Marium Farooqie
Littering On Campus
Marium Farooqie #Biol394Photo1
The photo above was taken on April 15th around Lake St. Benedict.
What is environmental degradation? According to Business Dictionary, environmental degradation is “Erosion of the quality of natural environment caused, directly or indirectly, by human activities”. While researching for this project, I was worried that I would have to travel far away from home in order to see any sign of environmental degradation. Unfortunately, after taking a quick look around Lake St. Benedict I found that there was a lot of littering near the front of the lake. Initially, I had only found one or two cans of soda and a couple of plastic wrappers. However, after going into the back near the student housing parking lot; I found a lot of garbage. There were bread bags, candy wrappers, boxes of ready to heat food, and plastic cups. I was shocked. I had seen many people enjoying the area around Lake St. Benedict, so I automatically assumed that staff would be constantly cleaning the surrounding areas in order to make the lake as pleasant and clean as possible. Unfortunately, only the area by the dock was clean. It is unclear to me if the staff or the students, were the ones throwing garbage in the back.
According to CNN’s John Sutter, landfills and garbage make up to 3.1% of the biggest contributors to climate change. The garbage produces methane; a greenhouse gas that is very potent. While most small-scale littering does not have a huge environmental impact on the world, it does have a large impact on the local community. Littering affects humans, animals, and the local environment. When people throw their garbage around carelessly; there must be somebody that cleans it up. That means that the money for the cleanup comes from taxpayer’s money. Even if a person has not littered, they will still be paying for the cleanup. Litter also carries germs which in turn can become a breeding ground for bacteria. The bacteria can be transferred to us through our pets, cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Littering also encourages more littering to happen. All it takes is one person to throw their garbage on the floor, and suddenly you have people throwing their own litter in the same area.
Animals are also largely impacted by us littering. Animals that live in the area may see the trash as being a source of food and consume it. However, this can end up poisoning the animal as well as causing their death. The reason being that most of the trash people throw out is indigestible; plastic, glass, and tin are not safe for animal consumption. The trash can also attract a lot of unwanted rodents that carry disease to the area.
Lastly, the effect littering can have the environment. Other than the fact that littering takes away from the beauty of the surrounding area, it can also be a fire hazard. Paper and plastic is highly flammable and can aid in the destruction that fires cause. There is also a huge risk for chemical contamination. The garbage can collect over a period and seep into our waterways and soil. That in turn means that we would be drinking unsafe water and growing food in soil that has become unsafe and contaminated. Overall, it is easy to see that littering can cause so many damages. Not just to the environment and animals but also to us as human beings.
Littering On Campus
Marium Farooqie #Biol394Photo1
The photo above was taken on April 15th around Lake St. Benedict.
What is environmental degradation? According to Business Dictionary, environmental degradation is “Erosion of the quality of natural environment caused, directly or indirectly, by human activities”. While researching for this project, I was worried that I would have to travel far away from home in order to see any sign of environmental degradation. Unfortunately, after taking a quick look around Lake St. Benedict I found that there was a lot of littering near the front of the lake. Initially, I had only found one or two cans of soda and a couple of plastic wrappers. However, after going into the back near the student housing parking lot; I found a lot of garbage. There were bread bags, candy wrappers, boxes of ready to heat food, and plastic cups. I was shocked. I had seen many people enjoying the area around Lake St. Benedict, so I automatically assumed that staff would be constantly cleaning the surrounding areas in order to make the lake as pleasant and clean as possible. Unfortunately, only the area by the dock was clean. It is unclear to me if the staff or the students, were the ones throwing garbage in the back.
According to CNN’s John Sutter, landfills and garbage make up to 3.1% of the biggest contributors to climate change. The garbage produces methane; a greenhouse gas that is very potent. While most small-scale littering does not have a huge environmental impact on the world, it does have a large impact on the local community. Littering affects humans, animals, and the local environment. When people throw their garbage around carelessly; there must be somebody that cleans it up. That means that the money for the cleanup comes from taxpayer’s money. Even if a person has not littered, they will still be paying for the cleanup. Litter also carries germs which in turn can become a breeding ground for bacteria. The bacteria can be transferred to us through our pets, cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Littering also encourages more littering to happen. All it takes is one person to throw their garbage on the floor, and suddenly you have people throwing their own litter in the same area.
Animals are also largely impacted by us littering. Animals that live in the area may see the trash as being a source of food and consume it. However, this can end up poisoning the animal as well as causing their death. The reason being that most of the trash people throw out is indigestible; plastic, glass, and tin are not safe for animal consumption. The trash can also attract a lot of unwanted rodents that carry disease to the area.
Lastly, the effect littering can have the environment. Other than the fact that littering takes away from the beauty of the surrounding area, it can also be a fire hazard. Paper and plastic is highly flammable and can aid in the destruction that fires cause. There is also a huge risk for chemical contamination. The garbage can collect over a period and seep into our waterways and soil. That in turn means that we would be drinking unsafe water and growing food in soil that has become unsafe and contaminated. Overall, it is easy to see that littering can cause so many damages. Not just to the environment and animals but also to us as human beings.