Earth has Entered First 'Mass Extinction Since Dinosaurs, Study Warns by Lydia O'Connor was posted on 6/22/2015. The article is about how the Earth is having its 6th mass extinction phase. Vertebrate animals which includes mammals, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and fish are disappearing. They are disappearing 114 times faster than normal. Scientists say the number of animals going extinct would usually take around 800 - 10,000 years. The scientists say that us humans have a major role in this mass extinction. Our global society is one of the main reason this extinction is happening. Habitat loss, over-exploitation for economic gain, and climate change are one of the main reasons the Earth is going through this mass extinction. These extinctions can very much harm the biodiversity like crop pollination and water purification could disappear in less than 3 life-times, putting the human species in danger.
This article caught my eye because this is a very important topic. This is important to me because being an animal lover hearing about this gets interested about whats happening to the animals and what I can learn to help stop or slow down. Humans are the main reason why there are so many animals going extinct. If we wanted to slow down the rate of the animals going extinct, we would have to start conserving the already threatened animals and ease the pressures on their population.
The environmental science aspect of this article is the animal extinction. The animal extinction plays a huge role on our earth because not only are we killing off beautiful animals, were also killing ourselves, the human species. The more we destroy habitats and pollute the air, we are slowly killing ourselves and other species.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Thursday, September 24, 2015
In class today we talked about the population. There are many things that happen to the population. I learned that currently there are almost 7.2 billion people in the world living. In fact that there are so many people living that the world may not be able to support them. Also in the beginning before there were 7 billion people there were almost nobody living. There was a steady pace of when someone dying, there would another being born. But after a while, there were economic advances and the population grew. On the website it said I was 5,989,114,224th person to be born.
Having this many people on Earth kind of scares me. The Earth does not have many resources to hold 7 billion people. There will a point in time where there will be no resources left to keep human existence going. Right now there are already resources we have that are running low; for example fossil fuel, they suspect that we will run out in 2052.
Having this many people on Earth kind of scares me. The Earth does not have many resources to hold 7 billion people. There will a point in time where there will be no resources left to keep human existence going. Right now there are already resources we have that are running low; for example fossil fuel, they suspect that we will run out in 2052.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
scrAPES #8 "Greenland’s undercut glaciers melting faster than thought"
Greenland's Undercut Glaciers Melting Faster than Thought was published on July 21, 2015 by Alan Buis and Janet Wilson. This article is about Greenland's glaciers melting. Greenland's glaciers are getting below sea level causing ocean water that undercuts the glaciers. This can cause sea levels to rise all around the world and can cause a serious problem. A team of scientist found many glaciers eroding under the surface that could any second melt and collapse.
What caught my eye about this article is the title sounded interesting to me. Glaciers melting is a serious problem because it can make the sea levels higher, which can cause serious flooding. That is a big problem that will not be good for anyone.
The environmental aspect of this article are the glaciers melting. The glaciers melting, like I said before, can cause serious problems. That is why a group of scientist when to Greenland to observe and analyze the glaciers to see exactly how close these glaciers are from collapsing or melting.
What caught my eye about this article is the title sounded interesting to me. Glaciers melting is a serious problem because it can make the sea levels higher, which can cause serious flooding. That is a big problem that will not be good for anyone.
The environmental aspect of this article are the glaciers melting. The glaciers melting, like I said before, can cause serious problems. That is why a group of scientist when to Greenland to observe and analyze the glaciers to see exactly how close these glaciers are from collapsing or melting.
Monday, September 7, 2015
scrAPES #7 "How Landfills Work Podcast"
The podcast How Landfills Work was published on June 23, 2015. This podcast is about how landfills work and how they came to be. Before there were landfills in the US there were these dumps. Dumps were these man made holes in the ground that were being filled with all the trash and were being either burned or getting out into the ocean, both being very bad. So because of this they made this landfill. The first modern sanitary landfill was made in 1937 in Fresno. It was not as popular as it is now. The reason why why had to get landfills were because since the 1960's the trash generation in the US has tripled. This happened because of advent packaging. From 1960 - 1990 packaging waste increased by 80%. So these landfills came into to play to reduce it. The goal of the landfill is not to compost trash not so it wont break down super quickly. Instead its opposite, they want to keep the trash dry and locked into a air tight container. Then they would bury it and lock it away from the world.
This article caught my eye because I was actually interested in how landfills came to be and how they worked. I actually did not know what landfills were until now. I have heard of them before just never really knew how they worked. Also in this podcast I learned a lot of the US. I learned that we are really bad with trash.
The environmental science involved in this podcast is the trash and landfills. The trash before the landfills effected the land, water, air, and even humans. They effected us in a negative way and we had to do something about it. So that's why they made landfills to control the trash we have and not just throw them around.
This article caught my eye because I was actually interested in how landfills came to be and how they worked. I actually did not know what landfills were until now. I have heard of them before just never really knew how they worked. Also in this podcast I learned a lot of the US. I learned that we are really bad with trash.
The environmental science involved in this podcast is the trash and landfills. The trash before the landfills effected the land, water, air, and even humans. They effected us in a negative way and we had to do something about it. So that's why they made landfills to control the trash we have and not just throw them around.
scrAPES #6 " China’s ozone pollution is wafting over and offsetting half the reductions the US has achieved"
China's ozone pollution is wafting and offsetting half the reductions the US has achieved was published by Zheping Huang and Akshat Rathi, on August 12, 2015. This article is about the ozone on Earth. Ozone, like other chemicals, can be both useful and harmful. When its in the planets stratosphere it can protect against harmful UV rays. But if it was any lower it can cause respiratory illness and hurt plant growth. Governments around the world have been trying to tighten laws to control the creation of ozone pollution. In a recent study, China's growth has offset half of the reductions the US has achieved. Winds that blow from wet to east carry ozone and other chemicals. These winds offset almost 43% of the improvements of the air quality.
This article caught my eye because it sounded very interesting. Learning about this kind of stuff is very helpful because it can effect all of us. While reading this I learned that ozone can actually be harmful. I remember learning about the ozone and I thought they were only a good thing by blocking out the rays.
The environmental science involved in this article is the ozone pollution. The US has reduced there ozone pollution down 21% while China's grew. Also the winds that carry the ozone and other chemicals to the US is very harmful. It offsets the reductions that the US has already made and it can effect all of us.
This article caught my eye because it sounded very interesting. Learning about this kind of stuff is very helpful because it can effect all of us. While reading this I learned that ozone can actually be harmful. I remember learning about the ozone and I thought they were only a good thing by blocking out the rays.
The environmental science involved in this article is the ozone pollution. The US has reduced there ozone pollution down 21% while China's grew. Also the winds that carry the ozone and other chemicals to the US is very harmful. It offsets the reductions that the US has already made and it can effect all of us.
scrAPES #5 " Baby Tortoises Found On Galapagos Island For First Time In Over 100 Years "
Baby Tortoises Found On Galapagos Island For The First Time In Over 100 Years was published by Stephen Messanger, on January 25, 2015. This article is about baby tortoises being found on the Galapagos Island. Tortoises have been very close to being extinct. In fact there was only 100 tortoises remaining in the 1960's. This happened because of human activity. In the mid 18th century, when sailors first landed on Pinzon Island, they carried rats on their ships. These rats ate and killed all the hatchlings that in the following decades not a single tortoise offspring survived. Any unhatched eggs that were found were carefully taken and then incubated for 5 years before being released back on Pinzon Island. in 2012, biologist dropped a certain type of poison, that only attracts rats, onto the island. Pinzon Island was now rat free. After killing all the rats on Pinzon island, 10 new baby tortoises were found on the island that were bred in the wild.
This article caught my eye because I have read about the tortoises on the Galapagos Island being very close to extinct. So when reading the title I was very shocked that baby tortoises were now roaming the islands. Even though there was only 10 baby tortoises found, that's just only the beginning. From only having 100 tortoises in he 1960's, there might now be 500 on the island. 500 is still a little but its a sure sign that the tortoises are coming back, and that makes me really happy.
The environmental aspect of the article is the tortoises. The tortoises are a living animal that was on the brink of extinction. The effort that scientist put into the tortoises gave there species more time to breed and not go extinct. Now the tortoises can live on Pinzon Island with out any problems and can now expand there species.
This article caught my eye because I have read about the tortoises on the Galapagos Island being very close to extinct. So when reading the title I was very shocked that baby tortoises were now roaming the islands. Even though there was only 10 baby tortoises found, that's just only the beginning. From only having 100 tortoises in he 1960's, there might now be 500 on the island. 500 is still a little but its a sure sign that the tortoises are coming back, and that makes me really happy.
The environmental aspect of the article is the tortoises. The tortoises are a living animal that was on the brink of extinction. The effort that scientist put into the tortoises gave there species more time to breed and not go extinct. Now the tortoises can live on Pinzon Island with out any problems and can now expand there species.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
'scrAPES #4 "A Giant Glob of Deadly Algae Is Floating off the West Coast"
A Giant Glob of Deadly Algae Is Floating off the West Coast was published by Gregory Barber, on Aug. 15, 2015. This article is al abot small little algae called pseudo - nitzschia. These pseudo - nitzschia are a subset to almost 50 percent of the worlds oxygen through photosynthesis. Scientist are not sure why they have been staying for a while, but may have a clearer idea due to the past years. Nate Mantua, a research scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Southwest Fisheries Science Center has said that these past years have been very weird in the northeast Pacific. These pseudo - nitzschia contain a toxin most commonly known as amnesic shellfish poisoning. Shellfish and small fish eat these algae and the toxins concentrates into the eaters flesh. When going up the food-chain,birds and sea lion who are eating these shellfish can cause them to have brain damage. When the birds or sea lion eat the shellfish and small fish the toxins seep into there bloodstream and eventually to the brain. This algae will most probably not kill you if you end up having it. The illness is now very rare now since the shut downs of recreational shellfish harvesting.
This article has caught my eye because from reading the title it really sounded interesting. While reading this I learned a lot. I learned that something so helpful to humans can be also very deadly to other animals. Also it's really scary that this algae has the potential to kill you, even if its a small percentage. It may be unlikely but it still is a scary thought.
The environmental aspect of this article is the algae and the interactions it has. The algae on its own is an organism. The algae produces its own compound called domoic acid. There is not as much of anything we can do to prevent the algae but wait for storms to spread the algae around and not let them sit on the coast.
This article has caught my eye because from reading the title it really sounded interesting. While reading this I learned a lot. I learned that something so helpful to humans can be also very deadly to other animals. Also it's really scary that this algae has the potential to kill you, even if its a small percentage. It may be unlikely but it still is a scary thought.
The environmental aspect of this article is the algae and the interactions it has. The algae on its own is an organism. The algae produces its own compound called domoic acid. There is not as much of anything we can do to prevent the algae but wait for storms to spread the algae around and not let them sit on the coast.
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