Comment on this post to leave your description of the "unexpected environmental impact" you were going to discuss in class today. Sorry again that my flight was delayed and I was unable to make it to class!
I was going to discuss the unexpected environmental impact of hydropower. Many people see hydropower as a great benefit because there is no smoke or fumes involved or being let into the environment. It is often seen as "environmentally friendly." However, this is just not the case. People tend to forget about the natural habitat of water living creatures such as fish and shrimp. In order to run and maintain a hydropower plant, there must be dams to control the water flow. In this control, sometimes the water can reach very low levels. These low levels cause a shortage in food supply for the water creatures, and at times, dry out all together killing off all of the water creatures living within the water source. The run off of water containing these dead organisms can even interfere with human interaction with the water. Humans wind up playing with or drinking contaminated water.
Biofuels are a form of renewable energy derived from organic material or biomass. There are many advantages to using biofuels such as being easier and faster to replace than fossil fuels, it reduces the need for foreign fuels, and it emitts less carbon and other toxins. Disadvantages that come with using biofuels: lower energy output, massive water use, and availabilty. One of the more interesting and unexpected impacts from biofuels is their effect on pollinating insects and birds by altering land cover and native ecosystems. "Altering the landscape can eliminate a free ecosystem service. By increasing yield through monocultures, you might lose water quality, or lose pollinators, and you may have to pay a price to compensate for those losses." Results with birds are more striking though. The more corn you produce through faster, easier planting, the fewer bird species you are going to get. The rarest species, which often tend to be grassland species, will take a particular hit. However, when you increase the proportion of grasslands, you see a big increase in species richness, because the threatened species that require grasslands, like the bobolink, tend to increase the most. Should we continue to plant thousands and thousands more rows of crops each year? With growing food demands it is impossible to cut back production. But what other ways could we improve land quality and usage to help birds and insects survive in a natural environment?
I was going to discuss the unexpected environmental impact of hydropower. Many people see hydropower as a great benefit because there is no smoke or fumes involved or being let into the environment. It is often seen as "environmentally friendly." However, this is just not the case. People tend to forget about the natural habitat of water living creatures such as fish and shrimp. In order to run and maintain a hydropower plant, there must be dams to control the water flow. In this control, sometimes the water can reach very low levels. These low levels cause a shortage in food supply for the water creatures, and at times, dry out all together killing off all of the water creatures living within the water source. The run off of water containing these dead organisms can even interfere with human interaction with the water. Humans wind up playing with or drinking contaminated water.
ReplyDeleteBiofuels are a form of renewable energy derived from organic material or biomass. There are many advantages to using biofuels such as being easier and faster to replace than fossil fuels, it reduces the need for foreign fuels, and it emitts less carbon and other toxins. Disadvantages that come with using biofuels: lower energy output, massive water use, and availabilty. One of the more interesting and unexpected impacts from biofuels is their effect on pollinating insects and birds by altering land cover and native ecosystems. "Altering the landscape can eliminate a free ecosystem service. By increasing yield through monocultures, you might lose water quality, or lose pollinators, and you may have to pay a price to compensate for those losses." Results with birds are more striking though. The more corn you produce through faster, easier planting, the fewer bird species you are going to get. The rarest species, which often tend to be grassland species, will take a particular hit. However, when you increase the proportion of grasslands, you see a big increase in species richness, because the threatened species that require grasslands, like the bobolink, tend to increase the most. Should we continue to plant thousands and thousands more rows of crops each year? With growing food demands it is impossible to cut back production. But what other ways could we improve land quality and usage to help birds and insects survive in a natural environment?
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