1.
Government shutdown delays, disrupts
environmental studies
Environmental services
and research are being delayed and disrupted across the country due the
month long government shutdown. Research that is done on endangered animals, air
and water quality is all being disrupted greatly. It is not only government agencies
that conduct the research but national park services also. On an island off the
California coast, the rainwater collection system is not working at the environmental
research station. Also, a crane used to hoist small boats in and out of the water
is not working. Usually, U.S. Fish and Wildlife services personnel would deal
with this problem, but they haven’t been around since the government shutdown. Scientist,
Universities, nonprofit organizations, and private companies are unable to collaborate
with federal agencies to gain access to these federal islands and laboratories.
The government shutdown is taking a toll on research done by a wide variety of
organizations and groups. This is a huge problem for animals that need assistance
from these agencies that would normally watch over these habitats and take care
of these animals. This hinders the ability of students that want to study these
environments and it doesn’t allow teachers to teach about them. Many organizations
aren’t working right now which is keeping people from getting paid. In my
opinion the environment itself is taking the biggest toll because the longer the
shutdown lasts the worse the situation will get regarding systems that are not
working. Also, not being able to test if the conditions of the habitat are
worsening can allow the conditions to become exponentially worse without anyone
being aware of it.
2.
How does the government shutdown affect South
Florida?
The government shutdown
is affecting millions of people. It is not only affecting the thousands of people
that are who are working without pay but many other groups of people as well. Many
national parks across South Florida will be closed. Federal employees that work
at Miami and Ft. Lauderdale International Airports are currently working without
pay. These employees then are unable to work overtime, and this will cause many
delays. The Amtrak in Miami will only be running for the short-term but will be
closed soon due to the government shutdown. These problems all arise due to the
government shutdown and will affect thousands of people that live in or are visiting
or are visiting. Tourist that visit South Florida will not have the easy transportation
of the Amtrak to go around and will not be able to go to any national parks on
their visit. They will also have trouble getting on the plane to leave because they
must go through the TSA line delays. The TSA people must work long hours and
work without pay.
3.
Construction Workers are Dumping Mountains of Garbage
Around Miami-Dade
Construction workers accumulate a lot of trash on the job.
Including a lot of debris and small garbage also that is accumulated on the
job. In Florida it is a felony to litter 500 pounds of garbage. These construction
workers need somewhere to dump their debris, but some choose to dump it in
unauthorized locations. Littering can cause major problems including partially
affecting Florida’s Red Tide and the ongoing mess in the Little River. This
problem affects all the local people that the littering is done by. Pollution
in the air also affects air quality and could end up hurting the local ecosystem.
There are many reports of dead animals being found due to littering and
pollution.
4.
What’s gone wrong with New York’s subway system
and how is MTA planning to fix it?
There are millions of people in New York City and a
lot of them use New York’s subway system to get around. Recent reports say that
the system is “broken” or outdated. The infrastructure is outdated and there is
a lot of faulty technology. These problems are causing delays for New Yorker's
who are on their way to work which contributes to economic costs to business
and employees. There was a 45.3% growth in monthly passenger hours between 2012
and 2017. This problem doesn’t only affect people on their way to work but it
affects anyone who is taking the subway system. This means adding time travel
time to go to your destination when you could be doing something else
productive. MTA announced that they have a plan to update and improve the subway
system but that it will take about 10 years to do.
5.
L.A.’s traffic congestion is world’s worst for sixth
straight year, study says
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-la-worst-traffic-20180206-story.html
Traffic is a problem almost everywhere in the U.S. In
Los Angeles it is a different story because drivers in and around L.A. spent about
102 hours of battling traffic congestion during peak traffic hours in 2017.
That is ranked worst in the world just ahead of Moscow and New York. INRIX says
that traffic congestion cost about $1,445 per driver and $305 billion across the
U.S. This problem affects millions of people every day. People are getting stuck
going to work and coming back from work. It affects people that have obligations
to attend but have to drive in traffic to get there. It affects people going to
school or people trying to catch a flight. There is a huge need for a better
method to control traffic control.
Hi Issac. I really like all the articles you picked, I was able to learn a lot from it. It is crazy that the government shut down is not just effecting people but also the environment. Its good to know that the New York subway system is going to be fixed. Right now I’m in Madrid and the Metro system here is amazing. I’ve been to New York and it was a mess, so I’m glad that is going to change.
ReplyDeleteHey Isaac, after reading this it was interesting to see what is going on behind the scenes. I knew the Los Angeles traffic was bad but I was not aware that people spent 102 hours battling traffic and congestion. It is crazy that it is ranked the worst traffic in the world, even ahead of New York. I know when I go there I will be very aware to not drive.
ReplyDeleteHello Isaac! I enjoyed reading through your post.I think it's crazy that L.A traffic is the worst in the entire world. I always knew it was bad I would've never imagined it was bad enough to be ranked the worst across the entire globe. It definitely makes me appreciate the fact that there is no real traffic here in Naples.
ReplyDeleteHey Isaac, this was really interesting to read and I greatly enjoyed it. I can definitely relate to number 5. I live in Orlando and the traffic there is really bad. They are always working on the road, but this causes traffic. It got so bad that I once totaled my car there. I hope that one day, the roads in Orlando will be better and safer to drive.
ReplyDelete