Keep-Up
Earth's Plague
Deforestation is a important issue America has been facing for a while. It comes in many forms, including fires, clear-cutting for agriculture, ranching and development, unsustainable logging for timber, and degradation due to climate change. The most common reason for clearing out a rain forest is for agriculture. Farmers cut forests to provide more room for planting crops or grazing livestock. Often, small farmers will clear a few acres by cutting down trees and burning them in a process known as slash and burn agriculture.
Many of the world’s most threatened and endangered animals live in forests. If their home (the trees) are removed, it deprives the forest of its "canopy" which blocks the sun's rays during the day, making the ground cooler for the plants and animals underneath. In addition, trees also play an important role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that fuel global warming. Without trees, large amounts of greenhouse gases would be released into the atmosphere. By using less stuff, eating sustainable foods, and choosing recycled or sustainable wood products, we can all be part of the movement towards zero deforestation. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation/ |
Hurricane Harvey
This last week, Hurricane Harvey has causes major flooding in Texas. The US's fourth largest city, Houston, will be uninhabitable for weeks, possibly months, mostly because of water damage. Harvey has dumped over 19 trillion gallons of rain in southeast Texas and another 5.5 trillion in Louisiana. It's winds reached 132 mph, a Category 4 storm. More than 8,700 commercial flights have been canceled to and from Houston since Friday.
Because of the extensive damage Harvey has caused, thousands of people have lost their homes and businesses. With an estimated cast of $160 billion dollars, Harvey may end up being one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/08/30/charting-hurricane-harveys-jaw-dropping-size-and-destruction/617923001/ |
Are the coral reefs in danger? As more carbon is emitted into the atmosphere, and the earth continues to become hotter, the coral reefs begin to see a drastic future. As the water warms, the coral reefs are practically bleached to death. They have a low tolerance to the increasing heat because of it rapid rate. If the coral's are preconditioned and eased into warmer water, they may survive but this is not the case. It is estimated that a significant amount of them will be gone by 2050. I think that this is an important environmental problem because more than 1500 types of fish use the coral reefs for shelter. Without their existence, their lives would also be altered for the worse.
http://www.marinebiology.org/coralbleaching.htm |
The Plastic Era
The amount of plastic on our oceans has been steadily rising for a great number of years. Now, evidence suggests that the earth may be entering into an age of plastic - an age that may affect the earth more badly than we can imagine. Research suggests that durable plastics will not only affect life now, but they also will likely form fossils that persist into the Earth's far future. As Professor Zalasiewicz, Professor of Palaeobiology from the University of Leicester’s Department of Geology, stated, “Plastics will continue to be input into the sedimentary cycle over coming millennia as temporary stores – landfill sites – are eroded. Plastics already enable fine time resolution within Anthropocene deposits via the development of their different types and via the artifacts, known as ‘techno-fossils’, they are molded into, and many of these may have long-term preservation potential when buried in strata." It goes without saying that the Earth, especially its oceans, could potentially become buried in plastics. Islands of plastics grow gradually larger among the open seas and show little sign of slowing down. Plastic pollutes water, fish, and the environment, and soon (or even in the future, since it is now known that plastics care likely able to be fossilized) it is likely that it will poison mankind itself.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=160421&CultureCode=en |
Earthquake in Mexico
For the past month, Mother Nature has been our worst enemy. Hurricane Harvey completely flooded parts of Texas, Hurricane Irma destroyed most of Florida, Hurricane Maria is currently making its way through Puerto Rico, and a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Mexico just yesterday. The earthquake devastated a vast expanse of the country claiming the lives of about 230 people. As more rubble is pulled away, that number is expected to increase by hundreds more. The earthquake caused a school, with children ages 3-14, to collapse. Rescue workers have found the bodies of at least 25 people, including 21 children. To make matters worse, at least 1,800 homes and businesses were severely damaged and some 300 of which were destroyed. The Mexican president declared three days of national mourning to pay tribute to the earthquake's victims. He also states, "The strength, determination and solidarity of the Mexicans in the face of this disaster will allow us to come out on top."
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/20/552306866/mexico-combs-rubble-for-survivors-after-earthquake-kills-more-than-200 |
Hydrogen Cars
In the article readers learn that hydrogen powered cars are in out future and work by having fuel cells the combine hydrogen with oxygen to generate electricity. Transportation is the second highest production of greenhouse gasses with twenty-eight percent. A switch to hydrogen powered cars could lower this number tremendously.
There are a few disadvantages to the hydrogen powered car. The first hydrogen powered cars will cost 57,000 dollars. However, by spending a little bit more money on a car, people are really saving a lot of money for all of the future generations because they are helping the environment. There are also very few hydrogen stations so it would cost a lot to build all of the stations. This article is important to the student in AP Environmental Science. High school students are one of the next generations that will be purchasing cars. It is important for them to learn about how certain cars will hurt the environment and how some will help. Students need to be educated on all the types of cars and which cars provide the best solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The transition to hydrogen cars is one of the many steps people can take to help reduce and slow down global warming. |
https://www.treehugger.com/cars/why-hydrogen-powered-cars-really-suck.html
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One fly to rule them all The arctic may seem like a lifeless, frozen plot of land, however, during the summer it is buzzing with life. Many of the plants found in the arctic depend on insects for pollination. Surprisingly, the main pollinators of the arctic are small flies, similar to the common housefly. Here in the central valley our main pollinator would be a bee. Currently, due to climate change, arctic flies are disappearing at an alarming rate. This could be the result to an increasing confusion between flies and their flower resources. There are multiple types of flies who pollinate arctic plants, but they all work together to create an healthy ecosystem.
I believe that it is important to ensure that these environments are kept stable. With the influence of climate change, it is important that we keep plants alive and well so that they can produce more oxygen so that we humans can breathe, we also want to make sure these plants do not go extinct because that would have a serious impact on our environment. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160928083218.htm |
Coffee-Infused Foam Removes Lead from Contaminated WaterCoffee is a very popular drink in the United states, many households and resturants use so many coffe grounds. Some Scientist have found some innovative ways to put the coffee grounds to use instead of just thowing them away to a landfill. The scientists are saying that coffee can be used as a water filter. Through experimentation, scientist have observered that coffee powder can absorb many harsh chemicals such as lead and mercury ions. The have also tested this theory with putting the coffee grounds in a sponge like filter. They put the sponge in lead + mecury water for over 30 hours and found that the filter soaked up 67% of the lead ions.
This discovery is really cool to the environmental world because this opens up the doors for new discoveries to find out how to make water clean and drinkable by using reasuable sources like coffee grounds. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160921095417.htm |
Forest Resilience Declines in Face of Wildfires:
Climate Change
Historically, forests change over time. But the research team said their findings suggest that it will take much longer after a wildfire for sites to return to forests, if they return at all. In one-third of the areas studied, researchers found no seedlings growing. The hardest-hit sites were the warmest and driest, and those where fires burned so severely that few trees survived to provide seed. Few surviving trees remain in the changed landscape located in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area in Idaho.
What can be done to combat or lessen these effects? Stevens-Rumann said that while trees similar to the ones that burned have typically been planted on a fire-ravaged site, that may no longer be the smartest approach. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171212090545.htm |
Eclipse 2017: Science from the moon's shadowWhile people across North America took in the Aug. 21 eclipse, hundreds of citizen, student, and professional scientists were collecting scientific data, and their efforts are beginning to return results. On Dec. 11, 2017, six researchers discussed initial findings based on observations of the Sun and on Earth gathered during the solar eclipse that stretched across North America on Aug. 21, 2017. Ranging from new information about the way the Sun's atmosphere generates heat, to how the dip in solar energy affected Earth's atmosphere, and even how to protect against contaminating other planets with bacteria, the researchers shared their results at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union, in New Orleans.While total solar eclipses happen about once every 18 months somewhere on Earth, the August eclipse was rare in its long path over land: The total eclipse lasted about 90 minutes total, from the time it first reached the Oregon coast to when it left the North American mainland in South Carolina. This long, uninterrupted path over land provided scientists with a rare change to investigate the Sun and its influence on Earth in ways that aren't usually possible.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171211140448.htm |
Old-Growth Forests May Protect Some Bird Species in a Warming ClimateOld forests that contain large trees and a diversity of tree sizes and species may offer refuge to some types of birds facing threats in a warming climate. Researchers studied 13 bird species that have been tracked annually in the U.S. Geological Survey's annual Breeding Bird Survey, one of the most comprehensive efforts of its kind in North America. Only two, the Wilson's warbler and hermit warbler, showed negative effects from rising temperatures over the past 30 years, but actual counts of both species show that their populations are stable or increasing in areas that contain high proportions of old-growth forest. Additional research will be needed to identify the specific features of mature forests that buffer the effects of warming temperatures on birds. One possibility, the researchers said, is that the large trees themselves function as "heat sinks" during warm periods and thus moderate temperatures. Multiple canopy layers may also provide climate buffering effects.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171215135122.htm |
Tackling China's Severe Air Pollution ProblemMore must be done to tackle air pollution in China, according to a leading climate change expert in a new study. Professor Wang Hui-Jun, from the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, outlines five specific ways in which the issue could be more effectively managed. These steps, which can also be applied to other heavily polluted countries, center upon the need to conduct more research to better identify the cause of the pollution, and create more effective prevention and control methods.
In China, the pollution problem has progressively worsened. At the same time, both the public and government departments lack the necessary knowledge of its formation, the causes, and ongoing management. China has invested substantial financial, human, and material resources in reducing the emissions of pollutants, and in promoting scientific research and technological development to support the protection of the atmosphere. However, Professor Wang outlines that so far, the actual effects of current attempts to control and manage haze pollution in the country are very limited, with air pollution still occurring frequently. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171207102450.htm |
Effects of Climate Change Could Accelerate by Mid-CenturyEnvironmental models are showing that the effects of climate change could be much stronger by the middle of the 21st century, and a number of ecosystem and weather conditions could consistently decline even more in the future.
Nature lovers beware, environmental models used by researchers at the University of New Hampshire are showing that the effects of climate change could be much stronger by the middle of the 21st century, and a number of ecosystem and weather conditions could consistently decline even more in the future. If carbon dioxide emissions continue at the current rate, they report that scenarios of future conditions could not only lead to a significant decrease in snow days, but also an increase in the number of summer days over 90 degrees and a drastic decline in stream habitat with 40 percent not suitable for cold water fish. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171214144522.htm |
Human-Caused Warming Likely Intensified Hurricane Harvey's rainsNew research shows human-induced climate change increased the amount and intensity of Hurricane Harvey's unprecedented rainfall. The new findings are being published in two separate studies and being presented at the 2017 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, along with additional new findings about recent Atlantic Ocean hurricanes. A new study accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), a journal of the American Geophysical Union, finds Hurricane Harvey's seven-day rainfall total potentially increased by at least 19 percent compared to a similar storm in the mid-20th century. Another study published online today in the journal Environmental Research Letters (ERL) directly attributes the rainfall increase to human-caused climate change. The ERL paper finds climate change made the record three-day rainfall that fell over Houston during Hurricane Harvey roughly three times more likely and 15 percent more intense than a similar storm in the early 1900s.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171213104958.htm |