By Mike Meraz

By Mike Meraz

Sichuan, sounds like a sandwich doesn’t it?

Actually it’s one of the Provinces in China that were most affected by the recent earthquakes that have taken place.

Just recently, reports of aftershocks throughout the province resulted in more than 420,000 homes being razed.

The news of the earthquakes destruction seems to be getting worse by the day.

However, one of the most shocking developments to come from this tragedy has been the media coverage of the event, or lack there of.

Since the earthquake struck, more than 65,000 people have died, with another 21,000 missing.

The Chinese government estimates that more than 45 million lives have been affected by the earthquake.

Let me put that into context, 45,000,000. That’s all of California, Nevada, and Arizona combined.

However, the U.S. media have chosen to quietly report about quake.

I first heard about it a few weeks ago in sort of a hot read news brief that was no more than 30 seconds.

Close to 3,000 people died as a direct result of the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Granted, these attacks were the result of terrorists, and not a natural disaster.

Also, 3,000 is approximately .001 percent of the U.S’s population, while 65,000 is a .005 percent of China’s population.

However, as I am writing this article the top story on CNN.com is “Space Station Toilet Breaks.” Yes, the earthquakes are “old news.”

They have been happening for weeks now, but for the media to downplay the significance of them only makes the American public that much more ignorant to global issues.

The less Americans know about these types of issues, the less the United States will feel inclined to help.

Donations can be made to organizations such as the Red Cross to help the victims of the quakes. No time for that though, I have to see what those three astronauts ended up using for a toilet.