Tilapia

Summary:

Tilapia is a widely popular fish around the world. Originally native to Africa, tilapia are favored because they taste good, do not require a lot of time to develop, or go from the aqua farm to household plates, the species tolerates crowding (which makes aquaculture easier), they reproduce quickly, and do not need meat based food, but mosquitoes, algae, lake plants, corn, and soy. 

Although tilapia are easy to use as food, there are a lot of problems with them. If they get out of their aqua farm, according to Aaron McNevin, “tilapia is one of the most invasive species known, and are very hard to get rid of when they are established, due to their aggressive breeding and feeding.” Also, environmentalists argue that intensive and unregulated tilapia farming is damaging ecosystems in poor countries with practices generally prohibited in the United States, like breeding huge numbers of fish in cages in natural lakes, where eutrophication can occur. As said by Dr. Jeffery McCrary, “We wouldn’t allow tilapia to be farmed in the United States the way they are farmed here, so why are we willing to eat them?”

Some other problems with tilapia are that even though they are a good source of protein, compared to other fish, they have lesser amounts of fish oils, which assist brain development, and protect against heart disease, stroke, and abnormal heart rhythms. They also have a lesser amount of Omega-3 fatty acids than other fish.

Commentary:

In my opinion, the issues with tilapia are very real, and I agree with the problems and opinions in the article. This issue matters, because first, people need to get the nutrients that they need, and eating tilapia is not as efficient as eating other fish, would be to obtain these nutrients. Second, if tilapia are an invasive species, then we really should really not use them because if they do escape, that means the crash of the ecosystem where they escaped. Third, the aqua farming of any species means low species diversity, which means that disease can spread rapidly, which ties into the use of antibiotics to eliminate the diseases, which goes back into low species diversity.

\

This article is a great example of what we have learned in class about aquaculture, positive feedbacks, and genetics. These things are really important to learn, because we need to know how to, when we have an idea, to anticipate the possible outcomes of our ideas, so we can

     METHANE IN DRINKING WATER

                       

      SUMMARY:

                     In the article “Methane on Tap: Study Links Pollution to Gas Drilling” from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/natural-gas-drilling-linked-to-methane-in-water/. It talks about how a team of researchers have produced the very first valid evidence that methane has gotten into drinking water where shale gas is being drilled, sixty private water wells from homes have been sampled across northeastern Pennsylvania. There have been rich underground deposits of natural gas found here and are being extracted according to: Duke University scientists. In an article published on Monday called “Science”, stated that in the active drilling areas the amount of methane has increased. They also discovered that only 3200 feet away from an active drilling site they found water that had enough methane in it could be lit on fire. The methane that was found in the well water was 17x’s higher than other water wells found further away. This study has added a lot of problems that has revolved around “fracking”, which is a process where water is pumped at a high pressure into oil or methane gas deposits to fracture the rock above and release the liquid or gas below. The success of this technology’s has created large stores of natural gas in the United States and Canada. A U.S. government assessment showed that there are similar shale resources that are available in 32 other countries around the world. The environmental controversy has soiled the boom because the residents have complained that the methane had polluted the drinking water.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY:

                 Why does this issue matter? it matters because the methane that is getting into the water from the drilling is our drinking water and it is being contaminated .the methane contaminated water could harm people who are drinking it .the water also has a great chance of catching fire because it contains so much methane. Has this article taught me something new? Yes it actually has I did not know that the drilling of shale was causing methane to contaminate the drinking water and that the water up to 1 kilometer (3,200 feet) away could still be highly contaminated with the methane’s also did not know that similar shale resources are available in 32 other courtiers which means there are 32 more places where the water is and could be contaminated with the methane gas. Does it support or refute other information you’ve heard or read? the information I read  in this article has supported  the other information I have read and heard about because I have heard about some of the problems dealing with methane in the drinking water and what is causing it to be in the drinking water .I read that ,Methane leaks are contaminating drinking water near shale gas drilling sites in the northeastern United States from an article  called: Shale-Gas Drilling Contaminating Drinking Water from http://news.discovery.com/earth/hydrofracking-shale-methane-leak-in-wells-110511.html.

What’s next?

                     What can be done to remove the methane gas from the drinking water? If there is methane gas in your drinking water it can be vented from some wells, where a vent is placed into the well. Another method that could be used is Aeration it eliminate methane from the well water. What actions are needed that are not mentioned in the article or paper? I believe that they need to find an alternate way to drill shale without the methane gas leaking into the water supply, but that could take years. What further study is needed to answer remaining questions? scientists need to study the process of the shale drilling more to see what is actually part of the process is actually causing methane gas to leak and get into the water supply.so,they can try an come up with an alternate process.

CITATIONS

Rachel Kaufman, For National Geographic News, Published May 9, 2011.Retrieved from:  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/natural-gas-drilling-linked-to-methane-in-water/

Wellcare® info on methane & groundwater March 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.watersystemscouncil.org/VAiWebDocs/WSCDocs/Methane_Gas_and_Groundwater_Revised_0311.pdf

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Shed Skin Can Decrease Air Pollution?!

            The article that I have chosen for this brief research paper is based on how shed skin cells can actually work to reduce air pollution, especially ozone. Ozone is an element that prevents ultraviolet rays (which is the primary cause for cancer) from entering through the Stratosphere but when there is ozone within the Troposphere, it can be the source for very harmful effects towards vegetations and human health. Ozone can especially effect humans as it can trigger asthma and other related symptoms. Humans shed their skin every 2-4 weeks with the rate of 0.001-0.003 ounces of skin flakes every hour and nearly 500 million cells every day. Many may believe that this is a nuisance as it contributes to indoor pollution through household dust but the flakes, which include cholesterol, skin oils, and squalene, that settle in dust and other indoor material will actually work to decrease ozone levels by at least 2%-15%. Squalene was also proven to benefit humans as it has a role in oxidation chemistry indoors but the removal of interior ozone is also due to the exposure of human skin, hair and clothing.  Experiments within several airplane cabins and 500 bedrooms of children between the ages of 3-5 years as well as 151 daycare centers have clearly shown a small but significant difference regarding the removal of ozone and other airborne indoor pollution.
                I had personally found that this article was very unusual because it had explained how something that was found to be of an annoyance in our lives was actually of good use. With the world constantly being degraded through human actions, it is somewhat relieving to evaluate studies, such as to this one, which is proven to help the atmosphere. Like many others, I had once thought that animal and human dander was a large and negatively affecting factor to air pollution but once this article had been attained to my knowledge; there was a moment of realization when I began to understand that some things were naturally meant to benefit other causes. With new facts that are being proven all throughout the world, it questions many as to how we can connect this knowledge to make the world a better place and concerning this particular study, there are several actions we can take. First, we should educate the people and let them know that human skin cells can actually filter the air of a harmful element known as ozone. Next, we could use this advantage to build systems where we are able to purify the air and release it in a repetitive cycle. There is a lot of options we can choose from, regarding many other topics as well and although this was study was proven to only help decrease ozone amounts in the troposphere by 5-12%, this could possibly be a new solution to actions we can take in the future and after all, it will only give us an advantage as well as the earth.
            Concerning the article that this essay had been based on, there are some unanswered questions and ideas. The studies have evaluated several different scenes but it could have possibly been more detailed if they did research on the levels of decreased ozone with animals or persons of various ages. The scientists could have also performed several experiments in different weather or continued a further research to observe if ozone levels fluctuated. They supposedly should wrote more information in addition as to how this could encourage a new epiphany on how one would be able to reduce indoor air pollution. This study on decreasing air pollution sounds fascinating and simple to take action but for those who are allergic to dust or have an excessive amount of dust in their indoor household/environment could be negatively affected. Overall, this proven study is a new step towards improving air pollution and hopefully it will be further looked into.


Citation/Resource:


Charles J. Weschler. Characterization techniques applied to indoor dust. (2011, May 9) Retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110509114034.html

New Innovations for an Organ Printer

Berkowitz, Bonnie.  (2011, May 9).  3-D Printers May Someday Allow Labs to Create Replacement Organs.  The Washington Post.  Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/science/3-d-printers-may-someday-allow-labs-to-create-replacment-human-organs/2011/04/21/AFJM0WbG_story.html

Scientists have found a revolutionary method of helping patients.  They have created what they call “3-D printers.”  These printers use the patients’ living cells to “print” (called bioprinting) new organs including kidney, liver, or even a heart.  They can also make cartilage, muscle, and vertebral disks.  This method has been long used by dentists, jewelers, and chocolatiers to make pieces without having to mold them.  Scientists saw this and took the opportunity to use it in their research in the 2000s.  If this becomes a success, organ donor lists could be thrown out the window.  It’s true that it’s much easier to bioprint vertebrate or knee muscle.  The biggest challenge is getting the organ back in the body and properly nourishing it.  But if you, instead of just growing an organ, and grow one main vein with the organ and put it in a stable place, it will grow on its own.  After then, they can put it back in the body with more ease.  The only large problem with this project is funding.  Keith Murphy, co-founder of Organovo, says, “If the federal government created a ‘human organ project’ and wanted to make the kidney, I literally think it could happen in 10 years.”  Although many believe that bioprinting is the holy grail of genetic engineering, some people don’t understand why they’re doing it.

I believe that this is a huge leap in the medical world.  We don’t have to make other people suffer to get organs for patients; we can just print them out.  I think we should seriously take a look at this alternative despite its economic costs.  It will be invaluable to the people it helps.  This article has taught me that this new medical innovation is no exception to the golden rule of medical inventions- that they may be great, cool, and shiny, but we may not be able to afford them even though people are always sick and always need help.  Funding problems shouldn’t be in this area, there should always be enough for new improvements in the health world.  But of course, with every new great thing, comes a con.  We just haven’t figured out what the con is for this.  I suppose it might come along when they begin human testing in five to ten years.  Maybe these bioprinted organs will create new genetic mutations.  Or maybe they are not completely functional in a human body.  However, we will never know until we find out and there are always willing people to be involved in these medical things.

Some will ask “What’s next?!” and some would think it best just left alone.  What’s next is further research on it in mice before humans.  Another step is gaining publicity.  If the majority of America knew about this, they would be all in for it; especially if they needed a new organ themselves.  As it gains notice it will gain funding also.  Eventually, scientists will be able to afford to test it within a human control group.  And maybe, one day, we will be using something similar to this in everyday medical life.

Where is the Missing Carbon?

Source: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/missing-carbon

            Where is the missing carbon? Each year we dump 8.8 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere, nut they all come from different sources. 6.5 billion from fossil fuels, that was going to be the largest since we use them for everything and 1.5 billon from deforestation, cutting down forests with our heavy machinery. But where is the remainder of the carbon. Less than half of the total, 3.2 billion tons is left in the atmosphere to warm our planet.

            In this article they are trying to locate the missing carbon. They said at the rate we are going terrible things could happen. Steve Pacala, an ecologist from Princeton University says that Coral reefs could vanish, Deserts could spread, and water currents could change. If nature stops helping us and they don’t absorb some of the excess carbon dioxide, we could face drastic changes before 2050, a disaster would happen and it’ll be too quick to avoid.

            The scientist and engineers are trying to understand natural carbon sinks, because if they can, they may able to enhance them or even create places for us to live where we could live without the threat of global warming.  In 1771, Joseph Priestly put a  mint plant in the sealed jar with the mouse and they were able to survive through the plants photosynthesis.

            When they tried with human 2 centuries later they were not able to survive in the sealed environment.

B.

            This article is very interesting because it could change everything that we know. The idea that our going into can help us from a whole lot of dangers. The sealed rooms with the plants, provide the oxygen in the room for us to survive. These rooms could keep us out of harm’s way by making it possible to live anywhere. With these rooms we could live on the moon, underwater, anywhere. This could let us live even when the Earth cannot sustain us anymore. This would be the biggest accomplish man has ever man. More important than the first step on the moon or the discovery of space. Since we have known about space we have not been able to do anything with it, but know we can occupy the space to live.

            I really like the idea, but I hope they can finalize it before we really need it. When they finalize it we know we will not have anything to worry about.

C.

            I am kind of worried about though, because what is it does not work even though they made sure it worked. I am also worried because I don’t think it would save us if the sun died. 1, the plants will not have any light to survive so, they will not be able to photosynthesize. 2. How would we make food if we don’t have oxygen when the plants die? And wouldn’t the cost to build these for the whole world be massive, and there would probably be corruption from the government trying to sell tickets to the wealthy people.

           

Japan’s Nuclear Future in the Balance

By Andrew Pollack

New York Times

Published on May 9, 2011

            As a result of the Japanese earthquakes and tsunami in March 2011, The Fukushima Daiichi power plant has spewed radiation into the air as well as the sea.  Japan announced they would not abandon nuclear power as an important source of energy, so many existing reactors are expected to keep operating. However, Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan announced that Japan would abandon all plans to build new nuclear reactors. A recent policy that predates the Fukushima disaster requires construction of at least 14 new reactors by 2030 to go with the 54 that now exist. If completed, those reactors would have raised nuclear power’s share of Japan’s electricity generation to about 50 percent. Advocates for renewable energy think that the March earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident have given Japan a reason to rebuild its economy as a world leader in clean, renewable energy. Through solar, wind and geothermal combined makes up for only 1 percent of Japan’s electricity. Another 8 percent or so comes from hydroelectric power.  Some members of Parliament recently held a forum, called Energy Shift Japan, to promote a move toward renewable sources.

In my opinion, the article was informative. However it was very contradictive. At first it said that Japan was definitely going to rebuild 14 of the 54 nuclear reactors. Then, it said the prime minister announced that Japan would abandon all plans to rebuild the nuclear reactors. The Tokyo Electric Power Company has been forced to drop plans to build two new reactors on the site of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant. Also, the article stated that with a recent policy realized by Japanese government stated that they would indeed rebuild the 14 reactors by 2030.  “It is a battle between the future and the past,” said Tetsunari Iida, executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies, a nonprofit policy research organization in Japan. The Japanese citizens believe that this is a boost to help them become the world leader of clean energy. Masayoshi Son, the founder of Softbank and Japan’s richest man, said last month that he would donate about $12 million to start a research foundation for renewable energy to replace the use of nuclear energy. As of last Friday, the government requested that  Chubu Electric Power shut down a nuclear power plant 120 miles southwest of Tokyo until the company can develop its earthquake and tsunami defenses. This problem this is similar to that of explosion of the reactor in Chernobyl. To me, this is a little iffy, if they don’t rebuild the reactors, how are the Japanese citizens supposed to get their power?

If the Japanese government does not rebuild the 14 reactors, then there may not be enough power to supply homes and business throughout Japan. However, if they do rebuild the reactors, it could cost millions, even billions of dollars. So that could result in a rise in taxes to help repay the debt of rebuilding the 14 reactors. However, if they rebuild the 14 reactors, they may in fact have to do some maintenance of the remaining reactors to ensure that the same accident won’t happen in the future. If they do not fix the other reactors and something close to that of Chernobyl may happen causing twice the devastation that has already occurred in the country of Japan.

Fish Hooks Designed to Avoid the Wrong Catch

Summary:

            Regular fish hooks are made to hold on to fish, but that’s a problem because by-catch is an issue that fisheries and fishermen have to worry about. These new hooks that area circular help reduce that dilemma. Starting in May, commercial fishing in the Gulf of Mexico is mandated to use the circular fish hooks to keep from catching the endangered Bluefin Tuna.

Bluefin population has declined and is prohibited to be fished in the gulf. So these fish hooks are made to insure that the fish they want will be caught and the fish they don’t could get themselves out. John Mitchell who helped designed the circular hooks are from  the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The business that worked with him to make the hooks was Mustad of Norway.

These hooks help to prevent by-catch that many fisheries are having trouble with. If they use the long line method, they could pull the line up and put the fish back into the water with little to no damage to their mouths. Also it helped in not catching bluefin, turtles and big marlins. Now NOAA is doing more research on how long it would take creatures of the sea to escape from the new curved hooks.

Commentary

             I think these hooks area a great idea. So many fish are being killed because of the different type of fishing methods. The long line methods lets a line of hooks dangle in the water until some fish come along and take a bite. Then you would be gathering fish that you weren’t after. The net method sinks a net to the ocean floor, and pulls up toward the surface, collecting anything that get’s inside of it. This is terrible because it also collects huge mammals that need to breathe air. They can’t do that if a net is stopping them from getting air, and they drown.

            The new hooks can insure that that won’t be an issue. The hooks are “weak” so that the type of fish they want will be stuck on the line, but the  fish they don’t want will be able to set itself free or that the fishermen doesn’t have a hard time getting the fish of the hook.

            With the coastal part of the ocean being the most diverse place in the ocean, we have to protect the fish that we are going after but limit the number that we can catch to eat.

What’s next?

            Now what they need to do is to do this test with other fisheries in the U.S. and then with other countries. The people need to run more test on it in other areas to see if the same result will happen. If it works out well, then we could see how it affects people. It would affect the people who are the ones going the fishing. If they are used to using the J-shaped hooks and won’t be willing to change. If we could persuade them to convert, then they could catch more of the fish they want and make more money.

             

Flooding In Memphis

            Summary:

Today, May 10, 2011, Mississippi River flooded neighborhoods, but didn’t break any flooding records. It was nearly a foot less than the record crest of 48.7 feet in 1937. Today, the river crested at 47.8 feet, nearly four inches lower than the predicted 48 feet. It is expected that the river crest will stay at or near that level for a couple of days before receding down the river.

Officials urged the resident to keep their distance from the river crest until it recedes. Even though the Army Corps. Of Engineers say the levees are holding the flood waters; the concern of flooding is in creeks and tributaries. These areas are filled with backwater that is moving through suburbs and mobile home parks in Memphis. Emergency officials predicted that about three thousand properties were most likely to be affected by the flood water; but if the river rises a couple of feet, more than two thousand more could be affected by the flood water.

Even in Tiptonville, Tennessee, they are awaiting the flood water to come down just a little closer so they can check the predicted seventy-five damaged homes. In Arkansas, 16 towns have been affected by flooding. All of this flooding could have been caused by a decrease tree population or an increase rainfall by global warming.

Commentary:

This issue matters because hundreds of people our being affected by it. Homes are damaged; people’s lives are being hurt by the flooding of the Mississippi River. Even peoples pets have been found around the flood water. This isn’t just another ordinary yearly flood, it’s a disaster zone.

What I have learned from this article is that we could be more prepared for these severe floods; we don’t want to have another Katrina, even though that was a hurricane. We need to build more efficient defenses to help against the rapid flood waters, such as more sandbags, shelters, or higher flood walls. This could really help us in the near future.

Other information that I have read in my AP environmental science class backs up some of the information I have stated. Global warming could have been a factor in the flooding of Mississippi. Global warming heats up the earth, and this causing more evaporation, this means that there will be more precipitation. This also means more hurricanes and more severe storms.

This article made me question if what we have been putting in to the atmosphere has been affecting the atmosphere more than we thought originally. This also made me question the theory of the Mayans prediction of the end of the world. Maybe they were onto something.

What’s Next?

Research will need to be constructed to understand why this was so severe in the first place. We have to understand the planet we live on. This might have happened for a reason, but who knows? Maybe it was just another random storm striking again.

Even if more information about flood safety could be helpful to the public .Normally people ignore that kind of information, but maybe people will actually read or listen to the information after all this happened. This could be a warning sign for the future.

Citations:

Judith Tacket and Campbell Robertson (2011, May 1). Mississippi River Crests in Memphis. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/us/11river.html?_r=2&hp

Methane On Tap: Study Links Pollution To Gas Drilling

Article URL: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/natural-gas-drilling-linked-to-methane-in-water

           A team of researchers have proved that methane has escaped into drinking water in areas where shale gas drilling is underway. Shale gas is natural gas that is produced from the metamorphic rock, Shale. Scientists from Duke University sampled 60 private water wells from the northeastern part of Pennsylvania. They checked the wells here because this is one of the places where hydraulic fracturing, sometimes called “fracking,” is used to extract affluent deposits of natural gas from shale rocks. Hydraulic fracturing is the most popular way to extract natural gas from wells in the United States. It involves pumping millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals underground. This breaks apart the rock, therefore, releasing the natural gas. As far away as 3,200 feet, which is 1 kilometer, of an active drilling site, these scientists found water that was so contaminated, that it could be lit on fire (in some cases). The water found in well water near active drilling sites was, on average, seventeen times higher than the levels found in water wells farther away.

I thought this article was very intriguing and informative, but you may be wondering why methane is dangerous and how it can hurt you. When methane is airborne, it is very dangerous, and can even kill you. When you breathe it in, it displaces the oxygen in your body, causing it to become disoriented. It’s almost like your body becomes intoxicated. The person will become lethargic and eventually die of oxygen deprivation. When you ingest methane, and it goes into your stomach, it can cause all kinds of problems, like causing the lining of your stomach to erode. In my opinion, there needs to be something done about this shale rock drilling, because this could really affect the health of the people who have a water well and that are near a drilling site. One solution could be doing the drilling farther away from residential areas. Another solution could be providing residents with water wells with other ways to get water. That way, their water would not get contaminated. One more solution could be stopping this shale rock drilling all together.

           

Boy Discovers Mircobe that eats plastic (Samuel Mann)

As everyone knows the world is slowly turning into a garbage can. There is trash everywhere and we don’t know what to do with it. We decide to burn it, throw it on the landfills, and even dump it into the ocean! These actions are not only affecting us, its effecting organisms in our environment. Lots of animals mistake plastic trash for food and consume it. This is likely to continue if a solution is not found. Luckily, Daniel Burd, a high school student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, discovered a plastic consuming microorganism that may be able to solve our problems. He thought about how plastic actually eventually degrades, but it degrades slowly. He asked himself, “Could the microorganisms be bred faster?” He put his question to the test by immersing ground plastic in a yeast solution that encourages microbial growth. The he isolated the most productive organisms. He felt that the first results were encouraging so he kept going. Continuously selecting the most effective strains of bacteria and interbreeding them. Burd achieved 43 percent degradation of plastic in six weeks. This was an accomplishment that was almost inconceivable! Although Daniel is not the only high school student to discover this, he was the first. There was also a student in Taiwan to discover the same thing named Tseng I-Ching.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY

Okay, so I’m not exactly the savviest person when it comes to DNA switcharoos. Maybe because I’ve never done it before, nor have I ever seen it performed. The articles are making it seem pretty easy. I think that if the young man could team up with other scientists studying is same project they could come up with a solution. Apparently, by products of the plastic being broken down by these microbes could cause an even bigger problem in our water source because it will be hard to filter it and it will also diverse into the ocean and once again, kill the animals. I really don’t know what to do about plastic at this point. Right now, I feel like we just need to focus on prevention. If we all used glass bottles the world would be a better place!!!!! I think we should treat plastic like I’ve heard they do cigarettes in Canada. We should put a dead bird with plastic all inside its body, or a dolphin whose nose was all cut up by a broken plastic cup. Then, have a description like, “this is what you’re doing to our marine animals by not throwing your trash away properly.” Then people will feel bad! I think the worst of it is that glass containers aren’t really available with popular drinks so people really have no choice.

WHATS NEXT?

In my personal commentary, I mentioned a more simple approach than accelerating speed of consumption in microbes. I think that every thing should just switch to glass. The most pollution happens with your everyday plastic materials like drinking bottles. I understand chemicals may need a sturdier container but why not change what we can for right now. Glass being thrown into the ocean won’t hurt much of anything! At best it’ll be broken down into sand! There are already companies who have this idea in effect right now. I’ve found from my own experience the Honest Tea franchise as well as Tazo and Sweet Leaf.

Burkhart. K (2010 June 12) Boy discovers microbe that eats plastic Mother Nature Network 

http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-inovations/blogs/boy-discovers-microbe-that-eats-plastic

Immigration Reforms (Alan Silverleib, Alexa Helms)

The article that I previously reviewed was about the speech that President Barack Obama is currently giving in El Paso, Texas as I type.  In President Obama’s speech he will focus on the need for immigration reform. Republicans have assailed the reform without tighter, stronger, and stricter border controls. The republicans of today’s government might not be the best but, I for one agree with that key point. Since then Republicans require the border controls to become tighter it is believed to have little chance of passing through the GOP controlled house. The GOP is the Grand Old Party. One of the few things that the Democrats and Republicans do agree on is that both view immigration as a potent political issue. With all of the other things that’s going on Immigration is still on their top priorities list. Even Though I see things through a Democratic eye, I side with the Republicans on this one.  Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/10/obama.immigration/index.html. It is said that President Obama chose Chamizal National Memorial because Chamizal is right on the front of both Nation’s. Retrieved from http://www.kdbc.com/news/president-obama-to-speak-at-chamizal-park-but-why-chamizal.

This issue might seem as if it has nothing to do with Environmental Science but, it has a strong tie with Environmental Science. The world is rapidly approaching 7 Billion People. With the human population increasing by three people being added every second, Quarter of a million being added every day and, eighty seven million being added every year. Retrieved from httpHYPERLINK "http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/lec24/b65lec24.htm"://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/lec24/b65lec24.htm. Less land is becoming available to support human life. With the need for more land, more money is going to be needed. Which for some countries isn’t a problem, but for the United States it is. More and more illegal immigrants are sneaking into the United States. Since, they are illegal they create fake Social Security numbers. With the fake Social Security numbers, they are getting away with not paying taxes. Taxes that could be going to make new arable land, for the support of the world’s population that is increasing. President Obama is basically planning to create a system for open immigration. "It doesn't matter where you come from. What matters is that you believe in the ideals on which we were founded, that you believe all of us are equal," he said. "In embracing America, you can become American. That is what makes this country great." – said President Obama. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/10/obama.immigration/index.html.

I could bet my right hand pinky (If I was too) that the Republicans will not go through with President Obama’s plans exactly. "Basically the president laid out a plan for open immigration," said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. President Obama is a good speaker but, he basically gave that whole speech to say he's offering to "give the people who are here a slap on the wrist and let them all stay,"- said Mehlman. The Republicans demand that they tighten up border security. President Obama’s exact plans and thoughts are needed to go further in to this Article.

Toxic 100 Air Polluters (Political

Toxic 100 Air Polluters

All TRI Rank	Corporation	Toxic score	Millions of pounds of toxic air releases	Millions of pounds of toxic incineration transfers	EJ: Poor Share	EJ: Minority Share
1	Bayer Group	189,649	0.72	8.88	9.0%	33.8%
2	ExxonMobil	170,689	10.21	0.20	24.3%	65.2%
3	Sunoco	138,743	3.88	0.81	17.5%	38.5%
4	E.I. du Pont de Nemours	122,436	12.43	22.82	16.5%	38.3%
5	ArcelorMittal	117,510	1.40	0.02	21.4%	63.2%
6	Steel Dynamics Inc.	99,952	0.74	0.00	24.6%	11.4%
7	Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM)	97,281	11.11	0.00	21.7%	28.7%
8	Ford Motor Co.	93,854	5.09	0.00	11.8%	24.4%
9	Eastman Kodak Co.	87,328	1.97	0.66	14.8%	29.5%
10	Koch Industries	84,044	33.56	1.94	11.4%	24.5%
11	ConocoPhillips	83,194	6.39	0.11	16.0%	52.8%
12	Valero Energy Corp.	72,294	4.13	0.09	18.2%	59.0%
13	General Electric Co.	66,936	0.45	0.14	13.9%	39.0%
14	AK Steel Holding	66,290	0.30	0.00	18.4%	6.4%
15	Dow Chemical Co.	59,907	11.69	17.19	14.4%	43.0%
16	Alcoa Inc.	59,771	10.40	0.13	10.8%	19.5%
17	Duke Energy	58,765	75.74	0.00	10.2%	19.9%
18	BASF	57,071	7.65	2.99	15.7%	34.2%
19	United States Steel Corp.	54,813	1.71	0.21	17.4%	46.1%
20	Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG)	54,171	6.20	0.00	17.9%	60.4%
21	Precision Castparts	52,725	0.12	0.03	13.3%	21.0%
22	General Motors Corp.	51,052	6.90	0.00	17.3%	44.0%
23	Apollo Management	45,882	2.01	2.39	13.9%	42.3%
24	Nucor Corp.	45,564	0.72	0.00	16.5%	31.1%
25	BP	39,700	4.41	0.19	15.6%	61.5%
26	Pfizer Inc.	37,397	0.29	12.81	27.1%	61.5%
27	Eastman Chemical Co.	35,824	7.02	0.35	15.4%	16.7%
28	Royal Dutch Shell	34,859	2.98	2.59	12.1%	47.3%
29	E.ON	34,738	20.23	0.00	11.0%	15.4%
30	Constellation Energy	34,465	13.14	0.00	10.4%	41.2%
31	Honeywell International	32,590	4.79	0.76	15.4%	44.9%
32	Tesoro Corp.	30,824	3.41	0.02	12.0%	45.2%
33	Southern Co.	30,615	74.58	0.00	11.5%	39.2%
34	AES Corp.	29,565	9.41	0.00	17.6%	43.1%
35	Amsted Industries	28,573	0.08	0.00	13.8%	25.9%
36	PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.)	26,918	2.64	0.03	15.4%	45.7%
37	Hess Corp.	26,816	0.54	0.02	16.5%	53.8%
38	Terex	25,901	0.04	0.00	9.5%	18.4%
39	Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.	25,101	2.27	0.00	17.3%	29.6%
40	American Electric Power	21,607	90.28	0.00	12.6%	7.5%
41	Anheuser-Busch	21,411	2.30	0.00	19.3%	46.5%
42	Renco Group	19,637	4.78	0.00	9.8%	11.9%
43	Textron Inc.	19,498	0.32	0.07	10.4%	27.2%
44	Owens Corning	19,375	4.48	0.00	11.7%	44.3%
45	Corning Inc.	19,283	0.43	4.18	13.3%	21.2%
46	Rowan Companies Inc	19,255	0.08	0.00	22.3%	52.5%
47	International Paper Co.	19,167	37.34	0.09	18.1%	42.2%
48	LyondellBasell Industries	19,026	8.52	2.26	16.7%	61.3%
49	RRI Energy (Reliant Energy)	18,108	31.84	0.00	10.2%	11.5%
50	Allegheny Technologies	17,962	0.74	0.03	14.3%	8.7%
51	Dominion Resources Inc.	16,656	13.86	0.00	11.9%	43.4%
52	FirstEnergy	16,482	16.05	0.00	11.1%	12.9%
53	Chrysler Group LLC	16,301	2.46	0.04	15.3%	37.1%
54	Progress Energy Inc.	16,131	37.37	0.00	10.8%	26.1%
55	Ashland Inc.	16,028	0.22	0.10	18.7%	36.6%
56	Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold	15,241	4.57	0.00	22.6%	75.3%
57	Timken Co.	14,302	0.07	0.00	17.0%	19.8%
58	SPX Corp.	13,829	0.03	0.00	11.9%	55.6%
59	Sony Corp.	13,507	0.12	0.01	6.4%	15.2%
60	Kimberly-Clark	13,459	0.54	0.00	14.7%	38.0%
61	Occidental Petroleum Co.	13,298	0.88	11.71	15.6%	44.5%
62	HeidelbergCement Group	13,235	0.63	0.00	11.9%	47.1%
63	PPG Industries Inc.	13,192	2.56	0.75	12.3%	21.7%
64	Formosa Petrochemical Corp.	13,191	1.67	0.02	24.2%	60.1%
65	Ball Corp.	12,951	3.64	0.00	12.6%	45.6%
66	Air Products & Chemicals	12,942	0.81	1.46	20.7%	52.8%
67	Cargill	12,891	4.72	0.00	15.8%	35.2%
68	Exelon Corp.	11,952	0.37	0.00	14.4%	38.0%
69	Edison International	11,927	7.95	0.00	13.6%	40.8%
70	DTE Energy	11,512	16.33	0.10	14.5%	35.5%
71	Panasonic Corp.	11,249	0.02	0.00	12.1%	54.4%
72	General Dynamics	11,214	0.47	0.07	19.2%	67.8%
73	Akzo Nobel	10,801	0.57	0.36	23.5%	57.4%
74	Suncor Energy Inc.	10,766	0.07	0.00	11.2%	41.2%
75	NewPage	10,733	8.47	0.00	10.9%	7.1%
76	TECO Energy Inc.	9,569	1.38	0.00	12.4%	34.2%
77	National Grid	9,377	0.37	0.00	13.9%	49.4%
78	Masco Corp.	9,053	2.37	0.10	11.2%	19.5%
79	Syngenta AG	8,941	0.30	1.22	16.1%	62.6%
80	Marathon Oil Corp.	8,720	1.53	0.23	13.9%	35.4%
81	Berkshire Hathaway	8,665	9.09	0.07	12.9%	35.3%
82	Chevron Corp.	8,654	3.73	0.11	17.8%	62.9%
83	Lubrizol Corp.	8,487	0.15	0.21	7.9%	23.3%
84	Smurfit-Stone Container	8,361	15.13	0.01	11.3%	31.6%
85	Saint-Gobain Corp.	8,273	1.97	0.07	15.2%	38.1%
86	Cemex	8,270	0.53	0.00	43.3%	87.0%
87	Crown Holdings Inc.	7,750	3.14	0.00	13.9%	34.7%
88	Evraz Group	7,393	0.01	0.00	18.5%	44.3%
89	ThyssenKrupp Group	7,352	0.40	0.00	9.7%	20.7%
90	Cabot Corp.	7,243	0.89	0.00	11.1%	13.9%
91	Domtar Corp.	6,947	7.34	0.00	13.1%	17.0%
92	Stanley Works	6,824	0.10	0.00	9.3%	29.1%
93	PPL Corp.	6,776	12.11	0.00	7.8%	13.4%
94	United Technologies Corp. (UTC)	6,763	0.09	0.00	9.8%	34.1%
95	MDU Resources Group	6,706	0.26	0.00	30.7%	69.0%
96	Caterpillar Inc.	6,572	0.31	0.00	12.8%	25.1%
97	Pepco Holdings Inc.	6,557	1.88	0.00	12.7%	35.9%
98	3M Co.	6,490	2.73	10.20	11.0%	27.6%
99	Ameren Corp.	6,465	6.93	0.00	8.9%	19.0%
100	Biomet, Inc.	6,459	0.00	0.00	12.3%	47.4%

http://www.peri.umass.edu/toxic_index/

            This is a chart from the website http://www.peri.umass.edu/toxic_index/. This shows two things; one is the top one hundred polluters in the country of the US and also how much toxins each industry produces. This contributes to the greenhouse gasses that are not naturally made in the greenhouse gas effect. The greenhouse gasses that are made mostly seems to be carbon dioxide (CO2) and sulfur (S). It is bad enough that these industries are making toxins, but what’s even worse is that the toxins released into the air is measured by the millions and on top of that the choice of incineration is not made by the majority of the companies. It might be a bad idea to incinerate, but it does reduce the amount of toxins entering the air.

            Most of the toxins by the chart (if I am reading this right) are mainly affecting the minority portion of the US, but questionably the poor portions of the US are barely affected by the toxins. What puzzles me is the top toxin producer is Bayer Group. The group that makes most medicines for the US yeah is the most toxins. That is an unbelievable thing to think that a medical supplement company would release toxins into the air.

            What I think should be done is have the cap and trade program be placed on all of these industries. If you don’t know what cap and trade is, cap and trade is a program type situation where companies that reaches its limit on how much toxins they can produce that enters the air or surrounding areas then they can trade or buy from another company that hasn’t get to their limits. Another way to reduce the amount of toxins entering the air is to have filters. The filters won’t get all of the toxins out of the air but it will slow down how much is entering the air and surrounding areas. Another thing is to get the government involved to give the companies and industries publicity to promote them into doing a good job in protecting the surrounding area around them. Or go at it the other way and punish the industries and companies for not caring for the health of the environment or humans that breathe the air and live in the area that surround it. I can’t really think of anything that could help stop or slow down the toxin releases, but the ideas I provided are very useful in reducing the pollution releases.

            I truly don’t think that there will be any improvement to the system the industries go by unless somehow the public was to know about this list. What I mean by this is that everyone would have availability to it even without computers. I have a feeling if the government were to get involve there would be some major changes to how much toxins were being produced. I feel like the government will soon get involved if more and more people found out about this list and complained till the point that the government won’t plan out anything they’ll just do what the people want.