GMOs vs IFDA

Picture:

This picture id of a women taking a farming course like one offered by the International Fund for Agricultural Development or the IFDA

 Picture from: betterorganicfarming.com

Read More at: http://www.naturalnews.com/035770_agriculture_poverty_hunger.html

Summary:

The UN created a worldwide investigation a few years ago to try to come up with ideas to prevent world hunger, because of the world’s increase in population. The investigation involved experts and a lot of time to complete. The investigations reporter, Oliver De Schutter, explains: "We won't solve hunger and stop climate change with industrial farming on large plantations. The solution lies in supporting small-scale farmers [and to] contribute to rural development. Each region must be able to feed itself." The UN report also stated that locking farmers into GMO seed contracts was certain to destroy most farmers. Dr. Vandana Shiva, a farming activist who lives in India explains:  "Seeds controlled by Monsanto, agribusiness trade controlled by Cargill, processing controlled by Pepsi and Phillip Morris, retail controlled by Wal-Mart - is a recipe for food dictatorship. We must occupy the food system to create food democracy." The International Fund for Agricultural Development or the IFAD has created training programs for small rustic farmers. This will help the small farmers understand some of the better basic natural farming techniques. This way they will not need to use GMOs excessive chemicals. This also ensures fresher, healthier food for consumers. The farmers can also enjoy higher profits within regional direct marketing networks. Here in the U.S, buying from local farmers and farmers markets as often as possible will help the IFAD and help world hunger.

Reaction:

I really did not know about the study the UN did, I wish it had more media attention. I think that it is really important for the entire world to know this information and to become involved. Hunger is not just an issue here in the U.S.A but everywhere in the world. People throughout the world should become more interested in it. I know my mom and I try to shop at farmers markets whenever we can and love to go to Lancaster on weekends and buy fruits and vegetable from local farmers. It is nice to hear that I am making a small difference without even realizing it.

Follow up questions:

1.)    Was it a good idea for the UN to create and carry out the investigation? Why or why not?

2.)    Should the UN do another investigation in a couple of years to see what changes have been made and if anything improved?

3.)    Should the IFDA create for farming courses here in the U.S.A or should learning how to harm without GMOs and chemicals our responsibility, since we have access to newer technology?

Beijing's Olympic Smog Shows Pollution's Effect on Health

Link: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/05/15/beijings-olympic-smog-shows-pollutions-effect-on-health

Picture: This is a picture of the olympic stadium from the 2008 summer olympics in Bejing, China.

Article Summary: Around the time of  the 2008 summer olympics, researchers noticed a change in the air quality surrounding Bejing. They wondered if the air quality could affect any health problems with athletes. The Chinese government agreed that during the games, they would limit the use of motor vehicles. As soon as the games were over, the levels of pollution went back up. Before the games started, the researchers took measurements from 125 residents from Bejing. They found that rising air pollution levels rose the normally healthy citizens' blood pressure and blood- clotting factors. Scientist aren't very sure of which pollutants are causing the health problems because pretty much all of the pollutants they were measuring went back up after the games were over. They actually think that it might be a mix of several different pollutants.

Reflection:  I really never thought that there could be any relation between the olympics and the air quality. This article was pretty surprising. I really hope they can find out which pollutant or mixture of pollutants is causing the health problems like high blood pressure and blood- clotting factors. I wonder if during the summer olympics this year they will also do research like this. It would be petty interesting to see if the same kind of results for air pollution and health problems come back.

Questions:
1. What else do you think the Chinese government could do to try and lower the air pollution?
2. Could this happen during the summer olympics this year?
3. How else do you think they could test to find out what pollutants are the cause of the health problems?

Toxic China: Widespread Lead Pollution is Poisoning Children
March 10, 2012 by: Ethan A. Huff

http://www.naturalnews.com/035202_lead_pollution_China_children.html

These dolls are recognized and cherished by children
around the world. However, toys like Barbie and Hot
Wheels are the source of making some children very
ill from the lead used in producing them.

Summary:

Even though they are known for their mastery in manufacturing, China’s industrial materials and chemicals are causing tons of environmental pollution—and the children of China are paying for it. The town of Dongtang, which is located near the main manufacturing region, has released that at least 160 of their town’s children have been poisoned by lead pollution released from local factories. There was ‘elevated’ levels of lead in the blood of many children who live near the manufacturing plants, which make lead products like heavy metals and batteries. The pollution contaminates the air, water, and often the local crops and food supply. Dongtang is not the only affected area. According to South China Morning Post, there are already more than 500 reported cases of lead poisoning in kids who live near China’s major manufacturing regions. Also, the U.S.’s Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia says that the normal range for lead in blood is less than 10 micrograms per deciliter in kids. Some of the children being tested in china had between 10,000-25,600 micrograms/deciliter. This means that the children are having an intake of up to 2,560 percent higher than the normal levels. This is not a new problem, either. There was a recall in 2007 of about one million toys such as Barbie doll and Hot Wheels, because the manufactured toys in China had dangerous amounts of lead in their paint. The residents of China have filed complaints concerning the lead poisonings, but the officials who run the industrialization are doing their best to ignore or conceal the issue of health. To make a statement for themselves, some local residents have staged protests and boycotts against the companies who pollute their towns. In one case of 2009, activists destroyed the equipment of a factory that poisoned at least 600 kids.

Reflection:

This was probably the saddest of the articles I’ve had to make a blog on. It’s terrible that the officials of the manufacturing plants in China took industry over the safety of young children. The most shocking fact to me was that they were taking in up to 2,560 percent higher levels of lead in their blood than normal! I’m surprised they all survived, or at least there was no mention of death in the article. It really makes you think too where everything comes from, and how we take things for granted. I always played with Barbie’s as a kid, and my brother had tons of Hot Wheels cars. It’s really depressing to think that all those children over there in China are suffering, and it won’t be stopped because people like us are consuming their products. I also connected this to a video we watched in science class: The Story of Stuff. In this video an environmentalist studied and shared the process of manufactured materials and how industry works. She mentioned that there were harmful pollutions emitted from the factories that produced many goods that could harm the environment as well as people. This article would be a perfect source of support for her argument of why the world’s methods of industry have gone awry, though I feel that if this happened in the US it would be stopped.

Expansion—Questions:

1)      Do any events like this occur or have occurred in the US? If so, what and how was/is this situation fixed? If not, how can our nation help stop what is going on in China?

2)      Why are the manufacturing officials China allowed to ignore the health of their own people for industry?

3)      What are the specific names of the companies that are responsible for the lead poisonings (maybe toy companies like Barbie; battery companies like Duracell, etc.)? How are the worldwide leaders of those companies dealing with the pollution in China?

Air Pollution Can Lower Childrens IQ

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/028094_air_pollution_intelligence.html#ixzz1vjxWPj9z

Picture: This image is of New York City and some of it's factories, as you can see they are creating alot of air pollution

Summary:
According to a study conducted by researchers from the Mailman School of Public Health in New York, babies in the womb whose mothers are exposed to air pollution have a lower IQ. In this over 5 year experiment, the pregnant (non-smoking) women got a personal air monitors during their pregnancy. This monitored the quality of air they were exposed to. The results showed that the women, who lived in New York City neighborhoods of Harlem, South Bronx or Washington Heights, were exposed to air pollutants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The children were tested when they were five years old and their test scores were below the ones of the mothers who were not exposed to the air pollutants. A major source of the PAHs is the burning of fossil fuels and other organic materials, like tobacco.

Reaction:
We need to act quickly! These are the future leaders of America; we promote the smartest people possible and the air is now a boundary! You cannot blame the children or the parents.  We need to help them though, because the air is a very important part of our lives and we need to regulate the amount of pollutants that people are exposed to. The air quality is only going to get worse and then it will be harder to fix. If we start now it will not be as much that we need to fix and we can even prevent air pollution!

Questions:

1.)    What other threats does the air pollutions quality pose?

2.)    Is it the parents fault for exposing themselves to this air pollution? Why or why not?

3.)    Is it the governments fault for not looking into the air quality of New York City?

Warm winter causes various responses from the plants

http://phys.org/news/2012-05-species-global-previously-thought.html

Summary: Due to the effect of global warming, winters became a lot warmer than before. Because of this change, more plant species are blooming earlier than when they usually were bloom. Of course, there are other species of plant (usually at 30%, differs depending on the region) that seems not to be unresponsive to the drastic weather change. Yet, some studies show that these "unresponsive plants" are also drastically affected by the weather. The problem is, some plants do not know when to be ready for winter cold because the winter is not cold enough to give the "que", therefor, some plants have late arrival of spring blooming or not even go through the process at all. 2/3 of the "stable" plants are found to be going through this confusion. Though it poses to be not much of a change currently but it will make a drastic change in plants during the future. Accoring to Elizabeth Wolkovich, who works at the University of Columbia, “The key for future research will be understanding how we can predict what species and regions are most at risk of radical changes in their flowering due to warmer winters.”

Reflection: It is saddening to hear the other affect of global warming that never came to my mind. I remember the winter in our region to be very warm too considering how I felt hot in some occasions during Febuary! My only concern during those time was lack of snow and possbility of bugs that survived through the winter, but I never had a second thought about flower blooming problem. Though I don't remember our area having problems with flowers blooming, if the weather gets any warmer, I think we will see problems by then. Global warming is changing the enviorment so much and it is saddening to think that us turning off lights and all won't help much because the indusrty is using up much more of the energy than us indivisuals can imagine. I think I'll continue on with turing lights off consistantly because it will still have affects to the green house gas amount being released.

Expansion:
1)What other effects could be posed by the global warming?
2)What could be ways that would satisfy the industry and the enviornment.
3)If flowers do not bloom due to the this problem, what other problems would surface caused by the lack of flowers?

RedLove Apple

Swiss researcher proves that natural selective breeding works better than GMOs
Monday, May 09, 2011 by Ethan A. Huff

http://www.naturalnews.com/032326_selective_breeding_GMOs.html

Picture: This shows the RedLove apple, which is a breakthrough in foods. The fruit was created safely with only natural breeding, and is practically versatile in taste, growth, and safety.

Summary: After 20 long years of research and development, Swiss orchardist and researcher Marcus Kobelt has been able to produce a new kind of apple called RedLove. This spectacular new form of fruit has been designed to be resistant to disease, delicious, and easy to grow, and this has been successfully achieved. More importantly, however, this apple was made without any use of any GM’s (genetic modifications) or GE (genetic engineering). "These varieties of new apple have been created through non-GE (genetically engineered) techniques which is fantastic," said Claire Bleakley from GE Free NZ in Food and Environment, which is a non-profit organization attempting to make people aware of the dangers of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). For years, other researchers have been trying to make a GM apple with the same characteristics, but luckily Kobelt was the first to create the fruit. Kobelt only used natural breeding and cross-pollination techniques. This means that the fruit bears no serious health risks that GM foods can. The versatility of this fruit is amazing—it’s sweet and tangy flavor makes it delicious, it can be cooked or raw, beautiful and rich in color, high amounts of antioxidants, and cannot be affected by scab disease. Overall, this creation of the RedLove apple is an example as to why GMOs are not needed and should not be pursued. GMO’s are harmful to humans, animals, and the environment, and also has no known predominance over natural-grown foods.                                                                                                 

Reflection: This is definitely my favorite article of all the ones I’ve read so far. I think it’s so cool that through only cross-pollination and some natural breeding, someone was able to create such a magnificent fruit! Also, I feel that nearly all the articles we study in these blogs deal with depressing problems, which I understand because there are many environmental issues we need to become aware of. But this article, on the other hand, was a celebration of success and I was engaged when reading it. I have always been a picky eater and I’ve heard about GMOs and they really gross me out. I watched FOOD, INC. in health class recently and we learned about harmful GMOs and how unhealthy and scientifically engineered foods are practically everywhere; that they are nearly impossible to avoid. This is really reassuring that there are others trying to make better foods the right way. I really want to try the RedLove apple now, it looks so good!

Expansion:

1. Why are GMOs even used at all if natural breeding is so much better? In other words, what’s the advantage?

2. How was the RedLove apple able to be formed merely by natural cross-breeding; how did they know to get those exact traits within the apple?

3. How can we try to support the production of foods like RedLove and rid of the GMOs that are being made throughout our country?

Criticism on Indonesian Deforestation Ban

Read the article at: http://www.timeslive.co.za/scitech/2012/05/03/indonesia-deforestation-ban-weak-green-groups


Picture: This shows of a forest that has been deforested for palm oil farm.

Summary:
What concerned people from organization like Greenpeace is the fact that about half of 8.6 million acres of forest in Indonesia is not protected by the government. The Indonesian forest is a swamp like forest that supports great biodiversity and it is a great carbon reserve. The current moratorium ( the suspension of activity) of deforestation in Indonesia was suppose to protect all of the forest in order to reduce emmision which causes the greenhouse gas. Their primary goal was to reduce the emission to 26% by 2020 or even up to 41%.Yet, the moratorium has been weakened down only to protect the major forests due to the pressure of the large business. Also, Indonesia is currently the 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gas due to the deforestation that has been caused by the palm oil farming, mining and paper industries.

Reflection:
I really do think that a government should enforce things like the moratorium if it was decided to enforced. I think deforestation is a serious matter as the trees and plants that are suppose to absorb the large quatity of carbon dioxide that we spewed out is getting killed. Not only that, fire that is used to get rid of the forest is an extra quantity of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and the loss of forest also equals loss of habitat for many animals and plants that could be endangered or not even discovered yet. Also, the industries like palm oil farming are very hazardous to the enviornment as the controled enviornment that such industries create is not suited for animals and plants that used to occupy the area. It hurts my feeling to see the forests getting ripped out of its roots and if half of the forest is not protected, that would mean that about half the forest could get demolished. This would obviousely be a bad sign for the rate of carbon dioxide we are going at these days. I only do hope that the Indonesian government would enforce this moratorium rather strictly.

Expansion:
1)Would it be the responsibility of the government to enforce this moratorium or the responsibility of the industries to follow them? Explain.
2)With the carbon dioxide rate going up these days, is there any ways we can stop at least a bit of the carbon dioxide to be released into the atmosphere?
3)Is there any positive effect of deforestation? Explain your answer.

New Rules and Regulations

Read the Article at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/science/earth/epa-caps-emissions-at-gas-and-oil-wells.html?_r=1

Picture: This picture shows a hydraulic fracturing (fracking) spot in Susquehanna County, in Pennsylvania. As you can see there is a farmhouse not too far from the Site.

Summary: Due to the new regulations regarding air quality, gas and oil companies will have to remove toxic gasses from wells, pipelines, and storage sites. This toxic gas can cause cancer. The new standards were planned in the summer of 2011 to respond to complaints from many angry citizens and environmental groups. They knew that the gasses were causing health problems and that they were polluting the air. In case you do not know, fracking is a term for hydraulic fracturing. “Fracking refers to the procedure of creating fractures in rocks and rock formations by injecting fluid into cracks to force them further open. The larger fissures allow more oil and gas to flow out of the formation and into the wellbore, from where it can be extracted” (Definition from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fracking.asp#axzz1tng6gg57).   The new rules and regulations will not be in order until January of 2015. The fracking industries will have to save about $11 million to $19 million a year to fix all the damages and prevent new ones. Many of the companies are very upset with the new rules and regulations and state they are not flexible and unfair. Unlike the gas, companies the environmental groups are overjoyed. They stated it felt like we are taking a step in the right direction and that it was a leap forward.

Reflection:

Wow, this is a bittersweet situation! Bitter, because of all the health problems the gas can cause. Sweet, because the new rules and regulations are helping the environment and the citizen living near a fracking site. I was surprised to see the photo taking in Susquehanna pa. I was not too happy to hear that these new rules and regulations will be in effect until 2015. That is kind of a long time and the more gas they fracking now will build up even more. They should just make the rules in effect now instead of wait 3 years. Or even just wait 1 year but 3 years is too long.

Expansion: 

 1. Should the pollution be the responsibility of the government or an individual? Explain your answer.

2.  Should companies and industries be held accountable for the pollution they cause? Explain.

3. Can technological advances solve global pollution problems or is technology making the problem worse? Explain.

Brazil auctions parts of Amazon for logging

Picture: This picture shows the amazon rain forest after a bunch of trees were chopped down. The Amazon, among many other rain forests, is slowly disintegrating due to things such as logging and forest fires.

Link: http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-12/world/brazil.forest.auction_1_illegal-logging-deforestation-daniel-nepstad?_s=PM:WORLD

Summary: In Brazil, the government has started to auction certain parts of the Amazon rain forest to private companies for logging. Up to ten percent of the 280 million hectares of public forest could eventually be managed by logging companies. It seems like a bad idea, but according to the Brazilian government, it could actually help the rain forest by reducing the demand for illegal logging. Companies are only allowed to take 25 cubic meters of timber and have to make sure they do not damage any surrounding trees in the process. Daniel Nepstad, an environmental scientist who has studied the Amazon for 25 years, believes that working with the industries could help put an end to deforestation in the Amazon. He also believes that by 2020, there could possibly be no more deforestation in the Amazon. By allowing people to purchase the land to use for logging, they hope to put an end to illegal logging.  

Reaction: In my opinion, I don't think that they should auction off parts of the Amazon, even if it is just to big logging companies. I just don't really think that will stop people from illegally logging. They might even do it more often because by auctioning it, that means you have to pay for it and a lot of people don't want to spend the money. There is a possibility that the companies may take more than they are supposed to. Even if there is an end to deforestation by 2020, there is already a lot of the Amazon gone. It will take a very long time for all of the rain forest to grow back.  Maybe they could try and come up with an alternative to auctioning off parts of the Amazon.

Questions: 

1) What kinds of things do you think they could do instead of auctioning?

2)Do you think there could be an end to deforestation in the Amazon by 2020? 

3) How do you think industry would help end deforestation?

Algal Blooms

Article Title: Algae Blooms' Sudden Spread Stumps Scientists

Link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/26/BAMF1LVJJI.DTL

Picture: This picture shows a goose attempting to swim in the abundance of algae. Not only is this aglae an annoyance and eyesore, but it is also a toxic threat to the wildlife and people that live around it.

Summary: Suddenly and rapidly, algae had begun to grow along the coasts of California, becoming a threat to the ecosystem. The toxic algae would actually kill wildlife and make humans ill that lived around the blooms. Scientists are at a loss as to how this algae had grown so rapidly, but are going to do their best to find out. The UC Santa Cruz and its team of marine scientists have begun a study to determine what had caused the algae growth. Raphael Kudela, lead scientist of the group, says that what they need to focus on is what change in the environment has led to this occurrence. What had made the scientists aware that they needed a solution to the algae was when a deadly red tide killed tens of thousands of abalone, sea urchins, and other mollusks along the coast of Sonoma and Mendocino. The UC Santa Cruz was able to get a start with an $800,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; they will continue their studies for a 5 year period, spending 4.3 million dollars. The equipment they are using consists of robotic gliders and a network of underwater sensors and satellites. At the moment, the scientist's primary focus is a single-celled diatom called Pseudo-nitzschia, which Kudela says has become the single biggest biological threat along the California coast.

Reflection:

I could not believe that algae could actually do that much damage! Actually, I didn't even know that algae would have toxins in it; I figured it was just another producer helpng out our ecosystem. Apparently, though, that's not the case in California. One time when I was at the beach a hurricane brought up a bunch of dead sea creatures and seaweed...but I couldn't imagine seeing ten thousand shellfish washing up at the shore! I honestly hope that the UC Santa Cruz scientists find a way to help the animals surrounding the algae blooms, because it would be really upsetting if the entire ecosystem in that area falls to the algae.

Questions:

1) Is the algae affecting the productivity of beaches and other coastal areas?

2) What is a diatom, and how did it become so popular in the California coasts?

3) Is the public able to help in any way with the algae problem?

Water Conservation Funding Swells Along Mississippi River

Picture: This picture shows the Mississippi River in Memphis Tennessee. The Mississippi River is spread from the Gulf of Mexico, all the way up to Minnesota. The area surrounding the river is called the Mississippi River Basin. 

Article:http://www.waterconservationusa.org/articles/279-water-conservation-funding-swells-along-mississippi-river.html 

Summary: The USDA made a decision as part of the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds initiative, the department is going to fund existing water conservation projects. The goal is to improve the water quality of of different watersheds. The farmers and landowners are the ones who have volunteered to help with the water conservation. The methods of water conservation are based off of the area that they live in. Some of the things they would take care of during their conservation efforts would be management of nutrients on land, crop rotation for the purpose of conservation, and planting trees along streams to filter nutrients and manage water draining off the farm. During the announcement, the USDA pointed out that the Mississippi River collects water from 4/10 of the continental United States. The USDA will be providing $43,000,000 for this project. That money will be divided between the 12 participating states, with Minnesota receiving the most money.  

Reaction:  This is really good! The Mississippi River is one of the most important bodies of water in the United States and should be taken care of to the best of our abilities. If I lived in near the Mississippi River, I think it would be cool to help out with like planting trees near the river and stuff like that. 

Questions:  

1. Why do you think they gave Minnesota the most money?

2. Do you know of any other ways they could help conserve the water?

3. What do you think you could do to help?

All about the Everglades--The Amazing Swamp!

Picture:
This is a picture is of one of the air boat tours, this is just one of the many activities that you can do when you visit the everglades. As you can see the boat kind of hovers above the water.Also, in the background it may look like a forest, but it is all water surrounding the trees and grass.






Article:
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2012/mar/20/travel-ambling-everglades-florida/
Summary:
The Everglades is a beautiful swamp full of many birds, fish, plants, and gators. Sadly, 90% of the Everglades birds have been lost because of the plum hunters. The article explains, that there are many trails and path ways and things to do when you are in the Everglades. For instance you could go on an air boat ride and practically glide across the 50miles wide and 100 miles long swamp of the Everglades. You can also see some manatees. The Burmese pythons is an invasive species in the Everglades and is ruining the ecosystem. One python was found with a whole white tailed deer in it’s stomach. The Everglades try to also save species like the Florida Panther. They have about 12 panthers protected in the park. With many species the whole entire park has a very high biodiversity. The Everglades are very susceptible to natural disasters, such as wild fires and climate changes as well as hurricanes and sea level rises. A restoration plan for the Everglades is in the process of beginning the of healthy sustainable ecosystems. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan or the CERP, was signed by President Clinton in 2000, is possibly the most determined wilderness restoration plan. The Everglade’s forest is one of the most beautiful national parks and should be restored and protected.
Expansion:
I can relate to this article because this past winter break I went to Florida to visit family and we went to the Everglades. We took an air boat ride, which was very fun! We saw three alligators on the trip, one was an 8- foot male and the other was a 5-foot female. They came really close to out boat! Next time I go visit the Everglades are defiantly on my list of things to do.
Question:
1.) The Everglades have a high biodiversity, why is this a good thing?
2.) How does the Everglades benefit or effect the people living in and around it?
3.)Do you think that global warming will have any effects on the everglades.

Bleached corals

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/science/earth/21coral.html?_r=2

Picture: This is a bleached coral in the Taxas-Louisiana border as the global warming threat is becoming more serious. In the immense heat wave, many of the coral reefs became like this in the 1998, we do not know if the coral reefs will survive a second wave.
Summary:As global warming hits all parts of the world, sea is another place that is greatly affected. All over the world, coral reefs are greatly damaged due to the severe heat stress in the sea as the world average tempreture is going up. Such bleaching of the coral is not a good sign as it's a sign that the tiny little animals called pylyps that makes up the coral are in a recoil mode. This is due to the algae that are in a symbiotic relationship with the pylyps are spewing out toxins instead as the high heat and sunlight causes the metabolism of the algaes to be out of control. As the pylyps are in recoil mode they get no nutrients so unless the water tempreture becomes normal and algaes are in control again, the corals will die. Though dead corals can be recover back to life by a new pylyps but without a drop in sea tempreture, the coral ecosystem will collapse. With the collapse of coral reef ecosystem, people that rely on fishery will be heavily impacted as the fishery cannot function without the coral reef ecosystem.
Opinion/Reflection: I was very disheartened by this new because this is a disaster that could really hurt the ecosystem and ruin the lives of animals, people and the nature. Whenever I hear stories of human impact that deals negatively to earth, I feel rather sad that I really can't do too much to stop it. I don't throw away trash on the floor and always tries to do whatever I can that would impact the nature the less. I noticed that this article is from 2010 and it's little less than 2 years from that point. I very well do wonder how the coral reefs are doing now. I think it would be for the best of me, my family and everyone/thing in the world for the pollution on Earth to stop.
Question:
1)What can we do to stop such serious problem to be stopped?
2)How will the collapse of coral reef affect our life?
3)What action have you taken so far that is affecting the enviornment postively?
4)Could the animals adapt in to the new enviornmental challange? Why or why not?

Report: World bee decline signals ‘sixth major extinction’:
http://digitaljournal.com/article/304525

Picture: This picture shows graphs about bee population and bee statistics. Click HERE to see a better photo of this image. In this image it gives how information about colony losses, some of the causes, the decline in losses, the effects on us, the crops its effecting, and how many billions we are loosing annualy.

Summary: Honey bees are decreasing in population due to Colony Collapse Disorder(CCD) , disease, deforestation, climate change, and pollution. 90% of the wild bee population in the United States has died out. Beekeepers have been losing 25% of their hives each winter. This could leave Beekeepers without a job. Also scientists believe that this could lead to worse things for humans because bees pollinate most of the U.S.’s crops. In 2000, the value of crops pollinated by bees was estimated at $14.6 billion in the USA alone. 

Opinion/Reflection: This is a very big issue for us and I believe we need to act fast. 90% is a huge number of loss. We need to find out what is causing all the CCD. If we can’t reverse this issue we may need to find alternative ways to pollinate all the crops.

Questions:

1.) Why is this such a big issue for us?

2.) What do you think is causing the CCD?

3.) Do you have any ideas how we can reverse this?

4.) What should we do now to help?

Invasive Species

General Information About Invasive Species http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/biology/a_invasive.html

Picture:
The image on the left shows an invasive species--a plant called kudzu--that has infested an entire forest. Invasive species like these can ruin entire ecosystems that have been living comfortably for generations.
Summary:
Invasive species are species that have come into an ecosystem that it has never been introduced to before. As a result, these organisms may cause environmental or economical problems, as well as harming human health. Ironically, humans are normally the cause of these invasive species' entrances. When an invasive species arrives at a new habitat, many things can occur, but normally not good things. For example, the species may be able to prey on the other organisms that have not adapted to protect themselves from the organism. The invasive species population would rise dramatically, and those other organisms will be in danger of becoming endangered or extinct; thus causing an imbalance in the ecosystem. Plants could get wiped out, which could harm agriculturalists. The damage caused by invasive species may cost us millions of dollars each year to attempt a solution. Federal agencies are currently working to prevent invasive species from being introduced to environments, as well as educate the public about what those species are doing to the world around us.
Opinion/Reflection:
It upsets me to know that accidents like this scan cause so much trouble for an entire ecosystem. I wish the article was able to give more specific examples on how to fix the problem, or how the federal agencies are attempting to fix it. Also, i was very surprised that about the costs to pay for the invasive species' damages each year. Hopefully we can find a way to prevent any more ecosystems being ruined by invasive species, because there are a lot of problems we are causing the environment right now.
Questions:
1) What can we do as a public to help stop invasive species from occurring?
2) What work are the federal agencies doing to help stop this? Can we be included?
3) What human activities are causing invasive species?
4)How many invasive species are there?
5)Are there any invasive species that are big in the US? What ones?

The Mysterious Disappearance of the Scottish Grouse

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-17130777

Picture: This bird is a capercaillie, a large grouse in which fears and extinction on the Scottish land for the second time.

Summary: A large grouse named capercaillie is in fear of its second extinction from the land of Scotland. Recently the grouse’s population is declining for an uncertain reason and there are debates among different groups on the specific cause. The Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association (SGA) believes that the pine martin, a very rare Scottish native mammal, has to do with the decline and the control of them is needed in order to save the capercaillie. On the other side, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) criticized the SGA for not considering other views that might have affected the grouse other than the predation. Capercaillie had already been extinct and there is a need to solve the mystery whether it is the habitat problem, predation and such that is affecting this bird’s decline of population.

Opinion/Reflection: Though I am glad that some of the species were able to get back to their original habitat, but I am worried for the grouse as no one is sure what is causing this bird’s decline of population. Though I think it’s best to notice that the pine martin is a very rare animal and I don’t think rare animals can easily cause the decline of an another specie. I'm also considering maybe pollution itself may have to do with it, as according to the article, habitat is not really much of a problem.

Questions:

1)      What other problems can be affecting the capercaillie.

2)      If the rare pine martin was the real problem, how would we solve the issue?

3)      What other animals are endangered in Scotland?

4)      What is one way that we can help to save endangered species?

Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity in the Arctic

http://www.globalissues.org/article/172/climate-change-affects-biodiversity

Picture: This picture shows a polar bear on sea ice in the Arctic. The polar bear depends on the sea ice to give it things like shelter and a place to hunt for food. Climate changes have been melting the ice and that affects the polar bears in a big way.

Summary: "In the Arctic, it is not just a reduction in the extent of sea ice but it's thickness and age." The fact that there is less ice and it is getting thinner means that it can melt faster. This is bad news for the life that depends on the ice to live. If there ever comes a time where there are ice-free summers in the Arctic Ocean, that could be the loss of an entire biome. Although, every year the arctic does thaw and refreeze, the patterns in the more recent years have changed. This climate change does not just affect the polar bears. It can affect even the algae that grows on the under side of the ice caps. This could obviously cause a reaction to all the other animals in the food chain that depend on each other for food. Also, the ice melting can affect more than just the Arctic. The bright white sea ice reflects the sun, keeping the water colder. When the ice melts, it is no longer there to keep the water cold, therefore the water heats up much faster. This can lead to changes in seawater temperature as well as salinity, which can change the primary productivity and species composition in plankton and some fish, but it can also cause changes in the ocean's circulation.

Opinion/Reflection: This actually really made me sad to read this. I didn't really believe or really understand the whole idea of global warming very well but I think reading this article kind of helped me get a hold of what it really does. I really wish I knew of something I could do to maybe help or stop this. We were learning about biodiversity in class and how there are only a couple biodiversity hotspots left and the fact that a very diverse place like this could just crumble over the melting sea ice is really, kind of scary to me. There aren't very many places like this left so we should do our best to preserve and protect them.

Questions:
1. Do you think this could potentially affect you and where you live?
2. What kind of things do you think we could do to help?
3. What are some things that maybe could of caused this?
4. Do you really think that an end to this specific biome could happen in the near future?

Savannas and Forrests in a Battle of the Biomes

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111031220600.htm

Picture:

     This picture shows a wildfire that was happening in South Africa. These fires help maintain the balance between the forest biome and the savanna biome. Some say that these fires are caused by humans interfering with the patterns of the fires. If these fires continue like this there will only be savanna and will leave big patches of encroachment.

Summary:

   These fires are supposed to be a natural thing to help prevent an uneven balance of forest and savanna. The fires are supposed to make sure that no so much forest grows over the savanna. Lately, scientists have been studying these biomes and have saw a huge increase on the number of fires, and because of this increase more forests are turning into savannas. Some scientists say that this is because of road construction, climate change, and fire-prevention measures. Researchers say that if these fires continue to spread like this that these biomes will turn into nothing but total encroachment. Once this process starts it will be hard to change it. Plants and animals that are living in a forest or savanna cannot adapt well from one habitat to the other. The Science Paper say that the loss of a savanna to forest is just as tragic, though other known as deforestation. There is a big risk of losing valuable plants and animals which would effect the people who depend on them.

Opinion/Reflection:

It was very sad reading about the way that the littlest things that you wouldn't even really notice makes the biggest effects on this earth. And I have a great love for animals; to hear that they might die because they are any good at adapting to a new environment really breaks my heart. But seeing scientist so eager to change what is going on motivates me into trying to do my best to prevent disasters like this happening in the U.S.

Questions:

1.      What made scientist take a look at this issue now?

2.      Do you think that this could be an issue in the U.S?

3.      Why wouldn't the animals be able to adapt to a new environment?

4.      What are some ways I can prevent a disaster like this from happening in my area?