Review

Robertson provides a good background of information before getting to the main topics of the article. He states that there are two ways to protect communities from hurricanes, followed by an... See More

Robertson provides a good background of information before getting to the main topics of the article. He states that there are two ways to protect communities from hurricanes, followed by an idea by Bill Gates on how to stop hurricanes. Robertson gives a great description on how hurricanes form, and what keeps them going. The analogy of putting a balloon under water and releasing it provides a helpful image in my students head that they can connect to. Robertson follows up by referring to previous alters in environment in the past and their consequences referring back to "Killer Bees" in South America and abalone population in the northwest. The article discusses the possible consequences that would happen if Gates plan was to be done. This is a very informational/ helpful article.

Natural Disasters and Human Intervention

Robertson provides a wonderful explanation of how hurricanes form. The diagram shown in Figure 3 really helped students understand a convection cell. Bill Gates has proposed stopping hurri... See More

Robertson provides a wonderful explanation of how hurricanes form. The diagram shown in Figure 3 really helped students understand a convection cell. Bill Gates has proposed stopping hurricanes by inserting water pumps in the path of a hurricane, exchanging warm surface water with deeper, cooler water. When I used this article with my middle school students they were intrigued by the idea and had lots of thoughts and comments about the “Unintended Consequences” section.