http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120424154341.htm
A strange phenomenon has been called to tree physiologists attention. They have found that Red Oaks in New York's central park grow faster than in rural areas due to the increased temperatures that are caused by an urban environment. Due to the prevalence of pavement, numerous metal infrastructures, and gas emissions, the temperature in urban areas can be from 4 to 8 degrees higher than in more wide open, country environments. In this heightened temperature, trees are able to photosynthesize at a faster rate, causing for trees in urban areas to have on average 8 times more biomass than their rural counter parts. Another possible contributing factor to this sped up growth is the increased fallout of airborne nitrogen from pollution, which acts as a fertilizer.
Now, of course, this is not to say that urban pollution should be viewed as something that should continue but, this new discovery is interesting because rarely do we see advantageous side effects of urban evniromentents. This new information could change a lot in respects to urban planning pertaining to what vegetation is planted. Who knows, maybe this could be the first step in greening our brownfields.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Invisible Plastic in Our Oceans!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120425192843.htm
When I hear of the problem of plastic in the ocean, I immediately think of, what has been appropriately titled, the Giant Pacific Garbage Patch- the land mass sized island of plastic debris that has collected in the Pacific Ocean. This plastic island and plastic collected around it may effect a size twice that of Hawaii. While this huge plastic mass is a very visible, daunting reminder of the detrimental effects of our manufactured waste. The terrifying reality is that this is only the "tip of the ice berg, "for according to oceanographer, Giora Proskurowski, there is much more to be accounted for that our eyes cannot see. She has discovered that there exist tiny plastic particles beneath the surface of the sand that are made invisible by high winds. This new information has huge impacts on previous studies conducted to measure the amount of plastic in our oceans because we know know that there is a huge amount that has not been accounted for. The implications of this new discovery are that the methods used to collect plastic waste are now going to take wind into account. This has impacts on environmental policies at the governmental level.
Plastic in our oceans is not only unsightly, but extremely harmful to the ecosystems that thrive within them. These miniscule pieces of plastic are easily ingested by fish and wreak havoc on their digestive systems. What actions can we take to remedy this problem? The problem is already too massive for prevention to do much good, although measures should absolutely be taken to prevent further waste, there needs to be a very aggressive cleanup operation. Where should could this waste be relocated? Do you see this problem ever being remedied?
When I hear of the problem of plastic in the ocean, I immediately think of, what has been appropriately titled, the Giant Pacific Garbage Patch- the land mass sized island of plastic debris that has collected in the Pacific Ocean. This plastic island and plastic collected around it may effect a size twice that of Hawaii. While this huge plastic mass is a very visible, daunting reminder of the detrimental effects of our manufactured waste. The terrifying reality is that this is only the "tip of the ice berg, "for according to oceanographer, Giora Proskurowski, there is much more to be accounted for that our eyes cannot see. She has discovered that there exist tiny plastic particles beneath the surface of the sand that are made invisible by high winds. This new information has huge impacts on previous studies conducted to measure the amount of plastic in our oceans because we know know that there is a huge amount that has not been accounted for. The implications of this new discovery are that the methods used to collect plastic waste are now going to take wind into account. This has impacts on environmental policies at the governmental level.
Plastic in our oceans is not only unsightly, but extremely harmful to the ecosystems that thrive within them. These miniscule pieces of plastic are easily ingested by fish and wreak havoc on their digestive systems. What actions can we take to remedy this problem? The problem is already too massive for prevention to do much good, although measures should absolutely be taken to prevent further waste, there needs to be a very aggressive cleanup operation. Where should could this waste be relocated? Do you see this problem ever being remedied?
Radioactive ecotourism anyone?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/travelnews/2012/01/photogalleries/120105-nuclear-resort-philippines-power-plant/
This is a good, bizarre ending to our semester's blog. It brings together many of the things we have discussed--radioactivity, ecotourism and authenticity, money and power--but presents it in a bizarre way. So, what is your next destination: The DMZ, a nuclear reactor/turtle sanctuary, or Chernobyl?
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