On Its 39th Anniversary, The Clean Water Act Needs Defenders

Picture: To the left, you can see the Cuyahoga River, the infamous river that caught fire for the thirteenth time in June of 1969.

Summary: In June of 1969, the Cuyahoga River caught fire for the thirteenth time in its known existence. The reason? Extensive pollution and chemicals caused the river to go up in flames. Three years after this horrific event, the Clean Water Act was created. Three years after the act was created, though, America's waterway infrastructure began to crumble and fall apart. The article states that,"EPA estimates that in order for America's water systems to be able to operate without sewage overflows or contamination, we'd need to invest $188 billion dollars." But with those $188 million, we'd be earning $250 billion back and creating jobs for around 2 million people. The only thing holding us back are the big companies that thrive on polluting our water.

Article: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/10/on-its-39th-anniversary-clean-water-act-needs-defenders.php?campaign=th_rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+treehuggersite+%28Treehugger%29

Opinion/Reflection: I was surprised with how much money we could be making and the amount of jobs available, but the large companies are keeping us from moving forward. Shouldn't they be finding ways to help the economy rather than keeping it where it is now? Wouldn't helping the waterways give them a better image, therefore helping business? I just don't understand why they can't just support the Clean Water Act.

Questions:

1. How do you think we could help support the Clean Water Act?

2. Do you think that the large companies are the only ones who are against the Clean Water Act?

3. Are there any ways to communicate with the large companies and tell them that what they are doing is wrong?

Ozone Hole over the Antarctic: Why does it Matter?

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/10693130-ozone-hole-over-the-antarctic-why-does-it-matter

Picture: NASA's Upper Atmosphere research satellite

This article talks about the ozone hole above Antarctica. Ozone is a gas in the stratosphere which filters out harmful UV rays from the sun. These UV rays are known to cause skin cancer, and stop plants from growing. So it is obvious that we need this layer of ozone. The problem is that we're depleting the ozone layer very quickly. Every spring this "Ozone Hole" opens up above Antarctica and allows in some UV rays. This hole is getting bigger and bigger, and we need to stop it.

My opinion on this discovery is that we need to be more aware of what we put in the atmosphere. Our everyday consumer products that are sprayed into the air, or have anything to do with the atmosphere, are most likely making this Ozone hole bigger and harder for us to control. I think that we need to know what we're using before we use it (ex. Spray sunscreen, hairspray), and how it affects the ozone layer and the atmosphere in general. without this layer, we will all die, and I like living, so lets just be more careful.

1.What are some ways you can do to help preserve the Ozone layer?

2.Do you think your actions as an individual can affect the ozone layer? Explain.

3. What can mankind as a whole do to protect the ozone layer?

We Can Feed 10 billion of us, study finds - but it wont be easy

Picture: Rice, one of the highest produced foods in the world.

By Darci Palmquist 13 Oct. 2011

Published Originally by Cool Green Science

Link to Article: http://www.grist.org/population/2011-10-13-we-can-feed-10-billion-of-us-study-finds-but-it-wont-be-easy

Summary: This article is based based on a recent prediction by scientists that the worlds population will reach 10 billion in aproximatly the year 2100. Specifically this article talks about the threat of a great increase in hunger that will become visible as our population increases. It then talks about a study recently conducted by researchers all over the world that revealed that it would be possible to feed 10 billion people. However the scientists who participated in this study discovered that in order to accomplish this task we as humans would have to change many things about the way we obtain our food. The list is as follows:

Stop farming in places like tropical rainforests, which have high ecological value and low food output;

Improve crop yields in regions of Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe where farmland isn't meeting its potential;

Change farming practices to better manage water, nutrients, and chemicals;
Shift diets away from meat;

Stop wasting food (up to one-third of all food grown is wasted either in production, transport, or after purchase).

These strategies; scientists believe will increase the worldwide food output 100- 180%

Opinion/ Reflection: I think that it is just crazy how fast our population is growing. One day its six billion and the next day its like, well 8. I think that the list of strategies listed here would be very helpful if we actually used them. I find it pretty upseting that we don't and if we really wanted to do something good for ourselves we would actually follow the researchers advice. If we dont it could lead to our collapse and the collapse of the biosphere.

Questions:

1 Remembering what we learned in class what is your opinion on exponential population growth?, Explain

2 Do you agree that these strategies could truely increase the food output 100-180%?, Explain

3 Come up with another strategy that could be used and explain it.