My day of caterpillars continued much like it had the previous day - with photography of collected specimens in the station's maquina. Today's samples included some fascinating spiky and/or fuzzy orugas including some large black Saturnidae caterpillars.
After photography, a strong storm front moved through and we all had to take pause to stop and watch the rain come down in buckets. As it fell firmly on our tin roofs and disrupted already-spotty Internet service, we were content to sit back in awe. The rainfall lent a relaxed mood to our workday.
The timeout also gave several of our team members time to ponder a question that arose after breakfast this morning: How does our work with caterpillars and parasitoids really relate to climate change and affecting positive change with regard to global warming? This overarching question relates to what our peers and friends and family in the States may ask upon our return. No doubt, they will say, "So, what do caterpillars have to do with global warming and climate change?" This is clearly a good, valid question and one that we have all asked ourselves in the early days of our expedition. In truth, our projects and the overall work of Earthwatch, Dr. Dyer, Dr. Walla, and other ecologists or biologists is just a drop in the bucket of research that contributes to the knowledge base of climate change, diversity, and ecological systems. The work of Dyer's teams help to inform and add to the science of climate change. It doesn't have a necessarily direct impact on politics or common knowledge. It may have a more direct impact on agriculture, however. Work conducted by Dyer and his collaborators and peers has influenced agriculture in Costa Rica and peach farming in the West. Research has proven that parasitoids can control caterpillar populations that can be harmful to crops. By introducing parasitoids, caterpillars can be limited by biological control, not pesticides. This has improved the health of plants and that of farmworkers who would otherwise be exposed to harmful chemicals. Unfortunately, in Costa Rica, while biocontrol has aided banana farming, other chemicals such as fungicide are still needed to maintain plantations.
So, while research such as that conducted by Earthwatch and others in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Arizona, California, and New Orleans, LA, may have some direct applications, much of it is simply (or rather complexly) adding to the overall understanding of biodiversity, interactions, and the effects of climate change. By analyzing caterpillars, plants, and parasitoids at various elevations and latitudes, we are analyzing a piece of the climate change puzzle. I hope our work, as brief as it is, does provide Earthwatch with some assistance and increases its exposure as we carry our knowledge and experiences back to our classrooms and communities.
QUESTION: What is one small act that you can engage in right now to slow the effects of global warming and climate change? What is one quick and easy way to reduce your carbon footprint?
A LOOK INTO THE LAB
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| Suzanne Rab Green at work in the library. She specializes in taxonomy of Lepidoptera. |
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| Unidentified moths which Rab Green will take back to NY for study. |
Each time you change a fluorescent light bulb and instead use an incandescent bulb, you will lower your energy bill and save 700 pounds of carbon dioxide from being put into the air over the bulb's lifetime. This is a way to slow global warming and lessen your carbon footprint. (Source: http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/f101.asp?gclid=CLPws5eY-r0CFQmDfgodGRMAJA#13)
ReplyDeleteBronte, thank you for citing your source, but I would rather that you not cut and paste information from other sites. Thanks.
DeleteI can tell my mom to drive less and not use the heater on cold days. I can also take shorter showers but I already take showers short enough. Buying energy efficient products also help remove my carbon fruit print.
ReplyDeleteOne important act to reduce global warming and climate change would be to change our homes light bulbs with green friendly fluorescent bulbs. This would make less CO2 (carbon dioxide) to the environment. Also, I would shut off all the lights in the house when not in use. Also, I could recycle newspaper, glass, cans, etc. to decrease our carbon footprint.
ReplyDeleteOne small act that would slow the effects of global warming and climate change, is that we could all take a moment to turn off the lights that we are not using in our homes. One way that we can reduce our carbon footprint, is to walk to someplace or ride your bike instead of driving there.
ReplyDeleteTARA R.
ReplyDeleteEven if we don't know all the animals on our planet it's important to protect the environment. If you have a library with books unknown books in it then the best way to protect the books is to take good of the library. IN the anology the books are all the animals and the environments they live in are libraries. If we can protect their ecosytems then we can protect the animals.
A lot of people take light for granted by doing things like leaving on lights when not in the room. I read about these fluorescent that could really make a difference. Online they said If every household in the United States replaced one regular lightbulb with one of those new compact fluorescent bulbs, the pollution reduction would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road. Even if you don't want to go out and buy new lightbulbs you can also help by just lifting the shades and letting natural light in instead of staying buried up in your house.
ReplyDeleteTo reduce our carbon footprint WE should turn off lights more frequently and try to walk a bit more often than drive.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read the question a couple things popped into my mind. I could change the printer paper too recycled paper, speaking of paper I feel that there is no need to print the homework sheets from net classroom when it is right in front of you and you can use the Buckley planner to write it down. NO plastic bags or plastic water bottles! I think it is also a good idea to time yourself when taking showers. another thing is that you can use your bike to go short distances. that are some ways i think that can reduce our Carbon footprint.
ReplyDeleteOne small act that we can all do to slow down the effects of global warming is to ride bikes or walk more instead of driving a car everywhere you go. Also, to reduce our carbon footprint on this Earth, we can recycle more and turn off water and the lights when we are done using it. There are many ways to prevent effects of global warming and to get rid of our carbon footprint.
ReplyDeleteZack Brown
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of things i can do, my family can take more walks and ride our bikes instead of using the car. I could also not use the air conditioning as much and also not use plastic bags.
I could do many things to lessen my carbon footprint on the world. One is not taking a car to school everyday since I live close. Also I could recycle more so that my trash would not end up off the hawaiian coast to make the 8th continent. I should also use less electricity because it go to help the future generations because they would have more electricity. It would be very helpful to not use plastic bags or even paper bags, and I could just use bags that I have used before. Also, I would waste less water by taking shorter showers and turn off the water when I am brushing my teeth. All these things would definitely lessen my carbon footprint on the world, and it will save the world for future generations.
ReplyDeleteBROOKE B.
ReplyDeleteWhat I can do to slow the effects of global warming is to carpool more often and to keep reminding my family to shut of the lights. To reduce my carbon footprint I can use my electronics less and take even shorter showers than I do, I can also recycle more at home.
NICK M.
ReplyDeleteYou could take shorter showers or use reusable water bottles. recycling is also a way to reduce carbon foot print.
ZOE W.
ReplyDeleteA small act that I can engage in right now to slow the effects if global warming and climate change is to always make sure you turn off the lights when you leave a room. Also to make sure you take around three to five minute showers and not waste water. Another thing you can do is to save electricity is get solar panels to help save energy. There are so many more things you can do to help save the world but these are some very important ones.
ALEXANDER R.
ReplyDeleteOne small thing you can do to stop global warming is to cut down on the amount of driving that your parents do, and also you can help by recycling plastic bottles. You can help by cleaning up our beaches and environment. By cleaning up our beaches we can stop waste from getting into the ocean and harming fishes and plants underwater.
ALEX W.
ReplyDeleteOne small act that would slow the effects of climate change and global warming is that we can turn off our lights when we leave our room, or when we leave our houses. Also, one way to reduce our carbon footprint is to walk or ride a bike places instead of driving.
SEBASTIAN M.
ReplyDeleteTo decrease the number of carbon footprint I can turn off my Playstation 4 when I am not using it and take quicker showers. Also I can tell my parents to drive less.
LIZA B.
ReplyDeleteAn easy way to stop global warming and climate change is to get a reusable water bottle instead of using plastic water bottles . You also could be careful about the amount of the light you use.
Some small acts would slow climate change and global warming is recycling, taking shorter showers, biking instead of driving, and planting a garden. You can reduce your carbon footprint by replacing your old lightbulbs with new energy efficient ones.
ReplyDeleteThings like taking shorter showers, biking instead of driving, taking the bus if possible, and using less air conditioning are some of the things we can do to reduce our carbon footprint.
ReplyDeleteI could start taking buses instead of cars. Scientists have found that buses release a lot less carbon dioxide in the air than an average car. You can reduce your carbon footprint by just walking if your destination is only 1 mile or less long. Or you could bike.
ReplyDeleteOne small act that would slow the effects of global warming and climate change is to turn off any sinks that have running water and to go around your home and see if there are any lights that are not being used but are on to turn them off.You can reduce your carbon footprint by walking somewhere instead of using a car or you could unplug chargers when no one is using them.
ReplyDeleteTo reduce our carbon foot print I could take shorter showers, turn the lights off when i'm not using them, switch to eco-friendly lights, tell my mom not to charge her car all the time only when she needs it and i could take my moms car instead of my dads when we go out.
ReplyDeleteOne small step I could take to reduce my carbon footprint is to drink from my Brita bottle more often to reduce the use of plastic water bottles.
ReplyDeleteTo reduce global warming, I could ask my parents to stop driving to places that take 10 minutes to walk to, use reusable water bottles instead of plastic water bottles, or bike to wherever I need to go. To reduce our carbon footprint, I could also take shorter shower, use less air conditioning and open a window, turn off sinks when no one is using them, or turn off lights in my room when I don't need light
ReplyDelete(In Day Time).
To reduce global warming and reduce your carbon footprint, I could turn of the light when I am not using it, drink from reusable water bottles, turn off the sink when no one needs it, use less air conditioning, walk or bike more often, and take shorter showers to save water. I could also recycle. :)
ReplyDeleteOne easy way to help reduce my carbon footprint is to drive less, and walk or bike more. Also, recycling plastic bottles, and turning off the lights after I leave the room. Taking shorter showers could help save the water especially since California is in a drought. I think everyone can help contribute to slowing down global warming.
ReplyDeletewe can recycle, reduce
ReplyDeleteproducing plastic
also we could bike but
that wouldn't work
cause of such a big city..
also save water by not using it as much..
One small thing that everyone can do to reduce the effects of global warming and climate change is to simply walk or ride your bike or skateboard to wherever you need to go to. We can reduce our carbon footprint by taking shorter showers, using reusable water bottles, and using reusable bags at the grocery store.
ReplyDeleteA quick way I can reduce my carbon footprint is to bike or walk more and drive less. Also, by cleaning up beaches or streets, recycling plastic bottles, using reusable water bottles and turing off the lights if they are not being used can help slow down the effect of global warming . As Annika said, taking shorter showers will help the California drought. If everyone works together we can help stop global warming.
ReplyDeleteSome ways to stop global warming and reduce my carbon footprint are turning of the lights if you don't need them, taking shorter showers,opening windows or using fans instead of turning the air conditioning on, and recycling. Also I can walk to school or bike to school or carpool with someone nearby which is what I do.
ReplyDeleteA quick and easy way to reduce my carbon footprint is to turn off lights when they are not in use, unplug appliances, use recyclable items, and use eco friendly products to reduce the amount of carbon produced into the air.
ReplyDeleteALYSSA W.
ReplyDeleteA simple way to reduce your carbon footprint is to take a train instead of a flight or take nonstop flights instead of a lot of connecting flights. This theory is effective because it wastes less gas/fuel on your part especially if you take a train because most trains run on coal energy.
SHAWN W.
ReplyDeletean easy way of stopping global warming is recycling and turn all my lights off when i leave my room, or when it is not necessary, taking shorter showers, turn off the sink when ever I'm done, and when it is not needed to use the car i can walk. Some easy ways to decrease carbon footprints is turning off all my electronic devices when i am done.
SARA D.
ReplyDeleteCarbon footprint can be reduced by making sure you turn off the lights in a room when you don't need them.
RYAN H.
ReplyDeleteSome things you can use to reduce are carbon footprint is to go out more and not wast battery so we must charge things, take bikes instead of cars (granted Tesla's help more than a average car), and as simple things as a light-bulb.
TAYLOR H.
ReplyDeleteOne small act that i can do is simply recycle my plastic bottle after i finish it. Also i can try to waste less water and not have it running to much at unessasary times.
ANNA E.
ReplyDeleteTo make sure that there isn't global warming we have to save water, use reusable bottles instead of plastic; cups forks etc. , turn off lights that aren't needed, turn off the sprinklers in your background/front yard if it is already raining, replace regular light bulbs with eco friendly light bulbs, use less paper napkins, use both sides of lined paper, consider riding a bike or even walking somewhere not driving in your car, and SHARE what you have learned with everyone around you. Imagine if you told people about it............
WESTON J.
ReplyDeleteI can reduce my carbon footprint by turning off lights if I'm not in a room. I can also walk to places that are close to where I am. Also, I can use light bulbs that help reduce energy.
One small act that I can do to reduce global warming is riding my bike around instead of driving a car and make sure I don't waste anything like water or electricity.
ReplyDeleteCOLE T.
ReplyDeleteOne small act that can reduce my carbon footprint is to recycle more and to take shorter showers.
One small act to reduce global warming is to turn the lights off when you do not need them because if everyone does it will make a huge difference. One way to reduce my carbon footprint is to ride my bike or walk to places that aren't very far away.
ReplyDeleteNICHOLAS Y.
ReplyDeleteOne way that I can slow the affect of global warming and climate change is to drive less and ride a bike or walk to places which would also saves money on gasolin. I can also make sure to turn off all the lights, take shorter showers, carpool with friends, and install solar panals in our home for energy savings. These are some ideas of things that will help reduce my carbon footprint.
To slow the effects of Global Warming I can turn of the lights, and save water. I can reduce my carbon footprint by driving less.
ReplyDelete-kiera
I can use eco-friendly products and use less electricity.
ReplyDeleteStudents,
ReplyDeleteThank you. This blog post closed at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30.
Kiera and Dylan, you receive partial credit.
Delete