Acadia National Park

Acadia was first established as Sieur de Monts National Monument in July 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson then it was later changed to Lafayette National Park and in February 1919 was when the park became the first National park east of Mississippi. In January 1929 was when the park was officially named Acadia National Park by an explorer named Giovanni Verrazano when he was sailing by the area back in 1524. One of the most historical aspects of Acadia's formation is because of the donations from private citizens such as George B. Dorr & Charles W. Elliot who discussed the dangers of the park that could have happened but prevented them before hand. The person that played a major role in this formation was John D. Rockefeller because he built carriage roads that were going to be for guests or people of the higher ranking but are for hikers, bikers, and horseback riders and he also donated 11,000 acres of land. Acadia supports more than 1,000 different plant species that thrive in conditions such as acidic, low-nutrient bogs, tidal estuaries, intertidal zones, lakes, ponds, and exposed summits. The animal species ranges from vital microorganisms to the predators and the types of species are birds, Mammals, Amphibians, Marine Mammals, and other sea creatures. There are 3 Campgrounds in Acadia which are the Blackwoods Campground, Seawall Campground, and the Acadia Wildwood Stables Campground, Blackwoods is in the south and is welcoming for tents and recreational vehicles, campfire programs, and running water with available showers, Seawall is near the southwest and is available for tents, motor homes, and group sites, and Acadia Wildwood Stables Campground is only open for visitors with horses. Some of the interesting facts about Acadia is that most of the building was provided by Civilian Conservation Corps, average summer temperatures is 67 Fahrenheit, Altitude is from 0 to 1,530 feet, there are over two million visitors per year. Acadia is frequently ranking one of the top National Parks in the U.S.

David Suzuki

David Takayoshi Suzuki was born in Vancouver, Canada on March 24, 1936.  While being raised in Canada, he developed a passion for nature and genetics which led to him getting his Bachelor’s degree in biology from Amherst College, and later his PhD in Zoology from the University of Chicago. He voiced his views on the benefits of genetics and also on the ethical problems arising from it. He did this through his television shows such as Suzuki on Science, Quirks & Quarks, The Nature of Things, and Yellowstone to Yukon: The Wildlands Project. He also wrote books like Genethics: The Clash between the New Genetics and Human Values, It’s a Matter of Survival, and The Sacred Balance. Because of David Suzuki’s love for science, he made a nonprofit organization that balances human needs with the earth’s ability to sustain life known as the David Suzuki Foundation. This foundation was established by Suzuki in 1991. Some rewards that he received are the Order of Canada, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Kalinga Prize and the Right Livelihood Award. David Suzuki will not only be remembered for his success as a science broadcaster, but also because he made people realize the need to coexist with nature. By being one with nature, people can help care for the enviroment and not take it for granted.

What Happens To your Trash?

Have you ever wondered what happens to your trash? Well it's not just simply taking out the garbage and thinking it's gone, but it isn't. Our garbage goes through a whole process of separating the trash and putting it in some place, but it's also not an ordinary place like a hole. The first destination is called a transfer station, where all of our trash is separated from trash and recyclables. Our trash could end up at a few destinations. They could end up at a landfill, where the waste is left to decompose. It can end up at a incinerator, where our trash is burned to ash and heat and could also be used as energy. They could also go to a recycling center where it will be transferred into a manufacturing plant so that the materials can be used to make new products. Lastly, it can end up in the ocean. This is why it is important that we put our trash in the right containers and recycle as much as we can. Garbage does not disappear when it leaves our homes. All of our trash ends up somewhere and has an impact on some person in some way.

Fracking

Hydraulic Fracturing, commonly referred to as "Fracking," is a method employed by firms to harvest natural gas from deep underground. The method uses a concoction of water, sand, and over 700 chemicals, blasting them through underground shale in order to access the hidden natural gas. Fracking has brought some economic benefit in the form of 100 years of gas security in North America, the opportunity to produce energy at half the carbon emission of coal, an increase in US domestic gas production, and, consequently, reduced gas prices. However, fracking does come at a cost. Fracking can contaminate air and groundwater with dangerous, and even deadly, chemicals. Many of these chemicals are either carcinogenic, highly toxic, or outright deadly. Furthermore, scientists have found correlation between earthquakes and fracking operations. Certain parts of Oklahoma are seeing a spike in powerful earthquakes that have not been seen since the 19th century. So far, fracking has faced little resistance in the United States- the EPA has been unable to prosecute fracking firms for possible pollution since 2005. Many states are also embracing fracking, with half of the states allowing, or in the process of allowing, fracking operations. The other half either show no opportunity for fracking, have banned fracking, or do not partake for other reasons. Due to its numerous dangers as well as the small amount of resistance by the government, fracking has spurred much controversy. Many campaigners say that fracking's economic benefits only serve as a distraction from investment in alternative energies.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

In a basic summary, the Garbage Patch is a whirl of marine debris particles in the central part of the North Pacific Ocean. It spans from our West Coast all the way to Japan. Marine Debris is any type of litter ranging from soda cans to balloons that have been dumped inside the water. Currently, it’s one of the biggest pollution problems that the oceans and waterways are facing.

Some facts about it are -

• Double the size of Texas.
• Over 7 Million tons of weight
• About 9ft deep
• By an estimation, over 80 percent of the plastic originates from land floating in rivers to the ocean or blown in the wind into the ocean.
• The remaining percentage originates from oil platforms and ships
• Majority of the trash patches consist of plastic

This is important to us because the patch has a major effect on us, and animals. Some of the plastics wind up in  the stomachs of these marine animals. The Laysan albatrosses, a type of seabird are usually found to have plastic  found in their digestive system causing their offspring to be majorly harmed from being fed plastic.The patch has an ability to absorb PCBs, DDT. and MAH’s which are organic pollutants (therefore they have a toxic effect). In regards to us, if these get inhaled they disrupt our endocrine system with our hormone’s. These are also swallowed by jellyfish who are soon swallowed by bigger fish therefore making a huge mess. I concluded my presentation with describing how it happened which was The upbringing of this patch was originally predicted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association to happen long ago due to the giant accumulation of trash found in the ocean. The patch is not one whole pile of trash but instead multiple tiny islands that formed together in a vortex where multiple currents meet. As they converge they create a passage that keep these piles together called gyres.

Sir David Attenborough

Zoo Quest. Life on Earth. Planet Earth. These are all shows that were produced and hosted by Sir David Attenborough. David Frederick Attenborough was born on May 8, 1926 in London, England. He developed a fascination with the natural world early in his life. When he was seven years old, he assembled a collection of bird eggs and fossils himself. After graduating from high school, he was awarded a scholarship to study natural sciences at the University of Cambridge. 

In 1952, Attenborough began working for the British Broadcasting Corporation as a television producer. Zoo Quest, a series that he launched in 1954, was a program that filmed Attenborough with animals in the wild rather than taking them out of their natural habitat. This series established what is now the general standard for nature documentaries today. Another big show that Attenborough launched was the education series Civilisation in 1969, which was the first-ever color broadcast in Europe.

Despite his growing success, David Attenborough decided to resign from the BBC to begin writing and producing television series as a freelancer. Some successful programs that he produced as a freelancer were The Tribal Eye, Life on Earth, The Trials of Life, and Planet Earth. Attenborough is still very active in journeying around the world and producing TV series even at an old age. For example, in 2015, he dived 1,000 feet in a submersible off the Australian coast to film previously unseen parts of the Great Barrier Reef. In addition, he recently filmed a new BBC series, Planet Earth II, in Ultra HD.

Throughout his life, Attenborough has earned many achievements. In 1985, he was knighted and earned the privilege to add "Sir" to his name. He holds 32 honorary degrees from British universities, including Oxford and Cambridge. In addition, several species have been named after him, such as the dinosaur, Attenborosaurus. Surely, through his travels and numerous TV series and documentaries, Attenborough has helped millions of us to understand and appreciate the wonders of the world.

The Great Sparrow Csampaign

The Great Sparrow Campaign

The campaign against the 'Four Pests' was initiated in 1958 as a hygiene campaign by Mao Zedong, who identified the need to exterminate mosquitoes, flies, rats, and sparrows. Sparrows were on the list because the Eurasian Tree Sparrows ate the grain seeds, robbing the farmers of the fruit of their labor. One of    the purposes of the campaign turned farming into a collective, state-sponsored activity. Individual, private farming was banned as part of China's transformation into a communist system. One of Zedong's first actions after collectivizing agriculture was probably intended to protect the farms. The sparrows ate the seeds and seemed to be a major hindrance to the work of farmers. Everyone from the elders to those just learning to walk participated. They would shoot and shake the trees so the sparrows could not perch on the trees and they would fall out of the sky. The others were shot out. Locusts, in particular, swarmed over the country, eating everything they could find. Including crops intended for human food. People, on the other hand, quickly ran out of things to eat, and millions starved. Numbers vary, of course, with the official number from the Chinese government placed at 15 million. Some scholars, however, estimate that the fatalities were as high as 45 or even 78 million.  But the people did not go down quickly or easily. Documents report several thousand cases where people ate other people. The most tragic aspect is that most of those deaths were unnecessary. Though the fields were empty, massive grain warehouses held enough food to feed the entire country but the government never released it.