Spring Ecologic Volume 5

E C O L O G I C Volume 5 Spring

Thank you to all that participated in this class assignment.

This was our second attempt at an e-magazine that is written by citizens.

We are not scientists or politicians. We are simply students trying to learn about our environment.

We are discovering the basics of our environment and looking at how it affects our life, health, economics, government and global community.

The following group of essays is what we discovered about the importance of water, Companies and their products, and our thoughts of the environment.

We encourage you to seek out this information for yourself.

What is important to you? How can you help? Can you make a difference?

Can you teach someone about our environment?

We hope you look into the environment and find something to be passionate about.

Thank you for reading our magazine.

It was a pleasure to put together.

My many thanks to my students for having an open heart and mind.

Good luck to you all.

Working with Nature: A Guide to Holistic Gardening By: Christine Jones The article that I found discusses ways in which you can have a great looking yard and garden by working with nature without spending a ton of money to do so. The gardening technique is called the holistic approach or as the article refers to “Green Scaping”. With a Green Scape yard home owners can: 1) Save time and money and 2) Protect the environment by conserving water, using chemicals properly (and if only necessary), reduce yard waste by recycling and by letting nature do what it does naturally.

There are five steps that you need to consider when green scaping. The first step is to make sure that the soil is healthy and you can do this by testing the soil to make sure it has the proper nutrients in it. This test allows homeowners to determine what types of nutrients are needed, if any, because without the proper nutrients your soil will not be able to properly feed your garden. You can feed the soil nutrients with compost you made yourself and by mulching. The second step is to consider a planting strategy. By knowing the space in which you plant and the right plants to use you can get them off to a good start. You can also provide a habitat for wildlife.

Step three requires that you “Practice Smart Watering” and you can do this in a number of ways. You can choose lowwater- use plants that require very little watering or use soaker hoses with a timer, and only water in the early morning.

Another option is to create a rain garden to soak up rain water from storm runoff from the roof, and from the driveway.

You can also collect and store runoff in a rain barrel. Step number four requires “adopting a holistic approach to pest management”. Pests can refer to any type of bug or weed that maybe lurking in your garden. The key is to make sure you identify the problem before trying to cure it and it is the best way to manage pests. The key is to start with prevention. Just as you can choose a low- water-use plant, you can also choose pest-resistant plants. You also want to clean out any diseased or sick plants to make sure that the disease does not spread and to catch the weeds before they go to seed. Use pesticides “responsibly” and only as a last resort. Make sure you only treat the problem.

Step five requires homeowners to practice natural lawn care. By mowing higher and frequently during the growing season you can minimize the number of grass clippings. By leaving the grass clippings after each mow it make lawns healthier and soil organisms turn it into “free fertilizer”. If you must use a fertilizer it is recommended that a “slow release” or “organic” fertilizer be used to “reduce nutrient runoff and leaching”. Remember that “Lawns only need an inch of water in summer, including rain, to stay green” and let the soil dry between watering’s to prevent disease and to conserve water.

I hope that this guide as shown you a simple way in managing your lawn and garden needs. This holistic approach can save you money and help the environment by not contaminating it with unnecessary chemicals. Creating your own compost and mulching will provide food for your plants and buying drought and pest resistant plants can help the environment by conserving water. By letting nature do what it does naturally you should have a great lawn and garden without spending a ton of cash. http://www.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/rrr/greenscapes/owners.htm

Reduce & Reuse

By Damaris Maldonado I selected this articles because I understand right now how are important to reduce and reuse. After I reading the article you can see

something positive, the government with the agent National Association tried to help a communities, business, and consumers.

“Reducing and reusing consumers and industry can save natural resources and reduce management cost”. (epa.gov) In the article mentioned in 1960 to 2010 the amount the waste each person creates increased to 4.4 pound per day. These similar amounts are 250 million tons of waste generated in the United States. The National Association tried to helping to reduction and offer benefit to save natural resources, reduces toxicity ty of waste, and reduces costs.

For example, in the business many manufactories tried to buy a product with less packaging and saved materials. Other benefit it consumer, consumer can share in the economic benefits of source to reduction in products and companies can saved money.

For more information go to http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/reduce.htm Habitat Loss in Coral Reefs

By Stephanie Becker Habitat loss in coral reefs is a terrible action caused by natural and human induced stress on them. Only if we did more research to have the knowledge, to know how we can protect the coral reefs because they are an important part of a large ecosystem. Coral reefs are very beautiful and there are actually a tiny animal which belong to the group cnidaria.

Coral reefs are not just animals but are a habitat for a large variety of organisms and a nursery for many of them also. Therefore when it was found out that the coral reefs were endanger there were organizations made to help protect them such as the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) and the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force. Plus the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) was established to make a plan to protect the coral reefs and check on them to make sure that they were not being stressed.

This was a big step to change how the coral reefs were being taken care of.

They are an essential part of our world if they were to become extinct there would be many underwater organisms to become endanger without having coral reefs to protect them and benefit off of. We need to protect the biodiversity we have now before we do not have it much longer. There are ways to protecting them so let’s find out how we can help because global warming puts them endanger because they have a range of tolerance.

You can learn more at http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/habitat/coral_index.cfm.

INDOOR AIR QUALITY CARBON MONOXIDE TORI WILCOX

Carbon Monoxide (CO) can kill you before you are even aware that it is in your home. CO is an odorless, colorless, toxic gas. Mild

symptoms include headaches, dizziness, disorientation, nausea, and fatigue. The acute effects are due to the formation of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood, which inhibits oxygen intake. Some sources of CO are unvented kerosene and gas heaters, wood stoves and fireplaces, automobile exhaust, and tobacco smoke. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) first set air quality standards for CO in 1971, an 8 hour standard of 9 parts per million (ppm). The average levels in homes without gas stoves vary from 0.5 to 5 parts ppm. Some steps to reduce exposer include:  Properly adjust gas appliances  Purchase only a vented space heater  Use proper fuel in space heaters  Install exhaust fan over stoves  Open flues in fireplaces  Choose proper size wood stoves that meet EPA emission standards  Repair leaks  Do not idle car inside garage  Install CO detectors For additional information and resources visit http://www.epa.gov/iaq/co.html

EPA CITES ARMY FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE VIOLATIONS AT WALTER REED MEDICAL CENTER IN D.C.

By Lori Roderick In this article the EPA found alleged hazardous waste violations at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and was subject to a $201,600 penalty for violations going back to February 1998. Inspectors found hazardous waste containers were improperly labeled and sealed, and the facility did not have a permit to store hazardous waste. In this waste included mercury, chloroform, acetonitrile, trichloroacetic acid, phenol, methanol, xylene, acetone, ethyl acetate and photo fixer waste. All of these chemicals are a threat to the environment as well to the lives of the healthcare workers if its not properly disposed. Therefore, the Army was ordered by the EPA to immediately cease storing hazardous waste at Walter Reed except in conformance with requirements. The Army may request a hearing to contest the violations and the EPA’s proposed penalty. More information about medical waste visit website: www.epa.gov/medicalwaste

Hope for the Everglades by: Jennifer Firestone Who better to help the environment than the man that runs the nation? President Obama has announced that restoring the Everglades is a number one priority. It is not going to be cheap to restore the Everglades. $1.5 billion has already been invested and another $246 million is being requested in the 2013 fiscal year to help restore the Everglades. Not only are the Everglades being restored, but also over 6,000 jobs were created in Florida. The Everglades are an important landmark to Florida. It promotes wildlife to stay in the area, and it helps with tourism, which boost the economy. I have not always been an Obama supporter, but I say bravo to him. I would rather see tax money going to fix things that we destroyed, than on something that does not matter. To learn more about restoring the Everglades please follow the link below. http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/9ECCE6FF6A53C54F85257A3A0067E955

How Second Hand Smoke can be harmful for Children and Asthmatics?

By Katherine Gilbert Everyone knows the dangers of smoking – 1 in 10 deaths worldwide is from a smoking-related disease, according to the World Health Organization. But exposure to tobacco fumes kills 600,000 nonsmokers a year worldwide, including 165,000 children, Children lungs are still developing and they are not physically able to control how the air that they breath and what is put into the air that they do breath.

When you breathe in smoke that comes from the end of a lit cigarette, cigar, or pipe (side stream smoke) or that is exhaled by a smoker (mainstream smoke), you're inhaling almost the same amount of chemicals as the smoker breathes in. Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 different chemical compounds, more than 50 of which are known to cause cancer.

Second hand smoke causes many illnesses in children like asthma, middle ear infections, Sudden Infant Death (SID), and bronchitis and pneumonia. These illnesses can cause death in children as well as an adult.

The best way to lower your risk of all these conditions is to avoid smoking, and to convince those around you who smoke to quit. Anyone who does smoke should do so outside, as far away from nonsmokers as possible.

The home is probably the most important place to keep smoke-free, especially when children live there.

An estimated 21 million children live in homes where a resident or visitor regularly smokes, and more than half of all American kids have detectable levels of cotinine (the breakdown product of nicotine) in their blood.

Keeping kids (and adults) far away from smoke can help reduce their risks of developing respiratory infections, severe asthma, cancer, and many other dangerous health conditions. http://www.epa.gov/smokefree/healtheffects.html Superfund: Cleaning up America’s Hazardous Waste Sites

By Patrice Miller Superfund is the environmental program established to address abandoned hazardous waste sites. It is also the name of the fund established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980. This law was enacted due to the discovery of toxic waste dumps such as Love Canal and Times Beach in the 1970s. The Environmental Protections Agency's (EPA) Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response in Washington, D.C. oversee the Superfund program. The EPA's 10 Regional offices around the nation are responsible for implementing Superfund. The Superfund makes responsible parties clean up their hazardous waste and/or reimburse the government for Environmental Protections Agency-lead cleanups. Over the past twenty years the EPA located and analyzed tens of thousands of hazardous waste sites, protected people and the environment from contamination, and involved others in cleanup. For more information visit http://www.epa.gov/

The real problem with hospital waste By: Megan Gogol Hospitals are a place we want to consider safe and clean, which is why the invention of one time use disposable materials seemed like such a great idea. They come with a lower risk of contamination which reduces the risk of infection that can be a major cause of death to most patients after an operation. However with this comes a high cost to our environment and our earth. Hospitals generate an enormous amount of waste product by using disposable materials.

Some of these disposable materials are one time used are not being used at all but still being thrown away in their unopened packages. This becomes a huge problem when hospitals are paying for these materials that are being wasted, and the waste is running out of room to go.

A study done by Dr. Yoan Kagoma showed that operating rooms alone, only doing knee operations generate over 400 garbage truck loads of waste per year. The London health sciences center located in London, Ontario reported such facilities as having an ecological footprint 384 times bigger than the property it sits on.

While it is important to keep operation room clean to ensure the patients safety it is as equally important to keep our Earth clean to keep the world’s population safe. Is there anything we can do to ensure the safety of both?

Recharging Your Car's Air Conditioner with Refrigerant

By Jonathan Medina Would you love to get better gas mileage in the hotter summer days while enjoying you A/C, then pay close attention to this article? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set rules and regulations controlling harmful based chemicals from entering into the environment. But did you know that there are no regulations regarding your automobile, except for the prior refrigerant known as CFC-12. As per the Montreal Protocol, it set strict standards on the use of CFC’s because the chemicals were ripping holes into the atmosphere. However there the EPA has only set one rule towards automobile technicians regarding the maintain of your air conditioning system, and that is that they only sit through a class that is 3 hours long, that’s in order to become a certified A/C technician.

When you take your vehicle into a repair facility because your air conditioner is not working, you are given two choices on what to do based on what is found to be wrong with the system. The first is to top of your system, many auto facilities are not equipped with the proper equipment to replace your A/C components. In order to replace any A/C part you must have an EPA approved evacuator/recharger. So for the shop to make quick money they recommend topping the system off, but this might not fix the leak and refrigerant may still be leaking out into the atmosphere. In order to correctly fix your A/C system the shops that are properly equipped will recommend a procedure known as an evacuation/recharge.

What this allows is the total evacuation of you system, a pressure check to ensure the system can hold refrigerant, and will also inject a die into you system to look for leaks if the system becomes weak.

What many people don’t understand is that if you correctly fix your system, you will have a cooler A/C that will not use as much as gas as many people think. If your system is low due to improper maintenance then you A/C

cultch (this is what spins along with the engine to produce cool air) will work against the engine causing the engine to lag, reducing the engines power will cause you push the gas down harder thinking it will correct the issue, but this is incorrect. Along with causing engine lag, it will also create reduction in the engine ability to cool off the car, without this the engine requires more gas to speed up you RPM’s (revolutions per minute) in order to circulate coolant. Not to mention the cost of repair from constantly adding refrigerant, or engine maintenance due to improper care, and especially the amount of chemicals released into the atmosphere due to a leaking system. Spend some money today and do the work correctly and save money in the future.

Save Money, the Planet, and Promote a Healthier Lifestyle

By Natasha Castro Are you looking for a way to stay cool this summer, save money, and help the environment? Well the EPA has got you covered. They have provided a list of tips that are sure to keep you cool, save you some money, and protect your health. The climate change affects everyone and their wallets, here are some tips that you can follow for a more fun, cooler, and cheaper summer! The average home spends almost 20% of its utility bill on cooling. Lower your bills by using Energy Star qualified lights; they use less energy and produce less heat. Using a ceiling fan can lower cooling costs too. A large percentage of water is use at home on the outdoors and is wasted because of the heat, Water less and in the morning when the temperature is cool. If you're going to wash the car, deck, or grille be sure to choose cleaning products that are safer for families and also help protect the environment. Most people spent about 90 percent of their time indoors, find something productive to do like composting! It can be a fun and educational summer project that saves landfill space, helps feed the soil and prevents methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Try your best to waste less and remember to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Americans generate millions of tons of waste in homes and communities each year. Recycled glass can be used for roadways and plastic for park benched! Summer is a great time to prepare firewood for the winter.

This is a great way to recycle you dead trees and use less gas. Have fun and stay cool! To learn more tips visit epa.gov. http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/721aa416060e4eda8525770b006e18b9/decc2aec6ab7c30c852 57a1c00575c8d!OpenDocument Obama will not let Gulf recovery process wait for Congress

By Keri Kronz Despite congresses lack of urgency regarding the recovery process for the Gulf coast oil spill, president Obama aggressively pursues to establish a Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force.

The president also wants congress to dedicate a large amount of civil penalties collected from all parties responsible for the spill into a Gulf Coast Recovery Fund.

President Obama has asked Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to put together a

sustainable restoration plan for the gulf coast region, and that all families and businesses that were affected from the spill be very involved in the process and that they will not be influenced by Washington D.C. in their decision making. This plan will focus on creating more healthy gulf coast ecosystems, while support for economic recovery and long-term health issues. http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/FE2047F24675EADB852577AC006B9905 The following 9 strategies for stopping short of reaching a human population of 9 billion by 2050.

By Alvoya Johnson Population experts have been saying for many years that we can anticipate nine billion humans on Earth by the year 2050.

This morning (July 10, 2012), the World watch Institute in Washington D. C. released the following nine strategies for stopping short of that number.

These ideas agree with what nearly every other population expert has told Earth Sky over the past decade: that is, women are the key to reducing the rate of population growth.

For example, says World watch Institute and other experts, in every culture surveyed to date, women who have completed at least some secondary school have fewer children on average, and have children later in life, than do women who have less education.

Women who can own, inherit, and manage property, divorce, obtain credit, and participate in civic and political affairs on equal terms with men are more likely to postpone childbearing and to have fewer children compared to women who are deprived of these rights. And so on. Here are the nine population strategies, from World watch.         

Provide universal access to safe and effective contraceptive options for both sexes.

Guarantee education through secondary school for all, especially girls.

Eradicate gender bias from law, economic opportunity, health, and culture.

Offer age-appropriate sexuality education for all students.

End all policies that reward parents financially based on the number of children they have.

Integrate lessons on population, environment, and development into school curricula at multiple levels.

Put prices on environmental costs and impacts.

Adjust to an aging population instead of boosting childbearing through government incentives and programs.

Convince leaders to commit to stabilizing population growth through the exercise of human rights and human development.

Educating and empowering women is key to these strategies.

Other strategies include educating children about population growth, and providing incentives to adjust to an aging population. http://earthsky.org/human-world/worldwatch-nine-population-strategies-to-stop-short-of-9-billion

PROTECT THE POLINATORS

By Carmen Feliciano Many of us think of ants, bees and even birds as pest; however we forget the importance of what they do for the environment. These ‘pests’ are pollinators and many plants depend on them even grass and trees. It is important for us to help protect them and what they do.

The EPA’s Pesticide Program is working with national and international partners to protect pollinators through regulatory, voluntary, and research programs, according to the EPA website.

After the threat to bees, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that happened in 2006, they are looking to see how to reduce the potential pesticide risks to pollinators. Addressing the issue of CCD, the EPA and others are concerned with the declining health of the honey bees. Not only do the honey bees encounter stressors such as not enough food, habitat loss, and diseases, but also pesticides.

Pollinator Protection Team formed by the EPA is leading efforts to ensure that the federal pesticide laws are “reflecting” the importance of pollinators to human health and the environment.

The EPA Provides Opportunities for Unemployed Individuals to Gain Work Reviewed by Cyndi Leonard On June 21, 2012 Mathy Stansilaus from the Sewage and Water Board of New Orleans U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced awarding $3millionn to 15 grantees through the Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT).

The grants will be used for unemployed individuals to be recruited, trained, and placed “in jobs that address environmental challenges in their communities” (Yosemite.epa.gov). To date the EWDJT has trained 10,300 individuals and 7,300 of those are employed in the environmental field. For further information go to www.epa.gov/brownfields/pilot/grants Why Wolves are important to the Ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park

By Linda Reed In the spring of 1995 the gray wolves was reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park, after a 70 year absence. At that time only 31 gray wolves were released, after 6 years the population has grown to more than 100 individuals. Since then the wolves have exploited the abundant elk population, which is a very good thing. Since there was no one predator of the elk, the population of elk exploded, they then ended up dying of starvation during the winter. When a wolf kills an elk its carcass is partially consumed by the wolves and then it is scavenged extensively by the eight other carnivore species (coyote, bald eagle, grizzle bear, and so on) and less intensely by twenty other species, not only has the wolves help control the elk population, but also has created an abundant and dependable food source for these other carnivores.

In my opinion bringing the gray wolf back to Yellowstone National Park, has been good for the ecosystem. Not only by controlling the population of the elk, and providing food for other animals, but the plant life has flourished. This also provides food and shelter for the other different species in the Yellowstone National Park.

For more information on the wolves in Yellowstone National Park, www.cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display/abstractdetail/abstract/6782 Keywords: wolves, Yellowstone National Park.

Invasive Species: Ecosystem Killers Teresa Ruhl One of the largest threats to our coastal and freshwater ecosystems is the dangers of invasive species.

According to the EPA article, “Invasive Species”, the introduction of these alien species to the ecosystem is not only harmful to human health but also can cause economic and environmental harm. The aquatic ecosystems are endanger of modified water tables, decreased native populations, changes in run-off dynamics, and not limited to just these factors. The losses of biodiversity in aquatic environments are caused by invasive species.

Actually, invasive species are the second leading cause of aquatic species extinctions. Common sources of these invasive species are introduction of ballast water, hull fouling, aquaculture escapes, accidental and or intentional introduction, among others as stated in the article.

The EPA has recognized this issue and along with other organizations they are working on some solutions.

The Coast Guard along with the EPA has noted the problems of vessels in the waters are carriers of many invasive species. Together these two groups will be using their authority to find ways to protect and prevent these species from causing any more harm and destruction. http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/habitat/invasive-species-index.cfm Do You Know The Health Effects of Breathing Our Air? By: Serena D Chapin Are you and your family at risk from particle pollution? Particle pollution is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets.

Particle pollution is made up of a number of components, including acids (such as nitrates and sulfates), organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles.

According to The United States Environmental Protection Agency “Particle pollution - especially fine particles - contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are so small that they can get deep into the lungs and cause serious health problems.” (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2012)” Numerous scientific studies have linked particle pollution exposure to a variety of problems, including: premature death in people with heart or lung disease, nonfatal heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, aggravated asthma, decreased lung function, and increased respiratory symptoms, such as irritation of the airways, coughing or difficulty breathing.” (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2012) As a single mother of a child with asthma, this article really grabbed my attention. There is no family history of asthma on either my side or his side, so how is it that our daughter has asthma? After reading this article about particle pollution, and how it affects not only our health, but also our environment, things started to make sense. According to the EPA, “The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing health problems.” (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2012)” Small particles less than10 micrometers in diameter pose the greatest problems, because they can get deep into your lungs, and some may even get into your bloodstream.” (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2012) So, who is at risk from particle pollution? People with heart or lung disease, older people and children are especially at risk. Since most children are very active outside, they are very high risk. When children become active and play outside, they breathe harder, letting more particles in their lungs. Another factor in children is that their lungs are still developing.

What are the symptoms to look for and what can be done? Even healthy people can have symptoms from particle pollution, itchy watery eyes, irritated nose and throat, coughing and tightness in the chest. You can avoid unhealthy exposure to particle pollution by planning outdoor activities when particle levels are low. You can check particle pollution levels at: http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=pubs.aqguidepart If you would like more information about particle pollution, please visit the EPA website at: http://www.epa.gov/pm/health.html

Gasland

By Carmen Feliciano

After receiving and offer of $100,000 for his property in the Delaware River Basin for the drilling of natural gas, Josh Fox went on a journey into investigating the environmental risk this could be. During his documentary “Gasland” he discovered natural gas was being extracted by hydraulic fracturing or fracking. Fracking is done by drilling 8 to 10 thousands of feet, causing an earthquake so bubbles of natural gas can come out of the shell, then pumping unknown chemicals into the earth to force gas to the surface.

Fox soon discovers the disadvantages of fracking, these chemicals used seep into the earth and water supply, and land left destroyed from previous drilling sites.

Along the way he meets many families who wish they never sold their property because of their contaminated water sores and some even with now illnesses. Fox also discovers how fracking is also exempt from laws such as Drinking Water Act and the Clean Air Act. In my opinion I think more people need to be aware of what the government is doing to our environment and to us. Yes it looks good for the United States to have their own natural gas and not be so dependent on other countries for gas and oil. However, we need to look into more efficient ways to get them without destroying our land and our water. We as citizens need to demand why these companies will not disclosed what chemicals are being used and how will they affect our health and our food source.

Gasland: Who needs to pay the Health bills?

By Katherine GIlbert Gasland’ reveals how the organizations supposed to be protecting many thousands of people aren’t, and how one of Dick Cheney’s final acts when in government was to change the legislation so that the companies carrying out fracking are exempt from the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and a raft of other environmental legislation. Mr. Cheney should live on these properties for a year to see how all the citizens are living like.

The industrial system’s model of find a resource, trash the place trying to get it out and to maximize the economic return, then get out doing the least possible to remedy the impacts of what you have done, is thrown into stark relief in this film. The polluted water, once stripped of its gas content, is left to sit in ‘holding ponds’ where it often leaks out. In theory it should be sent to landfill, but in one of the scenes that stayed with me the longest, some places now have machines that ‘evaporate’ the water, turning it into mist which blows away, taking its poisonous contents away to wherever the wind carries it.

There is a huge boom in natural gas production going on in the US at the moment. Gas which is locked up in shale and has proven very hard to extract in the past is now being made available through a process called hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’. Here, wells are drilled deep into the shale, initially vertically, then horizontally, explosive charges then fracture the rocks, and then a highly toxic mixture of over 500 chemicals,

many of them known carcinogens, is pumped under pressure into the rocks, followed by huge volumes of water into which the natural gas then dissolves, rather like the bubbles in lemonade. Think of it as a huge Sodastream. About half of this water is then pumped out again, the gas removed, and the highly toxic water is then, in theory at least, safely disposed of.

This movie made me very angry on how the government just allows this fracking to keep going without the concern for the citizens. These companies who give the American person big dollar amounts; I believe they should be responsible for what health issues are effecting these people and pay fines which should be put into a special fund for any other health issue.

DANGER! : FLAMMABLE WATER AHEAD Author: Patrice Miller Filmaker Josh Fox made a documentary called Gas Land in response to the $100,000 the natural gas companies offered him to gain drilling rights to his property in Delaware River Basin. Skeptical about their motives, he declined the gas companies offer and packed some of his things and decided to embark on a documentary in hopes of finding out what environmental risks he would be taking on if he agreed to the deal. He visited people’s homes across the country and found out that the drilling process that the gas company wanted to pay him for was called hydraulic fracturing which is a means of natural gas extraction employed in deep natural gas well drilling. Once a well is drilled, millions of gallons of water, sand and proprietary chemicals are injected, under high pressure, into a well. The pressure fractures the shale and props open fissures that enable natural gas to flow more freely out of the well. Unfortunately hydraulic fracturing (fracking) was exempted by the Cheney Energy Policy of 2005 from the United States’ Safe Drinking Water and Clean Air Act. In my opinion, the natural gas companies took advantage of this exemption. They quickly started offering people $100,000 to drill on their land because they knew people would see that as a great opportunity to make a fast profit, but what they weren’t telling the land owners Is that their air and ground water would become contaminated with chemicals, waste water, evaporated water, and natural gas. Landowners who allowed the gas companies to drill on their land quickly found out that the money wasn’t worth the risk when their water become contaminated, they became ill, their crops and animals began to die. I distinctly remember seeing scenes in the documentary where landowners could light a match, place it under their faucet with the water running, and their water literally caught on fire due to the excess methane and natural gas in their water. In conclusion, I had no previous knowledge about hydraulic fracturing before viewing Josh Fox’s documentary Gas Land. After watching it, I believe that the government and gas companies are at fault for not disclosing the chemicals and the damage that fracking can cause and it is up to us (Americans) to stop allowing this process to happen by denying the gas companies access to our land and contacting elected officials, and passing this message on to others.

Are You Fracking Kidding Me! By: Jennifer Firestone

When most of us experiment with something new and we get bad results, we usually stop. We will find a new approach, something that works, and causes no harm to others. This is not what is going on with fracking. In the documentary Gas Land, produced by Josh Fox, he finds horrific evidence that fracking is causing harm to humans, animals, the water supply, and the environment around the drill site.

Fracking is a drilling technique where they inject toxic chemicals (596 to be exact), sand, and millions of gallons of water into the ground. This causes a high pressure and it releases natural gas from the ground. Sounds great, right?

Well, when the mixture of the chemicals and natural gas leaks into the drinking water, it is not so great.

This is what is happening. Josh Fox travels across the country to prove that fracking is dangerous. People all around the country are facing the same problems. Their water is no longer usable. They cannot drink it, or even take a shower in it. If that is not bad enough, they cannot even turn the water on because it is flammable.

In addition, there have been cases of respiratory and neurological damage to people living around the drilling sites.

When the companies were questioned about the damage that drilling is causing the people in the area, they deny it. They say there is not enough proof that the drilling is causing the problems. How much proof do they want?

When thousands of people all over the country that are living by these drilling sites are all saying the same thing, how is this not enough proof? Thanks to the government the gas companies do not have to follow the clean air act, or the clean water act. Thanks to this loophole in the rulebook, they can continue drilling, and are not breaking any laws.

Unless someone can find a safer way, fracking must be stopped. We can all do our parts by protesting to our local officials. If someone shows up at your door with a $100,000 dollar check to drill on your land, just remember that money will not buy back your health.

What They Don’t Want You to Know About Fracking By Linda Reed I recently watched a documentary called Gasland, by a filmmaker Josh Fox. He received an offer of 100,000 for the natural gas drilling rights to his property in the Delaware River Basin, which is on the border of New York and Pennsylvania and sits on Marcellus shale. He resisted the offer and decided to investigate the environmental risk of agreeing to the deal.

It starts off with Josh Fox driving cross country interviewing everyone who agreed to let natural gas companies’ drill on their properties. What these companies’ do is called “Fracking” this is where they use high pressure drilling with a fracking fluid. With water and sand and 596 different chemicals that no-one knows what they are. Josh showed how one home owners water caught on fire, how people who live near these sites have gotten extremely ill. How fracking destroys the environment, some animals that drank the water began to lose their hair, and vomiting. These home owners or their children can’t even bath, because some of the water is brown and radioactive. Some of this land is farm land; the cows are drinking the water and eating hay or grass that has been contaminated, which is getting into our food supply.

None of these companies have to disclose what the chemicals are, due to loop holes in the law that Dick Cheney in the “Halliburton” law. No one is watching what these companies are doing; the employees don’t even know what the chemicals they are exposed too. In my opinion these “loopholes” need to be closed. Our Government should be stopping fracking until we know more about the chemicals that are used, and what kind of damage that is being done to

the water and environment. We all need to write to our Senators, Congress, and the President and yes even the Governor. For more information please watch the movie “Gasland” .

Gas land Summary by Caira Lane In May 2008, Josh Fox received a letter from a natural gas company offering to lease his family’s land in Milan Ville, Pennsylvania for $100,000 to drill for gas.

Following the lease offer, he looked for information about natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale under large parts of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia. He visited Dimock, Pennsylvania where natural gas drilling was already taking place. In Dimock, he met families who demonstrated on camera how they were able to light their running tap water on fire. They also claimed to be suffering from numerous health issues related to contamination of their well water.

Fox then set out to see how communities are being affected in the west where a natural gas drilling has been underway for the last decade. He spent time with citizens in their homes and on their land as they relayed their stories of natural gas drilling in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Texas, and others. He spoke with residents who have experienced a variety of chronic health problems directly traceable to contamination of their air, of their water wells or of surface water. In some instances, the residents are reporting that they obtained a court injunction or settlement monies from gas companies to replace the affected water supplies with potable water or water purification kits.

Through the documentary, Fox reached out to scientists, politicians and gas industry executives and ultimately found himself in the halls of Congress as a subcommittee was discussing the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act, "a bill to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to repeal a certain exemption for hydraulic fracturing." Hydraulic fracturing was exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

In my opinion frackening is another way to contaminate our fresh water system and to ruin the land for agricultural purposes. We rely too much on natural gases when we have plenty of other resources available such as wind turbines, solar power and biomass. They would do just as well as the natural gasses. We dig ourselves into a deeper whole with one selfish act after another and make it harder to recover from such things. But still no one ever listens until the damage could possible affect them.

Fracking Problems?

By: Natasha Castro Gasland is an informative documentary directed by Josh Fox. It showing the peoples side of what really happens and the aftermath they must face from fracking. Fracking is already widespread in Wyoming, Colorado, Texas and Pennsylvania.

What is fracking you may ask, Fracking is a dangerous way of getting gas and oil out of the ground. It pumps hundreds of chemicals down and they don’t all come back up. It's poisoning our air and water and on its way to jeopardizing the health of millions of Americans. Residents have been offered $100,000 for the use of their land and whether you accepted the offer of not your water is affected. Under President Bush and Vice President Cheney, fracking was exempted from significant EPA regulation. The Safe Drinking Water Act excludes Fracking. This is disturbing on so many levels because this allows the gas companies to walk away scot-free without any responsibility. After watching this film I

thought to myself are they really still continuing to do this after what has happened especially the effects on potable water and did ethics cross there mind in the slightest? Everyone involved with fracking should be responsible to fixing any damage caused and supply clean water to the affected areas. The Halliburton loophole should no longer exist and they should have to pay taxes and fines for the pass decade. Solar energy is the best possible alternative. Renewable resources are the future.

Natural Gas Drilling Alvoya Johnson The documentary Gas land is about American communities that have been impacted by the increase in natural gas drilling specifically hydraulic fracturing across the country. This has become a big problem. It’s caused people property lose, Health issues, loss of income. And no one is doing anything about it. This documentary was writer and director, by a man name Josh Fox. The purpose of the documentary is to inform America about natural gas drilling methods and the impacts on the environment, and the health of the people in areas were the drilling is taking place locally. Johns visited family around the State that was worried about their water supply being contaminated. He was surprise to notice that the people water could catch on fire due to all the chemicals in the water. He all so found similar concerns in citizens of other states that were host to the drilling, such as Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Texas.

Fracturing is used to fine or gain access to natural gas, using various techniques such a hydraulic fracturing, which is used to create an effective connection between the well and the hydrocarbon containing formation, which leads a path way to produced gas.

Hydraulic fracturing is affecting our water source. Millions of gallons of water mixed with toxic chemicals that people use every day for drinking, food, bathing. This is causing people to have health problems, Hair loss. Their children are becoming ill even death.

According to the Clearwater org. Fracking is exempt from key federal environmental regulations. The federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 contained a provision that has come to be known as the "Halliburton Loophole," an exemption for gas drilling and extraction from requirements in the underground injection control (UIC) program of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Other exemptions are also present in the clean Water Act. After watching the movie it shows that people with money can just about do anything they want, and get away with it. I feel what they are doing is wrong, especially when it’s causing people to die off. I’m sure these people drilling is well aware that if it not done correctly what damages it caused. But it’s all about .making .money and that’s sad. But they will have to answer to a high power when it’s all over with. These people should be fined, and the money should go to the families, they should be made to take a class on the proper way to drill for gas, they need to have a degree in this class in order to go out and drill. This way they can’t say they did not have the knowledge of what harm they were causing. http://cleanwater.org/page/fracking-laws-and-loopholes

Gasland the Movie By: Stephanie Becker The movie Gasland shows what fracking does to our world and the damages that occur when fracking takes place. The film maker Josh Fox touches all parts about fracking we need to know as humans to protect our self, and to have knowledge about this terrible action happening. Plus the movie is letting people know just what fracking is and how it can affect our water, health and how it can be explosive in a house that people live in. That is putting people’s life in danger for what? For natural gas when there are many other options we can use to provide energy.

Pennsylvania had a gas company called Cabot drill over 40 wells in just under a few months. After that happened people were getting sick and found out it was their water that was causing their sickness. The water would bubble and fizz because of the natural gas but nothing was done about it. In Colorado Josh made a stop to a few houses and their water supply was so contaminated that the water caught on fire. Plus many more places even out of Colorado he went their water caught on fire also. That puts the people living in the house in immediate danger. Even thought the people did send the water off to get tested the gas company said there was nothing wrong with their water. In Wyoming there was a house were their water was so contaminated the man could make plastic with a torch and his water. Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking) is when a gas company drills into the ground. It blasts a mix of water and 596 plus more chemicals 8,000 ft into the ground. It is like an earthquake the intense pressure breaks apart the rock and freezes up the gas.

The destruction that occurs when fracking takes place is very sad. One house Josh visited had no grass or trees they were all tore down by the gas companies so they can drill. Another house all there grass and trees were dead and brown from the contamination of the area. It is a terrible site to see because they had children looking for Easter eggs but had no were to hide them really but in plan site. Then there are flow back pits which contain fracking chemicals called produced water before they dispose the water it has to be dumped into a pit were the water can seep back into the ground or evaporate in to our atmosphere which they have methods to make the water evaporate into the air. Plus it ruins our land. This controversy has a lot of issues with the law but the company’s are not breaking the laws because the company’s do not have to follow the laws. Such as the clean water act and the clean air act.

My thoughts on fracking are not so good. I feel that this action will be the cause of the world ending. Fracking also ruins the beauty of our world. Then it is putting people in danger and making people ill that is a major problem that should not be occurring at all. Fracking is no good and should be stopped for the health of people. Money is not more important than a person’s life being at danger. I feel fracking should be illegal because of all the damages that come with it. Plus there should only be renewable energy being used in the world. Let’s stop fracking now!

Movie Review: Gasland by Jonathon Medina Filmmaker Josh Fox sent off on a cross country journey after being offered money for the rights to drill on his property, refusing and upset he set out to investigate the environmental impacts of natural gas drilling. Fox was offered an unexpected offer of $100,000 for the right to drill on his property which was located on the Delaware River Basin, located on the border of New York and

Pennsylvania. During Fox’s journey he discovered that it was happening in all parts of the United States, mostly in the rural areas. He discovered that landowners would randomly wake up to offers from natural gas companies, offering large amounts of money to lease their property with the intentions to retrieve gas from a process called fracking.

What is fracking; it’s a hydraulic process that uses fluids containing water, sand and fracking chemicals that are injected into the ground under very high pressure in the hopes of producing a formation of natural gas.

This process creates fissures that allow those resources to move freely from those rock formations that were previously trapped. The Environmental Protection agency has reported to finding methane and butoexythanol phosphate leaking from the wells at a majority of drilling sites across the United States. These chemicals leak into the fresh water supplies that many use for daily activities such as drinking, showering, water plants and providing water to cattle. These chemicals have also been linked to causing kidney failure, liver cancer, spleens to become toxic, and infertility issues. Another chemical found has been traces of benzene; this is a cancer causing agent that has been found in many of the victims that have passed away after becoming exposed to the harmful chemicals. The Halliburton Law gave drilling companies special exceptions for drilling in areas that didn’t follow E.P.A. guideline, due to this law they are allowed to drill on property and not be held liable for those issues created by the chemicals being used. The only reason this has become an issue is due to Josh Fox’s controversial film which shows the many families affected, how the drinking water in homes can be lit on fire, and how many are suffering health related issue linked to the harmful chemicals.

My thoughts on fracking are it should become illegal; it’s causing many health issues and forcing people far away from their homes in search of a healthier environment. Being that the presidential election is coming up soon I think this would be a great issue to fight for, someone should discuss with all the parties the effects of these drilling operations and how they should become illegal and charge the companies with restoring these areas and paying for medical issues to the people affected. I think that person who shows the most interest and shows the desire to change these laws would win the election.

Fracking how good is it?

Written by Cyndi Leonard The documentary of Gasland which shows the effects of how fracking for natural gas is done and the effects it has on the communities the fracking takes place in was created by Josh Fox.Fracking is when natural gas is retrieved from the ground using water pressured drilling to push the natural gas up through the shale to be used. In order for the gas companies to acquire the gas, they have been asking property owners to sell their land rights to the company in exchange for $100,000. Josh Fox was one property owner approached. He decided to further investigate the affects of fracking by traveling across the country to see what the side effects of fracking cause. Through his travels, he discovered many different things. One major concern was that people's drinking water had become flammable. The tap water could be ignited with a cigarette lighter and would burn with the water running from the faucet till turned off. Another side affect that was noticed is lack of vegetation. The drilling areas are completely baron and look like mini deserts. Another concern that Josh learned through his travels is the lack of regulations used for fracking. In 2005, the Bush-Cheney administration passed the Energy Policy Act which allows fracking to be exempted from most of the standard environmental regulations which is required for other corporations to follow.

Fracking is a real concern that is affecting many cities throughout the United States. It is completely ridiculous

how the government pushes laws through without completely reading all the parts included. It is difficult to understand how President Bush could allow gas companies to be exempt from following the EPA standards; that should have been Congress's first clue to take a much closer look at how fracking is done and what is involved in the process. Josh focused on Pennsylvania and states that are being fractured west of the Mississippi. Our concern needs to focus on the drills that are beginning to be placed throughout our own state here in Ohio. North Eastern Ohio is known for the Emerald Necklace of Metroparks. If the drills continue to be developed, we run the risk of losing our metroparks due to the damage that results from the drilling. There is also leaking that occurs from failed wells. The leakage of chemicals is seeping into the ground water aquifers which gets into our drinking water and causes contamination.

Gasland the movie

By Julianne Diamond In class we watched the documentary Gasland. This movie was about Fracking and how it is affect the people in the world. “Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a means of natural gas extraction employed in deep natural gas well drilling.

Once a well is drilled, millions of gallons of water, sand and proprietary chemicals are injected, under high pressure, into a well. The pressure fractures the shale and props open fissures that enable natural gas to flow more freely out of the well”(www.gaslandthemovie.com).

In the documentary Josh Fox who is the creator of the film was offered money to allow drilling on his property.

He didn’t know too much about what fracking was so he conducted research on it. After doing his research he went around to previous families who have had fracking done on their property and found that the results were not good. The families experienced horrible side effects from the drilling. The families had the water contaminated with the natural gas to the point where you can light their water on fire. The family’s water was discolored and smelled of natural gas. Some farmer’s animals were getting sick from drinking the water as well as losing their hair among other things.

There is no law against fracking. There is a thing called Halliburton Loophole. It exempts companies from disclosing the chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing. It took the EPA off the market. The do have a law called the Safe drinking water act that ensures you have clean drinking water safe from any contaminates whether it be natural or manmade. Another act that is in place is The FRAC Act (Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness to Chemical Act) it’s a House bill intended to repeal the Halliburton Loophole and to require the natural gas industry to disclose the chemicals they use.

After watching this documentary and doing my position paper on fracking I am absolutely against it and think something needs to be done to ban this. No one is safe. Our food is contaminated because we get our meat from areas that are being fracked and the animals drink the contaminated water. People are getting sick from this and I am sure that there will be long term affects from drinking and eating contaminated food. I have signed a petition against fracking and I hope we can spread the word on how bad this is to America. I hope one day they will ban this and figure out a better way to get the natural gas out from under the earth surface.

GasLand By: Keri Kronz When Josh fox was surprisingly offered $100,000 for the government to install a natural gas drilling site on his property in the Delaware River basin, on the border of New York and Pennsylvania, he refused. Instead, he decided to investigate why they wanted the rights to drill and why they were offering such a large sum of money. Josh decided to travel across the country to see if other home and land owners across the country were receiving the same offer and if they were accepting it, to what expense was it to their family’s health.

In the beginning of this documentary we were given facts about these rigs and the process of making them and drilling. This process is called Hydraulic Fracture or “Fracking”.

They drill into the Earth and pour fracking fluid which contains 596 chemicals into the earth; these chemicals are obviously getting into the water sources. I thought it was interesting to see, as the narrator was driving past a drilling rig, there were warning signs and one stated “no open flames.” Was this because of the chemicals being used and are now in the air and water system?

This issue has been on the national news and these companies are still saying that everything is safe and that people are not being harmed from what they are doing and putting into the ground. There are whole cities in America that are contaminated and are almost unable to be lived in. This is also because these companies are pouring out the water that they use to create these rigs, and have contaminated, into these towns or near them and their water sources. The Safe Drinking Water Act brings to attention the chemicals that are being used and they have, in the past refused to disclose which chemicals they are using in their fracking. After residents started testing their water and finding out which chemicals were present, only then were the companies forced to disclose the information. At the end of the movie it was said that now other countries are branching out to create these rigs as well. I think that something needs to be done and that this documentary really helps open eyes to what is happening because it is almost like a hidden issue if it is not happening in your own back yard.

While watching Gas Land, I learned about the effects of the damage these gas rigs are having on humans and animals living around them. The water is being contaminated by over 500 chemicals and can even be set on fire. Most of the water looked muddy and had a rotten smell to it, and no one wanted to drink it, not even the government. When a resident offered the government to sample the water that they themselves were saying was safe to drink, the government refused. When residents turn on their faucets they hear fizzling and it bubbles out, it also tastes “metallic.”

I feel that the government really needs to take this issue seriously and set higher regulations or even ban this, if possible. Why is the government allowing this intrusion to happen, and allowing this process to ruin the health of so many Americans and animals?

GasLand Megan Gogol The documentary Gasland is written by Josh Fox. He lives in Pennsylvania and was offered 100,000 dollars to let the energy companies’ drill for natural gas on his property. He denied, due to the fact that drilling for natural gas or “fracking” puts chemicals into the ground which leaks into water well and contaminates the water the community drinks. When companies frack for natural gas they shoot water into the ground that is mixed with chemicals to break up the ground rock to release the natural gas, however they use 596 toxic chemicals to frack. All of these chemicals are leaking into drinking water for the people surrounded by the fracking. Not only is the fracking affecting the drinking water but it takes 1-7 million gallons of water per frack. With all the states where fracking takes place one frack for every well adds up to about 40 trillion gallons per frack, all of that water contaminated and wasted.

When water becomes toxic the people cannot use it to drink, wash cloths, shower or do dishes, instead they have to spend money to have waster shipped in from different areas. According to Weston Wilson of the EPA the companies are saying yes the water is toxic but not harmful. When the people have their water tested to see the chemicals in it they file law suits against the gas companies and the companies have to ship clean water to the homes of those effected, which brings up the question of if the water is not harmful why do they need to ship it in from other places?

The gas companies are able to get away with fracking because a law was passed saying it is okay to out chemicals in the ground for the fracking of natural gas, it’s a loop hole that allows them to pollute the water and make the communities people seriously sick. The people who were drinking the water started having headaches and dizziness, loss of smell and taste, and permanent brain damage. Breathing in the chemicals also cause major health problems by causing respiratory diseases, and chemicals showing up in their blood. The water is so contaminated that the tap water catches on fire if held against fire, this chemical filled water is said to be okay to drink by gas companies, yet they won’t drink the water themselves.

I believe fracking causes a huge problem to public health and the environment and it needs to be stopped or people and animals will die. Even with the permanent side effects if fracking stops right now so many peoples’ lives have already changed and their health is already damaged, the gas companies cannot fix that no matter what they do. The gas companies can however stop further damage if they stop fracking, and help clean the water. I believe this movies really puts how damaged the environment is into perspective and that this is only one issue of many dealing with pollution of our earth due to companies trying to make money.

The Land of Gas By: Serena Chapin Filmmaker Josh Fox received a letter in the mail one day from a gas company stating that they wanted to offer him $100,000 for the natural gas drilling rights to his property in the Delaware River Basin on the border of New York and Pennsylvania. His parents along with some of their friends built their home in the woods on a river with their hands. Josh decided to research exactly what would happen if he signed away the rights to his property. He decided to grab his camera, jump in his car, and go across the country and interview different families in different parts of the country to find out if it is worth the $100,000. His findings were horrifying.

Oil and Gas companies are legally exempt from the clear water/clear air act. Hydraulic Fracturing, better known as fracking, causes mini earthquakes in the ground. Fracking also puts approximately 596 chemicals into the ground! Each time they frack a well, it uses between 1 and 7 million gallons of water. A well can be fracked 18 times .Glycol-Ethers are used in fracking for the entire life of a well.

According to Dick Cheney, who is the CEO of The Haliburton Loophole, “Unknown hazardous materials being injected into the ground is allowed by oil and gas companies.” Who the hell is Dick Cheney to say that is ok?

Let’s go over some of Josh Fox’s interviews and find out how ok it is to inject almost 600 hazardous materials into our water source.

One family reported that after a gas well was placed on their property, their tap water started to bubble; it was natural gas in their water. Another family had a well explode in their front yard after drilling took place.

Another family’s water turned color, and then turned to mud straight out of the tap. The oil company tested the water, and informed the family that they could not drink the water, wash their dishes in the water, takes showers or baths in the water, and basically do not use the water at all. The family’s pets started losing all of their hair, losing weight and getting ill. One of the family members put the water from the tap in a jug, and they lit it on

fire. Lighting water on fire is normal, right? There are many more stories about how many people can run water out of their tap and take a lighter to it as its running out of the tap and it almost explodes and sets on fire. Many people called the oil companies just to talk to someone about the things that were happening with their water, and everyone in the family getting sick, asthma issues etc. Unfortunately for most of these families, they have to live in fear of their front yards and homes exploding because no one at the oil companies would call them back let alone be of any kind of help and answer any questions. As horrible as it is, they are not breaking any laws.

In conclusion, I must say that before seeing this movie, I never knew what fracking was. I have been seeing signs that say “stop fracking” or “frack on” but didn’t know what that meant until now. I recently had to go to Kentucky where my family has land because someone has placed a for sale sign on our property. Guess what we found when we went to our property? A huge well that sits where my Grandfather’s house used to sit. No one gave this company any rights to the property, but since no one has been there in well over ten years, they just took it upon themselves to drill away without any permission. My father has called the company a million times, and shocker, they won’t even return a phone call. There isn’t even an option to speak to a customer service representative. There is an e mail address and a voicemail. That is it. We have tried both methods and have yet to hear back from them. I feel it should most definitely be against the law to frack. And that anyone who gets caught doing it must pay out the wazoo toward preserving our natural resources that are so limited. It is hard to believe how many people lose their souls to greed.

Opinion for Final by Jonathon Medina Out of this class I have learned many issues regarding our environment and how much of an impact we as humans have on the environment. The most important thing I have taken from this class is the knowledge on fracking, and how much natural resources are used just to produce natural gas, and how much on an environmental and health impact it has done to surrounding areas where drilling is taking place. The Environmental Protection agency has reported to finding methane, butoexythanol phosphate and benzene leaking from the wells at a majority of drilling sites across the United States. It’s horrible how the government has passed law allowing these gas companies to drill and not follow E.P.A. regulations, this has caused many people to flee from their homes in search of new habitable areas where drilling has not yet happened. Results from these chemicals being used are serious and include methane leaking into the air very closely to homes, many chemicals to leak into fresh water supplies leaving the water unusable and very flammable. The chemicals have a direct link to causing many illnesses but most important they have also been linked to cancer causing resulting in many deaths.

Another important thing I have also taken from this class is the knowledge that we as people have the right to fight and submit our issues to the government. We have the power to change things but we must know what the issues are prior to voting, many politicians use environmental related issues to help in their elections, but a majority of them are using votes to pass regulations that help gas companies in the long run. Knowledge is power and the more we research things the more we help protect our environment.

My Opinion by Linda Reed What impacted me the most in Ecology?

The topic that impacted me the most was fracking. All that fracking does to the environment, the impact fracking does to fresh water is very upsetting. We don’t know what will happen in years to come, what the effects fracking will have on the environment. The fact that most politicians are not doing a thing about it, they don’t even answer emails about it.

Everything I have read about fracking does not sound good, all the fresh water that is being used to drill, let alone all the chemicals that are being used too. And since we don’t know what the chemicals are, what side effects they have, what will happen to plant and animal life near these sites. Our food chain, water, our health and the health of the men/women who are actually working these sites, we just don’t know enough on fracking. I will keep trying to educate my friends and anyone else who will listen to me about fracking. I will also keep writing to Congressmen, Senators, Governor, and the President and the EPA to get someone to listen and do something to stop fracking.

My Ecological Opinion

By Teresa Ruhl The most important issue I have learned from all the pressing issues in our environment is the damage we afflict as human beings onto our planet. The way many of us choose to live our lives is so harmful to our environment and the resources we use from it. The over use of fossil fuels, the waste of materials, the over use of water and etc. are just some of the factors harming our planet caused by us and limited government laws put in place. As an individual I can be more aware of the resources and lives around me. It’s time for everyone to break that selfcentered view of it’s all about me. The truth of the matter is more education; more marketing and advertising, and new laws could be what the public needs to help save our planet before it’s too late. I would like to see the environment thrive for all future generations and therefore I will be more active in the world around me.

Water By: Natasha Castro “Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” –Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The most important thing I have learned in Ecology is about water. I have learned so much about something so simple. I thought I knew everything about water, I was wrong. I have learned that water has so many different things in it from pharmaceuticals to waste. Out of all the water in the world very little of it is safe to drink. This is important because we need water every day. We need drinking water to survive, for animals, watering plants, washing dishes, doing laundry, etc. We as a country should be more courteous by simply using less and actually thinking about what we are doing. Conservation is key for everyone everywhere. We can start by limiting the amount used in our homes, switch to ultra-high efficiency toilets and other fixtures.

Thoughts By Serena Chapin The most important thing that I learned in this class, is about fracking. Until this class I never knew what fracking was. I have been seeing signs all over the place that say stop fracking, and frack on, but I never knew what that meant. I feel it it so important to tell people about fracking and what fracking is because people need to know. There are so many hazardous chemicals being injected into the ground that it is affecting our water and our food. We need to do make fracking illegal.

Effects of Ecology Class Written by Cyndi Leonard Having taken Ecology this semester has opened my eyes to many things that I was not aware of and the effects that are occurring locally, nationally, and globally. I am going to try and pay a little closer attention to what is going on politically as well.

One thing I learned was from the research paper I wrote which focused on finding ways for the restaurant Applebee’s, I work in to be more eco-friendly especially in reference to the cleaning methods used. I feel this is important because not only will the reduction of chemicals used be healthier to the staff and guests; it will cut down the cost of money spent for cleaning. As a result of the research, my manager was very supportive and said go ahead and try it out. I have found microfiber towels that use no chemicals to clean. These towels work on glass, countertops, tile walls, toilets, and other such surfaces.

I just started to use two of these towels, and feel much better. I am not coughing while I clean. The time it takes has been cut down, and I am not using a large amount of paper towels to complete the cleaning. To calculate the cost saved will take a couple of months, but I feel sure that the manager will see a change in money spent and saved. We are using this in the bathrooms and if it goes well, we shall look to expand it to other parts of the restaurant as well.

Ecology by Patrice Miller After completing this ecology class, I couldn’t pin point an issue that was the most important because I found importance in the entire class. The overall message that I took from this class is that the environment, organisms, and ecosystems are of equal importance. I became more conscious of the world around me, and I make an effort every day to change my habits in order to preserve the environment. If everyone changes at least one thing that they’re doing that is negatively effecting the environment and makes an effort to preserve the world that we live in, we may be able to sustain life. I am very appreciative of this class and the instructor and I recommend that every college student takes this course to raise awareness of the issues that we face today in hopes of positively changing the future.

Human Destruction by Stephanie Becker I feel that the most important thing I learned in ecology is the destruction humans do to our earth. Human pollute our world, over populate it and over do a lot of actions that should not be done. We rather use nonrenewable resources than renewable resources. Nonrenewable resources destroy or world and cause global warming plus more issues, such as health problems. I feel other people should know about it because we need to have sustainability. Which means we need to save our resources for the next generation or there will not be enough resources for the future. Also destruction to our earth is going to cause the world to end. Also people need to do more actions in the world that are safe to human’s health and the earth for animals and organisms.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM ECOLOGY TORI WILCOX I learned to be curious about the world around me. I learned that we can shape our surroundings, and our surroundings can shape us. I learned that I have a responsibility to our environment, and that my actions can change that environment. I now know about so many important issues with the soil, water, air, and energy sources that I know I need to minimize my actions, and help to educate others to do the same, for example, prevent global warming, habitat destruction, or loss of biodiversity. This world has been here way longer than myself, and has solved its own problems over and over. We need to look to the earth as a ecological teacher for sustainability with food and land to live on. The most important thing is to help the earth to help us continue to live.

Impact by Carmen Feliciano Learning about fracking and the Keystone pipelines have made a big impact on me. I am now aware of how important natural gas and oil is to us as Americans and how we miss use so much of our resources. It saddens me how quick we are to destroy our land and environment in order to retrieve them. I also think many companies and politicians are in it for the money and not looking at our long term problems as well as our own health and well being as humans. It amazes me how many Presidents in all these years have been promising us they would look into other options so that we did not have to depend on overseas oil and gas for energy and have come up empty handed, and yet my Ecology professor told about wonderful ways to achieve energy and easy ways to even conserve it. There is not a time I drive the highways and explain to whoever is in my care about solar panels replacing sound barrier walls and little wind mills lined up in the median or look out of my window parking lot and would like to see solar panels light up the night when I walk to my car. I know for me I am more aware of what politicians are doing and where their position is on the matter of energy. I also talk to everyone who listens about what is going on with the Keystone pipeline and fracking which is so close to home for me. Don’t get me wrong I think it is important to find solutions for recovering our resources and using them, I understand the importance of it. But we also need to really and truly weigh both pros and cons.

Class by Alvoya Johnson My favorite part about this ecology class was all of it. The class was fun, and I learned a lot about the water the earth. I was surprise about how we have bug in are eyelashes. I learned to not cook in the microwave and that I need to recycle, I learned that we need to watch what we eat. I learn about the tap water how it has medication in it and I had no ideal. I would recommend that everyone should take this class. Thank you so much.

Global Warming is Real By: Jennifer Firestone I have learned many interesting things in our Ecology class. Some things that have truly frightened me and some things that make me say, “What are these people thinking?� The most important thing I am taking from this class is that Global Warming is real. It is not just a way to boost the Go Green sales. Ice caps are melting and at a faster rate, that anyone predicted. With the Ice Caps melting the ocean will rise. When that happens, places such as Greenland will disappear. If the Earth’s temperature rises just a degree, this is enough to cause change. Many people just do not get this. We have to do our parts. We have to clean up the mess we have created.

Biohazard Waste by Megan Gogol

In Ecology this semester I have learned a lot about the environment, things that help it and things that harm it.

What has stood out to me most is waste, specifically biohazard waste because my major is Medical Assisting. When I did further research on biohazard I found that hospitals produce about 4 garbage truck loads of garbage per day doing only one type or surgery. Most of the reason for the waste is carelessness of the healthcare workers. I believe that is they truly knew the amount of waste they produce and how much damage it does to the environment they would better watch how they use and what they dispose. I also believe that laws should be made for the hospitals to have regulations on how much supplies they buy and how well items are inspected before thrown out. Passing a law like this could help reduce the waste that is damaging to the environment and in turn help the people living on the earth. If we do not take care of our earth the only place we have to live what will happen to human life? What if the earth gets so damaged it cannot sustain human life and we die off, all because we could not take the time to reuse recycle and renew. It only takes a few minutes to look at items to see if they are new or used, and that minuet can make a huge difference to our environment, our home.