ENVR 1301 Jennifer M

 When America was first colonized by people from the old world, the land was seen as teeming with an inexhaustible supply of natural resources including unprocessed land, timber, water, wild animals, and plantlife. In the original colonies there was no real major concern surrounding what we now refer to today as conservation and resource management because there was such an abundance of resources. Eventually though, after only a few generations of habitation by colonial people and the exponential growth in their numbers, the first ideas about conservation of resources started to be discussed in the mainstream of social consciousness.  By the early to mid 1800s ideas about natural resources and their management were starting to become more broadly discussed. The Transcendental movement changed the way that people viewed their relationship with the natural world and helped foster a spiritual connection to it. This is seen in the artwork from the period, such as in the painting I...

Six-Point Critical Analysis of Current Event - CANADA AIMS TO BAN SINGLE-USE PLASTICS BY 2021 1. Exploratory                                      The Prime Minister of Canada announced in 2019 that the government will be taking steps to ban the usage of single use plastics by 2021. At that time, it was estimated that Canada was set to throw away $11 billion worth of single use plastics by 2030. Canada recycles less than 10 percent of all its plastic waste, leaving the majority to be sent to landfills. 2. Diagnostic                                         Canada wants to reduce harm to the environment via cleaning up their contribution to the plastic waste crisis. Previously “rich” countries would ship their plastic waste to “poor” countries for processing and recycling but it’s becoming ...

  Caption: The preceding collages show the plastics that I use on an average day. Morning coffee, meals, snacks, hobbies, personal hygiene, clothing, chores, work, school, sleep, caring for pets, even getting in and out of my house, are all touched by plastic. Most of the items shown are one time use, or, are meant for longer use but cannot be fixed once they are broken (such as the plastic components of my vehicle’s bike rack.) Unfortunately, under our present system, there is a little incentive to change our consumption habits. Plastic is cheap and readily available, and our economic system is not conducive to the responsible usage of items that we purchase or even the ability to fix things once they are broken. Microplastics are plastic particles or fibers that are smaller than 5 millimeters in size (Haab) that are released from PCCPs (personal care and cosmetic products) as well as plastic debris and trash like single use plastics. Micro plastic contamination has been deemed a ...

  Air Pollution Basics Air pollution is defined as gaseous air pollutants emitted from natural sources as well as anthropogenic (man made) sources into the atmosphere. All air pollutants affect air quality and can affect the quality of life for people and animals in areas affected by it, including causing or exacerbating disease, and in extreme cases causing death by suffocation. Some examples of natural sources of air pollution are fires (which produce carbon dioxide and release soot into the atmosphere) and volcanoes. Man made emissions from industrial processes have increased dramatically since the 1900s and are potentially greater than natural forms of pollution (Freeman). Sulfur Pollutants: One of the most important pollutants to be aware of is sulfur pollutants, specifically Sulfur dioxide or SO2, which can come from volcanoes and fires, but also from burning fossil fuels like coal and oil. This is a pollutant that is toxic to plants, animals, and humans (Freeman).  Nitr...

1. Exploratory                                     Solar farms are becoming more common, and the article discusses a solar farm specifically on Silicon Ranch in Nashville that is used to power Facebook’s data center. 2. Diagnostic                                         The motivation for building solar farms is that it is a form of renewable energy. The example provided in the article also explains that even though the land is going to be used for a solar farm, that doesn’t mean that it can’t also be used for animals. They plan to use the land for cattle as well as solar power. 3. Cause and Effect                 ...

 Alternative energy (frequently referred to as renewable energy) is any energy source that is continuously and readily available without the risk of it being depleted. A few well known examples of alternative energy are solar energy, hydroelectric energy, and wind energy. Alternative energy is different from conventional energy in that conventional energy, such as nuclear power or fossil fuels, are not renewable - meaning, once they are used up they are gone for good and cannot be replaced. There are also energy sources that are considered ‘semi-renewable’; these are sources that, although they can be depleted, if they are used at a sustainable rate they can be used for potentially thousands of years. A well known example of this type of energy is biomass, which is composed of wood and wood processing waste, animal manure and human sewage, and municipal solid waste (eia.gov).   In the 1970’s, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), in response to U...