The Biota

Th e Biot a Issue 12 The many forms of environmental destruction

Front Cover Goes Here

CHANGING WORLD The problems Earth faces today.

Falling Fast pg 6

The Issues With Invasive Species pg 12

Rising or Sinking? pg 18

Water Pollution pg 24 Vol ume 1

Pattern Goes Here

(Maybe) Pattern Goes Here Too. Check your Ladder.

Cover photo by Sarah Garret

table of

Cont ent s Feature Articles:

Deforestation

Invasive species

what causes deforestation and how can we prevent it

invasive species; what they are and why they're bad

6-9

12 - 15

Water Levels how global warming has effected the water levels of our lakes

18 - 21

4/ 2020

Water Pollution how water pollution is affecting our local bodies of water

24 - 27

table of

Cont ent s Infographics:

Deforestation

Palm oil & Wildfires

ASF on the causes of deforestation

ASFs on the issues with palm oil, and causes of wildfires

10 - 11

16 - 17

Polar bears & Lakes

Trash in Oceans

ASF on how climate change is effecting Polar bears, and lakes

ASF on how much trash is currently in our oceans

22 - 23

28 - 29

About the Authors 32 - 33

5/ 2020

A lumber truck takes logs that have recently been cut down.

Photo by Milan Reska.

FALLING f AST def or est at ion , or t h e l oss of t r ees and ot h er veget at ion, can cause cl imat e ch ange, deser t if icat ion, soil er osion, f ewer cr ops, f l ooding, incr eased gr eenh ouse gases in t h e at mosph er e, and a h ost of pr obl ems f or indigenous peopl e.

F

orests cover almost a third of

the land area on our planet. The forest is important to people by, for example, purifying water and air as well as creating jobs. It also provides a home for many different species of animals. Forests play a big role in mitigating climate change because they soak up carbon dioxide that would otherwise be free in the atmosphere and contribute to ongoing changes in climate patterns.

But, deforestation and forest degradation threaten to remove these vital benefits in forests around the world.

Deforestation, the action of clearing a wide area of trees, can cause desertification, soil erosion, fewer 6/ 2020

crops, flooding, increased greenhouse gases in the

"Globally, the big drivers of deforestation are palm oil, beef, soy and forestry." atmosphere, resulting in climate change and a host of problems for Indigenous people. About 13 million people across the world have a job in the forest sector, and another 41 million have a job that

is related to the forests, yet 80% of the world's land-based species, such as elephants and rhinos, live inside of forests. ?[Amazon Watch] partners with Indigenous peoples throughout the Amazon rainforest to protect their territories and amplify their demands to keep extractive industries out of their lands,? said Pendle Marshall-Hallmark, climate campaigner at Amazon Watch.

Indigenous peoples, inheritors, and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to people and the environment are also greatly impacted by deforestation. ?It's been proven that Indigenous peoples are the best protectors of the rainforest,? she added.

Amazon Watch resists the destruction of the Amazon by

challenging disastrous development projects and natural resource extraction and by promoting Indigenous rights. Their work is focused on three main priorities: stop Amazon destruction, advance Indigenous solutions and support climate justice.

Cattle ranching, animal agriculture and logging are the leading causes of deforestation in our forests. The constant destruction of our forests threatens biodiversity, decreases carbon absorption, magnifies natural disaster damage, and disrupts water cycles.

As the demand for meat rises so does the number of cattle needed to produce beef. Those animals require space and nourishment, so millions of acres of untouched forest are cleared every year to make room for feed crops and places for the

animals.

But additionally, forests are wiped

?It's been proven that Indigenous peoples are the best protectors of the rainforest,? out to produce feed for other animals, too, like pigs and chickens.

Also, animals always require more nourishment and calories to raise

than the calories they produce for humans to eat. Therefore animal agriculture is more destructive than agriculture producing plant-based food directly for humans.

Marshall-Hallmark said that cattle grazing is the reason for recent fires in the Amazon. ?That's what we're seeing a lot of the fires that are happening right now in the Amazon are set on purpose in order to clear that land to make space for cattle grazing. So then cattle will come in, and a lot of the beef that we consume in Europe and the United States is raised as this catalyst race in the Amazon.?

Large portions of our forests are cut down in order to produce paper products, build houses and build cities. Logging, the process of cutting and processing trees to create wood-based products, provides a

A faller, or someone who cuts down trees, counts the trees that have been made into lumber. Photo

by Vlad Sokhin.

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large threat to our forests.

Deforestation in tropical regions accounts for 15% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. As the global population increases and more houses are being built, logging is becoming a top deforestation driver.

Illegal logging is harvesting wood that is in violation of national regulations. This includes harvesting timber from government-protected areas, felling protected species or exceeding logging quotas.

Illegal logging often takes place in countries with poor governance and law enforcement capacity, especially in tropical rainforests and the boreal forests in Russia?s Far East. ?What happens usually is you'll have a lot of times illegal loggers come in and chop down those trees to sell them

FSC Certified logs being prepared for sawmill.

Photo taken in Germany.

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for construction materials. And then you're left with a field of dead stumps and those then get put set

"There's a couple things that people can do. I mean, one is obviously limiting your own individual consumption." on fire on purpose,?

Marshall-Hallmark said.

Illegal timber floods the market without having to be subject to taxes and is cheaper than legal timber.

This in turn decreases legal timber prices. The reduction in legal market prices results in a loss of 10 billion for the legal timber industry, while the loss of tax revenues, and costs governments about an additional 5 billion. Besides the economic costs, the scale of deforestation caused by illegal logging is significant enough to contribute to the intensification of climate change via the reduction in carbon sequestration capacity.

Working to end deforestation and forest degradation while helping to restore lost forests is our best chance to solve the climate change emergency, protect wildlife, and defend the rights of Indigenous Peoples and traditional local communities. To help stop

Logs are being prepared to go into a Sawmill.

Photo by Milan Reska.

deforestation, one can take small steps, like planting a tree, using less paper, and recycling paper and cardboard, Marshall-Hallmark explains how you can take larger steps, ?There's a couple things that people can do. I mean, one is obviously limiting your own individual consumption. But that's really a personal choice. Not everybody who's an environmental activist wants to stop eating meat.

And while it is important, and your individual actions do have an impact, what we're really looking for is massive behavior change, right?

So of course, cutting down on your intake of beef, and meat in general is going to reduce your carbon footprint. But I think one of the strategies that we're really pushing for at Amazon watch, is we're doing a lot of finance campaigning, so we're targeting the companies, the financial firms that are bankrolling these industries.?

If we?re going to stop deforestation, governments and leaders have to do

their part. We need world leaders to embrace international forest conservation policies based on the latest science, allowing us to live in a world that avoids severe climate

"Cutting down on your intake of beef, and meat in general is going to reduce your carbon footprint" disruption. Keep in mind that every product that is made out of trees is recyclable. Practice recycling

diligently.

Your power as a consumer is important to stopping deforestation.

Just like any business, if there?s no demand then the supply will be reduced. Luckily, there are environmentally and forest friendly businesses that are helping to stop deforestation. However, without action, the forests will continue to fall fast.

- Maxwell McWilliams

9/ 2020

Def or est at ion

Is the clearing of Earth's forests on a massive scale for the main purposes of : Agr icul t ur e

Logging

Cat t l e Gr azing

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Causes of def or est at ion: Bur ning, l ogging, and degr adat ion of f or est s account s f or 20% of t h e wor l ds gr eenh ouse gas emissions An ar ea of f or est t h e size of a f oot bal l f iel d is dest r oyed ever y t o seconds. Th at 's 30 f oot bal l f iel ds a minut e

Accor ding t o t h e Wor l d Resour ces Inst it ut e 80% of t h e wor l d's f or est s h ave al r eady been dest r oyed

Appr ox. 28,000 pl ant s and animal species ar e expect ed t o become ext inct in t h e next 25 year s due t o def or est at ion Sources: -

Th e amazon r ainf or est in Sout h Amer ica is t h e l ar gest def or est at ion r oot in t h e wor l d.

Br azil is r esponsibl e f or at l east h al f of t h is def or est at ion https:/ / www.conserve-energy-future.com https:/ / www.conservation.org https:/ / www.infographicszone.com/ environment https:/ / www.livescience.com/

https:/ / www.livescience.com/

Folio and Page 11/ Number 2020 Here

here

An area filled with thistle in Park City, Utah. (Photo taken by Matthew Benge)

THE ISSUESWITH INVASIVE how we're dealing with the foul SPECIES flora and fauna histle is not a very friendly looking plant. The leaves look like evil dandelion greens? spiky and low to the ground? perfect for attacking the unsuspecting visitor. The stem grows upward a few feet, then out, spreading more uninviting leaves. The flower itself doesn?t seem too offensive, though most wouldn?t want to touch it. Its thin pinkish-purple petals bloom out of what I

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would compare to a green pinecone that unfurls and eventually sprouts a flower. And as much as this plant might seem bad, it?s uninviting nature is not why nature enthusiasts dislike it.

Thistle is an invasive species. ?One year of allowing one thistle to grow and spread its seeds could be detrimental. The next year there could be 100 and the next year there could be thousands,?

Matt Benge said. Benge

works at Basin Recreation in Park City, Utah and he often works with invasive species on hiking and biking trails. ?It?s [thistle] super difficult to control and stay on top of, especially since their seeds for this one in particular can live in the seed bank for up to seven years.?

An invasive species is a non-native plant or animal that takes over in an environment where it was not present before.

However, not every

"To be able to control things on a large parcel of land takes a lot of involvement " non-native plant is going to be invasive. There are a few characteristics that make an invasive species. First, if it is a plant, it has to create a large amount of seeds to spread. Second, invasive species are typically bilineals which means that it has a two year growing season. The first year is a rosette and the second year is the plant itself. Lastly, the plant has to do well in all conditions. The reason that this is such a detrimental quality of invasive species is because it allows them to take over areas where native plants could have been. They have special adaptations specifically evolved for overpowering the native niche, some having special root systems that play a key role in regrowing while others make the soil acidic for

other plants to grow!

The way that thistle spreads is similar to a dandelion. ?You can just tap it and it all blows away,? Betsy Hochman said. Hochman, like Benge, also works with

invasive plants. Each thistle plant can have hundreds of seeds which helps it spread very quickly.

Park City doesn?t just have thistle to worry about. There is a long list of plants that have been classified as invasive ranging from tiny flowers to species of trees. ?To be able to control things on a large parcel of land it takes a lot of involvement, a lot of time and also involvement from the neighboring communities to that area to make sure that they?re also doing the

A Tree of Heaven Tree, one of the many invasive species in the US. (Photo taken by Dylan Goodell)

13/ 2020

same thing on their property. It doesn?t matter how well you take care of your own property, if your neighbor doesn?t and their seeds blow over to your yard you?re in the same situation [lots of invasive species],? Benge said.

Other than thistle, another prominent invasive species in Park City is garlic mustard. ?It?s root system has a little joint to it, so if we pull it out a lot of the time we pull out the plant but the root system is still in there and it will re-sprout through its roots,?

Hochman said. ?Its got a lot of tricky little adaptations and tricks and weird things that make it really hard.?

But why would you want to get rid of the plants?

What harm can they do?

Well, some people don?t want to get rid of them.

The main reason you

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would want to remove a non-native plant would be to preserve the natural environment and the native plants and animals. ?There's nothing inherently good or bad about a plant, it's just what you want your ecosystem to look like,?

years.

There are a few exceptions, though.

Honey bees are technically non-native, however they are now a vital component in environments all around the world! Another example is dandelions.

These flowers are technically weeds and, even though they don?t benefit us, they don?t do much harm so people usually leave them alone.

One of the reasons for debate about invasive versus non-native is that identifying a species as invasive is not as simple as it may seem. There are many things that contribute to A thistle rosette being sprayed a species being with herbicide to prevent it from growing. (Photo taken by classified as Matthew Benge) invasive and it doesn?t happen Benge said. ?I?m sure overnight. there?s a lot of benefits ?On the East Coast to a lot of the invasive there?s a big debate species, but I still think about the Norway most people would Maples, which are rather see them gone.? non-native, but they Many invasive species don?t necessarily do any push out the natural harm. Some ecologists plants think that they do, some which don?t,? Hochman said. have been The process for living identifying an invasive there for species starts with hundreds of

looking through the county and state guidelines to see if it is classified as such. If it is, you can see how the state is handling it. If not, Hochman will look at neighboring states to see if it is problematic in similar environments. If not, sometimes it is better to take matters into your own hands. ?It was just growing everywhere and growing in a lot of spots where we would normally see invasive weeds,?

Hochman said. The plant she is referring to is sweet clover, a flower-like plant with yellow buds. It had been popping up a lot, and without guidelines from the state, she was able to handle it herself as the land owner.

Invasive species will frequently come into areas that have recently been disturbed by construction or people walking through them.

This means that some areas in California after the wildfires may be more prone to invasive species pushing out the natural wildlife. ?If they?re really kind of untouched areas they could grow back really well, but if there?s a lot of human disturbance or

"I'm sure there's a lot of benefits to a lot of the invasive species, but I still think most people would rather see them gone" a lot of kind-of human influence nearby there is definitely a greater chance for obnoxious weeds or invasive weeds to take hold,? Hochman said.

Getting rid of different species requires different approaches. Benge uses an approach called Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This means that multiple methods are being used at the same time to get rid of the invaders.

The most well known method is using herbicide, however, ?People are increasingly becoming less and less comfortable around herbicides, and as that happens we?re having to become more creative with how we control those things [invasive species] if we want to

make the community that we?re serving happy too,?

Benge said. Some other methods include biocontrol methods, which refers to having an animal eat the invasive organism or weeding.

The best way to combat this problem is to be educated. Make a conscious effort to learn about which species are invasive in your county and try your best to limit the spread of seeds!

Every species is native somewhere, but that doesn?t mean that it is meant to be everywhere.

- Sarah Garrett

15/ 2020

Pa l m Oi l

- t h e p r o b l e ma t ic H a r v e s t 50% of supermarket products have palm oil

Palm oil plantations often replace indigenous lands forcing the inhabitants out of their homes

Palm oil based biofuels have more of a climate impact that fossil fuels

Palm oil plantations cover more than 27 million hectares

66 million tons of palm oil are produced annually

Some species of Asian elephants are very vulnerable to palm oil trees replacing their natural habitat

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ks

Orangutans are a species being hurt by palm oil deforestation, leaving them with no where to go

Palm oil is used in a variety of products such as

clea n

in g

pro

duc ts

cosmetics

foo

d an d

The fatty acids in refined palm oil are known to cause cancer

Sources:

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-

rainforest-rescue.org worldwildlife.org Mr. Shoemakers Stem Site

THE START OF A

WILDFIRE - and the unexpected causes 15%

HUMAN CAUSES Equipment

Arson

85% Kids

Campfires

Debris burning

Smoking Railroads

ALL IT TAKESISA SPARK Sources: -

Scijinks.gov nationalgeographic.org acccuweather.com

17/ 2020

Rising or sinking?

t h e ef f ect s Gl obal war ming/ cl imat e ch ange h as on l akes t h r ough out t h e us

by ROBin Lit t l e

18/ 2020

Photo courtesy of Helen Gerlach

change and caused our lakes to be at record low numbers.

"More and more we are seeing record low numbers and inflow summer like the lowest on record by miles and miles, so I would say that is a pretty good indicator of having these longer hotter summers,? Gerlach said.

The main effect climate change has left on Austin waters are droughts. Droughts are a period of time in which an area is in a dry period or a water shortage. Droughts are caused by an insufficient water supply. Austin has gone through many different droughts with record low numbers each time.

Incredible view of Alaskan glaciers - This view can be seen from a tour boat many visitors from outside Alaska take to learn more about these glaciers. (Photo courtesy of Lansford Trapp, 2019.)

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?There was a really bad drought in the fifties where our waters were at record lows for a long time around the Austin area,? said Gerlach. This drought was one of the first times the effects of climate change were reflected on Austin but not the last. ?We had a new drought of record that started in 2011 and ended, especially ended a couple of years ago.? Gerlach said.

he Effects Global Warming/ Climate Change has For water resources to have been available for as many on Lakes Throughout the U.S.

Have you ever left the sink running while brushing your teeth? Or took an extra long shower? Well, next time you have, think about the effects it might have on your city's waters.

Austin, Texas along with many other cities closer to the equator have experienced the tough effects of global warming.

Global warming is the slow heating of the earth caused by fossil fuels, mostly put into the atmosphere by humans.

Global warming has caused water shortages and longer hot weather in places such as Austin. The hotter, dry weather has started controlling our water supply, this is why we need to conserve water. But in the North, a different situation took place, floods. Lakes in the north have risen, and have had higher numbers than ever, this was another effect of climate change or global warming.

Climate change has affected our whole world in many different ways, but the effects can especially be reflected on our Austin lakes and rivers. In southern states, droughts have become much more common due to rain pattern fluctuation. ?Our average right now in rainfall from year to year won?t change by much, but it will be including much longer dry periods coming with shorter harder bursts of rain. So the same amount of water, but you get most of it like all at one time,? said Helen Gerlach, graduate engineer at Austin Water. Due to this Gerlach said, ?What we need is to have some more storage options there to capture that water when it is available.?

These longer periods without rain were caused by climate

"More and more we are seeing record low numbers"

Beautiful Morning in Lake Austin - Austin residents spend their morning kayaking through the downtown portion of the Colorado River known as Lake Austin.

(Photo courtesy of Helen Gerlach, 2020.)

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people in Austin as possible water conservation efforts have Everyone showers, but next time you take a shower try had to be put in place. limiting your time to 5 - 7 minutes. A good hack to help you try and reduce this time is, listen to music and shower for ?So what we have is a plan called water ford, which is a two songs. Another simple thing that everybody can do is greater conservation water resources plan? promoting zero remember to turn off your sink while brushing your teeth, scaping of lawns, so you are using drought-tolerant plants or washing your face when you aren?t actively using the that do not need as much water. So we already have a water. measure in place that requires folks in our service system to only water their lawns once per week,? Gerlach said.

Many lakes in the south have experienced the same effects of climate change as Austin, but lakes in the North have Plans such as the water ford plan have helped Austinites experienced the opposite effects. Many lakes closer to the save water so that most families were able to get by in a poles have seen a large increase in water levels, and longer time of drought. harder periods of rain.

Austin City Water also worked on new ways to control These increases are due to icebergs and glaciers at the water usage. ?We have some innovative new strategies. We poles having been heated up due to global warming, call them decentralizing strategies, so like rainwater resulting in a large amount of excess water because the harvesting, spring water harvesting, water reuse so you can glaciers and icebergs melted. This excess water was forced capture water maybe that was used in your shower or sink,?' down in the nearest bodies of water through rainfall. So in Gerlach says "We have to be aware of conserving water". return most lakes in the north have seen mass increases in water levels. These large amounts of water are specifically showing effects on smaller lakes throughout the north.

"We have to be aware of conserving water"

Reducing water usage has helped greatly in Austin, but as Gerlach said, "We have to be aware of conserving water."

There are also efforts any single person can do, to try and conserve water and do their part in saving Austin water.

Clifside hiking - Many Hikers come to this spot at Mount Bonnell to get an incredible view of Lake Austin while hiking across the Limestone cliff. (Photo courtesy of Helen Gerlach, 2020.)

20/ 2020

"We went through a period about 10 years ago when all of the lake's water levels

were very low and many of the smaller lakes dried up.

However, the last two or three years the lake has been higher than ever?

our water levels in the south have only decreased.

This has caused more extreme water shortages especially in busier urban areas like Austin. This is why Austin Water has put the Water Ford Plan into place to make sure water is available for the whole city. In the North different measures have been put into place, whether houses have moved away from the water?s edge to prevent floods or built stilts. All of these measures are a result of our glaciers melting, longer hotter summers and in all global warming.

- Robin Little

were very low and many of the smaller lakes dried up.

However, the last two or three years the lake has been higher than ever? said Molly Goff, lake house owner in Minocqua, Wisconsin.

Some of the overall weather up north has changed as well, with hurricanes and floods becoming more frequent. ?We got a few hurricane scares in the past 10 years and those came along with some of the heaviest rain we have ever gotten up there,? Goff said.

Whether it was the North or South, they both have experienced these effects on their lakes and weather. As fossil fuels have built up the heat has only increased and

Overhead veiw - This view of an ALaskan glacier can be seen from planes flying above the icy region. (Photo courtesy of Lansford Trapp, 2019.)

Ocean rises leaving thinner icecaps visible - At this spot in Alaskan seas these icecaps are slowly melting leaving less and less ice cap visible above the high seas (Photo courtesy of Lansford Trapp 2019.)

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how climate change has effected polar bears

Ar e Pol ar Bear s Mel t ing Away?

Currently there are about 23,000 polar bears alive world wide

Global warming is heating up our oceans causing the glaciers to melt leaving polar bears with no homes.

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Polar Bears are being left stranded on melting pieces of ice with no food causing a high peak in polar bear deaths due to starvation from 1987-2-17 Hudson Bay saw a 30% decrease in polar bear populations due to ice cap melting

The IUCN lists sea ice loss as the biggest threat to polar bears In southern Beaufort Sea from 2001 2010 the polar bear population went from 1500 polar bears to 900 bears

Rising or Sinking? how climate change has effected the Great Lakes in the past 60 months

27

27 more inches of rain fell than the average in the past 60 months in the Great Lakes Basin.

Lake Erie has risen 29 inches in the past 60 months

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29

Lake Ontario has risen 20 inches in the past 60 months

Lake Superior rose 15 inches in the past 60 months

35

15

Lake Michigan and Lake Huron rose 35 inches together, in the past 60 months

All of this rising is due to extra water from the poles due to glaciers melting, flooding into the lakes because there is no other place to go 23/ 2020

Toxic Green Algae in the Copco Reservoir in northern California Photo courtesy of Aurora Photos

Wat er Pol l ut ion -At the local and global level-

24/ 2020

ots of people around the world depend on a reliable source of water, and everyone needs a clean and reliable source of water because it?s a basic human right. That is why we need to start taking action against water pollution so that everyone is guaranteed clean water.

You may be wondering what exactly is water pollution? ? Water pollution can be a number of different substances that get into our waterways or our drinking water and cause harm to human communities or natural ecosystems? said Anna Farell Sherman, a clean water associate at Environment Texas. Now if we want to talk about water pollution down to a more specific level, then we can talk about plastic pollution. Today there are eight million metric tons or 17.6 billion pounds of plastic pollution in oceans around the world. Some of this plastic pollution will gather together into

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clumps because waves and tides bring them together into what are known as large trash islands. The most well known trash island is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is located in the Pacific Ocean and it is the largest and the most well known.

What can we do about this and how we can prevent the further destruction of our planet's oceans? ?There?s things that you can do around your home like creating a rain garden in your front yard, not mowing your lawn as often because when grass has deeper roots that go further into the soil it helps rainwater on your yard to actually soak into the yard, and the grass keeps excess water from running into the street.

Longer grass can also pick up pollution that could potentially run into our waterways. We need to be thinking on a bigger scale because the companies that produce all of the toxic pollution in our waterways 25/ 2020

want us to be thinking on that individual level, and not blaming them for the pollution. When we know that most of the pollution in our world has come from a couple of very specific companies that don?t care enough to actually take care of our planet? said Anna. We need to start taking these steps towards a cleaner environment so that future generations will be left with a clean Earth. We are even starting to see the effects of water and plastic pollution in my community of Austin, Texas.

Just a couple of years ago Austin started to have a toxic algae that is infected Lady Bird Lake and made it unsafe for dogs to swim in. Soon enough our waters we will be impacted more and more by the effects of plastic pollution and we could start to see serious consequences.

These toxic algae blooms we were (and still are) seeing in Lady Bird Lake are caused by warmer temperatures that are due to climate change and increased runoff pollution into waterways.

Another thing that people can start to do is 26/ 2020

not use pesticides on their lawns so that these toxic chemicals don?t spill into our waterways where it could eventually get into our drinking water.

Some of the chemicals found in common pesticides can cause birth defects, and there are many other chemicals in these pesticides that can cause harm to our bodies.

Another action we can take to prevent water from getting even more polluted is we can not mow our lawns as often so that grass has the opportunity to

Storm water pollution found in body of water in Texas

root down into soil and prevent runoff.

But, one of the most impactful things people are doing is creating rain gardens.

Rain gardens usually contain native plants and are designed to soak up rain or water runoff. Rain gardens have become even more popular in Austin, with many community rain gardens throughout the Austin area, and personal rain gardens in peoples front yards. Rain gardens not only look nice but you would also be helping the environment at a low price.

A company named Shield Ranch is a

non-profit organization that is located on a private ranch where they protect a stretch of Barton Creek. Shield Ranch also offers a summer camp for kids called El Ranchito where kids can be educated about the environment and connect with the natural world. The main vision of Shield Ranch is to provide a clean environment in the Hill Country and protect the beautiful Hill Country.

This organization was established in 1938 on a 6,800 acre family ranch where they are home to a diverse population of wildlife and plants. They currently protect a 6 mile stretch of Barton Creek where they not only protect Barton Creek, but also the Barton Creek watershed. Shield Ranch is located in the Trinity-Edwards aquifer system, and most of Austin relies on the Edwards aquifer for drinking water so it is very important that this body of water stays clean and free of pesticides and herbicides.

PFASis another toxic chemical that is

Why are we continuing to produce this toxic plastic substance that is polluting our waterways if we can?t even contain it and keep ourselves and our ecosystem safe from it??

-Anna Farrell Sherman similar to pesticides and herbicides and it recently has been found in tap water. ?We had a volunteer who just tested her water and it cost her 250 dollars to test her tap water and she found that there were some PFAS chemicals in that water which we know are very toxic,? said Anna. This goes to show that even tap water coming from our faucets may contain toxic chemicals in them.

These PFASchemicals that this volunteer found are also known as forever chemicals which are exactly how they sound, they stay around forever.

But the main thing is that we shouldn?t even have to worry about chemicals getting close to our drinking water in the first place. We shouldn?t have to worry about preventing these PFASchemicals from getting into our water and affecting our lives.

One of the ways citizens can combat this issue is to reach out to local elected officials so that we can start holding large companies that are

dispensing these chemicals accountable. But first we need to make sure that everyone is receiving a safe and reliable source of drinking water especially in communities where most of the population is disadvantaged. If we take this first step then we work together as a community to hold these large companies accountable, and someday we can hold these organizations accountable

globally. If we want to take care of our planet and prevent the further destruction of the environment then a good goal would be to solve our clean water crisis that is occurring around the world and throughout communities.

- Gustavo Metzger

58,000 gallons of oil spilled from a South Korean bound ship when it suddenly hit a tower supporting the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons

"Water pollution can be a number of different substances that get into our waterways or our drinking water and cause harm to human communities or natural ecosystems." - Anna Farrell Sherman 27/ 2020

Gr eat Pacif ic Gar bage Pat ch This ASF will give you a better idea of what is happening with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This ASF will also explore the impact this garbage patch is having on sea creatures health and humans health. You will also learn how the trash island stretches for 600,000 miles and how we can prevent the growth of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a total of 1.6 million square kilometers.

This means that the garbage patch is two times the size of Texas and three times the size of France!

This is a pie chart that displays all of the different materials found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

How is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch effecting the health of sea creatures?

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is impacting the lives of 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals. The marine creatures mistake the trash for food and end up getting plastics in their stomachs.

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Some things we can do to start decrease the size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is use reusable bags instead of plastic bags. Also buy fish from fish farms because 705,000 tons of garbage in the trash island is fish netting alone.

Sources - Dodds, Derek. Four Things You Can Do To Prevent The Growth Of The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

- Weebly. The Trash Islands.

- The Ocean Cleanup. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Toxic Ch emical s In our wat er This ASF will focus on what kinds of chemicals are in our drinking water and how the chemicals go there. This ASF will also provide ways to prevent chemicals from getting into water in the first place.

Different Pharmaceuticals have Shipping been able to make their way into Spills our drinking water.

Ocean 12 % Land Pharmaceuticals like birth control Runoff Dumping contain hormones that mess with 10 % 44 % the development of amphibians Airborne and fish.

Emissions 33 %

This is a pie chart of all the different ways chemicals have ended up in our oceans, lakes, and rivers.

Fertilizers used to help grow crops runoff into water whenever it rains and some of these fertilizers fins their way into our water sources.

Some of the chemicals in fertilizers can cause cancer. " Applying fertilizers in the proper amount, at the right time of year and with the right method can significantly reduce how much fertilizer reaches water bodies." This is one of the ways that people can use fertilizers properly according to the EPA.

Sources - Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

- North Dakota State University.

Environmental Implications Of Excess Fertilizer and Manure On Water Quality.

- United States Environmental Production Agency. The Sources and Solutions: Agriculture.

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Photos by Robin Little, Sarah Garret , Maxwell McWilliams, Gustavo Metzger

Maxwell McWilliams attends LASA High School and has lived in Austin his whole life. He enjoys playing golf, as he wants to play in college. Maxwell wants to act on environmental destruction, so he chose to write about it and his feature article focuses on deforestation, the permanent removal of trees to make room for something besides forest. He has interviewed the Communications Director of FSC US and a climate campaigner at Amazon Watch. Through creating this magazine, he has learned about the process of graphic design, interview techniques, what causes deforestation, and how we can help prevent it.

My name is Sarah Garrett and I am currently a freshman at LASA high school in Austin, Texas. I have lived in Austin my entire life, but I love to travel and get to experience the great outdoors. I feel very passionate about global warming, and my group did as well. We worked together efficiently and quickly - it was the perfect group. I have loved getting to learn the aspects of graphic design, even if it was during a pandemic. My article is on invasive species and why they are harmful. My uncle works with invasive species, but I don?t know very much about them. I loved getting to meet new people and learn new things, and I am really glad I got the opportunity to be in Ezine.

Hello my name is Gustavo Metzger and I am currently a freshman at LASA High School. I really enjoyed spending this semester creating our magazine on Environmental Destruction. My group probably chose this topic because we are all very passionate about the environment and we need to inform people about what?s going on in the world. I specifically chose to write about water pollution for my article because the global population relies so much on water and water is vital to our survival. I thought that bringing attention to how polluted water is around the world will convince people around the world to take action before it?s too late. Some things I enjoy doing in my spare time are playing soccer, playing video games, and watching sports.

32/ 2020

Let t er s f r om t h e edit or s My name is Robin Little and I am 15 years old and a freshman at LASA high school. I have lived in Austin my whole life and love exploring the city. My hobbies include playing with my pets, hanging out with my friends, and drinking coffee. I have always enjoyed learning about our environment and getting to explore nature, so this magazine was a perfect opportunity for me to learn more about the environment. I have a lake house in Wisconsin and when I noticed how much the water rose this year I became very interested in what the cause of our lakes and oceans rising and falling, this lead me to choose my topic. I also really enjoyed getting to interview someone who knew all about Austin lakes.

My favorite part about ezine was getting to learn how to design different things on my computer, especially designing my polar bear graphic. I hope this magazine can educate people about global warming, and is an enjoying read.

My name is Catherine Verdict. I have lived in Austin for all 14 years of my life. I am a Freshman at LASA and have had the unique opportunity to work on an amazing magazine with an equally amazing group of people.

Since a young age, I have been interested in the environment and the way humans play a part in its well being. When my family switched to electric vehicles, I became fascinated by the process in which they are made and began researching the other effects of them. While they are viewed as being an environmentally friendly alternative, they still have their own set of detrimental effects. I was given the opportunity to interview an engineer and pick his brain about how these vehicles were made, which only continued to peak my interest. I hope that our magazine can educate you on the effects we have on the beautiful world we live in and be the catalyst in motivating you to live a life that is kinder to our planet and the other creatures we share it with.

33/ 2020

(Maybe) Pattern Goes Here Too. Check your Ladder.

Pattern Goes Here

"The Back greatest Cover threat to out planet is the Goes Here belief that someone else will save it" - Robert Swan