Presidents Encyclopedia Yearbook

Presidents Encyclopedia Yearbook — page 1 — 4 America in the Young 21st Century 4 America in the Young 21st Century Students can access their class materials using lightweight tablets Does this mean goodbye textbooks America in the Young 21st Century What a decade of change Can you remember life without cell phones and iPods Since the new century began in 2001 Americans saw rapid advancements in technology Corporations like Apple and Microsoft developed computer-related technologies that many Americans never thought would be possible Thanks to high speed Internet services that could send large files in a matter of seconds rather than hours Americans fully entered the words to Know corporations kor-puh-RAY-shunz A group of people who legally run a company as a single entity wireless WIRE-less Wireless technology uses electromagnetic waves rather than wires to transmit messages digital age Americans now had smart phones that could connect to wireless Internet connections allowing users to send emails and surf the Internet all from the convenience of a small hand held cell phone Tablets like Apple’s iPad revolutionized the way people around the world conducted business Now business people did not have to access a desktop or laptop computer to do their work They could carry a lightweight device which allowed them to send emails download applications read ebooks and even shop from virtually anywhere in the world American students also discovered their lives were changing because of computer technology Students no longer had to carry huge textbooks home They could read electronic textbooks online They could email assignments to their teachers take tests online and video chat with teachers students and experts from around the world using applications like Skype

Presidents Encyclopedia Yearbook — page 2 — America in the Young 21st Century 5 By 2010 to function productively in the American education and business worlds people had to be connected Technology however is not cheap and many Americans could not afford tablets smart phones or even personal computers with Internet connection According to a New York Times article in 2011 only well off urban and suburban residents have access to high speed Internet The working class and the poor cannot afford high speed Internet access This means millions of Americans do not have ready access to information and educational opportunities thereby creating a Digital Divide in America As technology rapidly expands America must find ways to ensure that everyone has access to information and opportunity Young educated Americans rely on smart phones to go about their daily lives Wireless Headend Transceiver Broadband Cell Site Internet Backbone Residential Customers Network Operations Center Business Customer Locations Wireless signals travel rapidly starting with your home or business computer Signals are sent back and forth to the headend and transceiver back to you

Presidents Encyclopedia Yearbook — page 3 — 6 America in the Young 21st Century 4 America in the Young 21st Century There was 31 million tons of plastic waste in 2010 alone Americans recycled just 8 percent or 2 4 million tons By recycling products Americans helped the environment by keeping millions of tons of waste out of landfills With the world’s population reaching an estimated 7 billion people by 2012 Americans became increasingly concerned with environmental issues health care issues and adequate food and fossil Words to Know fossil fuels FOSS-uhl FYOO-uhls Energy sources such as coal oil and natural gas that develop from the decay of living things in the earth over time go green goh green This refers to the level of environmental awareness of people and the changes that they put into place in order to improve or cleanse the environment green technology green tek-NOL-uh-jee Green technology is also known as clean technology It refers to energy production or technological processes that are less harmful to the environment than processes from the past recycling ree-SYE-kuhl-ing To process old items such as plastics newspapers metals and glass so they can be used to make new items fuel supplies For the past forty years environmentalists and scientists warned Americans that the world’s climate and the availability of resources was changing and not for the better With gas prices across the nation rising to 4 per gallon Americans were finally listening Ordinary citizens as well as governments and corporations began to go green They invested in green technologies They sought alternatives to fossil fuels such as coal and gas Wind power and solar power started to make sense for a lot of Americans as a clean renewable alternative to fossil fuels Now many people recycle and reuse as much as possible Plastics glasses metals batteries and paper products are just a few of the materials citizens and businesses recycle Schools too jumped aboard the green bandwagon placing recycle receptacles in classrooms and cafeterias

Presidents Encyclopedia Yearbook — page 4 — America in the Young 21st Century 7 America in the Young 21st Century 5 Pollution and e-waste the waste coming from old electronics and computers is a large concern for environmentalists Clean air soil and water are critical for healthy life on planet Earth People are volunteering their time in clean up efforts They are also asking businesses and governments to take responsibility for their messes One large scale environmental disaster the Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened in April of 2010 The spill started when an offshore oil drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico Eleven people were killed during the accident Gushing oil quickly spread throughout the Gulf of Mexico polluting the water and killing wildlife The company who owned the drilling rig BP admitted its mistakes Since then BP has given an estimated 20 billion to Asia Approximate Location of Great Pacific Garbage Dump North America North Pacific Gyre Equatorial Counter Current The Pacific Trash Vortex is a large rotating mass of garbage This is evidence that many people around the world still need to go green help the victims of the oil spill Scientists continue to monitor and study the wetlands surrounding the spill site Oil covered more than 4,000 miles 6437 km of water after the Deepwater Horizon disaster

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