Ocean Pollution - Vincent Resendez

Introduction and Importance

The beaches of Los Angeles are a popular place for all locals and attract millions of tourists from all round the world. The beach is a landmark and a wonderful area where tourist and people in general all congregate together to have fun on a hot day to cool off in the water to or hangout on the boardwalks. Specifically, here in Los Angeles two well-known beaches are Santa Monica and Venice Beach.

Venice Beach (visitcalifornia.com)

Santa Monica Beach (visitcalifornia.com)

The Ocean is important for all life on earth. The ocean benefits us by producing us oxygen, food, and water through rain and snow. 

General Importance (Deepoceanobserving.org)

The Issue

The ocean helps all life directly and indirectly and many of us do not understand that fully. The issue of ocean pollution is happening today, and it affects the Los Angeles beaches; such as, Santa Monica and Venice Beach. The issue is also worldwide and spreads across all beaches around the world.

What is ocean pollution?

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ocean pollution is defined as “harmful or unnatural pesticides, trash, plastic, chemicals that do not belong in the ocean and are brought there by outside sources” (2). 

• Ocean pollution examples:
• Plastic pollution
• Chemical dumping
• Oil spills
• Invasive organisms
• Harmful organisms hurting all life in the ocean

The issue of ocean pollution is increasing and is affecting wildlife in the ocean and also hurting human life. Ocean pollution starts by hurting small organisms of the ocean food chain and then overtime will affect the organisms of the top of food chain (2). Continuing this issue and no change to it can hurt humanity now and more in the future.

Food Chain of the Ocean (ultimate-animals.com)

Did you know? (global ocean pollution facts)

• According to The World Count, one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into the ocean every minute...
• By 2030, it will be two trucks per minute and by 2050 it will be four trucks (7).
• Predict that in 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea (7).
• Currently in 2020 around 3,460,109 tons of plastic is already dumped into the ocean and is increasing every second (7).
• In 2017, Plastic waste in the ocean kills up to 1 million sea birds, 100,000 sea mammals, marine turtles and countless fish. As each year passes plastic remains in the ocean’s ecosystem for years, harming thousands every day (6).

Trash in the Ocean (Plastic Oceans)

California Brown Pelican Found Dead with Plastic Inside it (ocean.si.edu)

Ocean Pollution in Santa Monica and Venice Beach

Now moving from ocean pollution globally, the issue of ocean pollution is relevant to Los Angeles. Ocean pollution specifically is hurting Santa Monica and Venice Beach communities. The wildlife that lives on the shore of the beach and in the water are all suffering from the ocean waters being polluted with trash and chemicals.

Did you know? (ocean pollution facts of Los Angeles)

• According to The Public Works of Los Angeles County found that 200 tons of trash is collected by trash nets in the Ballona Creek and the Los Angeles River each year.
• More tons of trash of is either escaped because the nets get to full after a rainstorm and that trash makes its way towards Santa Monica and Venice Beach (1).
• According to The Environmental Group of Heal the Bay, Santa Monica Beach was named the most polluted beach in Los Angeles County in 2017 and 2018 (3).
• In 2018, Santa Monica Beach was named the 7^th dirtiest beach in California (3).
• Venice, Santa Monica Beach, and other urban LA County beaches are major factors to ocean pollution in Southern California (1).
• According to The Public Works of Los Angeles County people should wait for three to four days to enter the beaches after it rains since rain washes all bacteria and parasites in sewage drains from all of LA County to the water which can be deadly for visitors (1).
• LA residents dump enough trash to fill up Dodger Stadium in two weeks (1)

Many types of trash on the Santa Monica Beach shore just after a rainstorm

The picture above shows how ocean pollution is affecting the communities of Santa Monica. Also affects Venice Beach since they are neighboring beaches. According to YoVenice, a local news group in Venice, reported last year around "1000 pounds of trash was collected in the span of two mouths" of beach cleanups. The Surfrider Foundation did this beach clean once every weekend of a total of eight times of doing beach cleanups and got 1000 pounds of trash (5). 

According from the Santa Monica Daily Press (SMDP) "around 300 pounds of trash and recycling was collected from a one mile stretch" of Santa Monica pier down towards Venice Beach in one day (3).

The amount of trash collected on both beaches makes the water of Los Angeles beach filthy and polluted to the point that no one should enter, or any wildlife will be safe if they entered. The issue of beach pollution hurts wildlife that lives there and also hurts the people who visit Santa Monica and Venice Beach. With so much trash in the water this causes an accumulated effect of Marine Debris. This debris is seen throughout Santa Monica and Venice but more importantly this issue is seen throughout the whole world. The whole world is having this issue of increase trash in the ocean that has no way of it dying naturally but lives forever in the water hurting millions of sea creatures each day. All the waste found around the world is coming from storm drains in cities; such as, Santa Monica and Venice Beach.

Trash in Santa Monica Drain (Heal The Bay)

At times Santa Monica and Venice were closed because of how toxic the water is and unsafe it is for humans and wildlife. The effects of ocean pollution from beaches contaminate the water by adding many types of nutrients in there. According to NOAA, those “nutrients increase and cause an alga bloom that kills marine life by a toxic neurotoxin" (8). Also, can hurt human and cause paralysis if they were to eat the sick fish coming from the alga bloom water. According from Heal the Bay, 65 millions of locals and people from all over the world visit Santa Monica and Venice Beach each year and the beaches being polluted will decrease those numbers and decrease annual revenue for the city and for business near the beach.

Why is the Ocean Important?

According to Ocean Services NOAA, the ocean is important by regulating climate change by 70% which it helps by cooling the earth down when there are extreme heats. The ocean also provides 50% of the oxygen we all breath today (8). The ocean provides transportation for all trades and traveling purposes. The ocean provides billions of dollars to the nation and to communities such as Santa Monica and Venice. People work at the beaches to get paid. Many types of medicines are made from the ocean and are used to fight cancer, arthritis, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s (8). Lastly, the ocean is a major food source for countries that relied on seafood only and other people who eat seafood (8). Overall, ocean pollution will affect all these benefits to life on earth. If the ocean is polluted more than that will have a ripple effect to hurting Santa Monica and Venice Beach communities and also the whole world overtime. People will lose jobs, source of medical treatments, and food because of ocean pollution.

Solutions to Minimize Ocean Pollution

·      Some solutions to preventing ocean pollution by the community is taking action and furthering change. Participating in protest and voting for laws that will help decrease pollution in the beaches of Santa Monica and Venice.

·      Another solution is picking any kinds of trash up if seen on the floor. Countless times people walk over trash and that trash will end up in the beach. Picking it up and putting it in a trash can will be small steps to clearing ocean pollution in Santa Monica and Venice Beach.

·      Also, using fewer one use plastic bags and one use products in general can lessen ocean pollution (4). Using more reusable bags and reusable products will be the best to use. This all together will lessen the amount of trash found in our local beaches and reduce ocean pollution around the world.

·      Participating in local community events in Santa Monica and Venice Beach that inform the public of the issue of ocean pollution and wanting to fight it can be a solution. Participating in beach clean ups on weekends can lessen the pollution in the local beaches and help lessen the issue for the future.

Here are some links to help solve this issue:

1. Heal The Bay Beach Cleanup Events
2. Surfrider Foundation

Community Outreach

Mario Reyes

Resident of Venice Beach

“I go to the beach regularly during the summer and I find myself picking handfuls of trash from shore putting it in trash cans. It is devastating to see my home (Venice Beach) polluted with plastic waste and it just makes me not want to go in the water. Little things; such as, picking up trash from the floor and using reusable products can lessen the pollution here in Venice and have a cleaner beach”

Melissa Rodriguez
Resident of Santa Monica
“I go to Santa Monica Beach regularly to work out by running on the shore. I always loved going to the beach but now seeing all this trash on the shore, I rarely go. I feel that Santa Monica Beach being polluted will hurt the ecosystem of Santa Monica Beach by hurting wildlife by the water being polluted and also cause sea creatures to consume plastic thinking that it is food. That issue hurts sea creatures and overtime that issue will go to humans in the natural food chain... I have participated in a beach clean-up at Santa Monica last year with some friends and we walked off with 3 buckets. I feel that participating in community events are the best ways to minimize ocean pollution here in Santa Monica Beach”

Jose Govea

Resident of Santa Monica

“I see plastic bags, cigarettes buds, all types of small plastic pieces, and even used needles on the shore. It is devastating to see Santa Monica littered with trash and still attracts millions to visit... Having dirty water will lessen people coming to visit if something is not done to stop the issue. Ocean pollution is Santa Monica will hurt the natural ecosystem and all life near the shore. I believe the best way to minimize ocean pollution to inform people of the issue. Having flyers and providing ways of telling information about the issue of pollution in Santa Monica can bring changed in the laws of the city to minimizing ocean pollution.”

Why do I care for this issue?

I care for the issue of Ocean Pollution in Santa Monica and Venice Beach because I am apart of those communities affected by that issue. I lived in Venice for all of my life and went to school at Santa Monica. However, today I do not live in Venice anymore and moved out of there in 2012 but I do still consider it my home and apart of who I am. Going to school for K-12 in Santa Monica and living in Venice, I always aware of the issue of Ocean Pollution because many will talk about it. In my 11^th grade Marine Biology class we actively learned about ocean pollution in the Santa Monica Bay and actively tackled the issue by doing beach cleanups and going to city meetings about ways to minimize waste in the Santa Monica Bay. Actively participating in these events for a whole year urged me to write about this issue because I believe it is something that everyone should be aware of now and the consequences it can have in our communities and most importantly all life on earth. I care for wildlife in the ocean and all the people in the communities I tackled. So, I believe that helping stop the issue of ocean pollution in urban beaches; such as, Santa Monica and Venice Beach will have a greater impact to stopping global ocean pollution and to having a cleaner ocean for the future.

References

(1) Cook, Devon. “Project Pollution Prevention: Stormwater Pollution Fast Facts.” STORMWATER POLLUTION FAST FACTS, Los Angeles, 2017, dpw.lacounty.gov/prg/stormwater/page_30.cfm.

(2) “Ocean Pollution.” Ocean Pollution | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, June 2018, www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts-education-resources/ocean-pollution.

(3) Pauker, Madeleine, et al. “Beaches Cleaned throughout the County.” Santa Monica Daily Press, 25 Sept. 2019, www.smdp.com/092519-fp-cleanup/180216.

(4) “Plastic Oceans Canada |.” Plastic Oceans, 2019, plasticoceans.ca/?matchtype=b&network=g&device=c&adposition&keyword=plastic pollution in the ocean&gclid=CjwKCAjw95D0BRBFEiwAcO1KDPHOiEm9wL8kfHvkqoU7PR437z9V3gx9irqPoFF-ETdQX4iYkkZMuBoCCWcQAvD_BwE.

(5) Staff, Yo Venice. “1,000 Pounds of Trash.” Yo! Venice!, 8 Mar. 2019, yovenice.com/2019/03/08/1000-pounds-of-trash.

(6) “The Ocean Conference: United Nation.” Sustainabledevelopment.un.org, July 2017, sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Ocean_Factsheet_Pollution.pdf.

(7) “The World Count: Global Challenges.” The World Counts, 2020, www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/oceans/plastic-in-the-ocean.

(8) US Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Why Should We Care about the Ocean?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, 24 May 2017, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/why-care-about-ocean.html.

Nathaniel Trias

How Veganism Effects the Environment 

what is veganism?

           

                  Vegan is known as a diet amongst most people, especially here in the states. But it is in fact more of a lifestyle rather than a diet. Veganism is no consumption of any animal or animal product. So, no meats, diaries, broths, etc. over time here Vegan options have been more available to those especially in largely populated areas like los Angeles.

 Research/stats

            Due to the large population across the world, we need resources to produce meats, dairies, vegetables, etc. and we would need machines and land to produce these things. Which means that we would be leaving a large carbon footprint. A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas that comes from a person, event, community, etc. so that means use of anything that produces a greenhouse gas. A greenhouse gas can come from anything, but it is a gas that absorbs radiant energy. And these gases can come from things like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor. Agriculture production uses a lot of machines which produce a lot of those greenhouse gases. According to EPA.gov agriculture produces about 10% of greenhouse gases. And out of that meat and dairy production produces 60% percent out of the total agricultural carbon footprint. And according to independent.co.uk global farmland could be reduced by 75% which is the same size as the U.S, China and Australia combined. If we reduced this number, it would not only help the reduction of greenhouse gases but also free up land that agricultural uses. 

            Being on a vegan diet will help reduce your carbon footprint by a substantial amount. And the reason why most studies show that the vegan diet will help reduce your carbon footprint is because it doesn’t just reduce the greenhouse gases you produce. But also, land/water use, global acidification and eutrophication. 

In this figure, it shows the percentage of agricultural greenhouse gas produced and has broken it down to where its produced from. 

What happens if we don’t? 

            

            Well why do we care so much about me reducing my carbon footprint as much as possible? Well, if we don’t reduce our carbon footprint more carbon dioxide gets trapped and starts to form a thermal blanket around the earth trapping heat. Which leads to other issues like global warming and premature deaths. 

My opinion

              Overall, I haven’t been full vegan, but I have been pescatarian for 2 ½ years. I first started off vegetarian for 6 months then switched to pescatarian and have been that way for about 2 years. The reason I first did it was, in all honesty, to lose weight. But as I progressed further into this new lifestyle, I have learned more about how my life has changed and how I myself can help the community. My diet overall has just been healthier and easier to digest, I have reduced my carbon footprint by switching over, not completely, to a no meat and diary diet. And I have learned that it’s a slow process but with knowledge and determination we can all help prevent some of these issues. 

Resources:

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/veganism-environmental-impact-planet-reduced-plant-based-diet-humans-study-a8378631.html

https://timeforchange.org/what-is-a-carbon-footprint-definition/

https://www.livescience.com/37743-greenhouse-effect.html

Michael De Guzman - Videogames

Michael De Guzman - Videogames

Background

Videogames are one of the many activities that people enjoy doing because it brings positivity in their lives.  Not only are videogames are fun, but they also satisfy the three core needs of human life (Rigby, Ryan).  Those three core needs are competence, autonomy, and relatedness (C.A.R.).  Competence is the feeling of mastery through something challenging.  Autonomy is having the freedom to control the player's own actions and decisions; the player makes an impact in the virtual world for every action and decision made.  Lastly is relatedness.  Games with this core need makes us feel as if we, the heroes, are needed.  For whatever action done, we feel as if we are contributing to real gamers from around the world, thus bringing the social aspect.

Figure 1.  Super Mario Bros.  This game is an example of competence, where players learn to play the game and as we advance through it, the game gets challenging.  

Figure 2.  Animal Crossing: New Horizons.  This game is an example of autonomy, where the player has all the freedom to play the game however they want to play it.  This includes fishing, catching bugs, villager interaction, world building, etc.

Figure 3.  Minecraft.  This game is an example of relatedness, where we interact with friends in the virtual world and help each other out to get the most out of Minecraft's social experience.

Issues

Social Issue #1: "Videogames cause violence" Stereotype
For the past couple of years, ever since the whole blowout in school shootings, many news media outlets blame videogames for the violent tendencies that shooting suspects developed.  Of course, there are videogames that do have violent elements in it, but there should be more research to prove that poor assumption.  Violent videogames were developed years ago, and the popularity of videogames overall started in the 90s.  One example of a popular violent videogame in the 90s was Mortal Kombat.

Figure 4.  The evolution of videogame sales.  It can be seen that gaming was popularized in the 90s. (ioana)

Figure 5.  Mortal Kombat.  One of the the most popular violent videogames.

If we are to study the relationship between violent videogames and gamers, then there will be an increase in violence.  As previously mentioned, gaming began its rise to popularity in the 90s.  Therefore, if the surge of videogames occurred then to today, then there should be a similar trend in statistics.  This hypothesis was proven to be wrong.  According to figure 6, the murder rate peaked in 1980, and at videogame's rise to fame, the murder rate was low.  In addition, from that time to the mid 2010s, US murder rates decreased by 45.5 % (Asher).  Another hypothesis was that if young people play videogames, then youth crimes are impacted by violent videogames.  This was also proven wrong according figure 7; a similar trend can be observed.

Figure 6.  The murder rate is still up but is still below historical highs (Asher)

Figure 7.  Number of serious violent crimes committed by youth aged between 12 and 17 years in the US from 1980 to 2016 (“U.S. - Number of Serious Violent Crimes by Youth 2017”)

According to the US Secret Service study Safe School Initiative, 12% of school shooters expressed interest in violent videogames (Vossekuil et al.).  It should also be noted that many other countries also have a videogame consumerism, but that does not cause violence on those those countries.  The US itself has a lot of gun violence, whereas countries have almost none, so it is not just videogames that could be the major impact to violent tendencies.  In addition, the supreme court made a ruling in the Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association that declares that a Californian law forbidding the sale of videogames to kids is unconstitutional.  They stated that "psychological studies purporting to show a connection between exposure to violent video games and harmful effects on children do not prove that such exposure causes minors to act aggressively.  Any demonstrated effects are both small and indistinguishable from effects produced by media (Brown, Governor of California, et al. v. Entertainment Merchants Association et Al)."

Overall, it is important for others to do research before creating the "videogames cause violence" stereotype. Parents who want to minimize the exposure of violence for their developing kids should learn to be responsible consumers on whatever videogames they decide to purchase for them.  Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings are required for all videogames to determine which age demographic is the game best suited as well as the content the game exudes.

Figure 8.  ESRB Ratings.

Social Issue #2: Lootboxes and "Free to Play" Mobile Games.
When gaming is tied to gambling, does the game become fun?  While some games do have some gambling elements that does not require in-game currency, there are some that do in the form of lootboxes and "Free to Play" (F2P).  "'Loot box' is a catch-all term for a digital container of randomized rewards" (Drummond and Sauer).  In other words, these mystery boxes hold random digital content that gives the game (sometimes) a better experience.  The rewarding content is either for aesthetic or game performance purposes.  This encourages players (especially adolescents) to spend their money to buy them in order to get the utmost experience in the game.  Loot boxes are similar to real-life gambling because it involves money and luck.  Players may sometimes get a high-valuable item for every X times they purchase a box.  "For example, a game with a 10% chance of a high-value item in a loot box may result in success, on average, once for every ten boxes purchased" (Drummond and Sauer).  A popular game adolescents play that involves lootbox is Fortnite, an online battle royal videogame where players play against each other for survival.  One of the loot boxes provided the "Save the World" package, was sold for $39.99 USD.  The box is disguised as a llama, which makes them all the more enticing to adolescents.  It contains boosts, characters, and items that are ranked from common to legendary.

Figure 9.  Fortnite loot boxes.

Mobile games are accessible and a popular form of media in the market.  Several of them are F2P gacha (capsule-toy vending machine) games and require in-app purchases.  These predatory "pay-to-win" methods gives these players the upper hand in gaming at the cost of using real currency.  An example of a F2P mobile game is Mario Kart Tour.  Its in-game currency is rubies, which can be used to purchase characters and kart parts at random.  These can be purchased at prices ranging from $1.99 - $69.99.  In addition, the game also features a monthly subscription (known as gold pass) for $5.00 a month, which includes better "freemium" content for the gamer's experience.

Figure 10.  Mario Kart Tour rubies and gold pass subscription.

It is important for consumers to be aware of whatever they purchase in these free to play games because it could possibly develop a gambling habit, especially for children, teenagers, and young adults.  Also, these games could be outdated and therefore can no longer be played unlike a purchased game without add-on content.  I personally think that consumers should actually focus on purchasing a full game as opposed to a half-baked game that requires microtransactions.  That way, the consumer gets the most gameplay experience for every penny spent.  It is okay to spend on these types of games, however, it should be controlled to prevent losing money to these enticing/premium offers.

Solution
In a bigger picture, Jane McGonigal's Gaming can make a better world TED-talk shows that, despite the controversy on videogames, playing them can show potential to save the world (McGonigal).  Sure it sounds like a stretch, but she argues that the ultimate purpose of videogames is to solve certain situations to change the world's future.  Her hypothesis is that if players game together (for hours on end), then their collaborative/social selves can develop optimism (self-motivation), social fabric (trust and cooperation), blissful productivity, and epic meaning.  These can help gamers become super-empowered hopeful individuals in the virtual world, which they can apply to the real world. 

Figure 11.  Pokemon Diamond and Pearl.  This series has players entrusted to save the world whilst becoming a Pokemon master.  Players can interact online or locally through trade, battle, and communication.  Overall, a mission is assigned to us, therefore capable enough for players to earn positivity through accomplishments.

Reflection

Why should this situation be addressed?
Videogames is one of the tangible objects and activities that many of us have encountered.  Like me, others enjoy the creativity and freedom provided when immersing ourselves in videogames.  However, the negative stereotypes we encounter gives the impression upon others that we are violent, socially isolated, and poor consumers.  This can be seen as the minority of the people that do play videogames, because many use them for one simple explanation: we enjoy playing videogames as the virtual world is more under our control.  Also, people seem to forget that videogames today are being used to teach children certain skills, such as coding/programming in Minecraft.

Why did I choose this?
I am an avid videogame player; I love playing them.  I play videogames all the time and consider gaming as a fun, full-time job.  Videogames are the tangible things that always make me genuinely happy.  They are my cloud 9 - my escape from reality.  Videogames serve their purpose in satisfying the three core needs of human life.  In this virtual canvas, I can set the best version of myself and create my own unique persona.  If I happen to fail, I am okay, because I know I can try again (reality can't do that).  Videogames overall make me feel happy, motivated, successful, collaborative, and cooperative.

References

Asher, Jeff. “The U.S. Murder Rate Is Up But Still Far Below Its 1980 Peak.” FiveThirtyEight, 25 Sept. 2017. fivethirtyeight.com, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-u-s-murder-rate-is-up-but-still-far-below-its-1980-peak/.
Brown, Governor of California, et al. v. Entertainment Merchants Association et al: (548122013-001). American Psychological Association, 2010. DOI.org (Crossref), doi:10.1037/e548122013-001.

Drummond, Aaron, and James D. Sauer. “Video Game Loot Boxes Are Psychologically Akin to Gambling.” Nature Human Behaviour, vol. 2, no. 8, Aug. 2018, pp. 530–32. DOI.org (Crossref), doi:10.1038/s41562-018-0360-1.
Game Theory: Do Video Games Cause Violence? It’s Complicated. - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkVIqB8tw2A&t=39s. Accessed 16 Mar. 2020.
Game Theory: Why You Play Video Games (1 Million Subscriber Special!). YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyUC_28HIvA. Accessed 15 Mar. 2020.
Ioana, Alex. “The Incomplete History of Video Game Sales.” Medium, 15 May 2018. medium.com, https://medium.com/the-peruser/a-brief-history-of-video-game-sales-49edbf831dc.

McGonigal, Jane. Gaming Can Make a Better World. www.ted.com, https://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world. Accessed 15 Mar. 2020.
“Problems Users Experience in Free-to-Play Games.” MobileAppAaily, https://www.mobileappdaily.com/problems-users-face-in-free-to-play-games. Accessed 19 Mar. 2020.
Rigby, Scott, and Richard M. Ryan. Glued to Games: How Video Games Draw Us in and Hold Us Spellbound. ABC-CLIO, 2011.
“U.S. - Number of Serious Violent Crimes by Youth 2017.” Statista. www.statista.com, https://www.statista.com/statistics/477466/number-of-serious-violent-crimes-by-youth-in-the-us/. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
Vossekuil, Bryan, et al. UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE AND UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. p. 39.

Alexis Villa

Exide Contaminating Los Angeles 

Corporations are the main factors of man-made polluters of the world. There are many corporations like Exide Technologies that dramatically contaminate the world's environment by exposing harsh chemicals to nearby communities. Large corporations that have many violations get away with issues they have towards investigations because they have the money to pay it off, which led to Exide Technologies operating during their obligated "Stop Work Order".

What is Exide Technologies?

Exide Technologies is a large producer, distributor and recycler of lead-acid batteries. They are considered one of the largest recyclers of lead-acid batteries in the world. These lead-acid batteries come from all sorts of vehicles including: automobiles, golf carts, forklifts, etc. Exide Technologies is  in a heavily industrialized 15-acre property located in the city of Vernon, CA.


How does Exide Technologies affect our community?

In 2013, Exide Technologies was under federal criminal investigation for emitting high levels of extremely lethal pollutants from the recycling they had located in Vernon, CA. It took years for state and federal agencies to take action, while many residents were complaining about Exide Technologies toxic emissions being introduced in their community. Under the facility of Exide Technologies, beneath the soil had tested positive for high levels of toxic lead. Also, the groundwater was polluted as well and irritated sulfates, which may affect near by communities. There was a study that indicated that over 10,000 homes near Exide Technologies have found that there soil had been contaminated by lead emissions. Exide technologies was not only found to have emitted lead, but arsenic and other harmful pollutants as well. The lethal neurotoxin, known as lead, puts children in a vulnerable position of learning disabilities, lowering IQs and other cognitive diseases.

Who does Exide Technologies impact?
Throughout the decades of air pollution from Exide has substantially contaminated and impacted nearby communities like: Boyle Heights, Commerce, Vernon, Maywood, Bell, and Huntington Park. Communities closest to Exide technologies like Boyle Heights and Maywood are more than 90% Latino, which puts Latino's at a vulnerable risk compared to other ethnicities. Lupe Perez, a resident from Boyle Heights, claims that her soil from her yard is contaminated by lead emissions. Perez states that it is not easy to control her 3-year-old daughter from not playing in the dirt because children tend to not listen and comprehend that it is an issue. Obviously children love to play out doors and will step on the contaminated soil, then bring the brain-damaging pollutant inside their homes. This deeply impacted the lives of children because they are not even safe to play in their own backyards. In 2019, a study was conducted by the University of Southern California, which found a high amount of lead in baby teeth of children near the plant of Exide Technologies. This study showed that children who were found with lead in their baby teeth were likely to have lead in their brain, bones, and kidneys as well. Lead found in children's bodies can impact their lives in the future or their future offspring.


Personal Reflections
I personally believe that large corporations like Exide Technologies take advantage of their communities by releasing harmful pollutants to the public environment. Many corporations pay their way through to get a temporary permit, so that way they can further operate and release more toxic emissions. Although, we do need recyclers and distributors for lead-acid batteries to remake them, I think there should be more regulations towards releasing a certain limit of emissions put out in the air.  Such a corporation should have proper toxic waste management and efficient machinery that produces low emissions. The fact that it took decades for federal and state agencies to shut down Exide frustrates me because this meant they would rather take money off a corporation and let them continue to contaminate nearby communities rather than to shut them down immediately once they found out that they had exceeded the limit of levels of toxic emissions polluting the air. Lead is a poisonous neurotoxin that impacts the learning and cognitive disparities and in common cases death in a child's life. Exide had polluted more than 10,000 house around their plant in Vernon, CA. This plant also affected my city as well as I live in the city of bell. There was a time that some workers came to check my soil for lead contamination, and resulted that my soil tested positive for lead. They had replaced my contaminated soil and replaced with new soil that came out of Exide's expense. Exide were required to pay for cleanups in nearby communities that resulted in around 15 million dollars for the clean up and fines over 50 million dollars. Back in 2015, I was in high school and there were programs to help give Exide recognition for what they have caused, which later benefited many homes that got their soil replaced. It is important to have our soil clean and not contaminated because children have the right to play in their own backyard. They should not be scared to play out doors, but unfortunately when Exide was operating in those circumstances it led to have children exposed to these certain toxic pollutants.

References

“Exide Lead Contamination.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Apr. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exide_lead_contamination.


“The Exide Plant in Vernon Closed 3 Years Ago. The Vast Majority of Lead-Contaminated Properties Remain Uncleaned.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2018, www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-exide-cleanup-20180426-story.html.

Child Abuse - Luke Henshaw

Child Abuse in Los Angeles County

DISCLAIMER: TRAUMATIC CONTENT IS MENTIONED THROUGH OUT THIS BLOG POST.

Introduction:

Children are the future and their childhood has a lasting effect on both their personalities and their mental situations when they grow up. It is an extreme crisis that children, in all of their innocence, have to be subjected to the traumatic horrors of abuse. The occurrence of child abuse comes in many different forms. Children can be subjected to emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, as well as general neglect, absence, and exploitation. In 2015, the United States had around 1,670 children who passed away from physical abuse or neglect. When I heard this disparaging statistic, I knew that information of this heinous act must be distributed to understand and prevent the legacy of abuse in Los Angeles.


Index of Abuses:

• Neglect, by definition, means denying a child's basic needs. This includes food, clothing, attention, and leaving them unsupervised.

• Emotional Abuse refers to a myriad of acts that include verbal assault, gaslighting, causing fear, self image degradation, and isolation. 

• Physical Abuse is the act of punishing your child by the means of physical interaction such as hitting your child.

• Sexual Abuse refers to taking advantage of a child through sexual acts. This generally includes exploitation. 

Statistics:

In Los Angeles, nearly 37.4% of children face general neglect and 16.2% have been physically abused in 2018 according to kidsdata.org. Emotional abuse occurred with 15.4% of children and 8.5% of children suffered from sexual abuse.

                                                                                                                     - kidsdata.org


According to a report compiled by UCLA, there was an average of 17 cases of child abuse of any kind each day in Los Angeles county.


How to Fight Back:
The Los Angeles Child Abuse Prevention Center (http://www.thecapcenter.org/county-resources.php?county=Los+Angeles) houses many contacts to combat and prevent suspected child abuse.

Children's Hospital Los Angeles has Project HEAL which provides assistance for family and psychiatric therapy for abused children. (https://www.chla.org/project-heal)

Please donate to all4kids, a service that provides additional help to victims of child abuse and helps them overcome the challenges the result from their traumas. https://www.all4kids.org/donate/


Importance to Me:
To me, child abuse is one of the most disgusting acts a person could do. Kids are so pure and un-problematic that to hurt a child seems so cruel and evil. The prospects of a better life start with our children's future and when that is jeopardized, it's entirely unfair. They cannot help or defend themselves.

As a survivor of emotional abuse for most of my childhood, this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to let people know this is a massive crisis that goes so unspoken. Punishment and reporting on the issue must improve and that first starts with awareness and that is what I hope I have started within my own community. Always remember, that we as adults and members of a beautiful community have the power to end this and give every child a magical childhood that they can look back at and smile.

References:
https://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/media-room/nca-digital-media-kit/national-statistics-on-child-abuse/

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/abuse/child-abuse-and-neglect.htm

https://au.reachout.com/articles/what-is-emotional-abuse

https://www.kidsdata.org/topic/4/reported-abuse-type/table#fmt=3&loc=368,364&tf=108&ch=19,18,17,16,15,13,14,12,20&sortColumnId=0&sortType=asc

http://www.ph.ucla.edu/sciprc/pdf/CHILD_ABUSE.pdf