Environment:Science & Policy

An environmental issue that interest me is genetically modified food. This has always been interesting to me because I have always wondered what were some of the benefits of having genetically modified food and what were the possible problems from it. From the article VisionLaunch , it talks about both the pros and cons of having GMOs. It states that genetically modified food were made to be able to withstand harsh weather and help the crops grow faster. However, this can affect the soil that these GMO crops grow from and can eventually lead to it not being able to produce more crops. From this article, it does not talk about what changes and policies are being done for GMO use, but I feel as though there needs to be better control of it. There should be a way for crops that are not being controlled by GMOs to not feel an impact from them. Scientist also need to find a way to genetically modify food without causing the soil to lose the nutrients it needs to continue growing other crops...

Awareness of the harm of single-use plastics on the environment has increased, but items such as plastic bags commonly used at the grocery store still threaten many species and their habitats. My home state, New Jersey, has launched various initiatives to end the use of these bags. So far, over 24 municipalities and one county ban businesses from distributing plastic bags. While many of the state’s lawmakers push for a statewide ban, another policy which would have imposed a 5-cent fee on such single-use plastic items was vetoed by Governor Phil Murphy. Most environmental groups feel taxes of this sort do very little to discourage use of the bags, and instead advocate for bans or alternatives like reusable bags. It is extremely interesting to observe the political nature of environmental issues. Different lobbying groups have different priorities, and legislators disagree on which policies are best. At the end of the day, there are pros and cons to each option, and the government mus...

Although it has boosted the oil industry, fracking seems to be one of the most pressing environmental issues in our world right now. Fracking is a method of oil and natural gas extraction that involves injecting fluid into rock formations at high pressure. When energy companies choose to use fracking in search of oil and natural gas they have guidelines in place to avoid contamination of drinking water near the location that fracking is taking place. However, the public is not aware of what fracking really is and not much research has been done to observe the effects of the method for extracting natural gas. In a more in-depth definition from the Independent Petroleum Association of America,  Fracking is the injection of water and materials such as sand at extreme pressure to cause small breaks within the rock formation to make it easier for oil that is deeper in the ground can be extracted safely. (IPAA)  Environmental laws have been developed to address issues includi...

In our group, one of the most compelling fact that we found is the malpractice among the climate scientists. Specifically, the manipulation of the peer review process. In addition, the eroded public trust in climate scientist. This is made worse when activist scientists are trying to manipulate scientific information to their advantage.  The Freedom of Information Act is highly relevant to the Climategate controversy. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows for public access of information provided by federal agencies. According to the Freedom of Information Act website, “Federal agencies are required to disclose any information requested under the FOIA unless it falls under one of nine exemptions which protect interests such as personal privacy, national security, and law enforcement.” This helps furthermore integrate scientific research and data to the public and may prevent the spread of misinformation and scandal. Through the lens of the climategate controversy, this ...

Write about an environmental issue that interests you. Please give context, what steps are being taken (if any), and what are your policy recommendations. How do these issues relate to class? Cite sources (you will lose points if you don't)

What did you find most compelling about Climate Gate? How relevant is the Freedom of Information Act to climate gate?

Climate change is revolutionizing the world we live in. Previously, humans lived a life where their actions had few environmental repercussions (at least they thought so). But, with recent science showing the detrimental effects we are having to our earth, it is clear to see the humans are quickly being threatened by our own actions. One major detriment of climate change is the melting of ice sheets and ice caps in the arctic. This has had direct impact on certain indigenous communities in the north, especially costal groups and groups that live in and around island regions. Because of rising sea levels, many of these people are losing their homes and their land without an opportunity to leave because of lack of money and economic opportunity. Another major issue with climate change is ozone depletion. This occurs because of CO2 emissions that humans are greatly contributing to. This effect is causing not only the earth's air temperature to rise over time, but also is causing wat...

Climate change needs to be discussed. I learned from class that there is enough scientific evidence to prove that climate change is real. Scientists have produced significant research to show that denying this is foolish. I am unsure about how detrimental the effects of climate change will be in the future. The media documents certain climate change activists saying we are rapidly approaching human extinction and other people saying its effects are not an extreme threat. I am wondering if there is a middle ground here, and if so, what is that argument? I also wonder how confident climate scientists feel about their conclusions. Do they think they have all of the information possible, or are they leaving the door open to hear new ideas? In other words, how comfortable do they feel making future predictions? Some potential concerns with the science is that previous predictions about climate change have not always been correct, allowing people to ask why climate change i...

Climate change science is revolutionizing the way that we think about the world we live in. In the past, our actions were seen as not having a direct impact on our society. As of today, climate change science has turned this around and has given everyday citizens the opportunity to recognize the global impacts of their actions. This theory of climate change has been transformed into an environmental-based movement. The graphs and data have all shown that the Earth is warming approximately 0.13 degrees Celsius per decade and 1.3 degrees celsius per century. This statement highlights the known change of our climate and projects the current and potential negative consequences of human activity. Upon learning about climate change, I also learned about the variety of different ways to track changing temperatures. Some proxies include ice cores, tree rings, and sediment observations. I was confused about how scientists can deduct all of this information about past climate change from these ...

Prior to class, my perception of the climate change debate always seemed to be against the beliefs of the policymaker versus the credibility of the scientific data. However, now I know that there are copious amounts of credible evidence proving that climate change is occurring. The true battle is between the policymakers that recognize the shocking evidence so they take action and the ones who identify there is scientific uncertainty on how big a role humans play in this phenomenon so they try to discredit it. Models are developed from an overabundance of statistical data and evidence so that we are able to predict what may occur with climate change.  The predictions have an element of scientific uncertainty because there is room for error. Politicians that are against any action towards climate change take this uncertainty and fixate themselves on it. As someone chose to do what is best for the people I believe you stay on the side of caution when events like climate change our ...

I found it interesting how they were able to tell there was a change happening. Based on the carbon dioxide in the ocean, you can see the environment change, and the different species that once lived in that environment would disappear. I was a little confused as to why only a certain area was being affected and another close by was not. I would have assumed that the entire ocean would get affected slowly not just one spot quickly and the other not at all. I do not know how I feel about the way climate change is being handled. Scientists make it seem like the climate and environment changes on its own anyway. They are just calculating the acidic behavior of the ocean and how fast it is changing, but they do not talk about how we could ever make it stop. They also state that we have to try and slow it down, but it does not seem like there was a way for us to really do that.

What is your response to climate change science? What important thing did you learn? What did you find confusing? What are some potential concerns with the science behind it? Do you think climate change is being handled the right way? Provide your thoughts and an outside source in your response? Although I understand the implications and trust the majority of data collected thus far, it does seem that scientists can appear somewhat over dramatic and often communicate their message in a manner that reprimands the public. Placing most of the blame on certain industries causes a certain portion of the population to feel attacked by environmentalists. Climate change is truly a collective problem. Although it is unlikely anybody intended for their activities to negatively affect the planet, I think many people feel scientists are chastising them for practices that have been utilized for years. Others want to change their behavior but lack the resources or access. For instance, purchasing ...

What is your response to climate change science? What important thing did you learn? What did you find confusing? What are some potential concerns with the science behind it? Do you think climate change is being handled the right way? Provide your thoughts and an outside source in your response

Concerns about carbon dioxide emissions and the burning of fossil fuels have existed for decades, but only recently has the issue of rapidly increasing ocean acidity emerged. Changes in ocean acidity have implications for biodiversity, which expands beyond just environmental impacts; increasing ocean acidity will affect entire industries and the entire global economic system.  Rising ocean acidity is caused by long term emissions of carbon dioxide. For example, driving a car or running a factory releases gases into the atmosphere that are toxic to the environment. The development of computer models to help predict environmental trends in the future have been extremely helpful in showing just how devastating the burning of fossil fuels is. For example, one computer model showed what the estimated increase in ocean pH levels would be over the course of 1,000 years, and show a rapid decrease in pH, or a rise in acidity.  Rising ocean acidity has the potential to severely h...

Ocean acidification is important because it impacts biodiversity. A falling ph level has detrimental impacts on species that build shells or skeleton based on carbonate. For example, tropical corals. Hence ocean acidification destroys ecosystems, resulting in the ultimate disappearance of certain species. The computer generated evidence predicts that if the carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise exponentially, this will result in the drastic increase in the ocean ph level. The levels of PH are predicted to rise as much as they have in the past 300 million years in the next 1000 years. The computer models used past historical and geographical evidence to see what the natural rise would be and compared it to the rate at which ph levels are rising today. It would be difficult for nature to compensate for these damages. Consequently, resulting in further reduction on the marine biodiversity, specifically, coral reefs. Aidan Coco Grace Miske Jingyi Li Ling Zheng

Group #1 Shane Brackup and Samone Parker-Watson 10/10/19          In David Periman’s article Carbon dioxide poisoning the oceans: Study suggests rising acidity in seawater could be irreversible , he writes about the potential dangers of too much carbon dioxide affecting the world’s oceans. Ocean acidification is specifically important because at the current rate that fossil fuels are being used directly contributes to the rise of the acidity levels in the oceans. Caldeira and Wickett’s computer model demonstrates that a future problem will occur if the industrial carbon dioxide emissions continued at their present rate over the next 1,000 years. Rising acidity levels should be avoided because it threatens the well-being of marine organisms   in the oceans and is irreversible.