Incineration plants
A large topic that is talked about today is incineration plants which take solid municipal waste and burn it to reduce the amount of trash we have in landfills. Even though this is supposed to be a wonderful way of reducing the amount of waste we have and create renewable energy with such waste, we are still running into problems for the environment and human health. The main concern with incineration plants is they release toxins when they burn certain materials like plastics and metals. These toxins can get into water that is used in agriculture, animal environments, and into different foods we eat. The problem with these toxins is that they lead to many human health problems. One of the toxins that is produced is dioxins; these are chemicals that lead to irritation in the respiratory tract of humans. In some cases, these toxins can be considered a carcinogen because of there likely to cause cancerous effects.
Legislation
When the US Department of Interior approved the idea of making a new oil well and pipeline in this part of San Luis Obispo County they overlooked investigated restrictions that apply due to certain federal acts we have in place. The first act that they should have investigated was the Antiquities Act because according to this Carrizo Plain National Monument is protected due to its cultural significance for Native Americans. The only way this monument can be disturbed is if archaeologist with proper permits dig up artifacts or ruins to put in museums on display for the public. The next significant act that should have been looked at was the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA because it protects environmental factors that must be looked at when deciding how to construct the new oil line and pipeline. They run into the problem that there are unique plants in this monument area because according to this Act the environmental factors need to be equally weighted when compared to other factors in making the decision to go forward with oil line and pipeline. The coastal communities already suffer from many environmental losses, include extinct plants. The last act that should have looked at is The Endangered Species Act this is because animals that live on that land could be protected because they are going extinct.
Cultured meat
Culture meat is a piece of meat that is made in a Petri dish in a lab using animal cells. There are many benefits to producing cultured meat this way for our environment today. The first benefit would be it reduces habitat destruction; this is due to people only needing little to no land to create the meat but also reduces the amount of agriculture needed to feed the animals, like cows. Many habitats are converted in to pastures to house animals like cows, so they can be raised to feed humans. The second benefit to having cultured meat is the increase in the water quality; this would happen because less fertilizers and pesticides would be used on lands that are near bodies of water. The reduction of habitat destruction and the increase in water quality work together because if you reduce one you can increase the other. For example, there would be less feed fields being created which would increase the quality of bodies of water near agricultural fields. The final benefit is the reduction in the greenhouse gases; if there are less animals being kept in one area the amount of methane gas builds up in that area will be reduced. Methane gas comes from animal’s excrement which in some cases is used in fertilizers and farmers collect the excrement to give to places that make fertilizer and soil.
Proposition 68
Proposition 68, parks, environment, and water bonding are a part of the 2018 California ballot. There are many concerns for this proposition since it will acquire 2.53 billion dollars in interest over 30 years which in total makes the cost of this proposition 6.53 billion dollars. If this proposition is passed, it authorizes for 4 billion dollars in bonds for the state and local parks. also, it gives money to the environmental protection and restoration project, water infrastructures, and flood protection projects that would protect us from problems that arise in the future. This proposition will create and expand parks, poor communities, restore aquatic habitats, design projects that will help with the coastal climate change, and create projects that will restore forests. These all have a significant impact on human beings and their way of life including their health.
The first way humans would benefit from proposition 68 would be the creation expansions local and state parks in poor communities. Humans would benefit from the expansion of parks because it would help parents get their kids out side to get more exercise. This would also help the health of adults and children because they would have a place to go outside and play in fields and on playgrounds. Some parks even have a little are where they have workout equipment. the would decrease the number of people that suffer from obesity today. In many poor communities their local park is not always the cleanest so many parents do not want to take their children there in fear of them getting sick from many different pathogens. The expansion of these parks would benefit the community and the manner that kids can get together and play at the park without their parents worrying that they are going to get sick. The benefit from expanding state parks wood be humans can get out of their house and go experience the wilderness and see what animals really do live in different areas of the state. Health is not the only thing that is benefiting the expansion of parks would also benefit a community. Parks would allow humans to be outside and be free and be able to experience life outside.
The second benefit for humans that proposition 68 offers is the restoration of aquatic habitats such as riparian areas and estuaries. This would not seem that bad, in fact, it would benefit humans in many ways, but they do, they improve our water quality, give us recreational opportunities, they control floods, and they give wildlife and fisheries a habitat. If we do not keep up on our wetland areas, we will run into problems with flood water running off into housing areas and damaging people’s homes. the big benefit humans get from this is improving water quality. This improves water quality since sediment falls out of the water and the nutrients that are in the sediment are taken up by plants that surround body of water. Another benefit that humans get from this is the freedom to be able to fish or hunt in areas that are plenty full of animals. There are many people out there today that still love recreational fishing, but many species of fish have been depleted due to no habitats destruction and poor water quality. This plan to improveor restore aquatic habitat and life will benefit people in a freedom to enjoy the outdoors and enjoy their favorite hobbies like fishing and hiking.
The next benefits that proposition 68 offers is projects designed to mitigate the coastal effects of climate change such as ocean acidification and sea level. I know as a human I love to go to the beach and go in the ocean but a large problem that has come up in the last few years is the rising sea levels and the acidification of the ocean. These projects would benefit humans by allowing the problems to be fixed by creating a way to stop rising tide in these coastal beaches. Many beaches are being destroyed by the rising levels in the tides. Another part of their project would help the marine life in certain areas since elevated temperatures and acidification of the ocean is killing their habitat. The increase in marine life and habitats will allow humans to be able to recreational swim and dive to enjoy more coral reefs and the fish that live there. these projects would also help with the amount of pollution that is in the water and in the sand on the beaches. When I’m thinking about going to the beach I don’t want to think about how much pollutants are in the ocean and how much trash will be on the beach I just want to go to enjoy the beautiful water and sand and be able to relax and not have to pick up trash everywhere I walk. In all humans would benefit from this project because cleaner and more beautiful beaches would draw more people to go and be outside at beach where you can have family and friends around having fun enjoying themselves.
The final benefits that humans get from proposition 68 is projects that aids in the restoration of forests. Humans love to go on hikes and adventures through the mountains. These projects would benefit humans and a large way; they would be able to go on hikes through more pleasing and vibrant forest areas instead of dried up areas that look like the desert. People also like to go camping up in the mountains and the forest areas to get away from the city and the city life for a little bit they consider this unplugging from the world. Camping is always a great adventure foremost because they get to enjoy the trees and animals that live in forest areas. this plan also benefits humans in it helps the air quality due to trees taking up carbon dioxide and converting it into oxygen that it expresses into the air. In some cases, people go into the forest to relax and just to view the various kinds of wildlife that live there. In all this plan would help humans by giving them more places to relax, enjoy their time, unplug from the world and give them recreational opportunities like hiking. From the creation and restoration of parks to the project to restore forests, these all benefit humans in a significant way and can better each person’s health.
Conclusion
Hopefully this class has convinced you that the world faces some serious environmental problems that, if not addressed, may cause serious harm to future generations. However, all hope is not lost! There are solutions to all these problems that can enable us to save the world. In class, I mentioned we can put these solutions into three categories: 1) legislative, 2) cultural, and 3) technological. Choose ONE of the major topics we discussed in class and describe TWO specific solutions in each of these three categories (you should provide 2 legislative solutions, 2 cultural solutions, and 2 technological solutions). These solutions can be real (planned or already happening) or hypothetical (a solution that you think could realistically work). The options for your topic are: habitat destruction, overharvesting, invasive species, air pollution, water quality and access, pesticide or nutrient pollution, environmental impacts of mining or petroleum, climate change, or waste management.
One of today’s serious environmental problems that affects people and their health all over the world is climate change. Climate change has to do with part all over the globe that have a change in their climate patterns. This became a major concern in the 1960’s when carbon dioxide started to build up and show that it could cause problems. Climate change can range from a change in when Seasons occur to air quality throughout the year. Climate change can be caused by many various aspects like fossil fuels, CO2, methane and many other things. Even though it seems like everything is getting worse we don’t need to panic just yet. There are many different solutions that can be used to hope this problem, but it takes an effort from everybody not just a few people. These Solutions can be into three categories; legislative, cultural and technological which in their own way can help better the climate today.
For a change and how we treat the climate it all starts and a legislative level. The government is the one who regulates what we use and what laws we need to follow in the US. The first solution that I feel would help the climate is the regulation of the use of fossil fuels and things that create energy better because this is one of the leading causes to CO2 emissions. If we change the use of fossil fuels and reduce the amount, we use we could reduce the amount of CO2 that is expelled up into the air causing climate damage like the hole in the ozone layer. The second solution to legislation can help the climate today would be to upgrade buildings that were built many years ago. The upgrading of buildings would help reduce energy and water use because they use more up-to-date lighting and drip safe faucets in their sinks. Even though upgrading of buildings seems like it would be more of a cultural thing people do not always want to spend money on something they are not required to get done I feel that legislation should give incentives for people that upgrade their own houses, but legislation also needs to upgrade buildings of their own, for example places like City Hall in different states and the white house.
Changing the climate will not only work with just the legislation we also kosher also need to change some of our ways and how we live our everyday life. There is a lot as a culture that we can do such as consume less meat. I know this has been a topic for a while now and many people do not want to change their ways butt if we reduce by just a little bit of the meat we consume we could reduce them methane production. Livestock is one of the leading producers of methane gas which causes problems in air quality surrounding and places where livestock are raised. Another solution that has a culture can do is advocate for more eco-friendly transportation; for example, the eco-friendliest transportation is walking to places that you don’t necessarily need to drive. I know as a car owner I personally love driving everywhere I can but recently I have try to help reduce the amount of CO2 emissions I create by walking to the store more to go get Starbucks from across the street instead of driving. Another eco-friendly transportation is riding a bike to work and school instead of driving there every single day. Apart of not having to drive as much is trying to live close to where you work or shop for your food.
The last big component or category that solutions for climate could be put into is a technological aspect. Many technological aspects deal with the science behind figuring out what will help and what will not help. The first solution that technologically we need to do is find an eco-friendlier electricity. Current electricity is being put through so many problems because of extreme weather caused by climate change. I feel that if we had a better way for us to use electricity in an eco-friendly way we would have less blackout or brownouts. Another solution that technologically we could put into effect is determine better ways to heat houses. There are houses still today that use coal to heat them. Coal when burned emits CO2 in to the air reducing the air quality. Then there are other houses that use wood fire places that hear the house Which also releases particles in the air that reduce the air quality in those cities. In all these solutions that are places in these three categories; would help reduce the damage we have done to the climate. For these solutions to work though we all need to work together because no just one person doing these will make any substantial change to the damage that has been created.