biodiversity and natural balances
di Ludovica Zoccoli
di Ludovica Zoccoli
Scientists believe that the natural balances and the constant change of temperature depends on the biodiversity present on Earth. So far we have identified around 1.7 million species of animals and plants, however they estimate the existence of 100 species. Biodiversity is an essential source of wealth for the economy, the environment and ecological benefits. It is also very important for humans, in fact biodiversity plays a crucial role in human nutrition through its influence on world food production, as it ensures the sustainable productivity of soils and provides the genetic resources for all crops, livestock, and marine species harvested for food.
It also reinforces the productivity of any ecosystem ( of agricultural soils, of forests, of lakes and many others).
It is scientifically proven that loss of biodiversity can become the consequence of an insecure alimentation and a dangerous energetic distribution, it even increases natural disasters, such inondations or tropical storms.
it decreases the social health and the quality-guarantee idric resources.
from an economic point of view, living species supply raw materials for agriculture, industry, medicine and pharmaceuticals, in fact many industrial products used by people in their daily routines are made from natural essences.
for this reason it is estimated that more than a half of the World’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - About 40000 billion euros- depends on Nature.
Ecosystem services provide an important portion of the total contribution to human welfare on this planet. The estimated annual value of ecosystem services is US$16–54 trillion, with an estimated average of US$33 trillion.
Each species, big or small, plays an important role and a specific ecosystem which helps to maintain a defined balance for the life of the living beings on Earth.
For example, the fitoplancton on the ocean surfaces and the immenses forests have preserved the balance of the atmosphere, absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen.
The fitoplancton is also the base of the food chain, providing food directly or indirectly to all aquatic animals and others, such as shellfish,molluscs, jellyfish, sharks, dolphins and several species of fish.
For fitoplancton we intend all the photosynthesising autotrophic organisms present in plankton, meaning from those autotrophic able to synthesis organic matter starting from inorganic dissolved matter, using the solar radiation as a font of energy.
not just the resources of fitoplancton have strategically decreased, but also glaciers are melting for the global warming.
you’re probably asking yourself: but for what do we need glaciers?
They play an essential role in nature balance, because they reflect sunlight, keeping cool Earth temperature.
Even the barrier reeves are in danger, in fact the Great barrier reef in Australia- probably the most important barrier reef in the world- is in serious danger of extinction.
it has been facing multiple threats for almost a year. The most significant are The reef faces a multitude of threats. The most significant threats are the coral bleaching worsened by climate change, poor water quality from land-based runoff, and unsustainable fishing and coastal development.
This barrier is home to 1625 species of fish that swim among
more than 450 species of hard coral. Lesser known species like molluscs, sponges, marine algae, soft coral and sea pens are just some of the many species that are currently facing a high extinction rate.
But, wait, not just this barrier reef is in danger, in fact all of them are facing a crisis.
In all the centuries in the oceans, barrier reefs and mangroves have hosted millions of tiny fish that now, thanks to illegal fishing, polluted water and the irregular course of the food chain, are risking extinction.
Do you remember when you’d get so mad if a bee tried to sting you?
well, the pollinating insects allow a lot of vegetal species to reproduce and immense
Herds of animals have fertilized the plain.
Now, bee populations are rapidly declining around the world due to pesticides, pollution and habitat loss, among other factors.
More specifically, Climate change causes some flowers to bloom earlier or later than usual, leaving bees with fewer food sources at the start of the season. Bees suffer habitat loss from development, abandoned farms, and the lack of bee-friendly flowers.
Without bees, the availability and diversity of fresh produce would decline substantially, and human nutrition would likely suffer.
If bees disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live. The line is usually attributed to Einstein, and it seems plausible enough. After all, Einstein knew a lot about science and nature, and bees help us produce food.
Plus, according to Bees of the World (O'Toole and Raw), a normal-sized colony loses about a thousand bees per day in the summer.
From 1880 the global temperature has increased by 1 degree because of the global impact of human activities.
You’re probably asking yourself: why are we so concerned about global warming?
The world has never experienced such a fast and high temperature change in all of history.
Until now, the world has always been subjected to regular changes with temperature changes almost imperceptible.
as you probably already understood, the human impact on nature is the principale cause of the fast loss of biodiversity and for this, we should start creating enterprises in the interest of nature and conservation of biodiversity.
by
Carol Mauro, Benedetta Rinaldi, Naomi Vigliarolo
London is an enormous city, the capital of England. It has an area of 1572 km and 8,982 million people live there. London time is different than the italian. This city is divided in many neighborhoods: Elephant and Castle, Chiswick.
There are also many monuments like Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge. It is a very beautiful city because it has many famous icons that tourists from all over the world want to visit.
Tower of London
The Tower of London is a royal fortress.
Its buildings and grounds served historically as a royal palace, a political prison, a place of execution, an arsenal, a royal mint, a menagerie, and finally as a public records office.
Is the most secure castle in London.
Yeomen Warders are the curator of this tower.
hides a bloody history, where the Beefeaters keep the various and precious jewels of the crown.
The true story of this mystery is associated with the supposed
assassination of the twelve-year-old boy Edward V and his little brother, Richard, the exact year being 1483. Custom says they stayed in these rooms on the orders of their uncle, the future Richard III
Big Ben
The Big Ben was named after the Elizabeth tower, and it is the must-see structure in London! The bell inside the clock was called Big Ben and now it is connected to the bell, when it get night the clock tower becomes fantastic. This tower was found in Westminster and near to the river Thames.
The real name of Big Ben isn’t know but there are two reasons for it:
•The first is that the name was advised after Sir Benjamin the first commissioner of works and he was know in the house: Big Ben
•The second is that the name has been set after a big boxing champion,
Sir Benjamin and the name was reportedly in the society for something strong and very heavy.
The famous Big Ben, symbol of the city, which rises to the side of the Parliament, on the left the gothic side and the two towers of the Historic Westminster Abbey.
At the center is a neo-baroque with a domed building of Method Central Hall.
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace is situated in Westminster and it’s the UK’s sovereign’s official residence: Carlo III. Its construction started in 1703 but ‘The Palace’ opened in 1705. It’s enormous, Buckingham Palace is 24m and it’s divided into 5 floors.
It was designed by John Nash, William Winde, Thomas Cubitt, Aston Webb and Edward Blore.
Queen Elizabeth II lived there until she died of old age on the 8 September of 2022 at 15:10 at Balmoral Castle.
The royal family can’t do many things: they can’t sign autographs, take selfies with fans, nobody can propose without permission of the monarch and something very strange is that they must weigh themselves before they go to the Christmas dinner.
Tower Bridge
The tower bridge houses a museum, the tower bridge exhibition, which shows a tourist route.
In the East End of London. Often confused with London Bridge, Tower Bridge is considered more aesthetically important.
Construction began on June 21, 1886 and ended on June 30, 1894.
London is an enormous city and this article talks about some important monuments, but there are a lot of other place and sculptures that London has.
London is also a tourism city because Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace are popular in almost every part of the world
And if you will visit this city you will discover many important stories behind all the monuments.
“Ohio vs The World”
di Matteo Fiorentino
Ohio, a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, has been the subject of a meme that has been making rounds on the internet since late 2020. The Ohio meme, which often features a picture of the state with the words "only in Ohio" written in bold letters, has been used in various ways to express a wide range of emotions, opinions and experiences.
The origins of the Ohio meme can be traced back to the viral TikTok trend, "State Inside a Mood Challenge." The challenge involved using a picture of a state to represent a particular mood or feeling. Ohio, with its distinctive shape, became a popular choice for the challenge, and from there, the Ohio meme was born.
The Ohio meme quickly gained popularity, especially among the younger generation. It has been used to show strange pictures, videos, monsters. The meme has also been used to make jokes about various topics, from politics to pop culture.
One of the reasons for the popularity of the Ohio meme is its versatility. Unlike other memes that are specific to a particular event or trend, the Ohio meme can be used to express a wide range of things. This makes it an ideal tool for people to have fun online.
In conclusion, the Ohio meme is a testament to the power of the internet in creating and spreading popular culture. From a viral TikTok trend to a widely recognized meme,
Everyone recently has been making jokes about this and it has actually reduced the amount of people that go visit the american state by 18,7%
If you liked this article, make sure to read all the other ones present in “Il Massimino”
See you next time!
by Isabel Mura
The Queen was a band founded in 1971 but they became famous in the 80’s. It was made up of Freddie Mercury as the singer and pianist, Brain May as the guitarist, Roger Taylor as the drummer and John Deacon as the bassist. They used to write songs of different types of rock, from hard to lyrical to pop rock. In a few words, they played everything! They were so successful that they sold up to 300 million CDs with only 41 albums. Probably my favorite song is Who wants to live forever. They had different concerts, around 700 in 26 states. Unfortunately, Freddie died in 1991 at at the age of 46. Eventually, Deacon’s retirement in 1997 ceased the musical production.
However, this doesn’t mean they weren’t a great band, isn’t it?
THE ENGLISH CEREMONY OF AFTERNOON TEA
by Benedetta Morea
“Under certain circumstances there are a few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” This is the thought of Henry James- one of the most important authors in English literature- about the tradition to have afternoon tea. But are you sure you really know what this means? If not, don’t worry, this article will be your best solution! Continue reading, you’ll thank me later!
If you were asked to guess when the tradition of having tea was introduced, you’d surely say that it is very ancient. But you will be very happy to know that there are no extremely long and complicated dates to remember, because this tradition is quite new.
In fact, “afternoon tea” was introduced in 1840 (just 180 years ago) by Anna, Duchess of Bedford. She used to get really hungry at about four o’clock in the afternoon because there was a long period of time between her lunch and dinner. That’s why she once asked for a tray of tea, bread, butter and cake to be brought to her room. This became one of her habits and she also used to invite friends to join her.
During the 1880s, this became a fashionable social event for all the upper-class women. The popularity of this tradition was also helped by tea gardens, which were places where women-dressed in long gowns, gloves and hats- went with their friends to drink tea together and to speak about weather or daily life events.
Tea is so popular in England that it is used for afternoon tea, cream tea and high tea. But can these be all identical to each other? Obviously not! In fact, there is a main difference among them that you’d better know before you go to England.
As we said before, afternoon tea is served between 4 and 5 o’clock in the afternoon together with a selection of sandwiches, tarts and cakes.
High Tea instead is served at 6 o’clock and it consists of a proper meal before dinner, which might be had later in the evening.
As for cream tea, this term is referred to scones with clotted cream and jam. Scones are a typical English food that look like macarons, whereas clotted cream is a characteristic product of Devonshire and Cornwall. Cream Tea is usually added to Afternoon Tea.
Now that tea hasn’t got secrets for you anymore, just take a plane for England and enjoy your ceremony of English afternoon tea.
THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING LANGUAGES
di Benedetta Morea
Have you ever asked yourself why it is so important to learn languages? If so, then this article is perfect for you! Continue reading, you will thank me later!
First, you need languages to study very important subjects -especially at university- such as chemistry and engineering, because textbooks are mainly in English. Subsequently, you will be able to find a job abroad and possibly to get a promotion too. In fact, the salary of those ones who use languages in their job increases of 8%. That’s incredible, isn’t it? Then, if you're keen on discovering new cultures, wouldn't it be great to learn the native idiom spoken there?
Furthermore, it has been studied that languages open your mind to reasoning and that it is easier for bilingual people to learn another idiom, especially in the early stages. Moreover, could you actually believe that those who are keen on music have a better pronunciation of foreign languages? This is because idioms, like music, are sounds that we can play, such as songs.
Personally, I believe that you cannot go anywhere without languages, because this is the era of intercultural exchanges and in 20 years these will be increasing more and more. For instance, learning English as a second language is fundamental, because nowadays this is the idiom spoken worldwide in every situation.
So, are there still some of you thinking that languages are boring? Well, remember about all these advantages before you say this!
WOMEN'S SITUATION IN THE WORLD
by Veronica Cerboni
Alessandra D'Ardia
Ludovica Greco
Women Human Rights Defenders Day( WWHRD) is on the 29th of November.
In the past men thought of women as objects, depriving them of their freedom.
Although the situation improved women are still abused, discriminated and called weak.
In addition, women weren't able to vote at first. As for our country, girls gained this right only in 1946, after the Second World War. Umbelievable, isn't it?
Nowadays, women gained a lot of rights; among these we have the right to get married to anyone, to divorce, to choose religion and not to be tortured, the right to work, to vote and to study.
As for this we all remember about Malala, who wanted to go to school even if she lived in Pakistan where girls weren't allowed to study. Because of her great courage and determination, she was given the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2014.
Nowadays though, violence against women hasn't stopped yet. Currently 31% of women in the world is still abused by their current or former partner.
On the 10th of January 2017, Gessica Notaro (a famous Italian model) was taken by surprise by her ex partner who threw acid on her face because they had broken up. She had to do lots of surgical interventions to “have her face again”. Now she has changed inside and outside.
But don't forget about femicides. In 2019, 111 women were killed. 83% of them were killed by someone they knew. In 2020, from January to July, there was an increase of women victims, they became 59, until 2021 where 83 women were killed. For example, in Brescia, Elena Casanova was killed by her ex-partner in hammers. She tried to hide in the car, but he broke the glass and took her out and killed her. He probably did it because she had a debit with him, or for jealousy because recently she was engaged with another man.
Now, many things about the situation of women at work have changed: for example, now for women it is easier to get a job because we can work, in fact, many years ago we could not do it. Unfortunately, even now, women suffer many injustices: (1) Italy is the penultimate in Europe for the participation of women in the workplace, in fact, only 28% in the workplace is occupied by women. They use 22% of their time to take care of the family. (2)In 2017 73% of women were future mothers.
(3)The United States says that men take more money than women. Women earn 23% less than men. In some places they can’t rebel, because if women do it , they can be hurt by the police.
(4)“ Women can’t do everything a man can do” This is what many people says
because women are smaller in body mass than men.
(5)With Covid, 98% of those who lost work are women.
Many people and the society think so because they are still considered objects, stupid weak. It’s not the truth! Women have to do a lot of things like care for babies, take care of the house, work…
WORLD WATER DAY 2022
by Benedetta Morea
March 22nd
Do you reckon drinkable water is the only form of water that covers three quarters of our planet? Okay then, you’ll be very happy to know that it isn’t.
But if water is so abundant on the Earth, we’ll be able to use it whenever we want forever, isn’t it? Well, if you think this, you’ll soon realise you’ve always been wrong. But no problem at all, this article is the perfect solution to change your mind!
In spite of all our considerations, water is not a renewable resource, but one of the greatest gifts we’ve ever received. And the most valuable proof of it is World Water day, which has been celebrated on March 22 since 1993. Every year, this World Day has a specific theme concerning water that everybody should focus on. Cool, isn’t it?
This year’s theme is groundwater. But do you actually know what groundwater is? Continue reading and you’ll discover it!
Groundwater is water in the liquid state – like the one that we use in our daily lives – with the only difference that it is found in aquifers, that are all those bodies of rock that can hold water.
But we can’t see groundwater, so why is it given all this importance?
Exactly in the moments when we can’t see it, groundwater supports our drinking water supplies, sanitation systems, industries, farms and all the ecosystems. In a few words, everything around us. Moreover, I guess not many people know that almost all of the liquid freshwater is groundwater.
And amazingly, in many countries we wouldn’t even imagine the quantity of groundwater that lies under our feet. Incredible, isn’t it? How can we be unaware of the presence of the main resource in our life?
That’s why this year’s theme focuses on protecting groundwater. Nowadays, aquifers are being deprived of all groundwater recharged by rain and snow through the water cycle. Consequently, if we keep on behaving this way, aquifers will run out of it and at the same time global warming might decrease the quantity of rainfall.
In addition, acid rains flowing underground cause groundwater pollution and, differently from what we think, this problem is extremely hard to solve. Just think that the consequences of this pollution will be still visible in ten or even in a hundred year’s time!
But don’t worry, there is still hope for a change. In fact, that’s World Water Day’s purpose. We must understand that groundwater should be used with moderation and not as if it were available forever. To sum up, we should think before acting!
If we work together, we’ll be able to think about the planet’s needs rather than only about ours. But we can’t do it alone. It’s not a single person who will change this, not a pair, not a group. We must work all together, together for a better world.