Q2-4

For Already Vulnerable Penguins, Study Finds Climate Change Is Another Danger

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/science/earth/climate-change-taking-toll-on-penguins-study-finds.html?ref=earth

Climate is making it hard for the Magellanic Penguins to live. The new chicks that are going to be born will be exposed to predation and starvation.When they studied Punta Tombo, Argentina, it was discovered that had there would be intense storms and warmer temperatures. It hurts them when there is a lot of rain or a lot of cold or warm weather at a time. Emissions of greenhouse gases are what is bringing about this change and it is unfortunate that young birds of all types are among the most vulnerable of all animals. The outlook for Penguins as a whole is really not looking good so hopefully the effects of global warming stop or at least slow down so they can have a chance to adapt to climate change. I didn't know that rainfall could even kill penguins and apparently it is responsible for the death of many penguins, with higher temperatures brings more rain storms.

This article showed me how slight differences in weather can kill many penguins. It's almost hard to believe how sensitive some animals are to rain or any precipitation. Global warming brings more rain so that means the Magellanic Penguin population will keep decreasing every time it rains. This will have a domino effect on the whole arctic ecosystem and whichever animals prey on penguins will have to migrate to where they can eat other sources of food.

Q2-6

Polar bear diet changes as sea ice melts

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140122104025.htm

 

 

 

Polar bears usually ate Hooded and Ribbon Seals until global warming really took its toll on the arctic. Polar bears are listed as "threatened" United States Endangered Species Act. Because of the constant declining of the glacial ice of the arctic, polar bears have to start adapting or they will die because the lack of Seals. The article states that today's polar bears are preying more on caribou as well as on snow geese and their eggs instead of Seals. "For polar bear populations to persist, changes in their foraging will need to keep pace with climate-induced reduction of sea ice from which the bears typically hunt seals," researcher Gormezano said. This is bad because now the polar bears are competing for the resources needed by other species, they need to invade on niches or else they will die.

 

It is sad to see that polar bears are so desperate that they have to change their whole diet up or else they will die. I can't imagine what life for polar bears will be like in 30 years for now if they are even around then. Hopefully the caribou population can proceed to feed the polar bear and other populations or else the polar bears will have to change their diet yet again and if they can't adapt then they will go extinct. Hopefully by some miracle the arctic grows again if there is a decrease in green house gases.

Q2-5

Cotton offers a new ecologically friendly way to clean up oil spills

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130515113833.htm

 

 

 

 

 

This article is about how cotton can be used to clean up oil spills. It is a smart find because it is very cheap, easy to get, and environmentally friendly while getting the job done as good as before. The cotton has to be unprocessed because it has more absorption abilitity when it is less soft. The scientists say that one pound of cotton has the ability to absorb up to thirty pounds of crude oil. The smart way that they are cleaning up oil now is releasing oil eating bacteria into the water to reduce the sludge. The cotton is the best way because you might still be able to use the oil if it is collected and seperated from the water which would be easy due to different densities.

 

I think that using cotton to clean up oil spills is a very smart idea and I dont know why or how it took so long for someone to come up with this idea for oil removal. It is such an easy concept because we all know that cotton has a very distinctive ability to absorb liquids such as water and thats why we have cotton balls. This is probably our best bet in oil clean up because it is so cheap, easy and efficient.

 

 

adsorption -when oil sticks to the outer surface of the cotton fiber.

 



Q2-3

Algae to crude oil: Million-year natural process takes minutes in the lab

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131218100141.htm

 

 gv

q2-2

Asian ozone pollution in Hawaii is tied to climate variability

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140127193856.htm

Smog in China

Scientists have wondered why Hawaii has always avoided the temperature, ozone depletion, and smog of Asia (especially Japan and China). The answer is atmospheric circulation. Shifts in atmospheric circulation have caused Asian ozone pollution reaching Hawaii to be relatively low in spring but rise significantly in autumn. Asia's ozone nearly tripled in the past few decades while it barely changed in Hawaii. The Wind circulation keeps the ozone away from Hawaii through different patterns and changing directions. This is good because even though China and the rest of Asia barely has pollution laws, they aren't directly affecting the United States.

This Article perfectly ties into our ozone unit because it talks about how there is good ozone and bad ozone depending on where in the atmosphere it is. Because there are little environmental regulations in Asia, there is a huge smog and ozone problem that is actually harming many of the inhabitants. People even have burning eyes from the smog and the ozone can cause life threatening problems. The whole world sadly is going to be affected by Asia's decision to not regulate emissions mostly because it costs a lot of money and they want to maximize profits. There should be a world assembly that should vote to see if Asia must comply with environmental standards.

Q2-1

Sea level variations escalating along eastern Gulf of Mexico coast

 

http://news.agu.org/press-release/sea-level-variations-escalating-along-eastern-gulf-of-mexico-coast/

 

 

 

This Article is about how the sea level rises in the summer and drops in the winter due to the melting and freezing of glaciers. The problem that is occuring with global warming is that the summer peaks have been getting higher and winter troughs dipping lower, potentially increasing flooding from hurricanes and stressing delicate ecosystems. The higher the sea level gets during the summer can increase chances of any natural disasters. Sea levels rose about 2 inches in the past 20 years and even though it doesn't sound like a lot, it could make a huge difference in weather patterns. The decrease in the sea level in the winter can destroy many coastal ecosystems because they will now be dried out in the winter. This is all linked to global warming from green house gases and the effects are going to increase in severity if we do not correct the global warming problem.

 

These findings aren't really that groundbreaking because we knew that this would happen at some point if temperatures were still to rise. Now that there is solid proof from scientists hopefully people will start thinking about their geological footprint especially when pertaining to green house gas emissions. If nothing is done, the fishing industry of the gulf coast will definately be ruined and many shores will become flooded with the extra melted glacial water.Thank god it's not too late to start making changes to our habits to change the direction of the climate and sea level patterns.