The essay topic that interests me the most is the first option to define a specific, local environmental problem. One major environmental problem is littering. Almost every block has some form of litter whether its a receipt, gloves, leftovers flying around, there is some form of garbage on the ground. Living in New York this is nothing new but the reality is that this is beyond insane! I have not done any research yet but I can definitely come up with a few ways to help eliminate this problem. Littering has destroyed our oceans which not only harms but alters the environment which is a home to many sea animals. I don’t know about you but who doesn’t adore dolphins and sting rays? All this mass littering has already destroyed their homes and killed other fishes by getting stuck or caught by the garbage. I believe we should have at least two trash cans located at the corner of each block to help eliminate littering. The more people are prone to seeing trash can they can quickly associate with recycling or proper trash disposal. I think we should create a whole industry solely based on environmental jobs. The environmental jobs would specialize in hourly public area sanitation, cleaning the streets daily by disinfecting public areas, picking up garbage through out the day, collecting recyclables and so on.  This would make a huge difference in our society! Who wouldn’t want much cleaner cities? We need to put environmental jobs on a platform to help promote and maintain a healthier habitat not just for ourselves but for our planet. To start my research paper I would look to see what articles would back my idea on creating an environmental work force. I would also research other ways we can further clean our environment or fight against the air pollution that is drastically altering our seasons.  I would research on how much our environment has changed over time being that I know so little. I have only scratched the surface on what really goes on in our environment and just how rapid it’s destroying it.  I think about everything that has been going on with the COVID-19 hysteria. Now I notice the amount of gloves and masks thrown out all over the streets. To a certain extent everything that has happened this far is necessary in order to “flatten the curve”. We should all be washing our hands constantly through out the day, everyday. We should all give people at least 6 feet of space in large public areas. We should have the option to wear masks in order to avoid bacteria and germs if used correctly. I think one of the key benefits of creating a lock down has impacted the air quality. On the other hand this created a supply demand craze that was unnecessary, This brings awareness to over population under a crisis. The virus spread like wildfire because of the population of people who daily interact with one another at a close proximity. The population devoured the supermarkets and cleared out all supply stores under crisis.  Just image how much worse it will get when crops start to fail due to weather conditions and famine rises because there is not enough food to go around. The possibilities are endless and I cannot wait to dive into this research paper.

Is New York water as clean as the NYC government makes it seem?

I think that I’m going to do my research paper on the water of New York. Everyone seems to drink it and everyone says that New York water is the best water in the world. But is it really? Apparently, the water from the Long Island highly differs from the water in New York City in consumption safety. In the summer, algae rises to the surface of many large bays of New York, which causes turtle and fish to die. In the grand schemes, the geographical location of both locations are not as far as one sees. There are many towns that even border Long Island to Queens.

What exactly makes New York City water so healthy and readily available to drink from the tap? This is a filtration system that millions of New Yorkers not only believe, but continuously fall back on. Some even completely skipping at home filtration such as, Brita filters. Granted, the New York City water system cannot be compared to Flint, Michigan as we’ve never had an issue as large as theirs. However, how much is New York City really hiding when it comes to its water?

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s amazing that anyone and everyone can drink the tap water of New York, which includes numerous homeless people throughout the state – not a single soul will die of dehydration. The public parks of the city and state include multiple water fountains so even the homeless can gain access to New York’s water. But this doesn’t mean that the water is highest potential of prime quality. Just because New York City has what is deemed to be the safest tap water to drink in all of the US does not automatically make it the actual safest option for water. Now, I am not a water filtration expert, but I find myself speculating quite a bit about the water of New York.

On the other hand, there’s also the debate of bottled water companies filling those waters with tap water. Bottled water rose to consumer preference over tap water in recent decades due to the societal perception of ‘what is safe water’. It’s a very contradicting industry given previous leaked information regarding the water source of bottled water. Thus, is bottled water safer than tap water if it might just actually be tap water?

SO, what is safe water? I know this is starting to feel like a conspiracy but back to my first question asked, is NYC tap water as safe as the government wants to make it seem – it all ties together. Some people want to believe that bottled water is better and safer than tap way but if water bottle industries are just deceiving us, is it possible that the New York government is deceiving us as well?

There’s so many questions that I can have answered if I focus my research paper on this topic. I don’t want to question how safe New York’s water is but is it as safe as the city wants us to believe?