Original Research

World Problem: Climate Change (Dan)

            Climate Change can refer to any significant change in measurements of climate.

Causes/Effects

·      Energy from the Sun drives the Earth's weather and climate. The Earth absorbs energy from the Sun, and also radiates energy back into space. However, much of this energy going back to space is absorbed by “greenhouse” gases in the atmosphere (see Figure 1 of Greenhouse Effect). Because the atmosphere then radiates most of this energy back to the Earth’s surface, our planet is warmer than it would be if the atmosphere did not contain these gases. Without this natural "greenhouse effect," temperatures would be about 60ºF lower than they are now, and life as we know it today would not be possible.

·      Rising average temperatures are already affecting the environment. Some observed changes include shrinking of glaciers, thawing of permafrost, later freezing and earlier break-up of ice on rivers and lakes, lengthening of growing seasons, shifts in plant and animal ranges and earlier flowering of trees.

·      Global temperatures are expected to continue to rise as human activities continue to add carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other greenhouse (or heat-trapping) gases to the atmosphere. Most of the United States is expected to experience an increase in average temperature.

Solutions

·      Greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced through simple measures like changing light bulbs and properly inflating your tires.

Possible Solutions     

State and local governments and businesses play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas intensity.

-- Leading businesses are taking steps to understand and manage their greenhouse gas       emissions by preparing annual greenhouse gas inventories and setting long-term targets to reduce emissions. EPA's Climate Leaders program provides technical assistance and recognition to U.S. companies that have joined this program.

-- Identifying and documenting cost-effective policies and initiatives that address climate change, including those that promote renewable energy, energy efficiency, and related clean technologies. Fostering peer exchange opportunities for state and local officials to share information on best practices and lessons learned about innovative policies and programs.

Overfishing of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Chase)

            The Atlantic Bluefin is one of the most prized fishing catches out there.  They can reach up to 15 feet in length and can get a hefty price in fish markets after the Japanese made the discovery that it tastes very good raw because of its high fat content.  They used to be caught by the hundreds all around the atlantic.   Now they have become overfished and aren’t even found in some areas they used to be because of this overfishing.  They also are found in much smaller sizes.  First the largest ones were fished and once they were all killed they moved on to the smaller ones and so on.   Now one of the issues is that they have started to catch many before their spawning age where they can reproduce.  Many times they “herd” them into groups, then keep them in nets and fatten them up before they slaughter them and bring them to market, but this problem is that they don’t reach the age of sexual maturity and don’t reproduce. 

            There currently is the International Commission for the Conservations of Atlantic Tunas, but they haven’t proven to be effective.  By most estimates scientists estimate that the Bluefin stock has declined by 80% in the past forty years.  The ICCAT is viewed as ineffective because of their lack of ability to control the countries, fishermen, and what they do.  Countries sometimes even would withhold data for scientific studies to see the levels that they should place regulations at.   

            Problem for the fishermen: if they don’t fish they don’t have an income, and if they keep fishing they won’t be able to fish anymore and in the long run they won’t be able to have any more of the fish. 

This is what we need to find a way to combat:

-Mike Parks, from the Scottish White Fish Producers Association, based in north-west Scotland, said a "state of anarchy" still exists in parts of the fishing industry where everyone was out for what they could get from a diminishing stock.

-(Suzanne Ludicello Author of Fish, Markets, and Fishermen: The Economics of Overfishing)What the system needs to do is to build options so that there is an assurance that if you back down today, if you forego some income, then there will be something more for you tomorrow. 

-Dr. Daniel Pauly Professor of Fisheries Science, British Columbia: One of the paradoxes about fisheries is that the catch could be increased by fishing less. I think that globally if each of the fish populations were exploited at its appropriate level, you would actually see an increase.

            This is not science fiction. It could be done quite straightforwardly and everywhere it has been possible to break the cycle of despair, it has been possible to massively increase catches. So in a sense it's possible in fisheries to eat your cake and have it too but for this you have to break this notion that fishing more is the thing.

-Viewpoint of a fisherman of cod in Alaska, talks about the ITQ system (LEARN WHAT THAT IS): Arne Fuglvog (Commercial fisherman, Petersburg, Alaska)            In the derby days we would set as much gear as possible because we would only have 24 or 48 hours to fish. And a lot of times, you didn't get all of your gear back, especially if the weather was really bad. So there'd be all of this lost gear on the bottom, ghost fishing, and catching and killing millions of pounds of fish. There was an unlimited number of vessels, all trying to race and catch as much fish as possible in this set amount of time. We knew we only had one, maybe two shots at it, to make our entire living.

Under the present ITQ system, we have an 8-month season. We can choose when we go out and fish. We can go when the prices are high. We can work it around our crew schedule, our family schedule. We fish totally different now.

I do think it's true that ITQs have fostered better stewardship. And one of the main reasons is that we do own part of the resource. We want to keep the resource healthy. We don't want to overfish it. We want to keep making a living at it for as long as we can and keep it for future generations

Other species that have been greatly overfished include: halibut, haddock, cod, swordfish, marlin, and skate. 

Works Cited:

http://www.pbs.org/emptyoceans/eoen/halibut/viewpoints.html

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/08/02/100802crbo_books_kolbert

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/sep/30/uk-cod-collapse-overfishing

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/species/atl_bluefin_tuna.htm

Coastal Erosion (Tom)

·      What is Coastal Erosion? : Coastal erosion is when wind, water, and ice take away sediments of land, which are made of rocks, dirt, sand, and other natural forms of the earth. Coastal erosion takes land away forever from one area to deposit it someplace else. Coastal erosion is constantly changing the boundaries between land and water throughout the entire world.

·      What causes Coastal Erosion? : Natural processes by nature are the main causes of coastal erosion. These processes are the winds, water, and ice caps along the coasts and shores throughout the world. Winds, water, and ice cause the sediment along the shores to be deposited out to deeper waters into inlets, tidal shoals, and bays. The waves crash along the shore taking away sand and deposit it elsewhere. The change in climate implementing higher sea levels and higher severity of storms causes this erosion as well.

·      Where does Coastal Erosion occur? : Coastal erosion occurs along the beaches and coastal areas throughout the entire world. More specifically, coastal erosion occurs along the shorelines where the waves and tides reach the sediment to a certain extent. Also, erosion by wind occurs mostly on beaches and shorelines because there is no continuous vegetation or plants in those particular areas.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-causes-beach-erosion

http://whyfiles.org/091beach/

http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110230/what_is_coastal_erosion%20page%20two.htm