When I first started reading the New Bedford article, I began to question the relevance of learning about the history of the area. Then, however it all made sense because we need to know the history to figure out the causes of problems, if these problems can be remedied, who is responsible, and usually these problems accumulate over long periods of time. Therefore, the best way to learn about an area’s environmental status is to review the history of the area and put the pieces together.
Something I found fascinating in the New Bedford Study is how the building of a bridge could have such huge negative impacts on the environment. The new presence of the bridge altered the current in the river and caused sediment to build up along the shore. These effects were difficult to foresee, but from studying the history of the area, we now know and can prevent the same mistakes from happening again.
After our lesson on the Greenhouse effect and global warming, I can put to bed all the theories that I have heard that global warming isn’t actually real. It is in fact a real issue that needs to be addressed immediately. Poor polar bears, seals and penguins, but especially the Polar Bears! These animals, along with dozens of others I am sure, rely on the presence of icecaps and cold climates for their survival. If the Earth keeps becoming hotter and hotter with every year at such a quick pace, these animals will become extinct and our children will grow up not knowing what a polar bear was. Future generations will feel about polar bears the way we feel about dinosaurs. We cannot keep treating the Earth like we do now. We take everything for granted without having the slightest inkling of the damage we may be causing. Environmental lessons should be taught at early ages, starting in elementary or middle school. Kids today have little knowledge about environmental problems, and it is harder to develop a desire to help at older ages.
We certainly need to deal with the methane deposits that are concealed under the permafrost in Russia. Regardless of how expensive it may be, the deposits need to be dealt with. Nations around the world should all chip in and help remove the deposits and dispose of them in a safe way. Somehow, pipes can be laid out to transport the gas to an offsite location where it can be dealt with. Otherwise, as global warming continues, the methane deposits will inevitably be released and cause crippling damage. Apparently, the amount of methane (CH4) in the deposits is massive and has the potential to cause serious damage. A large presence of methane has been linked to the global warming problem and even endangering certain species.
As a living human being on the planet Earth, I feel as if it is my duty to help preserve the Earth, or at least pass it on in the same condition I had it in. It is like borrowing something from someone, you are not going to borrow a hammer from someone and the return it in pieces. You want to give it back in the same condition you received it in. We are morally responsible for ensuring the continued health of the human race and survival of planet Earth.
https://spaces.usu.edu/download/attachments/20971966/Last_Polar_Bear.jpg
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/exclusive-the-methane-time-bomb-938932.html
