Liam Horne

Jeff Kunz
Chris Nguyen
Gianghiem Tran
APES 3B
17 Apr 19

Website:​ ​[Link]

Part 1A

Liam Horne

Problems pertaining to the environment are some of the most important issues of our

time. It is important every citizen here in the united states takes the initiative to do what they can

within their community to enact change and resolution to the problems that afflict their

community. For some, pollution is a big issue. For others, its invasive species. Whatever the

issue, the people need to be the impetus for change and the catalyst for good in society. As it

pertains to me, I have created a plan to do my part within my community to breed a culture of

environmental awareness and environmental consciousness. First off, I will give background on

some of the biggest issues that I notice within my life and within my community.

The first thing is just the way I and others live our lives. We life a very inefficient and

wasteful one. Every morning when I wake up, I like many others around the world, take a

shower to wake myself up and get myself ready for the day. Yet this shower for me usually lasts

10 minutes or longer. In many ways this is so wasteful. I waste gallons and gallons of water
every day, water that could be used in other places and in more useful ways. So, I vow now that

when I take showers, I will only take 3 minutes when I shower. Along with being resourceful, it

saves money! Another way we can be more resourceful is with waste. Personally, I know I

throw a lot of things away. I throw away a lot of leftover food because my family cooks more

food than we need. I know I throw away a lot of things that should instead be placed in

recycling. However, my family does not have the necessary things nor the patience and muster to

recycle day to day. So much waste is not being utilized by my family not throwing that waste

into a recycling bin. I not only see it in my family, I see it in many of the families around my

neighborhood. Very little do I see families put out there recycling bins for pickup. Out of

dozens of homes, there are probably only a handful that do so. So, the problem is being

magnified through my neighborhood and most likely thousands of homes across America. So,

personally I will take the necessary step to stop this within my household. I will purchase a

couple recycling bins from the city of Arlington and use these to recycle anything that fits the

requirements: water bottles, cans, Tupperware bowls. Anything that qualifies so that I can make

the little impact I can on excess waste. Hopefully I can set a model of excellence in my

neighborhood and others can take up the role as ambassadors for recycling as well.

Another personal initiative I will take upon myself is to change my diet to a more

environmentally friendly. I love meat just like the next guy. The amazing taste does not make

up for the devastating effects of raising livestock has on the environment. It takes land to raise
livestock. A lot of land at that. To add, in comparison to the amount of land needed to grow

crops, livestock production is woefully inefficient. So much land is needed to product so little

calories that in many ways the land is being wasted. Much of the land devoted to livestock could

be used to grow various crops that would supply so much more calories per square foot of land.

This would help so much with the issue of hunger that afflicts many countries in the world, even

here in the US and around Arlington. So, with that, I will cut as much animal products out of my

diets as possible, especially beef and pig. Of the livestock, cows are the worst culprit. So much

and resources are needed to support one cow, in comparison to chickens or even pigs.

Furthermore, cows fart a lot, and I mean a lot. Each cow produces many flatulent a day and

including the millions of cows alive today on earth, that is millions of farts a day. Each cow

flatulent releases methane, a chemical that is hazardous to our atmospheric ozone. Since billions

of cow farts are being made each year, devastating amounts of methane are being released into

the atmosphere that is exacerbating the ongoing ozone depletion issue we have going on. So, by

cutting beef out of my diet, I would be cutting back on ozone depletion as well.

Overall, this personal plan is all about being and staying dedicated and making sure that I

am focused every day on being conscious of my actions. Being aware of the effects of my

actions is the best way I can make an impact on the destruction of the environment and the

problems of the environment overall. I wanna die, does someone have some neck rope???
Jeff Kunz

As environmentalists have come to understand more about environmental degradation

and how to prevent it, a consensus has been reached that one of the leading causes of destruction

of the environment is the wasteful nature in which the average person uses energy and utilities.

When energy and natural resource companies that look for resources like oil and natural gas to

power society, they can often dig up or destroy huge areas of land in the process of extracting

that resource. In addition, if some malfunction or unexpected event occurs, such as an oil spill,

the entire area is polluted, the resource is wasted, and hundreds of organisms are killed from the

pollutants. In addition, the use of these fossil fuels that are converted into the energy of society

cause huge amounts of air pollution. Therefore, wasting energy and consuming excess energy

essentially causes mass destruction to the environment for nothing, and I feel that limiting the

excess energy waste in my daily life could very well make a great impact.

When taking a look at my wasteful habits, I first think of the constant use of electronics:

TVs, laptops, smartphones, etc. It has been shown that the use of electronics can take up to 5% of

the average household’s electricity usage. However, that isn’t even the true reason why using

electronics induce significant environmental destruction. The real reason is the glorious

commodity that we use for every modern piece of electronics or technology: the internet. People

may think that the internet is just some non-materialistic thing that doesn’t have any effect on the

world, but that is not the slightest bit true. In fact, t​he Internet itself is based on a physical

infrastructure. A whole network of cables, data centers and servers are necessary to provide

people across the globe with internet, and these components of the internet infrastructure take up

valuable space, often destroying habitats and driving organisms from their homes. Now, the sad
reality of the my current situation is that internet is essentially a requirement in school and in the

workforce to do your job effectively, so unfortunately I cannot completely cut myself from the

internet, but I can do my very best to limit internet use to homework and applications only.

Another major energy suck in the home is the use of cooling and heating systems, such as

refrigerators, air conditioners, heaters, freezers, etc. Cooling and heating systems have been

shown to take up almost 50% of all the electricity the average family uses! Just think about the

sheer amount of electricity, and then realize that half of that huge amount is devoted to cooling

or heating your house and your food. By extension, the amount of fossil fuels that need to be

burned in order to meet that demand is insane. In thinking about what I could do to solve this

issue, I think that refraining from turning on the air conditioning unless absolutely necessary,

only keeping the refrigerator open long enough to get what you want, and attempting to find

other ways to warm myself in the winter such as blankets and sheets would be great ways to

atleast cut that ridiculous usage rate somewhat significantly.

In addition, the use of ovens and other food preparation appliances also make their own

contribution to environmental degradation. In addition to consuming around 3-4% of the average

household’s electricity, ovens are known for producing hazardous amounts of indoor pollutants.

These indoor pollutants in turn can cause serious health problems to residents. The solution I

hope to offer would be to possibly consider making campfires to cook instead of ovens.

Another major waste of energy in the house is obviously lighting. This is almost

completely self-explanatory: we use at least 12% of our electricity lighting our houses. Some
people have lights on all the time and are constantly wasting the light when they’re not even at

the house. The solution that I’m going to employ more in my life right now is to check and see if

all the lights are off before I leave the house, and try to have all the lights out at a certain time to

make sure I don’t fall asleep before I turn them off. In addition, I plan to invest in some CFL

light bulbs which use less energy at a time and last a hell of a lot longer than traditional

incandescent bulbs, thereby saving electricity and the oil used to produce the electricity.

Finally, I plan to invest in several bio-friendly and reusable containers that I won’t throw

away and have immediately start corrupting our environment. This way, I can save money and

not have to buy so many containers, but then also nothing gets trashed prematurely and

contributes to the garbage problem we struggle with today.

I am hoping that, by employing all of these different strategies, I will hopefully be able to

significantly reduce my carbon footprint and give myself a boost of confidence knowing that I

am trying my best to keep the environment sustainable.

One of the most glaring issues that we face as a society is rampant food waste. By many

estimates, one third of all the food that we produce is thrown out each year. In wealthier

countries such as the United States and Canada, the amount of food wasted can go as high as

40%. In total, this is approximately 1.3 billion tons of food wasted each year. This is incredibly

unsustainable and can cause several problems of its own to arise.

For one, food waste has a significant impact on our carbon footprint, equivalent to 3.3

billion tons of carbon released into the atmosphere. The decomposition of organic material in

food waste produces methane, which is a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more harmful than

carbon dioxide. In addition, carbon is also released during the production and transportation of

the food before it is thrown away. As such, this further exacerbates the impact that agriculture

has on our carbon footprint.

Another impact of food waste is water pollution. In landfills, runoff and rain allows for

toxic chemicals such as ammonia, to develop. These chemicals can percolate into groundwater

and could also reach bodies of water such as lakes or rivers. Unfortunately, this can kill the

organisms that life in this area. As such, discarding food in landfills will inevitably contaminate

bodies of water near the landfills.

Perhaps one of the greatest harmful effects that food waste can have on our environment

is its impact on our water supplies. 25% of all of the freshwater in the United States is used to

cultivate food that is thrown away. Crops by themselves consume several gallons of water before

being harvested. In addition, in order to feed animals, several bushels of crops are needed in

addition to water to hydrate the animals. Because of this, meats can have several times the cost in
water than grains such as wheat. However, regardless of whether meats or crops are wasted, the

fact is that countless gallons of freshwater are wasted each year from food waste.

With all this in mind, it’s imperative that actions are taken to mitigate food waste and its

impacts. There are several methods that I can adopt in my life to help fight food waste. This can

include composting, meal planning, and donating. A combination of all of these can help me

incorporate sustainable practices to reduce food waste in my life.

One way to address food waste is composting. As stated previously, decomposition in

landfills produces methane due to anaerobic conditions. However, composting is an alternative in

which I can allow food to decompose at home an aerobic conditions. Not only does this allow the

food to be reused to grow plants, but it does not produce methane, which reduces the carbon

footprint of the food that I don’t eat.

This is because I will be able to efficiently make food waste useful rather than dumping

into a landfill, which can have detrimental impacts on the environment. On average, composting

saved 277 pounds of waste per person per year. Without composting, the food waste would have

otherwise gone to a landfill or other treatment facility for garbage. By composting, I will be able

to save several pounds of food yearly.

Another way to address food waste is via meal planning. A significant portion of food

waste is caused by people taking more food than they are capable of eating. Because of this, it is

imperative that I plan my meals so that I know how much food I could and should eat per meal

rather than having waste that I cannot eat. Not only will I be able to save food and reduce food

waste, but I will also be able to save money from not throwing away extra food that I will not eat

in the end.
 In order to implement this into my life, I will have to not only regulate my food intake

below excess, I will also have to be more than willing to eat leftovers if necessary. If I were to

either buy or cook food, I will have to watch myself so that I do not make or buy too much food.

If I do, then there will inevitably be leftovers. Leftovers by themselves are bad, but if I am

unwilling to eat the leftovers, then they will naturally become food waste. As such, to minimize

the effect of food waste, it is important that I plan my meals so that I do not buy too much food

that I cannot eat and must throw away.

A third way that I can fight food waste is via donation. It’s possible that I will accumulate

food that I do not ever intend to eat. This could include canned foods, snacks, and other foods

that I buy or otherwise acquire and end up not eating. However, just because I do not intend to

eat the food does not mean I should throw it away. After all, there would be nothing wrong with

the food itself other than the fact that I won’t eat it. In that case, I should donate the food

Firstly, by redirecting unspoiled food from landfills to those in need, I will be able to

provide support to my communities by giving food to those that need it more than me and are

likely not going to waste it. Secondly, this will allow me to reduce the amount of food waste

because the food that I give to the needy will be better used rather than wasted and tossed in

landfills, which will result in the release of methane and pollution.

All in all, it’s important that I put these plans into action in my life to help minimize food

waste. This can allow me to minimize my carbon footprint. I should also take what I learn from

adopting these plans and help raise awareness regarding the issue of food waste. If more people

were to better manage food waste, then we can minimize and even eliminate the problem as a

whole, which will greatly reduce the impact of food waste and agriculture on climate change.
Gianghiem Tran

As of right now the problem in my life is that my family consumes a vast amount of

products that are encased in some sort of plastic. As a medium size family with six total people,

we also consume a lot of water, whether it be for drinking or for showering. We make a

conscious effort to not use too much electricity, but there is still room for improvement.

Locally grown food

The benefit of buying food locally to begin with, local foods often retain more nutrients.

Local produce is allowed to ripen naturally, while food that travels long distances is often picked

before it's ripe. And food picked fresh and in season doesn't have far to travel before being sold.

We could also start growing our own vegetables but we would have to protect them a lot

since we have a lot of squirrels and birds where we live. The garden would be pretty small and

we don't know how much nutrients is in the piece of land that we could use, therefore it may not

be the most efficient place to plant some vegetables compared to buying from either the

supermarket or the farmer’s market; however, by growing our own food we would be able to

know what we are putting in our food. An easy fix to could be to use garden mulch to help with

adding nutrients and keeping moisture in which means less intense watering for the plants. The

benefit of mulch is that it adds nutrients back into the environment, isn’t produced chemically,

and can help reduce weeds. My family already grows some food such as peppers but it isnt

something that could be eaten on a regular basis or practical.

Dependence on bottled water has added more than a million tons of plastic to the waste
stream every year. One reason people rely on bottled water is because they believe it’s safer and

better tasting than tap water. But most municipal water supplies in the U.S. provide safe, clean,

fresh water (and many bottled waters are just bottled from city water supplies anyway).

My family buys a lot of bottled water after we moved to a new house, but before we

would use a large filtration system that we filled up after every few days; we could use less

plastic if we went back to using that filter or to use the water filtered by the fridge more. I have a

metal reusable water bottle, but I don't use it constantly as it hasn't become a habit for me. So by

utilizing my metal water bottle more than I would also reduce my consumption of plastic;

however this does not mean that the companies will make less bottled water which still will at

some point affect the environment.

Items that you no longer need can get an extended life through resale and donation. By

extending the life of any product, you help reduce dependence on disposable or cheaply made

single-use products that end up in landfills.

Try reselling clothing and children’s things through a secondhand or consignment retailer

or consider donating them to a nonprofit resale organization (such as Goodwill) or charity

organization (such as the Salvation Army or American Cancer Society) that will redistribute

them to those in need.

I have a lot of clothes that I don't wear that often and could honestly get rid of, and

clothes that I have outgrown and wouldn't fit anyone else in my family yet. For now I can keep

that in the case that one of my younger siblings can wear it later on, however I doubt that as my

younger siblings are pretty small as of now and they haven't grown much.

Less water usage

clothes washers. The average American shower uses 17.2 gallons and lasts for 8.2 minutes at

average flow rate of 2.1 gallons per minute. As a male I don't take very long showers in the first

place, but I could a bit faster at times as I get distracted or i just enjoy a shower a little too much.

So by cutting down on water consumption in a shower i would be able to reduce the amount of

pollution created when filtering the water. I can reduce the time by setting myself a timer for

myself or only turn the water on when to, to reduce water usage.

walking / biking

Though I don't live close to many things within walking distance, I can bike a little bit. I would

still need to learn how to bike as I'm really bad at it and i only learned a little bit a while ago. By

goin on bike I would reduce my carbon footprint without the need to use any gasoline, it would

also benefit me as it is faster than walking to places. Biking is also healthy and would provide

me ample exercise for a bit so it would benefit everyone.

But the real solution should be to rise up against big corporations that have an even larger

impact on the environment than the people do, and start to crack down on the chemicals and

pollutants that they are putting into the environment. Many different industries could be stopped

or replaced to make a large impact on the environment. One of the main ones would be the wood

and cotton industry; both of these industries could be replaced by hemp since hemp is less water

intensive and has a higher yield if you use it to make paper and clothing. The one problem with

doing this is that many people already have a negative connotation of hemp already that it would

be really hard to convince people to purchase hemp.

The problem I see with our school is that we generate a vast amount of trash with

anything disposable, from milk cartons, plastic spork, styrofoam plates, wrapping for food, and

bottled water to food that could have been saved for someone in need. The average secondary

school produces 22kg of waste per pupil each academic year. The figure for primary schools is

even higher at 45kg per pupil. Ways to stop this would to be to educate the children about it,

don't throw away good food, create a garden

Education is a mean to spread sorts of media, therefore by teaching them about trash and

how it affects the environment and would eventually affect them in the future, then they would

be more inclined to help and become more conscious of the materials that they put into the

environment. It would promote a healthier lifestyle to them as they are more aware of the

potential chemicals that are carcinogens or neurogens. The only problem is that there are some

people that are impoverished to the point where they can live sustainably and have a healthy

lifestyle, they have to use their money to be able to survive.

An easy way to solve that problem would be to package the food from breakfast or lunch

that was not eaten that day to send home with the children that are not fortunate enough to have 3

meals a day. Missouri has implemented such measurements for their schools; however

understand that if that person were to get sick then the school would be liable for them.

Another way for the school to become more sustainable is the instal solar panels on top of

the school roofs. By doing so, the school becomes less directly reliant on fossil fuels to provide

electricity, solar panels would give top of the roofs and awning a purpose of more than just being

there to cover our heads. Though solar panels do create harmful chemicals because of how they
are created, they are still beneficial in the long run. Here in Texas, we get ample sunlight for the

solar panels to be efficient for conserving, except for when the weather decides to rain for a few

days. The rate of energy would be dependent on the amount of solar panels installed, so we could

instal a handful of each of the buildings to provide energy for each of the different buildings.

Another thing that we could do is to remove all of the invasive plants next to the field

(i.e. Privot) and make the land next to the bridge a garden. By growing all of the vegetables

locally we would be able to reduce the costs of having to buy many of the vegetables, and it

would be a great opportunity to show the students how to plant their own food and live

sustainably. By having the students have to take care of the plants then, they gain a sense of

responsibility and pride in their work, however you don't force them to do it or else they

grudgingly do it. A problem with constructing a garden in that area would be the amount of ants

and lack of sunlight because of the already existing trees that can block out the sun from the

plants and prevent it from being an efficient garden. If construct one, it would preferably be like

the one from before they build the UIL gym and had to take down the small garden. Constructing

the garden near the playground would not be ideal either as the dirt there is very loose and the

primary students may not understand that you shouldn’t run through there and may trample the

plants in the garden. If we had access to the roof, we could also put the garden on top of the roof

of the secondary building, not only would it let us access fresh food, but it could also act as a

coolant; plants on roofs can help reduce heat absorption in the summer, so it can help with the

building conserve energy. This rooftop gardening was something that was popularized in China

during the 21st century to add sustainability to their cities and it could work, if we had access to

the roof or someone to maintain it and prevent too many pests from getting to it. Another benefit
from roof gardens would be that it helps slow down the run off so that maybe not as many

chemicals get in to the environment and it doesn't wash away lots of nutrients needed by some

plants on the ground.

Finally, to address the problem of the waste that we generate, we should find

better ways to contain certain products so that we don't generate so much. For example, in

Vietnam, they are starting to replace plastic wrapping with banana leaves, this creates easy

packaging that is easily accessible to most people in Vietnam as well as it being biodegradable

and could be used for multiple things as banana leaves are also used in creating some of the

dishe; other South/ south-eastern asian countries do something similar with the use of banana

leaves however, they use the banana leaves as their plates in some instances.

I think that too many people think about the sustainability of a company in a consumerist

world to consider much of the sustainability of the world to invest in certain changes. Such as the

metal straw that was on Shark Tank, but was not able to succeed because the investors were

thinking about more of how the company would make more money over time, rather than the

environmental implications that it could have n the world. It would also be similar to the solar

grill, which was a good and sustainable idea, but just wasn't what they were looking for. Like the

school system where we could use reusable plates and wash them, but instead we choose to use

the styrofoam plates that are easily disposed of. In conclusion, adding a garden, solar panels and

changing the way we look at things will help lead us to a more sustainable lifestyle.
 Part 2

Mr Ted Cruz:

The situation of the human race is extremely tragic: our environment is deteriorating, yet

we haven’t done much to fix the damage we have caused on the planet as a society. I know that

climate change and global warming aren’t necessarily accepted by most republicans, but I’m

sorry to say that climate change is in a reality whether you choose to believe it or not. There’s a

plethora of evidence to show that carbon dioxide emissions have lead to an increased average

temperatures throughout the US, yet we Donald Trump wants to pull America out of the Paris

Agreement. As a native resident of Arlington, I have noticed from year to year as the temperature

during the summer has been on the rise, and are getting as high as 100-110, at least a 10-15

degree difference from years past.

I humbly ask that you consider these factors and hopefully vote for the passing of the

Climate Action Now Act. This act requires the president to develop a plan to meet their promised

contribution of reduced emissions to the Paris Agreement, and not only stick to that plan, but

then also update it to respond to whatever is happening at the time so the plan can adapt to

become more effective. This would be huge in simply cutting down emissions and reducing our

harmful effects on the environment.

Thank you so much for spending your valuable time reading this letter

Jeff Kunz
 Part 3

Friends of the Earth (US) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington D.C.,

although it is not a governmental organization. Campaign issues of the organization include

climate change, pollution, nuclear technology, genetic engineering, deforestation, pesticides,

food, agriculture, and economic policy.

In 1971, Friends of the Earth U.S. successfully campaigned against federal funding for

supersonic transport and commercial airlines, and overland commercial supersonic flights were

banned as [Link] also campaigned against the World Bank, claiming their financial projects

caused tropical deforestation, pushed for a moratorium on new offshore oil leasing in California, and

even campaigned for the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

The organization’s projects fall under the following categories: climate and energy, food and

technology, oceans and forests, and economic policy. The climate and energy aspect deals with

carbon emissions, the food and tech deals with agriculture and food processing techniques, the

oceans and forests cover a vast array of stuff from deforestation to coral pollution, and the economic

policy attempts to make economic decisions of certain countries more environmentally friendly.
 Part 4

Zoologists and Wildlife Biologist

If you’ve ever been called an animal lover, a career as a zoologist or wildlife biologist is

probably up your alley. But there’s more to it than cuddling cute baby koalas. You’ll need a

stellar science background to get your foot in the forest and make an impact.

What you’ll do: That depends. The titles “zoologist” and “wildlife biologist” are pretty broad, so

if you go this route, you’re going to have a few more career decisions to make along the way.

Many in this field specialize in one particular segment, focusing in on mammals, birds or marine

life, for example. But no matter which area of the animal kingdom you roam, through data

collection and observation, you’ll be dedicated to understanding the role of animals,

understanding complex relationships with their habitats, and how humans can best live

with—not without—them.

What you’ll earn: Zoologists and wildlife biologists can earn anywhere from $37,100 to $95,430

per year depending on location, position and educational level.

Degree you’ll need: This varies greatly depending on the type of position you’re after. At
minimum you’ll need to earn your bachelor’s degree and if you want more responsibility—and
more money—get your master’s. If you’re looking to climb to the top as a zoologist or wildlife
biologist though, or dream of leading groundbreaking research, don’t stop until you reach that
Ph.D.
Biologists and Zoologists can get jobs in the following organizations:

● Local Government: city/county planning department, insect control, municipal water

districts, etc.

● State Agencies such as Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will vary from state to

state, but most states have agencies in charge of environmental regulation, forests and

wildlife, parks, etc Federal Agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, US

Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA), National Park Service, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, US

Department of Agriculture, US Geological Survey, [Link]-Governmental Organizations

(NGOs): Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council,

Environmental Defense Funds, etc.

● Private Companies: Environmental consulting firms, timber companies, pharmaceutical

companies, medical-services laboratories, hospitals, biotechnology companies, zoos, etc.

● Academic Institutions such as universities and community colleges, as well as university

run facilities such as institutes and field stations.

Part 5

[Link]