3.2 Millimeters: A Troubling Rise in Sea Level

ScrAPES#13: 3.2 Millimeters: A Troubling Rise in Sea Level

by Nicholas Bakalar

November 30, 2015

The latest report from the intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change stated that sea levels accelerated an average of 1.7 millimeters a year during the 20th century. The rise are unpredictable in some places because some of them had higher sea level increase than others. Scientists use tidal gauges and satellite altimeter data to take the amount of these changes. Ever since 1993 the average rate of increase has approximately doubled to 3.2 millimeters a year. Global warming and melting of ice and snow took part of this increase.

This is interesting to me because I have always wondered if scientists can measure the amount of ocean water earth has as a whole. I guess measuring the amount of increase sea level is very close enough. Also this takes interest to me because every time I hear global warming, climate change, or even this, it makes me wonder about the end of the world. I do believe in the end of the world (religiously). What would earth be like from 100 years from now? Will it still be alive and technology increased and so did the rich? Or will it have died out because of the apocalypse? Knowing the fact that sea levels increase rapidly makes me cringe because it is like dying from drowning.

This relates to the environment because if the sea level keeps rapidly increasing over time, soon homes will be flooded because it will surround the grounds of the earth. We cannot just throw away water because water is liquid and I cannot be "held". Soon in the future people animals will have no home or food because it will be extremely difficult to grow crops, if we do not change our ways. This is human's fault as well as mother nature because we cause global warming by greenhouse gases and the unhealthy living we took upon on.

What Climate Change Looks Like: Dissolving Shells

ScrAPES#12: What Climate Change Looks Like: Dissolving Shells

by Michael Boston

November 30, 2015

What do you see when you hear the word climate change? I bet you see erosion, increase of heat temperature, ice separating increasingly, etc. Am I right? Well researches and scientists discovered that the pteropods' shells are dissolving due to climate change or global warming. These tiny pteropods are eaten by salmons, whales, and others. Their shells contain calcium carbonate, which are sensitive to changes in the ocean's pH levels. Human activities which concerns carbon dioxide effects the ocean's pH levels which also effects the pteropods.

This is interesting to me because I have never heard of a pteropods in my life. I am also surprised that if climate change will effect the tiny living things in the ocean it will take a big part in our lives as well, because I believe that if something happens to one thing it effects everything else as a whole. Personally I am not a fan of climate change or global warming because when I was seven years old, ten years ago, I recalled that summer was perfect, winter was perfect. Everything was steady and time was slow. Now the seasons are not steady at all because winter arrives late and ends up to be severe blizzards. While summer are very hot like the tropics. 

This relates to the environment because I noticed that when people hear climate change they mostly think of it as a threat to human kind. Instead why do we not also consider it as a threat to animals and plants? They too are living. When climate change occurs because of global warming it effects plants and animals and the food web. If the pteropods' shells dissolve because of high pH level in the ocean then most likely the animals that consider it its meals will die as well. It will effect the ecosystem and the food chain and food web.

Resources:

• What Climate Change Looks Like: Dissolving Shells

India Is Caught in a Climate Change Quandary

ScrAPES#11: India Is Caught in a Climate Change Quandary

by Eduardo Porter

November 10, 2015

 India has 30% of the world's poorest. Majority of them, approximately 304 million people do not have electricity. While 92 million people do not have fresh drinking water. India will encounter a severe monsoon between August and September, with about 70% of India's rainfall. While also having to pay more for the consequences of the emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases from richer and developed countries. The United Nations believed that India's population would increasingly maximize to 1.5 billion by 2030, much more than China.   Majority of countries in the world are deciding to decrease greenhouse gases but there are also some who oppose.

This is interesting to me is one of the most populated country in the world with over 1.25 billion people, also being such a little country (compared to China). I am not also surprised that majority of Indians do not have electricity nor fresh drinking water because it is a third world country. What interests me is that India's population will assumingly increase so much that it will be much more than China's population. 



This relates to the environment because first the living style of the approximately 80-90% of the Indian's in India are very poor; do not have electricity, fresh water, money, or even a job. With very poor lifestyle people would most likely die from starvation or give up, which means the Crude Death Rate (CDR) will increase and it will be unbalance. Secondly, India's population is a problem because it also effects the overall human population. We cannot afford to have tons and tons of people living in earth when earth can only hold a certain capacity. As our population increase the more we are basically killing our planet. People think it's a joke but it really is not. 


Resource:

• India Is Caught in a Climate Change Quandary

Scientist Injects Himself with 3.5 Million Year old Bacteria

ScrAPES#10: Scientist Injects Himself with 3.5 Million Year Old Bacteria

by Mark Prigg

September 30, 2015

Anatoli Brouchkov is a Russian scientist at Moscow State University. Recently he found a bacteria in Mammoth Mountain in Sahka Republic or Yakutia in Serbia. The bacteria is named Bacillus F, and has been alive for millions of years being embedded on permafrost. Scientist tested it on experimental animals, but Dr. Brouchkov wanted to test it upon himself as well. His feedback to the bacteria was that he felt stronger and healthier. Elderly mices became more active and began to produce offspring. Scientists say that the bacteria may improve human health. 

This outstanding article or news is interesting to me because I think it is pretty awesome that there has been a bacteria out there for millions of years, untouched, and still living. I wonder what the bacteria feels being alive for years and years and years. What surprised me actually was that the bacteria survived in a sovereign climate. Serbia's world record coldest temperature was -31.9 degrees in 1985, and it could go up to 112.8 degrees boiling hot. The bacteria most likely has a very good adaptability to be able to survive these temperatures.

This relates to the environment because if this bacteria was literally true fact then it could save the human kind. We could cure cancer, diseases, sickness, etc. Also the bacteria could cure genetic mutations or diseases like progeria or the "tree man", with a rare condition of Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis. We may also be able to cure mental illness (if we actually can). This would most likely also save us from tragic disasters and prevent us from death. Humans will be healthier and the healthier we are, the better we feel, and the less likely we go to the doctors. But this would also effect our Crude Death Rate (CDR) because with people healthy and very less likely to die, the Crude Death Rate would decrease. Our population of seven billion will soon blossom even more.

Resources:

• 3.5 MILLION year old bacteria
• Scientist Injects Himself with 3.5 Million Year old Bacteria

Mummification Practiced in Bronze Age Britain

ScrAPES#9: Mummification Practiced in Bronze Age Britain

by Sindya N. Bhanoo

October 5, 2015

Ever heard of Ancient Egypt and their beliefs and superstitions? Egypt believed in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Recently, Dr. Tom Booth, an archaeologist at the Natural History Museum in London, discovered ancient mummification in the bronze age of Britain; expanding from 2200 B.C. to 750 B.C. He assumed that Ancient Britons' might have buried their dead in peat bogs (A bog is a mire that accumulates peat, a deposit of dead plant material), and extracted human organs after death through evisceration. Dr. Booth also assumed that people probably displayed the dead mummies in the living society; to make a claim that they "owned" something, either a land or property. 

 This article is extremely interesting to me because my family and I are superstitious, sometimes my mom goes overboard with it. Our superstitions are not the typical American one's where; if you walk under a ladder you will get bad luck, opening an umbrella in a house is bad luck, knock on wood, wishbones, or simply Friday the 13th. Personally, I believe and SOME superstitions but mostly I do not because some people depend on it. I the contrary, I believe in God, depend him, not beliefs. This article also interest me because the afterlife is a very mysterious yet dangerous place. You do not know where you are going to end up. There might not even be a heaven or earth, MIGHT. Sometimes I overthink to myself if there is, but I try not to. I make claims that maybe after we die we would just be stuck in a dream that we cannot get out of. Or resurrection. I question Ancient Egypt, Ancient Briton, and other places that have practiced mummification, whether or not they do it because they believe that their loved ones will be with them. Is it safe for the body and soul to be mummified?

Mummification effects the environment because it is one of the many "beliefs" or non-beliefs that relates to the nonliving. For example, nowadays people bury the dead or cremate them. People think that the "proper" way to handle the dead is by burying them in a cemetery (yes that may be true). And some assume that cremation is the devil's work. No it is not because in ancient or pass times the dead used to be burned, in the belief of setting the soul free. If the practice of mummification became an epidemic around the world including the United States? What would happen? 

Resources:

• Mummification Practiced in Bronze Age Britain 
• Ancient Egyptian Civilization

"What's Your Number?" Reflection

"What's Your Number?" Reflection

                Today in class Iearned more about population. One of the things that I have learned about it was that if the Crude Death Rate (CDR) decreases but the Crude Birth Rate (CBR) increases, it has a negative impact. It has a negative impact because it would increase the population of a country rapidly and the carrying capacity will not be sufficient. Also I learned that replacement-level fertility is when the amount of offsprings a couple has, is to replace one of them when they die. 

                 In my own honest opinion I do truly believe that we are TOO overpopulated overall. But I do not believe that we should have an "only one child" policy or similarly to that like what China did because it is the own people's rights whether or not they should have as many as sixteen (kind of over exaggerating now even though it is accurately true) children or to have one or none. I also do not agree, if ever, someone created an idea where we should basically just kill elders. I do not agree with this because if YOU were an elder, you would not want to die just because the world is overpopulated. You would want to see your grandchildren and bond with them. So in total I am more on the side where birth rates should decrease. If we do not decrease our population then resources like food would perish slowly. 

My number: 

When I was born I was the 5,968,509,397th person alive on earth.

81,453,757,294th person to have lived since history began.

What a Compelling Blood Pressure Finding Means for Patients

ScrAPES#8: What a Compelling Blood Pressure Finding Means for Patients

by Gina Kolata

September 11, 2015

In What a Compelling Blood Pressure Finding Means for Patients, scientists and doctors researched about large blood pressure and developed that participants with systolic blood pressure below 120 had a lower death rate and a minor amount of heart attacks and strokes in the contrary of those with a blood pressure of 140. Participants attained drugs that were mainly classified in 4 categories; diuretics which shorten blood volume, calcium which expands blood vessels through blockers, angiotensin receptor blockers that sections hormones that create blood vessels constrict and beta blockers that passively slow the heart. This study from scientists and doctors ended abruptly more than year from the standard schedule due to compelling data.

This article interests me so much because in my own experience my pediatric doctor announced that I have a blood pressure of 120/90. So unassumingly I speculated that it was a normal blood pressure. But when I searched on the internet about the blood pressure chart it states that blood pressure that is 120-139/80-89 is considered prehypertension. Finding this information astonished me because my mother has high blood pressure and I have heard of family members who had prehypertension, and honestly I am not surprised. I do not know if it effects me or if it is a blood pressure chart for adults. If it were true I wonder why my doctor has not told me that I have hypertension. Is it because I am too sickly? 

Blood pressure effects the environment because people with high blood pressure most likely has it due to smoking, overweight or obesity, too much alcohol and salt, and stress. Almost everyone in the world has either been stressed plenty of times, smokes, or loves salty food. Approximately thirty-six percent of adults are considered to be obese in the United States and that more than 2 billion people worldwide are considered overweight or obese. These all cause high blood pressure; which is now the world's leading cause of premature death. Blood pressure can lead to diabetes and diabetes can cause death. My mother always tell me to cut down on sugary foods or beverages because it is a cause of diabetes. In my personal opinion I expect that the world will not stop the causes of high blood pressure or diabetes. 

Resources: 

• What a Compelling Blood Pressure Finding Means for Patients 
• Hypertension/High Blood Pressure Health Center
• Pictures

Counting the World’s Trees

ScrAPES#7: Counting The World's Trees

September 4, 2015

In Counting the World’s Trees, BBC World Service News discussed about the side effects of road noises towards birds. Traffic noises are devastating to birds and from January to December of 2015 there had been a greatly amount of increase in temperature. There are three trillion trees in the world and they provide oxygen, carbon, stabilize, and provide habitats for wild life. Dr. Thomas Crowder of Vale School of Forestry om Environmental Studies explained that an average every year there is a gross lost of fifteen billion trees and a net loss of ten billion each year due to human impact. Dr. Heidi Ware of Boise State University and her team created a phantom road that has fifteen pairs of speakers that are strapped on trees blasting road noises in the forest. These speakers are turned on and off every four days; when the road noise are on birds show a low bmi or low body condition. Low body condition means less fat and less fuel. Also birds spent more time with their heads up looking for predators. On the contrary, when it is off birds has a good body condition. Eighty-three percent of the United States is covered within one kilometer of a road noise. Dr. Ware stated that to change this negative impact on birds roads should be designed with a different material (most likely rubber), decreasing the speed of cars, and decreasing the number of cars that drive on the road.

This podcast is significant to me because birds are one of the native species on Earth and the fact that human's most common work of art is negatively impacting them is horrid. Looking at birds I think they are the most precious animals on this Earth because they are innocent and wild. When I was younger I was not very fond of animals but recently owning six pets I realized the wonders of animals; they take a role in the ecosystem and the food chain no matter if they are an insect to as big as a polar bear. Trees are also one of the native plants on Earth. Scientifically they are one of the important factors of living things. 

Road noises relate to the environment because with it around birds will have weak body condition that results to less fuel which means they cannot migrate. Birds also pollinate plants, disperse seeds, and recycle nutrients. Other than that cutting down trees in a forest to invent roads decreases our oxygen level because trees are most common for their role of giving out oxygen to people and animals. They help us breathe. Without birds and trees the ecosystem would not be balanced. 

Resources:

• Counting the World’s Trees
• Why Do Birds Matter?

Obama Makes Urgent Appeal in Alaska for Climate Change Action

ScrAPES#6: Obama Makes Urgent Appeal in Alaska for Climate Change Action

by Julie Hirschfeld Davis & Steven Lee Myers

August 31, 2015

                President Barack Obama of the United States of America, visited Alaska to discuss about the current situation of global warming. Global warming is a continuously increase in temperature of the earth's atmosphere. Obama deliberated that climate change is not a problem of the future anymore it is a problem right now. Also, he admitted that the United States took a role in creating a climatic change issue and that they will acquire guidance to clarify the concern. Likewise stating that climate change will overflow countries and demolish cities, unless reducing emissions was to occur. Mr. Obama pledged to cut down emissions from twenty-sex percent to twenty-eight percent by the year 2025. In the contrary protesters protested demanding no to reducing emissions as a result of the state's high dependent issue on oil revenue. But Obama defends that there should not be any complication between a sound environment and strong economic growth. He also said quoting, "Those who want to ignore the science, they are increasingly alone. They're on their own shrinking island".

Winter Storm Juno 2015 in Boston

Juno

          This is concerning to me because President Obama is precise that climate change (or global warming) is arising currently. In my experience, during summer time it is magnificently burning hot compared to the temperature of summertime five to ten years ago; also nowadays the temperature around August in the United States, specifically Boston is decreasingly brisk around the temperature of sixty to sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, during winter we are experiencing moderate to very severe blizzards. On January 23, 2015 Winter Storm Juno was a compelling blizzard that effected Central and North Eastern United States and Canada with the highest gust of ninety-five miles per hour. It resulted to power outage which meant no heat or food available at the most. Also in western coast United States wild fires are happening due to extreme heat which goes up to ninety-five Fahrenheit nearly each day. I agree that United States should take action on climate change and also other countries as well because they are effected too. We live in one planet and we need this planet to survive.

Wild fires in California

           Climate change relates to the environment because with severe climate change like rapid increase in heat, severe blizzards, wild fires, erosion, our life would develop differently, if we even have a life anymore. Living things can not survive if we do not do something right away about climate change because sooner or later the land that we live in will soon perish away. People, animals, and plants will die. We will become extinct. Acting fast and ahead of time means we have an opportunity to innovate the future, for it to be a better living environment. People need to realize that natural disasters and climate changes can be murderous. I never understood why women tanned so much in the beach; I get it it, it makes you tanner and that is what you like. But when increase temperature of heat develops there will be a more likely chance that women or people in general will get skin cancer. Too much heat can also make you dehydrated. But it is not too late, we can better ourselves and our environment because our environment, our planet, our life is a very important thing to us, it is how we survive. 

Resources:

• Obama Makes Urgent Appeal in Alaska for Climate Change Action
• Pictures
• January 2015 North American Blizzard

Land Of Mutant Daisies

ScrAPES#5: Land of Mutant Daisies

by Martha Azzi

July 23, 2015

2011 Tsunami "3.11 Tsunami" hit Fukushami nuclear plant resulting to meltdowns
of 3 out of 6 nuclear plants.

Fasciation- caused primarily and rarely because of the
hormonal imbalance causing increase of weight and volume.

Back in March 11, 2011, a magnitude (level nine) earthquake hit Japan resulting to a brutal tsunami. Proceeding after the earthquake, radioactive water was recognized, exposing from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. According to the Japanese government the overall destruction of both the earthquake and tsunami are assuming to be three hundred billion dollars, which in currency of Yen is twenty-five trillion. Four years after the tragic incident residents detected mutated plants in the nearby city of Nasushiobara. There are plants, vegetables, and fruits that are mutated due to the earthquake and tsunami that occurred four years ago. Studies say that mutated flowers like daisies occur as a result of fasciation. Fasciation or cresting, develop due to rare condition of peculiar growth in vascular plants. Researchers have no doubt that mutation came into being by the earthquake that shook and the tsunami that flooded North Eastern Japan. 

This is ideally interesting to me because it astonished me that Japan was hit with magnitude of 9 earthquake with a tsunami. That is very menacing because it results to thousands to probably millions of death and what is more traumatizing is the fact that the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was also hit and destroyed. Nuclear Power Plants are extremely threatening especially when exposed to the environment and living things. Mutated plants, vegetables, and fruits? What has the world come to? If so, that this news is sincere then shortly food will be exterminated due to the nuclear and radiation effecting the grounds of north eastern Japan. People and animals cannot nourish food that contain radiation within the system because it can be a massacre. If people and animals did take in mutated vegetables and plants, will they become mutated as well? In my ideal opinion I think it is very horrific that mutation is occurring in Japan and that debris are washed up on North American beaches.

Green roots sprouting out of the tomato.

Mutation, radiation, and nuclear relate to the environment because these three things can effect the living people, animals, and plants in the environment. For example, the nuclear power plant already effected the environment because daises are mutated and are growing inwardly towards each other because of fasciation, vegetables are sprouting in different directions, and some are magnified in larger size or amount. Japanese people should no doubt stay away from radiated locations because their body can have a severe negative reaction to it. It might kill people and we do not want that. 

Resources:

**NOTE Video 1 is originally from Youtubers who discussed about the mutated plants, vegetables, and fruits after the devastating earthquake and tsunami four years ago in Japan. Plenty of foul language and crude humor may occur**

• Nuclear Mutant Plants and Veggies are Growing in Japan
• Land of Mutant Daisies
• Revenge of the Mutant Vegetables?
• Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011: Facts & Information

Ecobook

Ecobook

Omnivore #1:

Squirrels are omnivores because they ingest on plants primarily nuts, seeds, conifer cones, fruits, and fungi. Sometimes they consume insects, eggs, small birds, newborn snakes, and small rodents like rats or mice.

Carnivore #2:
My dog Lucky is mainly a carnivore because he eats pork, beef, chicken which is all categorized as meat.

Ecosystem #3:

The park are ducks, squirrels, pigeons' ecosystem because this is where they live, interact with one another, while adapting to their environment and everything else around them.

Producer #4:
Algae and plants are classified as producers because they're a source of food for other organisms. Green plants harvest through photosynthesis.

Land Use #5: 

This is considered Land Use because University of Massachusetts Boston is renovating it's environment for dormitories for college students.

  

Abiotic #6:

Sunlight is an abiotic factor because it effects living organisms and the ecosystem. The sun provides vitamin D and also is an extensive part of photosynthesis.

  

Community #7:

Charles Newtown is a community because various of different race of people live here. Everyone pays rent, buys groceries, and communicate with one another.

Heterotroph #8:

I am a heterotroph because I absorb autotrophs (plant). Plants are also a source of food for me because they are nutritious and provide carbohydrates, fiber, protein, minerals, and vitamins.

Biotic #9:

Trees are a biotic factor because they affect other organisms. They provide oxygen to living things like humans and animals. Also, plants are contributed with food through trees because of photosynthesis. Without them no living things would be alive.

Land Pollution #10:

Across from my house is a baseball field that is occasionally filled with trash; papers, dunkin donut cups, plastic bags, plastic wrappers, etc. 

Renewable Resource #11 9/21/15:

Primark's paper bag is a renewable resource because it has the recycling symbol on the bottom with a statement stating, "Paper is a natural and renewable resource."

Water Pollution #12 9/21/15:

The water beneath this bridge that connects from Charlestown to Boston has filthy water that gushes out occasionally at least a day (I don't know how many times per day), but it turns the water into a disgusting green-like color.

Composting #13:

This is composting because it is a natural fertilizer where the people in The Greenway decomposes soil and plants, which also reduces the amount of material in the landfill.

Autotroph #14:

This flower is an autotroph because it takes in energy from the sunlight, also known as photosynthesis. Autotrophs and Producers are a major factor in the food chain in all ecosystem.

Omnivores #15:

My pet rats; William and Alfonso are both omnivores because they eat anything. They eat seeds, fruits, grains, nuts, flowers, leaves, insects, birds, etc.

Throw away society #16:

An iPhone is considered a throw-away-society because it involves consumerism. It promotes interests towards consumers and buyers by its cool features and updating every 6-12 months.

Waste generation #17:

This coca-cola bottle is considered waste generation because it is a waste/trash that is consuming our planet because it is made out of plastic (I found picture two disturbing and funny).

Food Chain #18:
This is a food chain because it is categorizing the food the animals take in and what animals take in them.

Pesticide #19:

This is pesticide prevention for dogs so that they will not have ticks or fleas or pest on their fur.