Lead Awareness in New York City

July 18 - August 5

The poster that me and my Sophie Davis colleagues made about lead advocacy strategies.

This summer, I became a second year member of the Sophie Davis Pipeline program. The program, located at The City College of New York, exposes high school students to health care professions, the process of medical school, and public health issues. The focus of last summer's session was community health, which opened my eyes to all the ways that humans mistreat their environments. This topic of this summer was environmental advocacy, particularly raising awareness about lead in New York City and its harmful effects.

The first thing that we did was learn more about advocacy in general. Advocating for a certain cause can be a long and difficult process. Advocacy is not all about protesting; it can involve meeting with lawmakers and officials to make sure that change will happen. Once we learned about advocacy, it was time to find out what the community actually knew about the topic of lead in NYC. We were divided into our mentor groups and sent to different locations around Harlem in order to survey residents about lead. The amount of people that didn't know about lead, its effects, or even the Flint Water Crisis was astonishing. Many people even said that they didn't think a problem like the Flint Water Crisis could happen in New York. It's true that New York City's water is much cleaner than Flint's because we get our water from the Catskills, but that does not mean lead contamination is impossible. New Yorkers can even be exposed to lead if their buildings or houses were made before a certain year. If people remain in ignorance about this problem, then a problem like the one in Flint may be closer than we think.

After we received these scary results from our surveys, we decided to write a petition to NYC Commissioner of Health, Mary Basset, and tell her about why lead awareness needs to be spread around and how we can do it. Once again, we went out into the street to get people to sign our petition. It was very hard to get people to care or pay attention to our movement, but it was a good feeling when we actually got someone to sign. Then, each mentor group was in charge of making a poster about a certain facet of lead awareness. My group was in charge of presenting about different strategies that can be used to spread lead awareness throughout NYC. On the last day, everyone presented their posters while visitors walked around observing our work. Overall, it was a good experience and I learned a lot about population health and advocating for environmental issues.

How I became a Newton

                   How I Became A Newton

 My name is Justin Albert Medina Lopez and i'am a Afro-Latino boy from Orlando Florida.I spent my summer doing SSFRP , its the acronym for Secondary School Field Research Program. It was a Summer Job for me. I worked six weeks , for about 40 hours a week. I got paid 1,365 dollars by Columbia University.Getting paid to do science research at one of the top schools in the world. 

          It all sounds like a dream , right? well this experience was very real I can tell you that much. For me this program was more than just science or a job. This was a learning experience , and a life changing one. The program consisted of various groups. I was on the data analysis team. My job was to make sure that everyone collected the information correctly , and that all the beta data was correct , time , date, temperature, latitude, and so on. It was a tedious task but it taught me the importance of taking my time to do work correctly and also to pay attention to detail. My supervisor was Dr.Robert Newton, we called him Bob for short. I called him Grand-pahp-ee because he lectured me on the importance of not becoming what most thought I would , in jail or a drug dealer. 

     The reason people had this idea that I would be one of the two options above it because both of my parents had been. I love both my father and mother dearly but they made my childhood very rough. My mother was always in the streets so I barely say her and my father lived thousands of miles away from me. I grew up in the streets always a smart and talented kid but continuously tempted by the evils of fast money. I was to smart to fall into my parents foot steps though. 

    I shared my history with Bob and he shared his with me. He had just as rough of a child hood as me, maybe even worse. He taught me to have the "Eye of the tiger". To never give up. He used a simple word to help open up me eyes to the real world around me , "Analysis". If you use this simple yet complex idea in everyday life you will realize that life is always going to  be hard emotionally and physically but that doesn't mean you back down. Life its self is a scientific experiment. A roller coaster of trial and error , some are better than others but none are more important than the next. Just as with scientific discoveries. The moment I realized this I became a Newton. I vowed to never give up on anything again , because if I give the world everything i've got than just like grand-pahp-ee I can inspire other children of misfortune to pursue through adversity.

  So in the summer of 2017 Justin Albert Medina Lopez became Justin Albert Medina Lopez Newton the boy who used science to inspire.

           

 

My summer with SSFRP-Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory

Summer Experience at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory:
To begin with, I didn't expect to get a job working with Columbia to conduct research on the Hudson River. Let alone enjoy it so much. Although I joined the program half way through. It was an experience that I very much wish to do next year, and possibly have a career in.

The SSFRP had 9 teams each with a different task at their disposal. I was placed into the Sediment team, which focused on sediment accumulation in Piermont Marsh. The team was created in 2014 roughly around the same time the Tappan Zee bridge. Sediment accumulation in the Marsh is an important factor in the environment because sediment accumulation helps the Marsh keep up with rising sea. There are three creeks in the Piermonet Marsh, Sparkill, Tidal, and Crumkill. We had markers to see if there would be a difference in sediment accumulation at different points in the creek. There 12 samples taken from both the north and south side of each creek, excluding Sparkhill's north side as there were houses in the area.

The data that was collected shows that overall the Marsh had accumulated an average of 17mm of sediments 5 meters in then 16.48mm of sediments 25 meters in. Additionally these samples had underwent XRF testing, which is done to see if the sediments had heavy metal contents within them. Prior to testing, the samples were kept in a cold room to preserve moisture and slow down biodegrade in the samples till testing were ready.

Additionally to the testing of sediment samples, 3 cores samples were taken to test our hypothesis on whether or not Modern times are producing more pollutants than pre-industrial times. We had taken Core samples at Tallman Mountain. Tidal Creek, and the Hudson River. For these samples, they also followed the same processes as the sediment samples. But the cores had gone through PAH and PCB testings, but sadly these results will not become available until the fall after the program had ended.

This picture shows a majority of the sediment:
The man sitting is Robert Newton, who played a major role in allowing this program in running.

Environmental Racism: Is It Alive in The Bronx?

June 29 - July 5

I began the Fordham Science Technology Entry Program the day after school ended. On the first day of the program, the Peace Poets presented their work to the student body and afterwards everyone was split off into “Service Learning Groups.” Admir and I were put into a group which worked with Bronx is Blooming to clean up two local parks.

On the second day, we visited Crotona Park and helped to fence the trees. The caretaker of the park was called Shaun. He told us that by fencing the trees they would be safer from people who would want to harm them.

On the third day, we went to Mullaly Park near Yankee Stadium and helped to clear the weeds in one part of the park. After we were done clearing the weeds, we filled wheelbarrows with mulch and carried the mulch to the part of Mullaly park we worked on earlier.

Through the experience, we not only learned about how important it is to maintain the green spaces in the Bronx but we also learned that environmental racism is a very real issue that the communities in the Bronx have to deal with.

The Final Weekend - Cochabamba, Bolivia

Days 17-19
Cochabamba, Bolivia
Sustainable Bolivia - CONSES and Gaia Pacha

The pollution haze settling over Cochabamba - air pollution is just one of the region's problems

Cochabamba was made famous for the its water crisis. Movies like Tambien la Lluvia and documentaries like Our Brand is Crisis and Leasing the Rain have illustrated Cochabamba's lack of water and the government's attempt to privatize water. And water continues to be the city's greatest challenge. The city's lake, the city's river, are nearly running on empty. In the southern part of the city water is shut off without notice and many poor people must make due with buckets of tepid water (if they're lucky to have them).

On Friday I had the great opportunity to visit two organizations in Cochabamba. First, I met with Julio and several others from CONSES. CONSES constructs ecologically sanitary toilets. According to CONSES nearly 50% of Cochabambinos do not have access to the city's water and 40% does not have access to sanitation services. To combat this problem CONSES's civil engineers developed a toilet that does not require water. The toilet's require no water and convert waste to fertilizer. Many children face extraordinarily risks to their health and physical safety as they have to travel several hundred feet to outdoor, public latrines. Julio and his team are looking to build more toilets and bring them to those in need in the most impoverished barrios of Cochabamba. Take a look at CONSES website for more info as well as the video below for more info. Spread the word ...

The eco-friendly latrine 

Feces is treated with lime to kill the odor - you really can't smell anything

The solar even (seen here on the right) is used to heat up and kill pathogens

A close-up of the oven and the poop bucket inside.

Make Shit Better - how eco toilets can revolutionize a neighborhood

Later on in the afternoon I met with Gaia Pacha's Executive Director Rodrigo Solaria. It's difficult to know where to start when talking about Gaia Pacha. The educational foundation works on so many levels. Gaia Pacha advocates for change through the power of education on the primary, secondary, and university level. Rodrigo and his dedicated staff both in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz (Bolivia's biggest city, which is located in the Amazon region) gives young people the agency to take on issues such as: global climate change research, climate change education/activism, the trafficking of exotic animals, urban forests, and so much more. I spent a couple of hours with Rodrigo and walked away completely impressed by the breadth of Gaia Pacha's work. Next year we'll be collaborating with Rodrigo and his team by sharing podcasts and class projects related to environmental justice, climate change, and sustainable development.  

PC with Rodrigo outside of Gaia Pacha's office

A video on Gaia Pacha's work on climate change as an environmental justice issue. 

Cochabamba is a beautiful city.  It has a lot of NGOs based within in it, which creates a really vibrant climate for ideas. You can also find the largest statue of Jesus Christ in the world (El Cristo del Concordia) and South America's largest open air market called La Cancha.

Outside the beautiful Palacio Portales in Cochabamba

A peak inside the Palacio Portales

Look familiar? An illustration from an art gallery in Cochabamba

Cochabamba at sunset 

It's hard to believe that I am nearing the end of my trip in South America. There will be one more wrap up post. Until then, nos vemos.

PC

Lake Titicaca

Days 15-16

Cocacabana and Isla del Sol - Lake Titicaca, Bolivia

We visited beautiful Lake Titicaca for 2 days. It was too quick. I wish we had stayed longer on this beautiful island. It was a quick stay. I wish we had stayed longer.

From an ecological perspective, there isn't a lot of flora or fauna in or around the lake. Lake trout was introduced to the lake by Canadian fishermen a few decades ago. As an invasive species, it has driven many of the smaller, less aggressive local fish to near extinction. Some other bad news is effluent being piped into the lake from Puno, Peru (Peru's largest town on the lake) and from El Alto, Bolivia. But, the good news is, both governments are working hard to clean up the lake. Native grasses that absorb the sewage are being planted near the effluent pipes. Navigation permits are limited. The lake looks clean. See for yourself. The rest of this post is in pictures ...

PC and KD after a long hike across Isla del Sol to its highest point

The sun setting on Isla del Sol

More sunset action 

The sunrise on Isla del Sol

More sunrise action - different vantage point

Some flowers outside of our hotel on Isla del Sol

Neighboring Isla de la Luna from our hotel 

A narrow exit 

PC and KD on their way to Copacabana

La Paz City Tour

Day 14
July 19, 2016
La Paz City Tour

La Paz is an interesting place. Based on a recommendation, we took a city tour. Our guide knew a lot about La Paz's underlying geology and riverine system.

Three underground rivers run underneath the city. The waterways, in some places, are only 5 to 10 meters from the surface. The underlying bedrock of La Paz is sand, clay, and siltstone. Some residents take advantage of this and pump water directly from the underground rivers into their homes.

A view of La Paz from El Alto

It is not very stable. In some areas, where the high rises are located, granite underlies the city and makes it stable. Fortunate for the people of La Paz the shield and composite volcanoes that surround the city are in hibernation. In addition, the faults near the city do not act up often - though there was a quake in 1994 200 miles from the north side of La Paz - the quake happened along a very deep fault (Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/EO076i002p00009-02/abstract).


The guide told us that the government has recognized that increased population and traffic is leading to increased pollution in La Paz (which is in a valley flanked by mountain barriers). In response, the government is planting trees along the foothills of mountains). There is a cable car system called the Teleferico hovers above the city, which is solar powered and incredibly quiet.

An extinct train - near Bolivia's famed salt flats called Uyuni there is a whole train cemetery (in an economic downturn the government shutdown all of Bolivia's passenger trains - they are still shutdown)

The Teleferico's solar panels

The Telerferico cable car in action

We visited Valle de la Luna or Valley of the Moon, which is a series of sandstone structures that rise from the Earth like some lunar landscape. The rainy season destroys the vertical spires of moon valley. The three underground rivers converge at the Valley of the Moon. In some places the rivers come very close to the surface and results in sinkholes (in some areas the waters allow for plants to grow). Also, the world's highest golf course is located near the Valley of the Moon. There are also several large houses. Our guide says that the government has been trying for years to move these houses.

The Valley of the Moon and its spires

KD and PC at the Valley of the Moon

Check the sediment - sand, silt and pebbles are visible. 

We also visited very arid and fast growing El Alto, which is now Bolivia's 2nd largest city and growing fast. We checked out the sprawling food market and the infamous witches market where you can do all sorts of magical things.

Two of the 400 varieties of potatoes found in Bolvia

PC and our guide on the arid slopes of El Alto city

Look out for another post tomorrow. I'll shout out two great organizations that I visited yesterday.

Best,
PC