Education Connection What's New - Environmental Health Campaign

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.   Coral reefs are made up of diverse collections of corals and aquatic life and offer shelter and food for many ocean animals. Island populations also rely on coral reefs for natural protection against large incoming waves. In recent years, the increase in greenhouse gas emissions and rising global temperatures have added stress to the delicate coral reefs, leading to coral degradation and a decline in the structural complexity of the reefs. A new study published in February 2018 found that degrading coral reefs will lead to larger waves off island shores, posing new risks for beach and island erosion. Among abundant coral reefs, the friction created by the movement of water against coral dissipates the wave and decreases wave heights. After observing the changes in coral reef structures and erosion rates over time, researchers measured wave heights throughout sites in Moorea and Tahiti. Scientists examined factors including wave dissipations, pressure, and heights for data collection. The results showed that wave heights in the coral reef environments studied will continue to increase and are predicted to double within the century. Scientists believe that greenhouse gases are large contributor to coral reef degradation. An increase in gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and ozone place stress on delicate ecosystems, which can limit our access to fish and other wildlife as a source of food. Researchers suggest that protecting coral reefs by reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and environmental stressors can mitigate the change in wave heights. By doing so, erosion of islands and beaches is minimized and island populations will benefit from the protection of complex coral reefs and an abundant source of aquatic life. Find more information on this study here: http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/2/eaao4350.full Teacher Talk This article is great for kick-starting a discussion on the importance of biodiversity and how greenhouse gases can affect various ecosystems. Try starting the lesson with the creation of a trophic level chart. How could primary, secondary, and tertiary consumers be affected by degrading coral reefs? Other Resources: Kids Portal: Greenhouse Gases ToxTown: Climate Change     If you have ever felt that irritating sting from the venom of a bee, you might not be the insect's biggest fan. What you may not know is that these small creatures are responsible for the food that we buy, cook, and eat each day. For much of the world's ecosystem, bees are the most influential pollinators and help to produce nearly $15 billion in U.S. crops each year. Bees also pollinate wild fruits and seeds that provide food and nutrients to animals in our food web, contributing to our booming hunting and fishing industry. To protect crops from destructive insects, farmers coat their fields with a widely used insecticide, neonicotinoid, that is highly toxic to insects but is proven less harmful to mammals in small doses. The application of neonicotinoids on flowering plants and crops inadvertently exposes bees to the insecticide, causing a blockage of nerve impulses in their central nervous system and paralysis, among other life-threatening side effects. The EPA found that the agricultural industry used 3.5 million pounds of neonicotinoid insecticide from 2009 to 2011. Scientists have linked the decline in honey bee survival rates and immune responses to the widespread usage of the insecticide. In a large study published in 2017, scientists found that use of neonicotinoids led to a 24% decrease in bee colony sizes in European countries, in addition to a decrease in their reproduction rates. Scientists recommend significantly reducing the amount of neonicotinoid insecticide used in farming to allow bee populations to flourish and grow, maintaining our delicate ecosystems. Currently, the European Union is voting on the complete ban of this insecticide, which will lead to a large decrease in the presence of neonicotinoids in our global food market. You can learn more about neonicotinoids here: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/356/6345/1393.full and http://ento.psu.edu/publications/are-neonicotinoids-killing-bees.   Teacher Talk We often don't think about where our food comes from, and what processes go into harvesting plants and produce. It is easy to forget that toxic chemicals and industrial processes are factors in our food consumption. Use this article to launch a discussion or debate about the use of pesticides in modern farming. Other Resources: Household Products Database: Pesticides ToxTown: Pesticides   Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please visit subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com. This service is provided to you at no charge by K-12 Science and Health Education. This email was sent to solanabeachmassage.sbhc@blogger.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: K-12 Science and Health Education · Two Democracy Plaza, Suite 440 and Suite 510 · 6707 Democracy Blvd., MSC 5467 · Bethesda, MD 20892-5467