Month: September 2016

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Overall Effects of Acid Rain

Acid rain has impacted soil, forest and vegetation, wildlife and human activities. alternatives/ solutions to acid rain is to reduce air pollution by decreasing the use of fossil fuel. Impacts of Asia’s acid rain according to the World Resources, acid rain is now mostly problematic in areas of southeast China, northeast India, Thailand, and the Republic of Korea that are downwind of urban and industrial centers. High levels of acid rain in these areas led to the decline in crop yields and tree growth.

I find it interesting that the U.S isn’t one of the major countries dealing with acid rain just because of all the manufacturing and population growth we have especially in California but we seem to have more solutions to decrease the use of fossil fuel. This has so much significance to Environmental Science because if it wasn’t due to air pollution acid rain wouldn’t be such a dramatic defect. However if you really think about it acid rain seems to be more prominent in third world countries. Most likely due to the fact that they burn more fossil fuels.

Network, B. E., & Juhi Chaudhary, Earth Journalism Network. (2016, June 9). Acid Rain. Retrieved September 17, 2016, from http://earthjournalism.net/resources/acid-rain
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Monstrosity of Acid Rain

Rain itself is already a slightly acidic compound. However, acid rain is rainfall that has become overly acidic due to high levels of nitrite and sulfuric compounds in the atmosphere. These high levels are caused by air pollution mainly from factories burning fossil fuels. It causes environmental harm by destroying forests and lakes. The presence of acidic solution in these bodies of water affects the wild life that consume or inhabit it. Fortunately the U.S is the least affected by this problem however places like China, Taiwan, most of Eastern Europe, and Southeastern Canada are majorly affected. The decrease in pH in lakes due to acid has also caused a decrease in biodiversity.

Biodiversity in food, plants, people, and animals is what keeps us striving and acid rain effects the environmental health of the planet. Acid rain not only devastates the natural world but it also affects human life. These chemicals can lead to lung disease, environmental asthma and many other life threatening diseases.

Source: R. (2016, April 1). Menu. Retrieved September 17, 2016, from http://sites.psu.edu/endangeredenvironment/2016/04/01/atrocities-of-acid-rain/
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Effects Fell Through The Food Chain

 Rotting vegetation and erupting volcanoes release certain chemicals that can cause acid rain, but most acid rain falls because of daily human actions. The burning of fossil fuels by coal-burning power plants, factories, and automobiles has the biggest effect. When humans burn fossil fuels those chemicals react with water. Winds spread these acidic solutions across the atmosphere. When acid rain reaches the earth, it flows across the surface and enters waterways sinking into the soil.

Because we have things such as cars and factories that give off so much pollution it makes it harder for us to have clean air. When these toxic chemicals get into the air it causes damage not only to plant and aquatic life but to humans as well. The air we breathe is polluted and people think that the smell we get after rain is cleaning of the air when in fact it’s the opposite.

Source: Society, N. G. (2016, September). Acid Rain Facts, Acid Rain Information, Acid Rain Pictures, Acid Rain Effects – National Geographic. Retrieved September 17, 2016, from http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/acid-rain-overview/
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Acid Rain Effects On Soil Starts To Reverse

Acid Rain Effects on Forest Soils begin to Reverse – USGS

Led by a U.S Geological Survey researchers have found that soil acidification from acid rain can be harmful to plant and aquatic life. As acid rain acidifies soil it depletes calcium reserves, which are important due to the fact that calcium prevents formation of aluminum which is toxic to plant and aquatic life. However the effects of acid rain has now begun to reverse in forests of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. The top soil layers have shown a strong recovery response, but deeper layers are increasing in aluminum, which shows signs of further acidification. However, this is seen as part of the recovery process as aluminum moves downward in the soil hopefully it will be stored in a non-toxic

I personally find it interesting how resilient this earth can be. Us humans cause global warming leading to acid rain and yet the soil still rejuvenates and heals itself. However, on the other hand if we don’t stop damaging the earth one day we will cause irreversible damage and the soil won’t just replenish itself. Acid rain is an interesting problem because we don’t know what kind of damage exactly causes it so its gonna be a harder issue to fix. Which relates to Environmental Science in the sense that, scientists want to find ways to create a better way of living but can’t due to the damage we humans do to the earth.

 

Source:

C.Bailey, S. W. (2016, August 25). News. Retrieved September 17, 2016, from https://apple.news/APHc3yzXJNySj5tMqHhwszg
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Fish Management Plan in Rhode Island 2016

Mcnammee, Jason. “Asset Management Plan.” Public Sector Property Asset Management Ngwira/Public Sector Property Asset Management (2016): 151-70. 5 Jan. 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.

 

In Rhode Island fisheries announced they want a deduction in the amount of summer flounder caught. In 2016 8.12 million pounds of flounder were caught commercially, and a recreational 5.42 million pounds were caught. This will help recover this fish’s population as a study showed that from 2008-2016 these “fluke” had been overfished from 2008-2016. The fisheries called for a 30% reduction in fish caught. This was because they wanted to reduce fish mortality and improve its stock biomass.

 

This relates to environmental science as a tragedy of the commons. When their is no regulation on the amount of fish being caught, people will try to catch as much fish as they can, due to the fact that they will make more money. This can deplete how many fish in the lake to the point where the fish will become extinct. This will screw up the ecosystem due to the fact that it will allow smaller fish that are normally eaten by the flounder to grow.

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Octopus and Squid Populations Exploding

Arphipken, Alexander. “Octopus and Squid Populations Exploding Worldwide.” Scientific American Blog Network. N.p., 25 May 2016. Web. 11 Sept. 2016.

 

Octopus and squid populations are increasing very rapidly in a short period of time. The vacant space left by the overfishing of the top predators of the ecosystem lets some types of sea creatures to increase in population. That is exactly what has happened to the Cephalopods or to be more specific; squid, octopus, and cuttlefish. These cephalopds die quickly and produce a lot of offspring. They are able to adapt to their environment faster than other creatures, and as a result we are seeing a spike in population.

 

This relates to the environment as when one thing increases in an ecosystem it can set off a system’s equilibrium. If the cephalopods population increase then their prey will decrease. Fish that eat cephalopods will also have an easier time. This could also drive some species at the lower end of the food chain extinct.

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Regulators Put Limits on Fish No One Wants to Eat

 

Sneed, Annie. “Regulators Put Limits on Fish No One Wants To Eat.” Scientific American Blog Network. N.p., 23 Aug. 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.

 

There has been a limit put on how much “forage fish” will be caught. These fish are not eaten by humans, but they are eaten by fish such as tuna, sea-bass, and halibut. They eat single celled plankton, at the bottom of the food chain, making them the middlemen between the bigger fish and the plankton. As people seafood intake increases, these fish will be processed into fish meal and fish oil. The potential consequences of having these fish go extinct is too high.

 

This relates to Environmental Science, because these forage fish are part of a very meticulously constructed ecosystem. If they go extinct then so will some species of fish who only eat forage fish as their meals. This can have tragic consequences on the Ecosystem. This will also allow single-celled plankton to increase, which would not be good for ocean health.

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Fish Asset Management Plan

In Rhode Island fisheries announced they want a deduction in the amount of summer flounder caught. In 2016 8.12 million pounds of flounder were caught commercially, and a recreational 5.42 million pounds were caught. This will help recover this fish’s population as a study showed that from 2008-2016 these “fluke” had been overfished from 2008-2016. The fisheries called for a 30% reduction in fish caught. This was because they wanted to reduce fish mortality and improve its stock biomass.

 

This relates to environmental science as a tragedy of the commons. When their is no regulation on the amount of fish being caught, people will try to catch as much fish as they can, due to the fact that they will make more money. This can deplete how many fish in the lake to the point where the fish will become extinct. This will screw up the ecosystem due to the fact that it will allow smaller fish that are normally eaten by the flounder to grow.

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Smart Shower Head

(www.dw.com), D. W. (n.d.). The coolest green tech for 2016 | All media content | DW.COM | 07.01.2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016, from http://www.dw.com/en/the-coolest-green-tech-for-2016/g-18964720

 

The Smart Shower Head that was created by “Hydrao” has created a new way to conserve water through showering. The shower heads purpose is to after using 50 liters of water, the shower head will start to glow. It then will record other water usage after 50 liters. This function is all done without any batteries or extra supply source. This is because all the energy come from the flow of water through the shower head.

 

The smart showers function will let people know how much water they are really wasting. With more people aware the severe drought we are currently in will greatly improve. With more people aware of how much water needs to be saved than other improvements that relate to conserving water can be done like the water usage on farms and on lawns.

 

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SCiO

New SCiO sensor app lets anyone explore their world on a molecular level. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2016, from http://inhabitat.com/new-scio-sensor-app-lets-anyone-explore-their-world-on-a-molecular-level/

 

The SCiO is a new device that basically helps a person scan the spectrum of any food they desire. This tiny device is the first ever tiny spectrometer. The spectrometer is able to scan the spectrum of any food and will have the information sent to a cloud. The spectrum is then decoded by special algorithms that is able to appear on a smartphone. If the device is used a lot then the data will improve and become more complex for people to search up about their food.

 

Today in the modern world, “consumer physics” is greatly improving what people know and understand about the environment. This is what the SCiO is solely based on. SCiO will help improve the way people view the environment. It will give people a better understanding on what types of foods they should be eating and which are better for the environment. For example they would be able to see that almonds can take up to much water to grow.