Noisy Oceans

Increasing carbon dioxide levels get a lot of press for creating environmental problems in the atmosphere, but that’s not the only place the higher-than-normal amounts can cause problems. Ocean waters are becoming more acidic as they absorb more and more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Certain chemicals in seawater normally dampen the sound waves by absorbing the energy from sound into chemical reactions. More carbon dioxide means less of these chemical reactions, so sound will not be absorbed as readily. Sounds will then travel farther and be louder than normal at a given distance.

This can create problems for some sea animals that use sound to communicate with each other and find their prey. Dolphins are one group of sea mammals that depend on sounds.  If there are a lot of residual noises from ships and sonar, they might have problems finding food, or finding each other to regroup. Researchers will continue to study this phenomenon to see if problems develop. It might actually turn out to be a benefit, if they are able to locate each other from farther away. Time will tell, but hopefully in the meantime we can figure out how to reduce our carbon emissions and help out a bit that way.

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Article condensed from: The New York Times, Tuesday, December 29, 2009

“More CO2 Could Create A Racket in the Oceans”

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Simple Test

No one wants to eat pesticides, but testing food and water takes time and money. Scientists in Hamilton, Ontario have developed a test for pesticides that is as simple as dipping a small strip of paper in a sample of food or water and waiting for a few minutes. Most pesticides affect the nervous system by interfering with the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, so the strips have this enzyme on one end and IPA on the other. IPA is a compound that turns blue when acetylcholinesterase breaks it down.

Here’s how it works: the enzyme end is dipped into a sample, and the IPA end is dipped into water. Capillary action causes the moisture from the two ends to flow into each other, and the resulting colour tells you if you have pesticides or not. If it turns blue, there are no pesticides and the acetylcholinesterase was able to break down the IPA. If there are pesticides present they will not allow as much of the acetylcholinesterase to work, so the shade of blue will be lighter. It will vary depending on the amount of pesticides present.

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Article condensed from:  The New York Times, Tuesday, December 29, 2009

“A Simple Paper Test May Detect Pesticides”

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Here’s a simple activity that illustrates this process: First find a coffee filter, some markers, and a cup of water. Next, cut the coffee filter into strips about an inch wide. Then, choose two different coloured markers and draw a tiny circle on each end of the coffee filter strip. Colour them in. Finally, dip each end of the strip into water for 2 seconds and lay it flat. Watch and wait. What happens to the colours as the water moves in the strip? This movement of water is called capillary action, the key mechanism in these pesticide-testing strips.

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Bits from Blogland

It’s great to take a metaphorical stroll around the ethernet, just to see what’s up in environmental-related blog articles. I thought I’d share some links that may be of interest:

First, some good news from India about an environmental group that was able to convince officials not to build a neutrino observatory in an elephant corridor.

Next, A National Geographic Moment about aphids, ants, and a bird.

Then, if you’d like a simple metaphor that can help you understand global warming, read this.

Finally, something you can do: some Green Grocery Shopping with reusable bags – even the veggie bags!

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Plants That Conserve Water

Plants That Conserve Water

Scientists are hoping to engineer plants so they require less water to grow. Plants need carbon dioxide to survive and flourish, and they need water to take in the carbon dioxide. They have openings on their leaves, called stoma, which take in carbon dioxide and release water. If there are lower levels of carbon dioxide in the air, their stoma will need to be open wider. In the case of the elevated carbon dioxide levels today – about 40% higher than in the preindustrial era – it may be possible for plants to decrease the opening of their stoma and still gain enough carbon dioxide. The smaller opening would also mean that less water was lost, which means those taking care of the plants could give them less water.

Some plants are not sensitive enough to carbon dioxide levels, so scientists are hoping to genetically alter the plants with more carbon dioxide sensors. Being able to sense the increased carbon dioxide levels will enable the plants to conserve water better. This will be useful in areas where water is more scarce.

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Article condensed from: The New York Times, Tuesday, December 29, 2009

“Findings on How Plants Breathe May Save Water”

Picture from Flickr:

Stoma

Originally uploaded by Ian Geldard

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Transparent Fish

In Japan, researchers have bred certain goldfish to be transparent. If you look closely enough, you can see the brains, heart, and other organs inside one of these fish without dissecting it. The researchers selected goldfish with paler skin and scales and bred them together to create this new line of goldfish they can see through. The albino goldfish, when bred together over generations, became more and more translucent, allowing scientists to see their organs. Breeding them together, rather than genetically altering their DNA, was the method of choice. They are natural organisms, although their parents were selected specifically for breeding together. These goldfish should live for 20 years, if all goes well, and weigh 2 kilograms or more. It will be interesting to see how the organs grow and develop over time – many people will be watching the insides of these fish.

Snow White

Originally uploaded by Elinesca on Flickr

This post was summarized from an article in The Globe and Mail, Wednesday, December 30, 2009: Japanese Researchers Develop World’s First See-Through Goldfish

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State of the Ark

Here we are, coming into existence as an environmental non-profit. Noah’s Ark Wetlands Foundation is based in Cambridge, Ontario, and we plan to spend time investing in our most valuable assets: schoolchildren and the natural world. One of our goals is to produce a monthly newsletter for elementary students that is a compilation and summation of environmental news from that month. We’d like to keep children in the environmental loop, informing them of advances in science that could be a future benefit, perhaps igniting a passion of environmental action that will carry on into adulthood. We would also like to purchase wetlands, creating a ‘landbank’ of these endangered areas, saving them from disappearing completely.

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