Write Stuff Volume 29

1 Editor: Rachael Bancroft Editorial Board George Albert Patricia Allen Kerry Drohan Rebecca Griffin Richard Norwood Bruce Riley Thomas Schaefer Cover Artwork Sarah Austin Production Staff Cindy Pavlos Powerful Futures Start Here 2 Table of Contents Seashells on the Seashore Irina Merzlyakova...............................................................page 4 Colony Collapse Disorder Anny Abrantes......................................................................page 6 The Awakening and Feminism Kaylee Bergstrom .............................................................page 10 A Cathartic Conspiracy Tara Feldman.....................................................................page 18 Community Policing Adane Atkinson.................................................................page 24 Racism: A Time and Place from a Witness' Perspective Joe Thorpe........ ................................................................page 31 Domestic Violence Amber Tubbs ....................................................................page 38 Causes and Effects of the NFL's Concussion Crisis? Patrick Grant..... ................................................................page 43 Adult Obesity in the United States Zhivka Yancheva................................................................page 46 Colorblindness in the Age of Diversity Brianna Kauranen..............................................................page 49 Quiet Study Virginia Johnston......................................................page 58 3 Irina Merzlyakova ENL 101 Seashells on the Seashore: The Fate of the Ocean Shelling on the beach is one of the most relaxing and fun activities that one can do on hot summer days or perhaps on splendid fall evenings before sunsets at the seashore. Accompanied by the ocean breeze and calming sound of waves, shell picking brings joy and creates unforgettable memories for years to come. Unfortunately, seashores are changing tremendously all over the world; it seems that this enjoyable pastime might be replaced by trash picking in the near future. Exemplifying this trend, in late July of 2018 on Montesinos Beach in the capital of the Dominican Republic, people witnessed a shore full of plastic waste, from cigarette butts to plastic bottles and takeout boxes (Karasz). As reported by the New York Times, approximately sixty tons of garbage washed up on the land in just one week. Images were shocking, but according to the locals, “it happens pretty much all the time if there is a strong rainfall or a storm” (Karasz). The locals’ sentiment demonstrates the frequent recurrence of this event. Plastic waste is a significant problem that is rapidly expanding all over the world. In order to understand the scale of the plastic pollution problem, it is important to examine the makeup of plastic, the yearly production of plastic, and the amount of plastic waste that reaches the ocean. Today’s world seems unimaginable without plastic. This versatile material can be found in a variety of products from clothing and household items to construction components, packaging and more. Many different types of plastics exist today, but there is one thing that they all have in common; all are made of large molecules made up of repeating units called polymers (Barone). This chemical structure defines plastic as lightweight, strong, flexible, moisture resistant material that can soften and be molded into almost any shape (Le Guern). Furthermore, the ease of processing plastic makes plastic production relatively inexpensive (Le Guern). However, because of its properties, plastic is resistant to natural biodegradation processes such as decomposition. There are no microbes that can recognize plastics as food and break them down (Le Guern). As a result, at the end of their life, plastics accumulate in landfills and the natural environment, like the ocean (Geyer at al.). Plastic production has continued to rise over the course of the past half century. It was introduced to the public for the first 4 time in 1907, and released to global production outside of the military in the 1950s (Geyer at al.). Since then, annual production of plastic increased almost two hundred-fold from two million tons in the 1950 to 381 million tons in 2015 (Ritchie and Roser). Cumulatively, by 2015, the world had produced about 7.8 billion tons of plastic (Ritchie and Roser). Matthew Taylor, in his journal article, provided an excellent visual interpretation of this number: if all of this plastic were spread out over a height of about 10 inches, it would cover the size of Argentina, the world’s eighth largest country. According to Roland Geyer, an environmental scientist, if production continues to increase at the current rate, the world will be producing thirty-four billion tons of plastic materials per year by the end of 2050. As a result of plastic’s durability and resistance to degradation, this material is accumulating all over the planet. The risk of plastic entering the ocean depends on the way it is managed. Plastic waste can be handled in three ways: it can be discarded, recycled, or incinerated. Unfortunately, most plastic—fifty-five percent of the world’s production—is being discarded (Ritchie and Roser). About ten percent of it ends up in oceans-roughly eight million tons per year; this colossal quantity would be “equivalent to five grocery bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world” (Le Guern). Because plastic does not degrade, after entering the ocean from coastal regions, it migrates towards the center of ocean basins. Over time, currents swirl plastic litter to form “garbage patches,” vortices of waste (Le Guern). Several garbage patches float throughout the world’s oceans (Le Guern). The most well-known one is the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," a soupy mix of plastic-filled seawater that spans 1.6 million km2 (Ritchie and Roser). Given the prevalence of discarded plastic, garbage patches will continue to rapidly expand (Ritchie and Roser). Ultimately, plastic is one of the most heavily-produced man-made materials in existence (Geyer at al.). World addiction to this durable, easy-to-manufacture, and inexpensive material is becoming a real concern. Plastic is a world problem. It does not matter which country produces the most plastic or mismanages its waste. Because of the absence of boundaries in the ocean, plastic can wash up on any shore. For this reason, it is important to look at plastic pollution as a global problem and unite all forces to improve waste management to keep oceans and seashores clean. 5 Works Cited Barone, Jennifer. “An Ocean of Plastic.” Scholastic, 17 Apr. 2017, scienceworld.scholastic.com/issues/2016-17/041717/an ocean-of-plastic.html#1050L. Accessed 26 Feb. 2019. Geyer, Roland, et al. “Production, Use, and Fate of All Plastics Ever Made.” Science Advances, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 19 July 2017, advances.sciencemag. org/content/3/7/e1700782. Accessed 19 Feb. 2019. Karasz, Palko. “Wave after Wave of Garbage Hits the Dominican Republic.” The New York Times, 23 July 2018, www.nytimes. com/2018/07/23/world/americas/dominican-republic-garbage. html. Accessed 26 Feb. 2019. Le Guern, Claire. “When the Mermaids Cry: The Great Plastic Tide.” Coastal Care, Santa Aguila Foundation, Mar. 2018, plastic-pollution.org. Accessed 12 Feb. 2018. Ritchie, Hannah, and Max Roser. “Plastic Pollution.” Our World in Data, Sept. 2018, ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution. Accessed 12 Feb. 2019. Taylor, Matthew. “Plastic Pollution Risks ‘Near Permanent Contamination of Natural Environment.’” The Guardian, 19 July 2017, www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/19/ plastic-pollution-risks-near-permanent-contamination-of natural-environment. Accessed 26 Feb. 2019. Anny Abrantes ENL101 Colony Collapse Disorder Large scale losses of honey bees in recent years have perplexed beekeepers and researchers alike. This mass disappearance of honey bees has been referred to as colony collapse disorder (CCD) (vanEngelsdorp et al.). Since CCD was first reported in 2007, researchers have conducted numerous studies in an attempt to pinpoint the cause of this mass disappearance of honey bees, though no single cause has been detected, suggesting CCD is a multifactorial syndrome (Gifford; vanEngelsdorp et al.). These factors include mites, viruses, and pesticides that are believed to manifest, and symbiotically exploit 6 immune system weaknesses, eventually leading to a colony collapse (Gifford; vanEngelsdorp et al.). Neonicotinoids and Varroa destructor mites are thought to be the principal contributors to CCD. Since honey bees play a crucial role in agriculture, the ecosystem, and indirectly, the economy, the effects of CCD are destructive. Originally thought to be safe for bees, a new class of insecticides has emerged as a silent bee killer (Hopwood et al.). Neonicotinoids, also referred to as neonics, are currently the most commonly used insecticide worldwide (Hopwood et al.). This class of insecticide is systemic, which functions by direct absorption into the fibers of treated plants (Hopwood et al). They are frequently applied as seed coatings, soil drenches, irrigation or direct injection, and have a considerable half-life of 200-1000 days (Goulson; Hopwood et al.). Neonics may persist in soil several seasons after initial application, leading even untreated plants to absorb chemical residue (Hopwood et al.). Due to the systemic action of the insecticide, neonics are also found in the pollen and nectar of these plants

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