Underwater Volcano Successfully Forecasted for the First Time

For the first time, scientists were able to successfully forecast an underwater eruption of the volcano Axial Seamount, located about 250 miles off of the Oregon coast. Axial Seamount last erupted in 1998, and scientists had predicted its next eruption for around this time by watching the buildup of magma around the volcano. Volcanoes are extremely difficult to predict, so this is a major accomplishment. Scientist predict that it was easier because of the conditions surrounding Axial Seamount, such as the thin crust and the location of the volcano, which provides a great deal of magma buildup. The scientists’ instruments were buried in the lava upon the arrival of the investigating team, and at first they thought they were in the wrong place. The eruption, which they estimate occurred in April of this year, was about three times bigger than the last eruption in 1998 and was about 1.2 miles wide. This demonstrates a significant breakthrough in the study of volcanoes as scientists have now successfully forecasted a volcanic eruption, which is a finicky thing to try to predict. Barriers to the future of foretelling volcanic eruptions include the widespread and numerous locations of volcanoes around the globe and the variety of conditions surrounding volcanoes, such as the thickness of the crust. I think that this is a very exciting and interesting concept, though it doesn’t pose much of a problem for the safety of humans any longer as we have enough warning before eruptions to evacuate cities in the event of one.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110809132234.htm

Extreme Weather Myths

In the past couple years, it is obvious that the weather is becoming increasingly more and more extreme. This year, the south was drowned in heat, most states hitting the triple digits. On a worldly scale, there were floods in Pakistan and Australia, record heat waves in Moscow, and the heaviest snowfall in more than a century in South Korea. July’s global average land surface temperature was the 4^th warmest on record. So what is driving this weather extreme phenomenon? Some people chose to blame it as a “hundred year” weather event, but the same thing occurred in 2005, and more and more frequently. With hundreds of factors weighing in on the climate change, what can we do to fix it? At least 85 nations have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit their growth by switching to renewable energy. But we can do much more to reduce the carbon emissions that contribute to the problem in the first place. I definitely agree that something needs to be done about this issue. I think more research should be invested in this problem.

http://insights.wri.org/news/2011/07/five-myths-about-extreme-weather

The Dangers of Cyanide Fishing

Cyanide fishing is type of fishing that involves cyanide filled squirt bottles that divers squirt at exotic fish to stun them and allow them to be captured. The reason why so many people are using this method is because it is easier to catch exotic fish this way than by using a net. These fish are caught for aquariums and for expensive seafood places. Cyanide fishing is illegal in most of Indonesia but it is very hard to enforce these laws and the lure of big money is always very appealing to many people. But Cyanide fishing has many big problems. The release of the cyanide is killing the coral reefs and cause cancer in many of the fish that are caught. There is also a small
dose of cyanide that can be passed through to humans if they are eaten. I feel that this practice of fishing is very dangerous to humans and the coral reef ecosystems and should be stopped. One way we could try and prevent cyanide fishing is by regulating the cyanide market in Indonesia and find a way to shut down the exotic fish market so that there would be no reason to fish for them. Cyanide fishing should be stopped for the dangers it poses to humans and the
Earth.
http://www.emagazine.com/earth-talk/cyanide-fishing

Seawater Solution

Scientists predict that by Halloween of this year, the world population will reach 7 billion, the highest in history. 1.8 billion People are predicted to live in areas of extreme water scarcity by 2025. Desalination, the removal of salt from water, is increasingly being proposed as a solution. But the process is very expensive and inefficient and scientists must commit to overcoming these obstacles before acting on it. These modern desalination plants use a technology called reverse osmosis to remove the salt. But most of the costs come from generating the electricity to run the plant. And in the United States, funding is unavailable. In order to meet the demands of our increasingly thirsty world, they need to become cheaper to build and operate. This is a very legitimate solution to a very big problem, but many barriers stand in the way of this solution. Another puzzle is what to do with the salt at the end of the desalination. I think this sounds like a very good solution to the water crisis, but I personally think that we should also explore other cheaper alternatives.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/08/110804-fresh-water-crisis-desalination-environment-science/

Study: Forests absorb much more greenhouse gas

According to a new study, forests absorb almost 9 billion tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide annually. Implications of this new study show that planting more trees can help a lot more than just replacing ones we cut down. The study shows that the world's forests play a huge role in climate change by essentially vacuuming up CO2 and storing the carbon in wood. This then helps regulate the CO2 concentrations in the air, keeping the earth from overheating. It is pretty universally known that tress absorb CO2 to make oxygen. But until the study, scientist weren't aware of just how big the role forests play. The finding could have big implications on national forest policies worldwide, implying that if the trees go, so do we. Forests untouched by deforestation absorb more than all other northern hemisphere forests combined. Further study is required to discover more about the forest’s CO2 ridding abilities. But this study presents a solution to the greenhouse emission problem. I think that this is very important. Just goes to show that doing something as simple as planting a tree really helps.

Riverside 550 Megawatt Solar Project

A Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, a 550-megawatt solar power project, has just been approved to be built in the California desert east of Palm Springs. The process of building this solar farm will create more than 630 jobs during construction and will infuse $336 million into the local California economy. The farm is a solar-photovoltaic facility, meaning they use thin film photovoltaic (PV) technology, which generates electricity with no air emission, water use or waste production. It has the smallest carbon footprint of and PV technology. When finished, it will be able to generate enough energy to power over 165,000 homes. And the facility in Palm Springs is not the only one. Over the last 18 months, 12 other large-scale solar projects have been approved that will make significant strides in spurring innovation, job-creation, investment. This is a very good solution to the very costly energy production in the densely populated California. Most barriers for making more of these solar farms are just convincing investors that they will end up being cost effective. For me, this is a very good thing to hear. It is very important to find other sources of energy as most of our present energy use is deteriorating the Earth.

http://www.enn.com/energy/article/43069

Sewage in the Hudson River

A recent report from a study shows that the Hudson River is routinely contaminated by sewage. After four years of water testing, one-fifth of the water samples indicated that the water was unsuitable for swimming and recreation. Despite improvements in water quality since the Clean Water Act was passed, the River Keeper environmental group, who issued the study, stated that 21 percent of the water samples contained high levels of bacteria from discharges as a result of aging, poorly maintained or failing sewage systems. With many people fishing, swimming, and boating on the Hudson more and more annually, it has become an increasing problem. While further study is needed to pinpoint the exact source of the pollution, the group is concerned not only about losing the economic gains that the Clean Water Act has provided but also about the health of the people who use the river for recreation. No immediate possible solutions arise but to release the results of the tests to the public as soon as possible and to further study and test the causes. For me personally, this is a very troubling problem. With no easy solutions, it becomes difficult to decide what to do. Although I do not live near the Hudson, I still think everyone has a right to clean water.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/nyregion/sewage-frequently-fouls-hudson-river-report-says.html?_r=1&ref=science

Putting Out The Megafires

For the last century, people have thought that forest fires are a bad thing and should be prevented. However, that is sometimes not the case. After a forest fire has burned through an area, it usually regrows and thrives better than before. In the past 20 years, there has been a rise in the amount and size of megafires in the western United States. This is due to a couple factors such as drier and hotter weather. Also, the prevention of forest fires in the past has left these megafires an abundance of fuel to burn. These megafires are so intense that they cannot be stopped. Fire cyclones are created within these fires due to the massive air currents that are pushed by the heat. There is much debate over these firestorms. Since they cannot be stopped, most thought gone into how to prevent them. One side argues that they should not be stopped and should be burn out by themselves. This is very unsafe and probably not a good answer. The other side argues that they should just douse every fire that is created so that there is no chance that they’ll grow into a megafire. But this will just set up an even bigger fire for the future. Some people say that the best way to prevent them is to start control burning parts of these forests to prevent the really big fires from occurring. I believe that this is the correct way to deal with these fires. As long as they are controlled, they won’t cause very big problems.

http://audubonmagazine.org/features1107/globalwarming.html

Finding A Happy Balance

A U.S. Official has determined that Washington can tap into Alaska's natural resources and energy without harming their beautiful environment. Ken Salazar, the U.S. Interior Secretary, is visiting to review Alaska's potential for natural gas and oil. They are confident that this will be able to happen through science without affecting the nature of the environment. The Republican U.S. Senator from Alaska, Lisa Murkowski has been pushing for the white house to look at Alaska for oil and gas to ease our dependence on foreign oils. I think this is a great idea if they can go without hurting the environment like they say. Our dependence on foreign oils is astronomical and anything to help ease that is exactly what we need.



http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/08/11/Balance-in-Alaskan-energy-and-environment/UPI-12631313066116/

Shrimp Boats are Killing Turtles

Many boats don't have the proper equipment that is required by law that prevents capture of sea turtles. The poles say 17% of fishing boats checked in Mexico did not have the turtle-excluder. In Mississippi and Florida none of the boats that were checked had the required equipment and in Georgia almost 50% of vessels that were observed also did not have the turtle-excluder. Is it the patrols fault for not enforcing the rules or is it the shrimpers fault for being careless and cheap? Some of the nets were intentionally being blocked to capture the endangered loggerhead or leatherback turtles. They are not positive that the shrimp boats are the cause in the increase of death of turtles but they are almost sure of it. It is estimated that 4,874 loggerhead and 108 leatherbacks were killed by nets just last year. I think every boat should be checked at every stop to make sure that the net is safe and unblocked. This needs to be stopped now. Turtles are important to many ecosystems and we cant let careless fisher men upset the balance of nature.

94% of Texas suffers from "extreme drought"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44105982/ns/weather/

The state of Texas continues to get drier and drier, up 2% from last week in terms of how much of the state is in "exceptional" or "extreme" drought. The state was told not to expect any relief in the near future, and the condition is expected to only get worse as time goes on. This situation has no positives at all and until the resources are available to send aid to the state's woes, it appears that Texas is in for a rough time. Obviously the nutrition of our own should be the highest of our concerns, and I believe that there is no sense in spending billions on foreign aid while so many of our own are going thirsty. We should be addressing our own problems before sending ourselves further and further into debt paying for other countries with money we don't have.

Study: Upper-Atmosphere Particles Slow Pace of Global Warming

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/environment/Study-Upper-Atmosphere-Particles-Slow-Pace-of-Global-Warming-127323103.html

A recent study by scientists has shown that tiny particles released high into the Earth’s atmosphere are actually helping slow down global warming.  The particles, known as aerosois, are blocking radiation from the sun which in turn, helps cool the Earth’s surface.  According to researchers, this has been enough to help slow down “global warming.”  Scientists say that since 2001, the Earth has been warming at a slower pace than in other decades.  Some examples of low-altitude aerosois are a part of our everyday lives.  The soot from factories and vehicles that make up city smog are an example of low-altitude aerosois.  Scientists also tend to agree, that the way to counteract global warming is not to combat it directly, but to find cleaner renewable sources of energy.  

Hybrid Solar System Makes Rooftop Hydrogen

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110809132232.htm

A Duke University engineer has created a novel hybrid solar panel roof that he believes can pump even more energy out of the sun’s rays.  The engineer, Nico Hotz, suggests that his hybrid option sunlight heats a combination of water and methanol in a maze of glass tubes on the roof.  After reacting, this system creates hydrogen at a more efficient pace than current solar panels would.  In the summer his hybrid achieved exergetic efficiencies of 28.5% in the summer and 18.5% in the winter.  Compared to 5-15% for conventional systems in the summer and 2.5-5% in the winter.  This could revolutionize the way our homes get their electricity on a everyday basis.  

Japan Not Totally Complete With Clean-up as Excess Radiation Threatens Workers

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43982727/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/#.TkLvP4KXFok

Panic and anxiety are all the feelings that the workers of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Tokyo as high levels of radiation have begun to show themselves at the levels that it can lead to incapacitation or death in just a few seconds of exposure. Japan has quickly recovered since the earthquake but perhaps it is too eager to rush head back to nuclear plants. It would be best for Japan to focus on containing this radiation rather than rush back to start the plant once again—especially since excess levels of radiation have already been found in beef, vegetables, tea, milk, seafood, and water. It is better to be safe than sorry, a lesson that Japan does not want to learn the hard way, especially since it can lead to fatalities.

Spotlight On Sahara Desert as Solar Energy Alternative

http://discovermagazine.com/2011/sep/26-power-people-plugging-into-sahara

The Sahara Desert is one of the most avoided places on the planet, but now it seems that all eyes are on it now that it could be possible to supply all of Earth’s energy needs. Introducing Europe’s DESERTEC, the plan to create vast fields of solar thermal collectors in the Sahara Desert in order to supply energy needs through solar and wind power. DESERTEC could be the key to cutting down fossil fuels and not get in the way of many inhabitants since the Sahara Desert is sparsely populated. The only problem with DESERTEC is the massive scale it demands—it would require new transmission lines to run through politically unstable areas and then it would be expensive to maintain the cost for having the energy to travel thousands of miles to its destination. If it is possible for these areas to remain neutral just to build DESERTEC, we could possibly make one of the most avoided places on Earth to one of the most helpful.

London Starts Planning for 2012 Olympic Transportation

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2011/2011-08-09-01.html

In an effort to make transportation to and from the 2012 Olympics more efficient and environmentally friendly, London officials have begun planning for the best ways to limit excess automobile use. UK transport minister Norm Baker predicts that the travel footprint will be cut in half during the Olympics, encouraging citizens to either walk or work from home rather than drive. This notion is definitely needed and it is encouraging that London officials are already on top of the planning process, but regardless of what they do the streets will still be crowded and the extra traffic from visitors will not be good for the environment. I personally applaud the UK's efforts and hope that their work will help cut down on as much pollution from the Olympics as possible.

Hudson River Tainted; NYC & Albany Struggle to Clean Up the Act

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/nyregion/sewage-frequently-fouls-hudson-river-report-says.html?_r=1&ref=earth

The Hudson River has always had an importance throughout history, but its significance may diminish soon with sewage frequently tainting the mighty river. After 4 years of water testing, results have shown that one-fifth of the water samples indicating that the water was unsuitable for recreational uses such as swimming, fishing, and boating. This sewage infestation is a major problem for New York City and Albany who would have many economic benefits to maintain the river. To add to the sewage, excess water from storms leads to runoff. The cities are attempting to try environmental-friendly infrastructure like porous pavement for parking lots to capture and retain storm water before it reaches the storm water. Unfortunately, it may be hard to raise the funds since the cities have already spent nearly $2 billion since the 1990s to solve this. Only time will tell if New York City and Albany can wash away their problems.

Low Temperatures Killing Coral Reefs

Everybody has heard of high temperatures killing coral reefs but studies have found that extreme cold kills them too. During this past winter, the Florida Keys experienced a 2 week cold snap. Scientist who went to the reefs saw a desolate wasteland of coral. There was no other sign of life because the corals were the basis of ecosystem. Scientist had to do some test to prove that the cold was really the cause of dead coral reefs. However, this isn’t the only thing that kills coral reefs. Warm temperatures and pollution also have a great effect on them. Saving coral reefs is not an easy task. It is a global problem that needs everyone’s help. We need to prevent greenhouse gases from messing up climates and reduce pollution. You’ve probably heard that before, but it is true. If you start helping the environment, you will be able to save ecosystems such as the coral reefs. I would want to save the coral reefs because that is where my favorite food lives, crab. Without the coral, none of us would have the crab, lobster, and fish we eat. Plus, we would be destroying a very beautiful place in the world.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110808143003.htm

Let's Give Mother Earth Some Space

Have you ever wondered what exactly this "Global Warming" is that they keep talking about? Or wonder why all these tornadoes, droughts, and massive heat waves are coming from? Well, people are beginning to believe that is our faults. With Americas population of 208 million, representing 6% of the worlds population, we use over a quarter of the worlds energy. We also use coal, natural oil, and fossil fuels to power our cars, homes, churches, and other places of interest. We use a lot of it in our country alone and now other countries are beginning to use it too. Our world can't handle more and more use of fossil fuels. Lewis W. Diuguid has come up with an idea of having a weekly-free energy day. This would be a single day a week where people would have to ride bikes or drive battery powered cars that had been charged the day before. Stores would be shut down. All A/C and heating units would be powered off and all flights would be cancelled. He says it would be a way to let Mother Earth catch her breath without harmful pollutants being pumped into the air for just 24 hours. He believes this is a way to bring humanity closer together and get us one step closer to creating non-polluting, non-fossil fuel way of living. I believe that this is a great idea. Why can't we as Americans give up energy for a day? We have become so wasteful and ungrateful with what we have we owe it to the world to give it a break. Also, no energy days would create families spending time together that many people do not do now. We are so caught up in this technological society we forget what it is talking to people face to face, and not over the internet.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/10/2352964/once-a-week-lets-give-mother-earth.html#disqus_thread

Reducing green house emissions to reduce global warming pace.

A recent study conducted by the NOAA showed that carbon dioxide is not the only measruable greenouse gas contributing to present and future climate issues. The study brought out that there are various hazardous substances that contrubute to the climate and environmental issue faced today. These substances include; Methane, Nitrous Oxide, and various ozone depleting substances. The study went on to say that by cutting back on all of these hazardous substances, not just Carbon Dioxide alone, can reduce estimated climate and enviromental changes of the future. The most apparent problem with the solution is that Carbon Dioxide Still contributes to more than half of the greenhouse effect, and that by cutting down on all of these substances would mean a drastic if not total change to the way we obtain fuel and recources to sustain a healthy and successful life. In conclusion, the idea of a total and absolute reduction of the greenhouse gases is unrealistic, because the main fact that many people are informed of the problem and many don't care unless it effects them on a personal level.

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2011/20110803_nonco2.html

Tsunami in Japan Caused Ice to Break in Antarctica

Though this is not the first time earthquakes have caused the calving (ice breaking off of larger ice landmasses, like Antarctica) of icebergs, this is the first occasion when scientists have been able to directly link the two. When the tsunamis hit Japan in March, the earthquakes responsible for them also caused large icebergs to break off of Antarctica eight thousand miles away. Scientists have observed from this event the significance of sea ice during ice calving. If sea ice is present, it protects the otherwise vulnerable Antarctic fronts. In this case, very little sea ice could be found and therefore the ice calved. Not only does this affect the continent of Antarctica, but its inhabitants as well. Penguins rely on the ice for breeding, and polar bears rely on the ice for everything. Of course, not much can be done about this because we can’t stop earthquakes from causing ice calving any more than we can prevent tsunamis. However, awareness about this situation is important because as more and more of the ice caps melt away, the edges could be weak and it could progress to the point where even small earthquakes can cause ice calving. Also, as these huge icebergs are calved from the fronts of Antarctica, ships need to stay alert for them so as they pass through freezing waters they won’t be taken by surprise.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44061689/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.TkG8KWGqj9o