Last APES blog post EVER - Iran's Salty Dilemna

Well, I can admit, it's been fun. Being in the class, that is, and enjoying Schaedel's insane antics all the while. I'm happy to say, this will be my last APES blog post for the rest of my days. Thank you, Mother Nature. It's finally over. But seriously, the final topic is on Iran's problem with their largest lake, Oroumieh, turning into salt.

This is an issue. Can you imagine? Going out to your favorite family vacation spot, the third largest saltwater lake, and then one day finding all the beautiful H20 has shifted into salt filled liquid. That is disgusting. Apparently, this lake has shrunken down 60% over the past few years, and will eventually disappear. Boats have been getting stuck in the increasing salt amount, as it has been lamenting the bottom of those boats so much they cannot move any furthur. Home to pelicans, flamingos and gulls, losing this lake will mean more than just losing a photogenic tourist area.

Nature plays a big part in this water to salt effect by transferring over the salt during storms. As the rainclouds pick up the salt, it can travel then over to surrounding farmlands, raining down and slowly deterriorating fruits, plants, all that those poor farmers rely on to live. But I believe the BIGGEST issue here, is in the future, this may cause a giant salt tsunami to reign upon Iran. It is predicted at this rate, the lake will dry out in three to five years. As I know from enduring high school for four, so many years can really go by FAST. And this lake will be gone before Iran even knows it.

Unless something can be done to save the lake. An increase in rainfall would be able to help shift the future results of the lake disappearing, as it would give the lake more water, getting rid of the salt at the same time. Another possible savior would be the purple gladiolas. These "flowers have grown every year for a thousand years in the spot where a princess of Oroumieh was killed as she warned the people of the city about an invading enemy" - quoted by the Yahoo article on Iran's largest lake turning to salt. Of course, this is a legend, but you never know what could have happened, and what could have not. If this is something to look forward to, then I say let the people pray. If hope can help them, then maybe some magic is in the air that can actually help curve the lake drying out too early.

I wish Iran best of luck with this endeavor. And I also wish our class of 2011 best of luck in whatever they go out to do in the future. College is insane, and so is the real world. All we have to do to get through it and prosper is Believe and Stay chill. But not too chill, cause global warming is happening, man. And it's probably gonna get hot.

Food is a Waste. Or something like that.

Once again, I come to the conclusion at the end of a wonderfully stimulating class of AP Environmental Science, that humans suck. Big big time. Basically, the food we eat isn't as natural as we make it out to be. McDonalds is a big bully to blame for this. Taking control of what we think of today as Fast Food, McDonald's has changed the business by abusing their workers, and meat, and then serving to us options that may be delicious (to everyone but myself), but also one of the worst options we can stuff into our stomachs. We as humans tend to crave meat, it is built in our genes like craving sugar. Meat is so cheap now that we can get it anywhere, even for 99 cents. This may be fantastic for the lower class family, but health wise, this is horrible. We are not suppose to even have so much meat as we now eat. The things we stuff into our bodies, chew up and swallow, is slowly (even quickly sometimes) killing us. We might as well be feeding ourselves waste, as from my point of view, it probably would be more nutritious than this 'food' we eat today.

Waste can also equal food as some companies, Nike for a great example, will recycle nonbiodegradable parts, making the most of things that would otherwise dirty the earth and never truly leave the system. By reusing and putting rubber, plastic, other materials from their shoes into new products, Nike is helping this planet little by little to send a message, that we must be more resourceful and smart about what we throw out. Not everything we want to throw out should even be thrown out. A lot of items can be reused, if we just take the time to clean milk cartons out and use them for tap water jugs, or reuse plastic bags instead of just throwing them away carelessly. The world needs to wake up. And wake up NOW.

We Need Energy!!!

So. Basically, there is a huge problem in the world's demand for oil. The demand is spilling over the world's supply. Oil production is not able to keep up with our demand for it, therefore we are doomed. However, I feel that if we take other ways to make energy into mind, we may be alright in the long run. I'm no professor, or nerd on economics or ecology, and all that jazz. But I do have some ideas. They probably won't work out as well as I imagine. But this IS a blog. I AM suppose to just ramble on about what is going on through my head while I type. So, here goes.

Wind turbines. I was taking a trip to Indiana U. a couple weeks ago, and everytime I go to visit, I take notice of how many wind turbines are set up in the area. It is AMAZING. I must have seen around ten, twenty, maybe even thirty of these gigantic, monstrous, winged contraptions. They were impressive, with their wings slowly moving through the air, cutting through it with the immense help of the wind. All the while, energy was being generated with these movements. It was astonishing to me. I kept talking with my mom about how I wished we had more of these around Illinois, but I'm not so sure where they could go. Chicago would be a great place, just because of how windy the climate is. Maybe in the park of a museum, like the exhibits for art outside. It would be sort of cool to look at. They. Are. Huge. Just sayin'. In case you've never seen one.

Also, I'm not sure why more organizations and people aren't using solar plates on their roofs and such. That always seemed like a great idea to me, and I don't see them around too often. I wish people could take more to these options, also walking and riding bikes around, instead of everything we are doing more commonly today. America is getting pretty lazy, and it is disappointing. We need to move, we need to move NOW. Or we're all doomed. So. That should be some motivation for you.

P.s. I just had an image in my head of tiny wind turbines, like the size of hands. Wouldn't that be adorable? AND efficient? Thought so.