Water Matters
A Podcast and Website Brought to you by the 8B Students at Montezuma-Cortez Middle School
The climate of an area can have large impacts on that area’s agriculture. Crops, livestock, and fisheries are all affected by a change in climate. While an increase in temperatures and CO2 can be beneficial to some crops, other forms of agriculture are weakened by the changes. As warmer temperatures come to the U.S, there is also a higher chance of severe droughts. “Changes in the frequency and severity of droughts and floods could pose challenges for farmers and ranchers and threaten food safety.” (Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Food Supply) Fisheries are already up against challenges like overfishing and pollution, but a change in temperature can be very dangerous. Warmer temperatures heat up our water, and the marine ecosystems face severe consequences.
-Autumn Taft
The water cycle is a complex system that some people oversee. The water cycle contains more than evaporation, condensation and precipitation. The water cycle is affected by the different bodies of water and watersheds, but also more extreme things such as drought and the amount of precipitation and runoff. It is also affected by floods. The water cycle affects everyone and everything. From irrigation to showers to running the dishwasher, the water cycle is one of the biggest things that affect our daily lives. If we don’t have enough water to go around to everyone, then we have to cut down our water shares. The water that goes around to everyone is dependent on the runoff we get from the snowy mountains, the rainy days we have and the groundwater that is not being used by plants. Climate change is also a big part of the water cycle, for in many parts of the world, the climate is getting hotter, therefore not having enough snow to runoff into the lakes.
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-Maddisyn VanGrandt
Carbon is like water, it never really leaves, it just changes and transforms. Carbon, when it is expelled into the atmosphere, only accounts for about 55 percent of the carbon that is released. The other 45 percent is absorbed by the ocean and all the trees and vegetation on our planet. Carbon dioxide isn’t the main gas that causes climate change like people think; it is mostly due to water vapor and methane. Carbon dioxide is basically the planet's thermostat, it keeps the temperature warm but not too warm. Without carbon dioxide, we would be freezing, with too much we would burn up. Carbon does change the ocean when it absorbs the carbon. Carbon makes the water more acidic, which is not good. In all, carbon dioxide is the earth's temperature regulator but it could cause problems.
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-Atticus Keel
About 71 percent of Earth contains water. The two most common water-electricity technologies are Hydropower and Tidal Power. Hydropower produces electricity by flowing or falling water turning the blades of a turbine that is connected to a generator. Tidal power takes the natural movement of tides through tidal fences, barrages, and/or turbines to create electricity. Turning water into electricity is the most efficient way to make electricity because water is a renewable source. Water is a renewable source because it reoccurs as a result of the water cycle continuing. Another pro of converting water into energy is it doesn’t emit any greenhouse gases or air pollutants.
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-Luna Moore
Energy is defined as, “the ability to do work”. There are two types of energy, potential, and kinetic. Kinetic is considered “moving energy”, and potential is defined as “stored energy”. There are also many different forms of energy, including, radiant, mechanical, thermal, elastic, nuclear, sonic (or sound), light, and chemical energy. Energy influences everything in our world, and, according to Sciencelearn.org, “Almost all food energy comes originally from sunlight. Energy is the way molecules move in objects, or how heat is stored and transferred in them. Every time something moves, grows, or changes temperature, a form of energy is at work.
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-Macey Smith
Raising temperatures increases electricity used for air conditioning and decreases fuel used in heating. This creates a difference in money spent on heating and cooling. The spending on these would increase by about 10%. This would redistribute money across electricity companies and fuel companies. Global warming also creates more extreme storms, introducing the possibility of massive power outages by damaged plants.
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-Carter Tanner
As the climate continues to change, so does the ecosystem causing changes to happen. The agriculture industry is a huge part of our economy. The livestock, seafood, and crops contribute about $300 billion to our economy each year. When the climate changes, we are forced to adapt and change our old ways of taking care of businesses. As things change we are forced to adapt and work harder to sustain the crops’ and animals’ needs. The temperatures of the waters could cause fish to move and migrate to other places. The climate change also causes more devastating storms to occur, and if those storms hit our farm lands, they will destroy them, causing the farmers to start over again from scratch. We will also have to think of different ways to catch fish and raise livestock because the ecosystems will begin to change. If this happens, it will be harder for the farmers to sustain their farm life and their livestock and crops. All in all, I believe that we need to reduce our carbon footprint so that our greenhouse gas emission subsides and dies down, but as the climate changes more and more we are forced to adapt and move with our ever changing world.
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-AJ Hafner
The Water Cycle is underestimated for its complexity, people just think “Oh it's just a cycle of water turning into a gas going up into the clouds, then it rains and it goes over and over again.” Yes, that is true but there are a lot more complex steps for this process to happen. There are multiple steps used in this process the 3 main ones are Precipitation, Evaporation and Condensation. Precipitation is the step that the moisture in the clouds and in the air is let down to earth. Evaporation is the process of heat making the water evaporate and turn into a gas or water vapor and floating to the clouds. Finally Condensation is the process of storing moisture in the clouds and when there is too much moisture it lets it out in the process of precipitation. There are a lot more steps than those simple 3, for example there is Transpiration, Ground Water, Plant Uptake, Infiltration, Percolation, Runoff, Deposition, Sublimation. All of which contribute to the complexity of the water cycle.
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-Xander Bennetts
The water cycle is a very important part of our world. It affects the ecosystem, economy, and what happens in our lives each day. While in school it is taught as a simple three step circle, the water cycle is a complex system to understand. “The paths and influences of water through Earth’s ecosystems are extremely complex and not completely understood.” ( “Water Cycle” NOAA) The effect water has on an ecosystem is a large part of what an ecosystem will look like and the animals inhabiting the area. If there is a drought, there will be less foliage, and less animals because of the lack of food. If there is a year where there is plenty of rainfall, the foliage will be dense and animals will be more apt to be in the area. “Humans use water for drinking, industrial applications, irrigating agriculture, hydropower, waste disposal, and recreation.” (‘Water Cycle'' NOAA) As stated in the text, we use water for many, many things, with the amount of water affecting the economy, especially in agriculture. If there is little rainfall in an area that relies on agriculture for the main source of money, they will not make as much money due to the low amount of crops that have been produced.
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-Autumn Taft
Every 2nd grader learns about the basics of the water cycle, including, condensation, precipitation, and evaporation. But in reality, the water cycle is so much more complicated than we think. The water cycle controls water’s movement all around the world. If water is not moved enough to one place, or too much is moved to another, it can cause droughts and floods. Water also has many industrial applications, such as hydropower, recreation, and irrigation, and without the water cycle moving the water, none of those applications would be possible. Climate change and pollution are disrupting the water cycle, and keeping it from moving water where it needs to go. Without the water cycle, many of the everyday things we do could not be possible.
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-Macey Smith