Katelyn Forman- DDT

The pollutant that I chose to look into was DDT; however, my article also touches upon the chemical chlordane as well. DDT is an insecticide that was used to attack certain diseases and protect against insects. Due to its negative effect on wildlife, affecting the nervous system, and classification as a possible carcinogen, DDT is no longer used. Almost a year ago this article was written in response to the discovery of these pesticides in 60% of black women in Detroit.

These women were infected by these chemicals because DDT and chlordane can stay in the environment even decades after being used. There is a correlation between minority populations and pesticide contamination which is why this discovery is not completely surprising. After testing the blood of black women in Detroit it was confirmed that over 60% of the participants had significant levels of OCPs in their blood samples. Interestingly, the study also found that of these participants “women who drink five glasses of tap or bottled water per day have 8-15% higher concentrations of all four OCPs” (Beyond Pesticides, 2020). This revelation is one of the reasons why drinking water was investigated for pesticide contamination. Furthermore, the interference of DDT in black women’s bodies also affect their children if they are mothers that breastfeed. In fact, these chemicals were 15% higher in these breastfed infants than in non-breastfed infants.

One of the key points of the article is that the EPA did not monitor these chemicals which is why these women were ultimately exposed. Although DDT was not being currently used, it was still prominent in the environment and has been passed down now to children. Similarly, researchers found that older women had higher concentrations of the OCPs in their systems. This clearly shows that the chemical has been been slowly infecting the community/area over a long duration of time. Despite its containment in POC areas, there was contamination in alcohol and tobacco as well, so people from outside residential areas could also be affected by these pollutants.

The exposure to these hazardous chemicals includes a risk of diabetes, reduced sperm, endometriosis, obesity, and early onset menopause. Additionally, DDT poses a threat to our ecosystems because it effects wildlife. DDT’s impact on wildlife comes from its toxicity to marine life as well as its harmful impact on bird reproduction by making eggs have a softer shell, thus easier to crack.

Sources:

DDT metabolite (DDE) and other Banned pesticides found in blood sample of African American women in Detroit. (2020, May 14). Retrieved March 26, 2021, from https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2020/05/ddt-metabolite-dde-and-other-banned-pesticides-found-in-blood-sample-of-african-american-women-in-detroit/

Ddt – a brief history and status. (2021, March 17). Retrieved March 26, 2021, from https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/ddt-brief-history-and-status

Author: William Anderson (Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team) https://schoolworkhelper.net/ Tutor and Freelance Writer. Science Teacher and Lover of Essays. Article last reviewed: 2020 | St. Rosemary Institution © 2010-2021 | Creative Commons 4.0, Author:, & Tutor and Freelance Writer. Science Teacher and Lover of Essays. Article last reviewed: 2020 | St. Rosemary Institution © 2010-2021 | Creative Commons 4.0. (n.d.). Ddt: Environmental impact, dangers, history. Retrieved March 26, 2021, from https://schoolworkhelper.net/ddt-environmental-impact-dangers-history/#:~:text=DDT%20has%20had%20a%20huge,interferes%20with%20certain%20reproductive%20enzymes.

The current issue surrounding petroleum is that it is a finite resource that is being used far too greatly than it is replenishing. In fact, the US specifically has only continued to increase its use of petroleum over the years since 1950 (US Energy Information Administration).

Oil is a common resource that we use in almost everything nowadays- especially transportation. Our cars, buses, and planes require oil to function and serve a purpose in our lives; however, there is a cost that comes with using oil. As we have seen in recent years, the drilling of oil puts oceanic life at risk for exposure to an oil spill. This not only contaminates the ocean but also destroys sea creatures, which can put their species at risk for extinction. Additionally, oil contributes to air pollution and coincidentally adds to its placement as the second leading resource is death rates from accidents and air pollution (Our World in Data, Lecture). With the disadvantages to the human population, ecosystem, and animals in stands to wonder why we continue to utilize oil as a main resource of energy.

The transportation sector is a large contributor to the increased usage of oil. In order to prevent further harm to the environment, alternative resources must be tested and implemented in the transportation industry. The best way to combat the use of oil in the transportation industry is to convert all transportation into electric vehicles. This is because vehicles that run on oil have “direct emissions [that] include smog-forming pollutants” whereas “all-electric vehicles produce zero direct emissions” (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy). Furthermore, with the substitute of electric vehicles, the world would lessen its waste cost of $1 trillion globally. Since the nonrenewable resources input 85% of energy but only output 9%, it is clear that we do not get as much as we put in with this resource. Similarly, when we look at the graph presented it is visible that transportation takes up a majority of the petroleum source, so if it was to cut back on said resource then there would no longer be as large of a consumption rate. The impact of this would be positive on the environment as oil would not pollute the air with mass transportation, and the nonrenewable resource would not be in demand which would preserve its total availability for future human consumption.

Reducing pollution with electric vehicles. (n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2021, from https://www.energy.gov/eere/electricvehicles/reducing-pollution-electric-vehicles

U.S. energy Information administration – eia – independent statistics and analysis. (n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2021, from https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/imports-and-exports.php

Katelyn Forman- Tar Creek Catholic 40

The Tar Creek site is located in Ottawa County, Oklahoma where mining was an incredibly popular activity in the 1900s. Specifically, zinc and lead mining was conducted all over Oklahoma, but crude ore soon began to be produced on the Tar Creek site. According to the EPA, “a total of 181,048,872 tons of crude ore was produced from the Oklahoma portion of the district” (EPA).

As a result of the mining, there has been an acid mine water, metal, contamination with the drinking water as well as lead contaminated soil. In fact, “In 1994, Indian Health Service test results concerning the blood lead levels of Indian children living on the Site indicated that approximately 35 percent of the children tested had concentrations of lead in their blood exceeding 10 micrograms per deciliter” (EPA). This level of lead in the body is considered highly dangerous and was an immediate threat the health of children in this area. Acid mine water is what caused the contamination to the water supply and this was a consequence of groundwater and surface water filling the empty mining areas. Prior to the abandonment of these mining areas, miners would pump out the water in order to keep the area dry; however, without the miners, water seeped into the areas and was contaminated with metals.

Since the mining has contaminated not just the water, but the land as well the cleanup for Tar Creek Catholic 40 included the EPA providing assistance with cleanup for the mining waste. The cleanup of the land has improved it greatly, and the EPA was even able to protect a historic structure durning the cleanup. Furthermore, in order to address the water contamination, old abandoned wells were sealed in order to prevent contamination from their water to the drinking water. Additionally, people who lived in unsafe locations, close to harmful contamination exposure, were relocated to safer areas. Lastly, they “cleaned up more than 6 million tons of mine and mill wastes and contaminated soil from properties” (EPA) in order to revive the land and create a safer atmosphere for residents.

Works Cited-

“Superfund Success Stories: EPA Region 6.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 7 June 2017, www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-success-stories-epa-region-6#tarcreek.

Katelyn Forman

Kenya is one of the few countries that encourages its people to have less children. Recently, Kenya decided to enforce population policies in order to control the increased growth in the country. In 2012, Kenya enforced their policy which “[aimed] to reduce the number of children a woman has over her lifetime from 5 in 2009 to 3 by 2030” (Population Reference Bureau, 2014). As per the graph, this policy clearly has had some success since the yearly population growth rate continued to lower after 2012.

In order to control the population growth, Kenya has created access to family planning services for both men and women. Along with this, the policy was supported by religious leaders and parliamentarians which actually allowed for the family planning policy to have an “increase of more than 10 percent over the previous year in resources” (Population Reference Bureau, 2014). Additionally, the country was able to increase contraception usage to 46% in 2009 right before the policy, compared to 27% in 1989. While contraception was not a part of the newest policy, it clearly helped the population growth before 2012 because the 1980’s began the decrease of the yearly population growth rate. It is extremely difficult to control population growth because, as the article mentions, “reproductive health is a human right” (Population Reference Bureau, 2014) and people should have control over when to have children or not. This meaning that direct governmental intervention on a family’s size would not be a popular policy because developing a family is a natural part of life.

However, what Kenya is doing does seem like an effective method because their government is not only supplying its people with information on contraception, but it is also providing assistance with family planning. With family planning, people could theoretically calculate how many children they should have based on their financial status. This would benefit the parents because they would not be struggling to provide for a large family, benefit the child because they would hopefully not be raised in a struggling home, and benefit Kenya by limiting the number of children each household has. Lastly, contraception factors into this scenario as well because after having 1 or 2 children, based on family planning, a woman could go on birth control to limit her chances of having another child. This overall helps control the population growth and ensures that the growth rate continues to lower each year.

Work Cited:

“New Kenyan Population Policy a Model for Other Countries.” Population Reference Bureau, 4 Mar. 2014, www.prb.org/kenyan-population-policy/.

Katelyn Forman

“Human Development and the Ecological Footprint”

The ecological footprint size of a country can be directly related to the developmental level of the country. This correlation can be seen in the graph below, which depicts the levels of human development and the ecological footprint.

This report shows that “sustainable human development depends on achieving great lives for all, within the resource budget available to the population” (Global Footprint Network, 2013).

It is clear from looking at this data that countries that are less developed, on the left, tend to have a smaller ecological footprint. While this may be good for the environment short-term, it is not long lasting because the graph also shows that when countries want to become better developed, it comes at a big cost to the ecological footprint. The purpose of the graph is to emphasize the difficulty of providing a good life to every person around the world, without there being a cost to our ecological resources. This is exactly where ethics becomes involved in the conversation about allowing under developed countries to deplete their resources in order to become more developed. There is an argument that any environmental rules placed on developing nations could cause major economic set backs and are unfair to their continued growth (Magid, 2012).  I think that it is selfish for the rest of the world to create large economic footprints, but not allow under developed countries to evolve. This simply shows a collective fear of change and an unwillingness to compromise our lifestyles, even though we are willing to compromise someone else’s lifestyle.

Although under developed countries contribute less of an economic footprint to the world, it does not mean that everyone else can be allowed to create an even larger footprint. As the Human Development Report shows, the only way to lessen our economic footprint is if everyone learns how to live more sustainable lives that do not deplete our natural resources.

Work Cited:

Human development and the Ecological Footprint. (2013, April 3). Retrieved January 28, 2021, from https://www.footprintnetwork.org/2013/04/03/human-development-ecological-footprint/

International Center forEthics, Justice and Public Life. (n.d.). Retrieved January 28, 2021, from https://www.brandeis.edu/ethics/ethicalinquiry/2012/October.html