New Study Finds Pesticides Leading Cause Of Grassland Bird Declines

 

 

 

 

 

 

"New Study Finds Pesticides Leading Cause Of Grassland Bird Declines - 02/25/2013 - Chattanoogan.com." Chattanoogan.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://www.chattanoogan.com/2013/2/25/245183/New-Study-Finds-Pesticides-Leading.aspx>.

 

            This article is written about the use of dangerous pesticides and the affect they have on grassland birds. The grassland bird population has been decreasing in the last few decades. Until recently it was thought that the loss of habitat was the reasoning for the decline in bird numbers, however it is now believed to be pesticides. The grassland birds are declining faster than birds from other biomes. According to Dr. Pierre Mineau who recently retired from Environment Canada “Our study put the spotlight on acutely toxic insecticides used in our cropland starting after the Second World War and persisting to this day – albeit at a lower level. The data suggest that loss of birds in agricultural fields is more than an unfortunate consequence of pest control; it may drive bird populations to local extinction”. The researchers then looked into the effect of dangerous pesticides like carbamate, an insecticide on the grassland birds. They found that pesticides are four times more likely to be associated with the decline in population than the next theorized cause. Most pesticides that were used in the 1980’s and 90’s are not in use today, they are called neonicotinoids, and are at the top of the global markets. A major toxicological assessment has been prepared by the American Bird Conservancy that will determine that the new pesticides will still harm birds and other organisms.

            I am still very surprised that after all this time and failed pesticides and other chemicals that are harming many different organisms that we have not produced one that is not harmful. With all of today’s technology we should be able to test the pesticides and chemicals before they are being used. Many chemicals are very harmful to both humans and animals and will do long term damage once they get in our body. I personally have an allergic reaction to many different fruits because of the pesticides used to grow them and keep off the bugs.  The companies producing these should try to come up with a safe type of pesticide and make sure they do enough tests to make sure it will not be harmful. The article was somewhat eye opening because while humans are just making things more profitable and proficient, these chemicals are doing a lot of damage in the long run.  

Arctic permafrost is melting faster than predicted

 

 

 

 

Michael , Slezak. "Arctic permafrost is melting faster than predicted - environment - 28 November 2012 - New Scientist." Science news and science jobs from New Scientist - New Scientist. N.p., 28 Nov. 2012. Web. 25 Feb. 2013. <http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22549-arctic-permafrost-is-melting-faster-than-predicted.html>.

This article by Michael Slezak described how the earth’s permafrost is melting at a very fast rate, and when it melts it will release tons of harmful greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. Permafrost is frozen soil that covers about a quarter of the northern hemisphere and traps vast amounts of carbon. Both methane gas and carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere when the permafrost melts. Methane gas is twenty five times more powerful than carbon dioxide in a course of 100 years. A team of NASA researchers have been studying the permafrost and the greenhouse gases that will be emitted. Currently there is no large release of these gases, but they are leaking out of the permafrost slowly. The equipment will also warn them if there is a big change within the permafrost and the gases are released. The article says there is about 1700 billion tonnes of carbon locked under the permafrost. It can be released either as methane or carbon dioxide. If there is a large thaw, they say that the region will become warmer and drier.

My reaction to this article is that I am very nervous for our environment. If the permafrost melts and releases all the harmful gases it can cause a lot of problems for a lot of people. I know I would not want to be living in northern Russia and be exposed to an abundance of methane or carbon dioxide. It could affect many types of wildlife and the eco system in general!

Study of Siberian permafrost caves shows global warming of just 1.5C 'would pump out a TRILLION tonnes of methane and CO2'

Gayle, Damien. "Study of Siberian permafrost caves shows global warming of just 1.5C 'would pump out a TRILLION tons of methane and CO2' | Mail Online." Mail Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2282750/Study-Siberian-permafrost-caves-shows-global-warming-just-1-5C-pump-TRILLION-tons-methane-CO2.html?ito=feeds-newsxml>. 

 

Global warming has been a very controversial issue in the past decade. According to this article, if the global temperature raises 1.5 degrees Celsius it would release huge amounts of greenhouse gases. The gases that would be released from the melting of many of the world’s frozen regions would include about 1000 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide and methane gases. Natural ecosystems and human infrastructure would be seriously disrupted by the release of these greenhouse gases. Governments around the world have set a goal to stop global warming at less than 2C higher than pre-industrial levels. Above this point, experts fear will make controlling the climate all but impossible. Even a global rise of 1.5C could bring a substantial thaw as far as north as 60 degrees latitude. The evidence of this comes from the study of stalactites and stalagmites in caves along the permafrost frontier of Siberia. The evidence showed that 400,000 years ago a temperature 1.5C warmer than it is today was enough to cause substantial thawing.

My first reaction to this is that I am a little nervous for the northern most countries and cities of the world. If there is a global thaw, it would not only raise the sea level, but also affect the infrastructure of many different animals that may not be able to survive without the arctic climate. I am also somewhat skeptical of this prediction, because no one can predict this one hundred percent, and it could not be that big of an issue. This article also gave me some hope because governments are starting to take a stand on the issue of global warming. They say that they will try to prevent the global temperature from rising 2C from the pre-industrial levels. If the governments work together to make our earth more green, then there may be some hope for the future generations that they won’t inherit a dying and CO₂ rich world.

Envrionmental Issues

 

The environment is a very important and much debated issue, especially over the past few years. The issue of course is whether or not to spend money to research alternative energy. Personally, I believe that we should be researching other types of energy to replace the both expensive and polluting nature of oil, coal, and the other fossil fuels that we are running out of. Instead of using a scarce resource that we use faster than it regenerates, why not use an energy that is abundant and can be re-used over and over again. 

Wind turbines are a way to harness an energy that is totally renewable and does no damage to the environment. They are currently used mostly on the west coast of the United States or near the Pacific Ocean.   We can also improve our use of technology to help in discovering the next great fuel that we will use. In the last few years General Electric has increased its funding into wind turbines, and have recently came up with the most efficient wind turbine to date. This wind turbine can even produce electricity from low wind areas.

Alternative energies are a great way to both produce jobs, and a way to lower our carbon footprint on the earth. We should start producing more wind turbines, electric dams, and other ways to heat our houses, fuel our cars, and provide electricity. Making these renewable energies possible will also provide more jobs for people to build the things needed to harness the renewable and alternative energies. Today more than ever people are trying to come up with the renewable energy to replace or reduce the amount of oil we are using in our cars. With the production of electric cars there is a hope for the future that we will find a way to replace the harmful fossil fuels and the damage it has done to our planet, and make for a healthier tomorrow.

I also think that we need to stop using the harmful chemicals and fuels used in the making of plastics and other products. These products can be replaced with more green products, as well as recycling the plastic we do use to provide a more healthy environment.

If we take heed of these issues and begin to move forward towards a more green and envrionmentally sound earth.

Picture:  http://solarpowerguidebook.com/wind-power/