Melanie+Spivack



 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill



- Leaking at a rate of 5,000 barrels per day - So far has not spread far enough to reach the coastline - Open metal canisters dropped into great depths: oil on surface, right below surface, and in plumes - Plumes may cause a major envrionmental hazard - Inside plumes there are oil eating bacteria - Little dead sea life so far, but may become disasterous due to animals breeding season (birds) - Depletion of plankton will effect the entire aquatic food chain

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 THOUGHTS: I believe that the oil spill will majorly effect the entire world. Oil already has begun to come up to the Southern coast of the United States, and it will continue to expand it's territory. Many animals will fall prey to the spill, depleting the animal and plant kingdoms. It will take a lot of work to fix this disaster, and no one is really sure how to go about stopping this problem. Without immediate action, there will be devasting longterm effects. It is really an issue that should be taken seriously.  Factory Farming

 **Factory farming is a technique that is used cross the United States and the world.** - Unnaturally large animals are held in close confinement with each other (cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys) and are unable to turn around - Social stress caused by overcrowding - Metal buildings confine animals indoors, and animals are rarely/never taken outside - Animals are mutilated to provide more space (cutting off beaks of chickens/turkeys and tails of cows/pigs) - Antibiotics are routinely given to animals to ward off unnatural diseases - Are fed hormones and antibiotics to promote faster growth - Management of waste pollutes the air and waterways media type="youtube" key="hakAfNWxneg" height="385" width="640" Short video but gives a brief overview of factory farming and animal welfare

THOUGHTS: Learning about this topic has really effected me. Usually I don't worry about things like this, but after seeing the suffering of these animals I realize that what we're doing is cruel and unethical. I watched several YouTube videos on the nature of factory farmers and slaughterhouses and the treatment of animals is hard to watch. It would be a difficult transition to change these factory farms, but very important. We pride ourselves as Americans who give rights and are fair, so can't we exhibit the same behavior to innocent animals? I don't see why not. Although I cannot promise to became a vegetarian, I will try to lessen the amount of meat I eat in order to try and help save some animals.  Breaking News: Crocodiles crocodiles ride ocean currents to travel the high seas



[] <-- Article on this discovery/study

- Dr. Hamish Campbell conducted the study - use underwater acoustic tags and satellite tracking to see that crocodiles use ocean currents in long distance travel - 27 adult crocodiles with sonar transmitters, tracked for over 12 months - male and female crocodiles 50 kms from home area - always begin long distance travel within an hour of tide changing - Crocodiles move at different times, preventing species diversification - explains how estuarine crocodiles move between oceanic islands - contributes to the theory that crocodiles have crossed many marine barriers in their evolutionary past