Pollution In Our Everyday Life

This is my third and final Action Project for my STEAM course Fuel. I learned about inequalities and pollution in our everyday life. For this Action Project, I had to make an action plan paper about how we can stop pollution from happening. My favorite part of this Action Project was learning about all the different ways we pollute and the solutions. I also really enjoyed taking a class trip to Tesla and getting a free test ride. This was a fun project to make and I enjoyed learning about the different ways to prevent pollution. The hardest part for me was researching the different ideas I had. I hope you enjoy my pollution action plan paper.
Pollution In Our Everyday Life
PVU
3/16/16
Pollution Action Plan
Pollution consists of waste products that are harmful to the environment. Pollution is released into our environment daily without us even thinking about it. The biggest amount of pollution comes from man-made sources like factories, cars, trucks, and other vehicles, as well as machinery. Pollution is found naturally within volcanoes, fossils and forest fires. Waste product are a major contributor to greenhouse gases.  
Greenhouse gases are responsible for the greenhouse effect. They cause climate change because they trap and reflect the sun's radiation back towards Earth. The different greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, and fluorocarbons. Global warming is a huge problem we face in the year 2016; it’s causing glaciers to melt, killing arctic species, and much more. Carbon dioxide is a side product of both natural and man-made processes and is a major greenhouse gas. Humans are a major reason there is so much carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is an odorless and colorless gas important to Earth. The chemical compound CO2  is made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms.
My carbon footprint leads to 19.1 tons of CO2 per year. I used a website to calculate my carbon footprint. To balance the 19.1 tons of CO2 I emit I would have to plant 444 trees and let them grow for 10 years. My footprint equals the same amount of CO2 as 1.6 houses in the U.S. use for energy in a year. It's the same greenhouse gas emissions as 3.6 cars driving for a whole year. To calculate your carbon offset according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, you would use the equation (23.2 lbs. C/tree × (44 units CO2 ÷ 12 units C) × 1 metric ton ÷ 2,204.6 lbs. = 0.039 metric ton CO2 per urban tree planted.) I emit almost 20 tons of CO2 every year and that is from only one human out of over 7 billion. Even though i’m only one of the 7 billion people on our planet, I can still make a difference.
According to data from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, and the first time in recorded history, Earth has reached up to 400 parts per million of carbon in the atmosphere, which is very bad for the environment. Earth’s ppm should be at or below 350 ppm. Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of many forms of energy. However, there are different ways of getting energy that are clean and don't give off emissions. For example, solar energy, wind energy, and hydroelectricity are great examples of clean energy. I am proposing three ideas that would cut our carbon emissions down and bring the parts per million back down to a safer level of 350.
The first action I would take would be to create more biking opportunities for good weather and fully electrical transportation opportunities for all year round. I believe if this works, our ppm level will go down. With fully electric cars, buses, and other vehicles using electricity, we will be emitting zero pollutants. Gas cars emit around 24 pounds of carbon dioxide and other global-warming gases for every gallon of gas according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Electric cars, on the other hand, give off no pollutants. We will still be burning some natural gas and coal to power the electricity, but we will also be decreasing the greenhouse gases by not emitting as much.


The next thing I would do is help businesses not pollute less. I learned that a lot of carbon emissions come from food. I consume takeout food three of the seven days of the week. I often eat out because of convenience but I know how bad it is for the environment. Believe it or not, carbon emissions occur from transporting the food from place to place. The packaging is another big problem; it produces a lot of carbon dioxide to package food. I think that I could lower my estimated 19.1 tons carbon emissions every year, just by bringing food from home every day. I could save 3 tons of carbon emissions from my food. This would not only help the planet but it would also help me eat better. I plan on making all of my seven meals at home. I also would encourage farmers and producers to make bigger and fewer loads, rather than many smaller loads, which will result in less carbon emissions every year.


The last thing I would do is slow down deforestation. Deforestation is a huge problem in the world and is one of the biggest causes of carbon emissions. In many areas in the world, land has been cleared for farms, pastures, and whatever else they want the land for. When a large forested area is cleared, large amounts of greenhouse gases are released. This can increase the carbon emission levels in various ways. A tree acts as a carbon holder. Trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. When forests are cleared to create new developments, the trees are cut down and either burned or left to rot. Burning the trees or leaving them to rot adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Since deforestation reduces the amount of trees, this also reduces how much carbon dioxide the Earth’s forests can remove. I would help prevent deforestation and help create whatever needs to be built without clearing large amounts of trees. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, about 10 percent of carbon emissions come from tropical deforestation, equivalent to the annual tailpipe emissions of 600 million average U.S. cars. If we start doing something now, we can cut 25 percent of emissions by 2020.

(Diagram, PVU, 2016)
By doing a few very simple things we can drastically reduce our carbon emissions. This will have a valuable impact on the world now as well as the future. I hope you will deeply consider making smarter choices and help save your planet and your future kids’ planet. Help save the planet by making smart life decisions.  

Works Cited
"Car Emissions and Global Warming." Union of Concerned Scientists. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
"Deforestation Facts, Deforestation Information, Effects of Deforestation - National Geographic."Deforestation. National Geographic. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
"GHG Equivalencies Calculator - Calculations and References." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
"Greenhouse Gas Emissions." Emissions. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.


"Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
"Global Climate Change: NASA Scientists React to 400 Ppm Carbon Milestone." Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. NASA. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
"Ten Reasons to Reduce Tropical Deforestation." Union of Concerned Scientists. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.


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