Author Archives: Sienna Lightman

Environmental Racism is all over the world and not talked about at all. What is Environmental Racism? “Racial discrimination in environmental policy-making, enforcement of regulations and laws, and targeting of communities of color for toxic waste disposal and siting of polluting industries,” according to Reverend Benjamin E.

Environmental Racism can be industrial, agricultural, vehicular, residential, and many more.

How does environmental racism affect the world? Here are some examples.

The Flint Michigan water crisis- Lead poisoned Michigan’s water in areas with lots of poverty.

Black and Latino communities are more vulnerable to industrial zones, landfills, and pollution, which impacts those community’s health.

Cancer Alley- A predominantly black community in Louisiana where residents are 50 times more likely to develop cancer due to being lined with oil and refinery plants.

Los Angeles, California- Studies have shown that low-income, black, and Latino people live closer to toxic pollution.

There are thousands and thousands of other examples of this. Environmental Racism is a fundamental issue that no one is talking about. We need to take action now.

Source- https://www.insider.com/environmental-racism-examples-united-states-2020-8#los-angeles-california-8

On July 28, 2022, we reached overshoot day.

From now until the end of the year, we will be running a deficit on earth’s resources.

What exactly does that mean though? This means that we have used earth’s resources for almost half a year before Earth has time to restore them again.

The equation used to determine this is- (Earth’s Biocapacity / Humanity’s Ecological Footprint) x 365 = Earth Overshoot Day

This is not good, and if we do not take action, things will go pretty downhill. So what can we do?

The action you can take alone includes reducing the population by having fewer babies, intake less meat, be home efficient, eat locally and lessen food waste, recycle and reuse, and reduce our travel.

If you want to take action, join the #MovetheDate campaign, vote, donate, speak up to your local leaders, or volunteer for a local conservation group.

If we do not make changes now, we are affecting generations to come and borrowing their resources.

All of these solutions will move back the overshoot day later and later, and give Earth more time to regenerate its resources.

Sources- https://www.overshootday.org/solutions/, https://populationmatters.org/news/2022/07/earth-overshoot-day-what-can-we-all-do, https://theeverydayenvironmentalist.com/what-is-earth-overshoot-day-and-how-can-we-help/

To many people’s surprise, one of the main problems of the environmental crisis is agriculture.

To keep bugs and insects off of their crops, farmers spray many chemicals such as pesticides onto the crops. This is terrible for the environment as if it leaks into watersheds, creeks, rivers, and other bodies of water, these bodies of water become polluted and kill off a whole ecosystem of fish and other water insects and animals.

With agriculture, also comes deforestation. A couple of weeks ago, I was at a creek and was pointed out to the fact of some deforestation on a hill by the creek. A large patch of trees had been taken down and now, the soil was going to run into the creek and damage the creek’s environment. This would bury many animals and unwater feeders.

It was also noticed that pesticides were sprayed right on the creek to kill off weeds under a powerline. They had even got in the creek. Many species of fish would move away from this area and away from the toxic pesticides now.

What can I do?- You can urge farmers to leave space between their crops and rivers. Also, urge them to use more safe pesticides. Think about building a rain garden by the body of water as well- see https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/rain-garden/5712.html?SC=GGLNON&gclid=CjwKCAjwrNmWBhA4EiwAHbjEQNIAcqlKP8tUNldg9AU4i4bBMa0oEbccC-3FOUatro9Q4eVOUJ3OXxoCuYkQAvD_BwE

What is a watershed?

A watershed is a stream or river that flows from rainwater coming down from two hills. It is the crease of two downward hills that flows to a river or an ocean.

Watersheds are very important and need to be healthy. The problem is, that not just rainwater is getting into watersheds. Sewage is leaking into watersheds, and from impermeable surfaces like sidewalks, streets, roofs, and parking lots, bacteria, car oil, and chemicals are leaking into the watersheds and polluting them.

This causes rivers and lakes and even oceans to become polluted as well. With soil eroding, it is harder for the water to be purified and the water stays polluted.

What can you do?

What we need is something called a rain garden. A rain garden is composed of soil and plants, flowers, and shrubs common in your area. The water will be absorbed by the garden and be able to not flow into the watersheds. This will help the garden and the water to be purified.

To see more about rain gardens, visit- https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/rain-garden/5712.html?SC=GGLNON&gclid=CjwKCAjwrNmWBhA4EiwAHbjEQNIAcqlKP8tUNldg9AU4i4bBMa0oEbccC-3FOUatro9Q4eVOUJ3OXxoCuYkQAvD_BwE

All across America and the rest of the planet, record-setting heatwaves are affecting everyone.

These heat waves are dangerously hot as they reach the triple digits. The humidity levels are also increasing which leads it to feel much hotter.

Heat waves are common every summer, but why are they getting much more intense?

Human-caused climate change is making these heat waves much more severe and prolonged and putting much more danger in people’s lives during the summer months.

Why do we always see trash in developing countries? Why are they covered in smoke unlike the United States or Europe?

A big part of globalization is the spread of carbon dioxide due to all of the trade and travel.

This is speeding up climate change and the climate crisis.

It created pollution and fewer trees which are being chopped down for demand.

Developing countries are still in their industrialization age(like what the west was in during the 1800s.) They are trying to keep up with other countries.

During these times, Britain for example was covered in smoke due to industrialization and factories.

On the bright side, Britain does not look like what it looked like during the industrial era present day.

There were many reforms to improve the smoke and clouded water.

Hopefully, developing countries will also create reforms after their industrial era. If not, we may be in danger.

Plastic. Let’s talk about it.

Us humans use so much plastic in a day it’s crazy. Think about how much plastic you use a day and then multiply that by about 8 billion.

That’s a lot of plastic.

A lot of that plastic gets tossed into our oceans.

This greatly affects sea life and coral reefs.

Plastic can get attached to sea life and make it hard for them to swim. It can also damage coral reefs.

Let’s find other things besides plastic to use.

One of the main environmental factors that are a cause of global warming is deforestation.

Why do people deforest? People deforest for money.

With the need for trees rising up, people who do not understand how much trees affect the environment tear down so many trees and tend to not replant.

Trees take in the carbon dioxide in the air and replace it with oxygen.

Without as many trees, there is more carbon dioxide in the air and less oxygen in the air.

Humans need oxygen to breathe and carbon dioxide causes pollution. This is why there are increased levels of pollution in the air, especially in major cities like Hong Kong and New Delhi.