Especialidades JA/Conservación medioambiental/Respuestas

Conservación medioambiental
Asociación General Estudio de la naturaleza	Destreza: 2 Año de introducción: 1973

Requisitos

Conexión Logros para la Investidura: Esta especialidad está relacionada con los requisitos de Logros para la Investidura para VIAJERO AL AIRE LIBRE Estudio de la naturaleza que requiere (como una de dos opciones) completar el requisito #4 de esta especialidad. Esta especialidad es una elección popular para la especialidad de la categoría de Estudio de la naturaleza de nivel de destreza 2 o 3 requerido para los VIAJEROS AL AIRE LIBRE.

1

¿Cuál es la diferencia entre la ecología y la conservación del medio ambiente?

Ecología

«ciencia que estudia las relaciones entre los seres vivos y su medio ambiente.»

Conservación ambiental

«proteger y preservar el futuro de la naturaleza, el medio ambiente o, específicamente, algunas de sus partes: la flora y la fauna, las distintas especies, los distintos ecosistemas, los valores paisajísticos, entre otros.»

2

Escribir un ensayo de 500 palabras sobre la forma en que el aumento de la población humana está amenazando la existencia sobre la tierra.

Una amenaza importante para la existencia en la tierra hoy en día es el del cambio climático, que es el resultado del pecado, sobre todo en la forma de la codicia humana. La actividad humana que tiene el mayor efecto sobre el calentamiento es la liberación de gases de efecto invernadero como C0_{2</ sub>. Para su investigación sobre este tema, consulte los siguientes artículos de Wikipedia:}

• Calentamiento Global
• Efecto Invernadero
• Protocolo de Kioto

Otros factores incluyen Deforestación.

God put several natural systems in place to sustain life on Earth including oceanic, atmospheric, fresh water, climate, and food production. As the result of human sin, all of these systems are rapidly decaying and have now reached the point of collapse.

Thus we see a tremendous increase in the frequency of natural disasters (100 year floods every year, hurricanes of unprecedented size, droughts, etc). We can also observe crop failures which result in food shortages. First world countries are largely insulated from the effects of these food shortages, but the impact is very real on poorer countries. For example, these food shortages are largely responsible for the "Arab Spring." People in the Middle East have lived under the rule of oppressive regimes for decades. It was only as a result of food price spikes that social upheaval was unleashed, followed quickly by the fall of governments all over the region (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen), as well as the civil war in Syria.

We are seeing a fulfillment of Matthew 24:6-8 today.

3

¿Qué significa el término «muerte» de un lago o río?

The death of a lake or river is said to occur when it becomes so polluted that it can no longer support life (such as fish, turtles, crustaceans, etc.). The most famous dead river is probably the Cuyahoga River in Ohio which actually caught on fire many times, helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s.

Fires plagued the Cuyahoga beginning in 1936 when a spark from a blow torch ignited floating debris and oils. Fires erupted on the river several more times before June 22, 1969, when a river fire captured the attention of Time magazine, which described the Cuyahoga as the river that "oozes rather than flows" and in which a person "does not drown but decays."

This event helped spur an avalanche of pollution control activities resulting in the Clean Water Act, Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, and the creation of the federal and state Environmental Protection Agency. As a result, large point sources of pollution on the Cuyahoga have received significant attention from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in recent decades.

Water quality has improved and, in recognition of this improvement, the Cuyahoga River was designated as one of 14 American Heritage Rivers in 1998. Pollution remains, however, including nonpoint source problems, Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), and stagnation due to water impounded by dams. For this reason, the Environmental Protection Agency classified portions of the Cuyahoga River Watershed as one of 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern.

4

Llevar a cabo una investigación actual de un pequeño arroyo que fluye a través o cerca de su ciudad. Tener en cuenta los siguientes detalles:

4a

Las señales de pureza

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  (1) Abundance of small fish present

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  (2) Water visually clear and fresh smelling

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  (3) Stream banks covered with vegetation down to water's edge.

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  (4) Small amounts of green algae in water (light green in color)

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  (5) Some aquatic plants present, such as cattails, arrow-leaf, or pickerel weed.

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  (6) Turtles present in the stream

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  (7) Crayfish under stones in the stream

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  (8) Sandbars covered with growing weeds indicating relatively stable water level

4b

Arroyo con señales de deterioro y muerte

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  (1) Large masses of blue-green algae present (dark green in color)

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  (2) Scoured banks from high water level during storms

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  (3) Putrid smell of the water

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  (4) Detergent foam present

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  (5) Trash sticking out of mud and sand bars along the stream

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  (6) Water loaded with silt

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  (7) No aquatic insects or fish present

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  (8) Presence of raw sewage

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  (9) Presence of oil on the surface of the water

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  (10) No salamanders or frogs under rocks along stream bank

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  (11) Stores or small factories dumping their wastes into the stream

5

Si el arroyo está mostrando algunas de las señales de muerte, hacer algo con respecto a su limpieza. Ponerse en contacto con la agencia de gobierno más cercano para preguntar lo que se puede hacer para ayudar a mejorar el arroyo. Organizar un grupo de jóvenes para ayudar a limpiar la basura a lo largo de su arroyo. Si es posible, consiga empresas patrocinadas para ayudar en su campaña.

In the United States, environmental protection is managed by the government at all levels: local, state, and federal. It will be much easier to contact local or state officials rather than federal officials. Check the phone directory under "Environmental Protection" or search the Internet to find contact information for the agency in your area. If you are having difficulty finding the government body responsible for this in your area, try contacting a local paddling club, The American Canoe Association, or American Whitewater. These associations have a vested interest in clean rivers and streams (that's their playground!) and often organize river clean-up projects. They will be able to get you on a project, put you in touch with the most responsive government body, and recommend local businesses that are responsive to environmental conservation. You might also host a CITO event through Geocaching.com A well organized CITO will attract lots of willing volunteers.

6

Hacer una visita a la cuidad o condado de la basura para ver cómo ésta clase de residuos se maneja. Encontrar los siguientes detalles:

a. ¿Cuántas toneladas de basura se vierten a diario y anualmente? ¿anualmente?

b. ¿Qué intento s son hechos por reciclar esta clase de basura?

c. ¿La basura es quemada o toda es enterrada?

d. ¿Cuál es costo por persona y por año para el manejo de la basura?

e. ¿Qué sucede con vehículos viejos en su área?

Once you have made contact with the local government, they will be able to tell you how to get in touch with the solid waste management authority (if you don't know already). It could be that the government body you have been working with is the same one responsible for solid waste management. If this is the case, you previous efforts with them will pay another dividend - they will be eager to arrange a visit. You may also opt to contact the dump facility yourself and make arrangements for your visit.

This requirement overlaps a requirement in the Ecology honor. Working the honors together makes a lot of sense, and both count toward the Conservation Master Award

7

Hacer una visita a la planta depuradora más cercana. Dibujar y etiquetar un esquema detallado de lo que ocurre con los desechos líquidos y sólidos desde el momento en que entran en la planta hasta su salida. ¿De qué forma salen? ¿Hay algún uso adicional para estos residuos?

Again, you have an opportunity to use the contact you established with the local government. In most municipalities, the department responsible for the sewage plant is the same as the one responsible for the water plant. Make arrangement for both visits (see requirement 8) at the same time. Make sure to bring paper, pencil, and clipboards, and let the plant manager know ahead of time what questions you will be asking so that they can prepare.

8

Visitar la planta más cercana de purificación de agua. Construir un diagrama de flujo de los pasos de purificación del agua a partir del momento en que el agua entra en la planta hasta que sale para su distribución a los hogares y tiendas. A través de la lectura y la discusión con funcionarios de obras de agua, determinar si los recursos hídricos en el futuro van a ser suficientes para satisfacer la demanda.

See the answers to requirement 7 for more information.

9

Leer y escribir un informe sobre un libro de las cuestiones del medio ambiente, como Primavera silenciosa por Raquel Carson o cualquier otro de su preferencia.

Silent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson and published by Houghton Mifflin in September 1962. The book is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement in the West.

When Silent Spring was published, Rachel Carson was already a well-known writer on natural history, but had not previously been a social critic. The book was widely read (especially after its selection by the Book-of-the-Month Club and an endorsement by Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas), spending several weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, and inspired widespread public concerns with pesticides and pollution of the environment. Silent Spring facilitated the ban of the pesticide DDT in 1972 in the United States.

The book documented detrimental effects of pesticides on the environment, particularly on birds. Carson said that DDT had been found to cause thinner egg shells and result in reproductive problems and death. She also accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation, and public officials of accepting industry claims uncritically.

The book stated that uncontrolled pesticide use led to the deaths of not only animals, especially birds, but also humans. Its title was meant to evoke a spring season in which no bird songs could be heard, because they had all died from pesticides. Its title was inspired by a poem by John Keats, "La Belle Dame sans Merci", which contained the lines "The sedge is wither'd from the lake, And no birds sing."

10

¿Cuáles son las especies raras y en peligro de extinción? Determinar qué esfuerzos están siendo formulados para proteger a dichas especies en su área.

See the Endangered Species honor for information on this requirement.