Thursday, February 25, 2016

Infographic


Summary:

      Nitrogen is a nutrient for growing plants, although, when farmers and home owners don't know how much to add, it can lead to being a pollutant. When there is excess nitrogen it can gas off and become N2O or it can come from car exhaust as N2O (Nitrous oxide). When the nitrous oxide reacts with UV rays and VOCs it breaks into N2 and O. The oxygen reacts with O2 to become O3, which at ground level is harmful to the environment. The ozone then makes up part of the photochemical smog that can interfere with photosynthesis and heats up the atmosphere. The more heat there is in the atmosphere, the more N2O breaks up into N2 and O, which then combines with O2 to make O3 in a vicious cycle. (Butera; NCA 2014)

Works Cited


"National Climate Assessment." National Climate Assessment. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016.


Butera, Brett, Mr. "Ap Environmental Class." Interview. Living in the Environment. Denver, CO, n.d. Personal conversation.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Democratic Republic of Congo/Conlict Minerals

Introduction


This map, provided by the UN, shows the countries involved in the mineral conflict
Countries: UK, Belgium, Russia, Netherlands, Thailand, Australia, China, and India

In the Democratic Republic of Congo they have many kinds of rare earth minerals, or minerals that are not really found in any other places. The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the wealthiest countries when it comes to minerals. This makes them a target for other countries looking to obtain the wealth for themselves. This, on top of the fact that they have many different conflicts going on in their borders has made them one of the poorest and most violent countries. Since the conflict began more than 5 million people have died. This is called mineral conflicts. The minerals that are being fought over are Coltan, Cassiterite, Diamonds, Cobalt, and Uranium.


Background Information



  • This region that will be discussed is Democratic Republic of Congo, which is located in central Africa. D.R.C. is a country with variety of cultures and languages  which adds up to over 200 languages, and dialects which are all spoken within 250 ethnic groups. Although the main languages consist of French, (ki)Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba and Lingala  
  • Congo is also prolific when it comes to different species and mineral resources which other countries crave for. This leads to many attacks from the outside countries, and tribal conflicts as well.
  • The countries that mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo are: DR Congo, United States, United Kingdom, India, China, Australia, Russia, and Netherlands. There are more but once the minerals hit the market they become nearly impossible to track.
  • D.R.C. provides an extensive amount of minerals that include cobalt, which helps with the creation of magnetic steels, stainless steels, jet turbines, and gas turbine generators. It provides the world with diamonds which helps with grinding, polishing, cutting, drilling materials. Another mineral that is provided is gold. Gold is used in almost all electronics. We use gold in all kinds of microchips and processors to carry out complicated tasks. Gold is also used as gold foil which is very heat resistant and used in space shuttles. Gold is also rare and is mined simply for the monetary value. Tantalum is also found in Congo. This mineral is mainly used in the electronic industry for  capacitors and high power resistors. These are just a few examples of the minerals Congo has to offer, although there are more minerals in this country that attracts different countries such as the United states.
  • Congo has high grade and low cost mines, which is also another reason for the people in other countries to invade Congo, and take possession of these minerals.

Discussion


     When purifying ore sulfuric acid is poured on the ore and then CO2 is released and that is deadly to the environment and its inhabitants.

During another part of the extraction processes releases carbon dioxide which is toxic in concentration and its released in concentration.

Mining and extraction more often than not leaves behind a toxic mess and the people who set up the mine make no effort to cleaning up the mess left behind.

The extraction processes and methods damage the environment by acidifying the nearby ground which is needed for organisms to live, also as water becomes more acidic certain types of non native bacteria.


The environmental impacts of mining and extraction is the acidification of groundwater like lakes and rivers, the gases released cause acid rain  

Up to now the mining industry has been able to avoid conforming to environmental ministry by only doing impact studies.

Due to the increasing civil strife in the DRC the government has paid little attention to the environmental degradation that is occurring and they have make very fe laws.



Environmental degradation had being recognized in DRC, so as UNEP study shows that there has being a “substantial progress in strengthening environmental governance”, and as well as surveillance over the mines.  



Works Cited

Monday, December 14, 2015

Biodiversity Hotspots : New Zealand

Introduction

       Biodiversity is the variety of biological life on Earth; this consists of various micro-organisms, plants and animals, different ecosystems on the planet. This includes coral reefs, forests, and deserts. Biodiversity is made up of 4 different kinds of diversity. According to James Bolger in his article "Four Types of Biodiversity" the different kinds of biodiversity are Species, Genetic, Ecosystem, and Functional. Species diversity is defined as the concentration of species and the variation of said animals in an ecosystem. Genetic diversity is the description of how closely related two species are in a given area. Ecosystem diversity is the number of ecosystems in a given amount of land. Functional diversity can be defined as the way different species behave and interact in an ecosystem. Biodiversity is key to the success of all ecosystems because it allows all species to have an impact. New Zealand has many ecosystems that are high in biodiversity and species richness due to their position on the globe which allows for cold and warm climates.


Background Information

     During World War 1 the soldiers of New Zealand were called Diggers, Pig Islanders, and more before they stuck with Kiwi or Kiwis (Plural) and now they use it for the general population (New Zealand People).  


How To Experience Maori Culture in New Zealand

By Harry Barwick


The natives of New Zealand are called the Maori and they have close ties with the land and sea.

 One of the most stunning biomes that New Zealand has to offer is The Great Barrier Coral reef. This biome is enriched with various distinctive marine species that play a major role in its ecosystem and the net primary productivity of New Zealand marine ecosystems. The Great Barrier Coral reef extends farther than 1,300 miles through the coral sea of northeastern Australia. With that said, the Great  Barrier Coral reef is a biome shared by both New Zealand and Australia alike. This biome consists of 1625 species of fish and 1400 coral reefs species. These stunning species includes, sea urchins, starfish,sea snakes, whales,dolphins and many more.




New Zealand's coral reefs provide food in the form of fish and other aquatic edibles like clams, These are mainly the economic services but it also provides many ecological services like calming the waves that impact the land and reducing the erosion in turn. They also, as previously mentioned harbor massive amounts of life and biodiversity. With high levels of biodiversity come high levels of NPP or Net Primary Productivity.



Great Barrier Reef  FoodWeb, courtesy of  GreatBarrierReef.com.au


Discussion

     The Great Barrier Reef provides the surrounding countries with many ecological and economic services. One ecological service would be providing habitat to many species. The second ecological service that can double as an economic service is that the reefs calm the waves and keep them from eroding the beaches and destroying coastal settlements. The last economic service they provide is ecotourism to countries like Australia and New Zealand.

     The main type of environmental degradation that effects the Great Barrier Reef is the acidification of the ocean due to the increasing CO2 emissions all around the globe. This causes the coral to build slower and degrade over time. This is also a factor in the bleaching of the coral reefs.

     The native people of New Zealand rely on these coral reefs as a source of food and money via fishing. Although, the larger economy of that entire region of Oceania relies on the ecotourism that these reefs bring. According to the Australian Government in 2012 the Great barrier reef brought in $5,677,800 in ecotourism and commercial fishing.

     The functional diversity of the Great Barrier Reef has plummeted because of the new conditions posed to the species by ocean acidification. This caused the functional diversity to fall because only certain species, interacting and behaving in certain ways can survive.



http://www.newheavendiveschool.com/related-news/2015-bad-year-coral-reefs/

     The environmental degradation has affected the species and genetic diversity in much of the same way. The harsher and more hostile conditions mean that all but the most resilient of species have died off or will die off soon. Another cause of this decline was the over fishing in some areas and the coastal development of New Zealand.

     The WWF lists animals like sharks, sea turtles, and some of the coral itself as endangered or threatened by the increasing environmental degradation. They are endangered due to issues like fishing and dumping of chemicals in that part of the ocean.

http://www.drgeorgepc.com/OceanGovernance.html

     The neighboring governments are requiring harsher zoning laws for coastal development. The government in New Zealand has banned dumping right off their coasts and this will drastically improve the state of many of their nearby reefs.


Conclusion

     The coral reefs that make up the Great Barrier Reef are a treasure to the world, housing all kinds of life that is endemic to that area and that is now endangered. They are endangered due to many outdated and/or generally harmful practices that take place in or around the reefs, such as dumping or coastal development. Without our help the Great Barrier Reef is doomed to be nothing more than a graveyard for future generations to wonder and wish. We can all help a little by not driving as much or driving more ecologically safe cars, this would reduce the amount of ocean acidification and would help the coral reefs immeasurably. Thank you.

Works Cited

"An End to Great Barrier Reef Dumping Is Imminent." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, 01 July 2015. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.


"Great Barrier Reef Food Web." Great Barrier Reef Australia. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.


Economic Contribution of The Great Barrier Reef. N.p.: Deloitte Access Economics, Mar. 2013. PDF.