Tornado in Joplin, Missouri

A tornado steamrolled over Joplin, Missouri. 30 people had been killed and at least 11 bodies had been recovered from one location. A major hospital in town had to be abandoned and a triage unit sent out when it caught on fire. The tornado was the latest in a string in large of large and deadly twisters.

I think that it is sad and unfortunate that people died during this storm. I'm sure that many people's lives, however had been saved due to the precautionary measures that were told to take. A storm this big was bound to do damage like this, but however I think that people did the right things in saving people.

Acid Rain

1. Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxide

2. 30% of nitrogen oxide is caused from power plants. Automobiles cause another 30%. Agriculture also is responsible for another 25% to 30%.

3. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere combine with water to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid. When these acids mix with rain water they fall.

Carbon Dioxide Concentration Graph

The horizontal scale of my graph is from year 1000 to year 2004.
It shoes 1004 years.
The vertical axis shows parts per million by volume.
The units increase by 20.
The total range shown is 200 to 400.
The picture came from scripps, ORNL, and IPCC.

Article + Questions

One of the most important natural factors on the mudslides in Guatemala are the rainy seasons between mid-may until october. With all the frequent earthquakes, hurricanes and heavy rain, it only makes matters worse.

Guatemalans cut down trees in order to make room for their crops and buildings. What they didn't realize is deforestation is making the mudslides worse. Without the trees, the soil doesn't absorb as much water and the there isn't as many trees in general to stop the mudflow.

People in Guatemala are now replanting trees in attempt to stop the deadly mudflows destroying buildings and people. Locals are also attending classes and joining groups to learn how to reduce the mudslide damages.

Question 4

Rainfall seems to effect the soil as to if it is a forrest soil or a grassland soil because of the amount of it. The more it rains, the more the plants drink and use the water which results in faster growth. The more the water the more the plants grow. When it rains a good amount, but not a significantly enough to make trees shoot out of the ground, it makes good soil to grow long plains of tall grass. The amount of water effects to amount of vegetation.

Science 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.

35-40 degrees. It's hard to put an average temperature for the Earth because you have to keep in mind the long summers and harsh winters. Also the temperature in Egypt's deserts are much warmer than Antarctica's freezing plains. So i didn't go too cold. But I didn't go too hot. I tried to think of a temperature where it was just warm.

• 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?
  

Maybe 10-15 degrees at most. I think it is a lot of but considering the amount of time it took for it to increase, it doesn't seem like a lot.

• 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.

The coldest the Earth has ever been (for obvious reasons) would have been during the Ice Age. Everything was frozen. The hottest the Earth may have been might be during the meteor or astroid that hit the Earth and killed off all the dinosaurs. Maybe that effected the climate in way were everything just got hot.

• 4 - Are you concerned about "global warming?" Why or why not?
• I am not concerned about global warming because the effects on the Earth are not as drastic as everyone says they are. The water level will rise a few feet but that will be all. The whole world will not be flooded and we won't all die off.

Mass wasting is the downslope movement of rock, regolith, and soil, under the influence of gravity.
Types of Mass Wasting:
Rock fall
Slumps
Rockslide/Debri Slide