Applying a definition for science is a difficult thing to do considering there are various perspectives on the matter. People ranging from novelists to ecologists to journalists to environmentalists have their definitions which each contribute its own part to the meaning. Different parts of the definition include ecosystems, the environment, the hard sciences as well as the scientific method.
Paul Keddy is an ecologist whose primary concern is wetlands. His approach focused on the state of these wetlands and how they are important to the Earth as well as to the people. By incorporating facts about this specific ecosystem, he emphasizes its preservation and the significance it holds. Wetlands offer carbon storage, flood control, maintenance of biodiversity, fish production, and aquifer recharge as well as other services (Keddy 141). Keddy explains that by decreasing its size, limits and restrictions are placed on these valuable services. Despite the many amenities wetlands provide, there are still many unknown which leaves a huge dilemma because if people aren’t aware of the significance of this particular ecosystem, they won’t care much to try and fight for its conservation. Even the ones that are well known, such as the Mississippi River Basin, which is intensively studied, is “…often treated in isolation, which misses two important scientific opportunities: that of learning from work carried out elsewhere, and that of sharing knowledge” (Keddy 163). His science is one that
As decades continued to pass by the wetlands change. "People have begun to realize that wetlands are valuable and productive ecosystems that fulfill an essential function for both humans and wildlife. Due to their unique characteristics, wetlands can support a wide diversity of plants, mammals, reptiles, birds and fish. They also control floodwaters and protect us from storms and hurricanes. Wetlands also improve water quality by filtering, cleaning and storing water. Lastly, many people rely on wetlands for their livelihood, as they are important centers for hunting, fishing and recreation." Referring to this from "Wetlands and Habitat Loss", we now see how wetlands are valuable and helpful to the ecosystem. The wetlands are known for our water source. Many people depend on the Everglades for a water source. We also use the Everglades for activities. These activities include fishing, recreation, and
1. Define science – Science is the development of concepts about the natural world , often by using the scientific method
The wetlands does only help the wildlife and humans it helps from damaging property, Now you think I'm crazy but I'm not ok, now listen, wetland can help us by storm like hurricanes', floods, and many more. Take for example, in New Orleans, Louisiana, has suffered extremely consequence of the hurricane Katrina, one of the most powerful hurricane in the entire untied states history. Scientist believe that hurricane would did less damage if they had more wetlands, but in the 1800's they destroy the wetlands for more land and because the mosquitos that cause the yellow
Many wetlands are beginning to die out. Look at the everglades for example they’ve been here for 5000 years! Back then they were pretty and all new, but now it is starting to look like the famous scene from the Indiana Jones movie "Raiders of the Ark" says the article "Are the Everglades Forever? My first reason is that Its majestic waters will turn into swampy waters filled with snakes and who knows what. Also if wetlands die out there will be habitat loss until they cannot find home and eventually dies out plus people are releasing animals out into the wild which is not a good thing because then animals start to compete for food The final reason we should care about wetland is that they provide thing for us to such as the everglades provides
In the two essays being discussed we learn that science has a vast range of definitions. Science is the effort to understand (or to understand better), the history of the natural world and how the natural world works with observable physical evidence as the base of understanding. Science is about how the hypothesis is developed and how well it is defended.
Human impacts in habitat, pollution, chemicals, etc…; Why should we protect wetlands? How can we protect wetlands?
These great sceneries have the power to inspire a great many of people to conserve and protect the natural environment that Florida has to offer. These trees and waterways have a great potential, in that they have the ability to inspire the next generation of scientists and policy writers, simply because they enjoyed walking through the park during their childhoods. This is extremely important, as ecology directly involves how people interact with their environment based off of the knowledge and respect they have for it.
The Okefenokee Swamp is one of the largest swamps in North America and is located in the south eastern part of Georgia.In the Okefenokee Swamp, things look about the same as it did a century ago. Scattered relics found there, remind us of the people who tried to conquer the swamp. The Okefenokee swamp is what it always has been, vast and unspoiled and overwhelming in its wildness. The swamps unfolds itself from miles and miles with no houses or roads or people. Nearly 700 square miles of wilderness. On a foggy morning there is a softness to the Okefenokee.The okefenokee, a black water swamp is one of the largest and most significant wetland complexes in the United States. The Okefenokee’s waters are clear but dark, stained a deep coffee color
For this week’s forum, after searching for “wetlands restoration,” I found a local wetlands restoration project that was completed in November 2011 and encompassed an area of 150 acres. The San Dieguito Wetland Restoration Project included the coastal area of San Dieguito Lagoon and the San Dieguito River Park – estuarine and riverine wetland systems, respectively - which serve an important role in the local ecology. They provide a stop for birds along the Pacific Flyway, nesting and foraging areas for endangered species and serve as a fish hatchery.
Louisiana’s Gulf Coast is eroding into the sea, and by 2100 most of Southeast Louisiana could be completely underwater. Not only does this threaten human and animal habitats, but also the energy, shipping, fishing, and tourist industries that have made this region of the U.S. a valuable part of the national economy (Marshall, 2014). In the past 200 years, half of the nation’s wetland habitats have been lost due to natural and manmade processes. Louisiana’s wetlands make up 40 percent of the total wetlands in the continental United States. 80 percent of losses, nationally, are of Louisiana’s coast (Williams).
Everglades, the largest subtropical wetland of North America, has encountered anthropogenic perturbation since the last quarter of 19th century when canals were built and peatlands were drained for economic gain (Godfrey and Catton, 2011). Since then, the system has been exploited, drained, polluted and changed from its natural setup to escalate and widen the potential services from it. The present state is a highly regulated system to buttress economic productivity and fulfill several regional demands. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, one of the world’s largest restoration initiative, aims to restore, protect and preserve the water resources of central and southern Florida (National Research Council, 2014). While the restoration program is built on a foundation of retrospective science backed by several years of sophisticated research on understanding the Everglades and similar ecosystem (Estenoz and Bush, 2015), the human dimension of restoration was not studied adequately(Clarke and Dalrymple, 2003; Kranzer, 2002; National Research Council, 2014). Particularly, the spatial extent of residents’ preference or the heterogeneity of their opinion is important for CERP as the plan aims to restore ecosystem without compromising the present services (e.g. flood control, water for agricultural, urban and industrial uses etc.), which are also spatially related.
In 2012 and 2013 Klamath County on the Southern Oregon border declared a drought in April, after a string of fortunate years of heavy rain and snow. In 2014, a drought emergency was declared in February, two months earlier than in 2013, and in 2015 drought was again declared for the county in April( United State Geological Survey 2015). These successive drought declarations are not surprising to anyone who was following the Western water crisis during those years, where the governor of California declared a state of emergency and urban Californians were mandated to find ways to cut their water consumption drastically . In 2012, 10,000 avian mortalities were reported in the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges because of the shut off of water facilities that support wetland habitat for migratory species (Learn 2012.) During those dry years, an article titled Birds are Dying As Drought Ravages Avian Highways ran in National Geographic, featuring Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and putting the struggle of its bird species in a regional context, as long distance flyers found fewer and fewer refuges with the water resources to maintain them( Kay 2015). It was these shocking statistics that first attracted me, as a birder, to the basin as an area of study. However, as I began to wade into the history of the basin and its complicated local politics, I soon realized that I could not disentangle the issues experienced by wildlife and wildlife managers in the
In the United States the destruction of wetlands had been enormous, however in the state of California it has been estimated that nearly ninety-three percent of the wetlands have been destroyed. With profit producing coastal real estate the hungry pockets of California developers
What is Science? When it comes to the word ‘science’ most of the people have some kind of knowledge about science or when they think of it there is some kind of image related to it, a theory, scientific words or scientific research (Beyond Conservation, n.d.). Many different sorts of ideas float into an individual’s mind. Every individual has a different perception about science and how he/she perceives it. It illustrates that each person can identify science in some form. It indicates that the ‘science’ plays a vital role in our everyday lives (Lederman & Tobin, 2002). It seems that everyone can identify science but cannot differentiate it correctly from pseudo-science and non-science (Park, 1986). This essay will address the difference between science, non-science and pseudo-science. Then it will discuss possible responses to the question that what should we do when there is a clash between scientific explanation and non-scientific explanation. Then it will present a brief examination about the correct non-scientific explanation.
What is science? What is natural science? What is social science? The following words were defined using Merriam-Webster Dictionary.According to The Merriam –Webster Dictionary Science is defined as the observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena.