Current Event # 2

Read one of the following articles and then post a response to it. Point out interesting facts you didn't know, environmental issues we've discussed, questions you want answered, etc. Relate this article's information to specific examples we've discussed or to other similar situations you have knowledge of. Feel free to include a link to a related story that you have found on this topic.

If the article doesn't show up when you hit the hotlink below, you will need to click on "featured article" across the top bar to reveal it.



National Geographic: October 2009
REDWOODS-text-- read the entire article and the “extras” in the tabs across the top (redwood management, interactives, etc.)

National Geographic: November 2009
INDIA RAIN-read the entire article including the photo gallery and “rain shadow” tabs across the top

National Geographic: December 2009
RESURRECTION ISLAND: SOUTH GEORGIA-- Read the entire article including the photo gallery and map tabs across the top

National Geographic: August 2009
YELLOWSTONE-- Read the entire article including the photo gallery and interactive tabs across the top

KAMCHATKA SALMON -- Read the entire article including the photo gallery and map tabs across the top

The Coral Homicide

Extra Credit

Coral reefs have been called the rain forests of the ocean because of their vast biodiversity and genetic wealth. And over the last few years we have seen a massive die-off of these ecosystems, with a quarter of the world’s reefs already gone. Surveying the destruction, the marine biology community has launched an all-out effort to restore the reefs to health. But first biologists must understand the sources of destruction, from global warming to overfishing and attacks by predators and diseases.

The man-made part of the disaster, caused by burning fossil fuels, has increased ocean temperature an average of 1.33 degrees Fahrenheit since the start of the Industrial Revolution, according to a study in Science. That slight warming is enough to kill some microalgae needed to help the reefs calcify and stay strong. What’s more, the study, led by a team at the University of Queensland in Australia, says that CO₂ released in the course of coral death not only raises temperatures but also makes the water acidic, leaving the reefs brittle and vulnerable to predator attack. Marine biologists point to the example of Carysfort Reef off the coast of Florida: In 1975 it was healthy. By 1985 it was visibly sick. Today it is dead.

Overfishing also presents a risk. Healthy populations of fish eat seaweed, keeping the plant in balance. As fish populations have diminished, seaweed has increased, fed by human sewage. Without enough fish to eat the seaweed, the seaweed strangles the coral reefs.

Only when we understand the reefs’ complex, interwoven problems will we be able to save them, says University of Miami marine biologist Andrew Baker. In one potential solution, Baker aims to boost the production of a type of microalgae adapted to thrive in warmer temperatures. Others are hoping to find temperature moderators—such as a certain species or geologic feature—that might protect reefs from the heat even as temperatures rise.

Until permanent solutions are found, the nonprofit Reef Relief’s Coral Nursery Project plans to collect dislodged coral colonies and transplant them to a nursery. When the corals are healthy, they will be returned to the oceans to help colonies flourish once again.

Coral reefs are a legend for the second world type of ecosystem them provide. Humans are slowly killing them and this article provides some possible explanation why. However the article only mentions organizations that are aiding the Coral cause, it does not mention some of the preventative measures that could be taken to help the reefs survive and possibly thrive again. My question is what we as individuals can do to help these diverse places grow back again, into the glory they once were.

http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jun/05-whither-the-coral-reefs

(HOW SHOCKING!) Al Gore Advocates...

On Tuesday November 3rd, Al Gore was in New York City launching the sale of his new book Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis. This book covers various topics involving ways to "go green." Gore makes a point to say that "he has absolute conviction that we have all of the tools to solve the climate crisis." He goes on to tackle issues such as the role of population growth in the climate crisis. He advocates the education and empowerment of women and the spread of birth control to keep population growth at bay. Also he says we need to keep resource consumption and pollution production in check. Gore brilliantly continues on to tell the skeptics of global warming that they should focus on ending foreign oil dependence by supporting renewable energy sources and that their doubts about "going green"'s impact on the suffering economy would be relieved by many new jobs being created from renewable energy industries. Overall, he says that political and societal willpower are what need to be put into action to solve the crisis, because policies need to be changed and followed.

I sincerely believe that Al Gore is a vain, bitter man that feeds off of his publicity. Nearly everything that he says/writes in his enlightening books could be read in a textbook (or is just plain common sense) and is nothing that the people who actually bother to read his books do not already know. The only thing that Al Gore has done is turned going green into a trend advocated by celebrities, which in return creates MORE pollution. Why? Because now there are countless products (and the majority of them are not biodegradable/recyclable) that have some witty 'going green' slogan written on it---and people buy them like crazy. Ultimately, these products will end up in the same place as all of the paper used to print and publish Gore's book--a landfill.

-Lauren Null

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=al-gore-advocates-for-gender-equali-2009-11-04

Extra Credit: Say It, Don’t Spray It

Paul Curtis, Jesse Graves, Edina Tokodi, and Anna Garforth are all graffiti artists that have discovered a new, eco-friendly way to display their murals, without disturbing the atmosphere. Their original graffiti paint contained toxic paint loaded with VOCs, volatile organic compounds, which include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short and long term adverse health effects. These artists however have gone green and discovered new ways to spell out her subtle eco messages by ditching their spray cans and using natural materials such as water, mud and moss. Their uses range from mud and stencils to post sustainable slogans like “Beat Back Industrial Farming” to sculpting letters from moss and spraying high-power blasts of soapy water through wooden stencils.
I think this idea is just another eco-friendly step in helping to improve our environment. It shows that every one person counts in helping to clean up our world. In addition, removing these toxic chemicals will benefit people’s health.

Alyssa Grigg
A bell


http://www.lime.com/magazines?uri=consciouschoice.com/lime/2009/01/oor_sayit0901.html

Extra Credit: Greenland ice loss 'accelerating'

Studies have shown that sea levels are rising. Greenland's ice sheet loss is a major contributor to this issue. A team of specialized scientists used weather data, satellite readings and models of ice sheet behaviour to analyse the annual loss of 273 thousand million tonnes of ice. If the entire sheet were to melt it would raise the sea level about 20ft. As of now the sea is rising at about 0.46mm per year. Rising sea levels are potentially dangerous, and they may submerge major cities. Some new research shows that about half the sheet loss comes from faster flow to the oceans, and the other half from changes on the ice sheet itself (surface melting).
This could be very hazardous for low lying cities. I myself live on the water, and if the sea levels were to continue to rise, I, along with many other people around the world, would have to move. This might even lead to crowding of inland cities. This could result in overpopulation in inland regions. Which could also lead to more disease, pollution, and unhealthy living conditions. I think a way to decrease the loss of sheet ice, would be to try and live more sustainable. If people decreased pollution, this would slow the rate of global warming. This issue needs to be taken seriously.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8357537.stm

Extra Credit: Tree "Mummies" Found, Traced Back to Viking Era

Scientists discovered "mummified" trees in Southwestern Norway that date back to the early 1200's. these 40 dead Scotch pines were found scatterd around living trees, which was once a dense forest that supplied wood for medieval boats and churches. Somehow, these trees never rotted. They are different from normal petrified wood. There were two reasons for why the trees were maintained: many of the trees had neither stayed upright or fallen on rocks, staying away from exposure to the ground, water, and soil microbes that aid in decay. Another reason is that pines are full of resin, which make it more resistent to bacteria. Large amounts could have been released to help delay decay. Studies conducted by researchers showed that these trees matched the wood of churches built in a Viking town. This discovery has left scientists astounded.

Out of the ordinary discoveries like this one can help lead to more things down the road. I like this because it pertained to our study of how things are decomposed and put back into the soil. I didn't know that trees secrete resin to help prevent decay. That would help explain a lot on how forests rebuild themselves. It interests me when things of old age are found because I always want to learn more about their history.







http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/23894817.html

Extra Credit Current Event

The Chinese government is trying to clean up dangerous chemicals and a deadly oil spill that occurred in the Yangtze River. Workers were trying to recover and contain 100 tones of hydrochloric acid that sunk in the river after the ship that carried it crashed into another boat. Luckily tests conducted on the water showed that the acidity was still within normal levels, suggesting that the acid had not spilled. Meanwhile a Iranian oil freighter crashed aground during bad weather. Photos have confirmed that freighter is leaking oil. The Yangtze River provides clean drinking water for over 10 million people in China.

This shows China’s incompetence in environmental matters. The Yangtze River provides water to millions of people yet it is used for moving chemical supplies that, if spilled, could completely poison the whole lake. This could cause massive sickness among the population

Ryan Cowen

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE5A114R20091102?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews