Electric Vehicles and Megasites: What is the environmental cost of sustainable development? By: Ainslie Smith

Construction for Hyundai Motor Group’s (HMG) first fully dedicated electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility has now begun on the nearly 3,000 acre megasite in Bryan county, starting with the clear cutting and burning of this forested area that has sparked concern about the ecological footprint of the project. 

Multiple individuals and organizations are calling upon local representatives to give serious consideration to the imminent demands on the local environment and infrastructure that will accompany the new facility that will sit adjacent to interstate 16.

Lissa Leege of Georgia Southern’s biology department recently spoke at a Bulloch County Commission meeting about zoning and how to deal with the tens of thousands of people that will be moving here in the next few years with the creation of 8,000 new jobs at the Hyundai plant.

“Yes, we are making electric vehicles in that space, but that is not a green decision unless all the development around it is sustainable,” said Leege.

Kris Howard, the Science and Policy Manager for Ogeechee Riverkeepers, described how the group is working closely with commissioners across multiple counties to ensure the sustainable development of not only the facility, but the neighboring communities that will see an influx of residents soon.

“We are very adamant about not being opposed to growth because growth is needed, but we are focused on sustainability,” said Howard.

The HMG facility's water use and the increased demands on public sewage systems are a top priority, and Howard says that the Riverkeepers are working towards ordinances that will require annual maintenance on septic systems in order to prevent malfunctioning and harmful impacts to our waters.

Beyond policy and infrastructure, some individuals are also concerned with the loss of habitat and how the permanent alteration of this much land will impact the surrounding environment. C. Ray Chandler of the Georgia Southern biology department described the importance of the forest and the effects of removing the vegetation from this land.

The forests and wetlands native to this part of Southeastern Georgia provide many essential ecosystem services including air and water filtration. As a carbon sink, the forest collects more CO2 than it produces but, with the clearing of this land, that carbon returns to the atmosphere. Additionally, because this land that was previously shaded by trees is now receiving direct sunlight and is now drier, topsoil erosion will occur. 

“Your physically altering temperature, humidity, wind, and over time, you're going to have biological effects,” said Chandler

According to Chandler many species of amphibians, including those such as the endangered Flatwood Salamander, rely on both the forests as their primary habitats, and also the wetlands for their short breeding seasons. 

Even with precautions such as creating boundaries around wetlands during construction, many species are threatened by deforestation because their life cycles and breeding patterns rely on different aspects of the environment. 

Chandler also detailed his concerns about the potential for misuse of water resources including overdraft of the rivers and effluent (treated wastewater) pollution.

His concerns are far from hypothetical, as just over a decade ago a textile treatment facility in Screven county seeped toxins into a 77-mile stretch of the Ogeechee river, resulting in the loss of nearly 40,000 fish, along with alligators, birds and turtles.

Chandler believes it is a difficult balance to strike between conserving the natural ecosystems and developing infrastructure that can support sustainability amongst a growing population.

“At the end of the day, we need to reduce our CO2 production. Electric vehicles are probably going to be part of the answer,” said Chandler.

However, because we will not be dismantling any warehouses or pulling up asphalt anytime in the foreseeable future, Chandler says serious forethought needs to be put into these permanent developments because ultimately, residents of South Georgia will pay the cost for mishandled resources.

According to Leege and Kris Howard, the most compelling action a citizen can take is to make their voice heard. By attending commision meetings and organizing as groups with a united cause, representatives are more likely to consider these opinions and make decisions that are truly in the interest of the community. 

The Bulloch County Board of Commissioners meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month, at which community members can make their opinions heard.

“There's potential to do it the right way, so speak up,” said Leege.

Conservation of wildlife: The importance of preservation of species and their environments

By: Cassandra Buchanan

Conservation of species and preservation of their respective ecosystems can have a direct and positive impact on human life.

Scientifically speaking, the status of Earth’s environment has been progressively declining. With a rise of global warming, heavy pollution, and climate change, our environment as we know it is at risk of deterioration.

Humans heavily influence the way animals live, and directly affect their habitat. However, whether humans realize the extent of it or not, the human race is interconnected with wildlife species. Therefore, damaging and polluting their homes-- though it may not seem to be a pressing issue, is also putting the human race at risk as well.

According to Craig Aumack, assistant professor at Georgia Southern University, this concept is defined as a transboundary issue.

“We refer to it as transboundary issues, the idea that if we lived in environments where you saw animals or the environment steadily declining or dwindling all around you, that would have a more immediate impact on your relationship with the environment and your behavior.”

Air pollution and water pollution are two of the main contributors to environmental pollution caused by human life. Research shows that air pollution rose roughly 7 percent in 2020. According to the National Resources Defense Council, 80 percent of the world’s water is wastewater that is highly untreated, and then dumped back into the environment.

The highly contaminated water is put back into the world’s rivers, oceans, and streams-- making it extremely dangerous for not only humans, but the animals that directly consume water from these bodies of water.

Humans contribution to the deterioration of these environments has led to an increase in animal extinction. According to Jamie Roberts, associate professor at Georgia Southern University, habitat loss and pollution is almost inevitable when cities are built and because of this, humans put a lot of strain on other species.

“Throughout earth’s history, species have gone extinct,” said Roberts. “But the sobering thing is that especially since humans became really abundant on earth, around the 1500s and technology has gotten more advanced, we have made the current extinction rate of species 10 or more times higher than it would have been.”

Unfortunately, the everyday activities that humans participate in contribute to deterioration of the environment according to Aumack.

“When we drive we’re producing carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide from car exhaust, when we burn fossil fuels we’re releasing a lot of sulfates, nitrates, and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,” Aumack said. “But that doesn’t immediately hang over our area, air currents shift and it becomes out of sight, out of mind.”

The increase of pollutants and toxins in the atmosphere have contributed to what is known as global warming. Global warming adds stress to ecosystems because of temperature rises, water shortages and increased fire threats.

“Global warming was ignored, or at least not as much as a major issue because the majority of the impact was occurring at the poles, at the most northern and southern latitudes, and those are not areas humans really exist,” Aumack said. “So people didn't see the changes that were occurring in their day-to-day life, but now we’re becoming more aware because those changes have reached us.

However, there are several ecosystems that are managed by humans-- especially forests. This means that humans are making complicated decisions about what happens to these landscapes. According to Ray Chandler, professor of biology at Georgia Southern University, these decisions prose consequences for wildlife.

“In terms of forestry, those decisions can have consequences for wildlife,” Chandler said. “You can log it, burn it, selectively log it-- depending on how you do the management it has different consequences for different animals. It can be a difficult decision to make, but typically they make evaluations about the relative value of those species upon making these decisions.”

The ecosystems of the world are interconnected with each other and human life. In terms of relevance to human life, most people only focus on food security, but conservation of wildlife and the environment also matters ethically and is a concern for every living being, whether fully realized or not.

According to Roberts, “we don’t know which of those species the ecosystem can do without until it all falls apart. Think of an ecosystem as a big machine, we want to save all of the parts, because the machine may stop working.”

Why service and emotional support animals are needed during the pandemic

By Alexis Southward

Service and emotional support animals have been on a vast incline since the unconventional strike of the COVID-19 Pandemic has sent our world into a new normal.

Interactions with these animals produce an array of physical and psychological aid for those who struggle with mental and physical disabilities.

Service and companion animals have already been a large part of the daily routine for some, but the shut down and dwindling of healthcare facilities are seeking a more aggressive amount of assistance to help carry out duties that they healthcare professionals are not able to tend to as often as before.

“Being a disabled person in general is incredibly stressful, and living through a global pandemic most certainly does not make for an easier transition. It is especially hard to think about the fact that you have to socially distance when at times you need people around for help,” said Dr. Chantrise Holliman.

Many disabled children and adults are heavily reliant on the help and care of healthcare professionals daily, especially those with physical disabilities that cause a need for in-home care or a professional to handle daily task like meals, medication and grocery/good delivery.

Because of this, service dogs have been a very imperative part of the healthcare aid community, as they are trained to assist in many of these various everyday tasks.

According to Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities, these animals are trained in crisis management, retrieval jobs for those with wheelchairs and prosthetics, medication reminders, and protection.

This training allows for people in the disabled community to stress less about having to follow social distancing guidelines because they now have a canine partner who can fulfill the same tasks.

With the stress of people and their loved ones contracting the COVID-19 virus, a lessened amount of job security, limited essential goods, and a constant isolation from peers, it is almost impossible for some to go without the help of a companion, and this is why the pandemic has caused a large increase of the need for emotional support animals.

According to The Journal of Medical Internet Research, 71% of participants who took place in the Effects of COVID-19 on College Students’ Mental Health in the United States Internet Survey indicated that their stress and anxiety increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One large group of people who are heavily affected by the commanding transition into the COVID world is children and adults with cognitive disabilities, especially children with autism or that are on the spectrum.

Children with autism rely on a constant routine, schooling that teach social skills, speech therapy, interaction and other things that allow for their daily lives to run smoothly and attempt to integrate them into the regular world as adults.

Emotional support animals have been able to create a feeling of grounding and comfort for autistic children whose lives being interrupted by a pandemic has caused a load of confusion.

“Working with autistic children everyday has given me a perspective I never knew I needed. This pandemic has caused immense stress for them and it shows when they come to the center. We can only do so much now, and I think the thought of incorporating service animals would relieve not only them but us of the constant daily stress,” said Bahria Jones, team member at Hopebridge Autism Therapy Center.

College and University students too have heightened levels of anxiety and stress and have been benefiting from the help of emotional support animals.

Higher education students stress regularly with lecture, constant due dates, and mastering material. When you add a pandemic to the mix, it adds a rise of anxiety and stress levels due to transitioning to remote learning, lack of companionship and interaction due to physical distancing, and an increase of mental health issues brought on by disassociation.

Georgia Southern’s campus has an organization that help train emotional support animals and educate those who are willing to learn what having an emotional support animal entails and how they can be beneficial to them or others who are in seek of stress relief.

“As cute and sweet as they are, being around these animals is serious for us. We must constantly make sure that we are on our P’s and Q’s so that the animals are behaving to the best of their abilities and are able to help those in need. During this pandemic, the world seems to need a buddy for support, especially college students. We do the best that we can to ensure that people are fully educated on the training and care of the animals. Their presence could mean a total breakthrough, and it will mean that we have done our jobs correctly,” said Madeline Smith, former Advocacy Chair for STEP: Service dog training and Education program.

Invasive lizards on the hunt in Georgia

 

By: M'Anais Lam

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has partnered with the Associate Dean of Faculty Research Programs , College of Science and Mathematics ,from Georgia Southern University in order to control and eradicate an invasive species of lizards from Georgia.

Lance McBrayer, Ph.D., a professor in the biology department at Georgia Southern has been studying the Argentine black and white tegu lizard for over 10 years.

As the name suggests, originally from South America, Argentine tegus’ popularity has risen exponentially in the past 20 years because of human interaction and the attraction for them as common household pets.

As an adult ,the tegus can grow to over four feet and can be compared in size to a small dog as their owners have put them on leashes.

Prior to the foreign lizard being recently found in its early stages of environmental invasion in the Georgia and more recently South Carolina, it was only found in Florida where eradication efforts have failed.

McBrayer, along with his student researchers , have been studying the tegus since the spring of 2020 and have since caught around two dozen tegus .

The researchers observe the argentine native species in what he calls natural experiments where he explores the environmental parameters of the tegus by researching them in the field, where the lizards actually live.

“With much of my work we look at the interaction between that ,” said McBrayer.

“Let’s say the sandy substrate versus the amount of leaf litter , the amount of closed canopy where there’s no sunlight versus open sun, how do those types of environmental parameters affect what that lizard does on a day to day basis.”

Since 2019, McBrayer has worked in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey along with the Department of Natural Resources and Georgia Southern to capture and remove argentine tegus from the environment.

Researching these tegus in the field, where the lizards actually live, is normally difficult according to McBrayer.

The tegus can perform well in the American Southeast because its location is at the same latitude of their native range and the lack of cold temperatures in the places like Georgia or Florida makes for a suitable environment to them.

Though an adaptable pet to human life and a docile, poor human care and an introduction to an unfamiliar environment have caused concerns to rise of if these foreign lizards can have a negative effect on the native wildlife around them.

“Tegus threaten native wildlife since they eat a wide variety of things, ” said Jada Daniels ,a graduate biology researcher and student of McBrayer.

Since the tegus are in the early stages of invasion researchers hope to keep the numbers of the species down by capturing, studying them, and preventing them from breeding and killing already endangered species in Georgia .

“They’ll pray on the eggs of ground nesting birds like quail and turkey and other wildlife such as gopher tortoises and alligator , so this new predator that the native wildlife is not adapted to can be catastrophic.”

Daniels has aided McBrayer in the focus and the early detection of these invasive lizards and facing the issue of eradicating of the species before its population becomes established in Georgia.

“ This animal has a really good smelling tongue,” said McBrayer. “ They find the nests with their tongues and eat the eggs.” 

The run-ins with these tegus, whose weight can reach up to 10 pounds, have been primarily found in two rural counties in Georgia, Tattnall and Toombs , though few reports have been found in other places of the state.

The student researchers apart of this research studying the population of tegus and trapping them are paid through a grant from the USGS called the Evaluation of Status of Tegu Population in Southern Georgia.

Michael Brennan, senior biology major at Georgia Southern University, is another one of the student researcher McBrayer advises through the grant.

"Fortunately, capturing tegus is rare, we hope this means they aren’t abundant, " said Brennan .

"We have a standard method of conducting a necropsy to gather gut contents to assess diet and parasite loads as well as collect tissue samples for genetics analysis on top of many other data points like weight, length, sex, reproductive stage et cetera. This can be used to answer many questions about how they live here. "

The $45,000 grant allows students like Jada and Michael to conduct research at sites where the lizards have been seen and remove the tegus from the environment for further exploration.

According to McBrayer, one of the hardships of the research on Tegus by Georgia Southern is having the money to pay students and to get to field sites.

Another hardship in their research would be the weather because of how researchers conducted their sampling in the field.

College depression numbers skyrocket since 2018

By: Chase Martaus

Depression numbers have increased tremendously among college students over the past decade as more and more students are being treated for mental illnesses.

One in five college students suffer from depression and anxiety. This problem has led to more efforts from institutions to help students dealing with mental illnesses.

In a 2018 survey done by the American College Health Association, stress and anxiety from school caused a combined 59.7 percent of depression among college students, and an extra 10 percent have not been diagnosed yet.

Family Medicine Specialist, Dr. Barry Hull, has prescribed more anxiety and depression medication to college students now more than ever.

“The number of college students that have entered my office over the past five years have gone up tremendously,” said Hull. “College can be the best time in your life, but it is also one of the most stressful times in your life as well because there is so much responsibility.”

In 2007, 23 percent of college students were reported to have moderate to severe depression; however, in 2018, that number rose to 41 percent.

One group of students that have an impact on these high depression rates are upcoming graduates. There are a number of reasons why this is the case. The amount of uncertainty, loss, and unrealistic expectations all lead to depression among future graduates.

Experiencing anxiety and depression at this time of life is completely normal. The lack of control and structure for the first time as well as a large move can also cause anxiety and depression.

According to research done by the University of Washington, 53 percent of graduating seniors are either unemployed or underemployed out of college.

A term used to describe this is called post commencement stress disorder (PCSD), a word that Bernard Luskin, an honored therapist used to describe these students feel. It is not a term used as an actual mental health diagnosis, but it is a real feeling that graduates feel as their time in college comes to an end.

Signs of this made-up diagnosis include sleep problems, irritability, avoidance, and perceiving oneself as a failure. Sharaf Syed, graduate of the University of Georgia in 2020, experienced all of these things as he was preparing to move on to the real world.

“There are so many emotions that go into that final semester,” said Syed. “I was sad to be leaving school, excited to not have any more classes while being stressed about my current classes and trying to find a job. It was as if I would wake up every morning just feeling hopeless and scared about where I was going to be in just a few short months.”

Many college students are starting to receive mental health treatment. In fact, there are more students receiving treatment now more than ever before.

The Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors has discovered that mental illnesses are becoming more and more severe. Based on their research, 73.1 percent of college counseling centers have reported a major increase mental health issues among college students.

Adam Hogue, a licensed counselor at Georgia Southern University, has noticed this trend, and has given students approaching graduation advice on how to stay positive stay positive during stressful times.

“There are a lot of uncertainties and high expectations that can take a toll on your mental health when graduating,” said Hogue. “Be creative in seeking potential professional connections, be prepared to take risks, and try some inventive ways to initiate contact with others.”

Even though colleges continue to hire more counselors and therapists to help students cope with anxiety and depression, these issues have continued to haunt them.

President Biden looks to cut emissions

By: Semaj Williams

President Joe Biden looks to take on the climate crisis with his new pledge to cut the US greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.

The Biden administration aims to cut down the greenhouse emissions before the climate change disaster that scientists warn is approaching. Scientists warn that this decade is important for emissions cuts, to keep the average global temperature from increasing to more than 1.5 degrees Celsius than the average global temperature of the mid-19th century.

According to the National Public Radio, temperatures are on track to rise 3 degrees Celsius globally.

“This potential rise could have major consequences in Statesboro, as the rising temperatures will cause excessive heat days, changed rainfall patterns, greater risk of drought, risks to wildlife and plant populations, and increased wildfire risk,” said Georgia Southern Professor Ray Chandler.

Greenhouse gases are emitted mostly by factories, cars, trucks, and power plants. Greenhouse gases trap heat in the upper part of the Earth’s atmosphere which leads to global warming.

Georgia Southern professor Christine Hladik believes that though these are the steps in the right direction, cutting emissions will not immediately impact.

“This is decades upon decades of greenhouse gases building up in our atmosphere, even with the solution to cut emissions in half, we’re still sending gases into the atmosphere. So it will help, but there will not be a major impact until we completely stop emitting greenhouse gases,” said Hladik.

President Biden’s ultimate goal is to make the U.S. carbon neutral by 2050. However, the U.S. would have to do more than just cut greenhouse emissions in half to reach this goal. The U.S. would have to replace coal power with more environmentally friendly energy such as solar or wind power, also most cars would need to be electric instead of running on gas.

According to Georgia Public Broadcasting, economists see signs of the economy shifting towards cleaner and cheaper energy. The price of solar and wind energy is on the decline while the popularity of energy-efficient is increasing.

Georgia Public Broadcasting also states that although cutting emissions in half will be beneficial, scientists believe that it will not be able to protect everyone. Scientists have advised that will need to prepare themselves to adapt to a hotter Earth.

“It is pretty scary to think about honestly, I mean the Earth is already pretty hot, especially in the south during the summer. So, for a scientist to tell us that it may be even hotter for years to come is alarming, I just hope we can get it under control before it becomes too hot for us to even survive,” said Statesboro resident Martrell Burton.

The Biden Administration’s fight against global warming extends past just cutting the emissions of greenhouse gases, the administration has also proposed an infrastructure bill that includes spending money to help cities avoid potential damages and health impacts from heat waves and fires.

President Biden also announced on his first day in office that the U.S. would rejoin the Paris agreement. Under the Obama administration, the U.S. pledged $2 billion to the Green Climate Fund.

This fund is designed to help pay for climate control projects in poorer countries, many of which are already suffering the effects of the changing climate.

These projects include building sea walls and transitioning to drought-resistant crops.

New plans for climate change may be coming out within the next upcoming as there is a U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, in November. This conference will host the Paris agreement nations that will discuss their emissions targets for the next decade.

Oysters and Bacteria

Dr. Steven Greimman is an assistant professor at Georgia Southern in the biology department. He is a classically trained parasitologist currently specializing in taxonomy and systematics which means he describes new species of parasites. This includes endoparasites, tapeworms, flukes, flatworms that live inside of animals and humans. He describes it based on how they look, their morphology, but also sequences their DNA and looks at their evolutionary relatedness between each other. Recently Greiman's research has taken him to the lab a lot, looking at microbiomes, which is the community of the bacteria and all the parasites in animals and How that kind of changes over time.

Greiman has several projects that he is currently working on. One with a Georgia Sea Grant which is part of NOAH looking at oyster parasites and pathogens and population genetics, so they are screening a lot of oysters off the coast of Georgia for these different parasites that live on the gills and can cause the death of the oysters as well as bacteria that can be transmitted from the oysters to humans. Another funded project is with the Georgia DNR (The Department of Natural Resources) looking at natural resources looking at white shrimp. They do E-DNA studies trying to pick up DNA in the water to show that the white shrimp are there and how much of the white shrimp are present. These are the two projects currently being funded.

In Greiman's lab, he has graduate students that are describing new species of tapeworms from shrews from Mongolia and New Mexico and then all over the US and looking at their evolution so how they're related to one another and to other tapeworms. 

Greiman said that the oyster project is his favorite and walked me through the process of what his team does. He works in collaboration with Dr. John K Carol who is also in the Biology department at Georgia Southern. Carol goes out to collect all the oysters from different reefs off the coast of Georgia. Some from Skidaway islands and Sathlow islands which involves taking a boat, “This summer they will begin collecting every week to conduct a summer study”.The collected oysters are brought back to Carol's lab. They then shuck them and remove the tissue and freezes the tissue as well as fixing them in ethanol. 

Greiman's job, along with his graduate students is to extract the DNA from the oyster tissue and then they use real-time PCR which is the real thing you use for covid testing when swabbing the throat. The goal is to look for the oyster pathogen within the extraction, “We have special primers to amplify the DNA and if it’s present you'll see it show up in the reaction”. They do it for two protozoan parasites which are single-celled organisms that live in the gills, but they cause damage to the oysters.

Because you can use the screening to search for many things, Greiman also uses it to search for bacteria. “If someone were to eat an oyster with bacteria present, it could actually kill them”.

Usually, this occurs in warm water oysters which is why you cannot buy fresh oysters during the summer in Georgia. Greiman looks at what time of the year is worse for these species of bacteria and if it increases over summer or not. 

Welcome to STEM Journalism at Georgia Southern University

Hello there,

This website will show off the journalistic work produced by our amazing STEM Journalism students here at Georgia Southern University. The stories, video and audio you see here were all written, recorded and edited by our multimedia journalism students and represent their work as growing journalists. 

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about any of the work seen here, please contact me, the professor of this class, at jriley@georgiasouthern.edu 

Thanks! 

-Dr. Jeff Riley

Assistant Professor, Multimedia Journalism 

Georgia Southern University