Posted on March 31st, 2008 by ansleyek
This poem really struck an interesting visual into my head. I understood each line but sometimes it caught me off guard and confused me in some way. This poem means many different things to me. The poem is talking about a certain summer. A summer probably from the author’s childhood. The poem says, “when unicorns were still possible; when the purpose of knees was to be skinned.” This means to me that the poem is referring to a time back at a young age. An age when there were beliefs of unicorns and there was so much play that you skinned your knees all the time. When the poem started talking about the cigarettes i got a little confused but i caught on. The author of the poem uses a way in which they describe the cigarettes without literally saying what they are. In the poem it talks about climbing trees and without mentioning this you can tell it was a good time just by the writing style. Then in the second verse you realize the summer was so great it seems it never happened and the one imagined is even better.
This poem reminded me of plenty of things from the past. The very first and second line I read i immediately thought of my childhood. I thought of when i believed in monsters and unicorns. I thought of when i fell to the ground all the time while playing and skinning a knee. No one in my family smokes so I did not have any thoughts from that part of the poem. Soon i came to thinking about climbing a tree in front of my neighbors yard. I would climb way up into the branches. The from the second verse I became to realize how different those summers are from what I do now. How life was so opposite and that was then and this is now. How life seems more full either way, just my childhood summers were spent with a completely different aspect in mind.
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Filed under: English
Posted on February 5th, 2008 by ansleyek
Although many people approve of adding fluoride to drinking water some do not agree. Adding fluoride to water can help prevent tooth decay but sometimes it can produce stains on your teeth. Research determined that water fluoride levels below 1 ppm prevent decay without the attendant staining. Although that is good many people do not know what fluoride is. People who do not approve of fluoride in drinking water do not want it because they do not know what it is and what it does. What these people do not know is that fluoride is almost everywhere in everything. There is a main reason though, Some people claim that fluoride can lead to cancer and bone damage such as calcification and abnormal growth. Others claim it can lead to genetic mutations and chromosome aberrations. One more claim by some people is that the in recent research, scientists have found that sometimes fluoride in drinking water can lower the IQ of children. For more information on this issue go to The Toxic Effects Of Fluoride
I believe that adding fluoride to drinking water would be okay. I believe that before fluoride is added to drinking water people who live in the areas of it being applied should be informed on what it is and what it does. Fluoride prevents decay in two different ways: It reduces the ability of bacteria in plaque to generate tooth-weakening acids, and it helps remineralize those tooth areas where acid attack has already begun. If to much fluoride is added then staining can occur but in research determined that water fluoride levels below 1 ppm prevent decay without the attendant staining. This means to me that adding fluoride to water would be alright and as long as the right level of fluoride is added and people are informed of what it is then adding fluoride would be acceptable. Also based on my research I have found that fluoridation of community drinking water is a major factor for the decline in dental caries during the 20th century. Some people could say that toothpaste is enough but the concern is the frequency of using toothpaste. An important thing to me is that the AMA urges state health departments to consider the value of requiring statewide fluoridation.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for approving over-the counter fluoride products marketed in the U.S. and or setting standards for such items as toothpaste and mouthwash. Scientists found that children under the age of 2 were susceptible to enamel fluorosis which is the development of enamel opacity if ingested early in tooth development. This lead to in 1996, toothpaste labeling regulations were mandated by the FDA directing parents of children 2 years of age and younger to seek the advise of a dentist before introducing your child to fluoride. To understand this better please read the article under Fluoride Advise For Parents.
The side effect that is most concern to me is the bone damage/ abnormal growth. This would lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. I could become weak and have poor exercise. This would lead to becoming very unhealthy. However, the safety and effectiveness of water fluoridation have been re-evaluated frequently by the National Research Council in Washington DC. They found that there is no credible evidence supporting an association between fluoridation and any of these conditions. I do think that there needs to be constant monitoring and research in this area if there is to be fluoride in everyone’s water.
The above image is Crest toothpaste with fluoride.
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Filed under: Fluoride
Posted on January 18th, 2008 by ansleyek
Welcome to Learnerblogs.org. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
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Filed under: Uncategorized
