Essay On Climate Policy And Environment

1105 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effects of air and water pollution essay paper

Vilma Villalobos POSC 199 Policy Research Paper Climate Policy/ Environment Humans have played an active role in the deterioration of the environment over the years. Although efforts have been made by politicians and conservationists, there is still much more that can be done to reduce, if not halt, the harmful activities that in turn damage the environment. It may seem as though the environment is vast and self-restoring, but that is not the case. In fact, climate change and a rapidly changing environment raise concern about what the future holds, specifically for California. Due to the fact that the environment provides many natural resources that are essential for human viability, California should establish and enforce policies that regulate toxic waste disposal, help clean up bodies of water, reduce contributions of carbon dioxide that contribute to global warming, plant more trees, and offer rewards to people who actively protect the environment in order to achieve citizen involvement. Toxic waste and chemical-filled waste pose a great threat to the environment for many reasons. Sadly, California—among other coastal U.S. states—is one of the most industrially polluted regions in the United States (Cooper, 1996). It is then of no surprise that it was found that improper disposal of the waste from industrial companies soon enough began affecting both wildlife, as well as humans. People had to evacuate their homes due to the fact that companies were burying their waste illegally, resulting in the contamination of water sources (Cooper, 1996). Animals were ingesting chemicals and toxins that would seep through the soil, and although efforts were made to regulate the waste through the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com... ... middle of paper ... ...hould reward people who invest time, money, and make efforts to help the environment. In conclusion, the environment is extremely delicate and mankind’s fate depends on how well-balanced the environment is; therefore California should implement and enforce policies which will help maintain a good balance. Although people may not believe so, the environment plays a huge role in everyday life, and it dictates what the future will hold. It is better to take care of the issue before the consequences of mistreating the environment are completely irreversible. Therefore, regulation of waste disposal, cleanliness of beaches, reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, planting of trees, and citizen involvement, are all crucial to the improvement of the environment. California is a beautiful state, and the goal should be to keep it that way, so that the future can be brighter.

Show More
Related

  • The Lowry Landfill Superfund Site

    2979 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Lowry Landfill Superfund Site is located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, approximately 2 miles east of Aurora. It consists of approximately 507 acres of waste disposal area and is operated by Waste Management of Colorado, Inc. The land surrounding the site consists of native prairie grass and a wetland located along a local creek. Sections around the site are zoned for agricultural use including cattle grazing and non-irrigated wheat farms. 1 The area is home to numerous endangered species including the bald eagle and peregrine falcon. Due to the large amounts of wastes disposed on the site between 1965 and 1980, it became extremely contaminated with a variety of inorganic and organic contaminants. From 1984 to 1993, the EPA oversaw remedial investigation and feasibility studies that were performed by all responsible parties. Since its listing as a superfund site in 1984, multiple remedial actions have been performed in order to rehabilitate the site. These include clay barrier walls around the site, a groundwater collection system, a soil cover for the main landfill, as well as a landfill gas collection system. Groundwater that is collected on the site is treated at an onsite water treatment facility. In 2007, construction began on an onsite gas to energy plant that utilizes the methane produced by the landfill site. The electricity produced by the plant is enough to power 3000 households. 1 Today, use of land and groundwater on and near the site is still restricted by the state of Colorado.1

    Read More

  • 5 Ways to Bust California’s Drought

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    The California water drought has been declared a crisis by the governor of California. 2013 was the driest year on record, and California could be running out of water. Californians should be water wise, and their use, or no use, of water will have an enormous impact on this drought. They can use the techniques published in a recent Time article called, 5 Ways to Bust California’s Drought, to reduce their water use. Landscape techniques, alternate water sources, and the personal conservation of water can reduce the use of water, and can have a positive change on this water crisis.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography on Ocean Pollution

    3269 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest garbage dump in the world. According to estimates made by experts, the patch holds approximately three and a half million tons of garbage. Majority of this garbage is made of plastic. This waste is a threatening problem to the patch’s surrounding wildlife. Many animals are caught in the floating pieces of trash and it is the cause of the deaths of about one million birds and about one hundred thousand other sea animals. Due to the oceans nature and constant moving currents, the trash is also constantly moving. Therefore the size of the patch never stays the exact same. However, scientists believe it be approximately two times the size of Texas. The plastic is mostly broken down from larger materials into small pieces. The patch has been referred to as one scientist as a, “plastic soup”. This garbage poses such a threat mainly because it does not biodegrade. These plastics will be in the ocean essentially forever. Many plastics also contain chemicals, and absorb other chemicals and pollutants they become exposed to. These newly absorbed toxins are then leaked and distributed back into the ocean over time. The chemicals can directly enter the bodies of the animals which consume them. A study was being conducted by scientists of the fish that inhabit the area around the patch. What the researchers found inside the belly of one fish (that was no larger in size than that of a finger), was eighty four small fragments of plastic. It does not take scientists to recognize the impact of this problem, Zach Gold, who is sixteen, is from Santa Monica California. Zach enjoys s...

    Read More

  • We Must Take Action to Improve the Air Quality in Phoenix

    2286 Words  | 5 Pages

    City of Los Angeles Environmental Affairs Department.  “L.A. Made a Difference!” Los Angeles, CA: US. 1998.  www.cityofla.org/EAD/article3.htm

    Read More

  • The Clean Water Act Of 1972 (CWA)

    1342 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kenneth Schiff wrote an editorial for the Marine Pollution Bulletin in 2014 where he asked environmental scientist about the effectiveness of the Clean Water Act. Three topics were discussed to support their approval; The Cuyahoga River, Platform A and declines in marine life. The Cuyahoga River in Ohio had hit a point 1969 where there was so much oil on the surface of that it caught on fire and now it has been deemed as fishable by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, thanks to the Clean Water Act. Platform A was located in Southern California. In 1969, an explosion occurred, causing 100,000 barrels of oil to devastate beaches along the Pacific Ocean and kill thousands of animals located in this region. Also discussed was the effects of hazardous substances, in this example DDT, on marine life. The use of this pesticide caused brown pelicans and California sea lions to experience intense decline in population- thanks to the Clean Water Act being followed by much research, restrictions and bans were able to be placed on these chemicals, allowing these populations to flourish once more. Within this editorial, there is also many who state that this Act has not been effective enough. One big argument is that the EPA has a list of pollutants that has not changed since the 1970’s yet in the last 40 years, there has

    Read More

  • Environmental Issues In Silent Spring

    2441 Words  | 5 Pages

    In 1989, seventy five percent of Americans identified themselves as environmentalists, and the number has continued to grow since then (Walls 1). Environmentalism is now the most popular social movement in the United States, with over five million American families donating regularly to environmental organizations (Walls 1). Environmentalists today focus on what kind of world they hope to see in the future, and largely deal with limiting pollution and changing consumption rates (Kent 1 and 9). Modern environmentalists also have much different issues than those Carson’s America faced. With climate change becoming more threatening each year, protection of the natural world is needed more than ever. Pollution has caused the warmest decade in history, the deterioration of the ozone layer, and species extinction in extreme numbers (Hunter 2). It not only threatens nature, but also human populations, who already suffer from lack of clean water and poisoning from toxic chemicals (Hunter 16). Unlike environmental actions in the 1960’s, which were mostly focused on protection, a massive increase in pollution has caused efforts to be focused on environmental restoration (Hunter 16). Like in the time of Silent Spring, environmentalists are not only concerned with one country. Protecting the environment remains a global issue, and every nation is threatened by the

    Read More

  • Climate Change Essay

    1647 Words  | 4 Pages

    Antarctic’s ice melt and accelerating sea level rise, the growing number of large wildfires, intense heat wave shocks, severe drought and blizzards, disrupted and decreased food supply, and extreme storm events are increasing to happen in many areas world wide and these are just some of the consequences of global warming. The fossil fuel we burn for energy coal, natural gas, and oil plus the loss of forests due to disforestation, in the southern hemisphere are all contributors for climate change. In the past three decades, every single year was warmer then the previous year and the warmest 12 years were recorded since 1998. We are overloading our atmosphere with carbon dioxide and trapping the heat and recently, the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere reached 400 pmm. Not just environmental issues are rising due to carbon dioxide increase but more and miscellaneous issues are appearing as climate change becomes more severe. For example, regional models and local analyses agree that Mongolia has become noticeably warmer and the climate change effect is damaging their millennial of historic nomadic lifestyle and even came to the peek of extinction. The Mongolian nomadic pastoralists became highly vulnerable to many an unusual climate impacts and extreme temperature fluctuation that have led to inadequate pasture land and loss of enormous number of livestock, often faces hostile environmental conditions that led o entrenched pastoral poverty. This essay focuses on how the climate change impacts the qualitative and quantitative value of indigenous culture and nomadic life style, and how the economy struggles in the magnitudes of massive migration of nomads to urban area while it fails to value t...

    Read More

  • What Is Climate Change Essay

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    Global Warming changing the earth’s climate is already having an effect on the world’s water supply in many ways, and is predicted to be much worse. Global Warming and climate change will influence water temperatures, weather systems and for the amount of water in streams and rivers. A change in the world’s water is a concern for the whole world. Climate change will affect both the quality and the quality of water, algae and bacteria will grown in areas where they are not normally found, and in other areas, salinity of the water will rise. A rise in atmospheric temperature will speed up the pace of the water cycle, it produce more rapid evaporation leading to more intense storms, floods and drought. In some cases, areas can become susceptible to becoming wetter and drier than normal, experiencing increased flooding in the winter and more drought risks in the summer.

    Read More

  • Climate Change Essay

    1393 Words  | 3 Pages

    Over the course of recent history, much concern has been raised over the industrial revolution and the potential climate changes that it might be causing. It has been stated by global warming theorist that C02 emissions caused by human technologies are causing the world to warm, which will cause negative climate changes. The Earth may be experiencing a global warming trend and climate change; however, the process of climate change is outside of human control because human activity can barely account for any of the C02 level increases. Attempts to reduce human C02 emissions is needlessly expensive, and will have a negligible role in preventing or slowing any climatic changes such as global warming or an impending ice age. People must be prepared to adapt to the climatic changes that occur, because it is unlikely that human intervention will postpone them or limit the impact of their arrival.

    Read More

  • Climate Model Essay

    1538 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to NASA, climate models are “aimed at the development of coupled atmosphere-ocean models for simulating Earth 's climate system.” In greater depth, the Universite Catholique de Louvan provides the following definition:

    Read More

  • Essay On Climate Change

    2100 Words  | 5 Pages

    Climate Change is any substantial change in climate that lasts for an extended period of time. One contributor to current climate change is global warming, which is an increase in Earth’s average temperature. Plants and animal species throughout the world are being affected by rising temperatures. Many plants are flowering earlier now than they once did; animals, such as the yellowbellied marmot, are emerging from hibernation earlier; and many bird and butterfly species are migrating north and breeding earlier in the spring than they did a few decades ago, all because of slight changes in temperature cues. (Shuster)

    Read More

  • Recycling: Save Planet Earth

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...or lakes (Weber 2). When people just dump waste products instead of recycling, it is a misuse of the soil and can contribute to serious health conditions in animals, plants and humans.

    Read More

  • Essay About Climate Change

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to the Canada’s Action on Climate Change, Climate change is a long-term shift in weather conditions identified by changes in temperature, precipitation, winds, and other indicators. Climate change can involve both changes in average conditions and changes in variability, including, for example, extreme events. Climate change is one of the biggest crisis in the earth. It will cause a huge damage to the eco-system and human. We are the victims of the climate change. However, we are the one who cause the climate change.

    Read More

  • Ocean Protection and Conservation

    1961 Words  | 4 Pages

    The oceans need to be protected because it is where life began and if not taken care of, life as we know it will end. When dangerous substances go into the ocean, ecosystems are suffer and become endangered along with lives of people and of marine life. Surfrider Foundation recognizes the importance of protecting and preserving the quality and biodiversity of the world's coasts because they are truly irreplaceable. There is also historical evidence of ocean pollution being present in the past, but the problem still lingers today. Heal the Bay discovered that,“Did you know there is a DDT and PCB hot spot off the coast of Palos Verdes? This superfund site (which indicates it's one of the most polluted places in the United States), is left over from a 1930's era chemical plant. Because DDT takes so long to break down in the marine environment, it persists to this day, contaminating certain species of fish. There are also highly polluted sediments in the Long Beach area, a sign of the heavy shipping in the port. Heal the Bay works on developing effective capping and removal plans to keep those toxins from spreading” (Heal the Bay). DDT is still highly concentrated in the South Bay area and still contaminating different species of fish. Even after more than 80 years DDT, a toxic insecticide, is still very concentrated and during upwellings, DDT particles come back up and continue to harm marine life. If humans are careless about what is thrown on the floor or sprayed on lawns, it can lead to disastrous affects when it comes to the condition of the ocean's ecosystems, and can endanger life itself leading to a problem that only we can mend.

    Read More

  • Contaminated Beaches and Pollution

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...s to take action on contaminated beaches nearby are to speak out, attend public meetings, and/or volunteer. To reduce the contaminants in the ocean, everyone can plant trees, dispose chemicals and pet waste in the correct designated areas, prevent waste from going into seward and storm drains, prevent the clogs in storm drains, organize neighborhood cleanups, recycle paper, plastic, and glass, and maintain cars from oil leaks. To give a helping hand, there are many volunteer programs for people to clean up waste on the shore lines. They have a website where people are able to help out along the coastlines of California near them; www.cacoastkeeper.org/take-action/volunteer. We have created this problem, we should be able to resolve it. Either we change what we’re doing on land, or face the future extinction of many animals and people due to the cause of one species.

    Read More

More about Essay On Climate Policy And Environment

Open Document