Citizens Who Care

By: Samuel Desai Next Post - Previous Post The population on earth is growing, at about 7.5 billion and still growing , we need more natural resources every day. And we can't take these resources forever.There are many different resources we need to save. Oil Oil is one of those resources which we will lose very soon. If we continued to consume it at our current rate, our oil supply would run dry in 45 years , but our consumption rates of oil should continue to increase, lasting us about 25 more years. Consequences: Possible transition to renewable energy :) Shrinks economies like Russia's (built on oil) less transport to places Water Water is one of the most fought over resources in the modern  world. Climate Change is causing severe worldwide droughts. Only 2.5% of the worlds water is fresh. Of that 2.5%, 70% of it is locked up in glaciers. Of that amount (.75%), 10% is used for drinking. THAT ONLY LEAVES .075% of the worlds water to drink, w...

Climate Change Previous Post                                                                                                              Next Post By: Samuel Desai The world is getting worse, I can't deny it. Humans are polluting the air, water, night sky, and our ears. It will only get worse. As humans pollute the air with more and more carbon dioxide, greenhouse gasses force the solar radiation in, heating up the earth more, and more. The Greenhouse Effect The greenhouse effect is a pretty simple effect which helps keep our planet warm. I once read somewhere that without the greenhouse effect, the average temperature on Earth would be about 0 degrees (the average temperature is about 61 degr...

Previous Post                                                                                                                             Next Post As you saw last week with air pollution, there are four different types of pollution. I will now talk about the second type, water pollution. Water pollution happens when humans dump toxic chemicals into bodies of water. The toxic chemicals can vary from paint, motor oil, sunscreen, and even sewage. What is water pollution? Water pollution can be defined in many ways. However, it usually means substances which are in water which damage the health of animals and humans. What are the main types of water pollution? Whe...

 In the United States there are three area vulnerable to rising waters: North Carolina, South Florida, and Norfolk, Virginia. In North Carolina there is a scientist that is trying to save the Inner Banks, the end of a costal plain. The state of North Carolina is only looking 3 years ahead, instead of 9 years ahead. Scientists think that North Carolina should be looking 9 years, but the state isn't responding. So, a scientist named Stan Riggs is planning to save the Inner Banks, he has created a school program to get children engaged in this issue, and plans to make a documentary for those schools. He also created a charity called  North Carolina Land of Water. Frank Gorham, the leader of the Coastal Commission says that Riggs did not understand the problem that North Carolina has. He says that he is possibly the best environmentalist that there ever is.  Hurricane Matthew doesn't help this issue, killing about 29 people and caus...

Cruise Ships- What are they doing to help? By: Samuel Desai Did you know cruises are one of the most cost-effective ways to see the world? But, according to environmental consultant Pat Maher,"Cruises are probably the least environmentally friendly form of transportation going." Cruises dump untreated sewage into the ocean,which increases the grow of algae, decreasing the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water, which is needed for many animals to survive chain. Also, they spew sulfur dioxide into the air.  The EPA has set numerous standards for polluting it. Sulfur dioxide has also been linked to a negative effect on respiratory system (asthma). Studies have shown a link between short-term exposure to sulfur dioxide and visits to the emergency room. To read more on this go  here. Here are some partnerships between cruise lines and environmental funds. 1. Royal Caribbean and WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Royal Caribbean promises to cut their emissions by 35% in th...

FLINT CRISIS!!! By: Samuel Desai The Crisis in Michigan started more than a year ago. However, it is still an ongoing problem: Here is the history: On April 25, 2014. The governor of Michigan transferred the water from the Detroit system to the Flint River The Flint city gov. said the water was safe to drink In August and September 2014, the city issues a Boil Water Advisory, because high levels of unsafe bacteria were  detected In October 2014, The Detroit Water System invites Flint to switch back to their water. The city declined because of the $4 billion transfer fee. On Feb. 18, 2015, high levels of lead were detected in the cities water Later, in March, there was another lead level test which yielded even higher levels of lead (397 ppb(parts per billion)) Finally, on Oct. 16, 2015, Flint reconnected to the Detroit Water System This was not the end of the problems There is still high lead levels in the water in Flint. Obama and Michigan Gov. Rick S...

In last night's super bowl, there was a toothpaste add (Colgate), that didn't focus on toothpaste! It was one on keeping the water off while you brushed your teeth. http://superbowlcommercials.tv/37120.html

In December, 195 countries met in Paris to discuss climate reform. At the end of the 14 day period of talks, people agreed on an emissions target. The target The earth has warmed 1 degree Celsius (about 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since the industrial revolution started in 1750. The countries met and decided to try to keep it below 2 degrees Celsius.  A chart of the worlds warming in Celsius since 1880 http://400.350.org/ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GlobalWarming/page2.php

The earth is warming, That is why we made this blog. It IS time to change! 20% of our world's population uses 80% of the world's resources. Oil prices are really low, $37 per barrel. People are using this money to get new cars. My family bought a new car, but I have mixed feeling about this. I know that it took a lot of oil to make the new car, and the old one will eventually end up in a landfill. However, since the car is larger I can carpool with my friends. According to the EPA, the average gas mileage of cars on the road is 24.1 MPG. This figure is one year old. This figure will probably decrease. This is because fewer mileage cars are "less" money than they used to be because gas prices are lower. That hurts the electric car market . It is less cost effective now because fuel for your Gasoline SUV is more cots effective than it used to be. Anyway... You can view the video  here Please note... I don't know this person By Samuel On behalf of ...

Hydroelectricity By: Samuel Desai Introduction Did you know that hydroelectricity is the oldest type of energy? Hydroelectricity was first used around 4000BCE when the Greeks invented the first water wheel. The water wheel took the current of the water to spin a wheel which could do many things. This early concept turned into hydroelectricity. Pros Hydroelectricity is extremely cheap. Existing dams can produce at about $0.0035 per kWh. SEI 2 Hydroelectricity is available at all times. Unlike wind and solar. SEI 2 Low replacement costs. All you need to fix is some concrete, piping, and a turbine SEI 1.5 Commonly used- Hydroelectricity already accounts for 48% of US renewable energy generation. SEI 1.5 Cons Droughts- because of climate change there is increased droughts. Take Nevada for instance. They are in the middle of a 15-year drought. The mighty colorado river is drying up. Which means less energy being produced. SEI -1.25 Environmental impact- When you...

                Snow! By Kaden Chien Snow is an important resource. Snow helps us and the environment. In the winter, how much do you play in the snow? More importantly, is how the snow helps the environment. Snow cover helps to regulate the temperature. Once that snow melts, the water fills rivers and reservoirs. Snow also helps farmers. Farmers need the snow to blanket their fields so that when it melts in the Spring, the fields will already be irrigated. There are many different colors of snow such as black, gray, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, and rainbow colored snow. Snow is endangered because of global warming. Despite the efforts to help global warming slow, it is still happening rapidly. It was even 64 degrees in December! Snow is a very important resource and we have to keep it.  RAINBOW SNOW!!!

Wave Power: The future of energy  By: Samuel Desai Introduction Wave power (sometimes called tidal power)is a really new energy source. So there isn't a lot of info on it. However, we do know that the it has the potential to produce 2TW out of the 15 the world consumed in 2012. This means that it could provide a lot of energy. Pros Efficient-A wave farm the size of half a square mile can produce enough energy to power 20,000 average British homes. You could get as much as 100 MW per 1/2 square mile- SEI 3  Hidden- The generators are mainly underwater so you can only see a little bit of the generator- This will have no affect on tourism. SEI 2.5 Will be available forever. Solar energy will actually run out in 4 billion years, however, this won't happen to wave energy SEI 1 Cons Unknown environmental impact. There hasn't been any research on the effects of wave power on sea creatures. However, it needs to be done SEI 1.5 Costs. Wave power is new, so it...

By: Samuel Desai Today, the first day of a world changing 12-day event happened. The COP 21 is an event hosted by the ICUN in Paris. At the event, 195 countries are attending, with 40,000 delegates altogether. These countries are trying to make an agreement for a world changing agreement. They hope that the agreement will help stop Climate Change.  One of the biggest things about this is China and the US negotiating too! You see, they are the biggest producers of greenhouse gasses.  Here are some of the things people have said so far: "Countries should be allowed to seek their own solutions, according to their national interest"- Xi Jinping- China  "One of the greatest threats humanity is facing"- Vladimir Putin- Russia  "Billions of people pinning their hopes on what we do in Paris"- Angela Merkel- Germany SOURCES:  http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/30/europe/france-paris-cop21-climate-change-conference/ http://www.cop21paris.org...

Earlier this week, Obama announced something! He told the public that they Keystone XL pipeline will not be built. Being an environmental blog, we are all for Obama's decision. This decision comes at the time of our Energy Sources series, so we can cover more about this in our first Energy Sources post, fossil fuels. Why is this type of oil collecting worse than others? You have to clear land, and extracting the oil from the Canadian Tar Sands pollutes more than any other type of oil extraction. Environmentalists are really happy with Obama's decision! Please leave a comment!!! The other day, I met with Nathan (the owner of this blog) and Tej (the second person to blog on this blog) about the future of our blog. We have decided that each of us will do two posts for the series. The last one coming out on December 19! Then we will have a poll run from that date till January 6, my birthday. We are recruiting a tech support person, Alan Whitman, to HTML code our...

U.S. Pollution By: Nathan Shan In mid 2015, the U.S.'s regular pollution index was 33.34 and it's exp pollution index was 58.29.  If you don't know what a regular pollution index or an exp pollution index is (I didn't either), take a moment and google it!  The U.S.'s rank was 85 out of 103 countries for the regular pollution index and 82 out of 103 for the exp pollution index (rank 1 is most polluted and rank 103 is least polluted). That's actually pretty good, and we can make it even better! Help conserve the environment and stop pollution by recycling, using green things (i.e. solar panels and roof gardens), saving water, using less electricity, etc. The highest ranking country was Ghana, first in both the regular pollution index and the exp pollution index. It's regular pollution index was 100.01 and it's exp pollution index was 181.14! This surprised me, since Ghana is a small country and it does not have a lot of people. The lowest ranking...