In my last post, I talked about the five biggest issues affecting our country currently. Steps need to be taken to reduce these impacts on our communities and overall planet. But, how do we help fight against these issues?

1. Deforestation

Deforestation is the action of clearing a large area of trees. This issue has made a huge impact on our country and if you visit my last post, you can see how. There are multiple steps we can take individually, but it is also important to encourage your friends and family to do the same. One way is to plant a tree. By planting trees, you are helping to combat global warming due to the trees absorbing the carbon dioxide. You can also start using less and less paper since trees are being cut down for the demand of paper. Now these are just a few ways, so please click here to learn more. 

2. Air Pollution 

Air pollution has been around for decades and our car fumes are not helping the situation. It is now encouraged to walk or ride a bike to places in order to help stop using your car for short trips. You can also get some exercise and enjoy the fresh air as well. Carpooling is also always an alternative option. If you and your friends are going to the same place, try picking each other up instead of meeting there. Click here to learn more! 

3. Global Warming 

I think we have all been hearing about global warming for a long, long time. Although, I believe that minimal steps have been taken to actually slow or stop the effects. We can always start by switching to renewable sources, such as solar or wind energy, to power our homes and/or buildings. Electric vehicles are also another option, if feasible, so you won’t be burning as many fossil fuels. This website offers other ideas to help the issue! 

4. Water Pollution 

Water pollution is a major problem that can easily be prevented by your help! One of the easiest ways to help is just by disposing your trash properly! So much trash ends up in the ocean and many waterways due to people littering and not disposing their trash appropriately. You can also avoid directly dumping into water systems. If near a body of water and you see rubbish littering the area, please try to clean it up (even if it wasn’t yours). There are other amazing ways to help, start by clicking here! 

5. Natural Resource Depletion 

Last, but surely not least, try and help to conserve more natural resources. Our natural resources are quickly depleting and soon we could be in big trouble. Help ensure the recycling of wastes is one way to help fight this issue. Some people forget about recycling altogether, so please encourage many individuals to take the time to go through and properly recycle their plastics and cardboard! Planting trees is another way to help against this issue, but also deforestation. You can knock two birds out with one stone! There are plenty of more ways, so feel free to look at these other options that may be more suitable for you. 

Now these are all just a few ways to help start fighting these major issues that are facing our country at the moment. I highly encourage everyone to take the time this summer to try their best to do one thing a day that can help! This could also simply be done by spreading awareness to friends and family! YOU can be the change we need, so please start acting now! 

Environmental issues have been affecting the United States longer than we think. Since the 1960’s, America has been concerned about the environment, especially air and water pollution. Now in 2021, the U.S. is looking at five major environmental issues that are affecting the nation. It’s also important to remember that these issues aren’t just affecting America, but many other countries around the globe. 

1. Deforestation

The United States’ population grows by almost 2 million people each year. Now if you think about it, these people are going to require an additional acre of land. With the rise of the population each year, deforestation is the result in order to build new homes and businesses. This ends up leading to less and less land for animals and farmland to grow crops. 

2. Air Pollution 

Air pollution has been an issue since the 1960’s like I have said before in the introduction. Although, it has improved over the years, but as for the overpopulated cities it is still a major issue. According to this site, “the top 12 U.S. cities with the most polluted ozone were all located in California.” There is still a lot of room for improvement for the air quality here in the United States, even if our air quality isn’t the worst.

3. Global Warming

Now we have all heard about global warming throughout the world, but what about in the United States. The effects are able to be felt through almost every community in the nation and they aren’t positive. With the wildfires throughout the west coast has contributed to the air pollution, more and more “carbon and particulate matter” are released into the air. Not only is our air affected, but our land as it destroys homes for the animals and places for the crops. Learn more by clicking here.

4. Water Pollution

This is another issue we have been facing for a while. Although our drinking water quality is up to par, our lakes, oceans, and rivers face tons of pollution. “On a global scale, people dump two million tons of sewage into waterways every single day.” Think about that for a minute. Two million TONS of sewage into our waterways. These pollutants, such as plastic and metal, can end up harming the marine life within these ecosystems as well. I believe this is one of the issues we could focus more on. 

5. Natural Resource Depletion 

The need for resources will continue to increase as the U.S. population increases. Over the next 10 years, the demand for energy and water resources will grow to 50 percent. Therefore, population is one of the causes, but poor farming techniques are as well. The poor management of the soil is causing the destruction of the soil structure leading to poor plant growth. These aren’t the only causes, but a few. Just keep in mind that we are running through our natural resources too rapidly at this rate. 

What can we do?

Now, you must be thinking about the solutions and action steps we can take to help this issue. We can talk about that in the next blog post. In the meantime, be aware of how you are living and see if you can switch to a more eco-friendly way of life.

I think we can all agree on how beautiful the coral reefs are on our planet. They contain so much wildlife and to see it first hand is just a whole other experience. One thing on my bucket list is to snorkel to see the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world and is actually one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The reef is located off the coast of Queensland, Australia in the Coral Sea. 

Now you may be wondering why I am bringing this up in my blog. Well, the Great Barrier Reef is actually dying and has been for years. As you can see in the picture below, some of the coral is already bleached and losing its color due to being stressed by heat and acidity. Approximately half of the coral reef has been killed off by coral bleaching since 2016. Think about it…about half of the entire Great Barrier Reef, which is longer than the Great Wall of China, has been killed in the past 4 to 5 years. Now imagine the impact the next 4 to 5 years could have on this reef.

I don’t think individuals realize what an affect coral reefs have on our ecosystem and the water on this planet. Without coral reefs, there could be a traumatic effect on our planet. For example, 80% of the air we actually breathe comes from the oceans according to Michael Crosby, a marine scientist and the president of Mote Laboratory and Aquarium. Therefore we are going to need the ocean to help us breathe, which means we have to take care of the oceans and the reefs that live there. 

Now, why are we as people in charge of making a difference? The reefs are actually dying because of human activity, such as overfishing or simply anchors and nets scraping the seafloor. Then of course, burning of fossil fuels has heated up the planet everywhere and the oceans are the ones consuming most of that heat. In order to ultimately save the coral reef is to help stabilize the climate change that has been happening for years. We have to fight this problem now or it will be too late. In order for you to help save coral reefs and help make an impact, please click here to see so many ways you can do so. 

Without the beauty of the reefs and the oxygen coming from our healthy oceans, our world is going to look drastically different.

I think we all have heard about conserving the energy around our homes. I know when I was little my parents would get upset when I have lights on in rooms that nobody is even in. It was pointless to keep those lights on when it wasn’t needed. I didn’t really understand much about energy conservation until recently and I think it’s super important for me to share more about it.

Energy conservation is a process of simply just using less energy, such as turning the lights off when you leave the room. By doing certain tasks, we are able to reduce the demand on limited supply. This allows for the supply to rebuild itself in that time. In recent years, Americans have been noticing that other citizens need to recycle more, pollute less, and most importantly, conserve more energy. We can conserve more energy by using energy efficient products and driving less. 

Now why is this all that important? Without conserving energy, we are depleting the planet’s natural resources, plain and simple. Although, this may take decades to happen, “the depletion also comes at the cost of creating an enormous destructive waste product that then impacts the rest of life.” The goal for citizens is to reduce the amount of energy they use, help replenish supplies, clean up damage from past energy processes, and many more. Now we all know this is important, but how do we accomplish this exactly? 

There are so many options for us to do to ensure we are saving energy. It’s as simple as turning off a light when it’s not needed. Here are some other ideas:

Drive Less and Carpool 

No matter where we go, we see cars everywhere! I drive to work and to get coffee, and in a small town like mine, we drive just to get our minds off something. We simply can just cut out all of the unnecessary driving, you’re saving gas and reducing carbon. In the summer, try bike riding more often or even walking. You’re able to get great exercise! Even at Penn State, try walking to different classes or downtown instead of getting an Uber. 

Shutting the Doors

I know my dad would always get upset when I would run inside and outside multiple times, but I never fully understood why until recently. By shutting doors, you’re actually conserving energy. For example, shutting a door to a room with an air conditioner allows you to save energy and money. 

Switch Off Appliances When They’re Not In Use

This is so easy to do and it’s probably one of the things we don’t do enough! Walk around your house and see how many lights are on in rooms that no one is in, or how many computers, coffee machines are plugged in. Even when they’re not in use, they still use electricity. Simply turn off the light when you exit, and unplug your computer when you’re done! 

Now there are so many other options to conserving energy, you just have to think a little bit. A little search on the web will do you just fine; just start with these few tips! 

The environment is something I have always cared about and thought about when disposing of my plastic water bottles and straws. This is the only planet we get to live on, yet people live like we got billions of others. In my civic issue blogs, I want to be sharing about how we can work together on creating a better environment. 

There has been talk about climate change for a long time, but not much has been done to stop it from happening. I have seen countless pictures of polar bears in Antarctica and I wonder to myself why someone hasn’t done anything yet. We have suffered several forest fires and the melting of the ice caps in Antarctica, and Joe Biden believes that it is time to act now!

Once Joe Biden came into office on January 20, 2021, he immediately got to work on several different executive orders. He specifically issued an order to address the climate disaster facing our country and our world. In this order, he plans on conserving at least 30% of water and land by the year 2030. He is beginning to create and push a new climate finance plan to help ensure conservation. Also to help solve this climate crisis, Congress is being called on to ensure a clean energy environment that values workers, and centering around environmental justice. Doing something to tackle this climate crisis has always been on Biden’s to do list and he is pulling by making this one of his top priorities. 

“It’s about coming to the moment to deal with this maximum threat that is now facing us, climate change, with a greater sense of urgency,” he said at the White House. “In my view, we’ve already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis and we can’t wait any longer. We see it with our own eyes, we feel it, we know it in our bones.”

Biden has expressed on multiple occasions that this has gone on for too long. He decided to also move climate change to be the center of our national security and foreign policy. Climate change is an imposing threat to the nation and Biden is now working with global allies to fight off this issue. Within the next couple years, Biden and many others hope to see a difference in this current climate crisis. 

Hopefully these changes to come will ensure a safer environment and future for the generations to come. 

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