Video and Article Response

Based on the video and article, I would describe the health lessening.  The declining heath of these ecosystems could be caused by a number of things.  One thing affecting these ecosystems could be human activity.  Human activity contributes to the declining heath by runoff water carrying pollution and waste that humans have left into the ocean and into habitats like these, effecting all different types of organisms and species.  Changing climate (part of which is because of both human activity and what is know as the greenhouse effect) also effects populations and communities in these ecosystems as well.  With all of these changes going on, resources are becoming more scarce which means there will be more competition between individuals and unless they are able to fulfill a different niche due to the decreasing carrying capacity, they will not be able to go on to survive (as said in the Competitive Exclusion Principal). Though some species will be forced to emigrate to different places in order to have a change at survival.  With competition and predatation becoming greater and with emigrating organisms hoping to immigrate into other ecosystems, the population density could start to decline everywhere because odds are, not just one ecosystem is going to be effected by these changes. I feel that there is not much being done about the aquatic ecosystems at all.  As said in the article, about 12% of land is conserved in some way but only about 1% of water is conserved.  I don't think that most people care a lot about their impact on the bioshphere  and everything in it. Humans play a very big part in the biosphere and most don't realize it. I have learned a lot so far this year in Biology and I hope to apply it to aspects of everyday life.  

Power Balance Bands

This is a scam, simply touching a hologram in a bracelet can't give you improved balance, strength or flexibility.  I think people are just being convinced that wearing it can help them, not the product itself.  Evidence that supports this is a few tests that were where it is unknown who has one of these Power Balance Bands in a group of people, the results were that the persons who had the bands did not react as the producers of the product said they would while some persons without the band reacted as if they had the band on when they did not.  I do not think that the Power Balance Bands work as consumers of the product are told, I think that the bands have no physical effect to people.  If I were to conduct an experiment testing the effectiveness of the bands, I would have done the same test with it being unknown who has the band in of many groups of people but I would also do a test where someone is unaware that they have the band on throughout the day (hologram put in clothing perhaps) and see if they noticed a difference from other days.  It is necessary to look at both sides of this issue because both sides have tests the can be done proving the effectiveness or lack-there-of of  the bands.  So both sides must be looked at to see which test would be most persuasive in telling whether or not the bands work as consumers are told.