Earth Day

Well, Earth day was a week ago, so I figured I'd talk about the changes happening on and to the Earth.

Carbon is one of the most abundant elements on the planet.  It is found in everything including animals, plants, rocks, and gas, but it also plays a part in global climate change.  The carbon cycle is a naturally occurring cycle on Eart
h, but humans are throwing the carbon cycle off course by adding more carbon into the atmosphere than it is being removed, causing what is called the "Greenhouse effect".  Humans add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere because of deforestation, causing the carbon to stay in the air because it is not removed by the trees, and also burning fossil fuels adds tons of carbon into the air.  Humans alone add nearly 10 Pgs (1 Pg = 1 billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, with no natural cycle to remove it.

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, which is a gas that absorbs thermal radiation (heat from the Earth) and reflects the heat back to the Earth.  With an excess of carbon dioxide, there is more to reflect back to the Earth, which will heat it.  Through the centuries, there have been several natural fluctuations in the average temperature, but this is the first time it is occurring unnaturally, all because of humans.  Ever since the Industrial Revolution in the 1800's, the average temperature has slowly been climbing.

The Earth is changing because of the increase in temperature, which is causing a huge change in animal life, mainly in the poles because they are experiencing the greatest change.  Many native animals to the poles are becoming extinct, and ice bergs are slowly melting, causing a slight rise in sea level, which can eventually cause flooding.

All the changes happening on Earth seem minuscule to us now, but without changes in our lifestyle, there can be horrible consequences.

Deforestation

Deforestationhas been dramatically altering the Earth for years.  It is one of the leading causes of global climate change and it is drastically changing the natural course of evolution or all organisms.  Humans have all taken part, both directly and indirectly, in destroying forests all over the world. We use the wood from the trees for fuel and building materials and the cleared land can then be used for either agricultural or business purposes, such as constructing unneeded strip malls on all major roads.  Because of deforestation, hundreds on species of plants and animals have either become extinct or critically endangered.  The animals and plants that have neither become extinct nor endangered have been adapted to suit their new lives in there new habitat.  Without the trees and other plants of the forest, the Earth is slowly becoming depleted of much needed oxygen.

                There was once a bird in the family of parrots, the Carolina Parakeet that was native to the eastern coast of the United States, including New Jersey.  It became extinct in 1918 due to the mass deforestation to make room for farms for the new European immigrants.  Because of the loss of their forest habitat, the parakeets turned to eating the crops of farmers, who thought of them as pests and killed them, finishing off the last of the Carolina Parakeet.  

How Did The Dinosaurs Evolve?

     Dinosaurs are one of the most famous groups of living organism ever to inhabit the Earth, but an interesting question is, where did they come from?
     Dinosaurs arose from a family of prehistoric reptiles called the archosaurs, who evolved from a common ancestor between fish and reptiles, one of the first creatures to make the transition from water to land.  From that common ancestor, three branches formed, the pelycosaurs, the therapsids, and the archosaurs.  The therapsids gave rise to the first mammals, who existed somewhat in secrecy along with the dinosaurs, but were unable to flourish with them.
     The archosaurs rose up after the Permian/Triassic Extinction Event, which was a massive extinction that wiped out three quarters of the world's terrestrial animals. The archosaurs, who thrived for thousands of years evolved and gave rise to the dinosaurs, who thrived for millions of years.
     The dinosaurs 'ruled' the Earth for an extremely long time, up until the K/T Extinction , that wiped out 70% of Earth's land animals, including the dinosaurs.  The most accepted theory behind this extinction is that a massive meteorite struck the Earth, clouding the sky for years killing many plants and many animals.  Without any plants, the herbivores starved and died out, and without herbivores, the carnivores had nothing to eat and also died out.  Also, the impact caused earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, destroying much of Earth as it was known 65 million years ago.
     Very few animals survived, but the ones that did consisted of some avian-like dinosaurs, that gave rise to birds, many mammals, and tortoises. With the extinction of dinosaurs, animals such as mammals were able to rise and evolve.

http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/dinosaurevolution/a/dinevolution.htm