Blog 014 | Soil Preservation

Why is soil preservation possibly more critical than saving endangered species or finding other energy sources. Be sure to explain what will happen (interconnections) if too much soil is ruined.

Soil preservation may be more substantial than saving an endangered species or discovering new energy sources because soil is the birth giver to plants and crops. Without soil, nature and livestock would not exist, because most livestock are herbivores or omnivores. Livestock is essential to our survival, therefore, without them, we will not have meat. Our diets would be unhealthy and unbalanced without any fruits or vegetables as well. Soil also plays an important part in farming and harvesting because it filters out water from pesticides and unnatural toxins that deteriorate our bodies.

Blog 013 | The Green Revolution

Is the Green Revolution good or bad? Support your position.

I do not support the green revolution because it encouraged more pesticide usage which is extremely damaging to our health, and our environment especially to the youth. The green revolution is not necessary to innovate agriculture because organic farmers can do the same thing without the usage of pesticides and other toxic chemicals.

Blog 012 | Food Safety Policies (SPECIAL BLOG - 200 pts)

In several paragraphs write your own food safety policy/law for the US. Describe the problem, describe your solution and why it will work. Be sure to include incentives (rewards) and sanctions (penalties) for your new policy.


01. Meats that have been distributed before have been diagnosed with unsanitary problems and a variety of diseases. Therefore, to prevent further health problems, all raw meat items such as beef, pork, and poultry is required to be inspected by 5 special food departments before being released into markets and other food stores. All cooked meat items must be inspected by 3 special food departments before being released for sale. If this plan is put into progress, there will be lesser amount of people suffering from diseases such as mad cow disease, E. Coli, Blue-Tongue Disease, Salmonella, Pig's Disease (PMWS), Bird Flu, Listeriosis, Shellfish poisoning, Pre-eclampsia.


02. All diary products must be pasteurized twice for 2 seconds under the temperature of 138°C (280°F). Eggs must be inspected twice through special diary food departments. This should reduce the risk of contamination of Campylobacter, Escherichia oli, Listeria, Salmonella and Yersinia.


03. Pesticides are not only toxic to insects, but they are also toxic to humans especially to children as well; it is cancer-related and may cause brain or nerve damage, developmental problems, and hormone interference. In order to lessen food intoxication, the level food pesticides on fruits and vegetables must be decreased to prevent health issues and to have a more "real" and tastier taste.



04. Home owners should start growing their own fruits and vegetables in their own backyard to ensure the safety of foods. That way, they not only do they have healthy, organic food, but are also able to save big bucks.

Blog 011 | Cooking Precautions

What are some precautions to take to prevent food borne diseases?

• Always make sure that the food you purchase, raw or cooked, is from a safe source.
• Check all food and drinks for expiration dates if they have one.
• Use a thermometer make sure food is cooked. Do not rely on the meat's color to indicate if the hamburger is completely cooked.
• Do not use your bare hands to touch food while it is being cooked, be sure to use the proper cooking/kitchen utensils.
  
• Protect any exposed body parts by wearing gloves or an apron when cooking.
• Wash your hands (fingers, palm and nails) with soap and rinse thoroughly under warm running water; especially after handling any type of raw meat.
• Clean any food preparation surface (plates, cutting boards, counter tops, etc.) or cooking utensils after every different food use.
• Make sure all meats are cooked adequately, well-done, or at least medium; especially when eating out.

Blog 010 | Lower Biotic Potential

Describe 3 factors that lower biotic potential.


1. Supply of various resources (i.e. food, shelter, water)
2. Predators and parasites
3. Diseases
4. Pollution
5. Habitat loss
6. Natural phenomena (i.e. hurricanes, landslides, earthquakes, droughts)
7. Birth Rates:
- Number of offspring produced each time.
- Period of time between birth events.
- Age at which reproduction begins.
- Ratio of females to males in the population.

Blog 009 | Human Impact

Blog 9 In your opinion based upon Earth after people what is the biggest impact humans have had on the planet?

In my opinion, the biggest impact people have had on the planet were human creations such as cities and urban areas. Cities and urban areas include: buildings, railroads, subways, shops, roads, bus stops, etc. Basically, everything that you can find in the city is man-made. Before the planet was taken over by the human species, wild plants and animals used to thrive throughout the entire land, but because of the human species, our environment was organized and innovated into a modern world.
Another big impact that humans had on earth was hunting. We hunted for animals that overpopulated such as deer, buffalo, wolves and fish to prevent the extinction of other animals. Which is why all these types of animals still exists in our world today.

Blog 008 | Characteristics > Population Size

Give three examples of how individual characteristics influence population sizes.



01. Overproduction - If each breeding pair of elephants produces 6 offspring during a 90-year life span, in 750 years a single pair of elephants will have given rise to a population of 19 million.

02. Variation - Each individual has a unique combination of traits, such as, size, color and ability to tolerate harsh environments. Some traits improve the chances of an individual's survival and reproductive success whereas others do not.

03. Differential Reproductive Success - Those individuals that possess the most favorable combination of characteristics are more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass their traits to the next generation.

Blog 007 | 4 Types of Competition

Describe the four types of competition and give an example of each.


Interspecies - A lion and a tiger hunting for deer.
Intraspecies - A group of pigeons pecking for bread on the ground.
Contest - Two fighting for the same worm.
Scramble - Ducks looking for fish in a pond.

Blog 006 | Food Chain Levels

Discuss the importance of eating lower on the food chain.



It is important to eat the lower levels of food on the food chain like the producers; such as fruits and vegetables because they are necessary to our health. Thus, it is not only good for our health, but it is also good for our environment because most producers are healthy to eat.

Blog 005 | Weak vs. Strong

Some animals like dinosaurs seem awesome yet are extinct others like cockroaches seem to be everywhere. If some animals and plants are individually stronger why is it weaker animals and plants thrive?

Every prey has it's predator and every predator has it's prey. All animals have a weakness no matter how strong it may be; it also depends on the situation they're in, their luck and survival of the fittest.

Blog 003 | Endangered Species!

What is an endangered species that you think we need to save?


We need to save our ocean animals which include the great white sharks. Although they are protected in some areas, international adequate protection is not available and people continue to hunt them for their teeth and haws which are sold on the black market. Great whites are now considered vulnerable because of the overfishing in certain areas. Link: http://www.oceana.org/sharks/about-sharks/species-profiles/great-white/

Blog 004 | Important Figures

Of the various people in Chapter 3, who is the most important to the history of environmental science? Why?



John Muir, because he influenced into developing the Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks in California who also founded the Sierra Club, a national conservation organization that is still active on a range og environmental issues.

Blog 002 | Chaos, Order, and Complexity

Define and explain the differences between chaotic, orderly and complex. Give an example of each.

Chaos is the opposite of orderly, it is based on great disorder and confusion whereas orderly means to be arranged in sequence accordingly. Complexity can be based on chaos or order, however, complexity is characterized by an intricate arrangement of parts.
World population may be characterized by chaotic; DNA and blood cell configuration may be described as orderly as well as complex.

Blog 001 | Environmental Science & Other Sciences

How is environmental science different from other science like biology and chemistry? (Hint: think of the chaos theory and systems.)

Environmental science is actually: biology + ecology + geology + chemistry + geography + physics + economics + sociology + cultural anthropology +natural resources management +agriculture + engineering + law + politics + ethics combined; while biology is only about "the science of life or living matter in all its forms and phenomena..." and chemistry is generally about "the science that deals with the composition and properties of substances and various elementary forms of matter."

Create Blog | Fractals

Fractals are geometrical or physical structures that consists of different shapes, dimensions and flow that create an irregular pattern of imagery.