First Post For The First Nine Weeks Due (9/13/2013)

[Mr. Dove]

Please respond to this topic post to complete your first post for the first nine weeks. PLEASE RESPOND TO ONLY THIS POST by clicking reply on the arrow to the right. If you wish to appropriately comment on your classmates post then respond to their thread in this discussion. 

[taylor roberts]

Another walking shark was found this week in Indonesia. In the last six years this is the third walking shark to have been described in eastern Indonesia. A former Indonesian shark expert, known as Fahmi, said that it highlighted their tremendous shark and ray biodiversity. This is the sixth walking shark that has been located there out of the nine walking sharks that have been found on earth. The most recent walking shark was photographed in 2008 by divers. It is known as the long-tailed carpet shark or as Hemiscyllium halmahera. The name comes from Halmahera which is the largest island in the Malukus. The Malukus islands lay within Indonesia. Walking sharks move around by using their pelvic and pectoral fins. They move across the sean bottom at night looking for small fish. The new species of shark that was found, the tailed carpet shark (Hemiscyllium halmahera) is different from other walking sharks simply because they have very noticeable patterns of brown spots which our found on their heads. A study recently showed that Indonesia is the second globally ranked manta tourism destination. This is estimated to benefit the economy with more than fifteen million dollars. To help preserve marine biodiversity and help keep money flowing in the Indonesian government has agreed on the CITES treaty for species protection and is working on creating new kinds of sharks and rays.

A shark that walks! Discovery is a good sign for Indonesia

Alan Boyle, Science EditorNBC News

Aug. 30, 2013 at 1:52 PM ET

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/shark-walks-discovery-good-sign-indonesia-8C11043075

[Alanna Breeden]

“As Humans Change Landscape, Brains of Some Animals Change, Too.” By Carl Zimmer

A. Biodiversity

B. According to Scientist Emilie C. Snell-Rood, small mammals’ brain size has increased over the past century. These small mammals include bats, voles, mice, and shrews. A new study has measured mammal cranial size and discovered that animals living in cities and suburbs have an increase brain matter of 6 percent. Dr. Snell-Rood concluded that the brain mass increased significantly due to the necessity to travel further for food while still being able to navigate home. Scientists hope to extend this research by breeding large-brained animals with their small-brained cousins to identify and study the genes that involved in brain size.

C. I chose this study because it seemed like a very interesting subject. I was skeptical at first that their brains were enlarged by their own accord, not in laboratories or by scientific experiments. It was very eye opening that these animals were evolving, and only in the very immediate years. I think that this would be a more relative way to teach Charles Darwin and evolution to children in the school systems.

D. Zimmer, Carter, “As Humans Change Landscape, Brains of Some Animals Change, Too” NY Times 27 8 2013

 

[MHSAPES]

POST BY LAUREN COSNER..... MOVED BY MR. DOVE

1. Emerging technologies

 

2.With new technologies emerging and people working together to create more successful way of going about, life is becoming more complex yet simple at the same time. Whether it be a syringe that turns the color red once it's used to warn people that it has already been used or a watch that records everything like a surveillance camera. With technologies advancing all around us the world is becoming a more safe and advance place.

 

3.I chose this article because it caught my attention. Reading that up to 40% of the injections in the world are unsterile is mind blowing and eye opening. If I were in the situation of going to the doctors office and potentially being injected with an unsterile syringe I would be worried. With this new advanced idea of ensuring syringes aren't unsterile advances the medical field in a simple yet extremely helpful way. I enjoyed this article because it's interesting to see that people are coming up with ways to make the world a more healthy and better place. Everyone that reads this article could benefit by being aware of what's being developed in the medical field and possibly inspiring others to look to new ways of advancing technologies.

 

4. N.p., n. d. 4 Sep 2013. <http://news.cnet.com/cutting-edge/>.

[Shannon Simko]

Declining Ocean Biodiversity

 

Not only are fishing declining, most animals in the seas are. Whales, dolphins, polar bears, and penguins are just a start to this growing list of creatures being impacted. The Census of Marine life have been involved with the research in the oceans for decades. They have been able to determine that overfishing is the greatest threat to this biodiversity. Also habitat loss and pollution contribute as well. For example, commercial whaling has been hurting the whale populations in ways that many species have struggled to recover from.

 

I took interest in this article because none of us really know what may be going on the majority of the earths coverage, that being it's water. People do use fish and other mammals in the ocean for food yes but to some extent do we need all that we are taking? It is affecting all the animals down there. Are shows like whale wars necessary even? We don't realize the effects we have on things until we are in trouble with the population of these animals, which is where we are at now. If we don't take action and change we will have nothing. Seeing this article made me want to go out to every seafood restaurant and release the poor lobsters sitting in the tanks when you walk in. One person having this point of view may not save a population of whales but its one less person to worry about. We have to change before it's to late.

 

 

Shah, A.. N.p.. Web. 9 Sep 2013. <http://www.globalissues.org/article/171/loss-of-biodiversity-and-extinctions

 

[Zach Lazen]

I. Emerging Technologies

II. The X Prize Foundation is hosting a 22-month competition to create a chemical sensor that can monitor the acidification of the world's oceans precisely and accurately. Wendy Schmidt, president of the Schmidt Family Foundation, is offering a 2 million dollar prize to the winning engineering teams. One million will go to the team who can create a low cost and accurate sensor, and another million will go to the team who can create the most accurate with materials costing under $10,000. According to a marine scientist at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, Richard Feely, the open ocean is acidifying at .02pH units per decade. At that rate, it could be very harmful for coral reefs, shellfish, and a large portion of the seafood we eat everyday. This is why environmentalists are in need of a chemical sensor so they can monitor and correct the problem

III. I chose this article because it informed me of a new environmental problem. I was shocked to learn how harmful this problem could be and even more astounded on how little it has been talked about. The article states that studying acidification in ocean waters is a new practice started only a decade ago. It makes me wonder how long this lasted as an undiscovered issue. I think this is eyeopening for many readers because it allows them to realize there are more ways we can harm the environment that we might not even think about.

IV. "$2 Million in Prizes Offered for Better Tools to Monitor Ocean Acidification." NBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2013.

[cfir...@gmail.com]

Caroline Firer                                     APES POST                                                                                          Sept. 12 2013

Themes:  Environment, pollution, human health, and emerging technologies

Summary: The Fuhe River in China was bombarded with thousands of dead silver fish that almost clogged the river entirely. After further investigation the cause of all these deaths was determine to be high levels of ammonia discharged by a chemical plant in a city just outside of Wuhan. Water samples showed that the levels of ammonia were well past the national set standard. The norm would be around 0.2 milligrams and from the tests the amount of ammonia showed to be around 12 milligrams per liter. The river had been recently affected by drought which lessened its chances to sift out pollutants and the plant was ordered to stop production until the river was clean and the excess waste was under control. Water quality issues have sprung up in china and in a 2009 study by the Ministry of Environmental protections of all the lakes and rivers they monitor, 30% are labeled as being polluted.  

Reaction: After reading this article I was shocked that waste from a plant killed that many fish and had that much effect on the neighboring towns. Waste from plants like these, which are everywhere, dump waste into rivers every day. It makes me wonder if similar situations like this happen more often and we just don’t know about them. If I was affected by this river being polluted I would want someone to take action so I’m glad they ordered the plant to shut down till they got this issue under control. However they should also do everything in their power to make sure this doesn’t happen in the future and maybe find some means to reduce the amount of waste that they pollute the river with or just find some other place to put the waste…maybe even reuse the waste somehow? Its important for people my age to be aware of this because even though China may be one of the most populated places on the planet, if we keep producing like we are now we can end up with just as many people as them and have the same problems. We can learn from their mistakes.

Bibliography: Mullen, Jethro. Poisoined Fish Clog river in China. 2013. Web. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/05/world/asia/china-river-dead-fish/index.html?iref=allsearch>

[Zach Lockhart]

Zach Lockhart

 

Sustainable use of natural resources/Emerging Technology

 

            The EPA certified the new 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid with a 50 mpg rating in city driving. This is a big mile stone for mid size sedan hybrids. It was only a few years ago when only small bodied hybrids had this capability. This rating is so good, that the 2014 Toyota Prius only gets 10% better mpg. This is good news for Honda. Research shows that customers want larger cars, with “Prius” type fuel economy. This should secure the Accord Hybrid has the top contender for future hybrid buyers. Honda claims that they have also completely redesigned the car from last years model. They have introduced a smaller, lighter, lithium ion battery. They have also reduced the engine size to the equivalent of a 2.0 litter I4 while still maintaining above average horse power. One downside to the car is that its starting price is $39,780, a full $18,000 more than the regular Accord.

 

            I chose this article because it affects me. My dad sells Honda. Personally, I want Honda to makes the best cars on the market so that my father sells more of them, making us more money. I like cars a lot too.

 

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/honda-hits-50—mpg--that-is—on-new-accord-hybrid-215810399.html

[Sarah Hale]

"China's plan to curb Air Pollution sets Limits on Coal use and Vehicles" by Edward Wong

A. Theme: Pollution concerns

B. Pollution in China is amongst the worst in the entire world, accounting for millions of deaths in itself. Citizens are becoming accustomed to wearing masks, selectively choosing schools based on their air filtration systems, and the constant overwhelming smog that can literally choke a person to death. China's government has been well aware that this situation is indeed an issue, and they have been trying to enforce certain laws to prevent such deadly pollution, but it keeps getting worse. This is simply caused by the industrialized nature that China has grown accustomed to. Burning half of all of the coal consumed in the entire world, the source of the pollution issue is not hard to understand. The government has now decided to take action against the coal use, setting regulations to help decrease the amount of coal used by the factories and such throughout the country. It gives each province the power to set their preferable restrictions on the use of coal.  China's next step is to work on the issue of fuel emissions for common vehicles. 

C. This article is very important to understand due to the fact that China is very widely known to have the greatest amount of pollution in the world. This directly results in concerns from Environmental agencies on the issue of global warming, which can cause them to research and study how to make changes to improve the issue. It is refreshing to know that China is fully aware of it's impact on not only the Environment itself but also it's people, due to the fact that the pollution is so strong there it is actually killing innocent humans. 

D. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/world/asia/china-releases-plan-to-reduce-air-pollution.html?_r=0

[Wade H.]

A. Sustainable use/emerging technology.

B. At the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, an international, highly respected, well attended, and highly publicized even where auto makers, for years, have shown the world their most recent innovations, gasoline-electric hybrids, Diesel - electric hybrids, and pure electric-drive cars have been the most popular type of new automobile. BMW released their revolutionary new i3, and all electric city crossover/hatchback, as well as gas-electric hybrid and full electric versions of its X5 crossover, and their new i8, a gasoline-electric HYBRID super sports car that can accelerate from zero to sixty miles per hour in four seconds. 

Porsche also released a HYBRID super sports car, the 918 Hybrid, that can reach sixty in just over three seconds, and which just became the fastest production car around the famed Nurburgring Nordschleife, with a record-shattering time of 6:57. 

When the average person thinks about a hybrid, they imagine the tiny and slow Toyota Prius. But in fact, hybrids don't have to be slow, and they don't have to be efficient. "Hybrid" just means that the car is using a combination of gas and electric power. The Porsche is VERY inefficient, but still an important step in moving towards our goal of zero carbon emissions, here's why:

By building fast, sleek sports cars that use hybrid technology, Porsche and BMW are making electric-drive technology appeal to someone other than old people who want to drive slowly and save money on gas. An important step in moving to all electric and renewable energy-powered automobiles is getting everyone to accept them. Many people fear that if they are forced to drive an electric car they will be stuck with a slow, tiny Prius or Smart Car. This is simply not the case. The Tesla Model S, for less money that a comparable gasoline powered sedan, is all electric with zero emissions, and is faster than a Corvette, Mustang, or Porsche. 

Electric cars seem to be the way of the future right now, and Porsche, BMW, McLaren, and even Ferrari have jumped on the electric-powered bandwagon. This trend it showcased well by the number of electric cars at the 2013 IAA Frankfurt Show. 

C. I chose this topic because I believe that cars are one of the most important parts of out lives and our society, and I believe that it would be very difficult to radically change the current automotive infrastructure. This entire subject reminds me of the 19th century battle between electric, gasoline, and steam power. I find it intriguing that electric power has seemingly won out this time over other alternatives such as extreme efficiency Diesel ICE's or hydrogen power. This is a very interesting time for those concerned with environmental issues, as well as those who follow the automotive industry. 

D. Electric Cars Dominate Frankfurt Auto Show. Thomas Lohnes. Discovery News, Sep. 11, 2013.

http://news.discovery.com/autos/fuel-and-alternative-fuel-technologies/electric-cars-dominate-frankfurt-auto-show-130911.htm

[Mr. Dove]

Post By Ryan Jacobson.... Moved By Mr. Dove

A. Natural Resources/Pollution

B. This article talks about how old oil wells existing in Texas and other states around America are causing pollution and unsanitary water. Since most of the wells are old, they are to detect because they are buried in the ground. The major problem that is drawn from this issue is that oil is leaking from these wells, into the ground water. Around 471 acres of land has oil wells that aren't plugged, which ultimately leads to farmers wanting government funds to resolve the issue. 

C. I learned that money is pretty much the solution to everything. This topic interested me because while we fight over oil in the Middle East, we have unused oil here in America that could benefit us, which could reduce the taxation on oil since it's not foreign. But mainly on the environment issue, it's just overall disgusting that there is a slim chance the people's water can be infatuated with oil.

D.  Galbraith, Kate. "Abandoned Oil Wells Raise Fear of Pollution." Texas Tribune. New York Times, 8th June 2013. Web.

[Sebastian Glickman]

In Beijing, China there are many pollution issues going on due to their high population and coal burning and automobile exhaust. They are now thinking of ways to cut down on their pollution levels because it has been a danger to the population. It was even said there were 1.2 million pre-mature deaths that had to do with the air pollution. Beijing is trying to cut down on burning coal and also they are deciding to take some cars, that emit too many pollutants, off the roads as soon as possible. The pollution doesn't just affect the health of people living in Beijing but also their education. Some parents are basing what schools their child goes to based on how clean the air in the school is instead of how good of an education their child can get. Students could be missing out on big opportunities because of this. Although the health concerns are more important, education is also very important. Preventing a child from getting the best education they can get because of the pollution is unfair.

Wong, Edward.

 "China’s Plan to Curb Air Pollution Sets Limits on Coal Use and Vehicles.

"The New York Times. N.p., 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 12 Sept. 2013.

 <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/world/asia/china-releases-plan-to-reduce-air-pollution.html?ref=earth>

[Mr. Dove]

Post By Kaona Ayers

Plastic Pollution in Our Oceans

A)     Environment, pollution and human health

B)      It astounds me how much litter we put into the ocean, the majority of it being plastic. Animals are dying (the pictures of seals and penguins with plastics wrapped around their necks just kills me), beaching are becoming filthy and humans may even be at risk health wise. The debris stick around for years on end with monstrous effects, especially when ingested by animals because some compounds of the plastic waste can cause cancer and disrupt hormones. That effects the human population because we then catch and eat sickly fish. Not only is this issue dangerous, its costly to try to fix. Beach clean ups cost millions of dollars, so why cant we just stop dumping the waste in the first place? We already know the harmful effects.

C)      I chose this article because it is a commonly known issue and I already know much about it. Ie heard before that humans waste so many plastic bottles that they could wrap around the earth, end to end, some odd number of times. Just ONE time was astonishing to me! Imagine how much of that is in our waters? It also breaks my heart how badly marine life has been fairing lately. From seals to polar bears (the poor polar bears!), marine life is all around a struggle, either due to pollution and waste, or climate change and melting ice.

 

D)     . N.p.. Web. 12 Sep 2013. <http://www.nrdc.org/oceans/plastic-ocean/default.asp>.

[Mary Elam]

A. Sustainable Use of Natural Resources

South Australia Projected to Reach 50 Percent Renewable Energy Within the Next Decade

B. With 27% of South Australia's power being produced by wind energy, AEMO (Australian Energy Market Operator) has predicted that the region will reach a new renewable energy efficient trademark within the next few years, making it the first industrialized region to reach this goal. Since this new energy reliance system is becoming more and more popular, AEMO believes that original fossil-fueled won't show much growth development in upcoming years and perhaps even decline. In making the decision to use their primary source of energy perpetual, South Australia is expected to save $167 million. This means that South Australia might begin to promote as an example for the rest of the developing countries. 

C. I chose this article because Australia has always been a place where I've dreamt of going and I was interested in learning about its environment and how exactly they choose to run it. What also caught my attention was that it is now one of the few areas to make the move to start preserving the environment. 

D. http://inhabitat.com/south-australia-projected-to-reach-50-percent-renewable-energy-within-the-next-decade/

[taylor burley]

                   "20 Years Later, Again Assigned to Fight Climate Change"

 

A. Sustainable Use of Resources

 

B.  20 years ago a prime minister and public health doctor became concerned about humans using more resources then they needed because of how high the human population increased. They were trying to make the global goal be social and economically sustainable, "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" and she plans on doing this by cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

 

C. I choose this article because it's a serious problem. The greenhouse gases contribute to the green houses by the radiation. It caught my attention because you don't hear about it as often as everything else. I think they should leave the greenhouses alone

 

    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/science/earth/08conv.html?ref=sustainabledevelopment&_r=0

 

[Abby Lipscomb]

A) Environment, pollution, and human health. 

B) Researchers went to the great lakes expecting to find lots of pollution in the water. They found themselves not prepared at all for their findings, they underestimated. They found tons of micro balls from face wash and hand soap. Not only are they environmentally not safe, they look like fish eggs or food resulting in harming the animals. Researchers noticed that the micro balls are small enough to fit through everything and every filter. They are working on finding an alternative product that's environmental safe. 

C) I think it's crazy how something so small can actually build up and become something so big. The micro balls in soap and hand sanitizer are something that I always thought was cool looking and would makes the product work better. It makes me think about how other little things could also be making a big impact on the Great Lakes or any other water source. It shows me how important it is to recycle and to think about how everything you use and throw away will impact the environment. 

D) http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/09/microbeads-cleanser-ocean-pollution 

[Hunter Critzer]

A. Emerging Technologies

B. The article I read about was on the emerging technologies of the agriculture field. The technology this article talked about was the equipment needed to harvest energy crops. An energy crop is a crop that is harvested for its grain as well as is biomass which is used for energy. The machines that are needed to harvest this crop need to be very strong and harvest more than one part of the plant at a time. Therefore, a more powerful piece of equipment is needed. Many ideas have been brought up as to how to make these machines as powerful as needed to collect and separate the two parts of the plant. Two of these ideas to make the new technology needed are placing two engines in one vehicle, or a second turbocharger to add more horsepower.

C. I chose this article because i am aspiring to be a farm, and the new technologies I may be using soon interest me greatly! I liked this article because it talked about equipment i might have to use in the future and how it would impact life as a farmer. I believe this article would be beneficial to any farmer or about to be farmer in the world. If people who are farmers right now do not change with the time they will not be able to keep their jobs, and of new farmers do not learn about the new technologies and advance one them we will never be able to meet the need for food in the world!

D. Emerging technologies,Feb. 15, 2009, Karen McMahon and Jodie Wehrspann | Farm Industry News, http://farmindustrynews.com/precision-farming/emerging-technologies

 

[Hannah Bingler]

Topic: Climate changes

Summary: Ice in the Arctic is melting at a faster rate, leaving more of the ocean uncovered. But as it turns out, its not only melting faster, but what ice remains is loosing its reflective shine. For the fist time in 30 years, a study of satellite data for the Arctic ocean was preformed by Aku Riihela shows that at the end of the summer, the ice is 15% weaker than it was 30 years ago. This can be caused partly due to thinning ice and the formation of water puddles, and partly because in the warmer air. The shallow ponds on the ice can reduce reflectivity of light and increase the amount of solar radiation that the ice absorbs. The melting of Arctic ice is a major factor in climate change because the more ice that melts the more the water warms, which causes more ice to melt. Also, by the end of the summer of 2012 the amount of Arctic sea ice hit an all time low and some predictions say that by the end of 2030 there could be no ice left in the arctic!

Opinion: I think that the fact that the Arctic ice is melting this fast is terrifying! Not only does it show how bad the climate changes have become, but it shows how much worse its gotten in the past 30 years! 15% is a lot to go down in just 30 years, compared to how the earth is billions upon billions of years old! I think that this should really make us look at climate change as a serious problem for the future and now! 

Bibliography: "Arctic ice grows darker and less reflective - environment - 05 August 2013 - New Scientist." Science news and science jobs from New Scientist - New Scientist. NewScientist , 5 Aug. 2013. Web. 13 Sept. 2013. <http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23994-arctic-ice-grows-darker-and-less-reflective.html#.UjObr8aUSol>.

[Wade Goodrich]

In response to Hunter's post:

"...the great cities rest upon our broad and fertile prairies. Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country."

-William Jennings Bryan, Cross of Gold speech

[Alexandra Fitzgerald]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130911184821.htm

A. Biodiversity

B. Researchers from Wake Forest University discovered that Peru's Cloud
Forest are indangered because of warming in the climate. The plant species
in The Peruvian Cloud forests thrive in wet climates and the recent
increase in temperature is harming them. This warming is causeing these
plant speciese to lose 53-96 percent of their population. Right now the
scientest are working on moving the plants further up the mountain where
its colder so they can survive.

C. I read this article orginially because the idea of a cloud forest sort
of amazed me that the forest was so high up it was in the clouds. The fact
that these species are losing into the 90%'s of their population is
extremly shocking and bothersome because that means theyre almost extinct.
The scientist are talking about moving the plants higher up the mountain
and hopfully thatll work but i dont know if itll be a long term solution.
I would really like to know how they plan on moving the plants sthat are
already rooted into the ground.

D. Wake Forest University. "An unprecedented threat to Peru's cloud forests." *
ScienceDaily*, 11 Sep. 2013. Web. 13 Sep. 2013.

[Luke Opitz]

A.     Emerging Technologies

B.     At the end of the Frankfurt Motor Show, which was predominately filled with electric cars this year, it was revealed that there is to be an all-electric alternative to formula 1 racing, known as "formula E". 

C.     The introduction of an all-electric race car is very intriguing. I'm not particularly interested in either automotives or the racing thereof, but the thought behind this piece of technology is likely quite powerful. It seems that the developers are attempting to bring out mass interest in alternatively fueled vehicles through showing off feats of speed and versatility, gaining respect for their work. In fact, the very notion that the Frankfurt motor show was mostly dealing with electric cars is certainly a step towards their acceptance, Frankfurt being in the most well-renowned engineering country in the west. While some may argue that switching to electric cars is simply changing types of pollution, as it draws greatly from electric power plants, isn't it about time we at least changed our predominant pollution to something more palatable for Earth and allow it to recoup from the burning fossil fuels? 

D.     Russell, Hotten. N.p.. Web. 13 Sep 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24053853>.