Happy Sunday everyone! And wish me luck (I have a cumulative final on Wednesday, a Philosophy exam on Thursday and then another cumulative final on Thursday night. Some how The "Tao Te Ching", Archeology of the Chesapeake and a History of the Earth have to congeal in my head before then. The results have been interesting)
But I wanted to put up my environmental learning tale for the week. First though I have to give a shout out to Diana who correctly answered that a symbiotic relationship is an interaction between two species whereby both benefit. My favorite example is that of the ants in the acacia trees. The ants get to live in a convenient little home that comes equipped with thorns to reply ant eating animals, and the acacia gets the little ants to repel all acacia eating creatures of the buggy variety. Go Mother Nature!
And now...for my Environmental Learning Tale entitled...
Where'd All These Eggshells Come From?
Okay, recently the environmental community has gotten pretty riled up about the whole "Global Warming/Global Climate Change" thing. And thanks to Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" (say what you will, we eco-geeks were having a field day. One of our own! On TV!) the general public has basically been apprised of the situation.
I believe that Global Warming is an issue.
No one panic, I am not about the brow beat you into accepting this idea (hence the idea of walking on eggshells conveyed by the title). I think one of the problems with this issue is that no one is giving any one the facts. The scientist have them, the media doesn't want to talk about them, and the general public doesn't really know them.
In the interest of raising public awareness (this is a revolution after all, facts are not just for scientists people!) I am going to give you one example of why I feel that Global Warming could become a problem. I am not going to touch human involvement in the development of this issue in this post (but be on the lookout! I'll happen when you least expect it!)
Here's what I will tell you. When the earth was formed during the Hadean era, about 4.5 billion years ago (oh man, maybe I won't fail my physics final) the atmosphere was mostly carbon dioxide. As a result of this, life took a darn long time to evolve, but eventually, during the Archean, some wee little protozoa popped up. They became cyanobacteria. These cyanobacteria set up shop and grew like crazy. However, things were about to change...
These cyanobacteria breathed in carbon dioxide and breathed out oxygen (think of them as little tiny trees) This went okay for a while, but eventually there were so many cyanobacteria that most of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere wound up inside them. Consequently the air on earth became what it is today. Which was just great actually. Temperatures dropped (say what you will, Carbon Dioxide is a green house gas) and lots of little critters evolved, and now here we are. As a note, there is still carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and THAT IS A GOOD THING. In fact, its a great thing, because without it the earth would be too cold for any life at all to have evolved. So things are pretty good.
Basically to recap: Earth formed - CO2 atmosphere - cyanobacteria - O2 atmosphere - people
If I drew that outline on my test my teacher would go into cardiac arrest, but it serves my purpose. What I just told you actually happened, it is accepted as fact with in the scientific community. I even wrote a poem about it for my poetry class. Its all good.
That is my learning tale, and here is the question that goes along with it. Its a tough one, but I have faith in you all.
When did Homo sapiens sapiens evolve?
Have a wonderful week everyone. If you attend WaC, good luck on finals!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Monday, December 3, 2007
Let There Be Light!
Hi Everyone! Hope you are all having a wonderful Monday.
My environmental tip for the day is a short one. But it is also an incredibly easy one to do! It involves the sun. No one panic, you're not going to get cancer. Probably.
A really great way to keep warm on these very cold winter days is to make use of our friend the sun. The Cherokee called the sun, "Nu-gah" which translates roughly to mean "The Giver of Life" and believe me the sun earned this title. Here are some things you can do to keep your house warm and bright for the winter.
1. Use natural light when ever possible. If it is a sunny day, pull up the shades and turn off the over head lights. The sunlight really is enough, and its better for you and the earth!
2. If your windows face south, try to keep the blinds up as much as possible, southern light is strong and will keep the room warm.
3. The outside world looks pretty, so look out the window as often as possible, and you won't feel quite as bad about the way finals are ruling your life right now (okay, maybe I'm projecting a little...)
Have a great week everyone!
My environmental tip for the day is a short one. But it is also an incredibly easy one to do! It involves the sun. No one panic, you're not going to get cancer. Probably.
A really great way to keep warm on these very cold winter days is to make use of our friend the sun. The Cherokee called the sun, "Nu-gah" which translates roughly to mean "The Giver of Life" and believe me the sun earned this title. Here are some things you can do to keep your house warm and bright for the winter.
1. Use natural light when ever possible. If it is a sunny day, pull up the shades and turn off the over head lights. The sunlight really is enough, and its better for you and the earth!
2. If your windows face south, try to keep the blinds up as much as possible, southern light is strong and will keep the room warm.
3. The outside world looks pretty, so look out the window as often as possible, and you won't feel quite as bad about the way finals are ruling your life right now (okay, maybe I'm projecting a little...)
Have a great week everyone!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Further Proof Concerning My Favorite Animal
Hello everyone! I am very sorry for my lack of posts lately. Its been a VERY busy week (finals are quickly approaching. Eek)
First, my shout outs. Good work Brenna, Gillian and Alexis for knowing that the scientific name of the Grey Wolf is Canis lupis. Yay everyone!!!!!!!! You are all my heroes.
But, I can't let another week go by without an Environmental Learning Tale, and this weeks is actually a legitimate tale as it was told for generations by the Inuit people of Alaska. It was also one of my favorite bed time stories as a child (which just goes to show you what kind of a kid I was...)
And so without further delay...
The Educational Story of Wolf and Caribou (as told by Me, the descendant of Irish-Italian immigrants)
A very long time ago there lived in Alaska a Woman and a Man and the Woman's five sons (note the obvious indication of matrilineal descent here...). Now, the world was a very different place in those days, in that over all the earth, the only living beings were Woman, her husband, and her children. They dwelt in houses made of sod and ate only lichen (which is actually a symbiotic relationship between two living organisms, but we'll let it go). They lived very happily for a long time.
But one year a winter came that was much worse than all the ones before it. The wind was very cold (it is Alaska after all) and the whole world seemed frozen solid. Woman had to cut her way out of her house everyday and melt foot after foot of snow to reach the buried lichen. And on the cold winter nights they often wished they had something more substantial to eat.
In fact, with only lichen to eat, Woman's sons fell very ill. One after the other they could no longer get out of bed and Woman feared very much that they would die. She waited anxiously for summer, but when summer came her children still did not get well. She decided to see Great Raven (kind of a super creator God) and ask him what to do.
Well, she traveled for many days to see Great Raven, and when she reached him and told him of her trouble he agreed to help. They went together down to a field of ice and cut a hole through to where the ocean moved underneath. Then Woman dangled a long line in the water while Raven sat upon her shoulder in his bird form. She waited for many days, but at last there came a tugging on the line and Woman pulled up the first animal in the world. This animal was snowshoe hare. She dangled the line in again and pulled out yet another animal, and again and again until many of the animals we see in the world were set free over the Tundra. The last animal she pulled out was Caribou.
"This animal is a great gift," Said Great Raven. "For its fur shall be your house, it's bones your weapons, and its meat your food."
And so it was. Woman went home to her family and the next day woke to the sound of Caribou hooves moving across the tundra. For many years they ate happily of the Caribou and Woman's sons grew stronger then ever they had been before.
But that is not the end of the story.
For after many years of this, Woman noticed that the Caribou herds began to grow ill. Her husband had to travel farther and father each day to get a healthy caribou, and the time finally came when there were none left and Woman and her family were forced to eat the sick. This was very bad, as their skin and bones were weak and their flesh poor too eat. In fact, as soon as they began to eat of it Woman's sons grew very ill once more and Woman feared that they would die.
In great terror she went to see Great Raven again and explained to him what had happened. he nodded to himself and rose to his feet.
"When we went to the ice," he said. "I believe there was an animal we forgot to pull out."
So Woman and Great Raven returned to the ice field and cut another hole and dangled the fishing line in. Right away there came a tugging on the line, as if there was something below the ice that had been waiting a very long time. Woman pulled up the line and out came the last animal. It was the wolf.
"This animal is as great a gift as the caribou." Said Great Raven.
But Woman did not believe him. She went home with a heavy heart. But over the next few months she noticed something very strange. The healthy caribou were beginning to come back. Soon her husband did not have to travel to find caribou to bring home to his family. Woman wondered very much why this way, but did not know until she watched the wolves hunting one day.
She saw that the wolves were not fast enough to catch the healthy caribou, and so hunted only the sick ones. She was very pleased with what she found and returned to tell her children. From then on the people understood that, although it is the caribou that feeds the wolf, it is the wolf that keeps the caribou alive.
Well, that's my learning tale for the week. It has a great deal in common with my last learning tale (as you all probably noticed). But like I said, wolves really are my favorite animal. So that leaves only the Environmental Question of the week.
And here it is...
What is the definition of a "symbiotic relationship"?
Have a wonderful week everyone!!!!!
First, my shout outs. Good work Brenna, Gillian and Alexis for knowing that the scientific name of the Grey Wolf is Canis lupis. Yay everyone!!!!!!!! You are all my heroes.
But, I can't let another week go by without an Environmental Learning Tale, and this weeks is actually a legitimate tale as it was told for generations by the Inuit people of Alaska. It was also one of my favorite bed time stories as a child (which just goes to show you what kind of a kid I was...)
And so without further delay...
The Educational Story of Wolf and Caribou (as told by Me, the descendant of Irish-Italian immigrants)
A very long time ago there lived in Alaska a Woman and a Man and the Woman's five sons (note the obvious indication of matrilineal descent here...). Now, the world was a very different place in those days, in that over all the earth, the only living beings were Woman, her husband, and her children. They dwelt in houses made of sod and ate only lichen (which is actually a symbiotic relationship between two living organisms, but we'll let it go). They lived very happily for a long time.
But one year a winter came that was much worse than all the ones before it. The wind was very cold (it is Alaska after all) and the whole world seemed frozen solid. Woman had to cut her way out of her house everyday and melt foot after foot of snow to reach the buried lichen. And on the cold winter nights they often wished they had something more substantial to eat.
In fact, with only lichen to eat, Woman's sons fell very ill. One after the other they could no longer get out of bed and Woman feared very much that they would die. She waited anxiously for summer, but when summer came her children still did not get well. She decided to see Great Raven (kind of a super creator God) and ask him what to do.
Well, she traveled for many days to see Great Raven, and when she reached him and told him of her trouble he agreed to help. They went together down to a field of ice and cut a hole through to where the ocean moved underneath. Then Woman dangled a long line in the water while Raven sat upon her shoulder in his bird form. She waited for many days, but at last there came a tugging on the line and Woman pulled up the first animal in the world. This animal was snowshoe hare. She dangled the line in again and pulled out yet another animal, and again and again until many of the animals we see in the world were set free over the Tundra. The last animal she pulled out was Caribou.
"This animal is a great gift," Said Great Raven. "For its fur shall be your house, it's bones your weapons, and its meat your food."
And so it was. Woman went home to her family and the next day woke to the sound of Caribou hooves moving across the tundra. For many years they ate happily of the Caribou and Woman's sons grew stronger then ever they had been before.
But that is not the end of the story.
For after many years of this, Woman noticed that the Caribou herds began to grow ill. Her husband had to travel farther and father each day to get a healthy caribou, and the time finally came when there were none left and Woman and her family were forced to eat the sick. This was very bad, as their skin and bones were weak and their flesh poor too eat. In fact, as soon as they began to eat of it Woman's sons grew very ill once more and Woman feared that they would die.
In great terror she went to see Great Raven again and explained to him what had happened. he nodded to himself and rose to his feet.
"When we went to the ice," he said. "I believe there was an animal we forgot to pull out."
So Woman and Great Raven returned to the ice field and cut another hole and dangled the fishing line in. Right away there came a tugging on the line, as if there was something below the ice that had been waiting a very long time. Woman pulled up the line and out came the last animal. It was the wolf.
"This animal is as great a gift as the caribou." Said Great Raven.
But Woman did not believe him. She went home with a heavy heart. But over the next few months she noticed something very strange. The healthy caribou were beginning to come back. Soon her husband did not have to travel to find caribou to bring home to his family. Woman wondered very much why this way, but did not know until she watched the wolves hunting one day.
She saw that the wolves were not fast enough to catch the healthy caribou, and so hunted only the sick ones. She was very pleased with what she found and returned to tell her children. From then on the people understood that, although it is the caribou that feeds the wolf, it is the wolf that keeps the caribou alive.
Well, that's my learning tale for the week. It has a great deal in common with my last learning tale (as you all probably noticed). But like I said, wolves really are my favorite animal. So that leaves only the Environmental Question of the week.
And here it is...
What is the definition of a "symbiotic relationship"?
Have a wonderful week everyone!!!!!
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