APES Current Events

Summary: In this article by The Guardian it talks about an idea Bill Gates and some of his colleagues have been trying to put into action. This idea being to decarbonise the global economy by extracting global-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air, using groups of giant fans and patented chemicals; and then using the gas to make clean, carbon-neutral synthetic diesel and petrol to fuel the world's different modes of transportation. However, this idea they have isn't easy to conjure up ideas for, which they are fully aware of. Therefore, over the years, they have been trying to incite interest in inventors and engineers to contribute their skills to this cause and come together to create a solution. And although Bill Gates and his colleagues have indeed been able to get designs to help the situation and plans to back them up, it is with concern that they are unable to implement these inventions into society today, as they come at too high of a cost and are not being encourag...

The particles of pollution have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers that you cannot see traveling past your body's usual defenses getting stuck in your lungs and going into your bloodstream that leads to respiratory problems and diseases. This pollution is caused by coal and natural gas plants, cars, agriculture, unpaved roads and construction sites leading to the pollution coming in forms of dust, dirt, soot, and smoke. Over 200 cases of hospitalization have been proven to be linked to pollution and some diseases while 107,000 premature deaths costed the country $866 billion dollars due to certain particles in the air. The President Donald Trump said in 2017 that he would promote clean air and water, but his administration wants to reverse the dozens of rules that were created to reduce Americans' exposure to air pollution. If Trump's administration keeps on doing this 1,400 additional premature deaths will occur every year by 2030 if they replace Obama's Clean Air...

The level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continue to increase and nothing is slowing it down. Researchers are trying to create new technologies to help capture these gases in the atmosphere. These pieces of technology will be able to trap carbon and convert it, if they work well. However, there are some companies that argue this could cause more pollution. If this technology is able to help reduce emissions that would be great, but for now the emissions will continue to grow. The easiest and safest solution is to switch to forms of renewable energy like wind and solar. It is very important for everyone in the world to come together to be less dependent on fossil fuels and to use other forms of energy, so that the world stops warming up. If emissions continue to grow, we will not be living for much longer. link

 125,00 years ago during Earth's latest warm period, sea levels had begun to rise and have risen 10 meters since.  The melting ice from Antarctica is the main reason for the levels rising.  Because of Earth's glacier like periods, warm periods are more frequent when there are large portions of Earth covered in ice which causes the levels to rise.  Rising levels are on of the most difficult changes that affect our population.  It has caused us to relocate and other animals to become extinct.  If we do not learn to adapt to these changes or put a end to them, the sea levels will continue to rise more rapidly than they have been.  link

Tiny patches in the coastal deserts of Peru are surprisingly teeming with plant life. Scientists say that this could be due a species known as the burrowing owl. When the burrowing owl shovels sand for its nest, its gives a home for seedlings and a variety of exclusive plants under the sand and the seedlings don't have to deal with the harsh conditions above land while germinating. Also, this digging that the birds have been doing has been making the soil more fertile.  https://www.sciencenews.org/article/burrowing-birds-owls-plant-life-desert-landscape Its really interesting to see how an area that is known to have very little amounts of pant life have some spots which are rich in plant life because of a singular symbiotic relationship. Hopefully in time, these positive effects will spread throughout the deserts. 

With the growing concern for the environment, fast food chains are doing their part by changing what they put in their kids' meals. In northern England, Burger King has begun collecting the hundreds and thousands of the toys and melting them. Burger King has encouraged customers to put the old toys in the collection bins which will be melted and turned into playground equipment and reusable tray tables. Fast food chains like McDonald's have also began the process of removing toys from the kids meals, but not completely as they are offering the choice of a toy or a bag of fruit. Click  Here  for more The removal of the toys from the kid's meals is just the beginning. Much of the problem still lies in the type of packaging these fast food chains use, such as their use of foam cups in most of their restaurants. There is also the fact that children love these toys, it being the experience.

Summary:  J . W. Mitchell High School in New Port Richey, Florida has been the first school to use synthetic frogs for dissecting. The company that makes the frogs say they are the first school in the world to use this sort of technology. The frog is made to be exactly like the real frog you see in biology, right now it resembles the female frog. Which the synthetic frog has a skeleton, muscles, skin organs, and a reproduction system with eggs. The synthetic tissue is made out of water, fibers, and salt and is also physically safer to dissect than a preserved one because the synthetic frog does not contain the chemical formalin .The frogs also are used for surgical simulation, education, and medical device testing. The frogs can be reused over and over again rather than a once and done thing. The synthetic frog also help the moral issue some students face, since the dead frogs were once alive and millions of frogs are killed each year for dissecting. The synthetic frog was n...

linky Summary Coyotes are becoming an increasing risk in urban areas. They are coming into contact with people and pets more and more as time goes on. Researchers decided to find out what is making coyotes so comfortable around humans and how to prevent these interactions. They are led to believe that it begins with the parenting. They believe the fearlessness is passed down from parent to offspring.  They went to a wildlife conservatory in Utah to observe the captive, but mostly wild, coyotes that reside there. When the keepers feed them, they usually made as little contact with the coyotes as possible, to limit the human interaction. However, when they started staying after they fed them, the coyotes became more comfortable with the human presence. After generations, the coyotes had no fear whatsoever towards the humans. They became bolder with each passing generation. This reveals that as humans, to prevent exposure to these predators, we need to make our yards as uni...

Since the year 2010, wind levels have been increasing. The average for global wind speeds has grown from 7 mph to 7.4 mph. This means that the potential wind energy rates for wind turbines has increased by about 17%! This is good news for wind power companies but has mainly negative origins. This increase of wind speeds is credited to global warming as well as natural climate cycles. The bigger difference in temperatures between different areas are causing bigger winds and climate cycles are shifting faster and faster. If our global warming is not slowed, wind rates will continue to rise quickly over the years. Wind farms will continue to make tons of money off of this situation. This situation does not necessarily scare me a ton, but if wind rates get out of hand, they could have very negative effects on us and our environment. Global warming is causing so many types of problems that I have almost accepted that we are doomed as a species lol. Unless we are able to stop global warmi...

Scientists have invented a solar panel raft that is meant to float in the ocean and purify the water as it conducts electricity from the sun. The sun evaporates the water and puts it through a  porous polystyrene membrane that filters out salt and other contaminants. I think this is a good invention but it could be better considering the questions at the end of the article. Solar Powered Purified Water

Scientists have created a new piece of technology called SunBOT. SunBOT may have a major impact in the fight against climate change because of it's ability to track sunlight all day. This technology will allow for an even more efficient way to produce energy compared to traditional ways. Hopefully if this technology can be produced on a larger scale it will help stop climate change. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/first-artificial-material-sunflower-mimic-follows-sunlight-solar-panel-upgrade I think the invention of SunBOT is a major leap forward in our progress of trying to combat climate change. It is remarkable that scientists have an invented a way to produce energy in such an efficient manner. As long as the technology is used correctly this invention will be revolutionary.

Power lines have been emitting electromagnetic fields that have been altering the insects ability to learn and behavior. A Plos one study, done in October, shows that honeybees were more aggressive than the other, unexposed honeybees after being exposed to electromagnetic fields at similar strength that might be experienced at ground level. Those exposed were also slower responding to new threats. These findings may be a clue as to why there has been a recent decline in honeybee colonies. Previous beekeeper reports show that colonies last year experienced the worst winter die off, and some colonies even vanished completely. While these power lines are not the only cause that are hurting the bees, but it is one of the factors that has been effecting them.    This is very interesting because it seems like many people are unaware of how much something simple like power lines have been effecting bees so much. I am not exactly sure of how we can fix this problem, because of how i...

In recent years the focus of environmentally friendly practices has worked its ways into almost all parts of our daily lives. Now the impact of a weekend of NASCAR on the planet is being noticed. The average race uses a total of 6,000 gallons of fuel for one race. Each gallon of fuel emits 20 pounds of carbon dioxide leading to a total of 120,000 pounds of CO2 for one race. On average there are 35 races per year leading to a grand total of 4 million pounds of CO2 accumulated. Comparatively, the average American family releases 45,000 pounds of CO2 in one year. New initiatives are being created to help offset the impact of the racing. This I believe is a step in the right direction, but it will not fix the emission rates. To completely end or limit emissions, traditional technology must be abandoned in favor of a more environmentally friendly solution. Formula 1 has pushed to create green solutions leading to the development of Formula E. Formula E exclusively uses electric cars in thei...

Aiden Sherman The UN has recently released a report on changes in climate and abnormalities in weather, especially in the colder regions of Earth.  The report focuses on the outcome of rising global temperatures.  One projection shows humanity reducing emissions and temperature rise to only about 2 degrees Celsius.  This is the least destructive outcome, as the second projection demonstrates global warming at an excess of 4 degrees.  This shows the drastic melting of polar ice sheets, especially in Greenland and Antarctica.  Additionally, higher global temperatures are predicted to kill off corals and other aquatic organisms.  The higher temperatures also increase growth of algae, which is toxic for the native life where algae blooms form.  Other problems with the ocean would include higher acidity, rising water levels and more brutal and common extreme weather, forming in the warmer ocean waters. Obviously, I find this second prediction to be a ble...

Microscopic bits of plastic have been found many times recently throughout the environment.  A new study finds that the tiny pieces of plastic the in soil can stunt the growth of earthworms. And that’s an issue because earthworms help make soil good for growing plants.  As worms burrow, they eat organic matter such as dead plants. They digest is and then reproduce essential nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous.  These nutrients help plants grow. 

Within the jungles of Vietnam the Silver-Backed Chevrotain was thought to be extinct but has be found to not be. Not much is known is about this animal as it was only discovered in 1990 and has rarely been seen since. This article shows that we really don't know what is happening on our planet and anything could be out there. Also the fact that this animal is so sensitive to just the untouched jungle that it lives in shows how easily it could go extinct due to human interaction. This is why it is important that we are very careful what we do to nature. https://newatlas.com/science/silver-backed-chevrotain-rediscovered-vietnam/    

       Foreign invaders are a known problem it the US but the solution of many problems my be held in these species. In fact their was a study in new England with one of these foreign invaders, the African green crab. These crabs where brought by settlers in the 1800's and now because of the settlers slip up the crabs are ravaging kelp forests. Decimating the ecosystem held in the in new England warm coastal waters and with climate change warming the waters more the crab are festering and their population is growing. Local diners and restaurants have been serving them for a wile in the area. their has been a want for soft shell crab in the last decade and this species could be the solution. Also its been found that the certain species could be user for fertilizer.       I feel that in every invasive species their is a resource that we can exploit to solve another problem,solving a problem with another. Their needs to be more research in to invas...

Since the Arctic is melting twice as fast as the rest of the planet more and more sea ice is melting each year.  This is effecting animals such as ice seals who need the ice, to haul out on and give birth.  This issue also effects the ice seals because the fish that the seals eat may be moving deeper and deeper to reach colder waters meaning that the ice seals have to travel deeper to get food.  This issue is not only effecting the seals, it is also effecting the people who live in the Arctic. These people rely on these animals for there livelihood and well-being. The only way this can be stopped is if we take meaningful action to slow the planet's warming. Link

Summary: The article goes into detail about the United State's recent withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and what it means for the world's sea levels. Generally, while the withdrawal is a bad thing both morally and when it comes to how our country looks to the rest of the world its overall effect may not cause significant impact. The article proceeds to talk about how even if all countries which signed the Paris Agreement would go on to meet there specified target for carbon emission by 2030 the sea level will still rise as much as 3 feet by the year 2300. The article concludes saying that we need to do all that we can in the current in order to lower emission because our actions now will shape the lives of millions in the future, and that 200 years isn't quite as far away as we seem. Reaction: I feel like the article provides a good view on to how important taking care of the Earth is. By providing details that can allow us to create a type of personal connection with ...

The article discussed the definition of environmental justice and former president Bill Clinton's executive order requiring all federal agencies to make environment justice "a part of it's mission". Environmental justice is the concept that minorities and those with a lower socioeconomic status or are discriminated against bear the burden of environmental ills more heavily than individuals who don't face the same discrimination. For example, blood tests of children living in impoverished areas showed higher lead levels in their blood than children living in higher income regions. A symposium will be held on October 25th by a number of stakeholders to analyze environmental inequities and make decisions on what action needs to be taken. https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/focus-environmental-inequities

November 8, 2019 The authors of a paper published Tuesday discovered a more accurate way of calculating land elevation based on satellite readings. The new research shows that 150 million people are currently living on land that will eventually be below the high tide line. More than 20 million people in Vietnam, living on land, will be inundated. A researcher for Climate Control says the satellites struggle to differentiate the true ground level from the tops of trees or buildings. According to the earlier technique, only 1% of Thailand was supposed to be underwater, new techniques show that more than 10% will be underwater by 2050, making a more accurate statement. This relates to what we are talking about currently in class because it is affecting populations. Interested in more? Click  here!

Phototropism is the ability of a plant to follow the sun in order to soak up the most light. Scientists have developed a new material called SunBOTs that can move to capture 90% of the sunlight. The scientists behind this material say that it could lead to future advancements in solar technology. The material self regulates and shifts in tiny increments to maintain its alignment with the sun. SUNBOt is a polymer that is encased with a nanomaterial that responds to sunlight by increasing its temperature and shrinking.  https://www.sciencenews.org/article/first-artificial-material-sunflower-mimic-follows-sunlight-solar-panel-upgrade I think the author did a very good job of explaining the exciting new developments made that combine the versatile capabilities of modern nano technology and the natural methods of energy production in plants to create a material that can benefit the solar energy industry and push people in a more green and environmentally conscious direction by us...

In Sparks, Nevada, recently the pine nut harvesting season ended. The harvesting season from the beginning of September to the end of October is a managed operation. The  Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest allow people to collect 25 pounds of nuts for personal use without a permit or 33000 to use commercially with an issued permit. Collection is allowed anywhere where BLM manages the land or in any  Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest  managed lands. These areas would include the  Austin-Tonopah, Bridgeport, Carson, Ely, and Mountain City-Ruby Mountains-Jarbidge Ranger Districts, as well as the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area . Federal violations of pine nut harvesting laws will r esu lt in a  $5,000 fine or six months in jail or both.  The management of the nut harvesting allows people to still enjoy the pine nuts while not damaging the pinyon pine population. Over harvesting the nuts would decrease the population...

As everyone knows, Laternflies have become an extremely invasive species. They are destroying trees which are slowly taking habitats from other native animals and other insects. Our state is now encouraging use to kill them if we see them, and to call your local township if you find egg masses. This will very slowly decrease their population, but for everyone you kill, about 10 more are being added into their population. Reporters are now saying that if you purchase a Christmas tree that you cut down yourself, you are risking the laternfly eggs hatching in your home. In order to prevent these bug from becoming worse, is to encourage everyone to kill them when they see them, and make your friends aware. As of right now, there is only one real known predator to these invasive things, and that is the preying-mantis. If we all work together to kill these bugs, and report their egg masses when they are found, we can slowly get rid of them completely. Click here 

The rapidly changing climate may become an issue in the future Winter Olympics. Studies are showing that by the end of this century, more than half of the host cities will be too hot to host the Winter Olympics. The Olympics aren't the only thing at risk either,  “the world of winter sports is changing as the global climate continues to warm,” says Daniel Scott.  Winter Olympics are usually held every four years. Scott and his team team considered projections for future weather in 21 cities. These included the 19 cities that already have hosted Winter Olympics. The good news is he predicts that   Both PyeongChang and Beijing should be cold enough in February for winter Olympic games through 2080.  https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/climate-change-threatens-future-winter-olympics I believe Climate Change is becoming a real problem but at least we know the Winter Olympics will be held somewhere. Even though its okay right now, this is just another ...

A new study predicts there will be more than 1 million deaths from extreme heat in India by the next century if greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current level.  If the world commits to the Paris Agreement the study estimates India’s excess death rate from high heat will drop more than 80%. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/if-emissions-continue-india-could-see-1-million-heat-deaths-a-year/

Last wednesday the PA house passed a bill that would allow hunting on three separate sundays. one during archery for deer and another during rifle season for deer. this bill also places harsher punishment on people who commit trespassing laaws by increasing fines. the reasoning for this law is to help encourage more people to go out and hunt and to help manage the Chronic Wasting Disease epidemic. I think this is a great idea! as a hunter and a student i am limited to hunting one day a week since by the time i get home from school, hunting hours are over and by adding just one extra day may get more people out and enjoy the sport. https://triblive.com/sports/pennsylvanias-sunday-hunting-bill-clears-last-big-hurdle/

Kern County Sheriffs Office, with the help of the FBI, accumulated 11 field search warrants for what were supposed to be legal hemp fields approximately 100 miles north of  Las Angeles. After studies showed THC levels were reaching up to 7%, easily exceeding the -0.3% industrial hemp THC content level, the authorities proceeded to destroying 10 million plants over a course of 459 acres with an estimated street value of $1 billion. Is this a waste of valuable resources that could very well just be confiscated and turned into other resources such as fiber reinforced plastic and hempcrete? There are plenty more possibilities of uses for the destroyed crops such as paper, biodiesel, or paper. Destroying the crop costs the government money and time which in turn could be used to find a use for what could've been a valuable confiscated resource. https://www.bakersfield.com/news/kcso-hemp-fields-in-arvin-determined-to-be-billion-worth/article_1a2cb128-fc43-11e9-b235-f71d5415b7e0.html

Starting in the early 2000s, Lucy Gilliam started to become more involved with the use of plastic within her labs as a molecular microbiologist.  Her research towards a more environmentally-safe plastic usage lead to a worldwide discussion on how to reduce the amount of plastic used within a lab.  With the many disposable dishes, gloves, pipettes, tubes, and vials, labs could be responsible for almost 5.5 million tons of plastic waste within the world (about 83%).  These studies compelled universities like University of Leeds to go "single-use-plastic-free" by 2023.  These efforts to reduce the amount of waste that the sciences are creating is a big step in helping the environment become safer.  Universities are also creating a "decontamination station" within their labs in order to use more glass and reusable plastic ware to sterilize and create less waste.  Although this isn't a large component in the degradation of the environment, it is still helping to...

There is a new technology that has been developed that is called SunBOTs that capture sunlight to be used for energy just like solar panels. The difference is that these small electronics that have a stem like base rotate and bend on their own to capture the maximum amount of sunlight. SunBOTs capture about 90% of all sunlight provided maximizing electricity use while solar panels only capture about 24% of available sunlight. I think that this is a great invention and will greatly help capture electricity and minimize other sources of electricity production that is needed. It is important to have innovations in electronics such as this, because it cuts down on air pollution and destruction of the environment that may be used in other forms of creating electricity. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/first-artificial-material-sunflower-mimic-follows-sunlight-solar-panel-upgrade

This article describes a test done on plastic bags that are said to decompose. The test was to see which type of plastic bag decomposed the best in different environments. In a saltwater environment only one of the three bags was fully decomposed after three years. The compostable bag was the only one to disappear completely. They then found that all bags decomposed in the air environment, but this was due to the effect the sun had on breaking down the molecules. Overall, they found that the bags were unable to decompose in most environments and therefore were a risk to the life in those environments. The ending conclusion was that the only way to reduce the waste from plastic bags is to simply use less. Reuse old ones, or don't use them in the first place and this is how the waste will be stopped. https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/biodegradable-plastic-bags-often-dont-break-down I found this article to be very informing on the study performed, but also found it rep...

Wade Roush one day decided that he wanted to reduce his carbon footprint; he doesn't have kids, he doesn't eat meat, and he doesn't own a car, so he's already doing more than most. But he wanted to push this idea further. He calculated that the amount of flights he takes in a full year add up to fifteen metric tons of carbon emissions; if you do the math, that adds up to about the same amount of carbon given off by three earthlings. He researched and found that electric planes would eliminate the carbon emissions completely, but until that can be achieved, biofuels made from sugarcane and our trash are a much healthier option. Before reading this, I hadn't even thought about the fact that millions of flights are taking place all around the world, releasing carbon into the atmosphere. Although this isn't necessarily the largest contributor of emissions, it's scary to think about how we continue to add to the issue of global warming and the constant damaging...

https://www.lafd.org/news/getty-fire Monday, October 28, 2019 1:34 AM PDT is when the Getty Fire was initially reported at     1800 North Sepulveda Boulevard , Brentwood, Los Angeles, California.  Contained at 52% as of October 31, 2019  The fire was deemed an accidental start, caused by a tree branch that broke off and landed on nearby power lines during high wind conditions. This tree branch caused the sparking and arcing of power lines, igniting nearby brush.  The fire was then carried by the Santa Ana Winds, has caused  7,091 residences are still considered threatened. 10 residences have been destroyed and 15 residences have been damaged. Luckily no civilians have been injured, however 2 firefighters were injured but they were non-life threatening injuries.   "SAFETY MESSAGE:   Santa Ana winds can trigger extreme fire danger. Residents living in wildfire-prone areas are encouraged to be prepared in the event of a brus...

The article shows the effects that climate change has had on a small village in Alaska that has slowly been melting away over the past 20 years. Due to the thawing permafrost in the area due to rising heat levels many of the towns foundations and objects are beginning to fall apart or get washed away. The villagers are now being forced to move south since their village is melting and the climate has not been cool enough to rebuild the permafrost. The melting has occurred over 9 million miles to the north of Alaska effecting pipelines and buildings while also releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases increasing the problem. The melting is also causing adverse weather effects which is also effecting the area causing rivers to flood and destroying sea banks causing even larger problems for Alaska as a whole and not just this small community. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/10/climate-change-finally-caught-up-to-this-alaska-village/ Ultimately, the case of the Alaskan...