Lorax Project - 2017 by Isabelle Robinson https://padlet.com/isabelleryann/aomrc4did1k1 en-us 2017-10-15 17:02:09 UTC 2023-04-14 06:47:16 UTC hello@padlet.com Quarter 1 isabelleryann https://padlet.com/isabelleryann/aomrc4did1k1/wish/197134019 Electric cars are slowly becoming a more affordable and popular method of reducing additional greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions slowly build up and create more heat, increasing global warming, decreasing biodiversity, and disrupting ecosystems. For example, this heating of the atmosphere melts sea ice, which polar bears use to hunt for seals. Without this ice, they are cut off from a significant food source and may starve. Without the polar bears keeping the seal population at regular levels, the increased number of seals will consume more fish, which disrupts the oceanic ecosystem even further. This also affects humans, as there will be less fish for them to consume. Any affect on the environment can cause a chain reaction, as shown above, which is why many people are buying electric cars as to reduce their carbon footprint.]]> 2017-10-15 17:04:29 UTC https://padlet.com/isabelleryann/aomrc4did1k1/wish/197134019 Quarter 1 isabelleryann https://padlet.com/isabelleryann/aomrc4did1k1/wish/197170668 The huge brown mounds in the back of this picture are piles of debris that were left after Hurricane Irma tore through Florida, displacing trees, soil, and minerals. Instead of burning the debris and increasing carbon dioxide emissions, thus contributing to global warming, this community is turning the debris into mulch, which can be used for preserving moisture and enhancing the health of soil. Although Hurricane Irma devastated much of Florida's environment, the conversion of the debris into something environmentally helpful shows how a positive can result from a negative.]]> 2017-10-15 22:29:45 UTC https://padlet.com/isabelleryann/aomrc4did1k1/wish/197170668 Quarter 2 isabelleryann https://padlet.com/isabelleryann/aomrc4did1k1/wish/215626777 Feral and outdoor domestic cats can threaten endangered bird species and global biodiversity. It is approximated that cats kill as many as 2.4 billion birds per year in the United States alone; this is particularly problematic in the state of Hawaii, which is home to a number of endangered and threatened bird species. Feral and outdoor cats in the Hawaiian islands have contributed to the extinction of thirty-three native species, and are also  known to carry the dangerous parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The eggs of these parasites are expelled in cat feces, and threaten both humans and Hawaiian birds. The destruction of these bird species harms Hawaii’s biodiversity, which lessens ecosystem productivity and decreases genetic diversity. The effects of this include heightened extinction rates, slower recovery from natural disasters, and increasingly unstable climate.]]> 2017-12-12 21:35:12 UTC https://padlet.com/isabelleryann/aomrc4did1k1/wish/215626777 Quarter 2 isabelleryann https://padlet.com/isabelleryann/aomrc4did1k1/wish/215634475 Plastic water bottles are seen by many activists as environmentally unfriendly because of the fossil fuels they require to be produced, the toxic fumes they emit if incinerated, and the litter they produce when discarded improperly. The greenhouse gas emissions created by bottling and transporting water exacerbates climate change and inspires drought, making clean drinking water (1% of the water on Earth) an even scarcer resource than it already is. Studies show that it takes three times the volume of water to manufacture a plastic bottle than to fill it, increasing unsustainable water waste. 
The chemicals in the plastic of the bottles also absorb toxins. Made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate), this substance absorbs toxic pollutants as it fragments, which contaminates soil, water sources, and wild animals. The contamination of these beings and environments may cause whole ecosystems and natural processes to be disrupted, or even demolished.
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