A WORLD WITHOUT TREES
By Madison McGregor
Deforestation is the clearing of a wide area of trees. When I asked students if they knew what deforestation was, most of them did not know. A couple months ago, I knew deforestation was taking place, however, I did not know how it affects our planet until I did a research project on it. After learning more, I’ve decided to raise awareness so others can too.
Why does deforestation take place?
Some reasons that deforestation takes place is for industrialization, agricultural expansion, and wood harvestation. People clear the trees for space then use this space to expand agriculture in order to make money. An example of this could be the clearing of trees in the Amazon Rainforest. Brazil is an underdeveloped country that relies heavily on agriculture expansion to earn money. Since the 1970s, we have lost 17% of the Amazon Rainforest. About 2400 trees are cut down each minute. Trees are also a great and effective resource. Wood is used in our everyday lives and is a material used to build many of our resources. For example some of our houses, telephone poles, tools, and many more are made out of wood. This is yet another reason why so many trees are cut down so often. Another reason for deforestation is industrialization. As the population grows, more space is needed and we use the forest area to expand.
How does this affect our planet?
Deforestation limits our access to clean water, limits animal habitats, threatens biodiversity, and promotes climate change. Rainforests supply a great deal of water. By cutting down trees in the rainforest, we are losing our water supply and leaving the animals living there without the proper resources needed for their survival. This includes shelter, food, water, and more. 137 different species of plants, animals, and birds are lost every single day due to global forest loss.
Trees serve an important role in our ecosystem. They collect greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide to prevent them from accumulating in our atmosphere and warming our planet. By cutting down trees, we are not only slowing down this process, but we are releasing all the gases that they had stored. This of course leads to an increase of the risk of climate change and global warming.
Some ways we can be more eco-friendly:
Recycle all recyclable materials
Use less paper/paper products
Burn less firewood
Report illegal logging
Don’t litter and clean up trash.
If we all do what we can, we CAN make a difference!
END FOOD WASTE NOW!
Michelle Bahena
We Need to Stop Wasting Food!
By: Michelle Bahena
My parents taught me that food was something that should never be wasted. My plate would only
have the amount of food I would eat, sure sometimes there would be leftovers but it would never
be thrown away. Something that was unopened never went in the trash. Those same rules applied
when I was in school, even though my parents weren’t with me I still felt bad throwing away those
unopened plastic bags of apple slices. Instead, there was usually a share table where students
could leave unwanted food. Even in highschool, I still feel the same.
At ECTA we have a small black bin next to the vending machines in the cafeteria where we can
place unwanted food items. Usually, it is not full. Now you might be thinking, “Well it’s not full
because people actually eat all of their lunch.” Everyday the bell rings signaling the end of our
lunch period, students get up and throw their trash away before heading to class. However, in
many students' trays not only is there trash like a half- eaten sandwich or a used napkin, but,
there are also perfectly unharmed and untouched food packages. Whether it be some orange
slices in a small clear bag or an applesauce that no one wants, it ends up in the trash can. It pains
me to see food in the trash that someone else could have wanted.
During the pandemic, I understand that some students and faculty might find it gross or unsanitary
to eat someone else’s food. But, the food is safe, it is packaged, unless opened the contents
inside that little bag are just as clean as when it was handed to the person who first had it. Some
people like those celery sticks that you didn't want and others might walk over to that small black
share bin and grab a snack for later. All students have to do is walk over and place their food
items in that bin.
“I didn’t even know there was a share bin at the beginning of the year. It took me a bit to figure
out what it was, I thought it was a small trash can next to the vending machine.” (Anonymous) It’s
funny how much I can relate to this student. For a while, I had no idea there was a share bin. A
lot of students might not know and that is part of the problem. “There’s only one bin in the entire
cafeteria and sometimes I don't want to walk all the way over there so I just throw it away”
(Anonymous) The first step to wasting less food is to place more share bins around the cafeteria.
By putting more share bins in the cafeteria it makes it easier for students to walk over and place
their unwanted food. Teachers can be a big help too, right as lunch is about to end, remind
students to put unwanted unopened food items in the share bin. We can all work together here at
East Tech to stop wasting food!
FOSSIL FUELS:
ENERGY SOURCE OR BREATHING BIOHAZARD?
By Leilani Rodriguez
If you think smoking is bad, imagine what happens when you start your car. Now I know the first sentence might have caught you off guard, like what does cars have to do with fossil fuels, well the exact definition of fossil fuels is a natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms, however, ever since 1880 fossil fuels have been shaped and used in all different purposes and we are still using them today, but how do they end up in our cars, well in 1885, Carl Benz, a german engineer had created a car that was running on crude oil and gasoline, and considering that it was much easier to pass the energy source along generations everyone did just that, but how do they affect the environment, we need to burn fossil fuels to make things work like how gas is put into our cars and the engine uses the gas to go, but burning this substance causes a even bigger problem, meet carbon dioxide, it ruins our lungs considering we need to breathe clean air also known as oxygen.
Now let us set our attention of one of the most air polluted countries in the world, China, you see China is very heavily populated, however you might just be wondering why we exactly need to learn about fossil fuels here, well, let us first see the effects carbon dioxide has on one person’s lungs, one of the largest risk is respiratory failure, considering that it means that we don’t get enough oxygen into our blood, carbon dioxide can also cause damage to our tissue and our organs, and considering that china has a huge population of people and pollution to the air most people have to wear mask to highly polluted cities and areas, but what happens to the people who have already breath carbon dioxide for so long, well most people experience rapid breathing and confusion, also with getting sleepy and losing consciousness, also with the fact you could get hypercapnia, it is a disease where there is excessive carbon dioxide in the bloodstream, so most of the people who been breathing carbon dioxide for most of their lives might end up with breathing problems or having to go to the hospital.
Now enough of this, what am I a so-called-doctor, only one way to determine I don’t go off the brakes on this roller coaster! To the next subject! Let's view the public opinions of this burning topic. Now you might be thinking that a LOT of people assume to dislike fossil fuels with how much damage it causes but you would be surprised with how much people believe it is a fine and even a great source of power, I took quite a few opinions from students and teachers point of views to help me expose this breathing biohazard that is qualified as a energy source so my first question is obviously what do you think about fossil fuels considering that I don’t want to leave these questions short answered. The responses were very interested, Venkovitzs (a man I past in the hallway) said that “we should continue using them since we cannot switch to electric yet” his statement was agreeable, however I believe that I should’ve asked him more details of what he meant, on to the next statement William fox also known as Mr. Fox said that he “likes fossil fuels” which really surprised me considering that they are bad for the environment but I do understand that they are a very populated and a really used resource, however Ferriolo had a response that quite confused me it was “use them until we run out” the reason why it really confused me is that there are so many opinions on this topic and Ferriolo chooses the fact that we need to use them until they run out, but I know that I shouldn’t exactly blame someone off of their opinion so on to the next person, Daniel Garcia is actually a student and said “ it could harm the environment” referring to the fossil fuels, which I agree with considering that I know that fossil fuels can affect animals just as well as humans and if we mess with the food chain it could also ruin the environment. Now I also agreed with another student named Daranara, she said “it harms our environment and we are running out of it” which I completely agree with considering that it does in fact ruin the environment, but a nurse named Daine completely changed my point of view on this Diane said “there fine because they power a lot of our energy sources, coal is everything, and I hope people will change that” that statement really shocked me, coal is everything, it is…...so true, yet I felt shock stopped in my tracks for quite a few milliseconds yet it felt a little long, but hey i'm not frozen in ice am I? To the next question “what do you think of people in the hospital because of fossil fuels?” Mr. Fox states that he “needs to see the data” which is considerably true considering that not all people are in the hospital for that specific reason, Ferriolo “feels bad for them” which is relatable considering that in these school positions it is kind of hard to do something that is out of our reach, daniel says “fossil fuels are another problem to people who have breathing problems” which is very true considering that it could add a problem to people who have already polluted lungs, Dayanara says “it is not their fault it harms them but people don’t know that” which is quite true considering that every time you get in your car you don’t think that you are harming someone's lungs while driving, Diane on the other hand states “you can’t blame all breathing problems on fossil fuels” which is a true statement because some people are born with lung problems and some just get them early on, however the next question is still awaiting to be read so what exactly is the final question? It is “what do you think are some solutions?” Mr. Fox says “continued development of renewable sources, we cannot blame the past generations because they were using materials available to them, but future generations will find better solutions” I definitely agree with Mr. fox but I do fear that new generations will not succeed in this valued task, but that is the lowest possibility, Ferriolo said “ electric cars, however they are expensive” which is considerably true, because even though these new powered cars are good for the environment they have prices that are way over a normal budget, Daniel on the other hand says “lower prices for electric cars” which would probably solve a lot our problems and Dayanara says “different energy sources” which to me is a great solution because fossil fuels are one of the worst air polluters and Diane says “look at the bigger picture and remember poor people/families cannot afford it sometimes” that one statement had me thinking for a while considering that I never thought that people that have low income wouldn’t be able to purchase a different power source car.
These opinions are just the beginning of what the whole world has to say, but I haven’t described the part of the world that is attempting to put an end to this coal catastrophe, you see most of the world agrees to use different power sources and technology so we do not ruin the environment but many others agree that different energy sources and tools cost a LOT more that the usual fossil fuel items, however, we are lowering the prices for different energy sources, witch is obviously a positive result, but what do people do when wanting other people to stop using fossil fuels, well, there are many tips on how to stop using fossil fuels on the internet and there are a lot of other ways to get around somewhere, like on the bus, on a bike, on a bike car or even walking! My point being that there are several choices to avoid fossil fuels. Another piece of advice I have is to look at other powered cars before buying a fossil fuel one. You might be thinking why don’t we all just change to different sources, well some people already have fossil fueled cars and cannot afford another car, also with the fact that people see fossil fuels as a fine source right now considering that they know there will also be other sources of energy in the future. And considering that the future is looking bright with brand new minds thinking of solutions we have nothing to fear, so really think what you are doing when you get in a car, also known as a fossil fuel burner. Thank you.