Rationale

I chose to include Apple vs. Google because both apple and google have changed the technology. When apple came out with ipods, it altered how people viewed the mp3. After ipods came out, people could not only listen to music, but also they could watch music videos and browse the internet. Also, apple has come up with the iphone, which has both an iphone and an ipod. People were stunned at how far technology had come. Apple has also come out with ipads, which is basically a portable computer. Instead of carrying those heavy laptops, people could now carry around ipads which does the same things as laptops. Google has come up with the android phones. It allows people to browse the internet through google, and it is a smart phone. Google has also transformed the search engine. Because of the android phones and the iphones, competition has increased between google and apple. During the years of 2005-2010, it has lead up to even more competition, and therefore I thought it was important.  I chose to include the election of 2008 because I thought it was the most politically important out of the years of 2005-2010. The election of an African-American stunned many and it changed history. It is important because America had its first African-American President, if it had gone the other way, America would have its first female Vice President. Also, because of this election, we have the health care bill that affected hundreds and thousands of people in America. The United States was the only country without universal healthcare, but because of this bill, we obtained it. Because Barack Obama is now the President, America truly reflects the diversity it was first intended to have.  I chose to include global warming because it is an important that should be addressed. If people in this generation do not do anything, later generations will have to pay for it. Global warming was always a problem, but in this century especially people have noticed a difference. I, myself, have noticed a weather change. Last year, I was ecstatic that we missed a whole week of school, but I was also worried that something was wrong with the weather. Not only have humans realized a difference, but also animals as well. Animals are being affected by this weather shift and it has altered their living style. As I mentioned in the textbook, polar bears are affected by this currently. If one part of the ecosystem is altered, the whole food chain will be affected. For example, if polar bears are affected by this and the populations of polar bears go down, there will be an overpopulation of fish. Once there is an overpopulation of fish, birds will also get affected and the cycle goes on and on. Global warming is a serious issue because everyone is getting affected and will eventually notice the difference.  I included North Korea because a few years ago when they threatened to bomb the United States, I was scared. After 9/11 happened, I knew what man was capable of; I was terrified it was going to happen again. I realized heartless people did whatever they want, even if it meant killing thousands of people. Therefore, I included this section because it was a time of terror where many people were scared. Socially, it affected many, including me and my family.  I didn't include the recession because there are a lot of other factors that pertain to this: Hurricane Katrina, and the war are such factors. I feel as though the Hurricane was more important to many people than the recession. Hurricane Katrina helped many people to come together, in their times of need.