What are people really doing to help climate change? By: Marianna Daley February 16th, 2024
By now, most have noticed how the alarming effects of climate change are starting to hit close to home. Some days, 73 degree weather will require shorts and t- shirts, but the next we take out our snow boots and winter jackets. But what’s really causing this, and why does it seem like nothing has been done to fix it?
According to The Environmental and Energy Study Institute, “Fossil fuels—including coal, oil, and natural gas—have been powering economies for over 150 years, and currently supply about 80 percent of the world's energy.” Other sources even state that we have been burning coal for thousands of years. This may seem like a harmless act, but the long-term effects of burning fossil fuels is one of the leading reasons for global warming. Every year, humans release 34 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. That’s more than 100 million African elephants. Of that 34 billion, 75-80% comes from fossil fuels. This means gas operated cars, trucks, buses, boats, trains, ships, planes, and even some bikes, scooters, and skateboards. Mindless activities that we do everyday is what is causing the air we breathe to become toxic.
Every year, roughly 15 billion trees are cut down. These trees are used for timber, paper, and sometimes even food. Palm oil is one of the lesser known causes of climate change. Many grocery store products, such as Nutella, use palm oil as a main ingredient in their food. The issue with this is how damaging palm oil production is to the environment. In 2022, 47,000 acres worth of trees were cut down in Indonesia and replaced with palm oil plantations. The scariest part about all of this is how misleading food labels can be. According to the World Wildlife Fund, “Many products that use palm oil aren't clearly labeled. Palm oil and its derivatives can appear under many names, including: Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, [etc.]” Companies continue to use palm oil and cut down trees, even though there are a number of great alternatives, such as canola oil and sunflower seed oil.
Trees help remove carbon dioxide from the air, leaving us with cleaner and fresher air. Have you ever noticed how the air on a hike seems to be fresher and crisper than the air in your backyard? Well, there's a reason for that. Deforestation is one of the leading causes for climate change and global warming. As the world chops more and more trees, the air we breathe becomes more toxic for our lungs to breathe. A lack of trees in urban environments has a significant impact on the air quality its civilians are breathing. Many companies, such as Ecosia, Tentree, and Woodchuck USA help plant trees in areas that don’t have as many. Ecosia is a search engine that operates by planting trees based on the number of searches made by clients. Ecosia uses 100% of their profits for the greater good of the planet, unlike other brands that just claim to help. Tentree plants a tree for every piece of apparel bought. This company alone has planted over 100 million trees across the globe. According to Woodchuck USA, “WOODCHUCK USA manufactures technology-driven wood products and specializes in customization. WOODCHUCK USA was founded with a simple mission: putting nature back into people's lives. We are meant to have a deep connection with the Earth.” These companies have done their part to help the planet. Supporting them as a business not only helps them create change, but it also helps you create change.
Most people know the main causes of climate change. Fossil Fuels, Fast Fashion, Deforestation, the list goes on. But what most don't know is what people are actually doing to help. One program that NASA is currently using is the Earth System Observatory. This project shares images of climate change's alarming temperatures, articles on the environment, and new discoveries about our ever changing planet. Most people aren't aware of how damaging climate change can be. NASA is helping to shine a light on climate change, and inflict real change on the issue through the Earth System Observatory. According to NASA, “NASA is currently developing the Earth System Observatory (ESO). The core of ESO is five satellite missions that will provide essential data on climate change, severe weather, natural hazards, wildfires, and global food production.”
It can seem like this whole thing is out of reach, but there are things we can do to help save our planet. There are many organizations helping with the Climate Change epidemic. NASA, World Wildlife Fund, EPA Center for Corporate Climate Leadership, etc. Supporting these companies will later pay off in the long run and save our planet from its fated decline.
As the years go by, we are getting further and further away from our goal of less than 2℃. But researching these issues and supporting climate change-based companies will help us gradually change the world for the better. If you are fortunate enough to make a change, then do.
The Reader’s Guide to Making a Scientific Name By Bear Boeke Trevathan 11/16/23 Scientific names are very interesting things, now I don’t know if you know what the Spheniscus demersus is or a Tragelaphus spekii off the top of your head, but if I told you what they were you’d be shocked! The first one is an African Penguin and the second is the Sitatunga. Now I know what you might be saying, “What’s a sitatunga?” That’s not important, “How did the African penguin become Spheniscus demersus?” Well that's what you’ll learn today, this is The Reader’s Guide to Making a Scientific Name! So, how do we start with making a scientific name, well we need a new animal. So let's travel around the world to find a new animal… or we could just make up one. So let’s take this Lego that got mercifully broken by my sister (that I will put by this paragraph), and call it the “Flying Turtle!”
Genera: So, what we know is that it’s a turtle, and it can fly. Well first things first, what animal is it? It’s a turtle! We now need to know the genus of turtles, genera (the plural of genus) are basically what classifies an animal. Like the genus for penguins is Aptenodytes, and for the meerkat it’s Suricata. genera also always come first and are always capitalized. Well let’s look at some scientific turtle names, to figure out the genus, we have the Chrysemys picta (Painted Turtle), Graptemys pseudogeographica (false map turtle), and the Chelydra serpentina (common snapping turtle). From reading these names, none of these words are at all similar, and you’d be correct. So what is the actual genus of the turtle? Testudines, that is the legit genus of turtles. So we’ve gotten the genus, and we have the first part of our scientific name too! Testudines _____. So what comes next?
Species: The species is different from what the actual species is. Let’s look at plants for a second, specifically the peach. The peach’s scientific name is Prunus persica, it’s in the same genus as cherries, almonds, plums, and apricots, Prunus! Now let’s look at persica, persica actually means peach, and you’ll find that most, if not all, scientific names are in Latin. Species never get capitalized, never, no exceptions. Species for animals usually describe their characteristics, like what color they are, and where they live, like the chuckwalla, its scientific name is Sauromalus obesus, which means fat dark lizard. Or the Hairy Nosed Wombat, it's name is Lasiorhinus latifronus, meaning “hairy-nosed with a wide forehead.” Funny right? So how would we describe the Flying Turtle? Well, the possible species for it could be “volantis” derived from the word volare, meaning “to fly.” So there we have it… wait!
Customization: Testudines volantis doesn’t have to be the final name! In fact, the genus doesn’t have to be Testudines, it could be something different like Terra! Terra volantis could be another possible scientific name… but it doesn’t stop there. Let’s say, hypothetically, I found this creature, I could put my last name on it, or anything really, in fact, there was one frog that was named after Led Zeppelin, Pristimantis ledzeppelin, So now the scientific name could be Terra volantis blondie boeke! But also if we domesticated this animal it would be Terra volantis blondie boeke familiaris! But in all reality, the scientific name of an animal should reflect how it acts and what it is, Terra volantis was a hypothetical name for an animal that does not exist, but I suggest going from the scientific name up if making animals for, DnD campaigns, stories, roleplays, etc. Once you do you start to think of what this animal could potentially be. But anyway, this was The Reader's Guide to Making a Scientific Name, and now you know how to make one, peace!
“LOADING!” Tanks are a very controversial topic when it comes to the big tank nerds (me). Every major country has a modern battle tank with different armor, speed, firepower, etc. However the origins of the first real main battle tanks starts At the beginning of world war 2. The first mass produced tank is the American Sherman M4 tank. The Sherman had minimal armor and a 75mm gun, more than 50,000 Sherman's were made in the span of world war two. The M4 was a conventional production tank, on the other hand in the past there have been some very crazy, unconventional tank design ideas. For example the P-1000 RATTE. The Ratte was a concept tank bigger than a large house and used battleship guns as its main armament. A tank that was actually built was the mouse which was larger than a small cabin. These two tanks were considered Germany's best “WONDER WEAPONS''. Then tank technology rocketed, with wars going on like, Vietnam and the cold war, tank technology has advanced greatly. For example you've probably heard of the “Abrams' ' tank which is the US main battle tank. The official designation is M1A2, equipped with a 105mm L/5 gun. The Russian main battle tank is the T-90A however it has a few differences between the 125mm 2A46M gun, The T-90 also has ERA, an amazing but simple piece of technology that was invented in 1982 with the Israeli war. ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor) is a small box of a chemical explosive on the outside of tanks that when rounds like HEAT (High explosive anti-tank) hit the ERA box, the ERA explodes outwards negating the effect. The downside of this is that with each ERA box they can only be used once and that ERA offers minimal protection against kinetic rounds. Throughout the years since the Sherman tank, tanks have become more deadly and expensive. If a war breaks out the casualties would be massive if these modern battle machines went gun to gun.
The Mental Benefit of Going to the Bathroom By Beckett Meda 10/13/2022
Monday, the 11th of October was World Mental Health Day, a day to celebrate mental health and find ways to improve it. And though it has passed, in this article I will be covering a… strange topic relating to mental health. The mental benefit of going to the bathroom! Weirdness aside, holding in any business is not only bad for your physical health, but also your mental health! While going to the bathroom has the opposite effect, it’s good for your health! Holding in your number 1 can do a number of things to your physical well being but since we’re talking about mental health we’ll get the most results with the second one… I hope we can all agree that the… 2nd one… is pretty gross, even talking about it. But if you were planning on avoiding gross then you shouldn’t even be reading this article. Even with how gross it is, it’s better to go than not too, for physical AND mental health, which we’ll be focusing on the latter. Now sometimes you have a hard time going to the bathroom, say because of constipation, well, studies have shown that people with constipation are 14 times more likely to be with mood and anxiety problems! But when you do go, people tend to feel a sense of happiness and relief. The reason why you feel stress and anxiety while holding number 2 in, or joy in relief when releasing it is because of the Vagus Nerve, which connects the brain and guts! Meaning there is direct communication between those 2, which will make you feel stress when needing to go, and relief right after you go. Finally, even just sitting on the toilet relaxes you! Since people already find the bathroom very relaxing, the toilet (weirdly enough) is no exception. When sitting on the toilet you are in a vulnerable position, which relaxes most people, though it can also make other people a bit uncomfortable and stressed. Though either way, experts say you shouldn’t sit on the toilet any longer than 10-15 minutes as it can cause some physical problems. And that is all this topic has to share (in short), I hope you felt incredibly comfortable reading this and enjoy eating your next meal. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to do some business!
Cat Breeds and Their Behavioral Patterns ~ By: Kira Eggert Cats are one of the most amazing beings on earth. Their breeds can stretch from the munchkin, a cat breed that has a natural genetic mutation that can make their legs shorter, to the Maine coon, who currently leads the record for the world's largest domestic cat breed. So many cats have different preferences and features. In this article, some of them will be mentioned.
The Korat Cat. Many can confuse this cat breed with Russian blues, or even the gray mutt, although there are still many differences. The korat has a blue-ish silver-ish fur coat, and green eyes. They are intelligent, playful, and love their owners. Korat cats will love unconditionally. When ignored or left alone, they can get pretty sad.
The Russian Blue. Much like the Korat cat, Russian blues have blue-ish gray-ish fur, but it is a bit darker. Another few traits you can use to differentiate the two is the Russian blues personality. It is curious, but calm, affectionate, but not clingy, and very smart.
The British Shorthair. The British Shorthair has a short, soft, and dense coat of fur. The colors of their coat can range from white, gray, brown, orange, and even spotted or striped. They are brilliant, loving, and don't really have intense mood changes.
The Mutt. The Mutt is considered as a fun and doting breed. They are energetic and athletic, and can be represented as millions of different colors and fur patterns. They enjoy playing, cuddling, and spending time with their family.
The Munchkin. These cats are active and friendly. They easily get along with children, love to experience new things, and want to see the world. Also, (As said before) They have a genetic mutation, which makes their legs shorter. Unironically, they also have short hair.
The Maine coon. Maine coon cats are soft natured and amiable. They are great companions and easy going. Maine coon cats are outdoor cats too, very energetic and love exploring. They hold the current record for largest domestic cat.
The Sphynx. The Sphynx is considered as one of the ugliest domestic cat breeds. But, although hairless, they are still irresistibly cute and fun. They love to show off themselves and enjoy human attention. They are one of the cats that love their owners a VERY, VERY, VERY, much.
The Siamese. The Siamese cat has the loudest meow among domestic cats. It has actually saved an owner using their loud meow. Siamese are outgoing and social, but require a lot of attention. The Siamese coat is short, glossy and lies close to the body.
Despite their differences, all cat breeds are amazing, from Munchkin to Maine coon. They all love their owners, and are there through thick and thin. Enjoy your day! And like cats.
The James Webb Telescope Brennan Carboy
Friday, December 24th 2021 will be a celebrated day for decades, as the new James Webb telescope was launched into space. Destined to be ten times more powerful than the Hubble, we will see into the creation of time.
But before that, let’s talk about how we can see into the past. Although it may seem like light is instant, it is not, but it is still fast. Considering how far away the galaxies are it takes time to get to our eyes. In fact all we need to do is look at the sun, it takes 8 minutes for the sun’s light to reach us on earth. Because of this, a faraway galaxy takes longer for its light to reach earth.
Because of this, we can observe how our galaxy formed by looking at how others are aging even though they did billions of years ago. The Hubble telescope used a normal camera with a big telescope, but the Webb uses infrared to see even further. Using this new technology we might get the answers we all want to know, how are we here, who or what created us, and are we alone? After being launched into space the telescope will unfold its self, and if something goes wrong it is too far away for repairs to be possible. To solve this, designers have created a program in the telescope that shakes the whole thing if it does not unfold properly.
Sitting at a whopping 10 billion dollars, the Webb telescope is the most expensive thing to fly. And if anything goes wrong the 10 billion dollars will go to waste, and that is if even one part of the telescope doesn’t work. So what makes this so expensive? You may be wondering why this telescope is so pricey, there is a large mirror on board which enhances the range of the camera, and there are 18 gold-coated hexagonal mirrors that combine to make a 21-foot mirror. Over 3 times bigger than the Hubble’s mirror.
Hopefully, with the telescope, we will see a new era of human life, dedicated to astronomy, and discovery.
Why are Blobfish so Ugly (and other questions about Blobfish) Beckett Meda
Blobfish (or other names include Smooth Headed Blobfish, Psychrolutes Marcidus, and Fathead Sculpin) are known for being the most ugly creature in the world but, when we talk about it the question rises: why are blobfish so ugly? Well after I did some deep ocean diving, I’ve got an answer for that and many more questions you may have for our, uhh, interesting little friend. When and where were Blobfish discovered? Now I know you probably want the answer to the question you're here for, but let’s answer the more simple questions like when and where it was discovered. It was 2003 and a group of marine scientists were on an ocean expedition in the Australia and New Zealand area. During the expedition the scientists pulled up many weird fish, around 100 ! Blobfish were of course among them being pulled up by Marine Ecologist Karryn Parkinson. Due to their blobby state they called it the Blobfish (Or the previous names I mentioned earlier). They also gave the blobfish a nickname! Mr. Blobby! Mr. Blobby now resides in the Australian Museum Ichthyology Collection and has been preserved with ethyl alcohol! So the simple answer to this question is that the Blobfish was discovered in 2003 in the waters of Australia and New Zealand (but can also be found in the waters of Tasmania). Are there multiple types of Blobfish? Yes there is! The blobfish is part of the Psychrolutidae family and we’ve discovered 8 genera and around 30 species in this family! The family consists of deep ocean dwelling marine sculpins shaped like tadpoles. Some of the other creatures in the Psychrolutidae family are the Blob Sculpin, Western Australian Sculpin, Spineless Sculpin, and Tadpole Sculpin. Are Blobfish endangered? If so, why? Sadly yes… Blobfish are endangered and scientists estimate that there are only 420 left in the wild! Which is insanely low. Blobfish are not endangered because of high predator rate but because of deep sea fishing. Fishermen will catch blobfish while they are usually protecting their partner and eggs and since the fisherman mostly think that they aren’t important to planet earth they take them in. But an important thing to know is that every animal matters. This is true because different creatures eat different food and if their food source goes extinct the creatures that eat them will also most likely go extinct too due to the lack of food. Scientists are trying to preserve blobfish but it’s not easy. How can we help? Well raise awareness and help people learn about I ugly but none of the less lovable friends. Why are blobfish so ugly? Now, the answer you’ve all been waiting for! Why are blobfish so ugly? Well blobfish live 2,000 - 4,000 feet below surface so the pressure that deep down in the ocean is immense! Now to ensure survival down there deep sea creatures have weak bones and muscles and blobfish are of course among these weakly structured creatures. So since the pressure is so much lower on the surface compared to the deep sea the blobfish becomes a "blobby" mess. (:P) So taking a blobfish from its habitat is absolute torture for the poor thing plus since it’s a fish it can’t breath the air! Plus if you immediately take any creature to a new habitat that's pretty much the opposite of their original habitat of course they’re gonna die! They need to adapt and slowly get used to it, which could take centuries!
CrossedSenses Lael Licht
Do you see sounds? Do you taste names, or are you sure that the letter b is a bright shade of green? If you do experience sensations similar to this, you are likely to possess an uncommon condition called synesthesia. Synesthesia is a condition in which two senses are intermingled due to the “cross wiring” in the brain. There are many different types of synesthesia, although it is a very rare condition. About one in every two hundred to one hundred thousand people posses it. Lefties and females tend to have this condition more often than righties and males, but anyone can have it, really. Also, synesthetes have standard neurological exams, and are usually average or above average in intelligence. In other words, synesthesia is not a disability or a malfunction in the brain, but is just a different way of interpreting the world. There are tons of different types of synesthesia, because any of the senses can be crossed to create this condition. However, I will only introduce a few. Lexical Synesthesia Lexical synesthesia, also known as grapheme-color synesthesia, is the most common form of this condition. People who have this type of synesthesia associate, or “see”, colors with numbers and/or letters, like me. Even though the math problem below may look completely black and white to you, a synesthete would say it was very colorful. However, the table below is just an example. Many synesthetes disagree on their colors.
Lexical synesthetes may also be able to see weekdays or months in colors like so:
Tuesday There are two different kinds of synesthetes. Projective synesthetes see their colors projected into the space above, around, or inside of the number or letter they are looking at. Associative synesthetes, however, see the color in their mind’s eye, not projected outside of their bodies.
Sound-Color Synesthesia Sound to color synesthesia is also fairly common. People with this type of synesthesia automatically associate or “see” sounds with certain colors. Some of the colors appear in shapes and some just appear as colored blobs. When listening to a violin, the synesthete may see each note as an individual color, or just see one color for all of the sounds made by the violin. Here is a picture of what a sound to color synesthete may see when hearing a ringing phone.
The little orange dots symbolize the vision that the synesthete may have, though not all sound to color synesthetes see the same colors and shapes. One synesthete may say that the ringing of a phone produces orange bubbles, but the other may say that it results in purple zig zags. Opinions vary a lot, but most synesthetes with sound to color synesthesia agree thathigher notes are lighter in color than lower notes.
Ordinal-Linguistic Personification (OLP) This type of synesthesia is one of the most common of the rare forms of synesthesia. People with OLP invision each sound, taste, month, day of the week, letter and/or number with a different personality or look. Often, these characters are also associated with colors. Here is an example of what a synesthete with OLP might see in the letter A and the number 3.
Spatial Sequence Synesthesia Spatial Sequence synesthesia is a type of synesthesia in which the synesthete can see numerical sequences, days of the week, months of the year, and/or years in the past decade in the space around them. Everybody’s arrangement is different, and synesthetes can argue for hours over whether tuesday is above their heads or down by their feet. So, here is an example of what a synesthete with spatial sequence synesthesia may see.
Many synesthetes who have other types of synesthesia, such as lexical synesthesia or sound to color synesthesia, also possess spatial sequence synesthesia. Therefore, the years, months, days, or numbers around them often have colors.
Lexical-Gustatory Synesthesia Lexical-Gustatory synesthesia is a rather rare type of synesthesia, but it is still one of the more commonly reported forms. People who have this type of synesthesia taste foods when they hear certain sounds or when they see graphemes (numbers and letters). The name Martha, for
example, may taste like plums.
Research has shown that lexical-gustatory synesthetes can only experience synesthetic tastes for foods they have eaten early in their lives. If, for example, you had lexical-gustatory synesthesia and you have never tasted chocolate, none of the words you hear would taste like chocolate. What a shame!
All in all, synesthesia is a truly fascinating condition. There are many different types of synesthesia (fifty-two reported), because synesthesia can be formed by the crossing of any two or more senses. Even though we know quite a bit about this condition, it is still a mysterious topic and is alien concept to most of the world. Unfortunately, synesthesia can disappear over the course of our lives. Many babies are thought possess a sort of synesthesia, but often lose it very early in life. A few people may also gain synesthesia later in life, but it cannot be faked or forced. For the rest of us, however, synesthesia is a lifelong gift.