Mini Project #7

US Census data for Weston, FL

Year 2000-  49,286 people

Year 2006-  65,720 people

Facts about Weston, FL

Evolution & Turtles

            Charles Darwin provided scientific evidence in the mid 1800’s about how different species evolved over time. Darwin's theory of evolution fundamentally changed the direction of future scientific thought, though it was built on a growing body of thought that began to question prior ideas about the natural world. The core of Darwin's theory is natural selection, a process that occurs over successive generations and is defined as the differential reproduction of genotypes. Darwin’s theory of natural selection was based on a process in which more desirable traits are systematically favored for reproduction. Natural selection focuses on the struggles of survival and reproduction. Natural selection requires heritable variation in a given trait, and differential survival and reproduction associated with possession of that trait. Only some of the organisms manage to survive, which allows for the more favorable traits to remain and the less favorable traits to disappear. Over time, through natural selection of the most desirable traits, the species begin to evolve. Evolution occurs as inherited traits change from one generation to the next. From 1831 to 1836 Darwin served as naturalist aboard the H.M.S. Beagle on a British science expedition around the world. In South America Darwin found fossils of extinct animals that were similar to modern species. On the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean he noticed many differences among plants and animals of the same general type as those in South America. The expedition visited places around the world, and Darwin studied plants and animals everywhere he went, collecting samples for study. On his return to England in 1836, Darwin tried to solve the puzzle of how species evolved. He proposed a theory of evolution occurring by the process of natural selection. The animals or plants best suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on the characteristics that helped them survive to their offspring. Gradually, the species changes over time. In 1859 Darwin published 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection'. This book was a success immediately and helped to promote Darwin’s new theory, though it was met with some criticism

In our class we studied several different types of turtles. These turtles were the red-footed tortoise, box turtle, russian tortoise, yellow-footed tortoise, and mud turtle. Turtles are often referred to as turtles and tortoises with the difference being, that turtle refers to all the species, where tortoise is defined as any land-dwelling species. The box turtle has a domed shell, with yellow lines, and 3 claws on each hand. Also box turtles have a hinged plastron that can be shut completely to hide from predators. Mud turtles tend to have dull shell colors to help them blend into their habitat of damp and muddy dwellings. These turtles sometimes go into swamps or ponds, but rarely go in the water. Their diet consists of fish, worms, and insects. The Russian tortoise has sharp long digging claws and a dark shell with black spots. The red-footed tortoise has a dark skin with red scales and its shell is a dark color with some yellow spots. Their shells are also high domed and narrow to allow the turtles to move about in narrow openings in the forests. And the red-footed has no beak, just a short snout to eat grass. The yellow-footed tortoise is a close relative to the red-footed. The yellow-footed has dark skin with yellow scales and a wood colored shell. It also has nails for digging on dry land. These tortoises have large and strong shells to protect it from predators.

5 tips on how you can help save the environment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt08fuRcFfg

Ou group project for class. We are trying to get people to do these 5 tips, which will help lessen our impact on the environment.

Mini Project #6

In response to September 11, 2001 tragedy, the Broward League of Cities has formed a Hometown Security Committee.

Davie Hometown Security Page

NSU also serves as a Center for Bioterrorism and All-Hazards Preparedness.

About the Center for Bioterrorism and All-Hazards Preparedness (CBAP)

The Center for Bioterrorism and All-Hazards Preparedness (CBAP) at Nova Southeastern University, College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM) is a regional and national resource for the provision of educational services and programs focused on bioterrorism and all-hazards preparedness and response for health care professionals, health care workers, first responders, and students preparing for health careers.

CBAP is an integral part of the Health Professions Division (HPD) of NSU-COM and includes colleges and programs in osteopathic medicine, preventive medicine (residency), dental medicine, nursing, optometry, pharmacy, biomedical sciences, public health, biomedical informatics, occupational therapy, physical therapy, audiology, and physician assistant.

NSU-COM conducts the only osteopathic preventive medicine residency program in Florida. The program is based out of the Palm Beach County Health Department, and its director also serves as chair of the college’s Department of Preventive Medicine. Palm Beach County was the site of the nation’s first anthrax outbreak and death, which was one of the precipitating factors leading to the establishment of CBAP. In fact, NSU-COM preventive medicine residents participated in managing that critical situation.

CBAP works closely with state and national agencies to develop and distribute its educational programs and services. It began as taskforce shortly after 9/11, becoming a center in 2002. CBAP is the recent recipient of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to develop and implement interdisciplinary bioterrorism and all-hazards preparedness curriculum for health professional students as well as continuing education for 37,000 health care professionals and health care workers in South Florida. For the latter, NSU-COM is partnering with neighboring Broward Community College to provide all-hazards training to health care professionals and health care workers who require two years or less to earn their degrees or certificates.

Bioterrorism and all-hazards training for nurses in the state’s public and private schools is supported through a contract from the Florida Department of Health.

Our goals are to provide:

• National Incident Management System (NIMS) compliant interdisciplinary all-hazards training at the standardized awareness, intermediate, advanced, and executive levels for health service workers, providers, staff, and volunteers.
• Awareness training on the needs of vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations (e.g., the elderly, children, pregnant women, persons with mental and physical disabilities, the homeless, tourists/visitors, migrant workers).
• Appropriate training in English and Spanish utilizing multiple instructional delivery methods.

Mini Project 5

BROWARD COUNTY
Site Name CERCLIS ID		Proposed Listing	Final Listing	Construction Completion	Partial Deletion	Deletion
Chemform, Inc.
FLD080174402		6/24/88	10/04/89	9/16/93	N/A	7/28/00
Davie Landfill
FLD980602288		12/30/82	9/08/83	11/08/95	N/A	8/21/06
Flash Cleaners
FLD083111005		3/19/08	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Florida Petroleum Reprocessors
FLD984184127		4/01/97	3/06/98	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hollingsworth Solderless Terminal
FLD004119681		12/30/82	9/08/83	6/04/93	N/A	N/A
Petroleum Products Corp.
FLD980798698		4/10/85	7/22/87	N/A	N/A	N/A
Wilson Concepts of Florida, Inc.
FLD041184383		6/24/88	3/31/89	9/22/92	N/A	4/04/95
Wingate Road Municipal Incinerator Dump
FLD981021470		6/24/88	10/04/89	1/04/02	N/A	N/A

Mini Project #4

"Genetically engineered foods are produced from crops whose genetic makeup has been altered through a process called recombinant DNA, or gene splicing, to give the plant a desirable trait. Genetically engineered foods are also known as biotech, bioengineered, and genetically modified, although "genetically modified" can also refer to foods from plants altered through other breeding methods, says James Maryanski, Ph.D., the FDA's food biotechnology coordinator. "Scientists and farmers have been genetically modifying plants for hundreds of years," he says. Hybrid corn and tangelos (hybrid of a tangerine and grapefruit), for example, are the result of genetic modification through traditional methods of plant breeding. And the many varieties of apples we eat today were produced through genetic modification.

Using traditional genetic modification methods, such as cross-fertilization, scientists can produce a desired trait, such as a hardier plant. But in doing so, they mix thousands of genes from several plants, requiring many attempts over many years to weed out the unwanted traits that occur.

Newer methods of genetic modification, in the form of genetic engineering, are more precise and predictable--and faster. By controlling the insertion of one or two genes into a plant, scientists can give it a specific new characteristic without transferring undesirable traits."

"The first genetically engineered whole product--a tomato--went on the market in 1994. The FDA determined that the new tomato, which could be shipped vine-ripened without rotting rapidly, was as safe as other commercial tomatoes. Since then, more than 50 other genetically engineered foods have been determined by the agency to be as safe as their conventional counterparts.

The Grocery Manufacturers of America estimates that between 70 percent and 75 percent of all processed foods available in U.S. grocery stores may contain ingredients from genetically engineered plants. Breads, cereal, frozen pizzas, hot dogs and soda are just a few of them.

Soybean oil, cottonseed oil and corn syrup are ingredients used extensively in processed foods. Soybeans, cotton and corn dominate the 100 million acres of genetically engineered crops that were planted in the United States in 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Through genetic engineering, these plants have been made to ward off pests and to tolerate herbicides used to kill weeds. Other crops, such as squash, potatoes, and papaya, have been engineered to resist plant diseases."

Mini Project #3

Alligator, American ( Alligator mississippiensis)
Bankclimber, purple ( Elliptoideus sloatianus)
Bat, gray ( Myotis grisescens)
Butterfly, Schaus swallowtail ( Heraclides aristodemus ponceanus)
Caracara, Audubon's crested (FL pop.) ( Polyborus plancus audubonii)
Crane, whooping [XN] ( Grus americana)
Crocodile, American ( Crocodylus acutus)
Darter, Okaloosa ( Etheostoma okaloosae)
Deer, Key ( Odocoileus virginianus clavium)
Eagle, bald (lower 48 States) ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
Jay, Florida scrub ( Aphelocoma coerulescens)
Kite, Everglade snail (FL pop.) ( Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus)
Manatee, West Indian ( Trichechus manatus)
Moccasinshell, Gulf ( Medionidus penicillatus)
Moccasinshell, Ochlockonee ( Medionidus simpsonianus)
Mouse, Anastasia Island beach ( Peromyscus polionotus phasma)
Mouse, Choctawhatchee beach ( Peromyscus polionotus allophrys)
Mouse, Key Largo cotton ( Peromyscus gossypinus allapaticola)
Mouse, Perdido Key beach ( Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis)
Mouse, southeastern beach ( Peromyscus polionotus niveiventris)
Mouse, St. Andrew beach ( Peromyscus polionotus peninsularis)
Panther, Florida ( Puma concolor coryi)
Pigtoe, oval ( Pleurobema pyriforme)
Plover, piping (except Great Lakes watershed) ( Charadrius melodus)
Pocketbook, shinyrayed ( Lampsilis subangulata)
Puma (FL) ( Puma concolor)
Rabbit, Lower Keys marsh ( Sylvilagus palustris hefneri)
Rice rat (lower FL Keys) ( Oryzomys palustris natator)
Salamander, flatwoods ( Ambystoma cingulatum)
Sea turtle, green (FL, Mexico nesting pops.) ( Chelonia mydas)
Sea turtle, green (except where endangered) ( Chelonia mydas)
Sea turtle, hawksbill ( Eretmochelys imbricata)
Sea turtle, Kemp's ridley ( Lepidochelys kempii)
Sea turtle, leatherback ( Dermochelys coriacea)
Sea turtle, loggerhead ( Caretta caretta)
Seal, Caribbean monk ( Monachus tropicalis)
Shrimp, Squirrel Chimney Cave ( Palaemonetes cummingi)
Skink, bluetail mole ( Eumeces egregius lividus)
Skink, sand ( Neoseps reynoldsi)
Slabshell, Chipola ( Elliptio chipolaensis)
Snail, Stock Island tree ( Orthalicus reses)
Snake, Atlantic salt marsh ( Nerodia clarkii taeniata)
Snake, eastern indigo ( Drymarchon corais couperi)
Sparrow, Cape Sable seaside ( Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis)
Sparrow, Florida grasshopper ( Ammodramus savannarum floridanus)
Stork, wood (AL, FL, GA, SC) ( Mycteria americana)
Sturgeon, Gulf ( Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi)
Sturgeon, shortnose ( Acipenser brevirostrum)
Tern, roseate (Western Hemisphere except NE U.S.) ( Sterna dougallii dougallii)
Three-ridge, fat ( Amblema neislerii)
Vole, Florida salt marsh ( Microtus pennsylvanicus dukecampbelli)
Whale, finback ( Balaenoptera physalus)
Whale, humpback ( Megaptera novaeangliae)
Whale, right ( Balaena glacialis)
Woodpecker, red-cockaded ( Picoides borealis)
Woodrat, Key Largo ( Neotoma floridana smalli)