Earlier this year, Bejing has set forth their determination to tackle the pollution problem within China. Within the last two years, China's air quality has been said to be 8 times worse than recommended by the World Health Organization. This lack of concern for the environment and its inhabitants is taking its toll, especially on those living within the premises of China. Studies show that at least one million of the deaths that occur per year among China's citizens are due to the pollution in the air. Beijing authorities are going to begin putting strict regulations on certain vehicles and industries that are the underlying cause of these one million deaths. By the end of the year, Beijing hopes to reduce coal consumption by 30% by shutting down factories that are disregarding regulations as well as forcing vehicles off the road that do not meet environmental standards. Although Beijing is trying to reduce the smog within China, they are still unable to take a larger leap towards change because they fear the economic consequences they will serve in the short term.
Beijing is setting an example for its inhabitants across the country by trying to enforce environmental regulations. Around the globe, countries must be willing to impose similar standards among their residents in order to increase the life span of the people and their environment. www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/09/beijing-creates-anti-smog-police-to-tackle-air-polluters
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Imagine the possibilities you could encounter with the ability to be invisible! Cystisoma is one of the few species among the marine life that exerts the ability of transparency. Due to their habitat being the open ocean, this species is unable to camouflage itself among other marine or plant life. Although the trait of invisibility seems like it could protect these species from any predators, the sunlight that reflects along the backs of these species reveals the presence of these fish. Bagge researches the Cytosima's features in more depth to find out if this species carries another "survival of the fittest" feature. It turns out that these fish have nanoproturbances along their legs that reduce the reflection of light on the species toward its predators. Due to the small ridge like mountains on their legs, the light that is refected passes through a buffer. The ability of the Cystisoma to change their physical appearance is a part of natural selection among the open ocean, allowing this species to survive and reproduce, outcompeting inferior species.
The features that Cystisoma are remarkable, but they also serve as a sign that evolution of species has occured in a way that is not known to most of society. The trait of transparency among organisms is not widely heard of and this species signals to inhabitants worldwide that change has occured within the environment and the competition among life is greater. news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/12/oceans-animals-invisible-physics/#/01-sea-creature-cloak-invisibility.ngsversion.1481311943701.jpg Along the West Coast, three states including Oregon, California, and Washington plan to remove dams that have become useless due to their deterioration. Money is being funded to states that have already built up a community that is willing to break down the dams, but need some financial assistance to do so. It is predicted that once these dams are removed, several salmon and steelhead species are expected to increase in population due to free flowing waterways opening up. Michael Scott, acting director of the environment program of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, expects the climate to decrease to normal temperatures because the dams cause the water to settle in pools without enough flow, which allows the sun's heat to penetrate on the surface, evaporating the water. By 2020, 70% of the 14,00 dams will reach their 50th year of utilization and a majority of these dams will be destroyed. Although removing dams is costly, restoring these run-down barriers is not economically efficient. Dam removal may cause uprising from the agricultural population, but several dams are degrading, becoming useless and inefficient. Thus, the dams should be removed to allow the population of aquatic species to increase and decrease climate change. The public must be informed about the benefits of removing the dams as well as the consequences and make a decision that is best suited for the environment in the long term . news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/11/dam-removal-nelson-dam-matiliha-rogue-river-hewlett-foundation-open-rivers/ With the United States electing Donald Trump as the 45th president, around the globe, nations are skeptical about how this will affect the progress of climate change prevention due to Trump's denial of climate change, referring to it as a "hoax." This is not a hoax, climate change exists and the west coast is already confirming that they will not conform to Trump's illogical view that this issue is not present. In fact, California, Oregon, and Washington have agreed to stand by the global community to fight against climate change, not willing to give up on the Paris Agreement that Trump is considering to pull their country from.
The next four years put fear into the nations eyes as Trump's expected plans towards climate change will deter the progress that has been made, but environmentalists are trying to stand strong to create their own impact. Across the globe, we must educate the mass about this problematic issue if we want to see the world prosper in the next three centuries. Donald Trump himself denies climate change, it is now the power of democracy that must unite and fight back for their environment that has provided for them and their ancestors since the beginning of time. www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/West-Coast-leaders-We-are-committed-to-climate-10623810.php#photo-8356529 Since 1900 the orangutan population has decreased by 80% in Sumatra Indonesia. An environmentalist, Hidisiswoyo works for the Orangutan Information Centre, trying to protect what is left of the declining population. Hididsiswoyo witnessed an orangutan trader capturing this endangered animal in Medan. Once Hididsiswoyo caught eye of him, he stopped and called the police, who arrested the man. Most of his job consists of conservation, he has pushed for saving forests, trying to prevent the deforestation of palm oil. These lowland forests are home for several mammals, orangutans, rhinos, and tigers. The Orangutan Information Centre has made progress to prevent the trafficking of these animals, but few chaperones have been convicted of this illegal trade.
The orangutan population has significantly decreased within the last century in Indonesia, which means the species could potentially go extinct by the end of the 21st century. In order to protect these mammals, the Indonesia's population must become aware of the damage that these illegal chaperones will create in their environment. Not only are the orangutans declining, but their habitat as well. Hidisiswaya and his team have made some progress, but it is going to take more than a small portion of the population to create a significant impact, www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/11/field-notes-protecting-sumatran-orangutans/ Does fracking cause natural diasters to occur? In LA where oil drilling occurs, researchers have found that earthquakes have risen from these same locations, which causes them to question whether humans are causing earthquakes. In these areas, drilling occurred at least 3,000 feet below the ground. David Jackson, a researcher from UCLA points out that oil drilling activity is the cause for these major earthquakes such as the one that occurred in Long Beach, California in 1933, which had a magnitude of 6.4 and killed 120 people. Not only has man caused earthquakes in Southern California, but in Oklahoma as well. Researchers found that during the 20th century when oil and gas production occurred, Oklahoma suffered from several major earthquakes. Although hard evidence has not been found that fracking is a factor in major earthquake occurrences, LA is more susceptible to earthquakes than residents believe. Fracking may not be the main cause of earthquakes occurring, but this technique of drilling is still degrading the environment. Due to the utilization of large quantities of water and chemicals that can contaminate groundwater in the process of fracking, environmentalists are concerned that industries are not using water wisely. If contamination occurs in groundwater, water becomes even more scarce for individuals, especially for those that rely on groundwater as a source to irrigate their crops. Therefore, large fracking industries must establish another alternative for fracking that does not deteriorate the environment. HTTP://WWW.SMITHSONIANMAG.COM/SMART-NEWS/OIL-DRILLING-MAY-HAVE-CAUSED-SOME-20TH-CENTURY-QUAKES-LA-180960986/#2DWMO50BM1FVKWX7.99GIVE THE GIFT OF SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE FOR ONLY $12! HTTP://BIT.LY/1CGUIGVFOLLOW US: @SMITHSONIANMAG ON TWITTER Global warming is affecting winters, especially in Lancaster where their upcoming winter is predicted to extend into February or March. The weather during February and March is supposedly going to reach cooler temperatures. According to meteorologist Eric Horst, the winters will be extended due to a polar vortex, which is low-pressure air that contains the coldest air in the hemisphere. Cold air sinks, which is why this cool air is low in pressure. Although scientists are unsure of the accuracy of this hypothesis, they will know soon when more research takes place in the Nature Climate Change study. If temperatures stay unusually low during March, this can also decrease summer temperatures. In terms of global warming, some scientists believe that there is a relationship between glacier melting and temperature changes. If cooling temperatures take effect, society must be informed that this incident is not due to less CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. Members of society may believe that global warming is no longer a concern because temperatures are decreasing, but global warming is a factor in the temperature change. It is important for society to recognize that they must find more environmentally efficient ways to help decrease global warming. http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/climate-change-alters-polar-vortex-could-lengthen-lancaster-winters-researchers/article_595bf672-a1df-11e6-8b09-fb97f1d7d330.html California's voluntary conservation act of water is taking a downturn and Los Angeles is trying to fight back and implement their own restrictions on water use. Water savings in urban areas has been dropping since July and Malibu is one of the cities that is not willing to put their best efforts into conserving water, with their residents using about 254 gallons of water a day. The L.A. mayor has decided to implement ways to reduce water usage from 131 gallons a day to 104 gallons a day, this tactic will be enforced by January 2017. Santa Monica and L.A. county will force residents to pay a fine or take a water conservation course if they exceed their recommended water usage. While Los Angeles is trying to develop their own ideas to limit water usage, it is going to take more than this urban area to defeat the crisis. While L.A. and Santa Monica county have implemented water conservation programs to make residents become more aware of their excessive use of water, all residents in California must recognize that they need to do their part and not rely on the hopes that precipitation will increase and the drought will come to an end within a few years. The drought exists and consequences will continue to increase if we are not conscious of how much water we use on daily basis. www.latimes.com/opinion/livable-city/la-ol-california-water-conservation-20160912-snap-story.html The effects of Hurricane Matthew will hopefully make politicians recognize that climate change does exist. Even as sea levels are rapidly rising above their stable level, some political figures like Marco Rubio, who is running for Senator again, still does not believe in the existence of climate change. This refusal to acknowledge global warming put Florida at a disadvantage as they waited for the Hurricane Matthew to hit and destroy their homes because the only financial support they are currently gaining for planned protection against another natural disaster is at a local level, which will not suffice for the amount of destruction that will occur. The sea level is still rising along the east coast, which means more damage is bound to take place within Florida if action is not taken soon to prevent the flooding of the state.
The rise of the sea level is not new information, yet residents of Florida and politicians among the United States refuse to accept the fact climate change is occurring. In order to prevent the harmful effects from occurring due to the increase in sea level, the federal government and state government must create a plan and policies to lessen the destruction of homes and lives due to flooding. This action must happen immediately if the country does not want to serve worse consequences. news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/hurricane-matthew-storm-surges-predict-sea-level-rise-btf/ On October 4th, Haiti suffered from the drastic effects of Hurricane Matthew's stark winds. Hurricane Matthew is expected to hit Florida within the next few days and researchers fear that once Matthew strikes the United States, people will forget about the destruction that was brought upon Haiti, which will hinder their recuperation from the hurricane. So far, Hurricane Matthew has killed at least 100 hundred people of Haiti and is expected to cause more destruction to the human race. Trees have split, homes have flattened, and animals are endangered due to this natural disaster. The winds are reaching up to 125 mph across the Bahamas and people are struggling to receive medical assistance from the impacted hospitals.
Hurricane Matthew is a current issue that the world must recognize because it is causing the endangerment of not only animal species, but also the human race. As the winds grow stronger and travel towards the United States, more people will seek medical aid as well as a stable place to live. The Red Cross Foundation is seeking funds from all local communities across the nation in order to rebuild the destruction that has and is going to affect Haiti and Florida. news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/hurricane-matthew-haiti-photographs-bridge/#close |
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