The ban on plastic bags and why it may not seem like such a bad thing to allow it.

The fact that plastic bags hurt the environment is one of the biggest reasons why they have already started banning plastic bags in some cities and states but we must also look at why using reusable bags could also be bad for the environment.

While Re-usable plastic bags may sound ideal. However, do people actually remember to bring them to the grocery each time they go? If they do not, what happens is that they have to buy more reusable bags which means that more plastic is being used. Yes, the idea is that they are not disposable and so do not fill our dumpster, but the reality is, after a few times of forgetting to bring your reusable bags, you will have gathered many of them and what would you do with them? . Eventually, you would throw them away, just like they did with plastic bags or if not, they would have to pay an extra cost for a bag because they forgot to bring one, which in the long run could add up if you are not careful and go shopping a lot.  Most people will not use they’re reusable bags for trash bags in there homes but if we were to have plastic bags and possible “smarter” people then they could recycle the plastic bags as trash bags instead of letting them stray into the open and run the risk of animals choking on them.  Plus, don’t plastic bottles, cans and everything else play a big role in why animals are in danger of choking and dying annually.

Maybe when people decide to not litter will be the day we will see plastic bags being used again where they have banned them.  If you think about it you can recycle the plastic bags on your own and use them as garbage can bags which could save u money from buy normal plastic bags, the fact that you wouldn’t have to pay for them and also the fact that you wouldn’t waste plastic if manufacturers didn’t have to make them causing them to use more plastic!

Critique about fracking (obv my favorite subject that interests me)

I just read an interesting article  by one of my classmates about http://dmesswtexas.blogspot.com/2013/11/risk-it-for-natural-gas.html and yes the fracking issue is not a good idea and the author of this editorial makes a great argument why it is bad even though the idea of natural gas may sound tempting. This is a great argument because it explains exactly what fracking is and yes the idea of it being hazardous to peoples health is a great issue to touch on. who wants to risk drinking dirty water mixed with a bunch of chemicals?  Another interesting argument is that there is a drought in Texas already why add fracking to the cause? Is the drought going to get any worse and if it does then would fracking be worse then it already is too?  Thats something that everyone should consider when they read this article.

Theres maybe only a few problems I have with this article and that is the amount of arguments presented, it only seems like there is one thing in jeapordy when it comes to fracking.  Also, there is no evidence that it is bad to peoples health, maybe a link to an article about how bad fracking is to ones health or some sort of instances where it has been bad if such exists?  This is a good article written and it should be read by anyone who is interested(like me) in this issue.  I totally agree.

Fracking, not worth it, ban it!

Fracking could sound a little weird to some people(including myself),  but it describes a drilling practice that has created a serious boom in natural gas production in Texas and elsewhere, and with the boom has come serious worries about what fracking can do to the environment. For those of you who don’t know, this process used to be called hydraulic fracturing. It's a drilling process that forces a high-pressure mixture of water, chemicals and sand deep underground to break apart shale formations. Oil and natural gas then flow along these cracks to the surface. Energy companies use fracking to tap reserves previously out of reach. Even though it is cheap and may reduce oil prices, it should be banned here in Texas because of the health hazards it brings to the state and anyone living near could be seriously affected by it. 

Although many energy companies believe fracking to be safe, its effect on groundwater supplies is not fully understood. Fracking uses insane amounts of water, millions of gallons for example, and some of the chemicals that are pumped underground are poisonous. The waste water that flushes back to the surface not only has dangerous chemicals, but also sometimes contains radioactive elements that naturally occur in the ground. The contaminated water usually is disposed of in deep injection wells. There are concerns about spills and leakage from this process and the storage wells into drinking water.

Believe it or not, some researchers believe that fracking can even cause earthquakes. Injecting water under a high amount of pressure deep into the earth creates shakes in the ground as the fluid breaks fissures in the rocks. These shakes in the ground more often than not are not consequential, but earthquakes of some strength have occurred recently in gas-producing areas, and scientists are studying the relationship between fracking and strong earthquakes. This is why it should be banned, even though some may argue that this could never happen.

Some states have already passed a law where they must post on the website what chemicals are being used in the fracking process .Some states are looking at imposing tougher rules; while others are debating whether to ban fracking or not.

Fracking will continue to be used natural gas plays an important role to the nation's energy mix, and fracking is necessary to tap increasingly much needed and very rare to find gas reserves but a debate about its potential harm and the risks associated with it is necessary. Additional rules governing its use may be warranted, but let’s try and ban it for all its worth to avoid all the health hazards and safety of Texas citizens.

After all, we don’t want to be left with poisonous contaminated water, or explosions from the injections of wells and what not.

You bring you guns, ill bring mine... to the Alamo

While looking through  the burka blog on the Texas Monthly,  I came across an interesting blog post about bringing guns to the Alamo to represent our 2nd amendment and the right to bear arms and how people should recognize that its still there as an amendment.

The author of this blog, and all other blogs on this website, is Paul Burka and he is aiming at audiences who carry guns and wants to show everyone else in the nation that we can still bear arms and show not only people, but also law enforcers that we are allowed to carry what’s known as "long guns" legally in Texas.  He makes the case that no matter what the federal law enforcement's do, you will not lose your privilege to hold a gun in Texas.  He brings up an interesting point when he explains how in the history of Texas when people showed up at the Alamo for the famous gun fight to and stand up for a tyrannical government the government has changed, but not the right and keep bear arms.  This is interesting because he is trying to explain that we still have our right to keep guns in our hands and by going to the Alamo we want to remind our citizens that we have our fundamental right to the 2^nd amendment.

He uses a lot of sources, and is very credible in his argument.  One example he uses is the New York Times post about Hundreds of “armed” demonstrators are planning to arrive at the Alamo to test limits of the gun laws in a very gun friendly state of the US.  They will do this by carrying many weapons ranging from assault weapons, shotguns, and other types of rifles.  He also brings up a quote from one of the most out spoken politicians he knows, Jerry Patterson about the history of the Alamo and how the last time guns were brought to the Alamo, they were used to fight against a tyrannical government.

I agree with the author of this blog, and its almost like a petition except for the fact that we are not wanting to change anything, we are just representing to the state and law enforces that we can carry guns.  Let’s just hope nothing dangerous happens since there are guns involved!

Should We Support Greg Abbot for Next Governor?

There is a not a lot of things I know concerning who is running for government, but in the latest editorial I read in the El Paso times, I came across Support Abbot for Texas Governor.  The author is targeting an audience who is in favor of electing Greg Abbot for the next governor and trying to convince other people as well why we should all support and be behind Greg Abbot in the next race for Texas Governor.


Some things you should know about the Author, Mamie Salazar is that she owns M. Rentals, Incorporated in El Paso, TX, has served on the board of directors for the Texas association of rental companies, the National Association of Progressive Rental Organizations and right now currently serves on Texas Veterinary licensing and Regulation board and Texas friends of the governors mansion.

 
She makes a strong claim for wanting "better tomorrows" for employees, her community and the community as a whole and she feels that if we support Greg Abbot for governor, we will get just that for the state of Texas.  She states that when Abbot was an attorney general he fought to protect not only families but women and children as well.  She also states that when he was the chief law enforcement officer, he caught criminals who would chase after children online and would arrest the criminal and if sex offenders violated there parole, he would launch a fugitive unit.  Another piece of evidence that she mentions about Greg Abbot is the fact that when he was a State district Judge in Harris County he fought to empower women politically, economically and as leaders of the state.  As hard as it may seem, he will continue to fight to discontinue the way drugs and violence flow into the lives of everyday humans.  No more tragic assaults!

 
I do Agree with her sides of the argument and she does make strong cases about supporting Greg Abbot, but we must look at the opposing side and maybe look into what could be the bad things about supporting him.  She includes a lot of evidence to back up her arguments when she mentions what Greg Abbot has done for the community when he was in different departments like attorney general and part of the state district judge in Harris County.  We should always look at both sides of the argument when finally determining who we are going to elect for our Governor.

Highest Uninsurance Rate? Yes it happened again...

While reading through the Texas Tribune, I found an article about how Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the NATION.(again).  This article illustrates how the state of Texas not only has the highest uninsured rate, but also has the most children that are uninsured and the highest rate of poor adults without insurance in the nation.  Even though California has roughly 2 million more children they had 717,000 children who were uninsured compared to a whopping 852,000 in Texas!  If this wasn't a surprise to anyone then how about the fact that Texas also had the highest rate of adults going below 138 percent of the poverty threshold.  It also states how if Texas had decided to expand eligibility under the federal Affordable Care Act, then they could have qualified for Medicaid.  If the state of Texas did expand eligibility, the article states that at least 2 million more could have extended coverage.  Its also worth mentioning that the Medicaid Expansion would save six times less than hospitals and local governments uncompensated care for uninsured adults.  I think this is important because in my opinion the State should have enforced and expanded the eligibility under the Affordable Care Act that way more people could be insured.  I think its also important for people the people of Texas should know how fortunate they are if they are insured and how many people aren't so lucky that they aren't insured.