If you think that eating "grass-fed" meats makes you a better person, then you are completely wrong. There is really no empirical evidence to show that grass-fed livestock have a lower carbon footprint—as opposed to grains. Instead, it is believed that reducing the AMOUNT of food that is fed to livestock will help reduce climate issues, and not the type of food that they are given. It is estimated that livestock are responsible for 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions. The aforementioned gasses include methane, nitrous oxide, and CO2 (Carbon Dioxide). Because most cattle are raised on "landless", or pastures with little green to eat, they are fed grain instead of grass. It is believed that letting the cattle roam could actually reinitialize grasslands. However, studies show that cattle only sequester CO2 in very specific and ideal conditions. Plus, an abundance of cows will ultimately lead to a degradation of soil and plant life through overindulgence and trampling. The demand of meat in general is what is causing the planet to move towards agricultural insatiability.
I find it quite odd that people could believe that the diet of cattle and livestock is what is causing their inordinate amount of greenhouse gas emissions. I mean, it makes sense that grain is usually run through a factory before being given to cattle, but the differences seem negligible in regards to greenhouse gas emissions. What is the diet really going to change? It seems that we are trying to find something to blame. It is not WHAT we are feeding the livestock, rather it is eating meat in general. As more people move up away from poverty, meat becomes an available option for them. Once meat begins to rise in demand, greenhouse gas increases will follow.
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Hurricane Maria has absolutely destroyed Puerto Rico. The hurricane has left destruction and damage on the same level as both Harvey and Irma. Now, the nation is facing a humanitarian crisis. Aid to Puerto Rico has been extremely slow—the Trump administration has had little to say. Puerto Rico has faced economic turmoil over the past few years...and now they are facing physical turmoil. It is estimated that the island could be without power for well over 7 months. Another threat is the Guajataca Dam, which is on the brink of failing. Thousands of citizens have had to evacuate their homes in fear of the dam breaking. 70,000 people are in jeopardy of losing everything they have because of the dam crisis. With communications cut, it makes it extremely difficult to reach people on the island. It is estimated that 95% of the island is without power. The worst of it all would be the lack of medical aid available. Hospitals have been completely leveled by the Hurricane—health care is hard to receive.
Hurricane season has been absolutely ridiculous recently. It scares me at how much destruction can be done in a few weeks. And honestly, it is all at the fault of us. Human's contributions to climate change cannot be ignored...we are the main instigators of the problems that we currently face. Puerto Rico is suffering and we are to focused on what Donald Trump has tweeted next—but I digress. It is sad how slow we have been in sending aid to Puerto Rico. They are literally suffering and starving to death...and we have been extremely slow in sending them aid. This is an issue because...who is next? Which state or territory is next in line in regards to destruction. I only hope we are more prepared this time. Mexico city is in dire need of assistance. It is terrifying that on Tuesday-the same exact day another earthquake killed 10,000 people 37 years ago-Mexico City was hit with a 7.2 earthquake. Most builders and seismologists did not think that the fault that caused the earthquake would cause any worry. Now, 200 people have perished because of the lack of concern. This is a glaring concern considering that this could happen at anytime anywhere in the world. Because Mexico City was built on a lakebed, the effects of the earthquake are much more pronounced. There is no other city in the world that is of this size and built into a direct danger proximity zone of a fault. The earthquake happened nowhere near where they thought. It didn't happen in the coast nor did it happen in the Guerrero Gap, but 35 miles under the mountains. People watched in dread and terror as buildings collapsed and people were crushed under debris. Now, seismologists are not just looking at the dormant Guerrero Gap, but the entirety of all the faults.
Earthquakes are inter sting in that they are the most unpredictable--and you cannot escape them. There is no way to "evacuate" from an earthquake. The scariest thing is that they can happen at anytime. With other natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes, there must be a few preconditions and prerequisites before the "disaster can form". Earthquakes can happen at anytime and with no warning signs. California is susceptible to huge earthquakes...and it is predicted that a big one will arrive soon. Mexico City is a prime example of "don't just look at the obvious". When people simply stare at the obvious and fail to take EVERYTHING into consideration, then people lose their lived due to negligence. We will stand and send aid to Mexico...but it makes me wonder when people are going to send aid to us. Dangerous Grease in Greece (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/world/europe/greece-oil-spill.html)9/14/2017 On Thursday, September 14th, an oil tanker sunk off the coast of Athens. The Tanker was carrying 2,500 metric tons of fuel and marine oil. Authorities claimed that the spill is contained. However, tar and oil has been seen and reported on beaches outside of the supposed containment zone. Citizens of Greece were outraged at the lack of cleanup crews trying to contain the spill. Now, three antipollution vessels have cleaned up 180 metric tons of the spilled oil. Environmentalists are calling it an environmental travesty and claims that it will have immediate and long lasting effects. It is unknown how the tanker actually sunk...and it is unknown how long it will take to recover the beaches near the accident.
Ever since BP, oil spills have been on the rise. Humans put so much money into oil drilling..you would think disasters like this wouldn't happen that often. But, it doesn't really matter to the oil companies because they face a pocket-change fine after killing millions and millions of diverse ecosystems and marine life. I was appalled at how slow authorities were at getting crews to clean up the spillage; I was angered that they did not take immediate action. Not only does the oil threaten all marine life in the area, but the tar and oil can be at the detriment to the humans living on the shores as well. If someones main job is to fish and sell, then they will have lost their job as the fish will have been contained. This disaster can force people out of work. Not only that, but the oil will not simply "disappear". Species that have inhabited those beaches for thousands of years could become extinct from this small disaster alone. Humans mess up once again. Two nuclear plants are directly in the line of fire when it comes to Hurricane Irma making landfall. Executives and owners of the plants are already preparing to shut down their nuclear reactors. If the reactors were to fail during the storm, the damage to the Atlantic ocean and the surrounding area would be unprecedented. Although one of the strongest nuclear grids in North America, it by no means can survive 185 mile per hour winds. After the Hurricane passes, the director of the plant plans to reinforce the steel and concrete bunker surrounding the reactors.
People talk an awful lot about the threat of Nuclear warfare in the world today...but what about nuclear plants failing. Chernobyl is a perfect example of what happens when nuclear reactors go haywire. If the reactors in Florida became compromised, a huge cloud of radiation would shoot into the sky and travel over the Atlantic Ocean. Also, nuclear waste would seep into the ocean and kill everything around it. Finally, it would make the areas near it completely uninhabitable. Climate change has really gone too far..humans really need to step up to the plate. 4.5 million people live in the city of Houston, Texas. Currently, those 4.5 million people are having to deal with 50 inches of rainfall from a hurricane named "Harvey". Little do people know, this county holds 40% of America's petrochemical capacity. Because of Harvey, refineries are being forced to shut down their operations. So far, 10 in the Houston area have shut down. Large clouds of sulfur dioxide will be released into the air, causing intense respiratory problems. Also, the minority populations will have it the worst considering they live closest to the plants. Hazardous waste is now seeping into the water supplies and will eventually recede back into the ocean with the water that the hurricane left in it's wake. Houston is now tasked with dealing with the worst flood in United States history and a chemical disaster which could make the air unsafe to breathe.
This can affect us in a number of ways. First of all, the pollutants going back into the ocean are likely to kill a multitude of marine diversity within the Gulf of Mexico...nothing new (I am looking at you BP). Also, it would not be uncommon for the pollutants to spread to the rest of Texas. Because of the oil refineries shutting down, gas prices are likely to go up. Poor air quality can be extremely detrimental to newborns and to the elderly. People are stuck having to breath in the toxic fumes because they have nowhere to go but outside since all of their homes are not stuck under 50 inches of rain water. We, and I mean humans, must band together and help each other with our empathetic hearts. Land, animals, humans, clean water, and clean air have all been tainted by the worst hurricane in United States history. What is even scarier is that because the water is still warm in the Gulf, this disaster can likely strike again. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is working with the Environment Agency to establish the source of the cloud, which left 150 people seeking medical treatment and caused the evacuation of Birling Gap beach in East Sussex. A satellite imaging agency may have located a possible source of the chemical plume to a boat close to the East Sussex shore. Two pollution monitoring sites on the south coast picked up a quadrupling in ozone levels in a 30-minute period on Sunday afternoon, suggesting the toxic cloud came from a nearby ship.
Timothy Baker, from King's College London's environmental research group, which manages the pollution monitoring network for Sussex local authorities, said these readings suggested the source was nearby and offshore because of the wind direction at the time. Similar levels of ozone pollution were reported during the 2003 heatwave, but at the time the levels did not rise so quickly, and no one reported stinging eyes, sore throats and vomiting as they did on Sunday. An Environment Agency spokesman said: "We are currently investigating any potential onshore sources of the pollution and to date we have not identified anything that could be attributed to the mist and we are liaising with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, who are doing similar investigations offshore." To think that this could all be—potentially—caused by a boat. I am curious how a single ship could have produced such an intense toxic haze among the coast of the UK. If the haze can cause vomiting and visible sickness to humans, I am worried about what it can do to ecosystems and species. Ships are often overlooked when talking about large machinery that produce a ton of gas emissions. This should most certainly not be the case. I am morbidly curious as to what the future holds for ocean liners; I wonder if they will become obsolete. Ozone levels skyrocketed, which can never be good. I believe it is time to force sticker regulations onto mass transport vehicles such as trains, planes, and ships. If we continue down the path we are currently on, our environmental demise is inevitable. |
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