Environmental updates

The world's vegetation is small despite the increase in carbon dioxide levels, what happens to the plastic stored in the center of the Pacific Ocean? And have we gotten rid of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico yet?

Since the beginning of the monitoring of global warming, ongoing surveys have been conducted that examine the effects of warming. The accepted assumption based on the observations was that "the warming causes an accelerated growth of both agricultural and wild plants, growth that is accelerated by the warming as well as due to the increase in the concentration of DTP available to the plants.

Monitoring showed an acceleration in growth between 1982 and 1999, but since 1999 there has been a setback that lowered the growth rate below the levels of the XNUMXs, the researchers explain that "the temperatures have crossed the useful threshold and reached a level where the heat causes damage, damage that simulates drought conditions. The decrease in the growth rate reduces the levels of DTP that the plants absorb, that is, more DTP that raises the temperatures and thus a negative feedback is created.

If until the publication of the results there was an assumption that in many areas the warming would allow more growth of food plants and plants for the production of (biological) fuel, then now the fear is increasing that the warming will damage the production capacity and lead to drought conditions in much more extensive areas than the areas where improved growing conditions will be created, that is, in total All mankind can do is produce less food.

Where did the plastic go?

One of the more well-known and prominent hazards in the oceans is plastic. We have all seen the huge plastic stain that has formed in the heart of the Atlantic Ocean. Photographers and researchers describe the stain as a "floating scrap yard", a "yard" whose area is twice the size of the State of Israel. A smaller spot was also detected in the Pacific Ocean.

The spot was detected about 22 years ago and since then it has been growing... Until the last survey, much had already been written about the damages of plastic these days and the things are clear, therefore, when it became clear to the researchers that "in recent years the plastic stains are not growing" concern arose, since it is clear that the amounts of plastic that are produced and end up in the oceans are increasing, the course of the winds and currents remains the same, So where did the plastic go?

The survey was done by collecting the plastic in trawl nets, therefore it is possible that the small pieces of plastic from the holes in the net are not collected, other possibilities are that the plastic that "decomposes" into tiny pieces (poison) is eaten by fish. It is also possible that the pieces of plastic form a basis for biological growth ( plants and corals) growth that causes the plastic to become heavy and sink to depths where it is difficult to detect?
Is it possible that we are witnessing how nature solves a problem that man created?

Gulf of Mexico is back in action?

According to the announcements of the authorities (the president) and the company (BP) that the "Gulf of Mexico is clean of oil" accordingly, the trawlers have resumed their activities and "everyone is returning to the sea" ... but not everything is blue, the research team of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts, US identified a "trail "Oil about 40 km long, about 2 km wide and at a depth of 200 meters below (1 km) the surface of the water, more oil covers the bottom of the gulf.

Added to this is a toxic suspension created as a result of dispersing surfactants and solvents. So the damages from the oil flow continue and accumulate. It is convenient for the president and the company to present a situation of "everything is fine", in fact the damages continue as a result of... a "toxic gulf".

crime and Punishment

While in our country more and more rabies cases are discovered, maybe because of the restrictions imposed on the destruction of feral dogs? In South America, rabies is spread by vampire bats Desmodontinae that "guard" the rabies reservoir.

The vampire is a small bat that lives in the woods and feeds on the blood of mammals, with the help of sharp fangs the vampire pierces the blood vessels of its victim, the fangs are so thin that the victim is not bothered by the bite, the bat's saliva contains anticoagulants that allow it to lick blood to its heart's content.

Due to the destruction of forests in the Amazon basin and settlement in burned areas, the bats lose their natural food sources and find themselves close to new food sources - herds of cattle and human herders. Domestic animals: cows, donkeys, pigs, goats and sheep are "easy prey" for vampires and therefore they are attracted to settlements.

Vampires infected with rabies fear less and behave more "insolently", the result.... Every new one, hundreds of people are bitten, those who recognize the bite in time are rushed to medical centers and receive treatment, but since in most cases the bat bites when the victim is asleep, the injury is not always recognized,
When the signs of the disease appear... there is no cure, and thus dozens of new settlers in the Amazon territories die every year from rabies.

seed bank

The first seed bank was established by Russian botanists before World War II. During the war, the bank became famous when the botanists who cultivated it suffered from starvation and did not touch the seeds that were collected and preserved, unlike new biological repositories where the species are preserved in the form of seeds or pieces of DNA, the Russians grew the plants in a garden near St. Petersburg.

Later, the project became known as the Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry's seed. Today, because of its proximity to the city, the garden is in danger of demolition, the area is considered "expensive real estate" and as such a local court gave permission to destroy the genetic diversity of plants to make room for the construction of luxury residences for the city's wealthy.
It turns out that we are not the only ones who have problems from "real estate agents".

‫Snow in Eilat?

A guest who was in Eilat asked "Why are most of the roofs of private houses covered with red tiles with a constant slope?" After all, it is known that a red tiled roof raises the temperature of the house by 8 degrees (indeed, under every roof there is a thick and expensive layer of insulating material).

My answer was that the municipal regulation requires that a certain percentage of the surface of each roof must be sloped and covered with red tiles. This is of course not a logical answer to the question, since from the south of Spain, North Africa through Greece to Iraq, private houses are covered with a flat white roof that also serves as a balcony on summer evenings. So why are the residents of Eilat obliged to build sloping red tile roofs?

There is only one "logical" answer left: a sloped tiled roof is needed so that the winter snows do not pile up and cause a collapse.