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Hello class! My name is Michelle Rodriguez, I'm 20 years old and this is my last semester in MDC until graduating. My major is Criminal Justice and I plan on becoming a lawyer in the next 5 years if everything goes to plan.  Unfortunately, I will be graduating with my associates degree without attending any in person classes which is something I have always been excited to experience but hopefully this year I am able to. I am passionate about accomplishing all my goals, one of them includes having a good job while studying which is something i've optained. I currently work at a bank and its been a great job to have while going to school. Some of my hobbies include spending time with my family, going shopping, trying new restaurants and reading. During the pandemic I started reading and have read over 30 books, it has helped my writing abilities a lot and it's a great stress reliver. I'm very proud to be on track with my studies, having a good job and purchasing my new car. One thing I do plan on working on this year is being more social, I am a pretty introverted person and during the pandemic I've lost contact with many people. Overall I'm very excited to see what this new years brings and I wish you all a safe year!

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For this assignment we had to join a meeting with one of our librarian, professor Isabel Duque. Isabel explained in detail what resources we have available and is free to help us complete this assignment. I was unaware of most of these helpful resources and one tool that stood out to me was the online tutoring option. This option allows you to schedule an appointment with a librarian if you need help with writing, speech, science or help with microsoft word, exel, powerpoint, etc. One tool I was aware of is the resource tools where we can find books, videos and articles having to do with any topic we choose to do research on. The topic I chose to research that I feel very strongly about is waste pollution. There are many different causes for waste pollution and some of them include the mismanagement of waste, the inadequate treatment of waste and the improper containment of waste. Miami is a very polluted city and suffers greatly from littering, our beaches and habitats that are needed by animals and plants are being affected as well. Air pollution is also a very important topic it is a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air including, car emissions, chemicals from factories, dust, pollen, etc.

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SP3 Is Miami being affected by waste and air pollution 

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SP3 Is Miami being affected by waste and air pollution 

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Aguirre, Louis. "our litter on earth is strangling Miami's waterways. "WPLG Local 10, 29 Apr.2021,  https://www.localnews10.com/news/local/2021/04/29our-litter-on-land-is-starngling-miamis-waterways/.

This article talks about the littering problem in Miami and the damage it is causing to our water. It mentions a nonprofit organization called "Clean Miami Beach" that weakly cleans up our beaches, waterways, and causeways from all the litter. This article suggests that more education and engagement is needed to to prevent so much trash from entering our waterways.

"Miami Air Quality Index (AQI) and Florida Air Pollution; Airvisual." Miami Air Quality Index (AQI) and Florida Air pollution/ AirVisual, https://www.iqair.com/us/usa/florida/miami

This article talks about how polluted the air in Miami is, Miami-dade county is ranked as the most populous county in Florida and the seventh most populous county in the United States. The article goes in detail on why we have such poor air quality, its ranking, and what is being done to improve the air quality in Miami.

Hataway, James, and James Hataway, "Researchers Help Miami Fight Plastic Pollution." UGA Today, 20 Dec. 2021, https://news.uga.edu/researchers-help-miami-fight-plastic-pollution.

This article talks Jenna Jambeck, an enviromental engineer professor and her students who have partnered with Ocean Conservancy which is a nonprofit enviromental advocacy group and the city of Miami to better understand the life cycle of plastic pollution and what steps must be taken to keep Miami's waterways clean.

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CAS1 the harmful impacts of our enviroment

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CAS1 the harmful impacts of our enviroment

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The story of plastic" is a documentary film informing us of how plastic packaging is affecting our enviroment. In this film it states that 32% of plastic packaging ends up littering the enviroment, 40% in a landfill, 14% incinerated, 14% is recycled and only 2% is effectively recycled (The story of plastic, 0:28). This documentary also mentions how much change there has been in regards to the use of plastic. Politicions and many companies are making policy changes. About 8 million metric tons of plastic enter oceans each year and is severely affecting ocean life. This video is encouraging us to make a change and better decisions in regards to the overproduction and overusement of plastic in our enviroment.

"The world we need: Sharon Lavigne's story of rise st. James" is a narration told by Sharon Lavigne. Her story takes place when she is six years old and is visiting the mississippi river, Lavigne explains feeling the fresh air flowing through giant grasses filled with blueberry vines and white spider lillies (0:15). Lavigne and her family had everything imaginable they grew fruits and vegetables, had their own animals that produced milk and eggs that was until the first chemical plant arrived in 1968. This negatively affecting her community, people were becoming sick and dying and it caused air pollution. Years later Lavigne and her neighbors sought out change and started a cause to stop the burning of plastic in her community.

Both videos inspired me to better care for my community and start making changes even if they are small. I have personally noticed the overusement of plastic in my community and will start to refrain from using it as much as I can. Taking care of our enviroment is essential not only to us but to our wildlife and marine life. Many animals and plants are facing extinction due to our poor decisions when it comes to taking care of our enviroment. There are many great changes we can make in protecting the earth and some include recycling, conserving water, shopping wisely, creating compost piles, keeping track of our trash to see how much we really waste and cutting back on that and using less packaging.  Even small changes will make a big difference and watching these videos will motivate you to start.

Work cited:

"The story of plastic"

"The world we need: Sharon Lavigne's story of St. James"

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CAS2 plastic waste and carbon emissions 

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CAS2 plastic waste and carbon emissions 

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First Article

"What to do with piles of plastic waste"

This article talks about plastic waste and the negative effects it has on our environment as well as helpful solutions to limit the amount of plastic waste we consume. The article mentions that communities around the world are turning plastic waste into the raw materials to build local infrastucture, create employment, and change the systems that have trapped them under the weight of the world's plastic waste for far too long (Breanna Draxley paragraph 1). Our World International is a local nonprofit founded eight years ago that promotes sustainable waste management and trains people on how to manage waste by turning it into useable products and since then there has been a 10% waste reduction.

Second article

"New York's real climate challenge: fixing it's aging buildings"

This article talks about a housing project in brooklyn that is taking nine apartment buldings and retroffiting them to be more sustainable and cut carbon emissions (first paragraph). This project is called Casa Pasiva and it aims to be a new model for the sustainable transformation of Brooklyn's housing stock. Each of the 146 apartments will have a wall-mounted electric heater and air-conditioner connected to a system of ducts and refrigerant lines that snake up the walls and connect to an energy recovery ventilator, a rooftop machine that purifies and circulates air. Tenants will not only have energy saving benefits but also better air quality, less noise from the outside and fewer pests and mold issues.

Reflection:

Solutions journalism is an amazing resource because it not only provides important information about certain topics but it also mentions people's personal experiences with them. I learned a lot from reading the two articles I chose under the topic climate change. The first article provided important infromation on how damaging plastic waste is to our enviroment and what we have done in regards to limit our usage of plastic and how to make reusable products from it. The second article is one I wasn't too familiar with so I'm glad I came across it, it is about a project taking place in Brooklyn, New York called Casa Pasiva. This project is an attempt to reduce the carbon emissions that come from buildings, this will result in better air quality for tenants, less noise, fewer pests, mold issues and plenty of other benefits. Both articles cover ways we can better take care of our enviroment and the efforts we have made and their impact, it is something I feel very strongly about and I am glad to have discovered solutions journalism to keep reading up on this important topic.

Works cited:

"What to do with piles of plastic waste"

"New york's real climate challenge: Fixing it's aging buildings"

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CAS4 is it hard to care for climate change?

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CAS4 is it hard to care for climate change?

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In the video "it's hard to care about climate change" the narrator is explaining that climate change is barely being reported. Many news outlets are rarely speaking about climate change and when they do it comes off wrong to many people. The video explains that the topic of climate change depresses people and is very complex and difficult to fathom. Climate change is seen as threatening and people will instinctively push it away and become overwhelmed. A solution to this is covering the effects of climate change in a more relatable way. The topic needs to be communicated more effectively if not it can have people feeling powerless and unable to make a difference. I personally feel very greatly about climate change and have noticed that rarely any media covers this topic, it is something I have grown to care about during college and after doing many assignments based on climate change and the negative effects it has on the environment. With that being said, it is a sad topic but it's better to gain knowledge and do research on how we can help solve this problem than to completely shut it down. The media shouldn't ignore this and we as humans should feel obligated to make changes and pay attention when these topics come about on tv, magazines, and social media.

Works cited: (Planet A, "it's hard to care about climate change". 2022)