It was brought up in class that there was some youtuber or blogger that took it upon them self to not produce any waste. I became interested and decide to look into it. I was very surprised to find that it was not, in fact, as ingle person but rather a movement of people that have decided to take this lifestyle upon themselves. The video I posted is just one of hundreds in which a person attempted the “30 day challenge” of living without waste. It is inspiring to see just how easy, and healthy, such a lifestyle is, and I am even considering trying the 30 day challenge myself. This has certainly become a topic of interest amongst me and my friends, and I hope that one day more people will see this as a viable means of living.

They say you can’t teach an old dog a new trick. I’ve found this to be quite true; especially when it comes to any form of conservation. People from the older generation seem to be too stuck in their ways to change – refusing to embrace new technologies and ideas. The key to the future lies in the younger generations that still maybe taught how live in a mutually beneficial relationship with the environment. That is why I really liked the article, Getting Kids to Wise Up About Water Conservation,” by Kate Galbraith. In it Galbraith describes an organization with a goal of educating children in proper water management. She writes, “they give children a water-saving ethic and can also reach parents, who may not prioritize conservation.” Though this may be an uphill battle, any household that embraces the ideas their children bring home is an important victory.

Livia Albeck-Ripka’s article, “For an Endangered Animal, a Fire or Hurricane Can Mean the End,” published on October 25, 2017, is simply a list of all the endangered animals that have dwindled in numbers and/or lost their habits due to recent natural disasters. This is, of course, the reality of climate change. With natural disasters becoming more frequent, articles like this one are to be, unfortunately, more common place. It is unfortunate that little is being done protect these animals, but even more so that they are endangered only because humans have tampered with the environment. Mostly unable to fend for themselves in the case of natural disaster, these animals are reaping the most harm from the damage humans caused. And because their numbers are so insufficient, few will likely survive the winter to reproduce. This should be a story of national coverage. Immediate money should be set aside for the capture, protection, and proliferation of these species and their habitats. However, under the current administration, this is unlikely to happen.

Jacques Leslie writes of the drastic improvements Los Angeles has made to its water distribution system in the New York Times article, “Los Angeles, City of Water,” published on December 6, 2014. To illustrate the process, Leslie writes, “The house’s roof was lined with gutters that fed rainwater into two 1,800-gallon cisterns, and the lawns in the front yards and backyards were lowered six inches to form a wetland.” During a test, houses outfitted in this manner were able to absorb 4,000 gallons of water, which was then, naturally, cleaned of pollutants and was able to be redistributed for consumption. “These projects will treat polluted and even sewage water, capture rainwater, store water in aquifers, and use (or reuse) all of it, often while mimicking or supporting natural processes.”

By replacing concrete with green space, Los Angeles has been able to reduce its reliance on outside sources of water as well as consume less water than it did in 1970, even though its population has grown about a third since that time. I see this as an example the rest of the country, and even the rest of the world, should follow. I think this could be particularly useful in Red Hook, New York where there are many concrete lots used for parking which could be converted into wetlands that would absorb and naturally purify water.

Sand being a well-used substance in almost all fields of research and development is, obviously, in high demand. However, that demand is taking a high toll on our limited, natural supply, as sand is being harvested from the Earth’s increasingly shrinking beaches. This invention aims to undo the damage that we have done while, at the same time, still supply us with this much-needed resource. The machine works by taking in beer bottles and processing them so that they are disintegrated back into the sand from which the glass was formed. Amazingly, this machine is able to yield about 200 grams of sand from one beer bottle. We talk a lot about sustainability and its importance, but there are often many roadblocks any project must face before becoming a reality. However, when the science, technology, and drive all come together amazing things can happen. This invention by a New Zealand brewery company is the perfect example.

With our class discussion on sustainability, I found myself wondering if there was a school of study that concerned itself solely with improving sustainability in our society. After some research, I happened upon this article which states that there are indeed schools that are training people to bring sustainability to their local communities.

I found the first paragraph of this article harkening, for it confirmed a suspicion I had in class. In the article, Andrew Pattison, a conservation biologist in upstate New York states, “I found that quote-unquote important people who were decision makers would read the reports I filed and then not follow them.” In class we discussed the “power” scientist may or may not have to illicit change. However, through our discussions, I found myself more and more convinced that policy makers were actually ignoring the information given to them by scientists, such as Andrew Pattison, in cases where the information is… inconvenient.

However, even though the article does start off bleak, the rest is quite hopeful. The author reminds us that though the problems we face are global, we have the power to effect change through what we do in the local. The author describes the growing number of schools, as of 2009, that offer courses and degrees in sustainability. The participants of these programs come from very different backgrounds and then take what they have learned and apply it to their trade in their communities. This gives me hope that, with a growing number of sustainability programs available, there will continue to be change on the local level that may translate into improvement on a global scale.

With several hurricanes making the news, lately, and our class’s focus on water, I became interested in how these storms were effecting the drinking water supply of the various places they made landfall. This article describes the measures certain populations in Florida must now take to self-decontaminate their drinking water, due to some burst pips, for the time being. The article goes on to say that it is believed that these city’s drinking water may be contaminated by sewage and/or bacteria. People in these areas are instructed to boil their water or even add bleach in order to make it less harmful to ingest.

This article was destressing to me. not only did it make me appreciate my own fresh water, something that I have come to take for granted, but it also made me truly think of the blight that some of my fellow Americans are going through. I can’t even imagine having to out BLEACH in way watr in order to make it safer to drink – safer, not safe.