The Sputnik // Monday September 5

The world in retrospect: Forgotten stories

Matt Mente Section Editor When a big event hits the headlines it becomes the talk of the town for a few days, but quickly fades away in todays web-driven media world. However, many of these events continue to unfold long after the news desk has moved on. So heres a look at three major stories that you probably havent caught up on in a while.

Rescuing oil damaged pelicans. (Photo by Tom MacKenzie/USFWS)

Nuclear power plant. (Photo by Paul J Everett)

Earthquake damage in Port Au Prince. (Photo by newbeatphoto)

In April 2010, an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico suffered an explosion resulting in the largest accidental oil spill in history. Since then cleanup efforts have helped the environment along the coast to begin recovering. A study by BP claims the ocean ecology has fully recovered but biologists are keeping a close eye on wildlife. Local fishermen continue to report sick and dead catches. On the legal side of things, a trial scheduled for February 2012 will examine over 549 cases relating to the spill.

The BP Oil Spill

In March 2011, a massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan severely damaged the Fukushima nuclear plants. Since the disaster, teams have been working on cooling the damaged reactors to prevent a critical meltdown and are working towards a cold shutdown. With water decontamination and recycling in place, the amount of leaking radiation has dropped but there is still a great deal of contaminated water and soil which needs to be dealt with. Overall the disaster has been rated 7 in the INES scale, or as severe as Chernobyl.

The Japan Nuclear Crisis

In January 2010, an earthquake hit Haiti destroying most of the nations capital of Port-au-Prince and displacing over one million residents. Despite the aid delivered to Haiti ,reconstruction has been slow. A year after the quake only 2% of the relief money was released for use and 98% of the rubble still lay where it had fallen. At present more effort is being expended supporting refugees in camps than rebuilding. Progress continues to be slow while displaced Haitians remain in camps.

The Haiti Earthquake

A new year; A new logo

Kyle W. Brown Editor-in-Chief As Laurier Brantford continues to grow, so too must The Sputnik in order to keep up with the increase of students and demand for student news. The Sputnik must also adapt to the ever-changing media world, where breaking news can be read the minute after it happens on the worldwide web. This has presented The Sputnik with an opportunity to rebrand itself, and to deliver a product better geared towards what Laurier Brantford students want. That starts with a new logo, which can be found on the front page of this very issue that reflects The Sputniks goals for the future. Our new logo embdoies modernity, creativity, and student friendliness, three aspects which the Sputnik promises to provide to you, the reader, throughout this year. We will be more modern this year, with a much stronger web presence than in the past, bringing you up-to-date on whats happening on campus and in the community faster than our two-week production cycle allows. Creativity will run through each issue of The Sputnik this year from front page to back. Bolder design styles, increased artwork and photography, and an introduction of more elements from the New Journalism style of reporting, to provide not just informative, but entertaining stories. Lastly, The Sputnik will strive to offer more coverage to campus news and events, and what matters to students. That does not mean we will move away from our news coverage, but instead go deeper than the dailies to provide students a different perspective than just the 5 Ws. We have made these changes for you, reader, so we hope you like the product youre holding. Send me your feedback at editor@thesputnik.ca. Thank you, and cheers to a wonderful year.

Staff & students get involved !

or

5 &10 kms
distance
CHIP TIME RESULTS

Sunday September 25, 2011

10:30 am start Brants Crossing, Brantford, ON
For information and registration:

www.brantwaterways.ca /run-for-the-river-and-trails/