Luke Redman
Mr.Ippolito
AP Biology
Current Event #14
Zimmer, Carl. “In the Arctic, More Rain May Mean Fewer Musk Oxen.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Jan. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/science/musk-oxen-climate-change.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront.
This week, I read Carl Simmer’s article for the New York Times, “In the Arctic, More Rain May Mean Fewer Musk Oxen.” The article is about the recent findings on musk ox, which is described to be a “a buffalo decked out in a hairy fur coat.” While not much research on musk oxen has been published, a new study came to disturbing results. Joel Berger, a wildlife biologist at Colorado State University and a senior scientist at the Wildlife Conservation Society, came to the worrying conclusion that musk oxen are very susceptible to rapid climate change in the Arctic. Berger explains in his research that due to climate change, the rainfall in the Arctic has increased over the past few years, and are negatively affecting the oxen. “In a warming landscape, pregnant female musk oxen may struggle to find enough food for their unborn calves, the researchers found. Their undersized offspring may die young or fail to produce many calves of their own. In places, musk oxen may disappear altogether.” This is the first study to say that increasing rainfalls are leading to the decreasing health of land mammals in the Arctic, and shows no signs of slowing down. This study, however, is one of many to show the growing effects of climate change on the ecosystems of the world, with the ice caps melting and completely destroying habitats of endangered animals. This article helps the public realize that our actions are leading to dire consequences in the world around us, and that change is needed in order to keep our planet the same.
The article itself was very interesting to read and furthers my knowledge of the effects of climate change on the world. Berger does a great job of including his sources, transitioning from mentioning the paper to explaining the effects of climate change in other areas, and providing accurate information. However, I would have liked to see more of his own opinion in the paper, which would make for a more interesting read. Overall, the article was extremely well-written and I learned something new about climate change and musk ox.
Sarah Goodell
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
AP Bio: Current Event Comment
5 February, 2018
Current Event #15
Zimmer, Carl. “In the Arctic, More Rain May Mean Fewer Musk Oxen.” The New York Times,
The New York Times, 18 Jan. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/science/musk-oxen-climate-change.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront.
This week, I read Luke’s review of The New York Times article, “In the Arctic, More Rain May Mean Fewer Musk Oxen” by Carl Zimmer. Luke specifically did three things well in his response to Zimmer’s article. Firstly, Luke used quotes from the original article to support his points. In doing so, he established himself as a credible author. Next, Luke provided his audience with a great and in-depth summary. This allowed his readers to fully comprehend the topic at hand before moving on to the importance and critique paragraphs. Finally, Luke did a great job defining “musk oxen” and explaining how not much research has been published on this species. By doing this, he properly informs his readers about the modernity of the findings he describes.
Although Luke wrote a thoughtful and descriptive reflection on Zimmer’s article, he could improve upon a couple things for next time. Firstly, Luke could have expanded upon the article’s importance and could have included more of his opinion on how this topic is a pressing issue in our modern world. If he had done this, Luke would have provided his audience with a better understanding of the problems that global warming and climate change are causing and how we must act quickly to change this. Secondly, in his critique paragraph, Luke could have provided the author with more suggestions on how to improve his article. In doing so, he would have established himself as credible critic and would have informed his audience of the weaker points of Zimmer’s article. This would have prepared Luke’s audience for reading the original article.
I picked Luke’s review because climate change is a huge issue and I constantly want to learn more about how it is affecting our planet. Luke’s review helped inform me that there is increasing rainfall in the Arctic, which I did not know prior to reading his response. I also did not know that increased rainfall could impact species, such as the musk oxen, so greatly. Now, I am more aware of the issues presented to musk oxen in the Arctic and I am more aware of the vastness of global warming, regarding how many areas of life it has affected and will affect.