Plants may use newly discovered molecular language to communicate

A scientist From Virginia Tech, Jim Westwood, has discovered that plants are communication on a molecular level.  His finding reveal that this communication is happening on a much larger scale and very more frequent than was previously thought. Westwood found that communications between the two plants happens via mRNA. mRNA was previously thought to be very fragile. Researchers’ state that this discover has many implications, locally and globally. The role of mRNA could be exploited as a way to protect crops, especially the crops that feed a large denomination of the world’s poorest countries.  This protection would be instrumented by the disruption of mRNA in the process of communication between plants and parasites. Discoveries like this illustrate the importance of agricultural research and that there is still much to learn about our environment.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140814191939.htm

Mysteries of the West Coast

All along the west coast, marine animals are washing onshore in mass numbers, mostly dead. In California, 367 sea lions have washed ashore this year. This number mainly consists of baby sea lions that have been abandoned by their mothers when they can't find enough food. Last year, a total of 1600 washed ashore. "Sea lions are living and feeding on the same resource[s] as humans are," stated Shawn Johnson, director of veterinary science at the Marine Mammal Center, to WSJ. "If they are starting to have problems, that shows there could be a problem with the ocean." A little further north, orca and beluga whales are having the same issue. Along the Alaskan coast line, Alaskan ice seals are developing a strange disease which often results in death. "In all, the federal government has declared 38 'unusual mortality events' involving marine mammal species since 2003," wrote Jim Carlton for WSJ. "That is nearly twice the number of events recorded from 1991--when the animals were put under greater federal protection--to 2002."

As of right now, the problem hasn't been identified, we only know of the results of the problem. Researchers also haven't laid down a plan of action beyond caring for the animals that wash ashore still alive. I suggest expanding marine hospitals in the areas most affected, because this article also stated that many were running out of room. Beyond this, all I can see as a solution with the information acquired is to keep researching and find out why these animals are having such a hard time.

http://www.naturalnews.com/046374_West_Coast_marine_animals_global_extinction.html?utm_content=buffer954c2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Snow has thinned on Arctic sea ice

Researchers have been tracking the accumulative snowfall in areas of the Arctic for decades. Research combined from the soviets, NASA, and the US Army Corps has found that cumulative snowfall is reducing on the Arctic sea ice. Speculations have been made as to the reasoning of this. Some suggest that it could be attributed to a late ocean surface freeze. This would cause a lrge amount of snow to fall into the ocean instead of onto the ice. Receding Arctic ice has been an issue that brings to question the rate of our climate change and its effects. Disappearing ice is a major loss of habitat for many arctic animals. The lower accumulation of snowfall could have a positive effect on the amount of returning sea ice. Snow acts as an insulator is the cold, therefore is could allow more ice to be formed with less of its presence. The snow act to keep the ice frozen longer in the springtime, with the reduced snowfall it could mean earlier melting. The Arctic’s fragile ecosystem has been in the spotlight on a national scale in regards to global warming and greenhouse gas’s effects. Although allegations of global warming and climate change cannot be made on the cause of this occurrence, it still begs the question of to what extent are we going to let our world deteriorate? Small changes in one environment can have a huge effect on a global scale. How far does it have to go?http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140813103754.htm

Stinky gases emanating from landfills could transform into clean energy

            Recently researchers have been working on a method to obtain renewable fuel from landfills. Landfills produce a large amount of methane due to the presence of microbes living in the waste. Methane is a main greenhouse gas that contributes to global climate change. Scientists have been working on reacting carbon dioxide with methane to produce hydrogen. Hydrogen, when burned, produces water vapor, unlike the carbon dioxide producing burn of fossil fuels. The hardest part of this conversion process has been finding a stable catalyst that can resist being contaminated by carbon. A perovskite-type oxide supported on ceria, a component found in ceramics, has been found as the solution to the catalyst hunt. So far the test have only been held in the laboratory, but with the promising catalyst, researches plan to test it on a larger scale soon. Technologies like this hold much promise for the future and our abilities limit our harm to the environment. Commercialization of this product may cause problems later down the road. Creating a cheap fuel source is the true challenge, we have the resources and the technology to do so, the real hurdle to cross is achieving a widespread impact on society. If fossil fuels are to be retired then major changes are going to have to happen in all facets of life. Trying to find a smooth transition to clean energy will take far too long, allowing irreversible damage on our environment. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140812121636.htm

Insecticides Harming Bee Populations

Recent studies led by Professor Daniel Nicodemo at the Universidad Estadual Paulista in Dracena, Brazil, have discovered how much insecticides have had an effect on honeybee populations. Insecticides like pirazoles and neonicotinoids have had negative impacts on the bees’ nervous systems. This leads to what is known as Colony Collapse Disorder, where the bees are unable to return to their hives. This is a problem considering that 80 percent of all flowering plants need to be cross-pollinated by honeybees, and one-third of agricultural food products need pollination as well. Until these pesticides become less harmful to bees, it would be beneficial to support more organic products that are either grown without the use of pesticides or with pesticides that come from natural sources. However, this may be difficult because organic farming is more expensive and less efficient. I believe that since honeybees have such an important role in nature, it is very important for us to find a solution to this problem. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140806154013.htm

Nuclear Waste

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/08/us/a-texas-county-sees-opportunity-in-toxic-waste.html?ref=earth&_r=0

This video is about the storage of toxic waste such as how and where to store it. The county called Loving County in Texas is being offered to store toxic waste for nuclear power plants across the country. Many are for the proposed plan as it would bring hundreds of millions of dollars to the state and county, however, a few believe that things could potentially go wrong. The solution is either to build it in Loving County correctly or somewhere else that is less populated. The barriers to the solution are that not everyone is on board with the idea of having a nuclear waste facility in the county because of danger hazards. My opinion is that the facility should be built in a non populated area such as a desert where it would be very difficult for it to get in a water source if there was a leak. However, the issue with nuclear waste cannot be avoided and it has to go somewhere.

Potentially Invasive Biofuels

The newest, and most up and coming biofuel crop, Switchgrass and Miscanthus, are in the process of being approved for use country-wide based solely on their low greenhouse gas emission production. However, researchers at the University of Illinois found evidence that it may be an invasive species and are trying to stop its approval before it is too late. Unlike many biofuel crops in the past, farmers were unaware at the time of their invasive properties and were left with little to no alternative. Thankfully,  University of Illinois graduates have developed both a set of regulatory definitions and 49 other low-risk biofuel plants for growers to choose from.

Lauren Quinn, invasive plant ecologist at the University mentioned that, “ There are not a lot of existing regulations that would prevent the planting of potentially invasive species at both state and federal levels. If there are, the laws are either poorly defined or not defined at all.”  In my opinion, I find it refreshing to know that there is research being done to prevent a widespread issue before it has the chance to flourish. I am a huge fan of converting plants to ethanol and any other sort of environmental technology, but agree with the University students; more definitive laws should be put in place.  I was shocked to read that only 2% of the United States has laws written about biofuel usage. Seeing a number that low (meaning only 4 states have some sort of law) makes me wonder the severity of this issue in the court's perspective. In other words, I wonder why this issue was not brought up in the past and if that (reason) will act as a barrier to getting the presented laws passed in the first place. Growers are basically given free reign as to what they are allowed to do, and I firmly believe that if the undergraduates plan for alternatives to invasive biofuel crops and well-written, straightforward laws gets passed, it will be extremely beneficial to both the growers and the overall well being of the environment. 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140807145616.htm