With billions of pounds of plastic literally the oceans worldwide, an organic chemist and a sailboat captain came together to tackle this issue in a practical way. Dr. Ramesh and Captain Holm have developed a process to turn useless plastic garbage from the oceans into a diesel fuel with a small mobile reactor. They hope that this technology will one day be implemented globally and possibly used on boats as a fuel source. This process allows plastics that can not be recycled to be put to good use and provide fuel for vehicles and other types of machinery.
This new development is very interesting. I like the fact that its purpose is to reduce waste in the oceans and make a valuable product from the plastic. I think that if a significant amount of people get on board and put their efforts into this technology, then it could catch on fast. However, there are some down sides, such as the fact that diesel is not the cleanest fuel source and only certain vehicles take diesel. Another problem is how people or companies would collect the plastic needed from the oceans. These problems are most likely small in comparison to the big picture of getting plastic waste out of the oceans. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170403083052.htm
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On Tuesday, environmental groups gathered in front of the White House to rally against an order that will lift restrictions on coal sales from federal lands. Environmentalists believe that lifting these restrictions will worsen climate change and sell coal unfairly low. They have been preparing for months to fight Trump's environmental policies. Environmentalists say Trump's actions will put the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage to other countries that are embracing clean energy, which they say could create thousands of new jobs. They believe coal is not coming back and that the president is doomed to fail.
I think that this is a very important issue that needs to be addressed and continued to be fought. Trump needs to put his efforts into other methods of creating jobs and realize that switching to clean energy can do that. I hope that these lifted restrictions will stop and people will continue to fight for what is right ans for what will keep everyone safe and healthy in the future. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/environmental-groups-vowing-fight-trump-climate-actions-46437705 On Tuesday, the Turlock area received an interesting thunderstorm that later turned into a small hail storm and a tornado warning. A funnel cloud was spotted, however it didn't touch the ground and no damage occurred. The storm occurred at right about noon ans lasted until one o'clock until moving on towards Oakdale where a lightening strike took down a tree, damaging three homes and destroying a nearby transformer.
This strange weather occurrence for Turlock put a lot of people in a bit of a tizzy. It's not everyday that students are required to stay indoors during lunch because of hail and tornado warnings. It was quite exciting, to say the least, to experience this small storm. It is hard for me to imagine how people who live in Tornado Alley must deal with this very often and I fell very fortunate that I haven't had to experience an extreme storm of damaging nature. http://www.kcra.com/article/tornado-warning-issued-for-turlock-keyes-and-denair/9164081 All types of energy have environmental impacts, however to keep us safe we must manage these sources of energy effectively. CO2 emissions are our main concern today. Some countries have started to reduce emissions, but the effect is yet to be seen. There are other types of emissions that can cause acid rain or deplete the ozone layer, and we have much room for improvement. In general though, we have been reducing our environmental impacts overtime. However, energy sources such as solar panels can be much more expensive.
Coal is cheap, dirty, and easy. Coal is used to make electricity by boiling water that creates steam which turns a turbine and generates electricity. The biggest downside is that coal is dirty because burning it produces pollutants and ash. There is not one coal plant in the world that captures its CO2 emissions. This causes many environmental impacts and we must decide if we are going to continue using coal or not. Nuclear Energy is more powerful than any other energy source. The fuel is very cheap compared to the amount of electricity it produces. When the fuel is spent, it still has the ability to be used for energy. Handling nuclear energy is very difficult, but compared to other sources of energy such as coal, nuclear is much safer. However, the main problem is the cost of making sure nuclear plants are safe. More than 20 tornadoes have been confirmed from an outbreak hitting the Midwest. The death toll has also been confirmed, rising to four people killed and many more injured. Emergency crews have been surveying the damage, and governors have been touring cities, vowing to help citizens in their painful recovery. The storms have been pushed Northeast, causing some more damage to homes and numerous airport delays. Many people are returning to a home that is completely destroyed.
I think that this extreme weather event is unimaginable. It is unbelievable to me how much damage these strong winds can cause. Pictures show everything from trees torn out of the ground to cars turned over and smashed to roofs torn off of houses. I have never experienced something like this in my life, and I hope that I never will have to. My thoughts go out to those who lost their loved ones and their homes. https://weather.com/news/news/severe-weather-storms-midwest-south-east-impacts The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has become something we can no longer ignore. About 8 million tons of plastic enter the oceans each year, and this number is expected only to rise. Plastic is not biodegradable, however it breaks down into tiny pieces and disrupts marine life and ecosystems. This is a great threat to ocean health ultimately leading to a great human health threat. This problem must be stopped at the source, which starts with consumers being more aware of what they purchase and use. We are at a tipping point and we must decide which way we will fall.
I think that this is a huge problem for everyone around the world. I think that we need to work together to solve this issue before it cannot be fixed. We have become blind to this issue and have turned our heads for too long. In order to stop ocean pollution, a real change needs to be made. http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/30/world/plastic-plague-oceans/index.html On Tuesday afternoon, the spill gate at the Orville Dam was closed after a giant hole was discovered in the spillway. Officials say that the damage was caused by eroded soil around the spillway that caused the concrete to collapse. The Orville reservoir is currently 85% full and is expected to rise with upcoming storms in the next week or so. Engineers are looking into repairing the damage before more heavy rain hits, but with limited time they may have open the gates and risk further damage. They say that there is no potential danger to the dam or the public, however they hope to get this problem fixed and soon.
This is a very important issue, not only for the residents of Orville, but also for all of California. With increased rain this year, many of our dams are filling up and could potentially reach full capacity. Flooding is a possible problem for many people as rivers rise and the rain continues to fall. People should take caution if they are travelling or are living in a potential flood zone. This is good news in regards to replenishing out surface water, however, there is still a great deficit in ground water supply and we should continue to conserve water. http://www.kcra.com/article/lake-oroville-nears-capacity-as-erosion-closes-spillway/8691655 The Senate just recently reversed one of Obama's environmental regulations, regarding the dumping of mining waste in or near water sources. This act, The Stream Protection Rule, was put forth by Obama in order to limit and control the amount of damage done to streams and rivers from mining operations. The Congress Republicans believe that this rule greatly hurt local communities by threatening jobs and the coal industry as a whole. They hope that with this repeal, they can fulfill their promise to Americans and bring relief to hard working citizens. On the other hand, Democrats believe that this was a poor decision. The Stream Protection Rule was created to protect families from contaminated water and the many health effects that come along with that. Environmentalists were also in a tizzy. This is the exact opposite of what they believe Congress should be doing in order to keep Americans safe and healthy.
This is a very important issue that could possibly affect the lives of all Americans. This rule was put in place in order to keep people healthy, however, with the repeal it seems that business is worth much more than American lives. With this repeal, many others are likely to pass that would also tear down past environmental and health safety rules and acts. If Americans need jobs and they need to be healthy, there should be a solution for both. We should not have to risk our lives at the expense of business. I hope that as we move forward into the future, people will stand up for their rights and we can move towards a cleaner source of energy and a healthier world. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/02/stream-protection-rule-reverse-mcconnell-paul-yarmuth-trump/97413470/ Yesterday, Trump signed multiple executive orders meant to speed approval for projects such as the two controversial pipelines , the Keystone XL and the Dakota Access Pipelines. With this order, Trump is reversing the Obama administration's decision to disapprove the Keystone pipeline. Trump believes that the construction of these pipelines will create "a lot of jobs", however critics are skeptical that these jobs will be permanent and numerous. Many groups reacted very quickly to this decision, including Michael Brune of the Sierra Club, who stated "President Trump will live to regret his actions this morning".
I think that many of Trump's orders and plans have been very controversial so far in his short time as president, and I think that they will continue to be this way. From an environmentalist perspective, I do not think that these pipelines will be in any way beneficial and I think that in terms of the economy, not very many jobs will be created. I think that the country needs to start transitioning to rely more on renewable and clean energy and stray away from fossil fuels and gas. As Trump most likely continues to make decisions based on an business standpoint, I hope and believe that environmentalists and people throughout the nation are going to protest his policies in order to protect and change our world for the better. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/24/trump-signs-five-more-orders-pipelines-steel-and-environment/96988428/ U.S. scientists officially declare 2016 the hottest year on record. That makes three in a row.1/18/2017 Just recently, NOAA and NASA jointly confirmed that 2016 has been the hottest year on record. This record broke 2015's record which had also broke 2014's previous record, making three consecutive record breaking years. The record for the global temperature has now been broken five times since 2000. Ironically this report came out on the same day that Scott Pruitt, a challenger of climate change, is having his confirmation hearing for the head of the EPA. While the two agencies have slightly different data, they agree that the difference is insignificant and that we should be looking at the bigger picture.
This report is very unsettling to hear, even though it did not seem like much of a surprise. I hope that this gets more people to open their eyes and see that climate change is real, it is caused by humans, and it is dangerous. However, I feel that I cannot be too hopeful with the head of the EPA nomination and Trump's overall environmental protection agenda during his term. With continued research, awareness, and action, I believe that the scientific community and others can help to protect our earth. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/18/u-s-scientists-officially-declare-2016-the-hottest-year-on-record-that-makes-three-in-a-row/?utm_term=.95a34be7ad4d |
Allie MalmbergI am a senior at THS, I am on the golf and swim teams, and I am an active member in Key Club. I enjoy travelling to new countries and I love to spend time with my friends and family. Archives
April 2017
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