In my group’s PSA we discussed water contamination through the knowledge of three people in different fields that connect with each other. The PSA explained how water contamination happens, why it happens, its effects on biotic factors, the leading cause of it in Philadelphia, and ways to make the water safer. I chose this topic because water is a big part of everyday life for everyone. I know water is a very important asset to life so the great amount of contaminated water scared me.

In more detail water contamination happens when more chemicals get into the water than usual and the water becomes more acidic. Stormwater drains are where water contamination comes from the most in Philadelphia which happens due to the drains having toxins and trash enter them, specifically pet waste and leftover paint. Many species are affected by water contamination, one being marine life and water acidification. Humans can get gastrointestinal illnesses such as vomiting, diarrhea and cramps. Some of the ways to help resolve the issue include: practicing water conservation, reducing plastic waste, throwing away trash, and taking jogs/walking.

I think that I participated well but, since I’m involved in school activities I had to miss out on helping my group for task one due to the due dates. There were two main meaningful parts of creating the PSA to me. The first part was learning about the effects water contamination has on biotic factors because I am one myself and so are the people and animals I love. When finding out about the ways I can reduce water contamination I began wanting to partake in activities I haven’t done before for not only mine but everyone’s future. The second part was doing it with my friends. Actually recording the PSA with my friends has been a great experience for me because we didn’t only learn but had fun doing it which made the experience both meaningful and memorable.

Without Biodiversity and natural resources of the Earth, it would be harder for biotic factors/living organisms to survive. Some human actions associated with altering Earth’s natural systems are burning fossil fuels and deforestation. Individuals, communities, and or nations can live more sustainably by lowering their eco-footprint by using less water, less transportation, reusing clothes, recycling, replacing single-use products like plastic, etc.

This project deepened my understanding of sustainability because it made me think and research more about sustainability in the food industry. This project allowed me to think about the food industry and how to make it more sustainable such as it being healthier and more easily accessible. The project also made me realize that sustainabilty will make a better environment and make the world better however it can take long due to how much we need to work in order to make industries more sustainable. For my industry, I was mostly surprised about the eco-footprint being 13.7 billion metric tons because I didn’t expect the number to be that big even though I expected it to be a lot. I contributed to my project by helping in all of the checkpoints, collabortaing with my group to brainstorm ideas (the names of the company and restaurant, the actual restaurant and fishery, plus the blueprint/layout), working on the slideshow, and assisting with the physical model as well. To end my reflection I am proud of how well everything came together especially because my group and I were stressing about not finishing in time.

1. The Earth systems affect each other in different ways. O am only going to talk about one way which is that natural disasters can cause each other. While researching Tsunamis, I saw that Earthquakes and landslides can create Tsunamis.

2. Learning environmental science will help people understand what to do when encountering natural disasters and what can be done to prevent them.

3. I found this project interesting because even though I already knew what caused Tsunamis I didn’t pay attention to the role of matter or how Tsunamis affected the Earth system.