Colony Collapse

Colony collapse disorder is a very serious issue where nearly all of the worker bees mysteriously disappear and leave a very small fraction of primarily nursing bees behind to protect the queen. Colony collapse disorder, or CCD, is not a new disorder. Since the beginning of beekeeping (or apiculture) which is known to have began as early as 9,000 years ago, there have been records of mature bees leaving the hive for reasons unknown. The problem is that CCD has been at an all-time high since about 2006. This is likely because of something like global warming, or something else that the human race unknowingly started and is now having to deal with. From 2007 to 2013, CCD claimed over 10 million hives. Compared to normal CCD rates, this is extremely alarming. It is twice the normal rate, and nearing three times higher.

The causes of CCD are not entirely clear, otherwise we could simply fix the problem. Chances are that this is a effect of several different problems. Among these causes are Neonicotinoids. Neonics are a new class of insecticides that have a similar chemical composition to nicotine, the main stimulating drug in cigarettes. As of the 1980s, neonics were simply a thought in the scientific minds of Shell (the oil company) and Bayer (the heart-attack medicine company). The most popular and widely used insecticide in the world is Imidacloprid, which is...you guessed it! A neonicotinoid! Unsurprisingly, recent studies have found that when neonics break down, they are actually extremely toxic. Due to the laws in place in the United States, the EPA (environmental protection agency) was only allowed to review and study the use and effects of imidacloprid as of December of 2008. Unfortunately, it was probably too late to fix at this point, especially since the United States and Europe are the only two regions in the world that monitor the use of these insecticides, so as I am writing this, there are probably hundreds of people still spreading this chemical.

In terms of prevention, there is not much to be done to reverse the effects that have already been found, as far as we know at this point. The only thing that we can really do is stop the usage of these neonics and hope that it isn't too late to save this crucial building block to our society. In March of 2007, the Mid-Atlantic Apiculture Research and Extension Consortium (MAAREC) gave these recommendations for beekeepers who notice signs of CCD:

• Don't combine a collapsing colony with a healthy colony
  
• When you find a collapsed colony, store the equipment used for that hive somewhere that bees cannot access in the future
• If you feed your bees sugar syrup, use Fumagillin (an antimicrobial agent) instead
• If you see a secondary infection in your currently collapsing colony, treat it with Oxytetracycline, not Tylosin (a gram-negative bacteria! ;)

So, in short colony collapse is a serious problem that has the potential to make life extremely difficult for everybody here on earth. Without bees, there is no pollination, and without pollination, there is no food. We as a human race, LOVE food, and we need bees to keep that food coming. So do your part and protect the bees!

Lake Nyos Disaster

On August 22nd, 1986 nearly 2000 people were killed by an unprecedented disaster. A man rode from Wum, his village in Cameroon, to Nyos, a nearby village. On the way there, he passed numerous dead cattle and a handful of dead rats. He simply assumed that this was because of a lightning strike, as dead animals were often times a result of lightning strikes. When we walked into the village, he was surprised to find that there was nobody around, and it was completely silent. He walked into one of the huts to find multiple dead bodies. He dropped everything and sprinted back to Wum. Whenever he arrived back in his home town, he realized that survivors from Nyos were starting to make their way back to Wum and telling their story. It turned out that Lake Nyos was a "crater lake". It had formed from water filling up in what was thought to be a dormant volcano. The volcano however, was and still is not completely dormant. It is constantly leaking massive amounts of CO2 into the water.

The Lake Nyos disaster was caussed by a gigantic bubble of CO2 shooting up out of the lake (up to 300 feet into the air) and spreading about 12 miles at an astonishing 45 miles per hour. The death toll was estimated to be about 1,746 people, however this is not an accurate amount since the survivors had started to bury the dead in mass graves. On top of the 1,746 people there were over 3,000 cattle killed and an unbelievable amount of birds and other wild animals.

Scientists now know that this disaster was a result of CO2 constantly being released from what was thought to be a dormant volcano underneath of the lake. As it turns out, the volcano is still relatively active, just without any major eruptions. Researchers in the area now make weekly trips to the lake to monitor the carbon dioxide levels and make sure that there isn't another major build-up in order to prevent another disaster like this one from happening again.

Police Brutality - Rodney King

Statistically speaking, cops kill an American citizen every 8 hours. On top of that, less than 1% of those cops are indicted for their crimes. To put that into perspective, 90% of citizens involved in killings are indicted. So far this year, there have been 1,020 (reported) people killed by police, and each of those people, along with their stories, can be viewed right here. It truly is alarming to think about how much power these people who are just like you, me, and the people you pass walking down the street have over everybody; and just how immune they are to the law.

In 1991, Rodney King was beaten brutally by four L.A.P.D officers after an 8-mile high speed chase. King resisted arrest once the chase finally ended and that was when the officers allegedly pulled him out of the car and beat him repeatedly. Luckily, the beating was caught on camera by George Holliday, otherwise King likely would have either been killed in the beating, or found guilty due to racial imbalance. All four of the L.A.P.D officers involved in the beating were found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and use of excessive force. On top of all this, King's beating was the center (or cause) of the 1992 LA Riots.


Personally, I am afraid of the police. They're supposed to be the protectors of peace, who stop the guilty in order to protect the innocent. But instead of that, they are the protectors of their pockets, using taxpayers money to rule the playground and bully all those around them. The criminal justice system is a joke in this country, and other nations look at us in shame for the mistakes that we make. It's honestly embarrassing to have these so called "soldiers of the citizens" as our icon for the protection of the public. Change needs to happen, and it needs to happen soon before we fall into a Police State (which we are growing closer to every day).

Nuclear Energy: A Valid Option?

Nuclear energy, while it is an extremely effective source of energy production, is also an extremely messy source of energy production. There is not really a way to make nuclear energy "clean" by any sense of the word. However, holding every drop of toxic waste produced at each plant on-site is probably the worst idea anybody has come up with. There have been efforts to move all nuclear waste to places such as Yucca Mountain, where the waste would be placed miles underground where it couldn't be used to hurt anybody. The problem with Yucca Mountain as a solution is that nobody in the surrounding region is willing to house the waste so close to where they live.

As of right now, there isn't much that is known about nuclear energy. Of course we are miles ahead of where we were just twenty years ago, however that doesn't mean that we are experts with it in any way. Maybe we know enough to harness the energy into a weapon, but the real test is whether or not we can mass produce the energy in a clean and reliable way, then use it in people's houses without any possibility of harming the residents.

The first step that we need to take is to move all of the nuclear waste we have produced and get it out of the way so that it doesn't harm anybody, and cannot be used against mankind in a negative way. Once we do that, we need to figure out a way to produce nuclear energy without creating any more

waste, otherwise we are going to have a problem that we cannot handle without spewing our garbage into the solar system, which will only create more problems in the future. Then, and only then, will we have a functioning system for the production of nuclear energy.

Decrease in Amazonian Deforestation

The Amazon is the world's largest tropical rainforest, and almost undoubtedly the most crucial to our entire planet. The Amazon rainforest produces roughly one fifth of the oxygen for the Earth. It is also widely believed and highly likely that the cure for cancer will be found in the Amazon, along with many other diseases. In 2004, the Brazilian government claimed half of its Amazon basin as a national park, which has drastically reduced the amount of slash and burn and other deforestation methods in that region. This is very substantial due to the fact that the majority of the Amazon rainforest is located in Brazil. Whether or not the rest of the country will follow suit is yet to be seen.

The effects of deforestation up until this point in the planet's life is irreversible, but efforts like this to change the way that we do things in the world is crucial to the future of our species as a whole, along with the rest of the species on the planet. If we truly are the only forms of life in this entire universe (or multiverse, depending on your beliefs) then we need to be much more careful with how we treat our home. If we kill off our own species, then there may never be another life form to come along and do whatever it was that humans were supposed to do. On a side note, there is no chance that we are the only lifeforms in all of creation, something is out there. But I digress, that is not the point. We do need to continue to be more conscientious about how we interact with our surroundings, and taking action against those who aren't.

The main reason that Brazil got so into deforestation was because they needed to clear room for cattle ranches and farm plantations. This is no surprise, as it is the way that most countries get their start in world economics. The US did the exact same thing when the original pilgrims came over, which is the reason that less than 4% of the original forests of America still exist. It's truly quite hypocritical of us as a country to go around criticizing other countries for their negative environmental actions, when we are the poster child of deforestation. However we are just doing whatever we can to save other countries for the terrible outcome we have reached (as far as the environment goes). The problem is that it is the same type of situation as when parents tell their children not to do something, then the child goes and does it anyways. Many countries are going to play with fire, and get burned as a result, and that is the only way that they will learn the lesson we are trying to warn them about.

The Globalization of Religion

Religion is one of the oldest known practices of mankind. Since the first human took their very first step, we have been travelling around trying to share with others. Not necessarily for the benefit of both, but nonetheless, sharing. Almost no religion is exactly the same today as it was even just 100 years ago. This is because people are constantly changing, and as people change, so do the customs that people think are acceptable. Cannibalism is a big part of many religions in small tribes in places that have little to no contact with the outside world. Without contact to other religions, they have no way to gauge their actions, and no reason to care about what others would think.

The most recent change in religion that has been highly publicized is the legalization of gay marriage. This is not necessarily a change to any one religion, but it puts the pressure of the general public and media on religions to conform to what the popular opinion is. There will always be groups, such as the infamous 'West Borough Baptist Church', which attempt to resist the the changes of society. Seeing as North America is one of the most modern countries in terms of freedoms and beliefs, it is hard to believe that not too long ago, people were being beheaded for simply choosing to follow a different religion than their neighbor.

 Let us not forget World War II, and the mass genocide of people who were simply raised to believe a religion that is only slightly different than every other religion known to man.

Whether it be for better or worse, religion has and will continue to spread across the globe. With the spread of religion, the spread of terrorist attacks will continue. There will always be a disagreement between two people who follow different religions that believe they will have a glorious afterlife waiting for them once they kill the non-believer.

Sources:

http://www.e-ir.info/2014/07/16/religion-and-globalization-new-possibilities-furthering-challenges/

Common knowledge

Controversy on Atheism

Atheism is among the most controversial topics in society today. It isn't very often that Atheism will wind up on headlines in America today because people feel so uncomfortable talking about it and offending others, that they will just brush it under the rug. This is extremely perplexing due to the fact that one of our most basic rights as a citizen of the United States of America to have the freedom of religion. Sure, you can choose to practice Atheism, but you aren't allowed the same freedoms that other religions enjoy. For example, if you are an Atheist and are planning on running for public office, sorry! If you live in Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Texas then you are banned from ever running for office. Home of the brave? Maybe. Land of the free? Very funny.

According to the Pew Research Report, 6% of the United States population identify as either Atheist or Agnostic (a belief very similar to Atheism). Now while 6% does not sound like a very large percentage at all, one must keep in mind that there is a whopping 318.9 million people living in the United States. That means that there are 19,134,000 people living in the United States that are generally deemed lower than convicted felons.

For Atheists, there is really no telling what freedom they're going to be denied of on a daily basis. In 13 countries, any given person can, and will, face the death penalty if anybody finds out about their lack of beliefs. There are numerous cases of people (specifically teachers) losing their jobs over as little as a suspicion of being an Atheist. Seeing as Atheists can't even be trusted to hold a job, it doesn't come as much of a surprise that there have been many cases of judges ruling that Atheist parents don't get custody of their children. Believe it or not, Atheists have even been bared from volunteering for their community. That's right. They were told that because of their choice to not believe in a God, they were not fit to serve soup to the suffering members of the community. This is probably the least surprising out of all prior statements, but Atheists are also banned from joining the Boy Scouts of America whether child or adult.

It truly is a perplexing notion to think about, that even in our modern, "free" world, people don't truly have the choice to believe whatever they want. I'm sure that at some point in the near future, somebody will notice this injustice and correct it just as people have will all injustices in America's past. We eradicated slavery because it was wrong. We legalized homosexual marriage, because it was unfair to treat somebody differently just because of their sexual preferences. And we will surely right the wrongs we have made with treating people unfairly because of their religious beliefs. It is just unfortunate that it has taken so long for this topic to have light shed upon it; so many years after the constitution was published that gave people the right to believe in a religion, but not the choice to NOT believe in one.

Sources:

Images:

• http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/files/2012/05/SouthTexArkanMissTennPennLand_07.jpg
• https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2f/fa/27/2ffa27c396ec32a7a7e95a84dc0ef4bc.jpg
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Atheismsymbol_endorsed_by_AAI.svg
• http://files.sharenator.com/i_see_no_god-s1920x1200-95855-420.png

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlL0eL7Upac&list=PLfK5t0z3PcVD6teXhu9tc8I6MQ_KT-r42

Info:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreligion_in_the_United_States
• https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+people+live+in+the+US&oq=how+many+people+live+in+the+US&aqs=chrome..69i57.4701j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/16/atheists-discrimination_n_4413593.html
• http://www2.law.ucla.edu/volokh/custody.pdf