HEALING  EARTH

Greengard, Samuel. "How Computers Are Changing Biology." (n.d.): n. pag. May 2014. Web.  21 Sept. 2014.

          Bioinformatics and computational biology is being drastically changed due to the use of increasingly complex computer models and simulations. Pavel Pevzner, a biology professor at UC San Diego, says that “computers have not only opened doors by speeding up modeling from months or years to hours, they have led to qualitatively better data- and helped researchers spot complex and hidden relationships in the data,” (Greengard 22). Other sciences such as nanotechnology, gaming, and other connected devices are emerging as a crucial part in bioinformatics; with this technology, the possibilities are limitless. In fact, Levitt says that “‘it is possible to gain a level of knowledge that will revolutionize many aspects of our world,’” (Greengard 23).

          The author of this article, Samuel Greengard, is a recognized journalist for Communications of the ACM. The source is current, credible, and unbiased; this source is available on another reliable source (Galileo). The source is well-referenced because it is on a source that my teacher recommended.

          This article relates to my potential research because at the toxicology lab I currently intern at, technology is used to collect the vast majority of the data about analytes and metabolites. It is intriguing to know that although I am a high school student, for three hours a day I have the privilege of working with some of the very technology that is changing today’s society, including mass spectrometers and TOMTECs.

 

 Dernbach, John C., and James R. May. "January-February 2015."Environment Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2015.

          Conventional gas (or oil) extraction ordinarily involves drilling for a pool or concentration of gas or oil in particular rock strata. Unconventional gas development is a process that injects large amounts of water under pressure to shatter shale strata and thereby liberate and capture the gas embedded within it. Hydraulic fracturing, using high water pressure to open cracks in reservoir rocks and sand to keep the fractures open when pressure is released, is a long-established technique. What is new is the combination of practices—the way operators drill horizontally to expose more shale to the wellbore, use millions of gallons of water and fluids to fracture shale and release the gas trapped in the shale, complete several wells on a given drilling pad, and produce millions of cubic feet of gas per day.

          The sudden and unexpected development of shale gas has the potential to accelerate or hinder the transition to sustainability, depending on how it is handled. U.S. states with active shale gas development provide an abundant source of regulatory experience for other states and countries to examine. While shale gas has brought obvious benefits, it also brings risks and costs. Some of these risks and costs can be addressed more readily than others. By focusing on the issues that are harder to address, most prominently climate disruption, we gain a better understanding of how, or whether, shale gas development can accelerate the transition (Dernbach and May).

          This source is credible because the authors are respected in the science community. Their article was also published in an environmental magazine, making the source that much more credible.

          This article was very helpful to me in the way that it provided information and figures about shale oil, the production of shale oil, and the effects of shale oil on the environment. It explain that it is not enough for shale gas to contribute to some degree to environmental protection, economic and social development, and peace and security.

 

Bibliography

 

"Air Pollution from Fracking Threatens Public Health and Communities." Fracking Risks, Air Pollution. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.

 

Atkins, William, and Philip Koth. "Pollution Issues." Industry. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.

 

“Daily Toxin Intake." Daily Toxin Intake. Global Healing Center, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.

 

"Solutions for Industrial Pollution." Mission 2015: Industrial Pollution Solutions. MIT, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.

 

"Point Source and Non-Point-Source Pollution." Point Source and Non-Point-Source Pollution. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.