WAC - The Main Gray Area Suspect 3/14 - 3/18

The Main Culprit of the Fish Kill in the Gray Area:

Dear Editor,

     5 years ago, the Gray Area started to see fish dying rapidly and suddenly, for an unknown reason. People of the Gray Area started to blame the Water Slide (currently located next to the Fo River) for the fish kill. However, over a few weeks, through scientific experiments, finding information, and connecting those information with other events, I have concluded that the majority of the Gray Area is responsible for the Gray Area fish kill, except for places such as the Selectively Cut Forest. However, I am here to tell you the main suspect that is most likely contributing the most in the fish kill in the Gray Area. That suspect is Sandy Trapp.

     The first reason Sandy Trapp is most likely the main suspect is because I tested three drainages near the James Pond River for phosphates: The Golf Course, The Cattle Ranch, and the Gray's Land Town drainage. When testing these drainages for phosphates, I found that only the Golf Course contained phosphates. This information seems suspicious to me, since another test in the James Pond showed that there were only a few small bugs and bacteria in the water, meaning that most of the creatures in the James Pond died of low oxygen. Too much phosphates in water can be bad for fish, as it overgrows plants in the water, causing algal blooms. Algal blooms cause many plants in the water to grow. Those plants in the water provide oxygen, but when they die, they also consume oxygen. When the plants in the water die, bacteria consume a lot of the dissolved oxygen left by the algal blooms to decompose the dead algae. Since all the bacteria consumed most of the dissolved oxygen left by plants, there wouldn't be much dissolved oxygen left for the other fish and marine life to breathe, killing them.

     Another reason Sandy Trapp is a likely suspect in the fish kill is because during a recent fish Autopsy in the Gray Area made to find out what was killing the fish, it showed that 21 in 50 fish died from a lack of oxygen. In addition to that, the Bird Watching rates decreased over the last twenty years. Twenty years ago, the Kingfisher population increased while the Duck and Hawk population stayed balanced. Over the last 5 years, Kingfisher population decreased until there was no more Kingfishers, the Hawk population decreased as well, but did not disappear like the Kingfisher, and the Duck population started to increase. The phosphates may have played a role in this event. Too much phosphates are harmful to marine life, as I explained previously. The phosphates may have killed the fish, which Kingfishers eat. Since there are no fish, there is no food for Kingfishers, so they leave the Pond to find more food. Duck also hunt fish, but they probably don't leave like the Kingfishers, since they also eat plants, grass, seeds, etc.

     In addition to that, a private email between Sandy Trapp and someone named Mo Lawn had been exposed. The email shows Sandy Trapp telling Mo Lawn that their Golf Course grass had turned brown, and told Mo Lawn that they needed to add more fertilizer and water to the plants. Mo Lawn tells Sandy Trapp that they shouldn't add fertilizer, as the grass would turn back to green in a while, but this statement does not convince Sandy Trapp to add more fertilizer. This email is further evidence that Sandy Trapp is the main suspect of the Gray Area fish kill. Although this email may be fake, this email fits in with the rest of the evidence I have shown you. Sandy Trapp added fertilizer to the grass, which goes down in to the Golf Course drainage. The Golf Course drainage showed that there were phosphates (fertilizer) in the drainage, and the drainage led into the James Pond River. The phosphates in the Golf Course drainage went into the James Pond River, overgrowing plants in the river, and causing algal blooms. As we all know, algal blooms consume oxygen that is needed for marine animals, killing them. 

     Despite all this information, Sandy Trapp denied that she was pouring phosphates into the river, in rebuttal to Juan Tuno's accusation. Her comment says: "(sarcastically) Oh wow! Kid with chemistry set catches evil golf course in mass fish murder. That's the craziest thing I've ever heard in my life! The golf course is on the other side of the hill, and our water doesn't even drain into the pond!". The last sentence "The golf course is on the other side of the hill, and our water doesn't even drain into the pond", is false. The Golf Course drainage was found with phosphates, and James Pond is too low in oxygen. I also found that the Gray's Land Town and the Cattle Ranch drainage did not have any phosphates in them. Since the Golf Course was the only drainage near James Pond to have phosphates, and James Pond is low on oxygen in the water, this must mean that the Golf Course drainage actually leads to James Pond.

     In conclusion, Sandy Trapp is (most likely) the main suspect of the fish killing in the Gray Area. This is shown by the phosphates found in the drain, the lack of oxygen that is killing the fish, the fish autopsy and how it connects to the phosphates and the Golf Course, and the exposed private email found that shows more information about the Golf Course. To solve this problem, I highly suggest that the Golf Course (and other places that use phosphates and fertilizer) should monitor the amount of phosphates and fertilizer being used. The Golf Course should not be immediately shut down unless it is absolutely necessary. To the residents of the Gray Area: If you want to help save the fish, please limit the amount of fertilizer you use, since fertilizers contain phosphates, and dispose of trash and waste properly (don't litter in anyway possible!).

                                                           
                                                                 - Name withheld by request

Weekly Blog 3/7 - 3/13 - Gray Area Suspects

Algal Blooms, a new main suspect

Image Source: https://goo.gl/7SwzLM

Summary: 

     This week, I identified all of the suspects killing the fish in the entire Gray Area. The new suspects that were possibly killing the fish that I identified this week were Parallel Park (Elmo Skeeto), who was hunting mountain lions, allowing the other populations that the mountain lions hunt to grow and overpopulate, such as deer. Those, populations (deer especially), are overgrowing since there are no mountain lions to hunt them, so they overgraze the grass. Since there is a decrease in the amount of grass in the Gray Area, there is no grass/plants to hold down the soil, so the soil erodes into a nearby river, causing sediment problems for fish and other creatures living in the river. Other suspects I identified this week were suspects around James Pond such as the Golf Course (Sandy Trapp) who was adding phosphates into the grass, which eventually went into the river, causing algal blooms and fish to die, and the Farm and Cattle Ranch (owned by Don Juan Tuno, who was possibly doing the same thing as the golf course). I also went back and looked at previous suspects that were killing the fish, such as the Waterslide (Ken Unballe), the Clear Cut Forest, the Toy Factory (LaToya Faktorie), and the Oil Factory (Don Juan Tuno).

SP3: Conducting Investigations:

     I conducted investigations on the suspects killing the fish through two different ways: Scientific experiments and connecting data and events through suspect files. For example, I tested out which drainage (Small Town, Cattle Ranch, Golf Course) near James Pond had a big amount of phosphates in them by dropping a sample of each drainage's water, then pouring a drop of liquid which was an indicator into each of the samples. If the drainage water turned into another color (besides clear) after making contact with the indicator, that meant that the drainage had too much phosphates in them, and that that specific drainage was contributing to the fish kill. The only drainage near James Pond that had too many phosphates in them was the Golf Course Drainage, which meant that the Golf Course was contributing to the fish kill. Another way I identified suspects killing the fish were through the suspect files. These files often show secret emails, which show conversations of suspects talking about what they will do/did to solve a specific problem. A good example of this is a private conversation between Sandy Trapp (Owner of the Golf Course), and someone else, who goes by the name, Mo Lawn. They discuss the issue of the grass turning brown in the Golf Course, and decide to fix this issue by adding phosphates to the grass. To confirm that the Golf Course was a valid suspect, I looked for other events and data connecting to this detail, such as data that showed that phosphates were found in the drainage of the Golf Course. 

XCC: Systems and System Models:

      In the Gray Area, there is two systems: The Environment and the People. The environment contributes to the people by providing food (fish, deer, etc.) and recreation, such as birdwatching, sightseeing, hunting, fishing, etc. However, the Environment System is disrupted by the people in the Gray Area. Overhunting can cause other populations to grow, and possibly cause overgrazing. Overgrazing can cause grass to disappear. Since there is no grass, there is nothing to hold the sediment down from eroding, so the sediment erodes and falls into nearby rivers, suffocating, blinding fish and increasing the temperatures in the river. Also, the Environment System is disrupted by the people if the people pour harmful things into the water. Putting too much phosphates into grass can make the phosphates go down into drainage and into the rivers, and if this happens too much, algal blooms begin to occur, which is known to kill fish. Pouring chlorine into the river can also kill fish. All of the causes of this disruption is caused by the People, and if fish start to die out in the Gray Area, the food chain is disrupted, since other animals that eat fish starve due to the lack of fish, and animals that eat that animal start to die out as well, and this eventually affects humans. The lack of fish also causes birds to find places with more food, reducing birdwatching and sightseeing. This is how the Environment system is affected by the People system in the Gray Area

Final Thoughts/Recap/Conclusion:

     This week, I discovered new suspects killing fish in the Gray Area, and found out all of the suspects participating in this activity, which was all of the entire Gray Area. The Waterslide was pouring chlorine into the water, killing fish, Synchrony City, the Toy Factory, and the Oil Refinery were causing acid rain, making the water too acidic for fish, killing them, places near the James Pond were putting phosphates into the river, causing algal blooms, and the Clear/Selectively Cut Forest was cutting down trees and hunting animals, causing overgrazing and sediment to fall in the river, and disrupted the food chain. This is why I think everyone in the Gray Area is contributing to the fish kill. However, I believe that the Golf Course, owned by Sandy Trapp, is responsible for the majority of the fish kill, because in the Fish Autopsy Results, it showed that the majority of the fish died by lack of oxygen. I believe that the Golf Course caused all of this by adding phosphates into their grass, which went into rivers, causing algal blooms, and killing the fish. Also, this week, I was a Wanderer. This is because I told all the information I received to my team, and told them my ideas about the suspects in the Gray Area. I don't believe I contributed enough data to my team to be a Creator. This is why this week, I was a Wanderer.

Weekly Blog 2/29 - 3/6 - Synchrony City Fish Investigation

Image Source: http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/30/60/306099_0b368fed.jpg

Summary:

    This week, I discovered that Chlorine isn't the only suspect in killing the fish in the Fo River and the Gray Area. Acid Rain, both Nitric (caused by cars and vehicles) and Sulfuric (caused by factories and refineries) acid rain can kill the fish if the acid rain gets into the river and makes the river too acidic for fish or too basic for them, killing them. Sediment can also be a suspect in killing the fish. If tons of sediment get into the river, it can suffocate the fish or clog their gills, preventing or reducing their breathing. It can blind the fish or other creatures, making it hard to eat food. It can also make the river dark, reducing plant growth and food, and since sediment is dark, it can absorb sunlight, significantly or slightly increasing the temperature for fish, who are used to cold or warm temperatures. Hot water is also thick, so it makes it hard to breathe in it for fish, similar to how it is hard to breath in humid air.

SP8: Obtain, Evaluate, and Communicate Information:

     This week, I obtained data about the natural suspects killing the fish in the Gray Area through scientific experiments including Acid Rain and which Rivers were too Acidic/ too Basic and experiments finding which rivers had too much sediment in them. I evaluated the data I gathered by talking to my team about it, matching information, and drawing conclusions. This week  I also engaged in discussions with scientific peers and my table mates. As I was researching and investigating information about the new suspects in killing the fish in the Gray Area (acid rain and sediment), I communicated my new ideas about some of the suspects in causing the Acid Rain (Synchrony City, The Oil Refinery, The Toy Factory), and how all of those suspects affected the entire Gray Area. I also shared information on which rivers were too acidic/too basic. With that, I shared information on which rivers I experimented with had too much or very little sediment. Most of the time, my team agreed with me or added something to my information, and often corrected me.

XCC: Stability and Change:

     The System in the Gray Area dilemma that is unstable is the system/relationship between the environment and the people. This is because the fish and the environment is disrupted by the people. The people are disrupting the fish and the environment by causing acid rain from factories and vehicles. The people are also cutting down trees in the Clear Cut Forest, which may cause erosion, filling up rivers with sediment. A way that this can be fixed is to reduce sediment and acid rain, which are suspects in causing the fish to die. One way to reduce acid rain is to add scrubbers to factories (Oil Refinery and Toy Factory), and possibly sell and promote electric cars, which can significantly reduce acid rain. One way to reduce sediment is to add one or two trees every time one tree is cut down, so that the newly planted trees can hold down the soil, reducing soil erosion and the amount of sediment going into a river.

Conclusion/Final Thoughts:

   This week, I found out new suspects who are possibly/are killing the fish in the Gray Area. Next week, I am sure to find more. This week, I believe I am a Creator (Mutant). I believe this because I believe that I contributed team/self research. I often/always answered questions asked by my team and sometimes corrected data and information. This is why I believe that this week, I am a Creator

Weekly Blog 2/22 - 2/28 - Gray Area River Investigation

Image Source:

 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/River_Torrens_polluted_3.jpg

Summary: 

    To survive, fish need food, clean water, clean environment, biodiversity, the right temperature for water, level of light, and oxygen. Some of the facilities near the Gray Area River may be causing the fish to die. The dams near the river may be killing off the fish's food, making them starve and forestry might cause erosion, making the fish blind and disable them from eating food. Boats might cause shade and change the required light for fish, and dams will probably affect the right temperature for the fish. Damming and forestry may be killing off the fish, destroying the biodiversity, and forestry might cause erosion, suffocating the fish. These are examples of things around the Gray Area River that might be killing the fish and other inhabitants of the river.

SP7: Arguing From Evidence:

   I used evidence to defend my explanation. I answered that The Waterslide in the Gray Area was the facility most likely to be polluting the Gray Area River, providing that the fish started dying in the river following the Water Slide's creation. If other factors, such as logging and oil factories caused the fish to die, it would have happened as soon as that event happened. For example, the oil factories were built nearly 20 years ago, yet the fish started dying 5 years ago. If the oil factories caused the fish to die, wouldn't the fish start dying 20 years ago instead of 5 years ago? Also, other cases show that the Waterslide is causing the fish to die. The Bench Press News showed that Waterslide workers spilled about 250 gallons of chlorine into the Gray Area River, which caused the fish to start dying. Also, an experiment conducted by Juan Tuno showed that there were plenty of water fleas, vulnerable to chlorine, were found upstream the river where the Water slide might have spilled chlorine into, which meant that there was no chlorine there. This makes sense because the Waterslide is found near the downstream of the river, and not upstream. Juan Tuno also tested the amount of water fleas downstream the river, and found little to no water fleas, which meant that they must have died to the chlorine, showing that the Waterslide may have caused the fish's death. 

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect:

     To begin with, the Cause of the fish dying is probably because of the Waterslide pouring about 250 gallons of chlorine into the Gray Area River, and the Effect of the Cause is the fish dying. I can prove the relation ship between this Cause and Effect due to many sources showing that the Waterslide dumped chlorine into the river. One main source that shows that the Waterslide poured chlorine into the river is the emails that the Waterslide employees sent each other. One Waterslide employee said that they were going to dump a box full of water fleas into the river before 'the boy' (referring to Juan Tuno), in attempt to prove that the water was healthy. That action still didn't seem to do anything, since Juan Tuno still showed that there were very little water fleas downstream of the river, which meant that there might be chlorine in the river, killing the fish. One of the employees/employers also said that they hired a chemist to test the water on Tuesday night to test the river. During Tuesday night, the Waterslide also poured water from the river into holding tanks, and treated it with chlorine. This may have been done to hide the chemist from finding any chlorine from the river, due to the Waterslide consuming some of the river's water. 

Weekly Blog 2/8 - 2/14 - The Rio Grande River

Image Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Rio_Grande-2.jpg

Summary:

The Rio Grande River source is located at the Rocky Mountains, south of Colorado. It then flows South East, through New Mexico, Texas and Mexico, making a border between Texas and Mexico, and flowing out of the mouth, located at the Gulf of Mexico. The Rio Grande has some history to it. It was used by several Native American tribes as a water source, and then was explored by two European explorers. After the two  European explorers explored the river, the river was given the name: the Rio Grande. In the mid 1800s, The Rio Grande became the border between Texas and Mexico from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Today, the Rio Grande is used for agriculture and farming (agriculture near the river has made millions of dollars). There are also dams built along the river such as the Elephant Butte Dam.

SP8: Obtain, Evaluate, and Communicate Information:

This week, I obtained data of the Rio Grande (such as its history, structures built near it, economic significances, etc.) by going to many sites including information about the Rio Grande. To ensure that the data that I obtained was correct, I tried finding other sites with the same information my source had. Once at least two or three sites had the same piece of information, I knew that the data I obtained was correct. I communicated the data I obtained with my teammates. I also communicated obtained data through research documents, and our script.  

Weekly Blog 2/1 - 2/7 - Source to Mouth

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Riogrande_watershed.png

Summary:

The Rio Grande river has a length of 1,896 miles. The Rio Grande river is one of the biggest Rivers in North America, It is located between southern Colorado and Texas. The Rio Grande river became the border between Texas and Mexico since the 1800s. There were many uses for this river and there still is many uses for this river. It was used for a water source for Native Americans. It was also used for agriculture and farming, which was a popular job to do near the Rio Grande River and. Another use for this river used today is for damming.

SP8: Obtain, Evaluate, and Communicate Information:

This week, I obtained all my data from researching the Cultural Significances of the Rio Grande (such as what kind of cities were built there, what was the river used for in the past, etc.), using provided websites, or finding other sites about the Rio Grande and its Cultural Significance. I evaluated the validity of my information by gathering information on a few sites about the Rio Grande and its Cultural Significance, in which all of them had the same data, which means the data I gathered on the Rio Grande was correct.

WAC - The Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam

     In 2012, China finished making the 'Three Gorges Dam', a hydro electric dam that produces clean electricity, to go green. China plans to build three more colossal, hydro-electric dams. China should not build more hydro electric dams due to the many downsides the construction of the dam has caused. The building of the dam has caused more downsides than benefits. 

       One reason China should not build more colossal, hydro electric dams is because that the first construction of the dam has destroyed many artifacts. Archaeological and historical artifacts have been destroyed due to the dam's construction. 'Dragon Bone Cave', near the Three Gorges, contained many human fossils and historical artifacts. The cave is no longer accessible due to the Three Gorges Dam construction. This examples are important reasons of why China should not build any more colossal hydro-electric dams- historical artifacts, that could have been used to learn more about early culture, was destroyed due to the dam's construction.

     Another reason China should not build more colossal hydro-electric dams is that the construction of the dam affected many people, 1.4 million in fact. It says that "More than 1.4 million people had to leave their family homes with little financial assistance." Many people had to leave their homes, find new trades, and had little money. This is an important example of why China should not build more hydro electric dams because the people were moved out of their family homes, had to find new homes, learn new trades, and had little financial assistance, which is a big problem for the people.

      One other reason China should not build hydro electric dams is because the construction of the Three Gorges Dam damaged the environment and wildlife. Since the dam was built, wildlife and environment were damaged and due to the lack of trees, severe erosion was caused, which may have caused damage and money to repair it. This example is important to my claim because if China builds more dams, more damage, erosion, and environment/habitat will be damaged.

     In conclusion, China should not build anymore colossal hydro-electric dams. If China does not build anymore hydro-electric dams, it will save historical and archeological artifacts from being damaged. It can also save the environment and cause less damage due to erosion. One last benefit of China not building anymore dams is that the people won't have to move, learn new trades, find new homes, etc, which can satisfy the people. To sum it all up, China not building anymore dams would save artifacts, the environment, and satisfy the people.