We have one planet to live on. Have you ever thought of that? We only have this one giant rock, hurtling through the sky at speeds too fast for us to even comprehend; and we have nowhere else to go. Yet, we still take advantage of our home. We pollute it, mine mountains, clear-cut forests and think nothing of it. In everyday life people normally like to keep their home clean and tidy, they may buy insurance to help them buy a new one if something happens to their old one. Earth is our home, yet…
Global Weirdness is a relatively easy read that is focused on the effects of global warming. The title “global weirdness” is incredibly appropriate for it is not just about global warming, but also the other “weird” factors that are occur as well; for instance, relentless droughts, rising seas, severe storms, deadly heat waves, and water movements are just a few to name. The book is consisted of four parts with sixty, short chapters and an epilogue. The first part is entitled “What the science…
Introduction There has been a lot of controversy if the use of electric cars will stand the test of time and be able to become the newest coming trend in the transportation sector. With all of the technological advances, environmentally, healthily and economically electric cars do benefit the entire population and also help reduce the toxicity that the planet is now having to deal with because of all the pollution man-kind has created. Ecological Factors The use of an electric car allows to…
is the process of carbon dioxide and numerous gases being absorbed into the ocean, which raises the ocean’s pH, causing it to become more acidic. Contrary to popular belief, terrestrial vegetation does not intake all of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The ocean absorbs about fifty-percent of carbon dioxide created by burning fossil fuels, which is quite beneficial since it reduces the speed of climate change. As the ocean continues to absorb the heightened levels of carbon dioxide it…
Foraminifera can be an indicator for the carbon cycle The changes in ocean chemistry can impact calcifying organisms in a negative way. Plankton that calcifies are a key player in the marine carbon cycle. Recent studies have been done with a tiny-shelled organism that suggests changes in the global carbon cycle. This is the first study that has been done with high CO2 that shows a combination of shell building problems, physiological stress, and spine repair in foraminifera. For this study,…
When you’re cleaning an accidental water spill, have you ever wondered why the water gets easily absorbed by the paper towel in your hand? Have you wondered what force could have caused this phenomenon to occur? This force where water is pulled and absorbed is called capillary action. Although this force can pull water against the force of gravity, it is because of an attraction between molecules of different substances known as adhesion that water can be pulled up. Examples of adhesion include:…
Carbon monoxide poisoning is fatal. Carbon monoxide binds to haemoglobin at the same site as oxygen – the iron atom within the haem group – however carbon monoxide will bind with a strength 200 times that of oxygen. This means that if carbon monoxide is inhaled it was always displace oxygen within haemoglobin. If oxygen can no longer bind to haemoglobin then the respiring cells of the body can no longer receive oxygen and will eventually die. When carbon monoxide binds to haemoglobin it causes…
Introduction Chlorinated solvents are chemical compounds, primarily used today in the dry-cleaning industry. Structurally, they are organic compounds, typically containing one to three carbon atoms, arranged in a hydrocarbon chain. Single or multiple chlorine atoms are attached to the hydrocarbon chain by covalent bonds. As shown below in FIGURE 1, chlorinated solvents can be in three forms, dependent on the chemical structure: chlorinated methanes, chlorinated ethanes, and chlorinated ethenes.…
The carbon emissions in the atmosphere are putting our ocean life in extreme danger. The ocean is absorbing a large amount of our CO2 emissions from the atmosphere and as a result, it is decreasing the fish and coral reef population. The ocean is absorbing human waste and the ocean life is in danger from it. The ocean has absorbed lots of fossil carbon emissions since the Industrial Revolution and predatory fish are down 90% from over fishing in the oceans. Human population growth adds stress…
The Purification of a Gem (Topic 2) A rough, dull gemstone is put inside a scorching, blazing furnace, which breaks down its flesh, melting and refining its impurities. Through this excruciating process, a strong and beautiful gem is born to serve a variety of meaningful purposes--from becoming a gift for someone we cherish to being used as a healing stone. There is no better expression for the turbulent time of childhood and adolescence that have made me who I am today. The past twenty years…