Cleaner, Greener World

In my Chemistry class this semester, we had to give a presentation about environmental chemistry.  The topic my group members and I chose was renewable resources and energy efficiency.  This is something that I have always been passionate about.  I love the outdoors and I believe it is important to keep the earth a healthy place for everyone and everything to be able to grow, thrive and live! (This particular mind set could also have been molded by my mother….a sustainability teacher.)  The reason I bring this up, is because our earth is under attack, and we are the ones killing it.  Greenhouse gasses, climate change, and ozone depletion are words that have been thrown around in the news a lot over the past few years.  There are ways we can fix these problems, and my chemistry group and I went on a mission to find these solutions.

 

Back in my home town, there has been a recent addition to the landscape.  Eight or so windmills have been installed to make electricity and reduce our town’s carbon footprint.  When I go home and see these wind giants, I smile a little, knowing that slowly we are saving our planet.  Other residents do not feel the same way I do.  All throughout town, there are yard signs protesting the installation of the wind turbines.  People say that they reduce the property value, are big and annoying, and that they even make them sick.  After seeing these frightening and disturbing signs, I did a little bit of homework.  I found a video that had the testimonial of 6 families in Glenmore, Wisconsin, near my home town, that have experienced health problems with the wind turbines.  Thisvideo really made me wonder if wind turbines were safe or not for surrounding families.

 

On my journey to prove these people wrong, I did a lot of digging.  There are a lot of websites put up by anti-wind people, but they have no resources or actual facts to back up what they are saying.  Finally, I stumbled upon an article by the Huffington Post that really broke down the issue.  They explained that there was a doctor, Nina Pierpont that coined a term ‘Wind Turbine Syndrome’.  This new medical condition scared people, and the paranoia spread like wild fire.  The study that she conducted only consisted of 38 people, so there are thousands of other people living by turbines that experience no symptoms.  This article debunked a lot of the myths about the harm wind turbines cause.  Because ‘Wind Turbine Syndrome’ has scared a lot of people in the Glenmore area, are they actually suffering from this newfound medical condition?

 

In the article that was mentioned before, it said that 94 percent of people that live near wind turbines actually favor them.  By doing some easy calculations, that means that 6 percent do not like them near their homes.  I am not saying that the people having health problems in the video above are making it up, I am saying that I believe that there are more reasons that people do not want to install them. 

 

Some disadvantages of wind turbines (that are actually scientifically based) are noise disturbances.  Turbines, at full operational capacity, can have the same decibel level as a car going 70 mph.  This is the main complaint from residents that live near the turbines.  The Threat to wildlife is also an issue.  Wind turbines collectively kill 30,000-50,000 birds and bats every year.  This sounds like a big reason to not build these turbines.  In comparison, Buildings kill approximately 1 billion birds a year, and power lines kill tens of millions of bird a year.  Another disadvantage is that wind direction cannot be detected, so it is not always working, and the visual impact of the wind giants are intimidating and ugly.  I am able to see these planet-saving giants from my driveway, and I see them as a sign, symbolizing a step in the right direction.

 

In my opinion, the advantages of wind turbines outweigh the annoyances that they cause.   The number one reason, and the reason that is closest to my heart is that there are no CO₂ emissions from wind power!  (To learn more about CO₂ emissions click here).  The little amount of space that they take up make them more versatile too.  They can virtually be set up anywhere.  Also, wind is free, and there is no way that we will ever run out, it is truly a renewable resource. 

 

  We are Americans, and as Americans, we are energy hogs.  We need to find ways to create energy, and at the same time, preserve our planet.  The comment my mom made about this issue really made me thing.  If people are against the wind turbines, what would they rather have in their backyards?  Would they rather have a huge, pollution causing coal plant that causes proven health problems a mile away from their homes?  At least wind turbines are environmentally friendly and are widely accepted by the neighbors of these gentle giants.  My mom’s words really hit this topic deep into my brain, and I am a supporter of wind turbines, and all forms of green technology; I hope her words hit home with you as well.

The Forgotten Pollution

Pollution is not a new concept to anyone on this planet.  When we think about pollution, the first thing that comes to most of our minds is air pollution.  While this is a big problem around us, no one has really talked about water pollution.  Fertilizer run-off from crop fields is detrimental to the aquatic food chain.  Adding nitrogen, phosphorus, and other elements into an environment might not seem like a big deal because they are naturally occurring chemicals in these areas.  Some addition of elements might not seem like a lot, but when do we, as Americans, ever just hurt an environment a little bit.

 

Fertilizer that farmers use is beneficial for growing crops when the soil is lacking in some nutrient.  Soil is the only place where fertilizer is a beneficial tool; when it rains and the chemicals run into our water tables and our lakes and streams, problems start to occur.  With the addition of nitrogen to an aquatic environment, alga starts to grow in abundance.  When there are more algae, they consume a lot more of the oxygen in the water, so less oxygen is available for the other species.  Slowly, the alga die, and the oxygen being used to decompose the dead plant is taking away from the precious little oxygen that the other species need to survive.  Fish, other plants, and other aquatic species get suffocated by the oxygen depletion in the water that was caused by the presence of fertilizer.

 

I have witnessed this very problem in the river that flows behind my house.  Every spring when the snow melts on the fields, the water enters the river, and the water level rises by about three feet.  Usually, the water in the Devils River is very clean and clear.  When that snow filled with fertilizer and mud enters this river, the water is cloudy, dirty, and has a very awful smell to it.  After this water rushes past our house, alga starts to grow around the rocks and logs in the river.  My dad and I go down to the river every year to remove some of the suffocating alga, because we want the river to be healthy and clean for the crayfish and leeches to live in.

 

I understand that farmers cannot control the weather, so some of the fertilizer on their fields could very well enter water sources without their control.  I suggest that a guideline be created for farmers to follow.  If they can only put a certain amount to fertilizer on their fields each season, the food chain in our local waters may return to normal.  The farmers that grow their crops around my home are adding new batches of fertilizer every growing season, and this gets to be a lot of chemicals that are added, that do not necessarily need to be added.  If farmers fertilize their fields every other season, then the aquatic ecosystem would have time to adjust, and grow back.

The Power of Words

 

‘That’s so gay.’ These three seemingly innocent words, when strung together, send a message of hate and discrimination.  When people utter this hurtful phrase, what are they trying to say?  ‘Stupid’ is being replaced by the word ‘gay’ in many young peoples’ vocabulary, and it is stunning how frequently it is heard!  Putting these painful words in the atmosphere, make it uncomfortable for many types of people, including myself.  I know that it seems like I’m making a big deal out of nothing, but to me, it’s something important.  To me, it stands for equality, and fighting for change.

I graduated from a very small high school in northeast Wisconsin, where everyone knew everyone.  This is also the place that I first heard ‘that’s so gay.’  My classmates were saying it all the time, so I really didn’t think anything of it.  I became so immune to the inappropriateness of the statement, that I started saying it.  One day, I let it slip at home.  My mom heard me say ‘that’s so gay’, and she gave me the longest lecture that I have ever had to sit through.  She explained that gay is not meant to be an insult.  Gay people are just like us and they deserve to be treated with respect.  My mom told me that what I was saying was so offensive, and if a homosexual had heard me say that, it would be extremely hurtful.  From that day on, I have never let those words slip through my lips.

Trying to explain what I had learned from my mom to my friends was a difficult task.  Their response was ‘oh c’mon.  There are no gay kids at our school.  We aren’t offending anyone.’  (This was kind of true.  There were no openly gay kids in our class.  But then again I don’t think anyone would feel comfortable coming out in such a hostile environment.)  I told them the seriousness of their words, but they just blew me off.  My friends indirectly taught me how set in their ways people can be.  It is hard to teach old dogs new tricks, but it is not impossible.

Now that my friends and I have left that school, and have met different kinds of people, their eyes have been opened.  Getting out of that tiny, narrow-minded town, made them realize that their words have consequences, and now, all of them watch what they say. 

If you are still one of those people trying to kick the ‘that’s so gay’ habit, keep this in mind.  What if the roles were reversed?  What if you went to a school where everyone was saying ‘that’s so blond’ or ‘that’s so straight?’  How uncomfortable would you be? Would you hide who you were to avoid being ridiculed?  You wouldn’t dare say ‘that’s so Jewish’ or ‘that’s so black’ so what makes saying ‘that’s so gay’ okay?  Think about the people you are hurting next time you say those three hurtful, discriminating words.