New! The Next Frontier for Climate Activism: College Investments
On December 11, 2012, a presentation was made to argue for college investments in clean energy and a decrease in pollution at all costs. With the extension of the Kyoto Protocol, college students are realizing they need to convince their universities that they need to chose clean energy investments rather than unclean energy. It's being called "divestment", which has actually worked in the past to stop investments in apartheid-era South Africa. The students are trying to create a change and it will most likely work. But, a dangerous and consecutive $400 billion of college endowments has been made. This could affect the schools and the economy; that's a lot of money. But this fight isn't so much about money as it is about the health of the environment. Students have also shown the morality of divesting in oil, gas, and coal companies. Hopefully their plan will work!
The students are making a difference and that's awesome! I really think the next generation will the help the environment needs. It's suffering and they grew up helping to save the planet. We know that it's part of our duty to our society to save, and we all want to be heroes. I think the students' plan will be successful because it's worked in the past. You know what they say: History repeats itself!
The students are making a difference and that's awesome! I really think the next generation will the help the environment needs. It's suffering and they grew up helping to save the planet. We know that it's part of our duty to our society to save, and we all want to be heroes. I think the students' plan will be successful because it's worked in the past. You know what they say: History repeats itself!
New! Clean and green: How to make laundry rooms ecofriendlier-- and healthier
When the federal government got rid of phosphates in laundry detergent in 2009, health records started looking up. The phosphates were ultimately causing "endocrine-disrupting estrogen mimics". Bleach is also to be avoided because is releases toxic chemicals onto clothes, which can later be distributed to skin, and into water which is drained and can emit into the air. So detergent is a major factor in transforming your laundry room into a more ecofriendly place. Some that are suggested are from BioKleen, Mountain Green, Seventh Generation, and Planet. Check out your local superstore and find these!
Also, ditch the fabric softener. As surprising as it sounds, dryer sheets or liquid can eventually cause cancer because they release toxic chemicals. A new alternative that is suggested is the simple vinegar. By adding just 3/4ths of a cup of vinegar to your final rinse cycle will make your clothes super soft. Of course, investing in a new washer and dryer would be sublime, too, but not everyone can always afford it.
It is so important to become more green. The world is slowly becoming more ecofriendly. We've come to our senses and gotten educated about the issues, but in order to make a difference, we all need to get involved. It's not as hard as it was, so hurry to reduce, reuse, and recycle, and become as paperless as possible. Oh, and turn out the lights!
Also, ditch the fabric softener. As surprising as it sounds, dryer sheets or liquid can eventually cause cancer because they release toxic chemicals. A new alternative that is suggested is the simple vinegar. By adding just 3/4ths of a cup of vinegar to your final rinse cycle will make your clothes super soft. Of course, investing in a new washer and dryer would be sublime, too, but not everyone can always afford it.
It is so important to become more green. The world is slowly becoming more ecofriendly. We've come to our senses and gotten educated about the issues, but in order to make a difference, we all need to get involved. It's not as hard as it was, so hurry to reduce, reuse, and recycle, and become as paperless as possible. Oh, and turn out the lights!
Are Heat Records Performance-Enhancing?
Baseball's talent range has changed drastically in the past decade. There have been a variety of logic submitted such as the size of the strike zone, composition of the baseballs, dimensions of the ballparks, frailty of the pitchers, etc. But what nobody has really considered before: steroids. Something similar is happening to the weather. Heat records are growing more and more as the year goes along. July of this year could possibly be the hottest month ever in history. St. Louis for example has had a eleven days in a row that have read 105 degrees this season. But why? USA Today suggests the world is getting hotter because of the greenhouse gases up in the atmosphere that's keeping all the heat inside. Meteorologist Martin Hoerling says, just like steroids make a baseball get hit to the bleachers instead of in the foul line, the earth in heating up, but only ever so slightly. It has increased so much in the past couple years because of the greenhouse gases that are being released constantly. Hoerling blames global warming. Some countries need to work on their emissions more than others, like China and India, because more factories are located there. Researchers are afraid that if action is not taken soon, this increasing heat may be the new normal for generations to come.
I like how the article related the weather to baseball. It helped me understand it more, but that might be because I know baseball like the back of my hand. I thought their theory was interesting. I knew that greenhouse gas emissions have been going up every year, and I knew that they were causing global warming, but I understand the process now. I did not know that heat records are increasing at an alarming rate. But that can't be good for the earth, especially the agricultural industry.
I like how the article related the weather to baseball. It helped me understand it more, but that might be because I know baseball like the back of my hand. I thought their theory was interesting. I knew that greenhouse gas emissions have been going up every year, and I knew that they were causing global warming, but I understand the process now. I did not know that heat records are increasing at an alarming rate. But that can't be good for the earth, especially the agricultural industry.
Nations Agree to Slow Biodiversity Loss
Climate is getting a lot of attention these days. Over the years, we've forgotten all about our original environmental problem that we're all concerned about: endangered species. Even though the government promised, way back in 2002, to decrease the rate of animals dying in the next eight years, the time came and went and the count has gone up instead of down. Causes? There are several - invasive species, habitat loss, hunting, and the crazy climate change. Despite this, 2010 did have people hoping for change. Countries met together at the Convention on Biological Diversity in Japan and vowed to "expand the percentage of the world's land and water under some form of protection to 17 percent and 10 percent, respectively, while promising to work again to cut the loss of species". Time Magazine.
We'll see whether the government comes through with their pledge, but I kind of doubt it. They've not done it before so what makes people think they'll do it now? I believe that because endangered species has not been getting as much attention as it used to, the government is not so concerned with it, even though it's still a pressing issue. But who knows, maybe they will help out those poor animals by protecting more water and land for them to live in. We need those species! They were put here for a reason so let's not get rid of them.
We'll see whether the government comes through with their pledge, but I kind of doubt it. They've not done it before so what makes people think they'll do it now? I believe that because endangered species has not been getting as much attention as it used to, the government is not so concerned with it, even though it's still a pressing issue. But who knows, maybe they will help out those poor animals by protecting more water and land for them to live in. We need those species! They were put here for a reason so let's not get rid of them.
Vocabulary
gigaton - unit of explosive force equal to that of one billion tons of TNT
global warming -the rise in the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans since the late 19th century and its projected continuation
ozone layer - a layer in Earth's atmosphere containing relatively high concentrations of ozone
endangered - of a species; seriously at risk of extinction
extinction - process of a species, family, or larger group becoming extinct, or dying off
global warming -the rise in the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans since the late 19th century and its projected continuation
ozone layer - a layer in Earth's atmosphere containing relatively high concentrations of ozone
endangered - of a species; seriously at risk of extinction
extinction - process of a species, family, or larger group becoming extinct, or dying off