Colony Collapse Disorder and What We Can Do to “Save the Bees”

By now most people are aware that the bees are in trouble. If you haven’t heard it from the news, you may have seen messages like “Save the Bees” printed across shirts or maybe you’ve heard about putting a spoonful of sugar water out for tired bees. Yet, a lot of people are unaware of what exactly is causing the decline of bees around the world and what we can do to save them, and it isn’t as simple as setting out some sugar. While honeybees face many threats including habitat destruction and pesticide exposure, possibly the most frightening nemesis is colony collapse disorder or CCD.

A honey bee spreading pheromones  by Björn Appel. Edit by Waugsberg (cropped).

  Colony collapse disorder is a complicated and not fully understood condition that causes most worker bees to leave a hive with just a few nurse bees and a queen behind. This phenomenon began in the U.S. in 2006-2007 as beekeepers began reporting 30-90% of their hives being lost. What is causing such a decline in hive populations? As of now, there are no single determinant factor, yet a multitude of issues are either causing or worsening the issue by causing stress or weakness to bee populations. Some of these contributors include invasion of the varroa mite, new emerging diseases like the Israeli Acute Paralysis virus, pesticide poisoning and exposure, transportation of bees for agriculture, and poor nutrition often due to habitat loss (Colony Collapse Disorder). This has caused an extreme loss in bee colonies with bee populations being around five million in the 1940s to only 2.66 million today. While CCD is on the decline today, it has and still contributes to major losses in bee populations (ARS Honey Bee Health and Colony Collapse Disorder).

              While any loss of species is distressing, the loss of honeybees should be extremely disturbing to people for both economic and sustainability reasons. Bees pollinate 70 out of the 100 crop species that feed 90% of the world. This accounts to $30 billion a year in crop production. Further economic damages would likely unfold as well as the death of these plants and others would likely cause the extinction of other species that rely on them (Future- what would happen if bees went extinct). Furthermore, there would be a complete loss of bee-produced products like honey, bees wax, and royal jelly, all of which have a huge market and are in a variety of products from baked goods to lotions.  And while it is possible to survive without bees, it does mean that people would be taking over their jobs, requiring a lot more work for farmers. In the Southern Sichuan Province in China, bees have already become extinct and farmers are taking over as pollinators for their fruit crops. This requires workers to go out and hand pollinate hundreds and thousands of flowers in order to sustain their yields, a process that is not easy nor quick (The Animal Portal). Their importance in both their economic and intrinsic value has spurred many to ask: what can we do to help?

              While CCD may not be completely eradicated or solved, there are things that both beekeepers and the general public can do to slow the decline of bees. Beekeepers can work to protect colonies from CCD by not combining collapsing colonies with healthy ones, to not reuse hive equipment from collapsed hives, practice better hive management, and utilize an integrated pest management system, which helps to rid hives of varroa mites while keeping toxic chemical exposure to bees at a minimum (Infas). For the public, we need to be wary of advice given on the internet and do our research. While most have heard of the simple trick of putting out sugar-water for bees as food, this is not always the best idea as it adds a simple food source that really is not good for bees. Some better ways to help bees is to plant pollinator-friendly plants like red clover, fox glove, and bee balm and to restrict pesticide use during midday when bees are most active (ARS Honey Bee Health and Colony Collapse Disorder). People can also put small containers of water out for bees, not kill off weeds like dandelions and clover, and to speak out either to Congress about concerns or to neighbors and friends to educate them on how they can help protect bees (Ten things you can do to save the bees).

When it comes to ensuring the health of bees we need to be educated as to what is causing their decline and to educate others, and to remember that it takes more than just setting out some sugar or wearing a shirt with the words “Save the Bees” to truly save them from extinction.

References:

ARS Honey Bee Health and Colony Collapse Disorder. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ars.usda.gov/oc/br/ccd/index/#pub

Colony Collapse Disorder. (2018, April 26). Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/colony-collapse-disorder

Future - What would happen if bees went extinct? (2014, May 04). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140502-what-if-bees-went-extinct

Ifas. (n.d.). Colony Collapse Disorder. Retrieved from http://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/agriculture/colony-collapse-disorder/

Ten things you can do to help bees. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.queenofthesun.com/get-involved/10-things-you-can-do-to-help-bees/

TheAnimalPortal. (2016, September 17). Retrieved April 24, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcNMKERlIW8).

Human Impact on Pollinators and Their Impact on Us

wfm.com/pollinators

          Pollinators are essential to the human way of life that we are all accustomed to now. Pollinators range from insects to birds to mammals and they all help our ecosystems and boost crop yields each year around the world. In fact, pollinators are responsible for 1 out of 3 bites of food that we eat (WFM). In North America 99 percent of pollinators are insects, with anywhere from 75-95 percent of all flowering plants needing pollinators to thrive (Witter). Agriculture in the United State is important, with over 2,000,000 farms spread throughout the nation in 2017 (Statistica). Many farms rely heavily on pollinators to help produce successful crop yields each year, domesticated bees being the main pollinator.  

Pollinators are suffering detrimental losses each year, especially bees. There are 8 different bee species that are threatened or endangered and about 37 other insect pollinators (U.S Fish and Wildlife Services). This posses a big problem, as colony collapse disorder, mites and pathogens cause big declines in bee population levels, however there is a big impact we humans are having on bees and other pollinator populations and it has it do with insecticides.

In 2013, the European Commission(EC) imposed a ban on a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids, which restricted the use of 3 major types on seeds, grains and plants that are attractive to bees, due to the gravity of the declined pollinator population levels (Grossman). At that time, many placed the sole blame for bee population declines on neonicotinoids, but in recent times, evidence shows heavily the negative impact the pesticide has on bees. A study found that even when no chemicals were used on site, there was neonicotinoid residue found even after the ban years before. Even just the residue has been linked to fewer queen bees and fewer egg cells, thus impacting the population size (Wong). The problem with pesticides isn’t just within the U.S, but also overseas. In Germany alone, 50-60 percent of bees died off with the blame placed heavily on pesticides even when the cause for the population decline was unknown (Curry).

Schuh

There was another study done that showed that the toxicity of neonicotinoids increased when present together with a commonly used fungicide (Wong). There are 3 tiers to pesticide toxicity: highly toxic, toxic and relatively nontoxic. Tier I (highly toxic and toxic) pesticides now are required to have text on the label clearly identifying how to properly use the product to reduce the risk to pollinators, with some relatively nontoxic products voluntarily putting the text on the label. This is good, however there are flaws to toxicity, such as high exposure rate to low toxicity having the same affects as low exposure to high toxicity. Another flaw, is the toxicity of insecticides when combined with fungicide, some making a more potent mixture than the two were when separate(Phillips, Schuh). We have to be more careful as to what we spray and pay more attention to labels on products such as the pesticides used and what is being used in conjunction with those sprays.  

wfm.com/pollinators

There are actions we can take to help save bees and other pollinators. We can decrease the amount of exposure to pesticides/insecticides/fungicides by not applying product until flowering is complete, or not applying to pollen shedding parts of plants (as that will harm the bees), target sprays once foraging is done for the day and avoid getting spray into puddles (as the water from those puddles can then in turn poison the bees) (Phillips, Schuh). Another thing we can do as a community, is plant native species to attract the bees and pollinators as both will thrive better under these conditions. There is a site that can be used to determine what flowers are best to plant in your area and the plants are ranked by the number of butterfly and moth species who use them to host their caterpillars, which will help pollinator populations increase. You can also build bird houses, plant milkweed for monarchs, put out hummingbird feeders, apply organic fertilizer and plant herbs, perennials and annuals that bees love (Stahl). With more people becoming aware of the problem and more trying to help, we can reduce our negative impact on pollinators and increase their positive impact on us.

pinterest.com

Curry, Andrew. “Bee Emergency: Unexplained Mass Die-Off Hits German Hives - SPIEGEL ONLINE - International.” SPIEGEL ONLINE, SPIEGEL ONLINE, 9 May 2008, www.spiegel.de/international/germany/bee-emergency-unexplained-mass-die-off-hits-german-hives-a-552556.html.

Grossman, Elizabeth. “Declining Bee Populations Pose a Threat to Global Agriculture.” Yale E360, Apr. 2013, e360.yale.edu/features/declining_bee_populations_pose_a_threat_to_global_agriculture.

Phillips, Ben, and Marissa Schuh. “Vegetable Pesticide Series: Should I Use It during Bloom?” MSU Extension, 20 Sept. 2018, www.canr.msu.edu/news/vegetable_pesticide_series_should_i_use_it_during_bloom.

“Pollinators: The Endangered Species Program.” Official Site of the U S Fish and Wildlife Service, Nov. 2017, www.fws.gov/pollinators/Programs/Endangered.html.

Stahl, Toni. “Garden for Hummingbirds, Bees, Wildlife. Native Plants...” GARDENOPOLIS Cleveland, 11 Apr. 2019, www.gardenopoliscleveland.org/2019/04/garden-for-hummingbirds-bees-wildlife-native-plants/.

“U.S. Farming: Total Number of Farms 2017 | Statistic.” Statista, Feb. 2018, www.statista.com/statistics/196103/number-of-farms-in-the-us-since-2000/.

WFM. “Protecting Pollinators.” Whole Foods Market, 4 May 2016, www.wholefoodsmarket.com/pollinators.

Witter, Karen Ackerman. “Landscape with Native Plants and Pollinators.” IllinoisTimes, 11 Apr. 2019, 12:15a.m, illinoistimes.com/article-21126-landscape-with-native-plants-and-pollinators.html.

Wong, Sam. “Strongest Evidence Yet That Neonicotinoids Are Killing Bees.” New Scientist, 3 July 2017, www.newscientist.com/article/2139197-strongest-evidence-yet-that-neonicotinoids-are-killing-bees/.

The Decline in Pollinators Populations is a Reflection of Human Impact

http://www.honeycolony.com/article/mass-honeybee-
deaths-trigger-rise-in-almond-prices/

Insects, specifically bees, are essential pollinator to plants around the world.  As they collect nectar, they spread pollen from one plant to another helping the reproductive success of plants while producing fruits, vegetables, and nuts that we all consume.  Nearly 75 percent of all crops are pollinated by insects, but as pollinator populations decline there will be a reduction in the amount of crops produced (Farah, 2018).  This change in food stability alters our reliance on insects as pollinators, making them vital to sustaining food networks.

Around the globe, pesticides are used to help increases yields of produce although, these pesticides cause detrimental effects on pollinators.  Neonicotinoids are a class of pesticides that have a large impact on pollinators by affecting their reproduction, memory, homing skills, and immune system (Samuel, 2018).  When bees come in contact with neonicotinoids, it can affect them the same as nicotine by targeting the nerve receptors which may cause the bees to become addicted to these pesticides (Gabbatiss, 2018). When exposed to neonicotinoids for an extended length of time, it is known to kill bees. 

Although the European Union has banned the use of some types of neonicotinoids from being used on crops, they are still allowed to be used in greenhouses (Farah, 2018).  When these plants are moved the pesticides are still within their tissues where they can be taken up by bees through their nectar.  Also, neonicotinoids can leach out into surrounding soil or be dissolved in water and travel downstream to infect other plants (Dengler, 2017).  On the contrary, France has banned all forms of neonicotinoids from being used on fields or in greenhouses (Samuel, 2018).

Figure 1: Yearly winter losses of Honeybee colonies substantially
increased as CCD spread throughout colonies.
 https://www.planetbee.org/colony-collapse-disorder

 

Neonicotinoids are not the only thing harming pollinator populations.  Diseases such as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) within the Honeybee populations has affected the quantity of pollinators.  CCD lowers the honeybees immune defense system leaving many worker bees to be found dead outside of their nest, with few remaining inside besides the queen (Holland, 2013).  Most beehives that experienced CCD were unable to survive throughout the winter months due to lower nest temperatures and less stored food (Figure 1).  This disease can be spread through parasites, which can travel on non-native bees that are transported to different regions and countries in order to pollinate crops in areas that contain low numbers of pollinator populations.  In the United Kingdom there is approximately 65,000 non-native bees that are imported each year to pollinate crops (Farah, 2018). These bees can then become invasive and cause harm to the native bee populations. Reducing the amount of pollinator transportation that occurs within and between the U.S. and the E.U. can help reduce the spread of infectious diseases and parasites to improve the overall health of bee communities.

To ensure for pollinator security, proper habitats need to be provided where bees can nest and have an abundance of food resources.  These habitats include non-impervious surfaces where burrowing bees are able to build nests underground and provide areas where other bees can create hives to live in (Offord, 2017).  Also increasing the number of gardens in urban and rural landscapes, with limited pesticide usage would provide a variety of plants for pollinators to consume.  As native bee populations increase, the need to transport pollinators will decrease resulting in fewer diseases being transmitted from one colony to the next with a decrease in competition between native and non-native bees.  

Dengler, Roni. (June 29, 2017). Neonicotinoid pesticides are slowly killing bees. PBS News Hour. Retrieved from: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/neonicotinoid-pesticides-slowly-killing-bees

Farah, Troy. (August 3, 2018). While We Worry About Honeybees, Other Pollinators Are Disappearing. Discover Magazine. Retrieved from: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2018/08/03/honeybees-pollinator-really-going-extinct/#.XKtoMfZFwaF

Gabbatiss, Josh. (August 29, 2018).  Bees are becoming ‘addicted’ to the pesticides blamed for wiping them out, study finds. Independent. Retrieved from: https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/bees-pesticides-addiction-neonics-nicotine-bumblebees-smoking-a8511806.html

Holland, Jennifer. (May 10, 2013). The Plight of the Honeybee. National Geographic. Retrieved from: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130510-honeybee-bee-science-european-union-pesticides-colony-collapse-epa-science/

Offord, Catherine. (September 1, 2017). Bees Live the City Life in Detroit. The Scientist. Retrieved from: https://www.the-scientist.com/notebook/bees-live-the-city-life-in-detroit-30234

Samuel, Henry. (August 31, 2018). France becomes first country in Europe to ban all five pesticides killing bees. The Telegraph. Retrieved from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/31/france-first-ban-five-pesticides-killing-bees/

Air Pollution Shortening Life Expectancy Demands Government Mitigation

            Far too many times, I have heard my mom scorn me saying, “You’re taking years off my life!” For those living in densely populated cities, stressors such as heavy traffic and busy factories may physically, rather than metaphorically, be taking years off their lives. In India, the air pollution is now said to be causing 1.1 million people to die prematurely each year (Anand, 2017). According to Sengupta (2018), outdoor air pollution is reducing the average life expectancy worldwide, by one year. In certain countries however, the shortening life expectancy is even more pronounced. Air pollution is cutting the average Egyptian life span by 1.9 years and the average Indian life span by 1.5 years (Sengupta, 2018). Some people may argue that 1-2 years is pretty insignificant, but I find it quite bothersome that human actions, that could be avoided, could be causing an entire opportunity-filled year of my life to vanish. When discussing how to prevent smog from shortening lives, it is important to understand that often times government priorities have a major impact on how often the people take the preventative measures to avoid contributing to smog formation. Therefore, in order to protect their citizens from the smog that could be shortening their lives, governments need to place human health at a higher priority than the stability of the economy and encourage their citizens to avoid contributions to air pollution.

Figure 1. The city of Warsaw, Poland experiencing a major haze event, as toxic smog settles over the city, lasting one week.

            It may be difficult for one to wrap their mind around the idea that the air they breathe may be shortening their life, but it’s true. According to environmentalists in Poland, residents in Warsaw inhale an equivalent of a thousand cigarettes each year due to the chemicals found in the smog hanging over their city (Berendt, 2017). These toxic chemicals, a fraction of the width of a human hair, have been known to lead to a variety of diseases (Anand, 2017). They easily enter the bloodstream via the lungs, leading to cardiac disease, increasing the risk of stroke and heart failure, and cause respiratory problems such as asthma and pneumonia (Anand, 2017). Smog can also contain high levels of lead, leading to an increased number of bone marrow and lung cancer cases (Erdbrink, 2016). In Tehran, Iran, people are encouraged to stay indoors, drink lots of milk, and eat fresh vegetables in order to shield themselves from the cancerous pollution (Erdbrink, 2016). In addition to being encouraged to protect themselves, citizens also need to be encouraged by their government to take the preventative actions to avoid contributing to air pollution. 

Figure 2. Women in Delhi, India wearing face masks in an attempt to protect their health and avoid ingesting the particulate matter found in the smog hanging over their city.

Unfortunately, avoiding contributions to air pollution may be very difficult for citizens of some countries. For some people, even if they are educated on what factors contribute to smog formation above the cities they live in, they may be unsure how or unable to avoid contributing to air pollution. For example, in Afghanistan, more than half of the people live below the poverty line (Horton & Hassan, 2019). Thus, even if they are aware that their actions are releasing toxic chemicals into the air, many of them have no choice but to continue to burn things that they know are contributing to air pollution, in order to cook and stay warm (Horton & Hassan, 2019). This may lead to the citizens of Afghanistan feeling hopeless, in that they either suffer from the effects of air pollution, or they suffer from cold and malnourishment. These people really need their government to help provide energy that is both clean and affordable, so that they do not have to make this choice. In Tehran, Iran, where a noxious yellow blanket of smog settled over the city for a week-long haze event, the people seemingly went on with their day as if there was nothing wrong (Erdbrink, 2016). Despite emergency regulations focused on keeping cars out of the center of the city, the traffic jams continued as normal in Tehran (Erdbrink, 2016). Morteza Hosseinzadeh from the area stated, “I work two jobs, have no money even to have a child and really don’t see how I can stop this pollution (Erdbrink, 2016).” Iranians need their government to help provide more affordable public transit, or maybe policies and regulations that encourage more energy efficient transportation, so that they do not have pretend that their actions are not causing this toxic smog. Nonetheless, it is clear that people need encouragement from the government in order to better understand ways that they can prevent smog formation.

Governments can either play a positive or negative role in smog mitigation. The best way to prevent smog from forming is to combat the two dominant sources of air quality degradation: transportation and power plants (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2017). When it comes to combating transportation emissions, the Netherland’s secretary of state devised a plan to help the country meet air quality standards put in place by the WHO (Pieters, 2018). The plan included more investments in electric car charging stations, formulating ideas to tackle specific intersections where emissions are too high, and municipalities even have the opportunity to reduce the price of parking fees for cleaner cars (Pieters, 2018). In addition to the Netherlands attempting to reduce emissions by combating transportation, in Poland, government officials offered free public transportation (Berendt, 2017). Each of these actions are examples of a government’s attempt at encouraging citizens to use modes of transportation that are more energy efficient. Unfortunately, combatting power plants may be a little more difficult since, majority of the world consumes the most energy from petroleum, natural gas, and coal (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019). Governments may not always be willing to take every measure to alleviate the smog hanging over the cities since fossil fuels play such an important role in the economy (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019). However, placing human health at a lower priority than economic stability can have major impacts on human health. In the United States, for example, the Trump Administration’s proposal to replace Obama’s Clean Power Plan could lead to 1,400 premature deaths annually (Sengupta, 2018). I find it a bit bothersome that the U.S. government would choose to take a step in the wrong direction. Instead of concerning themselves with the importance of fossil fuels in the economy, government officials should be focused on working towards implementing clean and renewable energy sources in cities so that human life is not being sacrificed (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019). When making governmental decisions, human health must be placed at a higher priority than economic stability so that the governmental regulations and policies can be used to encourage citizens to reduce the emissions that contribute to the toxic smog that shortens human lifespans. 

Overall, governments need to strive towards making rules and regulations that protect human life, rather that shorten it. It has been said that air pollution undercuts the overall progress that the world has made in increasing the average life span in the past decades (Sengupta, 2018). How many years does the global average life span need to decrease before major strides in improving this issue are made? Government officials need to place human health at the highest priority when making policies and they need to work together with citizens in order to encourage them, and find realistic solutions to prevent smog from forming over cities, so that every individual can live their life to the fullest. 

References

Anand, G. A. (2017, February 14). India’s Air Pollution Rivals China’s as World’s Deadliest. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/world/asia/indias-air-pollution-rivals-china-as-worlds-deadliest.html

Berendt, J. B. (2017, January 14). Warsaw Grapples with Gloomy, Gray Smog. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/14/world/europe/warsaw-air-pollution-smog.html

Cunningham, W. C., & Cunningham, M. C. (2017). Principles of Environmental Science: inquiry and Applications(8th ed.). New York, United States: McGraw-Hill Education.

Erdbrink, T. E. (2016, November 15). As a Noxious Smog Descends, Tehran Tries to Ignore It. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/world/middleeast/tehran-iran-smog.html

Horton, A. H., & Hassan, S. H. (2019, January 12). In war-weary Kabul, burning coal and tires keeps residents warm — and the city choked by smog. The Washington Post.Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-war-weary-kabul-burning-coal-and-tires-keeps-residents-warm--and-the-city-choked-by-smog/2019/01/11/33963d76-11f9-11e9-ab79-30cd4f7926f2_story.html?utm_term=.105f7cee9e9b

Pieters, J. P. (2018, March 26). Netherlands to Take Extra Measures to Improve Air Quality. NL Times. Retrieved from https://nltimes.nl/2018/03/26/netherlands-take-extra-measures-improve-air-quality

Sengupta, S. S. (2018, August 22). Air Pollution Is Shortening Your Life. Here’s How Much. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/22/climate/air-pollution-deaths.html

U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2019, March 26). Energy Overview. Retrieved April 10, 2019, from https://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/sec1.pdf

The Economist Anonymous Author. (2016, November 24). Retired jet engines could help clear smog. The Economist. Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2016/11/24/retired-jet-engines-could-help-clear-smog

Negative and Positive Affects of the Melting of Arctic Ice on a Variety of Species

           As the arctic ice melts many different species are being affected and changing the way that they live. Temperatures are increasing from global warming and it is causing the ice to melt³. Majority of species are being affected negatively, however some are benefiting from the decrease in ice. 

            Polar bears, for example, have been struggling to find food and are losing the majority of their habitat. This is causing them to venture further for food as well as go into more populated areas. The polar bears are going into people’s homes and offices¹. People are afraid of being attacked and are afraid to leave their homes. In some areas extra fences or military are used to patrol and keep people safe. Some people want the bears to be killed, however in some countries such as Russia the polar bear is listed as an endangered animal, so shooting them is prohibited. 

Image 1: Polar Bear Struggling to Find Food. Source: National Geographic⁶

           Another species suffering from the decrease in ice is the ringed seal. The seals make small ice caves to raise their young and are having a difficult time creating them. They used older, sturdier ice to build these caves and approximately 95% of the sturdier ice is gone². Since they are losing the ability to make these caves they are getting preyed upon more frequently. The pups are mostly at risk, especially those who are unweaned. The University of Alberta in Canada and the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands created a mathematical model that predicts that by 2100 the ringed seal population could decrease by 50-99%². They also determined that the decreasing snow and ice will lead to fewer juvenile seals than adults in the future. 

Image 2: Ringed Seal Pup in Alaska. Source: Forbes² 

            One species that is benefiting from the arctic ice melting is the beaver. The beaver is moving into areas that are melting and expanding their range. This is benefiting them by increasing their population and the food they have access to. However, this is creating a negative impact on the habitat in the north. They are creating dams which are creating new water channels. The channels they are creating are making permafrost, permanently frozen ground, melt at a fast rate³. Permafrost holds the soil together, so these channels are washing away soil along with other things such as carbon. The carbon released is accelerating the warming and harming the environment. 

We need to find a way to help species losing their habitats. The loss of their habitats is what is causing the negative interactions with humans. We must slow down the melting of the ice. One way to do this is to cut back on mining, oil and gas exploration, ports or other industrial incursions. The United Nations Environment Program estimated that 15 percent of the region's lands were affected in 2001 by these activities⁴. There are also possible ways to increase the ice such as using wind-powered pumps in the winter ⁵. The pumps are designed to bring the water to the surface where it would freeze and allow thicker ice to be formed. The beavers also need to be dealt with. They are benefiting from the expanding habitat, however are causing more damage to the environment. The arctic ice melting is an issue for many different species and if it is not dealt with soon it can cause a loss of the habitat and multiple species. How do we decide what species are more important in assisting? Should species like the beaver be removed in order to save the ice from melting and harming other species? 

Sources:

1: Mack, E. (2019, February 9). Threatened Polar Bears Are Terrorizing An Arctic Town.  Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2019/02/09/threatened-polar-bears-are-terrorizing-a-small-arctic-town/#231688406710

2: McMillan, F. (2019, January 30). Climate Change Is Melting Arctic Sea Ice - And That's Endangering Ringed Seal Populations. Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/fionamcmillan/2019/01/30/the-decline-of-arctic-snow-could-decimate-ringed-seals/#46893f5f650b

3: Pierre-Louis, K. (2017, December 20). Beavers Emerge as Agents of Arctic Destruction. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/climate/arctic-beavers-alaska.html

4: Myers, S.L., Revkin, A.C., Romero, S., Krauss, C. (2005, October 20). Old Ways of Life Are Fading as the Arctic Thaws. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/20/science/earth/old-ways-of-life-are-fading-as-the-arctic-thaws.html

5: Rosen, J. (2017, February 8).  Arctic 2.0: What happens after all the ice goes? Nature. Retrieved from: https://www.nature.com/news/arctic-2-0-what-happens-after-all-the-ice-goes-1.21431

6. Leahy, S. (2018, February 1). POV FOOTAGE SHOWS POLAR BEARS STRUGGLING TO FIND FOOD. National Geographic. Retrieved from: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/02/polar-bears-starve-melting-sea-ice-global-warming-study-beaufort-sea-environment/

Addressing Carbon Dioxide as a Greenhouse Gas

The world is collectively encountering the issue of a changing climate. We are facing a climate that is rising in average temperature accompanied by changing weather patterns. A changing climate is a pressing issue because it affects the way we live, but it also impacts the environments we live in. The rising average temperatures warm the seas which causes rising levels which results in a changing coast line (What's Happening & Why, 2019). Along with sea changes we also see season changing at different times which affects the creatures that live in those ecosystems (What's Happening & Why, 2019). The climate change affects far more than our seas and coast those are just two examples of ways the earth is being impacted. Climate change is a naturally occurring process; however, the rate at which it is occurring is possibly unnatural. The evidence gathered points to humans releasing greenhouse gases as the main cause due to the gasses ability to trap heat (What's Happening & Why, 2019). The main greenhouse gas that is causing issues is CO₂. This gas is released or amplified by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas and deforestation because CO₂ is not being removed from the atmosphere. A way to address greenhouse gas emissions is to move toward renewable resources in place of fossil fuels.

            The main renewable energy sources that are being implemented and researched are solar power, wind power, hydro-power, geothermal, nuclear, and biomass.

Figure 1. Renewable alternative energy sources depicted (Chartier).

These options are not a one size fits all option. Each country and region will need to implement what best fits their resource availability. An example of this can be found in Sweden where 40% of its energy comes from hydro-power, 40% is from nuclear, and the other 20% is supplied by wind and bio-fuels (Rhodes, 2019). This method of combining renewable sources of energy is very effective in reducing greenhouse gases while maintaining a reliable power grid. A good place to start as individual countries is by setting carbon emission goals (Christensen, 2019). These goals help to bring the issue to the public’s attention while bring the issue to business and industry. A great example of this in action can be seen in Dublin. The four councils in Dublin have moved forward in carbon emission reduction by instituting a plan to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030 (O'Sullivan , 2019). This step is due to rising sea levels in their bay area, but around the world there are steps being taken to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. More and more big companies are striving to reduce their emissions. The fossil fuel company, Shell, is striving to reduce carbon emissions from operation by 2-3% over the 2016-2021 period (Bousso, 2019). Shell is helping to set a standard for large companies as they aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the petroleum extraction and refinement process (Bousso, 2019). As companies compete to reduce their carbon and greenhouse footprint we will see the technology available improve. This improvement in new and old technology will help with the development of carbon reducing equipment and renewable energy options.

            Moving forward, we see a world that is aware of a changing climate that is affecting our current and future living conditions. Currently, the best option moving forward is setting standards and goals for local governments across the globe. This will help push companies and societies into researching and implementing renewable energy options in order to reduce greenhouse gasses.

Sources

Bousso, R. (2019, March 14). Shell sets its first carbon reduction targets on output, consumption. Retrieved April 11, 2019, from www.reuters.com: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-shell-carbon/shell-sets-its-first-carbon-reduction-targets-on-output-consumption-idUSKCN1QV2KT

Chartier, A. (n.d.). How to Lower Your Energy Bill with Alternative Energy Sources. Retrieved April 22, 2019, from www.householdimprovements.com: http://www.householdimprovements.com/alternative-energy-sources/

Christensen, J. (2019, January 15). One simple -- but really hard -- solution to stop climate change. Retrieved April 11, 2019, from www.cnn.com: https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/15/health/climate-change-phase-out-infrastructure-study/index.html

O'Sullivan , K. (2019, 02 11). Four Dublin councils unveil plans to fight climate change. Retrieved April 11, 2019, from www.irishtimes.com: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/four-dublin-councils-unveil-plans-to-fight-climate-change-1.3790155

Rhodes, R. (2019, F0 05). A Sensible Climate Change Solution, Borrowed From Sweden. Retrieved April 11, 2019, from www.nytimes.com: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/05/books/review/bright-future-joshua-s-goldstein-staffan-a-qvist.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=15&

What's Happening & Why. (2019). Retrieved April 11, 2019, from www.globalchange.gov: https://www.globalchange.gov/climate-change/whats-happening-why