Baby Gorilla Rescue

This tiny sweet little gorilla is very lucky! He was found by under cover park rangers and saved. The rangers were undercover when poachers tried to sell this cute little guy to them. The poachers were arrested. I was shocked to find out that this cute little guy is worth $40, 000 US. I think that the poachers definately got what they deserve. I find the killing of animals for sport and to sell, for reasons that the poachers do, is despicable. This cute little gorilla baby was torn away from his family and his mom and thrown into a world that he wasn't meant to grow up in.

This isn't the only reason why we should care about this issue. There are many different species that are either endangered or already extinct. For those of you who did not realize this, animals that are extinct CANNOT come back! This is not Jurassic Park. That was a movie and not real life. If we don't protect these species, then they won't be around for the generations who come after us to enjoy. These animals were placed here for a reason and we are destroying them by exploiting them for money. If poaching doesn't stop, we are going to lose something great.









If you would like to check out this article, you can find it here...

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/10/pictures/111014-baby-gorilla-rescue-science-congo-shamavu-poachers-orphan/#/infant-eastern-gorilla-rescued-poachers-holding_41919_600x450.jpg
This is also where I found the pictures!

Waving to Energy

The ocean is such a wonder that I feel most people take for granted. I can remember as a little girl going to the beach with my family adn not ever wanting to leave at the end of the day. There is something magical about the way that the waves crash down in a relentless yet reliable motion.

Most people probably don't think about just how powerful waves are when they are relaxing on the beaches, but waves pact alot of energy. Enough energy, in fact, that scientist are staring to try and harness wave energy to power things much like hydrological, wind, and solar power.

I think that this is such an awesome idea. You hear so many horror stories all the time of how we are running out of energy. Waves are constant. If we use wave energy, we aren't using anything up or having to create anything new, but using something that has been given to us. Obviously it is not realistic for everything in the world to run off of waves, but if somethings did, it could extent our resources. As long as we keep our ocean floors healthy and in good shape, the waves should be around forever.

Photos found at

http://nees.oregonstate.edu/killer_wave/characteristics.htm
http://bdfbuzz.wordpress.com/2010/07/11/louisiana-makes-waves-with-obamacare-and-ultrasound-laws/

Spreading Our Germs In Unlikely Places

After/Before

Coral reef depletion is a huge problem that faces the world today. I love the ocean and all of the wonders of the underwater world. It is beautiful and people take it for granted. People don't realize how much that they can impact the coral reefs and how important they are to the ocean ecosystems.

I read an article written by Ker Than for National Geographic News on August 18,2011 that was talking about how humans have actually given coral a disease.
(View Atrticle Here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/08/110818-human-waste-feces-bacteria-coral-plos-florida-caribbean-science/ )

Basically the article is saying that humans in the Keys are giving the coral a disease from bacteria that contaminates human blood. It is spreading to the coral by way of human feces. Now, obviously the biggest issue here is the fact that our "waste" is killing an entire species. This is not good. Bacteria is seeping into our oceans from one sewage plant in the Keys and has done this much damage to a species? If thats just one place, just think about how much happens around the world. I am sure that the Florida Keys are not the only sewage plants with this issue.

One thing the article doesn't discuss though is the fact that, if our waste is killing this coral, what is it doing to other species including humans themselves? Then there is the other obvious factor that really grosses me out the most. Our feces is killing coral. Coral is found in the ocean. We swim in the ocean. Therefore, we are swimming in bacteria from our own feces. Doesn't that make you want to go to the beach?
White pox is what they are calling this disease which sounds awful to me because it sounds like small pox or chicken pox. It is so sad to think of all the coral we have lost because of the carlessness of people not making sure that their factories and plants are safe and secure. In the article, it states that Key West has now updated their facilities so that there are no leaks, but they didn't do that until after tests were done to prove that it was in fact human feces and not another animal that was causing the problem. All businesses and people in general need to be aware of the impact they have on the environment because once we lose it, we can't get it back.

Pictures Found At...
http://divegallery.com/coral_colony.htm
http://123rf.com/photo_9552749-phot0-of-a-coral-colony-on-a-reef-red-sea-egypt.html