Greatest Threat To America

Sorry Stephen Colbert, this time the greatest threat to America isn't bears (but still keep an eye out for those crafty Berenstains!). Scientists at an underwater facility have been experimenting on a new breed of sharks, not like the kind that ate Samuel Jackson in Deep Blue Sea, but ones that are much worse. These sharks have been scientifically engineered with the outcome being that they have fricken laser beams attached to their foreheads! We have this-just-in footage (from 2002*) of the facility where these beasts are being detained.

The real threat is the chance that these monsters escape. In the open oceans these things have the chance to procreate and from their, the end of the world begins. It's simple science folks, your standard laser beam is 1000 degrees Celsius and above. Once you have a hundred of these things roamin' around the ocean, shooting off their laser beams, 1000 C laser beam vaporizes a lot of water. Hell, after a few months we might not be called to blue planet anymore. And with the apocalypse coming up, I think this is the end that Nostradamus predicted. Sharks...with laser beams attached to their foreheads.

Earthquake in Japan, Technology Savior

Honshu, Japan -

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 happened 150 miles away from Japans Northeast coast last Friday. As of right now, there is no death related and nearly no structural damage reported by the 7.3 quake or its 4.7 after shock. This is incredible in terms of environmental hazards and mitigation. The event did happen some distance off in the ocean as opposed to in the heart of a city, which was a reason why this large scale earthquake caused little chaos. Japan it seems has nearly perfected their warning systems and mitigation efforts. People in the area affected by the quake had nearly 6 minutes to take action and precautions before the quake hit. Advanced warning systems play a large role in preventive measures, but so too does the technology employed on buildings.  Because of Japans cleverly designed buildings, they were able to withstand the prolong shaking that would topple many houses in less developed countries. This is a good example for showing the different affect hazards have on more developed countries compared to less developed ones. The earthquake that claimed a still undetermined amount of deaths in Haiti registered as a 7.0, smaller than the one that hit Japan. The main difference between the two outcomes was the construction of the houses. While the more advanced and developed Japanese society was able build structures that could withstand the tremors associated with quakes, the Haitians were stuck with much less.

 

Another interesting part of this article was the mention of the perceived tone of fear used by the Japanese news reporters. People are still frightful of another event like Fukushima so any mention of a potential tsunami in this case it was less than 3 feet, causes people to head for the mountains. This puts more responsibility on the government when issuing warnings, needing to take into consideration the potential reaction from the public. As we have seen in other environmental hazards around the world, looting and crime are an issue. Therefore issuing a warning, even if the waves are only to reach 5 feet,  is a concern.

Source: http://z6mag.com/featured/earthquake-in-japan-hours-after-2012-fukushima-aftershock-1616538.html

Driest Novemember for Northeast

Despite the effort of hurricane Sandy the U.S. Northeast experienced its second driest November in over a century, receiving on average only 1.04 inches of precipitation. This November will also be recorded as the coldest average since 1997, being 2.5 degrees colder than normal. It is not unnatural to have a few outliers of any measurement, weather is no exception. But should this record setting dry month alarm us, or should life continue as usual? Science has been increasing its understanding of climate change and the effect it has on weather patterns. Changes in the path of the Polar Jet Stream is an important reason why these changes of precipitation and temperature are happening. The jet stream plays a significant role in the weather we experience, depending if they it shifts higher or lower than typical in terms of latitude. If the jet stream is lower than its typical position, then it will bring with it the cold artic air from out of the north. If it is higher, then the warm moist air from the gulf will travel higher up in latitude and farther inland, bringing humid, hotter weather. This is due to Rossby waves, or a meandering of the jet stream. The jet stream has the power to turn rain forests in to deserts (in its most extreme form and over many years). In Africa, drought has been occurring for the past several years and science has beginning to point to the shifting jet steams as the cause.

We can use the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) forecast to help us in predicting where drought prone areas are, or where a drought is developing. And over several years we can see patterns develop. This is one aspect of the engineering paradigm, forecast potential hazards. Another part is looking at how drought would affect an area like the northeast coast. This isn’t an area where we have much agriculture, so famine is an unlikely result. But with a decrease in fallen precipitation there comes an increase with ground water usage which further depletes the already low levels. Therefore we can combat drought in this area, but only at the cost of our fresh groundwater. We need to fix the problem at the source; which is to understand the extent of our anthropogenic actions on the earth and its systems so that we can minimize them.  

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121205142325.htm

Hazard Mitigation in Kentucky

Hazard, Kentucky is in the process of installing an earthquake monitoring station in Perry County. Kentucky is home to a fair amount of tectonic activity, but the earthquakes generated are usually less than a 5 on the Richter scale and therefore unnoticed by the media. By installing this monitoring station as well as others around the state, the KGS (Kentucky Geological Survey) can generate a map showing where and how strong the earthquakes are. This will help to define the fault zone and areas that may be too hazardous (or at least risky!) for human development. By using this engineering paradigm approach, we are trying to predict as well as we can when and where earthquakes will strike. Earthquakes are very difficult hazards to predict, but over time we can see patterns develop and make more informed decisions. This is one way of mitigating a hazard, this informed planning. Another way this monitoring station helps to mitigate is by giving advanced warning, albeit not by much, of impending earthquakes. While we are using the engineering paradigm approach of environmental hazards to vaguely predict earthquakes, we also use the behavioral paradigm approach because we are looking at the behavior of the hazard itself. Where is it occurring and where will it occur are two related questions involving the behavior of a hazard. 

http://www.hazard-herald.com/view/full_story/21084866/article-Earthquake-monitoring-station-planned-for-Perry?instance=popular

Bopha Still Threatens

After flooding the southern Philippines, Typhoon Bopha rotated back around and now threatens the northwest part of the country. This weather bureau issued storm warnings, just as they had done in the previous encounter with Bopha, which shows the competency of the government to take necessary precautions to protect its people. Bopha again adjusted paths and now forecasters say it will end up in the South China Sea, but heavy rains and strong winds will still affect the Philippines. These forces could cause other disaster, most notably landslides but also fallen trees.  Emergency personal and volunteers are spread thin, still recovering in the south and now to deal with the threat of Bopha’s return. As the death toll tops 500 (600 missing), locals stand dazed and in shock, making rescue operations more difficult. Trying to organize rescue teams has been made harder because local landmarks have been destroyed. This would be a perfect use for GIS and GPS. You would need an aerial photo with a decent resolution and then a GPs unit and you could find what houses the locals are looking for.  Also by using GIS you could accurately plan a location for emergency centers. In the article, a woman recalls getting a message from her mother that said she and her brother had made it a health center. Unfortunately, it was in the path of the typhoons storm surge and the center, as well as everyone inside, was swept away. With simple technology and planning many lives could have been saved.

 

In the aftermath, Food shortages are developing due in part by the typhoons strong winds that destroyed many acres of crops, but also but the destruction of markets. 400,000 people have lost their homes and now reside in overcrowded evacuation centers. Hopefully, these centers are not in danger of an environmental hazard such as a steep slope prone to landslides (which has a  greater chance of occurring  during heavy rains). For economic loss the Philippines suffered a blow by losing 18 percent (34,600 acres) of their banana plantations, equivalent to 300 million dollars. International aid has been saught and now recieved by the Phillipines, quickening the recovery process.

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57558048/typhoon-bopha-threatens-philippines-again/

That's not classy, its trashy

Landfills have constantly been increasing in size and number over the last few decades as we as a species try to find a place to hide our massive amounts of waste from sight,  then from there out of mind. But after watching a part of a documentary called, How The Earth Made Us (BBC), I became aware of something I had never heard of before. A gyre, or a spiral/whirl can exist in many forms. You could have a gyre of wind, gyre of water, hell a gyre of geese! But what about a gyre of garbage, mostly composed of plastics and Styrofoam, swirling around in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Yes, there actually exists an immense swirl of garbage that grows everyday and is currently the largest landfill (or waterfill?) in the world, more than tripling the state of Texas in size. Seventy percent of all the plastic falls to the ocean surface where it can damage the coastal floor ecosystem. This is extremely hazard for wildlife, which can also indirectly affect us. But where this garbage is primarily a growing concern is in the Midway Atoll. This area is roughly, as the name implies, half or midway between North America and Asia. The Albatross is an oceanic bird that lay and hatch its eggs on and around these islands. Once hatched, the mother searches far and wide looking for food, normally for squid or fly fish eggs. But what has been happening more often than not it seems is that, mistaking it for food, the albatross picks up numerous pieces of plastic ranging from bottle caps to checkers, and feed it to their young.  Plastic, as you may remember from being a child, doesn’t taste good, nor is it good or safe to ingest no matter what species you are.

 There are plenty of people in the world that do not see this as a problem, or more likely don’t even see it at all. Now the albatross isn’t the only living organism to suffer from this floating gyre of garbage, but lets imagine it is. 500,000 albatross eggs are hatched at Midway every year, with roughly 200,000 chicks that die. As i was saying, some people may down play this event as trivial. But looking at the big picture as opposed to looking at a small, narrow instant gratification scope, we can see that this has enormous potential consequences. The less albatross their are, then their is a less diverse food supply for those animals that feed on them. Conversely, if there are less albatross, then their primary food source will increase because of the decrease in predators. This can change the entire ecosystem with which the albatross is apart. Everything in this world is interconnected, you cannot change "x" without it having a direct affect on "y". The repercussions of this are to many and too detailed to explain in full in this blog, so I encourage my readers to look into the complete connectedness of the world’s ecosystems.  

Thinking about a very positive affect on humans, what if a tsunami were to occur right by this gyre? We would have a giant wave of our own garbage with the potential the impact thousands of people along the coast and deliver back to us our garbage. The physical affects on humans from this gyre are at this point minimal. But the affects on wildlife and the future affects it may have on us should be a growing concern. 

Sources: http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-ocean2aug02,0,4917201.story
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/great-pacific-garbage-patch.htm

  

Typhoon Bopha

Typhoon Bopha recently crossed paths with the southern portion of the Philippines this last week causing pandemonium. This area has had many run-ins with these natural disasters, experiencing a typhoon season just like we experience hurricane season on the east coast. This typhoon was a beast with sustained winds up to 260km per hour and gusts of 315km per hour. So far, approximately 620 people have been reported either dead or missing in the wake of this storm and its subsequent disasters. The subsequent disasters that I’m referring to are the floods that swept many people into the chaos of Bopha. These regional floods also destroyed two emergency centers along with the 78 soldiers and villagers located there. Another disaster that was triggered by this typhoon was the landslide that added to the death toll. Heavy rains, especially in areas with steep slopes lacking vegetation over, can over saturate the soil and seep in between the bedrock and soil. Yet another hazard Bopha brought with it was the flying debris such as the roofs of poorly constructed houses that were ripped off. 

When it comes to mitigating hazards there is much that can be done for typhoons. Typhoons are slow developing hazards that can be seen days before they reach land. This allows us to predict when and where the disaster will strike to a fairly accurate degree. Knowing that you live in a typhoon prone area can help you in constructing houses or improving new ones that can withstand strong gale force winds. Planning on where to put emergency buildings is another important step in the mitigation process. As i mentioned above 78 people died because an emergency station was flooded. We need to be aware of potential floods levels that are associated with typhoons so that we can construct these important emergency facilities in safe areas. 

Typhoon Bopha on its way to the Phillipines on Dec. 3rd, 2012 

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57557204/philippines-death-toll-from-typhoon-bopha-nears-300/
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/world/asia/typhoon-said-to-have-killed-hundreds-in-philippines.html?_r=0

The only thing worse than a landslide is a Chinese landslide

The threat of landslides in the area around the recently (2006) constructed Three Gorges Dam in China has increased over the last 6 years. The cause of this increase is the very dam itself. This is the world largest hydroelectric dam, to give you an idea of how much water runs through this thing. The construction of this dam brought much criticism from geologists and environmentalists who recognized some potentially problems of this dam, one of which being landslides. Since the dam reached its high water mark in 2010, landslides have risen seventy percent. This growing threat of landslides has caused the Chinese government to relocated 46,000 people, with the planning of relocating an additional 100,000 out of this area. Hindsight is 20/20 so I can’t criticize the Chinese government to hard over the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. At the same time, the Chinese have made and continue to make poor planning decisions (as well as other countries). A prime example of this comes in the form of nuclear power. Of China’s 27 reactors, 19 of them are located in areas at risk of tsunamis.

Landslides are unlike other natural disasters that we face because of their uncertainty. We know that hurricanes typically occur in the months between June and November, just like we know when the monsoon season starts in some areas. Landslides are a different beast because there are many variables associated with its’ prediction such as rainfall, vegetation, and elevation. In summation, it’s extremely difficult to predict landslides and their rapid onset characteristic make them even more dangerous. Not only are landslides dangerous events in themselves but they can also trigger other events, like a 65-foot wave that killed a dozen people in China. The main cause of Chinas landslides in regards to this article are due to dam water levels raising. Another major contributors to landslides is deforestation. Once vegetation like grasses, trees, and the like are removed there are no roots to anchor the soil. This might be fine if nothing else happened, but this is the real world (not to be confused with the awful MTV series!). Over time precipitation will soak into the ground and reach the bedrock, which from there the devastation occurs. 

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/world/asia/landslide-peril-near-chinese-reservoir-grows-official-says.html?_r=0

Like a good neighbor, Allstate might not be there

The people of New York and New Jersey, the two places with the most destruction in terms of dollars, are now filing their insurance claims, which most of us would after such an event. But many people are finding that their insurance companies are reluctant to pay up for this super storm. People with hurricane insurance may think that they are protected from the floods that usually follow, but are shocked to learn that only wind related damaged is covered. To obtain flood insurance, the most common way is to buy a separate policy from the federal governments’ National Flood Insurance Program. If you were smart enough to purchase flood insurance through the federal government then you may have been lucky enough to escape dealing with insurance agents who make it difficult for you to collect your insurance check. But even the federal government is not without problems.

 The annual budget allotted for disasters in FEMA's budget has in recent years fallen short of the claims made. With hurricane sandy we see the same problem. So far the insurance claims have rise to 17.7 billion dollars, compared with only 3.5 billion that the federal government receives in premiums. This raises the debate on how accurate are these costs associated with flood insurance policies. Granted this was a freak of nature storm that caused excessive amounts of damage, but the ratio seems unreasonable. Insurance companies go bankrupt all the time over selling polices for to little and then not being able to cover the claims, so why is our own government in that position. Others argue that those on the east coast should receive less aid than what they have already gotten based on the fact that the east coast is known to have this time of extreme weather. Those people living there made a choice to accept the risks associated with that area, but are now relying on the government to pay for all the damage. The events that cost the federal flood insurance program the most money are repeat events, most notably areas built in flood plains. The problem is that when these houses are destroyed or damaged through flooding because they are located on a flood plain, they end up getting rebuilt in the same spot. So now in a couple years down the road, the same flood will happen, or maybe one at a larger scale, and the whole cycle repeats itself. 

Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/realestate/reconsidering-flood-insurance-after-hurrican-sandy.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2012/11/27/sandy-insurance-complaints-new-jersey/1728999/
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/13/nyregion/federal-flood-insurance-program-faces-new-stress.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

7.6 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Guatemala

On Wednesday a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck western Guatemala killing 48, injuring 150, and   leaving 60,000 people throughout the country without power. This is the largest earthquake to hit Guatemala since 1976, where 23,000 people were killed. The earthquake caused a sand quarry in San Marcos, one of the worst hit cities, to collapse and kill 7 people.  In a more developed country there are work safety laws that prohibit unsafe labor practices and force companies to make the job as safe as possible. The  7 people killed in the sand quarry were just out digging into the side of the earth with no protection. There isn't much protection you can provide against an earthquake, but i imagine there is something you can implement to reduce the risk of quarry collapses. 

After the main shock of the earthquake, the  Guatemalan government issued alerts and evacuations from tall buildings in case of powerful aftershocks. Using scientific knowledge, the government was able to make the public aware of potentially powerful aftershocks. Taking this engineering paradigm approach of forecasting hazardous may have been saved many lives.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/11/201211805947793553.html

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/07/world/americas/guatemala-earthquake/index.html

Post Huicane Sandy

Now that the storm has finally passed we can take a look and assess the damage of Hurricane Sandy, or for all my Spanish readers, huracán Sandy. My main coverage is focused on New York and their extensive mass transportation systems that were affected. The seven tunnels under the east river were flooded by the 14 foot storm surge, with three of them already opening up after 3 days since Sandy. But bringing back the subway system in New York is a massive project to say the least. Pumping out thousands of gallons of water is the first place to start, followed by repairing the many electrical components. Cleaning off the salt and other corrosive compounds off of the tracks is another large scale project. While New York’s' transportation systems received a large amount of damage, problems arose elsewhere. Water treatment facilities that were near the coast were flooded which caused a mix of storm water and sewage to bypass the plant flowing straight into the water ways and streets of New York. 111 homes have reportedly been destroyed by fire, exacerbated by strong winds.

 

 

Article found at: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/10/30/nyregion/hurricane-sandys-aftermath.html

 

Hurricane Sandy Update

So far Sandy has caused much of the predicted damage forecasted before the storm hit. There was flooding in every state from North Carolina to Massachusetts coupled with wide spread power outages leaving 8 million without. Gale force winds damaged many homes and businesses; flights have been grounded and transit systems flooded. So far the death toll has reached 111people. Some estimates put an amount of $88 billion dollars worth of damage.

This naturally occurring event was mitigated in many ways, most notably the evacuations (mostly mandatory) that were called for. The federal government and FEMA were a bit more prepared for this event than they were for Katrina, bringing in machines to pump out the water that much of the coast is bathing in. What makes this event even more interesting is the fact that it happened just days before the election. Natural Disasters make or break governments because disasters like Sandy show how well a president or state official can govern. Looking back to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, former president George W. Bush was greatly criticized for his inaction during that disaster. This inability to govern and show leadership lowered his popularity ratings. Obama, as I stated earlier, handled this event quite well. The death toll of Katrina was roughly 1700, while Sandy as of now only killed 111. Had Obama not reacted with the right measures in a timely fashion, the outcome of this election may have been affected.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=hurricane+sandy&view=detail&id=2465B50FFA7337A6B5D2F28D3F2DEC4B529056FB

Flooding in Pakistan

Pakistan has recently become victim to flooding in the last month. Monsoon rains brought the death of  422 people and left approximately 3000 injured. The flood also forced 350,000 people from their homes. In the Sindh province of Islamabad, the worst affected area, 4.5 million acres (80%) of their cash crops were submerged by the flood waters. In 2010 Pakistan suffered similar floods, this flood leaving a fifth of the country submerged underwater, making floods seem to be the disaster of choice for this region. 

Flooding of course is a dangerous enough hazard by itself. But this flood has done much more than simply displace a population of people for a period of time. This flood, as well as a similar flood in 2010, has also destroyed precious agriculture and, more so in 2010, affected livestock. Peoples livelihoods have been challenged in the last two years due to this flooding. The fact that this same type of flooding in the same area tells me that this country must not have many mitigating processes established for such events. Early monitoring  systems, weather forecasts, emergency warnings are all things that could have helped in mitigating this disaster. With Pakistans' livestock and agriculture being affected, the risk of famine may start to develop. 

Flooding in the UK also occurred in September, leaving many people displaced from their homes, but surprisingly or not, no deaths. The UK was able to avoid disastrous results by mitigating the affects of the flood. Early warnings were given so that people were able to evacuate in time along with forecasting systems to monitor the storm. 

I brought up the floods in the UK to compare how two similar events have two completely differnet outcomes based on the country in which the disasters hit. Pakistan is a less developed country on the global scale, which can be seem in their inadequacy to provide early warnings to citizens about to be impacted by potentially life threatening floods. In the UK, most of the destruction was in the form of infrastructure like roads and railways, as well as houses. But in Pakistan, the result was both high economic loss and also a higher loss of life. 

Articles found at:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/29/world/asia/pakistan-floods/index.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19763569

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19725625

Picture of flooded town: http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=10

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy, or Frankenstorm as it is being called in the media, has passed Cuba and Haiti and is making its way up the east coast of the United States. According to researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, hurricane Sandy is on route to have wind speeds rivaling a category 4 hurricane. Predictions of the danger that Sandy may bring include: up to 12 inches of rain affecting the coast and a chance of heavy (up to two feet) snowfall inland (like Virginia). Tropical storm-force winds that extend 650 miles and possibly 4-8 feet of storm surges in Delaware Bay and Long Island, New York are more worries associated with this storm. This sounds like more than your average storm, that's because it is. Most hurricanes bring only a few of these elements like strong winds and heavy rains. But this storm is unique because of the many different variables affecting it. One of those variables is that of the current full moon. This full moon raises sea levels and added with heavy rainfall makes for a large increase in the risk of flooding. This is a growing concern in New York because of their extensive subway system. Another factor is the high-pressure system currently around Greenland. This high-pressure system prevents Sandy from moving north and west away from the coast, and instead is being forced inward. Yet another problem associated with Sandy, is the cold front moving in from the northwest. If the precipitation from hurricane Sandy reaches far enough inland and mixes with this cold front the result would be extremely heavy snowfall. Large amounts of snowfall have left people without power for weeks, and trapped others inside their homes. The dangers from snow are seemingly endless and are a big concern for states like Virginia and North Carolina.

This storm is a good example of the Swiss Cheese model of environmental hazards. This model demonstrates the way in which a natural storm can become unnaturally dangerous. This model in effect means that once something goes wrong, more things will continue to go wrong. In this case, a hurricane is heading for the eastern coast. This by itself is normally not a dangerous situation. Add in a cold front bringing a chance of snow, and the problem gets worse. Again we can add in more trouble, such as a high-pressure system that will keep the hurricane over the coast longer and that gives us yet another problem. 

This storm had passed over Cuba and Haiti before it had reached the United States. In Cuba only 11 people died which was the result of collapsing buildings. Haiti on the other hand lost 44 lives due to flooding. There seems to be a correlation to the number of deaths of these two countries and their development as a nation. Cuba, which had the advantage of forecasting and early warning systems, was able to deliver the message to the people. Haiti, with less developed systems for communicating warnings, lost people to flooding, which is a rapid onset hazard. Had they had warning in advance, those deaths might have been avoided. 

The states that are expecting Sandy to reach them have already taken mitigating efforts. Parts of New York and New Jersey have order evacuations due to flooding, as well as many other evacuations being ordered for various other concerns. New York City has been trying to better seal the subway systems to keep out the flooding waters. There are meteorologists and many other people constant tracking this storm, making sure that no surprises occur over night. 

Source Articles: 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/27/us-storm-sandy-hurricane-idUSBRE89N16J20121027

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/27/hurricane-sandy-frankenstorm-threatens-east-coast_n_2031403.html#slide=1693357

Deforestation

In todays world, the physical demand on this earth has become a potential environmental hazard. Deforestation, one of these physical demands, has been a growing problem for over the last several decades, especially in the Amazon rainforest. In the Amazon, trees are being cleared for numerous reasons: some get turned into toilet paper, timber for houses, as a fuel supply, the list of what we use wood for goes on and on. But although wood is essential for many of our human needs in todays world, it serves a far greater purpose than to be used as means to an anthropogenic end. The Amazon sequesters, or traps, 2 billions tons of carbon each year. All trees are important in this absorption process, most notably the temperate and tropical rain forests around the world.

Because of deforestation there are less trees to absorb man made and naturally occurring carbon. What exacerbates deforestation is when the slash and burn technique is implemented. This not only means less trees for absorbing CO2, but when trees die and/or burned they too release carbon dioxide in the air. So there is more CO2 being created and less being absorbed at the same time.

As i mentioned above, the biggest concern that comes with deforestation is that of balancing CO2 levels. But a plethora of other problems arise with deforestation. Without trees to protect the soil from erosional processes like wind and rain, the soil has been depleting. The end result of this erosional process is desertification; where the soil gets to the point that it is no longer fertile. Another problem arises in the form of the loss of natural habitats for the animals that live in these areas. The Amazon rainforest is home to one of the most diversified places on earth in terms of the number of different species living there. There may seem to be plenty of land still left in the Amazon covered by forests, but with less forest means less food for the animals.

Why is deforestation happening? Places like the Amazon are being deforested so the land can be turned into large scale agriculture and also cattle raising. The soil of the rainforest is very rich and fertile, thus very ideal for crops, but only for a short time before the soil dries up. These crops don't compare at all in terms of carbon absorption. This large scale exploitation, if you will, of natural resources is done by more economically developed countries who, like the United States, are supplying the demands of an over consuming population. Small tribal groups in areas like central Africa who live in and around these forests, whose livelihoods depend on these forests, are at the mercy of those clearing the forests. In summation, the more developed countries are in demand of the resources in these forests, which comes at the expense of the less developed countries who cannot protect their natural resources.


Article found at: http://www.earthtimes.org/encyclopaedia/environmental-issues/deforestation/
Picture of Amazon time lapse:  http://www.rainforestsos.org/about-rainforests/whats-happening-to-them/

Eutrophication & Hypoxia

Eutrophication is the over enrichment of water by increasing amounts of nutrients, largely consisting of nitrogen and phosphorus, being put into it. The main contributor is industrial size agriculture, which uses large amounts of fertilizer. When it rains, the water washes fertilizer away with it, back into a river most likely headed for the ocean. Urban runoff is also a factor contributing to over enrichment of our water. The phosphorus and nitrogen from industrial farming going through a river ecosystem can cause other environmental problems such as freshwater quality impairments, acid rain, changes in local food webs, and a decrease in biodiversity. The Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) found that human activities have resulted in the near doubling of nitrogen and tripling of phosphorus flows to the environment when compared to natural values. 

Once reaching the coast, the initial reaction of nutrient rich water is the excessive growth of phytoplankton, and both micro and macro algae. There are a range of problems that arise with this increase of phytoplankton, such as damage to coral reefs and a decrease in sub aquatic vegetation. The most severe consequence from eutrophication comes in the form of hypoxia. The algae and phytoplankton cause the dissolved oxygen levels to decrease to a point in which aquatic life cannot survive. Creatures that are stationary or are to slow to get out of the dead zone will suffocate. Hypoxia does occur naturally at times due to less dense fresh water failing to mix with more saline ocean water, therefore not sufficiently circulating the oxygen from higher to lower depths. Pictured left: This body of water shows the difference between moderately enriched (top) and eutrophic water (bottom).

This is a problem caused by more developed, industrialized countries like the US and China but the problem affects multiple countries. Under developed coastal countries whose economy as well as ones own livelihood may depend on the abundance of sea life is becoming at risk at no fault of their own. A loss and potentially collapse of aquatic ecosystems is the main concern in this bloggers mind. So what can we do to reverse the effects? Restoring natural environments like marshes and bogs is a way to reduce the amount of nutrients reaching the ocean. One of the most obvious way would be to decrease the amount of fertilizer we use on our farms, and also to use better drainage systems to reduce urban runoff. Technological advancements can play a huge role, as seen in 2001 at the Manchester Ship Canal in England, when a compressed air injection system was able to raise oxygen levels by up to 300%. 

Article found at: http://www.wri.org/project/eutrophication/about

Arsenic found in rice

Recently in the news there has been a lot of hoopla about rice containing higher levels than normal of arsenic. When I think about environmental hazards, even hazards in general, I wouldn’t really think of this story as being relevant to that category. But a hazard like this has the potential to be one of the biggest in our future. Over the last several decades we have been using chemicals like pesticides and the like to rid ourselves of the unwanted insects that prey on our crops. The downfall to this, as we are being reminded of with this news report of arsenic being found in rice, is that we could very perceivably kill ourselves with the poison we commercially use. This goes beyond just rice, but in all our foods as well as our water. When it rains, the water collects the various pesticides we use and carries it into the ground water aquifers, or eventually ends up in the ocean. This type of hazard is most likely going to happen in more developed countries that are industrial enough to need commercial amounts of pesticides. But less developed countries than receive foreign aid in the form of food, most commonly rice, are also at risk.

The industrial revolution marks the time in which man started to greatly affect the environment in which we live. Today, it is impossible to get “fresh” water in terms of it having no trace of pollutants in it. The same goes for air we breath and the food we eat, everything is compromised to some degree. With that being said. I’m surprised to see that this is covered as much as it was in the media. Yes, arsenic is deadly to humans (typically in the form of increasing the risk cancer) but so is breathing in ground level ozone. 

Article found at: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-09-19/business/ct-nw-rice-arsenic-20120919_1_inorganic-arsenic-outer-bran-rice

Potential Threats of Nuclear Disasters

Nuclear power has been a great scientific breakthrough that has changed our world, for better and worse. That is to say that there are benefits of nuclear energy plants, but do those benefits outweigh the risks? In a typical case I would say yes, the benefits outweigh the risks. But when we use poor planning and/or lack of research for a given site when deciding where to build these wonderful, but potential life threatening structures, it becomes problematic. A recent study published in the Natural Hazards journal was conducted to assess potentially hazardous areas that will, or already do have nuclear power plants established. The study found that 23 nuclear power plants with 74 reactors have been identified in high risk areas of tsunamis. It's bad enough to have potential tsunami threats, but when these tsunamis are in range to do damage to nuclear reactors this severely raises the hazard level. As an example we can look at the tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011.Japan is one of the most technologically advanced states in the world along with having solid infrastructure. Even with these two qualities japan was still devastated. Imagine now that this tsunami had struck a far less developed country (in terms of infrastructure) with just as many, if not more people living there who also have nuclear energy. The death toll would be far greater than what happened in Japan. The tsunami itself caused billions of dollars in damage but add to that the aftermath of a nuclear reactor meltdown, adding harmful radiation into the water and air, and you got yourself a much larger disaster.
 
There are 64 nuclear power plants currently being constructed worldwide. Of those 64, 27 are found in China, and 19 of those 27, According to this study, are in a “dangerous” area. China has a very large population with heavy concentrations along the coast. Solid infrastructure will help in mitigating the physical damage done by a tsunami, but a nuclear reactor meltdown could potentially do far more damage than a tsunami.

There’s nothing we can do to prevent tsunamis, but what we are in control of is where we decide to build potentially hazardous energy facilities.

 

Picture from: http://totallycoolpix.com/2011/03/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-nuclear-disaster-looms-large/


http://lesjoyeusesboucanieres.net/tag/fukushima-nuclear-disaster/

 

News Article found at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120921083202.htm
 

Costa Rica Earthquake

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 shook the country of Costa Rica on September 5th 2012. Only two people were reported dead, which may surprise some people considering the magnitude of this quake. Now a 7.6 is by far not the deadliest earthquake to have ever happened, but when we compare this earthquake with the 7.0 magnitude quake that happened in Haiti in 2010 one thing sticks out to me. The death toll as mentioned for this earthquake was two so far. But in Haiti, the 7.0 magnitude quake killed 50-100,000 people. Why was the Haitian earthquake more devastating than the one in Costa Rica? Costa Rica mitigated the natural disaster quite substantially by having a strong infrastructure to stand up to the shaking earth. There is much to be said about the comparison between these two events. Compare to Haiti, Costa Rica is a more developed country, most notably in infrastructure. This lead to more damage in terms of financial loss in Costa Rica but less loss in terms of lives. In Haiti the opposite occurred, the most severe damage was in terms of loss of lives. This is the trend that we see when looking at most natural disasters compared between more developed countries (MDC's) and less developed countries (LCD's).

Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/05/costa-rica-earthquake-2012_n_1857743.html

Picture: http://www.examiner.com/article/powerful-quake-reported-costa-rica-tsunami-warning-mexico-to-peru-to-hawaii