AP Environmental Science

So I am almost positive that most of us have been on an airplane at least once in our lives. If not, think of all of your family and friends that have flown before. With hundreds of thousands of planes hitting the skyway each day, greenhouse gases can easily accumulate.

A modern day airplane (Photo credit: www.wikepedia.com)

Norway and Britian have decided to “buy emissions quotas to combat global warming.” Most concerning is the rise of fuel burnt on international flights releasing emissions. The airlines are exempt from “fighting climate change” under the U.N.’s Kyoto Protocol, but not for that long. The protocol expires in 2012. Athough that may seem like not too far away, again think about how many airplanes take off and land at O’Hare in just one day.

Norway has recently stated that they will “buy quotas for the emissions caused by the trip” when state employees travel abroad by plane.

Not only are governments doing this, but companies are too. They include: Avis Europe (car rentals) and Statoil (Norwegian oil group).

Hopefully, this will help reduce the amount of emissions, although I am still not completely sure of how this works. I don’t understand how paying for emissions is going to reduce them, but maybe the government is doing this as an incentive. I do know one thing for sure; greenhouse gases need to be lowered to prevent global warming.

Norway, UK Try to Tackle Planes’ Greenhouse Gases By: Alister Doyle http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=11960

As we have already learned in class this year, roads can disrupt and divide ecosystems. Arizona is trying something new to help drivers and animals. An animal “crosswalk” is going to be opened for the first time in Arizona.

An electrified fence will surround a three mile area of Arizona 260, which is approximately 7 miles east of Payson. The fences only allow the animals to cross the highway at certain spots. Motorists will see large signs and lights flashing at them to warn them an animal , most likely a large one, is going to cross the highway. The signs and lights use infarered camaras and military-grade software to determine whether an animal is about to cross.

Although Arizona is not the first state to use animal crosswalks, they are the first to do it using fencing. The crosswalk will be evaluated in 2 years to see how effective it has been.

Not only will this $700,000 project give animals the chance to cross the highway with aware drivers, but also the camaras can monitor the animals behavior. As well, “electronic global postioning collars” have been placed on elk to see how the crosswalk changes their patterns. The camaras also monitor how fast the cars are traveling and how fast their reaction time is to slow down.

Elk (Photo credit: www.wikipedia.com)

I think that this is a good idea. It doesn’t really cost that much, plus it makes drivers think about how fast they are going. The article didn’t mention whether or not drivers could receive tickets if they were going over the speedlimit. I am not sure if I think that they should, especially if they do slow down in enough time when the signs and lights begin to flash. I think that it is good that it will be evaluated in 2 years because it might effect the way the elk move and their behavior. I guess that we will just have to wait and see.

Arizona Tests Wildlife ‘Crosswalk’ By: Associated Press http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=11954

With democrats taking control of Congress this month, the disposal of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada will not likely happen. Communities such as Ventura, LA, and San Bernardino are glad that the nuclear waste will most likely not be shipped through their towns and into Yucca Mountain.

  Yucca Mountain site (Photo Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org)

Proponents of using Yucca Mountain as disposal grounds believe that “it is a secure alternative to storing waste at nuclear plants and hundreds of other sites around the country.”

The Yucca Mountain disposal site was originally planned to open in 1988; however, with major setbacks a hopeful projection dateof opening would in be 2017.

Opposite sides go back and forth with whether Yucca Mountain will become a nuclear waste disposal site; however, we will not really know until the legislation for one side or the other is enacted.

I think that somehow another disposal method needs to be developed. I don’t necessarily know if disposing of the nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain is the right thing; however, I do understand that the nuclear waste needs to be disposed off. Plus not only is it affecting the environment around Yucca Mountain, but what if the waste spills on its way to the site. That would be horrible, but I am sure that proponents would argue how unlikely it is that that would happen plus the containers would be safe, but it depends on your definition of safe.

Is the Yucca Dump Doomed? by: Lisa Friedman http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=11948

When I saw the heading of this article, I remember the movie that we watched right before Christmas Break. Right now there are about 200 million cane toads in Australia that have spread 1900 miles from northeast Queenslands to Darwin. Darwin is located in Australia’s tropical north. The cane toads were brought to Australia in 1935 in an attempt to control the cane beetle population.

The cane toads, whose skin is poisonous, have been killed by everything from golf clubs to air rifles. They are currently being caught in traps and plastic bags.

 picture from: http://en.wikipedia.org

Some peopl want the toads to be completely eliminated while some are not ready for them to leave. One lawmaker wanted a national attack on hte toads to be called for. However, this idea was withdrawn because of criticism by animal rights groups.

I don’t know what should be done about the cane toad issue in Australia. I guess that the government will have to take a closer look at what can be done to solve the issue. I am not sure whether the cane toads have done their job, but I do know that they have also decreased other populations. The people in Australia need to come to an agreement on what should be done that will satisfy all aspects.

Australia’s Military Asked to Battle Cane Toads  http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa012&articleID=FA93AC46951909A7575D591BC4D85CE6

Snow leopards are on the list of the most endangered big cats. There are only 3000 to 6000 snow leopards that are still in the wild. This is becasue poachers make thousands of dollars off of their coats. They are sold in the blackmarker in numerous places, particularily in China.

The snow leopards movements can be tracked by their communication method with other snow leopards. They leave marks on certain lenadscapes. Some of the marks they leave inlclude: shallow holes that they dig and scent marks they leave behind.

  Snow leopard  (photo credit: http://en.wikipedia.org)

Becuase of these marks, researchers are better able to keep track of the snow leopard population. They are then better able to determine whether and where snow leopards are bing illegally hunted.

One organization aimed to deture people from poaching snow leopards “works with local herding families to make woll handicrafts sold in Mongolia and in the United States to relieve the economic pressure to poach.”

I think that it sad that people have to resort to killing innocent animals to make money. I do, however, understand that some of the poachers might not be able to take care of themselves and their families without killing the snow leopards. I think that the organization that helps families to make wool handicrafts is a really good idea. It gives them money and doesn’t force them to become poachers.

Protecting the Snow Leopard from Poachers by: Elizabeth Arnold                                     http://www.npr.org/templates/story.story.php?storyId=66267700

According to Study Shows Louisiana Slowly Slipping into Gulf, Louisiana is “sliding” into the Gulf. It is not “sinking.” Why is this such a big issue? Well it will eventually effect the people who live in the area, but for the time being it could disturb the plans for building bigger and better levees.

The area of Louisiana that is being affected is approximately 250 miles long and 180 miles wide. This area includes the delta of the Mississippi. “The bedrock under heavily populated southeast Louisian is breaking away at a glacial speed — at the pace fingernails grow.” Over the past year, this section of the state has slid about the width of two credit cards. The delta of the Mississippi has been build up over the past 8000 years. Over about the last 70 years, over 2000 square miles of the coast of the United States in that area has disappeared. This is through sinking or erosion.

Probably one of the most important questions about the sinking is why it is happening. There are different theories on why this is occuring. One theory is that extraction of oil and natural gas has caused the sinking. We were drilling in that area in the mid and late 20th century. Another theory is that waterways, specifically the Mississippi River, were “straightjacketed by levees.” This means that the floodwaters were unable to reach the soil to replenish it with nutrients.

I think that this needs to be investigated further. It is a serious issue because now it might just be Louisiana, but what if other parts of the United States start to sink. Two credit card widths does not seem like that much, but if you take into account that Louisiana looses that much land every year it is amazing. I wonder what would happen to all those people that live on that land. I mean look at what happened when they had to leave their homes for a short period of time with Hurricane Katrina. Where would they go if they could never go back to their homes and the lives that they have built for themselves.

STUDY SHOWS LOUISIANA SLOWLY SLIPPING INTO GULF by: Cain Burdeau    http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=11950