Author Archives: smithme1

News Report Follow Up

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  1. State Hires Contractor team to build Mid-Brenton Sediment Diversion
  2.  Schleifstein, M. (2019, April 08). State hires contractor team to build Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion. Retrieved from https://www.nola.com/environment/2019/04/state-hires-contractor-team-to-build-mid-breton-sediment-diversion.html
  • Who: State of Louisiana
  • What: sediment diversion
  • When: October 2023-June 2028
  • Where: Mississippi River Levees
  • Why: to solve the Louisiana’s costal crisis
  • Relevance: to protect the Mississippi river and surrounding areas from rising waters. The sediment buildings up in the middle of the river and causes the water to overspill onto the land where people’s homes are due to the Levees that were built. The sediment diversion will help to keep sediment from building up and keeping people’s homes and land safe, in addition to helping the boats that go down the Mississippi do so safely.

The Devil We Know – Documentary Review

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Happy Earth Day! Today I watched “The Devil we Know”. The documentary covers the toxic chemical cover up done by DuPont and 3M. In 1945 the DuPont plant in West Virginia began the production of the C-8 synthetic chemical that is extremely harmful. C-8 has been found in the blood of 99% of the world. It causes birth defects, cancer, harms animals, etc. The land was purchased from a WV Farmer where DuPont claimed they would dispose of non-toxic chemicals.  After the plant started the farmer who sold the land noticed that fish were dying in the river and his cattle where dying from drinking from the river. 

The documentary covers the story of how a household brand like Teflon has impacted so many people and their lives. One man in the documentary was born with birth defects due to the chemical exposure his mother had while working for Teflon making the non-stick pans. The synthetic chemicals used in Teflon products created many birth defects. One man was born blind on one eye and only had on nostril. They did not think he would make it through his first night. He ended up making it through and went on to have 30 surgeries before he turned 5. This had a great impact on his life and it was caused due to the C-8 chemicals produced in WV by DuPont. The toxic chemicals are now apart of every person on this planet because we consume them through food or water. 

The chemicals from Teflon products cause cancer in animals and people. This pollution causes 9 million premature deaths annually. This number is compelling to me. Teflon, DuPont, and 3M have all tried covered up this information. They offered settlements to those effected, but the class decided not settle and filed a class-action law suit against DuPont. There is no amount of money that fix the lives that are taken by C-8 and other synthetic chemicals created by these companies. To this day DuPont and 3M still try to cover up what happened and continues to happen. The exposures to the contaminated water, air, and soil kill more people than smoking, hunger, natural disasters, war, AIDS, or malaria (thedevilweknow.com). This is shocking and scary. Peoples lives are affected daily by this. 

It’s important to remember that the Teflon products are still used in houses today. There is no way to escape the chemicals that are used in these products. It’s in our carpets, floss, water resistant clothes, and non-stick cookware. The producers of this film wanted to uncover what they have tried so hard to cover up. This documentary was eye-opening and educational. It made me sad watching this. This has effected they entire planet and it can from Americas backwards economics. This could have been prevented and it wasn’t. Now our generation must find ways to live with this and try to fix it. The documentary can be viewed on Netflix, I also recommend checking out thedevilweknow.com for more facts and information on the issue. 

Reducing Waste

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I recently moved to a new apartment and live with less people than before. I alway thought the amount of trash/waste being produced was due to living with 3 other people. However, I have realized this is not the case. I alone produce enough trash to fill a medium sized trashcan in one day and I am not conscious about recycling. I believe food is the biggest part of the wastes I produce.  So, for the past few weeks I have been tracking how often I have to take the trash out and how fast the trashcan fills up. It was shocking to see that what me and my roommate alone produce. We are both very busy and rarely home so it shoots us both to see how much we throw away. Since making a conscious effort to reduce wastes we only take the trash out once a week now and have a separate bin for recycling. 

Im more conscious about buying things as well, trying to reduce the use of single use plastics can be challenging at first. I buy a plastic water bottle everyday because I forget my reusable bottle. Not only am I wasting my money, I’m also wasting resources. So, I make an effort to fill my water bottle at night and put it in my refrigerator and grab it before I leave in the morning. I also stopped buying smoothies and started making them at home. I use my own reusable cup and straw, saving the planet from wasting another plastic cup and straw. 

In the few weeks I’ve been making these changes I’ve seen plenty of changes. I produce less trash and I have been saving money (in many ways). I would probably spend about $50 a week between smoothies and single use plastic water bottles. Now I am saving that money and helping reduce waste! I struggled with this at first, but quickly overcame the struggles once I got into a routine. It is important to be aware of the wastes you are producing. You never realize how much is being wasted until you track it. I encourage whoever is reading this to track your wastes and come up with ways to reduce them. It can be challenging in the beginning but it is worth it. My goal for the summer is to create a compost area in my back parking lot for be and my neighbors to use! Happy waste reducing everyone! 

Connecting to the Natural World

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I feel connected to the natural world in many ways. When I was a kid I spent endless hours outside exploring the woods, swimming, biking, and gardening with my parents. Now I spend less time outside, but I still feel connected to the natural world. While we live in a city, I still make use of all of our amazing green spaces and parks on the water. As I have gotten older I have become busier and it is harder to find the time to be outside. When I do have time to be outside I head down to a dock near Water Front Park, this is my favorite place in Charleston. I love watching the water and there are always dolphins flipping out of the water. Boats come in and out of the port and there is an amazing view of the Ravenell Bridge. I feel connected to the natural world the I go outside and mediate. It brings peace to me knowing I’m a small part of a big system. When I mediate outdoors I feel grounded afterwords. There are many benefits to mediating and being outdoors, so I do both at once to maximize my time. Being connected to the natural plays a big part in our well being. It is proven to improve mental health and boost overall mood. For this assignment I went down to a dock at the end of Bull Street, near Lockwood drive. I sat and meditated for 10-15 minutes and then I just relaxed in the sun. A friend showed me this dock, which is not far from campus and a great place to relax or even study. I have always loved the water and everything about it. So for me, heading to the spot on or near the water is ideal for connecting to the natural world. My experience this particular time was amazing, the weather was perfect for a relaxing time to escape from the city. It was quiet and I was the only one out there. It is important to take time and appreciate the nature we have around us. I do not have this quality of outdoor space at home and all green spaces/parks/forests are a 30 minute drive away. It is nice to live a city with amazing and well kept green-spaces for locals and tourist to enjoy. The City of Charleston has done an amazing job keeping these parks and docks a reality for us. Although the amount of time I have spent outside has changed over the years, I still make sure to get out at least once a week and enjoy everything this beautiful and historic city has to offer us. 

CDC Emergency Preparedness

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I attended Dr. Redd’s lecture in RITA the other night. It was an informative lecture on emergency preparedness and about Dr. Redd’s line of work at the Center for Disease Control (CDC). This event was put on by the department of Health and Human Performance. He started with the driving causes of outbreaks and the need to be prepared for outbreaks at anytime. These include population growth, international border crossings, animals being raised for food, and social media/communication and how it can quickly create panic though false claims/news. A lot of this is related to the environment and how it has a large impact on health and epidemics/pandemics. Population growth has a big impact on the environment as there are only so many natural resources and there will not be enough for everyone at one point in time. 

Another big driving factor that is causes emergencies is animals being raised for food, as it is creating environmental problems on top of spreading food borne illnesses which is a major concern of the CDC’s. Wiping out forest for land to raise animals for food is not feasible longterm and it is not a way to grow healthy foods. The commercial use of land to raise animals has detrimental effects on the earth. As we’ve been learning in class, the amazon rainforest, among other forest, is being destroyed. This causes problems with sustainability, food security and global warming. Many diseases are spread from animals to humans. With animals being raised in mass quantities there is more of a chance that diseases will be spread.

After speaking on the driving causes for emergency preparedness Dr. Redd went into some case studies. As a public health major and an aspiring epidemiologist I found all of this very fascinating. It is my dream job to work for the CDC. Dr. Redd showed a case study on Ebola and how its vector (way of transmission) is most likely bats. Ebola has been around for a long time and was officially identified in 1976. Ebola is suspected to be transmitted by bats at first and then it is spread through contact. Right now there is an epidemic in Africa. This epidemic is affecting many people in different ways. There are vaccines now that help protect against Ebola but they do not give you complete immunity. The environments being disrupted by changes in temperature, habitat, etc. all have an effect on these outbreaks. Malaria is on the rise again due to increased temperatures in Africa. Mosquitos thrive on warm and wet temperatures, which leads to an increase in incidence of malaria. The environment has such an effect on our health that I did not realize before taking this class or attending this event. 

In conclusion, this event was eye opening for me as I want to work for the CDC and be an epidemiologist after I’m done with school. The work that is done at the CDC is so important for all of the world, not just the United States. The CDC does so much amazing work, globally and in the United States. It is important to be educated on these problems now and be able to raise awareness so we are prepared for any disaster.