Water Pollution

The ocean and the water is something near to my heart. However, as time goes on our waters are getting more and more polluted due to human carelessness. Things like plastic, sewage, oil spills, and dumping industrial waste in our waters all have negative effects on marine life. What a lot of people don't realize is that pollution in our water effects humans too. This is even more of a incentive to protect our water ways. Though there has been many recent efforts to clean and prevent pollution in the water, it has not been enough.

Different types of pollution have different types of effects on the water ways and the marine life contained in them. Sewage water even after it has been treated and cleaned contains high levels of nutrients. When this water is released the high levels of nutrients cause high amounts of algae and cause lakes/ponds to become eutrophic or oxygen depleted. Large amounts of algae deprive underwater grasses of sunlight which deprive marine organisms of habitat. Treated sewage also contain many chemicals. When these chemicals get into the water ways they disturb the endocrine system of fish and other marine animals. Also, some industrial plants pour hot water into bodies of water. This causes the marine organism's need for oxygen to go up.  But warm water contains less dissolved oxygen so marine animals suffocate due to lack of oxygen. Runoff from farms often contains fertilizers. These fertilizers contain nitrogen which cause levels of bacteria in lakes and ponds to go up. These bacteria use up the oxygen supply in the water to break down the nitrogen compound. Because of a depleted oxygen supply it causes the other marine animals to suffocate.   Marine animals can also mistake trash and other pollutants for food, causing them to become ill or die. If humans eat marine organisms the pollution inside the animals can have an effect on humans as well.  Large gyres in the ocean cause trash to collect in certain areas. Plastic is not biodegradable so it just collects and collects. This cause large buildups of trash in the areas where gyres collect.  Oil spills although they are not intentional have a huge negative effect on marine life as well.

The solutions to these problems are relatively simple. Stop dumping wastes into bodies of water. Legislation should be passed to stop and type of industry from dumping any type of waste product into any body of water. Commercial activity near bodies of water should be limited in order to keep trash content down. Oil drilling and transporting technologies should have backup systems in order to contain a spill if one does happen. Some of these things may cost extra money but in the long run it will have a positive effect on marine life as well as all terrestrial life.     Here is a link to a video with more information. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnUjTHB1lvM

Topics in Class

I had a hard time choosing but probably my favorite topic in class is going to be the Biochemistry Unit. Biochemistry is one of the majors I am considering in college, so i am excited to learn about it. But Heredity and Molecular Genetics are topics that catch my interest as well.

I am least excited to learn about cells though. I feel like I have learned that same things about cells since 5th grade. Although, I do hope we will go more in depth about cells in this class, I am still not excited to learn about them again. Also, learning about enzymes and metabolism does not sound like the most fun either. But, I am hopeful that I will enjoy these topics when it comes time to learn about them.

Introduction

Hello!
I am Kelsey Adkins. I am a cheerleader and a student. My favorite color is aqua and I love the ocean. I also love all the sciences which is why I would like to pursue a medical career. I am currently most interested in the Pharmacy and Biochem fields. But, I am also interested in the Psychology and Nutrition fields.

I am taking AP Biology for many reasons. First, I am very interested in the sciences. Second, I think it will benefit me to have a deeper background in Biology so I am more prepared for college. And third because I enjoyed regular Biology very much. 

I hope to get a deeper background in Biology from this class and gain college readiness. Also, a college credit from the AP test would be helpful as well.