The Oily Gulf
Stephen Ornes
Monday.May.31st.2010
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/59809/title/FOR_KIDS_The_oily_Gulf
This article describes one of the most devastating environmental happenings in recent American history- The oily Gulf disaster. It takes place in the Golf coast of Mexico, at one of the offshore platforms whose owner is the British Petroleum. It happened on April. The 22 this year, but I’m sure that its’ consequences still remain. This disaster started at an offshore oil platform when one of the riser pipes are disconnected and started leaking on the depth of 5.000 ft. Most of the people from this facility escaped. But, unfortunately 11 of them died. On the picture below, you can see how this oily spill spread out- The spill is marked in Cyan Blue. This oil spilling causes huge environmental disaster- Whole water ecosystem has been interrupted. The American government has chosen 25% of the US portion of the Gulf for fishing- this means that they wanted to stop people eating contaminated fish. A lot of actions were taken out to stop this leaking but none gave serious results (Even 2 months later when this article was written)
The fact that has really concerned me was the different reports that the owner and the scientists gave about the limits of the pollution!!! The BP said that the leak was only 1,000 to 5,000 barrels per day, while the scientists from Perdue University, mechanical engineer Steve Wereley claimed that this leak was much bigger (76,000 and 109,000 barrels of oil per day) This article has really impressed me, but in a negative way. Number one, because of big environmental consequences that are presented not only on Gulf Coasts, but all over the sea world- I’m sure that this oil pollution is spread all over the world. This as well has really concerned me because I‘m asking how many years and actions will be necessary to clean all the oily mess that some other responsible oil facility owners deal with? What will happen if another oil drill is starting to leak, but in much less capacity- will the public be informed about the consequences? I’m very concerned with what is happening with all the other environmental disasters which are as huge as this one, but are occurring every day? I have connected this article with the things that we are learning now and one sea world ecosystem which needs to be balanced, which has its’ own rules and ratios, but which is interrupted with an Abiotic factor oily spill. This Abiotic factor has a biotic nature- unfortunately human nature.
Wednesday 29 September 2010
Tuesday 21 September 2010
Current Event 1
When plants cry for help, predator bugs answer
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Aug.26th.2010
http://www.eurekalert.org/features/kids/2010-08/aaft-wpc082010.php
This article describes amazing relations between the plants, pests and predators. It describes how the plants (In this case a tobacco plant) can save themselves by making changes in the smell of their compounds. These plant smell changes (caterpillar) are caused by the pest's saliva. The grassy smell then attracts the bugs (Predators) which eat the pests (In this case hornwarm).
This is very interesting to me because who would say that the plant can fight with something- its a living thing, and I thought it was powerless! This article has shown the opposite, from what I read. I can see how the interesting relations between biotic factors in some ecosystems can be.
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Aug.26th.2010
http://www.eurekalert.org/features/kids/2010-08/aaft-wpc082010.php
This article describes amazing relations between the plants, pests and predators. It describes how the plants (In this case a tobacco plant) can save themselves by making changes in the smell of their compounds. These plant smell changes (caterpillar) are caused by the pest's saliva. The grassy smell then attracts the bugs (Predators) which eat the pests (In this case hornwarm).
This is very interesting to me because who would say that the plant can fight with something- its a living thing, and I thought it was powerless! This article has shown the opposite, from what I read. I can see how the interesting relations between biotic factors in some ecosystems can be.
Monday 20 September 2010
Saving Marshes- Saving the planet (Reflection)
I think that this article was interesting, although it was a little bit hard to understand (It includes a lot of unknown words/terms, so I had to use a sort of dictionary).
This article talks about how the marshes can help saving the planet, if they wouldn't disappear. The marsh plants, and marsh grass capture the carbon dioxide and store it in the marsh, helping the planet in it's global warming problems. The scientists analyzed the marsh soil and found out that the level of carbon in it is rising, but, the number of marshes is decreasing. So the scientists think that we should increase the number of marshes all around the world. Marshes are an important part of our ecosystem and they can help us survive by capturing the carbon dioxide (taking it away).
This article also gives some useful information about the carbon cycle and about global warming.
This article talks about how the marshes can help saving the planet, if they wouldn't disappear. The marsh plants, and marsh grass capture the carbon dioxide and store it in the marsh, helping the planet in it's global warming problems. The scientists analyzed the marsh soil and found out that the level of carbon in it is rising, but, the number of marshes is decreasing. So the scientists think that we should increase the number of marshes all around the world. Marshes are an important part of our ecosystem and they can help us survive by capturing the carbon dioxide (taking it away).
This article also gives some useful information about the carbon cycle and about global warming.
Monday 13 September 2010
Movie Notes- Paragraph
I learned that camouflage is a method of hiding itself for by making itself appear as part of its natural surroundings. These are the tactics that animals use to survive: Good eyesight, good smell, fast runners, and most importantly, play dead! For example, humans play dead when a bear is near them. If a person is screaming and saying: ''HELP!!'' Then the bear will kill the person.
The three forms of beaning young are: Living young, pouches-Marsupial, and eggs. What I found interesting about the movie is that a bird could fly 600 miles just to get the food that it had to eat.
The three forms of beaning young are: Living young, pouches-Marsupial, and eggs. What I found interesting about the movie is that a bird could fly 600 miles just to get the food that it had to eat.
Monday 6 September 2010
Questions & Answers
1. Question:
What needs are met by an organism's environment?
Answer: An organism's needs include: Food, water, shelter, and other things it needs to live, grow, and reproduce from it's surroundings.
2. Question:
What are the two parts of an organism's habitat with which it interacts?
Answer: The two parts of an organism's habitat are: Living and Non-living. (Biotic and Abiotic)
3. Question:
What are the levels of organization within an ecosystem?
Answer: The levels of organization within an ecosystem is: population, community, ecosystem, then the organism.
4. Question: Why do you find different kinds of organisms in different habitats?
Answer: Because not all organisms can survive in a specific habitat. For example, if you took a trip to a very warm place, you would see palm trees, bright hibiscus flowers, and tiny lizards. But you would not see them on the frozen plains of Siberia, because those organisms would be dead immediately.
5. Question: How do animals prepare for such a change?
Answer: Well I think that sometimes animals migrate, meaning they leave to other places. But this is my question: How do they know when the change happens and when they have to leave?
What needs are met by an organism's environment?
Answer: An organism's needs include: Food, water, shelter, and other things it needs to live, grow, and reproduce from it's surroundings.
2. Question:
What are the two parts of an organism's habitat with which it interacts?
Answer: The two parts of an organism's habitat are: Living and Non-living. (Biotic and Abiotic)
3. Question:
What are the levels of organization within an ecosystem?
Answer: The levels of organization within an ecosystem is: population, community, ecosystem, then the organism.
4. Question: Why do you find different kinds of organisms in different habitats?
Answer: Because not all organisms can survive in a specific habitat. For example, if you took a trip to a very warm place, you would see palm trees, bright hibiscus flowers, and tiny lizards. But you would not see them on the frozen plains of Siberia, because those organisms would be dead immediately.
5. Question: How do animals prepare for such a change?
Answer: Well I think that sometimes animals migrate, meaning they leave to other places. But this is my question: How do they know when the change happens and when they have to leave?
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