Environmental Science 1301- Cali Copper

Six-Point Critical Analysis Worksheet 1. Exploratory Lee Sqweeney the son of Winnemucca Buckaroo Hall of Famer Paul Sweeney begins by telling us about his childhood and how he would fish for troughs with his dad and how there used to be cattle running through eating all the green, but now the restoration brought back the green native grass. Next Jesse Brattz the ranch manager of the Sweeney Farm talks about how it is good to see the water tables rising because that means they are holding water longer, bigger flude planes meaning more plants growing, Jesse describes it as a big sponge holding water then letting it go. Then the video goes onto Jon Griggs the ranch manager at Maggie Creek Ranch in the North East corner of Nevada where the fish are called lahontan cutthroat trout, which they are very proud of because they created more stock water that brings more grass that helps them increase their herd number. Jon said “good trout habitat makes good cow habitat and good wildlife habitat...

In the United States throughout history, the environmental thought has shifted from viewing nature as a resource to be conquered and consumed to slowly realizing nature is something we need to respect and preserve. Theis & Tomkin (2018) and Russell & Fairfax (2014), help explain the evolution of environmental regulation and activism. When America first came to be, the settlers were focused on survival and Westward expansion, so nature was often seen as an obstacle. back then, nature seemed limitless. This era was shaped by the idea of “manifest destiny” which encourage expansion for economic gains (Thesis and Tonkin, 2018) By the late 19th century, the effects of unchecked industrialization became hard to ignore as pollution increased alongside water, contamination and deforestation. Muir advocated for preserving nature for its intrinsic value. (Russel and Fairfax 2014) he helped lay the groundwork for the US forest service and national Park service. A key cultural turning po...

For this paper I selected two articles both pertaining to reducing your exposure to micro plastics. The first article was about how plastic is very prevalent in our everyday lives. Micro plastics are all around us, in the air, in our food and in our water. The article claimed that we consume roughly 5 grams of plastic per week, which can be detrimental to our heart health and hormone distribution. Nevertheless, plastic production companies are producing plastic at an all time high, and the rates keep increasing. These companies claim that the plastic they use is safe, but experts worry that there are long term effects from these chemicals that can be harmful. The article touches on regulations that scientists are pushing for including better transparency and stricter policies to promote safer and more sustainable alternatives to single use plastic, and prevent exposing humans as much as possible. (Loria, 2020) The second article that was more recently written explains how micro plasti...

Sarah Dudas’s TED Talk, Microplastics Are Everywhere, opened my eyes to the overwhelming impact plastic pollution has on our environment and health. She mentions that in just 65 years, we have produced an estimated 8,300 million metric tons of plastic, yet only 9% has been recycled so the rest ends up in landfills, oceans, and ultimately, our bodies!! Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that never fully decompose, making them a major environmental and health concern. Microplastics are plastic particles that are less than 5mm in size, about as small as a grain of rice. They come in two forms, the first is called Primary microplastics are intentionally manufactured to be small, such as microbeads in cosmetics or fibers from synthetic clothing (Dudas, 2018). Secondary microplastics are a result from the breakdown of larger plastics due to exposure to sunlight, ocean waves, or friction over time (Plastic Soup Foundation, 2019).According to Dr. Erik van Sebille in “Charting the Garbag...

Air Pollution Basics When coal, oil and other fossil fuels are burned it releases Sulfur Pollutants like sulfur dioxide and it can combine with water droplets to form sulfuric acid which then leads to acid rain that destroys our environment. Acid rain damages forests, buildings, monuments and poison lakes. Freeman also adds that acid rain affects human health, irritating lungs and making the conditions of asthma worse. (freeman p.268) Nitrogen Pollutants, mostly known as nitrogen oxides are produced by power plants, industrial facilities and car engines when they are burning fuel. These gases contribute to acid rain and formulate ground level ozones that are harmful to breathe. Over time, they can also lead to respiratory problems and harm ecosystems by making soil and water too acidic. (Freedman, p. 370) Have you ever been to a big city and the air felt hazy? Well it is probably because of the big traffic releasing high levels of Nitrogen pollutants. Vehicle exhaust, industrial poll...

A. Define alternative energy refers to the energy sources that are renewable and not derived from fossil fuels. Common types of alternative energy include solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal and biomass energy. Because they assist lessen reliance on finite fossil fuel supplies and emit little or no greenhouse gases, these sources are regarded as more sustainable. B. Many people, especially environmental scientists are pushing for alternative energy for the many environmental and economic benefits. Alternative energy reduces the huge carbon footprint from our ways of energy production which has shown to be a factor in climate change and pollution. The fuel mix has changed over the years but now is still dominated by fossil fuels. "Over 30% of the world’s energy consumption comes from oil, and much of that goes to transportation uses. In 1973, almost 87% of the global energy consumed was from fossil fuels. Today, that value is closer to 80%."Fossil fuel combustion releases...