“Now, every time a consumer drinks a Coca-Cola product, they can have confidence that our company and bottling partners are committed to responsible water use today and tomorrow," said Muhtar Kent, chairman and chief of the Coca Cola company. In 2007, the company decided to conserve and give back water; hoping to do so by the year 2020. However, they have already met their goal, and therefore, can now give one drop of water back for every drop of water that they use. This mission was inspired by a claim that Coca Cola worsened water shortages in India and contaminated local water supply. Since then, they have shut down a bottling plant in India in response to those claims. Even after achieving this iconic monument, Coca Cola is taking steps to improve sustainability over time. Despite the skepticism from many critics, Coca Cola has achieved their goal and is continuing to work at improving themselves environmentally. Personally, I respect Coca Cola's efforts to help increase sustainability within multi-billion dollar corporations. I think that more company's should model their environmental policies based on theirs, which would improve the conditions of droughts and other issues involving water. Even though this achievement doesn't seem too ground breaking, the domino effect could change many lives around the world. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/08/30/coca-cola-just-achieved-a-major-environmental-goal-for-its-water-use/?utm_term=.dc18af35d8d5
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Back during Teddy Roosevelt's presidency, the conservation of our forests, lakes, oceans, and nature in general was a large aspect of Roosevelt's policies. With the help of John Muir, a naturalist, explorer, and fellow conversationalist, Roosevelt was able to establish the National Park System throughout all of the United States. This weekend, August 25-28, all National Park's admissions will be free, in celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the National Park System. Iconic parks like Yosemite in Central California, Yellowstone in Wyoming, and King's Canyon in the Sierra Nevada will go from $20-30 per person to being free. These parks hold a very special place in America's history, however, some republicans are calling for the shutting down of these parks. Nick Kristof stated, "It's sad to see today's republicans hostile to continuing federal stewardship of these lands, since it was republicans like Theodore Roosevelt whom we most owe for this exceptional heritage." Therefore, the debate arises over what is the right thing to do with this land. I personally believe that National Parks are a critical element of this country. They provide us with the beauty of nature and remind us how important and special the outdoors truly is. Not only do I feel like we should do everything in our power to protect these parks, but I also think that we should take measures in order to create new nature reserves. National Parks are the perfect way for Americans young and old to see into the past of our country and honor the legacy that the icon Theodore Roosevelt created. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/08/24/time-to-follow-teddy-roosevelts-advice-drop-politics-and-enjoy-a-park/ In Florida, USA a recent algae bloom has erupted in waters of the St. Lucie River and Lake Okeechobee. Even though algae blooms are a natural biological process, human activity has increased the severity of these blooms and their impact on the environment. The dumping of manure, water from farms, and other substances in public waters like these lead to the imbalance of nitrogen and phosphorus, two substances that contribute to toxic algae blooms. Another thing that contributes to these algae blooms is climate change, which increases overall water temperatures, creating a more sustainable environment for the algae.
However, this recent bloom in Florida is not the only recent algae bloom. Algae blooms have been a major problem throughout the world, having dangerous occurrences in Quingdao, China and the West Coast of Central California. Personally, I believe that government action should be taken in order to clean up our waters, not only for the safety of the people, but the safety of the environment. Without attention being brought to these blooms, people will simply continue to dump harmful substances into waterways without even thinking. I believe society should be aware of this critical environmental issue in order for the conditions of our water to be sustainable for drinking and aquatic life. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/19/science/algae-blooms-beaches.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fearth&action=click&contentCollection=earth®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0 |
AuthorNatalie Archives
November 2016
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