Month: March 2019

I was scrolling through Twitter when I came across an article by National Geographic about a whale that washed up in the Philippines with 88 pounds of plastic in its stomach. The poor thing was vomiting blood as it reached the shore. According to marine mammal expert Darrell Blatchley, “plastic was just bursting out of its stomach.” Inside its stomach were 16 rice sacks, plastic bags, snack bags, and nylon rope. The thought of the whale ingesting all of that is heartbreaking. Because the plastic took up the majority of the space in the whale’s stomach, it was starving and dehydrated. Because the whale’s stomach acid could not break down the plastic, the acid had worn holes in the stomach lining. It is sad that this is not the only case. Before this whale, there were 45 other whales in the Davao Gulf who died from ingesting plastic. That is 45 deaths too many. Because there is a lot of fishing in that region, there is not a lot of food for whales to eat. As a result, the whales are more likely to eat the plastic. Whales are not the only victim. UNESCO reports that plastic pollution causes the death of 100,000 marine animals each year.

Image by D’ Bone Collector Museum Inc.

Humans are not only harming marine animals. They are also harming the bees. You may remember two years ago that Cheerios participated in the “Bring Back the Bees Campaign.” They wanted to raise awareness of the decline of bees. Cheerios decided to include seeds with each cereal box. In addition, they decided to release a special edition of Honey Nut Cheerios with Buzz the Bee missing; this was to educate the public of the decline of these pollinators. They wanted to encourage people to help rebuild habitats for bees by planting seeds that can grow into flowers. According to GreenPeace, 80 percent of pollination is performed by bees. They have an important role in pollinating crops. While there are an arrary of factors for the decline of bees, humans and and habitat loss are the two main factors. Bee hive colonies typically lose a percentage of their bees in the winter, and gain some back in the spring when reproduction speeds up. However in the winter, bee losses in the U.S. have reached 30-50 percent and sometimes even more. In one case, beekeeper David Hackenberg reported a 90 percent die-off from his 3,000 hives. Pesticides also causes the decline of bees. Unfortunately, there is not much being done because of how profitable the chemical industry is right now. GreenPeace has offered some ways to help protect the bees:

1. Ban the seven most dangerous pesticides.
2. Protect pollinator health by preserving wild habitat.
3. Restore ecological agriculture.

Cheerios and Nature Valley also have some ways on how we can turn our yards into habitats for the bees:

1. Leave patches of bare ground and brush piles in an area free from pesticides.
2. Plant flowers! They provide the nectar and pollen that pollinators feed on.
3. Make sure to grow a mix of flowers, shrubs, and trees with overlapping bloom times to support pollinators from spring through fall.
4. Learn about what plants are best for your region by visiting the Xerces Society website Pollinator Conservation Resource Center!

As Cheerios have said, “We need the bees…. People need bees. And now the bees need people.”

The actions of humans can have severe consequences; this is seen with the extensive list of endangered species. For years, the Giant Panda has been an endangered species. Recently, they have been moved to the vulnerable category, which is a step up from being endangered. However, they are still at risk. According to the Wild World Fund for Nature, there are only 1,864 pandas left in the wild. That is not a particularly large number. The reason why there are so few pandas left is because of habitat destruction. The forests that pandas lived in were logged for timber or cleared for agriculture and infrastructure. Roads and railways were built that cut into the forests. Forests were broken apart. This isolated panda populations and prevented them to breed. The destruction of these forests are also causing bamboo to die off, the main source of food for pandas. It is hard to imagine that this is not only happening to Giant Pandas, but to many other species as well. While it is good that we are taking action to protect these endangered species, it is sad that it even had to get to this point. Humans caused a lot of these species to be endangered.

Image by Karin Lehnardt

How can we humans have such disregard for wildlife? We would not treat our domestic pets like this, so why should we treat wildlife this way. Just because we are not directly hurting wildlife does not mean our actions do not contribute to its harm. We need to protect wildlife and keep them safe.  

 

 

In one of my English classes back in high school, my class had to read Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. Silent Spring is a book that informs the destructive effects that pesticides and other chemicals have on the environment. Rachel Carson was an author and a marine biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Image by Alfred Eisenstaedt/Time Life Pictures, via Getty Images

In Silent Spring, Carson warns against the harmful effects of pesticides, specifically DDT. DDT was first developed in 1940. According to the National Resources Defense Council, it was created for use during World War II to combat malaria-causing insects for U.S. troops. Unlike normal pesticides at the time, DDT was able to kill hundreds of insects at once. It was made available for civilian use in 1945. As the Environmental Protection Agency reports, “It also was effective for insect control in crop and livestock production, institutions, homes, and gardens.”

What originally caused Carson to write Silent Spring is the increase use of pesticides and a letter she received from a friend informing her the amount of large bird deaths in the Cape Cod area due to DDT sprayings.

The book is primarily about the negative effects that pesticides have on ecosystems, but it also covers the effects it has on humans. Carson explains in her book how pesticides have a harmful impact on animals and how it contaminates the world’s food supply. Once DDT enters the fatty tissue of humans, it can cause cancer and other genetic damage because of the carcinogens it contains. In one chapter, Carson explains how insects become resistant and immune to the pesticides, becoming super insects. To combat that, more harmful pesticides are introduced. In addition, some birds whose diet contains insects are also harmed from the chemicals. Carson explains how areas that once were filled with the chirping of birds are now silent. In other areas, what was once beautiful vegetation are now weeds due to the pesticides. In another chapter, Carson vividly reports how she saw a plane dumping tons of chemicals onto a field right next to a house where children were playing outside. No one realized the dangers of these chemicals.

Image by Pesticide Action Network 

Silent Spring made a lasting impact on U.S. culture regarding pesticides. Carson’s ideas were not widely supported at the time. It was met with a lot of resistance from chemical companies. Others attacked Carson’s character and questioned her credentials. They thought Carson was a crazy woman who manipulated scientific facts to prove her argument. She was even called a “communist.” However, Silent Spring was able to raise public awareness on the harmful effects that pesticides had on the environment. Even JFK read Silent Spring. Because he knew the significant impact Silent Spring could have, JFK had the Scientific Advisory Committee look into Carson’s claims in the book. The Committee released a report that supported the ideas in Silent Spring.

Silent Spring started an environmental movement in the 1960’s. The Environmental Defense Fund was created to campaign against DDT. Then in 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency was created. Because of the health effects on wildlife, DDT is no longer used as reported by the National Pesticide Information Center.

To this day, the use of pesticides is still affecting the environment. Recently, PHYS ORG reported how pesticides were affecting the genes in bees. A study reports how even in low doses, pesticides are detrimental to a bee’s survival because it hinders a bee’s ability to get pollen and ability to find their nests. This is dangerous because bees are already on a decline and are essential in keeping stability in ecosystems. We need to be diligent in our evaluation of pesticides. According to Michigan Health Lab, a study indicates that pesticide exposure can increase the progression of ALS.

It is hard to believe that it has been 50 years since DDT has been banned and pesticides are still negatively affecting our environment. While it is neither realistic nor reasonable to get rid of all pesticides, we should reduce how much we use them. If we can, we should try to use safer alternatives. The Pesticide Control Program in New Jersey offers some alternative methods: