Environmental Justice is when organisms on Earth use their environment in a way that equally sustains both life and the piece of the environment being used. For example, it would be using water to sustain life, but at the same time keeping water clean and healthy. However, humans have done a terrible job of keeping the Earth environmentally just. We have allowed greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide to emit at an extreme rate that has caused all kinds of problems such as global warming. This has indirectly affected many things, one of them being water. We have not kept water environmentally just because we have been letting it get worse and worse in quality. We already have only so much water to use, and because of us, that amount is constantly getting lower. Because of this, there are tons of water crises currently happening; one of the most well known being California. They are going through an intense drought that is indirectly affecting the rest of America (food wise). In order to prevent this and bring water crises to be environmentally just, the first step would be to stop and reverse the effects of global warming.

This is our info graphic which we talked about the issues surrounding water around the world.

https://create.piktochart.com/output/35075110-global-water-crisis

This week we read an article about lead poisoning in Philadelphia, and I was very shaken by what I read. Philadelphia has a high poverty rate and the highest lead poisoning percentages out of all the cities. Our state does nothing to help these children and families that are being affected. The laws aren't enforced and the landowners are not following procedures. What is the next step? What can we do?

This week we read an article tilted Philly's shame: City ignores thousands of poisoned kids. This article talked about the extremely high levels of lead in the poorer parts of the city of Philadelphia. The children in these rented houses would eat old paint chips that would start to peel off. The lead paint chips had a sweet taste to them which is just like candy for these kids. Exposure to lead can cause anemia, weakness, and kidney and brain damage. This issue can be resolved by the landlords of these rented houses start xing the old paint in houses and we need treating every kid who already has lead poisoning, not just the really sick ones. Yes, we believe this is an environmental justice issues because environmental justice is the involvement of all people and certain kids who have lead poisoning aren’t even getting treated. https://padlet.com/lhoward191/esvw86t2ow1f

MLA citation, Infographic link, reflection

Philadelphia ranks at one of the top large U.S. cities at risk for childhood lead poisoning, yet landlords still ignore the law of having their properties certified as lead safe. Last year alone, nearly, 2,700 children tested in Philadelphia had harmful levels of lead in their blood, yet the issue still goes unnoticed. Typically areas with the highest poverty rate, as well as a high rate of homes built before 1980, are the ares with the highest levels of lead present. Overbrook and Wynnefield are two of the areas that rank at one of the highest areas with lead poisoned children. I still wonder how they've let this issue go on for so long. These homes were built before 1980, why didn't anyone think of renovations, or landlords being fired for not checking the lead levels?