The Environment and its Activists

Finally, it may be concluded that humans have caused many environmental problems throughout the world. We have sped up the process of extinction for thousands of species, leading up to an imbalance in the ecosystem. We’ve created a spiral of plant and animal endangerment. We've polluted our world, and seen the devastating effects. It's up to us to stop this. It's up to us to do something. It’s not too late to change the fate of our planet. We must act now.

To summarize, people can do a variety of things to help the environment. Just like Alex Lin, they can recycle computer parts and reuse electronics. If possible, people need to think before throwing away their trash. Everyone needs to take care of our planet.

Alex Lin is a 16-year-old teen activist. He helps the environment by recycling old computers. In the article "Alex Lin, teen activist" the author states that is from Westerly, Rhode Island. He read an article about e-waste (electronic waste) that inspired him to start a group with his friends, and they have been recycling e-waste since the 5th grade.This shocking fact reveals that almost all electronics devices contain hazardous chemicals. Secondly,heavy metals such as lead,mercury and cadmium are the most deadly to are human body (5). Additionally, Alex Lin started to help the environment after reading the Wall Street Journal. Then he named his group team WIN (westerly Innovations Network). Electronic waste makes up 70% of over all toxic waste.Alex has overseen 300,000 pounds of e-waste. According to the article it states,"We worked with Metech Internaional to hold an e-waste recycling drive that collected over 21,000 pounds of electronics" (5). This quote highlights that it is important to recycle old electronics so harsh chemicals can't hurt us.

Computers and technology are great inventions, advancing us as humans to be able to accomplish more things. Nevertheless, did you know that technology is one of the main problems creating toxic waste? The harmful metals and chemicals in the machinery can get into the environment and harm plants, animals, and even humans if not disposed of correctly. As Jacques Yves Cousteau proclaimed, "Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans." (<a href="https://quotefancy.com/">https://quotefancy.com/</a>) Some solutions to limit toxic waste would be reusing, and recycling. For instance, old, used devices could, instead of being thrown out, everyone could donate them to people who need it, such as poor children who don't have a computer for schoolwork. This would limit the amount of toxic waste caused by technology because less people would be throwing them away; Instead, they would be giving the devices to others. Another solution would be recycling. We can recycle used parts and possibly find a way to recycle the chemicals and metals in the product. This would also decrease toxic waste because not as many computers would have to be made from scratch, therefore limiting the amount of materials needed to make computers. According to the UN Special Rapporteur, "every year some 47,000 people die as a result of acute poisoning from hazardous chemicals, while many others develop life threatening diseases, such as cancer." (<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/HazardToxicWastesOnHR.aspx">https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/HazardToxicWastesOnHR.aspx</a>)

In this photo, you can see the inside of a computer. Many things in there would be very harmful to the environment.

In this picture, you see a lake that has been polluted with toxic waste. Soon, all of our water will look like that if we don't do anything about it!

Erica was able to meet with President Barack Obama and tell him about an idea she had. It was a 36 inch liquefied gas pipeline. Her idea was good, but a couple years later people moved on. To Erica, this was the start of the end of the Earth. Other people don't care about the Earth and can't get it in their head that the Earth is falling apart; most just want to make money off its resources. It is up to us to help the world's environment.

Animals are everywhere. From forests to shelters to even your home. However, some animals are in danger of becoming extinct. Not just animals, plants are vanishing as well. One of the main reasons that is responsible for species extinction is deforestation. This causes habitat loss which causes animals to slowly die out. Furthermore, a solution I know that would end deforestation is taking what we need and replanting trees. For example, if we absolutely have to cut down a tree, we take only what we will use from it and replant a tree right in it's place. Taking a little at a time will give the new trees enough time to be sprouting and we still get the wood we need. Hereditary Chief Edward Moody once said, " We must protect the forests for those who can't speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish, and trees."(<a href="https://abcbirds.org/inspiration/qwatsinas/">https://abcbirds.org/inspiration/qwatsinas/</a>) Our wildlife needs to stay protected or else someday, we won't have any at all. Scientists have said, " As many as 30 to 50 percent of all species are possibly heading toward extinction by mid century." (<a href="https://www.dosomething.org/us/">https://www.dosomething.org/us/</a>) If we don't stop destroying animal's habitats, soon they will start dying and species we rely on will go extinct. Finally, on the website <a href="https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/">https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/</a>, it states, "It is estimated that within 100 years there will be no rainforests." If this does happen we will lose millions of species. This is why it is so important to stop deforestation and help animals.

In this graph, you can see we are starting to lose more forests than gain, which is all happening because of deforestation.

Imagine trash in the oceans, the air polluted-can't you see what people are doing to our earth? We are destroying our planet. It takes a second to realize how much green space is still here for the animals. Now look at how quickly it is disappearing. People need to stop pollution by finding better ways to help our environment. They can: reduce, reuse, and recycle. In addition, people can find other ways to stop  pollution such as disposing of e-waste like Alex Lin did with Team WIN.

Activist: Someone who is fighting for the rights of something that sometimes can be risky.

Liquified gas pipeline:A 36 inch pipeline that provides gas for low income neighborhoods.

Biodiversity: The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

Ecosystem: A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Dead zone: An area of the ocean that is depleted of oxygen, frequently due to pollution.

Emission: The production and discharge of something, especially gas or radiation.

Eutrophication: Excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.

Species: A certain type of living organism that can be similar to others, but not the same. The same species will most likely eat the same things, do the same things, look the same, etc.

Deforestation: The action of clearing a wide area of trees.

Endangered: (Of a species) seriously at risk of extinction.

Extinction: The state or process of a species, family, or larger group being or becoming *extinct. *Extinct: No longer in existence.

Toxic waste: A type of pollution caused by hazardous chemicals and metals most of the time from an electronic device.

One issue that many environmental activists highlight is species extinction. Extinction is a natural process that occurs due to evolution of ecosystems. This is caused by a variety of phenomena, such as a change in climate or the introduction of foreign species. However, as humans' usage of resources increases, we are causing harm to natural habitats. Biodiversity is limited when human activity causes many species to go extinct. Because every plant and animal relies on one another, decreased biodiversity leads to an ecological crisis. There are an estimated 14,000 to 35,000 endangered species in the United States, according to conservation scientist David Wilcove. These alarmingly large numbers are only a fraction of the flora and fauna plagued with the threat of extinction worldwide. According to the article, "The Extinction Crisis," there could be up to "30 to 50 percent of all species possibly heading towards extinction by mid-century" (1). Staggering facts like these spark fear in many environmentalists. Teen activist, Clay McMullen, from Geauga County, Ohio, has worked to protect the endangered osprey and preserve the wetlands they depend on. The article, "Clay McMullen, teen passionate about saving the environment," explains how over the last hundred years, approximately 90% of Ohio's wetlands have been destroyed (2). This is true for many other natural habitats. Rainforests for instance, contain nearly 50% of all species on Earth, according to the article, "Tropical rainforest biomes." Sadly, over 150 acres of tropical landscapes are being destroyed every minute. This severe habitat loss and deforestation is likely the cause of many critically endangered plants and animals. Somehow, this growing problem must be ground to a halt before it's too late.

Another issue that is often addressed is pollution. This is a troublesome global problem that has many severe consequences. Water is a crucial component of life. Lakes and rivers provide the freshwater we need to survive. Oceans sustain thousands of plants and animals and hold essential resources. Unfortunately, water pollution has escalated to become lethal to marine life. Since 1960, the number of "dead zones" has doubled every decade to become a current 200 dead zones, according to <a href="http://www.worldoceannetwork.org">www.worldoceannetwork.org</a>. These dead zones are caused by eutrophication, or algal blooms caused by excessive amounts of nutrients getting into bodies of water. Often caused by nitrogen or phosphorus based plant fertilizers, this process feeds algae, spiking growth levels. This overpopulation of algae removes large quantities of oxygen from the water as it decomposes. Without oxygen, water is unable to support life. In addition, algae can be toxic and harmful to humans. Eutrophication has many dangerous effects, and it is only one of many ways we are polluting our water. Furthermore, air pollution is problematic as well. Many common air pollutants are released by motorized vehicles, factories, and fossil fuel burning. Frequent exposure to poor air quality can result in diseases and health concerns such as cancer, lupus, and asthma (<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com">www.sciencedaily.com</a>). Another impact of air pollution is global warming. Emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gasses are released into the atmosphere. They absorb the sun's light, converting and containing it as thermal energy. Consequently, climate change occurs. Based on the article, "Global Warming," research shows that climate change leads to more frequent natural disasters, such as wildfires and flooding. Pollution is having an extreme effect on the Earth, fueling the passion of teen activists such as Alex Lin and Clay McMullen. In the article, "Alex Lin, teen activist," Lin explains how a Wall Street Journal article inspired him. He says, "It first alerted me to the e-waste (electronic waste) problem, and warned of the e-waste tsunami to come." Awareness about saving our planet is now catching the attention of younger generations.

Many people are trying to help the Earth because of how much it's polluted. Erica Fernandez is one of these people fighting for the environment; she is a young activist telling people how they can help, by posting it on the internet doing everything she can. While at a conference at Harvard University, she was able to speak out to the students and get some of them to help. This is the quote she presented to them coming from her role model Cesar Chavez in the article," Young Activist Erica Fernandez speaks out for the Environment", "Once social change begins, it cannot be reserved. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the person who is not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours." This quote shows that we can control or help what the future will be, so we can make the Earth a non-polluted place. Back home she was able to rally people together to help the Earth, and many others opened up to helping too.

The sound of an electric saw vibrates the air as a tree cracks to the forest floor. Animals screech and roar, moving away in one big tidal wave as the tree crushes what was once a living plant. According to the World Wildlife Foundation,about 1-5 species go extinct every year (<a href="https://weather.com/science/environment/news/2019-01-02-extinct-animal-species-2018">https://weather.com/science/environment/.../2019-01-02-extinct-animal-species-2018</a>); most species die out because of deforestation and habit loss. This and toxic waste are two of the earth's environmental problems. In this chapter, readers will learn a couple solutions to two environmental problems that once solved, will help our earth stay healthy and full of life.

This is an example of deforestation. Each year,deforestation kills over 1,000 different animals! 

(<a href="http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/CooperES/Teacher_websites/fischer_web/Erin_Web/Deforstation_page.htm">http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/CooperES/Teacher_websites/fischer_web/Erin_Web/Deforstation_page.htm</a>)

Countless animals have died painfully due to the garbage we have littered across our planet.

Earth's temperatures have risen because of human activity, bringing many negative impacts.

Trash is scattered across the ground, plastic choking up oceans. The air is hazy with smog, slowly poisoning the life that relies on the oxygen that is now tainted with pollutants. Countless species disappear before our eyes, far faster than they ever should. Because of us, the environment is in grave danger. In this chapter, readers will learn about environmental problems that must be stopped and the activists that strive to make a difference.

"The clock is ticking in terms of the amount of time we have to deal with the major issues like clean air, clean water and global warming." -- Sharon Smith, Brower New Leaders program director.

<a href="bookcreator://page/WTlQgZj2S9eiwLC2KisHLg">Chapter 1: Erica Fernandez</a>....................................................................................3

<a href="bookcreator://page/9pTXOMJgT-m8t5CofVrjuw">Chapter 2: Alex Lin</a>...................................................................................................7

Chapter 3: Environmental Issues...........................................................................

Chapter 4: Environmental Solutions......................................................................16

Glossary.....................................................................................................................

We have to limit toxic waste or we will start feeling the effects of it. On the website <a href="http://www.theworldcounts.com/">http://www.theworldcounts.com/</a>, it tells, "And we produce a lot of it [toxic waste] -more than 400 million tons each year." As you can see, toxic waste is a huge problem and we are just creating too much for our earth to handle. Therefore, using these solutions we can hopefully help reduce toxic waste and it's effects on the environment.

To summarize, environmental problems are a worldwide issue, with species extinction and toxic waste. We are losing important plants and animals when they face habitat loss and deforestation. People and wildlife are affected by the large amount of toxic waste spreading our earth. As you can see, we need to help our earth get rid of these problems so we can prolong our earth's life, as well as humans and other species.

Make sure you don't throw away your computer, give it to someone else!

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