A Regents Question A Day...

This question was taken from the August 2008 exam, question # 19 (nyslivingenvironment.net). Reproduction is defined as the production of offspring. Sexual reproduction involves two organisms DNA combining, while asexual reproduction involves only a single organism, which creates genetically identical offspring. In this picture, how many organisms are involved? One. Bonus points for this question (answer in the comment box): Once this stem is cut and put into water, what is the name of the process by which it grows?


This whole process is pretty cool, if you think about it. If you want to make more than one plant, depending on the type of plant, all you have to do is cut the stem and put it in water and, voila! Did you know you can grow some vegetables like this? Carrots, for example, do reproduce sexually (they have seeds that you plant, with DNA from two parents), but you can also "clone" a carrot, by cutting the top off (keeping the greens on), putting it in a cup of water with a clear bag on top, covering, and letting the roots grow. Once the roots have grown and new green begins to form, you can plant your carrots in the ground and let them grow again naturally.

(photo taken from http://www.photoree.com/photos/permalink/762557-62545923@N00)

Snowy Day Post

Hello everyone, hope that your snowy, slushy, rainy day today wasn't too terrible. Maybe a regents question will brighten it up? :) This one is a no brainer anyway, and actually very relevant to you, me, and the world around us. So, here goes.

 This is question #24 taken from the August 2008 regents (taken from nyslivingenvironment.net):
 

The correct answer here is (1), human actions are a threat to equilibrium in ecosystems. The key to this question lies in simply following the arrows. In fact, you could answer it without knowing that the term "equilibrium" here refers to the balance of an ecosystem. If you follow the arrows and read, the question ends up sounding something like this: "Humans modify ecosystems through technology, consumption, and population growth. This disrupts equilibrium in ecosystems." Knowing this, the other 3 options don't make sense. Got it?!

This questions brings up some issues that we are all going to have to deal with at some point in our lives. Our technology, our consumption, and our growing population have caused a great disturbance in our ecosystem (earth), which did not exist even 100 years ago. Advances in technology have allowed us to consume more and use more resources. Think about it. We fly planes, drive cars, construct buildings, build computers. We do what we want, when we want. In addition, our growing population means more resources must be used to feed this population--how does this effect the world around us? Will more land have to be put aside for farming? How can we grow more food efficiently without using pesticides and chemicals? Is it possible to feed a population that's growing so fast without using these chemicals? What about climate? How do our actions change the weather around us?

If you're a little lost, here's a video that will put you in the right mindset:
 http://www.brainpop.com/science/ourfragileenvironment/globalwarming/

This website has great examples of the "human footprint," or our mark on planet earth:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/earthpulse/human-impact.html

Can the state of our current society last forever? Are there unlimited resources here on this earth? What do you think? Can you think of any changes that we should make in our own lives in order to create more of a balance, or disrupt our ecosystem less?