The World for Freedom

Revision as of 04:25, 11 July 2019

Man Eaten by Dogs

July 10

Source:[1]

Washington Flood

July 9

    A month’s worth of rain flooded into washington. Streets turned into rivers. The rainfall overpowered the capital’s storm-water system, which was built almost a century ago and could not handle the amount of water that flooded in. Upgrades, that are very expensive, are clearly needed. 
    Even though we can’t claim the storm is directly the cause of climate change without more analysis, it fits a general pattern. Warm air can hold more moisture, which calls for heavier rainstorms.
    The main challenge for overcoming future flooding is funding. Mr. Morris said D.C. Water expected to spend $60 million over 10 years to improve storm-water pumping stations alone, as well as much higher costs for other climate-related projects. 

Source:[2]

Toxic Algae Blooms Close Mississippi Beaches

July 8

    Heavy rains in the Mississippi continue to cause damage. This time, they caused the blooming of toxic algae, forcing many beaches to close. More freshwater are flowing into the Gulf of Mexico,  feeding the thick blue-green algae. The algae is dangerous as it can cause rashes, stomach cramps, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting in people and animals. It is also harmful to the state’s oyster beds, and have killed most of them. It could take years to recover those oysters. Many tourists come down to the beaches for the independence day weekend and are being disappointed. Usually this weekend would be lucrative with tourism earnings, but when the beaches close, the tourists go. The algae bloom has been detected along the Mississippi coast by at least 20 beach-monitoring stations. It forms when salty water is flooded with freshwater carrying nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, and appears as foam on the surface of water. The result is a thick, soupy, clogged coastline full of algae. High water temperatures and other factors also impact the algae growth. The growth of these dangerous algae blooms really take a toll on the Mississippi environment and mood.

Source:[3]

There are Survivors of the Little Ice Age

July 7

    There was a Little Ice Age from around 1550-1850. Since 1850, plants lay frozen under a 100-foot-thick slab of ice. A biologist named, Catherine La Farge went to Teardrop’s melting edge and found a tuft of the species, Aulacomnium turgidum finally free from its icy jail. The moss was torn, but still had possible signs of life. The thawing of ice caps from the little ice age and permafrost are starting to reveal incredible evidence of biological resilience. Researchers are discovering organisms, frozen and thought dead, that can actually still have life. These "ice age zombies" range from simple bacteria to even multicellular animals. Their endurance are making scientists rethink what it means to survive. Catharine La Farge brought dozens of these samples back to Edmonton, and took care of them by providing them nutrients in a bright, warm laboratory. Almost a third of the samples grew new shoots and leaves. These mosses definitely proved themselves as strong survivors. The regrowth of centuries-old mosses shows us that glaciers and permafrost don't always have to be graveyards for multicellular life, but they could actually be helpful for organisms to withstand ice ages. After being encased in layers of ice from a little ice age, moss and other organisms can find themselves in a new geologic era as they proved to be strong enough to withstand extreme conditions.

Source: [4]

World's Largest Bee Found Not Extinct

July 6

    The world's largest bee was just re-discovered by a wildlife photographer in Indonesia. It is a giant wasp-like insect with the face of a stag beetle. The insect was thought to be extinct for decades as it had not been spotted since 1981. The insect is known as Wallace’s giant bee, named after Alfred Russel Wallace, a British naturalist. He discovered the insect in 1858. The bee is four times larger than the European honeybee and has a two and half inch wing span. The photographer that re-discovered this insect is Clay Bolt. He wishes to keep the location of the insect a secret so it is not in danger by poachers. Bolt found the bee inside a termite nest about two meters off the ground inside a tree. The bee lives in termite nests by coating the inside of termite mounds to protect from the termites. Bolt and a companion went in search to find these termite nests. One day, he finally came across one with a perfectly round hole penetrated on the top. When Bolt climbed up and looked in, he discovered the giant bee and captured the rare insect in high definition.

Source: [5]

Unfair Treatment of a Woman in Indonesia

July 5

    Nuril Maknun, 41, was a school bookkeeper in Indonesia. She recorded her boss’s crude phone call as proof that she was being harassed. Her boss goes by the single name Muslim. He was the principal at Senior High School Seven in Mataram, Lombok’s largest city. Maknun recorded him using lewd language and persecuting her to have an affair with him. Instead of being punished for the clear harassment, Muslim has been promoted repeatedly. On the other hand, Maknun was found guilty by a three-judge panel and imposed a sentence of 6 months and a fine of about $35,000. This is a huge amount for her family. The situation is even more grave as if she does not pay the fine, she must serve an additional three months. The problems for Maknun, who is a mother of three, started in 2013 when Muslim took over as principal of the high school where she worked. He spread rumors about maknun and made very vulgar remarks. This harassment got to the point where Maknun felt the need to disprove his rumors and recorded one of his calls. After hearing about the recording, Muslim filed a police complaint against Maknun for criminal defamation. In a police investigation, she was arrested and jailed for a month. Even thought the prosecutors eventually rejected the defamation complaint, they charged her with distributing obscene material. An online fund-raising campaign had raised more than $26,000 by midday on Friday to help pay her fine. Maknun said she was proud to fight for her “dignity as a woman”. However, she does question why she was punished when it was muslim making the sexual comments. This case highlights a common issue in the workplace in Indonesia - harassment.

Source: [6]

The Recent Ridgecrest Earthquake

July 4

    On the morning of Thursday, July 4, 2019, California experienced its biggest scare in years when a 6.4 magnitude Earthquake struck a remote region in Southern California. It had been almost five years since the state experienced an earthquake of magnitude 6 or stronger. The epicenter of the earthquake was pinpointed near Ridgecrest, a relatively remote area about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Ridgecrest is a city of about 28,000. The area residents had declared a state of emergency and expect aftershocks. This earthquake had caused lots of chaos and disturbed celebrations of Independence day. 
    The disturbance was a "strike-slip" quake where two sides of a fault slide past each other, creating horizontal movement. This earthquake was shallow and just 8.7 kilometers (5.4 miles). The earthquake caused a 12-inch crack in Highway 178 and caused lots of damage to many resident homes, restaurant, and more. As of now, there have been no deaths recorded, however, there were multiple injuries. Many scenes of destruction were posted on social media. People observed swinging lamps, broken glass, sloshing pools, etc.

Source: [7]

National Fried Clam Day

July 3

   On July 3rd, 1916, the first fried clam was made in the town of Essex, Massachusetts by Lawrence Henry “Chubby” Woodman and his wife Bessie. This idea was brought about, at first, as a joke by a local fisherman named, Tarr. Chubby and Bessie had a concession stand and business was really slow. Tarr playfully suggested to fry their clams and business would boom if the clams were any good. Other customers protested, of course, with complaints about how clams have shells. Chubby and Bessie, however, decided to think about it and try it out. They shucked some clams and experimented with different batters in hopes in creating a delicious result. In the end, they believed the clams they made were delicious and things went up from there. The Yankee appetite changed ever since fried clams were first introduced the next day. Fried clams were advertised by the Boston Market as the newest tasty treats. It was truly an important day for Chubby and Bessie. Now, six generations later, clams are still frying at Woodman’s, where it all began. This National holiday was submitted in 2015 and is now observed annually every July 3rd.

Source:[8]