Federal Grants Allow for a More Beautiful America
$2.3 million has just been given to 12 communities in 10 states to help preserve the environment. This giant sum of money is going towards educating and initiating the clean-up of polluted and run-down land. It will be used to train people for environmental jobs, which can earn up to $13.26 an hour. These jobs in turn will help to educate others on turning around the environment to make it more liveable.
“The grants will teach environmental assessment and cleanup job skills to individuals living in low income areas near brownfields sites in Ariz., Ark., Calif., Conn., Ill., Md., Ohio, Ore., Va., and Wis. “
Due credit is given to the Bush administration on their concern for the well being of “America the Beautiful.” The grants will teach environmental assessment and cleanup job skills to individuals living in low income areas near brownfields sites in Ariz., Ark., Calif., Conn., Ill., Md., Ohio, Ore., Va., and Wis.
I wrote this article with hopes to complement Motrya’s article about the number of people coming together to help clean up the environment. It made me really glad to see these giant numbers of helpers that the United States is receiving amidst all of our current environmental problems.
Source for Article: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/68b5f2d54f3eefd28525701500517fbf/3c2c0c364f5ff62f852572250067ce69!OpenDocument
Increase of Animals in the Serengeti
The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania has reported an inrease of animals since 1977. This increase is credited to the cracking down on poachers, who caused the decline in the first place. Funds to decrease poaching were cut in 1977, making it harder for the government to monitor animal populations. The situation improved around the 1980’s when the Tanzanian government began giving back funds to protect wildlife.
Image Credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Eat267.jpg
Some of the increased populations include:
Elephants:
Image Credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/African_elephant.jpg/800px-African_elephant.jpg
Buffalos:
Image Credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/800px-African_Buffalo.JPG
and Black Rhinoceros:
Image Credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Black_rhinoceros-large.jpg
The number of living animals, though not exact is used by counting the number of patrols and by aerial surveys. Because poaching is illegal, the actual count of murdered animals cannot be accurately determined.
I think that protecting a nationally recognized wildlife habiat such as the serengeti is very important. Because Africa is not a fully developed continent, I think that we should give the animals the land that they need to survive, and this cannot be fufilled when there are poachers on the loose.
Source for article:
Attack of the Female Ginkgo Tree!
They’re everywhere; lurking on the streets where we walk to school, where we live, and where we frolick when we are finished with the days work (at 2am, lol). These trees are no ordinary trees with their fan-like leaves, and the HORRIBLE smell!! Yes, you guessed it, the female Ginkgo Tree. She is the enemy of the autumn, so avoid her at all costs. Some identification photos:
Exhibit A: The Female lurks on Randolph St. where many innocent Fenwick students park their cars.
Image Credit: Me!
Exhibit B: The female deposits foul substances onto the ground that attaches its odor to our very shoes! The smell is intense for a good 20 ft surrounding the area of the tree. We see the remnants of her attacks; various crushed “poison” from the shoes of many Fenwick students.
Image Credit: Me!
So why do these trees SMELL SO BAD? The female ginkgo trees, instead of produces cones like the males, produce seeds. The seed coating contains butonic acid which smells like rancid butter, which also contains butonic acid. The seeds are fertilized in early autumn. Don’t think that these trees will go away anytime soon either. Ginkgos are one of the most urban-tolerant tree species. They are also very much less prone to disease than other trees, and are less attacked by insects.
If I were you, I’d walk on the other side of the street.
Source for Information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo
