9/11

1) What are your memories of 9/11? Do you have any? Are there images in your mind of the tragedy? Where do these images come from? 

I don't remember too much. The images I have are all from the internet, they have a lot of smoke a rubble and dead people and what not in them. I remember once confusing a 7/11 Gas Station with 9/11, but that doesn't cause a lot of memories and/or tragedy.

2) What do you know about the causes and consequences of 9/11?

I know that 3,000 people died, somewhere I heard 17 of them were Muslim. I know that al Queda was behind the attack, and the two planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The third plane was saved by brave men and women who said "Let's Roll" as they recaptured the plane, which then crashed into the ground. I know one of the consequences was the infamous Gate Rape, or "Bodily Inspection," now enforced by the TSA. The shoe bomber and underwear bomber also led to reinforced air port security, and more racial profiling. Al Queda has described themselves as wanting Global Jihad, so I think the attack was an example of the Muslim concept of Jihad.

Dead Zone Water Project: Houston & Aidan

          What is a Dead Zone? A Dead Zone is a place near the sea floor, not on the surface, where the dissolved oxygen levels are so low, very few organisms are able to survive.
          How is a Dead Zone formed?  It is formed by the process called anoxia. Anoxia is the process where carbon respiratory organisms generate organic materials which are then processed by oxygen respiratory organisms that generate carbon not oxygen. This may sound confusing, so to some it up; there is not enough oxygen. Hence the name, An (meaning absence of, or opposite) and Oxia (meaning oxygen.) Put those two together and you have anoxia. Dissolved oxygen is the oxygen that is in the water, so when the fish try to breath in the dissolved oxygen with their gills, they don't get enough oxygen to maintain life. With the fish dead, marine mammals that surface to breath don't have anything to eat. So, they starve and die too, because they rely on the fish for food.
          Where does this usually occur? A Dead Zone is usually formed where a large river meets the ocean, such as the Mississippi River meeting the Golf of Mexico. The rivers cause Dead Zones due to the large amounts of sediment (very small rocks that lye on the river bed) are put into the ocean. When the sediment is put into the ocean, oxygen respiratory organisms then process the sediment. Oxygen respiratory organisms  are organisms that need oxygen to live, lungs and gills are respiratory systems. Because of this, the organisms that rely on oxygen from the water receive less oxygen that usual from the water, because they are also breathing in the sediment. Pesticides and fertilizers also contribute to anoxia. Pesticides kill fish just as well as they kill bugs, creating an even bigger area void of life. The Pesticides and Fertilizers have a lot of nitrogen in them. With this more nitrogen enriched water, there is no longer a limit to how much algae can grow. This results in an increased number of phytoplankton (Plankton that are plants, and photosynthesize). With all this extra phytoplankton, the oxygen is being sucked up, because it is needed for photosynthesis. Thus, depleting the water or oxygen and life. The Seven Largest Dead Zones in the world are located in the Baltic Sea. Many Farming Pesticides and Fertilizers are being brought into the Baltic Sea by rivers. Many researchers say that this could be the end of life in the Baltic Sea as we know it. Also, the Dead Zone in the Mississippi & Golf of Mexico sediment depository is approximately 6,000-7,000 square miles, an area as big as metropolitan Atlanta.

This has been an Aidan Brooks and Houston Shrader production.

• "World's Largest Dead Zone Suffocating Sea." Daily Nature and Science News and Headlines | National Geographic News. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/02/100305-baltic-sea-algae-dead-zones-water/>.

• "SCIENCE FOCUS: DEAD ZONES — GES DISC: Goddard Earth Sciences, Data & Information Services Center." GES DISC Home Page — GES DISC: Goddard Earth Sciences, Data & Information Services Center. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/oceancolor/additional/science-focus/ocean-color/science_focus.shtml/dead_zones.shtml>.

"The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone." SERC. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/deadzone/>.




SMM. "Dead Zone Home." Science Museum of Minnesota - Minnesota's Favorite Museum. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. <http://www.smm.org/deadzone/>.


Perlman, David. "Scientists Alarmed by Ocean Dead-zone Growth - SFGate." Featured Articles From The SFGate. 15 Aug. 2008. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. <http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-08-15/news/17121340_1_dead-zones-marine-life-marine-science>.


Schmall, Jacquie. "The Baltic Sea: The Worlds Largest Dead Zone - by Jacquie Schmall - Helium." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. <http://www.helium.com/items/1369623-worlds-largest-dead-zone-baltic-sea>.

Water

1.  Summarize the major water issues facing the world today?

There are many major water issues in the world today. Nearly one billion people in the world lack access to safe water. Thats 1 in 7 billion people, roughly 14% of people on this planet. Sewage from major cities are dumped in rivers and streams, effectively contaminating it for the rest of us. 

2.  What are people doing to help?

Famous people like Matt Damon are helping to distribute clean water. A young boy named Ryan is also trying to help. Ryan built his first well in 1999.

3.  How can the problem of water allocation and safety issues be resolved?

We can reduce dumping in lakes/oceans/rivers so as to reduce dead zones in the water. Which will in turn lead to more drinkable and clean water, and less polluted water void of all life.

4.  How can we, as a class, contribute to these solutions?


We can take fewer lengthy showers, upgrade our toilets to water-efficient ones. We can also volunteer for helping build water infrastructure for places in need, such as Haiti.