Monthly Archives: January 2014

Hurricane Sandy

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Formed on October 22 and dissipated on October 31, 2012, Hurricane Sandy is know as the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of 2012. Not only the most destructive, but the second-costliest hurricane in United States history as well. The damage in the United States alone amounted to $65 billion, according to the New York Times.

Developed from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea, Sandy gradually intensified. On October 24th Sandy became a hurricane, hit Jamaica, the Caribbean Sea, Cuba, and then the Bahamas. and affected 24 states in the U.S.

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In an interview hosted on ‘Green’ by the New York Times, Kevin E. Trenberth, a scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder Colorado, stated that “Natural variability very likely accounted for the bulk of that temperature extreme”. It has been noted that summer sea ice in the Arctic has fallen by roughly half since the late 1970’s, a change most climate scientists believe has been caused largely by human-induced warming.

In the article “Did Global Warming Contribute to Hurricane Sandy’s Devastation”, it was stated that human induced global warming has been human-induced global warming has been raising the overall temperature of the surface ocean, by about one degree Fahrenheit since the 1970s. So global warming very likely contributed a notable fraction of the energy on which the storm thrived — perhaps as much as 10 percent, Trenberth said.

Regardless if there is hard evidence or not, the way the planet has changed due to human destructive actions definitely has an effect, small or large.  In  ‘Climate Change Partly to Blame for Hurricane Damage’ by Douglas Main, stated that “Climate change likely made Hurricane Sandy worse than it otherwise would have been. Hurricanes and tropical stormed would occur with our without global warming. But  many climate models suggest that such storms will become more intense as the plant warms”

Overall, hurricane Sandy has greatly left its mark and it has been said that it has also made the geography of New York more susceptible to storm surges. The immensity of this hurricane will probably never be forgotten and I hope people are being more cautious not only for themselves, but for our planet, knowing that it cannot sustain more damage.

East Coast Begins To Clean Up And Assess Damage From Hurricane Sandy

 

http://www.livescience.com/24338-hurricane-sandy-photos-frankenstorm.html

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/world/americas/hurricane-sandy-fast-facts/

Genetically Modified Crops

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Today in 2014, companies are changing their systems, schools are molding new ways of thinking and people are willingly trying to better understand how food is grown and processed… all for our one and only beautiful world.  GMO’s, Genetically modified organisms are plants or animals that have been genetically engineered with DNA from bacteria, viruses or other plants and animals.
The list of benefits that GMO’s have for farmers or the food industry as a whole is pretty lengthy, but perhaps not enough to satisfy everyone’s needs. For example, corn, one of the most important and widely grown grain in the United States is very vulnerable to many pests and diseases, so the organisms assist its growth. Along with this, it has been said that the GMO’s create foods with better texture, flavor and nutritional value, foods with a longer shelf life for easier shopping, and that GM foods can create an essential sustainable way to feed the world.
All of the above would make perfect sense if there was no harm humans, but sadly this is the case.
As most plants produce substances that are toxic to humans, most of the plants that we humans consume produce these toxin levels low enough that they don’t encourage any negative health effects. There is a concern that inserting an exotic gene into a plant could cause it to produce toxins at higher levels that could be dangerous to human.
Last year in 2013 a New York Times poll resulted that three-quarters of Americans surveyed expressed concern about GMO’s in their food, with most of those worried about the health risks.
When the bill to ban genetically engineered crops on the island of Kona Hawaii was introduced in May 2013, it brought more attention than expected.
While some see GMO’s as a negative topic and want nothing to do with it, some are relying on modifications to increase the growth of wheat.  Without the benefits of the newer molecular techniques of genetic engineering, the nations wheat industry will continue to struggle against other commodities that have adopted biotechnology, and against the drought conditions out West. In the article “We Need G.M.O’s by Jayson Lusk and Henry I. Miller in the New York Times, they explain that wheat farmers “missed out” on perhaps the most important benefit of genetic engineering: the development of crops that can survive droughts or grow with lower-quality water. If these attributes were existent, they would go a long way to improving wheat yields and making the crop more attractive to farmers.
As a large population in Hawaii do not want to increase GMO consumption or are skeptical about it, other countries like China, Brazil and Indonesia are deeply concerned about their food security and have limited opportunities for growth in domestic production. Wheat and genetically engineered are hopefully soon going to be good friends.
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