Category: Environment

The Rundown on Runoff

Environment, New Research
Credit: Erin Podolak, Sept.  2010

There is an article in the BBC this week about algae that have toxic affects on coral reefs. This article stood out to me because I just finished working on an article about toxic cyanobacteria (which come from algae) in lakes in Wisconsin for J800.

Most of us know what algae looks like, it is the green slime you see floating in natural bodies of water or growing on rocks, docks, or other items that stay in the water continuously. Algae occur naturally and aren’t typically a problem. However, for the last decade researchers have been evaluating toxic algae, that is algae that blooms in a large concentration due to an increase of fertilizer in the water.

Where does the fertilizer in the water come from? Well the easy answer is agriculture. The fertilizers used by farmers get washed away and flow through the system of rivers and tributaries to larger bodies of water. The algae feed off the fertilizer and then “explode” in a huge bloom that can have toxic affects.

In the case of the coral, the algae are using up nutrients like oxygen and sunlight so that the coral are denied access to these resources and die off. What can be done? Well, find a way to allow farmer’s to fertilize their crops that won’t end up in our waterways causing algae blooms. But that is far easier said than done.

The BBC article: Toxic Algae Rapidly Kills Coral

This Is Not Polite Dinner Conversation

Environment, Public Perceptions, Science Policy

Francis and I have been having the most ridiculous conversations over dinner. Apparently we both favor talking about the things you aren’t supposed to talk about like religion, abortion, politics, and even global warming. I guess we are just getting a feel for each other and what we think and believe. Although I have a tendency to provide my opinions about these topics freely, which I suppose thats why getting my own voice out of my reporting was a challenge for me when I first started writing.

But on the topic of global warming, she made a fairly decent argument for why she doesn’t believe in global warming specifically (she does believe in climate change) based on the geologic record of cooling and warming trends, but she is a geologist after all. On the opposing side, I think I also made a good argument in favor of global warming and climate change. In the end it was a respectful parting of opinions, which when you share a small apartment is probably best.

This article in the New York Times reminded me of our global warming conversation, because I think it is another scientific finding that provides evidence in favor of global warming. Extreme heat bleaches coral, and threat is seen by Justin Gillis reports on the mass death of coral reefs due to high water temperatures.

According to the article, with the rising temperatures the coral are far more sensitive, so any other slight disturbance in their environment can send them right over the edge, causing them to lose their color killing the organisms that rely of them. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) scientists believe that 2010 will rival 1998 as the hottest year on record, and probably the most damaging to coral. Not that you can just accept everything NOAA says, but I do think that the article presents a concise and logical argument in favor of a warming trend and its negative affects of coral reefs.

Crackdown on Antibiotics for Animals

Environment, Good Writing, Government Regulations, Science Policy,

I think the New York Times’ Eric Eckholm did a really good job with the article US Meat Farmers Brace for Limits on Antibiotics. As a standard practice farmers in the US give healthy animals antibiotics to make sure that they stay healthy, and to help them grow faster. I do understand the economic value of such a practice, those animals are those farmers livelihood and if they can do anything to safe guard against losing their investment in those animals I see why they would do it. HOWEVER, there is a serious impact to the environment and to public health by giving healthy animals antibiotics.

I like Eckholm’s article because he’s clear in the way he explains the new components of the story (that the FDA is considering stricter regulations on the use of antibiotics in animals, and that such actions are gaining popularity in Congress). But he also provides the background and context necessary to understand both the farmer’s point of view, and the science behind the call to end the use of antibiotics in animals because of their detrimental affects on humans.

The article also has a really nice lead by taking the story down to the level of a single pig farmer and his experience using antibiotics in his healthy animals. It imparts a literary aspect of story telling that I admire in a hard news story. I think its a good example of a writer going beyond the hard news angle and giving some really nice and necessary context to the story.

On a different, but similar, note for those of you who have never seen the Meatrix you should watch it.  I love it and I think its a great way to talk about the use of antibiotics and other issue facing the meat industry (as long as you aren’t a farmer).

UK Hunt for Invasive Snail

Environment, New Research,

I’ve posted before about invasive species, but this article from the BBC just caught my eye. The UK’s National Trust Nature Conservation recently found out that their own grounds are home to a rare species of snail, native to the Mediterranean.

According to the Nature Conservation, the snails most likely arrived on their grounds more than 100 years ago on stones imported from Italy and Greece. Since then the snails have only populated a small area, but the Nature Conservation is conducting a search to see if the snails have populated anywhere else. They are asking the public to be on the look out for the snail.

One quote from the article actually makes it sound as if finding the snails outside of their natural territory is a good thing: “The Victorians and Edwardians loved importing statues, rock, and brickwork from the Mediterranean,” says Mr. Oates. “The shipping over of this ‘bling’ in large quantities suggests that we could find new species, such as this lovely little snail, in surprising places.”

It doesn’t seem as if the snail has any negative impact on the environment in terms of disturbing the food chain or causing any other disruptions, but I still find it strange that finding the invasive species seems to be more of an oddity than a concern. I also find it strange that it took over 100 years for anyone to notice the snail where it wasn’t supposed to be. 

Because the Gulf Hasn’t Had Enough Already…

Environment

More problems in the gulf of mexico as another oil platform caught fire. The platform (Vermilion Oil Rig 380) belongs to Mariner Energy. The company released a statement saying that all 13 of the people that were forced overboard due to the fire have been rescued, and that the fire was not started by an explosion. The exact cause is still under investigation, but it did start at one of the platform’s active wells.

The Mariner Energy rig is located in the gulf of mexico about 100 miles off the coast of Louisiana. If you’ve been watching the news at all in the past few months, then you know that Louisiana and the whole gulf region have been dealing with the explosion and oil spill that occurred from the Deepwater Horizon, which exploded April 20th and was finally stopped on July 15th. Owned by BP, the Deepwater Horizon spill is the largest ever recorded in the petroleum industry, spilling an estimated 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the gulf. According to Mariner Energy, no oil is leaking from their well that started the fire on the Vermilion Oil Rig 380.