How The Dinasaurs Died

The extinction of the dinosaurs has become a never-ending discussion among people.  Scientists have fought for many years about the reasons and theories on how the dinosaurs disappeared.

Some of the reasons for the extinction of the dinosaurs are that they died in a meteorite impact, small mammals ate their eggs, a world-wide flood wiped them out.  They could not cope with their environment, and they might have had slipped disks.  There have been at least 55 theories that have been suggested and thrown out because of problems.  Whenever a scientist comes up with a theory, he must be able to prove or explain how it happened.  A theory that works for large animals usually does not work for the small animals or sea creatures.   Scientists agree that whatever happened to the dinosaurs must have effected the whole world.  When the birth rate fails to keep up with the death rate, we get extinction.   Paleontologists divide extinction into two types: background extinction and mass extenuation.  Background extinction is when isolated species disappear due to a variety of causes such as out competition, climate change, and depletion of their resources.  Mass extinction is when large numbers of spices go extinct, when many types of spices go extinct, it effects the entire earth, and it all happened in a short time.  Some scientists think the dinosaurs disappeared about 65 million years ago in the Cretaceous period.  Biblical records show that the earth is about 5,000 years old.  The timeline of how old people think the earth is and how old the Bible says it is are different.

The latest theory suggests that the dinosaurs were killed by a meteorite impact, a collision like that would throw enough dust into the air to block out the sun and cause the temperature to drop.  All animals and dinosaurs that are dependent on the sun and warm temperatures would probably die off.  Some scientists believe that the meteorite that struck the earth would have caused the sun to be blocked out for three months, when the meteorite hit, it would cause a tremendous amount of heat to be released and might have caused the temperature to rise as much as 30 degrees centigrade for as long as 30 days, so much heat must have been released to cause fires to break out all over the world.   A meteorite impact might have caused acid rain from all the hot water vapor and rock materials thrown up in the air by the impact.   Scientists have found meteorite craters all over the world in different places, which might support the theory that the dinosaurs died in a meteorite impact.  Volcanoes were active during this time and could have also killed the dinosaurs.  Iridium is usually what makes up meteorites and volcanic eruptions.   Scientists have found high levels of iridium in some layers of clay that might prove that a meteorite impact might have caused the dinosaurs to become extinct.  The theory of a meteorite impact does not explain everything.  There are some problems with the theory-like why did the dinosaurs only become extinct; why did it not wipe out all life on earth and should not have all the plants died because of the lack of sunlight.   One scientist tried to re-enact the meteorite impact on his computer and found out that one meteorite could not have wiped out every kind of dinosaurs.  Volcanic eruptions would have caused a lot of volcanic dust to be thrown into the atmosphere and caused the temperature to drop.  It would cause the same effects as a meteorite impact. 

Some other reasons for the extinction of the dinosaurs are that little mammals ate all the dinosaur's eggs.  If little mammals ate all the dinosaur eggs, we should be able to find an animal with a dinosaur embryo in its mouth.   To eat all the dinosaur's eggs you would have to get throughout the mother dinosaurs who protect their eggs from predators and other animals much bigger and stronger than the little mammals. 

Another theory is that the brain of the dinosaur eventually made them obsolete.  Being overweight could have caused them to get slipped disks in their spine and caused them to become crippled, so they could not get their food and would die.  That idea would not work because not all dinosaurs were overweight

One theory suggests that a change in temperature could have caused them to go extinct.  The temperature change could have caused some places to freeze and other places to turn into deserts.  The dinosaurs adjust to the change in temperature so they died.  Some people think that the dinosaurs became extinct because of bad luck and others think the dinosaurs became extinct because their time was up, and they need to be gone for man to come bought.  This theory could not be true because scientists have found human skeletons on the same level as the dinosaur's fossils.  That must prove that they lived during the same time as the dinosaurs did.

Scientists have suggested many theories on how the dinosaurs disappeared and only one of the theories could work, there was world-wide flood.  The other theories never complete the process to the end and there is always parts of them that does not make sense.  In Genesis 6-9, the Bible tells about a world-wide flood and how God destroyed every living on earth except those that were on the Ark or lived in the ocean.  The Bible does not list every creature on the Ark.  The Ark had plenty of room for all the animals including the dinosaurs.  We do not know how many kinds of animals were alive during Noah’s day, but today there are less than 20,000 types of animals, not counting those that lived in the ocean.   Noah’s Ark could hold 50,000 animals with room to spare, so God probably included the basic types of dinosaurs; young dinosaurs would be smaller and easier to care for.   When God brought two animals of every kind into the Ark, the dinosaurs must have been included too.  God did not bring full-grown animals into the Ark.  After the flood, the temperature and climate changed and many parts of the world became harsh for the dinosaurs to live in, no longer did the earth have great forests.   It was probably hard for the dinosaurs to find food to eat.  The dinosaurs probably could not adjust to the climate changes so they died, but there was probably a few of the dinosaurs that survived.  Quick flood burial would be the only way that so many dinosaurs and other things could have become fossilized in the way scientists have found them.  Animals and plants will only fossilize if they are buried quickly before predators, decay and weather can destroy them.  If the flood really happened, you should be able to find a number of key things: many cultural stories of the flood, thousands of feet of flood deposition sedimentary rock layers covering most of the earth’s, evidence of many creatures that have become extinct by a disaster, buried remains of all forms of life mixed up in sedimentary layers, and the discovery of skeletons at many different depths in the flood-produced rocks.  If the flood obliterated everything on earth about 5,000 years ago, then it would stand to reason that the oldest records of civilization would go back that far.   Advanced cultures on earth seemed to appear suddenly at about that time.  Most ancient advanced cultures began without a trace of primitive generations leading up to them.  The dinosaurs are not the only ones that died off since the flood.  Great numbers of creatures have become extinct since then.  Today one or more species of plant and animals may be lost every day, most of them caused by us.  Scientists are still discovering unknown species every year.  Man has often been responsible for killing the last animals of a kind.  The mammoth and mastodons were wiped out by hunters.  It could be that in ancient time's people also killed dinosaurs for meat or because of problems these animals caused, or they could have killed them just for fun.  Today, many animals are being saved by zoos.  Dinosaurs became extinct before we cared about saving animals from extinction.  As much as we know of the world today, there are many parts of the world that have never been explored.  There are a few scientists who believe that there are probably some dinosaurs living today in the depths of the sea and in dense unexplored parts of the rain forest in Africa and South America.  There are a lot of stories and different parts of the world about dinosaurs.  Scientists agree that legends are usually based on fact, not just imagination.  In the heart of Africa, the native pygmy’s tell of strange encounters with giant-like reptiles in modern times and in the Highlands of northern Scotland people have reported a gigantic swimming “beast."   From the biblical perspective, there is no reason why some of the dinosaurs could survive in the depths of the sea since the flood.  There is some evidence that a few dinosaurs and great marine reptiles could still be alive, on the edge of extinction.  In all parts of the world, ships have reports of giant animals like Plesiosaurs and other types of creature like this.

In my research of the disappearance of the dinosaurs I found out that not all dinosaurs died in the flood and that the flood really happened.  Some of the dinosaurs were taken on the Ark and after the flood was over some of them could not cope with the change in the climate so they died.  Most of the theories could not fit together so they must not be true.  Some parts of the theories could have happened but are not the main reasons for their extinction.

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Mediaviolance

“Monkey see, monkey do” has become a well-known saying in today’s society, but is it correct?  Just sixty years ago the invention of the television was viewed as a technological curiosity with black and white ghost-like figures on a screen so small hardly anyone could see them.  Today that curiosity has become a constant companion to many, mainly children.  From reporting the news and persuading us to buy certain products, to providing programs that depict violence, television has all but replaced written material.  Unfortunately, it is these violent programs that are endangering our present-day society.

Violent images on television, as well as in the movies, have inspired people to set spouses on fire in their beds, lie down in the middle of highways, extort money by placing bombs in airplanes, rape, steal, murder, and commit numerous other shootings and assaults. Over 1,000 case studies have proven that media violence can have negative affects on children as well.  It increases aggressiveness and anti-social behavior, makes them less sensitive to violence and to victims of violence, and it increases their appetite for more violence in entertainment and in real life. Media violence is especially damaging to young children, age 8 and under1, because they cannot tell the difference between real life and fantasy.  Violent images on television and in movies may seem real to these children and sometimes viewing these images can even traumatize them. 

Despite the negative effects media violence has been known to generate, no drastic changes have been made to deal with this problem that seems to be getting worse.  We, as a whole, have glorified this violence so much that movies such as “Natural Born Killers” and television shows such as “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” are viewed as normal, everyday entertainment.  It’s even rare now to find a children’s cartoon that does not depict some type of violence or comedic aggression.  What we do not realize though, is that it is the children that are ending up with problems.  Unlike most rational, educated adults, many children are gradually beginning to accept violence as a way to solve problems and are imitating what they observe on television.  These children do not understand that the violence is shown strictly because the public wants to see it. They cannot grasp the meaning of “ratings” and “entertainment” as well as adults can. All they know is, “if the TV portrays violence as cool, then it must be cool!”

The problem isn’t the violence in the media though; it is the media’s failure to show the consequences of violence.  This is especially true of cartoons, toy commercials, and music videos.  Children often do not realize that it hurts to hit someone else because they see it all the time on TV. Everyday a cartoon character is beat up, injured, or killed, only to return in the very next episode, good as new.  As a result, children learn that there are few, if any repercussions for committing violent acts.

Unfortunately, as long as there is an extremely high public demand for violent shows and movies, the media is going to continue on the same path.  And because it looks as though the “violence craze” is going to continue for some time, we need to be dependent on parents to reduce the effect that media violence has on children, which can be done in so many different ways. 

First, parents should limit the amount of television children watch per day from the average 3 to 4 hours, which is double the amount of recommended hours, to 1 to 2 hours.  Children are exposed to far too much violence every day on TV, mainly because parents see the TV as a convenient babysitter.  By limiting the amount of time spent in front of the “tube,” parents will compel their children to do something more productive like reading a book or playing outside.  In limiting TV time, parents also need to monitor what programs their children are watching and restrict the viewing of violent programs.  Just because a child is not watching as much violence, does not mean he or she still can’t be influenced by it. 

Parents should also make a greater effort to better develop their children’s media literacy skills.  They need to help children to distinguish between fantasy and reality.  Without proper instruction, children often have a hard time drawing the line between what is real and what is make-believe.  With this education, parents should teach their children that real-life violence has consequences, in that pain is real and death is permanent.  They need to understand that weapons and other acts of violence can inflict serious and life-long injuries.  This education can be done simply by watching television with children and discussing the violent acts and images that are portrayed.  They should ask children to think about what would happen in real life if the same type of violent act were committed. Would anyone die or go to jail?  Would anyone be sad?  Would the violence solve problems or create them?  Just asking children how they feel after watching a violent TV show, movie, or music video is enough to move them from their innocent dream world into reality. 

Finally the easiest and most simple way to keep children away from excessive media violence is to teach them alternatives to violence.  Parents should not be so quick to let their children plop down in front of a TV set. They should interest their children with something much more productive and exciting to do.  However this task is completed, it is important for children to be given the proper support in dealing with issues of violence.  If not, they could end up like one of the thousands of criminals sent to prisons and on death row for mindless and unnecessary acts of violence.

We are bombarded continually with images of violence, brutality, and sexual immortality.  When children, teen-agers, and adults all mindlessly automatically imitate and follow the leader, it is hard to believe that there are so many non-aggressive and non-violent people in the world. The reason for this is education.  We, as a humane society, learn in the early years of our life that violence is wrong.  It is important for this education to continue with each passing generation.  Mass media can have a very negative effect on children, but with the support of parents and a little control, the television can be turned into a beneficial tool rather than negative impact.

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What is Corruption?

The word corruption means the destruction, ruining or the spoiling of a society or a nation. A corrupt society stops valuing integrity, virtue or moral principles. It changes for the worse. Such a society begins to decay and sets itself on the road to self destruction. Corruption is an age old phenomena. Selfishness and greed are the two main causes of corruption. Political corruption is the abuse of their powers by state officials for their unlawful private gain.

Over 1500 years ago the mighty Roman Empire disintegrated when its rulers became corrupt and selfish. Nations having a tyrannical powerful ruling elite that refuses to punish the corrupt within it, face the menace of corruption. A corrupt society is characterized by immorality and lack of fear and respect for the law.

Corruption cannot be divorced from economics. Inequality of wealth, low wages and salaries are some of the economic causes of corruption. Employees often strike corrupt deals to supplement their meager incomes. A license-permit regime or scarcity of basic commodities promotes corruption.

In societies where traditional, religious, ethical teaching and standards of morality are weak, corruption often thrives. These values should be revived among their congregations and subjects and in this effort religious leaders and chiefs have an important role to play. Of late, the media has carried out a large number of stories of prophets who misuse offerings and traditional healers who abuse their patients.

The judiciary, the law enforcement agencies and the education sector have an important role to play to fight corruption by changing the prevailing laws, punishments and the education system.

Corruption has prevailed in all forms of government. Various forms of corruption include extortion, graft, bribery, cronyism, nepotism, embezzlement and patronage. Corruption allows criminal activities such as money laundering, extortion and drug trafficking to thrive.

Corruption in several forms prevails all over the world with bribery alone crossing one trillion US dollars annually. A state of unchecked political corruption is known as kleptocacy, which literally means “rule by thieves”.

At times, bribes are given to avoid punishment. For some people, being corrupt is a way to get what they desire. In societies which ignore corruption, it becomes a way of life. People getting very low wages feel they have to demand bribes in order to lead decent lives. But they do not realize that corruption causes suffering to others.

The consequences of corruption for social and economic development are bad. Corruption hinders economic growth and deters investment. The impact of development assistance is reduced and natural resources are over exploited causing further harm to a country’s environmental assets. Resources are diverted from sectors such as education and health to less important sectors or personal enrichment. The rule of law is eroded and the people no longer respect or trust the state. A few people manage to get rich at the expense of society as a whole, while the poor suffer terribly. In the long run unchecked corruption pushes more and more people into poverty which often destabilizes a society.

Societies can fight corruption by letting the state know that they have had enough of it.The authorities move very quickly when the press or the television highlights instances of corruption. Education spreads political and social awareness and these are some factors that help curb the menace of corruption.

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