october 22 class

In class last week i learned about all the different types of soil. i was interested to hear about the reststance pests develop when we use pesticides. i thought the genetically modified food is so crazy. i heard on the news the new super broccoli they made. this is so crazy, what will we come up with next.

Invasive Species

I have a long term interest in the invasive species problem. We humans have a long history of introducing new plants and animals to new environments. Many invasive plants and animals were introduced to new environments by past generations without knowing there would be long term effects to the native environment. But many countries including our own have introduced plants or animals thinking they would solve a problem and instead created a bigger one. The Kudzu in the south is just one example of this.

Many plants and insects also came into this country by accident like the stink bug. Which is thought to have come into this country in packing crates from China or Japan. They are destroying crops and invading our homes.

Australia introduced more than just rabbits to their country. They also introduced the Cane Toad to solve a Scarab beetle problem in sugar cane. The Cane Toad has cause as many problems as the rabbits, Eating everything in sight but the beetle.

I also have an invasive story in my family history. My Mother told me how my great grandmother was so home sick for her family and farm life, after she got married, that she brought back a weed to her new home and planted in her flower bed. How many years later, my mother had to pull those weeds as a child. If she complained, her mother would tell her, blame it on your grandmother she planted them.

1st video

This video and our 1^st class reminded me to be more responsible with the resource I use. I get lazy sometime when it comes to recycling; it is easier to just throw away. So I made a conscious effort to be more proactive with recycling in my home.

I think it is important to remind ourselves now and again to look at our daily life and see how we are effecting the environment. What resource we are using and how we can conserve some of these resources. We should all have a goal to leave the plant better then we found it.

This video reminded me of a Native American Proverb.

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children

economics and environment

The video on how economics plays a role in environmental issues was a total different way of looking at the problem for me. It will take awhile to digest this information.

I learned from the video that government does need to play a role in the environment but we need to change the way government policy is handled today.

I never thought about how economist plays a role in environmental issue. This video gave me a lot of food for thought.

september 28th class

This week in class we went over natural selection and some of the studies that darwin did. We learned how diffrent speices adapt to better survive in their enviorment. Also how humans can domesticate animals to breed traits they like. Which result in diffrent breeds. This also can be done with plants as well. Another thing we talked about was how diffrent organisms get their energy. Some make their enegry while other feed off producers to obtain their energy.

invasive speices

From this weeks video its clear to see the human impact of new speices that thirve in areas that are not their natural habitat. Also how bringing animal in to take care of one problem can lead causing bigger problems in the long run.

Class Reflection

This class we discussed natural selection and how evolution influences biodiversity. If animals are not able to adapt to a changing environment they will most likely become extinct. This is why there are so many varieties of certain animals. They had to adapt to the conditions they lived in so that they could survive. Biological evolution, which is the genetic change in populations of different organisms over a period of time is the reason for all the millions of species throughout the world. Natural selection is what enhances the survival of generations, it helps animals adapt to their habitat. Darwin and Wallace proposed the theory of natural selection and believed that because organisms face a constant struggle to survive only the fittest will survive.

It was interesting to learn how slight changes in an animals appearance can be the only thing that keeps the animal alive and intern gives hope to generations to come. I believe that this method works with pretty much everything, even out way of life today. It is important to have certain attributes in order to succeed in life.

Invasive Species

Video 1 spoke about a Chinese vine called Kudzu. It was originally intended to help farmers fight soil erosion but it got out of control and replanted itself anywhere it could find soil and engulfed the South. The video also spoke about the Mongoose which was introduced to prey on rats but that backfired and instead they preyed on endangered Hawaiian bird eggs and and now there is a Mongoose and rat problem. The message in the video was "Be careful when introducing plants and animals into a new ecosystem without a good cause".
Maybe the most invasive species is MAN!

Video 2 spoke about the Austrailia Rabbit problem. Australia spends about 720 million dollars to try and control this population and have enlisted the help of rabbit trappers and have developed the "RHD" drug in addition there have been web sit like Feral.org.au which is to help pest animal management. They currently also use a system called "Rabbit Scan" that helps manage rabbits with people posting siteings, you can share info and find resources. It is a national approach to rabbit control. Who would have thought this would be a problem....

Video 3 is something we are all too familiar with, the Stink Bug. If they don't bit, don't get into your food or clothes, why do they exist? Farmers are losing crops, they are ugly and they serve no purpose. You can use dryer sheets if they help but those are not cheap and these stink bugs are big in numbers and there is not enough dryer sheets in the store to control them. Ok and the only preditor that can help is a Skunk? how does that really help when now you have double the smell. There seems to be no solution!

Invasive Species

Having grown up in south Alabama, I am very familiar with the destructive force called kudzu. Left unchecked, it chokes out anything in it's path. It also provides a home to pesky rodents and snakes. It would have been wise to compare the environments of where it came from to where they were taking it. I had never heard of the overpopulation of rabbits in Australia. One thing that stood out to me was the cost of controlling something that should have never been allowed to get out of control. Stink bugs are the bane of my existence. I don't care that they don't bite or don't eat clothing, they are plain disgusting. Quite honestly, I can wash the stink out of my garbage can but I can't wash the stink out of the stink bug. It's great that skunks eat stink bugs, but unfortunately I really don't want a skunk hanging around my house. The dryer sheet idea is definitely worth a shot. At this point I'll try anything to get rid of those things.

September 28 Class

This evening we finished up looking at chemistry and the nutrient cycles. Nutrient cycles are how nutrients move through ecosystems. The carbon cycle describes the way carbon atoms move through the environment. Producers pull carbon out of the atmosphere and out of surface water to use in photosynthesis. Primary producers and consumers that eat them use the carbohydrates produced in photosynthesis and release carbon back into the atmosphere and oceans. During the phosphorus cycle, plants absorb phosphorus through their roots when phosphate is dissolve in water. Primary consumers take in phosphorus from water and plants and pass it on to secondary and tertiary consumers. Decomposers break down organisms rich in phosphorus and heir wastes and return phosphates back into the soil. The nitrogen cycle is a bit more difficult. Nitrogen is an inert gas that must be combined with hydrogen to form ammonia. This ammonium can then be taken up by plants. Animals get the nitrogen they need by eating plants or other animals. Decomposers obtain it from dead or decaying plants and animals, and also from animal urine and feces. Once the decomposers process these compounds they release the ammonium ions making them available to nitrifying bacteria to change back to nitrates and nitrites. Denitrification converts nitrates in soil or water into nitrogen gas that is released back into the atmostphere, completing the cycle.

September 21 Class

In this class, we discussed environmental economics and policy. There were three waves of environmental policy. The first wave took place during the 1780s to the late 1800s. It dealt with land management and promoted settlement and use of our natural resources. The second wave dealt with the problems associated with the westward expansion promoted by the first wave. The third wave in the 1960s and 1970s was the response to the pollution that was happening because of technology, heavy industry and intensive resource consumption. We also began looking at chemistry, energy and ecosystems.

Invasive Species

Okay, this is my 2nd attempt at a post on the 3 videos on invasive species. I typed a review of them in the Comments box, but I cannot find it, so I'm going to give a brief 2nd review. (It would be great if this blogging issue could be resolved.) Anyway, the basic message of these video clips is that while man's intentions may be justified and worthwhile, when they are introducing a new species into the environment, they should really do more in-depth research on the possible ill-affects/dangers of introducing these species for a particular purpose. While they may be helpful in controlling one problem, they could create other problems. For instance, the kudzu plant, which was brought to the South to control soil erosion, turned out to be an out-of-control vine that literally takes over any areas in which it grows, choking off other vegetation. Another example is the Asian mongoose, which was brought to Hawaii to control the rat population that was destroying the sugar cane crops. The only problem was, after the mongoose gained control of the rats, they started to prey on the eggs of endangered bird eggs. So, these are some examples as to why it is important for scientists, farmers, environmentalists need to do their homework when introducing any foreign species into the environment - because the consequences could be far more damaging than the initial problem.

Invasive Species

The videos from this week helped me realize that humans have a huge responsibility when it comes to the the animals/insects in our environment. It is important to take into account what an animal can do to the new environment it is introduced to. It is also important that people realize that in order to keep pests in check we should also look at if there are other animals that can take care of the issue. Jack Hubley talks about how important is to keep skunks safe in order to cut down on the amount of stink bugs in the area.

In all three of the videos the invasive species are taken care of in an environmentally healthy way. It shows us that we can control what is going on in our environment and that we need to take steps in keeping the environment healthy and pest free so that the environment can continue to stay healthy and grow not just the pests.

Invasive Species

This week, we have a three-for-one video treat. Three short videos with the same theme: Invasive Species. Watch each one and comment about about each of them.