Burning a Forest to Save it

Fire has been used to replenish the soil and clear out the unwanted brush on the ground for generations; starting with the Native Americans . At the beginning of the 20th Century, there was a shift of the natural order. The Native American  were pushed out of their land, leaving the forests unattended. This lead to the trees over growing and blocking the sun from any other living thing that needed the sun to survive. In New Mexico, a Nature Conservancy is teaching forest experts how to set a controlled fire within the forest to help them survive. I believe if fire is in a controlled setting, it is a natural and good way of restoring balance to the forest. The only barriers would be the chance that the fire gets out of control. Also how it would affect the people who live around the forest.

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/burning-a-forest-to-save-it/?ref=earth

Mammoth remains: Possible clones

http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/bre88b0y6-us-russia-mammoth/

A Russian led international team found remains of an ancient mammoth that still has fur and bone marrow with some nuclei intact. The Russian scientist said that all they need to clone the mammoth is one of its cells. Many scientist have attempted to revive mammoths but have failed. The cells from this find have been sent to Korean scientists for further examination. The scientists are relying on the permafrost to preserve the cells, but the mammoth’s remains would have to be frozen in a temperature between -4 and -20 Celsius for the cells to be intact. I think they need to focus on areas that have that consistent temperature year round.

The Caribbean Coral Reefs Dying

http://news.yahoo.com/climate-change-pays-visit-caribbean-coral-reefs-suffer-052038813.html

The Caribbean coral reefs are a very beautiful sight and very important to the ecosystem of the local ocean and islands. But scientists believe Climate change is slowly killing these magnificent reefs. Recent tests show that only 8% of the reef area has live coral, the rest is dead. The same test was taken almost 40 years ago and resulted in 50% of live coral cover. The drastic drop from such a little period of time has scientist worried that if they do not act now, the Caribbean coral reefs will eventually cease. The International Coral Reef Initiative states that this rapid dying of coral reefs is not only confined to the Caribbean, but is happening all across the world. If these coral reefs die then millions of people will be affected by it. Many Caribbean countries depend on the reefs for fishing and tourism. If the Caribbean Coral reef dies then many locals will lose their jobs and part of their food source. Even though many reefs are slowly decaying due to climate change, The ICRI says all is not lost. Some reefs will adapt to the slow heating of the oceans and eventually thrive once again. Actions must be taken to protect the coral reefs because of their important role in the ecosystem and not to mention their beauty. It seems the only thing we can to stop the decay of the coral reefs is to slow global warming or let some reefs die and others adapt. 

Elephants Dying in Epic Frenzy as Ivory Fuels Wars and Profits

Most are aware that elephants are on an endangered species list.  Yet animal poaching is still a big issue. Twenty-two dead elephants were found on the savanna in the Garamba National Park. They were killed by a bullet to the head and their tusks were ripped off. There were no tracks leading away from the scene. In Early April, a helicopter was flying very low without permission, Park officials, scientists and the Congolese authorities now believe that the Ugandan military killed the 22 elephants from a helicopter and ran away more than a million dollars’ worth of ivory. A solution to this can be to get prove of the culprits in action and try to turn them in and get better protection for the savanna. The problem would be where the money would and extra resources come from?  I think that if they can get the money and resources, the poachers need to be put in jail for a long time. I really hope that someone can catch these poachers before anymore elephants are hurt.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/world/africa/africas-elephants-are-being-slaughtered-in-poaching-frenzy.html?_r=1&ref=earth