APES Current Events

King Penguins could be in danger due to the dramatic climate change. Since glaciers are continuing to melt it is leaving the penguins stranded. They are having to travel further for food, which puts them at more dangers such as being prey for seals or not being able to find the food in enough time for their families. They also have less breeding grounds since their homes are melting away. The more the climate continues to change, the more animals it will continue to impact.We need to find better solutions to keep these issues from increasing. King Penguins Face Threats Due To Climate Change

Article Found Here 0 Tons. The amount of home-mined strategic minerals in the United States just last year. 100% of the United State rare earth minerals, in fact, came from Russia and China. Why are rare earth minerals important? Well, they include gallium, germanium, and the platinum group metals which are used in the manufacturing of the very thing you are using right now. Computers, TV panels, and all other types of electronic devices. To not have any mines open for the mining of these much needed minerals is a terrible disservice to the US, especially in a day and age we live in today. Trump's plan to ease restrictions on mining, improve mineral recycling, and find ways to mine the minerals safely is no doubt a great idea that will help the economy of the US in the long run, ultimately raising us back up into competition with Russia and China. Our reliance on China and Russia also gives the idea that we support the shady businesses and practices that go on in these countries,...

A study completed by 253 students in the BREATHE project in Spain. It was the first study done that evaluates exposure to green-space and brain structure. The data shows that being exposed to nature which led to higher scores on cognitive tests and showed better working memory and being more attentive. During the 12 month study period, it was found that this occurred in schools that had higher outdoor green-space. It also leads to better health overall the span of your lifetime if exposed to nature. I think this is interesting because it shows how much the environment affects behaviors and growth. Link to Article

The North Atlantic right whale population is rapidly declining. If the decline continues, the species will face extinction. The major causes for the deaths of these whales are human intervention and warming waters. The whales are getting trapped in the ropes that humans are using to fish for lobsters and crabs causing them immediate death or death by starvation. Also, due to the warm waters, the right whales food source is also depleting, making it challenging for the whales to find food. If the right whales don't have food whether that be because they are trapped or because of a limited food source, the whale will lose blubber and become infertile. There has been no new births this breeding system, which is another reason  the right whales extinction is likely.  Marine ecologists are concerned and think the US government should step in. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/26/north-atlantic-right-whale-extinction-no-births-fishing

With a new rise in temperatures in the Arctic and a rapped loss of sea-ice, a new climate feedback loop is being created that could accelerate Arctic warming. The temperatures in the arctic have risen to a new time high, with winter temperatures in Greenland being over 32 degrees for a full 24 hours. the normal temperatures for an Arctic winter in this area is minus four degrees Fahrenheit. Usually this sudden increase in temperature only occurs once every ten years in the Arctic, however this is the second major increase in a few years. the difference these years than the events in the past are that we have both less ice and thinner ice in the Arctic. since there is less ice, the warmer air that is pushed north does not cool off as fast, resulting in more ice melting and an increase in temperature. https://www.livescience.com/61864-arctic-temperatures-record-high.html

Through penguins egg shells and feathers we are able to tell the climate, diet and web structures. They have been able to conclude that Antarctica has changed majorly since just last year and over decades it has been just declining. Over fishing is one of the many problems. Fish are a key source to many other animals. So it is taking away there food source. Penguins are at the middle of it all, there tissues capture what they have eaten. Researchers have noticed a large shift in isotope balances in penguins meaning a big change in their diet. About over a span of 80 years they have went from eating only fish then krill and back to fish. There are historical problems that went along with the change but there is more to the story. They are noticing higher nitrogen levels and more isotopes. This study makes me wonder what other animals are we able to find this information out from. With this information are we able to do something to help them. I found this article very interested and I...

Ju dging by the warming of the arctic, Polar Bears are in grave danger. A new research study found polar ice is melting 14% a decade. With these warming temperatures there are less land and animals to hunt in addition to their dropping reproduction rate. To feed them, scientists propose that they air drop bags of food for the animals to eat. To maintain genetic diversity scientists think it would be best to relocate the bears. If these ideas do not work, polar bears will have to exclusively live in zoos to ensure the safety of the species.  https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/scientists-hatch-bold-plan-save-polar-bears-ncna851356

In the past couple years, researchers and scientists have seen the Arctic winter become warmer. In fact, like said in the article, some places in Greenland were in the low 40s for more than a day. it is explained that these temperatures are occurring because of the jet stream currents. Scientists said in the article that they are concerned the warmer temperatures will become more frequent.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180227111639.htm Summary Provided:  The United States could reliably meet about 80 percent of its electricity demand with solar and wind power generation, according to scientists. In the article a new study,  at UCI's Student Center Parking structure  co-authored by Steven Davis, associate professor of Earth System Science has proved that through solar and wind resources the United States could reliably meet about 80 percent of it's electricity. The study is well though out. The researchers said to meet 100 percent of electricity demand with only solar and win energy would require storing for several weeks' in advance to compensate for natural variability.The team analyzed problems that could arise from focusing on solar and win powered energy. When asked how they could rely on such a system with seasonal changes the team took analyzed 36 years of hourly U.S. weather data to understand the fundamental geophysical barr...

Article Here Because of climate change and global warming, the penguins in Antarctica may be forced to find a new home or learn to adapt to new climates by the end of the century. Because of the carbon emission levels, according to a study in Nature Climate Change , about 70% of the penguins will have to relocate. This is a huge problem because King Penguins can only breed on predator-free islands and ice, but these islands need to be within swimming distance from a food supply. Climate change could effect these penguins in many different ways because of this.

In the Arctic areas, it is usually very cold and persistently cold. Recently, however, that has not been the case. There have been immense spikes of warmth, now being well over freeing for an extended period of time. Usually, this would go away but it was already 2 days since the weather spike and it doesn't seem to be going down. Scientists are frazzled at the immense weather difference and they don't even know how to describe the phenomenon.  So, what does this mean in my opinion? I think that what is going on is crazy and could be because of global warming. However, I do think it is a shame to see this because the once constant ice is deteriorating. I think while this is a bad thing, maybe it could be good. Sometimes, ecosystems need to change in order to evolve. This could possibly be the change that the world needs to see. Either way, I think this is great for scientific research and knowledge as to the debate of whether global warming is real or not. Either way, the ic...

China Will Plant 32,400 Square Miles of Trees to Combat Air Pollution https://futurism.com/china-plant-32400-square-miles-trees-combat-air-pollution/ I was aware that China did have a current air pollution problem, however I was unaware that they were taking initiative to fix that problem. According to the article, " Most of the troops are being dispatched to the heavily-polluted Hebei province near Beijing — one of the biggest contributors to the country’s smog problem." This is good that they are helping where it is most needed. It is also good that t he province pledged to increase its forest coverage to 35 percent by 2020. Air pollution like this does have an impact of human health and needs to be fixed as soon as possible .

Article here The Galapagos is a unique isolated island home to many unique organisms and plant life. A research team from the University of Arizona led an investigation on the island. They studied coral to find the temperature history from 1940- 2010. It showed that the temperature has been increasing 1.1 degrees per decade. This in my opinion is bad for the Galapagos. In particular the coral reefs because the coral reefs need a certain temperature to stay alive.

King Penguins are very picky animals, especially about where they lay their eggs, mate, and raise their offspring. Due to Climate Change the animals habitat is slowly getting to the point where they will have to colonize somewhere else. Studies are showing that the food sources are not going to be able to help them with their habitat drifting south, they will begin starvation and not be able to feed their off spring. Marine life is shifting due to currents changing courses which also affects them since they need them for food and migrating time to time. Humans are also fishing in their regions because of tide changes and they might not be able to compete with us moving in. If penguins needs to move then there will be some major life changes in many animals nationwide. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180226122528.htm

Hot Flowers When choosing flowers, bees notice more than just their pretty colors and good fragrance. Flowers have their own heat patterns within their petals, not just their color pattern.  Click here to learn more.

Synechococcus cyanobacteria is a type of bacteria that flows around in the ocean and  can change. It can change pigmentation depending on the where they are in the ocean and the lighting that it around it. This bacteria uses light to capture carbon dioxide and produces energy for the marine food chain. Them being able to change their pigmentation is them being able to adapt to their different environment that they may come into contact with. The different lights that they may come into contact with are blue lights or even green. Blue light is found in the deeper parts of the open ocean. This chameleon like bacteria helps us get a better understanding of the process that keep the ocean "engine" running.  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180221122947.htm 

Two new types/strains of virus have recently discovered in Brazil. This new virus have the capability to make 20 different types of amino acids. Researchers say they pose no harm to humans. This is amazing news because this is the building blocks of life here, amino acids! we could be looking at the start of a new animal! https://www.sciencenews.org/article/these-giant-viruses-have-more-protein-making-gear-any-known-virus

A rainstorm that just occurred in the  Atacama Desert allowed microbes that have not been awakened for quite some time. This could have an effect on the environment if the environment is not longer able to withstand the effects that come along with these microbes due to them not being around for so long.  Here's the Article 

It seems that lack of water is becoming a problem for many places where drought is possible. However the behavior of the people in these areas are changing. Many people who are informed of the water restrictions in Cape Town know that wasting water is terrible and can cause terrible problems for where they are living. But still there are those people who do not care. The writer of the article explains how in a bathroom at an airport they were visiting a man was at a sink running the water, wasting it. After telling the man to shut the water off, the writer was told to mind his own business. This just makes me wonder how many people actually care about water. If it doesn't directly affect people I doubt that they really care, but it's hard to blame them. However, whats going to happen to those people who waste, when they live somewhere that has a drought and are unable to do simple things such as have drinking water from their tap. https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/26/opinions/cap...

In my article it shows that hydrocarbon emissions have increased greatly but have been ignored for a long time. In many large cities issues such as the large amounts of cars and fracking has aided the release of these hydrocarbon emissions thus creating more polluted air. This is dangerous because if it is continued we could suffer greatly as we are losing our clean air. article

King penguins are picky animals due to the fact that they need tolerable temperature year round, no winter sea ice on the island, and an abundant source of food close by in order to feed their offspring.  In the past, King penguins have typically relied on the Antarctic Polar Front because of the enormous amounts of fish in a generally small area.  Due to climate change, the food supply is drifting south away from where these penguins live.  As a result, parents are forced to swim farther to find food while their offspring are waiting on the shore.  The study predicts that these baby penguins will soon starve before the parents are able to return with food.  This can lead to massive decreases in King penguin population or relocation. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180226122528.htm

Meet the Teens Schooling Us on Climate Action

Hanna Gralinski This sneaker is made from a new textile component, bioyarn. This bioyarn is made from seaweed, which helps it to be biodegradable. You may be thinking, "what if it falls apart on my feet?" Well, these shoe designers claim that the fabric is sturdy enough to be used as footwear, won't dissolve in water, and can even be dyed different colors. Right now, the clothing you wear will most likely end up in a landfill and take decades, even centuries to degrade, but with this new textile, fashion can move forward to a greener environment. https://futurism.com/seaweed-sneakers-save-environment/

A company name AlgiKnit are looking into creating footwear made out of a seaweed. The company is looking to change the fashion industry as a policy of "fast fashion" has been taking place as companies design clothes to be replaces quickly. The shoes don't dissolve in water and can be dyed. The shoes biodegrade by being designed so they can be broken down by microorganisms. Effectively eliminating the waste caused by traditional shoes and fashion. https://futurism.com/seaweed-sneakers-save-environment/

Freakishly Warm Weather in the Arctic Has Climate Scientists 'Stunned' https://www.livescience.com/61864-arctic-temperatures-record-high.html In the arctic when the sun hides for several months the temperature is normally no higher than 5 degrees fahrenheit but this winter the arctic temperatures are raising as high as 43 degrees fahrenheit. This is a huge difference in temperature for an arctic environment. Scientists are stunned by the temperature that they are receiving and say that the melting of the arctic ice caps could occur a lot early than they had imagined. This is something that is difficult to control but if it isn't controlled many arctic animals will be in danger among the entire environment. 

Recently, Germans highest administrative court recently ruled that cities can begin to ban vehicles on the streets of towns in Germany. This is in an effort to improve air quality in surrounding urban areas of cities. This could though have a major impact on the economy because of the fact that Germany is major producer of diesel powered cars and just cars in general. There were 15 million diesel cars on the streets of Germany I think that this is going to effect the economy in Germany in a drastic way if many towns actually follow through with this. Germany uses diesel cars all the time and produces them so many businesses are going to be effected by this. This will majorly impact the economy. This is also could help Germany with the air pollution problems there. But the German market for cars would not be good. I think this ban should not happen. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/27/business/energy-environment/germany-diesel-air-pollution.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2...

In the Chile's desert of Atacama it rarely ever rains with some spots only getting rain once every ten years. They believe that the DNA found in the soil is from dead microbes or still living ones. But in March 2016 a rain storm the sparked microbes flood!! The science team learned that the microbes consist of Fungi, Bactria,and archaea. They are able to survive the  desiccation, salinity and UV radiation   of the sand and sun. I think this is a neat article because it teaches us that living things can life in the terrible conditions of the Atacama Desert. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/rain-wakes-undead-microbes-chile-atacama-desert 

The Malibu City Council passed a law to ban plastic cutlery and straws. In a recent movement to ban certain plastic objects, such as plastic bags. Recently more and more countries and states are moving towards imposing bans on such objects. People are moving forward from using plastic objects after realizing the negative effects they can have on the environment. http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2018/02/27/california-town-bans-plastic-cutlery-straws-to-protect-environment.html

Cyanobacteria, can shift colors much like the chameleon. These bacteria are found in the ocean and are a large factor in sustaining marine life. Chameleon Bacteria absorb carbon dioxide from the air by using light and create energy for the rest of the food chain in the ocean. They can thrive in any ocean since they can use any type of light to create energy.  These bacteria will help humans monitor ocean waters and make better choices regarding substances leaking into the oceans. Chameleon Bacteria

This TedTalk addresses the global problem of plants destruction. Every year, new plants are put into danger as humans exploit the environment. Groups of scientists around the world have taken seeds from these endangered plants and have stored them in safe conditions where germination is not possible. They hope that in decades and centuries from now, these seeds can eventually be germinated to add new plants to our ecosystems to hopefully restore them. Crops, trees, and wild plant seeds are all being stored in hope that one day, they can be used again. To watch the video entitled "Why we're storing billions of seeds" click  here .

https://ladyfreethinker.org/taiwan-moves-save-beaches-banning-plastic-bags-straws/ Taiwan is now working on reducing the amount of plastic bag usage in hopes to eventually eliminate this over usage. The Environmental Protection Plan also includes other one time use products such as plastic cups, utensils, and containers. Taiwan is hoping that by 2030, there will be a prohibition against all these products but in the meant time they want to gradually lessen the usage of these products that pollute our environment. Not only is Taiwan reducing the usage of single use products, they're also keeping up with cleaning their beaches, studies on how to safely get rid of waste, and sea clean ups which are inspiring other nations to strive for a better environment.

To show the fact that the earth is warming up Antarctica, the king penguin population is expected to be wiped out. A study was made that about 70% of the King penguin population will be dead or forced to move by the end of the century is global warming continues to happen.  This species is not the only species of penguin that would be lost if this continues to occur. So, this can have an affect on us and the penguin lovers to have very little or to no penguins at all. We must begin a change before other species begin to disappear and the environment continue to be harmed. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/26/move-die-global-warming-threatens-antarcticas-king-penguins/373707002/

DNA has proved that wild horses no longer exsist in the world. The only horse breed that was known to still exsist for many years was the  Przewalski Horse. When researchers tested these horses DNA along with the bones of the ancient horses they found out that the  Przewalski horse was in fact not a wild horse. This means that the land around the beaches will nott be a fertalized but will be able to grow to taller heights because wild horses will no longer be eating them. This will also cause the oceans to be less pollute dbut not enough to make a huge difference since there are so many horses and other animals being taken on the beach. 

This past week for fishing in 2016 a map came out that you are able to tell how many fishes are being fished per minute in that square kilometer. You also are able too see %55 are industrial fishing. The 5 main countries are China which is %33, Taiwan is %21, Japan %15, South Korea %9 and lastly Spain %6. These countries are responsible for %85 of the fishing that is occurring. They are able to track over 700,000 fishing vessels. Also put this into perspective that %34 of land is being used for agriculture. Fishing is leaving such a huge footprint of this earth. We as a society need to work on the impact we leave on the earth. Our foot print individually has a great impact on the earth. If we keep om fishing like we are the fish will not be able to populate enough. Also think about all the gas being used for those 700,000 vessels.     https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-mapping-shows-just-how-much-fishing-impacts-world-seas?tgt=nr

https://www.livescience.com/61811-earthquake-swarm-hits-yellowstone.html Interesting to read an article on the seismic activity that is occurring at Yellowstone. I do not believe this has anything to do with the climate, I just believe since it is a hotbed for seismic activity, it is just going through a normal cycle of "swarms" as they describe it. I would definitely want to stay up to date with this topic in the future.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180220143516.htm In the article there was a research conducted which led to the analysis that the land cover is actually warming the earth. This is the first assessment that has enabled us to see this. This didn't just look at deforestation it look at vegetation and other things. They came up with that the removal of evergreen forest have led to this. The cutting of the forest may lead to more climate change. We just have to wait and see.

A recent study has revealed that 73% of mesopelagic fish have micro-plastics in their stomachs. Mesopelagic fish are fish that live in the intermediate depths of the sea, which is about 650-3,300 feet below the surface. The fish that humans eat are predators of these fish, so the micro-plastics could contaminate our food supply. Mesopelagic fish also play a large role in a process named biogeochemical cycling. During this process, carbon and nutrients are cycled from the surface of the water, down into the deep sea. Researchers conducted a study to find out how these fish were being exposed to micro-plastics, since they live fairly far away from humans. They discovered that the fish were consuming the micro-plastics when they come to the surface of the water at night to feed. This issue could definitely affect humans, as it was mentioned in the article. The micro-plastics could travel through the food web - to fish that prey on mesopelagics, to us. Then, we will be affected by the ...

Since February 8th of this year, there have been over 200 earthquakes near Yellowstone National Park that shook the super volcano under the surface. Although I was quite concerned when I first saw the title of this article, however, scientists are certain these earthquakes do not threaten the super volcano erupting anytime soon. Last year, there were about 2,400 earthquakes at Yellowstone in just three months and experts are predicting this swarm of Earthquakes is just a continuation of last years swarm. The most recent eruption of this super volcano was over 70,000 years ago. Scientists do not know when the super volcano is going to erupt, however, they do not predict another massive blast like the last eruption. Other experts say the most dangerous part of Yellowstone National Park is the earthquakes it experiences and not the threat of the super volcanic eruption. Although the swarm of earthquakes in Yellowstone seems threatening, it actually allows scientists to study Yellowstone...

     Our beliefs of life forms on Earth and when they formed might be changed after this. Scientists have found a plant that has gone back to 420 million years ago!! But new research has shown that plants have actually been forming hundreds of millions of years before that!! As we know plants are major contributors to chemical weathering and if a key process in the carbon cycle. This would then regulate the Earth's atmosphere and climate over millions of years. So this means that our views on Earths biosphere might totally be wrong. Even though more research does need to be had, we can be sure that there is many things still to be learned about Earth and it's biosphere. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180219155015.html

The government of South Africa declared the three year drought that the nine South African provinces have been facing, as a 'natural disaster'. However, the date of day zero was pushed back from early April to June 4th. Day Zero is the day that starts the severe conservation of water within the nine provinces. When Day Zero comes, South African citizens are going to be required to use less than 50 liters of water a day (13 US gallons). Click here to read more about Day Zero and the precautions that are being taken to help the South Africans.

Researchers have found that varying burning regimes across the African savanna allow different bird species to live alongside each other. Variances in the size, intensity, season and frequency of the fires allow the environment to support a greater variety of mammals, approximately 20 percent, and birds, around 30 percent, in savannas with high rainfall. This article shows an interesting perspective, as fires are typically viewed negatively, but can actually improve the ecosystem. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180214093844.htm

Studies have shown that very loud low frequency sound waves created by shipping barges and boats can actually mess with porpoises and they mess with them pretty badly. The one hing it can actually affect is the porpoises hunting and eating habits due to the sounds freaking these animals out so badly that they just run away and can't think of anything else. It's crazy to think that sound can actually mess with the feeding schedule of a porpoise.

The Ganges River in India is a very spiritual and worshiped body of water. About 1 billion Hindus bathe in the river in hopes of cleansing their sins. Bathing in the sacred River isn’t the best idea though, for it is considered one of the world’s most polluted waterways. The article states that “A billion gallons of raw sewage and industrial waste currently pour into it every day.” The Indian government has “worked” to solve the pollution issue, but very little results have been seen. Their plans included breeding and releasing thousands of flesh-eating turtles into the river “to deal with the 200 tons of half-cremated, decomposing bodies that Hindus place in the river at Varanasi every year.” In my opinion, the flesh-eating turtles seem like a bad idea, and shouldn’t be introduced into the environment. Once they consume all the bodies in the river, they will have to get food another way. The turtles would most likely attack and eat those individuals who go there to bathe. In additi...

The steady pace of 3 mm of sea level rising is no more as the sea level currently accelerating every year. The accelerating increase equates to about 0.08 mm/year. Nerem who is a professor at the  Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder harness 25 years of satellite data to calculate this. This study is also presumed to be conservative or underestimated because the predictions and findings of the sea level rising are calculated presuming that the conditions stay the same, which is highly unlikely. Nerem and his colleagues have found that if the oceans continue to rise like this, then there will be an overall rise of 26 inches by 2100, which would cause significant problems for  coastal  cities. Two ways that the sea level are rising is though a warming of the ocean waters and the melting of land ice. Warm water expands which causes a rise in sea level, and the melting of land ice though increasing temperatures world wide cause ice to melt and ...

https://www.livesci ence.com/61753-watch-antarctic-iceberg-break.html The article brings up an interesting topic of discussion, especially on climate change. The tracking of an ice shelf's crack from all the way back in 2010 to this past year when it then broke off from the ice shelf is another reason to start questioning why this is happening. It is peculiar for an ice shelf to lose 10% of its surface area. To put into perspective how big the ice shelf was, Dave Mosher from Business Insider states " The block of ice, dubbed iceberg A-68, may hang around  for years  in the open sea, and it is  awesome in scale : roughly the area of Delaware, the mass of 5.6 Mount Everests, and voluminous enough to fill Lake Erie — more than twice."  It is astounding to see such an environmental phenomenon occur however the reason behind it is not as astounding.  

https://www.livescience.com/61753-watch-antarctic-iceberg-break.html Just recently The British Antarctic Survey released the first ever video of A-68, which is a huge iceberg that broke off of an Antarctic ice shelf in July 2017. Now A-68 is moving into the Weddell Sea, and away from the Larson C ice shelf. A-68 is said to be 2,300 square miles, about the size of Delaware. It also weighs an estimated 1 trillion tons. I think this is pretty cool, and looks cool from the pictures.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/plastic-pollution-increases-risk-devastating-disease-corals?mode=topic&context=60&tgt=nr As we have talked about waste and the all the plastic we consume and use and make more pollution this article shows a good reason as why we should be more careful with what we do with plastic. Coral reefs in the Asia Pacific area are getting diseases and sicknesses because of the plastic polluting the water, and eventually dying more. The reefs get the microbes inside them that can get as big as a ping pong ball, researchers state. This article is really effecting because we should know what we do with our plastic to not contaminate our waters and kill off coral reefs. I found it interesting that it said the Indonesian waters have higher percentage of this happening than the Australian waters. The pollution of plastic has gotten out of control and we need to help make it better, if the coral reefs start to die then everything else will be out of whack.

     Research led by the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering's St. Anthony Falls Laboratory and the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences shown that wetlands or "wetland complexes" are extremely effective at reducing harmful nitrate in rivers and streams; these wetlands can be five times more efficient per unit area reducing nitrate than the best land-based nitrogen mitigation strategies. Excess nitrate from crop fertilizer, in agricultural regions of the U.S., runs-off into water systems through subsurface drainage systems and agricultural ditches. The impacts of nitrate runoff into water systems will result in contamination for drinking water and the Gulf of Mexico. The study resulted in collecting over a four-year period from more than 200 waterways, 17,000-square-mile Minnesota River basin, coupled with geo-spatial information about land use in the watershed. The one finding of the research plays a part in the interest of ...

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180212160859.htm The animal waste found in caves and rock shelters of New Zealand were from giant Moa and Kakapo parrots. Finding something as weird as animal waste can surprisingly give important information about past ecosystems. Researchers from Landcare Research found the birds were eating mushrooms and fungi from the forests and in result from eating the mushrooms the animal is unable to produce fertile spores. This does not affect our everyday lives but it has allowed researchers to see how animals and the environment has interacted in the past and are becoming more aware of how something such as animal waste can show so much about our past.

A trillion-ton iceberg which is described to be about the size of Delaware has broke off of Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf. scientists are trying to get there as soon as they can before the sun allows new species to develop due to its first time in a very long time being exposed to the sun. They are excited to see if there is any marine life that has not been discovered before this important occurrence. They are planning on taking samples and hoping to make new discoveries in the near future. https://www.livescience.com/61728-hidden-world-beneath-antarctic-ice.html

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/12/microplastics-pollute-most-remote-and-uncharted-areas-of-the-ocean This article brings back into perspective the concern for resolving plastic pollution. I believe this is a very important topic considering how much plastic pollution can impact out environment, and to know that plastic has polluted areas so remote show's that this problem is indeed one in need of solving, soon rather than later.

This Guy Makes Money Off Your Cigarette Butts and Flip-Flops

A study done has shown that Microwaves could be worse for the environment then we think. Especially during the process of making them and getting rid of them. Microwaves are a common household appliance, that can be found in many houses around the world. After looking at the study, it is kinda concerning. Especially since many people lack the knowledge of how technology affects the environment. If people don't take the time to get educated on topics like this, then the outcome for the environment is not looking good. http://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/environment/microwaves-are-terrible-for-the-environment-new-study-shows/wQ19SIj6MMR2cpwAyrc9jI/

A study in  Australia shows that magpies that live in groups show high levels of intelligence. Because the birds live in such complex social groups there is more competition, growing their intelligence. Also female birds who are able to do more cognitive tasks, have more offspring. This is an example of evolution, where you see the birds change reproduction amount based on how they become smarter. This is interesting to me because this could be affecting more than just birds, and this proven test could be trialed on other species. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180207140406.htm

This article is very interesting because scientists believe that climate changed made hurricane Harvey drop more rain. It was very interesting because who would think that climate change is able to change the amount of precipitation that a hurricane drops. Humans can change this by burning less fossil fuels, decreasing greenhouse gasses, and more. With burning many fossil fuels and increasing greenhouse gasses makes the air warmer and this helps to create rainfall. When it adjoins with the hurricane it causes the hurricane to drop more rain than what was predicted. If we are more careful we could help to cause this.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/superdense-wood-lightweight-strong-steel This article is very interesting.  I didn't know that by boiling wood it would become denser by crushing the gaps between cell walls.  I find it very cool that the wood could replace steel as this could be beneficial to the environment as opposed to current construction materials.  This wood could be used to make bridges and even cars!

The fifth largest coffee producing country, Ethiopia, is predicted to lose 60% of their coffee bean production due to climate change by the end of this century. This is because of low rain fall levels and higher temperatures. The higher temperatures can also damage the taste of coffee because it causes the bean to ripen too quickly. The demand for coffee is supposed to double by 2050 while the suitable farming land for coffee beans continues to decrease. This will not only affect coffee lovers around the world, it will seriously damage Ethiopia's economy and employment rates because 16% of their population makes a living working for the coffee industry. https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/21/world/coffee-climate-change-trnd/index.html

This article's main focus is about helping people who are poverty stricken while also helping remove plastic and trash from the environment. The speaker, David Katz, created the Plastic Bank. The Plastic Bank is a set of stores for the ultra-poor which enables everything to be bought with plastic trash. I think this is an awesome idea and can be extremely beneficial in removing plastic trash from our the environment. It can also definitely help extremely poor people get the money to create a better life for themselves. https://www.ted.com/talks/david_katz_what_if_you_could_turn_plastic_trash_into_cash#t-177715

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/01/africa/cape-town-water-crisis-intl/index.html        The People of Cape Town, a major South African city, are getting increasingly closer to "Day 0" or the day that the city's water supply will run out. The residents are currently under strict water restrictions, and are limited to about 13 gallons of water a day. authorities believe that about 50% of citizens are still using more than their daily allowance. as the drought gets worse and the water supply decreases authorities are, " rushing to build desalination, aquifer and water-recycling projects --   and help stretch the current supply, but officials say residents need to step up, too."

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/much-worlds-honey-now-contains-pesticides-harm-bees?mode=topic&context=60 Pesticides are turning up in honey everywhere which is not good for humans consuming the honey. The pesticides infesting the honey include nicotine-derived pesticides. When the honey was tested in a study, three out of the four honeys contained at least some measurable level of neonicotinoids in them. The contaminated crops are infesting the world not just certain regions said a recent study. At least 87 percent of commonly tested crops contain neonicotinoids in them. This can destroy a lot of valuable crops. Pesticides have been around since 1990's  This is not good for the environment or the economy for some farmers. This can kill some of their crops which is their main source of income. A lot of farmers use their farms as a their food source too. The problem of pesticides needs to resolved so not as many crops are infested. The killing of crops is not good for ...

https://www.snopes.com/disney/films/lemmings.asp Within the Disney documentary "White Wilderness", a documentary made in 1958 that won an Academy award, you see Lemmings leaping off a cliff into the sea below and drowning, resulting in a mass suicide. However, This is not a behavior that lemmings do. During the filming of "White Wilderness", the portion of the film dedicated to the lemmings was staged since they were unable to capture the real live behaviors on film. This resulted in them filming the movie in the Canadian Provence of Alberta, a Provence that is completely land locked with no outlet to the sea. Alberta is not a natural habitat for lemmings, so they shipped in lemmings that were caught in other provinces and herded them over a cliff into the Bow River, not the ocean. Lemmings only drown by accident when they search for new resources, and since they are in unfamiliar territory, they often fall off cliffs or sometimes drown in water as they swim.

Oceans are absorbing excess carbon dioxide as more of it enters the atmosphere.  Currently, oceans are storing around thirty percent of the carbon dioxide emissions coming from human activities.  Specifically, the water over the continental shelf is buffering most of the excess carbon dioxide.  In these coastal waters, large amounts of carbon dioxide are being exchange between the ocean and air. This process slows down the greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere, but it also increase the acidity of the oceans.  Scientists are hoping, through more research and analysis, that coastal waters will become more and more efficient at removing atmospheric carbon dioxide. This article is important because its discusses the possibility of oceans becoming more important in the carbon cycle.  Oceans could potentially help reduce the affects global warming has on our environment.  At the same time, this process leads to more acidic ocean waters, which can negati...

Lucas Santos January Current Event https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-will-oregon-clean-up-diesel-air-pollution How will Oregon clean up diesel air pollution? I was unaware of the air pollution currently occurring in Oregon. According to the article, " 400 Oregon residents are estimated to die prematurely every year from exposure to diesel exhaust, a toxic carcinogen and a contributor to climate change." T he state of Oregon is planning a one-time inventory of all off-road vehicles, and advocates of stricter diesel regulations. I hope these regulations help the citizens in Oregon.

An oil tanker sank in the East China Sea, spilling over 111,300 metric tons of natural gas condensate. The extent of the problem this could cause is unknown since previous oil spills involved crude oil, not condensate. Condensate will not collect on the surface or sink to the ocean floor. Instead, it will evaporate, burn off, or dissolve into the surface water. This makes makes it hard to track where the spill reaches and what areas might be affected by the lingering chemical compounds. Researchers are currently working to determine how far the dissolved condensate will travel and the effects it will have on marine life. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unique-oil-spill-in-east-china-sea-frustrates-scientists/