APES Current Events

 Most organisms follow circadian clock cycles, which are 24 hour internal clocks to help organisms know when to do necessary things for survival.  An example would be knowing when to search for food during the day because you wouldn't want to search when there will be little to no food.  It is very different for the musk oxen because they live in the Arctic.  Scientists studied how different the circadian clocks would be for those organisms living in the Arctic because of the Arctic's long night winter and endless day summers.  The scientists conducted this study by using GPS collars to track 19 musk oxen for 3 years to look for patterns in behavior.  The scientists didn't find strong circadian rhythms because it seemed that the oxen would repeat foraging bouts lasting less than 12 hours.  These rhythms were different from the summer to the winter, since most would have little to no pattern in the summer due to eating at random times.  The study s...

Link   Logan Scholl Heagrety November 3, 2020 Weird affects pollution has on living organisms Obviously Pollution effects the air, and the atmosphere, but did you know it affects your mental and physical health. Pollution cause your breathing to shorten up not as bad as cigarettes do, but the same way they do. It also increases the rate of suicide, because of the fine particular matter or nitrogen dioxide. It shrinks your brain, it is a small difference, but when it comes to your brain you need it all, also that small percent is equal to 1 year of aging in your brain. Pollution help birds migrate quicker, this is because of their scent to their "home base" is greater when it is polluted more.

The affects of plastic bags are not as detrimental as paper and cotton. The scientists from Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU Singapore) have proven this. The contents of the plastic bags they studied from included polypropylene non-woven plastic. These types of plastics are the most eco-friendly. The runner up is single use plastic bags. The types of bags that can have a negative impact are cotton and kraft paper bags. The effects they can have a contribution on golbal warming and eco-toxicity. The team at NTU stressed though that these types of bags may only be better in cities like Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Dubai. This shouldn't mean though that we could not try this method anywhere else. The scientists who lead the research made it clear that these types of bags are important for multiple uses.  I think that this method could drastically change the way we live. I know in my family we use grocey store, plastic bags over and over again. If everyone in their family start...

 Sponges within the a Ocean can be known as the vacuums of the sea. The article says that these sponges can collect Micro Pollution particles. These sponge pick up the particles through the water and help clean the ocean. A good way to tell how much micro pollution there is, is to study the amount collected by the sponges. This allows humans to estimate how much micro pollution is in an area and be able to try and reduce it.  This article ties in perfectly with what we have been talking about in class as we just went over indicator species. Being able to estimate the amount of micro pollution in the oceans is huge because of the amount of micro plastics being used today is overwhelming. Everything from clothes and makeup containers to plastic shopping bags can aid in the creating of micro pollution. The first step in solving a problem is knowing what the problem is and how bad it is. Thanks to the sponges indicative properties we can figure this out. Article: https://www.scien...

           The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season has been far more severe that past years by far. During normal hurricane seasons it takes till around October to develop 9 storms severe enough to be named, however this year it only took till August 6 for this amount. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations predict that 2020 could be the year with the highest amount of hurricanes they ever recorded. Scientists and meteorologists believe the increase in hurricanes could be due to climate change. The hurricanes themselves are also affecting other products of climate change like rising sea levels. With rising sea levels and the water slowly moving inland, this will only make flooding worse. The storm surges that come with hurricanes will also be much larger and more dangerous. Hurricanes are also becoming much more abundant do to increasing atmospheric temperature.  Ocean water needs to be around 80°F to evaporate and condense...

       A huge problem within the realm of oceanic pollution is micropollutants, such as tiny plastic particles and fibers of textiles. Not only do they impact ocean life, but these tiny pieces of inorganic material can be ingested by sea life such as crabs, lobsters, and clams. These can then be ingested by people, and can be damaging to human health. A study by Ludwig-Maximillian University in Munich, Germany shows that sponges can indicate the levels of micropollution. Sponges ingest their food by filtering out microorganisms from ocean water, so they can easily ingest micropollution as well. The university studied 15 sponge samples from off the shores of Banka in Northwestern Indonesia, where plastic pollution is heavy. The study reported more than 34 different types of pollutants within the sponges. They counted that per gram of sponge tissue, there were between 90 and 600 different pieces of micropollutants. Few other species can monitor the oceans this closely....

Emily Savitz Heagerty 26 October 2020 Mauritius Oil Spill On August 6, 2020, there was a very large oil spill in Mauritius Island, located in the Indian Ocean. A large ship carrying 4,000 tons of oil cracked and is now leaking into the sea. More than 1,000 tons have already leaked, leaving 3,000 more ton of oil to be dumped in the water. This oil will destroy our oceans and many things living in it. Mauritius is home to some of the best coral reefs and marine life. When the oil touches the reefs, they will get bleached, which causes them to die. These reefs provide protection to the coastlines, provide jobs for people in the community, a food source, new medicines, and habitats for the marine life. If those reefs get destroyed, this will all be taken away. Not only will the reefs and everything living in the ocean be effect, but things living on land will also be negatively effected. Organizations from all over the world need to hear about this and take action. This is too much work fo...

 Francine Parks 10-26-20          A recently done study showed that mule deer in light-polluted areas become more active during both day and night, than mule deer who are not in these areas. It also showed that their predator, cougars, are still able to hunt the mule deer in light polluted areas, which they do by observing the darkest spots and recognizing it as their prey. Since artificial light is typically found near homes or in settled areas, both cougars and mule deer are now found closer to those types of settings, while still maintaining their predator-prey relationship.          I think that while it is good that the natural relationship between the cougars and mule deer still exists, artificial light is overall not a great addition to the environment. Mule deer, cougars, and all other animals are safer and more suited to living in areas with natural light and similarly natural conditions. When wild animals start to come clo...

      Trees provide many ecosystem services and benefits to their area, especially in urban spaces. Trees help to provide shelter, habitat, protection from erosion, air filtering, and many more benefits. They also can be harmful, however, in that they can cause allergies, they need maintenance. and they can cause accidents. These pros and cons are especially important to consider with the issue of non-native tree species. The UNIGE, a group that has been studying this issue, determined that in rural and urban areas of C anton of Geneva there were 911 species of tree, 90% of which were non-native. This could be a problem, as non-native species were beginning to take over, but the group also determined that the species were adapting quickly and with fair ease into their new environments, and that they would have little negative effect. In fact, the group determined that only about 5% of non-native species would cause problems to an environment. Finally, the UNIGE says that ...

 California's has lost 2.5 million acres of land due to wildfires. The warming weather, due to climate change, has made these fires last longer and happen more frequently. Northern California's strong gusts of wind made fires even worse. Forcing many evacuations. The winds carried the smoke and ash 150 miles away to San Francisco Bay Area. There are many toxic particles included in what the wind was carrying. If someone were to breathe it in it would make their lungs weakened which makes them more susceptible to COVID-19. Those particles are what made the sky orange. This is definitely a major sign that something is wrong with our planet. If people think an orange sky is normal and healthy, there is something wrong. The sharp increase in wildfires over the years just make it more alarming because wildfire cause a lot of issues, and many other issues could cause those wildfires. We need to care of our planets so less people are in danger.  link

Drylands make up about 40% of Earth's land mass and are home to about 40% of the human population, Most dryland ecosystems are adaptive to low levels of water and precipitation, but overgrazing and warmer climates have put many drylands at risk to desertification- the makings of a desert from a collapsed ecosystem . However,  Ricard Solé, a biophysicist at Pompeu Fabra University in Spain  and a team of  analyst  have created a computer model to simulate the effects bio-engineering microbes in the soil might have on these dryland environment. The hope is that splicing genes into the soil  microbes and bacteria will help make the drylands more resilient to climate change and push off the "tipping point" for another couple decades- allowing scientists more time to figure out even better solutions. For example, genes could be spliced in that allow photosynthetic bacteria to store more water and phosphorus , enriching the soil and allowing more plants to grow , crea...

 Biden announced that he would project a $2 trillion, 4-year plan toward green energy. He would also create more jobs for Americans to work within the industry. Biden also wants to upgrade the nation's power grid to a green grid. He also wants to transfer more to electric cars, and adding charging stations throughout the nation in the upcoming years. He wants to make several improves during his potential term during presidency. This is a potential global impact and problem. If we continue to pollute our air, global warming will continue to happen and ruin our planet. By finding solutions that are energy efficient, it can help better our Earth as a whole.  /  https://www.wired.com/story/could-biden-rebuild-the-economy-by-funding-green-energy/

  This article explains how Greenland is losing large amounts of ice, which is increasing more and more everyday. Climate change has affected Greenland, causing temperatures to rise. The new temperatures have caused large amounts of  ice sheets to melt. According to researchers, the ice sheets are melting rapidly, more than it has ever for the past 12,000 years. Researcher Jason Briner suggests that the world needs to go on an energy diet, our century will only be a bit higher than the past 12,000 years of how much ice Greenland has lost.  To prevent more ice sheets to melt quickly, the world (especially America) needs to go on an energy diet, and emissions need to be cut off.  Briner and other researchers from different industries created this "state-of-the-art" ice sheet model, in order to record the changes of the southwestern part of Greenland. To find out new information, they started form the beginning, observing what has happened to ice sheets from 12,000 year...

 https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/west-coast-wildfires-09-14-2020/index.html   https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/11/weather/western-wildfires-climate-change-future/index.html      According to the National Interagency Fire Center, 87 active large fires have  burned more than 4.6 million acres in 10 states. In California, there have been 25+ fires. Many scientists believe that these fires are because of global warming.  So far, the planet has  warmed by an average of roughly 1.2 degrees Celsius since the 1880s , with human activity responsible for the majority of the increase.  For the past 6 years, California would rise  1.8 to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than average. Even though that's not much, it is "sucking" out the moisture in plants, atmosphere, and soil. This is making everything more flammable. I think the reason why everything has lost its moisture is that in the past, we weren't paying enough attention to the alarming global ...

      Astronomers have spotted a potiential lifeform in Venus. In Venus's acidic clouds, they found a chemical called, phosphine, which may be a sign of life. Even though astronomers have no real clue on if there is actually life on Venus, they are still doing their job by searching for new and odd things in space. In our life time we will never see an astronaut make it to Venus, and come back to tell us what they saw. It is only within your imagination to believe what is out in space. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/learning/lesson-of-the-day-life-on-venus-astronomers-see-a-signal-in-its-clouds.html 

 Ever since they were built as only a last resort, fossil fueled peaker plants have been looming over the poor neighborhoods of NYC. The pollution they produce was already an issue, but it's only gotten more serious since COVID-19 arrived, since it's a respiratory illness. Because peaker plants usually run when there's extra demand for energy, during the summer when people are using their air conditioners, these peaker plants only continue to pollute the air and cause serious problems for poor neighborhoods, as well as Black and brown communities. The plants were originally built with the sole purpose of being a quick fix for problems such as blackouts, but now there's demand for a better solution due to the pandemic and the fact that peaker plants cause other health problems such as cancer and heart disease. The main solution being looked at is the use of solar power combined with batteries for storage. In NYC there's been several discussions with profit-seeking co...

 Due to the wildfires occurring in Orinda, California, residents woke up to a orange tinted, ashy sky the morning of September 9, 2020. Strong winds have caused the flames to grow larger, spreading smoke and ash as far as 150 miles south. This has caused poor air quality, which could be dangerous to breathe in. California battles harsh wildfire seasons, and due to climate change and warmer weather, it has led to longer and more devastating seasons. The gases and particles in the smoke are very hazardous and can cause many health problems if inhaled. I think this could be both a financial and social impact. By the fires destroying towns and buildings, they are going to have to  rebuild and put a lot of money back into towns and cities that were damaged. It is also a social issue, because it affected the people that live in Orinda and there personal lives. Hopefully we can start to act on the climate change issue, which will lessen the fire season, making it not so hard for the ...

Summary: This article is about what causes, and what a harvest moon actually is. It states why they occur and when they occur. They only happen in for 3 days in the mid-September days. It happens when the sun is setting and goes behind the moon which gives it it's fire red color. It happens on the autumn equinox every year. It is a sign that fall is approaching and summer is coming to an end. In earlier times it was a sign for farmers to begin the harvesting of their crops. thats how it originally got it's name in the first place. Due to the fires in California that are producing think smoke coverage. Scientist have stated that this is the first time in 100 years that the people in California are not able to see the harvest moon due to the thick cloud coverage.  -Colin Schaller