The Patriot News

For many, fall is a time of pumpkin spice lattes, leaves, and thanks. November in particular may bring to mind the delicious smells of turkey and mashed potatoes while also invoking that sense of warmth that family brings. For some however, November, has yet another meaning: National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. During this wonderful month, the goal is to write a 50,000 word novel—a number that may seem intimidating. This year, I decided to give NaNoWriMo a shot, and although I had little optimism in my chances of completing it, I hoped that it would push me through the writer’s block I had been stuck in since May. Surprisingly, it worked. I found myself pouring word after word onto the page, pressed by the fact that in order to write 50,000 words in thirty days, I would have to write close to 2000 words a day, roughly four typed pages. In the past week, I discovered to my surprise that not only was I overcoming my writer’s block, but I was also finding that the more I wrote,...

Quite a while ago, it was announced that we pushed atmospheric carbon levels past 400 parts per million. You might ask how this may affect you or why you should care. But this announcement will indefinitely change the earth that we hold so dear. Carbon dioxide is actually a naturally-occurring gas. Many people today deem this infamous gas bad for the environment due to its association with global warming. Carbon dioxide is needed by plants in order to carry out photosynthesis, a process that produces the oxygen we need, among other things. In decent amounts, this gas warms our atmosphere and sustains life. But in copious amounts, this gas can destroy our planet. This September, scientists noticed that the carbon levels hovered around 401 parts per million. Normally, carbon levels would reach a low point at that time. This newly found information shows us that immediate action needs to be taken. Following this discovery, 195 countries gathered at a convention—the Paris Agreement—to ...