the
SCOPE
The Next Generation of Soccer Soccer gaining popularity in the younger generation
Secrets to a Healthy Life
Linux’s Cyber Takeover
Obesity and its links to exercise and a healthy diet
An exploration of Linux’s recent and rapid growth
The Life of a Gamer
Our Dying Planet
The rise of eSports and its new world-wide influence
What is happening and what we can do to stop it
photo courtesy of: pixabay
2
The Scope
THE SCOPE
Letter From the Editor Dear Scope Readers,
The Scope, coming from the word meaning freedom, opportunity, or extent, demonstrates the unity and collaboration of five LASA students determined to give readers first-hand insight into the current and emerging topics from around the world. Whether it’s the effect of global warming on the Amazon Rainforest or the rise in obesity rates, each story portrays detailed, first-hand interviews with content experts and research on current topics photo by: Sofia Di Fiore from around the world. 2016 is a big year for sports and politics, with the summer Olympics and presidential elections fast approaching, and when combined with other rapidly emerging global issues, makes for an even more exciting year. In the beginning, it was difficult to find a common thread between each story, but in the end, the group was able to come together and produce a collection of unique stories that displayed each team member’s passions and interests. Sofia Di Fiore, Grant McCasland, Garrett Vanden Bout, Nihal Jere, an Rachel Horowitz present to you, The Scope. Signed, Rachel Clubine Horowitz, Co-Editor of The Scope The Scope
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
08
14
20
26
32
30
ENTERTAINMENT
Look into the upcoming prominence of the professional gaming industry.
HEALTH
New research on obesity and its links to exercise and a healthy diet.
SPORTS
Soccer is the second most popular sport among American youth, what’s next?
TECHNOLOGY
More people have been opting for Linux instead of Windows or Mac systems.
POLITICS
Politicians will do a lot to get votes, but how often will they change their stance?
ENVIRONMENT
The Amazon Rainforest’s fall from greatness due to climate change. photo courtesy of: pixabay
THE SCOPE
CONTRIBUTORS MEET THE MINDS THAT CAME TOGETHER TO CREATE THE SCOPE
GRANT McCASLAND
Editor Grant McCasland is a native Austinite, currently attending the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (at the time of the first ‘Scope’ publishing). Grant takes newspaper as his elective, which clearly explains his superior writing skills. He enjoys being overlooked as the actual tallest person in his Ezine class, constantly under the shadow of shorter ‘Scope’ editor Garrett Vandenbout. Although he is not a traveler, Grant enjoys visiting Colorado every other summer, punctuated by trips elsewhere. photo by: Sofia Di Fiore
RACHEL CLUBINE HOROWITZ
An avid soccer player and all-around sports enthusiast, Rachel enjoys the company of friends and family, and in her free time enjoys watching medical shows, such as House, Bones, and Grey’s Anatomy. She aspires to become a neurosurgeon, or a physical therapist. This past summer, she participated in a soccer program called the Olympic Development Program (ODP) and is playing for South Texas again this summer in Birmingham, Alabama. She loves to travel and dreams of going backpacking in Europe. Although LASA is challenging, she finds the environment to be friendly and enjoys being surrounded by others who share a passion for learning.
6
The Scope
photo by: Sofia Di Fiore
GARRETT VANDEN BOUT
Garrett Vanden Bout, a laid back and go-with-the-flow kind of guy, enjoys all the little things in life. He moved to Germany when he was in elementary school for ten months. He enjoys Algebra II and is looking forward to Pre-Calc next year. He is a superhero fanatic and has been involved in Boy Scouts since the age of nine and hopes to become an Eagle Scout in the near future. He enjoys traveling, specifically to Germany (where he used to live), and to Virginia, where he travels every summer with his family. photo by: Sofia Di Fiore
NIHAL JERE
A native to Austin, Texas and attending LASA High School (the Liberal Arts and Science Academy), in his free time Nihal enjoys playing the piano, playing the game Counter-Strike, and programming. He aspires to work with computers in the future, preferably in the fields of computer science or artificial intelligence. He has won prizes for numerous achievements in music. Occasionally, he will take a trip to another place, but he doesn’t really travel much, and enjoys the punctuated changes of pace when he does go somewhere new. photo by: Sofia Di Fiore
SOFIA DI FIORE
A freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin, Sofia enjoys creating art in her free time (though admittedly there really isn’t much free time, LASA assigns a lot of homework) and rock climbing. She enjoys being in nature and likes hiking and kayaking in the Texas wilderness. She doesn’t have any idea what career she would find interesting, but likes working with kids and was a camp counselor at the Thinkery over the summer. Sofia likes traveling to the east and west coasts to visit her family and would like to do something meaningful with her life. She found her first year at LASA to be difficult, but has enjoyed learning so many new things this year.
photo by: Rachel Clubine Horowitz
The Scope
7
The Growth and Appeal of eSports The Entertainment Industry’s New Attraction By: Grant McCasland
H
The award ceremony after Dota2’s The International 2014 tournament. photo courtesy of Jacob Wells
ow much would you pay to watch someone play video
games? Over $18 million was the prize pool for the 2015 Dota 2 International, all funded by fans of the game. The winning team of the tournament took home $6,634,661. Evil Geniuses, the team that won, included 17-year-old Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan. Hassan became the youngest player to surpass $1 8
The Scope
million in eSports winnings. That prize made Hassan and his teammates champions of the largest eSports tournament to date, funded entirely by fans of the game Dota 2. 205 million: that’s the number of people that watched or played eSports in 2014. And the number continues to grow. Last year, SuperData Research estimated that the global eSports industry generated revenue of around $748.8 million that year.
Global eSports revenue is estimated to reach $1.9 billion by 2018. Investors and corporations are throwing money at the industry, with the big names including Coca-Cola and Nissan. eSports hasn’t always enjoyed this rapid growth; back in the 2000s, tournaments were sparse. With $50,000 dollar prize pools being considered major events, it was not viable to be a professional
player and make enough money to live off of. Today, ESPN has their own eSports coverage for League of Legends, Dota 2 and Hearthstone. They plan
“eSports is all over mainstream media and that will only grow.” to expand to CS:GO and other games in the future. “Now looking back, I realize how small and
insignificant that truly was,” former professional eSports player and Heather “sapphiRe” Garozzo says. “Now there are hundreds of thousands of dollars being played for every few weekends. eSports is all over mainstream media and that will only grow.” “Now more people watch eSports events than some of the world’s most prestigious sporting events. I could have never imagined eSports, especially CounterStrike, a game that started in 1999, would be as
mainstream as it is today.” Garozzo is right, the eSports scene is becoming mainstream. Not only have Coca-Cola and Nissan jumped in on the action; actor Ashton Kutcher and NBA owner Mark Cuban have both invested, along with Turner Broadcasting System creating their own Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league, “E-league”, with a prize pool of $2 million. Grant Schmidt, who plays CS:GO and Hearthstone and is a fan of
Heather “sapphiRe” Garozzo playing Counter-Strike at a LAN tournament. photo courtesy of: Heather Garozzo
The Scope
9
the funding that it has been receiving recently because it is a quickly expanding organization that is recognized worldwide,” Gonzales says. “ESPN is beginning eSports says that people have to see how large eSports is becoming and has taken recently been realizing how up coverage of the sport big the scene is. because it is beginning to “[The companies] compete with the likes of real have begun sponsoring so professional sporting events.” that they can join the scene During a 2013 League early before it becomes a of Legends tournament, huge deal for every modern day company, and make a lot 32 million people viewed the competition through of money,” Schmidt says. platforms like Twitch and “eSports deserves the funding and attention that it’s Youtube. This number passes getting from ESPN because the number of viewers of they have come to realize the 2014 NBA Finals (15.5 that they would get a lot of million) and the 2014 attention and popularity for World Series (15.8 million) [having] eSports coverage.” combined. LASA freshman Marcel With viewer Gonzales, who plays CS:GO numbers growing greater and is a fan of eSports, than major sporting events, agrees with Schmidt. a hotly debated topic has Gonzales says that when he started playing been brought up: whether CS:GO, a professional match or not eSports deserve was being shown on the main to be considered sports, or how it should be related screen of the game. to sports. The debate is a He started watching heated and ongoing one. the match and felt inspired Many think that to get better at the game by eSports doesn’t come close taking ideas from how the to being considered a sport professionals were playing. because there is little physical “eSports deserves
“I practiced for years and years to be on that stage.”
10
The Scope
aspect or training. eSports is more focused on mental strength and creativity than physical endurance. Garozzo says that she doesn’t consider eSports to be sports, but understands why it is compared to sports. She notes that the main similarity is the intense competition and training that is needed to succeed in both traditional sports and eSports. “A few physical aspects like reaction time are equally important in both sports and eSports,” Garozzo says. “I don’t see there being anything wrong with eSports being separate from
“[eSports] is a quickly expanding organization that is recognized worldwide.” sports.” Gonzales sides with Garozzo on this issue, agreeing that there is a fine line between eSports games and physical sports, but there definitely is a distinction.
“To me, eSports is more of a mental sport than a physical sport. It requires copious amounts of strategy, memorization of specific pixels, movements, etc.” Gonzales plays both eSports and physical sports, having enough experience to make the distinction for himself. “To me, eSports is more of a mental sport than a physical sport,” Gonzales says. “It requires copious amounts of strategy, memorization of specific pixels, movements, etc. I will say that gaming in eSports at a professional level does require a high level of skill, but I feel that the specific type of skill used there is not one that is incredibly similar to that used in sports such as football or basketball, per say.” Garozzo says that her biggest achievement was taking first place in the ESWC (eSports World Cup) female tournament in Paris, France. ESWC hosted female tournaments in the early 2000s, but it wasn’t until 2012 that she finally got the
chance to join the North American team. “I practiced for years and years to be on that stage,” Garozzo says. “I played in front of thousands of fans in person and tens of thousands watching online from
she was interested in video games and competitive sports from an early age, starting with Goldeneye and Mario Kart. She had also played softball, basketball and had played in her school’s marching band. When Garozzo’s younger brother had “Now more friends over to play games on the weekends, curiosity people watch overwhelmed her and she eSports events joined the boys. than some of “I started to join in the world’s on the fun and eventually bought my own PC,” most prestiGarozzo says. gious sporting “My brother, friends events.” and I would travel to local tournaments and started to home. win a few hundred dollars When my team won, here and there. Eventually, after a hard fought battle, we decided to expand to the American flag was raised larger events.” and the national anthem was “My parents and played. I vividly remember Grandma drove with my dropping to my knees in tears brother and I to our first of joy.” major tournament, the According to Garozzo, Summer CPL.”
Fnatic’s CS:GO team celebrating their major win at ESL One Cologne 2015. photo courtesy of HLTV.org
The Scope
11
The Who’s Who Highest earning organizations of 2015 1. Evil Geniuses - $8,952,675.05 Evil Geniuses’ Dota 2 squad brought home $6,634,661 from their win at The International 5, enough to put them in first place. The team also received $1,284,158 for placing first at the Dota Asia Championships. The organization also sponsors teams in Starcraft II, Halo, and players in fighting games, such as Street Fighter.
2. CDEC Gaming - $3,229,600.78 CDEC Gaming only has a Dota 2 team, but it appears that they don’t need much more. A dark horse run during TI5 to face Evil Geniuses in the finals brought in $2,856,590, despite losing. What’s interesting about this is that CDEC broke off from LGD Gaming in 2014, who now find themselves a spot below their former teammates.
3. LGD Gaming $3,045,517.23 Keeping consistency with the other teams, the majority of LGD’s money was made from their Dota 2 lineup, who ended up in third place as TI5 ended last year, giving them $2,211,554. Rounding out the rest of their winnings is money from placings in other mid-level Dota 2 tournaments throughout the year.
4. Vici Gaming - $2,581,954.91 Vici Gaming took fourth place at TI5, rewarding them $1,566,517. Adding in the fact that VG met EG in the finals of the Dota Asia Championships, along with their LoL team and Hearthstone players bringing in money, and Vici Gaming have a solid fourth place finish. The organization has also recently invested in an Asian CS:GO team.
5. Team Secret - $2,231,114.09 Team Secret was formed as a Dota 2 super team with the backing of Turkish billionaire Kemal Sadikoglu. The organization’s lineup has failed to meet expectations, but still achieved success as the fifth highest earning organization of 2015. The team attended many Dota2 tournaments that they did not win but finished highly in. 12
The Scope
of eSports
By: Grant McCasland
Top games by prize money awarded 1. Dota 2 - $59,923,035.52 It’s no surprise that Valve’s MOBA Dota 2 is the top eSport here, considering Valve hosts The International tournament every year in Seattle, with 2015’s edition having a prize pool of $18,429,613.05. The International 6’s purse should easily eclipse $20 million, as it is crowdfunded by fans of the game. Unlike Riot, Valve does not host a structured league.
2. LoL - $27,379,555.17
photo courtesy of: youtube.com.
Riot’s MOBA League of Legends is considered the direct competitor to Dota 2, but clearly falls behind by having less than half of the money involved than Dota. Developer Riot organizes a yearly world championship, with both the 2015 and 2014 iterations having $2,130,000 offered. In addition, Riot hosts a league with seasons to qualify for the tourneys.
3. StarCraft II - $18,780,487.65
photo courtesy of: youtube.com.
StarCraft II is a sci-fi real-time strategy developed by Blizzard, who also created Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm. SC2 has had $250,000 annual tournaments since 2012, yet never anything with a larger payout. SC2 has achieved its large pool from longevity and frequency of tournaments, rather than amount of money. graphics adapted by Grant McCasland, sourced from Wikipedia
photo courtesy of: 1080.plus.
The Scope
13
Finding a Balance Obesity and It’s Links to Exercise and a Healthy Diet
By: Rachel Clubine Horowitz
photo courtesy of: Jeff Horowitz
O
besity. A word that creates a combination of anxiety, fear, frustration, guilt, and a variety of other negative emotions within most Americans. This may be because over ⅔, roughly 68.8% of American adults, are overweight or obese (“Overweight and Obesity Statistics”) or simply because the idea of exercise frightens many people. There are many different diet options, 14
The Scope
surgeries, and motivational workouts with people saying various kinds of claims, but there are a few key concepts that any person must understand when trying to obtain a healthier physical and mental life. When someone says the word “healthy” what does that really mean? Is it how much organic food someone eats? Is it their aerobic capacity or perhaps whether or not they have rock solid abs? “Health” can have many different
definitions and therefore, many different modes for achieving it. According to Dr. Jeff Horowitz, an exercise physiologist and Kinesiology Professor at the University of Michigan, “the biggest component to weight gain is diet and people over-eating” combined with the fact that our society has, “reduced the requirement for being more physically active.” A combination of both things, he says, is the main cause for weight gain and obesity.
New research has linked sugar consumption to the lead cause of high obesity rates, not just calories in and calories out. In response to this, Dr. Horowitz simply stated, “I think it’s bogus.” He went on to say that, “weight gain
can cause the liver to go into overdrive and pump out fat and other negative byproducts and can actually make a person eat more because sugar isn’t satiating, meaning that it doesn’t make a person feel full. For the most part however, sugar is not the leading cause of obesity. “The biggest Today, Americans have an attitude of “all you component to can eat” and the ”bigger weight gain is the better,” all the while, diet and people portion sizes are increasing, availability of food has over-eating.” increased, and people are getting bigger. “I think is due to energy balance,” our society in the U.S. meaning that if a person contributes to the overintakes more calories than eating phenomena,” says Dr. they expend, they will gain Horowitz. weight. He gave an example, Mary Metzger, a saying that a person could foodservice dietitian who have a diet of Twinkies and if worked with student athletes they ate just enough calories at Iowa State University and of Twinkies to maintain their currently works at a senior bodyweight, they would not center, also mentions the gain any weight. importance of moderation in “The sugar content a person’s diet and frequently doesn’t matter,” he says, asks herself, “what else can “weight gain is about we possibly give the students calories, not about sugar or that will make them happy other types of foods.” because really, everything is “However,” he added, unlimited?” “an overabundance of any It is no secret that the one type of food is bad for United States has one of the a person’s body system.” A leading rates of obesity in diet high in carbohydrates adults and children. This is
mainly due to portion sizes becoming so huge “and I think over the years they don’t realize how big things have gotten,” Metzger says. “This coupled with leisure, technology, and inactivity, I think have a higher influence on obesity than just sugars.” Moderation of food is key in weight loss and, although lack of exercise is not the leading contributor to obesity, having a good balance of exercise and leisure time is also vital to a person’s health. In Dr. Horowitz’s opinion, being physically active and food intake are independent ideas. He connects food intake to obesity and relates exercise to other health (like diabetes) and cognitive issues. So, if exercise is not the lead contributor in weight loss, then what health benefits does physical activity actually give to us? In Dr. Horowitz’s lab, they are focusing on an issue called insulin resistance, which he says is the underlying cause of many diseases, such as diabetes and certain cancers. Insulin is a hormone used to take sugar out of a The Scope
15
person’s blood and bring it to tissues like muscle for energy use, but when insulin doesn’t work well, the person’s blood sugar level rises and causes major health complications. This is where exercise comes into play. After a person exercises, their insulin resistance becomes very low, meaning that their insulin starts to function better. This person is referred to as insulin sensitive. “With each exercise session, an insulin-resistant person becomes almost normally insulin sensitive, reversing a lot of the resistance they have to insulin and insulin starts to work much better in the hours and into the next day after the exercise session,” Dr. Horowitz says.
However, after a while, the insulin sensitivity wears off and the person goes back to being insulin resistant. Even if a person is an avid exerciser and just takes a few days off of training, they will go back to being insulin resistant, but the moment they exercise again, their insulin resistance lowers. This is why it is very important to get “your dose of exercise on a regular basis,” Dr. Horowitz says. In Dr. Horowitz’s lab, they are performing research that could lead to drugs that will do this “exercise like effect,” by lowering a person’s insulin resistance without having to exercise. This is because for many obese people, it can be difficult to stay on a constant
In the lab, students perform an experiment. photo courtesy of: Jeff Horowitz
16
The Scope
schedule and receive a daily dose of exercise. Another example of this insulin effect, was a study in the 80’s where scientists took marathon runners right after their daily training and measured their insulin resistance. Right after training, they found them to be very insulin sensitive. Then, the scientists told them to take a few days off of training and come back into the clinic. They did the same measurement and found that although these people are no less fit, their insulin resistance was the same as that of someone who is of their same body type, but doesn’t exercise as often. Then, they just exercised once and did the same measurement again and found their levels to be the same as when they first did the test (very low). This shows that “even just taking a few days off of exercise, reversed much of the metabolic health improvements that they had as a consequence of the exercise,” says Dr. Horowitz. Dr. Horowitz’s lab also does studies on fat in people’s bodies. Fat isn’t active like muscle, but his lab has interesting data that shows
when a person exercises, the muscle works with the fat inside its cells to help insulin work better (fat can affect how well insulin works). After exercise, the muscle moves the fat to a different location inside the cell for a “better route of disposal,” Jeff says. However, without a daily dose of exercise, the fat will go back to the same location in the cells. Some people may ask how storing fat inside cells is beneficial? Of course losing the fat is more beneficial, but it can take a long time and if a person is obese, they want their fat to be stored in fat cells rather than have it go to their liver, kidneys, pancreas, etc. His research also shows that exercise creates beneficial changes to the structure of the fat, the size of the cell, the blood flow to those cells, and the connective tissue that’s holding the cells together. Fitness is a complex issue that varies from person to person. Just because a person is fit, doesn’t mean they are necessarily healthy, and vice versa. Overall, as long as someone maintains a moderate diet where their intake of calories is balanced
with the amount of calories they exert and they receive their daily dose of exercise, then they will maintain a relatively healthy profile. This goes to say, physical and mental health are very different, but connected features and when one is affected, the other one will most likely be affected as well. According to Dr. Michelle Segar, a behavioral sustainability and motivational scientist at the University of Michigan, “motivating people to exercise for health or weight doesn’t work for many people.” Dr. Segar believes that people who exercise because they know it will make them feel better, will be more motivated than a person who is exercising to be healthier in some way. This is because when exercise is considered a chore or a burden, people tend not to stick with it. Of course, there are some people, who love to exercise on a stationary bike for 45 minutes a day, but a majority of people do not find this type of exercise very appealing. Most people need to find an exercise activity that they love to do,
whether it’s going for a walk or skipping, which will make them more relaxed (less stressed), put them in a better mood, and make them more aware of themselves and their body. “Physical and mental well being are both physiological and psychological phenomenon,” says Dr. Segar. The definition of health is based on each person and starts within each person, so being healthy can be difficult without a proper mindset. However, there is no denying that a person needs a balance of both mental and physical health in their life, for neither could exist without the other. Think about the idea of moderation in a person’s diet and the connection between mental and physical health. If it is so important to exercise every day to keep insulin resistance low and a person finds an activity that they enjoy, then they will be more motivated to exercise. This will benefit them both physically and mentally. All of these components are necessary for maintaining a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle. The Scope
17
Three Main Steps in Gaining a Healthier Mental and Physical Life By: Rachel Clubine Horowitz
Proper Mindset When starting your path to a healthier life, you must begin with a proper mindset. Start by motivating yourself to exercise knowing that it will make you feel better, not necessarily to lose weight. People who exercise to lose weight or to “be healthier,” tend not to stick to a constant exercise regimen. Most people need to find an exercise activity that they love to do, whether it’s going for a walk or skipping, which will make them more relaxed, put them in a better mood, and make them more aware of themselves and their body.
1
Source: Michelle Segar
2 Balance of Food Intake Weight gain is determined by a person’s calorie intake, not necessarily the type of food they eat. However, an overabundance of any food is bad for a person’s health. For example, sugar isn’t satiating, meaning that it doesn’t make a person feel full and foods high in fat can leave someone feeling fatigued, since they require more energy to digest. Therefore, moderation of food is key. Although a balance of calorie intake is key to weight loss, eating foods low in fat and sugars can prevent fatigue, give you more energy, and put you in a better mood.
18
The Scope
Best Recharge Foods WWW Brown Rice: High in manganese, which will give you lots of energy WWW Sweet Potato: High in carbohydrates, vitamin A, and vitamin B, to help keep you awake throughout the day WWW Honey: When taken in small quantities, is similar to an energy drink and helps replenish muscles WWW Spinach: High in iron, which is a major component in energy production and keeps you from “slowing down” in the afternoon WWW Beans: A protein and a complex carbohydrate, which will keep you full and energized WWW Salmon: Contains protein, vitamin B6, niacin, and riboflavin, which helps convert food into energy WWW Yogurt: High in manganese, which releases energy and “replenishes your glycogen sources” WWW Eggs: Very high in protein. Help to process the amino acids that your body uses to rebuild muscle Source: Women’s Day
Best Exercises to Burn More Calories WWW WWW WWW WWW WWW WWW WWW
High intensity workouts in short intervals (HIIT): Includes things like jumping jacks for 30 seconds, 15 squats, 10 push ups, 25 sit-ups, etc., all for only 20 minutes; leaves you feeling refreshed and burns lots of calories in no time at all Cycling: Can burn up to 1000 calories an hour Jumping Rope: Can burn up to 850 calories an hour Swimming: Can burn up to 840 calories an hour Aerobics: Can burn up to 680 calories an hour Elliptical Training: Can burn up to 600 calories an hour Zumba: Can burn 400 to 700 calories an hour
Source: allwomenstalk
photo courtsey of: wikimedia commons
3
Daily Exercise
Although getting a daily dose of exercise is not the main component in weight loss (food intake is), it does provide a series of benefits that can affect a person’s health: 1. Getting a daily dose of exercise has been proven to create beneficial changes the structure of the fat, the size of the fat cells, the blood flow to those cells, and the connective tissue that’s holding the cells together. 2. Immediately after exercise, a person’s insulin resistance lowers, meaning that their insulin starts to function better 3. A person’s muscles while exercising, can move fat to a different location within the cells for a “better route of disposal.” Source: Jeff Horowitz
The Scope
19
Soccer in the USA The Rapid Growth of a Global Industry By: Garrett Vanden Bout
F
ootball is the most popular sport in the USA, but will it stay that way? In 2014 the World Cup Final match drew in 26.5 million viewers from the USA more than had ever been recorded. The amount of people watching soccer in the USA is increasing rapidly. The 2014 World Cup and the 2015 Women’s World Cup both broke the record for most watched soccer game in US history. The MLS has been 20
The Scope
increasing the number of teams since when they started. Millions of people in the USA have started to watch soccer just in the last year. Many foreign players are coming to the USA to join the MLS. The soccer explosion is spreading across the entire United States. More kids are playing soccer than ever before. More children are playing soccer instead of other sports that were traditionally played more often. “Soccer has definitely
become more popular” says Elena Humphreys Lucas, a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy or LASA who plays on the soccer team there. She thinks it is because you don’t have to be good to have fun. More people in the US are watching soccer than ever before and more people are coming to the US for soccer than ever before. “Soccer is gaining popularity in the US because soccer is the one sport that pretty much every country plays and is popular in.
Referees checking the field before a game. photo courtesy of Riccardo
Soccer brings the world together and the people in the US are realizing how beautiful and fun watching and playing soccer is” says Humphreys Lucas. Most people who play soccer think that it is a beautiful sport. The US Women’s soccer team broke the world record for the most watched game in the US with 25.4 million viewers in the US alone. “My favorite professional team would probably have to be the US
Women’s national team. They work so well together and each player has an amazing story about how they became who they are. They don’t just have the skills
The way they play is beyond me” says Humphreys Lucas People like all types of teams for a whole variety of reasons. Soccer is become a more competitive sport even in the US now because of the “People growing amount of people in the US are playing and watching the realizing how sport. Major League Soccer beautiful and fun has increased its viewership watching and by 13 million people double playing soccer that of previous years on multiple different channels. is” “The game has but they have the brain work. become more and more The Scope
21
Soccer is an increasingly popular sport not just in the United States and other western countries, but on a global scale. photo courtesy of: Gustavo Rezende
popular here in the US in my lifetime,” “This is probably due to more kids at a young age playing the game, and continuing to enjoy it as they grow up,” says Humphreys Lucas. Lots of players are feeling the competitiveness of the game. Soccer is not quite the game most people seem to think it is. Soccer is more about the strategy and possession than the actual scoring. “A lot of Americans think soccer is boring 22
The Scope
because most of the time is filled with slow passing from teammates, often not even towards the other team’s goal.” “The part that I enjoy most about are the opportunities. Even if a goal isn’t scored, and a player misses a shot it can still be really fun to see the build up play to the shot,” says Gus Albach, a LASA freshman who plays on his school’s soccer team. He thinks that the most interesting part of soccer is the push towards
the goal not the amount of goals scored. Some people like soccer because of the fact that there are underdogs and top tier teams. “My favorite team is Aston Villa FC, from Birmingham London. They play in the Premier League, the top tier of football in the UK. I like Aston Villa because they are underdogs.” Unlike the really good teams in the Premier League like Arsenal, and Manchester City, Aston Villa doesn’t have a ton of money to spend on
buying players. Instead of playing for first place every year Aston Villa plays for their survival in the Premier League” says Albach. Some fans are only in it for the small teams that have to struggle. Other fans
like LASA freshman Max Irby who says his favorite team is “Manchester United, because they are a big club and have played well for a long time.” Irby is an example of someone who prefers teams
that do better than a lot of other teams. There are a large variety of soccer fans around the US who all have different favorite teams but one thing is certain. All of them love soccer.
The FIFA World Cup, pictured above, is a highly sought-after prize among professional soccer players. photo courtesy of: Zambaccian
The Scope
23
The Next Generation of Soccer By: Garrett Vanden Bout
In the US there are more female soccer players than any other country. Across the world only 10% of soccer payers are female.
Did you Know?
In 1974, 103,432 kids played soccer, and now 3,055,148 play the sport. In California, 321,575 kids play soccer. Alaska enrolls the least-5,392. Parents pay anywhere from $10$500 for an entire season. 24
The Scope
Soccer is the second most popular youth sport in the U.S. after basketball, before baseball, and well ahead of football.
King Edward III banned soccer in 1365 owing to the growing incidents of violence and military indulgence in the sport. In 1424 King James I of Scotland also proclaimed in the Parliament, “Na man play at the Futeball.�
Did you Know?
http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/media_kit/ataglance/ http://espn.go.com/espn/ story/_/id/9469252/hiddendemographicsyouthsportsespnm agazine http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/bcoffsurv/emaga_9384_10704.pdf http://www.historyofsoccer.com/info
Children are leading the soccer revolution in the US. 3 million children are registered soccer players. So many children a switching to soccer. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. People in North America are catching up with other countries. Many children are starting to play soccer now rather than other sports.
In the US 48% of players are female showing the balance of both genders in the US.
800000 800000
48%
700000 700000 600000 600000 500000 500000 400000 400000 300000 300000 200000 200000
100000 100000 0
Under 10
10-14
15-17
18-19 The Scope
25
Everybody Uses Linux The People that Use the Popular Software By: Nihal Jere
B
y many, Linux is known as that weird thing that hackers use to hack into people’s computers, but this is far from reality. In fact, by merely looking something up on Google, you are using Linux. Linux is an opensource operating system, which means the underlying code is available for anybody to do anything with. For some people, it’s the opensource nature of Linux, being able to modify the operating system and make it do anything that one thinks 26
The Scope
of. For others, it the fact that Linux “just works.” Regardless of why somebody uses Linux, one knows that they are in a thriving community of developers, users, and innovators. Will Slatton first discovered Linux on his Mac. “I don’t recall exactly how I first became aware of Linux, but I began using it by loading a virtual machine with Ubuntu,” says Slatton. A virtual machine allows a computer to run a “virtual” operating system inside the operating system
photo courtesy of: Cjbayliss, Wikipedia
that is currently being used. For example, Linux could be running while Windows is running under it. People can build their own Linux operating systems. “Since then, I have hopped between twenty or so distros and have finally
“...the greatest advantage of Linux for me at least, is its open-source nature...”
settled on Arch, though I may choose to build my own at some point,” says Slatton. Distros are simply packages of software on top of the Linux kernel, the core of the system. Linux is open-source, a huge advantage compared to other operating systems. “In my opinion, the greatest advantage of Linux, for me at least, is its open source nature. This allows the community that has formed around it, myself included, to tweak it to suit our needs with no restrictions whatsoever. This has led to the core becoming incredibly stable, secure, and scalable, which is why it has dominated the server, mobile, embedded, and supercomputer markets.” “For my purposes though, this means that, if I come across any sort of error or simply something which I do not like and wish to customize, I can repair it with relative ease and make these changes available to anyone coming after me looking for the same thing,” says Slatton. In the 1950s and 60s, open-source was the standard for software because computers were mostly
used in academics. In the 70s, corporations started to get involved in consumer computers, like Apple, and started producing “closedsource” software. Open-source started to make a comeback in projects like Linux, and now almost all “professional” software (like Photoshop), have an open-source counterpart that is almost as good (like GIMP), but with the advantage of being open source. Despite being able to modify the source code of Linux, many users opt to simply use distributions created by others. LASA teacher Rainer Mueller
has a large number of very knowledgeable and dedicated users that share programs and solutions was very solid and dependable.” “I can’t recall ever seeing the UNIX equivalent of a Windows blue screen of death,” says Mueller. On Windows, the BSOD (blue screen of death) is not a rare occurrence. On the other hand, Linux users find that the system rarely crashes due to the amount of time put into fixing it by the users themselves The vast majority of people aren’t tech-savvy and have never heard of Linux. “Though those who are often forget it. Most people are far from techsavvy. This makes appealing to them absolutely essential “[Linux] has a to getting Linux into the large number of consumer desktop market, very knowledgeand, by extension, getting able and dedimore software developers to seriously invest in it”, says cated users...” Slatton. It is difficult to gauge started to use Linux at the total number of Linux the University of Texas in users. Some people use Linux graduate school. for work, while others don’t “When I attended use the internet and therefore graduate school in Computer are difficult to take into Engineering at University account. Some people could of Texas, the fact that also have multiple Linux Linux is open source and systems running. The Scope
27
If somebody accesses a web page, chances are, the computer that sent your computer the page is running Linux. This includes companies like Google, Amazon, and many more. “I am not sure if this would apply to the average consumer, but for those who are relatively technically inclined but are not aware of the existence or benefits of desktop Linux, knowing how much they rely on it without even noticing certainly
has the potential to get them interested in it,” says Slatton. Linux is the standard for web servers. It seems to be Linux’s niche in an ecosystem of different computers. Unlike many other operating systems like Windows 10, Linux does not collect any information. Recently, many people have been concerned with how Windows is using their data. “Though I wish that it
Slatton is very experienced with Linux. photo courtesy of: William Slatton
28
The Scope
were otherwise, I think that the vast majority of people just don’t care about digital privacy, falling prey to the mindset that no one would be interested in their data, or that they have nothing to hide.” While, in theory, this might be true in some cases, back-doors and data reporting can ultimately be exploited by anyone, not only the people who put inserted them. This creates a whole host of new attack vectors for people with malicious intent, putting the user’s security at a high risk, no matter what the companies responsible might tell you,” says Slatton. Windows 10 has enabled a lot of default settings that collect information. 3rd party programs are required to disable them, and a lot of them aren’t trustworthy. Anybody can change the Linux code on their computer. This allows them to add custom features, and other things to their system. Rainer Mueller started to use Linux in the early 90s. “UNIX when I started using it in 1990 was mostly a text based, command line interface operating system.”
“Though I wish that it were otherwise, I think that the vast majority of people just don’t care about digital privacy, falling prey to the mindset that no one would be interested in their data, “It evolved to have more of a GUI, with several available windows managers, but most engineers where I worked continue the power the command line interface,” says Mueller. The command line is poorly understood by many people, who assume that it is a relic from a time before bitmap screens. In reality, the command line is very powerful for manipulating files and directories on a computer. Like a GUI (graphical user interface,) there are programs built for the command line, and are just as powerful as their GUI counterparts, but have the advantage of being used entirely through the keyboard. Mueller used to use Red Hat, a Linux distribution at work. At LASA where he teaches, the computers run Windows, not any form of UNIX. He customized the Windows command line to work more like the UNIX command line. “At work I didn’t have
a choice, we all had to use the latest Redhat release installed by the IT guys. But the window managers, shells, editors where all typically heavily customized by the engineers. Here at LASA I do not use Linux at all anymore. However, I still use the Emacs editor that is available for Windows as well. I’ve customized Windows Powershell with UNIX like features for my own use and for use in my Web & Mobile Applications course to give the students a taste of UNIX.” “However, it’s a poor substitute for the real thing. I am hoping I can find someone to donate UNIX server which would enable me to make UNIX available on all the PCs via programs such as VNC Viewer,” says Mueller. Despite the many text editors available on Windows, Mueller is loyal to the editor that he used on Linux, Emacs. Zayan Vohra is a student at LASA. Vohra used Linux as his main computer
for gaming, programming, and browsing the internet. “I used Linux for pretty much everything, and honestly, it wasn’t too different and the customization didn’t really affect someone like me. I switched to windows because it was more compatible with the games and applications I was interested in,” says Vohra. Vohra is a good example of someone who isn’t completely techsavvy, but still enjoys and appreciates the advantages of Linux. One of the main problems with Linux for Vohra’s demographic is the lack of software compatibility. Linux’s user base is growing rapidly. It has been a standard for power users for years, but now average computer users are beginning to discover it. As Linux keeps improving and more and more people start to discover it, its community will only become better. The Scope
29
201
Trump Stand
Over the past year, Trump has made a huge rise in the Republican polls. At this point he is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. Despite this, his lead is shrinking because Ted Cruz’s policies are now appealing to more people. Source: http://www.ontheissues.org/Donald_Trump.htm
Guns
Environment
Health Care
No limits on guns; they save lives. (Jan 2016)
“Cut the EPA; what they do is a disgrace. (Oct 2015)”
“I’m for vaccines, but in smaller quantities to avoid autism. (Sep 2015)”
Foreign Policy
Civil Rights
Security
“We must deal with the maniac in North Korea with nukes. (Sep 2015)”
“Promoted gender equality in a male-dominated industry. (Nov 2015)”
“I don’t want to be politically correct: Islam hates us. (Mar 2016)”
Crime
Jobs
“Cut taxes by $10T but don’t increase deficit. (Oct 2015)”
“Police can’t act due to disrespect; but weed out bad ones. (Feb 2016)”
Taxes
“Bring jobs back from China, Mexico, Japan, and Vietnam. (Feb 2016)”
Immigration
Drugs
“No apology for banning Muslims from entering America. (Jan 2016)”
“Study legalization, but don’t legalize now. (Nov 2015)”
“Get rid of ISIS, quickly: dry up their oil & their money. (Feb 2016)”
Budget and Economy
Education
Technology
“Keep mortgage interest deduction; knock out carried interest. (Nov 2015)”
“Cut Department of Education and Common Core. (Oct 2015)“
“Close our Internet up, to fight ISIS terrorist recruitment. (Dec 2015)”
30
The Scope
War
16
Clinton Stand
Hillary Clinton has been the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for a long time. Despite this, she is losing her lead over Bernie Sanders, although she will likely still secure the democratic nomination. Source: http://www.ontheissues.org/Hillary_Clinton.htm
Guns
Environment
“I support Brady Bill and closing the Charleston loophole. (Dec 2015)”
“We need green energy jobs & to build on Paris Agreement. (Mar 2016)”
Foreign Policy
Civil Rights
Security
“Fight systemic racism in education & employment. (Feb 2016)”
“Support our NATO allies and take vetted Syrian refugees. (Feb 2016)”
Taxes
Crime
Jobs
“Millionaires should pay 30% tax rate instead of 0%-10%. (Dec 2015)”
“Get body cameras on police; tackle mass incarceration. (Oct 2015)”
“Help Latinos with more jobs and higher incomes. (Mar 2016)”
“Obama trusted my judgment; I’ll be ready on Day One. (Feb 2016)”
Health Care
“Medicare-for-all is not economically feasible. (Feb 2016)”
Immigration
Drugs
War
“Preventing Muslims from immigrating is un-American. (Mar 2016”
“Stop imprisoning marijuana users. (Oct 2015)”
“Continue anti-ISIS actions in Libya, with Europe & Arabs. (Feb 2016)”
Budget and Economy
Education
Technology
“Committed to reducing corporate power not only Wall St. (Feb 2016)”
“Teach discipline, self-control & patience in schools. (Apr 2015)”
“Invest $250B in public transit and NextGen aviation. (Feb 2016)” The Scope
31
Shaping the Future How Life on Earth Depends on the World’s Tropical Forests By: Sofia Di Fiore
I
t’s 4:30 in the morning and I am still only halfawake. My dad walks silently ahead of me, holding up a large radio-wave receiver. We are tracking monkeys in the Amazon Rainforest, no easy task. The sky is still dark, and only a faint gray light illuminates the towering 200 ft. trees through the morning mist. That was three years ago. Since then, over 17,000 square kilometers of the Amazon Rainforest have 32
The Scope
photo courtesy of: tanetahi (flickr) under creative commons liscense
been cut down. Around the same size as the continental United States, the Amazon Rainforest is spread throughout nine South American countries at the continent’s northern edge. Home to roughly 10% of the planet’s recorded species, it is an important center for medical and animal research. However, the Amazon is much more important than just that. It
is one of the world’s largest “carbon sinks,” making it a major component of human life. In just 40 years, roughly 20% of the Amazon has fallen victim to deforestation. “The rainforest... and other tropical forests around the world are effective at sucking a lot of carbon out of the atmosphere and converting it into [oxygen].” “Those ‘lungs of the world’ are depleting because
they’re cut down or are not able to sequester as much carbon.” Anthony Di Fiore, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas, explains. He studies primates at the Yasuní Biodiversity site in the Amazon Rainforest. “It’s going to potentially be an increasing cycle where there’s more carbon being put into the atmosphere or there’s less being taken out of the atmosphere – which is going to contribute to global warming, and that’s going
to help accelerate the pace of climate change. So, it’s important to keep tropical forests there.” Because the Amazon is the largest remaining rainforest on the planet, it plays a crucial role in the filtering of carbon dioxide out of the air; a process which all humans, and the vast majority of life on this planet, heavily rely on. “The Amazon has [what] I call a disproportionately strong influence on global climate
because the area is so heavily packed [with] living carbon that is the rainforest, and if you measure the global atmosphere for the level of carbon dioxide (CO2), it varies from year to year. You can actually link that to [the state of the Amazon Rainforest],” says Professor Rong Fu, who studies climate in the Amazon at the University of Texas. “Throughout the Amazon and other rainforests that seem to be greener than normal, you
Professor Rong Fu studies climate change and how it affects the Amazon Rainforest (and how the Amazon Rainforest affects climate change) at the University of Texas at Austin. photo courtesy of: Rong Fu
The Scope
33
would see less CO2 in the global atmosphere. If there is a big drought in the Amazon, you actually see a spike in the global CO2 [levels], and that shows how changing the climate affects the rainforest’s ecosystem which in turn affects the global atmospheric [levels of] CO2” she says. It is well-known by now that humans are the primary cause for the increasing rate of climate change on our planet. As can be expected, many consequences have come about and are predicted to arise in the future. Rapid increase of average global temperature is expected. Sea level rise due to the melting of ice sheets because of global warming has already lead to the loss of coastal land. 50% less rainfall in tropical ecosystems like the Amazon Rainforest has also been predicted. “We know that the existence of rainforests depends on rain and if [the] dry season [is] too long/ rainfall is not enough, the rainforests will die. We are clear about that, but what we are not so clear [on is] how rainfall depends on rainforests,” says Professor Fu. 34
The Scope
The idea Professor Fu is presenting here is that the Amazon is caught in a cycle in which lack of rain is slowly killing the forest off, while the lack of trees is affecting weather patterns (due to concentrations of CO2 and global warming as a result), and this serves only to cause more trees to die. “The change of the
“The change of the Amazon Rainforest affects global climate, but global climate can also affect the Amazon Rainforest, they can amplify each other.” Amazon Rainforest affects global climate, but global climate can also affect the Amazon Rainforest, they can amplify each other,” she explains. This lethal cycle, just like deforestation, is one of many reasons that explain the Amazon’s dwindling expanse of vegetation. However, many other factors play into the Amazon’s decreasing acreage.
“We also emit a lot of particles (over the Amazon mainly biomass burning in the terms of soot and black carbon)... those affect climate in several ways. One is it absorbs some sunlight so less reaches the surface, so in a way it actually cools the surface,” Fu observes. Despite this seemingly positive effect of the release of particles into the atmosphere, there are many negative effects as well. With a higher density of particles in the atmosphere, there is more formation of clouds. Though to some degree this may cool the earth, it also traps in heat, accelerating climate change. The particles also affect rainfall. “You can identify cases where biomass burning increases rainfall, but in most cases it suppresses [it].” Fu states. As before said, rainfall is a key factor in the survival of the Amazon. As can be seen from the overwhelming evidence, the Amazon is dying, primarily due to human influence. Other than increasingly extreme weather and rising levels of emissions, there is another, perhaps
more immediate reason as to why the Amazon should be fully protected from degradation due to dangers introduced by humans. “Another aspect of Amazon influence on global climate, probably very few people realize, is the rainforest emits biogenic aerosol, which affects the hydrological radicals,” Professor Fu explains. What Professor Fu is referring to is the OH that trees in the Amazon release into the atmosphere. A factor of climate stability not widely discussed, OH is particularly important for life on Earth. Professor Fu describes it as the “detergent of the atmosphere,” hinting at its key role. “If you don’t have OH, in one week or two weeks, the air would be too toxic for humans to live normally,” she says. Yet again, the Amazon proves that it is essential to human life. The rate of climate change is increasing exponentially, and the question remains: Will the human race be able to undo the damage it has caused to the Earth, or will it bring its own downfall?
“There is no single way to solve this,” Professor Jay Banner of the University of Texas at Austin says. “It requires changes in most sectors of our society, including regulation of carbon emissions by governments, voluntary changes by corporations, and changes in lifestyle by individuals.” This general idea that each person contributes to the global atmospheric carbon levels, and should therefore work to cut those carbon levels, is one universally supported by climate scientists. But what can people, as individuals, do to slow down climate change? “First, cut down carbon emissions whenever you can, whatever you can do… everything adds up,” Professor Fu says. To cut down on emissions, people might have to make quite a few lifestyle changes. Simple things like biking to the store rather than driving or taking a means of public transportation can have a significant effect. “Second, the deforestation in tropical regions (Amazon, Congo),
is really because people live there in poverty, they don’t know any other better way of making money besides clearing forest.” Professor Fu explains. “[The] EU used to provide funding to the Amazon population to help them convert to more ecofriendly farming, or more eco-friendly economy. I think support for those kind of activities helps a lot.” “It really is economically beneficial for us, because if we don’t stop [people in the Amazon] from chopping down the trees, we have to do much more to cut down our emissions… so that’s actually quite a cost-effective way to help them develop a more environmentally friendly way to improve their quality of life [and ours],” she says. Essentially, if developed countries provide funding for people in the Amazon Rainforest region to establish businesses that do not involve logging massive expanses of forest, those developed countries will benefit with minimal sacrifice and changes to their way of life. Even with these valid reasons to protect the Amazon, many people do The The Scope
35
“In addition to their role as ‘the lungs of the world’ [tropical forests] are also home to an incredible amount of biodiversity.” not see the importance of the rainforest. “In addition to their role as ‘the lungs of the world’ [tropical forests] are also home to an incredible amount of biodiversity, lots of different plants, lots of different animals, lots of different insects, lots of different birds... we don’t know about a lot of those, [and] many of the most effective medicines come from naturally occurring plants,” Professor Di Fiore explains. “There’s tons and tons of [things] that we don’t know about the Amazon, so if we lose the Amazon, there are potentially very important chemical compounds that we’re never going to know about for treating diseases and medical conditions. So, there’s lots of reasons why tropical forests are important.” Housing thousands of unique species (many undiscovered), providing means to cure sickness, filtering the air, stabilizing the climate, ensuring life on 36
The Scope
Earth… the Amazon seems to have a never-ending list of advantageous qualities. However, there has still not been much movement to try and save it. “Climate change and environmental degradation have a much stronger impact on younger people than older people,” Fu adds. “Older people... they benefit from using more [fossil fuels], but they don’t suffer the impact nearly as much because the impact is going to be down the road. I think because young people would be affected more, they should be more proactively slow[ing] down emissions or slow[ing] down the degradation… or slow[ing] down negative impact of humans on the environment. What Professor Fu says is correct, the older generation most likely will never experience the biggest consequences of climate change. If young people begin to raise awareness and vocalize the effect climate change will have on life across the planet, people
everywhere might start making more eco-friendly choices. It’s the end of the day and we return to camp having collected 12 hour’s worth of data on a group of woolly monkeys. It may not seem like a lot of data compared to the amount it would take to complete the project… it would take hundreds of days just like this one to form a valid conclusion… but every day contributes to that final product. And this is exactly the attitude we must have about climate change. Many people simply legitimize their nonexistent attempts to cut down on their emissions by saying “What can I really do? I’m just one person.” Quite on the contrary, even the smallest acts can help. So the next time that you use that logic to justify driving to the supermarket down the street, remember that you help to determine the fate of the world and whether the human race continues to live on.
A titi monkey forages for food in a tree in the Amazon Rainforest. photo courtesy of: Anthony Di Fiore
Researchers travel the Amazon River to the YasunĂ Biodiversity site. photo courtesy of: Anthony Di Fiore
Professor Anthony Di Fiore, who studies primate DNA and social behaviors at the University of Texas, in the Amazon Rainforest in the Mountains of Peru. photo courtesy of: Anthony Di Fiore
A woolly monkey walks along a vine high in the canopy of the Amazon. photo courtesy of: Kelsey Ellis
The view of the Amazon River from the entrance to the research site. photo courtesy of: Anthony Di Fiore
The Scope
37
Rainforests at Risk
By: Sofia Di Fiore
Tropical rainforests support roughly half of the planet’s O known species One acre of the Amazon is destroyed every second
38
The Scope
28,000 species are in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 Tropical for- years due to deforestation ests cover 7% of the Earth’s surface
The Amazon Rainforest produces 20% of the world’s oxygen
What you can do:
The tropical rainforest biome is the most biodiverse on Earth
Recycle or reuse paper products Attempt to reduce the amount of paper products that you use Donate to organizations dedicated to cutting down on deforestation
The Amazon spans much of South America, and in just 40 years over 20% has been cut down
sources: http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-deforestation-facts. php http://www.rainforestfoundation. org/commonly-asked-questions-and-facts/ http://www.mnn.com/family/family-activities/blogs/5-ways-to-stop-deforestation
The Scope
39
photo courtesy of: pixabay
“The preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr.