Human Influenced Facts
- If just 25% of U.S. families used 10
fewer plastic bags a month, we would save over 2.5 BILLION bags a year.
- On the average, the 140 million cars in America are estimated to travel
almost 4 billion miles in a day, and according to the Department of
Transportation, they use over 200 million gallons of gasoline doing it.
- Every year we throw away 24 million tons of leaves and grass. Leaves alone account for 75% of our solid waste in the fall.
-
Over 100 pesticide ingredients are suspected to cause birth defects, cancer, and gene mutations.
- Enough glass was thrown away in 1990 to fill the Twin Towers (1,350 feet
high) of New York's World Trade Center every two weeks.
- A three percent annual growth rate will result in the doubling of consumption
and production of food and other products in 25 short years. The
amount of motor vehicles that are expected to be operated will increase
15 million a year until at least 2010.
- Every day 50 to 100 species of plants and animals become extinct as their
habitat and human influences destroy them.
- Deserts are advancing and taking over the land. In Mali the desert has
taken over about 220 miles in as few as 20 years. Deserts can be repelled,
by developing tree-planting projects, having better agriculture and by
managing the land better. However, governments still are reluctant to fund
anti-desertification, despite horrific droughts that have occurred in recent
years.
- The Earth has been around for 4.6 billion years. Scaling this time down
to 46 years we have been around for 4 hours and our Industrial Revolution
began just 1 minute ago. During this short time period we have ransacked
the planet for ways to get fuels and raw materials, have been the cause
of extinction of an unthinkable amount of plants and animals, and have
multiplied our population to that of a plague.
- Despite all of the damage we have caused the environment most of it is
reversible. We can restore habitats and return species to them; clean
rivers;
renovate buildings; replenish the topsoil, replant forests. However,
these activities do not relieve the worst symptoms of the damage. We
still have
to fix the source of these problems, us and our vision that we must
progress.
Interesting Animal Facts
- Penguins live only in the Southern Hemisphere and never in the Northern
Hemisphere.
- A single porcupine is known to kill 100 trees in one winter. It uses it's
sharp claws to climb a tree, sits on a limb to gnaw away at the bark and
twigs and then stuffs them all into its mouth at once. Because of it's
liking for bark, the porcupine causes much damage to forests.
- A scallop moves by sucking water into its shell and then squirting it out
suddenly. It likes to wander around and this gives it enough force to push
it in front in a zig zag manner.
- A male garibaldi damselfish attract females for mating by covering a rock
with a thick layer of alga. A male which clean off a rock to allow only
algae to live have a higher chance of mating. The algae is also used to
protect the eggs of the fish.
- To prevent the nest from getting soaked, the rare white-chinned swift,
which nests behind the waterfalls of Latin America plant pieces of moss
in the nest which then grow and reinforce the nest.
- A porcupine loves salt so much that it would walk into a camp and gnaw
on anything that has been touched by salt or even by perspiring hands
- The tip of an elephant's trunk is so sensitive and flexible that it can
pick up a pin.
- If a mole does not find food within 12 hours, it will die. Its chief food
consists of insects and earthworms.
- A male nightingale stops singing when its eggs have hatched so as not to
attract unnecessary attention to the nest. However he gives short calls
to tell the female that all is well or danger is approaching.
- The Amazon army ants raid nests of certain black ants and carry back to
cocoons and larvae to their own homes. When the cocoons hatch, they will
become the slaves of these army ants and do all their work.
- Qutab Minar is the tallest brick minaret in the world.
- The foundation of the tower was laid down by Qutubu’d - Din Aibak in 1199 AD.
- The first storey was completed during the reign of Aibak.
- The next three stories were added by Shamsu'd-Din Iltutmish, the son - in - law of Qutubu’d - Din Aibak.
- The fifth and the last storey were constructed by Firuz Shah Tughlaq.
- According to the Archeological Survey of India, the
site at which Qutab Minar is located was once occupied by 27 Hindu and
Jain temples.
- Qutab Minar is made up of red and buff sandstone, containing intricate carvings and verses from the Holy Quran.
