APES Current Events

   As the fires on the west coast burn more in more, the wildlife found in the surrounding oceans could be in danger. Due to the marine animals being adapted to the ocean, they aren't used to the chemicals and air pollutants on land, making them more susceptible to health issues that we may not react to as much. The oil rig spill in the Gulf of Mexico now 10 years ago, the bottlenose dolphins who experienced the burning of the oil had extreme lung issues and their offspring died very quick. Although there is no evidence yet of the wildfires affecting the marine mammals, it is a possibility and something that should be thought about. Scientists along the West Coast are being told to start collecting data in order to better understand the consequences of the smoke on dolphins, porpoises, whales, etc. Their lungs and general anatomy differs from those animals on land who are able to get the smoke out of their system much easier. Back during the oil spill, it could ...

 Due to COVID 19 the amount of has massively dropped in many areas of the world. According to the article the amount of nitrogen dioxide levels in china have dropped by up to 30%. In Italy the nitrogen dioxide level have fallen by 40%. These are huge drops in pollution due to factories closing and less cars traveling everyday. Professor of air pollution, Paul Monks, even called it "the largest-scaled experiment ever seen" as the results will let scientists learn a lot from the air pollution pattern due to many countries quarantining. This is a huge step for the worlds environment as this will show so many people that we can make a difference to stop climate change and help the plant like we have done so now. At least the pandemic has brought something good for the world. Article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/23/coronavirus-pandemic-leading-to-huge-drop-in-air-pollution

 On September 15, 2020, Arctic sea ice reached its yearly lowest size. However this year the ice is much smaller than it should be, 2nd smallest on record. NASA has been keeping track of the Arctic's ice size since the 1970s, when the satellite data was studied it showed that the ice was increasingly small this year, only around 1.44 million square miles. The ice in the Arctic goes through seasonal patterned changes each year. The ice thickens and expands in the fall and winter to the point where almost the entire Arctic ocean is covered, and the ice shrinks and thins in the spring and summer months. The reason for the decent decrease in the size of the Arctic's ice is due to a Siberian heat wave that swept through the area in the spring. The heat wave caused the ice's melting season to start earlier than usual, this is only the second time the Arctic's ice has reached a size below 1.5 million square miles. The melting seasons of the ice keep starting earlier and earlie...

The Fight to End Climate Change      Climate change is a very controversial topic. I was hesitant  to write about this but I wanted to become more educated on this topic. Many people recognize the change that will be happening in the next few decades. This article talks about climate change. While reading this, I recognized that it was trying to persuade us readers that, in order to fight climate change, we cannot have Trump as our president. He has done absolutely nothing to help fight it. We learn that Biden already has a plan for if he wins. Trump will not help us fight it. If anything, he will make it worse. Not only will this effect us, but it will effect everything living on this earth. Think about all the animals that will lose their lives, food source, and habitat. Think about all the plants, oceans, and sea creatures that will die from this. We can help them. We have the ability to stop all of this from happening, but we aren't....

This article focuses on what energy, and how much, we can get from raindrops. Studies referenced in the article say that the amount of energy gained is based on the size or mass of the rain drop, how fast it is traveling, and how efficient the solar panels, or other device being used, is. The energy that we could gain from raindrops would not be enough to power things like our houses, but could potentially help more "self-powered miniature devices". Scientists believe that this would be able to help significantly in the near future.  How Much Power Can We Get from Raindrops? I think that it is good that scientists are still finding new ways to gain energy and power, even tough we have efficient ways that are helping us already. I also didn't think of the fact that raindrops could produce energy just from falling to the ground. Raindrops that seem so small to us can create about 0.18 Watts based on the calculations in the article. 

       As of, September 10, 2020 California has been fighting 12 dozen different wildfires, destroying 2.5 MILLION acres of their land. Because of have so many fires, the sky gets a hint of orange in it. People were then forced to leave their homes and find other place to live, that were safer. Day by day the air becomes more and more thick and deadly. Of course this all happens to them during a pandemic!       Honestly, I didn't know there was fires in California. This article really put a perspective on things. It really makes me question, because of there being so many fires, if it could happen to us. The fires also would kill all the organisms and resources, so when everyone does go back, what are they gonna have to survive off of.  Open Link Here!!

 Huge parts of the Pacific Ocean warmed up quickly around our West Coast and other parts of North America.  It would have felt like a heat wave in the ocean in the middle of the summer.  There have been a lot of short ones over the past few years but there have been ones that have lasted longer.  Scientists believe climate change is the cause of the heating oceans.  Some of these events would have been possible without human-caused warming, but there is human-caused warming which makes the odds of this kind of warming happening 10%.  As emissions of greenhouse gasses continue, global temperatures will be 5 degrees warmer leaving the oceans in extreme heat.  This could be permanent because the oceans absorb most of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gasses.  Adding this heat to the ocean can cause problems for marine life including causing toxic algae to bloom, which fish eat, causing them to die.  Animals that are food for other animals wi...

      A study conducted by North Carolina State University suggests that the spread of ghost forests across the North Carolina coast may have implications about global warming. A ghost forest is created when salt water levels rise and kill freshwater trees, leaving behind a forest of dead or dying trees. The study found that these trees had less carbon in them above ground than they used to. The researchers studied 2,85 acres of natural land and found that the number of ghosts forests increased by 15% between 2001 and 2014. They also calculated that about 130,000 metric tons of carbon were lost because of ghost forests. The researchers also had a small problem within their study- their measurements could have been affected by new trees being planted nearby for the timber industry. They also reported that wildfires and droughts may also contribute to the growing number of ghost forests. The study helped to create a map of current ghost forests and areas that are at ri...

 Deforestation is a huge problem in today's United states or anywhere in the world. Deforestation keeps going up as the years go by. When deforestation rises so does our carbon footprint. It can be fixed by the replanting of trees of labor to cut them down. We could also keep a check on the companies that use lumber, so they dont use too much. https://thecarboncycledio.weebly.com/deforesation.html#:~:text=Deforestation%20has%20an%20effect%20on,own%20food%20with%20carbon%20dioxide.&text=This%20excess%20heat%20warms%20the%20earth. Deforestation has an effect on the carbon cycle related to the greenhouse gases. the trees and forests balance the amount needed to maintain a goof amount of carbon and oxygen. The cutting down and not replanting of trees slowly warms the Earth.

     Led by the University of Cambridge, an international team of researchers studied the ring width and chemical composition of both living and dead trees in Norilsk, Siberia, to show the damage done from decades of nickel and copper mining. Norilsk, Siberia is one of the most polluted places in the world, due to the intense mining of the copper, nickel, and palladium found in the area from the 1930's all the way to today. This area is also home to large boreal forests, which, as a result of pollution, are being destroyed. Researchers studying these trees have found that the destruction began in the 1960's, and continued to increase dramatically after 1970. In addition to this, scientists had previously believed global warming would greatly increase the number and survival of boreal forests, but after seeing the effect of pollution found the outcome to be the complete opposite of their expectations. The researchers studying these changes say that if the number of these t...

 The wildfires in the West Coast are creating hazardous air conditions. It has caused the pollution levels to be higher than they ever have before. They are also higher than the worst polluted places in the world. Particles known as PM2.5 are released during fires. When inhaled, the body's immune system is unable to break them down. They are known to cause respiratory and cardiovascular health issues. The scale used to measure air quality indicates that when its number goes above 151, the air is unsafe for the entire population. During these fires, the levels reached over 300. There is research being done now to see if hundreds of people died from inhaling the smoke. This natural disaster creates a type of pollution that we can not control. It shows us what polluted air can cause and should be a warning sign that we need to reduce our emissions before unsafe air is the reality all of the time. Also, global warming is known to cause more natural disasters and could have been a cause...

       Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative      Climate change is becoming more and more of an issue, and Governor Wolf knows this. This is why he is taking step to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. This is to help lower emission from power plants. Nine other states have agreed to also set up this program. New Jersey and Virginia are also planning on joining within the next two years. If power plants go over a certain level they would have to start paying allowances.  “a low-cost solution to a very high-cost problem of climate change” Pennsylvania  is the fourth biggest carbon polluter . If we don't pull ourselves  together there will be really big issues coming soon. It is scary how bigger businesses aren't responding to trying to save the environment. Now states are being forced to create a limit on how much emissions can go into the air. It is just sorta sad to me. If things aren't getting fixed now soon the world is just go...

     Since the Industrial Revolution, food has been on high demand as the population continues to increase. To keep up with the population, farmers need to look for ways to increase  their harvest in a season. The solutions consist of purchasing more land or fertilizing regularly. The solutions for increasing yearly yield are also contributing to environmental issues like global warming. 70% of human consumption of fresh water is used in agriculture. As the climate becomes dryer, more water is used. Studies showed that the use of irrigation systems are both harmful to the plants, soil, and the atmospheric moisture.  In western United States millions of acres are used for pastures. Livestock release methane gas that cause a greenhouse effect to the globe. This causes a decrease in plant diversity from the root systems dying off. The increase of chemical fertilizers are not just being seen in the fields used in but also the soil and water. New methods of farming a...

 This article is about a moth species called the Tobacco Hawkmoth, which is able to adapt to the scent of flowers which have been changed by air pollution. The moth typically went to jasmine tobacco flowers, & was not expected to still be attracted to them when they was tainted by pollution. However, the Tobacco Hawkmoths chose to still visit the flowers, even when pollution changed their scent.  The moth's unexpected reaction to the polluted flowers could be significant because it shows that insects might be able to adapt to & overcome the effects pollution has on nature. Before this can be confirmed though, many more tests would need to take place. Either way, pollution is still a problem, regardless of whether or not certain insects are discouraged by it. Although if it is shown that they are able to still survive in polluted areas, that would be beneficial based on the worsening air pollution situation. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/moth-learn-pollution-smog-...