Cold

Every morning is different; waking up with different feelings but the constant reminder of bone chilling sensation that scares me every day. Why is it so hard to be warm inside and out when the sun shine with its greatest might and day begins with the sweet chirp of birds finding their ways to feed the young ones in the nest right below the tallest branch of the tree in front of my window? The answer is a distant mystery that eludes me every day with a constant reminder that I am in the cold and I need warmth.

This cold feeling it does not seem to leave me. While I cover my bare body with layers of clothes for a futile act of creating warmth in me but my soul and mind is naked and shivering encountering the full wrath of the cold. I have no clothes to cover them but with everyday passing the cold gets bitter and bitter and bitter.

It is as if the cold is a manifestation of my actions in the past; as if I left a refrigerator open in the past and put the temperature to maximum in its settings.  I should be comfortable with the cold by now but every day it seems harder to fight the cold because the refrigerator has immense functions to offer. The chilling winds of my past regrets strip away the warmth inside me and make me a shell of a man I used to be.

There used to be warmth and eternal sunshine and I sunbathed with my emotions. The warm interactions; the loving eyes were all I found but as actions committed to feelings the warmth gave way to bitter cold and an eternal winter that left me with sorrow and despair. These eyes that gave me warmth now show me the chilling stare that makes this winter even harder.

Those eyes were magnificent at first gazing me with utmost beauty and compassion. They represented hope. A symbol for the warmth that my soul possessed but as the eyes came swiftly they went away swiftly as well. The swift nature of those eyes took way all the warmth like an endothermic reaction of hearts of some sort and crashed the ship that held this body together.

No man could witness the decrease in heat or even sense the cold or the warmth but only they could see the obvious; someone leaving the very man who was the sole provider of positivity and compassion. This act gave way to remorse, hatred and the all eternal bitter cold that seems to  continue into infinity and beyond.

How far do the media have the right to probe into a person’s life?

Globalization has made the world even smaller and increased the borders of media. It is a worldwide responsibility of media to present factual truth to the global society. It is not a matter of whether one likes it, wants it or needs it. The media’s responsibility could never be overemphasized when its impact on world politics, economy, culture and other social sectors has increasingly widened. It is absolutely true for a news organization to report the truth as much as possible. It is the very basic requirement of the media industry. But nowadays that is far from enough. The media, like all corporations, are no longer held accountable for their actions. Questionable Celebrity photos and paparazzi culture has disgraced media and diverted media from its responsibility. Social networks have become a good asset for the media to explore into private lives. Media has become a basic tool to earn money and with that many media corporations have started to probe into private lives to dig dirt and violating the right to privacy.

One man's gossip may be another man's news, but distinguishing between the two is often the key in determining whether the press is guilty of invasion of privacy. Whether an article or broadcast is newsworthy, whether the information was gathered in an objectionable fashion, whether truthful information is nonetheless highly offensive, all are considerations in weighing individuals' claims against the news media. Invasion of privacy is a civil wrong, which can lead to jury trials and potential claims for compensatory and punitive damages. The gist of the wrongful act is a physical intrusion into a place where the reporter has no lawful right to be, i.e., peering into windows, tape recording conversations of others without consent, or reproducing private documents without consent. Sometimes the intrusion is not physical, but is accomplished by electronic devices. These kinds of intrusion and offensive behaviors question the moral integrity of the journalist itself. Here we have to have moral standards upon the media’s right to invade a private life. It is not the case of secrecy but it is a case of moral value. Media has the right to search for a criminal and it can follow such behaviors in such cases but invading a common man’s life is morally incorrect.

The end of the twentieth century was dominated by the extraordinary growth of the Internet as a communications medium and commercial engine. It revolutionized the media industry and made it more commercial. This dynamic, multifaceted category of communication included not only traditional print and news services, but also audio, video, and still images. This provided media with more power and more responsibility but the real deal came when Internet was introduced with social networks. Social networks became the pool of private information that could be viewed publicly. The unprecedented power offered by social network media also threatened individual privacy. The photo sharing and the YouTube videos became a global phenomenon but it added to the risk of exposure of private information. The attack by hackers and media releasing photos are the consequences of media probing into the private lives of a common man. If the media cannot handle the risk of securing theses private information then it questions the extent of media’s right to probe for information.

Celebrities are most haunted by media probing into their life. Paparazzi taking photos and the media presenting rumors about celebrities in their gossip news present the signs of yellow journalism. It is common for media proprietors or executives and for consumers to distance themselves from paparazzi, particularly during outbreaks of community emotion such as followed the death of Princess Diana. However, they are complicit in production, distribution and consumption of celebrity images. It makes media look more like a financial institution. Paparazzi released the photos of Princess Diana right after her death to the media houses which was a proof of yellow journalism. Recent rumors of Jackie Chan and Rajnikant being dead are all a consequence of lack of privacy and yellow journalism. The Paris Hilton sex tape and Britney Spears photo without her underwear caught by the paparazzi shows disrespect to privacy and women. These examples do prove that the credibility of media decreases as it involves itself in menial affairs as such. Media should report the consequences of Global warming, probe into corruption by the government rather than exploring the privacy of common man.

Media should be a responsible force rather than a financial power. Certainly finance is an issue but media should take a step towards serious issues such as poverty and education. Media should respect the privacy of an individual and be responsible. Media is a good source which would go waste if it humiliates the privacy of an individual.

How important is it to explore alternative forms of energy?

Energy is the source of life. Energy that we gain from food helps us to survive. It implies that food is a source of energy for us. The vehicles that we use, the industries that manufacture different products are all dependant on some kind of energy source. The source may be electricity or fossil fuel but it is clear that everything needs an energy source to run. In the old days firewood was the energy source. After the invention of automobiles and airplanes in early 20^th century, fossil fuels have been the most prominent source of energy. Fossil fuels fulfill most of the energy requirement of the world because of which energy produced from other sources are regarded as alternative energy. Fossil fuels are found in a limited amount which puts it into a high risk of depletion. So, it has become very important to explore alternate forms of energy.

Fossil fuel governs the world economy as it is proved to be the prominent source of energy. It can be a benefit to those countries which have a large abundance of fossil fuels. Countries such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico are the major providers of fossil fuel in the present world. They are rich countries with their supply of fuel but when the fuel runs out, their economy may be thrashed. It will not only affect these nations but it will affect the global market. It will cause recession bigger than that of 2009/10. For instance, the increase in price of oil increases the monetary value of gold but when there is an Energy crisis it could drop down the monetary value of gold. It would cause inflation and developed or under developed, all nations will have to suffer. Saudi Arabia exports nearly 267 barrels of oil a year and UAE exports 98 billion barrels per year. Energy crisis will doom their economy not to mention it cause a lot people to lose their job. 

This is exact reason why we should explore other forms of energy. We should explore it to balance our economy. Research in alternative energies could mean more jobs. Car manufacturers will be bankrupt if there is an Energy crisis. Japan exported 923000 cars to U.S.A in 2006 which used fossil fuels and the data relates 6 year ago. There is a steady 5% increase of cars sales each year. It means the cars and automobiles around the world would have to run on some other source if the trend is to follow and it can be stopped if we follow our duty. Our duty is not only provide ourselves with a steady economy but for our future generations also. If we explore and practice the use of alternative forms of energy now, we can even prevent an economic an energy crisis from happening.

The economy is not only the fossil fuels are destroying, it’s the environment too. The emission of harmful gases from the use of fossil fuels is destroying the water cycle and causing a worldwide climate change. Global warming is another problem created from the use of fossil fuels. The use of hydroelectricity and solar power could minimize these harmful effects of pollution and Global warming. Sea levels are rising and it is endangering many countries such as Maldives, Nepal, and Philippines. These all harmful effects are caused by the use of fossil fuels and it causing billions of dollars worth damage. The use of alternative energy is inevitable if we do not want floods and landslides. The disturbance in water cycle has caused change in season and disturbed wild flora and fauna. Alternative energy doesn’t only mean using electricity and solar power only but it also means nuclear energy and using ethanol in vehicles. They are less pollutant than fossil fuels. Fossil fuels pollute the environment but it also affects the health of wildlife and not to mention human life. The importance of alternative energy is that it can help create a healthier life than we live in today by saving our environment.

Environment issues have become important to many countries. The use of alternative energy has been a prime example to deal with those in many countries. For instance in U.K. apart from nuclear energy, offshore windmill has been implemented. Denmark has 20% of its population using public transportation and electric vehicles. It aims to eradicate fossil fuels by 2020. In 2008, consumption of renewable sources in the United States totaled 7.3 quadrillion Btu or about 7% of all energy used nationally. Germany is extending its arms towards solar power and India has building projects of onshore windmills. This shows the importance of alternative energy as it is explored by the leading nations also.

We are living on an economy which is dependent upon fuel and its transaction and we have to search new ways to produce fuels. Alternative energy is a step toward tomorrow. It can create a better tomorrow for all of mankind and the environment. It could help us sustain our future.