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Step 3: The Evidence: But what about the businesses? And our lives?

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Step 3: The Evidence: But what about the businesses? And our lives?

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We will be writing letters to the community to convince/persuade them. You will either:

1) Convince community members that although there is less pollution, staying home for long period of time is not a good option.

2) Convince community members that staying at home is so beneficial for the planet that we need to make some major changes and stay at home more.

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Write down your thoughts so far. Start a writing a plan for your letter.

Do you think we will go right back to life as normal?
What are some important reasons to go back to our life as normal? Is air quality more important than enjoying a convenient human life? Interesting thoughts!

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Step 2: The Evidence - Better for the environment?

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Step 2: The Evidence - Better for the environment?

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First, watch this video clip explaining some differences in pollution right here in Florida.

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Write a letter to our governor (Ron DeSantis)  telling/persuading him what you think.  Should we go back to life as normal or continue our stay at home efforts?  Be sure to use supporting evidence in your letter.  WHY should we stay home?  or WHY should we go back to normal? Be sure to reference some of the evidence that you explored on this Padlet.

This is not a writing to say we should go back to school because we miss our friends, we are instead focusing on our environment and economy (businesses, etc.)

When you are done, make sure to check your work and reread it to make sure it makes sense.

To submit your work, you can either write or type it up and hit the submit button on the assignment in Edsby.

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Step 7: Submit your final writing on Edsby.

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Step 7: Submit your final writing on Edsby.

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Now its time to choose a side. Think about the information you read today. What do you think? Will you decide life should return to normal, or should we all stop enjoying life the same way we did before? What other options can you think of? Is there a way for us to help the environment how we have been and still be able to enjoy daily life?

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Here in photo #1, you can see the difference in Italy. This photo is from Venice, where the main roadways are actually waterways, where boats travel daily just like cars on a highway!

On the left: the water is not very clear.

On the right: the water is very clear during the Stay at Home orders. Locals are saying that the wildlife are enjoying the water there more now than ever before.

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If we don’t visit them, what will happen? Can they survive if we stay home for too long? What about local restaurants that rely on the community?

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What will happen to the businesses in our areas if people continue to stay at home?  If there are no customers to shop and dine, the business does not make money.  Our impacts on the environments by staying home are lessening, but our businesses are going to struggle to stay open. Will they still be there when we are finally done with "stay at home?"

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Anyone can take a photo of clean water and air. Where is the real data?! Well, there is plenty. Here is just a simple graph to show the difference in pollution in Beijing China last year and this year.

Click to enlarge.

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On the other hand, places like Disney World are sitting empty. No one is there! The sense of wonder is gone until they open their doors once again. Does it cause pollution for us to visit these places? Yes. But do people make memories there that last a lifetime? Yes.

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Air pollution in Beijing is a big problem- the photo on top shows the smog that was there before the Coronavirus. Now, in the bottom photo, air is cleaner.

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And sporting events, the teams and players rely on us to keep going and it's their job. Do sporting events cause pollution? What will the players do if they can't work?

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The same person took these photos from the same location- all during different stages of the Coronavirus. Look at the clear air they are having there now!

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Just check out the headline!

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Read to see how staying at home helps the sea turtles.

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Stay-at-home orders have forced millions of people to stay indoors to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Now, as summer approaches and beaches remain void of people and pollution, sea turtles are finally able to nest peacefully - and they're thriving.

Sarah Hirsch, senior manager of research and data at Loggerhead Marinelife Center, told CBS News affiliate WPEC that "it's going to be a very good year for our leatherbacks."

"We're excited to see our turtles thrive in this environment," Hirsch said. "Our world has changed, but these turtles have been doing this for millions of years and it's just reassuring and gives us hope that the world is still going on."

David Godfrey, executive director of the Sea Turtle Conservancy, told CBS News in an email that thousands of turtles are currently migrating to nesting beaches in Florida and other areas in the Southeastern United States, and that "all of the potential positive impacts relate to changes in human behavior."

All seven species of sea turtles are endangered. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the largest threats sea turtles face in the U.S. are damages to nesting habitats, accidentally getting captured by fishermen, debris entanglement and getting hit by marine vessels.

Godfrey explained that since there are far fewer people boating and operating cruise and container ships now, "the chances that turtles are going to be inadvertently struck and killed will be lower."

"All of the reduced human presence on the beach also means that there will be less garbage and other plastics entering the marine environment," Godfrey added. "Ingestion and entanglement in plastic and marine debris also are leading causes of injury to sea turtles."

A study conducted at the University of Florida in 2016 found that removing debris from the beach can increase the number of nests by as much as 200%.

In Juno Beach, Florida, researchers from the Loggerhead Marinelife Center have found at least 69 nests, which is "significantly more than normal" for the 9.5 miles of beach they include in their research, according to CBS Miami. According to the center, only 1 in 1,000 sea turtle hatchlings live to be adults, and all of the hatchlings the center takes in have ingested microplastics.

Florida reported more than 395,700 sea turtle nests in the 2019 nesting and hatching season, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Many nesting sites are along the beaches that double as popular tourist destinations, including in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and the Florida Keys. But now that the beaches are seeing fewer tourists, closed businesses, and many are still closed to the public, Godfrey said the beaches are darker.

"We expect that thousands of hatchlings that ordinarily would be disoriented by lights this nesting season will not be - and are more likely to survive to reach the sea," he said.

Nesting and hatching season lasts from March 1 to October 31.

In Tortuguero, Costa Rica, the Sea Turtle Conservancy announced Friday that they counted 45 leatherback turtle nests, three green turtle nests, and one hawksbill nest.

Nesting update from Sea Turtle Conservancy Tortuguero! Our team reports 45 leatherback nests and we just got our first...
Posted by Sea Turtle Conservancy on Friday, April 17, 2020

The first Kemp's ridley sea turtle nest was discovered in Texas on April 11, which the Padre Island Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery says is about 10 days earlier than last year. They wrote on Facebook that they hope it's a sign of a "busy nesting year."

FIRST KEMP'S RIDLEY NEST FOUND TODAY IN TEXAS! Someone was out "hiding" her eggs today... and it wasn't the Easter Bunny....
Posted by Padre Island NS Division of Sea Turtle Science & Recovery on Saturday, April 11, 2020

The Loggerhead Marinelife Center and other sea turtle researchers have said they are optimistic about how coronavirus will impact the rest of the nesting season.

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Sea turtles are finally thriving now that people are stuck indoors

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Stay-at-home orders have forced millions of people to stay indoors to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Now, as summer approaches and beaches remain void of people and pollution, sea turtles are finally able to nest peacefully - and they're thriving.

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How do stay at home orders impact the environment?

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Coronavirus impact: Environment thrives as people follow stay-at-home orders

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With billions of people around the world under stay-at-home measures, one unexpected impact is its effect on the environment. The air is cleaner and wild animals are reclaiming their natural habitats. NBC's Anne Thompson reports for Weekend TODAY.