Author: Abby

What is it?

This is a model of the Earth made from 100% recyclable materials.

 

What I used:

• Newspaper
• Scotch tape
• Latex paint

 

How the materials are recyclable:

Newspaper is recyclable because it is paper. Scotch tape can be melted down and reused. Once latex paint dries it can be melted down and reused, but oil paint can not.

 

What I did:

First I got some newspaper, and crumpled it into a ball. Then I dipped the ball of newspaper into water, and let it dry in the sun so the newspaper would stick together. Next I wrapped the ball up in scotch tape to make sure the newspaper would stay tightly together. Finally I used the latex paint to paint it.

 

What it represents:

The ball of newspaper represents recycling instead of throwing away recyclable material. The painted newspaper represents the Earth. The whole model represents recycling to help make the Earth a better place to live in.

Local View

           Pollution is a huge problem in Georgia. There are several types of pollution. Air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution are a few of them. The Savannah River was ranked the third most toxic river in the United States. More than five million pounds of pollutants were dumped into the river. Georgia is ranked eleventh for having 154,000,000 tons of Carbon Monoxide in the air. Carbon Monoxide is a toxin that is released by cars, burning fossil fuels, deforestation, et cetera. The greenhouse effect proves that Carbon Monoxide can cause global warming. Once the heat from the sun gets trapped in the atmosphere, it can’t get out. The Environment Georgia organization is an organization that helps fix environmental problems, like pollution. Environment Georgia sets up fundraisers and events to help clean up local areas.

National View

          The United States are in the top five countries with the worst pollution. Americans are only five percent of the world’s population, but we still use twenty-five percent of the world’s natural resources. We also produce thirty percent of the world’s garbage. The five worst cities in the United States for air pollution are all in California. The cities are Los Angeles, Visalia, Bakersfield, Fresno, and Sacramento. There are tons of organizations all over the United States that are helping stop pollution. Friends of the Earth is an organization that strives to make a healthier world. In 1990 the organization passed the Oil Spill Pollution Act. They also helped pass the California’s Clean Cars Law in 2003. The California’s Clean Cars Law is a law in California to decrease Carbon Monoxide emissions.

Global View

          Pollution is one of the main major problems in the world.  The top five countries in the world with the most pollution are China, the United States, Brazil, Indonesia, and Japan. China’s air pollution is visible from space. Almost one third of San Francisco’s pollution comes from China. Fourteen billion pounds of pollution are dumped into the ocean every single year. One person dies every eight seconds from polluted water, and one in every eight deaths is from pollution. Friends of the Earth International is a worldwide organization that helps the economy. Friends of the Earth International reduced air pollution from ships in the past. They worked on reducing air pollution for almost a decade.

1. You can walk, run, or ride a bicycle everywhere you can so you will not release as many greenhouse gases.
2. Invest in an electric car. Electric cars do not release greenhouse gas emissions. Electric cars run off of electricity instead of gas.
3. Set up cleanups at local areas like parks, beaches, highways, etc.
4. Set out recycling bins, and compost bins wherever you are allowed to.
5. Turn off all lights, water, and electronics when you are not using them.
6. Buy reusable items like metal water bottles.
7. Use fewer chemicals, and pesticides.
8. Join environmental groups, or create one of your own.
9. Recycle everything that you can.
10. Finally, spread the word and tell others about how they can help end pollution.

• The more you recycle, the more the prices go down. If there are more products to sell, there will not be a need for a high price anymore.
• The more you recycle, the less pollution goes into the ocean and air.
• Because there are so many greenhouse gas emissions, recycling 30% of waste is equal to removing 25 million cars from the road.
• There will be more natural resources to use if you use recyclable materials.

• All the pollution in the air, goes into our lungs.
• Automobiles release a toxin called Carbon Monoxide, also called CO, every time you turn one on.
• By using public transportation systems, you can reduce the amount of toxic CO released into the air.
• 14 billion pounds of garbage is dumped into the ocean every year. Most of it is plastic, which animals mistake for jellyfish.
• Recycling 100 cans could produce enough energy to light up a room for two whole weeks.
• Each plastic bottle we throw away takes 500 years to decompose.
• Almost two billion tons of waste has been dumped into the ocean this year.