A Uk waste management company is looking to bring back a deposit return scheme that is supposedly a "win win" for the environment. Palmer Jones, an editor for recourse magazine, stated that, "A bottle deposit scheme would help consumers and producers make the step-change required to reinvigorate the country's stalling recycling performance and help us to unlock the value in packaging as a commodity, which can be put back into the supply chain rather than throwing it away." Not only would this save the company millions of dollars, it would also save households money, and help the environment. The system makes it easier for the average person to help reduce plastic waste, and protect our environment. Last year an estimated 8 million tons of plastic was released into our oceans, demonstrating the need to more effective recycling programs. Some opponents of DRS claim that it wouldn't really help reduce waste and it would be cheaper, however, a number of studies, for example one put out by the Yosemite epa, concluded that DRS would save money and aid in reducing waste, just not by a ton. It is important to remember that some change is better then no change.
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As 2017 continues to be the wettest year in California for the last 20 years, everybody is astounded, and not quite prepared. Nearing 15 inches of rainfall this year in Turlock, and probably far more in other parts (because we of the rain shadow we do not get as much), lakes are filling up and rivers are flowing. As lakes begin to fill, lots of stress is placed on dams, for it is there job to hold the water in and release it in healthy quantities. However, as substantiated by the Washington Post, not all reservoirs have adequate facilities, meaning that they are not ready for this huge amount of water. This is exemplified by the failing of the Orville Dam spillway. Because of the huge amount of water and some cost cutting choices when building the dam, the water spilled over the spillway (ironic) and undercut the spillway. This has led to some serious issues as Orville is struggling to find ways to release the water. Orville has decided to evacuate 185,000 people for precautionary measures because if the dam were to overflow, the whole town would flood. Hopefully Orville is able to manage the problem and as of right now, it looks like they are working to solve the problem.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/02/12/expected-dam-spillway-fail-prompts-calif-evacuation/97834632/ Going into February, California has already reached its "normal" level of rain (11 inches) and continues to grow. This is amazing considering the new rain year started at the end of November, meaning it has only been about 3 months and we have already reached "normal". According to Mr. Hollister, California would need around 21 inches to officially be out of the drought, however, even if we do not reach that amount, the total snow pack accumulating in the mountains will likely be enough to substantiate that amount. According to the CSM, snow packs in the Sierra have reached 173 percent of average for February 4th. It is expected that once Spring arrives, the current snow pack will deliver 5.7 trillion gallons of water, which is a lot of cubic feet. According to the University of Colorado-Boulder and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory the snowpack has filled more than a third of California’s “snow-water deficit", which is a substantial amount, however it is still debatable to whether we ought to be considered out of the drought. One thing is for sure, we are on the path to completion, however, it is still extremely important to conserve water in order to foster a healthy future and generate enough ground water to survive the next drought. http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2017/0204/As-the-snowpack-piles-up-is-California-s-drought-over-No-say-experts |
Matthew Hesse16 Years old Archives
May 2017
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