Making Biodiesel/ Bioethanol Lab

Alternative energy sources have gained a lot of attention over the past few years.  Biodiesel and Bioethanol are two of the most heard of alternative sources, but what are some more obscure sources?


Solar Power: Energy from the sun
Advantages: The energy is free.  You can get it most everywhere on the planet.  Maintenance of the system is very low maintenance. 


Disadvantages: Not available at night or when there are clouds out.  Expensive.  In order for it to be effective, you need to live in a very sunny place. 

Tidal Power: Power from the crashing waves at the ocean shore.


Advantages: Very predictable patters. The energy source will not run out for an estimated 2 billion years. Free and non-poluting energy source. Maintenance of plant is very low. 


Disadvantages: The barge that is placed in the ocean can cause increased sediment accumulation, decreased salinity and reduced volume.  The fish population will experience an increased mortality rate.  The power stations can only generate power during specific times during the day.  The startup cost of the energy plant is high. 

Mitochondrial Eve

Mitochondrial Eve is generally thought of as the Mother of all humans.  She is believed to have lived about 200,000 years in East Africa.  Mitochondrial Eve is believed to be the mother of al humans because Mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to child. If everyone traced their lineage back through their maternal lineage, it is believed that everyone would converge to Mitochondrial Eve.

Over the years, mutations in DNA have caused the differences in appearances around the world.

Japanese Woman

Chilean Woman

French Woman

Gabonese Woman

Native American Woman

Darwin's Dilemma

The documentary Darwin's Dilemma explores one of the biggest kink's in Darwin's theory of evolution: the Cambrian Explosion." The Cambrian Explosion was when a bunch of new kinds of animals appeared in less than 10 million years, which is relatively minuscule in comparison to the rest of evolutionary history.  The fossils that were found provide one of scientist's greatest conundrums.  

The fossils showed the single celled Precambrian phyla abruptly turned into soft bodied multi celled organisms.  The animals were no longer microscopic, but instead were relatively large multi celled complex organisms.  




The Burgess Shale that was found in British Columbia, Canada and in
Chengjiang, China have puzzled ever since their discovery.  The 
Cambrian Explosion which occurred over 500 million years ago were recorded in the fossils of the Burgess Shale. 

Macon Dog Park

Dog parks have both a positive aspect and a negative aspect to them.  The Macon dog park is no different.  A good aspect is that they bring people together.  There are a lot of people who love dogs and dog parks provide a central location for people to meet other people who love dogs as well.  Also, they provide a place for dogs to be let off their leashes and run around with other dogs.  This provides for more freedom for the dogs and allows for dogs to get a lot of energy out.  Also, it provides more interactions between dogs and between dogs and strangers.  The interaction provides for a more well behaved dog.

There are also many down sides to dog parks.  For one, the possibility for dog fights increases with the number of dogs present.  Also, the possibility for dogs attacking and hurting humans is greater at dog parks over most other places. Dog parks are also a great place for bacteria and parasites to thrive and spread between dogs.

Over all, dog parks have their ups and downs, but they are a central part of social life in many communities.

Amphioxus

Amphioxus provides an important link towards the history of vertebrates.  Also known as Lancelets, Amphioxus are strange little critters.  They live in the surf of the warmer oceans.  They grow to about two inches long and have a somewhat underdeveloped but defined tail and also lack fins or limbs. Their translucent bodies allows for people to see inside them.  They have no skeleton in the true sense, however they do have some cartilage like material in the gills.

Similar to vertebrates, amphioxus have a hollow spinal like chord of nerves running up and down its back.  Although they split from vertebrates over 250 million years ago, they provide a lot of information about evolution.

Lakes

Personally, I have never been to a lake. I have heard about lake Hartwell near Clemson, South Carolina.  I know about this lake because when I go to Clemson to visit my cousin, I have seen signs for the lake.  From what I can tell, it is a lake the borders South Carolina and Georgia, that is fed from the Savannah, Seneca, and Tugaloo rivers and it runs out into the Savannah River going south towards the Atlantic Ocean.  It is a popular fishing and recreational spot for many including the Clemson student body, families on hot summer days, and the avid fisherman.  Striped Bass, Bream, and Catfish are common species of fish that will be found in the lake. Along with fishing, boating, swimming, water skiing, and sun bathing are also popular activities for the lake.

Hitchiti Experimental Forest

In the Hitchiti Experimental Forest, we learned about different plants and a few of the different practices that make the forest "experimental."

Wild ginger is a ground plant that gets it name from its ginger like bitter citrus taste.

Sassafras is a unique type of tree.  There are male and female trees. There are three different types of leaves: oval, tri-pronged and five pronged. 

The forest also does experiments on the effects of fire on forests.  They do experimental burns to see results and to measure regrowth.  

Here is a picture of me hugging a tree.

Jackson Springs

At Jackson Springs we learned about Geology and looked closely at different types of rocks.

Gneiss is a type of metamorphic rock that is identified by the distinctive lines that present.

 Quartz is a type of crystal that has a 6 sided shape to it. It can be found in a variety of colors.

Granite is a rock that is made from the pressure that combines quartz, feldspar, and hornblende.

Feldspar is a mineral that can be found in some types of rocks.  It is formed from cooled magma and crystalizes in geometric patterns.

Leaf Litter Decomposition

In the woods, the decomposition of leaves is one of the major sources of nutrients for the forest.  Leaves are broken down by insects and other various decomposers.  The organic nutrients are returned to the soil as free ions.  The nutrients are used by plants as a form of natural fertilizer.  

As the diagram shows, the leaves go through a transformation from fresh leaves to unrecognizable plant material.  As the decomposers decompose the leaves, the leaves break down slowly loosing their defined shape until they look like dirt. The final product, dirt, is simply the broken down nutrients of dead leaves, trees, and other various organic material.   

My Baby

Over the past few weeks, my plant has grown unbelievably fast.  He has been temperamental, and stubborn, but for the most part, we have gotten along fairly well.  This past weekend we hit a rough patch.  I woke up to and saw that he was dying, wilted and sad.  I was shocked because the night before I had watered him and he was happy.  I gave him some water and less than 2 hours later it was as though nothing has happened.
He also loves the sun.  Every day he tries to reach out and grab the sun and no matter how many times I tell him that the sun will bun him to a crisp, he just does not want to listen.  I have to watch him every day and make sure that when he gets too close to the sun to turn him around and tell him the dangers.
He has a lot of friends too.  Within the first week together, he had invited four other friends to stay over. No matter how many times I ask them if their parents miss them, they just don't want to leave.  I guess I'll just have to adopt them too.
I am glad that they area ll growing strong and tall.
I'll post back in a week or two with more updates.


UPDATE

As the semester comes to an end, I am surprised that my plant has survived.  They have had some rough times and are still struggling.  Over Thanksgiving they got very sick, and have never really recovered.  Of the 5 plants that I had, two are almost dead, one is on its way, and two seem to be thriving.  All five of them have flowers on them but none of them are fully open.  What is odd is that they stopped growing towards the sun.  In fact, it seems as though they have stopped growing at all.  I don't know what caused that, but it is kinda strange.  I hope that they make it through the end of the semester so I can say that I successfully kept a plant alive for a semester!

Lab 4

This week we studied community gardens.  We saw eggplants, peppers, and snap peas along with various other plants.  We also looked at the various soils in the area.

To see the different components of the soil in the area, we took a shovel full of soil and placed it in the soil sieve.  We then passed it around shaking it to allow the soil to fall through the mesh until it was in the correct level.  When we opened the sieve, we could see the different roots, grasses, and soil types that were in the shovel of dirt.

We then took a few shovel full's of soil and placed in in a box and added water to make mud.  After mixing it up, we each took a handful of dirt and identified what kind of dirt it was using the dichotomous key.  We identified the soil as loamy sand.

In addition to identifying the soil we found, we also learned about the 12 soil orders of the world.

Aridisols is a type of soil that is common in the desert.  It is extremely dry and not useful for the growth of plants.  It commonly has such minerals as gypsum and calcium carbonate in it.

We also meet Mark Vanderhook who is in charge of www.maconroots.org.  He helps organize different community gardens around Macon and is helping to beautify Macon.



PART 2

Negative Feedback Loop- The output of the system opposes the input of the system.  This system helps to balance and stabilize the system.

In class we monitored Dr. Rood's blood glucose level before he ate a snickers and the resulting levels at five minuet intervals for the remainder of class.

 When we consume sugar the sugar level spikes.  A negative feedback loop reaction occurs because the insulin level rises in order to decrease the level of the sugar in the blood.

Lab 3

Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) is an ivy that causes rashes on those who come in contact with it. 

Azalea (rhododendron) is a flower that can be used for landscaping.

Ginkgo Biloba is a prehistoric tree that has both male and female trees.  

Angel Trumpets (Datura wrightii) are flowers that have hallucinogenic properties.   

Elephant Ear (Colocasia spp) is a decretory plant whose leaves look similar to the ears of an elephant.

Holly Tree (Ilex opaca) is a tree with a white trunk and bright red berries. The leaves are also pointy.

Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) is a tree with long leaves.  It is a traditional southern tree.  It is usually seen with Spanish Moss.  

Hickory Tree (Carya) is a tree that produces distinctive Hickory nuts.

Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) is a bush like tree.  The top of the tree looks like a bush.  The flowers can be pink, white or purple. 

Aloe or Aloe Vera (A. Vera) is a plant whose sap can be used to help heal burns.

Down by the River

For this lab, we visited the Ocmulgee River and took elevation measurements, clam counts, and noted the different speeds of the water current.

 The pink pins represent where the clam measurements were taken and show how many clams were found at the location.  The blue line represents the path along which we got elevation measurements.  We took elevation measurements every 10 feet.  The white shaded region represents the slow moving current, the green area is an island in the middle of the river, and the red shaded region represents the fast moving current.

Below is the river elevation data.

Georgia Rainfall Amounts

Sea Turtles

Sea Turtles have always been important in my life.  Ever since I was little I have seen them nest on the South Carolina coast and I even got the opportunity to mark a nest.  Because of my love for the creature, I am interested in learning more about them.  I know there are a few different species of turtles that live off the south eastern coast, but I also know that the most common is the Loggerhead Sea Turtle.

Sea Turtles are some of the most gentle creatures in the sea, and eat the Jelly Fish, and because the Sea Turtles are becoming extinct, the jellyfish population is growing uncontrollably.  The massive increase in the jellyfish population is becoming dangerous for people swimming in the ocean.


http://www.midnet.sc.edu/clis/geib/

Dot Density Map

Chloropleth Map

Isarithmic Map

My Favorite Place

Murrells Inlet, South Carolina is my favorite place in the world for many reasons.  I grew up knowing only private beaches and quiet moments.  It is also the reason that I have an distinct interest in the environment.  Murrells Inlet has been untouched by modern civilization.  There are no sky high hotels or any condos.  This is my happy place because it is the only place in the world that I can totally relax.