The Better for the Natural Resources
Jaylenne Vallejo
Environmental Science
John Daciuk
12th
Montebello High School
2100 West Cleveland Ave. Montebello, CA 90640
(323)728-0121
(323) 887-7848
Abstract
As the days go by the technology of the world advances too. We sit back as people present to us these new inventions to improve our environment. Do you ever think back the materials and supplies you use for your personal needs? Over consumption of natural resources is huge problem in our world. With the new technological advances there are alternative ways to meet these needs. As I sit in my environmental science class, we discuss what natural resources are being over consumed not for our needs anymore, but for our wants.
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Our consumption patterns can be measured by our social status and acceptance. The bigger the pressures upon a person to conform to safe and accepted social standards, the more they end up expressing their aspirations and their individuality in terms of what they wear, drive, eats, what they call home, their pattern of food serving, their hobbies". My invention is a bracelet that one wears on a daily basis that keeps tracks of the consumption of natural resources. This monitoring bracelet will help many become aware of the over use of natural resources that they use in their everyday lives that they do not need. For example we use a calorimeter, multi-meter, gas chromatograph and mass-spectrometer. Each of these measure a different natural resource.
As you look around where you are sitting, think about how many do not recycle at home and how many leave the water running while they brush their teeth. Over consumption of natural resources do not come into mind when you are using the significant resources that are slowly being unavailable to us. In California, the third largest state of the United States of America, we have been in a drought for four or more years, although government has made announcements, sent out notices, set laws/restrictions, and made commercials to show on television. The state of California is over populated and people are not really aware of what is going. Riverbanks that would usually be filled up with water, about to
California was in a massive drought just this past year which became known as a state emergency. Many homeowners and ranchers pumps went dry because California was deprived of water. Many farmers had to drill there wells deeper to reach the water table, so they could keep their crops alive. However, the homeowners who didn’t have the money to drill another well, had to go to their local Fire station or water supply to get their own water in a tank. Just this past winter California was hit with a lot of rain and they didn’t seem ready for it, therefore California should have acted upon the issues prior to the wet winter such as more dams, water reservoirs, functioning dams, or simply have pumps to push water underground to store it.
California is known for its vast production of agriculture; having some of the most fertile soil on Earth, a 4-year drought is not what California wants. The lack of water in California has had dramatic effects within the state. In fact California’s governor, Jerry Brown, has declared it a state of emergency. A drought is a serious weather condition in which many people and the environment is entirely affected. A drought is essentially a difference in the amount of water in a region and the amount of water that the people and the environment in that region needs (Mann et al. 2015). The definition of a drought varies throughout regions depending on the amount of water each region receives and needs. The time limit to announce a drought also
California is currently experiencing the worst drought in history and its not only affecting California – its affecting everyone. The California drought has become a slow movie disaster. You don’t realize how bad it is, until it hits you hard.
“Drought can best be thought of as a condition of water shortage for a particular user in a particular location” (DWR). Although droughts seem to come unexpectedly they actually form over a long period of time with most of their effects being felt by those dependent on annual rainfall. The Department of Water Resources explains that water reservoirs and groundwater basins are buffers for drought impacts and the drought will not be considered over until these storages have been fully replenished. In the past, California’s “significant multi-year droughts have been ended by an above-average water year where statewide precipitation was in the range of 150 percent average.” (DWR) Recently, California has experienced several consecutive years where rainfall and snowfall were well below average. This problem is important because the lack of precipitation means the state is compelled to
California is experiencing its worst drought in history. Throughout the state you can see lakes, rivers and streams drying up and leaving farmers and communities without water. Although it seems that science and global weather patterns caused this severe drought, however irresponsible usage of water paired with state laws on water rights and population growth have all played a role in prolonging this drought that is going into its eighth year. California’s central valley is the world leader in Agriculture, however the valley is also the perfect area for a drought to occur due to climate change. California is in a state of emergency, with the help of reduced water usage along with the state and federal government need to aid in lessening
California is entering its fourth year of a record-breaking drought. The combination of dryness and record warmnth have acted to produce the most severe drought conditions experienced in Califronia. The states drought affected Central Valley which is considered the richest food-producing region in the world, much of America's fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables are grown there. Due to the lack of water in California, there has been many argumentative decisions on water conservation such as fining people for overuse of water, bringing glaciers from the Arctic to California and building major water pipelines, but these ideas require much time and money which the governemnt isn't willing to risk.
Now you may be thinking to yourself, “How can California even start to cope with this drought? How can it go back to normal in a climate that receives little snowpack and rain?” Well although these issues are complex, there have been some achievements-political and otherwise-toward developing more resilient water supplies. One way is groundwater legislation: our Governor, Jerry Brown, signed legislation mandating “sustainable groundwater management,” though the law leaves local entities to define that idea further."We have to learn to manage wisely water, energy, land and our investments, that 's why this is important," said Governor Brown (CA.gov). Another way our government is helping is the spending on water projects.
In 2014, Governor Brown issued an affirmation declaring a California drought state of emergency actively calling “all Californians to conserve water in every way possible (“Governor Brown Declares Drought State of Emergency”).” In addition, California state water officials said that “California rivers and reservoirs are below their record lows”. This problem not only pertains to the past but carries as an ongoing issue in California. California remains the top state in water consumption, taking up 11% of the United State’s water supply (Koroma). As a consequence, an estimated population of 24,838,128 people are inhabiting drought-stricken areas. Educating users on water consumption, taxing agricultural products which consume high levels of
The average U.S. citizen consumes eighteen tons of natural resources per year and generates an even higher volume of wastes. These wastes get dumped and unloaded into rivers, lakes, and oceans and other landfills; only a small portion are recycled. The spread of mass consumption over the U.S. and its effects are staggering. The production and processing of our wants and needs is done by the extraction of natural resources such as fossil fuels, wood, ore, and water. This requires the creation of factories which gives off poisonous byproducts, while the commodities create more pollutants and waste themselves. This process keeps cycling over and over to create a bigger and more detrimental problem on our environment. Who is paying for this? The Earth; our environment.
Here we are in 2015 and California is still in desperate need for water. California is currently in a drought that started in 2012. That is 3 years straight of limited to no perpetration. However, this is not uncommon for California. This region has gone quite custom to operating off of minimum rainfall.
It’s time to accomplish something and take action and stop this, simply by doing simple stuff that can reduce the amount of usages on water. A task everybody can achieve and doesn’t require much work or time. As a California resident it’s best to understand the information around the drought, probably your thoughts are how did this drought even start in the first place? Understand what the drought is affecting and finally what is our job to take pieces of this to solve this
Much ado is being made about the current drought in California, and it is a serious problem that does require citizens, government and society as a whole to rise to the occasion in order to mitigate what absolutely could turn into a disaster. However, the reality is that water issues have plagued California since its inception as a state in the U.S. Anyone engaging in histrionics about the subject or acting like this current acute crisis is really anything new is simply unversed in the history of water use and availability in the western United States.
California drought. This current drought began in 2011 (Dallman). Citizens of southern California are not mandated to conserve water. The governor did not find it necessary to call a state of emergency until the third dry year. Thus, the southern California have to voluntarily conserve water (Dallman). The drought is still ongoing. It is getting more severe as it goes on. It is the worst drought in 120 years (Dallman). The drought is caused by lack of restrictions, almonds, and desalinations.
California has been in a drought for about 4 years now and it has been considered the most severe drought in the last 15 years. The California drought has been causing multiple ongoing problems for the last few years. The state of California has tried to take actions toward ending the drought, but the efforts put forth are clearly not enough to end this drought. The main focus in ending the drought has been water conservation, but many California resident are taking the seriousness of the drought too lightly. The drought has already caused several problems, for example water shortages, dying crops, and wildfires all across the state. If serious actions towards ending the drought are not taken soon, California will continue to surface or may get worse. There are a few ideas underway to try and end the drought in California such as, desalination, wastewater recycling, ground water digging, and the main focus water conservation. All of the solutions to ending the drought will cost a good amount of money, so the fact of the matter is which idea would be most efficient and less costly.
One problem facing our world today is the California drought. California has hardly any water in their state and it is hurting them.