No Solution Concerning the Mystery of Sea Lion Pups Washing Ashore

This past weekend I was able to spend some time with my mother and sister attempting to plan out our future family vacation after my twin brother graduates from college. We went from going to Fiesta Texas in San Antonio to visiting the Carlsbad Caverns and finally ended with a goal to go to South Padre Island. I was very excited because the last time I saw the ocean off a Texas Coast was when I was super little. We made plans to go scuba diving and spear fishing on our trip. So as to continue with the ocean excitement with planning the family vacation, I decided to try and find and environmental issue concerning the ocean. I went to the National Geographic website, clicked on the habitat tab under the Environment label and the article that caught my attention the most had a picture of 3 baby sea lions with the word "Mystery" in the title article. As I am a fan of mystery novels and problem solving, my curiosity was peaked as I clicked on the article and began to read about the mystery surrounding the starving sea lion pups.

 

Off the coast of Sausalito, California, for the third year in a row, there are sea lion pups washing up on the shore, very emaciated and starving. The arrival of these sea lion pups began occurring three years ago but has since worsened the quantity of sea lion pups washing up barely alive or dead. Scientists look at this event and the increasing severity of it and are worried about the ocean’s health. Scientists feared that there could possibly be a new disease or environmental toxin, but ruled those possibilities out as no other forms of sea life seem to be effected. Scientists believe that one of three options could possibly the reason why the sea lion cubs are washing ashore. The first option is that the population of fish that the mother sea lions feed on to then feed the pups is diminishing which results in the mother having to go further out into the sea to find them. As a result, the pups waiting for the mother to return starve to death or leave the sanctity of their home to look for food for themselves. The second option is that the population of sea lions has grown too large, resulting in a battle of the fittest among sea lions. The third option is a result of massive, persistent patch of warm ocean water that has begun to mess with the ecosystems. Scientists are continuing to look into the cause of the but have yet to pin point the exact cause of the mysterious ecosystem disturbance.

As I read this article, I was thinking in my mind what they could possibly do to find a solution but all the issues I thought it could be were mentioned and upon further study require further investigation. Only time will tell what exactly is causing the sea lion pups to come to shore but until then, I am glad that they have marine care centers to help nurse the pup back to health as they teach it how to fish before returning it to the wild.

Article Link:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/02/150211-sea-lions-pups-stranding-starving-california/

No Gambling Over Corral Reefs

As I was searching through YouTube for some popular videos to watch as I waited to go into work. An annoying paid advertising popped up that as everyone knows, I was forced to watch. As the advertising began, it showed various pictures of marine life and beautiful underwater vegetation with all variety of fish one can imagine. About half way through the video, the music went from happy music to slow and abrupt music. The video began to show pictures of dead marine life and dead marine vegetation. It didn't say the cause of the horrific pictures but at the end of the video, a message popped up on the screen inviting me to learn more. I'll admit that I did not go to the website but instead decided to look up an article related to the video. So I went to the National geographic website and typed in marine life and found an interesting article about Miami's marine life and how it was going to be destoyed. I clicked on the article title Miami's Choice: Bigger Ships or Corral Reefs?, and was surprised to see that beneath the title, was a video. On all the previous articles I've read concerning environmental issues, it's always been pictures. The video really helped to make the message from the article make a greater impact. The video only lasts a little more than two minutes but presents you with their argument concerning the sedimentation and loss of coral reef life due to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredging.

The article goes on to describe how as a result of possibly bigger cargo ships passing through the widening Panama Canal, the city of Miami is widening it's shipping channel through dredging. The dredging or widening of the canal will cost the city around $210 million and result in the death of many sea algae, coral and marine life that feed of the coral and algae. The very reef that the city of Miami is ruining has served as a habitat for diverse marine life, a natural buffer against rising seas and a $6 billion economic engine. Just based on the money value as presented, it doesn't make since to spend $210 million to destroy something that is worth $6 billion as is. However, the city of Miami States that the new enlarged shipping channel will result in 30,000 new jobs and make Miami the first post-panamax port South of Virginia. To make the situation all the more nonsensical, there is a great possibility that big cargo ships they're preparing to recieve will not even use their port. The ships could easily the bypass the Miami port due to the less profitable cost of having to ship the goods over land instead of over water. Its a very bad gamble what they are doing to the corral reef that will most likely not turn out in their favor in the end. However, they continue to dredge along, excitingly awaiting it's completion and possible revenue. It appears that potential for revenue outweighs the damage to the corral reef and the possibility of losing marine life.  The Corp along with various organizations have begun to relocate parts of the coral reef so as to preserve them but with little success. The reefs are either just not taking to their new relocated area or they are covered in sediments as a result of the nearby dredging and are suffocating to death. It is a very sad situation that even after being shown all the consequences of their actions, that they continue to pursue it. Scientists know that it is almost impossible to halt dredging activities like the one in Miami or underwater oil drilling that help to build America's economy but only hope to recieve more time to be able to save more marine life from the mankind's economic construction. I feel that If we are willing to sacrifice the corral reef on a possibility of future economic growth, we can then sacrifice the immediate implementation of said plans in order to allow for scientists to find a way to save as much of the habitat and it's inhabitant's as possible.

Original Article:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/02/150226-miami-biscayne-bay-florida-coral-dredging-channels-environment/

Time Stamp for Elephants: No Time to Talk

Earlier today, as I was going through my Facebook feed, I came across a post about how there are elephants being used to track down the scent of TNT. So I clicked on it and it took me to a page by the Huffington Post where the subtitle was “scientists are attempting to study and produce a smelling machine comparable with the smelling ability of an elephant.” It was an intriguing title and so I read the article and at the end, I noticed pictures of elephant body parts with the title, “Scaling up war on Elephant Poaching.” Being a guy, the dismemberment of anything is a curious and requires further investigation so I clicked on the link where I was then shown a more subtle photo of a baby elephant and its mother together. The article at first glance was filled with pictures of elephants that drew me in at the beginning. After looking at all the pictures, It was then that I began to read the article.

The article was about how WCS, or Wildlife Conservation Society and their conservation partners who were pushing to begin to end the poaching of wild elephants. It presented some pretty staggering statistics concerning the 60 – 70% population decline in almost all the elephant species due to the illegal organized crime networks and their kingpins who are profiting from the illegal trade of ivory that is harvested from elephants. No matter how much they try to scale up the security, the poaching of elephants will continue as long as the crime syndicates are able to work through corrupt officials of the countries law enforcement. Just in the time span of 3 years, from 2009 – 20012, over 100,000 elephants were killed illegally. A meeting was held between the representatives of 20 governments – including U.S., UK, France, China, Vietnam and more in order to make plans and carry out the passing of laws in order to save the elephants. No decision or discussion was actually made about the issue due to the other issues discussed during the meeting. Feeling the angst and frustration of the author of the article, he then makes known what would have happened if they did;

1) Governments would begin to train new and old rangers more efficiently through increased anti-poaching work on-the-ground, by means of increased funding through governments and agencies.

2) A greater emphasis in the search for and conviction of the crime syndicates, their king pins, and the corrupt law enforcement or government leaders who permit it.

3) The demand for ivory must be reduced in countries where it is sold, that way the supply demanded will decrease as well as close the illegal ivory markets for good.

It was very disappointing to me that when I read that a meeting was held to discuss the issue but nothing was done. What did they do, run out of time to talk about the issue that has a time stamp on it already? I’m in total agreement with the author of the article when he says that “the shortsightedness with which corruption is tolerated will, if left unabated, result over time in the loss of one of Africa’s most revered and iconic species” (Lieberman). It is time now to implement the plans to reduce the poaching now and not wait till later. By acting now, it will only improve the chance of Africa’s elephant population to recover and to ensure that the majestic animal remains a part of the heritage. I believe that the three summarized actions described by the author are great starts to solving the elephant poaching problem. The efforts they make to educate their rangers, in bringing the king pins and their crime syndicates as well as their corrupt governmental cohorts to justice and the invitation to all governments to stop the illegal trade/market of ivory in their countries are necessary steps to save the elephant population. The poaching of elephants and the decline in their population will not end by simply talking about it, but instead they need to take action so that healing and recovery of the elephant population can begin. There is a time stamp on the elephant population and there is no time for governments to continue to talk about it, the issue is known all too well so its time to do something about it.

Original Article Link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-lieberman-phd/scaling-up-the-war-on-elephant-poaching_b_6948764.html

One Nations Trash is one's Nation Energy Supply

This last week, as the temperature outside began to near freezing, my family and I began to use our fireplace in order to heat the house. So we began to take papers that we had accumulated over the year from school classes and useless mail in order to start the fire. This was the only way I had ever tried to convert trash into energy, and it interested me when I was looking in the Guardian website for an article to read and write about that this one was one of the top stories. There were links for other websites, invitations to join the website as well as other various environmental articles but this one with its title and picture enticed me to click on it and the moment I opened the Web page, the title compelled me to read it more  and the image helped me get a better picture of exactly how much trash they were referring too and what that meant for the future and the production of Biofuel.

The article I read was about using industry waste, farm trash and household garbage in order to create biofuel as an alternate fuel. I believe this would a great idea instead of just further piling up trash upon trash in dumping zones, the trash we use can be used to benefit our economy instead being a burden. Also, with the increased production of this biofuel, it will help the United Kingdom economy by providing over 36,000 jobs to the country. This article was based in Europe and so the improvements don't necessarily involve the United States or where I leave but I believe that this change in the way waste us used can be simply the start. Like a rippling effect when you drop a stone in a pond.  Not only that, but based on predictions from the report, this conversion of waste into Biofuel will save around 37 metric tons of oil use annual by 2030. I wasn't sure what exactly that meant so I decided to look up a visual and was shocked by how much we would be saving. It's like saying that we could save 37 adult elephants from dying for simply using biofuel than normal fuel. As if just those two statistics weren't great enough reasons to support these policy changes in the UK, the International Council on Clean Transportation also states that by doing this, it could replace 16% of the continent road transport fuel in the same year. This number may not seem impressive but I believe every little bit counts and that some percent of change and improvement is better than none. I believe that these statistics and possibilities of improvement not only economically but environmentally would be worth any sacrifice but many European People's Party (EPP) believe that the proposed goals are too ambitious. That they won't be accomplished in the time given, but the pro-thinkers and supporters state that the technology for reaching the goal is out there and created, it only simply must be utilized. I'm not sure why such a a proposal hasn't been presented here in the United States. But then I think about it and how much companies in United States are not very environmentally conscious. And in order to be so, these big companies might have to make changes to their policy and re-examine ways in which they carry out the production of their products. I was not a big fan of how this article and it's information was presented because alot of the information I read was more discussion than what really has happened. It spoke about the possible results of the changes but not necessarily how they were going to make the changes or what specific details in the proposal were so hard for the opposers to accept. In the article it is mentioned that neither party was going to accept the mutual agreement over the production and use of biofuel but did not really explain what mutual agreement was created, what it entailed,  and why create one if neither side likes the mutual agreement. I did enjoy reading the article but I believe that it could of been expanded more into details about the proposal and maybe some history on what they had done prior.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/17/biofuel-from-trash-could-create-green-jobs-bonanza-says-report

Marine Ecosystem vs. Trashed Ocean

I recently read an article about the environmental problem of trash and plastic that is beginning to become a hazard for the Marine life as well as for us humans. The amount of trash that is accumulating in our oceans is beginning to match the amount of fish. Scientists in the article claim that the amount of plastic in the water is beginning to warm the temperature of our oceans. Solutions are presented in the article such as reusing raw materials in order to make new reusable goods. The only problem is that the hassle to recycle for people and the cost is more than many countries or people are willing to commit to. So scientists are working together in order to find a better way to recycle them for a cheaper amount. They also propose the issue of our trash being harmful to the Marine ecosystem and how our oceans water should be valuable and precious to us than the oil we sometimes spill in it. I was impressed and surprised by this article not for the issue but because I had no idea the issue of liter and our ocean sea life was getting to a devastating point. It's almost impossible to think that there will be almost as much trash in the ocean, if we continue on this path, as there are fish in the oceans. I used to work at Petsmart and I do remember the importance of keeping the water clean and how pertinent and constant the temperature needed to be in order to keep fish alive. If all the trash were dumping or losing in the ocean is causing the temperature to go up, then we will begin to see dead Sea life in our future. I think it would be a great cause to pull our resources together to figure out this littering problem that is causing a marine ecosystem problem. We are all part of nature, part of an ever running ecosystem and if we mess that up, there's no telling what the consequences could be.

I found this article on the website "the Guardian" under the environmental tab of the Web page. On the same Web page that I found this article, I also saw many other articles that had to deal with the environmental issues that are plaguing our world today. The article was written by Jo Confino, and sponsored by Grundfos ,a company that sales water purification devices and studies our plants water supply.



The very first thing I noticed once I clicked the article was the plastic bag in the ocean with fish. This made a pretty good argument for a saying I remember from elementary school that says "one of these things just doesn't belong here." And to me it's pretty evident what thing is and that it has become an issue that needs to be solved. There was also advertisements for the joining up with groups to save the earth and signing in as member of the Guardian website. There were even links to other pressing stories The Guardian felt were pertinent to readers. It was a great read and would highly recommend those who are worried about our planet and demand that those not that so worried to read this article and become aware of a real problem in our world that needs to be addressed sooner because there might not be a later.

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/jan/26/plastic-oceans-environment-waste-recycling-fish

Instagram Account

Here is my Instagram account where I posted the photos for my Place Narrative and Photo Essay.

http://www.instagram.com/keyalexander/

About Me....

Hi, my name is Alexander Key but my friends call me Alex, I am a senior at Texas Christian University studying to get my bachelor's degree in Spanish and Education. I am 24 years old and live a decent house with my twin brother Spencer, who looks nothing like me and my older brother Joseph. I am currently working 3 jobs on top of being a full time student. I work as a high school wrestling referee, an ESL tutor for 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade students at an elementary school in my city and I work as a party host supervisor at Main Event Entertainment. I do the best I can to balance all 3 jobs, classes, school work while trying to maintain a decent Social life and relationship with an amazing young woman. I'm pretty Social and love to meet new people, I smile a lot which can sometimes creep people out and I'm a very happy optimistic individual. I enjoy finding the best in all situations and believe that life is going to be hard enough on us that there is no need for me to add to it or go looking for it.