whats inside your battery?

 

Batteries are objects that store energy. We use them every day in many different objects, from toys and cell phones to cars and computers. Batteries make all sorts of things possible, but they can also be harmful to the environment if we don’t dispose of them properly.
The chemicals which make batteries run are highly toxic, which makes it important to be careful when disposing of them. These chemicals can easily contaminate the water and soil, making them dangerous for animals and people alike.
Instead of throwing away used or leaky batteries, recycle! When you recycle a battery, it gets sent to people who know how to safely deal with the toxic chemicals inside. In addition, the battery goes through a process that separates all its parts so they can be reused in all sorts of different products. Don't just toss your batteries in the recycling bin, though- there are specific places for you to do this.

Plastic Not-So-Fantastic

From cell phones and computers to bicycle helmets and hospital IV bags, plastic has molded society in many ways that make life both easier and safer. But the synthetic material also has left harmful imprints on the environment and perhaps human health, according to a new compilation of articles  authored by scientists from around the world.
Since its mass production began in the 1940s, plastic’s wide range of unique properties has propelled it to an essential status in society. Next year, more than 300 million tons will be produced worldwide. The amount of plastic manufactured in the first ten years of this century will approach the total produced in the entire last century, according to the report.
 Chemicals added to plastics are absorbed by human bodies. Some of these compounds have been found to alter hormones or have other potential human health effects.

Gulf Oil Spill one year later!!

Glowing Oil

Under UV light, tar from the oil spill lights up orange-yellow on the beaches of Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida while clean sand glows purple in a long-exposure picture taken in July.

Scientists who are continuing to monitor Florida's and Alabama's beaches still see traces of the oil via UV light.



Tar Balls Aglow

Looking like gold nuggets, tiny tar balls gleam orange in UV light on a beach in Pensacola, Florida, in April.
Overall, at least for the Florida Panhandle, the environmental prognosis doesn't seem as dire as it was last summer.

Wind Power

 

Wind turbines on a cloudy day

Wind is the movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. In fact, wind exists because the sun unevenly heats the surface of the Earth. As hot air rises, cooler air moves in to fill the void. As long as the sun shines, the wind will blow. And as long as the wind blows, people will harness it to power their lives.
Most wind energy comes from turbines that can be as tall as a 20-story building and have three 200-foot-long (60-meter-long) blades. These contraptions look like giant airplane propellers on a stick. The wind spins the blades, which turn a shaft connected to a generator that produces electricity. Other turbines work the same way, but the turbine is on a vertical axis and the blades look like a giant egg beater.
The biggest wind turbines generate enough electricity to supply about 600 U.S. homes. Wind farms have tens and sometimes hundreds of these turbines lined up together in particularly windy spots, like along a ridge. Smaller turbines erected in a backyard can produce enough electricity for a single home or small business.
Wind is a clean source of renewable energy that produces no air or water pollution. And since the wind is free, operational costs are nearly zero once a turbine is erected. Mass production and technology advances are making turbines cheaper, and many governments offer tax incentives to spur wind-energy development.
the wind energy industry is booming. Globally, generation more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2006. At the end of last year, global capacity was more than 70,000 megawatts. In the energy-hungry United States, a single megawatt is enough electricity to power about 250 homes. Germany has the most installed wind energy capacity, followed by Spain, the United States, India, and Denmark. Development is also fast growing in France and China.
Industry experts predict that if this pace of growth continues, by 2050 the answer to one third of the world's electricity needs will be found blowing in the wind.

#8 Habitat Loss

Habitat loss—due to destruction, fragmentation or degradation of habitat—is the primary threat to the survival of wildlife in the United States.
When an ecosystem has been dramatically changed by human activities—such as agriculture, oil and gas exploration, commercial development or water diversion—it may no longer be able to provide the food, water, cover, and places to raise young. Every day there are fewer places left that wildlife can call home

 

 

 

#8 Earth's Eye

This is an assignment from my English teacher. Earth's Eye reading had alot to do with water and how people take water for grated and dont really realize how big of effect it has on us. I mean without water you wouldnt be able to shower, live, and wash clothes. There are many more ways that water has an inpact on us like the animals that live in the water. Without lakes, rivers, and oceans we wouldnt have frogs, fish, dolfins, pengins, ect. The reading also had to do with land and how properties anymore are just  being pollowed threw knocking down trees and ruiening the habitat for animals that live there! My thought on it is that people anymore dont really care about the nature all they see is dollar bill signs and thinking of themselfs and not how long wildlife has been there!!

#7 Pollution in the Ohio River!

For the second time in three eyars, advocacy group Environment America ranked the Ohio River as the most polluted river in the United States. It receives a lot of toxic discharges. The environment group's last report, released in 2009, also found that the Ohio River had the most pollution discharge in the nation. Its more recent report found that pollution discharge in the Ohio River has since increased by 1 million pounds. While some of the chemicals discharged into the water are harmless, others can be dangerous even in small doses. For example, industrial facilities released more than 274 pounds of a cancer-causing solvent called Tetrachloroethylene, often used by dry cleaners, into waterways in 2010. This is really somthing that is hard to belive that its one of the most polluted river in the United States and that we could be drinking that water and not even knowing it. Makes me wonder if half the people that get cancer might just come from the water we drink. It really goes to show that nobody really knows what they are putting into there body. Just because we may think its safe and good for us do we really know? Its scary to think that little by little even tho we dont see it or might not think we are even condributing to the pollution that its going to effect us later on down the road! Everyone should do a little to help the pollution from not spreading even more!!

#5 animals

Many animals are threatened with extinction because they cannot survive in a world which is continually being changed by human invention. Many species have already become extinct, and if people do nothing to save them, a great many more will pursue. There are alot of aniamal extinctions happening and i will be posting more about what certin aniamals are in danger. Its sad to see this happening and how humans have a big effect on there extinction.

#4 Dumping

This Blog kinda goes with the last one i just posted on waste and the effects of what is really happening in the world. This is Jippijappa’s dump in South America.Jippijappa, a town on the southwest coast of Ecuador with about 18,000 inhabitants is a town that struggles with a common environmental problem across many developing nations, garbage. The disposal service collects any and all garbage from the town daily but unlike many garbage dumps in developed countries, there are no environmental laws prohibiting hazardous materials from entering the dump. In addition, the dump is open to anyone willing to enter through a small dirt road into a smoky wasteland created from the burning plastic, rubber, and paper. Trucks arrive everyday at Jippijappa’s garbage dump where nearby livestock feed on the remains inside. The animals are so intuned to the arrival of the trucks that they gather from miles around every day to eat their daily dose of leftovers. Many of these pigs are later sold at the markets in Jippijappa or nearby towns. The dirt road entrance to the dump runs adjacent to a farm which grows agricultural plants just meters from thousands of plastic bags, bottles, and toxic smoke. Although Jippijappa’s dump is a sad representation of many dumps in South America, the local government’s environmental branch has created a greenhouse where organic waste can be composted and plants can be grown for local schools, parks, and parkways. Starting this past September, trucks are going to certain sectors of the town to collect presorted organic waste for the greenhouse from household waste that would usually be taken to the garbage dump. Items such as plastic two liter bottles are also being recycled in the greenhouse by creating portable growing containers for smaller plants which will later be distributed to any member of the community that asks. Organic waste is also being collected from tree trimmings in local parks and food waste in the local market for the greenhouse project. The greenhouse project is still in its beginning stages of development, but at least it shows a shed of light to other third world countries that they also can make a difference.

#3 post

How are you going to help the environment or create a peaceful environment at school or at home? What small things could you do that would contribute to the larger cause? Think about energy use, paper use, social harmony, waste, etc. Make some promises of what you will do to help. People anymore, dont think about how recycling can help out the environment alot. By being a condributing factor u can decreese the amount of waste a little at a time.

#2"called home" from animal vegetable, miracle

So this blog entry is about a story that we read that was assigned to us. After reading "Called Home" From Animal Vegetable, Miracle the reading was actually interesting to me the way she thinks because its true that alot of people really dont understand where food comes from and how its processed! My fater has a garden and i swear it gets bigger every year...but I help him from time to time and belive me its alot of work. From pulling weeds to watering to planting and just the constant up keep but when its all said and done I do love the food that comes from the garden. The reason why i like the food from the garden is because its fresh and u know that there wasnt any chemicals added to it to make the food grow! But, getting back to the story alot of people anymore are just use to getting fast food or microwaving food and just on the go go go anymore that they dont realize where that food came from in the first place so all and all I do agree with the reading and found it interesting.

#1

So this is the first time I have ever had a blog in my life so not exactly sure how great im going to be at it! My name is Elena and I am doing this blog for my English 1 class. I dont know if Im going to like it but I am always open to trying new things so it could be interesting to see what type of things i can find out and post on here! well thats all i got for this first blog entry till next time!