Source: https://research.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/fs_scandi_report_chapter_1_02_508.pdf

In my town, increasing development and construction has destroyed forests and replaced permeable areas (areas where water can soak into the ground) with concrete, asphalt, and roofs. Although every development and construction project must have a drainage plan, the drainage they come up with does not wholly solve the problem of where water goes. It increases the speed of runoff and how fast rivers and streams fill up. This became very apparent in Hurricane Helene. The US is becoming more and more of a concrete and asphalt jungle, leading to more frequent and intense flooding.

When you think about going to the grocery store, it is natural for one to expect large, unblemished, bright colored 'fresh' fruits and vegetables but the reality is that when these items are produced by our farmers and ranchers, they will not all be the 'picture-perfect' product that you would think of. Retail stores have a standard for the color, shape, and size of products to be sold, and if this standard is not met, then the product cannot be sold by the producer. This is where a large issue of food waste and unsustainable practices in relation to our food supply can be found.

There are many, many other examples of unsustainable practices that are accepted due to consumer culture, but this is one of the main ones. 40% is a lot, and it will only change if consumer culture does as well.

The way she explained it was that when you buy a drink in a plastic bottle, you are charged for the drink, and then for the plastic. After you have finished drinking it, you can return the plastic bottle (In a Plastic Bottle Recycling Deposit) to get the money you were charged for the plastic back.

The way this is monitored is by having a barcode on each bottle, which is scanned at the deposit. The only way to receive your money back is if the plastic has a barcode on it, which has become the standard for production in Germany. Surrounding countries' companies that produce products consumed in Germany have also added these barcodes to their products so that German consumers will buy them and get their money back.

This is a cool form of sustainability that my aunt shared with me.

In D.C. however, over 600,000 unique people ride the train everyday. The train is a high density, fast moving form of transportation. Though I don't know the exact figure, train ridership significantly reduces the emissions an individual is responsible for creating. Additionally, for each additional rider there is 1 fewer car on the road. In cities such as D.C. where public transportation is reliable/ mostly reliable it is a very sustainable practice.

Food: Overworked and exhausted farmers will struggle to meet the demands of a large American population under the duress of high-impact climate change. Our current experiences of hurricanes and flooding on the coast, droughts in the west, and extremely high temperatures are merely a glimpse of what is to come. The high risks involved with heat-related health issues, impacting both livestock and farmers, will either raise prices to an unsustainable level or assist in collapsing the agricultural economy altogether.

Water: Snowpacks are melting, damaging the environment while simultaneously losing their value as a reliable source of water. Permafrost is melting as well, leading to the destruction of plant life in the Arctic tundra and causing flooding in northern America.

The Environment: The very lands that citizens of America live on are being destroyed by climate change. Sea levels are rising, coastal ecosystems are being disrupted, and ripple effects will continue to impact all living things on the planet.

Americans are beginning to experience the effects of climate change in real time as negative impacts finally begin to reach their daily life. Influence from the government, alongside major oil corporations, helps already willfully ignorant people to continue to turn a blind eye to the changes happening all around them.

reminded me that I learned in my APES class that there is sometimes illegal exportation of electronic waste to other countries where it is processed and broken down by workers in dangerous conditions.

More people dying

More CO2 emissions

More noise

More fuel consumption

More fear for slower drivers

I found that the primary means of transportation in Germany are buses. While it doesn't promote environmental health as much as biking does, it does save carbon emissions per passenger.