One More

Through all of this time I have learned many things. Some things that I thought never possible and some that just seemed to be on my mind, but I never paid attention to. It is hard to imagine that we have so many problems in this world when all I am constantly worrying about is my own little problems. This class has really opened up my eyes to the world and now I feel I have an obligation to do something about it. I have had a great time in this class and would look forward to taking something akin to it with all of my classmates and my professor. I feel like this class has changed my outlook on how I live my life. I tread more carefully in areas where it could mean creating problems for future generations and immediate dangers. Not only do I still have to give that presentation and learn from that, but I will continue to learn because of this class.

Biodiversity

When researching about the deforestation of the Amazon I came across the amount of species that would be effected by this. That is why I decided to write about biodiversity. Biodiversity refers to the vast variety of species of plants, animals, microorganisms,and the other ecosystems of the planet. Each ecosystem depends on biodiversity to maintain itself. If there are more species in an area then there is more sustainability with each life form. If there is a larger variety of plants then there can be a greater variety of crops. If an ecosystem is healthy then it can recover faster from disasters. By protecting biodiversity we will promote food, water resources, wood growth, pollution breakdown, medical resources, research, and more. People need to be more aware of what is happening around the world. If we start to remove or neglect species and ecosystems around the world everyone will feel the effects. Remove one piece of the puzzle and everything will start to fall apart. This is a real issue.

http://www.globalissues.org/article/170/why-is-biodiversity-important-who-cares#WhatisBiodiversity

Global Climate Change

   Global climate change is a real issue. I know that we just touched upon it in our last class, but it sounded like a fun and interesting topic to talk about, so I did some research. It turns out, if most of you didn't know already, that global climate change is when the average temperatures around the world start to increase. CO2 is a main factor in this. I have talked about this before in a previous post. Having drastic changes in the temperature can have devastating effects as far as the weather. The image below shows what scientists document and measure to prove the existence of Global climate change.

The co2 within our atmosphere has had an effect on all of our lives and the problem is not slowing down according to the graph. We need to do something otherwise we will be seeing some serious disasters. Please comment below.
                                                                              
http://www.globalissues.org/article/233/climate-change-and-global-warming-introduction#WhatarethemainindicatorsofClimateChange

Trees? who needs em'

Deforestation is a really threatening thing if not done correctly. Many people depend on forests for plenty of things. I just read recently that they are cutting down trees in the amazon and are doing it really fast and efficient. There are a lot of species that are native to that location whose habitat is in danger. The herbs that come from that forest create medicine for the people who live near the forest or in it. At the rate it is going now the amazon rainforests would be gone in the year 2060. It's a scary thought. Imagine the Amazon not as a rainforest, but as a vast plains. The Amazon has the largest variety of species on the planet and people are tearing it down.

 http://www.oneworldeducation.org/deforestation-amazon

Get in the game

From the movie we watched before break we learned that many things depend on fresh water and many people are starting to realize this. People are buying property next to natural clean water sources all around the world and companies are starting to see the opportunities arising from the dependance of water. Yes, fresh water is in decline and there is not enough for everyone forever if we stay on our current path and that is just plain scary. Many people and companies are ahead of the game as far as understanding what power water will have and the rest of the world needs to get the picture. Everyone deserves water and everyone needs to help. I found most of my information from this: http://www.fastcompany.com/1739772/why-ge-coca-cola-and-ibm-are-getting-water-business
Please comment on how you feel this should be addressed or how you feel.

Water: Public to Private

All around the world there are instances where large sources of natural pure fresh water is being bought out by companies and sold in bottles to other countries and companies. They are trying to make the biggest bang for their buck, but at the cost of eliminating accesibility to those who need it here. Water used to be a public resource, but we have forgotten that. Water sources all around the world are drying up and the people who own the water are more likely to sell to those who have money. What can we do about what is being done with the water? Here is an example I found:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/10/08/the-race-to-buy-up-the-world-s-water.html

Estrogen!

The fact that estrogen is in the water made me worry for myself and others. I  really wanted to know where it came from and I had my initial feelings and assumptions, but they were incorrect. I felt a large amount of what we intake was due to the pill, but it turns out that less than one percent of what we drink is from the pill. of course a large amount is coming in from animal sources. I am still worried for other creatures that drink our water, but haven't things been like this for a long time?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101208125813.htm

Not enough

It really upsets me that we keep giving Natives these areas where we tell them they can fish, but then we keep throwing curve balls and tell them that they are restricted to what they can fish. They have to go through legal procedure after legal procedure to get what is their right to have. Of course some of the fish could be hazardous to them, but if we give them land specifically for them to perform their practices why do we constantly ruin it for them. We do so much harm to their water that it is difficult for them to continue their daily lives. When are people going to see that this is something that can't be waited out or put on the backburner. Action needs to be taken. Too many people are suffering because of pollution and selfish people. People depend on these areas to live.

Is there another way?

Mining in this region and regions all over the world has historically left the environments in shambles. the runoff from the wastes of these mining sites are horrible. they contaminate your ground and stream water. Your water is not safe when it comes to mining. It has drastic effects on living things and prevents growth. Even today we are still feeling the effects of years and years of mining that happened long ago. Please read this article.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120730155057.htm

What happens there does NOT stay there!

I know that a lot of people might be talking about this now that it is everywhere. The smog problem in Bejing and China is a huge problem. Like we talked about in class on Wednesday when Mel Visser came; this creates a problem for the whole earth. The way that we could still get pollutants that are created halfway across the world is a huge issue. we need to do something about it, but what about all of the other issues at home? so much to do! Please watch this report.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2013/01/31/mr-beijing-smog.cnn

The Biggest Problem Is Us

In class last week we talked about how Superior is in the best condition out of the lakes, but that is directly related to how many people live on its coast. in a few articles i have read they say that the most harm comes from the population living in the surrounding areas. However we did discuss the topic of invasive species and I do believe that to be a threat as well to the lake. Some also state that global warming is a factor in this as well. They state that the warmer summers mean a warmer lake; which directly relates to cold water fish and lake levels. Superior is under many threats that need to be prevented. Please comment if you have any more information.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/10/29/lakesuperior

Oil Dependance Is Here To Stay

In Our last reading they talked about the US having a severe dependance on oil and that we should find other alternatives. I have found that the US is planning on just using it more and is also planning on tapping into natural gas. The US hopes to increase our oil production by 25% by the year 2014. I think that that is great as far as a temporary solution, but it only increases our reliance upon it. Please write if you have any more information regarding this. My fellow bloggers and I would love to hear what you have to say. The link below is where I received my information. You should check it out!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2013/01/18/marketplace-middle-east-oil-prices-exports-a.cnn?iref=allsearch

Excited New Facination

In class today we talked about wind turbines off coast and that got me thinking. I decided to do some research and found it odd that there really is little information and data regarding the effects on offshore turbines. I know about on land wind turbines and the effects that they have due to online searches, but I hope that the offshore ones have little effect on the environment.

The First of Many

This is a first time for most of us and I hope that it will be a great experience. Getting this done now is a good way to kick off the course. : )