Ben's News Report #2

Ben Miller

2/13/12

Lake Vostok Breached!

    

Purpose: The purpose of my presentation was to make people aware of this groundbreaking event but at the same time, discuss the possible negative side effects of the project.

Discussion Questions: 

-   Do you think this was an irresponsible decision on the Russians part to break the ice? Would you have broken the ice to test the water?

-       Do you think this should have been a global decision rather than a Russian one?

-       Do you guys hope that we find new life species?

Additional Info: Prehistoric lake

-       Trapped under 12,300 ft. of ice for 25 million years

-       Lake Vostok is actually the third largest lake in the world

-       The lakes are rich in oxygen (making them oligotrophic), with levels of the element some 50 times higher than what would be found in your typical freshwater lake. The high gas concentration is thought to be because of the enormous weight and pressure of the continental ice cap.

-       Will be sampling water in November/Sending robots down to sample water.

Links/sources: 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/02/120208-russians-lake-vostok-antarctica-drilling-science/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPjyHUipBGM

http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/43956

Andrew's News Report #2- 2/3/12

News Report Spring 2012: Pythons!

·      Good news: There are no large snakes native to North America- no boa constrictors, no anacondas, no pythons

·      The bad news: There are currently between 30,000 and 100,000 (150,000) enormous Burmese pythons roaming around Florida (The Everglades) and they’re pretty much impossible to control.

o   12 feet long and eat almost anything, up to and including alligators. Recent study shows raccoon and possums are down more than 98%, bobcat down 87%, and rabbits and foxes are gone.

·      Obviously present a huge threat to the ecosystem here, but how did they get here?

o   Nat Geo video ( http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2010/01/25/florida_python_hunter/ )

o   1:00-2:20

·      Pythons are known for being very adaptive to their environments, almost undetectable by prey, and deadly for the fact that can attack from land or underwater.

·      Efforts are underway to control population by barring python importation.

Questions:

·      What should be done to solve this problem? How do we get rid of 30,000+ snakes?

o   Offering rewards for hunting them may be effective

·      Though nobody knows for sure how this happened, and it was probably accidental, is there anything we can or should be doing to prevent invasive species from creating a situation like this?

o   Probably not: another theory is that pet owners dumped their unwanted exotic pets nearby, which may have caused this problem and the introduction of a number of other non-native species. There are just too many variables, but perhaps the only option, though imperfect, is to just try to be vigilant.

·      Have you heard of any similar stories?

               Adam’s NR comes to mind

Conclusion:

·      Obviously this is kind of a sad story that doesn’t have any clear solution. I think this will be important to watch as an example to deal with situations like this that may become more common in light of climate change’s impact on ecosystems.

Tessa's News Report-January 26, 2012

"Colorado's Solar Energy Future: Local or Corporate Power?" 
The purpose of this presentation was to widen people's perspective on solar power, and provide a case study on issues around solar power.

Discussion Questions:

1. I know I have presented this in a way that is pro-local energy, and that’s how the article framed it, but do you agree or disagree with that (the BLM using all that land for large solar plants)? Why?
2. Do you see this as becoming more of an issue as we start looking to more renewable sources?
3. If I told you that one issue with the local power is that the Valley needs about 500 million dollars for a new transmission line, would it change your opinion at all? Why?

Links to learn more:

- http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/01/colorados-energy-future-local-or-corporate-power

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcUUD6htL0c

- http://scseed.org/wb/media/SLV%20Statistical%20Profile%2012-03-07.pdf

Image:

Presentation Resource:

http://slvrenewablecommunities.blogspot.com/2012/01/our-energy-future-local-or-corporate.html