Back Bay Environment

Environmental Protection Agency recognizes the Chesapeake Bay as a damaged ecological community in which millions were spent on research in efforts to save and restore this national treasure and few developments have been proven to be successful, “these actions included upgrading sewage treatment plants, controlling urban runoff, controlling manure and fertilizer runoff, reducing soil erosion, issuing stricter discharge permits, and banning the use of phosphorous detergents.” (Atkins & Anderson, 2003). In partnership, the Chesapeake Bay Program has also made progress in restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay. Its efforts include reducing pollution, restoring habitats, managing fisheries, protecting watersheds and fostering stewardship. This program has also set goals in relation to “wetlands, submerged grasses, nutrient reduction, toxins, sustainable development, and citizen involvement.” (Atkins & Anderson, 2003).

When Dr. Suess wrote The Lorax it was in response to deforestation if he were alive today I think he would make another version of the Lorax however this time it would be about polluting the ocean. Riding in the with my cousin once I watched him throw a can out of the window. I can remember getting mad at him and asking him what he was doing and all he said was, "someone else will pick it up, it's not like it is a big deal." Well at the time I let it go and thought nothing more of it. Time continued on and when I was in sixth grade my mom and I went to Florida as your driving on a dirt road, how about that drive through meal bag that your spouse can’t know about because you and your supposed to be eating healthy? Or watched someone else throw that spit bottle out the window? Believe it or not things like these examples have an impact on the world. We’ve all heard the reduce, reuse, recycle but why are people so adamant about it? Perfect examples of reasons why people do this can be seen in the ocean ecosystems. More and more of our wastes are ending up in the ocean and harming the animals living there. Innocent animals that just want to survive and thrive aren’t getting the opportunity to try because of trash and litter that floats and sinks in the ocean.

One of the environmental groups in the area, No Waste Louisiana, partners with local businesses and organizations to coordinate actions to minimize the environmental impacts in the region. No Waste Louisiana representative Catherine Schoeffler Comeaux writes, "Cleaning up the mostly plastic litter on our Gulf Coast and in our bayous will not be accomplished by a few do-gooders picking up trash. Recycling will not take care of the excessive and egregious amount of single use disposable plastics produced worldwide every day. No matter how much you pick up, no matter how many litter bugs you reform, no matter what you recycle — unless we reduce our waste on the front end as individuals while demanding changes in industry, we will continue to see our landscape, our food chain, our very genetic code contaminated.” Here, the representative identifies the high amounts of waste found in the area. While the representative recognizes that recycling, on its own, will not solve the problem, recycling is part of the solution.

Have you ever thought about how your actions or opinions affected the environment around you? We’re constantly unaware of what we do that impacts the environment’s condition. One author named Wendell Berry blames the public in his article regarding the way society and the industry has treated the environment and its natural resources. This raises concerns whether we should be putting more importance on the economy or the land that we live in for the sake of our future survival. While I agree with most of Berry’s points and perspectives I slightly disagree with a few of his opinions, but nonetheless he brings up a great matter in today’s modern society.

All the animals and plants that inhabit the area depend on the Bay to function and maintain balance. By restoring the health of Chesapeake Bay natural resources would also be restored. This would also stop the extinction of species that inhabit the area. The ecosystem is dependent on all of the individuals within it because of this all the individuals should function smoothly and correctly. Humans are responsible for the damage done to the ecosystem so it's up to us to restore nature back to health. By doing so, the earth will last longer and will be able to produce more of the natural resources that humans have become dependent

The beauty of California is slowly fading away and as environmentalists would say, “There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surrounding” (Carson, 366). According to the findings revealed by research foundations in California, marine life is and has been in great danger as a result of plastic remains that accumulates in the Ocean. In his article Daniel Woods states, “Approximately eighty percent of remains found in Oceans are made of plastic that originates from urban runoffs such as plastic trash carried away from landfills, trucks, as well as garbage containers, marinas, ports and construction trash” (Wood, 20). Furthermore, these results also revealed that marine remains where made up of disposable plastic products that constitute food packaging as well as containers that are ever present and contain precious resources that can be used unsustainably. These issues have affected the state critically and have lead me to research the reasons behind the banning of plastic pollution, their economic impact, harm resulting from plastic pollution, as well as federal concerns on plastic contamination.

In our Change Project, we collected a sufficient amount of data and learned information on a endangered species, the Ridgway’s Rail. This environmental issue is not very well-known, which explains the lack of help and volunteering. In this service project, our Change group went to Don Edward and help improved the habit of Ridgway’s Rail. Throughout this project, we tried to spread awareness about endangered species and find ways we can enhance their surroundings. My Change group used this opportunity to not only help prevent the extinction of Ridgway’s Rails, but also to help other species that are living in the same habitat. In order to help the Rails, we tried to figure out the reason behind the destruction of the marsh. Through an experienced volunteer, June Smith, we learned that invasive plants are the culprit of the extinction of the Ridgway’s Rails.

Marine debris is more than ugly, it kills. There are two proposed plans to cleanup the North Pacific Garbage Island. An island that is made of garbage, primarily plastic. It is over 100 kilometers wide. That is an unbelievable amount of trash. That trash island is floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and California. It has been spun together over time by currents, and the atmospheric pressure in the middle of the ocean is stronger than average. The island’s plastic has melted together, creating a bed of plastic for the rest of the trash to lie on. A a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a

Nature is a beautiful place for people to be active and enjoy quality time. My ecology project was to beautify the Morongo preserve by cleaning the trails by removing the intruding plants. I arrived at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve on September 30th, and turned in my signed waiver. A worker explained each of the jobs to me, in which I chose to remove weeds off the trail. I created a group which included Markina, Sierra, Sara, and Trinity. A worker guided us to the trail and helped us distinguish which plants to remove. I removed the invading plants by pulling each one by hand with a lot of force to make sure I removed the roots completely. Then I placed them inside plastic bags and disposed of them into a large garbage bin. Removing the invasive

Society tends to blame the fisherman for the trash that turns into marine debris. They are wrong. According to the California Coastal Commission, “Only 20% of the items found in the ocean can be linked to ocean-based sources, like commercial fishing vessels, cargo fish or pleasure cruise ships. The remainder (80%) is due to land based sources like litter (from pedestrians, motorists, beaches visitor), industrial discharges (in the form of plastic pellets and powders), and garbage management.”. Fisherman and other trained workers in the oceans are not the only

The Chesapeake Ecology Center is devoted to behavior that stimulates individuals to care about our threatened environment. They particularly teach people to do greening and gardening work for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The outcomes of these actions result in more stable, gorgeous surroundings that are advantageous to populations and that support area’s biodiversity needs (Chesapeake Ecology Center. [CEC]. 2017).

“Conservation refers to actions that aim to protect natural environments from present and future change. For example, nature conservancies purchase land that is deemed to be at risk in order to prevent exploitation of the area for residential, industrial, or agricultural development” (“Conservation,” 2009). Environmental conservation in the Tampa Bay area carries a great importance because of our natural resources with estuaries for wildlife and the aquifer, which supplies clean water to residents in the area. Tampa Bay residents interested in environmental conservation, have access to a variety of

"Save the Planet," "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," "Go Green." Quotes like these have become a commonality in today's age. We all are familiar with the large efforts to help preserve the environment. In "Ideals of Human Excellence and Preserving Natural Environments," Thomas E. Hill Jr. sums up his essay by stating, "The point is not to insinuate that all anti-environmentalists are defective, but to see that those who value such traits as humility, gratitude, and sensitivity to others have reason to promote the love of nature" (688; par. 4) This excerpt provides the thesis behind Hill's argument. The author found that

In the documentary “Inside the Garbage of the World”, the main social problem being explained is that there has been a great influx of plastic and other type of garbage in oceans and their beaches. This buildup of pollution has largely affected the wildlife population ranging from animals on the beaches to the creatures of the ocean. In oceans, what is called ‘garbage patches’, a large buildup of garbage that flow to one area in the oceans, are being created. Approximately 50 percent of all plastic sinks to the bottom of the ocean floor but about 2 times that much is actually already on the ocean floor. In fact, according to the documentary, there is a garbage patch that is to the left of California that is the size of half of the United States. Each year, about 4.7 million tons of plastic goes in the ocean a year and it is estimated that by 2050, there will be another 33 billion tons of plastic added to the present amount. Eighty percent of the current pollution comes from the land. According to marine researchers, twice as much plastic debris is one the ocean floor than it was 10 years ago. In the futures, plastic will break down into smaller pieces of plastic, creating a bigger problem from the habitat. This plastic pollution is one of the leading cause for beach and ocean inhabiting creatures be extinct because animals are mistaking these plastic pieces for food. When scientist began to dissect beach animals such as birds, they discovered that at least fifteen pounds of

Recently, oceanographers and ecologists discovered that about 70% of marine debris actually sinks to the bottom of the ocean. As a result, not recycling hurts the marine life as it leaves leftovers behind to rot. This is important because it affects the whole world we live in. Our mess our the result of our world.