Money Saving Tips for College Students free essay sample

As for any college student the usual expenses of; school, personal life, food, entertainment, and leisure activities is enough to make you broke or for most of us, in debt. It is Thursday night and the weekend is here but your wallet is full of bank receipts and there is not any cash to been found. Your friend just told you the agenda for the night which involves; dinner, pre-game, party, and then night club. Chances are your staying in for the night unless you have a hidden supply of cash under your bed. This type of scenario is all too common for most college students, which is why I am going to explain in detail how to save and manage your money more effectively. With becoming better educated on how to manage your money properly you will be shocked at the amount of cash you can save. The following tips will help you to save money in the following areas of your college expenses; money management, organization of money, personal life, decision making, jobs, entertainment, leisure activities, food, dating, tuition, and books. We will write a custom essay sample on Money Saving Tips for College Students or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Learning how to manage your money and having the proper knowledge on which banks to use with your money is an important part on saving your money. The following bullets will explain in detail on how to effectively manage your money: 1) Track your expenses – By tracking your expenses for 2 weeks to a month will allow you to have a better understanding where your money is going. Are red bulls at the 7-11 and a cappuccino at Starbucks 4 times a week actually needed? You will tend to realize the amount of money wasted on small items that are not necessary. Just by tracking your expenses you will begin to manage your money more effectively. To keep better and more organized track of your money, using a notebook or quicken are great tools to being better organized. Having good records prevents you from spending what you do not have and from over drafting your account. 2) Budget your money – The best way to manage your money over a period of time is to create a budget. Take the time to sit down and look at your incomes and expenses. Examples of income are scholarships, paycheck if working, loans, money saved throughout summer and money from your family. Examples of expenses are books, food, rent, bills, tuition, and entertainment. Create a list of your incomes and expenses, and then decide a way to budget your money from either week to week or month to month. It is important to pace yourself when putting yourself on a budget. If you spend all of your money in the beginning of the month, you will be stuck eating leftovers from the cafeteria for the last week. In addition, it is important to provide yourself with money for leisure and entertainment. You are a college student, it is refreshing to buy yourself something new or have a good time every once and a while. Putting your money on a budget will help you to manage your money very effectively. Remember, you don’t always have to spend the amount you budget yourself. Also, planning ahead is essential when you are properly managing your money. If you know that soon you will be going on a vacation, paying your car insurance, or just an expensive weekend; placing aside $50 a week is more reasonable than coming up with $400 at once. 3) Choosing a bank – Join a credit union. Credit unions are set up as non-profit so they do not charge those high interest rates and hidden fees as, for example, a Bank of America would. Also, look into online banking, this makes for a fast easy to use way of banking. ) Credit Cards – The most helpful tip that I can give to a college student would be to stay away from credit cards. Do not fall into the traps of free giveaway sign up booths, those guys trying to sign you up are only trying to take your money. The reality is that credit card companies see college students as suckers. That is why credit companies swarm campuses and make getting a credit card so easy. These credit companies also charge a high interest rate on these cards. The average interest rate is 18%; this means you will have to pay back an additional 18% on whatever you may purchase. The higher the interest rate, the harder it will be to pay off your bill. It is like a chain reaction that will just continue to bury you in debt. As you can only afford to pay off the minimum, the interest continues to gain as the bill continues to rise. To avoid this, it is important to avoid the temptations that come with having a credit card and to also try to make more than the minimum monthly payments. Although, having a credit card for emergency situations and to build up your credit for the future can be very beneficial. However, for college students reaching for that Visa can be a very hard habit to break. In addition, credit companies will give you a credit line well higher than what you may need. They may set you at a $5,000 credit limit, when you may only be able to afford $1,000. Just call the credit company and tell them the price you would like your credit line set to. With having a credit card it does not mean you can buy whatever you want. It is important to be realistic and to understand what you can and cannot afford. Most expenses tend to occur in the beginning of the school year. To plan accordingly for this, saving money while working your summer job would help to cut the cost of initial expenses. When coming back to school, books and various items for your apartment/dorm are going to be quite costly. To cut cost on buying books, it is often cheaper to buy books offline or off a friend. Buying books online can be easy and up to half the price that it would be in the bookstore. One downside to buying books online is the amount of time it can take for shipping, so be sure to place your order as early as possible. You may also have some friends who have had the same classes before you, buying a book off a friend who is not going to use it anymore can save you a good amount of money. With having the power of the credit card, it is important to keep a focus on what is important. You want to keep your expenses to either academic or personal essentials. It might seem as if the new PS3 is just the item to place on your credit card, but I can assure you it is not. If this may seem as an essential to you then place aside money each week to save and buy that PS3 with cash. When purchasing anything remember cash is king. For most college students; the pressures of going out on the weekend, taking a girl out to dinner, having the latest technology, and still trying to save money can be quite the challenge. Now remember, you’re in college and on your own now, you don’t have your mother yelling at you to brush your teeth before bed or to clean your room. This is an opportunity for you to begin working on your self-discipline. Having your life in order and maintaining a clear head are two things that college students tend to lose sight of. Making the right decisions when it comes to your personal health and responsibilities is an important part of self-discipline. Within this section of personal life I will relate how staying active, eating healthy, nd enjoying your social life can help you to better manage your money. Everyone is in college to better their future and to get prepared for the real-world, but just as any college student, you want to make the best out of your time here. 1)Staying focused and active – Living in dormitory or even in a house with eight roommates, you become very susceptible to catching different illnesses. By staying active and working out or excising several times throughout the week, your immune system will become stronger and fight off most illnesses. Staying in good shape also helps with increasing self-confidence, energy throughout the day, and keeping your mind active and positively focused. In college it is easier to gain the weight than it is to lose if you fall into the outside pressures of drinking, eating fast food, and sleeping all day. With keeping the self-discipline of staying focused and active it helps to keep a clear head which in return will help you to decide what expenses are important and what is a waste of your money. 2)Healthy diet To stay fit and keep your body in good shape, your diet is just as important as your workout. By going to the grocery store once a week and purchasing vegetables, fruits, meats, beverages, and carbohydrates can help you to save close to an additional $50-$100 a week. Not only is cheaper to purchase food at the grocery store but it is much healthier than ordering out or eating fast food. To cut the cost on buying groceries, divide the cost by you and your roommates, buy and share the food. In addition, you will receive more for your money when you purchase weekly groceries. To get the best prices for quality products, look through the newspaper ads for each supermarket and plan out where you can save the most money. Cut back on buying junk food, it is often expensive and is not healthy. If you do decide to eat out, college towns often have restaurants where you order and serve yourself, this cuts on the cost of leaving a tip. The only problem that some college students might have is that they do not know how to shop at the grocery store or how to cook the food. This is where it might be helpful to make a phone call home and get some instructions from your mother. For those that can cook and shop at the grocery store, this is a great way to get more for your money as well as maintain a healthy diet. )Social life – This is often times confused for the reason as to why you are in college. While it may be easy to fall into the trap of going out every weekend and living the party life it is essential to keep focus as to why you are in college. You are here to get an education and better yourself, not to blow all your money on partying and fail out. This is where the significance of self-discip line and managing your money properly should take first priority. Everyone likes to have a good time and enjoy themselves, it is important to keep things in moderation. Learn to limit your vices or â€Å"stress-relievers† (as some college students say) such as, beer, cigarettes, and etc†¦ These vices can be expensive and costly to your health as well. By keeping to your budget and using the allotted amount you give yourself a weekend you can enjoy yourself and still save money. Here are a couple tips on how to keep the expenses of your weekend nights to a minimum; †¢Have a meal before you leave to go out. Leaving the house/dorm hungry can cost you a lot of money that you may not have. †¢Leave your debit card and wallet home. Only bring the money you can afford for the night and your id. This will help to fight the temptations of buying unnecessary items, especially if you are under the influence. †¢If you have friends that have an unlimited bank account and spend lots of cash, try to avoid them and hang with friends that relate to your financial status. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to enjoy yourself in college. The following is a list of inexpensive activities and entertainment for any guy or girl student who is looking to save money and enjoy their social life as well; †¢Newspapers offer listings of inexpensive or free events that are going to take place in your city/town †¢ Going to matinee movies School events, such as sporting events or clubs †¢Spend a day at the local park, go for a walk or fly a kite †¢Bicycle rides with a friend †¢Spending the afternoon baking and relaxing †¢Grab a couple friends and play sports at the school gym †¢Coffee shops often have free local bands play at night †¢Afternoon flea market †¢Depending on the season, apple or pumpkin picking for Halloween, Christmas shopping, Easter decorating or designing eggs, etc†¦ †¢Art gallery Student newspapers often give listings of free events or activities that are taking place around campus †¢Play video games with friends, create tournaments and play for bragging rights †¢Get involved in intramural sports †¢Ladies usually get into clubs for free and get drink specials †¢Go to bars with no cover charge and that have drink specials Throughout college you are going to meet a number of different people, some you will like more than others, and for those you do, you may find yourself taking him or her out on a date. Now for most people, saving money and dating are two notions that don’t connect. For most, on a first date you try to impress and give off the perception that you are not broke or even worse, cheap. To the disbelief of many, dating does not have to be expensive to be impressive, entertaining and unforgettable. Remember, you are trying to stick to a budget and with all other expenses it is challenging enough. The following bullets will explain how to have fun on a date without spending all your cash. †¢Mother Nature – It is all around us everywhere we go, natural scenery is different at every campus and usually the beauty goes unnoticed. A great idea for when the weather is nice is to take him or her down to Narrangansset or Newport and go for a walk on the beach. Take a walk around city blocks and stop somewhere there is nice view overlooking the city. Take time to find these spots at which ever campus you are, this can be extremely cheap and give quality time to build a better relationship. †¢Picnic A picnic in the local park is always a great idea. Bring sandwiches and beverages, it shows that you took the time to actually prepare something. This costs minimal as to what you spend at a restaurant and can be taken almost anywhere. Depending on the mood you are trying to create, you can make a picnic either casual or romantic by adding a few extra accessories. †¢Sporting events – If you get so lucky to find a woman who is interested in sports, this is a great opportunity to either play a sport together or to watch a sporting event at your school. This also allows you to spend quality time with one another as well as have a good time while saving your money. †¢Experience culture and history – In this city there a number of historical buildings, museums, art galleries, cultural centers and landmarks that are either very cheap or free. Often times, there are exhibits that are off campus that have reduced or free admission for college students. This is good for a date on a more intellectual level and gives time to get to know each other as well as the area you are in. †¢Dinner at home – For those of you who are culinary skilled, this is a great opportunity to impress your date and to save the cost of going out to eat. To make the date more interesting, cook the meal together and combine ideas. After the meal, this is a chance to hang out and watch a movie or play a game. This is a great date idea to impress and really have a good time. Miniature golf/go karts – This makes for a great afternoon date and adds a little excitement. Racing each other and fooling around on the race track provides a fun time for one another. In miniature golf, a friendly competition allows to make things more exciting and to fool around. †¢University events – In the school paper, there are listings of events that are taking place for the following week. Usually events are free or reduced admission, which includes concerts, art exhibits, guest speakers, and plays. This can make for a quality date as well as save you money. †¢Coffee houses – Stop at a local coffee shop to relax and have conversation. Coffee is much cheaper than a meal at a restaurant and provides the relaxed atmosphere to get to know each other better. Also, order a dessert and splitting it provides for a romantic experience. Making Money I’ve saved the best for last. If you can master even one of these, you’ll have a head-start on your friends. Master all four, and you’ll be on the road to wealth. No kidding. †¢Spend less than you earn. Don’t earn much? Then don’t spend much. If your spending and income are roughly even, you have two choices: earn more or spend less. When I was in college, I worked as many as four jobs at once. This gave me a lot of spending cash. (Unfortunately, I didn’t do a good job with the spend less part of the equation. ) †¢Be an outstanding employee. Good work habits can pay enormous dividends, leading to recommendations and contacts that you can use after you’re out of school. Several of my classmates turned work-study jobs into launching pads for future careers. †¢Start your own business. Can you install a hard drive? Can you strip a computer of spyware? Can you perform minor car repairs? Do you have a pickup truck you could use to haul furniture? Are you a passable guitar player? Charge cheap rates and exceed expectations. Word will spread. When you’ve built up a customer base, you can raise your rates a little. This is an awesome way to make money. Learn to invest. Find a discount broker and begin making regular investments. Sharebuilder is a great choice for college students. It costs only $4 to make a scheduled stock purchase, and you can invest any amount of money, even $20. Don’t obsess over the details yet. You can worry about high returns and low fees later. Right now the most important thing is to develop the investment habit. (Ad: Buy Stocks for $4 at ShareBuilder. Ten years from now, you’ll thank yourself. If you can find a way to invest $1000 a year for the next ten years, you can set yourself up for life. Organization and Planning Save your receipts. Put them in a shoebox under your bed if you must, but hold onto them. You’ll need to be able to compare them with statements at the end of the month. And some you’ll need to keep for several years. Guard your vital stats. Don’t give out your social security number or your credit card info except to known and trusted sources. Pay your bills on time. Basic advice, but it’s surprising how many people lose track of things. If you pay your bills as they arrive, you won’t have to worry about forgetting them. Tuition Expenses †¢Try looking for scholarships. You may think that youre no longer eligible for scholarships since youre a college student, but this isnt true. Your school or other foundations may offer scholarship programs that can save you loads of money on college tuition. For further information you may want to try www. findaid. org or www. college-scholarships. com. †¢Shop around for student loans. Just like choosing a credit card company, you should try going to different banks to see what types of interest rates are available. You may want to choose the type of loan that begins charging you interest after youre finished with collegenot the type of loan that charges you interest while youre in school. Other Expenses †¢Shop around for a reasonable cell phone plan. Try to find a plan that works best for the type of calls you make the most. Do you call your family or friends most often? Do you need a long distance plan? Do you text message often? †¢Try filling your prescriptions at your schools health center. Sometimes campus health centers will fill your prescriptions for a fraction of the cost of a regular pharmacy. See a doctor on campus. If you feel sick, you may want to consider seeing a doctor or a nurse practitioner on campus. These services are often free. †¢Bike, walk or take the bus to school. These alternatives may help you save money on gas and alleviate some of the stress you may experience trying to park on campus. †¢Go to the on-campus gym. Access to this gym equipment is usu ally free. If you want to take group classes, however, be prepared to pay a fee. http://www. getrichslowly. org/blog/2006/08/30/27-money-tips-for-college-students/

How Teachers Should Report Suspected Abuse of Children

How Teachers Should Report Suspected Abuse of Children Teachers are state-mandated reporters  meaning that if they observe signs of suspected child abuse or neglect, they are legally required to take action and report your suspicions to the proper authorities, usually Child Protective Services. Although situations like these are challenging for all parties involved, its important to have your students best interests in mind and to act in accordance with your districts and states requirements. Heres how you should proceed. 1. Do Your Research You need to take action at the first sign of trouble. If this is your first time reporting suspected abuse or you are working in a new school district, arm yourself with information. You must follow the requirements specific to your school and state. All 50 of the United States require your compliance. So go online and find your states site for Child Protective Services, or similar. Read about how to file your report and make a plan of action. 2. Dont Second-Guess Yourself Unless you witness abuse firsthand, you can never be 100% certain about what occurs in a childs home. But dont let that sliver of doubt cloud your judgment to the point where you ignore your legal responsibility. Even if you simply suspect a problem, you must report it. You can clarify in your report that you suspect abuse, but are not certain. Know that your report will be treated with care so that the family will not know who filed it. The government experts will know how best to proceed, and you must trust their ability to weed through the suspicions and find out the truth. 3. Keep a Watchful Eye on Your Student   If you suspect that one of your students is in a vulnerable situation, make sure to pay special attention to his or her behavior, needs, and schoolwork. Notice any major changes in his or her habits. Of course, you wouldnt want to go overboard by coddling the child or making excuses for poor behavior. However, it is important to remain vigilant and report any further suspicions to authorities again, as many times as is necessary in order to protect the childs well being. 4. Follow the Progress Familiarize yourself with the long-term procedures that Child Protective Services will follow with the family in question. Introduce yourself to the caseworker, and ask for updates on what conclusions are reached and which actions are taken to help the family. The government agents will work with the family to provide supportive services, such as counseling, in order to guide them along the path to being better caretakers. The last resort is to remove the child from his or her home. 5. Remain Committed to Protecting Children Dealing with child abuse, suspected or confirmed, is one of the most serious and stressful parts of being a classroom teacher. No matter how unpleasant the experience may be for you, dont let the process deter you from reporting each and every case of suspected abuse that you observe during your time in this profession. Not only is it your legal obligation, but you can rest easily at night knowing that you took the tough actions required to protect the students under your care. Tips Document all of your concerns, with dates and times, in order to support your claims.Gather tips and support from veteran colleagues.Procure the support of your principal and ask him or her for advice if needed.Remain confident that you are doing the right thing, no matter how hard it may be.

Authors Here are 10 Must-Read Marketing Books

Authors Here are 10 Must-Read Marketing Books The 10 Best Marketing Books for Authors Most authors have enough saved blog posts on how to market a book to fill an anthology. But the benefit of a marketing book is that it covers one person's philosophy or approach from start to finish, so you can get a better look at the whole picture. Blog surfing can result in a lot of conflicting half-thoughts. So if you’re looking to brush up on your marketing savvy but still want the pleasure of flicking through chapters of seamless narrative, we suggest taking a look at the following ten best marketing books for authors - all hand-picked by the industry experts on our marketplace! Check out the 10 best marketing books for authors as suggested by industry professionals! 1. Online Marketing for Busy Authors: A Step-By-Step Guide - Fauzia BurkeYou may be a great author. But are you a great copywriter? The two skills require separate muscles, but both are important to get right if you want your work to end up on people’s reading lists’. This book goes over how to structure compelling copy for the various types of media you might be advertising on, covers common copywriting mistakes, and provides templates you can apply to your own product. You’ll be ready to join the ranks of Don Draper in no time.TLDR: Born-writer but not born-marketer? Learn how to write all over again - this time copy that will allow you to increase your sales on Amazon and to get more out of an adverts you run. "It doesn’t make you any less of an artist to know the ins and outs of marketing." #Marketingadvice this way! 10.  Make Art Make Money: Lessons from Jim Henson on Fueling Your Creative Career - Elizabeth Hyde StevensThis one is not technically about marketing, but after a steady diet of books on â€Å"targeting† and â€Å"strategizing,† we wanted to end this list on an inspirational note. As the title suggests, this book follows the life of Jim Henson (the man who brought us The Muppets) and is about being an artist while also making money. Its two most important lessons focus on:the importance of creators remaining at least partly in control of their enterprises (a shout-out to self-publishing authors if we’ve ever heard one!), andbalance: don’t let money make you lose sight of your passion, but don’t neglect your business savvy. It doesn’t make you any less of an artist to know the ins and outs of marketing, it ensures you can continue to create by allowing you to reach audiences/customers.TLDR: Don’t read this book for actionable marketin g tips - read it to remind yourself that your work’s success is worth fighting for.Have you read one of these books?  Do you have any favorites we didn't mention? Drop them in the comments below and we'll add them to the list!

Mergers and aquisitions in the USA banking Dissertation

Mergers and aquisitions in the USA banking - Dissertation Example For the past fifteen years or so mergers and acquisitions in the world of American banking have increased tremendously. There are a number of reasons behind this, such as increase in competition among the financial institutions, the deregulation of the banking sector and upheavals in the economy as well as the interest rates. The paper studies the impact of the consolidation of banks and its effects on the wealth of the shareholders. Though it is largely thought that consolidation is likely to have a positive effect on the wealth of the shareholders, study has found that it is not the case. Thus the thesis discusses in detail the reasons due to which the financial firms of USA are likely to undergo the process of mergers and acquisitions and its impact on the shareholders’ monetary resources. The sample spaces taken for the project are the mergers and acquisitions of the past ten years. The recent most acquisition in the American banking sector is taken into account (the acqui sition of Golden West Financial by Wachovia in 2006) is studied in great detail. The period from the 1930s to the mid 1970s has been the most stable in the history of the American banking sector (Grullon, Michaely, Swary, 1997). However, causes such as an increase in competition, the deregulation of the banking sector and upheavals in the economy as well as the interest rates of the country has resulted in numerous unprecedented problems for the bankers

Why extrinsic reward systems may not work well in some organizations Assignment

Why extrinsic reward systems may not work well in some organizations - Assignment Example That need hierarchies can differ between organizations, cultures, and indeed, among individuals within the same organization and therefore should not be overlooked by a manager. Rewards must be examined and analyzed in terms of according the right motivation to the employees depending on their needs that majority of the personnel exhibit in the organization. Rewards consist of two types: the intrinsic (personal) and the extrinsic (material). According to the Business Dictionary, an intrinsic reward is an â€Å"outcome that gives an individual internal (personal) satisfaction such as that derived from a job well done† (Business Dictionary, 2010, par. 1). On the other hand, an extrinsic reward means â€Å"common, routine, or known-reward which, because it was expected by the recipient employee, does not lead to his or her greater satisfaction; these are analogous to hygiene factors† (Business Dictionary, 2010, par. 1). Some organizations do not provide incentives that would address to satisfy material needs or lower level needs of the employees (hygiene factors) because while Maslow’s theory suggests that all needs are motivators so long as they remain unsatisfied, in Herzberg’s scheme, only higher-order needs are motivators. In this regard, organizations tend to focus on giving intrinsic rewards such as recognition, advancement, achievement and responsibility that is perceived to be intrinsically rewarding to majority of their personnel in the long

Antimicrobial Activity of Soil Isolates Essay -- Biology Microbiology

Antimicrobial Activity of Soil Isolates Abstract: Isolation and characterization of microorganisms is a practice that aids in Increasing ones knowledge of a laboratory setting and it helps improve on Using sterile technique. Isolates of soil microbes can be categorized and Characterized based on a number of criteria ranging from gram-staining Which is done for this project to enumeration which is quantitative description Based on the amount of microbial colonies available. The Antimicrobial Activity of three different microbes were also tested and results were obtained For two out of three of the microbes. Two out of three of the tested microbes Exhibited antimicrobial activity towards the bacteria E. Coli and B. Mycoides And the results were recorded. Microbes produce various antibiotics and by Isolating different microbes the antibodies can be tested for. Introduction: This lab focuses on the isolation and characterization of an unknown organisms expressing interesting properties in relation to Antimicrobial Activity. At the conclusion of this laboratory experience The researcher would be required to describe the isolates obtained from the soil macroscopic and microscopic appearance, Perform the gram stain of the microorganisms in question and to discriminate the organisms from other microbes that could be contained in the soil and to finally make certain that the organisms have not been exposed to outside sources and be isolated in a pure culture. The researcher must first isolate the microbe and try to grow the organism in a pure culture to commence with testing the organism. The isolation of Microbes in a laboratory and clinical settings are of the up most importance and due to the isolation of different microbes from each other various procedures become open for the researcher to use like six fold dilutions that allow for the quarantined m icrobe to be reduced down in number to ensure that the test are being run are being tested on just a single type of organism. But before dilutions can occur the microbe must first be liberated from the soil and streaked onto an Agar plate to grow. There are various methods that can be used once the organism has grown onto the agar plate to ensure that the sample collected would o... ...actors due to the large or small amount of colonies present on my agar plated media. This could be accounted for by stating that there was a very large amount of microbes present in the soil and the dilutions did not dilute enough of the microorganism out or human error could also account for Not having any statistically significant plates to use. The bacterium that I replated was obtained from the YPD 10-3 media and it gave rise to bacterium 1 & 3, The other bacterium that I obtained came from LB 10-5 . The two bacterium from the YPD plate varied in color the bacterium that I refer to as one had a reddish color had a circular form a raised elevation and a entire margin, The bacterium that I refer to as 3 Had a grey appearance a circular form a raised elevation and the margin appeared to be entire. The bacterium that I obtained from the LB media had a white appearance had a circular form a faintly raised elevation and the margin was entire. References: -Microbiology Laboratory Manual -http://www.talron.co.il/index.php?module=pagemaster&page user op=view page&PAGE id=8&MMN position=9:2 -http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/img/assests/6840/95762_YPD_Agar_17119_83055_ 1777 .pdf

Gore’s movie, “An Inconvenient Truth” Essay

Former Vice President and former Tennessee Senator Al Gore discusses the correlation between carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and global warming. Gore’s movie, â€Å"An Inconvenient Truth† is constructed to look as though the majority of it is taking place in a college lecture hall, thus implying that his information is indeed fact. Better yet, before the end of the movie, Gore attempts to prove that global warming is not an environmental theory, but is a fact and that it is being caused by things that man is doing. His simple conclusion is that mankind is creating more greenhouse gases and that is causing the earth’s temperature to rise at a rate that might soon be catastrophic. Gore spends a great deal of the movie in front of a double line graph comparing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and the earth’s temperature. He explains where his personal interest in the concept came from, a research professor when he was an undergraduate student, and how the professor’s work has predicted the climbing earth temperatures. Gore never specifically illustrates how mankind is contributing to the greenhouse gases, but he does make allusions to heavy traffic and coal-fired energy plants as the cause. Instead, he uses a very effective melding of classroom instruction and beautiful natural footage of his farm in Tennessee and the ice flows of Antarctica. He even compares the need to do something about global warming to his family’s failure to do something about smoking. Gore points out that until his sister died from lung cancer, his father raised tobacco on their Tennessee farm. It wasn’t until his daughter’s death that he made the connection between his action and her illness. Likewise, Gore said, he is afraid that we will not make the connection between our actions and global warming until our children are dying from it. The use of analogical reasoning is impressive through the film as is the use of pop culture to define his arguments, relying on a clip from the cartoon sit-com Futurama as his explanation of why greenhouse gases lead to heating the environment. The biggest failing of the movie are Gore’s lack of an answer for the problem he presented. He points to the ever-rising global temperature and the melting ice flows in the Arctic, Antarctica and Greenland, but only as the final credits roll are there any suggestions for what to do about it. And these claims are the ones that are least supported. For example, the credits proclaim the advantages of switching to mercury-based florescent light bulbs instead of traditional incandescent light bulbs, claiming that the energy saved by making little changes like that can help offset the growing carbon problem. But he never backs up those claims with facts and never discusses other issues which might be a factor in choosing light bulbs, such as quality of light provided and the fact that fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, a potentially lethal heavy metal. Gore’s explanations seem sound and reasonable, but that may also be due to the way they are presented. With an ice shelf breaking apart before your eyes, it is hard to demand answers about why the shelf is breaking apart. And, no one in the movie ever challenges Gore’s opinions or facts. He claims that when opponents to the global warming theory make objections that he researches them and adds the answer to his lectures, but there is no evidence of this. Instead, it appears that Professor Gore has used his training in academia and politics to make it look as though he knows all the answers, but the real â€Å"Inconvenient Truth† is that the movie leaves you with more questions than answers.