With the new semester, I have a bunch of new students. In addition to new students, we also as a country have a new president. Likely, President Obama was the president the entire time that you have been in school (since kindergarten). So in honor of our our new president, I thought we could take a look at one of his initiatives.
https://www.outsideonline.com/2075761/trumps-wall-threatens-111-endangered-species
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trumps-wall-could-cause-serious-environmental-damage/
Above are six different articles about the proposed Trump wall between the United States and Mexico. First, I would like you to read at least one of the articles. Because this is a very heated topic right now, I am going to structure your response a little differently.
1. State which article you read and what you learned. Write a scholarly summary of the article (at least 2 or 3 sentences).
2. As a scientist, I would like to hear your opinion about building the wall. It will look like this: Scientist: As a scientist, I think ....
3. Then I want your true opinion as of the wall. It will look like this:
Socially: My opinion about the wall is ....
Overall, the entire response will have three parts. Remember, that I would suggest to write this first in a Google Document and then paste it into the blog. That way you can check grammar, punctuation and spelling. This is a public blog so once you hit publish the world will see what you have to say. Be sure to be signed in to Blogger in the upper right hand corner before you try to publish.
I picked Trump’s wall threatens 111 endangered species. I learned that there is a lot more endangered species than I thought. This wall effects all of these animals differently. The jaguars are affected because the last male jaguar needs to find a potential mate, but if the wall is built there is no chance that this species can repopulate. One animal that is threatened is a keystone species, they are the wolves. I watched a video that was linked on the article that explained that when wolves were brought back to yellowstone park, the deer started decreasing and vegetation and wildlife starting coming back. Because of this vegetation, mountains and rivers stopped eroding creating more stable rivers. As a scientist, I think that this wall is harmful to the not just the animals in the area and the vegetation, but to us as humans even if we lives miles and miles away from it. If these species are killed off then vegetation will decrease and so will other animals. More and more species will become endangered and the food chains will be off and somehow it will come back to bite the human population in the butt. My opinion about the wall is that it’s a waste of resources and time. First of all we already have a fence and border security, second a wall won’t stop people if they really want to be here, and third it is going to create problems with Mexico, we won’t have a good relationship with them anymore and we get a lot of ours goods from them. NO MORE AVOCADOS!!!!! I think the wall is pointless and I think Trump has a president is terrible. From the article I read which stated that when anything federally funded wants to be built or put down needs to first be accepted by a wildlife foundation which Trump didn’t do which is actually illegal. This whole wall idea is illegal and is honestly not worth the fight over.
ReplyDeleteMia,
DeleteGreat job. I love that you mentioned the wolves of Yellowstone. When I have time in the Ecology unit, I love to show that video because wolves are keystone species. What do you think will happen to trade with Mexico if a wall is established? Good thing some avocados come from California!
I agree completely, I didn't even think about all the exported goods that come from Mexico that we rely on. We should be solving the problem not making more problems, I NEED MY AVOCADOS.
DeleteI agree with everything you said! It is so horrible that this wall could potentially mess up the ecosystem!
DeleteI hope that wildlife groups will help out the jaguar.
DeleteI agree the wall if built will bring catastrophe
DeleteI agree with you, Mia, the wall wasn't well thought out
DeleteI agree!!! The wall will affect animals and our relationship with Mexico/ other countries. It will just make things worse and create more problems
DeleteThe article Trump’s Wall could cause serious environmental damage, proves that in so many ways and points of views building a wall is not a good idea. Along with being a costly project, it has many downsides to it. All the production of cement will emit greenhouse gases, making climate change worse. Stopping the flow of water will cause erosion, flooding and bad habitats for animals. Some walls were put up in the 90’s and along with bad impact to the environment, they haven’t successfully blocked the immigrants. As a scientist, I think building a wall will create irreversible damage to wildlife, climate change and humans. My opinion about the wall is it have negative effects to everything from the environment to relations with Mexico. The desperate immigrants will find a way to still get into our country. Avoiding the problem will not help. Building a wall will be terrible for our economy too. With a 15 billion dollar estimate, taxpayers money could be going into building hospitals, food banks, shelters and other things that will bring our country together.
ReplyDeleteKathleen,
DeleteI totally agree. The amount of damage the wall will do to the fragile desert ecosystem will be catastrophic. I also think that there are better ways to spend tax dollars.
I read the article "Trump's border wall will be awful for the environment" and it made the same arguments,the production of this wall will damage our ecosystem so much. I agree that this will only cause irreversible change and I don't think it's a good idea.
DeleteI totally agree with your opinion. There are so many cons to building this wall, like our relationship with Mexico and other countries, our country's economy, and all of the negative effects on our ecosystem. It's not worth risking all of these things just to keep illegal immigrants out.
DeleteI completely agree with you! The trump wall would have an affect on every single aspect on our life, from environmental to financially.
DeleteI completely agree, the wall will upset every aspect of our lives from the economy to the environment!
DeleteAfter reading the article “Trump’s border wall will be awful for the environment,” I learned that there will be a lot more carbon dioxide emitted into the environment with the production of the wall. The article points out the fact that over 100 endangered species could be negatively impacted, and in turn, the wall could even affect wildlife habitats. Scientist: As a scientist, I think that the increase in carbon dioxide will be very detrimental to the environment. The United States is already the second largest carbon dioxide emitting country. Will this show a lack of concern for our environment? Socially: My opinion about the wall is that it should not be built. I think that building a wall will not solve our immigration problem and people will still figure out a way to cross the border. This may decrease the illegal immigration rate although I do not believe that this could totally stop illegal immigration.
ReplyDeleteOlivia,
DeleteHave you read any other articles about Trump and the environment? I do not think that he is a huge supporter of environmental reform and he is definitely not worried about our carbon footprint. Great work!
I agree with you and my article was also about how the wall can hurt the environment but not many people think about it.
DeleteI agree with everything you said. I don't think people necessarily think about the impact it would make on the environment.
DeleteThe article I read is Trump’s Border Wall Pledge Threatens Delicate desert Ecosystems. After reading, I have learned that the wall President Trump wants to build is going to hurt the ecosystem. Species will be separated and lose important resources. The river and stream will also be blocked. Many of the species that are threatened by the wall are endangered, which does not make the situation at hand any better. As a scientist, I think that any man made structure will have an impact on its natural surroundings. Whether it’s highways, buildings, or land expansion, it will all threaten the ecosystems around it. My opinion about the wall is that it will be threatening to surrounding life, but at the same time, the wall is just upgrading the fence already there.
ReplyDeleteAs a scientist, I also agree that any man-made structure has an impact on the environment. Do you ever drive down Randall Road? It looks entirely different than it did 20 years ago.
DeleteI totally agree with you that any man made structure will have a great effect on its natural surroundings. I do agree with you about how the wall would just be getting upgraded but I still do believe that it's going to make a bigger impact on the environment around it, then the fence there is now.
DeleteI agree! If Trump does what he says hes going to do, build a wall, it will affect these animals habitats greatly.
DeleteAfter reading, The Problem With Trump’s Wall That No One is Talking About from Time, I learned that Trump’s wall poses a serious threat to biodiversity and would cause a serious strain on the US government’s relationship with the Mexican government. Not to mention that the wall would cost American taxpayers billions of dollars to build a 55 ft high concrete wall across the American-Mexican border. As a scientist, I think that the wall is a bad idea. Animals that need to move around to gather food and water would be potentially cut off from their sources and could lead to the endangerment of certain species. The wall would divide the mating pool of certain species causing less genetic diversity. My opinion about the wall is that it unnecessary and unethical. The wall is being proposed in order to prevent immigrants from crossing the border illegal, but quite frankly they help our economy by doing the jobs no other want to do.
ReplyDeleteBernadette,
DeleteAnimals definitely need to move around. Do you think that some animals would go under or over the wall? What about immigrants?
I agree with you; Immigrants help the economy and instead of deporting them instead we should encourage them to become citizens.
DeleteAnimals deserve access to the resources they need to survive. It's not fair because they can't help what humans do to their environment.
DeleteI agree with you! There really shouldn't be walls and illegal immigrants truly do help our economy. Trump should adopt the pathway to citizen approach instead of the hostile wall.
DeleteAfter reading Trump’s Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species by Wes Siler, I learned under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act it is required any construction projection is reviewed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Trump has yet to do so. The wall will not only affect 111 endangered species, but as well as 108 migratory birds, four wildlife refuges, and numerous protected wetlands. Some of the species impacted are sea turtles, bald eagles, manatees, and jaguars. As a scientist, I think building a wall poses a greater threat on the environment potentially resulting in extinction and the wildlife roaming the world is more important than a wall to block illegal immigrants. My opinion is that it’s unnecessary to spend billions of dollars on an ugly wall, when instead devote time and resources to help those who are undocumented to become citizens.
ReplyDeleteCaitlyn,
DeleteI love that you mentioned Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. I also read that article and I am still wondering how a wall will endanger the sea turtles and manatees.
I also read this article and I like how you mentioned that there is more important things like endangered animals than illegal immigrants. It's scary to think that one man made structure, though long and big, can effect so much in the environment.
DeleteI agree with you one hundred percent. Why isn't the government trying to help the immigrants become legal citizens, as they are a vital part of the economy in the United States?
DeleteI agree with you, I had this article too and I like how you have an alternative in result of not building the wall, and how you mentioned that there's are more important things than building a wall.
DeleteI read the second article and it was about how the wall that Trump is trying to build is not only very expensive and threatens our relations with Mexico, but it hurts the environment. The wall is up to 55-feet high so no animals would be able travel for food and water or mate. As a scientist, I think this is negative because it threatens the ecosystem. If the wall to be built, surrounding ecosystems would suffer and is not worth the price. My opinion is that the wall is not a good idea for us because it will be expensive and cost tax payers too much money and it will isolate us as a country which will hinder our relations with other countries. Also, animals could become endangered when our security currently is fine.
ReplyDeleteI never even thought about the ecosystem being hurt by the wall! I agree with your opinion 100%!!
DeleteI definitely think that the wall is going to damage our relations with Mexico, which wouldn't be good considering they're one of our largest trade partners!
DeleteThe article I read is called Trump's Border Wall Pledge Threatens Delicate Desert Ecosystems. While reading this I learned about an important effect to building a wall between the United States and Mexico Border. If trump builds a wall, it will separate the shared landscape northwestern Mexico and southwestern United States, which would put the life of the species living there in danger. As a scientist, I think that building a wall is not a good idea. I think this because splitting these animals habitat can have a very negative effect and could lead to extinction. My opinion is that building a wall is a good idea, I feel as though to come into the United States, you should have to come legally and it is too easy for illegal immigrants to sneak in. So building this wall will keep the illegal immigrants from Mexico out of the US.
ReplyDeleteI agree as a scientist that splitting animals families apart will only hurt our environment more than humans already have.
DeleteI agree, i just don't think that building a wall is worth risk of endangering or maybe even wiping out a whole species. One thing is for sure though, if Trump builds the wall it will definitely negatively effect the balance of nature.
DeleteI also agree. What if splitting the animals might actually have a greater affect on us than we realize? Plus it's not a good idea to split them in the first place because putting the animals in danger is not the right thing to do. Once a species is gone, its gone for good.
DeleteToday, I read the article, “Trump's Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species”, and it gave me a lot of new knowledge on the subject of Trump building the wall. Previously, I didn’t have much background information on this heated subject, and I most certainly did not know about all of the animals he is putting in danger. “Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act requires any construction project “permitted, funded, or licensed by any federal agency” to be reviewed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for endangered species present in the area. To the best of our knowledge, Donald Trump has filed no such request for his proposed border wall. So we did that for him.” This makes me sick to my stomach. The fact that we, The United States of America, the best country in the world, is doing such a terrible thing is sickening. We are putting innocent animals’ lives in danger! For example, this wall prevents any intermixing of Gray Wolves north and south of the border, which now guarantees their extinction, and this wall will bring pollution to many habitats of sea life. As a scientist, I think that this is completely unnecessary because in retrospect, Mexican’s aren’t impacting our country as much as everyone is saying they are. All it is doing is creating unnecessary conflict and the killing of many endangered animals. My opinion about the wall is that we don’t need to do it. My dad, who is a principal at a school consisting of over 70% Hispanic kids, who are now worried that they will be deported due to Trump’s ways. These kids have done nothing wrong besides their parents wanting a better life in America. However, I am starting to wondering how great we really are now.
ReplyDeleteRyan,
DeleteWhere is your dad the principal? How does he feel about the wall?
I really agree about him creating unnecessary conflict. I think he is just doing this because of all of the "hype" that the wall had built up. He has to build this wall or he will lose supporters and he knows it.
DeleteI read the article “Trump’s Border Wall Will Be Awful for the Environment.” This article dug deeper within the wall, looking at how much material would be used in the building of the wall, and the effects of using said materials. I learned that the wall would contain 7.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide! That’s the same as the emissions from 823,654 homes over the course of one year! As a scientist, I do not think that building this wall is necessarily a good idea. Primarily because it would be a waste of carbon dioxide and oil that humans could be using on things other than a giant wall. My personal opinion of this wall is the same. I feel as though Mr. Trump should take a step back and not jump to conclusions, I mean isn’t that what good leaders should do? Statistically more illegal immigrants come into America by air. Also if these people are “stealing our jobs” maybe you should bring that up with Mexico and see if they could help create higher paying jobs. I can’t believe that this is even a topic that we are discussing. 2017, am I right??
ReplyDeleteAislynn, I agree totally with you! I can't believe how much carbon dioxide it will use and rest. I like your opinion and agree that Trump should take a step back and look at possible problems that can come from the wall.
DeleteI agree, why does it seem like no one's paying attention to the cons about the wall instead of the pros. I strongly believe that "if there are more cons than pros then it's probably not a good idea". I think that Trump needs to rethink what he's doing.
DeleteI agree with everything that you said, I also think that there are more important things to focus on instead of others "taking our jobs". I didn't even think of what the Materials used to make the wall would do to the environment!
DeleteI read Times article, “The Problem with President Trump’s Wall that No One is Talking About”. In Times article, I learned that the proposed wall along the American Mexican border could have complications for wildlife. The article stated that the wall would make the animals getting resources much harder, and genetic diversity may decline due to many species being split by the wall.
ReplyDeleteAs a scientist (Biologist), I would see this as a bad thing as the wall could easily cause populations of species to drop, possibly also resulting in other species of animals to be affected as many of the species that can be harmed could be keystone species.
My opinion about the wall is that it can have many negative effects, such as species facing hardships, but it can also be good (especially if they paint it pretty colors) in some sense as it can create jobs for Americans who desperately need work.
Ethan,
DeleteI do like that you are going to paint the wall pretty colors. I would want it to look nice also.
I read the article "Bad Math Props Up Trump’s Border Wall." This article really broke down the cost and how labor intensive this wall will be to build. Trump's idea was the only put a wall on about half the boarder because the other half is blocked by mountains and other natural boundaries. When all said and they estimate that the wall with all the ideas of Trump will cost about 40 billion dollars. As a scientist I don't think the wall is the best solution for a problem that overtime can fix it self. In the past 15 years the number of people trying to cross the boarder has decreased dramatically. Not only that but also we have to take in consideration the environment and the types of life that could be harmed. So many animals could be split apart and have no other way to get across leaving them to die and perhaps go extinct. My opinion on the wall is that it is not the best solution at this time and can be handled in many other ways. Also the amount of raise in taxes it will cause for the American citizens.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this and believe that the construction of wall would be a waste of our resources.
DeleteI read the article Trumps Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species. I learned that Trumps proposed wall would cut off migratory patterns and the potential mate of the last jaguar in the US. As a scientist I think that the wall would be bad for fragile desert ecosystems. The fact that it would impede on animals migratory patterns which could change the ecosystems in that area. Socially I think that keeping out illegal immigrants is important but there are much better ways to do that instead of building a wall.
ReplyDeleteI read the article, “Trumps Wall threatens 111 Endangered Species”. In the article, it describes how many species are at risk of going extinct due to trump's wall. Normally when the government decides to build a new structure, they need to have permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service. Our new president Donald Trump, thinks that he is above the law. He has put in no such request for the foundations opinion/permission. The article also talks about a few specific species at risk including the jaguar, the grey wolf, the western Indian manatee, sea turtles, and the bald eagle. As a scientist, I think that America can't go through with this. It's okay for trump to build a wall. I think that the problem, is how he is going about it. He is not thinking about what it could do to the animals in the region. He is creating many unbalanced ecosystems, throughout regions near the border. Who knows what affects this could have on America (Ecosystems collapsing, food shortages, etc.). My opinion about the wall, is that it won't really accomplish anything. All Trump has really done, is managed to make other countries angry. If he does not start considering the consequences soon, bad things are eventually going to happen. Personally, I don't think that Trump is a great president. I just think that he was the better of the two options.
ReplyDeleteI read Trump's Wall Could Cause Serious Environmental Damage by Scientific American. This tells about how building the wall will hurt the wildlife migration living around there, and use up resources and will cause greenhouse gas emissions. Even with these problems, Trump will still build the wall and it not thinking about the environmental issues that will come of it. As a scientists I think Trump building his wall is a bad idea and will cause so many environmental problems, causing the extinction of many animals. My opinion about the wall is that I understand why Trump wants to put it up, but I don't think it will stop illegal immigrants, they will just find a way around it, causing more issues.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree Lindsey! There is no way that a wall will exponentialy decrease immigration considering how advanced technology is.
DeleteI echo your thoughts and opinions. Despite the ecological and environmental concerns, Trump will still build the wall. And exactly, if illegals really want in, they will find a way. The U.S. will then need to up its game and be aware and vigilant of their new attempts to entry.
DeleteI chose to read the article "The Problem With President Trump’s Wall That No One Is Talking About". This article was pretty basic on what's happening with the wall. It shared that the wall is going to be about fifty feet high which will disrupt animal migration except for birds, which could leave some animals to die because of lack of food or water that can be found on either side of the wall, but maybe not on both. Which will overall harm animals wherever they are. As a scientist I believe that the wall is an overall bad idea that will bite back at us, we coud potentially endanger animals or cause several keystone species to die off because they could not get the resources they need that would come from migrating. Now, if that happens then several ecosystems could collapse because of the loss of these keystone species which in the end would effect us. My opinion about the wall is that it's useless, yes it can hold people out of the US who could be murders and what not, but what about the people who are just trying to get back to their family? And why don't we have a better system for taking in immigrants than making an expensive wall?
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that we should try to improve the immigration system. By doing that, fewer people would feel the need to immigrate illegally and we wouldn't have to build the wall and cause all of those issues for the ecosystem. It would be a much better and less expensive solution.
DeleteI completely agree with you, Miranda. The wall is a pointless waste of money. New and better systems for accepting those who want to be citizens would be much better than building the wall. Loosing keystone species is also detrimental to ecosystems and it's a sad reality that we'd have to deal with if the wall were to be built.
DeleteHere's a little fun fact about deaths in America;
More people were killed by falling out of beds, lawn mowers and armed toddlers than by immigrants.
The article Trump's Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species was about how Donald Trump’s wall with Mexico could could kill off animals such as the jaguar. Trump’s wall could also kill of a keystone species such as the grey wolf.As a scientist I believe that this wall will be catastrophic because it would lower the grey wolf population and without wolves the are more herbivores which means less plants. That could unbalance the entire ecosystem and all wildlife around the southern border. My opinion about the wall is it is useless and a waste of money. Also the president has claimed Mexico will pay for the wall and the president of Mexico responded by saying he will not. Another thing is that he has claimed it will cost about $10 billion when the actual estimated amount for the wall is $40 billion. I believe the wall will not stop illegal immigration so there's really no point to it.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree about the Gray Wolves. If they get wiped out, as a keystone predator, what disaster will that spell for the ecosystem?
DeleteI read the article “The Problem With President Trump’s Wall That No One Is Talking About” from Time Magazine. This article poses several major issues with the border wall proposed by President Donald Trump. The wall will worsen relations between the United States and Mexico and will also cost American taxpayers lots of money. However, the problem described in the title is the negative impact on many species whose habitats are being cut through by an impenetrable wall preventing them access to parts of their habitat. As a scientist, the idea of this wall is horrible because it will disrupt the ecosystem and could cause the extinction or a great decrease in population of threatened species such as Jaguars, Mexican Gray Wolves, and Ocelots who will lose access to much of their natural habitat. Biodiversity is a key element of what biologists hope to preserve in the world because it is a key part of their study. Without these animals and possibly many others around, the natural biodiversity of the area would be disrupted and most scientists would disapprove. My personal opinion on the wall is that the issue of illegal immigration should not take priority over several more important issues such as working towards clean energy, preventing terrorism, decreasing crime rates, etc. Huge tax increases, the destruction of ecosystems, and the worsening of relations between us and Mexico are all negative outcomes of an idea which might decrease levels of illegal immigration. In my opinion the cons outweigh the pros in this situation. I think that people hoping to prevent illegal immigration should look into other, less expensive and destructive, solutions because the border wall will cost much more than it is worth.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you mentioned biodiversity, and what building the wall will mean for keeping it. You also mentioned how the cons outweigh the pros, and I certainly agree! For now, we'll just have to wait and see it seems.
DeleteZach,
DeleteI agree that the wall should not be built as it will decrease biodiversity, worsen political relations and drain excessive amounts of money from the tax payers. With its only benefit being that it might reduce the already decreasing number of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border.
I totally agree with you, if the goal is to keep out illegals, then there has to be a more effective way of doing so, a way that doesn't do more harm than good.
DeleteI read the article “Trump’s Border Wall Pledge Threatens Delicate Desert Ecosystems” and learned about all the living organisms a wall splitting the US-Mexico borderlands would endanger. An example of this is the Bighorn sheep, which lives on both sides of the border. The construction of wall would put this and many other animals at risk. Not to mention that the wall would interfere with water sources that are vital for the survival of many animals.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the construction of a wall would be a waste of resources, and pointlessly endanger the lives of too many species. However, I do believe creating jobs for American citizens is also important. If there is an alternative to the construction of a wall then I believe I’d support it.
I agree with you argument and also think that making more job's for Americans would be good but not for the risk of losing endangered animals.
DeleteI read the article “Trump’s Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species. In it, I learned that a lot of different species, some that you wouldn’t expect, to become threatened by the wall. Even manatees, underwater-dwelling creatures are going to be in danger of the wall. The keystone predator, the Gray Wolf, will be in danger which means the entire ecosystem could be in danger since it’s a keystone predator. The last jaguar “El Jefe”, is in danger because his only hope is to find a mate south in Mexico. He won’t be able to find a mate if Trump’s wall is built. Sea turtles are going to be in danger due to artificial lights that will be placed. The babies need to use the moon’s light to get to the ocean safely after they hatch. If they can’t tell which direction to go, they could end up dying. As a scientist, I think that this wall will ruin the ecosystem that is currently happening along the border. If the gray wolves become extinct, which are a keystone predator, is will have a drastic effect on the way life is near the border. In my opinion, the wall isn’t a good idea to begin with. Especially now knowing how many animals will be threatened. To begin with, Mexico really hasn’t done much wrong to America, what does Trump have against them?
ReplyDeleteI read the article, Trump’s Wall Threaten 111 Endangered Species. This article explained the impact Trump’s Wall will have on many species and ecosystems in its vicinity. For example, there is currently one jaguar in the U.S. whose life will be affected by the wall, and many are concerned for its well being because the species as a whole needs help. A wall serving this specific purpose will need to extend into the water in order to make sure that the government has all their bases covered. Therefore the wall would reach into shallow waters, and this would affect manatees greatly. As a scientist, I think that the conservation of our endangered species should take priority. The wall will affect Gray Wolves, which are keystone predators, and the loss of this species could potentially be catastrophic as they hold that keystone status. Not to mention that Trump has “filed no such request for his proposed border wall” to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and he needs to be held accountable (Siler). My personal opinion about the wall is that it’s a big step, but not in the right direction. Illegal immigration has been a problem for a while now, and I appreciate that Trump is actually doing something to stall it, but I feel his methods aren’t the right way to go about it. In the end, I may stand corrected, but at the moment I think there are better, cheaper, ways to go about solving the problem of illegal immigration.
ReplyDeleteI read the article Trump’s Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species. After reading, I learned that under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, and construction project must be reviewed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As far as we know, Donald Trump has not done this. This wall will effect 111 endangered species, including, jaguars, sea turtles, wolves, bald eagles, and many more. As a scientist, I think that this wall is very harmful and is a danger to our environment. With this wall, many species of animals will die off, which will cause other animals and vegetation in the environment to decrease. My opinion on the wall is that it is unnecessary and will cause nothing but trouble. There may be a few benefits, like more job opportunities for Americans, but overall, this wall is not needed. Building the wall will prevent access to one of the U.S’ food suppliers. There is no need for this wall, and it should not be built.
ReplyDeleteI read the article “Bad Math Props Up Trumps Wall” and learned just how much money it would take to build Trump’s wall. The article says it would take about $9 billion just to pay for the concrete needed to build the wall, never mind the $4.6 billion for steel and labor costs between $27 and $40 billion. Meaning the total cost of the wall would be at least $40 billion. As a scientist I do not see the appeal or advantage of spending billions of dollars of money we as a country don't have on something that is not necessary. Considering the fact that illegal attempts to cross the mexican border have reduced to 1/5th of the amount that occured in 2015. This is largely because Mexico has reached Stage 3 of the Demographic transition model meaning its economy is beginning to level out and prosper reducing the amount of people wishing to leave Mexico thus reducing the number of people wishing to cross the border in the first place illegal or otherwise and making the wall obsolete.. My personal opinion on the wall is that it is a frivolous expense that would be made purely to show power, considering we are presently in a time of relative peace with other countries I do not see any reason to rock the boat. I don't understand why in a time when people are trying so hard to unite the world, one would ever wish to endanger this process by physically dividing an entire continent with a $40 billion wall.
ReplyDeleteI read both the Time article "The Problem with President Trump's Wall that No One is Talking About" and the Technology Review article "Bad Math Props Up Trump's Border Wall". I learned from Time what most Americans, including myself didn't realize about the wall: it's incredible negative impact on the environment. The environment is an issue for the young, considering that we have to inhabit the earth, or what's left of it when we become adults. This alone should convince millennials the wall would be a bad idea. However, most Americans only care about the cost and results. Technology review mostly focused on the sheer cost of a wall, answering the question Trump hasn't "How much is this going to cost?". That article had an adjustable scale, of which you could click and drag the amount of feet the wall was tall, how far it went below ground and its length. At 30 ft tall, 6 ft. below ground and 500 miles across, (The lowest measurements) the wall would cost 12.8 billion dollars, just above Trump's own estimates. However, the largest measurements Trump has given, 70 ft tall, 14 ft below ground, and nearly 2,000 miles long, add up to 117.3 billion dollars. That's a huge difference. Granted, the wall will most likely end up costing somewhere in between the two. No matter how many billions the wall costs, I simply do not support it and will fight against it for various reasons. The biggest problem with Obama's presidency was the national debt. Obama had many successes, but now it's now time to start digging ourselves out of it. A wall, first off, would increase the national debt drastically, and would never stop indcreasing the debt as long as it stood, because of maintenance costs. By the way, there is no way on earth mexico will pay for the wall. Besides, with Mexico's economy booming and their birth rate lowering, reasons for immigration are lowering as well. Not to mention another reason why illegal immigration is a problem: Many immigrants are already here, and would like to go back to their families after working for a while in the U.S., but decide against it because of the increased border patrol. After all, the border between the U.S. and Mexico is already the most heavily secured border between two nations in peace in all of history. A wall would just stop the flow of immigrants back to Mexico, resulting in them overstaying their visas. A wall simply would not help reducing illegal immigration.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the wall will make a minuscule affect on immigration. I think that adults should have thought more on the children, like us, then the cost and results of the wall.
DeleteI read the article "The Problem With President Trump’s Wall That No One Is Talking About" and learned that if Trump does end up building supposedly 55 foot tall wall it will endanger many animals such as jaguars, Mexican gray wolves and ocelots. Families will be cut away from their food and water sources as well as each other. The only animals that won't be effected by the wall are birds because they can simply fly over it. As a scientist i think that Trump's wall will cause a drastic decline in genetic diversity. I personally think that the wall is not worth building because it will cost about 15 billion dollars to build and consequently the tax payers will have to fund this project and i think that there has to be a better solution than a wall that won't hurt the environment as much.
ReplyDeleteI read Trump’s wall threatens 111 endangered species. This article is about how Trump's alleged wall being built on the border of Mexico and the US will affect so many rare and endangered species in that terrain. The article also states, “Under the Endangered Species Act, that designation requires any federal agency to “conduct their activities in such a way as to conserve species,” and also to “ensure that any activity they fund, authorize, or carry out will not jeopardize the survival of a threatened or endangered species.” This showed that even if trumps wall plan goes through congress the Species Act could potentially stop it. As a scientist, I think trump should N.E.V.E.R. build a wall. Building a wall will cost to much money and time, it could potentially cause fighting to break out and lastly it’ll have a major impact of endangered animals that live on the borders. My opinion about the wall is completely bias, I do not think a wall should ever be built period.
ReplyDeleteI read the article “Trump’s Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species” and the article was about how creating Trump’s wall will do much harm to endangered species like Jaguars, gray wolves, West Indian manatees, bald eagles, and sea turtles. The article also talked about how putting up the wall might not be as easy as Trump has stated. I learned that the border between the U.S and Mexico is crucial for the survival of animals. As a scientist I think that building the wall would be a terrible idea for the species, and ecosystem. My opinion about the wall is a bad idea because after reading about how many animal species it would be detrimental to. Overall, at this point I think the wall would do more harm than good.
ReplyDeleteI read the article, “Trump’s Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species” and I learned that Trump’s wall might end up messing with the habitats of many species that are endangered despite the wall being there. The article talked about the animals that are possibly going to be affected by the wall. Many of the animals that are going to be affected are very cool animals that play a good role in the world. The jaguar is one of them, there is only one recorded in the U.S and the rest are said to be in Mexico. The only way that the jaguars would be able to repopulate again is if one of the females finds the male or vis versa. As a scientist I think that the wall will not be as good as Trump thinks it is going to be, I think that it will be more of a burden than a blessing because of the time and expenses that will have to be put into it. My opinion about the wall is that it is stupid, there is no good reason for there to be a wall on the border of the U.S and Mexico. The only good reason for a wall is if there is a problem between the two countries and you don’t want them to have as easy of a time getting into the country.
ReplyDeleteI read the article "Trump's Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species." In this article it talks about the affects that the Trump wall would have on the environment, including cutting down population sizes of already endangered species. It also gave us insight on the fact that Trump has not had the wall looked into by The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and his wall will be considered illegal if he does not file such a request. As a scientist, I believe that this wall will cause the already fragile desert ecosystem to completely shutdown. The loss of several of these animals, such a the jaguar, will result in the loss of even more species because there will be an abundance of small prey animals eating mass amounts of the vegetation, leaving little for others. Personally, I believe the wall is a poorly thought out idea. The wall will just create tension between the two countries and cause a divide in the races instead of building unity like Obama was hoping, with this one single project, all eight years of Obama's hard work will be for nothing.
ReplyDeleteI read the “Scientific American” article and although I have done my fair share of research, I have never come across an article that shines this light on Trump’s completely assumption-based "plan”. The fact that the wall interferes with so many animal migration paths is a large problem for not only them, but our ecosystem. But for our new president, research really isn’t in his agenda (he’s too busy making relations with Russia). This time should actually be spent trying to find a middle ground with Mexico, or at least build relations with them in order to make more realistic advances for this problem in the future; especially because he has disclosed that he expects Mexico to fully fund the wall (40 billion dollars). I have a quite large doubt that he will be able to interact with President Nieto in such a manner that this could occur considering that he may be one of the “bad hombres down there” as trump stated referring to all mexican citizens. So, because this obviously will not play out in America’s benefit, causing taxes to exponentially increase, not to mention the harm to our ecosystem. Also, considering an estimated 71% of mexicans become aliens by plane, this extremely expensive endeavor will only be somewhat effective. Like the text stated, "A border wall "is not going to stop the flow" of people, it just means they're going to find different ways."
ReplyDeleteI just read the article "Trump's Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species", this story is informing us readers about the effect trump's wall could have on the endangered species, as it says in the title. The wall that he is predicted to build will approximately be 1,989-mile long land border the U.S. shares with Mexico with a total width of 1,000 feet. This would cause the Jaguar, Gray Wolf, West Indian Manatee, Sea Turtles, and the Bald Eagle to be cut off in a way. The Jaguar is the last living Jaguar in the U.S. so if we built a wall there would be now way for that Jaguar to stumble upon another one from a different area to have offspring. This would hurt the population or the Gray Fox and through of the economic balance. The Gray Fox is a keystone species which mean the removal of their presents wouldn't just affect them, but their whole ecosystem. This wall would cause the manatee's from coming up to the shallow water where they like to hangout. There are many other species this wall would effect but those are just a couple. There is more to the wall than people think; its not just about the protection of the country or making sure it isn't as easy to come here as it is now. There are many factors to the world than people focus on.
ReplyDeleteAs a scientist I don't think that this would be a good idea to build this wall because people need to think less about themselves and what they want and what is best for all contributing parties. What effect would this wall have on our ecosystem? What are the other factors I'm forgetting about right now?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion there are plenty more factors and people are just focusing on what they want to and not realizing how big of a change this would be. Plus it is not just like we are "only building a wall"! There is so much money and work that would have to go into this project; so we need to think through this idea of building a wall now before it's too late.
I read the article The Problem with President Trump’s Wall That No One is Talking About. The article brings up how the wall will harm our relationship with Mexico. It also mentions how it will cost Americans quite a bit of money. On top of this it brings up a point that I did not initially think about. The article states how the Wall will ultimately do serious damage to the environment and the wildlife in that area, because it will lead to habitat loss and prevent species from traveling to areas blocked by the wall. As a scientist I do not think the wall is a good idea. Humans in general do a lot of damage to the environment as is. Whether it is through deforestation or polluting the air with fossil fuels, humans do a lot of damage to the Earth. On top of that, no wall is impenetrable, we would be harming the environment an ineffective solution. My personal opinion about the wall is that it is a terrible idea. America is viewed around the world as a symbol of hope and freedom. I believe this wall could hurt our country’s reputation. People come into our country seeking a better life, and I do not believe that it is right to turn our backs on people who are inspired by the United States.
ReplyDeleteThroughout his campaign for presidency, one of Donald Trump’s main fixtures was his plan for a concrete wall between Mexico and the US in order to stop illegal immigrants from entering the country. Just 5 days after his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the construction of a border wall, which sparked protests across the country. In an article by Time magazine, Justin Worland puts a new perspective on the wall debate: an environmental one. According to Worland, Trump's 55 foot wall would stop movement of all species except for birds. As a scientist, I think that Trump’s border wall would be devastating to animals that are already vulnerable. It could be catastrophic to ecosystems and disrupt entire food chains, although the Trump administration seems to have little concern about this effect. Personally, I think the wall is a waste of money and it perpetuates the xenophobic rhetoric that illegal immigrants are criminals or degenerates. Trump's border wall could potentially cost the average American household $120 in extra taxes. I think that Trump’s derogatory comments about Mexican people and the overwhelming consensus from his supporters go against exactly what America is: a melting pot of culture and diversity.
ReplyDeleteI read the article named "Trump's Border Wall Pledge Threatens Delicate Desert Ecosystems." What I have learned from this article is that this 3,200 kilometer wall will endanger a lot of species that live in the desert. The US-MEX border has the highest amount of animal diversity of mammals, birds, and plants according to this site. And that would be a huge detriment to the local habitats, and the world. As a scientist, I think that the wall is a terrible idea, because it would create a huge loss of animals and plant life that we could never get back. But as an American, I say that we should build the wall because it would keep the illegal immigrants from getting into the country.
ReplyDeleteThe article I read was The Problem With President Trump's Wall No One Is Talking About. This article is about the issue everyone looks over as they feel the wall only affects humans, but boy are they wrong! The article talks about how animals and wildlife need to travel across land to get food and water and building a big wall would mess u the whole entire ecosystem! As a scientist, I feel the wall trump plans on building shouldn't be all that bad, as there is already a wall he is adding on to so the impact wouldn't be that great. My opinion about the wall is that it is alright as long as the money for it isn't coming out of my families wallet. The wall would help a lot with border security and that is good. It is unfair for the people who come here legally that illegal immigrants can live the same life.
ReplyDeleteThe article I read, “The Problem With President Trump’s Wall That No One Is Talking About”, and I learned that this wall not only damages the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico and will cost billions of dollars of citizens’ money, but it will also intimidate ecosystems and wildlife. These animals in the area of the future wall will have limited movement to get to necessary resources. Without being able to freely move around their location, even birds will have a hard time surviving. As a scientist, I think that animals need to have the right to roam around their habitat without being restricted. Socially, my opinion of the wall is that it will harm the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, and will cause unnecessary tension.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The wall would cause a lot of problems that are not worth its possible benefits.
DeleteAfter reading Trump's Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species I learned that you must file a request to build something, for example a wall. Even President Trump must file this request with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to see if there are any endangered Species. As it turns out there are endangered species where Mr. Trump wants to build his wall, it also will have an effect on animals that are not on the endangered species list. Personally I didn’t even think about how this wall would affect animals until I read this article. As a scientist I think the wall is a terrible idea because if the wall is built then it could separate the single male jaguar in America from the females from the Mexican population. To save the Jaguar population in the USA the male jaguar would need to mate with a female and if there is a wall separating them that can't happen. This wall will also separate other species and parts of habitats. My opinion on the wall is that the wall is completely pointless. I don't really have an opinion yet on Donald Trump as our president. From what I have seen/heard/read I don't really care for him but his idea for the wall. I can see he does kinda have good intentions but I don't think he is doing the best he can to make things better for our county. Especially by building a wall between us and Mexico this sends a bad message to other countries about what America stands for. America does not stand for some big wall separating us from Mexico.
ReplyDeleteI read the article "Bad Math Props up Trump's Border Wall." This article explained to me about the estimated cost for Trump's Wall and all of the measurements for the wall. It talked about how Trump said that he was going to build a wall that would cost between $8 and $12 Billion dollars but with the estimations from MIT it is no where near that costing $38 Billion. I find this crazy because that is a lot of money to spend on a very controversial subject and I wonder if Trump will follow through even though the estimated cost for his wall is almost four times as much as what he originally said. I personally think Trump will follow through though because Trump is the kinda guy to keep his word, and he promised a border wall along the US Mexico border. I think this is a pretty ridiculous price for the wall but it does come with a lot of benefits too like more jobs available to people and to help prevent illegal access to the US from Mexico as well. Overall I think Trump will still do it even though the cost because Trump knows the benefits, and the fact that this was one of his biggest ideas coming into his presidency.
ReplyDeleteThe article I chose to write about was the one titled Trump's Wall Could Cause Serious Environmental Damage. The article was mainly about how animal migration will be more blocked then it already is with the existing fence along the U.S. and Mexico border. The wall will be bad for the environment. Personally, I think that building a wall will not stop illegal immigration, and that it will be really expensive.
ReplyDeleteThe article I read was "Trump's Boarder Wall Could Cause Environmental Damage". I learned how this wall could not only kill endangered species such as the jaguar, but also Keystone species such as wolves. In my opinion, this wall wasn't thought out very well. It started out as an idea, such as building a wall to keep out illegal immigrants, but the only thoughts that were put into it were the location and measurements. I think there should of been some regard for the native animals that could be affected by a huge wall that appeared in their habitat. I understand where the idea came from, but I do think there could be another, more logical solution to the problem President Trump was trying to solve.
ReplyDeleteI read the article “Trump’s Border Wall Will Be Awful For The Environment”. While it highlights the lack of financial sense, it delves into the environmental disasters of Trump’s border wall. The wall’s materials will result in 7.8 million tons of carbon dioxide. Ecologically, 111 endangered species, 108 migratory birds, 4 wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries, along with countless protected wetlands, will be victims of the wall. As a scientist, I have no doubt that the wall will present numerous threats to the environment. Ecosystems will take a direct hit as a result of the wall. In my opinion, the reason behind the wall is valid – to keep illegals out of the country. However, the wall is an environmentally and financially irresponsible and wasteful solution. In recent years, the number of unauthorized immigrants from Mexico has been declining. Tougher enforcement at the borders including deportation, barring legal re-entry for years and criminal consequences have contributed to this decline. Proof that an environmentally and fiscally responsible solution does exist and works. Why mess with what is already successfully working?
ReplyDeleteThe article I chose was the one from Time Titled the problem with President Trumps Wall that no one is talking about. The article talked about how the wall will harm relations with mexico and how it will cost citizens millions of dollars. They also talked about how it would affect the environment by inhibiting movement for animals that need to move for food and water.They also said that the wall was a disruptive artificial boundary in the natural world. As a scientist I believe that since animals adapt to their environment they should be able to not be affected by the wall. My opinion about the wall is that it will only benefit the United States and the benefit will outweigh the issues.
ReplyDeleteI decided to read the Time.com article about the building of Trump's wall. It talks more about the scientific threats of the wall and how it can truly harm the ecosystem. One of the biggest problems will be the harm to animals and it would cause them to migrate to a different area to find food and water. This would really effect some endangered species native to Mexican soil. As a scientist I feel that there are no real benefits to building this wall. I'm not a big fan of the fact that it could harm our relations with Mexico but now to hear that there are environmental problems as well I'm definitely against it. I feel it's really important for us to try and preserve endangered species and keep animals habitats intact. In my personal opinion I think the wall is not a very economical and strategic move. I feel it will do more harm than good. I was able to work a bit more with the dynamics of building the wall because we did our photosynthesis poster on the trump border wall.
ReplyDeleteI read the article about the environmental problems that can occur with the building of Trump's wall. I learned that the wall can block off animals that need to travel to get food and water and other things that they need to do to survive. This can disrupt a lot of migration that the wild life has to do. As a scientist, this this would be a horrible idea because of the problems it would cause with the wildlife. But as a person, I think it's a relatively good idea because the Secretary of Homeland Security can waive environmental reviews when there is a national security interest.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading The Problem With Trump’s Wall That No One is Talking About from Time, I learned that the wall could have some negative effects on surroundings nature by preventing movement. There are many species around the area trump is planning on building the wall, and it could disturb local wildlife. As a scientist, I agree that the wall could negatively affect the local wildlife, but socially, I believe that the wall could help the american people a lot.
ReplyDeleteI read the article Trum´s Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species and i learned that the wall would cut through many animals habitats and disrupt their behavior. Some that were mentioned were the jaguar (the last one remaining in the U.S.), the sea turtle, the manatee, the bald eagle, and the Grey wolves. They would all be greatly impacted because of the disturbance from the development of the wall and it cutting through natural and protected habitats. As a scientist this would be very dangerous to the animals in the area around the wall because the construction would interrupt their niche and habitat, cutting off needed resources and space for survival. Without those they would not be able to survive. Personally there is no point to the wall other than to be destructive and racist. You think your going to make a failed state pay for something like that, you’re crazy. You will just make them mad and hurt many endangered species in the process.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting fact, I didn't know that 111 Species could be negatively affected by Trump's Wall.
DeleteThe article I chose to read was "Trump's Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species." The article's primary purpose was to alert people of the danger Trump's wall will cause to many animals. The author puts five of the most shocking animals affected by Trump's wall first, the one that struck out at me the most was the bald eagle. As a scientist, I believe that the wall won't stop much illegal immigration but, instead, cause an irreparable amount of damage to the animal's habitats surrounding that location. As a citizen of the United States, I think that President Trump's wall will be a huge waste of time and resources.
ReplyDeleteI agree that trumps wall wont do much to help with immigration and will only do more harm than good .
DeleteI read the article "Trump's Border Wall Could Cause Serious Environmental Damage" and I learned about the potential non political perils of building a wall of this size. As a scientist, I am alarmed at how much of a problem this could be for the communities and ecosystems around there. It feels strange to me that there could all of a sudden be extinct species because of a political thing. As a citizen of the United States, I support the building of the wall. Strong borders matter to me, and although I am not able to vote, and my opinion doesn’t really matter, I think that measures should be taken to insure the safety of these animals.
ReplyDeleteI read, "Trump's Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species", and I have discovered that many loved animals such as gray wolves and manatees could be harmed in the process. As a scientist, I think that the wall will be deadly to the wildlife surrounding it and it will cause bad relations between people. The wall is just a bad idea in general because there's so many other ways to get around it and it'll obviously disrupt beautiful wildlife. Why spend so much money ruining and disrupting the wildlife when the money could go towards trying to save wildlife?
ReplyDeleteI read the article "The Problem With President Trump’s Wall That No One Is Talking About", and learned how president Trump wall has many unforeseen consequences that will not only effect relations between us and Mexico and the U.S. and cost tax payers billions of dollars but will affect the natural environment and its inhabitants. If Trumps wall is built as he promises, it could wreck the ecosystem surrounding the wall. It would trap smaller wildlife and stop the migration of many species across the border. Trumps executive order doesn't even mention the environmental review process behind the construction of the wall, so people are not sure if they are taking into account the negative effects. As a scientist I feel that the construction of trumps wall wont take into account the environment and the native population causing many complications in biodiversity and endangering species. It will do more harm than good and will be a waste of money. Socially my opinion on the wall is that to protest the wall, we would all band together and stand over the construction site of the wall when the time comes for it to be built. We would also sing, dance and party till we get what we want
ReplyDeleteI read the MIT Tech Review article where they explain using math, science, common sense, & reality that the cost of what Trump is proposing is many, many times the amount he said it would cost.
ReplyDeleteAs a firm believer in science and facts, I perceive this as being a huge blow on the US economy, not only would it cost an exuberant amount to construct, but maintenance for the wall would eventually succeed the original tens-of-billions cost. So it's a non-effective solution that just gets more and more expensive with age. That's not even mentioning the Americans who live right on the border, or the Rio Grande River which runs right on the border and could endanger thousands of plant & animal species as well as the humans who live near it.
Now as that was leaving out the main reason this wall is happening I will put it in my opinion as it is not a science. The reason this wall is happening is the result of hate, racism, fear-mongering, & xenophobia and I in my right mind cannot commend the use of billions of US dollars to produce a symbol of hate that I do not and will never agree with under any circumstances.
I read the Time Magazine Article, The Problem With President Trump's Wall That No One Is Talking About. The article was talking about how the wall is a threat to the local environment and ecosystems. One of the main focuses was on the effect the wall would cause on jaguars, Mexican gray wolves, and ocelots, including its effect on their ability to mate and their movement. I learned that the wall would have a large impact on many different species and may even result in a loss of genetic diversity. I also read the MIT article on the wall's impact to the environment. The main focus was on what it would do to the atmosphere and the are surrounding the wall. I learned that the production of this wall would be very harmful to Earth. As a scientist, I think that the wall would an extreme negative impact on the environment and animals in the area. The mating groups of certain animals would be effected because they would be cut in half due to the fact that they are on both sides of the border and that they would have less access to food and water. A report was released that stated that the wall would effect 111 endangered species, 108 species of migratory birds, four wild life refuges and fish hatcheries, and an unknown number of protected wetlands. To build the wall, with all the materials involved, like steel and concrete, a total of possibly 7.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, which will be extremely harmful to the environment. Socially my opinion of the wall is that it will cause an extreme amount of damage to the planet, not just environmentally, but also socially. The wall will cause an uproar within the people of Mexico and the United States. The wall will cause many more problems than it could possibly ever prevent from occurring. The use of a wall provides no feasible benefits that would outweigh its damages.
ReplyDeleteI read the article, "Trump’s Border Wall Will Be Awful for the Environment" by MIT. It turns out that the wall will not only cost $40 billion dollars, but will also create an estimate of 7.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. It will damage the population of 111 endangered species, 108 species of migratory birds, four wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries, and an unknown number of protected wetlands. As a scientist, I think the idea of a wall is not smart, mainly because of the fact that the environment is already in a lot of danger, with out the extra tons of carbon dioxide. My opinion about the wall is that it is not a good idea because there are many people who work hard to be here, and many of them do no harm to society.
ReplyDeleteI read the article Trump's Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species the article talks about how Trump's will harm many animals inculding the bald eagle. The article tells that the wall will not allow for many endangered species to migrate as they have done for years. As a scientist I think that the wall could ruin the ecosystem that many animals call home and force many endangered species exstinct. My opinion on the wall is that instead of building a wall we should try to improve our relationship with Mexico and help those that are in need instead of just cutting them off.
ReplyDeleteThe article I read was “Trump’s Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species”. Building the wall would impact a width of 1,000 feet, meaning that 111 endangered species and more will all be affected in a negative way. Having an even larger wall along the border would destroy limit access to the animals’ habitats. For example, pollution, noise, and disturbance of the construction would already prevent animals, such as sea turtles, from nesting, and prevent their hatchlings from finding the sea when it is time to leave their holes. This project already puts 111 endangered species in even more danger, but perhaps the most surprising and significant species that would be harmed is the bald eagle, our country’s national bird. Such a large and time consuming project would disrupt their habitat and even though they could fly over the wall, it would cause changes and confusion for the species. If there are any nests along route of the wall then there would be a huge problem since disturbing the nest of a bald eagle is illegal. As a scientist, I think this project would cause harm for a lot of animals and even humans. This will cause a lot of problems with the environment and puts to many species in danger. Socially, I think the wall is a huge problem because we should never want to be divided. Our countries should come together! There is already a smaller wall separating them and this would also be harsh on the economy and cost way too much. It’s just a very unnecessary and unrealistic idea.
ReplyDeleteI read the articles “The Problem With President Trump’s Wall That No One Is Talking About”, “Trump’s Border Wall Will Be Awful for the Environment”, and “Trump's Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species”. The articles talk about the problems that trump’s wall will have on the environment. Not only will the wall cost around 40 billion dollars but it will also affect around 111 endangered species. One of the articles talks about how some animals need to be able to travel across that area for food and water. In “Bad math props op Trump’s border walls” it says that because of things like improvements in mexican economy and an increase in border control staffing 331,000 people were caught crossing the border in 2015 which is less than a fifth the number in 2000. I also read a different article.
ReplyDelete(http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2017/01/28/why-president-trumps-border-wall-is-an-example-of-bad-leadership/#5374ab1d78fd) and it said that most of illegal immigrants actually arrive in America with a visa and just don't leave.
I read Trump's Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species, I learned that out of the 111 endangered species, 108 of the species are migratory birds, four wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries, and an unknown number of protected wetlands. One of those species would be the Jaguar. There is only on known Jaguar left in America, but if Trump decides to build the wall, there may be no more Jaguars. As a scientist, I think that if Trump wants to build the wall he needs to find a way to keep the endangered species safe. My opinion of the wall is that it’s a good idea but the idea is kind of rough around the edges. Trump needs to figure out how to keep the endangered species safe and then I think it would be a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you the wall is a good idea but needs to be well thought out.
DeleteTrump's Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species
ReplyDeleteAfter I read this article I learned that Trumps wall will impact 111 endangered species. The interesting thing that I learned is that some of those species will be aquatic because otherwise people could just wade around the border through shallow water. As a scientist I think the wall is a bad idea because of the damage it would do to the species of that area. But my opinion is to go ahead with the wall though not to do so blindly I think that there is a solution in which most of the species could be saved if there is no way to preserve the species then the wall should not continue.
I chose the article “Bad Math Props Up Trump’s Border Wall”. This article was about the math involved with Trump’s idea of a wall. Although, Mr. Trump never mentioned any dimensions or specific details involving the wall [other than the wall spanning the entire Mexico-US border], the author had some ideas of how the wall could look and what the materials could be. The author, Konstantin Kakaes, has also stated that the costs of the wall would be much higher than what Trump had said during his campaigning.
ReplyDeleteAs a scientist, I think that the wall is an enormous waste of money and resources. Over $27 billion to $40 billion would just go down the drain on 9.7 million cubic meters of concrete and 2.3 billion kilograms of steel (and not to forget the labor costs which would add billions more). These resources could’ve gone to rebuilding destroyed parts of the country, the money could’ve gone to solving much more important issues than building someone’s dreams of a concrete slab over the already existing fence. In 2015, there was less than ⅕ of people who crossed the fence [compared to 2000] but the fact is, wall or not, people will still try to cross over for a better life.
My own opinion of the wall is the same as my scientific conclusions. Trump’s wall is a dream that failed. The wall would cause more harm than good.
We’ve all seen walls in our history textbooks, built to divide nations for the ‘better’. From walls built around european cities to enclose innocent people [aka Ghettos] to the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall, for example, did nothing but harm when it split West and East Germany in twain. People still made daring attempts to cross and many of those who attempted, lost their lives.
To conclude this, I’d like to give an honorable mention to the Berlin mayor who said, “Mr. President, don’t build this wall,” after quoting Mr. Ronald Reagan’s line of “Mr. Gorbachev: Tear down this wall.”
I read Bad Math Props Up Trump Wall. I learned that building the wall could actually be counter productive.The total cost to build the wall could be up to $40 million. Trump is planning on building the wall 1,000 miles long, 50 ft. high, and 10-15 feet underground, and that this will be much, much more expensive than Trump predicted it to be. In fact, the wall may be counter-productive, money wise, because the amounts of illegal immigrants caught crossing the border has gradually gone down. As a scientist, I think that using all of these materials, and all of this money, for something that may not even be necessary, will have a negative effect on both our economy and the ecosystem surrounding the wall. I think that the wall is highly unnecessary, while it may help a little bit, overall it is not worth the cost.
ReplyDeleteI read,“Trump’s Border Wall Will Be Awful for the Environment". In the text it described the impact of Trumps wall on the ecosystem. The wall will deprive many species from necessary things like food, water, shelter, and natural habitat to roam. The costly wall also poses the problem of stopping migrating species from being able to get to the area they need. As a scientist, I'm disturbed one would distrubt the natural flow of an ecosystem to simply "solve" political issues. If there was meant to be a wall there the animals would be born or develop capabilities to survive in a divided space, but because there was no wall the animals will die from dehydration, starvation, and environmental changes. I do not agree with exposing endangered and non-endangered species to these threats. In my opinion I do not think building a wall will solve anything, the walls built in history have only caused problems (Berlin wall). The billions of dollars spent socially dividing, and physically dividing countries is something I do not support. I think uniting countries is the best solution, as the United States has trillions dollars in debt and many internal problems.
ReplyDeleteThe article that I read was “The Problem With President Trump’s Wall That No One Is Talking About.” It spoke about how most people who are against the wall are only worried about the relations between Mexico and America and how much the taxpayers are going to have to pay. Overall though it spoke about how the wall poses a threat to the local environment and ecosystem. Regarding animals it says that the wall could inhibit movement for the animals that need to travel for food and water over the border. As a scientist think that the wall would be a very bad idea to build. In terms of the animals and them having to move across the border, if this wall were to be established the potential of certain species going extinct or becoming endangered increases greatly. Lots of animals depend on the movement that they have along the border and by building a wall we would be inhibiting them their normal way of life. My opinion about the wall is that it’s a stupid idea. Not only will this affect animals but most importantly it will affect people. With the wall it will be harder for people to get across the border and some might not even be able to. All in all it’s very confining and not good for anyone.
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