Environment

Climate and forests changes

Submitted by megmeg019 on March 14, 2018 - 12:00am
English

The article "World's great forests could lose half of all wildlife as planets warms- report" by the author Jonathan Watts is about how Global Warming and climate change affect the planet but mostly how much it affects forests and life around it. According to WWF, because of climate change from the Amazon forest to Africa, the disparition predictions and estimations are about 60% of plant species and 50% of animal species in the future 100 years. These datas are incredibly enormous and the situation is not improving, the negative consequences are incresing everyday.

Article Summary #2 (March 13th)

Submitted by Stefan on March 13, 2018 - 11:56pm
English

The article titled “Environmental Consequences of Oil Spills”, written by Larry West for ThoughtCo, outlines, as its title states, the consequences of oil spills originating from sources such as pipelines, on the environment. West explains that an oil spill on land infiltrates the soil and may render it unable to sustain the lives of local plants as well as it used to. This can affect the entire ecosystem if other creatures are dependent on the existence or abundance of these plants.

A $Greener$ Today for a Dryer Tomorrow...

Submitted by Username on March 13, 2018 - 11:31pm
English

  “The Amazon effect: how deforestation is starving São Paulo of Water” by reporter Jonathan Watts of The Guardian, goes into detail on one of the often-unknown side effects of the Amazonian deforestation problem. While this major issue often goes unpublished thanks to the significant efforts of the profiting companies, more and more of the Amazon is being replaced by empty lots, devoid of trees and life. Most will know that this will cause many species to go extinct, as so many have in recent decades, however this is far from the only side effect.

The Extinction of Wilderness.

Submitted by ChaiEl on March 13, 2018 - 11:16pm
English

“Wilderness land set to disappear from planet by 2100 as humans move in” is an article written by Ian Johnston. The subject matter of this news article is to denounce how there is a significant decline in the world’s wild land. Johnston addresses the several causes of wilderness by pointing out the over use of illegal logging, farming, oil, gas exploration and the potentially destructive effects of fires to clear woodland for agriculture.

Humankind ecosystem destabilization

Submitted by danchelariu on March 13, 2018 - 11:12pm
English

In the article "Humans changed the ecosystems of Central Africa more than 2,600 years ago" published in Science Daily, the main purpose reflects on the real cause of the rainforest crisis in southern Cameroon, which was assumed to be a result of climate change (decrease in precipitation amount, increase in precipitation seasonality) , but new controversies claim that the actual cause was humankind.

Under the sea

Submitted by harshm on March 13, 2018 - 10:55pm
English

far more resistant to changes than we think. There have been many studies concerning the state of wildlife underwater after being subjects to change. Some of them reveal the destructions that happened under surface while a fair load also reports about how resistant the aquatic ecosystem can be. On top of this, a marine biologist, Jennifer O’Leary, reveals that many of the so called “bright spots” of the sea, the most sensitive beings, can persist through disturbances.

How Have Ecosystem Changes Affected Humans

Submitted by Dleneveu on March 13, 2018 - 10:53pm
English

Human well-being depends notably on material welfare, health, good social relations, security, and freedom. All of these are affected by changes in ecosystem services, but also by the supply and quality of, for example, social capital and technology. In the article it explains, when the supply of ecosystem services exceeds the demand, an increase in supply tends to enhance human well-being only marginally.

Ecosystems change

Submitted by AlexandraGevry on March 13, 2018 - 10:12pm
English

In the article ‟Humans causing catastrophic ecosystems shifts, study finds”, the author, Thomson Reuters, discusses that human dominance over the natural environment has caused many changes in world ecosystems. Human activities have a devastating impact on ecosystems. As the author mentioned, the damage and exploitation of wildlife and natural vegetation by human beings has left ecosystems in bad shape. Unfortunately, at least 468 creatures have been eliminated from the planet since 1990, including the Costa Rican golden and Yangtze.

Humans changed the ecosystems of Central Africa more than 2,600 years ago

Submitted by Dajia Bergeron on March 13, 2018 - 10:07pm
English

The article written by GeoForschungsZentrum Postdam, Hemholtz Centre explains that humans have adjusted the ecosystem so that it can meet their needs for many years. Some lakes are now dead and straight while trees are planted in rows just for the benefits of humankind. For a significant time, there has been a debate in Central Africa about the Amazonian rainforest. After extensive research in Southern Cameroon about the “rainforest crisis”, it was discovered that the transformation was not caused by climate change but by humans.

The Great Wall of China ain't the only thing man mad visible from space

Submitted by Rainertaycho on March 13, 2018 - 9:22pm
English

According to the article "The Global footprint of fisheries" by Julie Cohen, 55% of the world's waters are covered by fisheries. The Earth is composed of at least 70% water, so being able to cover 55% of that is staggeringly impressive (human greed is the best motivation afterall). UC Santa Barbara teamed up with prominent scientific figures such as Global Fishing Watch, National Geographic, Dalhousie University,Skytruth, Google, and Stanford University in order to accurately illuminate the world's global fishery net.