Problems+in+Environmental+Science

Please put your first name, the link to the website, podcast or video that you found; and a sentence or two about the problem.

After you have finished putting your assignment on the wiki spaces page, take time to view what others have posted.

Sam: http://www.nytimes.com/ 2010/09/21/science/earth/ 21coral.html This article was published by the NY Times, recently. Its about Coral reefs going into survivalist mode due to the warm weather. This obviously could pose a major problem due to the fact that many (including ours) ecosystems rely on them.

Kim: [] This video documents and explains the beginning of the dredging of the Hudson to remove PCBs deep in the river's sediment. Through bio-magnification, PCB concentrations rise in each level of the food chain, ultimately reaching their highest concentration in humans or birds of prey. PCBs can cause health problems and effect reproductive success in high concentrations.

Marli: 1. [] 2. [] 3. [] These three videos all have to do with the documentary Gasland by Josh Fox. This documentary is about the use of hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking) to extract natural gases from underground. In the fracking process, many different types of harmful chemicals are used that seepo from the well into the water table. The documentary shows this being done all across the US and how the people who live nearby the wells are affected by this process. 1 is the trailer, 2 and 3 are important parts of the documentary.

Mrs. Ashley [] [] []   The above videos highlight the problem of plastics in the ocean. Marine life is eating the plastic causing illness and death. Iin many samples of ocean water the amount of plastic is greater than the amount of phytoplankton. There is no away! Alec  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KRD8e20fBo   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szBxUQHtVkg&feature=channel   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCx0ORuDZFE  These two videos are from and related to the award winning documentary ﻿"The Cove" with Rick O'barry. He made "The Cove" to educate and bring awareness to the world about the dolphin slaughtering every year in Taiji, Japan. Thousands of dolphins are killed each year and sold to places like Sea World for entertainment or sold to markets for food. The dolphin is very toxic to eat and is full of mercury. This is a major issue in Japan and other locations around the world. Courtney [] This is a documentary clip of a situation in Indonesia known as "Timber Mafia." This situation is considered important because of how this not only effects the many rare trees being taken away, but the many endangered species and people who live in the areas where this takes place. Chris  []   The florida everglade swamps all the way to the missisippi are infested with burmese pythons they will eat basically anything including endangered species of birds. These Snakes have gone to the top of the food chain they even consume alligators. These snakes have adapted to the climate in florida and they are destroying the natural eco system. They have become so large in numbers only because of people who own them as pets and set them free in florida alone. These reptiles are only a few inches long when they are hatched but soon can grow to 8 feet in an estimated 3 years with a healthy diet of small rodents and rabbits. There is now a bounty for these unwelcome aliens, park rangers capture them everyday and herpetoligists make observations with autopsys. These are probubly the worst invasive species in america. They make the seemingly endless swamp into there home and the natural wildlife do not have a chance.