By: Linda Tellez-Ruiz

In the morning, at 4:46AM, on April 29, an asteroid that goes by the name of ‘1998 OR2’ safely passed by earth. The asteroid was discovered in 1988. The asteroid was an estimated 1.2 miles wide and was moving at 19,461mph.

The asteroid was 16 times farther than the distance between the earth and the moon. So we were pretty safe and sure that it wasn’t going to hit us. Even though it wasn’t going to hit us, it was still labeled as potentially hazardous. Scientists label that dangerous because the asteroid came within 5,000,000 miles of the earth’s orbit.

We’re safe now but in 2079, the same asteroid will pass by us again 3.5 times closer than it did this year, and that is why scientists are monitoring its orbit to know where it is exactly. Scientists have been tracking it for the past two decades, and they know its orbital trajectory very precisely. With this information they know that there is no possibility that the asteroid will hit us in the next 200 years.

The worst thing that could happen is the asteroid changing its orbit, which is also changing its path, causing it to maybe pass by earth a lot closer. Close approaches like these are very very rare especially with the size of this asteroid.

Another thing that we know for sure is that astronomers have already discovered almost all asteroids about the size of 1998 or larger: 98% of them to be exact. And those are just the ones that will have a close encounter with earth, although it is very unlikely that they would have any impact.

If an asteroid was going to come in contact with the earth, astronomers have researched many techniques to keep that from happening, although that task would be very complicated depending on the size of the asteroid. One of the strategies to knock an asteroid off its course is to attach rockets to one that would steer it away from hitting us.

Another method is to shoot it. This method would not get it off its course.

Another way that is a lot more complicated, is capturing it inside an inflatable bag that would re-directed somewhere else.

Animal poaching is when an animal is killed illegally. It can also be defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals. These animals are killed for something that holds value. In some cases, it can be an animal’s fur or ivory. Some people believe that the rhino horn is important for medicinal purposes but in reality it has no significant use. 

Animal poaching happens mostly in the country of Zimbabwe. A country in Africa. Kenya comes in second place when it comes to poaching. The pattern that appears here is that most animal poaching happens in Africa because that’s where most of the rare animals are.

There can be many reasons as to why people decide to poach animals. One of the reasons people poach animals is because of their religion. Their religion can sometimes have obligations and/or traditions that involve poaching animals. Another reason can be for necessity or beliefs. Some poach animals and use them for their hides, skins, and the remaining parts are used for things such as clothing, food, or medicine. While some people have beliefs that it’s okay to poach animals.         

The most poached animals are elephants, walruses, rhinos, bears, and white-tailed deer. Elephants and walruses are poached for the ivory in their tusks. Their ivory tusks are often carved into jewelry and ornaments. Rhinos are poached for their horns. Its common use is to have it as a display to symbolize how successful and wealthy a person is if they have it. The American black bear is poached for its body parts that are used for exotic foods, they can also be used as aphrodisiacs. White-tailed deer is poached for its antlers and its meat. 

According to Onegreenplanet.org, there are many ways you can help stop the poaching of animals. One way to help is by signing petitions. There are many petitions that serve different purposes such as enacting wildlife protection or to end wildlife crime. Another way is by donating to foundations and volunteering. 

I know cloning sounds like a fictional plot from a sci-fi movie, but in 2020, this is a real practice.

There are ways we can help animals to become healthier through this. An example of this is when goats were cloned to produce more of a protein called antithrombin. The protein antithrombin goes through the bloodstream and reduces blood clots. They were bred now having more quantities of this protein. The research can be found by clicking this link.

When an organism is cloned, cells from that organism are harvested. They are then placed into the reproductive system of another, in attempt to grow the cells. Here is a more specific glance into the process of cloning.

A somatic cell is taken from the being that is going to be cloned. Then the nucleus of that cell is extracted. Why do we need to remove the nucleus? Well because that is what holds the organism’s DNA, which is what we need in order to clone it. The rest of the cell is discarded. After that, the nucleus of an egg cell is taken out from a donor organism, and replaced with the somatic cell nucleus. In hopes of the transfer working, they stimulate cell division in the new egg. With success, the egg divides. After division, the egg will be fertilized and transferred to a surrogate animal, which will carry the egg to term. The transfer has a high chance of failure, which is what makes the process an expensive one.

Human cloning is not yet possible. There is no federal US law that strictly prohibits it, though in 13 states it isn’t permitted.

Scientists are working on better ways of animal cloning. Animals that are cloned are known to have problems and mutations. There are health risks as well. The focus is to adjust the cloning process in order to produce healthy animals. Pushing forward in these sciences gives us hope that in the future we will have healthy animal clones, and we will continue to advance forward.

Ever wonder how plastic gets in our ocean? Plastic makes its way into the ocean due to human activity. Instead of recycling plastic as we are supposed to, it ends up in the trash can. From the trash can, that plastic goes to a landfill. Because the plastic is so light, it will often fly off and that’s when it starts going into bodies of water and streets. 

Plastic affects the ocean because it can kill wildlife, fish, seabirds, and marine mammals. Because of the plastic floating in the ocean, often times animals tend to get tangled in it and die. They also mistake it for food. Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and often end up choking on them and dying. 

Plastic in the ocean has a negative impact on the environment. According to the United Nations Environment, plastic can release toxic effects. Chlorinated plastic can release harmful chemicals into the surrounding soil, which can seep into groundwater or any other surrounding water sources, and also the ecosystem. This is dangerous because it can cause harmful effects to the species who drink water.

There are long term effects of having plastic in the ocean. Some of them can be toxic wastes. This can then affect marine wildlife along with the food chain and any reproductive system failures. It can interrupt the cycle of the coral reefs. And it can also affect human health. 

Some of the more short term effects of having plastic in the ocean. Plastic in the ocean can pollute the ocean and any waterways, which then has harmful impacts on the environment and the economy. Many sea life creatures eat plastic and die from choking, blockage in the intestines and starvation. 

There are many things the human species can do to help stop plastic from getting into the ocean, or any other body of water. We can reduce our use of Single-Use plastics (think like plastic straws, Saran Wrap, or plastic cups, etc.). We can start to recycle properly or participate in a beach or river cleanup. You can also support any organizations that address plastic pollution problems. 

There are a couple of explanations behind why an animal or creature can become endangered. One explanation is loss of environment. To become familiar with why creatures have become terminated previously, we utilized data from National Geographic.

Species that endure their natural surroundings being cleared need to relocate. With an absence of land, there is an expanded possibility of human-animal interactions. Introduction to wild creatures can be possibly hazardous to both parties. Potentially dangerous plants, growths, or insects, might be nearer to society because of their territory being crushed. They begin to grow and thrive in communities which is unwanted.

The loss of species we are seeing today is evaluated to be somewhere in the range of 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the common eradication rate. People have pursued a significant number of the bigger animals from pretty much every occupied landmass in the course of 125,000 years. 

The International Union for Conservation of Nature evaluated how likely it is for specific bird species to go extinct. This depends on characteristics they saw from them. What they found was that the little and versatile creatures have a superior possibility of endurance. Huge creatures are progressively powerless against people since they are targeted and need more space. The loss of these creatures has tumbling impacts. They support their biological system, for instance, elephants disperse huge seeds around the land.

There is an informational article to help you learn more about larger animals becoming extinct from the New York Times. 

This article was intended to shine light to everyone on how their environment has been changing. Earth is the home for millions of species of animals. People have been cutting down and taking down the habitats of these animals for years. After such a long time of destruction and hunting, animals are becoming endangered.

Bees are very interesting insects. In one way they are defying the natural law of weight compared to flight and in other ways they are very efficient and precise little creatures. 

They are built very large and have very small wings. Strangely, they can fly which is interesting because they don’t have the large wings that would be needed for its size.

Queen and worker bumblebees can sting. Unlike in honeybees, the bee can sting repeatedly without injuring itself; by the same token, the stinger is not left in the wound. Bumblebee species are not normally aggressive, but may sting in defence of their nest, or if it feels endangered itself. 

There are many bees that have a complication. If a bee feels like it is in danger it will sting, but the stinger will be left behind. The bee needs its stinger or it will die. 

Certain bees are in danger of going extinct and many have been put on the endangered list. 

The main causes for the extinction of bees is pesticides and parasites. Ever since WWII the use of pesticides has increased by extreme amounts.

Easy ways to help protect them is to plant more flowers and plants in your yard, try to eat bee friendly foods that don’t contain too much honey and things, and most importantly, don’t kill them. You can easily find a safe way to move their home somewhere new or just let them stay where they set up camp. Always remember that if you don’t bother them, then they won’t bother you. 

We love our oceans, or so I hope. The ocean is the heart of our great Earth. Water on this planet covers over ⅔ of the Earth’s surface. This huge body of water is our support system. It generates half the oxygen we breathe. It is also the largest ecosystem on Earth. The oceans must be protected at all costs. Without it, the world would be in a completely different place in life and evolution.

The ocean can’t die, but it can change. The marine environment has changed significantly because of climate change. Yes, climate change is real and it is happening. This biome is registering the impacts of climate change. Ocean warming is one of the biggest impacts it has. The ocean absorbs heat as a result of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The ocean has absorbed more than 93% of excess heat since the 1970’s. Ocean warming causes deoxygenation (a reduction in the amount of oxygen dissolved in the ocean). It also causes an increased rise in sea level. This expands the sea and continental ice melting. 

Ocean warming is extremely harsh on the oceans many ecosystems. The global temperatures current increase is 0.7 degrees Celsius. The Intergovernmental Panel has a prediction that it will rise between 1.4 degrees Celsius and 5.8 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the average global sea temperature in the upper ocean has increased by 0.13 degrees Celsius per decade over the past 100 years. Along with this, the deep ocean is absorbing  ⅓ of the excess heat 700 m below the ocean’s surface. Because of this, climate change will have a huge affect on the entirety of the ocean.

A key impact of climate change and ocean warming is coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is the most visual effect of climate change. It is caused by high water temperatures that kill the ocean’s coral. In the most recent years, coral mortality had reached up to 70% in multiple regions. 

When people ask questions about this, one they all have in common is – why is coral bleaching such a big deal? Some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on this planet is supported by coral reefs. Over thousands of marine animals depend on this oceanic plant. Animals such as fish, crabs, ea turtles, sea birds, starfish, etc. Coral reefs don’t just feed marine wildlife, they also provide much more. They provide spawning grounds, shelter, and protection from predators. These reefs support organisms all the way at the base of the food chain. With reef ecosystems collapsing, all of these species face extinction. 

That is just one of the many impacts global warming has on the ocean. Imagine what else it is doing. Actions can be/are being taken to protect these coral reefs and the ocean all together. There are small daily actions to take that will definitely help. Smart things you can do are invest in renewable energy and energy efficient appliances, reduce water waste, reduce food waste, invest in better light bulbs, and pull the plugs in help reduce unnecessary energy use. The biggest action you can take to help stop global warming is to speak up. Take part in protests, sign a petition, donate to causes that are trying to replant coral reefs and plans for clean power. Everyone should help make this change. 

Coral reefs stretch over 280,000 km in tropical areas. The reefs act as a “home,” and also is known as a shelter for many different species. Many people call the coral reef the “rainforests of the sea.”

Coral reefs help out the environment as well as us humans. The reef protects our shores from the impact of waves and from storms. They also help humans in the form of food and/or medicine. They also provide economic wealth to communities from tourism.

The World Meteorological Organization says that the reefs have more than $30 billion (U.S. dollars) in global goods and services.

The past few years, the reefs have seen many global threats increase.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature produced the “Red List of Threatened Species,” which highlights the species that are extinct, critically endangered, or vulnerable.

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is one of the most managed reefs in the world. In 2009, a report made by the Australian agency fears the future and that “catastrophic damage to the ecosystem may not be saved.”

The State of Coral Reefs Around the World says that 205 of the world’s coral reefs are destroyed and show no immediate prospect of recovery. Approximately 405 or 16% of the world’s reefs, were seriously damaged in 1998, and are either recovering well or have recovered. 60% of the earth’s coral reefs are threatened by just human activity. For more information about reef recovery statistics, please visit: globalissues.org

Some threats coral faces would be: bleaching (which is when the water temperatures increase), over fishing and over harvesting which disrupt the ecosystem of the reefs, boat anchors and divers can also scar the reef. Another thing is that invasive species, like the lionfish, can also caused a threat. Threats like lawn runoffs, sewage, cities, and farms all feed algae into the ocean, which can cause the reef to be overwhelmed according to  ocean.si.edu.

According to oceanservice.noaa.gov, there are 10 ways you can help protect the coral reefs:

1: Choose sustainable seafood.

2: Conserve water; the less water you use the less runoff and wastewater will find its way back to the ocean

3: Volunteer to help with local beach or a reef cleanup.

4: Corals are already a gift. Don’t give them as presents.

5: If you dive, don’t touch. Coral reefs are alive. Any stirred-up sediment can smother the corals.

6: Practice safe boating. Anchor in a sandy area away from coral and sea grasses so that the anchor chain doesn’t drag and damage nearby corals.

7: Don’t send chemicals into our waterways. Nutrients from excess fertilizer increases algae growth that blocks sunlight to corals.

8: Be a marine debris crusader. Besides picking up your own trash, carry away the trash that others have left behind.

9: Educate yourself about coral reefs and the creatures they support.

10: Long-lasting light bulbs are a bright idea. Light bulbs reduce greenhouse gases.

Coral reefs play a vital role in sustaining the health of our oceans and economy so it is in our best interest to protect them.