Inklings march 2017

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Crown Point High School @InklingsCPHS March 24, 2017 Vol. 81 Issue 7

Read about St.Baldrick’s, Dance Marathon on page 6

People of the lot: staffers discuss bad habits in parking lot

Climate of Change

page 7

70.3%

of students are worried about the environment in this area.

78.3%

of students believe that to solve climate change people need to make lifestyle changes. Issues that concern students most:

PHOTO BY JILL KIDDER

Industry lines the Lake Michigan coast, bordering the northwestern corner of Indiana. ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor sits on 950 acres of shoreline land.

Evaluating pollution sources essential towards sustaining planet’s resources BY JACKIE HAM AUDREY GACSY

co-editor-in-chief advertising editor

Our planet is in a state of confusion. Right now, there is an ideological battle between the government and advocates for the environment: keeping industries alive while also making the Earth a sustainable habitat. In Northwest Indiana, the environmental impact is heightened due to the density of industry, leaving the impacts influential because of the proximity to Lake Michigan. The region has always been home to industrialization. The first developments date back to the early 1900s, and since then, the generation of different facilities has expanded throughout Northwest Indiana. The lakeshore of Lake Michigan has been inhabited by these industries and serves as a vital component of their processes, varying from creating nuclear power to generating coal-powered electricity; consequently, the side-effects of these necessities are the root of environmental issues. The Great Lakes are a crucial source for drinking water, agriculture and a home to numerous animals meant for consumption. In Flint, Michigan, the city’s lead pipes leaked into the water supply. These lead pipes were a human implementation to the city that resulted in the pollution of the water supply. Junior Matthew Burrell notes the importance of taking care of water sources due to the effects of water pollution on the people of Flint, Michigan. “Within Flint, Michigan, and the water pollution that is going on there, it is dangerous for people to drink with the lead poisoning. It is something that directly affects people because they don’t have water to drink in that city. It affects certain aspects of daily life like agriculture and drinking water,” Burrell said. Cook Nuclear Power Plant is located on the shores of Lake Michigan. Regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the plant is responsible for abiding by regulations set in place to control the hazardous nuclear materials, maintain public safety and follow Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

guidelines. Bill Downey, the Communications Representative for the plant, feels as though the national regulations will be seeing changes. “It’s really too early to say what impact the current administration will have on the EPA. Certainly there are some signs that there may be a loosening of regulation, but again, the NRC is what regulates nuclear power,” Downey said. “Regardless of that however, we have our own commitment to be good environmental stewards and to protect the health and safety of the public.” Similarly to Downey, Nick Meyer, the Director of External Communications at NIPSCO, agrees that under President Donald Trump’s administration, the environment and the ways in which industries treat it will be receiving less regulations. “A source (of air pollution) that has been put more front and center lately is carbon dioxide. The previous administration had looked at putting some further regulation there. We have seen some regulation drafted but the current administration seems to be taking a different direction there,” Meyer said. President Trump has proposed a budget cut to the EPA by 31 percent, but even though it has not been finalized, some are worried that this will only add to environmental issues the Earth is already facing. Senior Gabriela Risteski sees this cut as the country moving backward in the grand scheme of going green. She now believes that the usage of renewable energy will be stalemate. “When you drive around, you do see different forms of energy like you can see wind power being used, and some people have solar panels on their roofs, but it’s not to the full efficiency that we could be using the sources to. I just think that we are stuck in what is regular for us and not even people are informed on how big of an impact that alternative energy makes,” Risteski said. The shift in concern with the new presidency is also an issue for Save the Dunes Executive Director Natalie Johnson due to past dilemmas like those that affected the Grand Calumet River. Before the rules that are set in place today, industries were allowed to dump their waste in the river which inevitably ended up in Lake Michigan. see environment on page 3

Air Pollution Water Pollution Car Emissions Invasive Species Industrial Pollutants 8.4% 24.3% 19.3%

24.5% 23.5%

Do you know anyone who has been directly affected by pollution and its negative impact? No

Yes

28.6% 71.4%

All poll information collected from online survey emailed to 2,764 CPHS students with 500 respondents


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