Introduction
In the first field trip to BBG (Brooklyn Botanical Garden), I was able to experience the role greenhouse gases have in forests and plant-like environments. The Brooklyn Botanical Garden has temper houses which help to observe desert, tropical, aquatic, and warm environments. It also shows the evolution of the plants throughout the year. By looking at the houses, I notice that most of these houses have large glass windows and the sun was able to pass through those windows. These large glass windows are designed to act as greenhouse gases. Some of the windows were covered with moisture, which makes me realize that the temperature in each house was different than the temperature outside. When going inside these temper houses, the temperature started to change from cold to warm quickly. This warm temperature was caused by greenhouse gases which help to increase the temperature within the area.
How Temper Houses Maintain Temperatures
In order for temper houses to increase their temperature, short waves need to come from the sun. When these short waves enter the greenhouse, the greenhouse starts to absorb them and then warms up the greenhouse making the walls and floors warmer. When the greenhouse gets hot, it starts to send back energy, but most of these energies get trapped in the greenhouse. So, it retains the short waves from before and the energy that greenhouse produces, by making the place get warmer. In the winter, the difference from the outside and the inside of these houses is noticeable, based on the temperature and the difference of the vegetation. The vegetation was a key point because in the winter most of the vegetation is dry and we don’t see green areas. In the temper house, I was able to see plants and different flowers that were not expecting to grow in this area and seen in other countries.
Photograph by City Tech Student Ashley Lopez
When visiting the tropical, aquatic and desert pavilion, one vegetation that got my attention was the Mexican Pincushion, also known as Mammillaria Magnimamma cactus plant native mostly to the Southwest United States. It can also be found in “Sonoran and Mojave deserts in the northern part of Mexico” (“Mammillaria Cactus Care”) The species of cactus plants can’t be found in garden or shops. The Mexican Pincushion was located in the desert pavilion. The climate in this pavilion was dry and hot at the same time. In order to for this cactus to “grow the temperature adequate is around 50 – 85 degrees Fahrenheit” (“Mammillaria Cactus Care”); therefore, large glass windows were helping the cactus to receive the right amount of sun.
Conclusion
This cactus got my attention because it is an unusual cactus that we can’t find it in the area and by having this type of cactus in the desert pavilion, I was able to understand that even though the greenhouse, it can be bad for Earth because it makes the Earth hotter. It is also good for vegetation because it creates and brings to life different types of plants that couldn’t be seen often. This pavilion was helpful and makes us understand the importance of greenhouses.
In order to help prevent or slow down climate change, we must understand that it is important to show people what are the advantages and disadvantages. In the case of BBG, experts were showing that when you use the natural light and create an environment where people don’t use chemicals or destroy the nature, it makes them be aware that is important to try to stop climate change. People should try to use what mother nature gives them and stop creating or using too many chemicals that are sent into the air and in some occasion, are thrown to the river which causes damages to the Earth’s ecosystem. People should try their best to stop climate change because Earth is where we live and it is important to take care of it. This planet gave us food and a home; we should be grateful.
References
Mammillaria Cactus Care: Learn To Grow The Pincushion Cactus. Plant Care Today. (2020, March 14). Retrieved from https://plantcaretoday.com/mammillaria-cactus.html
