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We hear it a lot, water conservation. Talking about it in class and hearing about it in articles and in the news, water conservation seems to be a big deal everywhere. Did you know though, people in developing countries pay more for their water than those people in big cities like New York? Studies have shown that water resources and poverty are very closely related. It is shown that at any given moment up to half of the people in poverty stricken countries suffer from some sort of health problem from water deficiencies. There are almost 1.1 billion people in these countries that dont have access to the water they need to survive. Having inadequate water resources leads to many deaths in third world countries. 1.4 million children will die each year from not having enough water to survive. Finding and gathering water becomes part of peoples daily lives. Women spend several hours a day collecting water in buckets and baskets that they carry for miles. Another study states that only 12 percent of the world uses 85 percent of its water! These 12 percent dont even live close to a third world country. These numbers are dramatic and tell a story within themselves of poverty stricken countries not having enough water to support the people living there. People in third world countries are not the only ones affected by the water shortages though. Studies in Detroit show that around 100,000 people face water shortages. Many times its because they have fallen behind on their bills and make daily trips to get water. Water has been said to be a human right, in constitutions and spoken by mouth throughout the world. But if it is a human right, why are millions of people without it everyday?
http://www.globalissues.org/article/601/water-and-development
Did you ever think that animals could get cancer? Well along with humans, they can. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, also known as WCS, wildlife can develop cancer just like humans can. It is proven that cancer kills about ten percent of humans, but until recently, it wasn’t know that cancer kills animals at about the same rate. In some circumstances, cancer is threatening to kill entire species. For example, the Tasmanian devil is at risk of extinction due to a facial cancer. This cancer is spread through direct contact, either by fighting or biting. Conservationists are relocating cancer-free Tasmanian devils to isolated areas or zoos to save the species from extinction.
Animals living under our oceans are even more at risk to development a high amount of tumors. Some studies show that there could be a link between the amount of tumors developed by sea creatures and pollution from humans. Beluga Whales’ second highest reason for death is intestinal cancer. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons or PAHs is a know carcinogen in humans and is found present in the waters of the Beluga Whales. There may be a connection between the two that is causing the whales to develop this cancer.
Cancers in wild animals cause problems with reproduction. Genital cancers stop the animals from being able to reproduce at all. Cancers found in wildlife are also shown to affect the eye sight and feeding ability of the animals. Factors such as human carcinogen pollution is shown to make affects of tumors even more severe.
“Examining the impact of cancer in wildlife, in particular those instances when human activities are identified as the cause, can contribute to more effective conservation and fits within the One World-One Health approach of reducing threats to both human and animal health,” said Dr. William Karesh, Vice President and Director of WCS’s Global Health Program.
It will take the efforts of everyone to help save the animals from getting cancer that in many cases is caused by humans and human pollution. If cancer is fought for humans, it should be fought for animals.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090624102255.htm
“To protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment-air, water, and land-upon which life depends.” This has been the mission of the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA since 1970. The EPA accomplishes their mission by developing regulations for environmental laws. The EPA sets national standards that they enforce through their regulations as well. The EPA also gives almost half of its budget in grants to programs and non-profit organizations. This helps environmental organizations to keep up the fight against environmental damages. The Environmental Protection Agency also takes a lot of their time to study environmental issues and how they can fix them. They take their time to then teach people about environmental issues. Knowledge is power, and the more people know about issues the environment faces, the more people can do to help. The EPA also published much information they find out to teach people.
The Environmental Protection Agency started on December 2, 1970 in Washington, D.C. during a troubling period when concern about environmental pollution was at an all time high. It was created to obtain environmental protection through research, monitoring, and setting standards.
The EPA has had major accomplishments in the past 30 years. In the 1970s the EPA created the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act. In the 1980s the Superfund law is passed to clean abandoned waste sites. In the 1990s the EPA partnered with companies to explore and test voluntary approaches to environmental protection. In the new millennium the Environmental Protection Agency responded to 9/11 as well as cleaned diesel engines and cut emissions from trucks, and buses.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s top goals now include Clean Air and Global Climate Change, Clean and Safe Water, Land Preservation and Restoration, Healthy Communities and Ecosystems, and Compliance and Environmental Stewardship.
Animal testing is known to bring up controversy. Some believe that animals should be tested on because we want to make sure that products are going to cause harm to humans. Some say that animal testing is cruel and the animals are helpless. The animals have no way to speak up for themselves and therefore some believe it is not fair that they should have to undergo testing to help humans. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) says that between 2 million to 4 million animals are used to test on in the United States alone. These animals are used to test consumer products with harmful chemicals in them. For the most part, the animals used in the experiments are rats and mice, but in some cases products are tested on dogs, cats, sheep, hamsters, guinea pigs and primates. Most of the 2 million to 4 million tested animals are used in biomedical research. The government is behind most of the animal testing policies. Some products such as drugs, automotive fluids, garden chemicals, and food additives much be tested on animals by demand of the government. Other products such as cosmetics, personal care, and household cleaning products are voluntarily tested on animals by companies to see what the pros and cons of certain ingredients are. People are making a difference and helping to give the animals a voice. HSUS along with PETA have successfully stopped 500 companies from testing on animals due to boycotts and protests of their products. Europe is the first country to put a country wide ban on animal testing. There are a few loopholes where animals are used to test but cosmetics are not tested on animals and no cosmetics from other countries that have been tested on animals are allowed to be sold in Europe either. It is easy to find products that aren’t tested on animals. The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC) urges manufacturers to sign the “Corporate Standard of Compassion for Animals”, a policy and agreement to not test on animals or use any ingredients that are tested on animals. The “leaping bunny” logo is put on their products to show that it is not tested on animals. One store that does not test on animals at all is Bath and Body Works. All of their products say on them “not tested on animals”. Animals shouldn’t have to be tested on because consumers want to make their eyelashes a little longer or make their hair grow faster. It is unfair to the animals who undergo the tests. Imagine what it would be like being an animal being tested on in a lab before you buy products tested on them.
http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivingdesign/a/animal_testing.htm
Many think that its impossible for one person to make a difference. When everyone has an apathetic attitude, nothing will ever get accomplished and nothing fixed. If everyone does a little some to, in this case, help the planet, big changes can take place! The world can’t be fixed over night but if everyone took some time to make minor changes in their lifestyle to become a little more greener, change can happen with little effort from everyone. These are a few things that one can do in under 30 minutes to make a difference in the world, to help save the planet. First, leave your car at home. Greenhouse gas emissions from cars can cause health damages. Try carpooling if a group needs to go to the same place. If you are only going a short distance, use a bike or walk to get some exercise. Public transportation is always available, especially in cities, and research has shown that people who take public transportation are generally healthier than those who don’t. Next seems simple. Just like mom always used to tell you, eat vegetables! Eating less meat helps the planet cut back on greenhouse gases and saving land. You can also switch to reusable shopping bags. It seems like almost every store has their own bags that you can pick up for a simple dollar to carry your groceries home every time you shop. It saves countless numbers of plastic bags that don’t get recycled in the long run. They are also made out of materials that don’t harm the environment at all. Next step would be to simply change your light bulbs! LEDs and compact fluorescent light bulbs are more energy efficient and end up cutting back on energy use and in turn on your energy bill as well. It is said that if every household replaced just one regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, it would prevent 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The last way to help save the planet in little ways that make a big impact is to pay your bills online. It saves paper since the companies don’t have to mail out bills and it cuts back on the emissions from the mail having to travel all around the globe. It is even easier since some bills can be automatically paid for you at a certain time every month! With all these little things, people can make a huge impact on saving the planet!
http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivingdesign/a/30_minutes.htm
Global climate change has got ice sheets in the Arctic melting faster and faster each year. Studies since the late 1990s have proven this point over and over again. A new study published in Science and funded by the National Environment Research Council used two different methods to also prove this point. These methods included satellite observations and a regional atmospheric model. With these methods, the study hoped to prove that melting ice sheets in Greenland are due to global climate change. The Greenland ice sheet alone contains enough water to cause sea levels to rise almost 7 meters which is equal to 23 feet! Over the past decade the sea levels have raised over 5 millimeters from the Greenland ice sheet. Warmer summers in the past couple of years are put to blame for the increase in melting ice sheets. It is believed that the melting of the ice sheets will only accelerated at an alarming pace. Although 5 millimeters may not seem like a lot, compared to the amount of fresh water located on the earth, it adds up to a lot. Affects of the melting ice sheets are tremendous. The rise of 5 millimeters only takes into account the Greenland ice sheet. Imagine if every ice sheet melted 5 millimeters over a decade. The amount of melting fresh water would be extreme. Rising waters not only affect coastal communities but affect every community. High ocean waters can leak into fresh water sources and contaminate drinking water for all communities. A chemical change in the ocean water caused by too much fresh water leaking into the salt water can threaten the lives of water species as well. Arctic species along with arctic people are also loosing their homes on the ice sheets and glaciers. It is obvious that melting ice sheets affect the entire planet and something needs to be done to try and stop and the melting of these ice sheets soon before it becomes too late.
Global climate change has gotten everyone thinking about the environment. Its changing the weather and its affecting each and every ones lives. But humans aren’t becoming endangered because of climate change. Countless helpless animals are falling to climate change. The commercials always show the polar bear, not being able to hunt for food and losing their homes to the great seas. They aren’t the only animals suffering from this catastrophe! Already endangered animals are feeling the heat even worse. An article written about the top ten most endangered species in America covers animals from small birds to large marine mammals. One endangered species is the Kaua’i Creeper which lives on the Hawaiian islands. The big problem facing these little birds are mosquitos carrying malaria. Since mosquitos didn’t reach the islands until the 19th centuries, these birds have no natural resistance to their diseases. The Elkhorn coral species have dropped by 90 percent, leaving this and other corals to be the most threatened organisms due to climate change. Bull trout require clean, cold water, which is vanishing by the day. Canadian Lynx require the cold and snowy winters in order to hunt for food. Pacific salmon can’t live in waters about 72 degrees and are therefore threatened by the rising sea temperatures and the heavy pollution in the oceans. Leatherback turtles who have been coming closer to extinction every year from pollution and destruction face a new problem with global warming. Water temperatures determine the sex of the turtles, with cold water creating males and warm waters creating females. If the water temperature keeps rising, the male turtles may cease to be produced. Grizzly bears are losing food sources due to warmer weathers as well. The bog turtle is threatened by the erratic weather patterns and destruction of bogs. Almost every animal on mother earth, just like every human, is affected by global climate change in some way. These animals have no way of helping themselves like humans can. Almost on the brink of becoming extinct, action needs to be taken now to make sure these animals make it to see the future of our planet!
In upstate New York, tension is rising with new plans of drilling for natural gas. In the town of Chenango, along with others around it, oil companies are on the prawl looking for people to sign leases to let the companies dig for oil under their land. The plans are turning neighbors against neighbors and even spouces against spouces. No one can come to a common answer, yes or no. There are two sides to the issue. One is to say yes to the drilling companies, sign leases and let the economic boom happen. The small New York towns are suffering economicaly, filled with farm lands, and causing new generations to move away because there are no jobs. Many residents say that if the oil companies drill, it will bring more than $3.72 dollars in revenue to the small towns. This will give new jobs to young people so that they are not forced to move away to find jobs and make a life for themselves. The other side say no. They say that the drilling, which blasts water under the rocks to get the gas, could be detrimental to their drinking water and contaminate it. They don’t want to take the risk of their land and water getting ruined. Some people have found a happy medium with their own concerns and the oil companies wants. Mrs. Lacey, a resident in the area, is working with her lawyer and the oil companies to make a deal. They can drill, but they must restore the land to its origonal state, pre-drilling, and if the water is contaminated, they have to fix it and take blame. Although Mrs. Lacey and her husband are not having financial difficulty like many of the other farmers, they say that it would be nice to have to live without worry and be able to retire in their own home and not have to move. One woman signed a lease with the drilling company two years ago, needing money to pay her taxes. She earned a little under three thousand dollars for 110 acres which is now worth half a million dollars. She didn’t realize that it was worth that much, and she could have gotten much more money for her land. It seems that the common thread is money though. The only reason that people will allow drilling on their land is because they want, or in some cases really need, money.
Coal is one of the dirties forms of energy used today. It has been around for hundreds of years. Coal mining in states such as West Virginia has not only become a source of income for little towns, but a way of life, with Coal fairs happening annualy. Up to 50 percent of energy produced each year is from coal and it is the cheapest form of engery available as of now. Along with producing almost half the energy of the planet, it contributes to almost 30 percent of carbon emissions as well. Many big coal companies that move into little towns to develop their bussiness think that they are doing good by giving people of the town jobs. This is a way is true but conversly it is devaluing coal mining towns as well. Property value is plumetting and poor health conditions are rising. If up to as much as $20 billion is made each year by the United States through coal production, why are these towns suffering? What do the residents of these towns say? Well that stand is split. Some residents agree with the coal mining bussinesses and agree with coal mining. They say its a way to bring in the money. The companies say “Coal turns the lights on”. Well it does but there could be other ways to turn the lights on too, by using alternative energy sources and making new jobs in these areas. This is the stand for the other half of coal mining town residents. There must be another way to make an income and not destroy the environment. A big controversy in mostly West Virginia towns is mountain top removal. This is coal mining not traditional underground mining, but on top of the moutnains where the tops of the mountains are literally cut off to mine for coal. This is destructive to the mountains as well as polluting the air and streams around the mountains. Some companies are required to build domes around the mountain top removal sites but this does not totally stop the air pollution. It also does not protect the streams from being polluted. If mountain top removal persists at the same rate, soon all the “wild and wonderful” West Virginia hills will be gone. Using coal affects every community. Duke energy of North Carolina uses mostly coal fueled energy as well. It affects everyone and everyone will start paying for the consequences sooner or later.
www.sierraclub.org and Coal Country documentary from Sierra Club
Vegetarians chose to not eat meat for a variety of reasons including health factors and animal rights. A new study may suggest now that meat from industrialized farms has a strong connection to human disease. According to a 2008 study by Pew Commission on Industrial Farm and Animal Production, farms are breeding grounds for diseases. Small farms are shutting down and large farms are taking over the industry but with less farms, the same amount of animals for food are still be produced. “The Infectious Disease Society of America has declared antibiotic-resistant infections to be an epidemic sweeping through the U.S. The Food and Agriculture Organization has recommended the agricultural use of antibiotics be restricted. They claim the health of the world’s population is threatened by the globalization of the industrial animal farms and concentrated feeding operations.” With so many animals is such tight spaces the risk of pathogens rises and create more opportunities for disease transmission to humans. According to an article written by Laura Sayre in 1965 there with 53 million hogs in the United States raised on over 1 million farms across the country. Today there are roughly 65 million hogs raised on only 65,000 hog farms, with some farms raising more than 5,000 pigs at any time. Chicken production has also been raised from 355 million in 1945 to 8,400 million in 2001. Raising animals in this way is inhumane as well. Some animals spend their life being fed hormones while standing in crates, unable to move even their necks around. They also lack the ability to walk or lie on natural materials and even if they aren’t held in a cage, they do not have enough room to walk around. Scientists have proven that food safety is linked to the health of the animals that produce the meat, dairy or egg products. They also know that intensive confinement production systems increase pathogen shedding in animals. Many of the animals kept captive like this live their entire lives in stress and therefore have weaker immune systems and susceptibility to infection. Because disease passes so quickly in these tight spaces with lack of fresh air and sunlight, a large amount of antibiotics are used to keep the animals healthy. In many cases, these antibiotics transfer to humans during consumption that bring threat to human health. Farms like these not only pose a threat to the humans consuming the animals, but also to the communities that live close due to these farming methods. Livestock excretion also poses a threat to the environment since much of the manure that is tainted with antibiotics and pathogens is spread on the ground untreated.
http://www.NaturalNews.com/025716_antibiotic_antibiotics_disease.html
Environmental Science 