Fukushima Radiation on North American Shores

 

Author: Prokhor Zakharov // Valentin Sigalov

Remember Fukushima? The nuclear power plant which suffered a meltdown several years ago, in 2011, after a huge earthquake hit Japan. It may feel like it happened ages ago. Well, radiation doesn't just go away.

For the first time, radiation from the Fukushima reactor has been reported found in the North American continent. So far, it has only struck the shores of Canada, Vancouver as per the reports of some scientists. More is expected to hit the coasts however, all the way from Washington to California.

The ramifications from this, however, are extremely light, especially on the human body. The isotope is even more harmless than a dental x-ray. The sampling project shows how the world's oceans can spread a small, local thing across half of the planet. It will help with predicting the course of future predictions in similar situations, and provide a further understanding of how the oceans work.

It also serves to show how even the mere mention of radiation throws many into confusion, and even panic. I had to admit, even I was a bit disturbed when I read the title - until I read the rest.

NYDAILY
Weather

Oil Plunge

Author: Prokhor Zakharov // Valentin Sigalov

We have all heard of the tumbling oil prices. It has affected all of us - we have all felt the impact on our pump bills. However, that is not the only area in which our lives are impacted. Oil is used all across our infrastructure. Energy is generated from burning it. Plastics are manufactured from it. Transportation of everything - humans and goods - is fueled by it. This means that energy, plastics, and much more becomes cheaper (in most cases, not for us, but for the people purchasing in bulk).


Unfortunately, this will have ramifications on the environment. First of all, vehicle use increases. People recognize the lower price of gas, which encourages them to travel. Even though their expenditures decrease, the laws of physics don't change and emissions increase. Vehicle emissions account for over 30% of United States pollution, so this does make an impact. This doesn't just apply to the United States, but the entire world. Also, statistics show that about 1 million more cars were sold last year than in 2013 - almost certainly due to the oil prices. Secondly, this would slow down research into energy efficiency. Progress is driven by necessity. So if there is no need for a vehicle to take on less gas, why make it efficient?

On the other hand, the oil price plunge has been touted by some as a "global growth elixir". Spending more always jump starts the economy, as money continually exchanges hands. However, according to a source, no real change has been noticed. After all, there may be more exchanges, but generally, the amount of money changing hands stays the same or even drops due to the prices.

CNBC - Plunge Effecting Economy
WSJ - Oil Price Tumble
Oilprice - Environmental Effect
KTVU - Plastics Oil Plunge

Coral Reefs and their key Ingredient: FISH!

Hey guys! Today I am going to discuss the key ingredient in saving coral reefs. Wait for it..... FISH! They are the key to restoring worn out coral reef ecosystems. Coral reefs usually degrade because of over fishing. Well how do you solve a problem like that. Well first we will have to manage the fishing and second, add more fish. " For overfished coral reef systems, restoring fish populations that perform key roles will in turn restore ecological functions critical to recovery. For moderately or lightly fished reefs, the recipe requires knowing which fish to catch, how many, and which to leave behind." Many coral reefs in this world are in great peril and there are many threats other than overfishing like pollution, coastal development and climate change that has a disastrous effect on our beautiful coral reefs. Scientists are now trying to figure out how many fish can be taken out of the coral reefs and not cause a major disturbance. The biomass of the coral reefs must be maintained and scientists are trying their best to analyze every aspect of the coral reefs so they can create a perfect formula that will help preserve them. One of the most important fish being taken away from their home is the reef fish which is an important tool in the recovery of the coral reefs. " "Reef fish play a range of important roles in the functioning of coral reef ecosystems, for example by grazing algae and controlling coral-eating invertebrates, that help to maintain the ecosystem as a whole," said coauthor Nick Graham of James Cook University. "By linking fisheries to ecology, we can now make informed statements about ecosystem function at a given level of fish biomass." These reef fish need to be preserved so that their home may be preserved. As of right now scientists haven't completely set a solution into effect, but is working on it. Personally, I hope that the coral reefs maintain their beauty and value.

sciencedaily
J-Ice Out!

California Drought and Water Tanks

Sup guys! It's me again. I've been reading up on recent news and guess what I found. "California's Four-Year Drought starts a 'Water Truck' Boom." This looks interesting. California is a region that is always has drought. Around a week ago California Governor Jerry Brown stated their new restrictions on water. And if anyone disobeys those restrictions, then its execution! Nah I'm just kidding. However, it is mandatory and it will be enforced very strictly. So then there's this guy named Neeley Keeney decided to run a water delivery service where he fills up a 2,500 gallon water tank from a fire hydrant in the city northeast of Fresno called Clovis. "

Keeney regularly fills up his 2,500-gallon water tank truck from a city-owned fire hydrant in Clovis, a city northeast of Fresno. He charges customers $200 to $500 for a truckload of water, delivered, and the cost he pays for the water is a mere "five bucks to load." Hey what else can you do. To get water you will need to make hard choices in California. However, with the new restrictions being passed the water levels may be fine to live off with for everyone.

nbcnews
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Volcano Used Eruption

Volcano 3/3/15

Chile: Eruption Sets Off Evacuations

 The date was March 3 where there was an volcanic eruption that caused about 3,500 people to evacuate. It was the Villarrica volcano, not that the name matters. But the volcano was 9,000 ft and belonged in the city of Pucon. Even though the eruption was normal, the sight of lightning striking down at the volcano was amazing. Rarely do i see lightning and volcano together. Instead of a normal blog that involves me talking about how "this" topic affects humans and why we should care. Today I and going to talk about facts about volcanoes that you might not heard or known about. To start things off, did you know that volcanoes can be active, dormant or ....extinct. I didn't know about extinct volcanoes. Apparently, they are volcanoes that won't erupt again. Next one, there are 20 volcanoes erupting right now, most being underwater, as I write my blog. Did you you know that volcanoes can evolve into super-volcanoes (could have had a better name). The biggest on Earth happened 73,000 years ago in Toba. Also, the tallest volcano is on Mars, not Earth (we are not that special). It is called Olympus Mons. This last fact could be related to the article. Volcanic lightning occurs within clouds of ash and due to friction, lightning occurs (correct me if am wrong). Well ladies and gentleman, this is my interesting facts about volcanoes, if you have any other, just comment. Thanks for tuning in. Good Night and Good Luck.     

Drones and Crisis Maps

Hey Guys! Today we are going to discuss about Vanuatu and how the put drones in the sky to see cyclone damage. Recently a cyclone had emerged in the island nation of Vanuatu. The cyclone named Pam was a storm that occurred in march which left 75,000 people without homes and at least 15 people dead. Wow That's just disgraceful. But alas we have no control over the weather. People lost so much in the storm. Personally I understand how that feels. Its goes all the way back to when I was a child.....But there's no time for that now so let's continue on the event. So the National Geographic Emerging Explorer Patrick Meier had ideas on how to map this. "Over the past few weeks, National Geographic Emerging Explorer Patrick Meier has been working in the country on assessing the post-disaster damage, as a contractor for the World Bank and at the invite of the local government." Meier, director of the Qatar Computing Research Institute uses UAV's to improve the details of the crisis maps. Drones have been successful in mapping the disasters that occur and explicitly shows the details of those crisis maps.

news.nationalgeographic

J-Ice Out!

PICK ONE TO SAVE, Otherwise, THEY ALL DIE

20,000 Species Are Near Extinction: Is it Time to Rethink How We Decide Which to Save?

I like animals, they offer so much to the world that you cannot even begin to think. Humans cannot live alone. (100% true) But fact is fact, there are species going extinct as I write this blog. There are also species going extinct as you read this blog. But what are we to do about this misfortune? We can show our support, but there is not much one person can do. It takes a community to make a difference. It also true that we cannot save all the species from extinction; therefore, we have to decide which ones to save and which ones to... But how do we decide which one to save? We could certain species due to their resourcefulness, or how we feel about and how these species look like. In the end, "'people end up saving what they want to save-it's as simple as that"'(Condor). In other terms, would you rather save a cute and cuddly panda, or a giant scary spider. This shows how much bias we have towards certain animals. Did we not for get that spiders are helpful to us. Yes pandas are cute, but what could they do?

Prevention of Species: We can as a community accomplish great feats. Educate people about the environment, protest about deforestation. Inform people about wildfires. Keeping the streets cleaner through recycling... And much more. 

YOU CAN GO WITH THIS....

OR YOU CAN WITH.... NO

JK. BOTH ARE IMPORTANT IN THEIR OWN SPECIAL WAYS. Both if gone extinct can affect the food web. For example...the bat eating spider keeps the bat population in check; therefore, allowing us not to worry about bats. 

Cycle of Silence: The Strange Case of Disappearing Environmental Issues

http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-ge
t/I0000kBqRV2HgveA/s/645/9501-0066.jpg

Cycle of Silence: The Strange Case of Disappearing Environmental Issues

It seems like environmental issues are flying out the window. No one cares about them, when there are more important issues to mention. To a certain degree, I kind of agree. Media rules this world, or at least the United States and United Kingdom. The topic which media covers is the topic which people hear and want to know. Since media does not want to cover environmental topics, people think that these topics are resolved. Well, that is wrong. The article I mentioned also talked about similar ideas.  

• If the Green Party excludes themselves from the general elections, then that could mean all the environmental problems are fixed. 
• If the party decides to join the general elections, people will take notice and focus their minds on relevant issues.
• Simple as that...
  What Do/Don't People Care About:
  • People care about what is happening right now.
  • People do not care about what our lives are going to be in 2050 when "x" number of species have gone extinct. That is about 35 years from now. All our lives are going to change. 
  • People care about issues that have personal effect. (i.e) water pipe line burst in Pine Rd. causing huge amounts of traffic. 
  • People do not care about if Great White Shark go extinct. There is a stigma on sharks, thanks media. Imagine the top-down effects which will happened if Great Whites disappeared. 

  

  Here is everything you need to know
  
  Yes, environmental issues are decreasing, but not because they are being solved. This blog is meant to talk about the issues of the environment. Little by little environmental issues will become a wide spread topic. 

  
  

Monarch Butterflies

The great Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, has been dying off for the past years. But, now an environmental group has sued EPA on allowing the use of a herbicide, glyphosate, and other herbicides by Monsanto Co's Roundup. The environmental groups and NRDC,Natural Resources Defense Council, wants EPA to review the harmful effects of herbicide on Monarch Butterflies. EPA claims that the science behind the herbicide is still evolving. The lawsuit claims that the number of Monarch butterflies have dropped from 1 billion to 56 million. This is a problem that our country must address.

Monarch Butteflies

(http://www.reuters.com/news/picture/environmental-group-sues-us-epa-over-mon?articleId=USKBN0LV2F320150227)

Monarch Butterflies are some of our State's butterfly and they look pretty and adorable. Monarch butterflies are required to pollinate vegetation, eat rotting fruits, and aphids. We need these beautiful Monarch butterflies to ensure that America's wild life stays in balance and to ensure that our tourism is not hindered. These majestic creatures are truly majestic, for I have seen them fluttered. Nature adapts, but we must help Nature.

Migration route

 (http://paulmirocha.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Monarch-Map_MW.jpg)

-Stephen

Pig Farms and The Environment

Large farms/factories that produce livestock, such as pigs are what feed America's growing population with delicious pork products, such as bacon, but residents around such farms are not happy. These farms produce a lot of manure, which are then used to fertilize surrounding farm fields or are just flung into the rivers. Which causes residents to complain about the smell, using law suites saying that they con not enjoy their property, and that the rivers are not clean enough to drink out of. Environmentalists, residents, animal rights activists, and supporters of local farmers are fighting against the large farms. The large farms/factories say that they do follow environmental standards, but not all factory farms do as some residents complained on how the drinking water is not clean. Most active activity with these farms are from Washington State to North Carolina.

These farms/factories are what keeping pork and other meat products low. Beef takes too long to make, but it is pretty good for the time it takes. This is exactly what the American public must fear, an increase in prices for meat products if we were to stop these farms and factories from growing. However, it may be sufficient to feed America's current and near future population, it will not be enough with our increasing population. We also need these farm/factories to send out pork exports and make jobs. However, if necessary precautions are not done, then the surrounding lands around the farms/factories will become polluted. So it must be up to the American public, since there must be more people protesting on the issue, for deciding which is more important, livestock or our America. If there were any vegetarians reading this article, my jokes on meat products were meant to be humorous, I did not mean to offend anyone.

-Stephen

Note, although these pigs are free from cages, most farms are not like that.