Kelly Chaisson

Application Assignment #3 Figure in Environmental History (Photo by Wikimedia Commons of Theodore Roosevelt) Theodore Roosevelt Teddy Roosevelt ismost known for being the 26 th President of America, but most people don’t know that he was also a huge supporter of the environment. From a young age Teddy Roosevelt was passionate about the outdoors. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, hiking, bird-watching, and much more. Part of the reason Roosevelt felt so strongly about the importance of protecting the environment is that he saw first-hand through his hunting trips the loss of species and habitats. He also lost a lot of his ranches due to overgrazing and our overusing of the world’s natural resources ( NPS , 2019). He felt as though it was our job to recognize this and do something about it. Teddy also spoke publicly about the wonders of our world and our duty as a nation to protect it. A quote from Roosevelt in 1910 totally encapsulates the way he viewed the environment. ...

Sustainable Choices to Protect Ethiopian Wolves (Photo of Ethiopian Wolf by  Wikimedia Commons ) Ethiopian Wolf Ethiopian wolves are small, long canids. According to the African Wildlife Foundation they can reach up to 3 feet long and weigh 24 to 42 pounds. Their fur coat is a red color with patches of white on their belly, chest, and throat. Ethiopian wolves also have long bushy tails that are usually black in color. This species of wolves are found in Ethiopian highlands. Specifically, this species is confined to seven isolated mountain ranges in the Ethiopian highlands. They tend to be found in the Simien Mountains, Arsi Mountains, and Bale Mountains. Ethiopian wolves are towards the top of the food chain, preying predominately on Afroalpine rodents. Sometimes a small group of wolves will work together to take down a young antelopes, hares, and lambs. There are no other animals in their habitat that eat or prey on the Ethiopian wolves. According to the Ethiopian Wol...

Photo of plastic pollution affecting wildlife by Jedimentat44 on Flickr The article I read was titled " Dead whale found with 40 kilograms of plastic bags in its stomach ", written by Matthew Robinson and published on CNN’s website. The article discussed the findings of a whale that died from eating too many plastic bags that are floating in our oceans. We have talked a lot in class about the implications of plastic and how they usually end up in the ocean. We have also learned that plastic is not able to go away, but rather breaks down into tiny pieces. The whale talked about in the article was found with over 88 pounds of plastic in it’s stomach. It was confirmed that this is what killed the whale because it was unable to digest the plastic and therefore could not eat or drink anything else, technically dying from starvation and dehydration. I think this article highlights the huge issue our planet has with plastics and the detrimental impact it is having on our wil...

Picture of the Great Pacific Gyre by Wikimedia Commons This article by Trevor Nace titled “ The World’s Largest Ocean Cleanup Has Officially Begun ” was posted on Forbes and discussed the most recent attempt to rid the ocean of plastic. We have talked a lot in class about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and how much plastic is polluting our oceans. This article talks about the 20-million-dollar system that was designed by the non-profit group Ocean Cleanup. This non-profit was founded by an 18-year-old Dutch inventor named Boyan Slat in 2013. This system is being called a floating bloom and essentially it will be dragged out into the ocean and then as it drifts along with local currents, a U shape will form. This U formation will collect the plastic trash floating along the surface of the ocean. There is also a net connected to the floating bloom that extends 10 feet below the surface enabling it to collect even more plastic trash. Once the bloom is full, a transport vessel...

Application Assignment #1  2010 BP Oil Spill Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Explosion  in 2010, photo by US Coast Guard For my assignment I chose to read about the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf Coast. The article, “ Thirty Million Gallons Under the Sea: Following the trail of BP’s oil in the Gulf of Mexico ” by Antonia Juhasz, discussed the long term environmental impacts it has left. The Gulf of Mexico is home to a large amount of oil and natural gas lease blocks. According to the article by Juhasz, it is estimated that over 17 percent of oil in the US comes from the Gulf and of that, a whopping 80 percent comes from depths of 1,000 feet or more below the ocean’s surface. This drilling into the ocean’s floor is what led to the BP oil spill. BP had leased a large amount of land in the Gulf Coast and was using it to drill wells for oil. There was an extensive amount of steel piping under the ocean floor that was being used to transport the oil. In April of 2010 methane ga...

My favorite place in nature is Lake Winnisquam. Lake Winnisquam is a small fresh water lake located in Central/Northern New Hampshire. The area of the lake that I spend most of my time is in Meredith, New Hampshire. This is my favorite place because it is where my family’s lake house is and it’s where we spend a lot of time during the summer. When I am here I love spending my entire day outside doing all sorts of typical lake activities like fishing, swimming, boating, and partaking in water sports. Lake Winnisquam is fairly small and is completely surrounded by trees, adding to its beauty. When I am here I feel completely relaxed and entirely happy. If anyone ever asks me what some of my favorite memories are, I almost always share a story from a time at the lake. There is nowhere else on this planet I would chose over Lake Winnisquam.  (Personal photo of my family and me on Lake Winnisquam Photo from August 2018)