“A Year in Ideas 2008″

“The National 10 Percent Off Sale” interested me the most of all the creative ideas of 2008. It seems to be a good idea to help the U.S. economy that is having hard time at this moment. If the federal government puts its money to this 10 percent off sale, it could probably stimulate the U.S. economy. It is an important and thoughtful idea for this time in the U.S. because this act could easily increase the consumer spending and save the country from recession. By having people spend more money (despite the economic hardships), there is a good possibility that economy will rise again. This sounds like the most important idea of 2008.

“Eat Kangaroos to Fight Global Warming ” was one title that caught my eye. The title of this article is very deceiving because it leads you to believe that people should eat Kangaroos. But after reading it you see that in reality it will help the world if the Kangaroo population grows. Being that I am against animal cruelty and also have a fascination with our ever growing global warming problem this article was very interesting. It gives insight that not many people know about. Not many people are aware that kangaroos actually do not produce bad emissions like all the other animals. So therefore if we are able to reduce the number of other animals and increase the number of kangaroos we could help improve our global situation. This creative idea sounds very interesting and worth a try considering we should do everything we can to help stop global warming.

One article that drew in my attention was “Eat Kangaroos to Fight Global Warming.” This article was very deceiving because it looked like it is going to be talking about how killing kangaroos could help the world. Also, the title was very unusual and unlike anything I have ever seen. I found it interesting that the article was the exact opposite of what the title might hint. It was actually explaining how increasing the kangaroo population would help the world’s current global warming issue. Finally, this article interested me because it expressed an opinion on how to save a certain species of animal.

I think that automated anesthetic was a very good idea. It would benefit hospitals because they would not have to hire as many anesthesiologists and also gives the anesthesiologists more time for more patients. Procedures would also take less time. The automated anesthetic also is safer. The downside to the invention is that there would be a lower demand for anesthesiologists and possibly resulting in the loss of jobs for some or it could make it harder for some to find jobs. However, the automated anesthetic is a great advance in technology.

“Two-Tier Teacher Contract, The”, by Paul Tough caught my eye the most because of the discussion in the education issue now day.Recently, teachers are overflowed all around the world. As a result, schools may gain some chance on hiring some teachers, who do not have enough quality for them. But according to Rhee’s proposal that suggested the quality of the education will influence the future of students, if those students that learned from the disqualify teachers may have less chance to succeed in the future. Especially when there are fulfilled of teachers in the public schools everywhere, more and more quality of the education will regress. Therefore, personally, I think this will be a highly suggested idea to be discussed among people to improve the education for the future generations.

I think that especially with the recent events, the “Biomechanical energy harvester” article by Bruce Grierson would be the most important. The recent storm knocked power out for many areas, and this idea would have helped out tremendously. Weather can tend to be very unpredictable, and it is always good to have a back-up plan. This “biomechanical energy harvester” would allow people to feel secure in these situations. If certain simple every day tasks like walking and wearing a backpack can produce energy, then harvesting it seems simple. I think this is very important in 2008 because of situations like the ice storm a few days ago. Some people in certain areas still do not have power, and this would have been much less of an issue with this invention.

There were many great ideas of the year 2008. The one that I think stands out the most is airbags for the elderly. Elderly people always seem to be falling and being seriously injured from the falls. Although the airbags do not prevent falls, they do however make them somewhat safer. Elderly people can now where the airbags, and in a case of a fall, the injury would be less severe. It works a lot like car airbags and are suppose to become very common soon. They were created by the comapny Prop from Japan. I think this was the best idea of 2008.

Having a Grandmother who has taken many serious falls, i believe the Airbags For the Elderly is the most important concept of 2008. So many elderly people fall and may times these falls can be serious to badly injure them. My grandmother fell walking down steps into her garage, and shattered nearly every bone in her right leg. Not only was she injured, but she could not get back up, so she was stuck in her cold garage for two days. Now I’m not sure if one of these airbags would have protected her completely, but I’m sure it would have helped, and anything would be worth it to her. That fall has completely changed her life. She hasn’t been able to walk completely on her own since the fall, and all of her shoes need lifts of about five inches. She has also taken more falls since this first one, re-injuring herself multiple times. If something could have stopped that fall, my grandmother could still be the energetic, fun loving person we know she is on the inside. The first fall has caused many more, and if she could change one thing about her life, that would be it. I believe these airbags could help elderly people to stay happier and healthier with out any falls. i’m sure many people can think of someone who these airbags could have helped, and i believe almost any senior citizen would want some.

When I began reading through the list, the first title that caught my eye was “Air Bags for the Elderly”. As I read through the rest of the articles, that one remained on my mind. I think that air bags for the elderly would be a great idea because it is elderly people who are hurt the most when they fall down. I have a large family, and a lot of my great aunts and uncles have hurt their backs and hips by falling on ice. But that is not all, air bags would also be good for toddlers learning to walk, new drivers, and even teenagers with protective parents. Although the cost seems to be an issue discussed in the article (it costs approximately $1,400 in Japan where it has been released), it would be much more beneficial than the thousands of dollars people spend on surgeries if, when they fall, they hurt themselves. Also, some may complain about the fashion statement a wearable air bag would make, but it is an item of clothing. Bell bottoms are popular, and they aren’t, the “preppy” look is in and it’s out, one of the most popular winter items of clothign this year is the scarf, something a lot of people considered dorky only one year ago. So all in all, there is really no reason why a wearable air bag is not the best idea of 2008.