Protecting
Natural Resources
Kristin
Palmer
Warner
Pacific College
December
17, 2013
Protecting
Natural Resources
How
can we make sure that we are able to live on our planet for as long as
possible? Protect what we have and keep it going as long as we can. Humans have
a huge impact on our environment every day. The key to keeping our ecosystem
going is to figure out the best way to go about our day to day lives and make
the smallest impact on the environment as possible. There are so many systems
to consider. When I hear that we have a lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere
and biosphere, it makes me even less sure as to what I can do to help. As I
said before, we have a big impact on our environment. Everything we do makes a
difference. Unfortunately the difference is not always good. The energy that I
am using right now sitting at my computer to type this paper has an impact on
the environment. Simple little things like that, things that you probably do
not even think of, have an impact on the earth around you. That makes it seem
even more overwhelming to try to figure out how to make less of an impact.
One
of the biggest impacts that we have on our environment happens to be on the
water cycle. Environment, The Science
Behind the Stories tells us that the water cycle affects all other cycles,
and our impact on the water cycle is extensive. We put up dams, we hold water in
reservoirs which causes it to evaporate faster, we clear cut plants and trees
to develop land which causes soil erosion. Pollution in the atmosphere is absorbed in water as rain falls, so
rain is not even clean water anymore, (pg. 120-21) (Withgott & Laposata, 2014)
I
remember growing up, during the summer there would be advisories against using
water because it was so hot out and we had water shortages. People were
discouraged from washing their cars or watering their lawns when it was hot
out. Of course I remember my mom
still washing the car in the backyard so no one could see her, and we still had
our swimming pool filled to play in. The major one I remember was in the summer
of 1992 and there was a drought, so the water supply in Portland was running
low. I found a brief paragraph about it in a Portland Water Bureau report that
talked about water usage in Portland.
They said that the water shortage of 1992 had an influence on customers
continued outdoor water use. Many people realized that if they didn’t water
their lawns then they didn’t have to mow. It also said that overall per
household water use is down from the 1990’s in Portland. (Portland Water Bureau, 2008)
Looking
toward the future, in 2008 there were roundtable discussions around Portland to
discuss the future of Portland water. Many Oregonians do not think that we will
have enough water in 2028 (20 years from the discussions) to cover all of the
needs we will have. Oregon and Alaska are the only two western states without a
plan on how they will meet future water demands. (Milstein, 2008) It seems that
even with things like water saving toilets and showerheads, and overall
consumption being down, we may still have a problem in the future.
I
do not really know what to do to solve these problems. The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has a plan in place for all cities to cover their open
reservoirs. This has been a huge issue in Portland, as the reservoirs on Mt.
Tabor have been a part of the city for years. The idea behind this is to
protect the water from Cryptosporidium
and other disease causing bacteria.
(EPA, 2013) I do not think that it is a bad thing
to protect our drinking water; I feel that it is unfortunate that we will lose
the reservoirs since they are beautiful to look at. I remember as a kid during
the summer walking to Mt. Tabor and walking around all of the different
reservoirs. I wonder what the city is going to do with them once they are
empty, and I think a lot of other people want to know the same thing.
I
do think there should be a way to protect our water. It is our greatest natural
resource, and without it, nothing would be able to live. I am just not sure how
you would go about creating a committee or actually enforcing limits on our
water usage. Unless there was some sort of a device in each home that cut off
the water after a certain amount was used each day. This is a tricky thing to
tackle. With logging, they are required to replant trees to replenish what is
cut down. Yes, it takes years for a tree to grow back to be as big as the old
growth timber that they are clear cutting, but at least the process can be
started over again and the trees will re-grow. We cannot exactly grow ourselves
new water, but if we do not do something about it, in 20 years we may not have
enough water for everyone.
References
EPA. (2013, February 11). Water: Long Term 2
Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule. Retrieved from Environmental
Protection Agency:
http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/lt2/regulations.cfm
Milstein, M. (2008, December 30). Oregonians
forsee future water shortages. Retrieved from The Oregonian:
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2008/12/oregonians_foresee_future_wate.html
Portland Water Bureau. (2008, March 20). Portand
Water Bureau. Retrieved from Water Conservation plan:
http://filepickup.wrd.state.or.us/files/Publications/WMCP/Requested%20Files/Portland%20WMCP_FINAL%20Draft_March%202008/WMCP5-Chap3-March08-FinalDraft.pdf
Withgott, J., & Laposata, M. (2014). Environment
The Science Behind The Stories. Glenview, Il: Pearson Education Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment