Science Brain

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Astronauts Related To The Pesticide Problem

Rich Clifford is a former NASA astronaut who completed 3 space shuttle journeys. 2 years before Rich Clifford’s third expedition he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s due to his exposure to pesticides. Because Rich had a first-hand experience with pesticide exposure he is an example and can help show the world how dangerous pesticides are and why natural alternatives are needed. Rich Clifford has great critical thinking, awareness and has great ethics and could help brainstorm solutions due to his experience as an astronaut and relation to them.

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Space Technology: Can They Be Used To Prevent Pesticide Drift?

If space tech can be used to give us a connection, sensors and many technological benefits, what is stopping us from wondering if space tech can be used to prevent pesticide drift. Perhaps if space satellites were used differently to predict weather over farms that spray pesticides often, spraying pesticides during more calm weather conditions would help to prevent most pesticide drift that is carried out by rain and high winds. I Believe this would help the ecological issue of pesticides in our lakes and rivers because the main way pesticides end up in the air, and in our hydrosphere is through pesticide drift.

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Compounds Connected To Pesticides In Our Freshwater Ecosystems

My ecological concern is Pesticides In Our Freshwater Ecosystems.

Compounds connected to my ecological concern are:

H2O - Water

- 2 hydrogen molecules

- 1 oxygen molecule

- Non-metals bonded together

- Covalent bond

C14H9Cl5 - DDT

-  14 carbon molecules

- 9 hydrogen molecules

- 5 chlorine molecules 

- 3 non-metals bonded together

- Covalent bond

[sciencebrain]

Connections With The Periodic Table

The periodic table helps me to simply distinguish between non-metals and metals, solids, liquids and gases. It also helps me understand each elements properties.

My ecological concern is pesticides in our freshwater ecosystem.

The elements that are most likely to be connected to pesticides and our freshwater ecosystem are hydrogen, oxygen and chlorine.

The reason I believe these elements are connected to my ecological concern is as follows:

Hydrogen - is part of water molecules and water is what makes up our lakes and rivers. 

Oxygen - like hydrogen, oxygen is also found within water molecules which makes up our lakes and rivers.

Chlorine - is a pale green gas when at room temperature, it is toxic and is an element found within pesticides.

[sciencebrain]

States Of Matter In A Freshwater Ecosystem

The states of matter are solids, liquids and gases. The solids in a freshwater ecosystem include rocks, sand, soil found at the bottom and at the walls of lakes and rivers. Liquids, dihydrogen monoxide aka; water. Gases include oxygen and hydrogen which are found within water molecules.

#statesofmatter

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Pesticide Reduction Experts

My ecological concern is pesticides seeping into our lakes and rivers and my selection of team members is as follows:

1. @pesticideaction - twitter

2. @bpncamp - twitter

3. @_NCAP - twitter

4. @PesticidesSmart - twitter

5. @CleanWater_MD - twitter

[sciencebrain]

Pesticide Activists - Saving The Environment

The activist I have chosen is Routt Reigart president of Beyond Pesticides - http://twitter.com/bpncamp

Beyond Pesticides is connected to the ecological concern because they are protecting health and the environment through science and supporting organic alternatives to pesticides. Beyond Pesticides also actively posts on social media to create awareness of this issue.

I selected Beyond Pesticides because they have a media presence as well as they are well connected to the ecological concern, and because they are finding solutions to protect our ecosystems and to protect our food.

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Pesticides: Organizations Taking Action!

An organization that is dedicated their research to the pesticide problem is the Pesticide Action Network (PAN). PAN was founded in 1982 and has achieved many milestones in the time they have been around. In the first two decades of PAN’s existence, they were able to get many countries to ban pesticides off their list of dirty dozen pesticides. Which is a list of PAN’s 12 most dangerously rated pesticides.

The goal of PAN is to replace the use of hazardous chemicals with ecologically sound alternatives. If PAN can succeed in their goal, our freshwater ecosystem and all the other ecosystems will be a lot healthier, and the animals living in the ecosystem will be able to live a healthier life. 

PAN’s advantages to helping the pesticide problem include the number of campaigns they have dedicated to helping out many different communities and lives. Some of PAN’s current campaigns include helping the bee problem, how pesticides cause autism and other disorders in children, and getting communities to try no pesticides.

[sciencebrain]

The Role Of Pesticides In Limiting Factors In A Freshwater Ecosystem

Pesticides are a large problem with many limiting factors such as; water, pollution and even food availability. Humans use of pesticides when farming has a large impact on the freshwater ecosystem. Pesticides can enter surface waters through different routes, which runoff through rainfall or irrigation. The exposure can cause direct effects on all levels of biological organization. Because of this, the cycle of life in the freshwater ecosystem is being greatly affected. The cycle of life in an ecosystem requires a balance between the living and non-living elements inside of it. when the balance fades to exist it becomes a limiting factor. In the freshwater ecosystem, there are predators and prey. The predators keep the prey from overpopulating which keeps a balance in the food web, but pesticides are throwing off the balance when they get into the ecosystem, they are contaminating the species in the ecosystem which throws off the whole food web. An example of one of the species in the freshwater ecosystem that is being highly affected by pesticides is salmon. Studies have shown a salmon reduction in feeding behaviour, growth, size and survival at ocean migration. These Limiting factors are once again caused by pesticides. An example of an abiotic limiting factor is pollution. When water is contaminated this limits the water available for species in nearby ecosystems. Food availability diminishes due to pollution leaving some creatures to starve. In conclusion, Pesticides play a large role in the limiting factors in a freshwater ecosystem and humans are responsible for the species that suffer from these limiting factors.

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Who Eats What: Energy Flow And Food Webs

Energy flows into an ecosystem through solar energy and plants and up the food chain. The energy can flow one way (from the bottom to the top) or be a web and flow in multiple directions. Ecosystems can be disturbed when the food chain is broken.

A food chain is made up of trophic levels. The trophic level of a species is the number of steps a species is from the start of the food chain or food web. The food web starts at trophic level 1, with producers such as plants which photosynthesize food for themselves, and act as food toward trophic level 2 species such as a slug. The food web then progresses such as the food chain where each trophic level consumes the lower level like how a frog eats a slug and a bird eats a frog.

The freshwater ecosystem food web diagram above shows an example of a producer at trophic level 1, a water weed. An example of a consumer at trophic level 2 is a slug. An example of a trophic level 3 consumer, a turtle. When a consumer consumes multiple trophic levels it can be classified as multiple trophic levels. An example of that would be a turtle that eats water weed and slugs so it can be classified as  a trophic level 2 consumer, as well as level 3 consumer.

If the food chain or web is broken and species go extinct, one or more other species in the food chain could go extinct. Making all organisms in a food web or ecosystem important. 

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Pesticides: They Are In Our Lakes And Rivers, And They're In You!

They are in our lakes. They are in our rivers. They are in you! What is a pesticide and what are the effects of pesticides? Pesticides are poisons and can harm more than just the "pests" or "rodents" they are targeted towards. The term pesticide drift is used to describe where almost all pesticides (around 95-98%) wind up in something other than the intended target. Large amounts of which end up in our fresh water ecosystems.

Pesticide use is increasing causing runoff into water bodies and groundwater. Pesticides can travel great distances through our ecosystems. Ecosystems such as the biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere are being impacted. When sprayed on crops, pesticides can be blown by the wind to other places. They can also run off with rainwater into streams and into groundwater. Evidence shows pesticides are found in our lakes and rivers.  As shown by a study of bottled water tested by PDP in 2017, pesticides are in our drinking water. Pesticides are also found in each and every one of us. 

Honeybees and tadpoles are an example of living creatures being impacted. Pesticides are toxic and exposure to them can cause illnesses and diseases, from respiratory problems to even cancer.  The Fish and Wildlife Association estimates 72 million birds a year are killed by pesticides. Pesticides have runoff into streams, killing all the fish in the stream.

Who's responsible? Governments, pesticide manufacturers, distributors, and farmers have all contributed to creating the problem with pesticides. Some say that farmers are the most responsible, but governments regulate and control how pesticides are used. As the controlling body, governments need to reduce pesticide use. Doing so would improve the health of our ecosystems and many lifeforms, including us humans.

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Welcome To Science Brain!

Welcome to Science Brain and my first blog post! My name is Noah and I am so excited to share with you some ideas and discoveries from the world of science! The ideas in my head are ready to jump out. I wanted to start by telling you why science is important, how science impacts everyday life and why a career in science would be awesome!

Science is everywhere. Science impacts everyday life in millions of ways. Probably more! You can't really do anything without science. From the minute you wake up and your alarm clock rings, to breakfast and brushing your teeth. There's science inside. When you drive or take the bus to school, there's science inside. When you are at school, the classroom, the building, all have science inside. Even when you're watching television and being entertained, that’s science. I could go on and on about science and how useful it is. Without science, we wouldn’t be able to do much. We wouldn't have electricity, or hot water, or some of the most important things in everyday life.

Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, some of the greatest minds ever were scientists. They changed the world. Their inventions still impact our lives today. With science, you can change the world. You could invent a solution for world hunger. You could solve global warming. You could find a way to give everyone a home. You could cure disease. You could make the blind see and the deaf hear again. You could even invent time travel, if you’re really smart. A career in science would give you the chance to change the world. Who wouldn’t want a career in science!