Category: Students

Posts written by students

Water Management and the Risk of Flooding in America

It is clear that the United States must take on some sort of project for the betterment of our water management systems.  With recent devastation caused by flooding from Hurricane Harvey, Irma, Maria, and others in cities like Houston, Texas and San Juan, Puerto Rico, the need for effective flood control measures are growing increasingly more necessary, particularly in coastal urban areas. Extremely effective flood control measures have been put in place in places like Holland already and the Dutch are dumbfounded as to why the US has not followed suit.

According to the CNN article, after a ravaging 1953 storm in Holland, a country that is 7 feet below sea level, began discussing plans to prevent such an event from happening again. To contrast, since 1953, there have been 11 category 5 hurricanes that hit the US and have caused billions in damage, not to mention the loss of human life.  By 1959, Holland had regulations and a plan of action to build the Delta Works, a system of dams and levees that now protect The Netherlands from catastrophic flooding. Although the project was costly, upwards of 5 billion dollars, this cost is nothing compared to the enormous cost of hurricane damage, both in terms of money and loss of life. Considering the magnitude and extent of these storms are only going to increase with the seemingly unceasing advance of global climate change, the US is long overdue for an improvement in their water management and flood control systems.

The fact that the Federal government has done nothing major to fix this issue of massive flooding, despite the technology being there for quite some time, is concerning.  Not only does not bettering the current flood control systems cost billions and billions of dollars, but it also costs hundreds, if not thousands of lives.  The technology is there, but the government is unwilling to take on the cost of it, despite spending billions per year on military spending, among other  things that seem increasingly frivolous. Although updates to flood control systems are overdue, it is not too late to still implement them; however, considering the current administrations ideas about climate change and government subsidizing public works, it seems that this will not be achieved any time soon.

Designed by Kids, Serving the Community

The key to sustainability is balance. How do we find a way to serve the community—economically and socially—but at the same time preserve the environment?  Children in P.S. 120Q found their own way to contribute a solution by designing a ‘green’ playground that would lessen toxic wastewater flow in their area of Flushing Creek Watershed. Previously, $500 million have been poured into cleanup initiatives in Flushing Creek; however, this park hits closer to home, bringing a more personal tie to the community and its kids (over a fifth of the population!). Designed by the students and faculty of P.S. 120Q, the park incorporates shrubs, trees, and pervious pavers with the potential to redirect and capture up to 500,000 gallons of water per year of rainwater in storm events. Furthermore, a synthetic turf field in the park harbors crushed porcelain from over 3,000 crushed toilets. The hope is that the porous material will serve to soak up at least an inch of rain water to alleviate stress on the sewer system.

I am reminded our conversation in class about the ways in which green infrastructure can be such a helpful mechanism, and yet must fit into the theme or personality so to say, of the community. We have seen examples of ‘sponge’ plants and shrubs incorporated into sidewalks or little islands, but what more perfect way to fit into the community than to bring it all back to those who will be the community’s future? Not only is the park a lovely sight—beautifully constructed lines connecting all parts in an organic and colorful manner—but it is also functional, combining elements of greenery with porous ground and material. Flushing Creek itself is also incredibly polluted and congested due to many forgotten, yet abused waterways. I think that bringing such young minds together and showing them that compromise for urban sustainability can bring many benefits despite challenges is an important message for both their future, and ours.

Images taken from:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nycwater/sets/72157687293644073/with/37344958402/

Works Cited:

“New, State-of-the-Art Green Playground, Designed by Students at P.S. 120Q, Improves the Health of Flushing Creek.” New, State-of-the-Art Green Playground, Designed by Students at P.S. 120Q…, www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/press_releases/17-086pr.shtml.

Not Listening Can Hurt

We have always heard about the horrible things humanity has done to the environment. The oil spills and waste pollution are just some of the ways that our oceans are being contaminated. We feel guilty because we are shown images of the creatures and the filth they have to endure. However, there is another type of pollution that may be lesser known: noise pollution. In this New York Times article, oysters, as well as other marine life have been hurt badly by “commercial shipping, oil exploration, recreation and even scientific research.” The oysters close their shells when they feel distressed to block out the noise. However, this deafens them to the important biological noises that are part of their way of life. Although it might not seem as though we are hurting the environment because we can’t see the effects as clearly, they are nevertheless just as critical as other types of pollution. We have to be conscious and consider all of the human impacts on the environment, not just the obvious ones.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/science/oysters-noise-pollution.html?smid=tw-share

Using “Toxic Art” to Advocate Water Sustainability

Water sustainability can be carried out in multiple ways. John Sabraw is an artist that works with environmentalists and scientists to do research on streams polluted from abandoned coal mines in Ohio. He also works on making a fully sustainable art practice that produces eco-conscious art. His recent art pieces, called “Toxic Art”, were made from pigments created from the acid polluted mine runoff. These vibrant art pieces are not only beautiful to look at, but also brings awareness to the pollution of our world’s waters due to humans and industrialization.  Continue reading “Using “Toxic Art” to Advocate Water Sustainability”

water sustainability

Last week I submitted a discussion question saying, do you think people don’t know much about protecting the earth or just don’t care? I recently asked my family if they turn off the faucet when they brush their teeth, and they all said of course!! But I know that they don’t really pay much attention to sustainability. I think it’s just something we do, because we’ve been told to do it forever. However, there are so many more things we can do, that are just as simple and easy, yet don’t do, because their importance isn’t stressed enough. If water-efficient shower heads, low-flow taps, and dual flush toilets have been invented, why do we still use the old ones?

climate change on a smaller scale

https://twitter.com/GabiCohen6/status/924732806063972352

When I hear climate change I immediately rematch the whole Day After Tomorrow movie in my head, or I picture Florida submerged under water. However, when I simply googled climate change, I learned that Europe’s irregular weather is causing problems with their olive production. In one part of Italy an untimely frost comes right when the trees should bear fruit, and in another it is extremely hot one day, followed by a week of fog and rain. Too much rain makes them grow too much, causing worms to invade them. Too little rain makes the leaves dry up. The owner had to literally buy shipments of water every day of the summer. While olives are not the most important thing in the world, I chose to tweet about this, because like the article says, “No one will go hungry if there’s not enough olive oil on the market. But the impact of climate change on such a hardy and high-end product is a measure of how global warming is beginning to challenge how we grow food.” If people don’t believe the drastic changes Earth will go through because of climate change, they might think it’s bizarre when they can’t get olive oil from its native country.

Equitable Development and Climate Change

With growing concerns over climate change, it has become increasingly necessary to discuss and plan development changes to fit the changing climate. Some residential and commercial buildings near flooding zones, or areas that may become flooding zones in the future, need to be retrofitted to be able to withstand flooding and other climatic events.  However, these developments need to be made equitable, meaning it must impact and serve people with at least some semblance of equality. If this does not occur, it can lead to augmented problems for already disadvantaged people.

However, this kind of equitable development may not happen under the Trump administration. According to the The Nation article, the Trump White House has ended some Obama-era EPA reforms that enforce equitable development and maintain federal standards for development. As the article argues, this may lead to inequitable development that could upend communities of color and/or poor communities in the case of large natural disasters caused by a rapidly changing climate.

As the article discusses, New York has made some strides in equitable development after Sandy. Evacuation plans for seniors and people with disabilities living in public housing. However, there is still more to be done and it is unsure how this can be accomplished considering the Trump reforms to the EPA and standards on development.  Equitable development is a necessary thing, particularly in a world that has a changing climate that could potentially impact some more than others.  Equitable planning and development must be apart of the discussion concerning climate change and what society can do about it.

 

 

Climate Change Causes the US Billions of Dollars in Taxes

Santa Rose Fire

Climate change has caused devastating hurricanes and storms alone in this year. In the past decade, storms, droughts, and wildfires arose because of climate change and now Americans are paying to repair the damages in tax dollars. In the past decade, $350 billion have been spent on disaster relief programs, aid and insurance to reverse the effects of the damages. This does not include the three hurricanes this year alone that have been the worst yet. According to the Chicago Tribune, the federal government does not plan for these costs accordingly, and instead refer to costs that arose because of climate change as “high risk”. To manage the risks of climate change, the government needs to take into account the data that scientists have presented that prove climate change is worsening, and install programs and enact laws that can reduce the effects of climate change. Senator Cantwell, a Democrat on the Senate Committee on energy and Natural Resources requested stats from the GAO that very accurately link consequences of climate change on the economy and our tax dollars. With the appointed environment adviser at the White House, Kathleen Hartnett White, claiming the fossil fuel industry has only improved the standard of living of Americans, tax dollars will continue to rise as a results of a worsening climate change unless immediate action is taken to prevent such repurcussions

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/science/ct-climate-change-gao-report-20171023-story.html

https://twitter.com/SabrinaMHC2001/status/922813089803833344

Water and Urban Sustainability: Inspiration from Butterfly Wings and Spiders

It is not uncommon for scientists to look at nature and the natural world to find solutions for Earth’s everyday challenges including the scarcity of water. With the increasing demand for local food production, scientists and engineers need to concoct a new way for water to de distributed. A group in New York City referred to as NexLoop has invented a way to distribute water by mimicking the way a cribellate orb weaver spider webs collects fog from the air. This invention is named AquaWeb. Instead of relying on groundwater to water farms, the prototype collects rain and fog water to water outdoor and indoor farms, like greenhouses.

Researchers in the California Institute of Technology have found a way to mimic the way in which rose butterflies absorb light. They have created film solar cells that are two times more efficient at absorbing light that traditional solar cells. The butterfly’s wings contain nano holes that make the wings lighter and better for absorbing light. The order of the wings were crucial for this effect so scientists studied the wings under a microscope to better mimic them for their prototype. By recreating solar panels with this new technology, twice the amount of light can be absorbed and for longer periods of time. By redistributing water using rain water, that usually goes to waste and stormwater waste or runoff, and creating a way to increase the amount of light energy solar panels can absorb, this can lead to an increase in local food production. 

http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/product_service_design_innovation/sustainable_brands/trending_spiders_mushrooms_butte

https://twitter.com/SabrinaMHC2001/status/922814996416954368

Climate Change and Politics

Especially now, climate change has been an important and surprisingly controversial topic in today’s time, with large populations of people denying the existence of global warming and the harmful effects it will cause on our world. This issue has been an ongoing battle for years and years, since scientists noticed and began to understand the potential impacts of the alterations being imposed upon our Earth. However, politics and science do not always align in their opinions on what should be considered priority. Award-winning political cartoonist, Mike Keefe, created a cartoon for The Denver Post in 2010, one that continues to be relevant today, according to the decisions being made by our current political leaders.

Continue reading “Climate Change and Politics”