This week we started off in chemistry doing the H2 balloon experiment taking notes and observing what was happening to the balloon. Then blew them up with fire. We then discussed different experiments we can do on our own and have all started planning our different experiments. We also finished our emulsion prints and finished phase 1 of our project and started talking about phase 2 which is landscape shots. In humanities we had two socratic seminars answering questions about our society. OUr first seminar we talked about if people are responsible for their own american dreams and if wealthy people have a responsibility to help the poor. We also discussed Owens Valley, Salton lake, Flint Michigan and Hetch hetchy Valley and answering some questions about that. HumanitiesSalton LakeWhat Happened? As farmers started to arrive in Imperial valley around the 20th century farmers wanted to use the colorado river to water their crops. So they made grudges without floodgates, but in 1904 the pipes got clogged by silt from the Colorado river which made saline water be carried in by the colorado river . Another intake gorde was bullit again without a flood gate. It was a popular fishing spot and tourist used to come a lot till the water increased in salinity and pollution from urban runoffs, acultura drainage, storm runoffs, killing off most of the fish spices and birds thus creating Salton Sea. Did we need to do it? No. I think we could have handled tapping into the Colorado river better. Because if we had built floodgates we would not have an overflowing amount of water coming over the dam. If they knew that the Colorado river had salt in it they should have found a way to stop that from happening and also unnecessary fish had to die and its now just sitting there getting more and more salty by each year and getting more polluted. What is the water rights impact? In 1993 the Salton Sea Authority was formed consisting of Coachella Valley Water District, Imperial irrigation district,County of Imperial,County of Riverside. They have taken some steps into remediation which means stopping the environmental damage. They say they have steps but don't list any and also they haven't taken action on doing anything. What is the environmental impact? There is a very long list of problems with the Salton sea that is impacting the environment. One of the biggest problems is that it has is that it is super salty, It has 25% more salt than the ocean. Since it is so salty fish die quickly and birds can't live there. Also nothing grows. Another thing that is happening is that there is still pollution happening from aquaculture drainage making the water even more toxic. Two years ago the atlantic wrote about how the salton sea has like these hydrogen bubbles made by decaying corpses of fish and birds were stinking up Los Angeles which is 130 miles away from the Salton sea. But it's more then just a smell, the lake is shrinking due to temperatures getting up to 110 degrees out there. and is or when that lake drys up it'll kick up a bunch of toxic dust since people are still pouring really bad chemicals from pesticides and other nasty stuff that is not good to inhale. Hetch Hetchy ArticalShould we have dammed the Tuolumne River at Hetch Hetchy? I am torn by this question. I want to say no because it was a beautiful forest before with trees and animals. As John Muir described it "Hetch Hetchy is a grand landscape garden, one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples. As in Yosemite, the sublime rocks of its walls seem to glow with life . . . while birds, bees, and butterflies help the river and waterfalls to stir all the air into music. . . . These temple destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism, seem to have a perfect contempt for Nature, and, instead of lifting their eyes to the God of the mountains, lift them to the Almighty Dollar. . . . Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.". I don't know how anyone is there right mind cloud destroy a place that sounds that beautiful. But at the same time we needed to supply people in San Francisco with more water but at what cost? Was it worth destroying a place like that? Was there another way we cloud have gotten more water to san francisco or was this the only option. So in conclusion I don't know what other options there were so I cant say no... but also I don't think a place with that much beauty should be destroyed so I cant say yes. Was California meant to support this many people? I don't think it is. Because if we have to dam places and if were in a drought then there must be to many people in California. California is only the 3 biggest state in America behind Texas and Alaska. California as of 2014 had a population of 38.8 million when Texas also based in 2014 is 26.96 million and Alaska also 2014 is only 736,732. So is the tow biggest sates have less people that the third biggest state. Than how did California get the more people? Are our landscapes worth saving? Why? Of corse they are worth saving. They are wonderful and beautiful places that serve a grate environmental purpose in our world to keep it healthily. Also there are trees that give us oxygen and on top of all that they are a place to get away from life and rediscover who you are. Evidence of this is Emerson's Nature essay explaining the spiritual impact nature has on our inner humanity helping us bring peace into ourselves again. Whenever I go on a hike or visit natural places I become myself and gives me peace to think about how I can be more of a balanced person. How should water be managed in California? I don't really know. I mean we could try reusing water by filtering the water we use. Or just people on general can try to save water around there house by doing full loads of laundry and taking shorter showers and not watering the grass so much. But other than those two things I don't know what else we can do so we can not have this many problems with our rivers and lakes, also so we won't be in so many droughts anymore. ChemistryH2 BalloonsWhat happened? The magnesium disintegrated into the citric and filled up the balloon that was on top of the flask then it explodes when you put fier next to it. Observation
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AuthorSophomore at HTH Archives
May 2017
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