Environmental issue and deed discussion 1

Issue:
August 14, 2007 the New York Times addressed the water level drop in three of the Great Lakes, Michigan, Huron, and Superior. The drop in levels of the Great Lakes, the world’s largest freshwater resivor, is variously attributed to climate change, new rainfall patterns, and specific human activities. The specific human activities, such as mining in the early 20th century and dredging in the mid-1960s, widened and deepened the St. Clair River. Alterations to the river have caused erosion and erosion has increased the outflow of the river into Lake Erie. There is also a new estimate, 2.5 billion gallons a day, of water being diverted to Chicago and northern Illinois through the expanded part of St. Clair River for water supplies.
The decreased water level has impacted ship channels and caused wetlands to dry up leaving fish and birds without places to reproduce. Further impacts include many beaches becoming marshes; shorefronts becoming wetlands, and one third of Michigan boat ramps are unusable. Currently, coastal and river engineers want to place a great deal of blame on man-made changes but have not determined if those have played a greater role than factors like climate change. To effectively use funds to mitigate the problem we need to study the waterways to identify the major factor or factors that are causing the drop in water levels. If it is erosion, we need to stabilize the river channel so the increased outflow is reduced and not rushing to the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, if climate change or new rainfall patterns are to blame, I do not have any strategies to combat the impacts on the Great Lakes.

NYTimes article: Water Levels in 3 Great Lakes Dip Far Below Normal
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/us/14lakes.html?ex=1189483200&en=c7dc236ad035baaf&ei=5070

Good deed:
The first environmental good deed that I would like to share was my decision to no longer eat meat and also decrease my intake of dairy products. I chose to address this issue because it has recently been in the news. The Humane Society of the United States created and published an ad with an image of a car key and a fork. The headline reads, “Which one of these contributes more to Global Warming?” Below the images the answer says, “It’s not the one that starts the car.” Because this ad is the first of its kind to be printed in magazines and hit the general public, it has brought some attention to the issue of agribusiness and the environment. The New York Times did a feature on the ad and the Humane Society. The article also referenced the PETA organization, which scares off a lot of people because of their unpopular tactics. But I’m glad that the Humane Society is actively on board with this topic. I hope this ad gets nationwide attention and American’s start to think about reducing the amount of animal products in their diet.
I made the decision to become a vegetarian a little over 2 years ago when I was researching an environmental issue to present for a public speaking class. The more and more research I came across about animal agribusiness and its contributions to global warming, pollution, and land degradation, I was shocked! I had no chose as a concerned member of this planet, but to give up animal products. It is hard to become aware of an issue that you can take full control of in your life and not step up too the challenge.
Unfortunately, I have had discouraging conversations with many people including friends, family, strangers, and even fellow students of the sciences. They act as if reducing the amount of meat, eggs, and dairy products in their life is too difficult a task. If you can ride ten miles to school or work on a bike instead of driving your vehicle, I’m telling you, you are tuff enough to start enjoying meatless meals for your mamma Earth.
As an aside, it really can be healthy to reduce your intake of animal products. According to the American Heart Association, animal products are the number one cause of saturated fat in the American diet. Not to mention, (this is a different soap box) imagine how the fast food market would change if people didn’t eat meat at every meal? The issue of obesity sweeping the nation? If the population began to eat meatless meals, would they need to stop at a fast food venue for every course? I can’t say it would solve all of the problems of the world but I think it is worth the effort.

NYTimes article: Trying to Connect the Dinner Plate to Climate Change
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/business/media/29adco.html?ex=1189483200&en=61699a93e2c874d9&ei=5070

Humane Society of the United States
http://www.hsus.org/farm/humaneeating/rrr.html