Water Challenges-4/30/19

I would probably pay to create a very large water filtration plant that had private trucks delivering
clean water to different regions. It would not cost the residents any money, it would be funded
on different charities I would also create.

There are more than 27 million people in Indonesia that don’t have access to clean water. This
is caused by a lack of funds mostly. These 27 million people are too poor to buy water, and they
can’t pay for a well. Water in general can also be a problem in the country, because there is a
dry season that doesn’t bring any water into the region. Many of the poorest people in the cities
resort to using canal water for basic necessities, because it is all they have.
Paper or Plastic?-4/22/19
1.Environmentally conscious shoppers have helped improve the paper/plastic bag
manufacturing by forming protests and other proposed regulations, where a reduction of plastic
is present. Some states have already formed various plastic bans, such as no straws, and New
York just recently banned plastic bags altogether.
2. A person should care what bag they’re given at the grocery store because it not only matters
in the bigger environmental picture, but that plastic bag that you may be given could end up
somewhere killing an organism. If given the option, people should use paper. Not only because
it is a renewable resource, but because the bags are biodegradable and won’t kill any
organisms.
3. There is currently a proposed plastic bag ban underway in Vermont, as it was approved 30-0
by the Vermont Senate. In the ban there is also a 5 cent fee for paper bags, which doesn’t make
much sense to me unless everyone is bringing reusable bags.
4.Plastic bags are made from leftover material in oil refining, and color is usually added to give
the plastic a tint. Paper bags are simply made the same way any other paper is, but folded up
into a bag shape.
5. Plastic bags CAN be recycled with special equipment, but many ordinary recycling centers
don’t have access to that, so most of the time they can’t be put in regular bins. Paper bags can
be recycled with other paper products, and recycling centers can process it.
Gold from Ghana
Since the large-scale operations already use environmentally friendly processes, I think there
should be increased regulations on the smaller scale operations that are harming the
environment. For example, how much gold can be mined yearly, or have inspectors check up on
the mines.
Mineral Production in the United States
1. Stone
2. They represent 37% of all production value from minerals. Nevada, Utah, and Colorado
are the prime producers of these ores.
3. Aggregates represent 14%. The states that produced aggregates were VT, PA, GA, FL,
TX, WI, IL, MO, IN.
4. Texas, New York, Ohio produced salt in 2009.
Hydraulic Mining in the California Goldfields
1. I think some environmental impacts that weren’t mentioned would be the displacement of
water in the rivers and streams. It was never mentioned what happened to the river
when there was less water in it.
2. Mercury can stay in the environment forever, and can pose a risk to organisms forever.
As we learned in earlier chapters, when fish consume mercury and are eaten by other
fish, it can increase the amount of mercury as energy is passed along. Since the miners
dumped the polluted waters back into the rivers, it has posed a risk ever since.
Genetically Modified Foods-4/1/2019
I think that if GMO foods were required to be labeled as such, that it would increase or decrease
criticism about GMO’s. Chances are likely that most people eat genetically modified food
anyway, so it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. All being genetically modified does is make the
organism more hardy, or more resistant to pesticides, weather, and decay. In my opinion, I see
nothing wrong with GMO’s.
What Happened When VT Started Implementing GMO Labeling Laws?
Based on a study done by the University of Vermont, resistance against GMO’s fell by about
20% after GMO labeling went into effect.
Is There a Connection with Increased GMO’s and Allergies?
It has been shown that GMO’s actually do not cause an increase in allergies. A study done by
Harvard University found that GMO production does not increase allergies any more than
conventional breeding does.
The Three Gorges Dam-3/1/2019
While more hydroelectric projects would greatly increase the electricity provided to millions of
people, they would also relocate people based on the giant reservoirs that would form. China is
already a country with a very high human density, and by pushing millions of people from the
country to the city it could even further that problem. Another problem faced by these
constructions would be the added weight of the reservoirs on the fault line the river currently sits
on. It could create a zone of active earthquakes, and could threaten the stability of the whole
valley. So my answer is yes, China should reconsider adding more of these huge operations to
the country

The Ogallala Aquifer: An Underground Treasure-2/15/19

1. I believe the main source of water in the aquifer would be that it has a large recharge
zone, meaning that water percolates down through the ground back into the aquifer after
it has already risen to the surface.
2. People who live in the Great Plains are absolutely not the only ones who believe it
should be conserved. That is prime farmland in the United States, and by using up the
aquifer beyond replacement it would be detrimental to the infrastructure of the produce
industry. Thousands of people every day eat food that comes from this region, and with
no aquifer it could potentially affect each one of these people.
Signed,
Tyler Burroughs
Lost Populations: What Happened?-1/8/19
No, I don’t believe these kinds of things make the country safe from environmental disasters. At
a large enough scale, environmental problems are completely irreversible.

Fertility Rates and Female Literacy in Africa-1/8/19

1.Highest female literacy-Southern portion of Africa
Lowest female literacy-Central Africa
Highest fertility rates-Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Angola, Zambia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia
Lowest fertility rates- Algeria, Southern Africa
2.
3.It has a lower average percentage of females that can read, and the fertility rates are higher.

Conserving Top Predators-12/20/18

I think the reintroduction of wolves was a good idea due to the fact that without them, elk would
overgraze and disrupt hundreds of other species. A number of elk over the carrying capacity
would mean a rapid die-off anyway, but since the wolves have been introduced there has been
no reason to worry about that.

Predator-Prey Adaptations-12/20/18
1. Camouflage-Chameleon
Toxic Chemicals-Puffer Fish
Mimic-Hoverflies
Protective Coverings-Exoskeleton
Anti-Predator Behavior-Coyotes usually travel in groups to bring down bigger game that may
fight back
2. I think camouflage probably evolved the same way any other thing did, and that’s using one
of Darwin’s Laws. For this example, I will use survival of the fittest. I assume that in a particular
ecosystem, a genetic mutation caused a member of a population to blend in better with the
terrain, resulting in an increased chance of survival. This increase in survival grants the
mutation a better opportunity to be passed onto the next generation, forming an evolved
population better suited for the environment.

Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans-12/7/18

No, a city should not have been built on an environment so unstable. Maybe if the levees were
secured more or built more structurally sound, there might not have been so many people dead.

Restoration of the Chesapeake Bay-12/7/18

1.If the Chesapeake Bay program hadn’t of been founded, Chesapeake Bay essentially would
be a pit of chemicals. For example, the population of blue crabs in 20 years since the CBP
intervened has increased by 123 million. If the pollution had continued, the crab would’ve
become extinct, and because it is at a lower level in the ecosystem the results would be
catastrophic.
2. Fertilizers are okay if not around estuaries, but if used around one and it rains, it can bring the
fertilizer and other pollutants down to the estuary with it and contaminate the water.

Changing Seas-10/31/18
Shrimp-Primary Consumer
Haddock-Secondary Consumer
Cod-Tertiary Consumer
The prices were definitely higher for the higher trophic levels

Communities Maintained by Fire-10/31/18

1. A longleaf pine tree has branches that start about halfway up the tree, so lighting the
tree on fire would be especially tough compared to a deciduous tree, which usually has
some low hanging branches and leaves that are like a ticking time bomb for forest fires.
2. A controlled fire may be set off in some ecosystems because that particular ecosystem
has adapted to forest fires, and if a fire isn’t present then the ecosystem will eventually
collapse.

Tracking Bats and Insects in Texas-10/19/18

1.At 7:27 PM it was the lowest, and at 8:14 PM it was the highest.
2.Bracken Cave
3.7:27- about 150 km
8:14- about 300 km
4. San Antonio is about 50 km away. If the bat population were to decrease, then the people of
San Antonio would have to deal with an increased insect population.
5. The insect population would drastically decrease in activity, and so the bat’s activity would as
well.

DDT in an Aquatic Food Chain

1.The DDT would only be spread to animals that live in or drink from the water.
2.Some countries don’t follow typical protocol, like ISIS doesn’t follow the rules of the Geneva
Convention.

Bats and Bridges

I don’t think communities should try to establish bat colonies under local bridges. In rural
Vermont, there often aren’t all that many bridges, so if a bridge required state crews to work on
it, the bats would have to relocate anyway. I think for an environmental decision to be made, the
state would have to research what negative impacts the bats would have on the bridge, or the
waterways underneath.

Predators of Africa
It is important that they help protect the lions because if they don’t, the lions very well may die in
that area. I would go on a trophy hunt in Africa if I had the money. The money from the license
would go to the conservation of all animals, including the lions.