Joe Medeiros

I think that his speech on biodiversity was pretty interesting. It made me realize how un-diverse the human species really is compared to all the others on this planet, and how completely dependent we are on other species. Are other species dependent on us? The video he showed was also interesting and talked about the importance of biodiversity and how humans have sort of unbalanced the whole ecosystem, decreasing the biodiversity on Earth because of the lifestyles we live. Biodiversity is something we have to keep and maintain, because without it probably means the end of life on Earth.

Toxins and Me

I don't really care that much about the toxins in my environment, mostly because there is not much I can do about it. I don't live on a piece of land that has any toxic waste from a past mine, and the air I breathe is already filled with pollution. I think the level of toxicity something has to be before people have to take notice would be something that will affect the health of everyone in the entire state of California in a short period of time. But for things like asbestos infected dirt in a school, it is up to the local individual and community to decide what to do with it. I also think that when storing toxic waste, researchers should find a way to completely get rid of it so that the toxic waste is not just sitting around somewhere else.

2nd guest speaker Mike

I thought this guest speaker spoke about a very interesting subject. I did not know that California's water was pretty much toxic. And also that there was a risk of eating too much fish. Its a good thing that I don't eat too much fish from California anyways. I also liked how he went more in depth into the different types of mining. It is sad to know that what happened in the past has made California's water tainted with mercury forever, or until the government or somebody finds an efficient way to get rid of it.

1st guest speaker gary noy

I thought this guest speaker was pretty good. It was interesting to learn about the legacies of both the gold rush and logging that has happened right in my own backyard! He has made me more aware that the paths humans choose to take in this developing world have to be taken with care and regard to not only the environment, but for the people in future generations.

conserving species

I think that doing something is better than doing nothing at all. Even though some organizations concentrate their efforts in conserving one species rather than another, it is still a step in the right direction. As for which species we should concentrate on more is a hard question, because I think that all species are important to the Earth. Maybe the ones that are on the brink of extinction, like those goats that live on a vertical wall in the Planet Earth video, should be a priority. I also think that the extinctions of more species is inevitable as the human population continues to grow and develop, only the species that can adapt to that are the ones that will stay, and the ones that cant will disappear.