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Pollution Problems and Solutions
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D-Term Reports Issues and Solutions
Pollution is an ongoing issue in the world that affects us all in one way or another. Each kind of pollution affects us in a different way. There are many different kinds of pollution, such as indoor and outdoor air pollution, land pollution, and water pollution, each of which have many subcategories of pollution. Indoor air pollution refers to the air quality that is inside buildings and homes. This comes from things like mold and any other kind of energy stressor that can affect the health of people inside those buildings. On the other hand, outdoor air pollution comes mostly from human made things like factories and car emissions. Outdoor air pollution affects both us and the rest of the environment around us including other animals and organisms and plants. It mostly comes from large factories and car emissions. The amount that we are on the road driving has gone up 127% since 1970 which mean that the amount of CO2 that goes into the atmosphere has also gone up that much. This also increases the greenhouse gas emissions that are emitted which are what causes global warming. Another thing that is a large part of air pollution is the ozone. What happens is that people get exposed to high concentration of the ozone at ground level which can cause various respiratory problems that can be very problematic for people with asthma and also causes impacts on plant life. Some things we can do to help stop air pollution is carpool, avoid drive thru lanes, and do things like walking more and riding your bike.
Water and land pollution both come from similar things. Littering is a large issue when it comes to pollution. When it rains or there is a storm, all of the litter is accumulated and washed down into rivers and other bodies of water, such as reservoirs from which we drink from. Much of land pollution comes from the trash that we generate and put into landfills. In America alone, we generate about 4.6 pounds of trash per day per each person. This all is translated into about 251 million tons of trash every year. In the United States, the amount of trash that we throw away has almost tripled since 1960, 55% of which is put into landfills. The amount put into landfills has doubled since 1960. One thing we can do and are trying to do is to recycle and reuse everything that we can. This reduces the amount of trash put into landfills by a substantial amount. We can also stop littering and also try to raise awareness of others of littering and the effect it has on pollution and our lives.
Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve (Written by JWT)
The Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, is a natural preserve of land that works as a tourist attraction as well as an outside laboratory of St. Edward’s University. It was founded to protect and maintain its urban wilderness, and to create awareness of environmental education, research, conservation and preservation. Some programs and initiatives are made available by the partnership the basin shares with Saint Edward's. It is located next to the 360 loop, and it provides around 3 miles of trails for people to walk while they observe the wildlife. This preserve came to be when seven women from the environmental group "Now or Never" thought all the beautiful landscapes in Austin were gonna be destroyed for building. "Now or Never" intended to preserve this area as an outdoor laboratory and for teacher training. In the 1970's, when the master plan for West Lake Hills was completed, it was obvious that a highway loop would be built. People agreed that the beautiful landscapes to the north of West Lake Hills, known as the Wild Basin, needed to be saved. The members of "Now or Never" made the establishment of a natural preserve in Wild Basin their main goal. The executives of "Now or Never" first approached the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to talk about the possibility of making Wild Basin a state park. They were turned down, because the land was too small to be turned into a state park. After that, the women talked to city officials, the Capital Area Planning Council, the Nature Conservancy, County Commissioners, the governor's wife, and anyone who would listen. They pressed on, determined to get the money to buy the land. In 1975, Travis County put $175,000 on the table to buy the property, but only if the City of Austin would match the amount. The U.S. Department of Interior agreed to match the money of both, if the county and city could give $350,000 together. In August 1975, the City of Austin bought the land to lengthen the Barton Creek Greenbelt west of Loop 360 with million. This is when the city completely dropped support for the Wild Basin project. This led to the county and federal to withdraw their money too. But this wasn't over. The seven old ladies never gave up and continued to look for the County Commissioners donation. Finally, the County Commissioners agreed to give money only if the ladies could raise $175,000. The ladies held every imaginable fund-raiser, and they received incredible community support. They raised almost half of the amount in only three months. During the next three years, Travis County received over $285,000 in donations and $370,000 worth in land for the Wild Basin cause, adding up to a whopping $655,000. The county and County Commissioners matched this amount, so the land for the Wild Basin preserve was finally bought. Davenport Ranch and the Government helped to fill in the missing holes in the preserve. At the Wild Basin, our community service project was to help pick up litter. Although there was not very much to pick up, it was fun to be able to walk around on the paths at the environmental preserve. This was an enjoyable service because of the nice scenery and nature that we were able to experience. It was a very good way to connect with the environment and would be a good project to do again in the future. |