Find something on environmental justice. We just had a HUGE catastrophe in Flint, Michigan. Please see the following http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/18/us/flint-michigan-water-crisis-five-things/.
Look into an environmental justice issue somewhere in the US. And post a reaction to your article.
http://www.wearepowershift.org/sites/wearepowershift.org/files/enviroart.jpg
Best,
PC
We all know that Carbon Dioxide is one of the biggest greenhouse gases. This gas causes several negative effects such as air pollution and global warming. However, never did we know that it being emitted in great amounts directly affects certain organisms. Specifically, an excess amount of Carbon Dioxide affects marine animals, especially fish. It causes a disorder known as Hypercapnia. Hypercapnia is when fish "become intoxicated by Carbon Dioxide" and their brain begins to work improperly. The fish lose a sense of direction "so they become lost at sea", most people compare it to being high. In addition to not knowing where they are going, the fish are not aware of their surroundings so they do not know when their predators are near. Therefore, this leads to the population of fish decreasing since fish are not in their proper habitats and are constantly being eaten by other marine organisms. Meaning, if humans continue to release Carbon Dioxide in large amounts fish can eventually become extinct.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160120141525.htm
I found another example of environmental racism afflicting a city that is predominately black, with a 77% black population. Chester, Pennsylvania has the largest incinerator in the United States. It burns trash and has little pollutant controls, due to the fact that it is "costly". The pollutants released at this plant include nitrogen ozides, mercury, lead, and dioxins, which can lead to asthma, cancers, birth defects, and learning disabilities. What makes this even worse, is the fact that the about 99% of the trash that is incinerated at this plant is not even from Chester. The people who have to deal with the effects of the plant are not benefited in any way for it being there. Instead, the plant is receiving trash from Delaware County, Philadelphia, New York, and New Jersey. The city is also pushing to have more trash brought in from NYC, increasing the amount of trash burned from 200,000 tons to 500,00 tons. There are several organizations attempting to stop this.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ejnet.org/chester/
In Flint Michigan, the high concentrations of lead caused peoples' skin to bruise and hospitals are filled with people who have high amounts of lead poisoning. The state had known that the water was contaminated for 18 months yet they did not tell the citizens of Flint.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/flints-water-crisis-reveals-government-failures-at-every-level/2016/01/23/03705f0c-c11e-11e5-bcda-62a36b394160_story.html
Conservation Groups in Salt Lake City, Utah are outraged at the new draft bill called Utah Public Land initiative in which covers over 18 million acres in eastern Utah. This bill will protect part of the Bears Ears region but will still allow drilling next to protective areas and to overgraze the land.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.publicnewsservice.org/2016-01-21/public-lands-wilderness/conservation-groups-slam-utah-public-lands-initiative/a49978-1
Since late October of 2015, natural gas has been leaking in an LA neighbourhood called Porter Ranch . Mitchell Englander, the LA city councilman who represents Porter Ranch said that “this is the equivalent of the BP oil spill, except it’s on land, in a populated community,” in order to convey how terrible the leak is. The gas leak has lead as many as 2,000 families to evacuate their homes because the leak has exposed them to several health risks. The terrible smells due to chemicals added to the gas causes side effects such as nosebleeds, headaches, dizziness and vomiting. The people of Porter Ranch were furious and took their complaints to the governor demanding answers as to why the Southern California Gas company could not fix the leak. Company officials said that they are trying their best to inject additional liquids and then permanently cap the leaking well with cement to fix the problems, but the job will not be complete until late February, or March.
ReplyDeletesource:
Lovett, I. (2016, January 06). Governor Declares Emergency Over Los Angeles Gas Leak. Retrieved January 24, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/07/us/california-governor-declares-emergency-over-los-angeles-gas-leak.html?action=click
Article: Trash Talk and the real dirt on a 'toxic tour" of los Angeles
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Tony Barboza
Reflection:
A bus tour of a previously industrial area is being given in low income communities which are inhabited predominantly latinos.
The bus rides are free and recently a lot of University students are coming to learn about the community they live in. This tour was mostly dominated by tourists but of late the community has started to dominate these tours.
In my opinion the tours are a very good way to educate the people about the effects of abandoned factories and how they impact everyday lives. The fact that a this tour has been receiving a lot of University students shows that there is a chance for the world to get better. These students are our future leaders and if they know about how negative of an impact the wastes from theses factories have on the community, they can stop further damage to the community and the environment. The tour guides also relate the present conditions to history. Doing that is very help full because it creates a list of dont's in the minds of these young leaders. Furthermore, the tours have expanded to different states and this practice of educational tours will definitely change how earth and its ecosystems will be 40 years from now.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-toxic-tour-20130728-story.html
Article: Is jet travel becoming the dirtiest way to cross the planet?
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Helen Czerski
Reflection: Traveling to different countries was facilitated by the creation of airplanes. However, planes are used a lot today. About eight million of us fly everyday and the numbers keeps increasing with every passing year. “Since the first commercial flight took off from Florida in 1914, there has been no stopping the rise in passenger air travel.” The number of passengers are “increasing at a phenomenal pace each year. This growth is partly driven by the arrival of low cost airlines, worldwide.” “Burning jet fuel creates huge quantities of carbon dioxide. In 2012, 689 million tonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted from planes – representing 2% of all human carbon emissions. But if air travel continues to grow at the predicted rate, it could contribute a considerably higher proportion by 2050.” Therefore, we have to work on reducing the carbon footprint of planes. This could be done by finding a zero carbon fuel. Possible fuels are biofuels, which is the processing of oils from biological sources such as used cooking oil, plants and algae. Another possible fuel is powering airplanes with electricity. Another fuel is powering planes with solar energy. Lastly, hydrogen fuel is the burning of liquid hydrogen, similar to rocket engines.
Which type of fuel do you believe is the best solution?
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z2h66sg
Article: At Least 30 Killed in Snowstorm-Related Deaths.
ReplyDeleteSource: ABC News
We all know the recent snow storm that hit us this past weekend is the 2nd largest blizzard NY has seen in history. But were we really safe after the storm passed?
The article above list the people that died pertaining to the snow storm in eastern states. One family from New Jersey, a mother and a child, died in their car from the silent yet lethal carbon monoxide that invaded their car.
The car was filled up quickly with carbon monoxide because the tailpipe was blocked with snow. Police says this is a reminder for families to clear the snow from the back and make sure that the tailpipe is not blocked.
Some deaths all over the eastern U.S were from heart attacks while shoveling. Shoveling increases the blood pressure and heart rate, 'and the cold air can cause constriction of the blood vessel and decrease oxygen to the heart,' according to metrohealth.org.
30 lives ended in tragically and this is a reminder for people to remind safe and aware even after the storm past.
This case is similar to our Wesselman Woods Case Study. Locals in Wisconsin are debating whether or not to discontinue the practice of shooting Coyote for sport. Supporters believe that killing controls the population from getting too out of control, meanwhile opposers think that it is inhumane to kill the coyote as a contest. Similarly to my opinion from the case study, I think there should be a common ground between pro and anti-killing of coyotes, that way we can appease both stakeholders. Certain divisions should be made within these coyote populated communities where coyotes are preserved and coyotes are able to be hunted, therefore there is still a maintenance of a coyote population that doesn’t negatively affect the surrounding environment that coyotes provide balance for.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/01/23/environmental-groups-seek-to-ban-wisconsin-coyote-hunting.html