From Silent Spring to Silent Night
The presentation was done by Prof. Tyrone Hayes. The California biologist makes an interesteing link between the increasing decline of amphibian population in waters with the dangerous herbicide Altrazine. This is a peer-reviewed research that evidentially show that Altrazine is indeed a potent endocrine disrupter which the negative ability of demasculining male amphibians just at very modest concentrations. It is argued that the Altrazine herbicide chemically castrates and then feminizes male amphibians (Hayes, 2011). He reckons that these low concentrations that have such lethal effects are way below the levels identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as “safe.” To further strengthen his argument, Dr. Hayes points to the fact that Altrazine, which is indeed a second most widely utilized herbicide on the planet, has been banned in the entire of Europe where it has its mothere company.
In addition, the Carlifonia bioogists demostrates that exposure of Altrazine herbicide results in neural damage as well as hyperactivity besides inducing a hormonal stress response which results in retarded growth and development, not to forget immune suppression. The latter is responsible for the increasing rates of disease and mortality of amphibians (Hayes, 2011).
This presentation is aimed to show the critical impact of pesticides on environmental health and in effect negative impact on public health. These effects include reproductive cancers together with birth defects. The danger is that this is emergent scientific phenomenon meaning that scientific literature and agencies such as the US Environmental Protection Agency are not yet well-equipped to handle and translate adequately into reliable health-protective policies. The remedy thus lies in breaking down such information and making it available to the general public (Hayes, 2011). This is because involvement of the public in policy decisions along with command of the science is of paramount importance to matters health.
Climate Change and Ecosystem
The Presentation “Climate Change and Ecosystems: Securing our Future” was presented by guest speaker Ellie M. Cohen from the PRBO Conservation Science.
It is noted that the current amount of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at all time high, something that was only last experienced 15 million years ago. During that time, it is reported that the sea level was 75-120 ft higher, temperature was between 5-10 F warmer, a permanent Arctic ice cap was lacking, and there was modest ice on both Antarctica and Greenland (Cohen, 2011). As result of the increased CO2 amounts in the atmosphere, the ozone layer has been greatly depleted threatening life on the globe. In addition, the levels are projected to reach unprecedented levels in the near future.
According to scientific studies, 2000-2009 was seen to be the warmest decade on record, while 2010 and 2005 were both the warmest years in history. It was also identified that the ocean is at the receiving end of heat generated on the planet. This is due to the fact that there has been significant increase in ocean heating considering that almost all of the warming that heated the planet since 1950 has ended in the ocean. The net result of this is adverse: weather patterns have changed dramatically.
In September 2010, the Arctic sea ice volume was lowest on record, and the Arctic summer sea cover is effectively in a death spiral and won’t recover. Another recent study revealed that there has been 40% decline in the amount of phytoplankton since 1950 as a result of global warming (Cohen, 2011). This translates that there is decreased source of marine food, decreased oxygn in world, and decreased absorption of CO2. Furthermore, it is estimated that the sea level will rise some 6ft or more by the start of the 22nd century.
References:
Cohen, M. Ellie. (2011). BioForum: Climate Change and Ecosystems. Retrieved on May 15, 2012 from http://fora.tv/2011/03/19/BioForum_Climate_Change_and_Ecosystems.
Hayes, Tyrone. (2011). From Silent Spring to Silent Night: What have we learned? Retrieved on May 15, 2012 from: cee.unc.edu/sem/f08/Hayes.pdf
