The Internet, Unplugged

The violent situation in Egypt

       Among the escalating chaos in Egypt, the internet fell.  In response to the growing number of protesters and demonstrative riots against President Mubarak filling the country, the Egyptian government shut the internet down in an effort to lessen the crisis occurring.  Civilians began rioting soon after January 15th, when they saw via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and various other internet sources Tunisia's revolution successfully dethroning its authoritarian ruler and encouraging Egyptians to do the same.  Such is the extent of the power of the high and mighty internet - where simple fun can turn into dangerous and revolutionizing information in less than a second.

      Spurred by the extreme scene in Egypt, many articles have been talking about Congress's recent discussions about formulating an "escape key"(esc. key) for the internet.  Defending this suggestion with concerns over possible cyber attacks, many have been pushing to give the President the right to close the internet off from foreign material if threatened by one.  However, it is easier said then done, as always.  Although it was possible in Egypt, flipping the switch in America is no simple feat.  It's just not feasible at this point in time.  Constructing a "switch" like this would be extremely onerous due to the fact that there are multiple routes that data can travel from.  Information originating from foreign countries could come from satellite, submarine cables, packet radio, or sent through other countries.  Forged IP addresses are yet another way to fool the protective bubble of the "off" switch.  It would not even be as effective as wanted when there are a multiplicity of ways to use it against us.  Hackers could easily get into America's internet system by using proxy servers or developing other means to circumvent the blockade.  Furthermore, cyberterrorist's could simply fake a cyber attack to trick us into turning the internet off.  As you can surely see, Senate Bill 3480, a suggested bill that would allow for the President to order the shut down of the internet, would ultimately be disadvantageous to the U.S.
       The information I used came from here and here.  Some general information and my first picture was also obtained from Time's recent article, which can be found here.  The article, On the Arab Street, Rage is Contagious, has not yet been published in its entirety on Time's website and can only be found in the tangible magazine itself.  However, the link leads to an excerpt of the article.  My second picture came from here.

~ Starflower794!!!

Global Warming: Horoscope for the Year 3000

        As has been emphasized by media all over today, global warming is an increasingly worrying dilemma that must be acted upon soon... Or else.  Scientists predict that even if we stop producing excess carbon dioxide by 2100, the long term effects of the numerous harmful pollutants will not fade away so soon.  "Even if humans were to stop emitting excess carbon dioxide — or if they figured out a way to completely capture it — the effects of global warming would continue to accumulate."  Some carbon dioxide lingers in the atmosphere long after it has been released (sometimes up to 1,000 years), causing further damage to the natural environment.  The fact that land warms and cools comparably faster than water contributes to the aftereffects of our pollution.  They could cause the West Antarctic ice sheet to collapse, which in turn would cause sea levels to rise approximately thirteen feet. This would obviously cause various problems from decreasing land mass to even more drastic climate changes.  The most ongoing change would occur in the Southern hemisphere due to the prevalence of water.  The oceans would heat up considerably, and then stay that way for a while because of the slowly cooling nature of water.  Meanwhile, the Northern hemisphere would cool quickly and reverse the effects of global warming.  However, the simultaneous cooling of the Northern hemisphere and warming of the Southern hemisphere would impact the intertropical convergence zone.  This zone is the place that trade winds meet, causing thunderstorms and cloud coverage.  It would move southward which would mean that 30% of precipitation in North Africa would be lost and the predicted drying would continue.  All of these long term effects are only a snippet of what may very well happen in the future. And remember, these changes are predicted for if we stop emitting too much carbon dioxide in 2100.  If we don't, the changes will surely be even more hazardous and drastic. Obviously, we all must work hard to reduce our carbon footprint or the ramifications will be nature's revenge. 


The article I used was from here.  The picture I used can be found here. 


~Starflower794!

All About Inland Wetlands

    New Jersey has many great ecosystems and one of them, inland wetlands, is by far one of the most intriguing!  In order to discover what it is about inland wetlands that makes them extremely interesting, visit this website.

The Thief of Always Steals Ecology!

       As has been proven time and time again, science can be related to even the most obscure ideas.  Going along with this idea, books, specifically, The Thief of Always, can show us that the world always happens to come together at one juncture - science.

      The Thief of Always is an incredibly chilling tale, consisting of the monsters and demons that you only ever see in your worst nightmares.  A boy, named Harvey, engulfed in the mundane abyss of the GREAT gray beast February, is charmed by the welcoming, tantalizing excitement provided by the Holiday House, a chocolate covered knife.  However, Harvey becomes suspicious about the strange happenings that he observes around the House. The seasons change in a matter of hours and Christmas and Halloween occur every single day.  The environment is full of mystery and Harvey begins to suspect that something fishy is in play.  Speaking of fishy, Harvey encounters an ominous, extremely eerie lake that consists of a multitude of spooky looking fish and is the complete opposite of what the rest of the Holiday House strives to be.  When he realizes that the House and Hood, its master, have stolen years and years from many lives, he attempts to get them back and, in the process, is able to completely eradicate Hood and his despicable, unscrupulous minions.  

       After reading all that, you must be asking, how can this be related to science, let alone ecology?  Well, don't get so impatient and you'll see how!  Firstly, the Holiday House's tale proves that something unnatural that changes the way that the natural environment works results in terrible ramifications, and the catalyst usually brings about disastrous, almost unfixable changes to numerous lives.  As proof of this, Harvey, Wendell, Lulu (his friends), and hundreds of other beguiled children lost several years in their lives, and some even lost all of them due to the unnatural magic that was being used.  Similarly, in ecology, when one type of animal becomes extinct or lacking in great population because of an outside source, the whole food chain is unstable.  This carries on to make a change in the entire ecosystem.  The animals that were not meant to be taken away but have been, due to the unnatural source, would have been prey to other animals who now do not have as much food as they would have.  This would lead some to starve and die, which would further disrupt the ecosystem.  As you can clearly see, the Holiday House and its damaging ways can be related to the unsteady balance of the ecosystem.  

        Some other, smaller ways in which The Thief of Always can be shown to relate directly to ecology are stated subsequently.  When Harvey transformed into a horrifying, believable vampire with the assistance of Marr, a body sculpting minion, he was tempted to take a bite out of his friend, Wendell.  Thankfully, Harvey regained his self-control and left it at that, but if he had decided to act on his urge, Wendell would have been the prey and Harvey, the predator.  Additionally, the strange lake is home to wide-eyed fish who are all apart of a population.  A population is a group of a specific species in one area.  When the Holiday House was finally demolished, all the children went back to their time to gain all their lost moments.  Harvey, wanting to show his parents and see himself where the House had been,  discovers that the whole area is covered by lush grass and no former part of the House is seen at all.  Harvey also attempts to dig to see if he can find some proof that the House existed, however, he does not find any.  When the House was destroyed, the rubble that came from it was scattered all over the ground. Overtime, the wood that had held up the Holiday House could have decomposed and become part of the fertile soil that allows the world a new beginning.

        As I have tried my best to prove, the tale of Holiday House and Harvey Swick can clearly be related to several aspects of ecology.  All in all, The Thief of Always definitely includes a multitude of examples of ecology.  

~ Starflower794!

Predation: The Fate of A Chipmunk

                                                     THE CHIPMUNK


      I managed to capture this and my other photograph with the help of my handy dandy sneakiness!  No, not really.  The chipmunk was just too slow.  Although my effort at proving myself adroit at taking pictures of fast moving creatures failed, I can still tell you all about how this innocent little chipmunk will one day rot in pieces in some animals' stomach.  Or get bashed up by a car tire, but lets not think of that!

   
    Chipmunks, like numerous other creatures, are prey to bigger, "badder" animals such as badgers, bears, foxes, weasels, and owls.  And there are more predators out there, too.  Sounds like our "real" world, doesn't it?  Ha. Ha, ha.  Predators are animals who kill other animals for food.  Their main motive is to survive and not starve, to feel sated and healthy.  In this particular case, the chipmunk would end up being the prey.  The animal that is killed to serve as food is called the prey.  The interaction between the chipmunk (or other prey) and a predator would be called predation.
       You have just learned all about how predation works!  The predator kills the prey.  Ta da!    
  Next up is my anecdote about how the chipmunk lost his eye.  Just kidding!  I'll spare you the gory details...  


      These photos were miraculously taken by your very own Starflower794!  Feel free to send in some compliments.  Ha, ha, again! 

~Starflower794!

Some Abiotic and Biotic Factors . . . !

       This vibrant picture shows part of a large population of flowers.  Flowers are important biotic limiting factors.  Biotic is basically another word for living and limiting factors are things that limit the amount of something in the environment. Going back to the image, flowers provide tasty snacks for bees and various other insects and create oxygen, a vital component in our lives.  The many pretty flowers in the world do more than just sit there and smile!  They limit the amount of oxygen in the air and also limit the amount of food for other animals.  As you can surely see, flowers are an essential part of the ecosystem!

      This is another picture which, as you may have guessed, also features some limiting factors.  However, this time, they are both biotic and abiotic, or nonliving, limiting factors.  Firstly, there are trees.  Trees are living and so they are biotic limiting factors while another aspect of the photograph, the setting sun, is an abiotic limiting factor.  Trees control the amount of oxygen that is in the atmosphere and allow other living creatures to survive.  They also provide shelter and food for countless different animals.  The sun is also an important part of all of our lives.  It gives us the warmth and temperatures we need and allows vegetation to grow and this provides food.  

       In this way, trees, the sun, plants like flowers, and other types of natural things all play a part in limiting what we receive and control how we live.  The ecosystem depends on this delicate balance of give-and-take; we limit what other living things have and they do the same for us.   

     These pictures have been taken by Starflower794, the author of this site!!! 

     
~ Starflower794!

Science Project: CYCLONES!

      In order to learn all about cyclones, visit this website!


   ~ Starflower