Butterfly Lessons in Class Post

Kolber makes many observations about how human caused climate change is affecting species worldwide.  She talks about how butterflies in Europe are moving north, a species of frogs in New York are mating ten days earlier because of average temperatures increasing, plants moving further up mountains to areas where it is cooler, etc.  She believes all these changes are happening too quick and is trying to send a message to humans.   She wants human caused climate change to drastically slow down.  This relates very closely to my project.  Levels of water in the Colorado River are dropping very quickly.  Part of this is because of overharvesting water from it, but another part can be blamed on climate change.  Due to warmer temperatures, snow on the Rocky Mountains is melting much earlier than it usually does.  This is reducing the amount of run off; therefore less water is actually making it to the Colorado River.   Some researchers have found that climate change has caused a 10% reduction in flow of the Colorado River, and there is a 25% chance that reservoir storage will be completely depleted by 2057.  

Butterfly Lessons

Kolber talks about how human actions are having a huge affect on the the environment and the species that live in it.  She claims that humans are causing climate change and this is disrupting the life of many species around the world.  She does not believe these changes should be happening this quickly and believes that humans deserve all the blame.  At one point Kolber writes, "Darwin never imagined that the effects of climate change could be observed in a human lifetime, yet, almost anywhere you go in the world today, it is possible to observe changes".  These changes are being observed rapidly.  At one point she talks about how some toads are beginning to mate ten days earlier and how some species are moving further up mountains where it is cooler.  The article gets its name because she explains how butterflies are shifting north in Europe to areas where it is cooler.  Bottom line, Kolber is trying to say that humans are causing climate change and this is affecting the environment all over the world.

Water Crisis Solutions and Their Economic Barriers

      There is no denying that when referring to the access of fresh water, this planet is in a state of crisis.  Millions of people worldwide lack access to fresh water, and in the future, that number can easily start to grow.  Inhabitants of this planet are using up the fresh water made available by this planet at an alarming pace.  Better distribution methods and the advancement in water supply technologies can help deter this crisis, but economically, these changes are not easy.  While water supply technologies, such as desalination, are decreasing in price, the cost is still way out of reach for most undeveloped countries.  In most cases, these undeveloped countries are the ones that lack water in the first place, so the water crisis will still be a very prominent issue.  Water distribution can also be a very costly process.  Undeveloped countries are not going to be able to build dams or provide plumbing to cities overnight.  These processes take time, and most undeveloped countries will lack the funds.  Economic barriers certainly play a large negative roll in solving the water crisis, but through the utilization of resources on hand, more affordable and efficient desalination technologies, and better money management, the water crisis can be brought to a close.       

What is Denial?

Denial is rejecting the legitimacy of a claim, even if there is overwhelming evidence that the statement is true.  Often someone will deny something that seems very unpleasant to them.  They know there is a strong possibility that whatever is claimed is true, but if it is something they do not want to hear they will deny it.  There are many things that someone can be in denial about, but you will realize they are always bad things.  You are never gonna find someone who is told they are smart, funny, helpful, etc. and be like, oh no that can't be true, I'm an idiot.  It is only when bad things happen in life that people go into denial.  For example, if someone is doing bad in school they might deny the fact that it is there own fault and blame it on the teacher or say that they are too busy with sports so they do not have time to finish their work and study.  To be in denial simply means to refuse to believe something, usually negative but occasionally positive, because you just don't like the idea of it.