Can a Jellyfish Unlock the Secret of Immortality?

Christian Sommer was just a German marine-biology student in Rapallo, a small city on the Italian Riviera, is on the verge of solving a timeless question; is immortality possible? Sommer went snorkeling everyday to get samples that he could catch in his net. When he went home he puts what he found in Petri dishes.  He caught hundreds of samples and out of them he caught immortal jelly fish. When they were put into the Petri dish, Sommer noticed that instead of dying like all of the rest of the samples, the jelly fish did not die. In fact they did not even age. Their aging was reversed until their earliest stages of life then stared their life over again. After a quarter of a century we now know that the jellyfish do this when under assault. Scientist are also trying to find if this can be used to be an advantage for humans. I believe that messing with the possibility of immortality is not right. If this is achieved, what would happen to the human population? Soon there would not be enough room on Earth for people.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/magazine/can-a-jellyfish-unlock-the-secret-of-immortality.html?ref=earth&_r=1&

As Wolves’ Numbers Rise, So Does Friction Between Guardians and Hunters

Decades ago, Wolves were close to extinction across the United States. They are now being raised, fed off of a bottle and cared for. People ,like Ms. Dowler, treat the wolves not as wild animals but as harmless pets.  Since then, the wolf population has increased drastically and is now off the endangered species list. In Wisconsin and Minnesota, it is now legal to hunt wolves and the season is just starting. However, animal rights groups have been protesting against the new  hunting season. They believe it will reverse the newly increased population. “We’ve spent a lot as a nation to protect them,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States. It is now confirmed that over 42 wolves have been killed so far and an estimated 600 will be by the end of the season.  The possible solution to this is to wait longer for it to be legal to hunt wolves. Their population was just restored, let them have time to settle. The barrier is that if their population does increase more rapidly than expected, the outcomes will not end well.  I think that if we wait more time to make the hunting legal it would be beneficial to the wolves.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/us/friction-between-wolf-hunters-and-protectors-rises.html?ref=endangeredandextinctspecies

Swallowing Rain Forest, Cities Surge in Amazon

          The Amazon was once a home to the rain forest with little human contact. That is now changing drastically. Population rates are increasing causing cities to move into the jungle. This makes the Amazon  Brazil's fastest growing region. Although, Brazil still tries to stay away from the Amazon people still continue to come. Scientist say because of the increase migration to the area could erode the gains that were recently presented by curbing deforestation. Possible solutions could be to outlaw humans from living in a certain proximity from the Amazon. The Barriers would be keeping people from moving there and what to do with the people already living there. I believe that this possible solutions could  work when enough effort is applied.  

 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/world/americas/swallowing-rain-forest-brazilian-cities-surge-in-amazon.html?ref=earth

Alternative to Plastic Water Bottles

Alternative to Plastic Water Bottles

Without plastic water bottles in our life we would be a lot better off.  Health-wise and environmentally we would be more successful without the use and production of them.  Right now we know that stopping the making of plastic bottles is impossible so the next thing we can do is educate everyone about the changes in which we can make in our lives. Every year 1.5 million barrels of oil are used just in the production of making plastic water bottles.  There are even more if you count the transporting of them.  90% of plastic water bottles are not recycled, so they wind up in landfills where they take thousands of years to decompose.  Stainless steel and glasses were brought up as alternatives for plastics but there is not a final decision.  Glass does not leach toxins or affect the taste of water so it would be a good solution.  I think the solution for this does not lie with the production but with us humans and how we reuse, reduce, and recycle.  People need to recycle more often and if it is made mandatory like in some cities in the world the environment will be much more suited.  Another solution is for us to buy reusable sports bottles.  We can refill them all of the time and not have to use up and buy the useless plastics.  Instead of buying the energy drinks you can just buy the powder and mix it in with water.  Barriers of the solution are the people that don’t recycle and listen.  We need to spread the word and get people to take the small amount of time to reuse and recycle.  My opinion is that if we can work together and follow these simple ideas that the production and use of plastics will no longer be a major environmental issue. 

http://www.squidoo.com/ideasforgoinggreen#module11130360

 

 

Green Walls Create New Urban Jungles

Green Walls Create New Urban Jungles

Vertical green gardens are popping up and are becoming more popular all over cities these days.  The chances that you’ll see one while walking though the city were rare but this year you might see them on a daily basis.  These large green transforming urban jungles have found their way in many parts of London and are now on numerous sites including buildings, officers, hotels, parking garages, restaurants, houses, parking lots, and schools.  Mark Laurence says that these vertical gardens can deliver multiple benefits as he talks about people being able to grow their vegetables right behind their house.  He says that the market is shifting and moving toward how it can provide as many eco-systems and green structures for urban areas. One system he mentioned is the modular hydroponic system, where plants sit in a soil-free set up with nutrients delivered through irrigation channels.  This set up can be created on almost any desirable wall and is the most popular and common right now.  An underground station in London has some of the best air quality in the city because it contains one of London’s greenest creations, and largest green wall structure.  Scientist say that green walls are even more effective than trees in parts of the city where the walls of buildings are taller than the widths of the roads.  I think our cities can become much more ecofriendly with the spreading and creating of many new green walls.  If people build them in highly public areas pedestrians will see them and then they will consider making them too.  Barriers to the solution of creating green walls are just the fact of spreading the word and teaching everyone the creation methods of these structures.  The produce grown from the green walls can be solutions to school lunches and can be sent to schools for their students to eat.  My opinion is that green walls need to become not just a rare occurrence, but a popular and eco trendy thing shared by people in urban communities.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/30/world/europe/green-wall-clean-air/index.html

BMW, Hedging Bets on Electric, Stresses Fuel Efficiency

BMW, Hedging Bets on Electric, Stresses Fuel Efficiency 

Next week the Paris motor show will occur and all of the big auto manufacturers will gather showing off their new models and features for this upcoming year.  Gasoline and diesel cars and trucks seem to be fully in style with little talk about the electric cars which are clearly the innovation of the future.  The European car industry is in a crisis with sales of battery powered vehicles becoming disappointing.  Automakers are spending less time talking about futuristic visions and ideas. They are instead pushing their ability in cutting emissions and raising mileage.  This is how the auto companies have been thinking and working for years and it is time for a major change. They need to change their focus just like the innovator BMW has in recent years including this year with the release of the i3 electric car. BMW has been one of the biggest innovators in the making of electric vehicles and has been re-emphasizing its more conventional technology. They say the new i3 will save the planet with new features like the eco three cylinder engine, carbon fiber body and chassis, and computer technology to help reduce the energy used. Reporters and testers said even though the car is electric, it still has the sleek and fast capability as well as the interior and exterior luxury in which BMW is known for. I think that BMW is making the right choice and doing the right thing by creating electric cars and pushing them into the market.  This is one of the many large solutions to stop global warming and keep emissions from entering our atmosphere.  Barriers to the solution are the reaction from people who don’t really see that many electric cars on the road and that don’t feel like they need them or that one makes a difference. My opinion is that all modern auto manufactures need to work on producing electric and ecofriendly vehicles.  They need to spread them into the market and convince people about their significance. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/business/global/with-electric-cars-slow-to-gain-ground-bmw-focuses-on-efficiency.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 

 

Air Pollution In China

Air Pollution In China
China's environmental protection ministry published a report in November 2010 which showed that about a third of 113 cities surveyed failed to meet national air standards last year. According to the World Bank 16 of the world’s 20 cities with the worst air are in China. According to Chinese government sources, about a fifth of urban Chinese breath heavily polluted air. Many places smell like high-sulfur coal and leaded gasoline. Only a third of the 340 Chinese cities that are monitored meet China’s own pollution standards.China’s smog-filled cities are ringed with heavy industry, metal smelters, and coal-fired power plants, all critical to keeping the fast-growing economy going even as they spew tons of carbon, metals, gases, and soot into the air. The air pollution and smog in Beijing and Shanghai are sometimes so bad that the airports are shut down because of poor visibility. The air quality of Beijing is 16 times worse than New York City. Sometimes you can't even see buildings a few blocks away and blue sky is a rare sight. In Shanghai sometimes you can't see the street from the 5th floor window. Fresh air tours to the countryside are very popular. The reason that china has such bad air quality is the amount of industry and products that the chinese make and ship out of the country. If china wasnt so dependent on thir idustrys then the sir quality wouldnt be so bad because there wouldnt be as many pollutints being emmited into the air. The bad air quality isnt only bad for the chinese that are in the citys but also the atmosphere becaus ethey are putting alot of C02 into the atmosphere.