The book i am reading for our ecology book reading thingy is State of Fear by Michael Crichton. Its a fiction novel, but does have a fair amount of facts in it with referances. Its 672 pages long and right now at 3/29/07 i am on page 295. This is definitly the most interesting book of all the ones other people are reading in the class. Its got a real story to it! yay! anyways....
So far it has been talking about a lawsuit that was going to be made against the Environmental Protection Agency by an island nation called Vatutu. It was going to be funded by George Morton. It was expected to cost ~$8 million, but the lawsuit was never made. State of Fear has been so far about why that lawsuit was never made. It has argued that there are many scientists who have written peer edited works that Global Warming isn't really happening. It has given referances to most of its arguements. It has said that Antarctica is sheering off ice from the peninsula, but the total ice mass of Antarctica was increasing.
3/29/2007
3/22/2007
weird eco movies w/ 2 much timelapse er sumthing... They were called Life Sense!!! yay i remembered!!
Oooooooooook. these movies were kinda weird. there were too many timelapses it made all the plants look like demon thingies that grew so they could enslave the earth!!!!
anyways... the life sense movies were fairly intersting actually. The first one about the human-animal interactions showed some of the problems with development. I already knew most of things in this already but w/e it wasn't work. The first movie showed how food transfer and the colonization of places changed the environment of lots of animals and how they have adapted. For instance the perigrine falcon's main habitat is now cities.
anyways... the life sense movies were fairly intersting actually. The first one about the human-animal interactions showed some of the problems with development. I already knew most of things in this already but w/e it wasn't work. The first movie showed how food transfer and the colonization of places changed the environment of lots of animals and how they have adapted. For instance the perigrine falcon's main habitat is now cities.
3/06/2007
eco film fest!! it was cool =)
YAY! our film festival was awesome!
I suggest another yayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyay!! anyways.....
NOOOOOOO i just found out this is a test grade!!!! =( *crys* (3/13/07)
The movies we watched were After The Warming ; An Inconvenient Truth ; Waterworld ; The Day After Tomorrow they were boring ; boring ; cool ; and OK in that order. The first two were documentaries the second two fictional movies. They all discussed the topic of global warming and what will happen if we continue in our green house gasses.
The movies were similar in that they all showed a vision of the future. The first documentary showed a world ruled by the Japanese where everyone got along, and no one ate meat. It was a horrible apocalyptic doom. The second documentary showed signs of global warming and what would most likely happen in the future if we continue our use of natural resources at its current rate. The third movie was about a world were the ice caps melted. The world was covered in water except for the tip of a big mountain. The fourth movie was about an insane winter caused by an ocean current being purified by ice caps melting.
After the Warming had the most different of all the views of the future. In this future there was a global corporation in charge of regulating the world. In this future everyone got along and they were all hippies. The future view was fairly similar to the one presented in An Inconvenient Truth in that the world suffered from people pumping too much CO2 into the atmosphere causing ice caps and the like to melt and an ocean current to purify which screws up the transfer of air causing the temperature of a lot of places to get screwed up. This also happened in Day After Tomorrow. In After the Warming everyone got along which never was shown in either of the other movies. An Inconvenient Truth implied it but didn't actually say it (i think). In Day After Tomorrow almost no one got along and it led to a massive disaster instead of a contained one with little casualties. In Waterworld the smokers fought with everyone and no one trusted people outside of their own little groups (the atoll, each individual boat, the smokers, etc.).
An Inconvenient Truth was the only movie that didn't show the future, it only said what would happen. An Inconvenient Truth said that the world's CO2 would drastically increase and the algae that keep the temperature down would die off from the excessive heat. It said the ice caps would melt and the world's maps would have to be redrawn. It said that many densely populated areas would flood and there would be major catastrophes, but it never showed this future. It only told what would happen if we continued our ways. It showed a similar idea to that in The Day After Tomorrow, where the ocean currents cause a super winter. In An Inconvenient Truth it says that the glaciers melting will cause whichever current it is to purify and stop and we all FREEZE!!!! and then all of us in Telluride are like "yay snow day!!!". Anyways.... An Inconvenient Truth kind of denys that Waterworld could ever happen. It says that everything would freeze first.
In The Day After Tomorrow the oceans are purified by melting glaciers and everything freezes. This movie is like the opposite of Waterworld, because it says that you cannot ever reach that point. The Day After Tomorrow, as well as An Inconvenient Truth, says that once the ocean currents are purified than the world freezes and re-salinifies because ice freezes and the salt is left in the liquid water.
In conclusion these movies all told of apocalyptic futures (After the Warming had no meat that's apocalyptic!!). Some of them denied each other, but for the most part they hit on key issues like the glaciers melting, and the purification of the ocean currents. It was a cool film fest and its a shame we probably won't get another... =( *crys* oh well. I guess i failed these last 2 paragraphs huh?
I suggest another yayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyayyay!! anyways.....
NOOOOOOO i just found out this is a test grade!!!! =( *crys* (3/13/07)
The movies we watched were After The Warming ; An Inconvenient Truth ; Waterworld ; The Day After Tomorrow they were boring ; boring ; cool ; and OK in that order. The first two were documentaries the second two fictional movies. They all discussed the topic of global warming and what will happen if we continue in our green house gasses.
The movies were similar in that they all showed a vision of the future. The first documentary showed a world ruled by the Japanese where everyone got along, and no one ate meat. It was a horrible apocalyptic doom. The second documentary showed signs of global warming and what would most likely happen in the future if we continue our use of natural resources at its current rate. The third movie was about a world were the ice caps melted. The world was covered in water except for the tip of a big mountain. The fourth movie was about an insane winter caused by an ocean current being purified by ice caps melting.
After the Warming had the most different of all the views of the future. In this future there was a global corporation in charge of regulating the world. In this future everyone got along and they were all hippies. The future view was fairly similar to the one presented in An Inconvenient Truth in that the world suffered from people pumping too much CO2 into the atmosphere causing ice caps and the like to melt and an ocean current to purify which screws up the transfer of air causing the temperature of a lot of places to get screwed up. This also happened in Day After Tomorrow. In After the Warming everyone got along which never was shown in either of the other movies. An Inconvenient Truth implied it but didn't actually say it (i think). In Day After Tomorrow almost no one got along and it led to a massive disaster instead of a contained one with little casualties. In Waterworld the smokers fought with everyone and no one trusted people outside of their own little groups (the atoll, each individual boat, the smokers, etc.).
An Inconvenient Truth was the only movie that didn't show the future, it only said what would happen. An Inconvenient Truth said that the world's CO2 would drastically increase and the algae that keep the temperature down would die off from the excessive heat. It said the ice caps would melt and the world's maps would have to be redrawn. It said that many densely populated areas would flood and there would be major catastrophes, but it never showed this future. It only told what would happen if we continued our ways. It showed a similar idea to that in The Day After Tomorrow, where the ocean currents cause a super winter. In An Inconvenient Truth it says that the glaciers melting will cause whichever current it is to purify and stop and we all FREEZE!!!! and then all of us in Telluride are like "yay snow day!!!". Anyways.... An Inconvenient Truth kind of denys that Waterworld could ever happen. It says that everything would freeze first.
In The Day After Tomorrow the oceans are purified by melting glaciers and everything freezes. This movie is like the opposite of Waterworld, because it says that you cannot ever reach that point. The Day After Tomorrow, as well as An Inconvenient Truth, says that once the ocean currents are purified than the world freezes and re-salinifies because ice freezes and the salt is left in the liquid water.
In conclusion these movies all told of apocalyptic futures (After the Warming had no meat that's apocalyptic!!). Some of them denied each other, but for the most part they hit on key issues like the glaciers melting, and the purification of the ocean currents. It was a cool film fest and its a shame we probably won't get another... =( *crys* oh well. I guess i failed these last 2 paragraphs huh?
2/20/2007
After the Warming responses
The film After the Warming presents a future that is ruled by the Japanese. The world is covered in trees and solar panels, Also the whole world is orderly and controlled (except the ocean currents). It looks terrible. Also people don't eat meat! that is the most horrible vision of the future possible. When meat is outlawed is the day i kill myself.
These future events were brought upon us by our blatant use of green house gases and our "somebody else will do it" attitude. We're really just doomed to a horrible fiery apocalyptic future that will kill us off. I beleave in this fiery apocalypse because we will never be able to change our ways. Human nature makes us self-centered and stubborn, as well as prone to fights. There is no way we can all work together. Everyone is always trying to help themselves in all situations. We can't work together. We are stubborn and we will continue our dooming lifestyle. =)
This film ~18 years old. It was published in 1989.
I really don't think that this vision of the future is beleavable. For one, THERES NO MEAT!! that is an atrocity to nature and will never ever work. Normal humans (which I dont con't non-meat eaters to be) like meat. Its that simple. Also we can't work together, and that movie has a world something something orginization that everyone is suppolsed to obey. As a species we won't keel over to one orginization.
These future events were brought upon us by our blatant use of green house gases and our "somebody else will do it" attitude. We're really just doomed to a horrible fiery apocalyptic future that will kill us off. I beleave in this fiery apocalypse because we will never be able to change our ways. Human nature makes us self-centered and stubborn, as well as prone to fights. There is no way we can all work together. Everyone is always trying to help themselves in all situations. We can't work together. We are stubborn and we will continue our dooming lifestyle. =)
This film ~18 years old. It was published in 1989.
I really don't think that this vision of the future is beleavable. For one, THERES NO MEAT!! that is an atrocity to nature and will never ever work. Normal humans (which I dont con't non-meat eaters to be) like meat. Its that simple. Also we can't work together, and that movie has a world something something orginization that everyone is suppolsed to obey. As a species we won't keel over to one orginization.
2/05/2007
Renewable Energy
solar
wind
tidal
biomass
hydroelectric
Green power is energy that isn't harmful to the environment, it is usually generated by hydroelectric or wind sources. Personally i think that there is no such thing as a renewable resource. Eventually the sun will burn out and there goes solar, wind (convection currents caused by solar heat), hydroelectric (without the sun all water would freeze), and we would be dead anyways so it doesn't really matter. We will probably all be dead soon anyways...
Our green power comes from Tri-State Generation and Transmission, who get their power from Wyoming(what a weird spelling). They are mostly using hydroelectric power and wind power. There is a little biomass. The hydroelectric power comes from dams that are located in Colorado. The wind is in Wyoming, and the bio mass is in Wyoming and Colorado. Tri-State Generation and Transmission is a power company that uses renewable resources to generate power for other areas to sell to their end users. here's a link. Green energy certificates are things you buy that give you 100-kilowatts of green power for 1.25$ extra each on your monthly bill.
wind
tidal
biomass
hydroelectric
Green power is energy that isn't harmful to the environment, it is usually generated by hydroelectric or wind sources. Personally i think that there is no such thing as a renewable resource. Eventually the sun will burn out and there goes solar, wind (convection currents caused by solar heat), hydroelectric (without the sun all water would freeze), and we would be dead anyways so it doesn't really matter. We will probably all be dead soon anyways...
Our green power comes from Tri-State Generation and Transmission, who get their power from Wyoming(what a weird spelling). They are mostly using hydroelectric power and wind power. There is a little biomass. The hydroelectric power comes from dams that are located in Colorado. The wind is in Wyoming, and the bio mass is in Wyoming and Colorado. Tri-State Generation and Transmission is a power company that uses renewable resources to generate power for other areas to sell to their end users. here's a link. Green energy certificates are things you buy that give you 100-kilowatts of green power for 1.25$ extra each on your monthly bill.
2/02/2007
1/31/2007
Hydroelectric Power
Hydroelectric power works by storing a lot of water behind a dam. The water is put through the dam and it pushes a turbine (a big fan thingy) and that turns a generator. The generator generates electircity and the water leaves the dam to join its natural stream that its suppolsed to be in, instead of being in a big dam or reservour. In the U.S. only about 12 percent of our energy comes from hydropower. Over the entire world hydroelectric power supplies 20% of all energy and that number is riseing! In Canada they use 70% hydropower. They are the world leaders in hydroelectric power, next being Austria at 67%. One of the advantavges to hydroelectric power is that it takes no fuel to run. Fossil fuels aren't used to produce hydroelectric power (unless you count the construction of the dam and repairs, but it makes up for that eventually). Also the dams are automated so that they dont require many people around to function. The dams also create reservours that can be used for recreation and that becomes a tourist thing, which leads to $$. Some of the disadvantages include: the need for irrigation is often greater than the need for power, and that can cause problems. Also The dams can disrupt the aquatic life and mess with things like the salmon's rush up stream to get to breeding grounds, but there is a lot of research going into more animal-friendly dams. Also the water that leaves the dam has little sediment in it, which can lead to the defertalization of areas, as well as the destruction of deltas and the like. the water that leaves the dam is also colder than how it was before the dam was built and that can endanger species.
my info and my pictures came from this site http://ga.water.usgs.gov/ I also used http://www.answers.com/topic/hydroelectricity
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