A Book of Issues

Robles, Fernanda
AP Environmental Science
Period: 6
 As Greenland Melts, Where’s the
Water Going?
By: Henry Fountain and Derek Watkins on December 5, 2017 at NY Times

Each year, Greenland loses 270 billion tons of ice as the planet warms. Research shows that
some of the water may be trapped in the ice sheet, which could change how scientists think about
global sea levels. Scientists say it appears that some of the meltwater is retained in porous ice
instead of flowing to the bottom of the ice sheet and out to sea. On Greenland’s ice sheet
meltwater flows in rivulets as sunlight and and warm air heat the surface air. Underneath the
surface, the ice develops holes and through that a river formed. After, the river formed a lake but
on the opposite side the lake formed a river. The ice sheet is up to two miles thick and contains
enough ice that, if it all melted, would raise oceans around the world by 24 feet. Greenland is
currently losing an average of about 260 billion tons of ice per year and at this rate, two inches of
sea level would rise.

This article was interesting because there are always complications about there being a drought
and if Greenland is melting then in a way that’s good because there’ll be more water. I also
found this article interesting because we are in the middle of winter and right now, there should
be hard ice forming everywhere possible but if it’s melting then what’s going on? My question
is, what is causing this much ice to melt and how is it so bad? It’s also quite interesting how
underneath a river there is another river forming and the currents are faster than the one on the
surface.

Miles of Ice Collapsing Into the Sea

By: Justin Gillis on May 18, 2017 at NY Times

Antarctic Dispatches is three-part series from the Antarctic. Glaciers in certain areas have been
undercut by warmer ocean waters, and the flow of ice is getting faster and faster. The collapse of
vulnerable parts of the ice sheet could raise the sea level dramatically. This article is about four
NY Times journalists who flew across the world’s largest chunk of floating ice in an American
military cargo plane loaded with the latest scientific gear. A rapid disintegration of Antarctica
might cause the sea to rise so fast that million of coastal refugees would have to move to land.
This proves that the Antarctic might break up rapidly which would cause the ocean to rise six
feet or more.

It’s interesting how this article is talking about how hot is too hot because of the constant ice
melting. Although it may seem like the melting ice is a good thing it really isn’t that beneficial to
the environment because of high rises to the ocean. When the ocean rises it takes part of most of
the land and if people are living there then it reduces the amount of space there is for the people
living there. Not just that, but it can also harm an animal’s habitat since some animals live to
build their nests near the edge of a body of water.
 Looming Floods, Threatened Cities
By: Justin Gillis on May 18, 2017 at NY Times

This article was about the several amounts of freshwater that is locked in Antarctica’s ice sheets.
Parts of these ice sheets are quickly moving into the sea and some parts have gained ice whereas
other parts of Antarctica have lost large amounts of ice. Due to this, the ice becomes very
vulnerable to ocean heat. As Antarctica begins to collapse it also begins to inundate coastal cities
around the world. With the several parts of the West Antarctic sitting in one area and below sea
level, it’s pretty unstable.

At the end of the article there is video showing ice sheets pouring down more than 1,000 feet
down into the McMurdo Dry Valleys. In the video I could see how the ice was falling down and
it was a pretty big disaster. The entire valleys were filled with ice and it was shocking to see how
it was that these valleys were getting filled with the opposite of what they should be
experiencing. Valleys are mainly to be hot and dry but not the McMurdo Valleys. The habitats of
several animals could have been destroyed too.
 Racing to Find Answers in the Ice
By: Justin Gillis on May 18, 2017 at NY Times

The Ross Ice Shelf is a cliff rising 100 feet above the ocean and extending 900 feet below the
surface. Scientists are trying to find out what is happening with the Ross Ice Shelf especially
with a warm planet around it. Scientists are also trying to map the thickness of the ice and the
shape of the sea floor beneath it. They are also trying to measure the role of human-caused
climate change in weakening some parts of the West Antarctic ice sheet and how it is that it is
damaging the seas around the continent. After much experiments done by the journalists they
saw that the Ross Ice Shelf was arealy stable enough and with their projects there they can be
aware of when the the ice starts to met again. There appears to be satellite evidence that other
parts in Antarctica are going through a similar phase and scientists are blaming the ocean’s heat
for melting ice.

This article was interesting because it proves how humans can be blamed for the weakening in
some parts of Antarctica. This article is also proof on how hardworking some scientists are with
the much dedication they put in. I was surprised when I read how much time they devoted to
staying up late just to watch over their machines and to keep record of the results they got.
 Air Pollution May Harm Babies Even
Before They Are Born
By: Nicholas Bakalar on December 5, 2017 at NY Times

Researchers in London calculated a mothers exposure to air pollution and the average pollution
exposure was 14 micrograms per cubic meter. The researchers found that for each 5 microgram
per cubic meter increase, the increase of low birth weight increased by 15 percent. These tiny
particles can enter the smallest airway in the lungs. Low birth weight is a predictor of increased
risk for diabetes, heart disease and hypertension in later life. The World Health Organization
suggests age 10 as a limit and an epidemiologist at Imperial College London says that there
really is no safe level of air pollution.

It’s really sad that even before babies are born there is already research that shows how they can
be affected in their later life. The poor mothers will be living in agony thinking that their babies
can be affected as such an early age and they can’t do anything about it because they need the air
for them to also be alive. Not only will the mothers be living in agony but also worried that
maybe their baby won’t live a long life. They are obviously pretty surprised that the air they are
breathing can harm their child, as a matter of fact, it should be beneficial.
 Air Pollution Tied to Kidney Disease
By: Nicholas Bakalar on September 21, 2017 at NY Times

A ​new analysis, in The Journal of the American Society of Nephrology​, followed 2,482,737
veterans for an average of eight and a half years. The Department of Veterans Affairs database
includes information on glomerular filtration rate, or a measure of kidney function. With this
data researchers found that increases in particulate matter 2.5 corresponded directly with
decreases in kidney function, indicating worsening kidney function. These particles are small
enough to enter the bloodstream where they make their way to the kidneys, which are especially
prone to injury from pollutants.

It was very interesting how the researchers used several veterans for this experiment especially
because with all the battle that a veteran goes through, their body system eventually becomes
unstable. A veterans health is quite unstable so it didn’t really make sense to use them for their
research. Another reason why this article was interesting was the fact that air can damage
someone’s kidneys when kidneys are mostly affected by what people eat and with the blood in
their system.
Even ‘Safe’ Pollutions Can Be Deadly
By: Nicholas Bakalar on June 28, 2017 at NY Times

A study of more than 60 million Medicare recipients has found that even pollution levels below
those generally considered safe increase the risk for premature death. researchers were able to
accurately estimate daily air pollution levels nationwide. They found that each increase of 10
micrograms per cubic meter was associated with a 7.3 percent increased mortality, and each
increase of 10 parts per billion in warm-weather ozone was linked to a 1.1 percent increase.

Air pollution is a constant threat to the health of an individual. The harmful gases in the
environment enter our bodies through the respiratory system and causes various health outcomes
ranging from respiratory symptoms, low birth weight to lung cancers. Air pollution is a major
public health threat in developing countries. In the beginning, almost all kinds of foods were
harmful to people but now even air, the air we breathe everyday and all day, is harmful to us.
There just can’t seem to be anything that is actually helpful for humans.
 Air Pollution May Contribute to
Dementia
By: Nicholas Bakalar on February 6, 2017 at NY Times

A ​new study suggests​ that air pollution may accelerate brain aging and contribute to the
progression of dementia, and women with a specific gene variant are at greater risk than others.
The analysis included 3,647 women ages 65 to 79. From 1995 to 2010, researchers tracked the
women’s mental ability with well-validated questionnaires and used public data from the
Environmental Protection Agency to calculate air pollution levels. The study is in Translational
Psychiatry. Women who lived in areas with high concentrations of the particulate matter are at a
greater risk for cognitive decline and all-cause dementia than those with the lowest exposure.

Dementia can be caused by air pollution?? That sounds absolutely crazy. Who would have
known that the process of thinking can be affected by air, especially since air is taken in on a
daily basis. Through this article I am able to prove that anything is possible and air can be the
cause of anything. I should most likely be careful when breathing because it can affect my daily
life. I am still amazed by what natural air can produce even though it may not be contaminated
by chemicals of smog caused by factories.
 Invasive Plants Have Unprecedented
Ability to Pioneer New Continents and
Climates
By: Virginia Tech on December 4, 2017 at Science Daily

In the picture above it shows velvetleaf, which is one of the many invasive plants species that
was tested by two scientists. Scientists discovered that invasive plant species are not only
adaptive but also able to change in order to thrive on new continents and in different types of
climates. Dan Atwater used data to test whether the climate limitation of plants change. ​The
Virginia Tech researchers blew this assumption away by testing more than 800 species using
new models developed by Atwater and Jacob Barney. Species capable of changing their ecology
pose a challenge to researchers using native range data to forecast the distribution of invasive
species.​ ​Barney and Atwater examined 815 terrestrial plant species from every continent and
compared models in the largest global invasive species study to date. They found evidence of
climatic niche shifts in all of the 815 plant species introduced across five continents. A climatic
niche refers to the set of climates in which a species has a stable or growing population. Their
findings suggest that niche shifts reflect changes in climate availability at the continent scale and
were the largest in long-lived and cultivated species. If species move to a warmer continent they
shift towards occupying warmer climates.

I have learned that cultivated plants with long lifespans are experts in making themselves home
in brand new climates. This is kind of scary because that means that plants can be found
wherever and we won’t know whether they are harmful or not. It does sound a little crazy for the
plants to be making their own homes like they had a mind of their own. It’s as if the plants are
starting to create their own world with the minds they have.

European Forests Might Not Be

Realizing Their Full Potential
By: ​Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum on November 17, 2017 at
Science Daily

According to a new study maximizing timber production in a forest does not necessarily have to
come at a cost of reduced species diversity or the capacity to regulate climate change by the
same forest. However most European forests fall well below their possible maximum levels of
these three capacities. To find out what goes on in European forests the researchers measured
and correlated 28 ecosystem services and processes that underpin timber production, climate
regulation and species diversity in six regions including Finland, Poland, German, Romania and
Italy. They are all part of FunDivEurope, a large-scale project examining the relationships
between biodiversity and ecosystem functions in forests. The group also analyzed data from
national forest inventories across Europe, making the study one of the most comprehensive
analyses of forest ecosystem functioning at this scale to date.timber production, climate
regulation or conservation.
When I first read the title I thought, what is the full potential of these forests? What are they
supposed to be doing other than providing a habitat for several animals and air. As I continued
reading I wondered how it was that these forests were going to expand their potential if scientists
weren't even aware of this in the beginning,
 Tiny Bees Play Big Part in Secret Sex
Lives in Trees
By: University of Texas at Austin on November 6, 2017

When it comes to sex between plants, tiny bees the size of ladybugs play a critical role in promoting
long-distance pairings. That's what scientists discovered after one of the most detailed paternity
tests in wild trees ever conducted. The research gives new insights into how certain bees promote
genetic diversity that is essential for plants to adapt to various threats, from disease to climate
change.