Killer At Large

The Killer At Large movie was very eye opening. I knew that obesity was a huge problem in the United States, but I didn’t know the extent of the problem. Sooner or later if there is nothing done with obesity in the U.S. then everyone will become obese. It is sad that twelve year olds have to resort to surgery to become “skinny” in reality what they should be doing is eating healthy and exercising. In our society today it is easy to get food that is unhealthy for you and then go home and watch TV on the couch. This obesity problem isn’t just another problem to be solve it really is a “killer”. It is one of the most pressing issues of our day because as we move forward the society gets less and less healthy. I thought it was interesting how many people in the movie too their stress and anger out by eating. Not only were they emotional eaters, but also they were eating food that was very unhealthy for them. This emotional eating was turning their life into a life that was completely unhealthy. They could try and get rid of certain emotions by taking a run instead of eating a hamburger. I think if people would choose healthier choices such as exercise and moderation control instead of video games and fast food the obesity problem in the Untied States could decrease.

       I would say in this epidemic I am a citizen who wants to change things, but doesn’t know how. Recently, I have become a healthier person than I used to be because I know what being unhealthy can do to people. However, It is hard when you’re in a rush just to go to McDonalds and go through the drive thru. I hope, as I get older I am not a person who will lose their life to obesity because I choose to eat right and exercise frequently. I hope that my kids will also be healthy. I will teach them a proper meal, and to take stress and other emotions out by something much healthier than eating fast food. The United States needs to learn that this obesity problem won’t fix itself. We need to fix our lives to be healthier, so we can live longer.

Invasive Species

Invasive Species: A non- native species whose introduction causes economic or environmental harm.

Positive invasive specie would be the Asian Oyster. These oysters are more efficient at filtering out water pollutants than native species are. The Asian Oyster also grows faster and withstands disease better than native species. Biologists are recently discussing whether or not to introduce the oyster in the Chesapeake Bay area to help restore oyster stocks and clean up the bay pollutions. 

A Negative invasive species would be an Asian shrub known as the Amur honeysuckle. The Amur has invaded many eastern North American areas. It invades many open fields and open woodlands. It spreads so rapidly because birds and other animals disperse the plants seeds. It impacts the natural regeneration of forests. The Amur reduces tree seedling density and grown of perennial forest plants.

Three Invasive Species in Kentucky:

Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei): Winter creeper is an evergreen that invades forests throughout the eastern United States. Winter creeper aggressively invades open forests and openings. The dense ground cover displaces native species and restricts tree seedling establishment. It also smothers and kills shrubs and small trees. The plant in native to Asia and was introduced to the U.S. in 1907.

Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora): Multiflora rose is a multi-stemmed, thorny perennial shrub that grows up to 15 feet tall. The stems are arching canes that are round in cross section and have stiff, curved thorns. The plant forms thick thickets in pastures, fields and at forest edges. It restricts human, livestock, and wildlife movement and displaces native vegetation. Miltiflora is originally from Asia.

Poison hemlock (Conium macalatum): Poison hemlock is a herb that can grow from 3- 10 feet. The stems are hollow, ribbed and purple-spotted. One plant produces over 30,000 seeds. The plants when eaten are poisonous to almost all animals. The plant is native to Europe and was introduced to North America in the 1800s.

Invasive species are organisms that cause harm to an ecosystem and other organisms. Invasive species can either be unintentionally entered in an environment, or they can be introduced on purpose. An introduced species can be invasive, but they are not always. Species are introduced usually to help an ecosystem or other organisms.

Find a case study on geological phenomenon

Part 1

Earthquake: 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska

Volcano: 1985 Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia

Hurricane: 2005 Hurricane Katrina

Tornado: 1925 Tri-state Tornados

Part 2

The 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska earthquake is the largest earthquake in United States history. The earthquake was a magnitude 9.2 and lasted for four minutes. The quake caused extensive damage to Anchorage, and some damage to many other small towns. Although the earthquake took only 15 lives a following tsunami killed 113.

The Nevado del Ruiz volcano is the fourth largest volcanic disaster. The eruption reached a 3 on the volcanic explosivity index. The volcano practically erased Amero, and destroyed many homes in ChiChina, Columbia. About 23,000 people were killed and 5,000 were injured.

Hurricane Katrina was the sixth strongest hurricane. Katrina was a category 5 hurricane, the highest category. Total property damage was estimated at 81 billion dollars. The hurricane also caused massive flooding and damage to New Orleans. About 1,836 people died.

The Tri-State Tornado was the deadliest and longest lasting tornado to be recorded. The tornado was rated as a F5 tornado, being the highest on the fujita scale. It caused about 18 million dollars worth of damage, and destroyed 15,000 homes. The tornado killed about 700 people.

Part 3

 Earthquakes occur when plates in the earth shake or shift under stress. This then send shock waves onto the earth’s surface causing an earthquake. An earthquake is a sudden release of energy from the earth’s crust.

Volcanoes are formed when two plates hit and one goes above and the other below. (Convergent plate boundaries)  Magma then rises to the earth’s crust, and eventually, but not always, the volcano will erupt.

A hurricane is formed when warm ocean air rises leaving less air near the surface creating an area of low pressure. Cooler high-pressure air moves in and also starts to rise. The moisture condenses and causes energy and heat to be released. The heat causes low pressure to increase and clouds and wind to form. The air then spins due to the coriolis affect and a hurricane is formed.

Tornadoes usually form in a rotating thunderstorm called super cells. Cold polar air and warm tropical air meeting cause tornadoes. The warm air rises and creates instability that usually results in a tornado.

Emissions

Emissions trading is a governmental approach used to control pollution by providing incentives for decreasing the emission of pollutants. Emissions trading as means of reducing the air pollution may look like having a positive outcome in the long run, but it may not. For those companies who do not use all of the emissions permits there are other companies that buy the permits from them. These companies that use up all the permits, and then buy more create monopolies throughout corporations. This also causes corporations who are polluting the air just pollute the air even more because they are able to buy more emission permits. So, essentially emission trading could make an unfair trading amongst companies.


I would favor the command-and-control because it sets more regulation on what emission tickets are going where. It would be stricter on the emissions trading which would eliminate various problems. It could help control the monopolies that are formed by emission trading, and help companies become more environmentally friendly. Command-and-control would also provide incentives for those who do not use all their emission. The one issue with a command-and-control regulation would be that the government would have more control in the issue of emissions.

Some advantages of the command-and-control would be a more egalitarian emission permits. The government would control the emission permits instead of being able to trade and sell the permits among corporations. However, this could also be seen as a disadvantage. Some people in the United States could see the command-and-control as the government having too much power. The market-based permit trading also has advantages and disadvantages. The market-based trade sets a less regulated trade among corporations on emission trading. However, this creates monopolies, and lets some corporations have more emissions than others.

Easter Island

1. Easter Island was once a luscious Island that was home to various species of plants and animals. Scientists have preformed many test to see what this deserted Island was once like. By studying pollen and nut casings scientists found that Easter Island had a diverse forest. These trees that were in the forest supported the island so it could survive. They used trees for building houses, canoes, fuel wood, and even for a source of food. However the residents of Easter Island were using the trees, and other resources faster than they could come back, and eventually they killed them off.
2. Easter Island is a perfect way to express the saying "you don't know what you have till it's gone." The people of Easter Island used the trees and other resources as if there were an infinite amount of them, but there wasn't. Today, we know about renewable and non-renewable resources, but some of our resources we are using up faster than they can come back. If we don't slow down the processes or do something about it we may run into some big issues like the people of Easter Island did.