EcoCMUfall20B

 Fossil Fuels and Greed For some odd reason, the topic of renewable energy is controversial in the United States. Many bills and laws are trying to be passed in some states and in general in the U.S., but don't end up getting passed, why is that? From what I have read about renewable energy is that it is good and it makes the environment better and it has more pros than cons, unlike fossil fuels that are literally destroying the atmosphere and the air we breathe. There are also many studies that show it now costs less to change to using renewable resources than it is to keep using the nonrenewable ones, so why would people not want to make the switch because it is all about money and not the bettering of the environment of the people. The thing is that oil companies know exactly what is going on with the environment and exactly what they are doing to make it worse, they don't care as long as the money is coming to them and as long as the law is not coming for them. The CEO of C...

    The Spotted eagle rays live along the open coast in the warm waters all through out the world. This species is usually seen within the coral reefs but will sometimes enter the protected bays to feed or too mate. This species gives live birth to their pups. The eagle rays can have up to 1-4 pups in each litter. These animals have a low reproductive rate. This species is natural rarity. These things contribute to the facts of the spotted eagle ray being near threatened. This species is not being directly targeted but they are captured by accident by being caught in the fish nets in the ocean. They are usually captured alive to be displayed in public aquariums.  Fun facts about the spotted eagle rays: spotted eagle rays have venomous spines on their tails that are used in defense against threats.  the spotted eagle ray can leap their entire bodies out of water while swimming close to the surface.  spotted eagle rays can be found from the surface to just over 19...

         If we continue to grow at the rate we are using the land now, then eventually, we will have no more  agricultural land to use. Approximately half of our land in the US is dedicated to agricultural purposes. The agricultural percentages are basically split in half between grasslands and croplands. The rest of the land in the US is simply labeled as nonagricultural land, and that is where the urban, residential, and commercial areas would be. As the cities and urban areas in our country grow, the agricultural lands continue to slim down. Along with the agricultural lands slimming, this also means that we are taking animals habitats because their homes are wherever we aren't. So really if you think about it, we need to keep a good percentage of our land as agricultural because it will help the natural elements of our environment. Source: https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2017/december/a-primer-on-land-use-in-the-united-states/

In this blog we will discuss salt, it may seem like it’s another minor contributor to our society but it is actually very significantly. There are 12 version of salt and we use them all very differently some we use in industry and some we use in food. The most common one we know is table salt which is a naturally occurring mineral that all animals need. Salt is very crucial to our health.  The sodium in salt is also essential for nerve function, regulation of fluids in or body, and regulation of our body’s control of blood pressure and volume. Some other uses for salt are for preservative for things like meat packing, sausage making, or fish curing. They can also use salt as a seasoning whenever they package the meats off. In the chemical industry they use salt to manufacture baking soda, chlorine, hydrochloric acid, and other chemicals. Salt is very abundant in our society and our ecosystem, it would surprise how much is in our everyday life. Here’s an example of one we all know o...

Tasmanian Devil When most people think of the  Tasmanian Devil they think of Taz from the Loony Tunes. Although a real  Tasmanian Devil looks nothing like Taz, he has been part of many peoples childhood. The  Tasmanian Devil has a thick-set, squat build, with a relatively large, broad head and short, thick tail. Body size varies greatly, depending on the diet and habitat. The  Tasmanian Devil can also store fat in their tail to use for later. Tasmanian Devil also have the strongest bite that is   estimated to be around 2.2 lbs per square inch. This helps them to crush bones for consumption. They can also open their jaw 75-80 degrees. When  Tasmanian Devil‘s are born they are the size of a grain of rice. Once they are born they have to race blindly to the mother’s pouch because the mom only has four teats and gives birth to 20-40 joeys. The ones that are left behind are then eaten by the mother.   The  Tasmanian Devil is the largest carnivorous mar...

 Hydroelectric Energy     In the worlds attempt to find better more efficient energy source, we have gotten to the point of using hydroelectric energy. Hydroelectricity is a source of energy that has been used for ages, but we have slowly started to make the advancements to improve this form of energy to make it more reliable. This energy is produced by water falling and collecting kinetic energy, that kinetic energy turns a turbine in the water to produce energy. That energy is then sent to all of the customers of that hydro powerplant and the process continues. Hydroelectricity is the next step to making cleaner energy for this world to use.  For more information go to: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/hydroelectric-energy/#:~:text=Hydroelectric%20energy%2C%20also%20called%20hydroelectric,used%20this%20force%20for%20millennia.