St. Patrick's Day 2015

Time goes by, and St. patrick's Day is here again; here you have a link to read how New Yorkers are celebrating this holiday: places to go, things to do, parades to attend. Have a look at it and, no doubt, this is a good example of globalization.

Super Size Me Open: An American sterotype?

Super Size Me 










After watching the first five minutes of Super size me, do this fill in the gaps exercise.

1. America is the _________________ nation in the world.
2. More than _______ % of adults in the US are obese.
3. The two main causes for deaths in America are ___________ and ______________.
4. McDonald’s is spread over the world and feeds more than __________ million people worldwide a day.
5. McDonald’s accounts for _______ % of the fast food market in the US.
6. In the US you can find McDonald’s everywhere: ______________, ___________________, ______________________

 Discuss the following questions. Support your opinion and make notes.

1. Are  Spanish people heavier than they used to be? Why or why not?
2. Our kids are said to be among  the most obese in the European Union. Do you agree with this idea? what measures should be taken to avoid this problem?
3. What influence does McDonald’s have in Spain? Is it very popular? Does it influence our diet?
4. In America some people are suing fast food restaurants. Where does personal responsibility start and corporate responsibility stop?
5. The title of the film is Super Size Me. What does it refer to?
6. What will the specific topic of the film be?
7. Are the eating habits of Spaniards changing? In what way?
8. Is fast food going to influence our eating habits the same way as it has many Americans?

World Water Day

 
Twenty- three years ago, the United Nations designated March 22nd as World Water Day. It’s designed to bring attention to the fact that over one billion people in the world are without access to  water, and focuses attention on the growing issue of “water privatization”- in other words,  forcing many people to pay private companies eextremely high  prices to obtain the necessary water to survive

Here are some games designed to help people learn how to conserve water;
The Water Family Game
Mission H2O

 The CBBC Newsround has a very accessible Guide To Water.
 
Water Conservation Around The House is an interactive sharing ways to conserve water.
Imagine All The Water is a very accessible and interactive site sponsored by the European Commission.
Here’s how The Atlantic describes it:
The site Imagine All the Water would like to remind you of how much water you’re using even when you’re not taking a bath or brushing your teeth. Sponsored by the European Commission, the site brings together a mind-boggling array of estimates about the overall amount of water required to create everyday consumer products. Though the site’s purpose is advocacy — essentially, to scare us into a water-conservational mindset — it also offers a useful reminder of how crazily resource-intensive the most ordinary objects can be.

I hope you find all these links useful and remember saving energy and other resources is not only a question of money, but also of being responsible consumers and  environmentally respectful human beings.