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Is Landfill Mining the Future?

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Across the globe, more than two billion tons of waste is dumped into landfills each year. And while landfills are certainly a necessity for the disposal of waste, the reality is that they often contain high percentages of material that could have been recycled or reused. As landfills run out of space and the ecosystem suffers, a new practice known as landfill mining aims to alleviate concerns.

What is Landfill Mining?

Specifically, landfill mining refers to a practice where existing landfills are mined for recyclable and/or reusable materials that were dumped there. As these materials are extracted from landfills, they can be sent to recycling centers, sold to scrap markets, or otherwise repurposed. The idea is that by removing recyclable/reusable materials from landfills, it is possible to free up space for additional waste while also helping the environment. In some cases, landfill mining can also be used to remove potentially dangerous materials (such as batteries and other hazardous waste) from landfills.

There are various methods for landfill mining, ranging from the use of large magnets and mass excavators to vibratory screens and trommels. The technique used in any given landfill mining project will depend on the exact type of waste being pursued, as well as the size and makeup of the landfill itself.

The Potential of Landfill Mining

There are many possible benefits to using landfill mining as a means of extracting recyclable and/or hazardous materials from landfills across the globe. In removing materials that should not be in landfills to begin with, it is possible to free up space. Because density/space issues are a real concern within landfills across the globe, this could be a huge benefit.

Meanwhile, removing materials from landfills through mining can also help to protect the environment by ramping up recycling efforts. Groundwater quality can also be protected, as hazardous materials that would otherwise break down and leach into groundwater can be removed through effective landfill mining practices.

What the Future May Hold

Only time will tell how practical and cost-effective land mining efforts will be, especially in the long run. There are currently a lot of concerns about the cost of land mining as a practice, as well as the potential implications of disturbing landfills and moving waste. There is some concern, for example, that disturbing landfills through mining could generate additional methane gas emissions, which could undermine the environmental goals of the practice. Ultimately, more studies will need to be done to determine whether landfill mining is a practical long-term solution for the planet’s waste crisis.

In the meantime, however, everybody can do their part by participating in a local recycling program; this can help to keep waste out of landfills. Likewise, following proper disposal procedures for hazardous materials can keep landfills safer and protect the environment (including local groundwater supplies). If everybody works to do their part, even the smallest of gestures can add up to make a huge difference for our planet and its future generations.

How To Get Started Surfing

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Have you always wanted to learn how to hang 10 like Duke Kahanamoku and other surfing legends? If that’s your dream, you need to learn how to crawl before you can walk – so aim to start with the basics. To get started, you’ll need a 10-foot-long soft-top surfboard and the leash to match. Then, don your wetsuit and head out to where the waves break in your area. Upon arriving, just follow these four simple steps to start tackling the waves and move ever closer to realizing your dreams.

1. Practice on the Shore

Timing is everything when it comes to surfing like the pros. So, you need to have your muscle memory dialed in ahead of time to avoid missing out on wicked nice waves. To do that, you’ll want to practice popping up onto your board well before you leave the beach.

Start by laying on your belly in the sand in the paddling position. Then, pretend the wave is coming your way and push off with your hands while jumping to your feet. Repeat until the motion feels as smooth as butter.

Note where your feet naturally land, too. If you have your left foot out front, then you have a regular stance. Right foot out instead? Then, you’re goofy-footed. Either way, attach that ankle strap to your rearward foot before hitting the waves.

2. Watch and Learn

As a beginner, you need to watch the surf for about 30 minutes to get the lay of the land.

While gazing at all the action on the water, you’ll get to see:

  • The overall size of the waves
  • Where the waves break
  • Overall skill level of the surfers

You’ll also get to see how the surfers paddle out and give each other the right of way for each wave. Only one surfer usually gets to ride each wave, so everyone has to take turns.

The only exception is when waves peel in both directions, causing surfers to call out right or left before taking their turn. In that case, two surfers will ride each wave – one going in each direction.

3. Paddle Out to the Wave

Once you understand how things work, take your board into the water and paddle out to the lineup. As you do that, be courteous always and try to stay out of the way. Pay attention to the surfers ahead, so you know when it’s your turn.

4. Pop Up at the Right Moment

On your turn, watch for the wave you want to ride, and then turn toward the shore while laying down on your board. From there, start steadily paddling while saving a burst of energy right at the end.

As soon as you feel the wave start to lift up the tail of your board, put your full effort into paddling. Keep it going until you feel a roller-coaster-like sensation in your stomach as the wave lifts you up.

Then, at just the right moment, pop up onto the board like you practiced. Keep your eyes up and knees bent while balancing with your arms. If you just end up falling over, you likely did not paddle long enough to fully catch the wave.

With enough time and effort, you’ll slowly master the movements needed to expertly surf the waves. After that, it’s just a matter of adding fun tricks to the mix until you’re hanging ten like the pros. 

How To Make Key Life Decisions Without Getting Stressed: 5 Core Principles

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If you are facing a major decision and who isn’t, you need to have a way to handle the choice with less stress. The Benjamin Franklin method is a way to start thinking about a difficult choice. Then, you can apply five core principles of planning, seeking advice, tapping the subconscious mind, flexibility, and taking a test drive.

Good Ole Ben

Benjamin Franklins’s method for approaching a major decision is to make two columns of line items about the decision. In one column are the pros. In the other, the cons. Then, add a weight to each factor according to its importance.

Eliminate the pros and cons that have equal weight by pairing them up to cancel them out. Then, if the weight of two pros equals the weight of one con, eliminate all three. Do the same in reverse. If the weight of two cons equals one pro, eliminate all three.

This method helps you think about the possibilities and reduces the extra concerns, so you can focus on the key elements.

You can use the Benjamin Franklin method with these five core principles to improve your key life decisions.

1. Take Time to Plan

Major life decisions may be stressful because so many things are involved. Rather than make a rash choice with insufficient information, take time to understand all the ramifications. Investigate your idea, and then plan for the change.

2. Work with an Advisor

You do not have to make these major life decisions alone. If you have someone you trust, confide in them and ask for their advice. You don’t have to follow their advice; however, it is good to know what they think.

Speak to a professional who has expert knowledge about the decision you are facing. You may benefit from the insights they learned from their experience.

3. Sleep On It

Find the inner voice that guides you by letting your subconscious mind work on the decision overnight while you are asleep. Some believe that they have contact with angels. Others call these helpers spirit guides.

Put a pen and notepad on the side of your bed. Right before you go to sleep, write down the question that you want to be answered. If you wake up in the middle of the night, jot down everything you can remember before you fall back asleep. Read your notes in the morning. Notice any feelings or reactions you have about them.

Take a nice relaxing warm shower in the morning and let your mind wander. You may find sudden clarity and realization that you know what to do in this relaxed state of mind.

4. Be Flexible

Suppose you decide to try out for the Navy Seals. What if you fail to make the grade? Many fail. Rather than give up, you might consider expanding your decision from specifically joining the NavySeals to joining the military in another capacity.

Don’t get stuck in any predetermined cultural modes when exploring options. Find your purpose. You may find it just as interesting to enjoy a disciplined life as a Buddhist monk instead of being a soldier.

5. Take a Test Drive

Many life decisions have the possibility of trying out a smaller commitment before making a major one. Want to work for a certain firm? Consider interning there for a few months first. Think you might like to live in another place? Take a working vacation to a place you think you may want to live and work there for a short time to get a feel for the locals and the lifestyle.

Correcting Your Posture Is Hard: 5 Steps To Help Make It Easier

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The modern world conspires to make us slouch. We hunch our shoulders to use our phones. We droop in chairs while we labor at desks. We sprawl on sofas to watch TV.

Poor posture leads to spinal weakness, back and neck pain and even bad digestion. It isn’t easy to correct your posture in today’s world, but here are five steps to put you on the path to better body position and better health.

1. Stand Up Straight

You’ve heard this before, and you know you should, but that doesn’t make it easy. Ideally, if you look at yourself side-view in a mirror, your ankles, knees, hips and shoulders should line up. If they don’t, try this: build your posture from your feet up, starting with the feet pointed straight, hip-width apart. Align your knees over your ankles the best you can. Continue through your hips and shoulders as you’re able.

Some people say to pull your shoulders back. Instead, tighten your abdominal muscles, pulling up through your groin, and extend your back, and your shoulders will go back naturally.

2. Practice Healthy Sitting

For desk workers, sitting is unavoidable. Sit without leaning forward or to one side. Keep your feet flat on the floor, pointed forward, hip-width apart. Every few minutes, roll your hips forward and straighten your back. Describe a nice curve in your lumbar region. If you wear glasses, they should correct so that you comfortably read with your back straight.

Stand, stretch and walk occasionally. Consider a sitting alternative such as a knee chair or a sit-to-stand desk.

3. Practice Healthy Device Usage

Our phones may be responsible for more neck and back pain that any other modern invention. Visit any sidewalk and you’ll see people bent over as if their phones are tugging on them. Instead of bending to your phone, bring your phone to you. Look down at it by moving only your eyes and not your head. Again, the right prescription is critical for glasses-wearers.

Occasionally straighten up, extend your neck and look back overhead. You can also pivot your head and lean it left and right.

4. Be Active

Just about any exercise, from walking to dancing to sports, will improve your posture. Yoga, tai chi, Pilates and different strength and stretching exercises can work wonders. If you sit most of the day, learn some exercises you can do in your desk chair.

Try to maintain a healthy weight. Extra pounds work your abdominal muscles in a stressful way.

5. Remind Yourself To Straighten Up

Most people can stand or sit straight for a few minutes, but fewer can do it indefinitely. If you’re intent on a task in your chair, it’s easy to go an hour or more with slumped posture and not even notice.

Use reminders. Put a “Sit Up!” sticky note on your monitor. Set a recurring 10-minute timer on your phone or watch to beep and remind you. Be deliberate of posture as you sit down and stand up and when you go up or down stairs. Find a “posture buddy” to keep each other accountable.

5 Weirdest Pregnancy Cravings

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We’ve all heard of pregnant women eating weird things. Who hasn’t heard stories about some poor guy having to run out in the middle of the night to get his pregnant wife ice cream and pickles? (And yeah, that’s a weird combination).

But pregnancy cravings are a real thing. It’s not just an uncomfortable soon-to-be mom being picky. Cravings are actually a symptom that can be caused by a few changes going on in the pregnancy, like a heightened sense of smell and taste, hormonal changes, and nutritional needs. If the baby or mom is lacking in something, they’ll get a huge craving for foods that have that nutrient.

For instance, lots of pregnant women crave peanut butter. Peanut butter is loaded with good fats, iron, vitamin E, and calcium. So it may be that the baby (or mom) really just needs to increase one of those things. Plus, peanut butter is delicious.

There are also old wives’ tales that go with cravings. For instance, when a pregnant woman is craving sweet things, they say she’s having a girl. If she craves salty things, they say she’s having a boy. And some women believe that the craving is really something the baby wants. Many moms swear that the things they craved during pregnancy were the child’s favorite food once they arrived. It’s not science-backed, but who knows?

5 Weirdest Pregnancy Cravings

Weird is subjective, but these five things definitely hit the “not normal food groups” for most people.

  1. Pickles and Ice Cream. This just sounds gross. Though many pregnant women through the years would tell you not to knock it until you tried it. Craving pickles usually has something to do with needing salt. The ice cream might just be sweet to counterbalance it or the mom/baby might need more calcium.
  2.  Rare Meat. This isn’t necessarily weird, but a lot of pregnant women who don’t like red meat normally crave really rare (or even raw) steak and red meat. 
  3. Peanut Butter and Pickles. There are the pickles again. There are all sorts of combinations of pickles and peanut butter with other things. But the two together are probably the weirdest tasting concoction you’ll hear about.
  4. Chalk. You read that right. A lot of pregnant women get cravings for things that are not even food! Chalk is high on the list. But they might also crave paper and even dirt. A lot of people think these cravings have something to do with settling nausea, but craving non-food items is also a condition called Pica.
  5. Chocolate and Beef Jerky. A lot of pregnant women crave chocolate with a variety of things. This might be a take on salty and sweet, but it still seems weird to us. Ever get the craving to smother your beef jerky in chocolate sauce? 

There are a lot of other cravings that are common, too. Some things are more healthy than others. For instance, many women crave fruits, certain vegetables, and even ice. And you don’t necessarily need to indulge in all of these cravings, especially if they are things that are unhealthy during pregnancy.

Canning Tomatoes for Self-Sufficiency: 5 Tips for Beginners

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Tomatoes are one of the most beginner-friendly crops to grow at home. And what could be better than putting up tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, and other fresh tomato recipes to enjoy long after the season is over? A few tomato plants and a strategy for preserving your harvest is all you need to produce enough tomatoes to last all fall and winter long. These tips will help you get started. 

1. Research the Best Tomato Types for Canning 

Some tomato varieties are better than others when it comes to canning. Heirloom tomatoes are favored by many growers; they’re known for their flavorful, meaty flesh and few seeds. They also tend to be fairly easily “skinned” when blanching and processing. Some of the most popular heirloom tomatoes for canning are Amish Paste, Atkinson, and Bonny Best, but the best variety for you will vary depending on your growing zone. If you know other homesteaders in your area, ask them what tomato varieties they grow! 

2. Make Sure Your Acidity is High Enough 

If you are water bath canning, you’ll need to add citric acid, lemon juice, or lime juice to ensure your tomatoes are acidic enough to remain shelf stable. Not all old-school tomato sauce, ketchup, or other tomato canning recipes include adequate acidity according to modern USDA standards. 

3. Think Outside the Box 

Tomato sauce is the most popular option for canning tomatoes at home, but keep in mind that you can also process and can tomato juice, ketchup, diced tomatoes, whole peeled tomatoes, and crushed tomatoes. Expanding your expertise to a variety of home-canned tomato recipes can help cut down on grocery store trips so you can shop your own larder instead. 

4. Check USDA Guidelines for Processing Times 

Processing Times vary depending on what tomato product you’re canning, what size jars you are using, and even your altitude. This site provides a thorough but user-friendly breakdown of processing times and information on troubleshooting projects that didn’t work out exactly according to plan. 

5. Use Your Best Tomatoes for Canning 

This probably goes without saying, but the best tomatoes to can are fresh, healthy, and vine-ripened, with firm meat. To peel them, drop them in boiling water for 15-30 seconds, then lift out and drop into ice water immediately; this makes the skins easy to remove. If your jars don’t all seal properly the first time (meaning the button on the lid doesn’t pop down), don’t stress; you can re-can them and seal again within 24 hours. 

If you’ve never canned tomatoes, it’s important to give yourself plenty of time and space to get the job done. Set aside more time than you think you need and set yourself up for success with clean countertops and an empty, clean sink before you start; you might be surprised how many pots and bowls end up being requisitioned for the process! 

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No-Waste Herb Gardening: 5 Tips to Grow Herbs in Small Containers

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The kitchen herb garden sounds a bit idyllic, a bit witchy. Imagine being able to step out the door or reach up above the sink to your personal growing spice rack, snip off some fresh rosemary or basil when you need it, and toss it nonchalantly into the culinary masterpiece of your choice. Yet the prospect of growing herbs can feel daunting. These tips will help you get a kitchen herb garden started even in the smallest of spaces. 

1. Capitalize on Window Space

Window herb gardens offer a ton of versatility; even apartment dwellers with a kitchen (or near-the-kitchen) window can make this option work year-round. Invest in a sturdy suction-cup window shelf or hanging window herb rack and seeds or small plants from a local nursery. Check here for window style inspiration that makes self-sufficiency look sexier than ever. 

2. Keep it Simple 

Herbs are fairly easy to grow. But it’s easy to get caught up in the Pinterest-perfect ideal of a gorgeous herb garden and lose sight of your goals. If you’re new to growing herbs, start with two or three varieties you know you’d use frequently in the dishes you already cook. You can add on more “exotic” herbs once your base selections are well-established. 

3. Learn a Handful of Preservation Techniques

Having farm-fresh (or pot-fresh) herbs is fabulous, but so is having dried herbs, especially if your goal is long-term self-sufficiency. You can purchase or make your own herb drying racks, then dry your own herbs to keep indefinitely. Small batches of dried herbs are a great way for those in a small space (and with small plants!) to work toward self-sufficiency and stock up on essentials.

4. Get Creative with Unconventional Pots 

Don’t want to go out and purchase a fancy herb garden setup or new pots? You don’t have to. You can plant herbs in tea cups, unused coffee mugs, mason jars, or even water bottles; practically any container will work. If your chosen container doesn’t have holes in the bottom to let water drain out, make sure to line the bottom with rocks and/or incorporate Perlite in the soil, and water just enough to keep soil lightly moist. 

5. Propagate Like a Boss  

When your herbs go to seed (produce flowers and bloom), snap off the flower heads and collect seeds to start anew. Many herbs can also be propagated in a simple jar of water; to do this, snap off a tender stem of fresh growth, remove the bottom few leaves, and stand it up in a cup or jar of water. Not every cutting will grow roots, but some will, and these can be replanted in soil to start new plants.

If you’re growing in very small containers, you’ll need to replace plants a bit more frequently than you would growing outdoors or in larger pots. That’s okay! Especially if you’re preserving and propagating your own herb plants, you’re moving toward self-sufficiency. Still struggling? You don’t have to get it right on the first try. If your first attempt at growing your favorite herbs doesn’t last long, give it another shot–and don’t be surprised when the results far exceed your expectations. 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Scientific Facts All Fish Owners Should Know!

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Your friend in the fish tank might seem to be just swimming, eating, and generally enjoying life, but there is more to the story. Some excellent studies confirm the benefits of your fish on your life and will change how you view them.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one in eight households (12 million) has a fish in the home. The total estimate is more than 158 million fish, many happy Nemo’s getting fed and doing good deeds daily.

Here are five facts that fish owners might not know:

1. They See You Too

Just as we watch them, they are watching us. Scientific research says fish recognize the faces of fish of a similar species, changes in their environment, and their owners. One study presented fish with manipulated facial images of others, with the fish able to recognize a familiar face. If your fish Sam dies, his friend Jack will recognize that his replacement isn’t Sam.

Fish also recognize their owners, not just other fish. In fact, they know you’re probably coming to feed them when you approach the tank. Additionally, they know when there are changes to the environment around them, like if you move the sofa or paint the walls.

2. Fish Alleviate Stress

Medical evidence shows aquariums are a highly effective means of reducing and eliminating stress, even in very tense situations. Tending to your fish tank is a spontaneously initiated activity that requires no training or practice. The brain is calmed by the movement of your pet fish and the water.

The National Library of Medicine says the results of nineteen studies found preliminary support for effects on mood. Still, all studies had methodological issues that didn’t indicate a risk for bias.

3. Kids Benefit from Fish

Keeping fish has been shown to cultivate empathy and responsibility in children. They are manageable, smaller than your child, and foster interaction when fed. They are considered to be great “starter pets.”

Due to the calming, psychological benefits of fish, they are common as classroom pets due to the tranquil experience they provide. Often, a teacher will assign students to care for the fish on a rotating basis.

Students who are fish owners score the highest on both the math and verbal SATs, with scores 200 points higher than non-pet owners. Those in high school students that have fish or other pets have an average GPA of 3.5, whereas those without pets score an average of 3.2.

4. Fish Sleep When the Lights are Off

Fish in your aquarium sleep when the lights are off and it is possible for them to suffer sleep deprivation and sleep disorders. Since they do not have eyelids, they sleep with their eyes open and will typically rest towards the bottom of the tank. Make sure the lights stay off when you go to bed or keep them very dim so Nemo can get some rest.

5. Fish Feel Pain Similar to Humans

Dispelling an old myth about fish, a study published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, by Lynne Sneddon of Liverpool University says fish feel pain similar to humans.

In the study, fish feed less if they have previously been caught with a fishing hook. Those who received electric shocks in one part of their tank where they usually feed will avoid the area for several days afterward. Extreme heat can cause some fish distress, which is alleviated with pain relief drugs.

Fish change their behavior after experiencing pain, like becoming less active, ceasing food intake, rubbing the affected area on something, and even hyperventilating.

Great care must be taken with your beneficial pet fish. Dispelling the old myth of a goldfish’s 3-second memory, it’s actually five months, meaning the pain is remembered and has a lasting impact.

Your pet fish are a benefit to your health and happiness. They know who you are, help your kids succeed, and generally bring peace to our lives. Enjoy and love these special pets.

5 Easy To Maintain Houseplants

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If you like houseplants but can’t seem to keep them alive, try some of these easy-to-care-for plants – they are difficult to kill and need very little maintenance. However, if your home doesn’t have enough humidity, it will be difficult to keep anything alive. If your home is too dry, you can use a humidifier. Be sure to choose the proper size humidifier for the space you have; otherwise, it won’t make the air humid enough. The plants will also provide some humidity, but not enough to keep them alive, especially in larger rooms.

Aloe

Aloe doesn’t like a lot of water. If you overwater it, it will die. Aloe prefers bright, indirect light. Let it dry out completely between waterings – you might water it a little bit once per month. Aloe is toxic to pets, so be sure to keep it out of your pet’s reach.

While this plant is toxic to pets, it’s good for you. When you get a cut or a burn, you can cut an aloe leaf open and wipe it over the cut or burn. It will heal faster and discourage scarring.

Snake Plant

If you don’t have a lot of lighting because of the way your house is positioned, snake plants might be the best plants for you. The snake plant is also known as the “mother-in-law’s tongue.” They do well in bathrooms with no windows, but they will also grow in bright, indirect light.

Water snake plants monthly, letting them dry out completely between waterings. Snake plants are toxic to pets, so be sure to keep them out of reach.

Succulents

Succulents come in many forms. They do need bright, indirect light and water about once per month. As with aloe and snake plants, water them once per month, letting them dry out between waterings.

If succulents die, try moving them to a room with more light, as long as it is not direct sunlight. The other way you can kill them is to water them too much. Most succulents are toxic, so keep them out of reach of kids and pets.

Spider Plants

These plants will thrive in just about any condition, but it is the happiest hanging in a window. They need bright, indirect light, misting every couple of weeks, and watering every week. They are not toxic to pets.

Spider plants make “babies” that hang over the edge of the pot. If you want more, just snip one of the babies off, put the bottom of it in a glass of water, and plant it in potting soil when it starts to root.

Pothos

Sometimes referred to as devil’s ivy, the pothos is very forgiving. They come in many variations and colors, including marble green (variegated), bright yellowish green, and golden (green and yellow pattern).

Pothos prefer bright, indirect light or low light. You will need to water these plants every week. You might get away with watering them biweekly, but if you notice them wilting in the second week, give them water and then water every week. Pothos are toxic to pets, so keep them where your pets can’t get them.

Why Does Water Expand When It Freezes?

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If you’ve ever left a water bottle in your freezer for too long, you understand all too well that water expands when it freezes into ice. But have you ever paused to wonder why? As it turns out, this expansion runs contrary to some of the most fundamental natural laws in the world of physics.

If you search the annals of your brain for some basic facts from your junior high science class, you might remember that molecules tend to move closer and closer together as they are cooled. This generally causes the overall volume of a substance to decrease under frigid conditions.

Therefore, most liquids shrink, rather than expand, as intermolecular forces draw their compositional molecules together in the cold. Furthermore, when a liquid reaches its particular freezing temperature, it tends to contract even further. This is because solidified liquids (otherwise known as “crystalline solids”) are typically tightly packed and extremely dense.

Water, however, has a unique crystalline structure that places its molecules in a remarkably uncompressed shape. This is the fundamental reason that water expands when it freezes.

Few molecules are more well-known than water. Both water and ice molecules are comprised of one oxygen atom (O) and two hydrogen molecules (H) to create H20.

The negative charge of water’s oxygen atom and the positive charges of its hydrogen atoms are predominately responsible for the expansive properties of ice. These charges create a phenomenon that causes neighboring molecules to repel one another during ice’s crystalline formation.

Like all liquids, water continually contracts as it cools until it approaches its freezing point of 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). At this point, it reacts in a counterintuitive manner by suddenly beginning to expand.

As water solidifies into ice, it assumes a defined molecular shape that is considerably less dense than its molecular shape as a liquid. The sheer amount of space between the molecules in this shape separates each molecule with vast structural gaps. At the macro level, this results in a significant volume increase as water transitions from its liquid to its solid state.

Water stops compacting and begins expanding at around 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius). This is when it reaches its maximum level of molecular density. As it continues to cool to its freezing point, the overall volume of any specified amount of water will grow by roughly 9 percent.

This common chemical change might wreak havoc on our roads and cause other seasonal problems, but we should actually be quite grateful that water expands as it freezes. Because ice is less dense than water, it floats at the top of any freezing lake, sea, or ocean. If it behaved like most liquids, these bodies of water would freeze solid throughout at extremely cold temperatures, killing most of the plant and animal life within them.