Atoms

You might want to ask what are atoms? Atoms are the smallest units of an element consisting of a dense, central, positively charged nucleus surrounded by a system of electrons, equal in number to the number of nuclear protons. An atom is also a unit of matter. In the 1800’s, John Dalton performed experiments with various chemicals that showed that matter consists of atoms. Everything is made up of atoms for example: air, water, desks and people.

Scientists have discovered that living things are mostly made from the atoms carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Now you may want to ask that how does that happen? Relax I have the answer or so I think. In order to find out how this really happens, my suggestion is that you take your laptop apart and then trying putting it back together. You will find a lot of small pieces put together to make one and that is how people are made too. We are made of small particles. The idea that everything is made up of atoms is fascinating and a bit scary but it’s the truth although no one has ever seen an atom. We have trained ourselves to believe in things that we see but not those that we do not see. In a few cases people believe without seeing but in the atoms case, people want to see in order to believe. In order to see the atom, you use experiments which result into not only explaining the process but they still do not show the real atom. In the humans’ case, our DNAs are made up of atoms. Science can explain what an atom is and how it’s made. The fact that we have atoms in us is a big topic for scientists to research and explain who a human is.

In the article “Plastic: Too Good to Throw Away” by Freinkel Susan, the advantages and disadvantages of plastics are described and expanded briefly. We use plastics as electrical insulators, and plastic syringes “have been great allies in preventing the spread of infectious diseases like H.I.V., even plastic water bottles, which after disasters like the Japanese tsunami, are critical to saving lives.” We use plastic bags to carry our groceries from the store to our homes; plastics also make possible green technology like solar panels, lighter cars and plane that burn less fuel, thus saving energy. Although we can use them for great causes, we tend to make and use them in wrong ways. When we dispose plastics in places they are not meant to be disposed “they clog storm drains, tangle up recycling equipment and threaten wild life on land and at sea.” “Eliminating plastic is one of the greatest things you can do to lower your ecological footprint.” Recycle your plastics and use them only when necessary. Freinkel assures people that plastics aren’t necessarily bad for the environment; “it’s the way we tend to make and use them that’s the problem.”

One of Freinkel’s salient strategies is the production of safer plastics from renewable sources rather than finite fuels and harmful chemicals to the earth and our health. We can improve our ways of life by being eco-friendly to the environment. Every plastic that has ever been made still exists somewhere in some form because Plastic doesn’t biodegrade unless it is incinerated, which produces very harmful chemicals and toxics in addition to air pollution. Freinkel also invites everyone to rethink plastic and strongly advises us to “stop wasting plastic and take better advantage of what it can do for us.” Facts about today’s life, “we are not going to feed, clothe and house ourselves solely from wood, ore and stone. We need plastics. And in an era when we’re concerned about our carbon footprint, we can appreciate that lightweight plastics take less energy to produce and transport than many other materials.”

In my opinion, the article was a great call on people and encouragement for us to take care of the environment. We all need to live more sustainably. We need to support plastic recycling programs for a safer environment and we need to change or advance our ways of treating plastic because it can be deadly to us and other species. If we use it well we can attain more value from it.