"Dead zones need to be controlled, and to control them we need to prevent fertilizer runoff. Unfortunately, there is already a lot of runoff in the Gulf of California, where the Colorado River drains."

Leo & Nova 

"Our solution is to create an AI chip that we could use to monitor vehicle CO2 emissions. This AI Chip will use a tracker to tell which state you are in and track how many miles you drive with how much carbon dioxide is released into the air. It can tell people if they are using way too much carbon dioxide. When people see that they are using too much CO2 they can start using less."

Jaidev, Sahi, & Azlaan 

"To stop coral bleaching, we need to reduce global warming and inorganic materials affecting the coral."

Christianna, Annabelle, & Brielle 

"Millions of marine animals die every year from ocean pollution. That issue starts inland, right here in Colorado. Every day we produce 22 million tons of Co2 and the ocean absorbs 25% of that, causing ocean acidification and coral bleaching." 

Asher, Avery, Logan, & Isabel 

"We are going to be talking about 4 things that contribute to this issue: Coral bleaching, global warming, marine habitat destruction, and mercury pollution."

Isabella, Alexis, Shelly, & Sofia

"There is way too much trash and recyclables in the ocean, and all this plastic material is a result of improper recycling. Trash pollution rapidly destroys animals and their habitats in the ocean. This pollution greatly impacts climate change which can also have a wide range of effects on ocean habitats. Even though we don’t live by the ocean here in Colorado, our fossil fuels and gas emissions heavily impact it." 

Yash, Kei, Arihant, Daniel, & Hayden

"Carbon emissions trap heat in the atmosphere which can lead to climate change which can cause coral bleaching. Burning fossil fuels in the United states are responsible for three-quarters of our carbon emissions. Colorado citizens contribute to this problem by using cars and trucks that require gas, and by using Coal powered power plants, Large industrial operations, and by using ships and airplanes. If we use less Fossil fuels then the demand for fossil fuels will go down and other fuels and energy sources will be used."

Zander, Claire, & Thejas 

"One of the ways that we are hurting the environment is by polluting. This is a problem because when too much plastic gets in the ocean it can hurt not only the environment but also the wildlife that lives and/or depends on the oceans water there too."

Gabe, Nate, & Emma

"We have decided to share a new solution, the SCR process which stands for selective catalytic reduction, and is a filter system that breaks down nitrogen oxide into nitrogen, water and trace amounts of carbon dioxide."

Rhea, Akshara, & Aasheeta

"If you're interested in helping aquatic life, their habitat from coral reefs, and decreasing ocean acidification and coral bleaching, we as a community should stop most fuel usage, fossil fuels, and slow down the major mining and fracking industries inside of Colorado."

Arya, Daksha, Aarush & Other*

"Fish can provide a healthful food source rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, and nutrients in fish support, among other things, like brain development. But when fish are mercury-contaminated, they convey harm, not development, to the brain and nervous system."

Gabe, Ashmi, & Josephine*

"Our specific problem that is causing dead zones is industrial emissions/nutrient pollution. Industrial emissions are caused by factory/automobile/agriculture pollution that severely harms our air and water, causing nutrient pollution. In order to stop nutrient pollution/industrial emissions. People have to convert from using fossil fuels to renewable energy." 

Tanvi, Jordan, Gia, & Eva*

"In order to reduce plastic pollution we need to stop dumping trash in the ocean and start recycling. We would also need to reduce the amount of trash in the ocean. So our solution is a water refilling device that you can use any time. How we are going to start this is at our school so then adults can help us track if we have refilled the water bottle 4 times. After refilling your bottle 4 times you will get a small prize to make you want to refill multiple times."

Kyle, Michael, Ethan, & Sawyer

"We have a solution to better the way people throw trash away. Our solution is a trash can, but it isn’t any ordinary trash can. This Trash can make it so that you can not throw away recyclable materials. This will help by not letting materials like plastic, paper, and aluminum. We picked this solution because we want to help the environment and this is the best way to do so."

Cat, Melissa, Brady, & Xavier*

"Our solution is to use a metal spring that will catch the big plastics and a very fine filter to catch microplastics. The springs will be in front of the filters to catch as much of the plastic as possible."

Gabriel & Axel

"The big problem of extinction is a lot of people depend on fish and it also makes our oceans healthy. This problem is an issue because it can cause food cans to collapse and migration patterns to change and extend. There are many solutions to fix these problems, and we can make it happen."

Elaina & Leela 

"We have developed two possible solutions to the amount of pollution contaminating the waters and creating dead zones. One of the ideas we came with is to put a type of filtration system on a dam at the end of the river." 

Michael, Sam, Kellen, Graylin, & Ian* 

"Overfishing is a huge problem around the world and we have to fix it. Our ideas as well as many others may help."

Cecilia, Sol, & James

"To understand the overarching issue, we need to understand the smaller problems. And three major ones are dead zones, mercury pollution, and global warming. The ocean is one of the most important to the earth, and we must protect it. One of the most significant categories is global warming." 

Layla, Ezzy, Shreeya, & Caidyn

"If we want to save our coral, we need to change our actions to reduce the amount of emissions leading to the greenhouse effect by using fewer machines that are fueled by gas."

Lou, Myra, & Anya 

"A 2008 study found that more than 400 dead zones exist in the world. A dead zone is a place where algae grows on top of ocean water therefore blocking the oxygen, so that nothing is able to survive, you might be wondering why this affects you if you live in a landlocked state."

Madeline, Rida, Madison, & Giuliana 

"Luckily Colorado already has a law that tries to protect fish, “The first Colorado wildlife law passed in 1861, and it addressed overfishing: ‘It is unlawful to take trout by seine, net, basket or trap.’” according to Colorado parks and wildlife. We have a solution that Colorado should implement to help the overfishing issue even more."

Jackson & Garrett

"Plastics are getting into our oceans because of littering, landfills, and rainwater and wind can carry the plastic into the ocean. Once plastic gets into the ocean, sea life can die and our water can get polluted with trash. Over one million sea animals die each year." 

Nina & Olivia

"Trash hurts, kills, and harms the ocean. Microplastics are a problem because they are extremely dangerous and they are destroying our environment. You can do something about this by buying materials that don’t contain microplastics and recycling."

Patricia, Luna, Gunnar, & Grayson* 

"There are lots of problems that the ocean faces, such as overfishing, ocean dead zones, and marine habitat destruction. If we were to be able to stop these moss surfaces from growing then it would help save tons of marine life."

Nithi, Kyle, & Luke

"Sometimes, large fishing boats run over reefs and open water and drop large nets to catch fish so people can eat them. When this happens you get bycatch which is vulnerable species such as dolphins, sea turtles, coral, and octopuses and so may more getting killed in an inhumane way"

Henry, Sebastian, & Ben 

"There are a bunch of different contributing factors to overfishing such as unethical fisheries, harmful ways of fishing, human demand, lack of laws about fishing/protecting fish, bycatch and extreme fishing of designated species which is our main problem that branches out to many others like food web destruction."

Bradley, Vedant, Jane, & Aiko*

"Mercury pollution, climate change, and coral bleaching are big problems and we need to stop them, and we can stop them by using organic fertilizer because non-organic fertilizers have perlite which can poison fish and bleach coral."

Abby, Ava, Lucian, & Other*

"Our solution is to use a device that has tiny detectors to detect the dangerous elements. These elements are nitrogen, phosphorus, and mercury that reside in the water. We want to detect it and find a way to prevent it before it gets too severe and has severe effects on the ecosystem, environment, animals, and even us."

Gino & Akshatha

"The water cycle moves all of this plastic into the ocean, no matter where you live. In order to reduce the amount of plastic being put in the ocean, we need to use less plastic."

Franklin, Liam, & Bhavik 

"Dead zones are a problem caused by chemicals from greenhouse gasses and fertilizer. Dead zones are a huge problem not only affecting us, but our water and planet life."

Jhasmyne, Daneen, Rory, & Nina

"Even though we live in Colorado, we are contributing to plastic getting into the ocean by littering. If we want to save the fish and the economy for fish we need to stop littering."

Nixin, Kadin, & Steven 

"The ocean heating is causing the ice to melt sea level rising marine heatwaves and Ocean acidification. Slowly but surely we can strive to fix them, and if we try, the only way we can go is forwards."

Abantika, Kason, Parker, & Nick

"Electric Vehicles are helpful because an electric car produces zero tailpipe emissions, dramatically lowering smog and greenhouse gas emissions even when you’re considering electricity generation."

Connor, Bryce, Ryder, & Collin

"Many people don't know about their impact on the world around them. Fossil fuels can dissolve into oceans thus causing the sickness and death of a variety of aquatic species. No matter where you live, the products you buy might be made with fossil fuels at the factory. You should stop fossil fuels because they pollute the environment, killing fish, and increasing the oceans acidity."

Trey & Zach

"According to the US Energy Information Administration, renewable energy is in the top 5 most used energy sources in Colorado. If we are already using renewable energy, we have a head start to our solution. If the government tries to put this solution in action, the ocean could be saved from these natural gasses." 

Julian, Cooper, Tallon, & Ulysses 

"Every whale matters. Colorado's citizens support the over-demand for fish, which sends out more boats and can hit more whales."

Asher, Sharvari, Aira, & Zoe