The Endangered Species Act protects endangered and threatened wildlife by requiring federal agencies to ensure the actions they authorize, fund, or carry out do not jeopardize the animals on the endangered list. The act also prohibits the "taking" of species on the list and it protects the habitat of the endangered wildlife. It originally started nationally when congress passed the Endangered Preservation Act in 1966. Then 70 nations signed CITES ( Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species) in 1973, which led to the Endangered Species act being signed in the same year. The Endangered Species Act saved about 172 species from going extinct and the conditions of the animals on the endangered list keeps improving the longer that they are on the list. However, the Trump administration has weakened the act by making it easier to remove animals from the endangered list, lessening the protections on endangered species, and allowing federal agencies to conduct economic evaluations when deciding to protect a species. These amendments to the act are as recent as August 2019. It allows companies to make a profit without worrying about the effects of their business on the environment.Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Endangered Species Act
2-26-20
The Endangered Species Act protects endangered and threatened wildlife by requiring federal agencies to ensure the actions they authorize, fund, or carry out do not jeopardize the animals on the endangered list. The act also prohibits the "taking" of species on the list and it protects the habitat of the endangered wildlife. It originally started nationally when congress passed the Endangered Preservation Act in 1966. Then 70 nations signed CITES ( Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species) in 1973, which led to the Endangered Species act being signed in the same year. The Endangered Species Act saved about 172 species from going extinct and the conditions of the animals on the endangered list keeps improving the longer that they are on the list. However, the Trump administration has weakened the act by making it easier to remove animals from the endangered list, lessening the protections on endangered species, and allowing federal agencies to conduct economic evaluations when deciding to protect a species. These amendments to the act are as recent as August 2019. It allows companies to make a profit without worrying about the effects of their business on the environment.
The Endangered Species Act protects endangered and threatened wildlife by requiring federal agencies to ensure the actions they authorize, fund, or carry out do not jeopardize the animals on the endangered list. The act also prohibits the "taking" of species on the list and it protects the habitat of the endangered wildlife. It originally started nationally when congress passed the Endangered Preservation Act in 1966. Then 70 nations signed CITES ( Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species) in 1973, which led to the Endangered Species act being signed in the same year. The Endangered Species Act saved about 172 species from going extinct and the conditions of the animals on the endangered list keeps improving the longer that they are on the list. However, the Trump administration has weakened the act by making it easier to remove animals from the endangered list, lessening the protections on endangered species, and allowing federal agencies to conduct economic evaluations when deciding to protect a species. These amendments to the act are as recent as August 2019. It allows companies to make a profit without worrying about the effects of their business on the environment.
Exxon Spill of 1989
In May 24, 1989, The Exxon Valdez crashed into Bligh Reef and caused 11 million gallons of oil to spill in the ocean. The spill covered about 1,300 miles of coastline after a storm past and caused all the oil to move around and to get stuck on the coast of Prince William Sound in Alaska. The reason why the ship crashed was because the captain of the ship left to go drink and left an inexperience third mate go and drive the ship. Trying to move past ice in the water they tried to travel through the Bligh Reef. Since the third mate couldn't make the turn fast enough the ship crashed. The single hull ship design was a big flow since it meant one breach and all the oil would be able to escape onto the ocean. After months of cleaning and 2.5 billion dollars worth of "restoring the coast line" Exxon was held responsible for the mess and the hundreds of thousand wild life lives that were lost. Today there are still traces of the oil spill that can be found. In certain sights if you can dig deep enough there is still oil. Also less than half the wildlife has been restored almost 31 years later after the incident. The Oil Pollution act of 1990 caused the retirement of single hull oil tankers and harsher penalties for companies that causes oils spills in the ocean.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
The Cuyahoga River Fire
Cristian Lucero
The Cuyahoga River is located in Ohio that runs through the city of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. The river has caught on fire multiple times dating back all the way back to 1868. Factories near by have dumped out all their wastes like oil into the river polluting it. The river caught on fire on June 22, 1969 due to oil slicks in the river and the sparks of a passing train. The fire caused $50,000 in damage which was not a lot compared to previous fires. After the fire occurred, more awareness about pollution came about and congress passed the National Environment Policy Act in 1970 which helped establish the Environmental Protection Agency. The fire encouraged people to take care of the environment and so one of the first legislation's that the Agency put out was the Clean Water Act. This act mandated that all rivers throughout the US to be hygienic enough that swimmers and fish can use it by 1983. 50 years later and the river is now inhabited by many fish and is used for rowing, fishing and more. The fire brought awareness not just in Ohio but throughout the US and helped sanitize and clean up rivers.
The Cuyahoga River is located in Ohio that runs through the city of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. The river has caught on fire multiple times dating back all the way back to 1868. Factories near by have dumped out all their wastes like oil into the river polluting it. The river caught on fire on June 22, 1969 due to oil slicks in the river and the sparks of a passing train. The fire caused $50,000 in damage which was not a lot compared to previous fires. After the fire occurred, more awareness about pollution came about and congress passed the National Environment Policy Act in 1970 which helped establish the Environmental Protection Agency. The fire encouraged people to take care of the environment and so one of the first legislation's that the Agency put out was the Clean Water Act. This act mandated that all rivers throughout the US to be hygienic enough that swimmers and fish can use it by 1983. 50 years later and the river is now inhabited by many fish and is used for rowing, fishing and more. The fire brought awareness not just in Ohio but throughout the US and helped sanitize and clean up rivers.
James Lovelock
We all familiar with existing ecological problems such as pollution or extra carbon dioxide at the atmosphere. James Lovelock is a one hundred years old scientist that shows a completely different way of saving humanity and looking at the earth's climate. Graduated from Manchester University, worked as Medical research council and was a part of NASA planetary research team. While working in NASA, James proposed the Gaia theory.
Gaia theory states that all the physical things on the earth are interconnected and dependent on each other. The same things keep the same temperature of the earth through out. Example - plants take out carbon dioxide out of atmosphere and form clouds. This way plants cool the earth down. When it gets cold - they die. When with no refrigeration earth warms us again, plants reappear and cool down the earth again. This way earth could be compared to a living organism because of ability to maintain homeostasis, but it is not a living thing. James also believes that moving to mega cities, switching to nuclear power, controlling earth's temperature and letting AI take over will buy us some time or even save our lives. James loves science, and I hope that we will see more people with fresh ideas a bout saving the world and us.
Sunday, February 9, 2020
Grand Canyon
Jayden Hibbert
The Grand Canyon is a deep gorge in Arizona, formed by the Colorado River. It was cut out by vertical river erosion through the multi-coloured layers of the high Colorado plateau. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long,18 miles wide and it is more than a mile deep. It is referred to as one of the Natural Wonders of the World and attracts over 5,000,000 visitors every year. The Grand Canyon Skywalk was opened in March 2007 and is a horseshoe-shaped, glass walkway that allows tourists to walk 70 feet past the edge of the Grand Canyon wall and stand 4,000 feet above the Colorado River. The canyon was and is also home to many natives. Such as the ancestral Pueblo people followed by Paiute, Navajo, Zuni and Hopi tribes, but the Havasupai people now claim the Grand Canyon as their ancestral home. According to tribal history, the Havasupai have lived in and around the canyon for more than 800 years.
DAVID SUZUKI
David Suzuki
David Suzuki is a renowned geneticist, broadcaster and environmentalist of Japanese-Canadian origin. He was born on March 24, 1936, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. After high school, Suzuki attended Amherst College, in Massachusetts, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in biology in 1958. He went on to study at the University of Chicago and in 1961 graduated with a Ph.D. in zoology, becoming a geneticist. Suzuki specialized in meiosis and the study of mutations caused by changes in temperature. In 1979, Suzuki hosted his show 'The Nature of Things" on CBC TV. Suzuki's goal with his show was to translate the confusing and complex scientific language into concepts that the general public could understand. In this program, he identifies the threats to human and wildlife habitat. Suzuki began focusing on environmental issues when he saw the effects that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had on people after WWll.
Suzuki travels the world, examining humans' relationship to the earth. In 1990, he established the David Suzuki Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes solutions to environmental problems. The foundation's priorities are oceans and sustainable fishing, climate change, and clean energy. Towards the end of the 20th century, Suzuki became one of the first major voices to call for action in the fight against global warming. This made him one of Canada's most recognizable and vocal environmentalists. His speeches stress the importance of adopting a more sustainable way of living, to reduce the use of fossil fuels, and to empower people to make a positive change for future generations.
By: Adrian Bonilla
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Over hundreds to thousands of years, tons of trash was allowed to gather together in the Eastern Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California. So much that it became the largest patch of trash in the world, it's sheer size being estimated to be 1.6 million square kilometers, being bigger than many countries in the world. All of this trash is located together because of circular ocean currents called gyres.
Due to the amount of trash polluting the ocean, there have been animals killed because of it in gruesome ways by getting stuck in it. The other reason is because of bioaccumulation caused by animals confusing plastic and other garbage in the ocean for food. Through these events there has been a push to remove trash from the patch. Boyan Slat, the CEO of The Ocean Cleanup has ambitious plans to get rid of half of the garbage patch within 10 years. While it is uncertain how things will play out, it's good that there's a push to correct what humans have destroyed.
Due to the amount of trash polluting the ocean, there have been animals killed because of it in gruesome ways by getting stuck in it. The other reason is because of bioaccumulation caused by animals confusing plastic and other garbage in the ocean for food. Through these events there has been a push to remove trash from the patch. Boyan Slat, the CEO of The Ocean Cleanup has ambitious plans to get rid of half of the garbage patch within 10 years. While it is uncertain how things will play out, it's good that there's a push to correct what humans have destroyed.
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Rachel Carson
Luke Amoakoh
Rachel Carson was a biologist and writer who became widely regarded as the mother of environmentalism. She was born in Springdale, Pennsylvania on May 27, 1907 and grew up on a farm, exposed very early to animal life. She entered Pennsylvania College for Women and did graduate work at Johns Hopkins University. She started to work for a doctoral degree but quit in 1934 to obtain a better paying job that could support her family because of the Great Depression. After becoming an aquatic biologist, she became a writer and wrote many of which would become bestsellers. "Silent Spring," the book she is best known for, talked about the harmful effects that pesticides and fertilizers had on those that consumed them. Bird populations were the main ones being affected, including bald eagles. Carson's views on the use of pesticide was harshly criticized by many scientists. She was told that what she was stating was scientifically inaccurate. However, she was backed by President John F. Kennedy and her books sold were great successes. After she died of breast cancer on April 14, 1964, she was eventually recognized nationally as being right about her claims. The use of DDT (the main pesticide she talked about in "Silent Spring") was eventually banned. The Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act were passed. What she started launched the modern environmental movement. She made it clear to all scientists to not completely rely on the man-made inventions of the time.
Rachel Carson was a biologist and writer who became widely regarded as the mother of environmentalism. She was born in Springdale, Pennsylvania on May 27, 1907 and grew up on a farm, exposed very early to animal life. She entered Pennsylvania College for Women and did graduate work at Johns Hopkins University. She started to work for a doctoral degree but quit in 1934 to obtain a better paying job that could support her family because of the Great Depression. After becoming an aquatic biologist, she became a writer and wrote many of which would become bestsellers. "Silent Spring," the book she is best known for, talked about the harmful effects that pesticides and fertilizers had on those that consumed them. Bird populations were the main ones being affected, including bald eagles. Carson's views on the use of pesticide was harshly criticized by many scientists. She was told that what she was stating was scientifically inaccurate. However, she was backed by President John F. Kennedy and her books sold were great successes. After she died of breast cancer on April 14, 1964, she was eventually recognized nationally as being right about her claims. The use of DDT (the main pesticide she talked about in "Silent Spring") was eventually banned. The Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act were passed. What she started launched the modern environmental movement. She made it clear to all scientists to not completely rely on the man-made inventions of the time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)