SAY NO TO SMOKING

TEENAGERS can talk themselves out (or into) anything. Take smoking, for example. If you were to tell them that a person who smokes a packet of cigarettes a day may lose about two teeth every 10 years, they’ll just reply: “So what? Got dentures what!”

Tell them that cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer, they’ll say: “I’ve learned all that in Science and Biology! No need to tell me again.”
It is easy for underaged teenagers to buy cigarettes but that is no reason to take up smoking.

And if you say that smokers have a higher tendency of getting heart attacks (some studies have show that three years after a person quits smoking, the risk of them getting heart attack has lowered substantially, they would also have a reply.

“You crazy ah? Heart attack? But I’m so young! My uncle smokes, my grandfather also smokes – all still alive what!”

The fact is, everyone knows that smoking is bad for you. And we may not be doctors, but think about it: do you really want to be known as the youngest person who died of a heart attack?

Smoking among teenagers has long been common, so much so that most people do not even view it as a serious social ill, not like taking drugs. Just try to remember the last time you reacted to a young person smoking openly in public. No one even bats an eyelid.

The truth is: No matter how many rulings or laws you drown teenagers in, and no matter how many times you tell them this habit can potentially kill them, teenagers will continue to do it. Rebellion seems to be in our genetic make up. Why do you think most of them started smoking in the first place?

Which brings us back to teenagers getting what they want, and what they would do to get them.
It wasn’t so difficult for underaged teens to purchase cigarettes, as the BRATs discovered.

The two of us are not smokers, but we thought we’d conduct an experiment to just see how easy it was to get what we wanted (for the purpose of this article, what we wanted was a box of cigarettes).

Remember that in Malaysia, cigarettes are not allowed to be sold to those under the age of 18 – the exact category we fall under.

We went out to some stores in the Klang Valley to see if we could get the people behind the counter to sell us a pack of cigarettes. We were given odd looks at the counter. The cashiers hesitated to sell us the cigarettes (although none asked for our MyKad for age verification). We didn’t insist that they sell us the cigarettes because we did not want to attract too much attention, and so we left.


The next day, we returned with a fail-proof back-up plan. We brought along our guy friends (who were also underaged) to see if the stores would sell them the cigarettes instead.

We can’t say that we were surprised but our male counterparts fared much better. Within seconds, the man at the counter passed them the cigarettes.
You would think that it would be easy to snuff out a cigarette, considering how most people already know the negative effects of smoking.

Of course, this proved our point that we could get what we want. Even though we failed to buy the cigarettes, we were able to hatch a plan that got them for us.

The fact is that teenagers today can easily get cigarettes.

We may not be able to convince you to stop smoking because we know that once a teenager has set their minds on something, there’s no convincing them otherwise. In that sense, the only person who can help you is yourself.

Therefore, before you even think of picking up the cigarette , we can only hope that you would change your mind before it is too late to quit. Talk to the older smokers and many would tell you that they wished they had quit when they still could. Imagine living your life with a cough that never leaves you, or your throat hurting every time you laugh.

There are plenty of things people don’t tell you about smoking. If you are already a smoker, STOP NOW.

Some teenagers continue to smoke because they did not think they’d be hooked on it. But addiction is inevitable if you continue to indulge in that one stick of cigarette, and then another....it becomes a necessity and a craving you have no control over. So, have the guts to resist societal and peer pressure. Think of all the things that you will be able to buy in the future instead of spending it for a “quick fix” of nicotine.

So what if all your friends are smoking?

So what if they tell you it’s “not cool” to not smoke?

To all the teens of the world, stand up, be different, and say NO to smoking.

TSUNAMI

A tsunami is a series of water waves (called a tsunami wave train[1]) that is caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, such as an ocean. The original Japanese term literally translates as "harbor wave." Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded.[2] Due to the immense volumes of water and energy involved, tsunamis can devastate coastal regions. Casualties can be high because the waves move faster than humans can run.

Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions (detonations of nuclear devices at sea), landslides and other mass movements, bolide impacts, and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami.

The Greek historian Thucydides was the first to relate tsunami to submarine earthquakes,[3][4] but understanding of tsunami's nature remained slim until the 20th century and is the subject of ongoing research.

Many early geological, geographical, and oceanographic texts refer to tsunamis as "seismic sea waves."

Some meteorological conditions, such as deep depressions that cause tropical cyclones, can generate a storm surge, called a meteotsunami, which can raise tides several metres above normal levels. The displacement comes from low atmospheric pressure within the centre of the depression. As these storm surges reach shore, they may resemble (though are not) tsunamis, inundating vast areas of land. Such a storm surge inundated Burma (Myanmar) in May 2008.




The term tsunami comes from the Japanese, meaning "harbor" . (For the plural, one can either follow ordinary English practice and add an s, or use an invariable plural as in the Japanese.[5])

Tsunami are sometimes referred to as tidal waves. In recent years, this term has fallen out of favor, especially in the scientific community, because tsunami actually have nothing to do with tides. The once-popular term derives from their most common appearance, which is that of an extraordinarily high tidal bore. Tsunami and tides both produce waves of water that move inland, but in the case of tsunami the inland movement of water is much greater and lasts for a longer period, giving the impression of an incredibly high tide. Although the meanings of "tidal" include "resembling"[6] or "having the form or character of"[7] the tides, and the term tsunami is no more accurate because tsunami are not limited to harbours, use of the term tidal wave is discouraged by geologists and oceanographers.

There are only a few other languages that have a native word for this disastrous wave. In the Tamil language, the word is aazhi peralai. In the Acehnese language, it is ië beuna or alôn buluëk [8] (Depending on the dialect. Note that in the fellow Austronesian language of Tagalog, a major language in the Philippines, alon means "wave".) On Simeulue island, off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, in the Defayan language the word is semong, while in the Sigulai language it is emong.[9]
Causes

A tsunami can be generated when convergent or destructive plate boundaries abruptly move and vertically displace the overlying water. It is very unlikely that they can form at divergent (constructive) or conservative plate boundaries. This is because constructive or conservative boundaries do not generally disturb the vertical displacement of the water column. Subduction zone related earthquakes generate the majority of all tsunamis.

Tsunamis have a small amplitude (wave height) offshore, and a very long wavelength (often hundreds of kilometers long), which is why they generally pass unnoticed at sea, forming only a slight swell usually about 300 millimetres (12 in) above the normal sea surface. They grow in height when they reach shallower water, in a wave shoaling process described below. A tsunami can occur in any tidal state and even at low tide can still inundate coastal areas.

On April 1, 1946, a magnitude-7.8 (Richter Scale) earthquake occurred near the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. It generated a tsunami which inundated Hilo on the island of Hawai'i with a 14 metres (46 ft) high surge. The area where the earthquake occurred is where the Pacific Ocean floor is subducting (or being pushed downwards) under Alaska.

Examples of tsunami at locations away from convergent boundaries include Storegga about 8,000 years ago, Grand Banks 1929, Papua New Guinea 1998 (Tappin, 2001). The Grand Banks and Papua New Guinea tsunamis came from earthquakes which destabilized sediments, causing them to flow into the ocean and generate a tsunami. They dissipated before traveling transoceanic distances.

The cause of the Storegga sediment failure is unknown. Possibilities include an overloading of the sediments, an earthquake or a release of gas hydrates (methane etc.)

The 1960 Valdivia earthquake (Mw 9.5) (19:11 hrs UTC), 1964 Alaska earthquake (Mw 9.2), and 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake (Mw 9.2) (00:58:53 UTC) are recent examples of powerful megathrust earthquakes that generated tsunamis (known as teletsunamis) that can cross entire oceans. Smaller (Mw 4.2) earthquakes in Japan can trigger tsunamis (called local and regional tsunamis) that can only devastate nearby coasts, but can do so in only a few minutes.

In the 1950s, it was hypothesised[who?] that larger tsunamis than had previously been believed possible may be caused by landslides, explosive volcanic eruptions (e.g., Santorini and Krakatau), and impact events when they contact water. These phenomena rapidly displace large water volumes, as energy from falling debris or expansion transfers to the water at a rate faster than the water can absorb. The media dub them megatsunami.

Tsunamis caused by these mechanisms, unlike the trans-oceanic tsunami, may dissipate quickly and rarely affect distant coastlines due to the small sea area affected. These events can give rise to much larger local shock waves (solitons), such as the landslide at the head of Lituya Bay 1958, which produced a wave with an initial surge estimated at 524 metres (1,720 ft). However, an extremely large landslide might generate a megatsunami that can travel trans-oceanic distances, although there is no geological evidence to support this hypothesis.
Earthquake-generated tsunami

An earthquake may generate a tsunami if the quake:

* occurs just below a body of water,
* is of moderate or high magnitude, and
* displaces a large-enough volume of water.

Drawing of tectonic plate boundary before earthquake.


Overriding plate bulges under strain, causing tectonic uplift.


Plate slips, causing subsidence and releasing energy into water.


The energy released produces tsunami waves.
Characteristics
Photo of wreckage along the shoreline
A devastated Marina beach in Chennai after the Indian Ocean Tsunami

While everyday wind waves have a wavelength (from crest to crest) of about 100 metres (330 ft) and a height of roughly 2 metres (6.6 ft), a tsunami in the deep ocean has a wavelength of about 200 kilometres (120 mi). Such a wave travels at well over 800 kilometres per hour (500 mph), but due to the enormous wavelength the wave oscillation at any given point takes 20 or 30 minutes to complete a cycle and has an amplitude of only about 1 metre (3.3 ft).[10] This makes tsunamis difficult to detect over deep water. Ships rarely notice their passage.

As the tsunami approaches the coast and the waters become shallow, wave shoaling compresses the wave and its velocity slows below 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph). Its wavelength diminishes to less than 20 kilometres (12 mi) and its amplitude grows enormously, producing a distinctly visible wave. Since the wave still has such a long wavelength, the tsunami may take minutes to reach full height. Except for the very largest tsunamis, the approaching wave does not break (like a surf break), but rather appears like a fast moving tidal bore. [11] Open bays and coastlines adjacent to very deep water may shape the tsunami further into a step-like wave with a steep-breaking front.

When the tsunami's wave peak reaches the shore, the resulting temporary rise in sea level is termed run up. Run up is measured in metres above a reference sea level.[11] A large tsunami may feature multiple waves arriving over a period of hours, with significant time between the wave crests. The first wave to reach the shore may not have the highest run up.[12]

About 80% of tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean, but are possible wherever there are large bodies of water, including lakes. They may be caused by landslides, volcanic explosions, bolides and seismic activity.
Drawback

If the first part of a tsunami to reach land is a trough (called a drawback) rather than a wave crest, the water along the shoreline recedes dramatically, exposing normally submerged areas.

A drawback occurs because the tectonic plate on one side of the fault line sinks suddenly during the earthquake, causing the overlaying water to propagate outwards with the trough of the wave at its front. It is also for this reason that there would not be any drawback when the tsunami travelling on the other side arrives ashore, as the tectonic plate is "raised" on that side of the fault line.

Drawback begins before the wave's arrival at an interval equal to half of the wave's period. If the slope of the coastal seabed is moderate, drawback can exceed hundreds of meters. People unaware of the danger sometimes remain near the shore to satisfy their curiosity or to collect fish from the exposed seabed. During the Indian Ocean tsunami, the sea withdrew and many people went onto the exposed sea bed to investigate. Pictures show people walking on the normally submerged areas with the advancing wave in the background. Few survived.
Tsunami intensity and magnitude scales

As with earthquakes, several attempts have been made to set up scales of tsunami intensity or magnitude to allow comparison between different events.[13]
Intensity scales



Drawbacks can serve as a brief warning. People who observe drawback (many survivors report an accompanying sucking sound), can survive only if they immediately run for high ground or seek the upper floors of nearby buildings. In 2004, ten-year old Tilly Smith of Surrey, England, was on Maikhao beach in Phuket, Thailand with her parents and sister, and having learned about tsunamis recently in school, told her family that a tsunami might be imminent. Her parents warned others minutes before the wave arrived, saving dozens of lives. She credited her geography teacher, Andrew Kearney.

In the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami drawback was not reported on the African coast or any other eastern coasts it reached. This was because the wave moved downwards on the eastern side of the fault line and upwards on the western side. The western pulse hit coastal Africa and other western areas.
Photo of sign reading "Tsunami Hazard Zone...In case of earthquake, go to higher ground or inland"
Tsunami hazard sign at Bamfield, British Columbia

The Pacific Tsunami Warning System is based in Honolulu, Hawiʻi. It monitors Pacific Ocean seismic activity. A sufficiently large earthquake magnitude and other information triggers a tsunami warning. While the subduction zones around the Pacific are seismically active, not all earthquakes generate tsunami. Computers assist in analysing the tsunami risk of every earthquake that occurs in the Pacific Ocean and the adjoining land masses.
Photo of sign with both Japanese and English translations
A tsunami warning sign on a seawall in Kamakura, Japan, 2004. In the Muromachi period, a tsunami struck Kamakura, destroying the wooden building that housed the colossal statue of Amida Buddha at Kotokuin. Since that time, the statue has been outdoors.

As a direct result of the Indian Ocean tsunami, a re-appraisal of the tsunami threat for all coastal areas is being undertaken by national governments and the United Nations Disaster Mitigation Committee. A tsunami warning system is currently being installed in the Indian Ocean.

Computer models can predict tsunami arrival—predicted arrival times are usually within minutes of the actual time. Bottom pressure sensors relay information in real time and based upon the pressure readings and other seismic information and the seafloor's shape (bathymetry) and coastal topography, the modesl estimate the amplitude and surge height of the approaching tsunami. All Pacific rim countries collaborate in the Tsunami Warning System and most regularly practice evacuation and other procedures. In Japan such preparation is mandatory for government, local authorities, emergency services and the population.

Some zoologists hypothesise that some animal species have an ability to sense subsonic Rayleigh waves from an earthquake or a tsunami. If correct, monitoring their behavior could provide advance warning of earthquakes, tsunami etc. However, the evidence is controversial and is not widely accepted. There are unsubstantiated claims about the Lisbon quake that some animals escaped to higher ground, while many other animals in the same areas drowned. The phenomenon was also noted by media sources in Sri Lanka in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.[15][16] It is possible that certain animals (e.g., elephants) may have heard the sounds of the tsunami as it approached the coast. The elephants reaction was to move away from the approaching noise. Some humans, on the other hand, went to the shore to investigate and many drowned as a result.
Photo of evacuation sign
Tsunami Evacuation Route signage along U.S. Route 101, in Washington

It is not possible to prevent a tsunami. However, in some tsunami-prone countries some earthquake engineering measures have been taken to reduce the damage caused on shore. Japan built many tsunami walls of up to 4.5 metres (15 ft) to protect populated coastal areas. Other localities have built floodgates and channels to redirect the water from incoming tsunami. However, their effectiveness has been questioned, as tsunami often overtop the barriers. For instance, the Okushiri, Hokkaidō tsunami which struck Okushiri Island of Hokkaidō within two to five minutes of the earthquake on July 12, 1993 created waves as much as 30 metres (98 ft) tall—as high as a 10-story building. The port town of Aonae was completely surrounded by a tsunami wall, but the waves washed right over the wall and destroyed all the wood-framed structures in the area. The wall may have succeeded in slowing down and moderating the height of the tsunami, but it did not prevent major destruction and loss of life.


Natural factors such as shoreline tree cover can mitigate tsunami effects. Some locations in the path of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami escaped almost unscathed because trees such as coconut palms and mangroves absorbed the tsunami's energy. In one striking example, the village of Naluvedapathy in India's Tamil Nadu region suffered only minimal damage and few deaths because the wave broke against a forest of 80,244 trees planted along the shoreline in 2002 in a bid to enter the Guinness Book of Records.[18] Environmentalists have suggested tree planting along tsunami-prone seacoasts. Trees require years to grow to a useful size, but such plantations could offer a much cheaper and longer-lasting means of tsunami mitigation than artificial barriers.
Tsunami in history
Main article: Historic tsunami

Tsunami are not rare, with at least 25 tsunami occurring in the last century. Of these, many were recorded in the Asia–Pacific region—particularly Japan.
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
Main article: 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami killed over 300,000 people with many bodies either being lost to the sea or unidentified. Some unofficial estimates have claimed that approximately 1 million people may have died directly or indirectly solely as a result of the tsunami.[citation needed]

According to an article in Geographical magazine (April 2008), the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004 was not the worst that the region could expect. Professor Costas Synolakis of the Tsunami Research Center at the University of Southern California co-authored a paper in Geophysical Journal International which suggests that a future tsunami in the Indian Ocean basin could affect locations such as Madagascar, Singapore, Somalia, Western Australia, and many others.
Tsunami in ancient history

As early as 426 B.C. the Greek historian Thucydides inquired in his book History of the Peloponnesian War about the causes of tsunami, and was the first to argue that ocean earthquakes must be the cause.

The cause of this phenomenon must be sought in the earthquake. At the point where its shock has been the most violent the sea is driven back, and suddenly recoiling with redoubled force, causes the inundation. Without an earthquake not see how such an accident could happen.

THE EXITING OF WORLD OF PHOTOGRAPHY

For some time now it has been my dream to become a professional photographer. I can think of no other career that would be as satisfying or enjoyable. With this said I certainly acknowledge that the life of a photographer is not a glamorous one and the career is unlikely to ever make me rich. Furthermore, breaking into the ranks of full-time photographers will require years of portfolio building, significant time spent in the field making no money, and most of all a lot of hard work. All of this effort guarantees nothing but offers the possibility of a rewarding career and lifestyle for years to come. But what does it mean to be a “pro”? Does it have to be someone who makes their living only from photography? Could it involve journalism as well? And can someone be considered a “pro” even if they have a steady full-time job? These are all questions that I have asked myself a number of times. The conclusion that I have drawn is that, for me at least, becoming a “pro” means earning money from my photographs or photo-essays and having my work published on a regular basis. I fully anticipate that I will have a conventional job in my chosen field of restoration ecology, but as time goes on, I hope to build a portfolio of images and a reputation that allows me to one day pursue nature photography on a full-time basis. Getting Started: Equipment: There is no doubt about it – photography requires a significant amount of gear! While exceptional images can be made from any camera, and as much as I hate it when the first thing that someone says after seeing a photo of mine is “you must have an awesome camera”, the reality is that having the right tools for the job is a necessity. Does this mean that you should go out and buy a pro digital body and 600mm lens if you want to be a nature photographer? Absolutely not! The best strategy is to buy quality equipment that meets your needs and lets you develop as a photographer. Learning the Basics it’s probably a good idea to learn and master the basics of photography such as exposure, composition and lighting. Another essential to becoming a professional photographer will be developing your skills in the digital darkroom. Practice, Practice, Practice…..and then Practice Some More! All the best gear in the world will not make you a good photographer. Similarly, you could read every book and article ever written on photography and still lack the skills necessary to be successful. Both equipment and knowledge are useful tools, but they alone are not enough. Photography relies on being able to make split second decisions and adjustments regarding composition and exposure. These instincts, as well as the skills necessary to actually implement these settings, can only be developed by practicing shooting the subjects you are after with your gear in the field. Getting to know your camera and make changes instantaneously is essential. Equally, if not more important, is what photographers like Freeman Patterson have called “learning to see”. In photographic terms at least, this means learning about lighting and how to exploit it, about the rules of composition and when they can be broken and also about developing a style of your own. As you master the basics of photography it will become increasingly important to develop advanced photographic techniques such as panning with moving subjects and maintaining auto focus. If you use “big-glass” such as 500mm or 600mm lenses you will need to develop a set of skills for producing sharp images with these heavy and awkward lenses that are highly prone to camera shake. Finally, it takes many hours of practice and patient observation of animals in the field to understand their behavior and consequently how you can get close enough to photograph them. The more time spent taking pictures out there, the better you will get at recognizing the comfort zones of the animals you wish to photograph. My personal experiences in the field have taught me so much of what I know today. A few years ago I could hardly tell the difference between a warbler and a “what-ya-ma-call-it”, but after photographing many of the birds of Ontario, and becoming more familiar with individual species and families of birds, my identification skills have significantly improved. Displaying Your Images and Seeking Feedback: It is a great idea for any aspiring photographer is to set up a website so that more people can see your work. This is actually a pretty simple process when you have a program like Macromedia Dreamweaver to use. You can set up a basic website on your own and host it on the web using one of the many hosting services available. Another way to display your images is to participate in online forums. I have learned a great deal from the comments and feedback that other people have contributed on my posts. Just by looking at these sites you can get an idea of what works and what doesn’t. Diversifying: I think that it can be very beneficial for amateur nature photographers to, once they have developed a skill set and certain level of photographic knowledge, expand their horizons and shoot a variety of different subjects in different situations. For example, while attending university I was the school papers sports photographer and ran the student darkroom. Like most photographers I have also shot weddings and done portrait work. While you may not be entirely interested in such subjects branching out and shooting a different subject matter can definitely teach you new lessons and may make you a better overall photographer. Finding a Niche: As you continue to practice your craft and develop your own style it will be increasingly important to seek out a niche or subject matter that you specialize in. This does not necessarily have to be a cognitive decision but will likely automatically be reflected in your portfolio. Being a specialist (at least to some degree) will likely be beneficial as you work towards getting published. Getting Published: The time has come! You have studied and learned your craft, you have acquired the tools that you need, you have practiced and created a portfolio of images that you are proud of. Its time to get your work published. This is the stage that I am currently at. My plan is to focus my efforts on a few different species and write articles for submission to magazines such as Birders World, Wild Bird, Photo Life, etc. I also plan on writing a few articles for online magazines such as the ones previously mentioned. Hopefully I will be able to get some of my work published and move one step closer to becoming a pro! Next Steps: If all goes as planned, I hope to work towards getting more articles and photos published over the next few years. I also hope to be able to get on to the call lists for some of these magazines so that if they are looking for shots of a certain species they will contact me. I have always believe that if you love doing something and if you work hard and stick to it then you will find personal satisfaction and success. I feel that if have confident and if I market creatively I will be able to achieve my goals.