Questions: The Charge of the Light Brigade

Half a league, half a league, 

Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred. ‘Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!’ he said: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”

Was there a man dismayed?

Not though the soldier knew

Someone had blundered.

Theirs not to make reply,

Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do and die.

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon in front of them

   Volleyed and thundered;

Stormed at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well,

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of hell

   Rode the six hundred.

Questions:

1. In your opinion, what do you think went wrong when the order was given?

2. Do you believe that war is sometimes necessary? Why?

3. Is it noble to follow orders without questions?

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Half a league, half a league, 

Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred. ‘Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!’ he said: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.

Meaning:
The soldiers were on their horses, charging forward.
They were moving towards the battlefield which was frightening and deadly.
They were six hundred horsemen in the brigade.
The commander of the brigade ordered the horsemen to move forward.
The Light Brigade was ordered to seize the enemy's guns.
The six hundred soldiers rode into battle even though it could possibly end their lives.

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”

Was there a man dismayed?

Not though the soldier knew

Someone had blundered.

Theirs not to make reply,

Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do and die.

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

Meaning:

The commander repeated the command to move forward.

Were any of the soldiers scared?

None of the soldiers lost their courage even though they knew that someone had made a mistake.

However, it was not the soldiers' place to talk back to their commander.

They also did not question the order from the commander.

Their duty was just to carry out the command given to them even if it results in death.

The six hundred soldiers rode into battle even though it could possibly end their lives.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon in front of them

   Volleyed and thundered;

Stormed at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well,

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of hell

   Rode the six hundred.

Meaning:

The soldiers were surrounded by enemy cannon from all sides. Defeat was clear for the soldiers.

The firing of cannon all around made a thundering sound.

Bullets and explosives were fired violently like a storm.

Despite the attacks, the soldiers rode on with great courage.

The six hundred soldiers rode into battle even though it could possible end their lives.

After losing huge amount, Greenland ice is melting faster than ever

By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff

01.05.16

A new study has calculated just how much ice Greenland has lost since the year 1900. The number is astounding: 9,103 gigatons.

A gigaton is a billion metric tons.  For reference, the Statue of Liberty weighs about 200 metric tons.

The study was completed by 16 authors and was published in the magazine Nature. The lead author was Kristian K. Kjeldsen of the Natural History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen. 

Estimating the loss of ice was not easy. It required the use of several information sources. These included the distinct marks left by retreating glaciers on the landscape, extensive aerial photography from 1978 through 1987, and satellite and aircraft observations beginning in 1983.

All were merged to provide the new ice loss estimates. "It's the first observational-based study that shows where Greenland has lost its mass over the last 110 years," said Kurt H. Kjær, the paper's senior author.

How Greenland Affects Earth's Waters

The study offers a better understanding of how Greenland's ice loss has contributed to sea level rise. As the global temperature has gradually increased, ice in Greenland and throughout the Arctic has started to melt.  The melting ice has added to the volume of the oceans. Oceans all over the world have been affected, with water creeping higher onto the land. The study measures the effect Greenland's melting ice has had on sea levels.

It shows that the ice in Greenland is starting to melt more quickly. The amount of total ice loss doubled from 2003 to 2010 compared to ice loss throughout the 20th century (1900-1999). During this recent time period, an average of 186 gigatons of ice melted each year. Other estimates have put that number even higher. NASA currently states that Greenland is losing 287 billion tons of ice per year.

The study notes that ice melted in Greenland throughout the 20th century. The authors suggest that around 1900, the Earth started coming out of the Little Ice Age, a natural cool period. As the planet started warming, some ice began to melt. 

Humans And Global Warming

However, the speed of ice loss increased rapidly as major human-caused global warming kicked in. Most scientists believe that the release of greenhouse gasses, caused by human activities, has led to a dangerous increase in the Earth's temperature.

Since 1900, the research finds, Greenland's major mass loss has been coming quite consistently from a few key regions. Much of the melting has come from the northwest and southeast of the ice sheet, the vast layer of ice that covers about 80 percent of Greenland. Ice has also been melting from the Jakobshavn glacier in the southwest, Greenland's single fastest moving glacier. It is currently losing 25 to 35 gigatons of ice annually.

However, in recent years, the northeast of the ice sheet has started to melt as well. It features two major glaciers named Zachariae Isstrøm and Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden, which hold back 12 percent of all of Greenland's ice.

The new research suggests that the ice melting in Greenland has had a major effect on the rising sea level. The study estimates that 9,103 gigatons of ice have been lost from Greenland in the last 110 years. That would amount to a 2.5 centimeter of sea level rise. In other words, if the new study is correct, ice loss in Greenland has added an inch to the world's oceans.

The Inch Felt Round The World

An inch may not sound like much, but spread over the entire globe it is a staggering and dangerous amount of water. If Greenland's ice keeps melting, it could lead to disaster. If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt, it would lead to roughly 20 feet of sea level rise.

The study also measured the amount of fresh water that has traveled into the North Atlantic ocean from Greenland and elsewhere. According to Jason Box, a professor with the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, most of that melted water has probably stayed in the North Atlantic.

This could interfere with the Atlantic Ocean's water currents and circulation, which are driven by differences in temperature and saltiness. Cold salty water sinks in the North Atlantic and travels southward. This pulls more warm water north. If too much fresh water is added to the North Atlantic, however, it could slow or eventually shut down the circulation. This would have dramatic effects on the Earth's climate.

Keeping The Melt Under Control

The fact that so much ice in Greenland has melted, contributing fresh water to the oceans, is troubling, and the melting appears to be speeding up. The key for the future of Greenland's ice comes down to global warming. The big question is how high global temperatures will rise and how long they will stay there. 

Last month, world leaders met in Paris, France, and agreed to the goal of keeping warming well below 2 degrees Celsius (about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit). If achieved, that may be enough to prevent all of Greenland's ice from melting.

However, if the Earth gets much warmer than that, Greenland's ice will not last. "The ice sheets are doomed in a plus-3-Celsius world," says Box.

Questions:

1. How much ice has Greenland lost since the year 1900?

2. Who led this study?

3. How did they estimate the lost of ice?

4. What is the cause of the ice melting?

5. What causes global warming?

6. In your opinion, what are the steps that could be taken to resolve this problem?

Scientists may be a bit closer to knowing if Mars has ever had life

By Scientific American, adapted by Newsela staff

07.21.15

Scientists have found an unusual material called “impact glass” on Mars. The discovery is important. Impact glass could provide information about how well Mars can support life and show if there ever was life on Mars.

Signs of impact glass were discovered by Kevin Cannon and John Mustard. Cannon is a student at Brown University and Mustard is a professor there. They located the impact glass with help from a NASA Mars spacecraft.

Impact glass can be formed when an asteroid or comet crashes into a planet. The crash causes the release of a lot of energy that can melt rocks and soil. If the melted rock cools quickly enough, it becomes solid, and forms impact glass. This impact glass is different than the see-through glass we find in daily life. It is dark brown, almost black, and only partly see-through. It may look like freshly cooled lava from a volcano, says Cannon. However, lava and impact glass are formed differently.

Planet Slams Are Not New

Asteroids and comets routinely slam into planets. Therefore, scientists have long suspected that impact glass exists on other planets. The new study supports this idea.

Until now, it has been hard to find impact glass on Mars. Scientists identify different types of rocks on the surface of the planet by looking at the sunlight that reflects off the planet. Different rocks leave unique marks in the reflection, sort of like fingerprints. The fingerprint is a rock's spectral signal. Impact glass has a weak spectral signal.

Rocks are dark and have a strong signal because they absorb so much heat from the sun. If rocks and impact glass are in the same place, the rocks' signal blocks the signal coming from the glass.

Copying The Martian Glass

Cannon solved this problem by making his own artificial Martian impact glass. First, he mixed together powders that were like what rocks on Mars are made of. Then he melted them in an oven. After that, Cannon and Mustard measured the spectral signal of this imitation impact glass. It helped them to know precisely what to look for on Mars.

Their search turned up a bunch of glass in deep holes called craters on the planet's surface. “It wasn’t completely surprising,” Cannon said. “We thought that it should be there.”

One scientist said the study was the first time impact glass was found on Mars.

Looking For Tiny Life Signs

Impact glass has also been found on Earth. Studies show that the glass can hold signs of what lived on a planet before the glass was formed. It can also show bits of what lived on a planet after the glass was formed.

Last year, a team of scientists led by Peter Schultz of Brown University said they found plant leaves inside impact glass that was found in a crater in Argentina. Schultz says impact glass on Mars might also hold bits of tiny life. “There is no proof that there ever was life on Mars,” said Kieren Howard, a professor at the City University of New York. However, if there was once life on Mars, bits of life trapped inside impact glass could let scientists figure out what the planet used to be like, he said.

Impact glass is not only good for showing life-forms from where the planet was hit. The glass can hold tiny life-forms that moved in later.

The tiny life-forms called are called chemolithoautotrophs, which are thought to be some of the earliest life on Earth. They can tunnel into the glass and live.

Some of these microbes, or tiny life forms, create acid. The acid allows them to dissolve the glass. As the glass dissolves, the microbes dig in deeper, forming tiny tunnels.

Bringing The Glass To Earth

If these tiny tunnels were found in the Martian glass, could that be evidence that Mars was home to alien life? Could life even still be on the planet? Cannon said there is no reason to think there is life on Mars today. Besides, scientist Haley Sapers says that scientists would need to bring the glass to Earth to try to find any tunnels. Doing this would surely kill anything still alive in the glass.

Still, the glass may contain gases from the time the comet or asteroid hit the planet. This could show what the atmosphere on Mars used to be like.

Questions:

1. What is found on Mars?

2. Why is the discovery important?

3. What is "impact glass"?

4. How is the "impact glass" formed?

5. How did Cannon find the "impact glass" on Mars?

6. How does impact glass shows what lived on the planet?

7.  What are chemolithoautotrophs?

8. Do you think there is life on Mars? Support your answer.

Animals that were oceans apart are now together, due to melting Arctic ice

By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff

12.21.15

Animals have been showing up in strange places lately.

Gray whales live in the Pacific Ocean. In the spring of 2010, though, a single gray whale was spotted in the Mediterranean Sea. It was the first time a gray whale was seen in the North Atlantic in about 200 years. 

How Did YOU Get HERE?

Other animals that live in the Pacific have been appearing in the Atlantic as well. Likewise, creatures that live in the Atlantic Ocean have been seen in the Pacific. 

What is going on? A group of scientists, led by a scientist named Seabird McKeon, published a paper about the strange pattern. The paper was released on Nov. 30 in the magazine Global Biology. It said that the reason animals are moving between the Atlantic and the Pacific may have to do with climate change. 

Between the Atlantic and Pacific are giant continents. Sea creatures cannot cross them. Connecting the two oceans to the north is the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic is one of the coldest places on earth. Because of how cold it is, big parts of the Arctic Ocean are covered in ice. 

Melting Ice Makes Travel Easier

The ice usually keeps animals from using the Arctic to move between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Animals like whales and seals have difficulty getting through the ice. It gets in the way of their swimming and can block them from coming up to breathe. Birds can fly over the frozen ocean, but the ice prevents them from diving for fish.

These days, however, the ice is starting to melt. The climate is changing. Each year, the earth is getting a little warmer. As the Arctic has warmed, ice has started melting. As a result, passageways have opened up in the ice. 

McKeon and his team believe that this has allowed certain animals to cross through the Arctic, letting them move between the Atlantic and the Pacific. It is like a bridge has opened up between two oceans that used to be separate. Animals that used to always be apart can now mix. Scientists call this mixing "faunal exchange."

Studying "Faunal Exchange"

Many animals could become part of the faunal exchange. Birds such as Arctic terns, common eiders, Atlantic puffins and short-tailed shearwaters may start to move between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Beluga whales, ringed seals and Atlantic white-sided dolphins may do so as well.

No one can say for sure what effects the faunal exchange will have. To get some idea, though, McKeon and his team examined past examples of faunal exchange.

The Great American Biotic Interchange was a large faunal exchange. Several million years ago a thin strip of land called the Isthmus of Panama formed between North and South America. The new bridge allowed land animals to cross between the two continents for the first time. As a result, animals from North America invaded South America. They beat out many of the native animals there for food. 

Watch Out For Killer Whales!

McKeon and his team also looked at what happened when killer whales moved into Hudson Bay, a large body of water in Canada. As their name suggests, killer whales are hunters. All of the sudden, the animals in Hudson Bay had to be on the lookout for a new predator. Faunal exchange, in that case, altered the delicate balance of predators and prey.

McKeon and his team argue that the current exchange between the Pacific and Atlantic may have the same kinds of effects. It may lead to genetic changes as well. As animals move to new territories, they mix with different kinds of animals. Sometimes these new neighbors interbreed. New kinds of animals might be born as a result.

What Next?

At this point, scientists can only wait and see, and study. Most scientists seem to agree that faunal exchange between the Pacific and Atlantic is already occurring. It seems like it will only increase as more passages open up in the Arctic. The effects of faunal exchange, however, remain to be seen.

Questions:

1. Where do gray whales live in and where were they found in now?

2. Why the animals are moving between the Atlantic and the Pacific?

3. Why do animals cannot cross between the Atlantic and Pacific?

4. Why does the ice keeps animals from using the Arctic to move between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans?

5. What does "faunal exchange" mean?

6. What are the effects of current exchange between the Pacific and Atlantic?

Why Conflict is a Good Thing?

Conflicts between people are a normal, natural and inevitable part of life–at work, at home and in all our relationships with others. Unfortunately, most of us don’t really accept this fact and we still get surprised and distressed when it’s clear that a conflict has emerged.

As long as everything is going along smoothly, it’s easy to be considerate and respectful of another person’s needs. They are in no way interfering with our own. But the emergence of a conflict can change all that–now we can feel threatened, anxious and angry. The same person whom we enjoyed working with yesterday now seems like an adversary. That’s because of our vast, past experience with conflict, most of which was negative.

We have a negative attitude toward conflict primarily because we haven’t learned constructive ways to deal with it–in fact, the converse is true: we have learned destructive ways of handling conflict. As children, as students and as employees (and too often as spouses) we have experienced losing in a conflict because parents, teachers and bosses use/d their power to win at our expense. Even though we know the feelings of resentment, anger, dislike, even hostility that we experience as a result of losing, the win-lose posture is deeply ingrained and when we get in positions where we have power over people, we often choose to win at their expense.

A great deal of research shows the damaging effects that win-lose conflict resolution has on interpersonal relationships. It creates distance, separation, dislike, even hatred. It’s the main reason people leave their jobs for new ones and marriages break up.

How conflicts get resolved is the critical factor in any relationship. In fact, it is the most critical factor in determining whether a relationship will be healthy or unhealthy, mutually satisfying or unsatisfying, friendly or unfriendly, deep or shallow, intimate or cold.

As most of us are aware, there is an alternative to the win-lose posture. It’s often been called “win-win” or “no-lose” because the goal is to find a solution to the conflict that meets the needs of both people. Resolving conflicts this way requires three important attitudes and behaviors: 1) the attitude that conflict in general presents the opportunity for constructive change; 2) the willingness to engage in the process of mutually searching for a solution that meets the needs of both people; 3) the communication and problem solving skills that it takes to make this win-win method work. Too often, people want to resolve conflicts this way, but either are not truly willing in their heart of hearts to work for a mutually-acceptable solution or do not have the skills required to work together to find one. When this occurs, the win-win method is doomed to failure.

When you’re in conflict with another person, you both are usually aware of it at some level. There’s a sense of disruption, unease, something is not right. The communication between you might change, perhaps becoming superficial or terse. Or there’s silence.

Once you’re aware that you’re in conflict, what you do next really matters. Acknowledge that a conflict exists. Very often, we decide not to acknowledge this hoping that the conflict will somehow go away or resolve itself. That rarely happens. Only when conflicts are brought out into the open, do they have the chance of being dealt with effectively.

And as I just mentioned, dealing with conflict effectively requires skills–skills that are proven to work, sometimes like magic. When you have these skills, the idea of facing conflicts with others is not nearly so daunting, and in fact can be stimulating and energizing. (There are very few intractable problems to which there are no mutually-acceptable solutions.)

Dialogue is the key element in constructive conflict resolution. Dialogue is made up of two very different communication skills, both of which are essential–listening with empathy and non-blameful self-disclosure. As Reuel Howe states in his book, The Miracle of Dialogue: “…it must be mutual and proceed from both sides, and the parties to it must persist relentlessly…when two persons undertake it and accept their fear of doing so, the miracle-working power of dialogue may be released.”

The importance of listening with empathy to the other person’s needs, feelings and beliefs cannot be overstated. This means experiencing what it feels like to be in the other person’s shoes at that moment and then reflecting what you hear back to them to check whether you understood correctly. This can be very difficult to do especially when you have strong opposing viewpoints or feelings, but it’s possible when you’re truly intent on understanding. Something amazing happens when people feel understood and accepted at a deep level. Their need to hold onto their preconceived solution to the conflict often dissipates. And often their strong emotional feelings subside.

The other essential part of dialogue is non-blameful self-disclosure. Now it’s your turn to talk about your needs and disclose your feelings without blaming the other person. Ideally, they will be committed to listening empathically to you, to put themselves in your shoes, to experience your reality. When that happens, you too can feel catharsis, and be more open to finding a mutually-satisfying solution. Once the basic needs of each person are clearly defined and understood, moving through the other steps needed to find a solution can be done in a climate of mutual consideration and respect.

Having positive conflict resolution experiences like these are both rewarding and reinforcing. And that’s a great thing.

A hot dog a day can cause cancer, scientists say

By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff

Grade Level 5Word Count 730

PARIS, France — Bacon, hot dogs and bologna taste good to most of us. Unfortunately, it turns out they can be very bad for your health. The World Health Organization (WHO) said such meats can cause cancer.

The WHO is part of the United Nations. It is a group whose members are countries that work to solve the world's problems.

Cancer is a terrible disease that kills millions of people every year. It causes cells in the body to grow uncontrollably. Lumps form inside the body and spread, and can lead to death.

Bacon, Bologna And Colon Cancer

The WHO scientists looked at two kinds of meat: processed meat and red meat. Processed meat is meat that has been flavored or preserved, often by adding chemicals. Bacon, hot dogs and bologna are all processed meats, along with sausages, beef jerky and anything smoked. Red meat includes beef, veal, pork, lamb and goat.

The WHO said processed meat is definitely linked to cancer. In particular, it can lead to cancer of the colon. The colon is also known as the large intestine. The colon helps the body digest or break down food and prepare waste for elimination.

The WHO said red meat probably can cause cancer as well. So far, there is not enough proof to be completely sure, however.

Happy Doctors, Angry Meat Producers

The new WHO report is the most complete study yet on the link between meat and cancer. Doctors have long suspected there was such a link.

The report was prepared by the WHO's cancer agency. The agency looked at more than 800 earlier studies on possible links between meat and cancer.

Cancer experts welcomed the new report.

Meat producers are angry. The North American Meat Institute represents U.S. meat producers. It has begun to fight back against the new WHO report.

The meat institute said cancer is a complicated disease, with many causes. It said cancer is "not caused by single foods."

Hot Dogs, Smoking And Danger

For the first time, the WHO has put processed meats in the same danger group as smoking. Its findings do not mean that hot dogs and salami are as bad as cigarettes. It only means that there is a proven link to cancer.

Eating one hot dog a day is enough to increase your chances of getting cancer. Eating several slices of bologna a day is also enough to raise your risk of getting cancer. The more processed meat a person eats, the higher the risk of getting the disease.

Still, eating processed meats is much less dangerous than smoking cigarettes. Smoking three cigarettes a day is far worse for you than eating three slices of bologna a day. It is around 27 times more likely to give you cancer.

Even so, the risks of eating certain kinds of meat are real. Experts have long warned of the dangers of chemicals used to preserve, flavor or color meat.

Cancer Risk And Healthier Choices

The risk of getting colon cancer from eating processed meat is small, said Dr. Kurt Straif of the WHO. However, the risk increases, the more of it you eat.

Every year around 34,000 people die of cancers linked to eating processed meat. Usually these are people who ate a lot of processed meat.

Doctors have long advised against eating lots of red or processed meat. They have done this not just because of the cancer danger. The high levels of fat and salt in these types of meat can also lead to heart disease.

Cancer expert Susan Gapstur said the WHO report is "an important step" in helping people make healthier food choices. She suggests choosing fish or chicken instead of red meat or processed meat.

Food scientist Gunter Kuhnle accepts the WHO's findings. However, he thinks people should not become overly worried. Processed meats are nowhere nearly as likely to cause cancer as cigarettes are, he said. Eating a little bit is probably not dangerous.

Kuhnle said the new findings are very important. However, they should not be used to alarm or frighten people, he said.