The Colorado River Runs Dead Zone Is The Biggest Ever Seen

This learning is best delivered through a wide range of teaching and learning activities utilising all of the Key Learning Areas. Students will develop strong environmental knowledge, awareness and capacity for positive environmental change when it contextualised or taught using real examples, problem solving and with active student participation.

When the environment is disturbed, people are greatly affected, and this can cause serious damage to human and living beings. The proper utilization of these resources helps to control environmental pollution and can help for establishing clean and healthy environment. I will work with this committee to conserve the environment in the state of Texas and in the whole country.

Course Description This course focuses on the causes of, impacts of, and solutions to environmental issues. Students identify global environmental issues as well as develop and critique environmental action plans. Topics include ecosystems, energy, populations, resources, pollution, and sustainability. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • • University policies: You must be logged into the

“The drought in the Colorado River basin has been going on as long as in California, though it hasn’t been severe it still has been significant,” AccuWeather Western Weather Expert Ken Clark said.

In 2011, Texas experienced its most gruesome drought since the 1950’s. During this drought the average rainfall from October through April was 5.82 inches. The drought effected the vast majority of the livestock, agricultural, and wildlife in Texas. Droughts cause numerous problems and effect vast amounts of wildlife and human lives.

Already at 95% completion, the pipeline is scheduled to cross the Missouri River a mere 10 miles upstream from Standing Rock Reservation. The most urgent of the threats this pipeline proposes is the threat of contamination of the Missouri River, a crucial water source to both the Dakotas, particularly the Sioux nation tribes, for whom this river is their only source of water for drinking, irrigation, and fish. The pipeline was originally routed to cross the Missouri River further north, 10 miles upstream from the State’s Capital, Bismarck. However, after a study was conducted about the potential impact of pipeline spills, given the proximity to wellheads serving as the City’s source of drinking water, the route was rejected and moved to Standing Rock. Oil spills are the greatest environmental concern when considering the pipeline’s potential harm. North Dakota has experienced 292 oil spills in the last two years alone, despite those companies who own the various pipelines ensuring that spills are a rarity, citing “safeguards” that prevent them. The reality is that oil spills are a frequent occurrence when transporting oil for thousands of miles, so the matter of oil spills is not a question of if, but rather when, and how many(Mckenna). Of all the nearly 300 spills that occurred in North Dakota

Curiously, the body of water which contains one of the largest dead zones is the Gulf of Mexico. The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is vast, so much so, that an article in The Advocate compares it to two states. “…stretching 6,474 square miles… the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined…” ( Amy Wold "Dead zone larger than last summer *** Triple the size of the task force-set target”)

The pipeline belongs to the Texas-based company, Energy Transfer Partners. The Dakota Access pipeline is a one thousand one hundred and seventy-two mile pipe that will transfer about 470,000 to 570,000 barrels of crude oil a day through four states, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, and Iowa. The pipe is thirty inches in diameter and “will connect the rapidly expanding Bakken and Three Forks production areas in North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois” (Energy Transfer Partners). This pipeline is hoped to help the US become less dependent on foreign oil and is a safer and cheaper way to move crude oil compared to rail car or trucks. It is also estimated to bring additional revenue and jobs to states the pipeline runs through. Using new advanced pipeline technology, they are confident that the pipeline will be safe and reliable (Energy Transfer Partners).

In June of 2014, 70 percent of Texas was in drought; of that 70 percent, 21 percent was classified as being in a state of extreme or exceptional drought (Everything You Need...). In 2013, the state climatologist said part of the cause of the drought was the climbing temperatures due to climate change (Everything You Need...). The climatologist stated that the average temperature in the State of Texas has increased an average of 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1970s (Everything You Need...). Texas has experienced several severe droughts throughout history including the droughts of the 1950s, 1984, and 1996

The flooding and raining in Texas is due to a storm system that has accumulated a lot of evaporation through the central and northern Rocky Mountains because of the water cycles track. It is also precipitating immensely over the central and northern plains. This huge amount of rain is giving Iowa, eastern Nebraska, and South Dakota a high flooding rate. The 2 feet of runoff from the rain will have a great affect on the flooding situation. Because of the excess groundwater the water levels are rising which also contributes to the flooding also. The erosion from the flooding and rain is going to damage people's backyards, deposit anywhere, and cause many problems.

Create a topic sentence that describes direct/indirect environmental values impacted by the environmental issue you selected.

I would recommend this course to other students and friends because it’s an enjoyable learning experience, but I would inform them about the amount of course work that is demanded from this course. And, if the course load worries them and is the only reason that is holding them back from taking the course then I would inform them about being able to attend as a community member, which I am sure will sound much

Keeping a working economy has always been one of Texas’ main concerns. In order to convince companies to move to Texas, regulations and economic conditions were created in their favor. While it has helped in keeping a booming economy, it has left us with a polluted environment which in turn led the federal government to step in and try to create the regulations Texas refused to make. The Environmental Protection Agency tried increasing the water they regulate with the new Clean Water Act, but may have overstepped their boundaries. Texas should continue having a booming economy, but an increase in environmental regulations is a must in order to avoid federal government intervention.

Personally, what was your mindset and goals upon entering this course – have they changed at all and, if so, how?

The debate over preservation and conservation of the natural resources has been going on for almost a hundred years, with little conclusion. The government of the United States, along with advocates from each state, need to reach a consensus to provide methods of conservation to the country that prevents wasteful usage of nonrenewable and natural resources and leaves wilderness for later generations to