Unnatural Kingdom

             In the article, The Unnatural Kingdom by Daniel Duane, advancements in digital technology are keeping nature the way we want it. In the article, two methods were mentioned that conservationists are using to restore populations of endangered animals. Relocation and the collar system are methods currently being used to restore these populations. These methods are for the best interest to save endangered species.
           Both relocation and the collar system allow conservationists regulate populations. In this article, relocation of pregnant sheep allowed their diverse genetics to be introduced to other species in a given area. By introducing new genes to the gene pool, this causes an increase in diversity and population. The collar system tracks where the animal is and its every move it makes. This system allows conservationists to keep track of the populations by killing certain animals with high populations, which are usually going to be predators in this case, to regulate other populations of animals which are often prey. Both methods would need lots of human intervention and constant monitoring of all species. Both methods also would need the use of technology to analysis the data, crunch data, monitor animals, along with the use of GPS.
          Relocation and the collar system both affect the animals differently. Relocating an animal is not as invasive as putting collars and tags on animals to track every movement they make 24/7. By observing the populations of animals and placing them in various areas to increase the population, the natural aspect of the animal is not affected as much. Putting animals in a different location may affect them a bit psychologically at first, since they are taken out of their habitat and placed in an unfamiliar area. However, over time the animal will adapt to its surroundings. Also, conservationists would probably relocate animals to a locations similar to the one they were in previously. Collar systems on the other hand, disrupt the "natural" aspect of animals in the wild. These animals have to live with a collar around their neck and tags in their ears, just to monitor their every movement. The process of puncturing an animals ear with a tag and forcing an animal living in the wild to wear a collar around its neck is more invasive.
          The collar system has a better chance at being successful because you are able to observe and regulate species in more detail. However, I personally do not agree with the method of tracking species by putting a collar on them and labeling each animal with a tag. The whole concept of restoring populations in the wild is to keep the animals "wild." By putting a collar on an animal, like you do to animals in your home, it takes away the "wilderness" of the animal. If this is the method that is going to be used from now on, restored populations should not be considered "wild." However, if the collar system method is used, the term "wild" may change. Despite the collar system method to restore populations, human intervention in the wild also takes away from animals being "wild." Animals are not able to be left alone to figure things out with this human intervention, which again makes animals in the wild seem domesticated.
         Restored populations of big horn sheep will have less genetic diversity than they did 200 years ago because of population size. 200 years ago, the big horn sheep population was very high, whereas now the population had to start all over. The gene pool is not very big due to the low population, but will increase as population increases. This overall will eventually increase the genetic diversity. Conservationists are using the method of relocation to improve genetic diversity. As mentioned in the article, pregnant sheep with diverse genes are being introduced to new groups of species, which is increasing genetic diversity.

Animal Welfare Summary

              

               In the Executive Summary on "Animal Welfare," it focuses on the conditions animals live in and regulations that are put in place for the safety and well being of both the animals and humans. Many animals such as; pigs, hens, and cows, are confined into small spaces, where they are unable to move naturally and freely. Confinement can then result in spread of diseases and for animals to be more susceptible to disease, which then impacts humans that consume the animals with disease. Due to consumers finding out about conditions the animal live in, many people are concerned and demand change in these conditions. Since the treatment of the animals has brought such animosity, standards have been put in place to ensure comfort among the animals. Such measures are, "feeding regimens that ensure that animals do not experience prolonged hunger or thirst; housing that ensures resting comfort, a good thermal environment, and freedom of movement; health management that prevents physical injury, disease, and pain; and appropriate means to allow animals to express non-harmful social behaviors, and other, species-specific natural behaviors (European Union Animal Welfare Quality Program: http://www. welfarequality.net/everyone/36059)(fawc, 2007)." Even though these standards have been put in place, the animal industry still does not completely abide by these standards as a fear that the cost of production will increase. This summary focuses on the ethical treatment for animals for the safest and sustainable animal food production industry, which in the end does not affect human health. 

              

               In the section, "Alternative Hog Production System,"  it gives a more specific and detailed description of what conditions and factors that are weighed into decisions of conditions that the animals live in. The most favored alternative to raise hogs is the hoop barn instead of the traditional barn. This barn is favored because it requires less money, time, and effort. They are also better for repairs on the barn and easier to manage the bedding. Due to consumers being more informed and concerned with the animals well-being, the "Five Freedoms" were created and are followed all over the world. These Five Freedoms take in consideration the animal's emotional and physical well-being. The Five Freedoms are 1) Freedom from Hunger and Thirst 2) Freedom from Discomfort 3) Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease 4) Freedom to Express Normal Behavior 5) Freedom from Fear and Distress. These regulations are the same if not more detailed in regards to social relations with the farm owners and animals in the European Union. However, unlike the European Union, in the United States these regulations are not closely followed at all.



             One way to address these issues is by bringing more of an awareness to the animals mental health, along with physical health. Also by creating more space and a "natural" life for the animals would be a good solution. Things such as "cage free" have been implemented when buying eggs from the grocery store, so a continuation of acts like this would be a good idea too.


http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/facts-on-animal-farming-and-the-environment/

EROI Homework

1) We should use tar sands before we use oil shale because tar sands have a higher EROI.
2) A similarity between the processes used to get oil from tar sands and oil from oil shale is the use of heat. In the process used to get oil from oil shale, heater holes are drilled 1,000 to 2,000 feet where it then heats oil barring shale to 700 degrees. In the process used to get oil from tar sands, they are heated with steam or hot water to extract bitumen.
3) A difference between the process used to get oil from tar sands and oil shale is that the bitumen created in tar sands must be refined into usable oil, whereas in oil shale it creates crude oil, along with natural gas.
4) Off-shore drilling may be smart in the long run to reduce greenhouse gas emissions because there is a higher EROI with off-shore drilling, causing less energy to be used into refining, as seen in tar sands.
5) When doing my homework I sometimes start to get tired. I usually do my homework in bed. I have two options, go make coffee with the intentions to drink a cup to help me stay awake, or I sleep. However, going downstairs to make a pot of coffee makes me have to use my energy to get out of bed, walk all the way down stairs, empty the filter from before, put that in the trash can, put a new filter in, open the container with the coffee in it, scoop two 1/4 cups of coffee and place it in the filter, walk over to the sink to fill up the coffee pot with water, dump the water in the coffee maker, make sure the little plastic thing is in the right place, and press the button that says "start brew." Now, this causes me to have to use a lot of my energy, compared to the other option which I usually do everyday after school around 4, lay down and sleep instead of doing my homework and do it later.

Haber-Bosch Process Persuasive Essay

            Ammonia, crops, and population are all related through the Haber-Bosch process. The Haber-Bosch process is the synthesis of ammonia at high temperatures by using Hydrogen and Nitrogen gas. This is useful to humans by using Nitrogen-based fertilizers, used to grow crops. By having synthesized fertilizers, the human population increases due to an increase in food supply. Even though this is a positive effect of the Haber-Bosch process, overall there was a negative impact on human civilization.
           Since the Haber-Bosch process caused an increase in human population to a capacity much higher than the optimal number. "It stated that people would inevitably produce more mouths to feed than food to feed them, since population "increases in a geometrical ratio" while "subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio." This means that population multiplies and the population will grow more rapidly because there are more people capable to reproduce. The Haber-Bosch process was invented when the population was only at 2 billion in 1898. Present day, the population is now at 7 billion, happening during a span of only 117 years. When the article states that "subsistence only increases in an arithmetical ratio," that means that the amount of things being produced that humans need to live, will not increase at the same rate as the amount of people on the planet. With more people, there will be more people included in the doubling time.  This dilemma causes a shortage in natural resources, in which we will eventually run out of. This also causes an increase in green-house gases.
          Another negative impact on human civilization due to the effects of the Haber-Bosch process is the decision of taking away rights and ethics in order to achieve the optimal population number, or allowing nature to take matters into its own hands.“When we no longer have it—or if we ever decide to stop using it—that may be a number to which our own naturally gravitates.” The alternative to an orderly global “countdown” is, he warns, pretty dire. “Whether we accept it or not, this will likely be the century that determines what the optimal human population is for our planet,” he writes. “Either we decide to manage our own numbers, to avoid a collision of every line on civilization’s graph—or nature will do it for us.” This century is in charge of managing the population by implementing universal one-child policy ideas or nature will do it for the universe due to the lack of resources for the amount of people living on it. By forcing a one-child policy on people, it takes away rights and imposes ethical issues. Personally I feel you should not be able to tell people when they can and can not do when reproducing and living the life they want to live. 
          The rapid population growth has to do with the total fertility rates around the world. Places such as, Japan, have a total fertility rate lower than 1.5. People in Japan are not interested in having sex starting at the reproduction age. Low fertility rates are also in European countries, along with places like the Czech Republic. However due to overpopulation in areas in Africa such as, Niger and Somalia with a fertility rate above 5, there will always be more people added to the world and almost cancels out the decrease in population in other areas. 
           To reach the optimal number for the population, the population growth rate can not increase at this rate. Even with natural and tragic events that decrease the population, there is still not enough resources to sustain the population. Discussed ideas to decrease the total fertility rates are not ethical to implement. The Haber-Bosch process is a negative impact on human civilization, leading to a spiral of unwanted events. However, this process increases the food production, which then leads to an increase in population, which overall is the issue being faced globally. 

Seneca Lake Lab Report

Seneca Lake Lab Report

Introduction: As mentioned in the Science on Seneca Manual, Seneca Lake is a primary source of drinking water and is useful to nearby towns and municipalities. However all of the Finger Lakes are subjected to environmental harms such as; "agricultural pollutants, shoreline development, increasing recreational use and the introduction of exotic species like the spiny water flea, zebra and quagga
mussel and Eurasian watermilfoil" (Science on Seneca Manual, p.6). Theses environmental threats are factors that impact the water quality of Seneca Lake. As done in the Furnace Brook lab, water quality was tested by sampling macro-invertebrates present in the water, along with testing pH, Dissolved Oxygen, and Turbidity. By testing for the things mentioned above in the three soil samples taken from the lake, along with taking into account the environmental threats that impact Seneca Lake, the water quality can be determined. By seeing organisms that live or do not live in Seneca Lake, you can determine the water quality based on the organisms' pollution tolerance. As in the Furnace Brook lab, the Caddisfly Larvae (which is very intolerant of pollution) was present in Furnace Brook, which shows that Furnace Brook's water quality is not polluted enough for that organism to be absent, indicating the water quality is fair. 

References:  "Science on Seneca Manual.pdf." Google Docs. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
                      "Macroinvertebrates as Indicators of Water Quality (Water Quality)." Water Quality                                        (Penn State Extension). N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.
                      "Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Biological Monitoring." Enviroscience. N.p.,                                                n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.

Research Question:  How is the water quality of Seneca Lake impacted by environmental threats?

Hypothesis:   Seneca Lake will have good water quality and be impacted very little by environmental threats. The organisms in the three soil samples will differ slightly. Organisms will higher pollution tolerances will be present more near the shoreline, based on the shoreline development surrounding Seneca Lake mentioned in Science of Seneca Lake Manual. The Lake will have a high population of Quagga mussels. However, I believe the water quality has been impacted negatively over time due to the very little environmental threats that Seneca Lake is subjected to. 

Variable Identification:  

Controlled Variable	Method to control the variable
Distance between locations	Creating an Arc or Radius
Speed of sound	Water Temperature
Time	Constant velocity

Experimental Setup :  This experiment took place on Seneca Lake on the William Scandling  a steel-hulled vessel that is 65 feet in length. To perform the water chemistry part of the lab, Cholride, pH, and Dissolved Oxygen kits were used to obtain data. A Plankton net was used to collect the Plankton, to then look at the organisms under the microscope. Sieves with six sizes were placed on top of each other, to analysis the volume of the sediment sizes.

These are the six sieves used for the particle size analysis. Each sieve has a different mesh size. 

This is the microscope, showing the organisms present that were collected in the Plankton net. 

This is the area where water chemistry took place. The blue box seen in this picture is one of the kits; Chloride, Dissolved Oxygen, or pH. 

Procedure: 

       
      Water Chemistry:

Use the pH meter to determine the pH of the lake water. 
2) Determine the Dissolved Oxygen by using the dissolved oxygen kit 
3) add 8 drops of the manganese(II) sulfate solution (bottle 4167) followed by 8 drops of the alkaline potassium iodide azide solution (bottle 7166). Some water may drip off the sides, this is expected! Carefully cap the bottle, mix by gently inverting (do not generate bubbles inside the glass sample bottle), then allow the orange-brown precipitate that has formed to settle below the shoulder of the bottle (about 3-4 minutes).
4) Using the 1 gram spoon provided in the kit (0697), add one level spoonful of
sulfamic acid (bottle 6286) to the solution in your LaMotte sample bottle. Cap the bottle and mix until both the reagent (white crystals) and precipitate (brown crystals) have completely dissolved and you obtain a clear brown-yellow solution.CAUTION: Sulfamic acid will burn if you get it on your skin. Be careful!!
5) Pour this clear brown-yellow solution from the LaMotte bottle into the titration tube and fill it up to the 20 ml line. Then, using the plastic eye-dropper provided in the kit, add 8 drops of the starch solution to the titration tube. At this point, the solution should change color to a bluish-green.
6) Fill the Direct Reading Titrator (0337) up to the 0 mark [looks like a syringe, marked 0-10 ppm] with the sodium thiosulfate solution (bottle 4169).
7) Insert the titrator you just filled through the small hole in the cap of the titration tube and titrate the solution slowly. Swirl the titration tube until the blue color of the solution disappears permanently with one drop of titrant (i.e., you are looking for a color progression from green-blue to blue to light blue to colorless). You may have to fill the titrator more than once. Be sure to record how much titrant you used before refilling. The direct reading titrator is calibrated in units of parts per million (ppm) dissolved oxygen, therefore, be sure to record all of these units (Science on Seneca, p. 21-22). 
8) Handle the waste and clean up. 
9) Do not dump remaining contents in the LaMotte sample bottle, in the sink! Dump the remains in the container marked DO WASTE. 
10) Test the chemistry of the dissolved oxygen determination
11) In Step 1, a solution of manganese(II) sulfate is initially added to the lake water
12) Next, you add a solution of potassium hydroxide (KOH), sodium azide (NaN3) and potassium iodide (KI) to the LaMotte bottle.sample.
13) In step 2, you add sulfamic acid (H2SO3NH2) to the solution with a yellow-brown precipitate.
14) At this point, the oxygen is bound. The amount of dissolved oxygen is determined by titrating the iodine in solution with a starch indicator (the I2 is blue in starch.) 
15) When all of the I2 has been reduced (to I-(Na2S4O6) are formed. The blue color disappears and the solution becomes colorless. This is the end point of the titration. The concentration of I2 formed equals the concentration of dissolved oxygen.), sodium iodide (NaI) and sodium tetrathionate. (Science on Seneca Manual) 
16) Test the Chloride ion 
17) Fill the titration tube to the 15 ml mark with the lake water sample from the large plastic LAKE SAMPLE water bottle.
18) Add three drops of CHLORIDE REAGENT #1 (bottle 4504, contains potassium chromate) to the sample in the titration tube. Cap the tube and shake to mix. A yellow color will result.
19) Fill the Direct Reading Titrator (0382) up to the 0 mark [looks like a syringe: marked 0-200 ppm] with CHLORIDE REAGENT #2 (bottle 4505, contains silver nitrate). Note:Silver Nitrate (AgNO3) can stain heavily if it gets on your hands or clothing and is exposed to daylight or direct sunlight. Be careful!!
20) Insert the titrator containing CHLORIDE REAGENT #2 into the small hole in the titration tube cap and titrate the test sample drop by drop swirling after each drop. Swirl the titration tube after each drop added until the yellow color changes faintly, yet permanently to pink. You will go from yellow to cloudy yellow and suddenly to pink. Record the titrator reading in units of ppm. If the plunger reaches the 200 ppm mark before the pink color appears, then refill the titrator and continue the titration. Be sure to add the value of the 200 ppm originally used in your final answer.
(Science on Seneca Manual)
21) Handle waste and clean  up- Put the contents of the titration tube into the waste container marked: Cl- Waste.
22) Test the hardness
23) Fill the titration tube to the 12.9 ml mark with the lake water sample to be tested from the large plastic LAKE SAMPLE water bottle.
24) Add five drops of HARDNESS REAGENT #5 (bottle 4483, contains sodium sulfide,sodium hydroxide, and sodium borate) to the sample in the titration tube. Cap the tube and swirl to mix.
25) Add one tablet of HARDNESS REAGENT #6 (bottle 4484, contains potassium chloride, and calmagite) to the titration tube, cap it, and swirl to mix until the tablet is completely dissolved. A magenta/red color will occur.
26) Fill the Direct Reading Titrator (0382) up to the 0 mark [looks like a syringe: marked 0-200 ppm] with HARDNESS REAGENT #7 (bottle 4487DR, contains magnesium chloride and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)).
27) Insert the titrator containing HARDNESS REAGENT #7 into the small hole in the titration tube cap and titrate the test sample dropwise. Swirl the titrator tube after each drop is added until the color changes to royal blue. You will go from magenta to deep pink to purple to royal blue. Record the titrator reading in units of ppm (CaCO3). If the plunger reaches the 200 ppm mark before the pink color appears, then refill the titrator and continue the titration. Be sure to include the value of the 200 ppm originally used in your final record.

Plankton Collection:

1)      Take the plankton net and put it in the water

2)      Walk the length of the boat and back

3)      Pull the plankton net out

4)      Rinse net with water and fill the cup with what was collected

5)      Look at the organisms under a microscope 

Particle Analysis:

1)      Make observations on the dredge sample (color, smell, plant material, mussels, creatures)

2)      Put a few drops of acid and observe the reaction

3)       Fill a cup to the top with the dredge sample and put it on the stack of six sieves

4)      Take apart each sieve and measure the volume of sediment in each sieve

Data:  The air temperature on the lake was in the 40’s-50’s. The cloud coverage was approximately 90%. The water was choppy. The dredge sample was soft and both light and dark grey. The temperature of the dredge sample was 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The acid reaction was weak, slight bubbling. There was no odor from the dredge sample. Quagga mussels were found in the sample and were scattered throughout. There were little bits of seaweed in the dredge sample, along with rocks and sediments. The total volume retained in the sieves was 380mL. The gravel volume was 10 percent. The total volume retained (TVR) (gravel and sand) was 12.5mL. The volume lost (silt) was 20mL.       

Sample	AM 1	AM 2	AM 3	PM 1	PM 2	PM 3
Latitude	42°49.940'N	42°51'N	42°51.497'N	42°49.97'N	42°50.840'N	42°51.554'N
Longitude	76°57.972'N	76°58'W	76°57.762'W	76°57.94'W	76°57.520'W	76°57.567'W
Temperature (°C)	13	13	13	7	14	13
Depth (m)	38.9	10	0	54	10	0
pH	7.3	7.4	7.5	7.4	7.4	7.3
Chloride (ppm)	200	300	200	180	143	140
Dissolved Oxygen (ppm)	30	6	10	10.4	10	10
DTB (m)	46.6	22.7	8	62.6	22.3	7.5

Sample	Total Species (pop.)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
AM 1	9	2	2	2	3
AM 2	15	2	2	1	7	2	1
*AM 3	9	1	1	3	1	1	1	1
PM 1	21+	1	1	1	16+	2
PM 2	17	1	1	1	2	5	2	4	1
PM 3	19	6	1	7	3	1	1

* Few zebra mussels were found

Sieve mesh size	Volume retained  (mL)	% of total volume retained
14	40	10
24	10	2.50
42	130	32.5
170	60	15
180	140	35

Results :

Figure 1: Dissolved Oxygen Profile of the Lake with Depth

Figure 2: Dissolved Oxygen Profile with Depth

Discussion:  Due to a strict agenda on the boat, I was not able to collect data for my original research question. By conducting several procedures, the data collected helped conclude the water quality of Seneca Lake. The chloride is a bit high, at around 200ppm. From looking at the graph, at 45m numbers started to change. The conductivity decreased and increased again. Up until 45m the conductivity is constant. The temperature suddenly decreases at 45m. The temperature at 0m is around 11 degrees Celsius and once it gets to 45m the temperature dramatically decreases to 5 degrees Celsius. At 45m the oxygen increases, decreases, and increases again. The light is at 64 but changes at a depth of 23m to about 70. The reason for the spike could possibly be because of the high salt content left from the Devonian period, when New York was covered in oceans. Underneath all the muck at the bottom of Seneca Lake, there are glacier remains and all the rock left behind, containing salt.In Figure 2, as depth increases, the dissolved oxygen rapidly increases until about 40m, then decreases gradually. Typically the dissolved oxygen would decrease, rather than increases, as the depth increases. However, since the data was collected in the fall, the data in Figure 2 suggests large variations in dissolved oxygen due to the experience in overturning. Overturning, which is the mixing of the stratifications in the lake, occurs in the spring and fall. This also suggests that the lake is dimictic. “Even naturally occurring organic matter, such as leaves and animal droppings, that may finds its way into surface water contributes to oxygen depletion" (p. 186, Gilbert M. Masters Wendell P. EPA). Since Seneca Lake does not have restrictions on septic distance away from the lake, amounts of nutrients are particularly high compared to other Finger Lakes. This also would explain why the dissolved oxygen is lower at some points as well.  

Evaluation: A major limitation was experience of the testers. This caused a lot of human error. The chloride levels are most likely incorrect because of some groups’ inexperience. To improve this, the chloride levels could have been re tested. Reading the directions carefully or not could’ve played a role in incorrect data that was collected. For my research question I would need information of pollution factors that surround Seneca Lake. A source of error besides human error was the water being out too long and warming, so the water temperature taken was higher than it was when taken out right away.  

Conclusion:  The data collected supports my hypothesis. By seeing the pH being around 7, supports my hypothesis that Seneca Lake has good water quality. However, I did not find out anything specific on population that impacts Seneca Lake. Unlike other lakes, Seneca Lake has high levels of nutrients that come in through the ground water due to the fact that there are no restrictions on septic’s being a certain distance away from the lake. These nutrients cause an increase in blue-algae.

References –  :  "Science on Seneca Manual.pdf." Google Docs. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
                      "Macroinvertebrates as Indicators of Water Quality (Water Quality)." Water Quality                                        (Penn State Extension). N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.
                      "Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Biological Monitoring." Enviroscience. N.p.,                                                n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.

                       Masters, Gilbert M. Introduction to Environmental Engineering and Science.                                       Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1991. Print.