APES Current Events

This article is about how glaciers on Baffin Island up in the Canadian Arctic are in trouble. These glaciers have now melted down to dimensions that they have not been at in the last 115,000 years. The melting has exposed ancient plants that were frozen. Researchers say these plants haven't seen light in at least 40,000 years. My thoughts are this is a rising concern. A issue that is right in front of us. Humans have been causing these issues ever since they have started to release green house gases into the air. the world as a whole really needs to make this a man topic and make its a agenda to chance ways that can benefit everyone. The article: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/01/baffin-island-glaciers-shrinking-climate/

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/giant-pandas-may-have-only-recently-switched-eating-mostly-bamboo?tgt=nr Giant Pandas only recently began consuming bamboo as their primary food source about 5,000 years ago. This is a lot more recent than scientist's had previously thought, as the scientists were about 2 million years off their previous prediction. This shows that the panda bears had previously adapted to many different environments and living conditions, with the different isotopes of oxygen and carbon molecules in their bone structures. It is interesting to note that panda bears had adapted so much more than scientists previously realized. This is important because they may need to adapt in the future depending on the conditions of their environment. It is also interesting, and somewhat concerning, to see that the scientists were off on the pandas diets by 2 million years. It is quite unbelievable, and makes me wonder how many other events they are off by with that big of ...

A sample of an insect fossil trapped in opal was found in Java. It was bought by Brian Berger, a gemologist in Philadelphia, who studied the fossil. He believed that it was a fossil that was trapped in amber, but secondarily coated in the opal gemstone. It is still awaiting more studies to determine the insect species, but if it is trapped in only opal, it could be a new species. I believe that this is important because it could lead to more discoveries of new species of insects, which could help scientists understand more about dinosaurs. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/01/strange-fossil-may-be-insect-in-opal-gemstone-java-paleontology/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/01/polar-vortex-record-cold-subzero-temperatures-midwest-america/ Across the United States, people have been experiencing consistently frigid temperatures due to the polar vortex that is a swirling mass of Arctic air that hovers around the North Pole all year round. During the winter in the Northern Hemisphere, its amount of land coverage increases and it dips down further than usual. Scientists are developing theories that suggest that climate change could cause colder temperatures like those being experienced lately could become more regular and last longer depending on the time of year. More extreme temperatures could be the result of further climate change. It's very interesting to read about why the extremely cold temperatures we have been experiencing are occurring. At the same time it is slightly alarming to think about the dangers these cold temperatures present to people in even further north locations that feel the ef...

As all pollution is bad, people tend to forget that ocean pollution exists as well, which is all together, about twice the size of Texas which substantially lies in between the waters of California and Hawaii. Therefore, with pollution being a major issue, specifically water pollution in this case, new prevention's are being created such as waterwheels in which trap trash before floating to other areas of water, picking the debris up as it washes up on shore and simple tactics like less plastic use and special recyclable plastic that can be broken down. In other words, ocean pollution is returning and strategies are continuously being made where ocean pollution will decrease if humans recycle the correct things and minimize the use of plastic as well as, if the fishing industry contributes to the overall cleanup and start using buoys to mark off certain areas, pollution will be easier to keep up after, since the fishing industry is one of the major correspondents to ocean pollution...

Article Link In 2001, the year I was born, Topton, Pennsylvania only had 13 days where the temperature reached 90 degrees. In 2019, Topton can expect to have 16 days where the temperature reaches 90 degrees. This number could reach up to 37 days by the time I'm 80 years old. Studies show that temperatures will continue to rise even if we lower greenhouse gas emissions, but lowering these numbers could prevent temperatures from reaching even greater levels. Higher temperatures have been found to increase illness and death for the elderly and infants, as well have as lower food production. I find this to be very scary. The temperatures in our own hometown have already risen since my birth and will continue to raise dramatically throughout my lifetime. Not only could this effect the environment, but it could also effect illness and death rates for children and elderly people. We definitely need to take action to lower emissions as soon as possible before this issue gets any more o...

In China, where air pollution is very high, scientists have conducted a study to see how air pollution affects people's happiness. They conducted the study on a social media platform, analyzing thousands of posts. They discovered that when air pollution is higher, people are more depressed. This affects women more than men, and more on weekends than weekdays. This is very interesting, because it's a new way of looking at different data to make conclusions about our environment. If this is used more it could show how many different environmental factors affect us. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/chinese-tweets-hint-happiness-drops-air-pollution-rises