"Rise of Slime" Response

Jackson believes that the marine ecosystems are changing for the worse.  Warmer waters is one way that the ecosystems are being altered by human activity.  Due to pollution, the water temperature has slowly increased over time causing a change in the ecosystems that once thrived there.  Run-off from fertilizers are create massive ares of water where nothing but algae can grow, also known as a "dead zone".  Most of the dissolved oxygen is sucked out of the water by the algae, which pushes out other species.  This creates the slime that Jackson referred to in the article. 
This article and the movie that we watched in class really opened my eyes to how much trouble the marine ecosystems are actually in.  Usually, when I think about endangerment, I think about the rain forests and pandas.  What I didn't know is that so many aquatic species are threatened today because of human activity.  What really surprised me was how much a consumer could do to help the marine aquatic system, even if it's something small like not getting a certain seafood dish because you know that the species isn't doing to well.  I was also surprised by how little some governments are doing to try to solve this problem.  You would think that they would be more concerned with their people's future, but instead, some seemed focused on how much money they can bring in.  I usually don't eat seafood, but when I do, I'll be sure to ask where it came from.

"Brazil Ethanol Looks to Sweeten More Gas Tanks" Response

I was surprised to find out that the country that is pushing ethanol as an alternative to oil is Brazil.  Not only are they already the leader in this movement, but they are looking to extend this trade to other countries around the world.  In doing so, a huge market would open up and improve the economic situation in South America.  They are hoping that recent economy crash will entice more people towards the idea of fuel made from sugarcane because it is more cost effective than corn based bio fuel. As more people are drawn in, Brazil is hoping that the strict trade barrier, 54 cents per gallon of fuel imported, will be lowered by the United States.

The US lobby group for ethanol fuel has reported that thousands of jobs and dollars if ethanol is pulled as an alternative.  These facts have been contested by UNICA, backed by a study done by Iowa State University,  which reports that amount of jobs loss is grossly overestimated.

One of the driving factors behind the debate of  whether or not ethanol is actually an environmentally friendly option for consumers.  US Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that ethanol's greenhouse gas emissions are 61% lower than that of oil.  Others are concerned that this ethanol use would only spark degradation of land as it is overused for sugarcane production.  It's kind of worrying that ethanol might only remove one problem and replace it with another.