APES Current Events

We obviously want to protect our forests since they emit carbon dioxide and provide us with more oxygen.  However, the slow decline of these complete forests have a greater impact than expected.  Apparently only 20 percent of tropical forests are pristine.  This means that in the tropics they are only in control of 40 percent of carbon storage.  The consistent loss of these immaculate intact forests provide a huge difference in our climate change.  Looking at this problem, the most logical thing is to stop logging and road building, but that is a hard possibility.  Bringing this concern to more people may create a change since they would become aware of it.  Sometimes making people couscous of problems allows them to understand and spread the word. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/30/climate/climate-change-forests.html

Rising temperature and climate variability is making it hard for arctic animals to cope and are not adapting quickly enough to these changes. After a recent climate variation, an ecosystem wide reproductive collapse for pretty much all plants and animals. The peak growing season in a place like Greenland is normally during July however, most areas were still covered in snows at that time causing offspring to born late. Larger species like arctic fox have clearly been affected more as researchers could not find a single one. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/extreme-snows-in-greenland-caused-ecosystems-reproductive-collapse/ Climate variability is only predicted to get worse in the coming years. I feel that if we would do more to prevent these kind of changes that we would be able to make a large impact in saving ecosystems like this.

Summary: Improperly discarded cigarette butts negatively affect the environment in several ways, such as the micro-plastics in the butts harming wildlife and the pollutants caught in the filters damaging ecosystems. Cigarette butts also make up an immense amount of humanity's waste, with between 4 and 5 trillion of the 5.6 trillion cigarettes being consumed every year ending up in the environment. Both sunlight and water can minimize the effects of cigarette butts, though. Sunlight works to decay them, while water provides an environment for bacteria which can eat the butts. Regardless, though, cigarette butts last for a long period of time, assuming they are unable to be decomposed, and have lasting environmental consequences. https://eos.org/articles/will-cigarette-butts-be-our-environmental-legacy Response: Not only do cigarettes have harmful effects on individuals, but they also damage the environment. I can't say I'm surprised, though, as a person littering a cigar...

Plastic straws and other garbage that wind up in the ocean plague the species of the ocean. Those of them that are left that is. An equally important issue is the rate at which the most popular types of fish are being harvested. The most common types of fish for consumption are Tuna, Anchovies, and Sardines are being consumed at rates so high that it throws off the balance of the ecosystem. Another under exposed issue is how high the consumer rates are of shellfish such as oysters, mussels, and clams. The reason that the consumption rates of these oceanic species is so important is that by decreasing the biodiversity of the species creates a situation where it is too difficult for them to evolve and continue to repopulate. Link I think this is extremely important when considering how you impact the earth. While you might be recycling, reusing, and may even be plastic free; it doesn't mean that you have done everything to help the plants and animals living in the oceans.

A new estimate shows that nearly triple the amount of people will be at risk of flood areas. The estimation is based on a possible rise of waters of 5 to 10 meters. If the global temperature is kept at around 2 degrees Celsius above the postindustrial levels, the homes of over 350 million people. That number rises to a possible 480 million people if emissions are left unchecked and any sort of melting from ice formations in the arctic. These numbers are only based on 2010 population There is of course a chance of migration and infrastructure to better protect against flooding, but by the time these estimations may come to fruition the population will already be greatly increased. Obviously the numbers presented are an overreaction, because rising water levels isn't something that just happens. People in the affected areas will leave and nations will provide infrastructure to lessen the damage, but it is still jarring to think that in the next hundred years, the homes of hundreds ...

Climate change is affecting our planet in multiple ways, and one of the most severe affects is the melting of our Polar Ice Caps. As these caps melt away, global sea levels are expected to rise drastically. It was previously thought that the sea levels would only rise to affect some 80 million people worldwide; that number has now more than tripled as it is now expected to force approximately 300 million to relocate. These new sea levels are predicted to primarily affect Asian Nations like Japan, China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh, however the affects will be felt worldwide. Rising Sea Levels I believe this is very concerning. With the global population growing at the rate it is, smaller landmass is not going to help with our overpopulation issues. World Leaders need to begin taking global warming and its affects on humanity more seriously, otherwise they are dooming the future of humanity.

Researchers report that sea levels rising could flood coastal areas, home to 340 to 480 million people.T he global threat from sea level rise and coastal flooding is far greater than what scientist had originally thought.  In the worst-case scenario if emissions are left unchecked and rapidly crumbling Arctic ice cliffs melt  dramatically, there will an  increase in estimates of sea level rise.  480 million people by today’s demographics could be living on land at risk from sea rise by 2100.  No matter what the scenario, over 70 percent of the people in China and Asian countries are to most vulnerable to this estimate. Scientist have proposed that  Humans may  migrate in the face of flood risk , or cities could  redesign infrastructure  to better handle higher tides and frequent floods. An even scarier prediction is the  population by 2100 could face widespread flooding, as many as 95 million to 170 million people. O...

Recent studies have shown that trees are taking in less carbon dioxide because their levels of absorption have been dramatically decreased.  Events like forest fires, deforestation and the use of fossil fuels are the main cause for this problem.  By limited fossil fuels, the amount of carbon dioxide will increase plant biomass by 12 percent, making it easier for plants to absorb carbon dioxide.  Planting more trees and plants can also bring more growth from the carbon dioxide.  By doing these simple tasks we can eliminate the setback of the limitation of carbon dioxide in trees. Link

As the demand for green energy grows, so does the size and material used to create things like wind turbines.Oddly enough, the cheapest solution to replacing the aging blades is leaving them sit, polluting the environment and severely contradicting green energy advocates pleas for a safe environment. Solar panels and micro batteries used to provide further energy are also near impossible to recycle. The NREL has a plan to increase their mandate of maintaining an environmental cycle by including the waste they create in the cycle. The current best blades are non recyclable so now more research is being put into the idea. I think is an oddly misleading article. It suggests that the green energy system is flawed but it doesn't point out the worst parts. Wind and solar energy are horribly unreliable and would be impossible to convert the nation to such a power supply because devices for storing captured energy haven't been invented yet. Furthermore, clean options like natural gas...

The biggest source of greenhouse gasses on Earth is from the emissions that most ways of transportation release into the atmosphere. The United States has reduced the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by switching from coal power to natural gas, which releases less emissions. Although the government has made this change, the total emissions from transportation are still too high. About 60 percent of these pollutants come from the 250 million cars and pickup trucks. Freight trucks add another 23 percent to the total. The national fuel economy standards president Obama placed have kept the levels of emissions from increasing a lot more. Trump wants to pass a rollback of the required efficiency in cars, that could significantly increase the emissions in the atmosphere. New York had the highest amount of CO2 levels from vehicles in the country. Lowering emissions would require a change in technology and changes in people's behavior. I don't think most people would be willing to ch...

In Saudi Arabia at King Abdullah University of Science, they are producing freshwater with the water from the Red Sea. Through the process of desalination, you can produce freshwater from salty seawater. Desalination plants use a process called reverse osmosis which in short, removes all the impurities from the seawater by entering one side of the pipeline and leaving as freshwater from the other. This supplies the university's freshwater, around five million gallons a day, and is only a tiny amount of the freshwater produced in Saudi Arabia. In a nation of 33 million people, desalinated water makes up around half of their freshwater supply. Saudi Arabia isn't the only country to use desalination in order to get most of their water. Other countries in the Middle East and North Africa also have plans for large desalination projects to be built. Renewable water supplies in many of these countries fall far below the definition of absolute water scarcity by the United Nations. Cl...

Summary: Within this article, it brings up how scientists and officials aren't necessarily telling people they need to adopt a vegan or vegetarian diet, and with this it also touches on some key points of their research itself. Some of which including that the research being conducted on how the overwhelming consumption of meat and dairy products is contributing to climate change is showing that those in the West, specifically, are eating way more meat and dairy than they need to be, our land is not being used effectively for the production of food, and also that we're wasting too much food. All of these things are the main concerns in which the UN touches on when some of the officers say that, "Switching to a plant-based diet can help fight climate change." Ultimately, this article brings this statement from the UN, an international organization, to readers' eyes, as well as concludes with ways by which scientists have found to be the best solutions to helping th...

By the year 2050, rising sea levels will affect certain coastal cities more heavily than was thought at first. Research has been made to show that over 150 million people are currently living in cities that may be completely covered by ocean waters halfway through the century. Big centers of countries such as Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam will completely vanish if the calculated future outcomes are correct. Over 20 million people in Vietnam live on land that will be covered in the next half century. Satellite research also shows that many more countries in Asia and Europe will be highly affected. Not much has been done to stop this situation and global warming seems to be the main issue. This situation is very scary and something needs to be done to stop it. The situation is worsening quickly and it seems like not there is not much we can do to stop global warming as a whole. Humanity can only slow what is already coming, so we might as well prepare ourselves for a devastating global ...

Summary: Studies about climate change are very important since they give an idea of what is happening in the world and how people can change to save this world. Studies are extremely important since there are non-believers that climate change is actually occurring. So, that is why this article focuses on the math that other researchers have done incorrectly. Because it is important when arguing your side to have facts that are accurate and concrete. The example the article gives is that a study claimed that if a trillion trees were to be planted in certain areas that would help combat climate change. But, when the math is done correctly and calculated correctly the claim of planting trees doesn't add up or won't make as much of an impact as the incorrect research states. Reaction: I believe in the same concept and idea as this article states. If we want to be able to make people believe in climate change we need to make sure our data we are presenting is accurate so our argum...

Researchers say the rising sea levels will cause much more damage then previously expected.  This is most likely because of earths population. There are around 110 million people that live below high-tide level.  The number will only continue to rise as sea levels rise, getting as high as 190 million by 2100.  Researchers were using information transmitted from the 2000 space shuttle Endeavor mission.  The problem was that houses and trees were added into the equation, which interfered with the data. The people that live in these areas will be directly affected.  This is all a big issue if the word warms by 2 degrees Celsius by 2100.  Link Reflection: I feel like this is important for people to know. These issues that could arise from even the smallest change in temperature will be detrimental.  There is already a large number of people who are at risk from the rise in sea levels, but that number can quickly increase as the temperature gets greater...

          Humans have started to become more cleaner with energy production for the example of  wind power and solar energy. With the step in the right direction their are so real big drawbacks to using cleaner energy fore example repairs and cost of the company yearly to run an renewable power plant. Some company's are so starved of of money they deemed that it is cheaper to leave broken things on the ground fore example wind farms go through turbine blades. Instead of paying company's to clean up the broken turbines to be cleaned up. But you gave to remember that their turbines are bigger than the wings of a commercial airplanes wing span. By leaving thesis turbines of the ground tho are stomping out the use of clean energy end deeming that type of energy impact to the environment.           I believe that the company that that is using renewable energy should follow if exactly to the letter and clean up any messes that they m...

      The ozone hole above Antarctica is where the sun's harmful UV rays burst through. The layer is made up of  molecules containing three oxygen atoms and grows about 20 million kl, but due to the unusual warm weather in the Southern Hemisphere the hole extends less the 10 million kl. This is good for the Southern Hemisphere due to the ozone will be higher and the UV levels will be lower. This is the smallest that the hole has been since the early '80s. The higher temperatures are good for the ozone layer due to the temperatures and the affect that greenhouse gases have. Carbon dioxide has an opposite affect on the stratosphere layer. The stratosphere layer absorbs the CO2 and the emits the heat into outer space cooling the ozone layer off        I think that this is a very interesting topic do to the fact that greenhouse gases are helping cool down the earth but not warming it up but that it is truly cooling it down that. To me were were al...

In the past and still today, many people living in California have experienced the wildfires that continue to occur there. As researchers have found, as the climate around California is changing, the winds are dying down and it will help to stop the spread of wildfires. This doesn't necessarily mean that the fires will stop because there are still other components to keeping the fires active. California's wildfire season will change from fall to winter. This means, more strong wildfires will take place. Normally, in fall the wildfire season is the worst because of the dried out land and the wind. But once the climate change occurs, cold and dry air pressure will happen. The land in the winter will become even more dry then in the fall. Even without the winds, a vast amount of wildfires will still occur.  In my opinion, I believe we need to try and do something to stop these fires. Even though it's because of climate change, we could try to stop doing the harmful things t...

As the climate becomes warmer researchers have discovered that the winds may become less frequent in California especially in fall and spring causing more winter fires. Changes in precipitation are also expected to occur resulting in California's wildfire season to shift from fall to winter with more intense fires later in the year. The air starts as cold, dry, and slow moving but as it becomes warm, dry, and fast-moving traveling at high speeds such as 100 miles an hour it pulling moisture out of dry shrubs and trees. This will cause even the slightest bit of burning vegetation to turn into a full-blown wildfire. Climate change has a huge effect on the wind patterns having detrimental outcomes on the ecosystem by causing full-blown wildfires in winter destroying more vegetation and something needs to be done before this occurs worldwide.   https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/climate/california-fires-santa-anas.html?searchResultPosition=3

Northern and Southern California alike have been facing outbreaks of wildfires left and right. In three days, approximately 600 fires have erupted and emergency workers have been attempting to evacuate the areas. The Kincade fire in Sonoma County has burned down 16,000 acres of land within a few short hours. Around 50,000 people have been evacuated from above Los Angeles as the fire can no longer be controlled by firefighters due to wind blow. The fire is believed to have started from a transmission line breaking in Northern California. As this is not California's first encounter with a large fire and evacuation of citizens, people have begun to feel unsafe and question what has really ignited these fires. The question of what to do when the fires strike is one that has been pondered, but the answer appears to be evacuate and hope for the best. Once the fires ignite, there is not much of a hope to put them out unless we take action and notice what anything seems to be awry. To decr...

Northern California’s coasts are turning into underwater deserts linky Bull Kelp forests provide oxygen and shelter for many organisms in Northern California. They attach to the sea floor and grow up to 30-60 ft long. Because of climate change and other factors, kelp forest population from San Francisco to Oregon is down by more than 90%. What is left is mainly purple sea urchins, which provide no shelter or oxygen, and are slowly replacing other urchin species. This is scary because Bull Kelp provide similar benefits to trees on land. Without them, the ocean in Northern California will never be the same. 

Two high school senior girls in Vancouver have recently discovered a process that helps break down plastic. This process begins with solvent that dissolves the plastic, and then what is left over can be consumed by their newly developed bacteria. This bacteria was made to specifically eat phthalate, a material found in plastic that is hard to break down. Over in Japan at Kyoto University, they found a completely new bacteria species that eats plastics. There are also current studies on how meal worms can eat Styrofoam and plastic.  I believe that this could be a extremely beneficial discovery to the world. Being that all the plastic ever used is still floating around somewhere on earth either in landfills or oceans, although side effects are not yet known.   Learn about the bacteria here!

As humans continue to pollute the air everyday, it is having many negative affects on us in the US. Within the past few years, air quality has gotten worse because of things like burning of fossil fuels and we are not doing a good job at fixing the pollution. The bad air quality may be the cause of thousands of premature deaths. The bad air quality can also be costing us billions of dollars to fix the damage it is causing with things like increased wildfires. It is terrible that the pollution of the air has got this bad and we continue to let it happen. All of us could help fix this issue, by using alternate energy forms. I hope that we all come together to fix this before it gets even worse.  cnn.com/2019/10/23/health/us-air-pollution-worsening-study-scn-trnd/index.html

America's Air Quality Worsens October 24, 2019 Data reveals that air pollution has increased since 2016. Fine particle pollution increased 5.5% between 2016 and 2018 after decreasing nearly 25% the seven previous years. This increase is thought to be mostly caused by driving and burning natural gasses. Wild fires are also a factor of the rise in particulate matter. A 5% increase in particulate matter can be the cause of 10,000 additional premature deaths. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/24/climate/air-pollution-increase.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=sectionfront

For the third annual #NoRedOctober, a month dedicated to not eating any red meats, there was a study done to see how much of an impact events like this actually had on reducing our carbon footprint. The study explained how just one fifth of Americans eating red meats are responsible for half of the countries food-based emissions. They discovered that if you cut out meat products from your diet entirely, you can eliminate more than 2,866 pounds of food-related CO2 annually. In conclusion, they found that most Americans can have a positive impact on their own health and the environments health if they worked on eating fewer animal products, or red meats. I think that events such as #NoRedOctober are a good start for people who are trying to reduce their red meat intake. If everyone participated in this event during October then our food-based emissions would decrease greatly and it would be a positive step in reducing our CO2 production and a positive step towards a healthier environment...

Over the last 50 years the US has made tremendous progress cleaning our air.  The US has done this by targeting things and putting regulations on them.  But it is not a complete victory because we are still breathing harmful pollution even after all of these regulations.  One pollutant that is a concern is known as PM2.5.  This pollutant is only 2.5 micrometers in diameter or less.  This particle can cause respiratory and cardiovascular disease.  I feel as if the US should at least attempt to do something to reduce this particle.  This affects almost everyone in the US as it causes cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. LiNK

Opened in 2005, the  Leeward Renewable Energy, LLC.  completed the 12.5 million project of building 5 wind turbines on the site of the Atlantic County Utilities Authority's wastewater treatment plant in Brigantine , New Jersey. The initial  waste water plant was built in the 1970s, but due to lacking technology, the surrounding back bays were unusable  for recreation due to all the bacteria that existed. In recent years, all treatment plants in Atlantic County were converted to pumping stations to move all waste water to the Brigantine plant. Laws would be implemented requiring the plant to receive  a 85 percent clarity of water before pumping it the 1.2 miles into the ocean to diffuse with the sea water. With modern technology the plant is now getting approximately a 95-98 percent clarity in the treated water. The process though requires 2.5 megawatts a day. The wind turbines  save ACUA 500 million dollars a year due to a reduction in price when using the ...

Scientists have altered a familiar bacterial cell into a psychedelic "drug factory".  This new discovery is capable of  producing an ample abundance of psilocybin, the chemical thoroughly found in "Magical Mushrooms". This chemical may be found in more than 100 magic 'shroom species. Psilocybin is being studied as a possible treatment for PTSD, Major Depression Disorder, and addiction. Some medicines are already being produced by bacteria cause of its abilities to stir up chemicals in immense amounts. This could very well be a possible treatment for those certain disorders, but should be highly tested and monitored before and during use. This could help cure or bypass the disorder.   https://www.livescience.com/bacteria-make-magic-mushroom-psilocybin.htm

The Pennsylvania Game Commision has proposed yet another solution to help reduce the state's problem with chronic wasting disease (CWD) in its whitetail deer. the new solution would propose expanding hunting seasons, removing antler requirements and increase antlerless permit allocations. along with allowing hunters to take aditional antlered deer in areas that have a large amount of CWD cases. this is interesting because as a hunter myself, the main reason to go out and hunt is for the meat that the game provides however deer with CWD are unsuitable for human consumption. i really wonder how these newly proposed sugestions would effect the herd populations since more deer will be killed by both the disease and by people. https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2019/09/12/lifting-antler-restrictions-part-pa-game-commissions-cwd-response-plan-deer/2298852001/

Urban areas make up about 75% of all worldwide carbon emissions, but by using technology that already exists, humanity could cut carbon emissions by 90% by the year 2050. About 30% of emissions could be cut if buildings were made to be more efficient in their energy consumption by improving insulation so hot or cold air doesn't leak from the buildings, or by using more eco-friendly methods to power larger buildings such as solar or wind energy. A 15% reduction in emissions could come from using better materials to build infrastructures or by reusing the buildings already in existence. Another 20% could be cut by improving public transportation or reducing the amount of carbon emissions created from using cars. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/09/zero-carbon-cities-future/

Research provides new view of the critical role of plankton in marine carbon storage Plankton contribute to the biological carbon pump by creating carbon-rich fecal pellets that sink into the ocean. Some zooplankton feed on those particles, decreasing the efficiency of the pump. https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=299285&org=NSF&from=news

October 5, 2019 Hundreds of millions of people along the coasts are beginning to face risks associated with the rising ocean temperatures. Scientists say that a combination of hotter ocean temperatures and rising sea levels can make hurricanes worse, like they did with Hurricane Harvey. Humans aren't the only species being effected by these changes, though. Many fish populations are starting to decline in many areas because the warmer temperature of the water is throwing off the ecosystem. A report, written by 100 international experts and consisting of over 7,000 studies, has revealed that the oceans are becoming hotter, more acidic, and less oxygen-rich as a result of the greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists have also stated that these repercussions will be very difficult to prevent, unless there is a sharp decline in the emissions. Overall, I feel that global warming is a very serious issue that needs to be taken more seriously, and that there needs to be more steps taken to ...

October 1, 2019 Hurricane Lorenzo was the first category five hurricane to travel as far east as it did. Most hurricanes reach their peak over the warmer, more tropic waters like the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Lorenzo reached its maximum strength in the North Atlantic ocean. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/hurricane-lorenzo-hit-category-5-farther-east-than-any-other-storm I think this article was very concise and to the point. The author did a good job of explaining the rarity of this kind of hurricane and what their usual path is.

In California, state and business leaders are trying to create new strategies to help prevent wildfires. The governor is trying to bring agencies in to help clear 500,000 acres of land a year for a decade to help reduce wildfires. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/california-tests-new-strategies-to-prevent-deadly-wildfires/ I think that trying to prevent wildfires is a good because California is trying to protect people and the natural resources they have. I think this is a good article because it relates to the carbon cycle. If a wildfire should spark, that emit carbon into the atmosphere.