Shade balls

With the large drought going on in the west, many solutions have been brought up by various individuals on how to combat the drought. One of these solutions went into action over the last couple of months. This solution was releasing 100 million black rubber balls. These balls are called shade balls and can prevent algae formation and wildlife. These balls are primarily used to prevent evaporation in the California water reserves. It is said that these shade balls could potentially save 300 million gallons of water each year. After about ten years, the balls will be replaced while the old ones are being recycled.

While many people applaud this idea, I am skeptical on how it will work. Even though it has been stated that they will prevent algae formation, it seems that rubber makes algae grow on it. I think that there are better solutions out there that haven’t been brought to the table that could save a lot of water. Even though I have no doubt that this is already occurring, there are many simple ways to cut down on water such as putting water bottles or milk gallons in the back of the toilet.

http://news.discovery.com/earth/millions-of-shade-balls-to-prevent-evaporation-in-calif-reservoirs-150813.htm

Toxic Spill Into Colorado's Animas River Disrupts Livelihoods

In Colorado, tons of toxic water poured into the Animas River, a river going  through three states, while construction workers were trying to close an old gold mine.  The Environment Protection Agency stated that they would do everything they could to clean up this problem.  Not only is the river closed to recreational use, but the still unknown toxicity could be affecting the plant and fish populations in the river.  The river, an intense yellow-orange color after the spill, has returned to its original color, but the lasting effects of this spill have yet to be handled or even fully determined.  With the help of the EPA, this spill will hopefully be completely  cleaned up, but the magnitude of the toxicity could slow down the process.  I believe that there should be more precautions taken so that these kind of incidents can be avoided, such as regulations on how toxins should be transported and contained.

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=432192384&m=432192385&live=1

The Significance of Air Pollution in Weather Patterns

Jiwen Fan, a leading specialist in air pollution and climate, recently published a scientific paper analyzing the impacts of pollution in storm intensity. The concept behind this analysis began following the Sichuan Flood of 2013, a place known for its high air contamination, that closely accompanied a massive earthquake. Fan began inquiring the role the air quality played in the trend toward extreme weather in this region. Setting up a model with both clean and foul air, the Fan and her co-authors saw that the addition of pollutants suppressed rainfall until extensive amounts of water forced the clouds to precipitate. Ultimately Fan’s research supports other scientists’ work pushing for pollution to be taken into consideration in weather forecasts.  

The best possible solution to the unreliability of weather reports is to create a machine that takes in a sample of air quality in a specific location-with various other factors- to predict weather conditions. As air pollution in regions change, this machine could be altered to current events. The issue with a machine would be the obvious cost to build a reliable weather apparatus and the imperfection of such a device.

I believe it is quite interesting the role pollution plays in weather patterns. As weather itself has gotten more extreme in recent years, meteorologists and national governments need to have a quick and effective method to interpret the weather for the day. Time is of the essence- especially in situations that involve a lot of people evacuating. Many people are going to state how we should look at this situation as a huge call to stop pollution. However, in third world countries volleying for any type of economic advancement this is simply not a choice. I think the best method to handle such a common issue in today’s world is to adapt, then try to fix.

Article: http://news.sciencemag.org/asiapacific/2015/07/catastrophic-chinese-floods-triggered-air-pollution

EPA Spills Contaminated Water into River

The EPA accidentally spilled contaminated water from a Gold mine into the Animas River which is located near Durango Colorado.  According to CNN “Officials said they believe the spill carried heavy metals, mainly iron, zinc and copper, from the mine into a creek that feeds into the Animas River. From there, the orange water plugged steadily along through the small stretch of winding river in southern Colorado and across the state border to New Mexico where the Animals meets the San Juan River.”

A possible solution to the problem would be to put a dam up a place ahead of where pollution stops (ex: Grand Canyon) and to filter the water then put it back into the river. A barrier to this problem would be building the dam before the pollution gets to it.

My thoughts on the matter are that it doesn’t matter how they solve the problem. They just need to solve the problem fast before the contaminated water reaches the ocean.  

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/09/us/colorado-epa-mine-river-spill/

Litter

Most people don’t think it matters where they put trash, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Firstly you can be charged up to 1,000 dollars for littering. Second of all trash is prone to  germs and they can make you sick. Thirdly litter can take years to decompose. According to Environmental Impact: Project litter “75 percent of people admit to littering in the last 5 years” They also say “1.9 billion tons of litter ends up in the ocean every year

The Environmental Impact: Project litter decided that they were going to do something about the litter. They picked up trash in a park. You can make a difference like they did. This environmental problem has a very simple solution. Don’t litter and if you see trash on the ground pick it up. But the biggest barrier is that people don’t want to pick up after themselves. My thoughts are if you make a mess you need to clean it up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcHwYFmmV9s

Recycling

Recycling lessens the amount of trash we place in landfills. The less trash we place in the landfill the better because landfills makes our carbon foot print bigger. According to Kate Pullen “Recycling uses less energy than manufacturing product from virgin source” Recycling is also a lot cheaper too.

A solution to the recycling problem is easy if you have a water bottle or any other recyclable material and recycle it instead of throwing it away.  A barrier to this problem is not all people want to recycle. But you can’t get rid all trash because some trash isn’t recyclable.

http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/How_Does_Recycling_Affect_the_Environment

Salting the roads

In big cities they put salt on the road so people can continue with their everyday lives. Everyone knows salt helps keep the road safe when it snows, but what people don’t know is that the salt that is put on the road gets into the drinking water. According to the Smithsonian “More than 22 million tons of salt are scattered on roads of the US”. The salt flows away in the form of runoff. According to the Smithsonian “A stream in Southeastern New York state that was monitored from 1986 to 2005 ….. with a significant annual increase and road salting to blame for an estimated 91 percent of sodium chloride in the watershed” The salt can also kill plants on the side of road ways.

What is there to do to prevent these problems from occurring any longer? According to the Smithsonian all of these are used with salt to help limit the salt used“Beet juice, sugar cane, molasses and cheese brine.” There is no solution that works without salt. In my opinion they can put special storm drains in on roads that get treated often and send the water for special cleaning.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ist/?next=/science-nature/what-happens-to-all-the-salt-we-dump-on-the-roads-180948079/

Fish Go Deep to Beat the Heat

The rise in temperature due to global warming has caused the redthroat emperor fish to swim deeper in the reef. The fish swim deeper in the water to get cooler. If the fish don’t return to their usual depth, then the fishermen will have trouble catching them and need to rethink their approach. A research team studied multiple reasons for why the fish were swimming deeper. They considered rainfall, air pressure, wind, and temperature, but the only plausible explanation was the increased temperature. Global warming is effecting more than most people know. There isn’t a specific solution that could be used for this situation, but there are things that we can do to help. By doing things to lower our carbon footprint like using less fossil fuels and conserving resources, we can help better the planet. A barrier to this solution is that people have been trying to stop global warming for years and so far, they aren’t very successful. People are either too lazy or not educated about the problems to help the planet.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150807110818.htm

Pollution from the Cruise Ship Industry

Cruise ships have burgeoned in the last few decades as a fun and adventurous vacation getaway. Basically living on a cruise from anywhere to a day to years calls for the need of accessible bathrooms and other necessities. While people are luxuriously enjoying their spring vacation sailing the seas, they are hurting the sea life and overall environment while doing so.

                Waste released from these cruise ships add up over every trip, and harm the gilled-fish below. Human waste carries diseases that could potentially kill sea animals but also be transferred to humans through ingestion. Many cruise-lines contain outdated waste-removal equipment, showing the lack of support and care for the environment. With new federal regulations enforcing more modern waste-removal equipment, these cruise lines will not lose business and can continue making both air breathing humans and sea living creatures happy.

                With an update in equipment on a ship directly follows an increase in the ship’s travel cost for the customer. Having been on more than 10 cruises myself, I’ve witnessed first hand the importance of cost while cruise hunting. The amount of customers will slowly decrease, which could keep less cruise ships in the water and in turn result in lower water pollution. However, without strict federal regulations, I believe these cruise lines will find the cheap route, even though that means greater consequences to the environment. Click to Read Full Article

LA is dumping millions of small plastic balls into its reservoir to tackle the drought

In California, 96 million plastic balls have been dumped into the Los Angeles reservoir. The project cost 36 cents a ball and 20,000 have been put into the reservoir. The idea behind these "shade balls", as they're called, is to conserve the water since California has been facing such serious droughts. The balls cover the entire reservoir which prevents evaporation, which saves alot of water. Along with conservation of the water, the balls help to keep the water clean. The plastic balls have previously been used to prevent water evaporation at oil sites, but never in such large of a scale. The usage of these plastic balls is said to help save over 300 million gallons of water a year.

I think that this is a great and very helpful idea. If other areas in California, and other states, can use these shade balls it will help everybody in the long run. Conserving our natural resources is a huge deal and this is helping that effort.

http://www.sciencealert.com/la-is-dumping-millions-of-small-plastic-balls-into-its-reservoir-to-tackle-the-drought

Scientists Studying Possible Method of Solar Energy

       Chemists have recently been experimenting with something called “plasmon”, which is a specific motion of electrons in metals. These electrons, or plasmon, absorb and give off light, and the energy from this light comes off as heat, which can be used to do other chemistry and create more reactions. Plasmon is not just being used to do chemistry; it is being used to do photochemistry, or chemistry with light and heat. Possible applications of this energy include being used to oxidize water, to create hydrogen, which can be used as a source of sustainable energy. Scientists say that this will be difficult, but it is an important source of energy to support the increasing world population without environmental impact.
Personally, I think that this would be a fantastic solution to our renewable energy crisis, but barriers include how affordable this would be and how much people would be willing to adopt this method. If this method does prove to pan out though, I think that the Environmental Protection Agency will probably enforce requirements for this sustainable energy to be used, which would solve those barriers.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150806144423.htm

Invertebrate Extinction

A team of researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa recently released its findings, revealing  a shocking decline in the populations of invertebrates in the state and across the globe, some members even referring to the situation as the "sixth mass extinction."  Although there is a recording system for animal populations already in place under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the populations of invertebrates are grossly underrepresented, as the system is mainly comprised of birds, fish, and mammals, despite the fact that invertebrates make up roughly 99 percent of the world's biodiversity.

A possible solution to this problem is extending population data collection to include invertebrates, but this would be highly implausible as doing so would entail much more effort and cost.  I think that while it would be beneficial to include invertebrates in data collection, the cost highly outweighs the gain.

Thirsy Butterflies Disappearing from the UK

Because of climate change, over the next 35 years, butterflies in Britain could be facing extinction. The rising climate change has caused severe droughts in Britain, which the butterflies cannot thrive in. Studies have been done to form models that show in the next few years the greenhouse effect will potentially make droughts much more severe in parts of the world. Researchers studying the butterflies found that during a very severe drought in 1995, 6 of the 28 species of butterflies in the UK dropped dramatically in population. The butterflies suffer so much because their larvae cannot survive the heat and many of the plants that produce nectar for the butterflies cannot survive. The researchers found that the butterflies thrive much better in a larger habitat during a drought because there is much more resources for them.

Obviously, this is not good for these species of butterflies. A species going extinct can have a major effect on many other things. The amount of carbon dioxide that we are releasing needs to dramatically decrease to save these species along with many other things. But to get a whole population to work together towards that cause would be a very difficult thing to do.















http://m.livescience.com/51797-butterflies-disappear-as-climate-changes.html

Dry Days Bring Ferocious Start to Fire Season

     Global warming is having a huge effect on how much wildfires are occurring in the Western United States. The wildfires that are caused by global warming are due the to climate change, drought, and the heat. These are the three main ingredients that are causing major wildfires in the West and prompting the government to declare state of emergencies to these states and counties. Dozens of homes and thousands of acres has been burned over the past few months in these regions. This entire region that is being affected by these wildfires is under duress. The area has been dry for so long that the government officials have warned that the potential for more catastrophes to occur in the months ahead, as drought and climate change push high temperatures to a region that is already plagued by dry- arid lands. And according to experts, there needs to be a substantial amount of rain to end the drought in the West but the rise in temperatures increases the risk for flames.  

    The things that we could to prevent this from happening is the participation of people to change their lifestyles and try to make them realize the damage that this can have on the environment and people. We could also find a way to make clothes and other necessary items in a cleaner manner( instead of the factories putting carbon into the atmosphere).

    The barriers to this is the consideration people have for the environment. They just want to live life like there is not a problem when, truly, there is. They don’t want to change their way of lifestyle because they are to “ lazy” to change their ways.

   The faster we find ways to change the problem of climate change, the amount of wildfires will decrease and there might not be as much as there is now. I think that wildfires are very destructive because they take homes of families and destroy the habitats of animals.

Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/us/dry-days-in-west-bring-ferocious-start-to-fire-season.html?ref=earth

As California wildfires burn, southern plant species are shifting northward

     As California wildfires burn tree canopies and the forest floors they hold up, the plants that are replacing the understory are beginning to be found in more southern areas of the West. With the climate change, the plants from drier and warmer areas are taking over. One example of a plant is the lupine and violets. These are typically found in Canada and Northern California. But they are seen to be replaced with flowers and shrubs found in drier climates like monkey flower and manzanita. 

   A solution to this problem could be the pockets of cooler microclimate still remaining in the forest. Species from both the northern and southern climates can be allowed to exist together, which can decrease the prediction of one becoming extinct.

   Barriers to this solution are the limited amount of Cooler microclimate pockets found in the forest. Not all of the species of plants will be allowed to coexist. 

  Personally I think that with the pockets of cooler microclimate, the species of plants from the northern and southern climates can exist together. Even though there aren't a lot of pockets, there are ways for the plants to be spread out. This wildfires will continue to happen due to the climate in California, but with this solution I feel that the plant species can be saved.




http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150810132122.htm

    

This Beautiful But Destructive Fish Is Resorting to Cannibalism

Lionfish, enticing but dangerous creatures, invade the ocean floors and threaten many other fish within their destructive range. Lionfish reproduce at a young age, mature quickly, and have little to no predators in their natural habitats, which has lead to an influx in their population. However, this not only threatens the direct targets of the lionfish (such as reef fish) but also indirectly affects the life on land.

Having little predators, these lionfish feed on all the prey of some other iconic fish such as groupers. Without food, these groupers and other important fish will slowly dwindle in numbers, affecting the food supply above water. A dent in the lionfish population can most effectively be created through commercialization and heightened attraction for human consumption. However, not many humans have been attracted to lionfish as a source of food, and fishing these creatures serve no enticing promise.

Personally, I believe that a small push towards more restaurants and seafood markets serving lionfish will effect the overall sea population in a positive way. Although we would tamper with the natural upbringings, we would not completely reverse it. If local owned shops and restaurants offer lionfish as an option, more people would be attracted and therefore lower the population of lionfish but not endanger it. Click to Read Full Article

Fish Go Deep to Beat the Heat

                Global warming seems to be having effects on the ocean’s ecosystem. After monitoring 60 tagged redthroat emperor fish at Heron Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef for over a year, scientists found that these fish were becoming more populated in deeper waters rather than near reef slopes. After considering many factors, the only notable one was temperature. The redthroat emperor is a very commercially important fish (second most favored behind the coral trout). Therefore, the depth change could have drastic effects for not only the fishers, but also the market. Fishers would have to change the way they fish, which may make it much harder to catch them. This increased amount of work would inevitable increase the price of the fish. More research is underway to see if the redthroat emperor could adapt to warmer sea temperatures, as other species could.

                There appears to be only two solutions to this problem. We would either have to slow global warming (obviously) by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases released or try different fishing methods to catch these fish.

                Both of these solutions have evident barriers. Obviously, the barrier to slow global warming would be participation. Many people are not motivated to try to slow global warming. They are also not interested in changing their lifestyles. As stated above, the barrier to trying different fishing methods would be the possible increased price of the fish. In my opinion, this appears to be a big problem. With this experiment, we can predict what can happen to other fish as the ocean temperature gets warmer. We should stop this problem now, before it gets out of hand.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150807110818.htm

“Environmental Pollution Agency”

                On Wednesday last week, 3 million gallons of toxic water from an abandoned mine called the Gold King, spilled into the Animas River in Colorado. It is unsaid on how long, but the Gold King has been releasing 50 to 250 gallons every minute. The Environmental agency had been trying to block the leak when a bulge of the water came out and flooded the river with the toxic water. The blame goes to the Sunnyside Gold Corporation as they built walls from another nearby mine. Those retention walls busted and went into the Gold King and then continued into the Animas River. Many people were affected by this spill as the river is a very popular spot. A couple of nearby towns who use water from the river stopped pumping and had to pump from a backup source. A river rafting company is frustrated because they cannot operate and their workers are not able to work. No current solutions have been developed by the Environmental Agency but they could start by building a better retention wall to prevent future spills. I personally think that an event like this should be cleaned up as fast as they can before many other people and towns downstream are affected.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/us/durango-colorado-mine-spill-environmental-protection-agency.html?_r=0

Toxic Algae Bloom Endangering Marine Life

Off the West Coast, a bloom of toxic algae as wide as 64 killmeters and as deep 198 meters has been developing. Many fisheries from California to Alaska have been shut down as marine life has been poisoned by the bloom. Crab seasons may be cut short as a higher level of toxins are being found in crab meat.  Researchers say these types of blooms are usually common, but not in this size.
The cause of the gigantic algae bloom is unknown, but researchers are taking guesses at what it could be. The main cause they think it could be is from climate change. They found an area of water that is warmee by 3 degrees Celsius than other areas of water. The researchers are speculating that global climate change could be making these algae cycles larger and harder to deal with.

This is a very huge problem if it is directly related to climate change. It proves that we need to work on changing our daily lifestyles to try and prevent these things from happening.

Can habitat protection save our disappearing bats?

       North American bats are very helpful to our society and our environment. They help people by eating mosquitoes that eat us alive and help with the pests that destroy our crops and damage them. But lately, their populations are decreasing at an alarming rate. The cause for their decline in population is because of the expansion of agricultural lands across the world. Also, they are plagued by a disease called white-nose syndrome, which is decimating their population. While heavily farmed areas do provide a place to find the corn earworm moth, the supply of crops varies throughout the growing season, which in turns changes the amount of food bats find. When crops do not ripen or flower, there is not enough food source for all the bats. This in turn, makes natural habitats a must for bats in order to keep their populations.

      There are a is ways that we can save the bat population. We can stop destroying their habitats for our purposes( we can find other places to start a farm and plant for our food purposes). These animals help us greatly by eating the pests and mosquitoes that bother us so much and destroy our crops. We can also save bats by finding other land that was used before( like an old factory or store) and plant there instead of destroying the habitats of these animals.

    The possible barriers that might not make this possible are the ways of thinking of people today. They only think about themselves and not the environment and the animals that inhabit it. I am not saying that all of them think this way but most of them do.

     The hope that I get out of this article is that we try to save these gracious animals that help us in so many ways that we can not think of. People need to understand that these animals are very helpful to us. But people just don’t realize it. I really want to save these animals because they will help us with the pests and mosquitoes that bother us so much.

Sources: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150804143437.htm