7) 'Human-induced global warming' killing corals

Coral reefs around the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia are dying at rates that may be the worst ever recorded. Since 1998 this has been the worst coral die-off with an alarming 80% of species dead. The coral triangle has been named the "Amazon rainforest of the seas" due to the diversity of the marine ecosystem found. The bleaching of the coral could possibly be due to a mass of abnormally hot water which moved into the Indian Ocean several months ago. When algae is gone, corals starve and appear white/bleached. Scientist believe the affected areas could end up hurting fish and tourist industries over the long term as dead reefs support less marine life than live ones.

Human-induced global warming for the decline of the corals and said action must be taken to reduce carbon emissions that help retain heat in the atmosphere. In the end, everything in an ecosystem is connected so the corals being affected will end up affecting the stability of a region. It is sad to see more and more examples every day of how global warming is starting to affect our environment, it is only a matter of time until it starts affecting us directly.

Link to site: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/20/scientist-human-induced-global-warming-killing-corals/?hpt=Sbin

6) Typhoon Megi strikes the Philippines

Typhoon Megi has been named the strongest storm of the year by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in the Philippines. So far two people have died. Philippines is a part of the world where infrastructure is fragile and people live in very basic houses so the damage is much greater for them. Just a year ago, tens of thousands of people were in evacuation centers due to four consecutive typhoons that drenched the Philippines with about 500 reported dead. The weather agency warned that the Typhoon Megi could move across the Philippines by midnight and its expected to intensify when it reaches the South China Sea.

After doing some research I learned that a typhoon is a region-specific term given to a tropical cyclone. Typhoons occur when a rough weather wave begins to rotate. The potential of generating a pressure system increases if this wave spins into a complete circle; with higher pressure on the outside and a low-pressure center. If the system maintains its rotation and begins to spiral at a rate greater than 65 knots it is referred to as a tropical cyclone.

Link to site: http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5187631_do-typhoons-occur_.html

5) Seafood crisis?

Mr. Rumage mention in our first class that by the year 2048 (or was it 2058?) there would be no fish left in the sea. After this I remember calling up my mom and saying I would eat as much seafood as I could because we never know how much we will have left and seafood is my absolute favorite food. With the news of genetically modified salmon come to light in recent weeks it makes me thoroughly disgusted to think this is what we have come to and how the future of seafood is uncertain and its replacement is already in the works. An article I found on nationalgeographic.com talks about there being too many hooks in the water. Fishermen remove more than 170 billion pounds of wildlife a year from the seas and a recent study by Daniel Pauly suggests that the world catch is neither stable nor fairly divided among the nations of the world. Japan catches less than 5 million metric tons of fish a year, which is a 29% drop from 1996 to 2006, but it consumes 582 million metric tons. China's massive population gives it the world's biggest seafood print although the average Chinese consumer eats smaller fish than the average Japanese.

A study notes that in the 1950s much less of the ocean was being fished to meet our needs but nations increasing demands exceed the capacities of their zones. As a result, more of the world's oceans had to be fished to keep supplies constant or growing. A report by the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations recently concluded that the ocean doesn't have nearly enough fish left to support the current onslaught.

The solution? Perhaps to reduce the world's fishing fleets by 50 percent, establish no catch zones, and eat more farmed fish than wild catch. I think regardless of the many solutions that people can come up with, for no catch zones and protected ocean areas, it would take years for fish to reproduce and increase in numbers and us humans are too used to our diet to change it or give it up. In my case I love seafood and will continue to eat it because no matter if I stop or don't stop, there will be no more fish to catch at some point, so why not enjoy it while we have it?

Link to site: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/10/seafood-crisis/greenberg-text/1

4) Flood of Red Toxic Sludge in Hungary

The Danube River in Budapest is flooded with red toxic sludge spilled from an aluminum plant in Western Hungary. Four people have lost their lives, six remain missing, 123 were injured, 280 homes are flooded and inhabitable. This toxic sludge causes burns or blindness when in contact with skin or eyes. As of Monday, the spill was covering 40 square kilometers causing the government to declare a state of emergency. WWF-Hungary is warning that the environmental impacts could be longer lasting, but others assure the contaminated water will pass through the Danube and cause no ecological harm. The cause of the spill is still under investigation and because the disaster had no natural causes people are believed to be at fault.

This news sounds very similar to what happened with the Gulf oil spill at a much smaller scale and perhaps not as harmful to the environment. Who really is at fault with this things? What measures were taken by the aluminum plant to discard of toxic materials properly or keep them contained and under control? I believe this to be a human accident that could affect the environment long term, but for one that we should all be blamed thanks to our needs for industrial and chemical plants.

Link to site: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2010/2010-10-06-01.html

3) Giant Penguin Fossil Found

This week I read about researchers unearthing the remains of a nearly 5-foot-tall penguin in Peru! This fossil is thought to be about 36 million years and whats interesting about it is that these penguins lacked the dashing tuxedo that they have nowadays.

This fossil however, showed that penguins didn't have that natural ability to swim and be in the water as they were twice as heavy as the average Emperor penguin today. Modern penguins have melanosomes packed into grape-like cluster unlike any other bird wile the extinct penguins's melanosomes resembles that of other birds. Melanin inside the melanosomes helps feathers resist breakage. One possible theory is that melanosomes got bigger during the penguins evolution as the birds became better underwater swimmers.

Knowing that scientists are constantly digging out fossils of animals that are twice as big as modern day animals makes me wonder how come animals got smaller or if this was beneficiary to them? If they are bigger, that helps them as predators but depending on environment changes maybe being big they would starve, couldn't reach high enough trees. Either way it's interesting that they found the fossils and that questions arise from the pigmentation of the penguins.

Link to site: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100930/ap_on_sc/us_sci_giant_penguin

2) 74 Whales beached in northern New Zealand

Tonight I came across the news that 74 whales had beached themselves in northern New Zealand, the second mass stranding in the area in two months. While this behavior is surprising, scientist don't have a clue of why the whales get stranded. Some possible theories include: herd behavior, fleeing predators, beach formations that confuse the whales echo-location senses, and possible interference from human sonar. A month ago, CNN published the news that 58 whales had died on Karikari Beach when they came ashore overnight. Many died before being discovered and many more were disoriented when put back in the water.

I also read in a past article that New Zealand's Far North region is experiencing heavy rain and wind which could have something to do with the whales disorientation. After our class on tuesday, I can also point out that maybe overall global warming might have something to do with this. I know every organism in the planet is interconnected, by affecting their environment, we affect them directly. It is definitively something to look out for, maybe some changes are going on in the New Zealand's water that is messing with the whales sensors. Other than that, this is a very sad loss and hopefully after seeing this event happen for a second time in two months, there will be rescue teams more efficient to get the whales back in the water before they die.

Link to site: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/22/74-whales-beached-in-northern-new-zealand/?hpt=T2

1) Rare Asian unicorn dies in captivity

I stumbled upon the news of an Asian unicorn that unfortunately died in captivity. The Saola is a rare creature that resembles the antelope in North Africa and hasn't been seen since 1999. This particular species is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species. It was great news to the world when the Lao government announced in August that villagers in the central province of Bolikhamxay had captured an Asian unicorn, despite having two, and not just one horn.

What were the measures taken to ensure that the specieswould survive and why was it taken in captivity in the first place? While I understand that perhaps they wanted to perform some studies of the Saola, understand it's behavior, and try to preserve the species, if it has lived without being seen for 10 years, well then wouldn't it just be better off on its own?

The death of the Saola makes me wonder why, despite taking animals into captivity to "preserve" their species when they are critically endangered, animals still continue to die. Yes, it is true that there are some successful stories where animals are able to breed and raise the number of the species left, I just don't agree with keeping animals in captivity. Zoo's are wonderful opportunities for people to go see the animals, study them, and have a good time overall, but no animal should be locked up in a cage for people's pleasure and entertainment. We destroy their environment, and then we lock them up to preserve their species? After the death of this Saola, hopefully not the last of its species, I hope some measures are taken to ensure that IF animals are to be taken in captivity, it is done so to preserve them, and not just carelessly lock

them up.

Link to site: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39231503/ns/technology_and_s

cience-science/