Long Term Effects of Tropical Deforestation by Michelle Swanson

(umt.edu)

Deforestation has been occurring throughout history but has become a current issue within the last 50 years.  Deforestation is the act of permanently destructing forests in order to use that land for other purposes.  It occurs around the world but is more prevalent within the tropical forests.  Currently, forests cover 30% of the world’s land mass, and about half of the world’s tropical forests have already been cleared.  If the current deforestation rates continue, the world’s rainforests could be completely gone in as little as 100 years.  This is an issue that has lasting impacts on the earth, the species that live in these tropical forests, and human beings. Slash-and-burn is one technique used to clear the land.  This technique still leaves the soil with some nutrients left in it so that the land can be repurposed, but this soil soon becomes useless and the process will continue with another piece of land within the tropical rainforest.  This technique of deforestation quickly kills of the wildlife living in these areas to the point where they cannot be recovered in the future.  When you kill off wildlife living in these areas, it will drastically affect the food webs within the rainforests.

                Deforestation also affects the earth because when you no longer have trees to stabilize the soil around them, you start to create soil erosion.  The erosion of soil will eventually result in vegetation growth problems.  You can also experience flooding and landslide issues due to deforestation.  These problems are currently happening in Haiti due to deforestation.  This soil erosion can also make its way to streams and lakes.  This can decrease the quality of that water.

                Lastly, deforestation can drastically impact the climate.  It is said to be one of the contributing factors to global climate change.  When a tree is cut down and dies, it releases the carbon that is stored inside of it and carbon dioxide is put back into the atmosphere.  When you look at this on a large scale it can become evident that this will create long term problems for the climate.

                This issue relates to ecology because deforestation involves the issue of changing food chains due to extinction of species.  It affects species that coexist with the species that are dying off.   If deforestation continues at the rate that it is currently at, the rainforests will quickly vanish and will affect the rest of the world with its long term effects.  Of course it is necessary to reverse deforestation but that is easier said than done.  In the article, it states that replanting trees essentially will not make a difference but in my opinion, I think that anything can help at this point.  I don’t think that people think this is as big of an issue as it really is and I think it is necessary to get people’s attention about it.  As humans, we are the only ones who can stop deforestation and we need to make more of an effort to make that happen.

Sources:

http://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html

http://www.umt.edu/ethics/debating%20science%20program/odc/climatechange/climatealternatives/reduceddeforestation.php

Supreme Court’s Blow to Emissions Efforts May Imperil Paris Climate Accord by Coral Davenport

A coal-fired power plant behind homes in Poca, W.V., in 2014. Robert Galbraith/Reuters

            Although president Barack Obama had claimed that the United States was in full support of the Paris Agreement to significantly cut back carbon emissions, the Supreme Court recently interrupted the process. This decision to stop the progress of President Obama’s climate change regulation could greatly impact global warming. The commitments president Obama had made were to decrease emissions from 28 percent to 26 percent. Although the court did not stop the rule completely, it is currently at a stand still and it most likely set the United States back for years. Although China currently has the role of biggest polluter, the United States is the largest historical greenhouse gas polluter. Because of this decision, other countries are questioning how committed the United States is to helping make positive changes in regard to pollution. It would have been possible to reach the goal of emissions globally if the United States was on board, but because they currently are not giving their commitment, this could be detrimental to the “low-carbon policies”. Another issue with the United States not being totally committed is that this may cause other countries to not agree to decline their emissions. Many experts are claiming that the Supreme Court decision might be the first of many issues in the deal. The United States is not the only country that is resisting the agreement. It is believed that if Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders get into office next that they will continue on with President Obama’s plan. However, the Republican candidates, which include Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, are unlikely to agree to the Paris Agreement. They reject the science of human-caused climate affects and have denounced climate change regulations.

            This topic relates well to the course because it ties in with the ecological footprint. The United Sates is a country that has a very large ecological footprint and we should be doing everything we can to reduce it. If we do a better job of regulating the emissions produced in the United States it would have a large global affect. Reducing emissions from power plants, cars, buildings and other sources could do this. There are many ways to ensure a better future, other ways we talked about in class include eating less meat, conserving water and traveling less.

            I believe that we should continue with President Obamas plan to support the Paris Agreement. I was surprised to learn that the Republican candidates question the fact that something should be done. It is a huge issue that should be taken into account. There is so much that the United States could do to impact this issue globally so I believe that we should step up, be a good example for other countries and try hard to reduce our ecological footprint. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/11/us/politics/carbon-emissions-paris-climate-accord.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

Gabriella Cabrera Old Nuclear Fallout Proves Useful for Sea Turtle Clues

                                                                      Norbert Wu/ Minden Pictures

There are endangered Hawksbill Turtles that are becoming vegetarian. Researchers in Hawaii have found that the change is related to the decline of Hawaii’s coral reefs. Hawksbill turtles most eye catching feature is their shells, ornately patterned in honey, chocolate and mahogany hues. Collectors have long taken note that in the twentieth century alone, millions of hawksbills were killed so their shells could be carved into bracelets, hairpieces, jewelry boxes and other trinkets. Researchers are figuring out what research is best to find out more about Hawksbill turtles. Using bomb radiocarbon is one way to answer some biological questions. Doctor Van and his colleagues took a closer look at the radiocarbon levels in corals and turtles. In a final step, researchers applied the radiocarbon results, along with known measurements from captive and wild-caught turtles, to a mathematical model that could estimate an animal’s growth rate. Researchers have discovered, levels found in corals and turtle shells have become strikingly similar, indicating a shift in the turtles’ diet toward the bottom of the food chain. In addition, these turtles are normally omnivores that eat sponges, crustaceans, algae and more. Therefore, they are becoming vegetarians due to the lack of food that they eat. Doctor Godley states, “if such studies could be replicated across the Pacific and other ocean basins, we could attain a superb window into the long-term ecology of individual sea turtles, populations and their ecosystems.” An Ecosystem is a community and its physical(abiotic) environment. This topic relates to ecology because it can effect species in other ecosystems. If these sea turtles do not consume the food they need it can have an impact on the secondary consumers and tertiary consumers.  If these sea turtles were to become extinct then species who eat them could become extinct as well. As well as, the environment can become effected if there is a decrease of these sea turtles. In my opinion, a factor as to why these turtles could be  endangered are because of humans using them to make goods and not letting them live in their environment. In my opinion, the article demonstrated the importance of continuing to complete research on sea turtles to help make their ecosystems better.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/26/science/sea-turtles-hawksbills-shells-nuclear-blasts-radiation.html?_r=0

Water Shortages and Their Impact on the Global Community by Alyssa Stagliano

Water Shortages and Their Impact on the Global Community

Alyssa Stagliano

For those of us who live in upstate New York, water shortages are not a major area of concern in our everyday lives.  However, spontaneous situations such as the current case in Flint, Michigan prove that it is essential to be prepared for such a disaster no matter where you live.  Across the globe, about two-thirds of the world’s population struggles through severe water shortages for at least one month each year.  This is an extremely significant amount of people.  Also, it is important to note that water shortages lead to even greater problems such as crop failure, which can snowball into an increase in food prices and even widespread famine.  Yet, what exactly defines a water shortage?  Researchers agree that this problem occurs when the farms, industries, and individual homes in a certain area use double the amount of water that is available for their particular society.  Thus, water scarcity is a very human problem—it is caused by us and it directly effects us.  Thinking of it this way might make people more conscious of the fact that we, as humans, have the power to solve this issue if we change our behaviors.  For humans, water scarcity can mean anything from shortages in water availability for showering and washing dishes, to more dramatic issues such as a lack of drinking water in poor countries.  What is truly sobering is the fact that half of the people who experience this problem live in China or India.  In countries such as these, water shortages could be devastating, as their populations of poor citizens are higher.  Additionally, water shortages have a negative impact on the world’s economy as a whole.  This is obvious for the countries in which the shortage is taking place, but it is also important to realize that any country that purchases food from the affected areas will also be involved economically.  I think that education is key to solving this problem, and it is especially important for us to understand that water shortages create problems that extend far and wide.  The impact is immense.

While thinking of water shortages as a human concern may be essential to raising awareness, I also think it is important to note that the environmental affects of water scarcity are just as profound.  When we use too much water, there is a decrease in levels of groundwater, lakes, rivers, and reservoirs.  This can negatively impact an entire ecosystem.  For example, as the wetlands disappear, animal species begin to dwindle, and the system loses its stability when not all factors are in check.  This speaks to the idea of positive and negative feedback that we talked about in class.  A decrease in water supply would be an example of positive feedback, since it would push a system down a path of continuous decline.  Although this issue might not directly impact our everyday lives, I think it is important that we recognize its existence because exploitation of a water supply has a major influence on the global community.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/13/science/two-thirds-of-the-world-faces-severe-water-shortages.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=search&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

http://news.yale.edu/sites/default/files/ydb-images/8775-60136278.jpg

http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity

New Hope for Caribbean Coral Reefs – by Meghan Grabowski

            Over the past four decades, 80% of all Caribbean corals have disappeared. In 2006, under the U.S. Endangered Species act, the elkhorn coral was listed as threatened. The IUCN Red List of Threatened species later listed the elkhorn as critically endangered in 2008. 2010, SECORE, The University of Amsterdam, and The Carmabi Marine Research Station began to develop elkhorn coral offspring in hopes that they could be outplanted to various reefs throughout the Caribbean.  Their method for achieving this is to take male and female gametes from the wild and fertilisze them in a laboratory. They were able to grow corals to be the size of a soccer ball and successfully have them reproduce within four years. By doing this they are able to raise more genetically unique corals. An issue with this is that they can only use this in small, well-managed areas because they are really only able to support natural recovery. Another issue is that it is expensive to do and is a lot of work. This topic of laboratory-bred colonies being raised to sexual maturity relates to our class because it discusses how humans play an important role in the preservation of our planet. As we learned in class, if we are able to scientifically develop ways to sustain our natural environment, we are also able to help our future generations. I think that this development of elkhorn coral offsprings is an amazing step that the people of our planet are taking in hopes of sustaining the natural environment. The elkhorn are important to the Caribbean because they protect shores from incoming storms while also providing a necessary habitat for a large number of other reef organisms. These organisms include both ecologically and economically important fish species. They are able to provide protection for the shores and a shelter for the organisms because of their large size and distinct branching shape. Due to all of the good that the elkhorn do for the Caribbean, I think it is extremely important that they continue to work towards further developing ways to sustain and reproduce them.

Source for post information and picture:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160129131702.htm