Hugo Ortega's blog

THE 1973 OIL CRISIS

Submitted by Hugo Ortega on Thu, 03/17/2011 - 2:59pm

On October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) began an oil embargo against America, Europe, and Japan because of U.S. involvement in the Yom Kippur War between Israel and an Arab coalition effort led by Egypt and Syria. America, in an effort to help Israel defend itself against the Arab coaltion, supplied the Israeli military and this angered the Arab coalition. As a result, OAPEC stopped their supply of oil to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries which inlcuded the U.S. This led to a huge oil price increase that put pressure on the U.S. The war eventually cooled down and American negotiators managed to help bring a ceasefire to the area, and consequently end the oil embargo in March 1974. As always, all this and more information on OAPEC, the Middle East, the Yom Kippur War, and the American energy crisis of the 1970s is available at your Jacinto City Library.

Discovering Uranus

Submitted by Hugo Ortega on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 5:03pm

On March 10, 1977 astronomers discovered several rings around Uranus. Astronomers Douglas J. Mink, Edward W. Dunham, and James L. Elliot made their discovery while examining the atmosphere of Uranus at the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. Over the years, other rings around the planet were found by the Voyager 2 spacecraft and the Hubble Space Telescope. Now a total of thirteen rings are known to exist around Uranus. For more information please come and visit your Jacinto City Library.

Texas Pride!

Submitted by Hugo Ortega on Wed, 03/02/2011 - 4:31pm

picture of alamo Did you know on March 2, 1836 Texas declared itself independent from Mexico?  175 years ago today, Texas was a nation separate from the United States as well. It would not become an official part of the U.S. until December 29, 1845, over 9 years after Texas declared its independence and named itself the Republic of Texas. It would become the 28th state to join the Union. Texans celebrate today as Texas Flag Day, a state holiday established in 1915 to observe Texas Independence Day.

NASCAR

Submitted by Hugo Ortega on Mon, 02/21/2011 - 6:18pm

picture of nascar stock carThough stock car racing had existed before, NASCAR – the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing – was not established until February 21, 1948. The association was founded by William France, Sr. with the help of other stock car racers of the time and it will have existed for 63 years. The first true stock car race under the NASCAR title took place at the Charlotte Speedway on June 19, 1949 and was won by Jim Roper. For more information about the history of NASCAR, please stop by your Jacinto City Library.

The Day Earth Shook

Submitted by Hugo Ortega on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 2:50pm
picture of haitian womanOn this day one year ago Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake that left its capital, Port-au-Prince, in shatters. Over 300,000 people are believed to have perished in the quake and over one million were left homeless. It is important to remember this day and to also realize Haiti is a country full of culture. Haiti is the only country in the Americas to speak French as a primary language. It has a mixture of several cultures including French, African, and Spanish because it was a colony in the 15th century. For more information about the 2010 Haiti earthquake or just Haiti in general, please visit your Jacinto City Library.
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