There is always something that happens in the world that everyone fears will happen to their town, city or country: natural disasters. The scariest part of it is that no one will ever see it coming. Though technology helps us prepare, but it never actually tells the people when it's going to hit. It is always estimated but the result is never 100% accurate.

    However, that is not the point of this article. Two different natural disasters in two different parts of the world have happened in the past few weeks. One was a major flood that has hit Louisiana in the United States. The other was an earthquake that hit Amatrice, Italy. However, there is a major difference in the news coverage of the two tragedies.

    As for the flooding in Louisiana, it is reported that this disaster is the worst to hit the United States since Super-storm Sandy and it'll cost at least $30 million. In only the first couple of weeks, 13 people had died. However, like me, many people did not hear about this tragic event. I did not learn about it until about three weeks after it happened.

    In Italy, however, it covered all media instantly. The earthquake in Italy happened on Tuesday morning. That same day, I was on Twitter and that was all that was over the news feed. Every other post was about the earthquake. Some would have the opinion that Amatrice, Italy was one of the most beautiful towns in that country. I got in deep sorrow because there were more people killed in this quake than the flooding. So far, they have a total of 73 dead and over one hundred missing.

    I understand that technically the earthquake in Italy was worse than the floods in Louisiana. However, I believe that if a natural disaster happens, they all should be equally covered and taken equally seriously. We are one world united and should be there for all of the people who are in need of help. We may not be able to accurately predict disasters but, we can surely lend a hand out for the needy.

    Welcome to your future life!

    You get up in the morning and look into the mirror. Your face is firm and young-looking. In 2035, medical technology is better than ever. Many people your age could live to be 150, so at 40, you're not old at all. And your parents just had an anti-aging(抗衰老的) treatment. Now, all three of look the same age!

    You say to your shirt, “Turn red.” It changes from blue to red. In 2035, “smart clothes” contain particles(粒子) much smaller than the cells in your body. The particles can be programmed to change clothes' color or pattern.

    You walk into the kitchen. You pick up the milk, but a voice says,“ You shouldn't drink that!” Your fridge has read the chip (芯片) that contains information about the milk , and it knows the milk is old . In 2035, every article of food in the grocery store has such a chip.

    It's time to go to work. In 2035, cars drive themselves. Just tell your “smart car” where to go. On the way, you can call a friend using your jacket sleeve. Such “smart technology” is all around you.

    So will all these things come true? “For new technology to succeed,” says scientist Andrew Zolli ,”it has to be so much better that it replaces what we have already.” The Internet is one example—what will be the next?

    Easter (复活节) is still a great day for worship (崇拜), randy in baskets and running around the yard finding eggs, but every year it gets quite a bit worse for bunnies (兔子).

    And no, not because the kids like to pull their ears. The culprit is climate change, and some researchers found that rising temperatures arc having harmful effects on at least five species of rabbit in the US.

    Take the Lower Keys March rabbit, for instance. An endangered species that lives in the Lower Florida Keys, this species of cottontail is a great swimmer—it lives on the islands!—but it is already severely affected by development and now by rising levels. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, an ocean level rise of only 0.6 meters will send these guys jumping to higher ground and a 0.9-meter rise would wipe out their habitat (栖息地) completely.

    The snowshoe hare, on the other hand, has a color issue. Most of these rabbits change their fur color from white in the wintertime to brown in the summer, each designed to give them better cover from  predators (捕食者). As the number of days with snow decreases all across the country, however, more and more bunnies arc being left in white fur during brown dirt days of both fall and spring, making them an easier mark for predators. Researchers know that the color change is controlled by the number of hours of sunlight, but whether the rabbit will be able to adapt quick enough to survive is a big question. The National Wildlife Federation has reported that hunters have noticed their numbers are already markedly down.

    American pikas or rock rabbits, a relative of rabbits and hares, might be the firs' of these species to go extinct due to climate change. About 7-8 inches long, pikas live high in the cool, damp mountains west of the Rocky Mountains. As global temperatures rise, they would naturally migrate (迁徙) to higher ground - but they already occupy (占据) the mountaintops. They can't go any higher. The National Wildlife Federation reports that they might not be able to stand the new temperatures as their habitat beats up.

    The volcano rabbit has the same problem. These rabbits live on the slopes of volcanoes in Mexico, and recent studies have shown that the lower range of their habitat has already shifted upward about 700 meters, but there are not suitable plants for them to move higher, so they are stuck in the middle. Scientists are concerned about their populations.

    Native to the US, pygmy rabbits weigh less than 1 pound and live in the American West. They are believed to be the smallest rabbits in the world. Their habitats have been destroyed by development. Several populations, such as the Columbia Basin pygmy, almost went extinct and were saved by zoo breeding programs. Pygmy rabbits also rely on winter cover by digging tunnels through the snow to escape predators, but lesser snowfall is leaving them exposed.

    All of this gives new meaning to dressing up in a giant bunny costume (服装) this Easter.

    Internet Security Awareness

    MS-ISAC

    “Kids Safe Online”

    2017 Virginia Poster Contest(比赛)

    Official Rules

    Contestants

    The contest is open to all Virginia public, private Kindergarteners -12 in the United States, District of Columbia and the U.S. Territories (领土).

    Judging Criteria

    Posters will be judged on the following criteria:

    Clear message conveyed by the text and artwork

    Creativity, originality and artistic quality

    Visual clarity - easily read

    Bright and colorful

    Must not use published materials.

    Winners

    Virginia will select the top 5 winning posters from each grade group (K-5, 6-8, 9-12) and send them to the National Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) Internet Security Awareness Poster Contest. The Virginia winners will receive a certificate of appreciation. MS- ISAC will select four winners in each grade and award a prize. These winners will have the honor of having their artwork made into a poster calendar which will be handed out throughout the country and may also be used in campaigns to raise awareness among children of all ages about the Internet.

    Posters will not be returned!

    Deadline

    All posters must be received by midnight, Jan. 6, 2017.

    Poster should be mailed to:

    Kids Safe Online Poster Contest Virginia Information Technology Agency Commonwealth Security & Risk Management

    11751 Meadowville Lane Chester, VA 23836

    Electronic posters can be sent to: CommonwealthSecurity@virginia.gov

    Contest Timeline

    Now through Jan. 6, 2017

    Students create their posters and the school can choose up to 15 posters to send to VITA by midnight January 6, 2017.

    No Later than Jan. 27, 2017

    Virginia posters will be judged and the top 15 posters will be sent to MS-ISAC for national judging.

    Jan. 30 to March 3, 2017,

    MS-ISAC will perform national judging. Winners will be declared no later than March 24, 2017

    Among the most popular forms of dieting is the South Beach diet, developed by Arthur Agatston of Miami, Florida. Dr. Agatston developed the South Beach diet for his patients with heart problems to lose weight. Since weight matters a lot in keeping heart healthy and traditional low-fat diets were too difficult for them to stick to, Dr. Agatston decided to create a plan that could help his patients. At first, the diet was just for his patients. Soon, thanks to his patients' success, the diet became the buzz in Miami, and eventually, word spread across the nation.

    This diet focuses on a healthy balance between carbohydrates（碳水化合物）and fats. It is based on eating a combination of “good” carbohydrates and fats, while limiting those “bad” ones. It is divided into three different phases.

    The first phase lasts for two weeks and is the strictest of the three. During this phase, you are asked to restrict（限制）all carbohydrates (good and bad). You are allowed to eat all types of fish, cheeses, eggs, and nuts, and a large number of vegetables. Most dieters can expect to lose between 8 and 12 pounds during this phase.

    During Phase 2, you are allowed to reintroduce some of those carbohydrates that are not allowed before. You are encouraged to start eating carbohydrates that have a low glycemic index（升糖指数）. But you should keep in mind that the key is moderation（适度）. Most people continue to lose 1-2 pounds per week. You continue with this phase until you reach your target weight.

    Phase 3 is designed to help you keep your weight. During Phase 3, you can reintroduce some of the carbohydrates that have a higher glycemic index, although again, this should be in moderation. Phase 3 is meant to be a way of life.

Photographic self-portraits have existed for as long as cameras have been in human hands. But what about selfies in space? On Twitter last year, NASA astronaut Edwin Aldrin, who famously became the second man to walk on the moon in July 1969, laid claim to a spaceflight first: taking the first selfie in space during the Gemini XII mission in 1966.

"For me, it needs to be digital to be selfie," argues Jennifer Levasseur, a director at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. According to Levasseur, the concept of a selfie is directly linked to internet culture. "The thing that makes a selfie is sharing it," she says.

Still, astronauts have been carrying cameras aboard space vehicles since the 1960s. In 1966, Aldrin used a Hasselblad camera designed specifically for space. Hasselblad also painted the first camera in space a matte(磨砂) black to reduce reflections in the orbiter window. But cameras used in space need to survive extreme conditions, like temperature swings from -149° to 248°F, so Hasselblad painted later model silver.

Astronauts visiting the moon then had to take out the film and leave their camera bodies behind when they returned to Earth, because early space missions were limited by a weight limit on the returned trip. Then a big change in space camera technology came after the space shuttle Columbia broke apart on its return to Earth in 2003, Levasseur notes. "Fear that they'd never be able to bring film back from space and lose all that hard work accelerated the push for digital," she says.

Today, astronauts also have access to internet and social platforms in space and can post true space selfies made using digital cameras. Similarly, space robots are participating in selfie culture, capturing remote pictures of themselves in space or on other planets and sending them back to Earth.