https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil en-us 2017-11-05 20:25:39 UTC 2018-05-18 04:48:48 UTC hello@padlet.com 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/203683390 Not only do the protected areas of tropical rainforests provide a safe place for endangered species to live, but they also provide insurance that carbon emissions won’t be released through logging and deforestation. Around 68% of global forest carbon stocks comes from tropical rainforests. Deforestation gives off over double the amount of carbon that is taken in by intact forests. Dr. Dan Bebber and Dr. Nathalie Butt found that from 2000-2012, protecting tropical rainforests happened to decrease the assumed carbon emissions by about a third. 448 million tons of carbon emission were reduced by tropical protected areas during this time period. And, the total annual carbon emissions from the tropics are between 1.1 and 1.6 billion tons of carbon every year. Some people were worried that protecting certain forest areas would increase clearing in other parts, but the increase is not measurable to what it was before. ]]> 2017-11-05 20:57:17 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/203683390 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/203685646 The new species Plenaster Craigi has just been discovered on ocean floors. They in or inside or on metal balls called nodules that form over millions of years at around 4,000 meters deep. But, deep-sea mining companies have been extracting these nodules to get the metal inside of them. Plenaster Craigi filters the water to find small particles with nutrients and energy formed at the surface and fall down. Since a lot of other species eat this nutrients on its way down, Plenaster Craigi must filter mass amounts of water for survival. If this continues, the newfound species may go extinct entirely.]]> 2017-11-05 21:16:15 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/203685646 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/203688056 Jessie Mutz and her research team showed that beetles were found mostly on the outskirts of the burn unit up to 35 months after a fire. This shows a slow recolonization process. But, as the time kept on progressing, beetles became more abundant in the center of the burn unit. Thus could be because it was safer in the middle and farther away from any predators. The landscape and surrounding are pertinent parts in this recolonization process and could change the outputs in different locations. Therefore, the recovery of the fire is better known by looking at the type of area it took place. Most studies say that local effects have been looked at but now scientists realize we may need to look at the larger landscape.

]]> 2017-11-05 21:36:35 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/203688056 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/204414008 In the past 27 years, flying insects in protected areas in Germany have dropped by 75%. This could cause a major disruption to the food chain and is mainly caused by pesticide usage, but that isn’t the only reason. Therefore, climatic variables could also play into the decline. Insects make up two thirds of all life on Earth, and if they keep diminishing at the same rate, the future of our planet is doomed. In order to help stop or slow down this process, we need to have extreme caution when using pesticides. ]]> 2017-11-07 15:50:40 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/204414008 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/204419804 It has been recently found that in South Africa, 22 artisan gold miners have been arrested and were charged with illegal mining. They came out of a disused and blocked shaft near Johannesburg. A dozen men came up after a crane removed concrete that was blocking their exit and the day before them men came up in a field in Benoni. These men were medically helped and checked, then taken to a police station. Many of these men are illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Lesotho. These mines were owned by Bullion producer Gold One, but the immigrants has sneaked in to “borrow” it. The slab was put in to prevent this but then shifted and blocked them from being let out. ]]> 2017-11-07 15:58:47 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/204419804 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/204633090 At the University of California, researchers have found that the scent given off by ocean-polluting plastic debris is very similar to the smell birds use to find food. This causes them to think that the smell they encountered is food. A research project in Monterey Bay and Bodega Bay found that the smell of types plastic and other ocean debris is the same as the one given off by algae which krill eat which birds then eat. This most greatly affects albatrosses, petrels, and other tube- nosed species. These species that nobody is greatly concerned with are impacted the most by this plastic issue. They also live underground so they are harder to study. ]]> 2017-11-08 00:19:31 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/204633090 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/223154862 During a study at The University of Manchester, it was found that microwaves emit 7.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year in the EU. This equals the emissions of 6.8 million cars. Also, microwaves across the EU consume 9.4 terawatts per hour of electricity every year. The environmental team at this university found that microwaves effect 12 different environmental factors: Climate change, depletion of natural resources and ecological toxicology. The manufacturing process alone contributes to 20% of the depletion of natural resources and climate change. Efforts to reduce consumption should focus on improving consumer awareness and efficiency. ]]> 2018-01-21 21:41:23 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/223154862 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/223155755 Rising sea surface temperatures as a result of global climate change are responsible for increasingly frequent coral bleaching events, and rapid reduction of global carbon dioxide emissions is essential to conserve coral reefs into the future. Scientists conclude that, the most important course of action is to reduce greenhouse gases, but there is also a need to consider novel management techniques and previously overlooked reef areas for protective actions under predicted climate change impacts. Scientists have identified different resilience rates among the microorganisms which live symbiotically within corals. Not all reefs have these symbiotic microorganisms, so scientists are trying to work out methods of bio engineering to assist corals in survival and recovery.]]> 2018-01-21 21:51:25 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/223155755 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/223155764 Florida State University researchers found that rising rates of carbon dioxide have set the stage for a multidecade increase of flower production. Temperatures are warming and carbon dioxide has been increasing, and the study found that this tropical forest has responded to that increase by producing more flowers. Plants convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into energy in the form of sugars, which they can use to fuel any number of vital life processes. As more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, plants have an opportunity to produce a bounty of new energy. as atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations keep climbing, and as the global climate changes accordingly, tropical forests may continue to experience new and surprising ecological shifts.]]> 2018-01-21 21:51:31 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/223155764 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/223155770 University of Delaware's Jeff Buler used 16 weather surveillance radars from the northeastern US over a seven year period to map the distributions of migratory birds during their stopovers in the fall. They think that artificial light might be a mechanism of attraction to birds because we know that they are attracted to light. A hazard for birds attracted to city lights is death from flying into high buildings. Lots of birds pack into a small area with limited resources and higher mortality risks. Light pollution created in these cities has been increasing in recent years with the advent of LED lights, which are much brighter than the incandescent lights they replaced.]]> 2018-01-21 21:51:35 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/223155770 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/223155777 The effort to decontaminate their bodies from pollutants that persist even after water treatment makes fish vulnerable by forcing them to burn energy that would usually go towards other vital functions. Metabolism increases with activity, sickness or stress, so by using valuable metabolic resources to decontaminate its own body, a fish has less energy for movement, evading predators, catching prey, and reproduction. This puts populations at risk and shows the unseen impacts that pollution has. Therefore, new water treatment technology is needed to protect populations from modern and new threats taking place. ]]> 2018-01-21 21:51:38 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/223155777 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/223155783 Researchers thought that warmer seas would lead to higher wind speeds and storms greater in size. But, they did not think that warming oceans would lead to more hurricanes. Losses are calculated based on wind and wind driven rain and do not include the large financial impacts of storm surge or flooding. Increase in damage and loss is likely to occur in coastal Carolina, and by implication other coastal communities, as a result of climate change. Researchers said that to be prepared they need to build, design, renovate, and redo structures in vulnerable communities to help accommodate what will happen in the future. ]]> 2018-01-21 21:51:42 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/223155783 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/249456648 One of the main foods for monarch butterflies happens to be milkweed plants. Global warming has been turning these plants and making them poisonous. The monarch butterflies lay their eggs on these plants and it is where their larvae develop. The global warming produces chemical change in the milkweed that effect the butterflies negatively when they and their larvae are on the plant. This especially is happening on the milkweed that isn't native. Cardenolides is a toxic chemical produced in the leaf tissue which deters the vertebrate of most predators. But, monarchs have become cardenolide- tolerant up to a certain extent. But, when too much of this toxin is produced, the butterflies are not tolerant. These rising temperatures cause more cardenolides to be produced. ]]> 2018-04-07 18:58:21 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/249456648 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/249456662 Usually, plants have been scarce on the top of mountains. But, they have been increasing on mountaintops due to global warming. This is from the change in temperature, precipitation, and nitrogen input. From 1957 to 1966, the number of species on the mountaintops increased by 1.1 species on average. Then, from 2007 to 2016, the average moved up to 5.5 new species. There are a lot of studies going on but these can only keep track of plants that have already responded to the temperature rise and increased, not ones that are still increasing. Scientists predicted this would happen due to climate change and now it finally is. ]]> 2018-04-07 18:58:27 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/249456662 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/249456669 It is known that there is moisture in the air everywhere, and finding an easy way to extract it could help survival in such dry areas. MIT researchers think they have found a way to make that possible. This system is composed of high-surface-area materials which are called metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs. It can extract water from very dry locations with humidities as minimal as 10 percent. The current ways of extracting water are fog harvesting and dew-harvesting. Fog harvesting requires 100% humidity and dew-harvesting requires over 50%. The device tested was powered by sunlight and tested in Tempe, Arizona. The next step for this machine is to scale it up to produce greater quantities and . make it more efficient. ]]> 2018-04-07 18:58:33 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/249456669 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/249456676 The Great Barrier Reef has always been known for its vast sea life and abundance of color. In order to keep this coral a pretty color, it is bleached. This leads to a reduction of the variety of fish in these valuable and beautiful ecosystems. A study was done to examine 16 different reefs off of Lizard Island. The number of fish was counted before, after, and during the mass bleaching event in 2016 which caused a massive and global heatwave. Following this, there was a sharp drop within the diversity of the fish communities. The type of fish that decreased the most was butterflyfish, which are very dependent on branching corals. ]]> 2018-04-07 18:58:37 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/249456676 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/249456683 The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) confirmed in February 2018 that the pesticide, neonicotinoids, is causing harm to bees. So, companies are trying to create an alternative and bee friendly pesticide. Bayer AG has come up with an alternative called Sivanto. This product contains flupyradifurone from the class of butenolides. This product has been available in the US market since 2015, but is not yet approved in the EU. It was recently found that after a single application of flupyradifurone, honeybees are impacted negatively and their taste, memory, and learning are all effected. But, when the pesticide is applied properly, the honeybees are okay and their behavior is not negatively impacted. ]]> 2018-04-07 18:58:43 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/249456683 18harropc https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/249456692 A small hormone was discovered at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan. This hormone helps plants get water when there isn't any available in the soil. Phytohormones are small chains of amino acids moving through the blood to keep our bodies in balance when there is a change in the environment. They are also found in plants, but there is a lot less knowledge on them. It is very hard to find peptide hormones in living cells because there is a very small amount. They got around this problem by using a screening system to that identifies the moving peptides. Now it can be seen and scientists can figure out how it helps plants retain water. ]]> 2018-04-07 18:58:49 UTC https://padlet.com/18harropc/wpz731k1idil/wish/249456692