The Western World: Environment

Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts

Monday, May 12, 2014

Biking - The Superior Mode of Transport

By Emma G.

Spring is upon us, and the warm weather seems to be lingering. Now is the perfect time to pull out your bike, and take the time to enjoy the outdoors. It may seem daunting at first, but is worth the effort in the end.

First of all, there is the common idea about helping out the environment. In 2010, Alberta had an average of 63.4 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per person. That is a huge amount compared to the rest of Canada.You should do your part, no matter how small, and reduce green house gas emissions. It is a small step towards a better future. No matter where you stand on global warming, the fact remains that fossil fuels negatively impact the earth. With less cars on the road you reduce pollutants in the air. That can not only help prevent climate change (with lower carbon dioxide emissions) but improve the health of those around you with better air quality. The European Cyclists Federation (yes it exists) claims that even with taking into account production, emissions from bicycles were ten times lower than the average car. Biking is a great habit to start early.

If you live close enough to school, it is a great way to get exercise. There is low pressure put on joints, and you strengthen your core, back, and especially legs. Biking is an activity for everyone no matter your level of fitness. You pick your speed, your route, and the amount of work you want to do. It is cardiovascular and gets your heart pumping-and your heart is a muscle the needs to be regularly exercised. Biking is an investment-and one that will pay off in the long run.

Generally, I find that biking puts a smile on people’s faces (minus up hills and rainy days). Birds chirp, and there is plenty of fresh air. You get outside, and it feels great. Why not enjoy spring?

Western Canada High School is also trying to encourage you to bike to school. This Thursday, or May 15, the Western Canada Environment Club will host it’s Annual Bike to School Day. A pancake breakfast will be given to those who bike, and prizes will be given out to the best decorated ride. For those who are concerned with thefts and the safety of their bike, Western has a bike lockup in the courtyard to protect bikes.

Biking is different for each and every person, and there will be different things for different people enjoy. H.G. Wells once said, “When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.” As high school students, we are soon to be considered adults (legally at least). I applaud those who already bike, and I encourage others to give biking a try. What will biking mean to you?

Sources

http://www.beautyofcycling.com
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/sask-has-highest-per-capita-greenhouse-gas-emissions-report-1.1192868
http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b816/

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Parkzilla

By: Ellen L.

The thought of waking up to go to school in the morning is an unpleasant thought for all
students , but even more so here at Western Canada high school. Students who drive to school
in the morning have to be at school an hour earlier than other students do, or if they are lucky
enough on a particular day only 45 minutes. Many students with morning spares need to arrive
at school at eight o’clock to get a parking spot when their ﬁrst class does not start until ten
thirty! With only 125 student parking spots, and 400 plus parking passes in use many students
need to resort to parking in two-hour public parking. Parking in two hour either makes
students late for class, or stuck with a forty-dollar ﬁne. “I learned just not to come to school,
because it costs me 40$ a day” says Laura in grade twelve. Just ﬁnding a two hour spot can
even be difﬁcult some days with the huge amounts of students, and other public all ﬁghting for
the closest spot.

Luckily, after all the complaining students have also come up with several solutions to
the dreadful parking situation “Why can’t we remove the baseball diamond and add in more
parking spaces? Considering we don’t have a baseball team and it is never in use,” says Tom in
grade twelve. Other students suggest free two hour parking for students during school hours,
but the most environmental and efﬁcient way to help solve the parking problem for students is
carpooling. Many students drive with neighbours and friends to school, but many others drive
to and from school alone which could very easily be solved. If everyone who drove to school
had at least one other person in their car the number of cars ﬁghting for spots would be
reduced dramatically, not to mention the money spent on gas that would be saved, and the
beneﬁts to the environment. If everyone drove to school with just one other person the number
of people driving to school could be reduced to half which would make the mornings a lot
easier for everyone. So talk to your neighbours, friends and classmates and tell them to do the
same thing. If everyone does this then we can make a difference, and maybe even get a little
more sleep.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Less Buzz in the Air this Spring

By: Emma G.

It is being noted by scientists, for quite some time now, that wild bumblebee populations have been declining worldwide. Therefore, less buzz. There are multiple ideas out there as to why, but scientists have found no definite answer. Still, looking at the various ideas is a great way to begin to tackle this issue.

I mentioned how wild bumblebees are important, but equally important are the honeybees and bumblebees raised commercially by farmers. Looking at reports by the British Beekeeping association, and the Canadian Honey council, the populations of honeybees fluctuate. These associations are still concerned for the loss of their bees, as they are still subject to many problems that also challenge wild bees.

Under the many problems that challenge bees, a mysterious problem called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), is a major reason of why bee populations are declining.The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) defines the symptoms as “very low or no adult honey bees... with a live queen and no dead honey bees present.”1 Many worker bees just simply leave, and the hive cannot function. Causes are still not definite. Possible causes may be parasites, diseases, and stressors from management of the bee hierarchy or from the environment (like pollution for example)1. Research is still ongoing into the causes.

The first cause is thought to be pesticides, in particular, neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids are used to control minor pests and do so by attacking the nervous system of insects. The bees come in contact with it because of pollen, and although it is typically in low amounts, the exposure to it makes bees easier to be attacked by viruses and other pests 2. Fungicides, herbicides and other toxins in the environment also cause damage to bees. This pesticide doesn’t kill a bee , but it makes it very vulnerable. It is widely agreed that pesticides are a contributing factor to CCD. This is worrisome. We are causing the decline of bees. Pesticides exist to increase food production, but if bees keep declining, then don’t we lose food production?

Next, other pests or parasites, especially the Varroa mite have killed many bees. The Varroa mite is a small parasite that clings to the outside of bees, transmits viruses and feeds off of the bee. They can kill entire colonies 3, and almost all hives contain these mites. Farmers have methods for dealing with these mites, but they are still a pest.

There is a unique idea put out there by a German Landau university. Their study provides evidence that with cell phones on near the hive, the bees would not return to the hives 4. It seems unlikely, but it is one of the many theories out there to explain CCD.

Another theory put out there, has nothing to do with CCD. This piece of news has come to light recently regarding declining populations of wild bumblebees. A article published wednesday by the Nature journal talks about a study by Mark Brown of the University of London that tracks bee sites all across the UK. The study shows that diseases (mostly from honeybees) are transmitted by flowers to wild bumblebees, as the commercial honeybees typically contain more Varroa mite which is thought to transmit the disease 5. It also shows that bumblebees are more affected as they live shorter life spans and have smaller colonies 6. This is a interesting idea on movement of diseases for bees.

Why should we care? Bees are a major pollinator. Californian almond orchards rely on 1.6 million bees to pollinate the flowers, for example 7. They pollinate Canadian fruits, nuts, canola, and much more 8. Loss of bees can lead to loss of food production and a rise in food prices. Bees, though seemingly insignificant are important to everyone. We should care about these small insects because they do a lot for us.

Sources: