# data[].attributes.body
Water pH is very important to maintaining any ecosystem, and like with the hypoxic conditions in the Gulf. Nitrates are some of the most important in maintaining, because they can cause an excess amount of algal growth ('blooms') and draw out oxygen in the water when decomposing.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a box that is made with recycled tin and sold as a souvenir. My grandma picked up one for me when she had a trip to El Salvador on a trip. This is a prime example of recycling and reusing. Making these boxes not only reduces the amount of waste but provided the makers with profit. If more people made smart decisions like these there would be a decrease in pollution and help the global economy.

# data[].attributes.body
Whenever I go to the gym or play basketball with my friends, I see a lot of people bringing plastic water bottles or plastic gallons of water. After playing, these people usually toss the bottles in the trash, thinking nothing of it. However, nothing one of the "Ps" in HIPPCO, these plastic water bottles end up in landfills and contribute to the total amount of pollution on our planet. This pollution is one of the biggest threats to marine biodiversity. That is why I use a reusable, plastic water bottle whenever I go play basketball. It was a one-time purchase that has been allowing me to stay hydrated whenever I play for the past 3-4 years. By using this instead of the use-and-throw alternative, I am playing a small part in reducing the total pollution on Earth.

# data[].attributes.body
Veronica Rojas period 4

Flat Lorax Emily

My flat Lorax name is Emily , she is standing  next to my high efficient , water consuming washer. This machine is special because it helps us wash our cloths with less water than used.This helps us not only not use so much water but it helps us convey electricity, my family limits to washing only twice week instead of everyday by doing this we save water from being used and electricity being produced. If everybody acted the same as my family we would help reduce the amount of electricity and water that is produced and used in our environment.This will help have a cleaner and more green efficient country and environment.

# data[].attributes.body
To start off things, I was in houston last night with my girlfriend, sadly I didnt have my lorax at the time, but I still have to submit something, and this is a pretty good point about something I actually learned, something new. I never thought about light pollution, and how we affect certain animals with it. The US is full of major cities, such as Houston. The skies have been brighter than ever, and it has started to affect when birds migrate, etc. Skies back then used to be a lot darker, and birds didnt have issues migrating, affecting their day and night cycle.

# data[].attributes.body
Houston suburb areas are some of the fastest-growing areas in Texas currently. This high rate of expansion represents the first P in HIPPCO. Human population growth has resulted in an increase in land area taken up by humans, resulting in vast swathes of concrete throughout the area. Mediocre attempts to install green-grassed front lawns further results in adequate habitats for the species that once lived in these areas pre-development. Humans find other animals - whether snakes, insects, or small mammals - a nuisance and attempt to mitigate their presence. Thus, human population growth actively bulldozes the ability for other species to survive on.

# data[].attributes.body
With an ever-growing need to control our use of plastics, one way our family practices a more sustainable lifestyle is by using refillable water jugs instead of plastic water bottles. Not only are we saving money, but our efforts are contributing to putting an end to millions of plastic water bottles ending up in landfills. About 80% of these bottles end up in dumps where it take 1000 years to decompose, while emitting toxic chemicals to the environment. Local supermarkets allow people to drop off their empty water jugs in replacement for a new refilled jug. Every household using this way of accessing drinking water helps fight plastic pollution and in the long term can effectively help our pollution problem if everyone partook in sustainable drinking practices.

# data[].attributes.body
In our bathroom, we only have two lightbulbs instead of eight, drastically reducing the energy consumption every time we turn on the lights in there. In addition to this, we also replaced the light bulbs given to us by the builder, which were traditional ones using lots of watts, with eco-friendly, LED light bulbs which produce the same amount of lumens (brightness) but for far less watts, meaning far less energy consumption. This is quite a significant change, as with all the changes accounted for, we are consuming roughly around 10% of the energy we would generally consume in the bathroom. Magnified over many years, and with many other rooms of our house also outfitted similarly, this would translate to a large reduction in energy consumption, which is not only beneficial for the environment (as a smaller demand for energy would lead to a smaller supply from the coal, wind, solar, and all the other energy sources) but also very beneficial to the consumer, as it is extremely cost efficient. Not only is it helpful to the environment, it also helps us save money, thus hopefully encouraging more people to adopt similar practices.

# data[].attributes.body
These worms that live in my backyard are an example of a decomposer. A decomposer is an organism that feeds on dead organic matter, decomposing it into nutrients for the soil. These worms assist the quality of the soil in my yard by decomposing any dead plants or animals that are on my property, and they turn this into nutrients for the soil to use to grow more plants. This makes these worms an integral part of the environment around my house and most of the world.

# data[].attributes.body
Gas stoves provide instant heat and cooks have a greater control over the temperatures, making them more energy efficient than electric stoves. Electric stoves take longer to heat and cool, while gas stoves heat up instantly. Natural gas costs less than electricity so a gas stove costs 10% to 30% lesser than electric stoves. Therefore, natural gas is a relatively good option as a fuel source.

# data[].attributes.headline
Mb Usua - Notebook made from recycled materials 

# data[].attributes.subject
Mb Usua - Notebook made from recycled materials 

# data[].attributes.body
This is a notebook made from mostly recycled materials. This is good because instead of cutting down more trees to make this notebook, existing paper was used instead. A pen came with it, and the barrel of the pen is made from recycled paper instead of plastic. This is much better than using plastic because plastic comes from oil which realeases green house gases into the atmosphere.

# data[].attributes.body
While it is obvious that humans need to consume protein to be healthy, most people consume animal products to consume protein. While I am not a vegan or a vegetarian, I try to be mindful towards animal life. This is the protein powder that I take after working out. It is vegan and provides plant protein, which is absorbed and digested much better than regular animal products! A little goes a long way and many people think that they dont make a difference but if everyone consumed a little less animal products, it would create a huge impact!

# data[].attributes.body
Winter means death to almost all plants that do have a habitat in summer. In my house, we maintained a big garden and most of the plants, during winter always dried out and died. In order to keep them warm and healthy, we keep them outside in order to get sunlight during the day and then we move them to the garage at night under this UV light. This light provides sufficient heat and light for the plants in order to survive the winter.

# data[].attributes.body
A few weeks ago when visiting the Houston Zoo, I noticed these white bulbs that were being put on display to honor a family that had worked tirelessly to save certain trees and forests in Texas. This idea goes along perfectly with the H in HIPPCO, as the family is working to save many trees that are the homes to many different organisms and species within forests. The family mentioned in the honored sign is using their position within society to expand social awareness for the habitat destruction that is currently taking over the world, as it is the number one reason for extinction of many organisms and species.

# data[].attributes.body
Orchids, like the two varieties seen here, are epiphytes (aka air plants). This means they grow on other plants, and in nature are seen growing on the trees in their environment. They are not parasitic, and have a symbiotic relationship with the tree they grow on that is classified as commensalism.

# data[].attributes.body
My lorax is located by the cross creek area. There has been a lot of construction over there, so I decided to talk about it. This picture well represents the H in HIPPCO, because it clearly shows that they are taking away animals habitats. In the future these animals that were once living here could eventually become extinct, because they were forced to relocate to a place they are accustomed to. It may not seem like there were a ton of species living there, but a specie is a specie and loosing one can still impact the environment.

# data[].attributes.body
Today, my mom and I went grocery shopping and used reusable bags versus opting to use the plastic bags the store provides. Unfortunately, we have a lot of reusable bags but always forget to use it. Today, we put a bunch in the back of the car so that we will always have some without us having to think about it. Reusable bags lower plastic waste everywhere, most importantly in the oceans. By using reusable bags and continuing on using them, my family an I are contributing to lowering plastic waste. This relates to environmental science because pollution is one of the leading causes of animal death.

# data[].attributes.body
Veronica Rojas period 4

Flat Lorax Emily

My flat Lorax name is Emily , she is standing  next to the plastic cups we recycle in my house. By recycling my family helps the environment from plastic that is released from the chemicals that plastic is released by. These chemicals can harm our environment and species causing serious problem. One of the problems that is created by not recycling plastic is that the chemicals being released contaminate the water which this animals drink out of. If our humanity recycle plastic like my family does it could save eliminate the 150 million metric tons of plastic that circles out earth oceans. Our planet Earth is consuming  a mass amount of plastic that , a garbage full of plastic is being released every minute. Finally recycling simple objects like cups it could help our environment in many different ways.

# data[].attributes.body
As the season is moving toward fall, the leaves are falling and they are just all over lawns or cover the roads. Leaves, eventhough they are dried up, still can be used as manure. by collecting the leaves and using them as manure, we can clean up the leaves and use it instead of burning it. Burning the leaves can cause a lot of release of Carbon di oxide which is bad for the environment, but by reusing them, we can reduce relasese of CO2. If all communities follow this method, we don’t not have to burn the fallen leaves.

# data[].attributes.body
https://padlet.com/VKAPES/_4_2

# data[].attributes.body
These are coffee grounds given out for free at the Starbucks in the local Kroger. This is trash for them, but instead of throwing it all out immediately, they are neatly packing them and encouraging the local community to take them for free. This is in the hopes that members of the community may use them as fertilizer. This results in the coffee grounds, which were initially headed to landfills, to instead be free fertilizer. And it is quite effective too! They aerate the soil, attract earthworms, and enrich the soil with nitrogen as well as repel ants and slugs. And they are especially good for azaleas and roses. Overall, this coffee ground depicts a win-win relationship within the community, as we simultaneously reduce landfill waste and better our own gardens for free.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a picture of a water conservation kit promoted by the Fort Bend Water Detective Program. It helps to save water at home by providing some easy to install items in the kit. It provides instructions and water saving tips and tricks. This is important because of the limited amount of water that is on Earth. We have a certain amount and have to do are best to use it wisely.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a picture of some organic blueberries I found in my fridge. Although the word "organic" makes it sound like these blueberries are 100% natural, there is, however, a great deal of human tampering going into this product. This box of blueberries have been artificially selected for many years. Artificial selection refers to when humans selectively breed for certain phenotypic traits, such as bigger petals in flowers or racehorses bred for speed. In this case however, it is likely that humans have selectively bred for the blueberry plant to produce a greater amount of and bigger fruits. Over the years, due to human activity, the blueberries from these plants have gotten bigger and more tastier.

# data[].attributes.body
I took this photo at our field trip at the Houston zoo, in the gorilla exhibit. At our gorilla talk, the speaker told us that cellphones actually harmed gorillas because there’s a material inside that is taken from gorilla habitats. Therefore, to create phones, a number of gorilla habitats are destroyed for the material. I thought it was interesting how the zoo incorporated this section that promotes recycling cell phones. This relates to environmental science because it helps promote awareness about recycling and saving gorillas from extinction. I got to further learn how humans negatively impact animals.

# data[].attributes.body
1. is pollution free and causes no greenhouse gases to be emitted after installation

2. Reduced dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels

3. Renewable clean power that is available every day of the year, even cloudy days produce some power

4. Return on investment unlike paying for utility bills

5. Creates jobs by employing solar panel manufacturers, solar installers, etc. and in turn helps the economy

# data[].attributes.body
With ever-growing precautionary actions we humans have started to partake in, recycling has effectively made human waste disposal more efficient and environmentally friendly. As innovation has improved over the decades, the use of plastics has only increased. Normally, items such as plastic bags and bottles can take up to 1000 years to decompose naturally! With the introduction of recycling tactics, we can cut down our plastic use by engineering ways to reuse these materials. Fighting a difficult battle to decrease pollution levels, recycling has been one of the most innovative and effective ways of waste disposal to date. The less we pollute, the more sustainable our environment becomes!

# data[].attributes.body
Pears, oranges, and apples are the fruits of plants, which are producers. These plants use 1% of the energy from the sun that reaches the earth for photosynthesis and use that energy to convert carbon dioxide, water, and solar energy into glucose and oxygen. However, because some of this energy is released as heat and some of this energy is used up by the organism for day-to-day activities via cellular respiration, only about 10% of the energy produced will be transferred to the next trophic level, or primary consumers. Thus, if I consume an orange, I am only getting 10% of the energy that was originally a product of photosynthesis.

# data[].attributes.body
The two different types of apples were probably achieved through artificial selection. Most producers would want an apple that is resiliant to certain bugs and chemicals but not sacrifice taste. Desirable traits in certain apples would be forced together to create the wanted product. Artificial selection is also used to produce different breeds of animals and in most agricultual crops.

# data[].attributes.body
Whenever a needle is used for an injection, it is highly unsafe to dispose of it in the same location of trash or other recycling. To solve this issue, these sharps containers were made to dispose of needles and other hazardous materials in a safe location. These containers, rather than being dumped out, are handled securely by different local organizations around the country in order to ensure that the dangerous waste does not escape into the environment. If these containers were to be exposed to the environment, they would contaminate their surroundings, harming ecosystems

# data[].attributes.body
A lot of the waste we throw away ends up in our oceans so me and my family have this tradition where we stash every water bottle we use in a pile in our rooms and my mom collects them every Sunday and recycles them. We have also switched to using stainless steel straws rather than plastic straws to minimize the amount of plastic that is wasted. By doing simple things like this we can save our environment from becoming trashed and save aquatic life from dying off due to human irresponsibility .

# data[].attributes.headline
Biotic Environmental Factors- Nour Rashad

# data[].attributes.subject
Biotic Environmental Factors- Nour Rashad

# data[].attributes.body
In any fish tank, it’s important to have an established biology of helpful bacteria in the filter wheel and in the water. This is why you should never change 100% of the water in a fish tank or buy new filter wheels, all the fish will more often than not die. These super important bacteria are a crucial biotic factor in this small ecosystem that supports the life and the overall health of all the other organisms in it.

# data[].attributes.body
The horse, Daisy, lives on a ranch in Richmond,Texas. She is a herbivore for many obvious reasons. The only thing she eats are grasses and other types of hay. The grasses serve as the producers which are an autotroph. The definition of a herbivore is an organism that consumes producers. Daisy the horse maintains a well nutritious diet by eating her producers.

# data[].attributes.body
The Houston Zoo works with many other organizations to help protect gorrillas and save them from extinction. It has many programs used to take care of gorrillas and also make people more aware of how they can help.

# data[].attributes.body
While on a trip to the Houston Zoo a few weeks ago, I noticed a shaped animal that was made out of recycled bottle caps from glass bottles. I found it interesting that the zoo was using recycled materials to create something new and interesting for customers to buy for their own pleasure. It is important to recycle things that may seem not useful, because you never know who could find joy in reusing recycled materials. I believe that this item is reflective of the teachings of Environmental Science, because it shows how to make the best out of materials that may seem to be garbage and to slowly help save the environment.

# data[].attributes.body
This giraffe was made by materials that would be considered waste and completely useless. By using these completely useless materials to make something useful, less waste was sent to landfills and overall polluting our land. This relates to APES as preventing landfills from filling up is essential to protecting the future.

# data[].attributes.headline
Kaiqi Zhao. Soles to solely protect the environment.

# data[].attributes.subject
Kaiqi Zhao. Soles to solely protect the environment.

# data[].attributes.body
In order to create fun figures for children while keeping the environment in mind, the Houston zoo decided to use shoe soles to make these figures. This reuses materials and prevents more waste from entering our landfills. This relates to APES as this action is key to reducing waste and remaining sustainable.