https://padlet.com/17colemana/ochniy2it1j9 en-us 2016-11-16 23:55:44 UTC 2026-01-20 20:44:21 UTC hello@padlet.com 17colemana https://padlet.com/17colemana/ochniy2it1j9/wish/138281119 In this article, the author discusses the impact that the untreated sewage in russia has had on Lake Baikal in Russia. According to the article, Lake Baikal is the world’s oldest, deepest and most voluminous lake and holds 20% of the world’s unfrozen freshwater. It was known to be the world’s cleanest lake until thick layers of dark green muck formed on the shoreline of the lake. This algal bloom has stemmed from the flow of untreated sewage into the lake, due to inadequate wastewater treatment. This pollution is a major concern because the lake is home to more than 3,700 species, more than a half of which are found nowhere else in the world. This algal bloom occurs because runoff from fertilizers and pollutants cause an excessive growth of algae which then deplete the water of oxygen and suffocate aquatic plants and animals. Many Russian doctors and scientists have gone before the Parliament and demanded an “immediate ban on synthetic detergents and for help from the federal government in reforming sewage facilities around the lake.” However, with the amount and rate of progress towards this goal, it may be a while before the problem is ultimately solved.]]> 2016-11-16 23:56:36 UTC https://padlet.com/17colemana/ochniy2it1j9/wish/138281119 17colemana https://padlet.com/17colemana/ochniy2it1j9/wish/147276531 This article discusses the attempts taken by President Obama to try and preserve the rusty-patched bumblebee, a bee that used to be rather common across the USA, but has since declined by almost 90 percent.This extreme decrease in population is credited to many things including exposure to pesticides, climate change, habitat loss and disease. In an effort to preserve the rusty-patched bees,  President Obama has created legislation to ban offshore oil and gas drilling in areas of the Arctic and much of the Eastern Seaboard, created two new national monuments in Utah and Nevada that protects 1.65 million acres of federal land and denied six permits for oil exploration. 
The drastic increase of listed endangered species is highly alarming; scientists say that it will take drastic action to fight global warming if we'd like to preserve the polar bears. However, the incoming presidential Trump administration raises alarm. Should he decide to take little to no environmental action, many species may become extinct, or be dangerously close to extinction by the time he leaves office. This is concerning, especially when it come to bees because they are some of the most effective pollinators we have, and our environmental situation would be drastically different without them.]]> 2017-01-16 02:07:16 UTC https://padlet.com/17colemana/ochniy2it1j9/wish/147276531 17colemana https://padlet.com/17colemana/ochniy2it1j9/wish/147276944 Similar to the previous article about the rusty-patched bumblebees, this article discusses the endangerment of polar bears and the human impact on it. It has been determined by the federal wildlife officials that climate change is the biggest threat and factor in the survival of the polar bear. As stated previously, without drastic, environmentally sound action, the polar bears will almost definitely vanish. In order to ensure that global warming slows immensely or comes to a complete stop (which is nearly impossible) humans would have to significantly reduce the present levels of global greenhouse gas emissions. The polar bears were first listed as endangered in 2008, and since then there has been a conservation management plan or report that is required under the Endangered Species Act that outlines the steps and actions that must be taken in order for humans to recover and avoid the extinction of a species. However there has been much speculation and many predictions that the environmental health will decrease even more in 2017.]]> 2017-01-16 02:21:25 UTC https://padlet.com/17colemana/ochniy2it1j9/wish/147276944 17colemana https://padlet.com/17colemana/ochniy2it1j9/wish/147277625 This article is about how America benefits from the environmental misfortune of others in that if there is major hurricane activity in the Atlantic, it creates a sort of buffer that weakens the storms as they approach the coastal United States. On the contrary, if there are low periods of Atlantic hurricane activity, particularly the major ones, then the storms are more likely to intensify when they get to the United States, increasing the risk of major damage. As of right now, scientists cannot make any discernible or clear connection between global rising, the continuing rise in ocean temperatures and this trend of Atlantic storm activity. One scientist, Dr. Kossin, agreed that more research was especially needed to determine how global warming might affect this protective buffer zone. Although this continuous pattern may be viewed as fortunate for some, this pattern does not always favor the United States. Scientists are predicting that major Atlantic hurricanes and storms are going to enter a rather quite period, or at least more quiet than they have been.This means that the United States may soon be experiencing a period of intense storms and hurricanes because they will not be decreasing in intensity before they hit land. In fact, they will on be worsening, which means more environmental damage along the coasts and shores of America.]]> 2017-01-16 02:40:58 UTC https://padlet.com/17colemana/ochniy2it1j9/wish/147277625 17colemana https://padlet.com/17colemana/ochniy2it1j9/wish/147278031 This article titled "Closing China's Ivory Market: Will It Save Elephants?" is primarily about the ivory industry and its impact on the survival of Elephants in China. According to the article, tens of thousands of elephants have been slaughtered across Africa in order to satisfy China's ridiculously heightened demand for ivory. The article claims that entire herds, even baby elephants with only small ivory stubs, have been wiped out in order to provide more ivory to China. The Chinese government, after denying for many years that China was the reason behind the extreme decrease in elephants despite China being the world's largest ivory market and consumer, made new legislation to shut down the country's ivory market. There has been a lot of speculation as to whether this new legislation will actually save elephants, or if it will only make the problem worse. Some believe that, much like the American Prohibition Act in the 20's, making all ivory illegal in China could actually push the price and demand up, like illegal drugs, making people more prone to finding illegal ways of getting the ivory. For example, if neighboring markets such as Vietnam, Myanmar and the Philippines do not take similar action, then the Chinese will simply begin to get their ivory from these countries, only worsening the problem overall.]]> 2017-01-16 02:50:40 UTC https://padlet.com/17colemana/ochniy2it1j9/wish/147278031 17colemana https://padlet.com/17colemana/ochniy2it1j9/wish/147278405 Another animal that has been found to be extremely and dangerously close to extinction is the cheetah, even more so if new conservation efforts are not utilized. According to an international team of researchers, there is an increasing threat to cheetahs, as their number only comes to about 7,000 cheetahs worldwide. This problem has been able to get this bad unrecognized because there has been a main focus of the groups of cheetahs living in federally protected parks and areas of refuge. Conservation groups such as the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Zoological Society of London and Panthera have been calling for the International Union for Conservation to change the cheetah's status from vulnerable to endangered. Some of the causes of the decline in the cheetah population have been identified as loss of habitat, a lack of food since the animals they prey on are hunted for bushmeat and the capturing and selling of the baby cheetah as pets. One of the most dramatic declines is seen in Zimbabwe, which has experienced an 85% decrease of cheetahs from 1995-2015. The main issue that hinders the preservation progress of the cheetahs is the fact that they are spread across large expanses of terrain. However, the new reclassification of the cheetahs as endangered instead of vulnerable is a significant step in their preservation.]]> 2017-01-16 02:59:52 UTC https://padlet.com/17colemana/ochniy2it1j9/wish/147278405