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Solar System

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Solar System
Our understanding of the Solar System has changed over time. For over one thousand years the widespread belief was that the earth was stationary and at the center of the universe. Since that time, through a series of discoveries it has been proved that the earth not stationary and it is not at the center of the universe.

The Ptolemaic system was developed early in the first century by Claudius Ptolemy who believed like most Greek Scholars in the geocentric view that the earth was stationary and at the center of the universe.

Over one thousand years later, Nicolas Copernicus, a mathematician and astronomer believed in the heliocentric theory that it was not the earth, but the sun that was the center of the universe. His book, “On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres” laid the groundwork for future observations and discoveries and his work became known as the Copernican model.

Galileo’s observations through the use of a telescope he built, was able to provide the evidence needed to support the heliocentric theory.

In 1572 Tyler Brahe discovered a new star and after sixteen months it disappeared from site. This discovery conflicted with earlier views that the stars were fixed. (Space Discovery website, n.d.) Based on his observations and measurements of our solar system, Brahe proposed a model that fell in between the Ptolemaic and Copernican models. (The Obervations of Tycho Brahe, n.d.) His discoveries and writings were central to the advancement in understanding of our solar system.

Johannes Kepler discovered that the planets orbit around the sun in an elliptical pattern, rather than circular. His second conclusion was that the closer a planet is to the sun, the faster it moves. (Space Discovery website, n.d.) Third, he discovered that “the existence of a mathematical relationship between a planet's distance from the Sun and its orbital period - the length of time it takes to orbit the Sun once” (Space Discovery website, n.d., para. 15) These discoveries are what we know as Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion” and provided support to Nicolas Copernicus’s findings that it was the sun, not the earth that was at the center of the universe.

Galileo developed a telescope to study the solar system. He discovered that the Venus has phases like the moon and orbits the Sun. (Space Discovery website, n.d.) This discovery with his telescope, helped provide physical evidence to support the Copernican theory. He also discovered the Galilean moons, showing with his telescope that there was more to the solar system then the earlier astronomers were aware of.

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
On March 24, 1989 in Prince William Sound, Alaska an event that would damage our environment for decades took place. The Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, spilling nearly eleven million gallons of crude oil. This disaster affected thirteen hundred miles of coastline, brought death to thousands of Alaskan wildlife and affected the regions for years.

The political situation in 1989 had just started a new chapter as President George H. W. Bush was sworn into office as our forty-first President just two months before the oil spill. Two days after the oil spill, Boris Yelston won the first free elections in the USSR.

Less than three weeks before the oil spill, gas prices averaged just 99.22 cents per gallon, according to the Lundberg March third survey. (News Library website, 1989) On March 23, 1989 the Dow Jones industrial average had dropped 20.17 points to 2,243.04 (Wiggins, 1989) In the week preceding the oil spill, that Pete Rose was under investigation. Pete Rozelle announced he would retire as commission of the NFL after almost thirty years. Dorothy Cudahy was the grand marshal of the St. Patrick’s day parade, the first ever female to perform those duties and Universal Studios amusement park opened up the California Quake ride. (History Orb website, n.d.)

In the time leading up to the disaster of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, there had been major concerns over a lack of oversight and preparedness were catastrophe to have occur. Questions had been raised as to whether we would we be able to effectively handle a restoration project. The response to the oil spill validated those concerns; however, because of the Exxon Valdez disaster, we have learned more about effective and ineffective prevention. We have also learned more about cleanup methods as well as the short term and long term effects that cleanup can have on an ecosystem.

The impact that an oil spill has on the nature and surrounding habitat has also been a learning experience. Plants and animals were impacted by both the oil spill and cleanup methods and thousands of animals died as a result of the oil and the cleanup methods used. We have learned that when a cleanup process is initiated it can alter the physical characteristics of a shoreline and alter the biological communities.

While the Exxon Valdez oil spill was indeed a disaster, we have used this to further our understanding and have taken steps to learn from this experience. We are now more capable of preventing disasters and understand more about effective cleanup measures should an incident ever occur again.

The effects of the cleanup of an oil spill of this magnitude were relatively unknown. One of the ways that was used is by using hot water and high pressure to wash the shorelines. This method was used in areas where there were hard surfaces that were more difficult to clean because of rocks and seawalls. What we have learned is that when used incorrectly this method will wash away not only the oil but the natural elements needed for the survival and continuity of the ecosystem. We have learned that this can be an effective method as long as it is closely monitored, the use of different types of sprays are used, rather than the jet nozzle only and warm water instead of hot water is used. We also now know that we have to be cautious about what situations and habitats this is used in. (Office of Response and Restoration website, n.d.)

At the time of the Exxon Valdez Oil spill, plans for prevention and response were outdated and inadequate and response teams were not prepared or capable of responding to a disaster of this size. Congress had been stalling on legislation and the overall commitment to prevention and preparedness was lax. As a result of the magnitude of the oil spill the “Oil Pollution Act” was approved unanimously by both the House and the Senate and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush in 1990. This new law “strengthened requirements for oil spill preparation and planning, increased Coast Guard response capabilities and required double hulls on new oil tankers. (NOAA Ocean Media Center and NOAA Office of Response and Restoration, Emergency Response Division, n.d.)

While one of the worst man-caused disasters on an ecosystem the United States has seen, we have been able to learn from this and become better prepared to ward off an event from affecting our natural world such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill did. References
History Orb website. (n.d.). http://www.historyorb.com/events/date/1989?p=2
News Library website. (1989). http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=DSNB&d_place=DSNB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F35FB46D09F85A2&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
NOAA Ocean Media Center and NOAA Office of Response and Restoration, Emergency Response Division. (n.d.). Hindsight and foresight - 20 years after the exxon valdez oil spill [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.historyorb.com/events/date/1989?p=2
Office of Response and Restoration website. (n.d.). http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/significant-incidents/exxon-valdez-oil-spill/high-pressure-hot-water-washing.html
Space Discovery website. (n.d.). https://sites.google.com/site/spacediscoverysite/history-of-space-discovery
The Obervations of Tycho Brahe. (n.d.). http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/brahe.html
Wiggins, P. H. (1989, March 24). 20.17 Drop puts dow at 2,243.04. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/24/business/20.17-drop-puts-dow-at-2243.04.html

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