A Dying World
By: Ethan HuangDew-riddled grass glows in the birth of the sun’s light. Birds sing sweet tunes, calling for each other. Plants face the sun to welcome its presence. We stand here, experiencing an indescribable beauty, one that will inevitably be destroyed by our own hands. If we do not realize our detrimental impact on our Earth, our home will never be the same.
Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve is a research preserve where Stanford Biologists have made many groundbreaking studies, such as Paul Allred’s studies on species collapse. Although Jasper Ridge continues to host more studies, many are on the verge of being discontinued due to a
multitude of issues, such as pollution and global warming. We not only see the future of our education in danger but a place of beauty and safety too. Jasper Ridge is a microcosm of our world, as many of its issues are essentially global. As humans, it is our duty to protect and preserve the Earth if we expect to survive. Many of us do not have the time or energy to be pollution and global issues activists, but we do not have to do so to make a change. Change starts with small actions of preservation in our everyday lives.
Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, or JRBP for short, is a private biological preserve built on three main ideas, research, education, and conser-
vation. In the preserves past 50 years, scientists have been studying ecosystems not influenced by the outside pressures of development and human impact. JRBP has found the basis for many impressive and groundbreaking concepts such as metapopulations, remote sensing, environmental DNA, and how populations collapse. These concepts found by JRBP have been ap plied to a wide array of aspects, ranging from biology textbooks to environmental laws. Many of these concepts can be recreated or reused in different places, making their influ- ence even wider. On top of the immense positive impact that JRBP has on our world and environment, it also brings a socioecological aspect, as they collaborate with not only biologists, but historians, Native Americans, musicians, and many more. JRBP also allows students to conduct research that may combine different fields, such as music and biology, allowing the opportunity for students to be creative. While the positive impact of Jasper Ridge is monumental, its future is unsure.
Environmental issues
While many of us believe that our world is secure, this is not the case. Jasper Ridge is a small example of this, as it is threatened by problems that not only affect JRBP, but our world as well. Luckily, by understanding the issues that the preserve faces, we may be able to apply the same logic to our world. If we do not act soon, we will lose both a monumental biological preserve and possibly our world.
One large issue that affects both JRBP and our world is global warming. Global warming is the long-term rise in temperature due to human actions. In the case of JRBP, both global warming and climate change have led to increased wildfire risk. According to Cortez Ramos, the executive director of Jasper Ridge, “the pressure of wildfire is increasing because of warmer temperatures of
climate change and lack of precipitation. So we have this fire risk that’s increasing with the years.” Wildfires can be detrimental not only to Jasper Ridge but to the environment overall. According to Science: Wildfire Impacts by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, “large patches of high-severity fire can hinder the ability of an ecosystem to recover, potentially undermining conservation of native biodiversity by long-term or permanent loss of native vegetation, expansion of non-native, invasive species, and long-term or permanent loss of essential habitat for native fauna.” Major wildfires have the potential to destroy ecosystems like Jasper Ridge; if an unmanaged wildfire broke out, it would devastate the preserve. This is a reminder that unmanaged ecosystems are at risk of wildfire.
On top of threatening ecosystems, wildfires also contribute to an increase in temperature and change in weather. According to Climate Change Indicators: Wildfires by the EPA, when forests burn, “they immediately release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which in turn contributes to climate change.” In turn, the severity and frequency of wildfires exponentially increase as the release of CO2 causes warmer temperatures and more wildfires. The cycle continues as more CO2 releases into the atmosphere.
Wildfires not only affect our environment but also affect us as well. According to the article Wildland Fire Research: Health Effects Research by the EPA, “The effects of smoke from wildfires can range from eye and respiratory tract irritation to more serious disorders, including reduced lung function, bronchitis, exacerbation of asthma and heart failure, and premature death.” This article demonstrates how it is paramount not only to
reduce wildfire risk for the environment but for ourselves as well. If we do not decide to make changes soon, then our future generations may suffer the consequences.
To reduce wildfire risk, one would have to monitor and manage the area around them, which cost money. According to Dr. Ramos, “It is really expensive to regulate the amount of wood that’s on the floor, to cut down trees, to pull all the weeds out. To make sure you protect all the species when you’re doing management of land, make sure you protect the plants, make sure you protect the nests of the birds.” The large cost attached to wildfire risk reduction means that areas under wildfire risk that are not well-funded may suffer immensely, as wildfires are only increasing in intensity and frequency. The increase in wildfires may even affect well-funded areas, possibly requiring them to receive additional funding from the government or other sources.
Another issue that concerns both Jasper Ridge and our world is the large amounts of nitrogen content being emitted. Nitrogen oxides, or NOx, are mainly emitted by gas-powered vehicles and can cause multiple issues. One problem that arises with the oversaturation of nitrogen is more invasive species, as Dr. Ramos states that “Nitrogen is what we call in ecology, it’s a limiting nutrient. So that means plants or other organisms don’t grow because they have one limiting nutrient… Once you start adding nitrogen, you make that soil available and more fertile for other plants. And that could be invasive species, for example.” This means that more NOx emissions have paved the way for potentially invasive species, which may harm the preserve.
While most invasive species at Jasper Ridge are currently not detrimental, the introduction of new invasive species may pose a threat. Invasive species are non-native species that outcompete native species in an ecosystem. For example, “The Asian chestnut blight fun gus virtually eliminated American
chestnut from more than 180 million acres of the Eastern United States. Many animals were adversely affected, including the ten species of moths and butterflies that became extinct because they could live only on American chestnut trees” (Climate-Woodlands). Invasive species like the Asian chestnut blight fungus cause chain reactions in an ecosystem, harming more than just the plant or animal itself. Furthermore, if a keystone species (a species that many other organisms within the ecosystem rely on) were outcompeted, it could lead to the collapse of an ecosystem. Even if the event of a collapse doesn’t occur it could lead to “extinctions of native plants and animals, reducing biodiversity, competing with native organisms for limited resources, and altering habitats,” according to the NOAA’s article “What Is an Invasive Species?” These major impacts of invasive species demonstrate why root causes like NOx should be targeted as if they are left unchecked, it may lead to harmful impacts on our environment.
In addition to promoting the spread of invasive species, high amounts of NOx also negatively affect both humans and vegetation. The CDC states that “Breathing high levels of nitrogen oxides can cause rapid burning, spasms, and swelling of tissues in the throat and upper respiratory tract, reduced oxygenation of body tissues, a build-up of fluid in your lungs, and death” (“ATSDR Nitrogen Oxides Toxfaqs”). While these are likely extreme cases, levels of NOx may rise to unhealthy levels in the future if left unchecked. If we are to create a safe environment for generations to come, we must act now.
Asian Chestnut Blight Fungus
Photochemcial Smog
Besides affecting human health, “High levels of nitrogen dioxide are also harmful to vegetation— damaging foliage, decreasing growth or reducing crop yields,” states the Queensland Government. Reduced crop yields may also prove to be a large issue for humans, as less food for an exponentially growing population may cause mass famine. As well as being harmful to both humans and vegetation, NOx is also a key part in the formation of Photochemical Smog, which is also harmful to humans. The damaging properties of NOx on both humans and the environment make it a priority among many others.
How can you help?
Many of us think that we have to make a monumental effort to reduce the multitude of issues that our world faces, this however, is not necessarily true. Many of these issues, like increased wildfire risk, are linked to larger issues like climate change or global warming. If we all choose to be mindful of how we impact the Earth and make more environmentally friendly choices, we can make a stand against these problems. To help our environment, we can do a multitude of simple things ranging from bringing a reusable bottle to recycling more.
One thing that many of us can do is to spread awareness of these issues and their impact on both us and the environment. Dr. Ramos states that “the more we talk about it, the more it helps everyone be more aware of it,” allowing us all to be on the same page. Once we all understand why these issues are so important to address and take care of, it will be easier for us as a collective to make waves against them. If we all do not understand the dire situation we are in, it will be hard for positive changes to happen.
Another action that we can take to combat global warming is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Since global warming is caused by
greenhouse gases like CO2, reducing our greenhouse gas footprint as individuals would help against global warming drastically. Transportation, at least in the US, makes up “roughly 97 percent of the global warming potential of all greenhouse gas emissions from transportation,” states the CBO in their article Emissions of Carbon Dioxide in the Transportation Sector. If we are to aid the issue of global warming, we can start by using other means of transportation. According to Greg Stoehr, an AP environmental science teacher at Los Altos High School, we can use a variety of transportation to reduce our fossil fuel emissions, such as taking public transportation, “walking, riding… [and driving] electric cars with no exhaust pipes.” If we choose to use these alternative means transportation, we may be able to reduce the impact of global warming. In addition to spreading the word and reducing our greenhouse gas footprint, we can choose to vote for more eco-friendly people to be in power. Dr. Ramos believes that “voting is also really important too. I think knowing who your city council is, knowing who your state representative is. If you’re not of voting age, you can still help your family and say, Hey, did you read this?” Governing figures, like the city council or state representatives, are able to enact changes against a multitude of things, like pollution. If we vote for more environmentally friendly leaders both locally and at the state and federal levels, mandates against problematic issues that target our environment will be more prevalent. The more mandates against issues that harm our environment, the more effective our impact will be against the larger issues of climate change and global warming.
