APES Current Events

Bad Genes + Pollution = Deadly Asthma!?! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180831130117.htm A study done by a research team from the  National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Rice University in Houston shows that a combination of genetics and pollution may lead to a more severe effect on asthma patients. Asthma patients living in areas with a lot of traiffic pollution and a change in their genes called a  single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) have the most severe asthma attacks. However, asthma patients with this SNP that live farther away from busy roads have less severe symptoms. I for one think it’s weird that this study was even done. I also don’t understand how being in a populated area means you have a better chance of dying from asthma. That being said, it’s kinda neat knowing that the environment could make asthma worse. 

Aubrey Trout It is hard to understand ducks and hard to tell if they can hear underwater. When ducks dive into water for fish they often get caught in fishing nets, over 40,000 ducks die a year. Over the years there has been a tactic of trying to send pings that send warning like they do with other mammals, but first we need to know if it works. So Ms, McGrew is doing some experimenting trying to do some hearing test with animals, like giving them treats when they react to sound. Then the ducks learned how to peck certain targets when they heard a noise underwater. All the ducks react different but studies say they can hear under the water about three kilohertz. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/28/science/ducks-hearing-fishing.html?action=click&contentCollection=science&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=sectionfront

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45358643 As the climate around the world continues to heat up, insects will be destroying crops all over the world. The warming of the planet pushes insects to use more energy and eat more. Scientists have predicted that insects and pests will eat 10-25% more crops for every 1 degree rise in the temperature. More pests are expected to take over the temperate regions of the world as the climate changes in areas such as the bread basket of Europe and the corn belt in the United States. Insects are already in their perfect working conditions down in the tropics. Experts claim however, that we need to save the crops by using more biological means of controlling pests and planting more crops that are resilient to them.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/race-stop-africas-elephant-poachers-180951853/ This article highlights many of the countless horrors that come with elephant poachers in Chad, and other areas of Africa. It describes instances of elephant slaughter, economic results from the sale of elephant materials, the lack of political action in protection of elephants, and the finding of specific elephant poachers. I believe that this article does an amazing job of factually pinpointing all of the impacts of elephant killings. I found it extremely impactful, especially when it mentions the resemblance of human emotions and tendencies that are found in herds of elephants. I was also shocked when the article pointed out that minimal government action is in place to stop elephant slaughter and sale, and in fact, ivory trade has been legalized in parts of China.

Lauren Singer talks about how she came to the realization that she needed to changes her ways. Lauren stopped buying anything that came in plastic, she started buying in bulk, she started making her own products, she started shopping second-hand, and she downsized. Lauren also talked about the benefits of living zero. I think that producing zero waste might be over the top for most people, but I still believe everyone should try to reduce the amount of waste they produce. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF72px2R3Hg

Insect pests currently consume 20% of our crop plants worldwide. For every two degrees Fahrenheit that the temperature rises above the global historical average, the amount of crops that are lost to pests will go up by about 10-25%. Studies show that higher temperatures increase bugs' metabolisms and cause their life cycles to go faster, making them eat more and reproduce more quickly. Over time, this will lower crop yields, adding more pressure to the global food supply as the human population continues to grow. The heat will also cause plants to become dehydrated, lowering yields even more. While irrigation can help with dehydration and pesticides can lower the amount of pests, there is no telling how effective it will be. Pesticides may be at their maximum effectiveness, and they also harm other organisms, effect human health, and lead to even more global warming and pollution. I find this very alarming. Our food supply has already been an issue especially in non-developed natio...

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/08/saiga-antelope-poaching-disease/ A rare species of antelope, called saiga, is facing both human and environmental threats. Poachers chase these animals to cut off their horns to sell illegally on the black market or to be used for medicinal purposes. Along with the illegal poaching of saiga, they are being killed off by disease. There are only 225,000 saiga left in the wild, which is 1/4 of what the population was 40 years ago. I believe that these animals should be protected in the wild and efforts to stop poaching should increase so these animals do not go extinct.

So far, 2018 has been the fourth hottest year in history, with just the past three years being hotter. The heat is causing a lot of problems all around the planet, from wildfires in California to heat-related deaths in Japan. Scientists say this climate change is a result of greenhouse gasses. To make matters worse, the US, one of the leaders in greenhouse gas emissions, is pulling out of a global agreement to curb greenhouse gasses. However, scientists say that if we change the way we live and reduce our gas emissions, we can slow down the climate change to avoid the worst consequences. I was shocked to hear that the US is pulling out of the greenhouse agreement, and want to know why. I am curious as to how much worse future years will be and what I can do to prevent the worst. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/climate/summer-heat-global-warming.html?action=click&contentCollection=climate&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=5&pgtyp...

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180822122829.htm Air pollution is responsible for more than 4 million deaths a year. The fine particles are formed mainly in the atmosphere from emissions from traffic and industry. Research focused on components of air pollution like nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide. It's alarming to think that a basic need in our lives is killing us. This news should open our eyes to the changes we need to make and how everything we do can hurt us in the long run.

The scientists that study the ocean are constantly finding new areas and things unknown before. 160 miles off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina they discovered a new coral reef that contains Lopheila Pertusa which is a type of coral that is common to the east coast of America. the scientists believe that the new coral reef and other reefs are linked and may be stronger against environmental changes. https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/huge-deep-sea-coral-reef-discovered-south-carolina-coast-ncna904821

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180829115557.htm         In China, the air that they are breathing is majorly polluted causing it to be more harmful than the United States, Europe and Japan. They had six times as many high ozone days as Europe. For the United States the standard health based level is 70ppb. In China it is up to 80ppb. The ozone has started affecting the crops as the air is not natural.

        https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/11/science/parker-solar-probe-launch.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fspace&action=click&contentCollection=space&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront         Touching the sun has always been impossible, but recently NASA has been developing a new spacecraft called Parker, headed toward space. the probe will help researchers explain solar wind and the suns outer layer. The space craft is one of the most powerful rockets made. It is said that the probe will eventually reach within 4 million miles into the suns atmosphere. The goal is to have the space craft travel in an  88-day elliptical orbit of the sun having the closest approach about 3.8 million miles. Parker was actually the first mission to be named after a living person, Eugene Parker. He was the first person to predict solar winds. This expedition  is sa...

Since the early 2000s, puffins have been slowly vanishing. With this occurring in Iceland and across many of the puffins Atlantic habitat, scientists have been trying to figure out why this bird is starting to decline. Factors contributing to this include pollution, over fishing, and even climate change. The climate is diminishing the food supplies that the puffins rely on. Therefor puffins are starting to die off because they are not able to obtain the food in which they need to survive.

     In this article from the Washington Post, it points out the little amount left over the ocean that has not been touched or disturbed. Currently, only 13% of the oceans could be considered as a, "Wilderness". That means the other 87% of the ocean has been used for fishing, or shipping, or has been polluted. Only about 7% of the oceans is actually protected. More of the ocean should be protected because if there is 87% that could be controlled and fixed, all that water could become protected. https://newsela.com/read/climate-oceans-humans/id/45015

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN CANCALOSI, ALAMY STOCK PHOTO The Race Is On to Mine the Deep Sea—But Scientists Are Wary Jon Letman, Author Along the ocean floor, polymetallic nodules lay, having a high competition between countries and companies for mining. However, polymetallic nodules provide habitat for many species, so if the nodules are mined, then the habitat for the species are gone. Because scientists do not know everything that is going on in the ocean floor, they are wary of mining because mining can damage the environment. Read More -  The Race Is On to Mine the Deep Ocean, But Scientists Are Wary - National Geographic

Fossils of parasitic wasps were found by scientists in Germany. There are many different kinds of parasitic wasps living today; most eat other bugs alive by laying their, including other wasps. Some of these wasps force spiders to weave webs to protect them. The fossils that were found are 30-40 million years old. This was surprising because no one really knew how far back in time parasitic wasps lived. This is the first time that evidence of the wasps actually developing with fly pupae was found. The new fossil found shows the wasp killing the flies, which was never actually shown in a fossil, just wasps that appeared to be parasitic. These fossils of parasitic wasps were found back in the 1890s to 1900s, and were observed more closely in the 1940s, but were never paid much attention until recently. It wasn't until now that scientists realized that wasps have been infesting other bugs for tens of thousands of years. I wasn't especially moved by this discovery, but it is inter...

E-coli outbreak in Romaine Lettuce There was an outbreak of E- coli in romaine Lettuce that happened to be grown in Yuma, Arizona. People were going and checking themselves into the hospital, officials didn't know exactly what the cause was for them to have the E- coli  disease. The FDA was searching and trying to trace where the E- coli  came from and how it would've been able to contaminate the lettuce. They finally traced it back to a water source that was used for the near by cattle, its possible that the E- coli  was blown off of the manure from the cattle and it traveled to the lettuce. It is unsure about how the E- coli  was actually transported to the leaves of the lettuce. This is important because we as consumers have the right to know if the food that we are eating are going to cause us to get sick or have a sever allergic reaction which could potentially kill us. We also need to know so that we're not feeding our children something that could cause t...

Birds in the Chagos Archipelago are being eaten by an invasive species of rat, and because of it, the health of the coral reefs are deteriorating. The reason is that the bird crap which gets washed into the ocean, which is high in nitrogen, raises the productivity of the reefs. Areas without the rats had higher nitrogen levels and corals and fish in those areas also grew faster and larger. Link to Article

One of your favorite vacation destinations are under a red flag. Recently, there have been tons of thousands of dead fish washing up on the shores of Florida beaches. Not only are there tons of fish dying, but many sea turtles, manatees, and even a whale shark have been found washed up on these coastal lines. The cause of this outbreak is believed to be from a natural algae, further known as the red tide. It no longer is just affecting Florida, but 150 miles more including Mexico. The Governor of Florida is putting emergency money into finding scientists to help clean up and research. Because the algae is so toxic to not only the fish, but people who enter the water, the state is currently under state of emergency. https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/08/floridas-getting-swamped-by-deadly-red-algae/

Studies show that due to the amount of pollution on Earth, it can start to decrease our average life expectancy by a year. In regions like Asia and Africa, life expectancy is being decreased by 1.5 years. In many other places around the world, air pollution is also taking off a few months of life of every citizen. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/air-pollution-shaving-year-our-average-life-expectancy

At the southern Pacific coast they found 300 dead sea turtles, in illegal fishing nets.  The turtles were very badly decomposed.  They were already dead for about 8 days before people found them.  Toxic algae or hooks which are illegal could have been in the net which could have killed the turtles.  The Mexican police set penalties if they find the criminals who killed the turtles.  This made the water very disgusting and bad for the environment. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/endangered-sea-turtles-dead-mexico-illegal-fishing-net/

This article is about Phoenix experiencing a major climate change and the way that it is affecting the people who live there. The temperatures are rising and so is the heat-related death toll so Phoenix and its citizens are trying to come up with new ideas about how they can reduce the temperature. This article directly relates to Environmental Science because the changes in the environment are what the article is about. Due to global warming, the heat in Phoenix is drastically changing and the citizens bodies are not able to handle this. This is extremely important to learn about because the heat in the environments in which we live in contributes to our health. It is essential to recognize when the climate is changing and take action in doing whatever is necessary to keep everybody safe, especially when lives are being taken because of it. You can  click here  to read the article.

Helmeted horn bills are a poached species of bird that live in Africa and Asia, and they are hunted for there valuable horns that are softer than ivory, allowing more intricate patterns to be carved in them. Horn bills are vital to the rain forests in Africa as they spread the seeds of plants and trees through their feces in order to keep plants thriving in all areas of the forest. The reason the animals are in trouble is because after the male is killed by a poacher, the rest of the family won't leave the nest in a tree for 5 months and will most likely die. The birds also reproduce once a year with only one bird  being born at a time. I think this article is really good for creating awareness about these birds. I can see how the horn bills would be hunted for there beaks because the art made with them is really cool, but the birds are just too slow to reproduce and because of it they are endangered. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/09/helmeted-hornbill-bird-i...

This article is about invasive species spreading to North America on trash and plastic in our oceans. A wide group of native Asian species are coming to the West Coast. Many people didn't believe animals could survive long enough to make the complete trip, but when they arrive they are ready to reproduce and make an immediate impact.  This article was very interesting. This really puts in perspective how much trash and plastic we have in our oceans. How these animals are making the trip and cause harm to the new environment because of them not being native. We are seeing first hand what invasive species can do with the Spotted Lantern fly problem here in Eastern Pennsylvania. Article- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/08/news-invasive-species-ride-plastic-across-ocean/

This article explains the effects of air pollution on humans' cognitive ability. According to the studies referenced in the article, air pollution exposure is causing our cognitive ability to decline. I think this article is interesting because it affects us directly, especially poor people in the cities, and could become worse in coming years because of rollbacks on environmental regulations. Air pollution is a problem that appears to have a simple solution, but because of businesses, high populations, and government, eliminating it will be a challenge that could take many years.  Air pollution is making us dumber, study shows

More than two billion people, of the 7.6 billion people inhabiting Earth, lack clean and fresh drinking water at their homes. The main reasons for this occurrence is population growth, climate change, and the need for water in agriculture. In the future, this problem is not expected to be solved. Rather, the number of people without safe drinking water is expected to grow. I believe this problem will potentially never be solved because of the risks it presents. If everyone in the world receives clean drinking water, then there most likely will not be enough water for agriculture. This presents a problem because agriculture has a major role in today’s societies by stimulating the economy through markets and providing the world with its most important food source. I find it interesting that either way we go about this problem, there are costly consequences.  Link: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/future-will-people-have-enough-water-live?tgt=nr

https://www.popsci.com/animal-self-amputation Scientist have discovered that almost 200 different animals have the ability to self-amputate limbs, like legs and tails. Autotomizing (self-amputation) enables animals to get out of some situation and have a possibility to live. Some animals like salamanders, octopuses and crabs have the ability to grow back the limbs they have lost. I think that this is very important for animals to have the ability to self amputate their limbs. It increases there chances of survival and some animals have the possibility to grow back limbs so they will be function normally with out an limitations.

Monarch butterflies are in danger from the thing that they depend on most.  A new ornamental form of tropical milkweed is drawing the butterflies in and harming the next generation of monarchs. This article was interesting to read. It was also surprising to see that all this harm is being caused by milkweed which they depend on most to continue their generations of monarchs to come. It is sad to see that these butterflies are being drawn in by tropical milkweed and then being harmed by it. The people that are continuing to buy and plant the tropical milkweed because they want the butterflies to come around because they think they are pretty are stupid. They should know that they are destroying a crucial and beautiful thing the Monarchs do. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180828153456.htm

Researchers are investigating the effects of air pollution and doing tests on over 25,000 people in 162 Chinese countries. Scientist found that a decline in cognition   and it increases over time. Scientist concluded that pollution has or of an impact with elderly people than younger people. https://www.npr.org/2018/08/27/642321572/scientists-link-air-pollution-exposure-to-cognitive-decline  

Fireflies' Bio-luminescence Helps Protect Them From Predators         Scientist have discovered that fireflies' ability to glow may not only be for mating. It is used to elude predators, and let them know that they do not taste good. This theory was conducted with bats where after letting bats taste the fireflies and connecting their taste to their ability to glow. Then painting the back of fireflies and compared the amount eaten when both were added.                This article is very interesting. It helps show that many things we know about the world and nature is only a theory. Nature is a complicated thing, and environmental science is important because our predictions we conclude from it are used to help us make sense of the world and help us utilize our resources whilst keeping our home healthy.

The saiga antelope is being poached in Central Asia. Their long and slender horns are used as traditional Asian medicine. Poachers and rangers go head to head to push their agendas as the number of antelopes decrease. These antelopes have been put on the critically endangered list after disease killed off 62% of the population in 2015. The disease and poaching have brought the antelope numbers down to a staggering 200,000, a fraction of what is was centuries ago. This is interesting because I didn't think people still used horns for medicine, sounds made up. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/08/saiga-antelope-poaching-disease/

Several countries around the world are running out of sand and taking several precautions to prevent this problem. In order to prevent this problem the exports of sand have been banned and sand mines have been closed. Sand is a vital natural resource next to water and air so all countries around the world need to do what they can to protect it. https://www.npr.org/2017/07/21/538472671/world-faces-global-sand-shortage

With the extinction of cave bears 24,000 years ago by hunting, natural climate change, and fighting with humans for habitat. New study's shows that 0.9 to 2.4 percent of brown bears DNA traces back to the cave bears. This isn't the first time that researchers have found extinct ice-age creatures in living ones today. For example 1.5 to four percent of the non-African humans comes from Neanderthals. My reaction to this recent study is surprising, with DNA tracing all the way back from 24,000 years ago with advances in technology who knows how long we could trace back. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/08/cave-bears-ancient-dna-paleogenomics-extinction/

Artical In the artical it talks about how different species traveled on plastic after a tsunami that hit Japan. after 6 year stuff showed up on the west coast with living animals on them. This could be a problem because thing from around the would could come to different places and cause a problem because they have no predators.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/naked-mole-rats-poop-queen-parenting-cues The queen in the naked mole rat colony is the only female who is able to reproduce. Her pregnancy poop is then consumed by other female naked mole rats, which gives them parenting cues and the ability to care for the queen's offspring. This is interesting because it is such an unusual concept. The naked mole rats are an unusual species to begin with, but it is interesting that only one female (the queen) can reproduce because the other lower females do not even develop ovaries. It is interesting that they are not becoming extinct for the lack of reproduction that occurs in this species.

In summary, the world's supply of sand is slowly diminishing, but there is hope, we have a machine that might just fix everything. This machine grinds up trash into very fine particles, like makeshift sand, to help with the decline. :) This machine might just be helping us with pollution too. The machine takes trash, like glass bottles and such, grinds them down to very fine particles, and basically makes it sand. Sand is home to many important sea creatures so we can't run out of it. Sand is very vital in making things like glass as well. Sand houses crabs, hermit crabs, and help shelter fish in the ocean. Therefore we can't afford to lose it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/28/science/ducks-hearing-fishing.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=sectionfront A masters student in wildlife ecology spent two seasons working with ducks to find out what they hear underwater. She taught the ducks to associate sounds with a treat and had them peck a target when they heard it. Eventually, the ducks learned to respond to light by diving and pecking one target, and if they heard a sound underwater to come back up and peck another target. Only 9 of the 29 ducks studied made it to the final stage of the test. In the end, the ducks could hear well underwater, but only from a range of 1-3 kilohertz. This is interesting because it was a study that has never been done before. It was also interesting because they used 3 different species, so I found out which duck is smarter.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-death-toll Officials have started to investigate the lives lost from September 2017 to February 2018 due to hurricanes. They went and surveyed about 3,300 families in January and February of 2018. In May they estimated that over 4,000 deaths have occurred. Four months after the storm they counted another 1,427 deaths. My reaction to this is shocking. In Pennsylvania we don't really see disasters like this and I feel like sometimes we are blind sighted to other places that do go through these disasters. I find it unbelievable that all those people lost their lives in one storm. I feel bad for all the families that had lost a loved one. I feel like those people should either move or try to build more stable structures so they don't lose as much.

www.nytimes.com/2018/08/24/climate/epa-coal-power-scrubbers. In recent news, Trump's administration proposed an alteration regarding climate-change regulations in hopes of allowing older plants be updated with newer and more efficient working components which would potentially extend their operating lives for years. This would also allow them to avoid the requirements for the updated pollution controls. Regardless of the fact that these requirements/components are incredibly expensive, pollution is a serious and prominent issue that should not be ignored. Large, dirty plants should not be able to run without having "scrubbers" which are clean air devices that remove pollutants that are blamed as the cause for many respiratory diseases. Trump's negative outlook and propositions regarding the E.P.A. worry me and many others about the consequences any cuts or changes towards the programs would be. Our environment needs to be taken care of, not disregarded, viewed as in...

Link: The mountain lions in LA could face distinction due to isolation of the species from man-made structures.  There are 15 pumas left, so one death can lead to significant changes in the species and new males are unable to migrate to the area safely to reproduce.  The mountain lions are at risk for inbreeding depression and extinction.  This is very sad because they are unable to travel to other areas to live a better life because of man-made structures.  I would say we should stop building so many different structures, but at the same time, we need these to be built for our own population growth.  I feel the best way to ensure that the mountain lions can remain safe is to look for better environments more fitted for their survival so they can live together.

As many know, air pollution is very bad for our environment and for our health. But, specifically in newer research researchers found that it can also cause chronic kidney disease which is where a humans kidneys personally become unavailable and not able to filter or move the blood properly. So, as many people smoke and toxins are being put in and out of the process,specifically towards the kidney's, air pollution is just as bad. In other words, people who have obesity, diabetes, heart problems or any blood pressure problems have a higher risk of containing chronic kidney disease which means that those who have a lifestyle near air pollution should be informed on the dangers it's actually causing them. Therefore, air pollution is more potentially dangerous for the fact that it includes a fine particulate matter that is thin which causes it to stick and stay in the air longer making it more available for humans to breathe it in for longer amount of times. Air pollution in genera...

Link: The temperatures in Europe have been so high, which is being linked to climate change, that glaciers like the Swiss Glacier are melting.  Remains from a plane that had to make a risky landing are being uncovered after being buried in snow for so many years.  Luckily everyone was able to live.  I found this article interesting because it is crazy to think that global warming is melting so much snow and ice.  I feel that this article puts the amount of melting ice into perspective because if you think about it, if that much ice can melt off a glacier and uncover a plane, what effect are the rising temperatures having on regions where living creatures survive?

click here  for article Florida is in a state of emergency because of the red algae killing marine animals. The shores are covered with dead fish, turtles and even a whale shark. The red algae is super toxic to these animals and even humans. Tourists and some locals have fled the area because of the red algae affecting their breathing. The red algae is caused by agriculture because the run off from the farms is full of nutrients which feed the algae. It is sad to see so many animals dying and washing up on the beaches.

From Morning Edition- Plastic trash

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/23/science/giraffe-sales-humane-society.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=sectionfront Giraffes are a species that have experienced a population drop of 150,000 worldwide in 1985 to 100,000 in 2016. The main factors contributing to this rapid decrease is habitat loss and poachers. In the United States, nearly 40,000 giraffe parts were imported in a 9 year period and are legally being used to make expensive goods like pillows, footwear, knifes, bible covers, and other small items. It is really disappointing to see that the United States is contributing to the endangerment of a species and allowing their body parts to be legally sold. Our government should not be endorsing the behavior of these poachers and instead the focus should be on stopping this epidemic and preserving wildlife.

A greater amount of freshwater can now be conserved thanks to the discovery that saltwater  and marine yeast can be used to produce bioethanol instead of freshwater and edible crops.  The study was conducted by Dr. Abdelrahman of the School of Biosciences.  There is an abundance of seawater on our planet and the limited supply of freshwater, making freshwater valuable and this discovery very important.  Global warming  has also become an issue in recent years.  The effects of global warming have caused people to look for an alternate form of energy.  Bioethanol is one of the best alternative fuels.  Now that it can be produced without wasting freshwater, it has become even more environmentally friendly.  Conserving earth's natural resources should be everyone's goal. Using bioethanol can help bring us one step closer to that goal because it is an alternate source of energy, it conserves freshwater for drinking, and it saves crops.  ...

Rivers can be dangerous because of constant storms. When there is a big storm rivers can start to overflow, and when they overflow it can destroy houses, it can kill people, and it can destroy businesses. Researchers are not sure what the future holds but they think the environment will eventually adapt to the flooding. I think that it can be a confusing concept because the dangers only depend on how much rain we get.  https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/08/think-rivers-are-dangerous-now-just-wait/

     There is shortage of sand because there is one of the last sand mines in California. The sand is needed in order to make concrete which is sand and gravel glued together and windows which are melted down sand and many other important components of other things. We are also loosing sand because more cities are being built therefor more sand is being used to make concrete.

        In the wake of all the nasty storms hitting Florida's coastline, has brought something called the Red Tide which has been a constant struggle for the last 9 months.. The storms brought in a ginormous algae bloom that is killing Florida's marine life. It is said that the Red Tide has spread to over 130 miles of Florida's coast and has killed over 2,000 tons of marine life. This is a huge problem for the environment as well as business owners on the beaches.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/22/climate/air-pollution-deaths.html         Air pollution is shortening your life in some cases more than a year, it all depends where you live. The worldwide average is one year but in places such as Egypt it shortens the citizens life span by 1.9 years. Pollutants can come from multiple different sources, more of the obvious source would be things such as car exhaust or truck tailpipes but wildfires and dust storms have a impact on pollution also.

Article Around 700 California sea lions have been found dead with bullet fragments in their bodies in the past 20 years. Fishermen claim that these sea lions steal their fishing bait and ultimately interfere with their livelihoods. This not only leads to a fluctuation of the sea lion population, but it also can lead to a fluctuation of the sea lions' prey population. I believe that this is unfair to the sea lions because all they are trying to do is find food to survive off of. Also, I believe that more of the perpetrators must be captured and punished in order to protect the sea lions and other marine animals.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/why-sea-level-rise-varies-place-place   ARTICLE Sea level rises in different areas due to earths gravity, temperature, and the way it spins. The warmer the sea is the more water is produced due to molecules taking up more area. Tectonic plates alter land and make the water level rise when they shift. Earths rotation affects the amount of water in the sea by making the north side of the earth go counterclockwise and the south go clockwise. Water begins to get pushed through currents to one side, so this causes a side to have more sea water than the outside of the current.

World Faces Global Sand shortage Morning Edition   click here to access