created by angelina fillmore
period 2. environmental science

• NASA: Global Climate Change, Vital Signs of the Planet

• Playing Ball with a Changing Climate

• Climate Change and Poverty Facts

Summary:

NASA provides this article with a complete breakdown of what exactly is happening with global climate change. In the article/website, it starts off with the evidence of climate change, explaining all the effects that are happening presently. Such as global temperature rise, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets, glacial retreats, decreased snow covers, rising sea levels, declining arctic sheet ice, extreme weather events, and last but not least ocean acidification. Given by the article, "The current warming trend is of particular significance because most of it is extremely likely (greater than 95 percent probability) to be the result of human activity since the mid-20th century and proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented over decades to millennia." meaning, the huge source of these global climate problems are most probably due to us. It is later stated that the long term effects will continue to affect us if there is no action taken.

Why I Chose It:This is the first article I am going to read, just because I wanted to gain background knowledge on Climate Change before jumping into different climate change articles. I thought this article would be a good idea to start off with because it showed how climate change has taken effect globally; and the statistics behind it. The website provided visual graphs to show how the current global crises continues to severe.

Analysis:Taking that NASA is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, it is provided that the source is to be reliable. The team of scientists there collect the data and share it with the publishers of the website.

Summary:

Global Warming has become such an issue that many baseball fans, and even the officials have begun contemplating between weather the Baseball seasoned should be moved earlier or later into the year. This is due to the fact that certain areas in the United States undergo higher temperatures in longer and unusual periods of time. A stadium for the Texas Rangers, built in 1994 will no longer be used due to the fact that it is outdoors. The new stadium that will be built will have to be indoors and with an air conditioning system to avoid teams playing in unplayable weather. Not only is this affecting baseball in the U.S, but it is also affecting the Olympic Games in Japan in 2020. The Olympics are originally supposed to be held in Tokyo, but was later moved to a city called Sapporo (a place where the winter Olympics were held once) in concerns of the weather being too hot for the runners.

Why I Chose It:While scrolling through this website, I came across this article. It piqued my interested because it talked about baseball, which I am a fan of personally. I thought it was interesting about how Climate Change is affecting the sports we know and love due to the extreme temperatures brought up.

Analysis:I believe this is a reliable source because it comes from an organization that helps provide funds to different companies in support of finding new and innovative ways to be renewable and sustainable.

Summary:

Climate Change has been negatively affecting third world countries. It is estimated that 250,000 people will die of climate change related problems at 2030. The problems include rising sea levels, which will destroy homes and people who rely on their businesses by the sea. It will cause longer droughts and extreme weather, which ruins crop yields and increases famine. According to the Article, 3 in 4 people in third world countries rely on agriculture to provide for themselves rather than working at a profitable job. Climate change is a problem that we all must take action on. The amount of problems it will create for these countries is not right, the countries need to grow but we are not allowing them to because primary countries keep using resources and polluting, preventing the third world countries to improve upon themselves.

Why I Chose it:The reminder that there are poorer countries, and that people are living below the poverty line is not the greatest one. In my opinion it isn't just of primary countries to not allow these lower countries to grow and build up for themselves. I wanted to see exactly the consequences we as more fortunate people are not taking, and instead throwing it upon the less fortunate people to deal with.

Analysis:The article comes from the Mercy Corps organization, so it is assumed that the source is reliable. The author of the article wishes to give the details and facts about those living in poverty have to deal with as Climate Change becomes a growing issue.

• How the World’s Poorer Countries Breathe Worse Air

• Pollution Causing Stunning Sunsets

• How long it takes for plastic to Biodegrade

Summary:
In the article, it informed readers about how plastic "Biodegrades" they say biodegrades as a term, but that really isn't the calling for decomposing plastic. Biodegration only occurs when bacteria break down the object, however since plastic is mainly made of petroleum, bacteria does not break it down. The only way for plastic to be broken down is by the sun's UV lights. Even then, the plastic is not fully broken down, it's just in smaller pieces. And when the smaller pieces are floating in the ocean, it can become polluted with the toxins that come from plastic. Posing a threat to humans and sea life that come into a contact. In general, plastic should not be used, or in oceans ;-; It takes over 10-1000 years for plastic to "biodegrade".

Why I chose the Article:
Ever since I Love a Clean San Diego came in, it peaked my interest about how actually polluted our world is with trash, and to a concerning point. It opened my eyes a bit to see the "trash islands" and how much bottle caps were inside the dead albatross.

Analysis:
This Article relates a lot with the crisis; pollution, and how plastics are a problematic factor of pollution. The article educates readers with the subject of the article's title.

Summary:
During the fires up in the midwest, around 2015, pollution throughout the air in places such as Montana were high, and with that it was noticed that sunsets looked more vibrant during that time. More shades of red were recorded other than the regular shades of pink, orange and indigo. A team of researchers looked into the cause, and it was found that when the sun is parallel across the horizon, the suns rays hit more air and pollution particles than when it is directly above us in the sky. When the sun is parallel, it hits the pollution particles, which cancel out more blue light waves, and allow more red light waves to show.

Why I chose the Article:
I was searching up pollution and sunsets came up in the suggestions, so I chose to read whatever article to google search offered. I thought it was really cool how pollution can affect how a sunset really looks like. Even though pollution is thought to be a negative thing, it produces something beautiful. Scary but beautiful haha.

Analysis:
This relates especially to apes because we are currently learning about non-renewable sources and how it emitts most of the greenhouse gasses into the ozone layer. The amount of air pollution can contribute to how sunsets look, which is surprisng.

Summary:

Pollution can not only be in the form of trash and waste products, but also as fumes. Air pollution is a serious concern for developing countries. According to the article, there are a recorded 3 million deaths per year due to respiratory problems caused by air pollution. And the places where the most polluted air is found are in countries located in Eastern Asia and nearby the Arabian Peninsula. Though many of the developing countries in this area have pledged to the Paris Agreement, countries such as India have a hard time keeping air pollution to a minimum. This is due to the fact that India's economy revolves around the extraction of coal. As well as other countries such as Indonesia who rely on Agriculture for their economy; where slash and burn methods are practiced.
Why I Chose It:As seen with my other article in the Climate Change section, I've an interest in how third world countries are affected in this mess. It relates a lot to environmental science.
AnalysisThe author, Max, comes from the Washington Post, so his main goal is to inform his readers/audience the issue of air pollution, and how it is affecting poorer countries.

• Paris Agreement: Negotiations and Agreements

• Climate Tax

• Turning Waste Into A Renewable Source

• Turning Disaster into an Opportunity for Flood Resilience

SUMMARY:

In this article, Britannica explains the ideals and goals of the Paris Agreement. Summarizing the article, the original goals of the Paris Agreement is to reduce the amount of Carbon Dioxide released by every country in order to prevent the Earth from reach the 2 degrees Celsius mark. This would have worked, however if the top two emitting countries have joined the agreement. China and the United States of America have refused to sign the agreement, as well as a smaller country on the Arabian Peninsula. This makes the Paris Agreement rather complicated with those countries not participating, however both countries have been trying to create ways in which their Carbon Footprints can be reduced. Such as China investing more money into renewable energy and electric cars, and America creating environmental acts. In all, the Paris Agreement was made in attempt to lower emissions released into the atmosphere in order to prevent the Earth from reaching the tipping point.

Why I Chose It:I wanted to gain some background knowledge on the Paris Agreement as well. I remember during the 2016 Election, after Trump became president that he did not sign the Paris Agreement. This has a lot of negative effects because America is one of the top emitters of greenhouse gasses. It has a lot to do with environmental science. The Paris Agreement was made in hopes to prevent the 2 degree tipping point from being reached. However with the top 2 emitting countries not in agreement, it seems at odds.

Analysis:Britannica's main reason of posting articles is to inform people, it's basically a better version of Wikipedia. The whole article created however, was to explain the Paris Agreement and put it into detail for it's audience.

Summary:

In this article, it explains the use of Climate Tax, where governments tax companies that use smock stacks and emit green house gasses. According to the article," A 2017 study estimates a tax of $49 per metric ton of carbon dioxide could raise about $2.2 trillion in net revenues over 10 years from 2019 to 2028," governments who implement this tax will not only profit from the emissions given out, but it will discourage companies from producing products that emit gasses into the air, providing a smaller solution for reducing climate change. Many different countries have already considered implementing a tax, as well as the United States is considering it as well.

Why I Chose It:I remember hearing somewhere about climate taxes being considered in America, however I was unsure. So I searched it up to learn more about what a climate tax is, and how it could benefit us. It turns out it is an economically smart way to discourage large companies from producing products that emit plenty of green house gasses. And that America has talked about it. But many countries have already implemented Climate Tax.

Analysis:I believe this is a reliable source because it comes from an organization that helps provide funds to different companies in support of finding new and innovative ways to be renewable and sustainable.

Summary:

This article begins in Washington DC, where a waste plant back in 2015 was trying to make repairs to their facility. Until one worker came up with the idea of creating a renewable way of creating power within the power plant. The whole idea was to use the waste products; or the solids collected from the water, and compact it together, clean it and turn the waste into Methane. To where the Methane can be used as a gas to a source of energy. According to the article, once the project was launched, the energy harnessed from the methane was enough to power a third of the plant! Creating an economic and environmentally sustainable way of producing energy!
Why I Chose It:The whole idea of using human waste fascinated me when i first read the title! I was taken by it and clicked it right away. The person who created this idea has my respect. It is a resourceful way of creating energy and to keep the amount of electricity needed for the treatment plants lowered!
AnalysisI believe this is a reliable source because it comes from an organization that helps provide funds to different companies in support of finding new and innovative ways to be renewable and sustainable. The Author's purpose was to inform readers about how someone in a water treatment plant located in Washington DC thought of an innovative way to create energy.

Summary:

People in New Jersey were experiencing flooding after the terrible Hurricane Sandy. The City of Hoboken had to borrow money from the Government to pay for storm damages. However, the city figured out a sustainable way to reduce the amount of flooding if ever a natural disaster were to occur again. The idea was to create a park and a parking garage, while under the garage held a storm drain facility and a smart way to drain water with the "Resilience Park" that they have invested on, "one-acre park in the southwestern corner of the city that will be the first resilience park with integrated green infrastructure in New Jersey. The once asphalt-covered site is being replaced with rain gardens, shade tree pits, porous pavers, a cistern for rainwater harvesting, and an underground retention system to reduce storm water run-off and localized flooding." The whole idea was to keep cost effective and sustainable with the usage of flood water, to where it could be recycled.

Why I Chose It:I came across this article while look at a website containing many resolutions that many cities have taken action on. This one seemed to take my interest. The title caught me, I was curious about how they could turn a "disaster" into a form of environmental resilience.
Analysis:I believe this is a reliable source because it comes from an organization that helps provide funds to different companies in support of finding new and innovative ways to be renewable and sustainable. The Author's purpose was to inform readers about how a city in New Jersey took part in an act to create a renewable source of energy and a resourceful way to collect water.