Emperor penguins counted from space (BBC)

            There are about 600,000 emperor penguins which are twice as many emperor penguins in Antarctica how many people thought there were. The numbers of penguins were counted from space. The census technique used is to locate individual colonies and that is done by looking for big brown patches of guano (penguin poo) on the white ice. Then high resolution imagery is used to find out the number of birds present in the area.

            The satellite mapping approach will provide the means of monitoring the long-term health of the penguins’ population. Climate modeling proposed that the number of penguins could fall in the decades in the future if warming around Antarctica erodes the ice on which the animals nest and launch their raids for seafood.

Peter Fretwell from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) stated that “If we want to understand whether emperor penguins are endangered by climate change, we have to know first how many birds there are currently and have a methodology to monitor them year on year.” He also said that, “This study gives us that baseline population, which is quite surprising because it’s twice as many as we thought, but it also gives us the ability to follow their progress to see if that population is changing over time.”

The scientists identified 44 key penguin colonies on the White Continent, and seven of them have not been recognized before. Even with the highest resolution satellite pictures, it is impossible to count each individual bird, so the scientist had to regulate their analysis of the colonies by using ground counts and aerial photography in some places.

The number 600,000 penguins are double of the previous estimate which was 270,000~350,000 emperor penguins. Michelle LaRue from the University of Minnesota said that “we can conduct research safely and efficiently with little environmental impact.” She also stated that this method can be used to find out the population of other poorly understood species in Antarctica.

The amount of sea ice in Antarctica is thought to be relatively stable in recent years. Still the computer modeling suggests that warming of the climate might cause the loss of more northern ice floes in Antarctica later this century.

If the ice melts, it might be a problem since the ice might start to melt before the baby penguins had chance to acquire their full adult, waterproof plumage. Also the krill (tiny crustaceans) which the penguins feed on are also dependent on ice since the krill eats the algae on the ice.

Peter Fretwell said, “The emperor penguins has evolved into a very narrow ecological niche; it’s an animal that breeds in the coldest environment in the world.” “It has an advantage in that environment because there are no predators and no competition for its food.” If Antarctica gets warmer, it will be easier for the predators and competitors to move in and that would cause a problem for the emperor penguin.

This article is interesting because I was always interested to know what is happening in Antarctica and also, the penguins are one of my favorite animals. To help the emperor penguins survive, the humans have to work together to reduce the amount of global warming. As stated in the article, if the temperature rises in Antarctica, penguins’ predators will be able to go to Antarctica and other species that would compete for the food will come to Antarctica too.  For animals like emperor penguin that have a very narrow niche will not be able to survive in such an environment. Penguins are most probably specialists meaning that they only live on the certain habitat and condition, so it will be hard for the penguins to adapt to the warmer climate and other species that are generalists meaning that they are able to live on any habitat and condition will dominate the area where the penguins live.

The global warming is not a problem for the penguins only. It might cause great problem for the humans too because if all the ice in Antarctica melts, it is said that some countries might be under water. Scientists also suggested that if the ice melts, Japan will definitely be below the sea level. I’m sure many other countries would be drowned by the water. The people have to work together to reduce the amount of pollution which will reduce the warming of the weather. It might not be a big deal now, but if the matter is left unnoticed, the people will suffer with many consequences.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17692025

Word Count: 750

College Essay 50. Tell us about yourself. (University of California)

                  I was born in a Catholic family. I would go to Catholic Church Sunday. Even though I did not enjoy it, I thought if I was a Christian, I have to go to church, so I always followed my mother to church. Even my kindergarten was made by Catholic organization, so many people were Catholic. I thought everyone was Catholic, but when I went to elementary school, I got to know that there were very few people who are Catholic. Almost everyone was Buddhist and I got to know that in Japan, there are very few numbers of Catholics.

             It was awkward going to school with kids who do not believe in Jesus. Till I joined elementary school, my friends were all Catholic. I was afraid that people might not accept me for who I am, so I never told people that I’m Catholic. One day, my friends came over to my house to sleepover. The next day was Sunday, so I had to go to Church. My friends asked me where I was going, so I told them that I was going to Church. I cursed myself for telling that to my friends. I thought they would never talk to me again since I am a Catholic. Surprisingly, they said that they would go to Church with me. I was so relieved that I almost broke into tears.

             When we were in the Church all my friends were sleeping. Even I felt sleepy, but I forced myself not to since that is showing disrespect to God. I learnt that nothing is wrong with being a Catholic.

             Then I came to Woodstock School. In the beginning I did not know that there were two kinds of Christianity: Catholic and Protestant. Almost everyone was Protestant that I did not know the difference, so I said even I was Protestant. I got to know that I was different when I brought Rosario bracelet up to school. People asked me if I was Buddhist since they have similar things in Buddhism. I was surprised that people did not have one. I explained to people what it was and they finally said, “Oh! You are a Catholic?” That day I got to know that I was one of the only Catholic in the school and everyone who was Christian were all Protestants. I hated to be different from others, so I told myself that I would never tell people that I am a Catholic again.

             As I grew up, I learnt more about the God and about how there were Protestants and Catholics. For some time, I thought the Catholics were the bad Christian and the Protestants were the good Christian. Then I realized that not all Catholics are like that. It is common for people to rebel when there are people who misuse their power. I believe the people had the right to be angry at the people who used people by telling people that it is written in the Bible. That is what we call blasphemy not what Jesus did. Jesus told the truth, but these people did not. So many Protestants thought the Catholics were the bad people.

             I always hated people who thought everything was the Catholics’ fault. Just because some people misused the name of God, people thought if you are not a Protestant, then you are not loyal to God. I could understand how the Protestants feel, but I have seen many Protestants who were misleading people using the name of God. I also saw many Catholics who were had lots of faith in God. So I decided not to hide the fact that I’m a Catholic.

             Even right now in school, when people get to know that I am a Catholic, they kind of sound disappointed. I always tell people that both Protestants and Catholics believe in the same thing and there is no difference. I do not care if people hate me for who I am; I will always be a Catholic and follow the word of God not the word of the people.

Word Count: 678

Should the location of newly discovered species be hidden?

             The article was about if the location of new discovered species should be kept a secret or not. Discovery of New Species can be the defining moment of a biologist’s career, but it also means that they are exposing rare and vulnerable animals to the dark world of wildlife pet trade.

             It is a scientific dilemma that has led some conservationists to question if it is better to hide the rare species from the world. In 1999, herpetologist Bryan Stuart found a newt he had never seen before. The creature was thick, warty skin and bright, yellow dots all the way down its back. He did a research on newt in the wild and later published an article, announcing the discovery of new species, Laotriton laoenis. He said finding new species is like finding a treasure.

             Unfortunately, his joy turned into horror when he realized that his discovery had caught the attention of amphibian dealers around the world. He realized that the traders were using his report as a roadmap to capture and sell the newts. The dealers tell the workers to find as many as possible and pays them $1 for each newt, but the dealers sell them for $200 each. Because of this, the population of newt quickly declined.

 

             My topic is on conserving animal and this article is very disturbing because many animals are going extinct because of the scientists who wanted to get the credit for the discovery of a new species. Every year, rare species are hunted down and are sold in a black market. They are often sold for high prices which motivate the dealers to capture more rare species.

             Even though people know that what they are doing is wrong, their greed and selfishness to earn money forces them to do the wrong things. The government of each countries have to work together to make sure the animals are out of harm. There is a law that people are not allowed to hunt or capture animals in an area which they do not own. So what people do is tell the people who live in the area to capture the animal for them. This act is not against the environment law, so the government cannot do anything to stop them. Also there is a law that endangered animals cannot be traded. This increases the amount of trade in the black market.

             This is why my dream is to become an environmentalist to save the threatened species from the horrible people who merely do not care about the environment and only care about money. Even in India, many animals were hunted down and the governments barely made a move against the act because government is corrupted in India. Now some people are trying to conserve the animals, but some of the animals have already gone extinct in India. No matter how many times I think about it, I really feel sorry for the animals and I am also angry at myself since I have no power to stop the people from doing something that are unacceptable. I hope I meet someone in the college who wants to support my idea so that we can work together to save the animals. The governments are not doing the job very efficiently, so it is time for the people to act.


Word Count: 554

Nobody has the rights to

When I was young, I would kill insects because I hated them. Insects were too disgusting. They looked too different from us humans. I also watched many scary movies where the weird insect looking monsters were the bad guys. If nobody stops them from invading earth, I thought I should be the one. Whenever I saw a bug, I killed it. I stepped on it many times just to make sure they get sent to hell and never come back. That was the scary part about bugs too. Some bugs would still be alive even though I step on them many times. How disgusting is that? Sometimes, I saw my friends who have insects as pets. I never understood them. Why would they keep the bad guys as a pet? I always told myself that when I grow up, I will kill all the insects in the world.

           I killed more insects as I grew up. If I saw an ant, I would never leave it alone. I would jump high and step on it. Even though I stepped on it, it would still try to move. That irritated me more. My worst enemy was spider. No matter how big, how small, or if it is harmful or not, I killed every single spider I saw. It was too many legs for me to bear. It was beyond the level to describe the creature with word like disgusting. There was no way a spider could peaceful walk past me. Each time I heard someone scream in school, I knew it was a spider, so I would pick up something to hit the spider. I thought I was doing the world a big favor by killing the bugs, but all I see on television was species going extinct and advertisements about how people should leave the living creatures alone. That did not bother me until I came to Woodstock.

           When I came here, first thing I saw on the street was starving poor dogs. I never knew that there were street dogs. I thought dogs were supposed to stay in the house with their owner and enjoy their life. Dogs were my favorite animal, so I tried to touch them, but people told me that I can get rabies and many people died with the disease. I could never tell which dog had rabies, so I never touched the dogs. The fact that I could not touch the dogs was too much for me to handle. I also felt sorry for the dogs. They were disregarded by the society even though it was not their fault that they have rabies. I also got to know that many dogs die because of hunger. When I saw all the terrible things that happened to the dog, my dream was to help the dogs and give them a place to live.

           As I grew up, I learned more about different types of species. I learned about endangered species and extinct species. I got to know that some animals were extinct because of the humans. When I got to know this, I could not forgive myself for killing anything that had a life. I wanted to help the poor things that were being threatened by us.

           Now I learn Environmental Science and I understand more about the environment and how the people are causing the different species to be endangered or extinct. Now my dream is to save the endangered species. I cannot bring back the animals that do not exist anymore, but I can still save species that do exist. Now days, when I see bugs I force myself not to kill them because even they have a life. I believe it is wrong to take a life of something that is living. Nobody has the right to take the lives of others. They might not be as big as humans, but they still have everything we have and they have the right to live anyway they want to.

Word Count: 665

New Topic: Conserving species/cool facts about different species

The new topic is on conserving species in danger and facts about different species

Demons and Evil Spirits

Demons are supernatural beings from various religions, literature, and folklores. They are described as something not human and malevolent. Demon is considered an unclean spirit which may cause demonic possession and to get rid of the demon, they have to exorcise the demon. Demons are also known as a fallen angel.

Many people know Satan as a rival of God or opposite of God, but actually, Satan was once an angel. Satan means adversary, or enemy, so he is the enemy of God and all mankind, but his power is no match in front of God. He was known as Lucifer when he was an angel. It means light bearer or morning star. Lucifer was one of the most important angels. Even though he already had so much power in heaven, he wanted more power. He wanted to become God and have total power. Lucifer rebelled against God. In the end Michael who is an arc angel fought against him and he lost. He and his followers were sent down to hell.

The story of his fight in written in the Bible Revelation 12:7-9. Satan took all the angels who fought with him to hell and they are now called the demons. How Satan changed from a good angel to a bad angel is also described in Ezekiel 28: 11-9 and Isiah 14: 12-15. Nobody knows exactly when the fight took place. It probably took place between the creation of the Earth and the Tempting of Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden. It was Satan in the form of a serpent, who tempted them and caused them to sin. Serpents are also described as an evil thing in the bible. Because of this Satan is sometimes called a serpent, or a dragon.

Satan and his followers the demons are trying to stop people from knowing God or stop people from believing God. He is known as many things like a dragon, someone who leads the world astray, the accuser, the lord of filth, and father of filth. Satan is so evil that he even tempted Jesus, the son of God.

The Demons are the follower of Satan and they enjoy giving pain, misery, and suffering to people. There are stories about Demons in the Bible too. There is this television series called Supernatural and it is all about evil spirits and demons. Even in the story, the demons posses the innocent people to do bad things. Even there the main characters get rid of the demons by exorcising them and the demons are sent back to hell unable to come back to earth for some time.

I think demons are really scary, but I’m always fascinated by the story of demons and evil spirits. Even though they are evil and bad, I find the story in the Bible about demons and in television stories interesting. Still, no matter what happens, I will always believe in God and serve him until I die.

Word Count: 494

Concealed shoes: Australian settlers and an old superstition

 

Items of clothing were found in Australian buildings. It tells the story of a battle waged by early settlers with the evil spirits they feared were lying in wait in their unfamiliar surroundings.

Many items were found in Australia like shoe hidden in bridge, prisoner’s uniform under a staircase, toys concealed in an attic, and dead cat secreted into a roof cavity. These items were said to be all linked to mysterious world of folk magic.

Folk because they were hidden by ordinary and it is called magic because apparently, they were designed to ward off evil spirits. One of the historians named Ian Evans said, “This is all part of the ancient practice of defeating witches and evil by placing artifacts in those parts of building where harmful spirits might lurk”. One of the items was even found in Sydney Harbour Bridge. Many different items are found in different parts of Australia. Evans said some were even put in the tunnels to keep the evil spirits away. He also says the secret nature of the items’ location can only be explained that they were used for ritual magic.

I thought this article was interesting because my topic is supernatural and this is definitely supernatural. I even watch this television series called supernatural where this two brother find many different spirits and evils. In the television, they do many rituals to get rid of the spirit and many voodoo items are used. They even use salts to keep the devils away. Since none of this is actually proven wrong, I would sometimes get scared when walking alone in an abandoned area. I understand that these people were paranoid. If I heard weird noises at night and some random person told me that placing weird objects would keep the bad things away, I would happily do it. Maybe next time, I should keep my shoes on the roof of hostel right above my room so that no spirits would hunt me at night and maybe some salt to keep the demons out too?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16801512 

Word Count: 342