Sarah Whitney
AP Biology
Current Event 16
2-7-20
Pierre-louis, Kendra, and Nadja Popovich. “Climate Change: It's a Buzzkill for Bumblebees, Study Finds.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Feb. 2020, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/06/climate/bumblebees-extreme-heat-weather.html.
With the climate rapidly changing, bringing on heat waves and other extreme events, bumblebees are experiencing a decline as a species. “Researchers found that bumblebee populations had recently declined by 46 percent in North America and by 17 percent across Europe” … “The biggest declines were in areas where temperatures spiked well beyond the historical range, which raises concerns that climate change could increase the risk of extinction for bees, which are already threatened by pesticide use and habitat loss.” This has got scientists extremely worried as bees are a crucial piece in wild landscapes and agricultural regions. This is likely not due to gradual temperature increases but instead the rapid and extreme weather events such as heat waves. This study not only studied the decrease in specific populations, but also areas where populations have increased despite the weather changes. ““We can go to these bright spots where things are going well, and we can see what it is about those regions and those areas that’s allowing species to persist under climate change,” Mr. Soroye said.” Bumblebees are crucial as they carry pollen and move from plant to plant that aiding in plant populations.
This topic is extremely relevant as climate change becomes a bigger issue every day. Without bees, plant populations will most likely have a very difficult time surviving naturally. If bumblebee populations continue to decrease, humans may have to intervene with artificial pollination or help modify the genes of bees to allow them to better survive against climate change.
This author (and I’m guessing a technology team) did a fantastic job with this article - especially as they had multiple interactive visuals representing the bee populations. I do wish the author would have discussed the reasearcher’s plans to combat this species’ decline and what ideas they’ve come up with to help bumblebees survive.
Ellyn Paris 2/8/20
ReplyDeleteAP Biology Current Event 16
Pierre-louis, Kendra, and Nadja Popovich. “Climate Change: It's a Buzzkill for Bumblebees, Study Finds.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Feb. 2020, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/06/climate/bumblebees-extreme-heat-weather.html.
https://bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2020/02/sarah-whitney-ap-biology-current-event.html
This article was very interesting and informative about the obstacles bees face when it comes to climate change. Whitney did many things right in her writing. In her first paragraph, she made the distinction that it is not the gradual temperature increase that is harming the species, but rather the extreme weather events that are occurring as a result of climate change. Secondly, she mentioned in her second paragraph that if the bumblebee species continues to decrease there might be a need for genetic modification in the bees’ genes to make them withstand climate change better. Adding this part to her review captured the reader’s attention. Furthermore, when she said what she liked about the review she stated that many interacting visuals to help the audience understand the issue better. This was a very thoughtful and good observation.
There are a few things that could be worked on for this current event. First of all, Whitney could improve her quote integration in the first paragraph. While her quotes are very informative and and well chosen, the integration was choppy and could be worked on. Another aspect of her review that could be improved is the last paragraph in which she gives recommendations on how to better the article she read. Her feedback is very short, and she could have expanded on why she wished the author had explained plan for the future.
In her review, Whitney talked about artificial pollen that might be created to help the bumblebee population. Prior to reading this, I did not know that this was possible, and I think it is a very smart way to help out the species.
Olivia Conniff
ReplyDeleteAP Biology
Mr. Ippolito
Current Event 18
3/3/20
Pierre-louis, Kendra, and Nadja Popovich. “Climate Change: It's a Buzzkill for Bumblebees, Study Finds.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Feb. 2020, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/06/climate/bumblebees-extreme-heat-weather.html.
https://bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2020/02/sarah-whitney-ap-biology-current-event.html
For my 18th current event, I chose to read Sarah Whitney’s review of the article “Climate Change: It’s a Buzzkill for Bumblebees, Study Finds”, by Kendra Pierre-Louis and Nadja Popovich. Overall, I found Whitney’s review to be extremely informative and interesting to read. First, Whitney made very helpful and insightful critiques of the original article, giving thoughtful suggestions of how to improve it. Next, she included a great deal of background information which is very important as it helps the reader understand the context of how climate change is affecting the bumblebees. Finally, Whitney included quotes that were packed with detail and specific information, very informative without dragging on with too much.
While overall Whitney’s review was excellent, there are a few minor things she could do to improve it even further. First, I think Whitney could have improved the quality of the quotes that she chose to include. I feel like the ones she chose were not the most informative. Also, I think she could have slightly lengthened her critique paragraph, and added more details.
Overall I found Whitney’s review to be extremely interesting and eye opening in regards to how climate change is affecting the bee population.