Acid Rain

Acid rain usually has a pH level of .6 but with pollution, weather patterns or elevated topography acid rain can reach 4.2. In the Adirondack Mountains, in New York, the pH of the lake became so acidic that fish did not survive. As a result, the animals of area also dispersed. Acid rain is caused by NO2 and SO2 emissions from cars and factories. It can come in the form of rain, snow, fog, or dew. In the mountains, areas with heavy fog, are greatly affected by acid rain. Trees die from the high acidity and animals suffer as well. In Indiana, heavy pollution blows east and also adds to acid rain. However because Indiana has heavy limestone deposits we don't feel the full affects of it. The calcium carbonate in limestone acts as a buffer and neutralizes the pH of acid rain. If acid rain is every going to stop, pollution must also slow down.

Over Fishing

Overfishing has to be one of the least thought of problems in the world today. Fishermen continue to raid the seas and lakes of fish so they can profit as much as they can. Trawling is one of the huge problems that affects many habitats and causes many fish to go extinct. When huge boats are pulling nets behind them and scraping the ocean floors, they are destroying the habitats. One thing that totally disturbs me is that usually only one third of the catch in the trawler boats is processed. Another problem is that fishermen don't slow down their fishing in order to keep their usual catch alive. If fishermen would realize that if they only caught so many fish each year, then they could have the fish population thrive. In the end though, they will not realize this until their fish populations are dead.

Deforestation

One thing that has always bothered me is deforestation. After the video in class about deforestation, I realized that many species are being destroyed. I believe that the human population needs to leave the forests untouched because if we continue to cut down trees and to destroy habitats, people one hundred years from now won't even realize how many species of frogs or fish or birds there were. Deforestation is causing the world to change. There have been plenty of frog species that were extinct before the human population knew about them. I just haven't understood why humans haven't found other resources to prevent deforestation. If our civilization would recycle better we might have a better chance on keeping certain species alive. But until then, deforestation will continue to destroy habitats.

Invasive Species

One issue that has always struck me is invasive species. There are many invasive species out there and the all have a huge impact on the environment. The biggest impact that the invasive species have on habitats is that they destroy food chains. For instance there was a fish that brought into the great lakes that literally started to kill fish. They would attach to the side of a fish and suck on it until the fish died. Another issue was the zebra mussels that were brought into areas through ballast water. With this problem the mussels started to destroy the bottom part of the food chain and then everything above the lower levels started to suffer. I believe that if people are going to succeed with their daily lives, fishermen for instance, they need to understand the importance of keeping the natural habitat. Invasive species kill the food webs and if habitats aren't kept the way they are, and fishermen are using rusty crayfish as bait, then types of fish and other organisms that live in the water will die. 

Water Sources Destroyed by Fertilizer

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PTLK/1620.html

In the article above, it discusses how fertilizer is a source of pollution in water. It discussed how fertilizer can't pollute water if it is spread properly. If it isn't overused then when the fertilizer particles will attach to the soil, and it cannot be harmful to water. If there happens to be soil erosion though then the water can be pollution. Another cause is just runoff from the roads and crop dusting is also another cause of pollution. I think that in order for people to reduce the amount of contaminated water they have to underuse fertilizer so they don't take a chance of runoff and overuse of fertilizer. In the end though, people will always continue to think the more the fertilizer the better the lawn will look but they are actually wrong. Only so much fertilizer can soak into the ground.

Prevention over Pick up

Obviously one key element to nature conservation is prevention rather than pick up. I've started to realize that the big car companies have very little with the oil issue. Our world is running out of oil yet the car companies do not fully switch over their technology to another source of fuel. There are plenty of other fuel sources like electricity or hydrogen. Even water is a possibility. The car company definitely has the technology and money to find new sources. They just choose not to take the time to change all their vehicles because they are making enough money as it is. I believe that if we want to have a chance at stopping global warming then we have to act on the car companies. There needs to be a law about how many oil dependent cars produced each year. If there is a law on this then the car companies will be forced to create other types of cars that run on different types of technology. In the end though if things aren't changed, our coastal wetlands and natural habitats will be demolished by global warming.

Backyard Nature Conservation

http://wildlifepreservation.suite101.com/article.cfm/backyard_nature_conservation

In this article they talk about how our communities are being destroyed. Development is destroying the natural habitats of animals. One problem that has arisen is that bees pollinate over 800 different types of plants that humans use for consumption. So with the wild life areas being taken away the bees have no place to build nests. I believe that in order for the bees to remain alive we have to stop development in areas that have established habitats. People have to realize that if we continue to grow and spread across the country, we will destroy natural resources that we take for granted. No one realizes that the Honeybees are a key to creating many food sources. If the plants cannot receive pollination then our fields and crops will soon be destroyed.