Rising Rice Price For the End of 2009?

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/biz/200910/Rising-rice-price-for-the-end-of-2009-873292/

Summary:
Economists believed that even though countries exported large amounts of rice, the price of it would not rise up. By the end of September 2009, Vietnam exported a total of nearly 5 million tonnes of rice, which created the record of $2.018 billion. Thailand on the other hand, the leading producer of rice, would have to export 210,000 tonnes of rice per week, an increased of 21.7% compared to 2008. The head of Thai Rice Exporters' Association announced that their exports would reach about 9 million tonnes at the end of the year. Influenced by these 2 countries, Cambodia tried to increase their exports in 2009, to 800,000 tonnes, which is 300,000 tonnes more, compared to 2008.

Connection:
In chapter 2, we learned the concept of supply and demand. Rice as we know, is something most families eat for dinner every day. An increased in the supply of rice would not affect the consumer's demand for it. Even if the price went up by 2 or 3 dollars, consumers would mostly continue to purchase it. The reason why rice is exceptional compared to other products is because rice is a needed necessity. Another good example of a needed necessity is milk. Families would purchase milk and milk powder even if the price increases because of their newborns. Wealthy families and poorer ones, especially, depend on rice to keep them full. If a poor family cannot afford buying meat products in their meals, then rice can keep them full for a long period of time.

Reflection:
I believe that the price of rice would not increase until the end of 2009. Even though there were large amounts of exports from countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, they would maintain the same price of rice. Since there were many brands of rice, if the price of Thailand rice increased, then the demand for it would decrease. This means that other substitute brands, Vietnam and Cambodia, would be increased in demand because it was cheaper compared to Thailand. It is also unlikely for a significant rise in the cost of rice because the government would not allow it to happen. My family eats rice almost every day for dinner, however; even if there was a slightly increase in the price of rice; we would continue to purchase it.

Solutions to Water Scarcity in India

http://www.sramanamitra.com/2009/08/30/latent-solutions-to-water-scarcity-in-india/

Summary
This article talks about some solutions it has towards the scarcity of water in India. There are millions of people in India who do not have access to clean drinking water. This results in many people dying. Luckily, there are now physical and chemical methods (desalination) for machines to "clean" out the salts and minerals in seawater so that it is drinkable. An example is the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP). It is able to produce 100 liters clean drinking water per day. Another method is to rely on the rainfall in India.Since it only rains about 100 hours per year, the plan is to collect rainwater on rooftops so that it can be stored for future use.

Connection
The concept of scarcity means that there is an insufficient, or shortness of supply of a resource. With billions of people having to use water everyday, the supply of water is slowly decreasing in a worldwide scale. If a resource is scarce, the price of it will eventually go up because there is less supply of the resource over time. Since the supply of water is slowly decreasing, there will be a day where water prices, such as bottled water, will go up. Citizens of India are currently facing this problem. They have a low supply on water, which is why they must use their water conservatively.

Reflection
I feel that the people in India are in such a crisis. Water is such a basic resource, yet everyone in the world needs it to survive. It is such a frightening thought to have in mind with millions of people in India dying per year because water is so scarce. I believe that the method of desalination, which basically "changes" salt water to drinkable water, can really aid the people of India. People all over the world should not think that water can be taken for granted and just waste it. After reading this article, I will do my job and try my best to conserve water whenever I possibly can.