Tornado

A tornado hit Joplin, Mo. on Sunday night. It left the town in the dark without any phone lines or anything. Reporters say it was in direct line of the tornado. About 30 people were killed and 11 bodies were picked up in one location. The local hospital had to be abandoned because it caught on fire. This tornado was just part of a deadly string of them that has killed hundreds of people in the past few months.
These tornadoes are really sad and tragic. Many lives have been lost in only a few months because of them. I think people within those areas should move to a different, safer location for the time being where there are few tornadoes. I think people should donate money and volunteer to help rebuild and clean up the mess.

Acid Rain

1.) List a few of the gases which lead to acid rain.
Sulfur and Nitrogen oxide.
2.) What is the source of much of the acid rain producing gases in Pennsylvania?
The coal burning in power plants, cars, and agricultural sector.
3.) Briefly explain how acid rain forms.
It forms when sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide combine together with water sulfuric acid and nitric acid and then mixed with rainwater, fall to the earth as acid rain.

Article

1. Some natural factors causing mudslides are hurricanes, a lot of rain, and frequent earthquakes.
2. Some of the human factors that are causing mudslides are deforestation (when they cut down too many trees).
3. Some ways to help reduce these mudslides are planting trees and telling other people what's going on.

Article

What are some natural factors causing mudslides in Guatemala?
Some natural factors causing the mudslides are a lot of earthquakes, heavy rains, and hurricanes.
What are some human factors causing mudslides in Guatemala?
Some human factors causing mudslides are deforestation.
What is being done to help reduce mudslides and mudslide damage?
Some things being done to help reduce mudslides and mudslide damage is that Anne Hallum is trying to convince them to not cut down all the trees so they work as a barrier. She is traveling around Guatemala to do this. They also hold weekly instructional courses and plant trees and are protecting them. They are also donating and installing eco friendly, fuel-efficient cooking stoves. Lastly, they provide educational resources and promote economic independence.

Global Temperature Graph

1. The horizontal scale is by 20 years. It is showing the years 1880-2000.
2. The vertical axis is showing the temperature anomaly. It goes up by .2. The total range is -.4 to .6.
3. I can tell that it came from a school website on their assignments.

Questions

• 1 - What do you think the global average temperature is?  This means the average for everywhere on Earth, day and night, for an entire year.  Explain why you answered what you did.
• I think it would be 50 degrees because for the most part, half the areas of the earth are really really cold and the other half is really really hot or some areas are in between.
• 2 - People are often talking about "global warming."  How much do you think the average global temperature has increased in the past 100 years?  Do you think that this is a lot?
• I think it has increased around 20 degrees. I think this is a lot because 20 degrees can make a big difference. 
• 3 - What do you think is the hottest the Earth has ever been? (since there has been an atmosphere?)  How about the coldest the Earth has ever been?  Explain why you answered what you did.
• I think the hottest it has ever been is around 150 because in some places the earth is realllllyyyyyyyy hot. I think the coldest it has ever been is around -50 or -50 degrees because it's like that in Antartica.
• 4 - Are you concerned about "global warming?"  Why or why not?
• Yes, because the ice caps are melting which is causing the ocean to rise which means some places will be underwater.

Question 4

The amount of rainfall shows how it can affect the types of soil because of the wet or dryness. In forest soils, the soil is shallow. But in grassland soils, the soil is much deeper. This is because the climate is very hot in the grasslands and doesn't have much rain. So, the rocks weather faster. In the forest lands, there is much more rain and isn't hot year round so it doesn't weather down as easily.