On a warm summer day, a city can be 6-8○ F warmer than its surrounding areas. Scientists call these cities urban heat islands. The higher temperatures in urban heat islands increase air conditioning and raise pollution levels. Urban heat islands are not only uncomfortably hot, they are also smoggier. Smog is created by photochemical reactions of
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I decided to look through a list of the most sustainable cities in the country and was more than surprised to see Columbus, Ohio ranked highly on the list. Apparently, there is only a single factor which makes Columbus sustainable: its transportation. In Columbus, bike riding is incredibly popular. “Columbus ’ flat terrain and relatively
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Austin, Texas has established itself as a sustainability leader. I was looking through a list of the most sustainable cities in the country and it was listed as #6 on one site. Apparently Austin has the citizens choose their electric utility. This means that the people can elect their utility’s board. Austin has many innovative programs
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Bryce Canyon National Park is located deep within Dixie National Forest. Surrounded by forests and originally used for grazing cattle, Bryce Canyon is a spectacular sight. Bryce Canyon is named after Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon settler who claimed that the wondrous canyon was “a hell of a place to lose a cow.” Perhaps Ebenezer Bryce
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Trees, trees everywhere… Where was I? Redwood National Park, of course! It’s the only park full of coast redwoods in the United States and is situated in northern California. Coast redwoods can only be found in forests along the northern Pacific coast. This type of redwood is part of the world’s largest tree species and
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National Parks get all the glamour. Supported and sponsored by the government, they are well-known to travelers everywhere.  The NPS manages dozens of parks which are accessible and thriving-to an extent- even in tough economic times. State Parks, however, are not as lucky. Not as well-known, smaller, and less developed; state parks are shutting down
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Acadia National Park, located in the State of Maine is perhaps the most beautiful places I have ever visited. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, the park transcends boundaries between water and land. During the fall, vibrantly-colored trees line the looping roads of the gorgeous park. Waves crash onto Sand beach, Acadia’s only beach, and make
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Officially, popular culture is defined as the prevailing vernacular culture or the culture of the masses. It greatly influences the average person for it is so readily available in all forms of mass media. Environmentalists have often noted that popular culture plays a great role in influencing the common person about the environment. More often
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National Parks are more than a place to watch and see- they are a place to experience. The NPS has varied activities for visitors to do to truly enjoy the beauty of the park. Hiking is a good start to enjoying the outdoors. Everyone can go at their own pace without the competition associated with other
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Located 35 miles from Willcox, Arizona, Chiricahua National Monument is known as the Bryce Canyon of Arizona.  We visited Chiricahua National Monument on New Year’s Eve to find the monument covered in several inches of snow. Massive stone columns rise up atop the mountains at Chiricahua. And due to below freezing temperatures, the ground was
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Everything great had to have started from something small. For instance, take Wal-Mart. Sam Walton, the founder, was raised in a small town in Missouri. All he had was a dream. Forever hardworking, he managed to hold down a job even during the Great Depression. After serving in the army during World War II, Walton
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How do oil spills affect the environment ? Oil spills affect water in many ways. When oil is released into water, it doesn’t blend in. Oil floats on the surface of salt and fresh water. Over a small period of time, the oil is spread into a very thin layer across the surface of the
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Ever since I got involved with nature, I realized that others needed to get involved as well. Ignorance and passivity are the biggest threats to the environment. The method through which others could get involved was obvious: an Environmental Club. I attend a small charter school in Phoenix – the entire high school consists of a
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While working on my persuasive mastery paper for English class, I came across ecofeminism or ecological feminism, a social and political movement combining two of my passions, environmentalism and feminism. Although the topic is considered radical by many and idealistic by some, I found it interesting enough to explore and to share with you. Ecofeminism
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With something for everyone, Capitol Reef National Park, is one of my favorites. Capitol Reef is one of the largest National Parks- encompassing a quarter million acres. It is also one of the most underrepresented. We started off the morning at the Park’s Visitor Center, watching the film Watermark. The name was appropriate considering that it
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I spent the last three weeks of my summer at EPGY Summer Camp at Stanford University in California. While there, I made friendships that are bound to last a lifetime, learned new information and visited a few interesting places including the Monterey Bay aquarium. We only spent a few hours- hardly two- at the aquarium,
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While researching new developments in sustainability, I came across the meat industry. As a self-turned vegetarian, I am not a fan of the meat industry. Inhumane, a source of industrial pollution, and carrying  both health and environmental consequences, the meat industry is growing at a rapid rate. In fact, scientists predict that the industry will effectively double by
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Easily the world’s most famous canyon, the Grand Canyon is a mere four hour drive from Phoenix. So, a few weekends ago, we drove up. Unlike times before, we stayed in the park itself, in the Maswik Lodge. This enabled us to experience sunrise at the canyon. At 4 AM, we walked down to the
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Ecotourism or ecological tourism is the idea of traveling to delicate, pristine, and often protected areas. It is perhaps best described as ecologically responsible travel. This kind of travel strives to be low-impact and small-scale. It both helps educate the traveler and provides funds for conservation. In other words, it is the kind of travel
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Sustainability can be described in many different ways. Some say that it is the practice of exploiting natural resources without destroying the ecological balance of an area. Others say that it is the capacity to endure. According to the EPA, sustainability is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations
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