This project was about choosing an ecosystem we care about and addressing it. We were addressing the affects humans have on that ecosystem. As a group we chose to do the ecosystem of the redwood forest. This is an ecosystem that really hits home, and is something that we really want people to know more about. Below is a link to the document that had the affects, possible solutions, and the affects on the other parts of the ecosystem(plants/animals).
Terrarium Proposal:
First Pic:
November 12
12/7/15 12/10/15
Socratic Seminar Reflection:
My Notes: https://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm *1930's started to wonder why Earth was getting warmer *nitrogen and oxygen do not make up most of the atmosphere and don't intercept *infrared radiation greenhouse gases >co2 and water vapor *enormous human activities cause this
http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/is-global-warming-real.php *Glaciers melt causing rise in sea level>water covers plants>animals die from not enough plants>humans loose plants and animals from Global Warming
https://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php *97% of climate experts agree humans are the main cause *should be worrying about global warming in 100 years than an ice age in 10,000 years
http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Evidence Against Global Warming
*against Global Warming>satallite reading corresponding with land reading taken for years before this, there has been little record climbs in temp *17,000 scientists have signed a petition circulated by Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine that there is no Global warming *hard to create future climate change prediction
http://www.pnas.org/content/107/27/12107.full
*American public expresses substantial doubt about both the anthropogenic cause and the level of scientific agreement underpinning ACC(american climate change) *greenhouse has been responsible for "most" of the "unequivocal" warming of the the earth;s average global temp
As a society I feel like we can make a difference and actually pay attention to the people talking about how bad it is getting. I mean we all know that global warming is real, but we don't really care that much about it. Sure we turn our lights off once in awhile and not use our cars but that's not good enough! We need to stop big factories and listen to the people who no more about stopping this, or at least calm it down. Slaughter houses are a big part in global warming, and that's why so many people aren't eating meat anymore. As an individual I think that I should stop eating so much meat, and try to save the environment more by stopping big factories that cause so much pollution. I don't want my great great great great great great grandchild to be questioned if it should be born because the environment isn't safe to breathe in! I hope we find a sollution soon because I'm scared to see what the future Earth will be like.
CCD Reflections:
Colony collapse disorder is the phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker bees in a unified colony disappear and leave behind a queen, plenty of food, and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees and the queen.
In this project we studied the bee population over time ratio in different areas. It was very apparent that there has been a dramatic change in the bee population.
Neonicotinoid acids are used in many ways in the beekeeping process. Used in different ways, the chemical is absorbed by the plant and distributed through the plant tissues at such high levels they can be fatal to insects. Neonicotinoid insecticides are strongly opposed by many in the beekeeping and farming world and there continues to be a strong debate on neonicotinoids being truly harmful to pollinators via scientific evidence. There is the growing concern that since the introduction and widespread usage of neonicotinoid insecticides that the chemical could be partly be responsible due to the decreasing bee population.
Bees are becoming threatened by many potential factors Insecticides are a tool that effects reduce crop yield losses owing to insect pests. Because of insecticides there is a decline of pollinators in Europe and North America. The insecticides help crops grow, but in the long run it will not really help them because it is is killing off the pollinators that help them to become fertilized. This causes tension between the agricultural and environmental consequences. They have started to do tests on insects.
It seems that one of the factors affecting bees are neonicotinoid chemicals, specifically the queen bees. The big problem about this is that queen failure seems to be a major driver of honeybee colony losses. After all, the queen is, well, a queen. It controls all of the other bees and they do the work for her and her colony. Neonicotinoids seem to greatly affect economic and environmental behavior of queens, causing the downfall of a colony, at least partly. Of course, there are many more factors in this, some are yet to be discovered.
Natural Product Development
Reflection: We gathered plant material, weighed it, made extracts, poured gar plates, spread bacteria on agar, place filter paper discs on bacteria, then grow overnight. We made this because we wanted to find potential cures for human ailments. Specifically: testing extracts for antibiotic activity. Our group collect rose pedals,orange peel, and a succulent. I had a fun time crushing all the plants in the bowl and watching them filter through the discs. At first I was helping three groups and didn't know which one I was working with. I finally ended up with my group which consisted of Sebastian and Noah. We then went on to pouring our plates and we did a poor job because we had a ton of bacteria all over it. After we realized that most of class messed up we redid the whole entire thing. It ended up being less work than before and so we hoped it would look alright and have no bacteria. My group had no flaws except I think we went too fast in making all of the extracts and also I didn't really understand exactly what I was doing because we were either writing it down or being shown how to do it all. Once we got them back, our group didn't do so good. It had a lot of bacteria everywhere and so it was frustrating knowing we spent time doing it again, and it failed. This project was very interesting and I really like these "hands on" projects and I hope we can do more of them even though it was a little too fast for me.