Blog Post 3.1
There are various local environmental problems that I may want to have a look at. These may
include various issue areas such as wildlife and biodiversity, pollution in cities or just in general,
oceans, climate change as well as world population. As of now, there are a significant number of
people tackling these environmental issues.
Climate change
Climate change is the deviation from average weather patterns lasting for an extended period of time. Climate change is one of the problems that I could write about. It can come from either
natural sources or basically careless human behavior which has contributed to a rise in
greenhouse emissions. This is surely something that has been happening gradually ever since the use of fossil fuels. This problem affects people from all walks of life due to an abnormal rise in temperatures and intense natural disasters such as the disappearance of water bodies or wildfires or hurricanes. One of the phenomena brought about by this environmental problem is global warming due to the presence of greenhouse emissions. For instance, we have witnessed wildfires and droughts in California and hurricanes and flooding in Florida and Puerto Rico due to climate change. The impact these events have on communities varies.
Pollution
This is indeed another area that I could look at as it’s an environmental problem that directly
affects public health. It has various effects such as heart attacks, cancer, and even strokes. Air
pollution has been caused by overtime by various chemicals released from manufacturing industries such as food processing plants. One of the worst forms of air pollution is the release of particulate matter which can be inhaled by both humans and wildlife and lead to diseases.
Another form of pollution is noise pollution from loud machines, transportation systems such as airplanes as well as loud music being played in the streets all over. Natural processes are
hampered as a result of noise pollution. Furthermore, there’s also light pollution which to a large extent disrupts natural wildlife cycles and to an extent may cause depression and sleep disorders in humans.
Still, on pollution, I can also look into water pollution. Our water sources are constantly chocked
with chemicals and other waste products emitted from various industries. Some of these are a result of bad agricultural processes. When water is polluted, it becomes unusable by living
beings and this is such a huge public concern. Of the above two areas that interest me, the environmental issue of pollution interests me the most. This is because it directly affects human lives negatively and it comes in many forms be it air, water, or even noise. I could write about air pollution specifically and a driving research question that could provide an annotated bibliography that would be both interesting to me and meet the assignment goals would be “How does air pollution affect the health of people and wildlife”.
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I love that you’re thinking in many directions here—and it shows some robust curiosity, which is always good.
Specificity is your friend, here. So when you’re thinking of a topic like “pollution,” keep asking yourself questions that will limit and specify your topic (in this case, limitations are good!). So what kind of pollution? What kind of air pollution? In Queens, specifically? That’ll get you a little closer. I encourage you to expand beyond a question of what the effects are—which are probably well-documented—and more toward thornier questions, like: what initiatives might reduce this air pollution, and what are the challenges to implementing them?
Good thinking so far!