scrAPES 20 - "Charles River Opens for First Public Swim Since the 1950's"

Charles River Opens for First Public Swim Since the 1950's  is about the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts.  Before the 1950s the Charles River was very unsafe to to swim in.  The EPA gave the Charles river a quality of grade D in 1995. But in 2011 The EPA gave it a quality grade of a B, which is a huge grade difference. The water was now safe enough for the public to swim in it, but the bottom of the Charles River was still a very mushy and toxic. Now in the year of 2015, its a whole different story. According to the Boston Globe, there has been huge algae bloom in the Lower Charles River Basin and twice the amount of bacteria.

I chose this podcast because my AP Environmental Science teacher showed us and I was very interested about it. All my life I have lived  in Boston and I always wondered why I have never seen anyone swimming in the river. Also, I always heard growing up that the river was dirty and unsafe to the touch and I thought it was just so that it was a tactic for my parents so i wont run in the river. But I guess it was true the whole time.

This is very important because of the way it effects everyone. It stops a lot of people from enjoying themselves because of how dangerous it is. But it is also a reality check. The problem we have in the Charles River is small compared to what is happening in developing countries. This can help us though. If we figure out a way to help the Charles River get cleaner, imagine what can do for developing countries.

scrAPES #19 - "Chile's salmon farms losing up to $800 million from algal bloom"

"Chile's salmon farms losing up to $800 million from algal bloom" by Anthony Esposito, is all about huse algal bloom in Chile. Chile is the second largest salmon export, where they have already lost over 23 million fish and lost over $800 million in production. There are so many dead fish they can fill over 14 Olympic-sized swimming pools! The main cause of these algal blooms are because of El Nino. El Nino causes the water temperature to increase  at least 2 - 4 degrees (Celsius) above average. El Nino also brings with it a lack of rain, more sunlight and mild winds. These are all the perfect conditions to which algal appear. 

I chose this article because of the title. The very big number caught my attention and the words "losing" right next to it got me hooked. I just had to read what was going on with $800 million and why they were losing it. 

This article is important to the environment because this can happen anywhere and just specifically to salmon. Everything and everyone can get effected by it. But this can help us understand what to do and how to prevent it from happening.

Reflection - " Food Miles"

Today with the guest speaker, we learned what food miles were and how literally everything has one. We also tried guessing what the food miles were for the school. A lot things go into food miles such as the the cars being driven to carry that food from place to another. We also had a mini game where we guessed what each food in the schools food mile is.

I learned that food miles is very important to the Earth because they can harm us. With each food mile, many toxic chemicals are being released into the air. Event the smallest of products can have the biggest food miles. 

Reflection - " Oregon Rancher Standoff"

During the Oregon rancher standoff, a militia of ex military men captures and seized a wildlife center. This center was very important because there are very important artifacts and fossils. These artifacts and fossils are important because they could tell us so many things that could better our understandings of the past. There was a shoot out with the police when the police finally wanted to do something. At least 1 person was killed and everyone else was apprehended and sent to prison. 

My opinion on this whole standoff is that,  why did it take 41 days for the police to finally do something? This whole thing could have been avoided if they automatically tried to stop them. I first heard about this standoff because of the racial views people were saying about it. They were saying the only reason why the cops never did anything right away was because they were white. But if they were black, the whole police force and some back up would stop the whole operation down in less than an hour.

scrAPES #18 - "Californian Gas Leak Confirmed As The Largest In U.S. History"

"Californian Gas Leak Confirmed As The Largest In U.S. History" by John L Davis, is all about the major gas leak that happened in California.  In Aliso Canyon, near Los Angeles, there was massive well that blew-out. It became the largest methane leak in U.S. history. It released over 90,000 tonnes of gas in the air. It was releasing 60 tonnes an hour. During the blow-out, over 11,000 families had to be evacuated out of there homes.  The gas was being released for at least 4 - months before it was stopped. It took SoCalGas (the fourth largest natural gas storage facility in the U.S) about $250 million and counting due to lawsuits and fines. 

This article caught my eye because of the title. Knowing myself, after reading " ... confirmed as the largest in U.S history" I was hooked. I am always interested in records being broken, even though there good or bad. Also, I chose this article because of the picture. The picture is very interesting to look at. There this place that covered in black.

The reason why this article relates to environmental is because of what the damage the methane leak can do.  Not only is it harmful to the earth but it can be very harmful to us if not treated directly. As people were being evacuated there were already people complaining of headaches, nose bleeds, and etc. The main focus though is the Earth. Methane is a green house gas which is very harmful to the Earths ozone layer.

scrAPES 12 - "A California crab ban reveals trouble in the Pacific Ocean "

A California crab ban reveals trouble in the Pacific Ocean by  Azure Gilman, is about  what fishermen have found in crabs . High levels of  domoic acid have been found in the dungeness crabs along the California coastline. The domoic acid is a neurotoxin harmful to humans and other animals.  These toxins are made by algae  which thrive in warmer temperatures. Because of the acid being found in the crabs it was the first time in California in history for California Fish and Game commissions to be delayed during that week.  They also suspended the harvest of rock crab which can usually be harvested year round.  By stopping the harvest of the Dungeness crab and the rock crab, it put a major financial setback for the fishermen who make there living by harvesting  crab.  They usually can bring up $60 million a year of just harvest.  Not only is it crabs being banned but other animals are being banned due to the high rates of domoic acid. 

The reason why I chose this article is because  of the title. The title intrigued me to choosing this article because I personally do not like crabs but my whole family does. I was predicting something bad going on inside the crabs, which I was right. This is very interesting to me because of my interest toward animals and how they work. I think it is very cool that there is a toxin that is being made by algae and how that toxin travels so fast to other animals, including us. 

This article relates to environmental science because  of the damage it is doing to the marine ecosystem. This toxin have caused many fish to die and also the spread of the toxin is rapidly growing.  With this toxin it can greatly affect the marine life by killing these animals. Also, we can use this to our advantage. All toxins have a cure, we just need to figure out how to cure it. So by understanding what this toxin is inside and out we can figure out how to cure this toxin.

scrAPES #17 - " Rare turtle, thought extinct, reintroduces into wild"

The article, "Rare turtle, thought extinct, reintroduces into wild" by Michael Casey, is about a rare turtle that was thought to be extinct appeared. About 60 Myanmar roofed turtles were released in the wild. This is a very important moment for a program that lasted seven years to revive the turtles. Now there are more than 600 turtles spread across several countries. Another facility is now holding up to 300 turtles alone. There goal for the next few years are to slowly put these turtles back into the wild. They have yo meet certain standards to be set the wild. But due to rapid habitat loss the turtles that have been sent out to the wild have plummeted. Many programs are still trying to bring back these turtles back to full strength.

The reason why I chose this article is because if the cover image. I saw this cute little turtle and wondered to myself, what happened to this little guy? It turns this cute little turtle was thought to be extinct for many years. Now that they were found and many people are trying to help and save there species makes me very happy. Many men and women are spending a lot of money to help this species get back on their feet.\

This article relates to environmental science because of the animal going extinct. The main reason this animal was going extinct is because of a major problem that is being supported by humans, habit loss. Habitat loss is major cause for many animals to be going extinct and humans are the main source. If we stop doing what we are doing we will have so many different ecosystems and so much biodiversity that Earth will more look like Earth before we started to deforest and other things.

scrAPES 11 - "Look At This: Rain Forest Here"

Look At This: Rain Forest Here by Lourdes Garcia - Navarro, is about the effects and what has happened to the rain forest in South America. The Amazon river is so big that it is half of the planets rain forest. Most of the Amazon is in Brazil, so what ever Brazil does, it matters, a lot. A fifth of the Amazon is already completely gone, which is ridiculous, only due to the size of the Amazon. By taking a huge amount of the Amazon out, it greatly effects the people and the environment. At the constant rate of deforestation in the Amazon, it will not affect the Earth but it will greatly affect us, humans. 

I chose this article because of the cover image. The cover image is a setting of burning grass and leaves with the words "Good Job, Brazil." written across the middle of the image. This struck an interest in me because it made me ask myself, how is burning leaves and plants a good thing? The  rate of deforestation has gone down substantially. 

This article relates to environmental science because of the deforestation happening. We all know that trees are a huge source of our oxygen, so by taking them away it greatly affects us. A fifth of the Amazon already have been wiped out which is roughly the size of West Virginia. Now that's just crazy. It is very difficult to stop people from deforestation but it can happen.

scrAPES 10 - " Coffee spill: Thousands of coffee cans wash up in Indialantic "

Coffee spill: Thousands of coffee cans wash up in Indialantic, by J.D Gallop is an article about an abundance amount of coffee cans that were found, washed up, on a beach. These coffee cans were all sealed and were all scattered on the beach for at least a mile. The coffee most likely came from a container the fell overboard. Containers that fall overboard are actually pretty common. Many people are helping out by picking up these coffee cans everyday. There was so much coffee cans that more and more coffee cans kept reappearing on the beach.

The reason why I chose this article is because I, myself, is a coffee lover. So when I saw this articles title about huge coffee spill it automatically caught my eye.  I wanted to know more about what happened, and before reading the article I predicted that these coffee cans were washed up on shore because of a container that went overboard, I was right.

This article relates to environmental science because these containers that fall overboard are not always going to be coffee cans. And if they were, what would have happened to the ocean if these coffee cans got opened? What would have happened to the fishes? These items spilling out of containers can be very dangerous to the environment it fell in and can greatly affect it.

Blog Post Reflection- "Cornucopia"

The pervasiveness of corn kn out diets is at an all time high. Corn is used in 90% of the products we buy and eat. For example, high fructose corn syrup , cornstarch, corn oil, and etc. It is a major problem that corn is used in 90% of our food. Most the corn used in the food is chemically altered and can be very dangerous to our health. Sometimes these companies are able to not even tell us about these chemicals in the products. For us to be more informed we need to always read the ingredients on the product and search for these chemicals. In some cases, the companies would try and hide these ingredients by abbreviating them, making it seem it is a different ingredient. I feel as if everyone should have the right to know what is in our food. We are the ones consuming these products and we should know what we are putting in our bodies. It is the companies responsibility to inform us, the consumers, about what is inside the food.

Blog Post Reflection- "Dollar Menu Reflection"

In today's video I think subsidizing food is affecting our nation in a very negative way. I believe this because the family in the video were saying that they would rather go eat this very unhealthy food because it was cheaper than buying vegetables. I think that is just ridiculous. In my opinion, I think people should have eating healthy as a right. I think this because with out force, we would not even think about eating healthy. Today my eating habits are very different from my grandparents. The reason for this is because my grandparents are not from America. Back when they were my age, they did not have fast food restaurants like we do. Also in the Philippines, most of the food we cook is organic and not tampered with chemicals. Because of the era of food I was raised in, which is about artificial coloring and flavors,  at a young age I did not eat as healthy but know because I am more athletic and want to be fit I tend to eat more healthy but I have some tendencies to eat unhealthy. Right now, my family is actually very healthy. My dad and my sister started to force the family into eating less and eating healthier and know its our way of living. But buying and growing vegetables organically is very expensive we do tend to go out and buy something cheap like McDonald's or Burger King.

scrAPES #16 - "Greenland's Melting Ice Problem May Be Far Worse Than We Realized"

Greenland's Melting Ice Problem May Be Far Worse Than We Realized, by Lydia O'connor is about Greenland's massive ice problem. The ice sheet, in Greenland, might melt and have the whole island to shrink.  This may happen because of the increasing global temperature. If all of the Ice sheet was to melt, global sea levels will increase almost 23 feet.  The only reason it has not happened yet is because of the firn. The firn is the sponge like snow a top of the ice sheet. The firn traps and holds any melting water that would otherwise run into the ocean. This would help maintain the ice sheet in the summer temperatures. The firn has not been diminished and is still able to help the ice sheet but In the past few summers, there have been unusually high temperature summers. 

This article caught my eye because I have always been interested in global warming and the effects it could have on the Earth. I think that it is very cool that there is this massive ice sheet that can raise sea levels as up to 23 feet. To me, that is mind boggling. Also, there is something called a firn. I just thought it was fascinating to know there is the spongy snow that help collect melted ice before it goes into the ocean. 

This relates to Environmental Science, because of how it can affect the Earth and it's surroundings. Knowing that global warming is effecting the environment but not only us directly relates to environmental science. Global warming has always been a big problem for us and scientists are doing what they can to help stop it or at least slow it down.    

scrAPES # 15 - "There are sharks living in a volcano, and this is not a drill"

In the article, "There are sharks living in a volcano, and this is not a drill" by Amelia Urry, it talks about an underwater volcano and the species inside it. 60 feet underwater, off the coast of the Solomon Islands, there lies a volcano under the sea. The volcano is named Kavachi. Kavachi is notoriously known for erupting frequently, which worries the group of scientist who want to explore the volcano with an underwater camera. Not only is the volcano frequently erupting, the water is very hot and acidic. Luckily, on this day the volcano was dormant and it was a perfect day to run the experiment. They go to Kavachi, and drop the camera inside the crater. After an hour, the group of scientist come back to grab the camera and see what the camera picked up. The camera picked up small fishes, sting rays, and the most surprising, full grown sharks!

The reason why this article got my attention is because of the title. Not everyday you read there are sharks in a volcano, which can get anyone interested. Not only is it intriguing but it is just really cool. Reading about sharks is interesting to me enough, but now there in a volcano. My imagination went wild when I read the title.

This relates to environmental science because of the specific area that these sharks are in. By studying these animals more extensively we can unlock more mysteries on Earth. Also, by knowing how these animals can live in these conditions, we can use this new information and potentially learn how to put it in our very own lives.

Hw - Aquarium " Save an Animal"

During the aquarium there was a section that showed me these animals that were in need of our help. The giant manta ray caught my eye because they looked the most interesting to me. The giant manta ray is very vulnerable to extinction due to the high demand of manta ray gill rakers.  They use those gill rakers to feed by straining  out the food from the water using sponge-like tissue.  The way these large fish reproduce is between two individuals, a male and a female, by the male putting sperm inside the females cloaca. Even though manta rays are fish, meaning they are born in eggs, the manta rays have the eggs held in them and the babies will hatch there, being born alive.

There have been many programs to help the endangered manta rays, such as (CITES) Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species, (CMS) Convention of Migratory Species, and much more. These groups specifically want the killing of the rays for there gill rakers. They are trying to officially stop the trade legally. What I can do to help is to stay informed about what is happening to the manta rays and spreading the word about these animals being endangered. I am not surprised this is happening to these animals because some humans just do not care. These people conducting these hunts to find and kill these animals just care about the money and not about the actual animal.

Cw - Aquarium "Reflection"

In the aquarium there were a lot of different fishes and marine animals. My favorite part of the trip was witnessing the rock hopper penguin being fed. They have a very distinct look to them. They have sharp yellow and black feathers that adorn its head. These penguins, unlike the rest of the other penguins, hop rather than waddle. These penguins are among the smallest penguins in the world, they stand about 20 inches tall. They have a very distinct look towards them, having red-eyes, a red-orange beak, and pink webbed feet.

Also, one of my favorite parts of the trip was going all the way to the top of the fish tank. There was a presentation talking about the fish tank. The speaker told us a lot about the fish tank. For example, at the time the tank was created it was the biggest in the world. Of course now, it is not the largest but it still is one the biggest. There are about 200,000 gallons of salt water inside the tank. They have over 1,000 species inside the tank. They also have 2 turtles!

All in all this trip to the aquarium was fun and I learned a lot. There was also the touch tank. That was really fun. I got to touch all the different sharks, sting rays, and all the other species of animals. I would love to go back and maybe just stay even longer and explore more of the aquarium.

scrAPES #13 "Milkweed Effort Already Impacting the Monarch Butterfly Population"

In this article, Milkweed Effort Already Impacting the Monarch Butterfly Population by Dawn Papple it talks about how the monarch butterfly have been close to extinction and how certain changes have rebounded there population. Since 1999,  99% of milkweed in corn and soybean fields have been eliminated due to herbicides. This put monarch butterfly population at only one-tenth of its population.  But now, for the milkweed-fostering efforts the population for the monarch butterfly will be estimated to be about 3 times larger than last years population.

What caught my eyes about this article, was the picture. I was looking around and saw this weird thing on a leaf with pretty colors. This intrigued me to know what this mysterious creature was, so I had to read the article. I am pretty happy I did click on this because these butterflies are not just cool looking, but they are very helpful in the environment.

These butterflies are helpful to the environment because they help pollinate. Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from one flower to another. Pollination is very important because not only does it create more plants, but it can grow the fruits we eat.  That is why by almost killing off these pollinators you are essentially hurting not only the environment but also yourselves and everybody around you.

scrAPES #9 "Earth Has Entered First 'Mass Extinction' Since Dinosaurs, Study Warns"

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.

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.

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.

EcoBook #10 - habitat