A Dream for a Better World

Tundra, a kind of biomes which grow in permafrost, grow in extreme environment. Tundra is located within polar easterlies of polar circle. In tundra area, the wind speed is very large and polar days and polar nights often occur. In winter, the temperature within tundra area is not very low and the lowest temperature there is even higher than that of coniferous forest in east Siberia. But in summer, it is very cold in tundra area and the summer also lasts not long. Rainfall in tundra area is not much but the evaporation is also very small. Therefore, the climate of tundra area is moist. In such environment, plants have to adjust to both moist climate and physiological drought.
Most tundra mainly is scattered around Arctic ocean. In Eurasia continent and north America, from Taiga to coastal area of Arctic ocean and the tundra expand to islands of Arctic Ocean. Tundra located in Europe and west part of north America is affected by warm current and they are distributed in the north region and the tundra belt is distributed narrowly. However, in Asia and east part of north America, tundra can expand far to south direction. In addition, forest tundra is located between the transitional zone of forest and tundra. Compared northern hemisphere, the area of tundra in southern hemisphere is not so large. Some vegetation similar with tundra can be just found in Falkland Islands of south part in South America, small ice-free area in South America and some islands in southern ocean. There are two kinds of tundra and they are alpine tundra and boreal tundra. The former is located in middle and upper position of volcanic cone situated more than 2000m of sea level and the latter, natural belt on the land, is located northern part of Eurasia continent and north America.
Tundra is the natural vegetation on the land but as the globe becomes warm, the ecosystem of tundra is facing up to destruction. In the summer of 2007, 5 fire disasters occurred in Alaska due to thunder and such disaster was very rare within Arctic circle. More and more evidence has shown that tundra in Arctic Circle disappeared due to global warming and scientists predict that tundra will be substituted with bush and forest gradually. In the past half century, temperature in most regions of Arctic region has increased by 3 to 5℉ and by the year 2100, the temperature will have increased by 10℉ compared with that of industrial revolution. That means tundra will disappear in the whole Arctic region. A research group has studied an area of tundra which suffered from fire disaster in 1977 and found that nearly all moss and shrub-like lichen could not be found, instead, shrub willow has occupied more area. Apart from fire disaster, thermal karst phenomenon also imposes harmful effects on tundra. Disappearance of tundra can cause great changes for ecosystem, plants, animals and human beings. Reindeer is a kind of animal which depends on tundra too much and local people also live on reindeer. After much tundra disappeared, the quantity of reindeers correspondingly decreased. In a word, endangered tundra will lead significant changes in Arctic region during those hundreds or thousands of years.

Sand dust storm is the combination of sandstorm and dust storm. When sand dust storm comes, strong wind blows sand into the sky and the air is terribly polluted. In addition, people can just see objects within 100m. sand dust storm is a kind of natural disaster like flood, drought and other disasters.
On the earth, sand dust storm mainly occurs in inland desert. Sahara desert, middle and west part of north America and Australia are main origins for sand dust storm. From the year 1933 to 1937, the well-known sand dust storm in bowl shape arrived in middle and west part of North America. In Asia, sand dust storm mainly occurs in Mesopotamia among Jordan desert, Baghdad and the coast of north gulf, the south beach of Iran near to Abbas and the plain across Mill Road branch and Afghanistan. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan also encounter sand dust storm. In northwest part of China, sand dust storm often badly affect local people’s life due to the unique geographical environment. Gurbantonggut desert, the Taklimakan desert, Badain Jaran desert, Tengger desert, Ulan Buh desert and Mu Us desert are the origins for sand dust storm in China. From the year 1999 to 2002, 53 sand dust storms arrived in China and 33 sand dust storms were caused by Gobi in Mongolia. In other words, 60% sand dust storms are caused by deserts outside China.
In the world, there are four regions where sand dust storm often occurs and they are north America, Australia, Middle East and Middle Asia. Deserts in north America are mainly located in west part of America and north part of Mexico. Therefore, the dry region which is next to deserts often suffers from sand dust storm. In 1930s, a very terrible sand dust storm arrived in the vast plain of west part of America and more than 3 billion tons fertile soil was destroyed. Millions of farmland was abandoned and a large number of people had to move to other places. Consequently, many cities and towns were empty. Australia is a dry country and 75% land belongs to arid and semi-arid. In middle and west part of Australia, sand dust storms occur frequently and local people can suffer from the terrible weather 5 times a year on average. In addition, over-grazing and farming also accelerate desertification. In middle part of Asia, as the population increases so fast, over-irrigation, deforestation and over-grazing etc consequently happen. It is no doubted that sand dust storm occur very often. Sand dust storm in Middle East is mainly caused by Sahara desert. In addition, some sand has been taken to Amazon in south America and European countries.
As for sand dust storm, it can cause great harm to people’s life. Strong wind with sand and dust can destroy buildings and public devices and it also hurts people and animals. Farmland, roads, villages and railways etc can be covered with sand and dust. The source of sand dust storm and destroyed regions can also suffer from wind erosion. Besides the previous harm described, sand dust storm will also pollute the air. Desert is the source for sand dust storm and if human beings continue engaging in unreasonable activities, there will be more and more deserts.

In the modern world, people have different ideas for consumption compared those of people in the past. Nowadays, excessive consumption and profligacy are very common all over the world. Many young people consider profligacy as natural behavior and they even look upon those who pursue thrift. As for such phenomenon, we can just worry about the distorted life value of young people and that is indeed a big social problem.
However, being gratified, in some countries, pursuit of thrift can be found in various aspects of social life. Holland is famous for its “closeness” and there is a joke which can fully give the evidence. A passenger asked the stewardess when the plane flied across Holland, “what are the white belts on the ground?” “people dry the used white tissue in order to reuse it.” It is very funny but it can show that people in Holland do not like to waste and squander. The joke is a kind of exaggeration but people in Holland are proud of their “closeness”. They call themselves as “miser” and they have also organized clubs for miser. They pursue thrift all their life. When they purchase cars, they first consider the fuel-efficiency and practical functions. They use the remained water which is saved from cooking water to wash plates. Each family has plan for daily expenditure every month and they seldom spend more than the family budget. Actually, those “misers” just want to send items which they do not use any more to those who need them and they pursue the society with enough equality. In Swiss, pursuit of thrift can be also easily found everywhere. It is estimated that people in Swiss can obtain 30,000$ annually on average and their income ranks the first place in European countries. They have careful calculation and strict budgeting in all aspects of life. In Swiss, a large number of people own cars but luxury cars are rarely found and most are common cars. Swiss is also a kingdom for watches and many famous watches are made in the country such as Rolex, Omega and Radar etc. However, most people in Swiss just wear very common watches. We can also find that houses in Swiss are very simple, clean and elegant instead of luxury. Housewives like to buy simple cleaning products and they also collect rain to clean bathroom and toilet. Japan is another country which also pursue thrift. As we all know, Japan is an island nation and Japanese people do not have abundant resources. In such case, the awareness of thrift even seeps into their bones and blood. Japanese people like use water repeatedly and they use the water which has been used to clean plates to clean floor. They also use the water which has been used to clean vegetables to water flowers or clean toilet. Power companies, gas companies and water bureau etc also teach people how to reduce the expenditure. In some public places, lift can be found but if no one uses it, the lift can not work. Japanese people also prefer small cars which can save steel and petrol.
If all countries can follow the awareness of thrift all the time, maybe people today do not need to worry about the dilemma of energy and environment so much.

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is the infectious disease caused by intestinal virus and kids below 5 years old are the main sufferers. Kids suffering from the disease have herpes in mouth, oral cavity and on the feet. Some patients have other complications such as myocardities, pulmonary edema and aseptic meningoencephalitis etc and a small number of kids die of hand-foot-and-mouth disease. How is the fatal disease infected among people? Firstly, when people have intimate contact and the virus will be spread the infected towel, handkerchief and other small items. Public instrument can also transmission the virus. Secondly, secretions from the throat can transmission virus. Thirdly, people also can be infected by the disease when they use the water or food which is used by patients. Fourthly, people eat the food which is bitten by flies with virus.
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is the global infectious disease and most countries all over the world ever have some report about the disease. In 1957, New Zealand first reported the disease. In 1958, coxsackie virus was separated and in 1959, the disease was named HMFD. The pathogens of hand-foot-and-mouth disease were Cox A16 after research in early times. In 1970s, EV71 was found related with hand-foot-and mouth disease and in 1972, EV71 was first confirmed in USA. Afterwards, Cox A16 and EV71 appeared alternately. In the year 1972,1973, 1986 and 1999, EV71 ever appeared in Australia. In the middle of 1970s, EV71 was popular in Bulgaria where 750 people suffered from the disease, 149 people were paralyzed and 44 people died and Hungary. in 1994, 952 patients who suffered from the disease were found in England. Japan is the country where people ever suffered from hand-foot-and-mouth disease many times. From the year 1969 to 1970, people are mainly infected by Cox A16. In 1973 and 1978, EV71 was popular. From 1997 to 2000, the disease came to Japan again and both Cox A16 and EV71 could be found. At the end of 1990s, the terrible disease started to arrive in east Asia countries. In 1997, people in Malaysia suffered from the disease and 2628 people from April to August were infected by the virus. In 1981, hand-foot-and-mouth disease was found in Shanghai, China and then it spread to other provinces. At present, hand-foot-and-mouth disease is found in Guangzhou, China. According to some survey, a doctor can receive 30 patients every day. The disease appears every two or three years and in 2008, it has already shown the peak and the spreading seems to continue. Hand-foot-and-mouth disease has obvious seasonal features. From April to July last year, it showed the peak and from October to November, it showed the peak again. In this year, the disease seems to arrive in advance.
As for the fatal disease, both people themselves and kindergartens and primary school should take some precaution pressures. Parents should help kids wash hands before and after dinner, keep all items of kids clean and deal with daily pollutants properly. Parents should not let kids drink raw water, take kids to crowed places and when they find kids not well, they should take kids to hospital as soon as possible. Kindergartens and primary school should also keep the environment clean and sterilize all instruments for kids. In addition, hospitals should also sterilize all items and make patients separate from healthy people.

When we hear that an animal is on the edge of extinction, that means the animal will disappear in the world forever and it can not be found in the ecosystem. At present, the polar bear has been listed as one of endangered animals in the globe. Among 19 subspecies, 8 of them are decreasing. For thousands of years, polar bear is always the key symbol for the local people in material, spiritual and cultural aspects. In addition, polar bear hunting is also a kind of essential activity is their daily life. However, in recent years, people’s unrestricted hunting for polar bears has caused the cancer of the international community.
Most polar bears which are the largest terrestrial predators in the world live within the Arctic Circle and they live on the ocean and land near to arctic area. Polar bear is the biggest bear in the globe and the body length is up to more than 3m. The weight of a grown-up male polar bear ranges from 350kg to 680kg and the figure of a grown-up female polar bear is half of that of the grown-up male polar bears. In order to hunt food in the environment with ice, snow and icy sea, their bodies have adjusted to the environment for many years. Polar bears are used to living in cold environment and they can bear the temperature about -45℃ and they can healthily grow up. Although most polar bears are born on the land, they spend most time living in the ocean. Therefore, they are also called “costal bears”. But the animal is a loser when it struggle with the changing climate.
Scientists have found that polar bears are facing danger because of climate change and environmental pollution. Unfortunately, those problems are caused by human beings. In past 50 years, the temperature of arctic area in Canada has increased 4℃. In addition, the temperature in arctic area is much faster than that of other regions in the world. The ice in arctic area is melting and it is undoubtedly a bad news for polar bears. On one hand, when the ice is melting, the distance between the ocean and the land becomes farther and polar bears have to swim more. Actually, polar bears are not very great swimmers so some may be drowned and others also can not be strong enough to hunt food due to long distance swimming. On other hand, polar bears mainly live on seals. About 1500 seals are born every year but as the ice is melting, many baby seals are drowned. In the 20st century, the quantity of seals has decreased from 180,000 to 8500. as for pollution, some toxic chemicals and sea water arrive in the arctic area such as mercury, chemical cooling agents and hazardous control agents etc. most of these materials are fat-soluble and they accumulate in other animals’ body which would be eaten by polar bears.
Polar bears continue decreasing and maybe they will be extinct in next some years. So what should human beings do at present?

Satellite images in the year 2005 displayed that Baltic Sea has become the largest dead sea in the world because of great reproduction of seaweeds. According to the report from USA National Geographic website, marine life in Baltic Sea is facing up with terrible threat. Seaweed reproduction has not only badly affected the existence of other marine creatures but also created the vast dead zone in Baltic Sea. In addition, the area of dead sea is enlarging. Peter Westman, a Wildlife expert from WWF said that since some laws had been issued in the year 1970, the ecological environment was improved greatly because some harmful substances such as DDT, PCBs etc were forbidden to discharge into the sea. However, Baltic Sea is facing up with another serious threat. Seaweed has changed the sea into dead sea where fishes can not live in the sea due to terrible eutrophication of sea water. Peter Westman said that rapid reproduction of seaweed in a small area was very normal but in Baltic Sea, the reproduction increased unexpectedly. He also indicated that much agricultural effluent with phosphorus and nitrogen was discharged into the sea and they provided abundant nutrients for seaweed reproduction. When it is raining, fertilizers in farmlands are taken into the sea and actually, sewage treatment system near to Baltic Sea also discharges pollutants into the sea. At present, there are about 10 vast dead zones in the world and 7 of them can be found in Baltic Sea. Great seaweed reproduction has badly affected the whole ecology in Baltic Sea.
Peter Westman said that people over hunted sea cod which lived on seaweed in Baltic Sea so seaweed grew rapidly. In addition, sea cods often live in deep sea and as the area of dead zone enlarges, there is smaller and smaller space for sea cods. In fact, overhunting has caused a vicious circle. Some seaweeds are toxic and when fishes or swimmers touch them, they can suffer from diseases. In addition, intensive seaweed can produce germ. Peter Westman told people that when other fishes entered into the zone where sea cods live, they could not adjust to the environment so their quantity had not increased in past years.
At present, in the global conference during the world water week organized by Stockholm International Water Institute, the organizer has introduced the terrible situation in Baltic Sea to others and showed pictures of Baltic Sea. Those pictures have fully displayed the Baltic Sea has been swallowed by vast area of seaweed. In the conference, all participants agree to work together to save Baltic Sea led by the European Union but they are not optimistic about the saving plan. An expert from Denmark said that it was too late to save the sea. The formation of Baltic sea is less than 10,000 years and it is the largest light salt ocean in the world. Once the unique ecosystem is destroyed, it is very difficult to recover. Some experts say that the situation of Baltic Sea can not be changed and what we can do is to try our best to reduce pollution.

Our previous presidents unfortunately were not too environmentally conscience.  I understand that being environmentally conscience can cost money.  Filters for smoke stacks, better car engines, and less pollution from the energy making companies that use coal all take money.  It may hurt, but if it is done unilaterally then no company will have an advantage over another, so if company A has to increase the costs of its products to make its company green friendly so does company B.   But even forgetting about the cost part, there is the part that this really is necessary.  If we keep going the way we are going we could end up being more like the planet Venus than we want to be!

Although Venus is the 2nd closest planet to the Sun, it is MUCH hotter than Mercury.  Why is that?  It is because of the greenhouse gases in its atmosphere.  The sunlight comes in then is trapped unlike Mercury and Earth where the heat can escape the atmosphere.  If our polution gets much worse then the heat will just keep adding up.  This of course would be very bad if our polar ice caps melted as it would cause a huge rise in the oceans causing many islands to be lost and of course a lot of the land exposed to the ocean would be under water.

So, while it may seem expensive, I think it is better than us living on a planet of ONLY water with no land!  While it may seem extreme, the bad thing about the greenhouse effect is that it can build quickly.  We need to act now.  I do hope our new president can turn things around for us.

The world is undergoing an acute food crisis with soaring prices for basic food.  Prices of rice and wheat were about double their levels a year earlier, and corn prices were over a third higher.  The crisis in food prices is the result of a combination of factors, among which the reduction of supplies due to farmers’ switch from growing crops for food to crops for agrofuels. Rich countries have promoted the production of agrofuels despite strong arguments warning about the ecological and social disaster they would imply on the world’s food security and on local peoples’ livelihoods and environments.  Agrofuels will indirectly destroy forests and lead to more costly food by increasing land pressures upon natural forests and agricultural crop lands

Environmental destruction processes usually lead to a series of causes, which can be classified as either direct or underlying causes.  An example of a direct cause would be the destruction of forests to convert into monoculture plantations such as soybeans (Brazil, Paraguay) or oil palm trees (Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Colombia), among other types of plantations worldwide.  Almost all environmental destruction processes share a common underlying cause and that is excessive consumption.  For example, the paper industry in which worldwide consumption has already long surpassed the threshold of sustainability.  Despite this fact, the industry plans to increase this consumption even further by creating and maintaining the false notion that there is a huge need and demand for disposable paper products such as paper cups, tablecloths, and napkins among others.  This level of paper consumption requires a steady supply of vast quantities of abundant and cheap raw material.  Thus, the industry turned to the establishment of huge monoculture plantations of fast-growing trees (eucalyptus, acacia, pine), which resulted in the destruction of forests and grasslands.  These plantations, which continue to expand, are now becoming the main source of raw material for paper production.  To save the environment and their way of life, numerous local communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America are fighting back against the spread of monoculture tree plantations and pulp mills.  

Plastic is widely used since it is cheap, easy to make and also lasts for quite a long time. Unfortunately it is these very qualities that are leading to an increasing pollution problem. In fact the phenomenon of plastic pollution needs the serious attention of the concerned authorities, around the world. Plastic is not that easily prone to biodegradation and therefore continues to wreak havoc with the environment for a long time. Increased urbanization is one of the major reasons for plastic pollution. This form of pollution has already affected several species of mammals and birds adversely and therefore needs to be seriously looked into in all urgency.

The spilling of either refined or crude petroleum into the environment is one ecological disaster that unfortunately often happens these days. Almost every passing day we come across reports stating accidental spills from ships which lead to destruction of precious underwater plant and animal life in the vicinity. Not only do fish inside such murky waters get affected, very often birds which depend on the area for their food, also get affected. There have also been instances when the coral reef has been badly damaged due to oil pollution. Fortunately marine toxicologists are working overtime nowadays to tackle the problem and come out with solutions.

Although human beings have invented many things right from the ancient times, they have never been able to duplicate anything that nature provides us with. This is one reason why mankind has always been in awe of nature. Unfortunately mankind has been unkind to Mother Nature and has plundered it beyond recognition, which is leading to the doom of all human beings. Forests have been cut down, animals have been killed to extinction and there seems to be no sign of stopping. All this has been done in the name of development. It is high time people realized that development and environment are closely related. Environment protection is something that everyone on this planet must be aware of. Stricter laws should be implemented to stop the plunder of natural resources. Only stringent laws can act as a deterrent and prevent this rampant destruction of our beloved earth.

In March 2007, Fidel Castro criticized President Bush’s push for biofuels.    Saying not only would billions of people starve but also that the environment would be harmed. 

Yes, we need to get rid of Oil as a source of fuel.  Yes, corn would be a cheaper alternative but is it really better for the environment?  Now, environmental groups and scientists are saying that it is NOT better for the environment when you consider everything that goes into making the biofuels.  So, is it again about money?  

Do I personally think Fidel Castro was right?  Absolutely.  Now, before you start saying I am anti-American, let me explain why.  However, before I explain why – shouldn’t all knowledge be worth looking at it no matter who said it?  Why should the person you hate most in this world have nothing to teach you?  Just because you hate that person does not mean they do not have anything meaningful to say.  You need to approach this as a teacher would to a student.  If the student came up with an idea that the teacher disagreed with or never thought of before, should the teacher spend time thinking about what the student has said or should the teacher treat his student as if he could never learn anything from him/her?  I personally believe that as a teacher one never ceases to learn, so we need to open our eyes and ears to everyone especially when it comes to benefiting the environment.  Now, back to the question at hand.  Why do I think that Fidel Castro was right? 

1. As anyone with the most basic knowledge of Economics can tell you price is determined by supply and demand.  Yes, corn is cheap now, but what will happen to the price of corn when you start requesting 100’s of millions of tons of corn?  The price will go up and this will affect the poor EVERYWHERE.  Now, in order to prevent the price from going up – you have to increase the supply.  How are we going to do that?  From what I see prices of land all over the world is going up and up.  If we use existing land then prices of other foods will go up as other foods are being replaced.  We are decreasing the supply of those other items so their price must go up.
2. If poorer countries start participating in the fuel oil plan we can kiss our rainforests goodbye!  We already know farmers care little about rainforests when they can see money in their pocket for destroying it. 
3. Look at what happened in the plains of America when we cut down too many trees, growing crops became close to impossible because of the wind.  Will this happen all over the world when you start requesting huge amounts of corn and other items for fuel oil?  I think yes. 

I totally agree we need to get rid of oil as a source of energy.  But, why do we have to have our sites set on food as a source?  Why can’t we think of other items (Note, I am not a scientists, so I don’t know if any of the following ideas are plausable) like Carbon Dioxide (use our pollution as a source), electricity, and trash.

Did you know that one lightning storm can supply enough electricity to power all of America for approximately 20 minutes?  Now unfortunately we do not have a way to convert that raw power into electricity?  Plus our batteries have not come a long way like our computers have.  I believe that if someone (say President Bush or Bill Gates) put up an Xprize (that is how we got a commercial plane into space) for someone to convert this raw power into energy then we would solve a LOT of our environmental problems.

All I am saying is that there has to be other sources of energy other than food (how about desert sand, we have a lot of that! haha).

What do you all think?

Have you seen those big smoke stacks blowing out pollution?  Did you know they make air filters for those smoke stacks?  Do you think any of them use it?  Why?  Don’t want to waste any money!  I mean why waste money that could go out for for bonuses just to save the environment.  I mean what help would it be if we did it and no one else did it?  Doesn’t everyone have to do it, to make a difference?  Is this the way businesses think?  Does everything have to be connected to the bottom line?  What about the public image? Can’t they say “Hey, we are a green – compliant company, we use air filters in smoke stacks thus reducing polution 90%, come buy from us”? 

There needs to be incentives for companies to be green-compliant.  How else will we survive?