Watch Your Water

No one wants mercury in their water, so why should the Bay Area have to suffer because of China's coal-fired plants? The theory is that the mercury is coming across the Pacific Ocean from China from the coal-fired plants which is a major source of mercury pollution.

When researchers wanted to test largemouth bass at Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir for mercury levels, the reservoir's managers in San Francisco figured the scientists were simply looking for a clean sample to compare with toxic results at other spots.

We need to resolve this issue because the effects can happen to a wide range of people. Little kids can be damaged in their brain and adults can have lung and kidney problems. Researchers need to get on top of the situation, and get rid of the mercury in the water. If we don't get active about this issue, our country will have an even bigger stamp on our foreheads saying "dumb as we wanna be" which is the last thing we need. Scientists also need to step up quickly and get rid of the mercury, and the country needs to look into if China is really polluting our water or not. If China is indeed polluting our water, we need to figure out how they can stop polluting the water of the Bay Area and even the larger picture, the Pacific. This also relates to Hot, Flat, and Crowded because this could potentially endanger species in the waters and we don't want another species to go extinct like the river dolphin. If so that would be just another tally to the tab for the Chinese and they don't want to have a bad image so they should also be proactive in getting the mercury pollution stopped. 

Climate change gives us a reason to change

How many hints is it going to take the world to realize how we are living isn't good for the environment? Our people need to change the way they live their daily lives. Our planet needs to be able to go on for thousands of years to come so that everybody has a chance to live like we did.

Floods, fires, melting ice and feverish heat: From smoke-choked Moscow to water-soaked Iowa and the High Arctic, the planet seems to be having a midsummer breakdown. It's not just a portent of things to come, scientists say, but a sign of troubling climate change already under way.

Our people need to figure out how to predict these drastic outbursts of violent weather so we are more better prepared for a national disaster. Scientists blame all of this warming due to emissions from power plants, cars, trucks and other fossil fuel burning sources. The carbon dioxide and other heat trapping gasses are all getting stuck in the atmosphere. If we can better our emissions we could easily have not had all of these bad occurrences in our world. This is exactly why Friedman called for a "Code Green" because we don't want to have to deal with our consequences so we might as well fix it now instead of going any further.

Japan is hot, hot, hot!

Temperatures over the world are increasing, and everyone is looking at global warming for the blame. This summer, Japan has recorded the highest temperatures on record. This ties into Friedman's, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, because the "hot", global warming, is causing Japan's temperatures to raise.

The Asian country joins a large swath of the Northern Hemisphere that has experienced an unusually hot summer. Meteorologists say 17 nations have recorded all-time-high temperatures this year, more than in any other year, and scientists have said that July was the hottest month on record for the world's oceans. 

The heat isn't something to mess around with. It can kill, and it's not a fun death. Its said that around 150 deaths have occurred because of heat stroke. The highest temperatures recorded have been beat by almost three percent, but who is to blame? Of course the obvious finger is going to be pointed at global warming, and most of us would agree, like I am. But these temperature rises aren't just occurring in Japan, they are also occurring in other countries like Saudi Arabia, China, and Kuwait. All of these countries have been hitting high temperatures that they are not used to. On the flip side to all the "hot" drama, there is a good thing about this. The economy is getting a boost, by about three percent, from the consumers buying cool drinks, summer clothes, and cooling products. I'm not really sure what to think, because yes the economy is going up, but on the other side, our world is steadily getting hotter and hotter.