Polar Bears and Global Warming

I saw this picture in a funny website a while ago. I didn't think much into it, but now after watching "And Inconvenient Truth", I understand that this is a serious issue.

Global warming is causing ice caps and glaciers to melt, therefore leaving no place for the polar bears to live in. These poor animals have to swim around to find a place to rest, and sometimes when they can't find one, they drown out of exhaustion.

Happy Earth Day!!

Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It's a good day to give something back to the Earth, which has provided us with so much.
So... How are you supposed to celebrate Earth Day? Well, here are some ideas:

Plant a tree!
Not only will it cheer your garden up, but in the long run, planting trees helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cleans pollution, secures soil in place to prevent erosion, and provides homes for a lot of biodiversity.

Separate your trash
Before you dump everything into one bin, separate your trash by organic, plastic, paper, metal, and glass. Dispose of each in a environmentally thoughtful way!

Feed the Birds
Buy or build a bird feeder. Birds play an important role in every ecosystem, so make sure they are getting food. A fun idea to do if you have kids is to take a pine cone, put some peanut butter and roll it in on bird seeds. Attach a ribbon and hang in a place where birds can have access too. Kids love crafts, and getting them involved with nature is very important.

Learn about the environment
How about instead of checking your comments in Myspace, you read some articles about the environment? Google is your best friend. Some topics could be learning to reduce your carbon footprint, issues such as pollution, endangered species, water shortages, recycling, and climate change. Or, learn about a region you've never considered before, like the Arctic, the deserts, or the rain forests.

Car Pool or Walk
For most of us walking to school or work is difficult (not impossible though!), but we can carpool. Also, just use your car for long distances. Walk or ride your bike if you're going somewhere nearby.

Cook an Eco-Friendly Meal
Try doing a vegetarian recipe. Factory farming does a great deal of harm to the environment. If people ate vegetarian or vegan for one day a week, we could help the environment and our health. This website has tons of vegan and vegetarian recipes. If not, then try eating organic. Organic food doesn't have pesticides and is much healthier and easier on the environment than mass produced vegetables and animals.

So there are some great ideas for today. But don't forget, we can make everyday be Earth Day!

Plants in Bedroom: Dangerous?

I remember hearing that having plants in your bedroom, or at least at night, was dangerous. Why? Because plants compete for oxygen while you sleep, eventually causing you to suffocate to death. (Wow, how tragic of me, haha!)

Truth or Myth?

Myth! Plants are continuously engaging in cellular respiration, but can only photosynthesize during the day (they need light!). However, during the day, the amount of oxygen plants release as part of photosynthesis makes the amount of oxygen they consume for respiration seem so small as to be meaningless.

At night, when photosynthesis can’t happen, plants continue to consume oxygen but they don’t release any back into the room. "So plants really do compete with humans for oxygen?!"

Well, not really. The amount of oxygen the plants use at night is still minimal to even be able to take our share of available oxygen.

Bacteria Population

Last week during lab, we got to test any object of our choice to see the bacteria it had. I thought it would be a great idea if I tested the door handle. I usually avoid touching public doors, especially restroom doors, because of the amount of people who touch them.

Maybe my expectations were too high, so today during lab I faced a huge disappointment:

Dramatization

But when I was done being upset of my sad little petri dish, I realized something: either I didn't test it right or the door handle is actually clean. Assuming I did test it right (which I'm sure I did), then the door is clean. Happiness!

Although I would have liked a nasty bacteria culture like the one from my classmate who tested the pencil sharpener. That was just gross, but very cool to look at!

Sauerkraut

On Tuesday, Professor Hotchkin made sauerkraut during lab. And today the class got to try it. I thought it was pretty good, although the smell was very strong. Definitely sour, and kinda lemony in a way (which may have just been me, because it doesn't have lemon).

It has a long shelf-life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid that forms when the bacteria ferment the sugars in the cabbage.

Sauerkraut is very healthy. It is an excellent source of vitamin C, lactobacilli, and other nutrients. However, the low pH and abundance of otherwise healthy lactobacilli may upset the intestines of people who are not used to eating acidic foods. Studies suggest that fermented cabbage may be even more healthy than the raw vegetable, with increased levels of anti-cancer agents such as isothiocyanates.

Funny Fact: During World War I, due to concerns the American public would reject a product with a German name, American sauerkraut makers relabeled their product as "Liberty cabbage" for the duration of the war. "Freedom Fries" come to mind :]

Fractals In Nature

Today in Lab we watched a film about fractals. I was really amazed, and wanted to see more. I found a gallery with some pictures of nature's fractals, and here are some of my favorite:

Peacock, so beautifull.

Seashell

Tree

Lightning

Queen Anne's Lace

Snowflake (not sure if this is real).

Aloe Vera

Pictures (exept snowflake) from: CoolPictureGallery

Berry Confusing: Bananas and Strawberries

Think of a berry, quick!!








Did this pop into your head?


Wrong! Strawberries are actually not berries. By technical definition, a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single seed. The strawberry, however has its dry, yellow "seeds" on the outside (each of which is actually considered a separate fruit). True berries, such as blueberries and cranberries have seeds inside.

Now, here's a picture of a true berry:What?... A banana? Yes! The banana fruit is a berry for the same reason strawberries are not.