Month: December 2015

De-extinction of the Tasmanian Tiger

Evan 201 Comments

Danielle Cassista: Animal Science

Paige Crowley: Animal Science

Stephen Hynes: Environmental Science

It all began in 1859, when Thomas Austin brought 24 wild European rabbits from England to Australia to use for hunting (Cox, 2012).  By the 1920’s there were over 10 billion invasive rabbits inhabiting the continent of Australia and since then the population has only grown (Rabbit Free Australia, 2015). Cox (2012) stated that these rabbits reproduced in exponential quantities and currently inhabit 70% of southern Australia, which equates to 5.3 million square kilometers. These rabbits are destructive in nature; their burrowing ruins infrastructure and causes erosion, their eating destroys farmland and vegetation, and they are a threat to native species (Rabbit Free Australia, 2015). Attempts to fix the issue of the invasive rabbit species have not been successful thus far. The past solutions included releasing diseases, destroying the warrens that rabbits live in, and building a fence to keep them from spreading to other areas of Australia. None of these methods effectively eliminated the rabbit population to a manageable number (Cox, 2012). In addition, the natural predators in Australia saw a decline when the rabbit population was nearly eliminated by the released myxoma virus in the 1950s (Rabbit Free Australia, 2015).  The rabbits that survived the virus built immunity, and repopulated the island, but the predators never made a significant comeback (Rabbit Free Australia, 2015). Therefore, we propose that the de-extinction and reintroduction of the Tasmanian Tiger, also known as the thylacine, into Australia is necessary to help decrease the overpopulation of rabbits, which will consequently improve agriculture and vegetation, eliminate the threat to native species, and save infrastructure. Continue Reading →

Clean Coal Systems

Evan 62 Comments

Carolyn Doyle (Animal Science), Collin Horgan (Environmental Science), and Rudy Lewis (BCT)

Modern day societies are entirely dependent on power and energy for survival. Without an energy source, even our most basic pillars of community will come crashing down. Gone are the days that human beings were able to thrive on their own without any electricity, heating, or any numerous other benefits that energy provides us with. Thankfully, we have developed a reliable system for harvesting and using energy, coal production. Unfortunately, coal production as it is currently produces excessive harmful environmental pollutants that are released into the atmosphere. Continue Reading →

Reintroduction of Wolves to Yellowstone

Evan 11 Comments

Nicole Zuidema – Animal Science
Emma Reichard – NRC
Nicole Sheridan – Animal Science
Will Holder (2005) told his story through the perspective of the ranching family he was born into. His grandfathers and great-grandfathers grew up shooting predators such as coyotes and lions in the area, so it was natural that Will follow in their footsteps and continue with that culture. He grew up with the mentality that the more coyotes you kill, the better. One day, however, he realized that after generations of killing these beasts of prey, their populations were not decreasing. After some of his own research, he found studies revealing that killing these animals just forces them to have bigger litters or a new predator moves in and kills to establish territory. This made him think differently about killing predators for reasons he didn’t even know himself. Continue Reading →

Dam Removal: A Type of River Restoration?

Evan 13 Comments

Kathryn Brennan: Environmental Science

Ashley Busold: Geology and Biology

Mallary Rocheleau: Animal Science

The life of a salmon is unlike many other fish species, for it must swim through thousands of miles of ocean in search of the river where it was born.  The mission is to bring about the next generation in the same place that this salmon, along with many others, were produced. After the many months of migrating through the ocean, with only a few miles left to travel against the river current, there is a road block in the form of a giant wall. The salmon will search up and down looking for a way past without success, but never give up because to reproduce is the top priority. However, salmon can only stay in one place for a certain amount of time before either needing food, or being food. At this roadblock, all of the salmon that have travelled here are being wiped out by eager fisherman or in competition for food.  With no hope of ushering in the next generation, this species is on the path to extinction.

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Are Organic Foods Healthy For Humans?

Evan 40 Comments

Lindsay Bright (Animal Science), Alyssa Chadwick (Animal Science, Environmental Science), Kate Jolly (Animal Science)

Nowadays, the healthiness of organic food is a common topic that society is familiar with. Many people are fully aware that certain types of foods are unhealthy, but it is also a bit unclear about what foods are actually healthy for you.  It is also unknown to most people where their food comes from and what the term ‘organic’ truly means. One would think it is common knowledge that constantly eating fast food negatively impacts human health and leads to obesity.  Obesity and weight gain from eating unhealthy food can be linked to hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, endometrial cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, insulin resistance, asthma, reproductive hormone abnormalities, dyslipidemia, hepatitis, hyperuricemia, cystic ovarian syndrome, impaired fertility, and adult onset diabetes (Super Size Me, 2004).  Although it can be clear to some people what foods are unhealthy, there is a lot of discrepancy about what foods are healthy and, even more, about whether organic foods are healthier for humans than conventionally farmed foods. Ideally, in the hopes to educate the population, there should be a set of guidelines put forth from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) or the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) to help clarify what ‘healthy’ is before being able to determine if organic food is or is not healthy for humans.

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Wind Turbines or Giant Bird Blenders?

Evan 63 Comments

Christian Boudria Animal Science, Jonathan Ennis Building Construction, Amanda Golen Environmental Science

 

With wind power becoming a leading source of energy production worldwide, this billion-dollar industry is expected to grow exponentially as countries progress more towards clean energy in the future. The United States Energy Department (2013) states “wind energy became the number one source of new U.S. electricity generation capacity for the first time – representing 43 percent of all new electric additions and accounting for $25 billion in U.S investment”(para. 1). This investment is expected to pay off by providing millions of Americans with clean energy, but at what cost? How clean of an energy source could it be? Continue Reading →

Hydraulic Fracturing and Groundwater

Evan 32 Comments

Michael Deane — BCT

Isabella Maloney — NRC

Chris Therrien — BCT

In most modern households, clean tap water is considered a commodity: a common good that requires very little thought other than remembering to the pay the bill at the end of each month. People often take things like this for granted, but for Jessica Ernst, clean tap water is more than just a passing thought. Jessica hails from a small Canadian town in Alberta that rests above both a shale rock depository, and the freshwater aquifer that provides the majority of water for her home. After working as a consultant in the oil and natural gas industry for close to 25 years, she was not particularly concerned when an international gas company, Encana, decided to harvest the natural gases trapped within the underlying shale, a sedimentary rock with large amounts of fossil fuel gases. They achieved this with a method known as hydraulic fracturing, which involves drilling into subterranean shale pumping in thousands of gallons of chemically infused hydraulic fracturing fluid, cracking the rock under pressure, and releasing the gases trapped inside. The gas is then collected and shipped around the country to be used as fuel for any number of things. This very complex procedure has yielded a momentary economic boom in the U.S., and has polarized the American public into dichotomy. In this small Alberta town, however, there was an interesting side effect. Continue Reading →

The Role of Gray Wolves in the Modern Yellowstone Region

Evan 39 Comments

Anna Campbell (Geology)

Ryan Putt (Natural Resource Conservation)

Kyle Wagner (Building Construction Technologies)

The Big, Bad Wolf has been a cultural symbol of evil long before a young shepherd called wolf, or a girl in a red cape wandered from the path to Grandmother’s house. According to a local Iowa man, Maurice Clements, “wolves kill, slaughter, invade, and destroy.” (Big, Bad, Wolves, 2015, para. 1). The Native Americans described the wolves as violent warriors and thieves in their rituals and legends (Wolf Wars, 2008). In the early 20th century, the negative perception of wolves drove livestock owners to lobby for the extermination of wolves. In 1906, The U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey funded a bounty program to clear cattle grazing ranges of gray wolves (Wolf Wars, 2008). Additionally, the U.S. Congress allocated $125,000 for wolf removal in 1915 (Big, Bad Wolves, 2015, para. 2). The states of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana rarely saw the Gray Wolf after the 1930’s, and the rest of lower forty-eight states of the U.S. saw the complete extirpation of wolves twenty years later (Wolf Wars, 2008). During the 1960’s, increased knowledge of ecosystems led to the passing of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973. Within a year wolves were included under its protections (Smith, et al., 2004, p. 622). In 1987 the Canadian Grey wolves were reintroduced into the Northwestern United States with the goal of creating a sustainable target population of 300 wolves and at least 30 breeding pairs (Musiani et al., 2005). The reintroduction of wolves was successful, and wolves were removed from the endangered species list in 2009 (Musiani et al., 2010). However the successful reintroduction of wolves rekindled the human-wildlife conflict that spurred the extermination of wolves seventy-five years ago. Continue Reading →

Effects of Genetically Modified Crops on the Environment

Evan 42 Comments

Rosemary Huggins – Animal Science

Jennifer Schaler – Plant Biotechnology

Vincent Scifo – Turf Management

Our global population is currently greater than 7 billion people, and it is estimated that it will reach 9.6 billion by 2050 (United Nations, 2015, p. 2).  This translates to an additional 80 million mouths to feed each year, but we only have 1.5 billion hectares of land available for farming (United Nations, 2015, p. 2; James, 2014).  It is estimated that there are currently 795 million people who are habitually undernourished, claiming the lives of 3.1 million children every year (von Grebmer et al., 2015; Black et al., 2013).  In order to eliminate world hunger and sustain our growing population without depleting all our available land, we need high yielding crops so we can utilize the land to its fullest potential. Low yielding crops, such as organically grown conventional crops, are not nearly efficient enough to maximize the land available. However, growing conventional crops on a large scale requires the use of chemicals, such as pesticides, that harm the environment. Continue Reading →

Regulations on Hydraulic Fracturing

Evan 32 Comments

Lourdharry Pauyo (BCT)

James McMullen (EnviSci)

Jaenyffe Santos (NRC)

 

     Williamsport, a former ghost town most famous for the Little League World Series, is one of America’s fastest growing cities, with an unemployment rate significantly below the national average (Meng, 2015). Similarly, the locals of Smithfield, Pennsylvania experienced only the positive outcomes of hydraulic fracturing, proclaiming their admiration by naming their local food delicacy the “frack burger” (Sovacool, 2014). An hour and a half drive down I-70, in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, the attitude differs greatly. Clear streams turned into muddy swamps full of dead fish and water flammable enough to make the Cuyahoga River burn with envy (Sovacool, 2014). Meng (2015) cited the potential for environmental drawbacks, claiming hydraulic fracturing can lead to significant environmental degradation and its enormous water requirements are problematic. Pennsylvania is one of the states where hydraulic fracturing is a common practice, and it is a great example of the extremes associated with hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing offered significant opportunity for development in the shale play regions of Pennsylvania. Continue Reading →