Finding Franklin

The quest to find the remains of the Franklin Expedition must have sometimes seemed like folly. Imagine trying to locate two wooden ships, lost for 169 years in the vast and frigid depths of Canada’s Arctic waters. Still, enthusiastic Canadian history hunters haven’t resisted the challenge.

Many times they mounted searches and many times they failed. Finally, in September, eureka! In an amazing turn of events, the latest determined team of Canadian archaeologists and scientists located one of the two vessels that made up the doomed expedition.

“We’ve invested so much of our time, so many years,” said Ryan Harris, one of the archeologists on the search. “It was like winning the Stanley Cup.”

The Franklin Expedition

The Franklin Expedition is the stuff of legend. In 1845, Sir John Franklin and his 128-man crew set sail from England on the HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus. They were seeking the fabled Northwest Passage, a route that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They wanted to be the first of many searchers to find and claim for England this critical trade lane.

The Franklin Expedition was the biggest and best-equipped Arctic

mission the Royal Navy had ever launched. The Erebus and the Terror were state-of-the-art, with copper-reinforced hulls and steam-powered propellers.

Unfortunately, all this new technology didn’t help. The expedition got trapped in ice for 18 months. The entire crew died, the ships disappeared, and people have been hunting for the vessels ever since.

Sixth Time Lucky

Conditions weren’t great this summer for combing the Arctic waters. Cold weather shortened the usual six-week search window and the heaviest sea ice in years forced investigators south of their chosen search area in the Victoria Strait.

Undeterred, the team switched their focus to the shallow waters of Queen Maud Gulf, following clues left in the oral history of the local Inuit. Stories passed down for decades talked of two ships trapped in the ice off King William Island. Elders spoke of a ghost ship drifting south, with a dead white man aboard.

It appears the stories are true. This time – the sixth search since 2008 – was lucky.

“Mowing the grass”The team got a break when a

helicopter pilot who was ferrying the search party to a barren island stumbled across an iron fitting from a Royal Navy vessel. The piece was too heavy to have travelled far, so the hunters reasoned the ship must be nearby.

They cabled a sonar towfish to the survey vessel, lowering it to just above the sea floor. Then they started “mowing the grass,” the name for an underwater scan of 150-metre passes. The towfish sends sound waves through the water on both sides. When the sound waves hit something, they “ping” or bounce back.

Eyes On The Prize

Back on the surface, archaeologists eagerly stared at the pattern of pings. After only a couple of passes, the wreck of one of Franklin’s ships scrolled eerily onto their screen.

“I don’t think it was halfway down the monitor when I shouted out, ‘That’s it! That’s it! We found it!’” said Mr. Harris.

The highly detailed images showed the wreck sitting upright just 11 metres below the surface. The stern was damaged. Its masts were gone. Yet otherwise, the 30-metre ship looked intact. The team later sent down a remote-control mini-sub to

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video the hulk.

“There are some deck planks missing and you can actually see openings on the deck and the hatchways,” reported Marc-André Bernier, a Parks Canada archeologist who was part of the team. “There’s a lot of debris. And two bronze cannons – more proof that it’s not an ordinary ship.”

After they checked the vessel’s dimensions, they knew for certain they’d found either the Erebus or the Terror.

No Trespassers!

The exact location of the find is a secret. Scientists worry that treasure hunters will loot the ship and damage priceless historical artifacts.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if people are already contemplating how they might get up there,” said John Geiger of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, one of the sponsors of the hunt.

So Much To Learn

The next order of business is identifying which of Franklin’s ships they found. Ship blueprints and a second dive will answer that question. In mid-September, the search team was hoping to dive again if the weather permitted.

The second order of business is discovering what’s inside.

“There may be documents in sealed cylinders. There may be surviving paper,” said Mr. Geiger. “If we’ve found the flagship Erebus, Sir John’s

quarters [and his belongings] will be there. There will be human remains. There will be insights into how they lived and how they died. There’s no end to the answers we might be able to glean.”

Added Mr. Bernier: “We have a chance to look history in the eye.”

Telling The World

Prime Minister Stephen Harper flew the team to Ottawa to announce the news and to congratulate the adventurers on their find.

“For more than a century, this has been a great Canadian story and mystery,” he said. “It’s been the subject of scientists and historians and writers and singers. This is truly a historic moment for Canada.”

Who Owns The Wreck?Britain launched the Franklin Expedition, but the ships sank in Canadian territory. So who owns the wreck?

The shipwreck belongs to Britain. However, according to a diplomatic agreement signed in 1997, Canada has permission to recover the ship and its relics.

There are a few exceptions. Any human remains must be undisturbed. Any gold will be divided between Canada and Britain. As well, Britain gets first dibs on artifacts significant to the British Navy.

Two Missions With Similar StoriesIn some surprising ways, Sir John Franklin’s Arctic mission parallels that of the team sent to find his wrecked ships 169 years later.

For example, just as Franklin wanted to claim the passage for England, Canada wants to assert its sovereignty over the Arctic. Other nations, including Russia, appear to be contesting our claim, probably eager to use the Arctic shipping corridor themselves. As well, potential resource development and the effects of climate change are increasing other countries’ interest in the Arctic.

Franklin mapped the unknown coastlines he explored. The Canadian team also maps and surveys the Arctic waters and shorelines as they pass because less than ten percent of the Canadian Arctic is charted to modern standards.

And just like Franklin’s ships, with their copper-reinforced hulls and steam-powered propellers, the Canadian expedition was better equipped than ever before, using the best available technology, such as sophisticated sonar equipment and unmanned mini-submarines.

expedition: a journey or voyage undertaken by a group of people with a particular purpose, especially that of exploration, scientific research, or warfolly: lack of good sense; foolishnessrelics: objects surviving from a distant time

undeterred: persevering with something despite setbackssonar: a system for the detection of objects under water and for measuring the water’s depth by emitting sound pulses and detecting or measuring their return after being reflectedsovereignty: recognized authority to govern a territory

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Ceasefire In Ukraine

A glimmer of peace is flickering in eastern Europe after a ceasefire between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists went into effect on September 5. The fragile agreement has largely put an end to clashes that have killed more than 3,000 people and caused the worst tensions between Russia and the West since the Cold War.

The Roots Of The Conflict

The roots of the conflict date back to November 2013. That was when hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens took to the streets to protest their government’s decision to create stronger economic ties with Russia rather than the European Union (EU) – after years of talks aimed at bringing Ukraine and the EU closer politically.

The demonstrations began in the capital of Kiev, but soon spread throughout the country. Marchers demanded that their president, Victor Yanukovych, step down. They set vehicles on fire, while police used tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons and eventually live bullets to try to stop the uprisings.

The Annexing Of Crimea

The violence escalated until February 23, when the Ukrainian government

bowed to protesters’ demands and voted 328-0 to remove Mr. Yanukovych from power.

That made Ukrainian protesters happy – but it angered Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had been pushing hard to have Ukraine join an economic bloc that he has been trying to form in recent years to compete with the EU.

So, on February 27, within days of Mr. Yanukovych’s overthrow, the Russian president sent in troops to take over Crimea, a southern peninsula in Ukraine. He said the move was necessary to protect Crimea’s Russian population from oppression.

Soldiers seized key buildings and closed government offices, airports, seaports and military bases. They also helped install a pro-Russia parliament, and on March 21, Russia formally annexed Crimea.

More Destabilization

The United Nations said the annexation was illegal under international law, but that didn’t stop Russian loyalists from trying to take over even more of Ukraine.

On April 6, pro-Russian rebels seized government buildings in the regional capitals of Donetsk, Luhansk, and

Kharkiv. President Putin claimed they weren’t acting for his government, but many of the fighters carried weapons believed to have come from the Russian army.

NATO also released satellite pictures showing what appeared to be Russian tanks and military columns inside Ukraine. The organization said at least 1,000 Russian troops were operating there and 20,000 more were ready near the border.

Ukraine fought back against these attacks on its sovereignty, and throughout the summer, both sides gained and lost territory as the death toll mounted. Many of the victims were innocent civilians – including 298 passengers and 15 crew on board Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, believed to have been shot down by Russian rebels on July 17.

A War Of Sanctions

Meanwhile, Western nations watched in frustration. Many governments, including Canada, the United States, and the EU, said Russia was acting aggressively. They imposed sanctions designed to hurt the Russian economy, but these didn’t appear to have much of an impact. In fact, the Russian government responded by imposing its

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own sanctions against Canada, the EU, the U.S. and several other countries.

“Strategies that work on weak, frustrated states torn by internal conflict will not work on us,” asserted Mr. Putin in July.

A Breakthrough At Last

In late August, President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine declared that his country had been “invaded” and “was close to a point of no return – a full-scale war.” Then – a

breakthrough. Talks between the Ukrainian government, the rebels and Russia resulted in the September 5 ceasefire.

The agreement allows for “temporary local self-governance” in the areas that Russian rebels control. It also calls for the withdrawal of Russian fighters and military equipment from Ukraine. As well, it put in place a 10-kilometre buffer zone along the Russian border. However, throughout the negotiations,

Russia never admitted that their soldiers were ever on Ukrainian soil.

A Fragile Peace

Observers recognize that the peace is shaky at best. By September 20, NATO’s top general said that the ceasefire was “in name only.” He said that while the number of Russian troops in Ukraine had declined significantly, they remain close to the border, ready to do whatever Vladimir Putin orders next.

Ukraine and CrimeaStrategically located in between Russia and the rest of Europe, Ukraine is about 603,700 square kilometres in size – about two-thirds the size of Quebec.

Some 17 percent of Ukraine’s population of 44 million is Russian. This ethnic minority is heavily concentrated in the eastern and southern regions of the country. Russian language and culture are dominant in these areas, especially in Crimea.

This small republic was part of the Russian Republic until 1954, when it joined Ukraine. About 60 percent of its two million citizens consider themselves Russian. A quarter of the residents are Ukrainian.

Crimea’s port city, Sevastopol, houses naval bases for the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The Cold WarThe Cold War, which lasted from 1945 to 1991, was a period of tension between Western democracies led by the United States, and the communist Soviet Union.

These two superpowers had strongly opposing political, economic and social ideas. In the Soviet Union, people weren’t free to speak out against the government or to practice religion, among other issues.

While the U.S. and the Soviet Union never actually fought during the Cold War, they did conduct proxy wars around the globe and competed in an arms race that included thousands of nuclear bombs on each side.

After the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, its 15 republics – including Ukraine – became independent and the Cold War ended. For a time, Russia moved toward democracy. However, President Vladimir Putin’s recent actions have many Western leaders fearing that he might be trying to rebuild another anti-West federation in Eastern Europe.

annexed: took control of buffer zone: a neutral area serving to separate hostile forcescommunist: of or relating to the belief that the government should control all property and equally distribute wealthEuropean Union: a union of 28 member states formed in 1993 to achieve political and economic integrationNATO: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance of European and North American nations that was established in 1949. Members are committed to mutual defence; an attack on one is an attack on all. NB: Ukraine is not a NATO member. oppression: prolonged cruel or unjust treatmentproxy wars: wars brought about by major powers that do not themselves become directly involved

sanctions: penalties intended to maintain or restore respect for law or authority, especially when taken by several countries together against a country violating international lawseparatists: people who want to form a new country, separate from the one they are in nowSoviet Union: a communist nation led by Russia comprised of 15 republics that existed between 1922 and 1991superpowers: states powerful enough to influence events throughout the worldthe West: a common term that refers mostly to North America and Europe

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Organizing Information For A Purpose: The 5 W’s + How

A. To help you identify important information from Ceasefire in Ukraine, complete the organizer below with specific details and facts from the article.

Who?

What?

Where?

When?

Why?

How?

B. After completing the organizer, consider: As you see it, how could this crisis have been prevented? If you think it was inevitable (guaranteed to happen), please explain why.

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Between The LinesAn inference is a conclusion drawn from evidence. A plausible inference is supported by evidence in the article and is consistent with known facts outside of the article.

What inference(s) can you draw from the fact that the West did not send soldiers or conduct airstrikes to defend Ukraine?

Beyond The LinesMisinformation, propaganda, and lies have always been a part of conflict. What a Russian sees on TV about this crisis is very different from what we see. And now, thanks to technology like YouTube and cellphone cameras, anyone can assemble and publish their own version of events for the world to see. How do we know what to believe? Does the enormous increase in the number of news sources and public opinions make us more or less informed than we were before the Internet was born?

Just Talk About It1. Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are supposed to spend two percent of their nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) on their militaries. This would require Canada to double our defence spending from $19 billion annually to $38 billion. Should we be fulfilling this commitment?

2. Many experts believe that the Cold War did not turn into a third world war because of nuclear weapons and the MAD Principle - the mutually assured destruction of both superpowers (and the planet) if open conflict was initiated. Others believe that such weapons are too dangerous to exist. What do you think? Should humanity seek to ban nuclear weapons? Is it even possible? Explain your answer.

On-LineVisit our student website at www.news4youth.com and click on the What in the World? tab to:

1. Watch an excellent two-minute summary of the crisis that was produced just before the ceasefire was announced (or visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-qO42qjShg). Is Putin the politician “addicted” to the popularity at home that his military actions have produced?

2. See an infographic that compares the militaries of Russia and Ukraine (or visit http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/03/world/infographic-ukraine-russia-military/). Then use Google Images to find an infographic that compares the U.S. and Russia.

3. Share in the laughs of tens of thousands who viewed a hilarious and sarcastic tweet by @CanadaNATO (or visit http://news.yahoo.com/russia-replies-canadas-colorful-map-tweet-003953151.html).

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Islamic State’s Reign Of Terror

A brutal army of Sunni Islamic extremists has taken over large sections of Iraq and Syria. Islamic State (IS), as the group is known, is aiming to control the entire Middle East and rule it according to Islamic law.

IS is not new – the group is an off-shoot of al-Qaeda that fought ‘foreign invaders’ in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion of this Middle Eastern country in 2003. However, over the past few months, Islamic State has been making headlines not only for the speed at which it has been advancing towards its goals, but for the methods it is using to achieve them.

A Swift Land Grab

During June, July, and August, Islamic State’s twenty to thirty thousand militants managed to take over a huge swath of land on both sides of the border between Iraq and Syria. Most notably, they captured Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, after just four days of fighting.

As IS moved through the region, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Syrian civilians – and even some members of the Iraqi military and police – fled their homes and jobs.

Why? Because IS has a reputation for brutality. Its members routinely conduct mass murders, kidnap innocent civilians and torture members of religious and ethnic minorities.

The group even tries to intimidate the rest of the world. In August and September, it aired a series of graphic videos depicting the barbaric executions of two Western journalists and one aid worker.

IS Declares A Caliphate

On June 29, Islamic State declared itself a caliphate. That’s the Islamic name given to a state ruled by a single political and religious leader and governed according to Islamic law, known as Sharia.

IS says its caliphate stretches from the city of Aleppo in Syria to the province of Diyala in Iraq. However, it plans to expand this area, promising to “break the borders” of Jordan and Lebanon and to “free Palestine.”

Little is known about Islamic State’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but the group claims he now has spiritual authority over the world’s estimated 1.5 billion Muslims. As for the eight million people living directly under IS control, the group forces women to

wear veils, non-Muslims to pay a special tax or convert, and it imposes punishments that include floggings and executions.

Foreign Recruits Join In

Since IS declared itself a caliphate, thousands of recruits from around the world have joined its fight. Experts say an estimated 12,000 fighters from almost 80 countries – including the U.S., Canada and European nations – are believed to have travelled to Syria and Iraq to take up arms with the extremists.

The West is becoming increasingly concerned. What if these foreign recruits return home to launch terrorist activities? It’s possible. IS has already made direct threats against the U.S., Canada and other nations.

A Global Problem

Analysts say that Islamic State is a threat to world security for other reasons, too. For one thing, the group now controls territory greater than the size of many countries. As well, after capturing oil fields and taking over army bases, banks, and government offices, and plundering American-supplied arms, ammunition, vehicles and military helicopters, IS has a huge arsenal of weapons and is worth about

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$2 billion. That makes IS the world’s wealthiest militant group, more like a nation than a terrorist organization – and a lot more difficult to fight.

“We, like our allies, have grown increasingly alarmed in recent months by the growing power of [IS] … and the carnage it is wreaking in its expansion,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said. “It has become a grave danger to the security of the region, and if left unchecked, this lawless area will become a training ground for international terrorists.”

The West Responds

To protect Iraqi and Syrian civilians and weaken Islamic State, the U.S. has been conducting airstrikes on militants. However, in the face of the growing international threat from IS, on September 10, U.S. President Barack Obama stated that a global coalition was needed to “degrade and ultimately destroy” Islamic State.

By mid-September, over 40 countries had pledged to help in this fight. For its part, by late September Canada had sent 69 soldiers to advise Iraqi forces in the north, had given $28 million in

humanitarian aid, and was considering further options.

The U.S. President was pleased with the response, but continued to press for more countries to become involved in this urgent matter.

While an “overwhelming majority of Muslims are peaceful,” Mr. Obama said, “in the Muslim world right now, there is a cancer that has grown for too long that suggests that it is acceptable to kill innocent people who worship a different God … We have to get the international community to recognize this is a problem.’’

War in Iraq and SyriaIraq used to be ruled by dictator Saddam Hussein. However, the United States and the United Kingdom – with the support of some other countries – removed him from power in 2003. They said he was a threat to world security because they believed he illegally possessed weapons of mass destruction.

No such weapons were ever found in the country. But foreign soldiers remained in Iraq until 2011 to fight against al-Qaeda and other insurgents who wanted to prevent the new Iraqi government from succeeding.

Syria has been engaged in a ruthless civil war since 2011. Opposition forces are battling Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s government for control of the country.

Sunnis and ShiaIslam is one of the world’s major religions. It was founded by the Prophet Muhammad, who lived from 570 to 632 CE.

Followers of Islam are known as Muslims. Most Muslims are either Sunnis or Shias. The two groups were formed when Muslims quarreled over who should lead after Muhammad died with neither a son nor a will.

Sunnis believed that the caliph (leader of all Muslims) should be the man who was best equipped to lead: Muhammad’s father-in-law. Shias believed that Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad, had the spiritual authority to lead.

About 85 percent of Muslims are Sunnis. While they are in the majority in most Middle Eastern countries, Iraq is one exception: more than 60 percent of its population is Shia. Many of Iraq’s Sunnis feel they have suffered under the Shia-dominated government in Baghdad, and some believe that these feelings may have contributed to the rise of IS throughout the country.

Most Muslims don’t consider Islamic State members to be true Muslims. They say the actions of these militants are not in line with the teachings of Islam.

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allies: groups or nations that align for a common causeal-Qaeda: the militant Islamic fundamentalist group responsible for numerous terrorist attacks against the West, most notably the September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks in New York and Washingtoncarnage: the savage and excessive killing of many peoplecivil war: a war between two or more groups in same country

ethnic: relating to a population subgroup with a common national or cultural traditionextremists: people who hold extreme views and are willing to act, often violently, to realize their beliefsinsurgents: people who are fighting to take control of their country by force

On The Lines

Answer the following in complete sentences:

1. List at least four important facts about Islam.

2. The Islamic State controls territory in which two Middle Eastern countries?

3. How many fighters belong to this group?

4. Where have many of these fighters come from?

5. Why has this group grown so strong in recent months?

6. What is the ultimate goal of this extremist group?

7. Explain what a caliphate is.

8. What is the United States doing to protect civilians and to weaken Islamic State?

9. How has Canada contributed to this coalition?

Between The LinesAn inference is a conclusion drawn from evidence. A plausible inference is supported by evidence in the article and is consistent with known facts outside of the article.

What inference(s) can you draw from the fact that the two countries where IS is operating – Iraq and Syria – both have a recent history of war and instability?

Beyond The Lines1. Would you be surprised to learn that Indonesia (which is nowhere near the Middle East) has the largest population of Muslims on Earth? Or how about the fact that the Christian Bible and Jewish Torah are considered by Muslims to be Divine revelations? In his landmark speech in Cairo, President Obama said, “So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace.” Take some time understand this quote – and then learn more about Islam.

2. Islam is not the only major religion to have split in two. It is now estimated that there are over 40,000 sects of Christianity in the world. Research the events surrounding the Protestant Reformation and the birth of some of these religions.

Just Talk About It1. a) What is your understanding of Islamic State – what it is and what its aims are?

b) For what reasons are concerned about IS? For what reasons are you not concerned?

c) If you were Canada’s prime minister, how would you handle Islamic State?

2. Iraq, an American ally, has been seeking military support against Islamic State since this crisis erupted. Syria, on the other hand, is immersed in a brutal civil war against moderate and extremist rebels alike. Their president and government are enemies of the United States. Should we be helping Bashar al-Assad by bombing his IS enemies on Syrian soil?

3. While every nation and religion (and virtually all terror groups) are opposed to IS, thousands of young men from all over the world are traveling to Iraq and Syria to fight by their side. What reasons can you suggest to explain these tragic (and often fatal) decisions?

On-LineVisit our student website at www.news4youth.com and click on the What in the World? tab to:

1. Watch an excellent four-minute cartoon that explains what’s happening with Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (or visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQPlREDW-Ro).

2. Find out why the Syrian government would help IS by purchasing their discounted oil (or visit

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10585391/Syrias-Assad-accused-of-boosting-al-Qaeda-with-secret-oil-

deals.html).

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The Age Of Drones

In a sparsely populated area of Queensland, Australia, an unmanned contraption with a wing and four propellers is hovering about 50 metres above the ground. It lowers a package on a line to farmers waiting below. Google, the giant technology company, is testing its experimental drone delivery service.

Meanwhile in Namibia, Africa, the World Wildlife Fund is already using drones to spot wildlife poachers. In West Africa, U.S. Air Force drones have been searching for schoolgirls abducted by militants. In Bhutan, South Asia, drones deliver medical supplies to remote clinics. In Japan, farmers are using them to monitor crops growing on steep hillsides.

Drones are hard at work in Canada, too. In Milton, Ontario, a geographer uses one equipped with a compact digital camera for an aerial survey of a gravel pit. A Toronto film company uses drones to shoot car commercials and provide videos for real estate companies. Nova Scotia RCMP have one that carries a heat sensor to locate missing hikers. And the Vancouver Aquarium is using a drone to monitor and record images of orcas.

Welcome to the world of drones, where the technology is evolving at a

dizzying pace.

What Is A Drone?

Drones come in all shapes and sizes and are also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (or UAVs). Pilots control them from the ground using a device such as a tablet, smartphone or controller. Increasingly, drones are armed with GPS and other navigational equipment, and can virtually fly themselves once told where to go. UAVs make it possible to gather information or deliver goods in dangerous environments or places that are hard to access.

While the day of the drones is definitely upon us, the legislation is lagging behind.

“It’s hard to regulate something that’s evolving so quickly,” said an official with Transport Canada, the agency charged with that responsibility.

Regulators have two chief concerns to consider: safety and privacy.

Safety Concerns

Individual drones may not pose much hazard in remote and unpopulated areas, but can you imagine hundreds of them flying overhead in busy city skies?

Currently, anyone in Canada using drones for commercial purposes must

apply to Transport Canada for a Special Flight Operation Certificate and demonstrate that they can conduct their planes safely. But any hobbyist can fly a UAV for fun, as long as the aircraft weighs less than 35 kilograms and the pilot follows the basic rules that apply to model aircraft. That may not be the case for long, however. Canadian authorities are considering new rules for drone use.

Recently Canada’s Transportation Safety Board investigated a case where an Air Canada pilot spotted a drone a few dozen metres from his jet.

“Aircraft are tested for bird strikes on a regular basis,” says Vancouver aviation lawyer Lee Mauro. “But they are not tested for a 70-pound (32-kilogram) carbon-fibre drone flying into the engine or the windscreen.”

In the U.S., the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has banned almost all commercial drone use. It has set up test sites in six states across the country from Alaska to New York where research will be done to see whether drones can be made to detect and avoid obstacles – including other aircraft – and whether they can operate safely when they lose contact with their operators.

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priority as we move forward with integrating unmanned systems into U.S. airspace,” said an FAA statement.

Privacy Concerns

Recently, a Vancouver apartment dweller was spooked when he saw a drone hovering just off his 36th floor patio, aiming a camera right at him.

“Drones can be so cool, but they create privacy issues,” he said.

In the U.S., the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has concerns that drones could move the nation closer to “a surveillance society in which our every move is tracked, recorded and scrutinized by the authorities.”

“It’s certainly something that we’re going to see more discussion of,” says Roger Haessel, chief executive at the Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems, which is opening the first training centre in North America for UAV operators.

“What are appropriate guidelines on the privacy front?”

Delivery By Drone

In the U.S., technology giants such as Google and Amazon are pushing the FAA to allow commercial drone delivery services. Google says it would provide a cheaper, faster, less wasteful and more environmentally friendly option for customers.

“Throughout history, major shifts in how we move goods from place to place have led to new opportunities for economic growth and generally made consumers’ lives easier,” the company said in a release.

Google is still working out the bugs, but it expects to have “Project Wing” – its drone delivery service – ready in a few years. That may put it ahead of the American public, which isn’t yet comfortable with the idea of drones buzzing about its cities.

“There is the technology piece and then there is the public acceptance

piece, and both have to evolve,” says NASA’s principal investigator Dr. Parimal H. Kopardekar.

“How do you have them safely land and take off in the presence of a grandma in her garden and kids playing soccer?”

Most industry watchers agree that drones are about to transform all sorts of industries. They could revolutionize our economy and lifestyles in ways we could only have dreamed of just a few years ago.

It won’t be long before drones will be monitoring oil pipelines and large-scale farming. Drones will be sent in after a natural disaster, when streets are impassable, to perform damage assessment and spot survivors. Police forces will use them for security sweeps at large, crowded events, or for search and rescue.

“It’s mind boggling how quickly this area is growing,” says one aerial survey specialist. “The applications are endless.” 

Did You Know?You could soon have your own personal drone following you around. One tech company is marketing a palm-sized drone designed to accompany you and take video selfies that are streamed to your smartphone.

Military Drones Part of the controversy around drones comes from their use for military purposes. Many people associate them with mechanized, faceless warfare. Military UAVs carry a wealth of sensors and can also be armed with laser-guided missiles.

Although unmanned, they are not unpiloted. Crew at a base, which may be near the combat zone or thousands of kilometres away, steer the drone, review images that it sends back, and act on what they see.

U.S. military drones carry out reconnaissance flights in numerous locations in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. They have been used to fire missiles on suspected militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas, sparking outrage when these military strikes have also killed civilians.

ACLU: an organization that aims to defend and preserve the individual rights and freedoms of Americanscommercial: the pursuit of profit by businesses or individualslegislation: the act of making or enacting lawspoacher: a person who illegally hunts game, fish, etc., on someone else’s property

reconnaissance: an inspection or exploration of an area, especially one made to gather military information

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On The Lines

Answer the following in complete sentences:

1. Describe what is a drone is and explain its purpose.

2. Give at least four examples of where and for what reasons drones have been used.

3. Which Canadian agency is charged with regulating aviation?

4. How do the rules in Canada differ for commercial versus recreational use of drones?

5. Describe the rules for drones in the United States.

6. Discuss at least one safety concern and one privacy concern about drone technology.

7. Why do many people associate drones with the military?

Between The LinesAn inference is a conclusion drawn from evidence. A plausible inference is supported by evidence in the article and is consistent with known facts outside of the article.

What inference(s) can you draw from the fact that America has been slower than most countries to allow for the commercial use of drones?

Beyond The LinesThere are an estimated two million public-facing cameras in the United Kingdom. Used in the vast majority of criminal investigations, these cameras continue to have the support of the majority of their citizens. On the accelerating debate of privacy vs. security, what side do you sit on? Should there be cameras (or perhaps drones) that keep an eye on the streets of your neighbourhood?

Just Talk About It1. Imagine that you are in charge of developing the rules and regulations for the commercial and recreational use of drones. What would your legislation look like and how would you enforce it?

2. United Parcel Service (UPS) delivers an estimated 15 million packages to more than six million customers around the world every day, often in brown trucks driven by one of their over 400,000 human employees. If drone use becomes widespread, many jobs will disappear while others will be created. How many possible uses for drones can you come up with? Try to predict as many of the resulting labour force changes as you can.

3. Much has been said about the potential for drones to hurt people, but what about the opposite problem? Do you think drones would be safe from vandalism and theft? What measures could be taken to ensure their safety?

On-LineVisit our student website at www.news4youth.com and click on the What in the World? tab to:

1. See what the enthusiasts at “Droning Skies” have to show you, including infographics, sleek new models, stunning videos, and a dog-walking drone (or visit http://droningskies.com/what-are-drones-good-for/).

2. Watch the PBS Nova documentary “Rise of the Drones” (or visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOzCiCl05Ec).3. Decide for yourself: Do drone attacks do more harm than good? Read the opinions and join the debate (or visit http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/09/25/do-drone-attacks-do-more-harm-than-good).

2014/2015 • Issue 2 What in the World? • Level 2 - 12 -