Environment and Biology

Environmental protection is a very important problem, which can result in dire consequences if not taken care of. Over the course of many centuries, humanity overlooked this problem and that is why we need to take care of this problem as quickly as possible. There are several categories of environmental pollution: Air Emissions, Wastewater, Land Pollution, Marine and Coastal Pollution, Hazardous Materials, Solid Waste, Pesticides and Pest Control Products, Asbestos and Harmful Dust, and Radiation. For several categories, there are solutions that can help deal with the problem.
Firstly, algae. Algae is an informal term for a large and diversegroup of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms – seaweed. Algae by itself is very important, as it produces more than 75% of the oxygen required for animals and humans. Moreover, algae can be turned into algae fuel, which is an alternative to liquid fossil fuel and common biofuel sources, such as corn and sugarcane. Like fossil fuel, algae fuel releases CO2 when burnt, but unlike fossil fuel, algae fuel and other biofuels only release CO2 recently removed from the atmosphere via photosynthesis as the algae or plant grew. Algae fuel has several advantages over common biofuel. Firstly, it is easier to grow and wastewater has been shown to be very effective in growing algae. Secondly, it is not used as primary food source, meaning it can be solely used for fuel without impact on the food industry. Moreover, many of the waste product extracts produced during the processing of algae for biofuel can be used as a sufficient animal feed. And lastly, growing algae as a source of biofuel has been shown to have environmental benefits. For one, it is able to utilize run-off, water contaminated with fertilizers and other nutrients that are a by-product of farming, as its primary source of water and nutrients. Because of this, it prevents this contaminated water from mixing with the lakes and rivers that currently supply our drinking water. In addition to this, the ammonia, nitrates, and phosphates serve as excellent nutrients for the algae, meaning that fewer resources are needed to grow the algae. However, algae also has some disadvantages, mostly due to the fact that algae biodiesel is a fairly new technology and the biodiesel produced from the processing of microalgae differs from other forms of biodiesel in the content of polyunsaturated fats. Therefore, algae can greatly contribute to reducing amount of air emission, wastewater, land, marine, and pesticide pollution.
Secondly, nematodes. Nematodes are colorless roundworms, which are non-segmented, elongated in shape and usually microscopic and commonly found living within the soil. Beneficial nematodes can be used to control soil borne insect pests but are useless for control of pests found in the leaf canopy. Beneficial nematodes as pest control won’t attack earthworms, plants, animals or humans, making it an environmentally friendly solution. Using beneficial nematodes for gardening pest control has become an increasingly popular method for six reasons:
1. They have an incredibly wide range of hosts and can be utilized to control numerous insect pests.
2. Beneficial nematodes kill the host quickly, within 48 hours.
3. Nematodes may be grown on artificial media, making a readily available and inexpensive product.
4. When nematodes are stored at proper temperatures 60-80ºF, they will remain viable for three months and if refrigerated at 37-50ºF, may last six months.
5. They are resilient and durable.
6. There is no insect immunity to the Xenorhabdus bacteria, which kills insect pests. The nematodes cannot develop in vertebrates, which make them extremely safe and environmentally friendly.
However, there are also bad nematodes and the difference between good nematodes and bad ones is simply which host they attack. Bad nematodes cause damage to crops or other plants. Overall, nematodes can decrease the usage of pesticides, which in return lessens land pollution.
Lastly, “plastic eating bacteria”. In 2016, Japanese scientists discovered a bacterium (Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6) that can break down PET plastic, which is primarily known from plastic bottles and clothing fibers. Ideonella sakaiensis breaks down PET, but the process is very slow. Therefore, researchers are focusing more on imitating the enzyme’s process, as Ideonella bacteria only uses 2 enzymes to break down PET plastic. The research about the bacteria is still going and it is still unknown if enzymes have any bad side effects and is it safe to introduce those enzymes to other bacterias.
Listed above are big scale solutions to the environmental protection problem, but it is always good to start with small solutions and implement more methods to protect the environment into our everyday life.

Bibliography:

1). Impact of Business and Industry on the Environment. Ministry of Environmental Protection, State of Israel. Last updated on:03/08/2015. http://www.sviva.gov.il/English/env_topics/IndustryAndBusinessLicensing/Pages/EnvironmentalImpactOfBusiness.aspx
2). Algae. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae
3). About algae and cyanobacteria. AlgaePARC. http://www.algaeparc.com/about-algea#logo
4). Algae fuel. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_fuel
5). Amy Grant. Nematodes As Pest Control: Learn About Beneficial Entomopathogenic Nematodes. Gardening know how. Last updated on 04/05/18. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/beneficial/nematodes-as-pest-control.htm
6). Morten Andersen. Bacteria can break down plastic. DTU. Published on 09/30/19. https://www.dtu.dk/english/news/2019/09/eng-bakterier-har-faaet-appetit-paa-plast?id=afa835a7-eb08-4f05-a5ee-9212464dcf26

Pictures:

1). Pedro Cordova Martinez. Environmental Pollution. Published on 11/26/19. https://manvillehoofprints.org/1590/opinion/environmental-pollution/# (link to the article), https://www.google.ru/search?q=environment+pollution&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjil9fIwrrrAhUX3KwKHTf9Dh8Q2-cCegQIABAA&oq=environment+pollution&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIECAAQEzIECAAQEzIECAAQEzIECAAQEzIECAAQEzIECAAQEzIECAAQEzIECAAQEzIECAAQEzIECAAQEzoCCAA6BAgAEEM6BAgAEB5QzmlY14IBYMiPAWgAcAB4AIAB5AGIAaURkgEHMTAuMTAuMZgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=8TJHX6LbH5e4swW3-rv4AQ&bih=723&biw=1536&client=opera#imgrc=zXytVmyL4LbtFM (link to the picture in Google)
2). Photographer Shutterstock. An image of a lab containing algae biofuel. Algae can be used as a replacement for single-use plastic. Article publisher: Leuren Phipps. Article published on 04/07/20. https://www.brinknews.com/algae-is-the-plant-based-nontoxic-alternative-to-plastic-sustainability-environment-climate/ (article link) https://www.google.ru/search?q=algae&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwi7kZLSwrrrAhWLFqwKHfvmANoQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=algae&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADIECAAQQzICCAAyBAgAEB4yBAgAEB46BAgjECdQua4KWIK1CmCwuApoAHAAeACAAacBiAH5BJIBAzAuNZgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=BTNHX_v6FYutsAX7zYPQDQ&bih=723&biw=1536&client=opera#imgrc=hqpAZLW5waOz1M (Google link)
3). Picture taken from Nematodes articles from link number 5. Didn’t state anything about photographer. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/beneficial/nematodes-as-pest-control.htm (article link), https://www.google.ru/search?q=helpful+nematodes&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiawqynw7rrAhUROKwKHXXtDBUQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=helpful+nematodes&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoECCMQJzoFCAAQsQM6AggAOgQIABBDOgQIABAeOgQIABATOgYIABAeEBM6CAgAEAUQHhATOggIABAIEB4QE1C7hgpY7J4KYNefCmgAcAB4AIABogGIAcsNkgEEMTEuNpgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=uDNHX5qGA5HwsAX12rOoAQ&bih=723&biw=1536&client=opera#imgrc=EhfKeTzO74IKIM (Google link)
4). Picture taken from Plastic eating bacteria article from link number 6. https://www.dtu.dk/english/news/2019/09/eng-bakterier-har-faaet-appetit-paa-plast?id=afa835a7-eb08-4f05-a5ee-9212464dcf26 (article link), https://www.google.ru/search?q=plastic+eating+bacteria&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjTv6yExLrrAhUKyawKHdMtA1AQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=plastic+eating+bac&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgQIABATMgQIABATMgQIABATMgQIABATMggIABAFEB4QEzoECCMQJzoCCAA6BAgAEEM6BAgAEB46BwgjEOoCECc6CAgAEAgQHhATULYLWLRRYLxZaBZwAHgAgAGRAYgB8ROSAQQxNy45mAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWewAQrAAQE&sclient=img&ei=ezRHX5OWBYqSswXT24yABQ&bih=723&biw=1536&client=opera#imgrc=oCgRbL7uPXwz1M (Google link)