Content:

For this project the content below further explains each subject talked about on the poster and through the presentation to help individuals further strengthen and understand the context around the subject of global warming.

How can climate change be stopped in my city?

• Solar Panels: All buildings in the city are required to either gain power off solar panels or from windmills. Solar power being used instead of fossil fuels reduces greenhouse gas emissions. This is because CO₂ and other greenhouse gases are produced at rapid rates when fossil fuels are burned, such as coal and oil, leading to rising global temperatures and climate change. In 2018 it was shown that 89% of global CO₂ emissions came from the fossil fuel industry. By using solar panels this can greatly help limit the high rate of these greenhouse gases through the discouragement of that industry.

• Windmills: Once again all buildings are required to gain power from windmills are solar panels. Windmills. Wind turbines do not release greenhouse gas emissions that pollute the air and water. Wind turbines also reduce the amount of electricity generation from fossil fuels, which results in a lower total air pollution and lower carbon dioxide emission rates. Thus helping our planet become healthy once again by discouraging such acts.

• Electric High Speed Trains: On average electric railroads are seen to be three to four times more efficient than trucks. Electric trains would be a much quicker method of transportation, allowing shipments of heavy items to ship much faster in a much more eco friendly way. These trains would also replace the slower subways under and above ground, allowing for carpool throughout the city, limiting the amount of cars needed. Plus because the trains are electric, it greatly reduces the amount of greenhouse gases being released into the air, up to 75% less emission.

• Electric Cars: Diesel fuel cars are now illegal in the city, only electric cars are allowed. Electric vehicles produce zero direct emissions, which specifically helps improve air quality in urban areas because no diesel or gasoline is burned, which means no greenhouse gases are being admitted from cars in the city going into our atmosphere. In the US cars and trucks account for ⅕ of all US greenhouse emissions. But the removal of non electric vehicles that will greatly help lead to a declining in those high emission rates.

• Free Bikes: Bikes are highly encouraged and popular in the city being the number one form of transportation. In this city bikes are free to rent, to be used to transport one self and objects from place to place. There are bike stations all over the city making it extremely accessible and encouraged. Bikes emit no greenhouse gasses and are one of the most effective ways of transportation while still being eco-friendly. Plus our city is meant to be a healthy place, and bikes are an easy form of exercise for community members.

• Smart Heating Systems: All apartments and buildings are highly insulated to limit the amount of heater usage necessary. As well as all heat is created from eco friendly power sources such as from windmills or solar panels instead of coal, which has very high greenhouse gas emission rates. By doing this it would help lead to a new world only run by green power sources and would also help prevent millions of pounds of pollution from entering our atmosphere in the future.

• LED Lights: The city is all LED light based which can greatly help fight against global warming for a few reasons. LED lights last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds less energy, and give off 70 percent less heat. With the decrease in the amount of heat being produced that can lead to the decrease in global temperature thus slowing down global warming. An example of how effective is where a study showed that if every U.S. family replaced one regular light bulb with a LED, it would eliminate 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, helping to limit the rate of global warming each day.

• Recycling: Recycling bins will be lined throughout the streets. All products made by restaurants or businesses are required to be recyclable. If an individual is caught not recycling they must pay up to a $100 fine. Billions of pounds of trash is collected each year in landfills, where when organic waste decomposes, carbon dioxide and methane gas is created as well as carbon being released into the atmosphere when trash is burned. Both carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming and climate change. By only allowing recyclable products this limits the carbon footprint as less trash is burned into the air and left to decompose.

• Plants and Trees: Plants are great for stopping global warming as they absorb carbon dioxide for a process called photosynthesis. In this city every 1 out of 5 buildings is required to be covered with plants. That way absorption rates of CO₂ will drastically increase, limiting the amount of toxic greenhouse gases going into our air each year. The streets and the buildings being covered with plants bring about a greener, more eco friendly city.

How does climate change hurt marine life?

• Coral Bleaching Rates Increasing: When water is too warm, corals end up expelling algae, specifically zooxanthellae that is constantly living in their tissues. This thus causes the coral to turn completely white, referred to as coral bleaching. When a coral bleaches, it is not dead but put under more stress and is more subject to mortality. The city is helping to lead to the decrease in global warming that also leads to the decrease of ocean temperatures, which will hopefully limit the amount of coral bleaching rates across the globe.

• Dropping Wildlife Rates: The ocean absorbs most of the excess heat produced by greenhouse gas emissions which is what leads to rising ocean temperatures. Increasing ocean temperatures affect marine species and ecosystems.Global warming leads to increasing migration rates as their habitat has become too warm for survival. This causes many species to die as they lose their habitats and are unfit for survival in other habitats. Also, if one species slowly dies it causes a disruption in the food chain leading to more and more dead species. However the city is working on getting temperatures back down so animals can return home and safe.

• Ice Caps Melting: Due to the higher temperatures that leads to more melting glaciers which creates rising sea levels. This causes a couple problems such as increased coastal erosion and elevates storm surge because warming air and ocean temperatures create more frequent and intense coastal storms like hurricanes and typhoons. With the help of the city the planet has become cooler and all the ice caps are slowly beginning to grow again.

• Oil Spills Killing Ecosystems: Burning oil releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to the warming of our planet. In 2013, petroleum accounted for 41 percent of the U.S.'s carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels. When spilled in the ocean oil can kill whole ecosystems and is very toxic for animals who ingest or get into contact with it. That is why the city has made it so oil used products are illegal in hopes of wiping out the oil industry and saving our sea life and planet.

• Polar Bears Survival Rates Dropping: The arctic is warming about twice as fast as the global average, causing the ice that polar bears depend on to melt away. Loss of sea ice is a major issue for polar bears as they used it to be able to hunt miles out into the ocean. Now that there is no more ice, polar bears are caught swimming for much longer periods of time making it much harder to catch prey and survive. Loss of the artic ice also threatens the bear's main prey, seals, which need the ice to raise their young. If there are no more seals that would lead to no more polar bears. The city is working to help protect these polar bears and increase the Arctic’s size.

• Decrease in Fish Species: Similar to coral, toxins produced by algae blooms, which are occurring more frequently as temperatures rise, can stress or kill fish by clogging their gills or reducing oxygen levels in the water. Warmer waters also make fish more vulnerable to parasites and diseases. This over time will lead to a decrease in the fish population leading to a decrease in one of our top food sources, which would pose a major threat to society. However in the modern world fish rates have gone up and have looked better than ever in our oceans.

Reflection:

Overall for our last project it was really fun. It was a lot of work but really provided myself with a better overall understanding of the subject. However like any other project their will always be room for improvement. Something I think I could have done better on was being a better conscientious learner. This project required a lot of work to be done, as well as required quality in the work being completed. This project, alongside three other multiple part finales was difficult to manage. the poster itself probably took around 4 hours, not including all the research that went into it and the creating of the website update alongside of the presentation. Therefor managing my team for this project was a skill that proved to lack as the project was never rushed just combined with hours of other work loads. So in that context what can one really do in that situation? Nonetheless the project was still completed and in my opinion came out to look very well done. Another aspect on the project that I could have done better on was self discipline on work time. So many times throughout working on this project I would become distracted and go on my phone or start drifting off. It was hard to look at a computer for 8 plus hours a day but that is no excuse to begin to slack off or become distracted. In the future I really want to focus on the work infront of me. Do not start to daydream or start texting a friend, whatever it may be but bring my full attention to the project. That way it can result in a better overall project and I will have attained more efficient information, that I will probably remember for a longer time period. Those two aspects off being a better overall conscientious learner remain my goals for future projects in other classes next semester.

Besides those two minor areas of improvement, for the majority of the project I though I did a very well done overall job. The first aspect I thrived on was creativity. I put so much time and effort into each and every one of those drawings hoping to have it look as good as it possibly could. That process itself took a very long time as I had to sketch out each induvial image and then trace it, then color it, then perfect it. it was an overall very tedious project that took many hours out of these past two weeks but was worth it based on the looks of the poster. I personally really like to draw which made it much more enjoyable to do. It is very satisfying as an artist to spend a lot of time on a piece of art work and when you finally finish you are just able to look back and be proud of everything you did. Therefor the creativity on this project was super well done and above standards. Another aspect I did well on was utilizing my critical thinking skills. This project had a lot of opportunity for freedom but with so much freedom came a lot more issues needed to be solved. One of these issues was on how I was going to incorporate the ocean in a project that mainly was based on land. There were so many specific details and ways things could be intertwined together but yet it was so hard to figure out the right ones to make it so the project still made sense. However I was able to do it and overall I think it makes plenty of sense and looks very well done. Issues like this constantly came up throughout the project but I was always able to work around them which made for a very well done poster and presentation. In conclusion this class has been super fun to partake in and I loved the majority of the work we did especially this last final project!