Final Assignment - Quint

Sustainability is how we, as humans, use the environment so that we do not deplete the natural resources it has to offer. There are many issues with and threats to sustainability. One such threat is overfishing.

Overfishing is the harvesting of more fish than can be replaced. In other words, we are taking out more fish than can be replenished. I knew overfishing was a problem before, but know I understand just how bad the situation is. For instance, some asian fish markets pay tens of thousands of dollars for prize tuna because prize tuna are becoming scarcer and scarcer due to unsustainable fishing practices.

Another issue that I was turned on to this year is genetically modified crops. In essence it does not sound like a bad idea: speeding up the evolution cycle and being extremely selective when breeding. This is actually good in many ways. With it, some crops have been made immune to pesticides which means that farmers can spray freely without having to worry about damaging their crop. The flip side of GMO's is that there is no long-term research about what positive or negative effects it has on the body. For all we know, certain genetically modified crops could lower the risk of cancer, but they could also make one at a greater risk of a heart attack. Until there is further, long-term research, the effects of GMO's will remain a mystery.

Ozone depletion is a huge issue. It is a unending cycle too: Chlorine ions (Cl) replace one of the oxygen atoms (O) in an ozone molecule (O3), this creates ClO2. The Cl atom then breaks off from the molecule leaving just a diatomic oxygen and another free-flowing Cl ion. The cycle then repeats itself. One thing that speeds up this process is the liquid in refrigerators and A/C units. These are usually freon chemicals that release ozone-depleting chemicals when they begin to decompose.