All This Talk About the Problem, Any Solutions?

Now all of this talk with problems we have in the environment today, what are some solutions, are there even any solutions? As I stated in blog post 2, that one little piece of wrapper can cause so much damage, so start by picking up all of your trash when having a snack. You can also take a more international level and address global warming to the UN like Greta Thunberg, she is only 16!

(This is Greta, who is Nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize)

I go camping along the ocean side every year and there is this nifty environmental organization, mainly targeted for kids. So I take my little siblings there for the program and I also learned something too. Did you know that sand dollars like to live in clean water? Have you ever wondered why it is hard to find them? This should be an indicator to whether the water is clean. A few years ago Massachusetts cleaned up and enforced beach clean up and prohibited littering of any kind. I heard this and was skeptical because there is always talk of that, but how often is it affective? This past year I actually ended up finding sand dollar after sand dollar and in the end we found a few handfuls of them! I took my siblings back up to the program and asked about the surplus of sand dollars and it was because the water is actually cleaning up, and the organization actually goes through the beaches and cleans them up as their routine, which is awesome!

(Woods Hole Group hosting a beach Sweep in MA)

There are also some schools that advertise beach clean up events, these cleanups also count as community service. For example, my girlfriend goes to Salve Regina in Rhode Island, and there is an organization called, Clean Ocean Access. This organization hosts a beach side clean up about every weekend.

You can also start or join a local club, for example, my school has an EAC club,  which is the Environmental Action Club. What this is a club that focuses on providing a safer and cleaner environment for future generations in Hopkinton. They recently had a big fundraiser in order to instal solar panels at our school for cleaner energy.

The biggest thing you can do is clean up litter, even though there is air pollution too, but the ocean's water can provide so much to human life too, not only beauty, but for food, medicines, and so much more. When or if you get around to it, start to do your part, if you don't, just admire what this ocean has to offer before it's not there.

How many people do you see on a daily basis smoking a cigarette, and then throw it on the ground?  Now put all of those people in a gymnasium, including the butts they throw on the ground. The amount of smoke and waste they produce is just disgusting, but that is nowhere near a gigaton. A gigaton is the equivalent to about well over 100 million African elephants... We are releasing at least 1,010 Gigatons of Carbon Dioxide annually, and it is not slowing down. 


The amount of things you can find in a river is mind boggling. I used to go diving in my local river, scooping up bottles and cans to clean it up, and I would find anything from a plastic bags to a whole bike. River diving and cleaning are becoming more common, as it is more apparent that we are trashing the planet.  


There is a teen In Waltham, Massachusetts who has a very interesting hobby. Alessio Baggio  is a junior in high school who loves to Magnet fish in the Charles River. What this is, is essentially sending a magnet into the river from a bridge, collecting litter. He has a variety of magnets in all sorts of sizes, and a few grappling hooks to send down there too. Baggio has invested over $400 in equipment for this affective hobby, he removes anything from plastic docks, tires, cans, and so much more!

(Baggio with his equipment: Picture)

Anybody can do their part to limit pollution. In October, there was a global meeting of local Leaders to pledge that they would "push aggressive measures to curb dirty air" as Curbed states. When pledging these leaders had to sign the C40 Clean Air Clean Cities Declaration.  This will not only put us on path to the World heath Organization's standards but will help decrease emissions and will impact people's overall health. The WHO's Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls air pollution, "New nicotine". he also states that roughly 100,000 Americans had died in result of air pollution, that is more than deaths from gun violence and car crashes combined. 

Cities like, Austin, Houston, Los Angeles, Portland, Washington D.C., Mexico City, Seoul, and Paris have already Signed this declarations. having these major cities sign will give a dramatic amount of progress toward the goal we are tying to achieve.

( A polluted skyline: Shutterfly)

If you are feeling passionate about making a change, there are so many little things you can do for a major outcome, you can go anywhere from picking up garbage in your river to buying an electric car to cut back on carbon pollution. In the end, what you decide to do will come back to get you, if you litter, your home will be trashed, if you clean it up now your home will still have a chance of being clean.