Technology vs. the Environment

     Technology has impacted our environment to such a point that we are now incapable of solving the problems that it has created. For centuries we have created items that have been such an aid to our society that now they are the main problem of our environmental issues. The invention of the car skyrocketed new investments and created a completely new way of living. The American way of life would not have excelled to the extent it has without cars or any type of motor transportation. But even though transportation has aided us in such amazing ways, it is hurting us in an incredible way also. The emissions that our cars give off are growing so intensely that our ozone layers are deteriorating, oil is running low, and all of our resources are diminishing. Even though science has helped our advancement in life so much, it has also dug us a whole that technology might not be able to fix. There aren't enough hybrid or energy efficient cars in the world to give back the fuel and oil that we have wasted. Now we have to go back to the science field and figure out how to find an energy source. Cars and trucks have already used half of our petroleum supply , and with the increasing sales of cars, it will be all gone before we know it.
     After researching this issue more, a website informed of inventions in the past that had some form of environmental damage. In the sixteenth century, ship building began and deforestation became a huge problem. They used trees to power their boats and the forests of England were never fully restored, even after we switch to using coal. But then after every boat was using coal., that depleted completely and coal was no longer an option. After coal it led to natural gas and oil which is also depleting. When Americans began the trek of creating cars, computers, buildings and such, they were unaware of the side effects that would appear after the years. We have now trapped ourselves in our houses and electronic lifestyles and have gotten too comfortable with the materialistic objects to see how much damage we are causing ourselves. It is not only so much about creating NEW inventions, but to improve what we have already created. Having new things only have new flaws that we are unable to fix. But now we are already improving modern day items(cars, schools) into "green" items. We don't exactly need bigger and more  high tech items in our lives at this point, but more so just better items for our lives and planet. This can only aid us with becoming a more efficient country and a less self absorbed country.   
  A solution to this you ask? Looking at all of the statistics and facts, it would be impossible for our society to stop driving fuel filled cars and our factories to not use as much energy to produce their products. Instead the only realistic solution would be to regulate our energy use. To keep creating more energy efficient  cars, houses, schools, buildings will only aid us more in lowering the harm to our planet. Scientists are trying their hardest to come up with solutions, but its up to the fellow Americans to follow through and pursue not wasting as much energy as their used to. With this there will be hope for a longer lasting future for our environment and more resources to create a numerous amount of creations to advance our way of living so that we can achieve our highest amount of success.

Is nuclear power the right way to go?

     Over the years there has been a great debate on how to fix our energy problem. Our oil is running low and we need another source of power to run all of our machinery and ammenities. People have suggested nuclear power as our way to solve this issue, but there are pros and cons to this form of energy. We need a new route to energy soon or everything will fall to pieces if we don't have enough power to live our every day lives. So the main question is, do we try and switch  to nuclear power or will solar power be the most effective way to fuel our lifestyles? 
      The positive sides to this intense type of power is that we can generate a high amount of electricity with one single power plant. This is an advantage because a power plant wont take up a whole lot of space with tons of power plants. Since a lot of power can be created, we don't need to over populate our nation with too many plants. Another sturdy reason as to why switching to nuclear would help is that scientists have already created nuclear power plants. The technology is ready and we don't need to invent nuclear power. The nation just needs to decide that they want  to go in that direction. Another supporting beam for nuclear power is that the emissions from a power plant give off little CO2.  Comparatively to oil and gasoline. Although all of these facts give you a good reason to want to pick nuclear power over solar energy, there are a few downsides to this type of energy that researchers have found. 
     A fault to going nuclear is that there are high risks to having a radioactive plant. The waste cannot be 100% secure and controlled. If the radioactive waste were to spill or get out, the damages could be catastrophic to human civilization. Another con to nuclear power is that the main element involved is Uranium. This is a scarce substance that has a supply span of 30- 60 years. It will only last that long if the demand isn't outrageously high.(Timeforchange.org). The last issue is that with using nuclear power, the waste left over from the plant is highly dangerous. Even when it is put somewhere safe, it has to be checked and looked after for thousands of years to make sure that there are not any leaks or problems forming within the waste. Overall it is hard to decide on whether or not we should try out nuclear power. Risks are high, but our nation will become desperate in trying to find a solution.(timeforchange.org)      
     

Allaince for Climate Education

       The website that I found to be the most engrossing and interesting was acespace.org, which is an environmental website to spread awareness about the ongoing climate change thats been happening. Their main goal is to educate kids around the country and help them make  a difference in their carbon footprint. They also interact a blog for people to discuss environmental issues or opinions. Kids can ask Ace's science board questions about the environment if they have any. This website also has a strong and engaging video to give veiwers an idea of what their goal is for acespace. It is fun and does not just list you facts or bias information. This website also shows you different reliable resources to read so that you can increase your knowledge and share with others the information that you have gathered. This site was created by scientists and researchers who have worked hard on getting information to the people of the U.S and kids so that they are able to change their ways of living, and to decrease the amount of energy they use on a day to day basis. The site is freindly and easy to navigate through. They do not force their morals upon you, but only share with you the surprising information about our earths climate. Overall I was able to get so much information from acespace just from watching their introductory video. And had a better idea of how much of an issue climate sustainability has become.

Meat and Methane

       My first blog is going to talk about the meat industry and what its doing to our planet. With the way our meat is produced and grown, you would be surprised about how unhealthy it is. Nowadays we grow our cows and pigs indoors in huge factories. They cram as many animals possible into an area and feed them nothing but grains and oats. With these grains they bulk the cow up faster and they can keep a faster flow of meat going to grocery stores. Also since these cows don't move around much, they cant get rid of any of the weight . They are also given a lot of antibiotics due to the fact they they stand in their own feces till they are slaughtered. These antibiotics keep our meat clean and free of harsh bacterias that could become lethal. The same process occurs with pigs too. The meat production industries main goal is to have the meat grow as fast as possible and sold as fast as possible. Only there are several problems with wanting your meat to be produced fast and at a high quality.
       One main problem is that cows are not meant to eat grains and corn. They are vegetarians and need a source of green food. Their stomachs are evolved to eat and digest grass and plants. When cattle is brought to a factory farm, their stomach gets a harsh awakening when they are weaned from grass and putting on a corn and grain based feeding regimen. With this type of food, their bodies cant process it or get any nutrients. All they get is more and more weight added to them. So in reality your meat does not entirely have all the nutrients and vitamins that it should when you purchase it. Since the cows body isn't getting what it needs to be healthy, you don't get very healthy meat. Another key problem is what this process is doing to the environment. When cattle eat corn and not grass, their bodies produce a gas called methane. Carbon dioxide is a weaker form a methane that gets put into the air. But a single molecule of methane is around six times stronger than a regular carbon dioxide molecule. An too much carbon dioxide is what is deteriorating our ozone layers. So every time a factory farm cow farts, more CO2 is being released into the air. And their are over a million factor farm cows in the United States. So adding those numbers up shows that  feeding cows grains and not grass fills our air with unwanted and unneeded gasses that hurt our environment. So what do you think is the solution? To feed cows grass and lower our carbon footprint down a couple sizes and reduce meat production? Or would it just be easier to keep killing cows at a faster rate and feeding them the food we have for several decades?
      

Overview of my topic

        For this project I am extremely interested in talking about our current issues of the worlds sustainability. Over the past couple decades, the consumption of our goods has sky rocketed and all of our resources are deteriorating rapidly. This is due to us not recycling, keeping lights on, wasting water and thousands of other actions that we do daily. Some of these earth threatening things are habits. People of this day and age have become accustomed to wasting and it has become second nature to all of us. A message has been spread that using a lot of energy at one time is okay and that our world can still properly function if we don't let up. But now things are changing, trees are not growing back fast enough, oil is reaching its peak, the ozone is falling apart and not protecting us from the sun, and fresh water is scarce for those who need it most. Americans are mildly unaware of the damages being done to our planet. And part of my goal for this project is to inform everyone to become a little more aware of the issues going on with our planet. We all don't realize that our population could diminish if we don't try to limit our waste and energy use. So spreading the message on sustainability and conserving our energy is something important that people need to know. Over the next couple weeks I am going to address many controversial issues that we face. Each one will have a big question that is up for discussion. These questions are always debatable and good to think about.