Posts

The Highlight of my APES Experience

Julia Young As we reach the end of a semester full of environmental discussions and unique hands-on learning, it is easy to forget about the variety of topics we discussed and start to generalize our experience in the class. We took a record number of field trips, learned from a variety of professionals, and— perhaps— changed our views on some things. For this last blog post, I want to open the floor to all of you guys. Tell us about something you learned in these past 18 weeks; It can be as life-changing or as basic as you’d like. Have you applied anything we’ve learned? Or, tell us about your most favorite experience in this class. I’ll go first. Looking back, my favorite day of this semester was when the snake lady (AKA Mrs. Jill) FaceTimed us! Snakes have always freaked me out, and when she said that they are nothing to be afraid of, I laughed. However, throughout the lesson, I learned that rather than decapitate every wild snake we see with a shovel (which is my general respo
32 comments
Read more

Amanda Yancey - To Kill a Mockingbird

Image
Amanda Yancey - To Kill a Mockingbird The debate going on between cat and dog people is a never ending argument, consisting of pet owners who believe their pet is superior. However, science is showing how dogs may have the edge over cats environmentally: cats are killing a devastatingly large amount of North American birds every year. Most cat owners probably have experienced their cats bringing in dead bird or leaving them on their doorstep. This isn’t only a gross inconvenience but it’s also disturbing bird populations and altering the food web. Cats kill on average 1.4 to 3.7 billion birds a year. Considering that there are only 10 to 20 billion North American land birds, cats are eliminating 5-15% of the bird population every year. The magnitude of bird deaths suggests that cats are causing significant declines to bird populations in some regions. Additionally, threatened and endangered wildlife species are the most susceptible to the effects of cat predation. At the
32 comments
Read more

Grace Weems - Why the US Falls Behind on Recycling

Image
Since we were children, we were told to recycle. We have constantly been told that recycling is helping the planet by producing less waste that will end up in landfills. So, if us Americans pride ourselves so much on recycling, why isn’t it actually working? For one, not many cities in the US make it clear as to what exactly can be recycled. Many waste products are made up of mixed materials, some of which are recyclable, and some that are not. This causes confusion for many consumers as they are not aware of what specific materials can actually be recycled, causing materials that are not meant to be recycled to end up in the recycling bin. One example of this problem is the on NYC Sanitation website, which states that plastic jugs should be recycled. This statement is extremely vague and does not specify what types of plastics should be recycled. Also, many Americans are not aware that materials that are recycled must be dry, meaning that there is no liquid or food on or in
31 comments
Read more

Emily Su- Cute Polar Bears (And How To Save Them)

Image
What's the first consequence of global warming that comes to mind? You don't need to be an environmentalist to know that an increase in temperatures will cause the melting of arctic ice. However, did you know that the melting of arctic ice could potentially cause a drastic increase in sea levels, loss of habitat for arctic life, and more intense natural disasters? Since the earth is an intricately connected system, the melting of arctic ice could cause issues for all walks of life: not just a few polar bears. A recent 2018 study  has found that glaciers from the Arctic are the world's leading contributes to rising sea levels. According to this study, ice from the arctic alone is adding over a millimeter of water to the ocean every year. While this may not appear significant, this also means that the total Arctic loss at present is 447 billion tons of ice per year, or about 14,000 tons of water being dumped into the ocean per second: that's a lot of water! Additio
32 comments
Read more

Madison Smith- Solar Energy-- Life Saver or Ticking Time Bomb?

Image
In recent years, there has been a rise in the use of “clean” energy sources. Unlike fossil fuels and natural gas, renewable energy does not have to be burnt and has little to no greenhouse gas emissions. One of the most popular sources of renewable energy comes from space.  Solar power is on the cusp of explosion. As they continue to become more affordable and more efficient, homeowners are beginning to invest in solar panels as a clean energy source for their homes. (It also doesn’t hurt that the government provides a large tax cut for citizens who install solar panels on their houses.) With virtually zero emissions, a high energy output, a permanent source of solar radiation, and a 30-year lifespan, solar power seems like the perfect replacement for coal-burning power plants. Unfortunately, there are a few detrimental downsides, not to the energy itself, but to the solar panels that harness the sunlight. Solar panels are constructed from hazardous materials such as sulf
32 comments
Read more

Aarthi Srinivasan — Chernobyl: The World’s Worst Nuclear Disaster

Image
Chernobyl: The World’s Worst Nuclear Disaster by Aarthi Srinivasan Global warming. Rising seas. Ocean acidification. Ozone depletion. Acid deposition. Whether it's the release of CO 2 , NO x , or SO 2 , it is clear that the combustion of fossil fuels and other non-renewable forms of energy is having serious impacts on the environment. A cheaper, more environmentally sustainable solution to the world’s impending energy crisis may be something as simple as utilizing a fundamental piece of matter: the atom. However, nuclear energy has long been the subject of controversy, generating conversation about its potential human health and environmental impacts. The 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Pripyat, Ukrainian USSR, serves as a testament to the catastrophic consequences of a nuclear power plant disaster. The explosion and subsequent meltdown of the Chernobyl 4 reactor resulted in radioactive material being thrown into the air. Following the explosion, fires continued for eight days
31 comments
Read more

Austin Smith - Motor Racing and The Environment

Image
       We all know the effects that automobiles have on the environment. It seems like every two seconds we are hearing about how bad fossil fuel powered machines are for the environment, how they produce immense amounts of greenhouse gases, and how electric cars are the future. While all of this may be true, sometimes we forget that there is a subsection of automobiles that, while not unregulated in the slightest, has not exactly been eco-friendly in the past: motor racing.        Motor racing is not exactly a clean sport, ecologically. It is completely centered around making extremely inefficient machines become more efficient, all for the purpose of going faster and burning even more fuel in the process. Your average car may get 20-30 MPG on the highway, but what about these machines? Formula 1 cars are usually recorded at getting around 2-4 MPG! These engines are very inefficient (they need to be to go this fast) but they are used to irresponsibly that they go through fuel
32 comments
Read more