Poison in Our Water, Killing us Slowly

Do YOU know how much garbage is being dumped in the Ocean each year??

 If you want to learn about your impact on the earth's water, and what you can do about it, read on.  If not, for goodness sakes read on so you may be more enlightened.

1. There are many many types of water pollution.

Groundwater Pollution:  Groundwater pollution is often caused by pesticide contamination from the soil, the water in aquifers that we humans get our water to drink from becomes contaminated, poisoning the people that drink it.

Microbiological Pollution: This is a natural form of water pollution caused by microorganisms, viruses and bacteria can be spread if the water is not treated.  Cholera often comes from this in poorer countries.

Surface Water Pollution:  When water found on the exterior of the earth's crust, rivers, lakes, oceans is contaminated is is called Surface Water Pollution.

Oxygen Depleting Pollution:  Microorganisms living in water feed on biodegradable substances.  But when too much biodegradable material is in the water, the overall number of microorganisms increases and uses up the oxygen, causing a depletion. Anaerobic microorganisms begin to take over, some being harmful to people and the environment, producing  toxins such as sulfides and ammonia.

Nutrients Pollution:  Nutrient rich fertilizers and waste water can cause an unwanted surplus of weed and algae growth.
This can be damaging as the algae uses up the oxygen in the water, leaving none for the surrounding marine life.

Suspended Matter Pollution:  These are pollutants that have molecules that are to big to mix with the water molecules.  They can settle to the bottom of a lake bed forming a thick harmful layer of silt. 

Chemical Pollution:  Many agricultural practices involve the use of herbicides and pesticides.  These dangerous chemicals run off into water sources and poison the aquatic life.  Infected fish can POISON those that have eaten them, such as birds, animals, and HUMANS.  Oil spills also fall into this category, that are terrible detrimental to the local environment.  Fish's gills get clogged and they suffocate, birds are unable to fly, humans loose sources of revenue and are unable to support their families, the ecosystem is devastated.
2.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines point source pollution as “any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged, such as a pipe, ditch, ship or factory smokestack”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines nonpoint source pollution as "Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution, unlike pollution from industrial and sewage treatment plants, comes from many diffuse sources. NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground."

3. Water pollution can come from the runoff of waste water, such as water containing miracle grow, a substance we are using in our action project, making it unclean for the life living in it.  Pollution can be come from plastic, such as the two liters we are using for our bio-bottle, getting thrown into surface water, becoming suspended matter pollution.  Also, the fertilizers that could be strewn into the water, could fall under the chemical, nutrient, and oxygen depleting pollution categories, further harming the environment. 

4.  As cited from the Water Pollution Guide at http://www.water-pollution.org.uk/health.html, three major effects and consequences of water pollution are.

• "Heavy metals from industrial processes can accumulate in nearby lakes and rivers. These are toxic to marine life such as fish and shellfish, and subsequently to the humans who eat them. Heavy metals can slow development; result in birth defects and some are carcinogenic.
• Industrial waste often contains many toxic compounds that damage the health of aquatic animals and those who eat them. Some of the toxins in industrial waste may only have a mild effect whereas other can be fatal. They can cause immune suppression, reproductive failure or acute poisoning.
• Microbial pollutants from sewage often result in infectious diseases that infect aquatic life and terrestrial life through drinking water. Microbial water pollution is a major problem in the developing world, with diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever being the primary cause of infant mortality."

 5.  One can help prevent water pollution by minimizing their use of tap water, turn it off when it doesn't need to be on! They can watch what they flush down the toilet, don't flush pills!  One can use environment detergents and bathroom items.  Don't use fertilizers and pesticides in your garden, they aren't necessary. 
But pollution STILL HAPPENS, so we need to know how to counter it after the fact.  Septic tanks are used and ozone can be used as well.

 

Solar Panels at ERHS

Solar Panels at ERHS

In the month of may, 332 kilowatt hours of energy was produced, 6 trees saved, and 110,666.67 batteries saved by the solar panels on the roof of the school.

In April, 402 kilowatt hours of energy were produced, 7 trees saved, and 134,000 batteries saved.

Today 5.62 kilowatt hours were produced.

I think that it is great for ERHS to have solar panels and awesome that people thought of us and donated time and money to make them a realty.  I think it is good for students to learn about solar panels and how they are able to generate energy from the sun.  I believe it is good for them to learn of all the different reusable energy sources and to be able to see one of the means of using the energy first hand is even better!  I think it would be good for students to take data on the amount of energy produced by day or week, learning why the amount fluctuates and how many appliances it can power.  It is really something to be able to say that the use of the schools solar panels has been put to good use and saved trees, power, and other things that would have been harmful to the environment.

My Footprint 04-22-14

1. This link will allow you to find your global & carbon footprint: http://footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/
2.This site is targeted more towards a home owner, a child may fill it out with a parent's help.
3. My footprint:
                 a) # Earth's I would need: 4.3
                 b) Pounds of Carbon Dioxide: 21
                 c) Acres of land you need: 19.1
4.Ways to reduce my footprint:
    a)Myself-Eating less packaged foods, more local
                 - Take shorter showers
                 - Use less electrical appliances
    b)The school- Build more interest in recycling
                        - Educate/remind people to turn of lights when rooms are not in use
                        - Have less people running water when they are in a bathroom
    c)The community- Have the community plant gardens for food and/or shop more locally
                              - Promote people walking or riding bicycles when running ( ;) ) small errands.
                              - Get people to spend time in other ways than watching TV or using the computer.
5.  Within the National Geographic video we watched, were many facts and statistics on the average American's footprint on the planet.  The video was very informative, with pictures that represented the quantities of different materials people use.  Showing a gigantic mound of disposable diapers, the amount one baby would use in their lifetime, or a car, showing the weight of hamburgers that an average American would eat in their lifetime.  The visual representations were good for hitting home of how much we really waste while living on the planet.  The amount of garbage in landfills and the ocean, enough to circle the earth numerous times, is inconceivable to my mind.  I feel that my family really tries to be conscious of our impact, but we still have a ways to go if we want our home planet to be healthy. 

Misconceptions

A) The moon does spin
1. I believed the moon orbited the earth, keeping only one side facing earth. I did not consider that is must rotate itself in order to do this.
2 The moon orbits the earth and must rotate, otherwise we would see all sides of it.

B) Withholding Hubble Space Telescope Data
1. At first I did not think data should be with held, I believe that is could be withheld for a little while, for the scientists who initiated the collecting of the data to examine it, but not for too long.
2. It can take a long time to actually process the data.  The scientists who started the experiment should be able to process it for a bit (only up to a year) before revealing it to the public.

C) What causes seasons?
1. I thought the changing of seasons was due to the earth rotating around the sun and different sides being closer to it during different seasons.
2. I was not factoring the change in the axis of the earth,  which is the true cause of the seasons, not distance.

Bad Astronomy

A)  1.
I saw the ship fall apart and shut down as it entered Mars' atmosphere.  I did not catch the line that atributed this disterbance to a gamma  ray.
2.  I thought it was odd that radiation entered/ of was formed within the space shuttle so easily.
3. The astronomer on Bad Astronomy says that the ship would have bee guarded from radiation.

B)  1.  I saw the escape pod hitting Mars's surface and bouncing down a cliff.
2.  I do not believe the astronauts would have been able to survive the impact and continued bouncing.
3. The astronomer compares this to a car crash and says their survival would be unlikely, at least they shouldn't have been able to walk away.

C) 1.  Bowman flipped a switch and the gravity turned back on in the space ship, causing her to fall to its floor.
2.  I thought it was plausible that the gravity would turn on in such a manner.
3. The astronomer says it would have taken longer for the system to slowly boot up and turn the gravity on.

D)  1. Chantilas has a ruptured spleen and internal bleeding so he has the others leave him behind.
2. They should have taken his oxygen if he was going  to die anyway.  Why make him wait, and risk their own lives more without it.
3. The astronomer says the same, and thinks Chantilas would have offered it up.

E) 1. Gallagher is dying from not having enough oxygen.
2. First, I thought he should have opened his helmet.  I called that there would vbe oxygen, and I thought it would have been better than suffocating in the helmet.
3. The astronomer says the astronauts should have known about the return of oxygen.

2. Global Science, much to learn

During this trimester of Global science I would love to learn many things.  (As one hopes in most classes..)  I think it would be interesting to learn of climates around the world and how they affect the area and geography in the certain climate.  I would like to learn of peoples' impact on the planet and ways to make sure it is a good one.  I think this class will teach me about some cool things in space.  I would like to be able to relate some of the subject matter to my personal life. I am very into the natural world and would love to learn of various things to do with different aspects of it.

1. Technology, a field I could be more proficient it.

As a young adult in this day and age, I feel I could be quite a bit more proficient in my use of technology.  I would like to be better at the general functions of using a computer.  There are buttons on the key board that I don't even know the reason for.  I would like to learn shortcuts for ways to maneuver about the computer and web. I would also like to learn about ways to use a search engine for better results. I would definitely like to be able to avoid crashes and cookies and things that would weigh the computer down.  I would like to be able to tell if site I come up with are going to have valid information or not as well.