Unit 3 Blog

Vocabulary- 

Ecosystem - the interrelating biotic and abiotic factors of an environment

Gross primary Productivity - the amount of energy from sunlight that autotrophs capture

Net Primary Productivity - the amount of energy from sunlight that autotrophs capture minus the energy the autotrophs use to respire

      

Biomass - the total mass of organic matter (living organisms)

Standing Crop - the amount of biomass in an ecosystem at a given time

Ecological Efficiency - how much of the consumed energy can be passed on to the next trophic level

Trophic Pyramid - shows the distribution of energy or biomass among trophic levels

Biogeochemical Cycles - the movement of matter between and in different ecosystems

Macronutrients - 6 elements key to living things (N, K, P, Ca, S, Mg)

Limiting Nutrient - its availability constrains growth

Leaching - nutrients moving from place to place with water

Disturbance - an event that causes a shift in ecosystem in population or composition

Resistance - how much an ecosystem is affected by a disturbance

Resilience - how long it takes more an ecosystem to recover from a disturbance

Instrumental Value - ecosystem services; ways nature is useful to humans

Intrinsic Value - value distinct from any benefit that might be provided to humans

Current Event- post the link to your event along with a summary.  

Note- If you connect your BIG picture ideas to your article only, I will take off points!

http://www.environmentalleader.com/2014/09/30/new-realities-needed-for-water-sustainability/

This article talks about the new approaches companies are taking in response to the decreased sustainability of water after recognizing its instrumental value in helping their companies run. The author goes on to talk about how intrinsically valuable water is and how it has been taken for granted since it has been so efficiently provided by water companies. The conclusion posits that in order to maintain water sustainability, new information must be gathered and respectful appreciation must be maintained.

Environmental Quote-

I agree with this statement because of the bee's instrumental value to humans. Bees pollinate flowers, crops and other autotrophs that are extremely necessary to human survival. First, they are very necessary to agriculture and growing food because it would be near impossible, or at the very least extremely tedious, to pollinate each and every blossom ourselves. Without the pollination accomplished by bees, there would be no crop. The subsequent food shortage would be enough to eradicate large portions of the human population, but the resource wars likely to result from the shortage would have the ability to wipe out humans completely. Second, pollination is necessary for many autotrophs to reproduce. The plant population is key to having adequate amounts of oxygen to support all forms of life, including human life. If there were no bees, there would be likely be a severe decrease in plant population and ergo, the oxygen supply. Third, plants help manage carbon dioxide emissions by using them in photosynthesis. The decrease in the plant population would mitigate this regulatory cycle and global warming would be exacerbated since the carbon normally stored in plant tissues would be in the atmosphere as the plants wouldn't exist.

Big Picture Reflection-  This is where you will make the four BIG PICTURE connections to the ENTIRE UNIT.  Please tie in information you learned in your reading, from completing your mini-project and from your current event.  There is not an exact length that I am expecting other than it should definitely be at least a paragraph for each section, should be thorough and show understanding of the topic.  

Human Impact- Human activity has altered many biogeochemical cycles; increased nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations from fertilizer and detergents have resulted in the crowding out of low nitrogen plants and hypoxic-zone-inducing algal blooms respectively. The carbon cycle has been accelerated because of the combustion of fossil fuels leading to global warming. The creation of human settlements has also eradicated or unbalanced many ecosystems such as the Everglades resulting in a new branch of ecology known as restoration ecology. As these anthropogenic imbalances are observed, humans are taking steps to try to mitigate the effects of their actions.

Environmental Impact-  The algal blooms result in hypoxic zones that cause dead zones and the perpetually nitrogen rich fertilizer causes a decrease in biodiversity, which is harmful to an ecosystem's resilience as biodiversity is key to resilience. Global warming as a result of carbon emissions is also thought to be causing a global climate change for the warmer which is throwing many ecosystems out of whack. The chain effect of losing a species is very influential as organisms depend on each other for food sources among other things which means losing one species can cause its prey to overpopulate or its predators to decrease in population which would lead to a whole other slew of effects. 

Economic Impact- Ecosystems provide a lot of services to humans for free that would be costly and/or impossible to replace, like making carbon dioxide into oxygen, turning sunlight into forms that humans can process, pollination etc. The loss of these services would have a huge economic impact as some companies are already noticing and trying to fix, though too many aren't. Algal blooms would also hurt the fishing economy. The loss of environment would harm the ecotourism economy, though it would create more jobs for restoration ecologists.

Government Legislation- Teddy Roosevelt set up many conservation policies during his presidency to preserve ecosystems, ranging from the creation of five national parks to preserve their unique ecosystems to the establishing of many game and forest reserves. More recently, the Clean Air Act of 1970 and Clean Water Act of 1972 were passed to manage pollutant levels that had resulted because of anthropogenic activities. 

Unit 2 - Vocab, Current Events, and Reflection

Climate - the average temperature and precipitation in an area over a long period of time

Troposphere - Layer of the atmosphere closest to the Earth's surface where most weather occurs

Stratosphere - Layer second closest to the Earth's surface which contains the ozone layer and temperature increases as height increases

Albedo - How much light is reflected from a surface

Hadley Cells - Convection cell where air rises at the equator and sinks at 30 degrees North and South

ITCZ - Intertropical convergence zone is around the equator where North and South trade winds meet and has low pressure

Polar Cells - Cold denser air at the poles sinks towards the equator as the warmer air at 60 degrees North and South rises toward their respective poles in a loop

Coriolis Effect - the rotation of the Earth causes a right deflection in the Northern hemisphere and left deflection in the Southern hemisphere

Gyres - patterns of water circulation in ocean currents

Upwelling - Deeper more nutrient rich water rising up to replace water that's moved away

Thermohaline Circulation - Warm currents rise and flow towards the poles where it freezes or evaporates along the way which leaves behind salt and increases the salinity which is denser so it sinks mixing with deeper ocean waters

ENSO - El Nino Southern Oscillation - occasional directional reversal of surface currents in the tropical Pacific Ocean

Rain Shadow - Air rising as it ascends the mountain cools as it expands because there is less pressure resulting in some of the water vapor falling out; then as it descends the leeward side of the mountain and warms as pressure increases resulting in warmer, drier air. The rain shadow is a result of the warmer drier air on the side of the mountain away from the water source

Current Event-  http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29152028

According to a study by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the ozone layer has started a healing process relative to past years as the depletion has not increased. It will still take years for it shrink and at least half a century for it to approach 1980 levels, but the international movement to phase out chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone depletion materials appears to be taking effect. The article does say that CO2 emissions are still a problem but that by 2030 the decreased depletion of the ozone layer could have a very beneficial effect in maintaining the health of the creatures on Earth.

Reflection-  

Human Impact: Human inventions  have greatly contributed to the destruction of the ozone layer through CFCs and the greenhouse effect through increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Humans have also contributed to the loss of biomes and endangering species because of their massive resource consumption that has resulted in deforestation, oil drilling and and other harmful activities that are made even more harmful because of all the harmful waste deposited in the environment and habitats destroyed. They are greatly affected by global climate patterns as the wind currents and ocean currents affect weather which humans must adapt to and also methods to travel. El Nino greatly affects fisherman and those in North America by causing a change in weather patterns.

Environmental Impact: Loss of the ozone layer means less UV protection for every living thing. UV radiation can result in genetic mutations and other detrimental health effects which can be extremely harmful to a species, and in turn the environment since organisms are so interconnected. Deforestation also results in a loss of biodiversity, especially in the rainforest, which is very negative since genetic variation is key to the continuing existence and evolution of life on Earth. Human activity is also causing change in climate that affects environments; it's thought that a rise in temperature and decreases of salinity in the water as a result of the greenhouse effect is contributing to coral bleaching which further decreases biodiversity since corals are the most biodiverse marine ecosystem.

Economic Impact: Loss of species has an economic price because ecosystems provide us with ecosystem services. For example, trees convert CO2 to O2 which is a service for humans and other animals. It's probably impossible to put a price on that particular service since it's unlikely we can make a machine to do that but there are other services like remedies in plants that we can put a price on. Getting rid of this has a detrimental effect on the economy in the long term as these are replenishable resources so long as we don't kill them too quickly. However, oil and natural gas are fast and effective at generating funds especially since much of our appliances and hence economy rest on them leading to a prioritization of drilling and fracking despite the environmental costs. 

Government Legislation: There has been some government regulation, especially with the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States and the creation of the endangered species list along with the restrictions on hunting animals on that list. There is still a push for greater legislation around the world as evident by a huge march in New York City and accompanying worldwide marches on Sunday, September 21. The UN head Bam Ki Moon will be presiding over a climate summit meeting this week to internationally address climate change and Secretary of State John Kerry is also holding international meetings to discuss energy and environmental policy. (Here's an article about the march even though I didn't choose it as my current event)