy. It may help but there are many things that Abu Dhabi should do to be a cool-city such as recycling cans and papers and using renewable resources. In this project I’m going to research and use critical thinking to find smart solutions for this problem.

Messi VS all

My reaction about the movie Blood Diamond

The movie blood diamond is a very interesting movie. It opened my eyes to new and different conflicts that happened in the world. I didn’t know that there is a kind of diamonds that called blood diamonds or conflict diamonds and this kind of diamonds were found by labour who were forced to mine for them. The film talks about a small family in a small village and one day the head of this family was separated from his family to work as a slave in the diamond fields. One day this guy found a large diamond. After that he tried to hide the diamond. Suddenly these fields were attacked by the government. But that guy survived and he was taken to the prison. After he got out from jail he went to look for his family. Later on he met a person called Archer he trades weapons with diamonds. Archer promised Solomon that he will help him to find his family if he told him where he hid the diamond. They started their journey and they met Bowen she was working as a reporter. Bowen wanted to help Solomon to find his family and she knew that Archer was using Solomon to get away from Africa. She refused to help Archer unless he can tell her about diamond market. Archer agreed to give Bowen the information then they flew to the place of the diamond. After they found the diamond, Archer was shot in his stomach and before he died and gave Solomon the diamond and told him to call Bowen as soon as he arrives. Then Solomon sold the diamond for a big amount of money and Bowen was taking pictures while Solomon was making the deal. Then the pictures were published in magazines under the title “Blood diamonds”.

Lebanon is in the center of the Middle East and its capital city called Beirut which has two nicknames “The land of milk and honey” in the bible and the other one is “Paris of the East”. There are many religions in Lebanon but what makes it unique in the Middle East is that Lebanon has almost an equal number of Muslims and Christians. Lebanon is considered a young nation because the majority of its population are less than 25 years old.


In the past there were many problems in Lebanon it went through a lot of problems. In 1943 tensions have increased between Muslims and Christians because Muslims had nothing to do with the balance of power. These tensions reached their peak in 1975 after a bus attack by a Christian group called the Phalange and the victims were Palestinians. After that a revenge killings have issued as a result of the tension. In 1982 Lebanon was invaded by the Israeli army to remove the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. Few years later a peace deal was reached between Lebanese leaders to offer an equal balance between Muslims and Christians. About a quarter of the population in Lebanon left the country because of these tensions.


Nowadays Lebanon is trying to recover its economy by turning Beirut into a global financial center like New York and inviting foreigners to invest in the re-building of Lebanon. Also there money is pouring in form businessmen in Gulf States like UAE. Lebanon is well-known for its nightlife because it has amazing bars and clubs where young people get crowded there.

My profile

My name is Jaber AlMubarak. I was born 19 years ago in Al Cornish hospital which is in Abu Dhabi. My father was in Europe because he had a meeting there and as soon as he finished his work there he came to see me. My father wanted to name me Ahmed but my uncle Yousif chose Jaber to be my name. I didn’t see my grand parents because they died 2 years before I was born. I have two brothers and 3 sisters and I’m the youngest of my brothers. My family was living in a villa in Al Bateen. I grew up there with my cousins then we moved to live in Al Mushref. I went to a school called Al Ghazaly I studied there 7 years then I continued studying in Jordan because my father was working in the United Arab Emirates Embassy there.



I lived my life as a teenager away from my cousins and my relatives and that’s why mine is different from them. I spent about one year making new friends and it took a lot from me to find good ones. When I was a teenager I really liked pets. I used to have a small cat and a parrot. I trained them well but one day I forgot to close the window of the living room and I woke up the next day and I found out that the parrot flew away. I looked for it everywhere but I didn’t find it. Living in Jordan was a good experience for me because I made lots of friends there and I lived in a different environment which may help me in the future.

I have traveled to Paris, London, Geneva, Washington DC, New York and Lebanon. My favorite trip was when I went to London and that was the last summer. I went there with my cousin and we stayed in my uncle’s apartment. In the first week we visited many wonderful places like the wax museum, natural museum, London eye, London Bridge and Big Ben. In the second week we went to watch football matches. Some times I fought with my cousin because he likes Liver Pool and I like Manchester United. We spent our last two weeks eating in luxury restaurants in Harrods and Nights- Bridge.



In my free time I love to play football but sometimes there aren’t enough players so I’m forced to go to the gym to spend my free time. If I had the chance I would really love to go to Ski Dubai. I usually go to the cinema on weekends with my friends. I saw lots of movies but the one I like the most is Ocean’s 13. In summer, I like going jet skiing with my friends each one of us has one. We usually race when we go jet skiing but mine is most powerful between them.


Two years ago before I graduated from high school, I had a big dream of studying for my higher diploma abroad. My target was developing myself and my understanding to other cultures to help my country in the future. I set it as a target to be realized. I used to be a good student who solved his homework and prepared for the classes. I worked hard during the last year of my high school to get high grades. Nevertheless, during the preparation of final exams, my cousin’s death prevented me from studying for the exams. He died in a car accident while he was driving back home from Al Ain. I studied only the day before the exam which was too difficult for me to memorize all the materials that we covered during the year. So, I got very low percentage and that’s why my father didn’t let me travel. I tried to explain the reason but he said I’ll let you go if you got a high GPA in the college.

At the current time I have finished the first semester of the common year in ADMC. I’m planning to study Finance and Accounting and as soon as I graduate I’ll travel to get a bachelor and a master degree in the same major. I chose this major because I’m good in Maths and that will help me to get high grades. There are only few locals who work in the Finance department and this major is required. If I had the chance I will take the CFA to be more qualified to fit in a good job.

Firefox3

Search is the number one activity for people who use internet. That’s why Mozilla has created a new internet browser called Firefox3. It has many features that may help any user to search for something.

The most important feature is that Firefox3 browser allows you to work offline so you don’t lose your work while traveling or when the connection goes down. The chairman of Mozilla said that it’s easier to look for information using Firefox3. Also he said that when you want to search for something you can write for example “ sunglasses “ it will bring a list of sites that you have visited recently that have sunglasses name. There are changes have been made to improve overall performance. It’s simple and familiar and that what makes it the second most popular.



My opinion:

I think this article is interesting, well organized and easy to read. But the author didn’t talk about the internet filter and if it has protection against viruses.

Diamonds

Diamonds are the most expensive stones in the world. They are made from carbon after it faces extreme pressure and high temperatures. Diamonds are pushed to the surface with a substance called Magma. After that it’s exposed on the surface with small but violent eruptions from a Kimberlite pipe.

The number one city that produces most of the world’s diamonds is Botswana which is located in South Africa. Dee Beers Consolidated Mines is the biggest diamond mining company and it mines most of its diamonds from South Africa and this company has about 60% of the world’s rough diamonds trade. In the early 20th century Dee Beers Company kept the price of diamonds high by restricting the amount of diamonds on the market. Another city that has about 80% of the worlds rough diamonds pass through it is Antwerp which has been a diamond center for 600 years, Indians and Lebanese are associated with the diamond trade in this city. But, 1500 polishers and cutters left in the city today. Dubai is one of the cities that have a growing reputation as a diamond hub.

Abu Dhabi - a Cool City?

Last week I went to Emirates Palace with my classmates to see the Model of Masdar City which is a future city with a Zero-Carbon. Also we saw Saadiyat Island Exhibition and while we were in the Exhibition I enjoyed watching the map of this Island it really has magnificent projects like the louvre museum. After we got out from the exhibition of Saadiyat Hamdan and I lost our group. After that we went to see the Arts of Islam which contains an ancient stuff that belong to Muslims hundred years ago. As soon as we entered the exhibition we saw a group of tourists with a tourist guide, we followed them and we started asking the guide about things that we don't know about. We really spent a great time there and I hope that we visit other exhibitions in the future.