EPA Develops New Planning Approach to Improve Water Quality in U.S. Cities

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/68C9214FF1E0C157852579370055D62A

Picture: This is a picture of an old rusty sewage system underneath the city of Milwaukee. Sewage systems in many cities are beginning to age and rust.

Summary: The EPA has decided to help many cities from across the U.S. achieve clean water by managing city wastewater and stormwater runoff. They will begin to help municipalities across the country by supporting them financially. To better protect water quality, the EPA has begun to review the Clean Water Act requirements with each municipality. The EPA will begin to use innovative, cost effective storm and wastewater management solutions, like green infrastructure. Also, old and aging sewer systems will begin to overflow with raw sewage into city waterways if they are not treated. The EPA has took on a new approach to tackling the water quality issue in U.S. cities.

Opinion: I think that the EPA is doing a very good job in protecting our water quality. To learn that they are doing all these things to protect our water is assuring. We don't have to worry as much when we use our water, knowing that it will be safe. The water quality problem is certainly an issue because there is very little drinkable water on this earth. We must better protect our waters from contamination, because water is so important to our everyday lives.

Questions:

1. What are some other ways the EPA can use to better protect our water quality?

2. How do you think the EPA can spread awareness to the public about this issue?

3. What do you think you can do at home to conserve and protect our water?

Why Recycling Plastic Bottles Doesn't Help The Problem

Link:
http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/why-recycling-plastic-bottles-doesnt-help-the-problem-video.html?campaign=th_rss
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YLtpBOLzZA&feature=player_embedded
(very worth while. Watch the video and see how many steps are involved in
recycling)

Picture
I chose this picture because it is an elephant made out of plastic bottles. I
thought that it is incredible that this can be done, while at the same time I
thought "How many bottles are there?" and "What a waste."
Summary:
There are so many steps involved in the recycling process. This company
(ecostar) takes plastic bottles and grounds them into sand like pieces. There
are about five steps to get it to this state, but it seems very time consuming and
involved. Even though we do recycle, not as many people recycle as they should.
Because of this problem it is estimated that there is about six times more
plastic than plankton in our oceans. If you know anything about plankton they
are very small organisms and there are a lot of them in the ocean.

Opinion
The fact that there is more plastic than, lets say, 30 to 40 million plankton
in our oceans is just a disturbing realization that our planet may soon become
a giant landfill. These companies, such as Coke, are obsessed with making
money. They could very easily stop production of plastic bottles and sell
reusable ones, but they want to make money so they won't. I think that if we
all stopped to look at what Earth has become in only the past few years, we
will see how much damage all of this has become.

Questions:
How could we help the recycling steps lessen?
What do you think the world will be like in a mere 10 years if this keeps
happening?
Do you think recycling is good or should we stop using plastic all together?
Why?