Silkwood

In summary, the movie Silkwood chronicles the events leading up to Karen Silkwood's death. Kerr-McGee, the company she worked for, were rushing to meet a deadline and in doing so, were cutting corners that would ensure the safety of their employees.  As more people fell ill, and with health issues herself,  Karen became aware of this and she began gathering information and consuming herself with the constructing a fight against this immoral company. In doing so, she ultimately lost her life in a suspicious one car crash. The company went out of business a year later.

In my personal opinion, I was saddened by this story. It is yet another reminder that some people don't value the precious existence that is human life. Unfortunately, money often clouds judgement, in which case stories like this occur. This movie taught me to be aware of what companies are doing and saying because not everyone has the same respect for the environment and its creatures.

:)

Hitichi Lab Report

wild ginger!

Leaf litter decomposition- process where insect and miccrobial decomposer turn dead leaves into energy for forests.  Free Ions are released from organically bound nutrients, then plants drink them up.

The Southern Pine Beetle is a little bitty critter with a big impact. They burrow s shaped tunnels for eggs under tree bark and carry fungi that blog up the water transport in trees all that eventually kill Pine trees. They have cleared acres and acres of these trees in GA. 

My Fav Aquatic Critters

The Diatom is said to have originated during or before the Jurrassic Period. They are a apart of the algae group, and are one of the most common types of phytoplankton

Copepods are in the zooplankton family and travel in swarms. They have one eye, and can help scientist study the effects of global warming.

Floating aquatic macrophytes grow on top of the water. They produce oxygen, and act as food for some wildlife.

                        
Glowlight neon tetra's are pretty little fishies. They swim in colonies and are mix well with other fish. They are easy to take care of and known for their bright colors.

Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans. They live on dead animals and plants and are look like little lobster. They are tasty too!

Otters are the cutest little mammals in freshwater! They like eating fish, and even can sleep on their backs. Very playfyl and fun, otters also may be the nicest mammals out there too.

Temperate Rainforest Biome- my fav

•  Large amounts of precipitation 
• Average Temperature is around 0 degrees C
• Has big coniferous trees
• Mosses & Lichens present

• Nearby Ocean
• Main location is NW coast of N.America
• Decomposition is slow

Ecological Niche of the Snow Leopard

                                                               The Snow Leopard

• Cold Dry Climate
• Steep Terrain
• Good cover to sneak up on prey
• Food: Wild goat, sheep, small rodents, game birds
• Den: Overhangs, caves, large rocks
• Water

Mitochondrial Eve and her descendants

Mitochondrial Eve

Mitochondrial Eve is the name for the women who is thought to be the matrilineal ancestor for all humans today. This can be traced back through mitochondrial DNA which is passed down from the mother to her offspring. She is estimated to have lived 150,000- 200,000 years ago in East Africa.

As people spread throughout the world, the characteristics passed down from Mitochondrial Eve adapted to the new enviroments.

A native of Zibabwe

An Egyptian

A woman with Cuban roots

A Brazilian Native

Woman from India

Spanish Woman

The wide range of diversity can be attributed to the large span of area that people migrated too. This is not the only factor, as demonstrated between both pictures from african countries, Egypt and Zimbabwe. The amount of sun the ancestors had to deal with on a daily basis helps to determine skin tone, as the lighter it is the less sun they were exposed to. Mutations also play a role in the differences that stretch across people of the globe. Gene mutations that occur are passed on through genetic material, and those mutations manifest and live on the in offspring.

1,000 years in the future, we could assume that the average person would be medium skinned with brown eyes and darker hair, with a medium height. (and hopefully not obese at the rate we are going). With globalization and year of blending, the skin complexions eye colors and hair colors will start to even out decreasing the differences we have now in our human race.

Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory

Woods Hole, Massachusetts

• Known as America's "National Biological Laboratory"
• Oldest Private Marine Lab in the nation.
• Centers around research and education in the field of biology
• Trains some of the worlds top biologist.

Methane comes from cow burps.

The Butterfly Effect

The butterfly effect is a part of the chaos theory. It assumes the possibility that a small incident can change the outcome of a greater whole. The name comes from the example of a butterfly flapping its wings differently ultimately altering the weather. This idea calls our attention to little details when studying large systems

I gained alot of my understanding of the concept here and here