Reduce, Reuse, Reprint

By Jenna, Stephen, Amy, Cassidy, Brandon

Some of our incredible t-shirt designs.

Our T-Shirts are complete!! Throughout this semester we have been trying to reduce our ecological footprints within our school. We have raised awareness to people about reducing their footprint. Our project was to get staff and students to bring in their old t-shirt to get a cool/ inspirational logo on it.  We have collected and designed nearly 20 T-Shirts for a low cost of $3.00 which was beyond our expectations. Everyone who has participated in this event has reduced their ecological footprint. Their footprint was reduced by reusing their old T-Shirts instead of buying a new one! We worked very hard throughout the semester planning and making the shirts. We feel like our results were successful!

Thank you to everyone who supported and helped us with this event and everyone who participated with buying a shirt.

The Green Team

By: Shaelynn and The Green Team

So The Green Team has become a success! The green bins have been delivered to all participating class rooms, and Tim Hortons cups are finally being composted all over our school.

The Green Team was created by a group of grade 12 students that were given the task to find a way to reduce our schools ecological footprint, so our group decided to take on the task of bringing compost bins to our school. After weeks of sending emails and advertising the soon to come compost bins, they finally arrived. Bins were placed in the cafeteria, staff rooms, the office, and in all participating class rooms. Due to the lack of education about the compost bins, our group made posters about what does and doesn’t get composted, including Tim Hortons cups, which are compostable. A week after setting up the compost bins The Green Team set out to collect all the waste for its weekly pick up by the county. While we collected the waste our group noticed the great improvement our school has made, we found green bins full of Tim Hortons cups, orange peels, apple cores, and so much more.

The Green Team was not only made to bring compost bins to our school, but it was also created to pass on our groups passion for the environment on to younger generations. As a successful group we are proud to announce that the responsibilities of The Green Team will be passed on to grade 9s, 10s, and 11s at the end of 2015.   

Congratulations NPSS, we are reducing our ecological footprint one step at a time!

The Effects Pollution has on Developing Countries

Blogged by: Madison

Photo from: Guardian, The. "Toxic E-Waste." N.p., n.d. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal-development%2F2013%2Fdec%2F14%2Ftoxic-ewaste-illegal-dumping-developing-countries>

The Problem:

Recent studies have shown that twenty percent of the total cause of disease in the developing world is due to environmental pollution. This initially means that as much as one fifth of diseases in the developing world are caused by air pollution.

When this is combined with malnutrition and lack of health care the effects are devastating. The people that are most at risk for this spread of disease are located in South East Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa which are responsible for almost one quarter of the world's population today. This number is too large to be ignored or taken lightly, which is why actions should be taken to train the people living in developing countries to become more educated on the effects of pollution and how to safely remove it. The people living in these countries are unaware of the effects that pollution has until it is unfortunately too late and nothing can be done for them. Lack of clean water, sanitation, and hygiene causes seven percent of death and disease around the world. And unlike developed countries they do not have the education or the health care to deal with these problems and to support the people of their country when the effects of the pollution there turn irreversible. However, the costs of pollution to developing countries are so large, it is a lot to deal with for them such as: destabilized economies, local, political instability, escalating public health costs, lost productivity, damage to

ecosystems, and an enormous amount of problems passed down to future generations. And if these future generations are not properly educated on the effects of pollution and how to stop it from spreading within their country, the problem will not go away.

Basu, Paroma. "Third World Bears Brunt of Global Warming Impacts." Third World Bears Brunt of Global Warming Impacts. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2015. <http://www.news.wisc.edu/11878>.

This map of the world clearly displays that the largest amount of greenhouse

gas emissions come from the Western side of the world, where these developed

countries are somewhat equipped to deal with it. Unlike developing countries who are not. 

Other than lack of education and a stable economy the effects of pollution on developing 

countries is constantly increasing because of the constant rebuilding that they have to do. 

Developing countries have to deal with rebuilding after wars, famines, natural disasters, and 

cleaning up after all of these incidents. So unfortunately protecting the environment and 

cleaning up on pollution is not on the top of the list for developing countries. Although, with the 

guidance of developing countries cleaning up the environment for countries similar to South 

East Asia and Africa. It would be largely more possible and positive for the environment and 

millions of lives not only within developing countries, but around the world.

Works Cited:

"The Hidden Tragedy of Africa's HIV Crisis." New Scientist 195.2612 (2007): 6-9. The Hidden Tragedy. Web.

Australian Wildfires

Blogged by:  Parker

        As of January fourth, wildfires in Southern Australia had destroyed twenty-thousand hectares of land, and experts are saying that global climate change is the most likely cause of disasters like this which are becoming increasingly more common. There were twenty six homes destroyed by the inferno, and authorities were still attempting to supress the flames on January eighth. 
          Wildfires are not the only form of natural disaster that are becoming more common, other ones such as hurricanes and tornados are also growing in number due to manmade global warming. Tony Abbott of The UN Convention on Climate Change claims that these wildfires “are certainly not a function of climate change, they're a function of life in Australia”, however, the Australian government estimates that they’ll need to double the number of firefighters in the country by 2030 at the latest. This demand for emergency personnel has already begun however, as the number of calls for paramedics increased twenty fold during the last heat wave in Australia. 
         The series of wildfires that have been persisting in Australia recently has been said to been the most potentially dangerous the country has seen since the Ash Wednesday Disaster of 1983, when 180 separate fires, fueled by 110 kilometer per hour winds burned more than 1.2 million acres across Australia. 
            There is good news though as well, the brutal heat wave that has been creating the perfect conditions for the wildfires to thrive appears to be coming to a close. This means that soon the government will be able to begin returning people to their homes after they finish containing the fires, repairing power lines, and clearing roads. Of course, if nothing is done to counter the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to the global climate change, these fires will just continue to become more common and destructive.




image from:  http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/02/bushfires_in_victoria_australi.html

Fukushima --Effects on Canada

Blogged by: Stephen

Do you remember the horrible nuclear disaster that happened at the Fukushima daiichi power plant? For those of you who don't the    Fukushima disaster occurred on March, 11, 2011.The accident happened when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit japan triggering a tsunami, This tsunami caused critical damage to the power plants cooling systems causing them to start pouring out radioactive substances into the water.

  Not only has the disaster greatly impacted our water quality and infected fish and other sea life with very harmful radiation. The effects of fukushima are also now directly affecting sea life directly off the canadian coast. Now you may be wondering, why does the news not promote this issue so canadians are aware of it? I do not know the answer to this, But i do know that it is an issue directly affecting canadians food sources, water and land quality. I don't know about you but if the fish i was eating contained tons of radiation, i would want to know about it!

Lets make a change and get the word out about this issue!

Change can start with you!

Out of this World News!

New Water on New Comets
By: Maddie G.

The Rosetta spacecraft has detected water coming off comet 67P. The water vapor found on Comet 67P has been tested and found to be significantly different to the water found on Earth. The spacecraft found that water on comet 67P contains about three times more deuterium than water on Earth. Deuterium is a heavier form of hydrogen.

Comet 67P

This is leading to the debate of where the water on Earth originated from in the first place. It is believed that when the planet was formed 4.6 billion years ago, any of the existing water should have been boiled off. But now in 2015, about two thirds of the planet is covered in water.

So where did all this water come from? Scientists think that Comet 67P came from what is called the Kuiper belt, which is a broad band of frozen bodies that begins outside the orbit of Neptune. Kathrin Altwegg from the University of Bern said that instead of comets carrying water to Earth, the water may have arrived on the asteroids instead.

The Rosetta spacecraft “selfie

Measurements from other comets have found water with similar deuterium contents to that on Earth, but the strange structure of comet 67P’s water suggests that the idea of the comets bringing water to Earth is too basic. Altwegg said that in the end, the earth’s oceans are probably made from a mix of things.

Ocean acidification destroying the beautiful Coral Reef

Blogged by: Megan

The coral reef is home to thousands of species and is the world's largest coral reef that needs to be protected.Extending more than 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometers) through the Coral Sea off northeastern Australia and is the main habitat for endangered species but with ocean acidification it is destroying their home. Ocean acidification is the decrease of pH levels by the increase of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.  The acidity in the ocean dissolves the calcium carbonate that forms the coral reef, the ability for it to build. Since the last century ocean acidification has increased by 30 percent , making the condition of the reef decreasing each year.

Scientists estimate that by the year 2050 if ocean acidification does not approve the coral reef will become just a story and many species will die out causing many food chains/webs to be in tremendous trouble. By  most of the carbon dioxide comes from the population that lives on the planet , we need to reduce our CO2 footprint to save the wonderful reef. Simply just by watching your emission gases into the atmosphere can help  save and by simply spreading the world around of how much of a  serious issue  Ocean acidification is so we can  help save these species home!

What type of energy resources does Canada use?

Blogged by: Jessy

Stern, Rudi. "LET THERE BE NEON!" LET THERE BE NEON! Web. 19 Jan. 2015. <http://www.lettherebeneon.com/?page_id=437>.

In the beginning of December, I taught a grade nine geography class about evaluating energy strategies. I showed them why Canadians use up so much energy and I made them think of ways to reduce this amount. Reasons why Canadians use so much energy are:

• Long, cold winters require heating, while humid summers require an increased demand for air conditioning.
• Since Canada is such a large country, most Canadians drive or fly in order to get to certain destinations.
• Our industries use a large amount of energy to power all of our machinery and to shape resources into finished products.
• Canada has a high standard of living. Personal comfort in for Canadians means a lot of electronics and motorized devices. Ex. Snow mobiles
• We tend to value comfort and convenience over energy conservation.

I also went through the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy sources and the different types of each energy source.

"What Is Renewable Energy? Sources of Renewable Energy." Eschooltoday. 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 19 Jan. 2015. <http://www.eschooltoday.com/energy/renewable-energy/what-is-renewable-energy.html>.

RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Renewable energy is energy that can reproduce itself fairly quickly. Different ways to use renewable sources to create energy are through

Hydroelectricity (energy created through water),

Bavota, C. "Resources." The Great Cavallini Energy Debate. 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 19 Jan. 2015. <http://lcampana.com/webquest/resources/>.

Geothermal (energy stored and created within the earth),

Bavota, C. "Resources." The Great Cavallini Energy Debate. 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 19 Jan. 2015. <http://lcampana.com/webquest/resources/>.

Solar energy (energy created by harnessing sunlight),

Bavota, C. "Resources." The Great Cavallini Energy Debate. 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 19 Jan. 2015. <http://lcampana.com/webquest/resources/>.

Wind energy (energy created by harnessing wind).

Bavota, C. "Resources." The Great Cavallini Energy Debate. 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 19 Jan. 2015. <http://lcampana.com/webquest/resources/>.

NON-RENEWABLE SOURCES

A non-renewable resource is an energy resource that cannot reproduce itself. Different types of non-renewable energy are

Nuclear power plants (energy formed by an atomic reaction),

Reidy, Katy. "Could Nuclear Power Solve Our Energy Crisis?" Trinity News. 4 Dec. 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2015. <http://trinitynews.ie/could-nuclear-power-solve-our-energy-crisis/>.

Fossil fuels (Fuels containing once living things),

"What Is Energy." Energy and Kids. 1 Jan. 2005. Web. 19 Jan. 2015. <http://www.kids.esdb.bg/basic.html>.

Thermal electric power (Heat that is converted into energy).

"OTEC By the Numbers." The On Project. 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 19 Jan. 2015. <http://www.theonproject.org/2011/otec-by-the-numbers/>.

I feel that teaching younger audiences about the importance of using renewable energy resources is a key step in helping reduce climate change, pollution, and other environmental issues. By teaching them about renewable and non-renewable energy, they now know that there are better alternatives to every negative way of creating energy.

I also showed the class this video to further my explanation of energy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Vb6hlLQSg

US and China Climate Change Agreement

Blogged by:  Liam

The USA and China, two of the worlds biggest economies, recently made an “Historic Agreement” regarding the greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. Although neither of the countries promised to stop using coal and oil any time soon, some arrangements were made in hopes of drastically reducing these emissions. The US has said they will double the speed of the reduction of their emissions and try to get 26% to 28% below 2005 emissions by 2025.China hopes to do the same thing by 2030. As many of us know from our class discussions China has a serious issue with air pollution especially in the Beijing area, where they actually have to have “Air quality days”. This agreement is something that wouldn't have been imagined 5 years ago especially with two of the most industrialized countries in the world. However it is easy to be weary of agreements like this because if there is one thing politicians are good at its lying. People should monitor this situation carefully and make sure the two nations meet their goals by 2025 and 2030.

 

(Photo Courtesy of USA today)

Ocean Pollution

By: Jenna G.

Garbage in our oceans have become a big problem in the past few years. Many people don't realize the effects that this plastic garbage has on our oceans. Humans have developed this mindset “Out of sight out of mind”. Because the problem is not effecting them directly it has become out of control and we fear that there will be no fix for the future. The great pacific garbage patch is one of the major concerns to ocean pollution. It is a collection of debris that ends up in our oceans. The ocean currents brings all the debris to a specific area. The two biggest garbage patches located in the oceans, are known as the eastern and western garbage patch, and because of their large size it has become a problem that doesn't have an easy fix.  

Causes:

• Non-Biodegradable products

→ Plastic water bottles

→ Plastic shopping bags

• Human demand for plastics
• Plastics not properly being disposed

Humans are the cause of The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. They have created and continue to contribute to the growth of the patch. The patch consists of marine debris that is non-biodegradable, mainly plastics. These small pieces of plastics have created a problem for many of the birds, fish, turtles, seals, and filter feeders such as baleen whale species. Many of the marine life mistake these pieces of plastic for food. The small plastic pieces are similar in size to plankton, a common diet to many marine species. Along with plastic bags often get mistaken for jellyfish. We need to stand up and put a stop to this problem before it is absolutely too late. Small steps can be taken in your daily life to help improve our oceans.

What can you do?

• Be aware of this problem
• Educate people on this concern
• Reduce the amount of plastic you use:

→ Reusable water bottles

→ Cloth shopping bags

→ Reusable containers

→ Products with little packaging

Help Clean Up Our Oceans

Transport of Water Pollutants

By: Shaelynn

We rely on clean water to survive, and yet we are heading towards a water crisis. Changing climate patterns are threatening lakes and rivers, and key sources that we tap for drinking water are being overdrawn or tainted with pollution. Water pollution is a change in chemical, physical, and biological health of a water resource. Water pollution falls under two categories, point sources and nonpoint sources of pollution. A point source originates from a single source, such as a sewage outflow pipe that discharges directly into a body of water. A nonpoint source is a contamination that occurs from sediments, nutrients, or organic or toxic substances from land-use activities are carried into lakes and streams by surface run-off.

Water pollution is caused by many things, including, industrial waste, sewage and waste water, mining activities, marine dumping, accidental oil leakages, burning of fossil fuels, and many more. Waste that is dumped into lakes or rivers can be carried by a current into the ocean, thousands of kilometers away from the original dump site. Polluted water can harm fish and other aquatic life that are exposed to the pollution, or that consume it. Due to this exposure, aquatic species may encounter reproductive difficulties, or death. Water pollution affects the entire food chain in two ways, through bioaccumulation and biomagnification/bioamplification.  

Bioaccumulation occurs in an organisms, where a concentration of a substance builds up in the tissues and is absorbed faster than it is removed. This often occurs in two ways, simultaneously: by eating contaminated food, and by absorption directly from water(also called bioconcentration). Bioamplification is an increase in the concentration of a substance as you move up the food chain, often by persistent pollutants that don’t or slowly do break down by natural processes. These persistent pollutants are transferred up the food chain faster than they are broken down or excreted.

Due to bioaccumulation in aquatic life, humans have been affected by biomagnification, simply by consuming fish with mercury poisoning. Back in the 1950s, at Minimata Bay in Japan, industrial production concentrated mercury in fish to the extent that 900 people died, and some 20 000 became ill, as a result of consuming the contaminated fish. So, what will you do to stop water pollution, cause the next individual to experience death or illness due to consuming polluted fish could be you.

References

• http://mercurypolicy.scripts.mit.edu/blog/?p=499
• http://www.nrdc.org/water/
• http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/sources-and-causes-of-water-pollution.php#sthash.tmslrux5.dpuf

What you should know about the Keystone Pipeline

Blogged by: Abie

The Keystone XL Pipeline is a proposed 875-mile pipeline project that would extend from Alberta Canada to the Gulf Coast of Texas. The pipeline would allow delivery of up to 830,000 barrels per day of crude oil from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and the Bakken Shale Formation in the United States to Steele City, Nebraska, from there it would be delivered to refineries in the Gulf Coast area. TransCanada Keystone Pipeline has applied for a Presidential Permit that, if granted, would authorize the proposed pipeline to cross the United States-Canadian border at Morgan, Montana.

The pipeline is a controversial topic because of the environmental concerns that come with it. The main complaints from environmental groups is that there will be a spill, and that the pipeline will create a conduit to market for petroleum extracted from the Alberta oil sands, an unconventional energy source requiring far more fuel, water and carbon emissions to extract than conventional oil and gas.

There are two ways producers get the sands out of the ground, both damaging to the immediate environment. In one method, large amounts of water and natural gas are used to pump steam into the sands to extract the oil, which creates toxic environmental runoff.

Alternatively, energy companies strip-mine the sands and then heat them to release the oil, a practice that has already destroyed many acres of Alberta forest. An environmental review by the State Department concluded that production of oil-sands petroleum creates about 17 percent more carbon pollution than production of conventional oil.

The United States Department of State Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs has overviewed the project and came up with six main enviormental concerns

• Climate change
• Potential oil spills
• Water resources (effects on ground water)
• Destruction of wetlands
• Threats to endangered species
• Potential effects on geology, soils, other biological resources (e.g., vegetation, fish, and wildlife), air quality, noise, land use, recreation, and visual resources.

On friday the House voted 266 to 153 to approve the measure, though Obama has threatened to veto the project. The bill goes to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to stage a lengthy, high-profile debate that is likely to stretch through Obama’s State of the Union address Jan. 20.