Kylie Congden: Outlook on the Environment

For my assignment, I asked my mom to be my participant and send me three pictures of her point of view of health and the environment. I also asked her to include why she chose the pictures and what they mean to her. My mother’s name is Diana and she is a 50 year old fifth-grade teacher. She is my role model.

Theme: People taking care of the environment so we can enjoy it.

– Taking care of the environment and keeping it natural and healthy is very important to my mom.

Picture 1:

“I took this picture at the environmental studies center in Winter Springs. At a quick glance, you can see the turtle in the middle, which is what I was focused on. The beauty of nature, and living things just existed naturally. But when you zoom out to the big picture, you can see the Styrofoam cup at the top of the frame and other random garbage around. It makes me sad to see such beauty destroyed with such carelessness.”

My analysis: This picture is a great representation of the pollution that is found all over the planet now. I love seeing a turtle still thriving in its natural habitat despite the potential threats that are around it. We need to do more to respect the habitats of animals as we would want someone to respect our homes. I believe that this is important to my mom because she loves to explore different areas and wants them to continue to be clean so that the natural beauty can shine.

Picture 2:

“This picture was taken June 27, 2020. At the time, Godzilla, the Saharan dust cloud had arrived. It was very hazy even though the sun was shining. While we often have the dust circulate the Earth, this one was the biggest in 25 years! It led to beautiful sunsets, but not so good for our health and allergies.”

My analysis: The year of 2020 was a very trivial year and was jam packed with numerous life changing events. Between Covid becoming a thing and then having to quarantine for so long; the last thing the world needed was a dust cloud. With everyone being inside during Covid, the air actually became less polluted during quarantine times with the exception of the cloud. My mom has terrible allergies, so this dust cloud really messed with her health. However, it was difficult to determine if it was from the cloud or Covid. The “Godzilla” dust cloud created a historical moment with it being the biggest one in 25 years.

Picture 3:

“I love to enjoy the beauty of nature while paddleboarding. It is great exercise, and great for your health to be active and outdoors. In this picture, I am paddling through mangroves in Brevard County.”

My analysis: My mom and dad love to spend their weekends on the water. They have gone all around Florida with their paddleboards and have gone paddling on many different waterways. It is a great way to get exercise, sun, and fresh air. Their favorite place to go is anywhere in Brevard County. Paddleboarding lets them explore and enjoy nature in its purest form while they float on top of the water.

Source that helped me analyze: “Air pollution falls by unprecedented levels in major global cities during coronavirus lockdowns” 

– I used the CNN article about air pollution in Module 7.1 to help me better understand how to analyze the picture my mom sent me regarding the Godzilla dust cloud. Kelsey Duska from CNN said, “… out of these extraordinary circumstances, we can see how changes in our society’s activities can have a momentous impact on our environment and the air we breathe” (CNN). This article is about the air actually becoming less polluted during 2020, so it is very interesting to then do research and hear about the giant dust cloud during the same time period.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/22/world/air-pollution-reduction-cities-coronavirus-intl-hnk/index.html