China talks about Climate Change before the UN Summit on Climate Change on Dec. 9th

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2011/1122/China-Economic-woes-no-excuse-for-climate-change-inaction/(page)/2

Read this article also: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/20/rich-nations-give-up-climate-treaty?newsfeed=true

What are the actions that China would like to see taken by developed countries to curb greenhouse gases?  How will the global economic crisis impact the rate of change in terms of curbing greenhouse gases (in your opinion)?  Is the economic crisis a good enough reason to allow countries to continue emitting carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and other greenhouse gases?  Why or Why not?
Who is the number one emitter of these gases? What is their 2020 goal? Is this goal, in your opinion, good enough?

China's One-Child Policy

Watch this video: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14877251

Read these two articles:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1116810/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11404623

Why was the one-child policy implemented in China?

List three positive outcomes and three negative outcomes of this policy?

Sept. 6-9th Carbon Cycle and Global Warming

Read this recent article about a glacier in Greenland: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-14771523

Why do you think the glacier is melting at such a rapid rate? What does this glacier's demise have to do with the carbon cycle?

What other evidence is there for the correlation between carbon dioxide levels and increasing average global temperatures?

Aug. 29-Sept. 2

Read this article: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/201179/20110820/species-shifting-habitats-faster-to-north-seeking-cooler-places-global-warming-plant-and-animal-clim.htm


Connect this article to what we have and currently are studying in APES. Make at least three connections.

Week of Aug 22-26 Prompt

Read this article: http://news.yahoo.com/mothers-exchange-blows-kenya-drought-deepens-155527381.html and this article: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-plant-turn-sewage-drinking-water-205103974.html

Answer the following prompt:


Do you think water should be a human right or something that you should pay for?


Describe the environmental issues that are related to the problems discussed in theses article?

Week of Aug 15-18th Prompt

Poaching (illegal taking, harming or killing of living things) is a huge threat to endangered and threatened species around the world. Read this recent article about gorilla poachers: http://news.discovery.com/animals/baby-gorilla-found-in-jail-110810.html'


Caroline Behringer, a WWF spokesperson says, "Mountain gorillas are critically endangered, with only around 786 individuals believed to remain in the mountains of Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda." 


Read about CITES here: http://www.cites.org/


Answer all three questions below using complete sentences under the comments section below. Make sure your name is in the prompt so I know you posted it!
What is CITES? 


Describe the  three appendices of CITES.


How does CITES relate to the article about the baby gorilla?

Introduction to Blogging About AP Environmental Science Issues

Welcome to the Going APES blog! The goal of this blog is to broaden and deepen your understanding of current environmental issues!

Every week, you will be required to post comments in response to this blog in response to a reading and writing prompt that I post here. This assignment is worth 5% of your overall grade. If you have computer issues at home, there are computers available in the library and in the pod between the science rooms that you can use. Your prompt should be at least 5 sentences and should not include anything that would be against school rules including derogatory comments, profane language, etc. Just be cool in your response and remember that this is a graded assignment. Your grade will reflect your effort. So look in the right margin/sidebar, click on the current week's post, read it and any links 
posted there and respond. Happy blogging!