How I identify with the land and environment around me. I identify with the land and environment around me, through the lake and the mountains. I love to be on the lake and up in the mountains of Vermont. Whether it's skiing, mountain biking, hiking, swimming, boating, or whatever else you find a person doing in the lake or the mountains, I love to do it. I identify with the mountains and lake through these things, the community's around them, the people doing these things, and the environment given to me.
During the recent floods this summer and the past summer, I have realized how much of an impact humans have on these environments and how that impact can cause difficulty in doing most of the activities I love to do. When there was flash flooding last week, beaches closed down due to the E. coli in the water from overflowing sewage and farming runoff. The water also became very murky and contaminated from the runoff, brining in too much silt and an overload of nutrients from the land. The same thing happened last year, but the capital of the state was flooded and ruined by the amount of rain we got. There has also been an increase in algal blooms and harmful bacteria in the lake. The winters are becoming warmer and warmer; there were at least 5 thaws this year. My dad tells me that even a few years ago, there was only an average of 2 thaws a winter; now there are upwards of 5. The harsh winters lead to less time skiing and are very harmful to animals.
The land and environment around me are changing, and not for the better. The winters are getting shorter, there are more pollutants in the waters, and the rains are more fierce and violent than ever. I love to do everything you can do in the lake and mountains around me, and climate change and human impact are taking these things away from me and many others. We need to change our way of life if we want to keep doing the activities we love.