techhydra

Good response on some of the varying factors that effect plant growth. In addition to this plants adapt to their environment in a similar way as animal species would. Some plants adapt in strange ways that may seem counter productive to survivability. For example I live in California and I took a botany class in college, my professor was very knowledgeable and liked to share personal stories he'd encountered in his work. One was regarding the growth of California Cherry Trees and it was noticed that it was very difficult to grow cherry trees in a domestic environment. Wild trees were abundant typically in areas where coyotes were present. It was discovered that two species in the area primarily ate cherries which were foxes and coyotes which was later discovered that the stomach acids in coyotes was needed to dissolve a layer around the cherry seed before it could grow properly. Foxes on the other hand were ruled out because they primarily poop on rocks which makes it hard to grow a tree from their feces. Nature is strange but it generally has its reasons!

Generally I believe most classes regarding environmental sciences cover mostly biology with some emphasis on Earth science and oceanography (wind, waves . Since most sciences are intertwined it's hard to say for sure but the school you are going to would most likely classify this based on the curriculum taught in the class. Best bet is to do what Ophiolite said and check with your counselor or one of the school administrators, possibly even the professor if you get a chance.

Fungus grows on organic material once spores have been transmitted on it. Spores can be transfered by air, water or by traveling on animals (organisms or insects). Unless you see fungal growth on the tea leaves before you make tea I wouldn't be concerned about something being in the tea. Its unlikely that the fungus is coming from water as you are heating it in order to make the tea which should in theory kill any spores if they were present. Most likely the spores that create this fungus are transfered through the air which eventually find their way on your wet tea leaves giving them an ideal place to grow with lots of nutrients. Alternatively this may be caused by spore residue in your trash can, however I think it's more likely that they are probably being transfered from a source outside your house. If you notice fungal growth in an other areas of your house, such as under the sink, bathroom, etc you may want to have someone check out the place and make sure you don't have issues with mold in your walls which could result in structural damage.

In my opinion squashing a bug would have little effect on an ecosystem, even if you made it a point to kill 1 bug everyday of your life. In order to have a dramatic effect on an ecosystem you would have to eradicate thousands or hundreds of thousands of insects routinely to have an impact on the local population (depending on the type of insect of course, in this case I'm thinking of ants). I think the bigger point though is that having respect for insects involves not going out of your way to kill them. Although they might be a minor inconvenience for you in day to day life they are essentially just doing your job. It would be about the equivalent of killing a door to door salesman for interrupting a television show you are watching when he comes knocking. Insects play a vital role in ecosystems and help to micromanage aspects such as cleaning up decaying carcasses, pollinating plants and providing a food source for other animals and living organisms. That being said I'm also guilty of killing bugs, typically ones I find within my house or car as a perceived point of cleanliness however if I'm walking down a sidewalk and notice an insect I'll do my best to avoid killing it during it's daily routine.

This video made me laugh. I like his other videos as well. Informative and entertaining!

Creating doubt in the opponent's argument is one way to overcome a debate depending on the circumstance. Trying to convince a person of your argument can sometimes be difficult and it can be more effective through slight hints towards your side. If you are able to make a person jump to a conclusion based off hints you provide leading them in the direction of your favor they will be more likely to hold that belief since it was spurred from their own thoughts instead of giving them the feeling they were convinced to believe that side.

I've been playing GTA: Vice City on my phone and Angry Birds. Outside of that I play APB and LoL on PC.

That is awesome! I'm not very familiar with Richard Dawkins but that comment made me a believer. I'm gonna have to check out his books sometime.

In Australia a photo was actually taken of a Saltwater Crocodile with a Bull Shark in it's mouth. Although I think it's unlikely that one of these Crocs has eaten a Great White, I do believe it is definitely possible. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-475994/Clash-titans-battle-shark-crocodile.html

Biodiversity in general has declined worldwide since 1970 according to an article by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). If the study you read based their data off land mass and biodistribution I wouldn't doubt Canada as having a fairly low biodiversity ratio due to the northern regions which make life difficult for organisms without specialized traits.

Brainwaves are an electromagnetic phenomenon. I wouldn't doubt if sometime in the future scientists could develop a way to integrate our physical biology with computer systems to allow synchronization between humans and computers, but I think it would be after our time.

Physical strength is usually acquired throught conditioning, exercise and repetition of tasks which can usually be influenced by the amount of energy an individual may have. Willpower, physical and mental conditioning, hormones, bone structure, chromosomes and many other factors play into the health of a person and what may provide some people with more energy.

Thanks for enlightening me on the different functions between RNA and DNA.

It is said that raptors evolved into the first bird called Archaeopteryx. I think it is most likely that this species had to be able to climb initially in order to take flight. I'm not sure at which stage in their evolution this feat became possible however.