Sarah Goodell
Mr. Ippolito
Current Event Review
18 October, 2017
Current Event #5
Weintraub, Karen. “Many of Florida’s Sea Turtle Nests Were Destroyed by Hurricane Irma.” The
New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Oct. 2017. www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/science/hurricane-florida-sea-turtle-nests-irma.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftrilobites&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection.
This week, I read an article titled “Many of Florida’s Sea Turtle Nests Were Destroyed by Hurricane Irma” by New York Times author Karen Weintraub. Weintraub wrote about how many of the breeding grounds of leatherback turtles have been destroyed by Hurricane Irma. She describes how these turtles inhabit the waters off of Florida and are already an endangered species. Weintraub writes, “The northwest Atlantic region is one of the world’s two largest loggerhead nesting areas, and 89 percent of those animals are hatched in Florida, Dr. Ceriani said, citing a 2015 assessment.” As she later discusses, this breeding season was looking highly successful for these turtles; however, Irma destroyed those hopes. This particular hurricane arrived early in the turtles’ breeding season, which is when breeding grounds and hatchlings are more vulnerable and fragile. As a result of this early storm, “...more than 90 percent of incubating loggerhead nests were destroyed by the storm, representing about 25 percent of the season’s total.” At the end of her article, Weintraub quotes Dr. Mansfield who is hopeful that these turtles will survive this hurricane season and will thrive in years to come, but worries about future trends that show increasing intensity in hurricanes.
This issue is relevant to our society because the destruction of breeding grounds and habitats could lead to the extinction of sea turtles, as well as many other animals who rely on sea turtles as a food source. In Florida and elsewhere along the coast, we must deal with this crisis immediately because it is more serious than we may think. Eventually, this will come full circle and rest on our shoulders, as it may affect our own food supply. Sea turtles’ habitats must be protected from both natural disasters and man-made disasters; in time, our own mistakes may end up wiping out turtles and other sea creatures altogether.
In her article, Weintraub did a great job of providing her audience with context and detailed background on this topic. She also established her credibility by using quotes from credible sources who are currently investigating this issue. However, in the future, Weintraub can improve upon her discussion about taking action to solve this problem. Although she talked about how these hurricanes have affected turtles’ breeding habits, she never addresses how humans can help and what can be done to prevent future disasters to turtle breeding grounds.
Kunzang Namgyal
ReplyDeleteMr.Ippolito
AP Biology- EF even
20 October 2017
Weintraub, Karen. “Many of Florida’s Sea Turtle Nests Were Destroyed by Hurricane Irma.” The
New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Oct. 2017. www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/science/hurricane-florida-sea-turtle-nests-irma.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftrilobites&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection.
I chose to read Sarah’s current events on the NYT article, “Many of Florida’s Sea Turtle Nests Were Destroyed by Hurricane Irma.”. The background information on the article given by Sarah is clear and concise, she explains that leatherback turtles are an endangered species and that most of their breeding grounds were hit badly by Hurricane Irma. She then does a good job of explaining why Hurricane Irma was so devastating for these turtles, "This particular hurricane arrived early in the turtles’ breeding season, which is when breeding grounds and hatchlings are more vulnerable and fragile”. She explains that the hurricane hit the turtle nests at their most vulnerable time. Sarah also gathered the reader’s interest when she wrote, "This issue is relevant to our society because the destruction of breeding grounds and habitats could lead to the extinction of sea turtles, as well as many other animals who rely on sea turtles as a food source”, as now the reader is aware that other animals will be affected by the extinction of sea turtles, which could throw off the ecosystem of the ocean.
Two areas in which Sarah can improve upon are giving background information on individuals referenced in her writing and explaining what readers can do to help the issue at hand. Sarah mentions that Weintraub quoted "Weintraub quotes Dr. Mansfield”but the reader does not know who Dr. Mansfield is or why he is a credible source as Sarah gives no background information on Dr. Mansfield. Instead of a call to action for her readers, Sarah emphasizes the issue at hand, "Sea turtles’ habitats must be protected from both natural disasters and man-made disasters;”, however she does not tell the reader what they can do to help protect the sea-turtle’s habitats.
Overall, I believe that Sarah’s writing was very clear and efficient. Before reading this, I had no idea that sea-turtles are an endangered species. I also learned that with the recent natural disasters, their homes have been wrecked and they are very close to extinction.
Mairead Cain
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
Forensics
30 October 2017
Weintraub, Karen. “Many of Florida’s Sea Turtle Nests Were Destroyed by Hurricane Irma.” The
New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Oct. 2017. www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/science/hurricane-florida-sea-turtle-nests-irma.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftrilobites&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection.
Sarah did a very nice job with her current event review on the article “Many of Florida’s Sea Turtle Nests Were Destroyed by Hurricane Irma,” Karen Weintraub. I decided to review her report as the title of the original current event was very concerning considering the fact that Sea Turtles are usually considered at risk of extinction. There are many good techniques she uses throughout her report. One example is how includes many thought-provoking quotes from experts in her current event review. These quotes, all of which are from experts of the topic, provided crucial information and an overall deeper understanding of the topic at hand. Another aspect of Sarah’s writing that was done rather well was when she explained how deeply the hurricane did, in fact, affect the sea turtles. This was an interesting addition of information as it provided the reader with insight on the topic at hand. Lastly, I appreciated how Sarah was still critical concerning some of the evident flaws of the original report. She explained how the article would have been that much better if Karen Weintraub provided some examples of how humans could help the sea turtles.
Overall, Sarah’s report was extremely interesting and informative, however there are some details that she could tweak and add to make the current event report even that much better. I recommend that she explains who, exactly, Dr. Ceriani is. She mentions this expert from the article quite often, but never explains their background. This information would have given readers an even deeper understanding of the topic in discussion. Also, she could have discussed how, exactly, the extinction of the sea turtles in Florida could affect the ecosystem. It would have been interesting to see her own take on the article’s research.
Sarah’s report was very informative and I learned extensively about how the devastating Hurricane Irma also deeply affect the population of sea turtles in Florida. Before reading the report, I had little knowledge about how the breeding grounds of sea turtles were harmed by the hurricane. Countless sea turtles have been affected by the devastating effect of the hurricane, and it is important that scientists and American as a whole comes together to help the species before it is too late.
Hannah Beldotti
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
Current Event Review #6
October 27, 2017
Weintraub, Karen. “Many of Florida’s Sea Turtle Nests Were Destroyed by Hurricane Irma.” The
New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Oct. 2017. www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/science/hurricane-florida-sea-turtle-nests-irma.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftrilobites&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection.
Sarah Goodell did a great job writing her current event for “Many of Florida’s Sea Turtle Nests Were Destroyed by Hurricane Irma” by Karen Weintraub. Sarah begins by providing background on the leatherback turtles and how their specie has become endangered. Then, she continues to go into the animal's habitat and the storm that destroyed it. Details of how the natural disaster ruined the turtles potential to breed in a safe environment and live are also included. Quotes were well incorporated throughout that were essential to explaining the topic at hand. One example of how specific information from the article was correctly and fluidly included is when Sarah was writing about the possible endangerment to the species, “She describes how these turtles inhabit the waters off of Florida and are already an endangered species. Weintraub writes, “The northwest Atlantic region is one of the world’s two largest loggerhead nesting areas, and 89 percent of those animals are hatched in Florida, Dr. Ceriani said, citing a 2015 assessment.” The summary provided a brief description of the article and showed Sarah’s comprehension successfully. Also, she did a thorough job of connecting the article to her own interpretation of how it is relevant to society. Finally, in her concluding paragraph, she provided examples of how the author could have improved the article by saying, “However, in the future, Weintraub can improve upon her discussion about taking action to solve this problem. Although she talked about how these hurricanes have affected turtles’ breeding habits, she never addresses how humans can help and what can be done to prevent future disasters to turtle breeding grounds.” It is great that Sarah criticized this author on this point because it is important to see what action people can take to improve the problem being discussed in the article.
Although Sarah wrote a concise and thorough current event, I have few suggestions as to how it can be improved. First, I think that there should have been a greater amount of background information on Karen Weintraub. We know that she is the author of the article, but a profession is not listed that could validate the article. Also, there could have been a larger explanation on who Dr. Mansfield is. By doing this, the reader would have been greater influenced by the information knowing that the people mentioned were credited scientists or etc.
Overall, Sarah did a great job on this current event article. I learned how important it is to pay attention to our wildlife and try to protect it from being destroyed by inevitable disasters such as hurricane Irma.
Charlie Gay
ReplyDelete10/29/17
Mr. Ippollito
AP Biology
Weintraub, Karen. “Many of Florida’s Sea Turtle Nests Were Destroyed by Hurricane Irma.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Oct. 2017.
www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/science/hurricane-florida-sea-turtle-nests-irma.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftrilobites&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection.
Current Events 6
I really enjoyed reading Sarah Goodell’s current events review on the article “Many of Florida’s Sea Turtle Nests Were Destroyed by Hurricane Irma.” One thing that Sarah did well in her review is that she provided sufficient background information before talking about the leatherback sea turtles. For example, she wrote “these turtles inhabit the waters off of Florida and are already an endangered species.” This helps the reader understand the importance of what she goes on to talk about in the rest of her review. Another thing that Sarah does well in her review is that she includes a lot of quotes. This adds to the credibility of her review and allows the reader to read information directly from an expert. Lastly, I really liked her critique on the article. I completely agree that I wish that the article mentioned what steps could be taken by humans in the future to fix this problem.
Although this was a very well written review there are some things that she could have improved on. For example, I wish that she gave the credentials of the people she was quoting. Instead she just wrote “Dr. Mansfield.” If she gave the credentials of “Dr. Mansfield” I think that it would have added to the credibility of her review. Another thing that I think Sarah could have done in her review is told us what she thinks we can do to help. Although I said (above) that I liked her critique on the article that the author does not tell us what we can do about this disaster, I think that she should have thought of some ways that we could have helped.
I chose this article because of the title. I am very interested in wildlife and always want to learn more about wildlife. I was amazed to learn that Hurricane Irma had such a large impact, not only on people. We normally only hear about the impact that these hurricanes have on people and not the impact that they have on animals. Reading Sarah’s review really showed me how great of an impact Hurricane Irma and hurricanes in general have. This article makes me very interested in what I could do to help wildlife even here in Bronxville. I really enjoyed reading Sarah’s review and learned a lot.
Julia Pabafikos
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
AP Biology
October 29, 2017
Weintraub, Karen. “Many of Florida’s Sea Turtle Nests Were Destroyed by Hurricane Irma.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Oct. 2017. www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/science/hurricane-florida-sea-turtle-nests-irma.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftrilobites&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection.
Sarah Goodell did a great job on reviewing her article “Many of Florida’s Sea Turtles Nests Were Destroyed by Hurricane Irma” by Karen Weintraub. I particularly enjoyed how Sarah gave background information on how Hurricane Irma arrived during the time of the turtle’s breeding season, where hatchlings are vulnerable. By doing this, Sarah was able to educate her readers and portray the horrible timing that has caused these turtles to fear extinction. Additionally I enjoyed Sarah’s incorporation of quotes, which overall were proven to be helpful because of the fact that they provided statistics which portrayed how serious the matter has proven to be. Lasyly, I really enjoyed how Sarah tied in the extinction of these turtles to our lives by stating that the crisis is more serious than thought and that we should act immediately as it may affect our food supply. By putting a scenario that may affect human life people are more likely to act quicker and find more interest in the topic.
Although Sarah wrote a great review, I believe that she did have two areas in which she could improve upon. Primarily, I would recommend that Sarah give some background information and some brief knowledge about the turtles. I believe that by doing so, Sarah would be able to prove that she is more educated on the topic. Additionally, I would encourage Sarah to state some brief knowledge on Dr.Mansfield and incorporate some of his previous experience that would overall make him more credible.
Overall, Sarah did an amazing job in creating a well written review that illustrated the dangers hurricanes inflict and primarily the danger that the turtles are currently experiencing. I personally chose to read this article because I had no knowledge that sea turtles were affected by hurricanes and that they are close to being extinct. I learned that it is important to protect our wildlife and that it is important that not only scientists, but everyone begins to get involved in order to ensure a secure environment.