Max Hammer, Hazen Lancaster, Michael Grow The Gist Currently the Neuse River, located in across the state of NC is not in good condition. According to the City of Raleigh website, the main cause of pollution in the rivers and streams is runoff from commercial and residential buildings. Motor oil from auto repair shops and soaps from car washes run into the storm drains that will eventually become drinking water for many counties in North Carolina. This waste can also cause unsafe living conditions for fish and other river animals, when it goes into the environment. Other than runoff, littering is another large component to the pollution. One year, 12,000 pounds of trash was pulled out of the Neuse River (2010). To keep better care for our local rivers and streams, there should be more pickups in the rivers, especially the Neuse, which drains all over the state. If we do not do something soon the Neuse and all other bodies of water could become a personal landfill for NC residents. What is the Problem? The main problem with this issue is that it is caused by the community. When they choose to use the river as a dumping place, or they don’t pay attention to the runoff they may be causing. When they dump waste in the river, the effect is pollution and an unsafe environment for the wildlife. We need to warn the community and stop the dumping of waste in the river. It affects all of us downstream, as well. Why Do We Care? As students, how does this affect us? For one, the Neuse River and other bodies of water in Raleigh are very large, and drain into many other streams all over NC. The Swift Creek watershed effects eight towns alone and is drinking water for 500,000 people. Since this pollution effects such a large area, it can upset the ecosystem of these large areas. When this happens, whole populations could die out or habitats destroyed by the pollution. Everyone should be concerned with this. Another reason we want to help, is to keep our community clean and welcoming. You don't want to go out in the woods to see trash and polluted water when you could see prevalent wildlife and a natural environment. What Others Are Doing People in our community are not taking care of our streams and rivers. The Neuse River has had trash constantly thrown into its beautiful body of water. This has been going on for a long time, and we want to help. We are interested in this topic because this is an amazing body of water, and we don't want to see it go to waste. Currently, many small companies are trying to prevent the problem, the best they can. The best known ones are River Guardian Foundation, which helps organize river pickups for volunteers and the Carolina Canoe Club, which also has groups of volunteers at the Neuse, picking up trash and cleaning the rivers. The Plan (Link to Action Plan) Our goal is to to gather up to 50 pounds of waste in the Neuse River by gathering Martin 8th grade students to help, as well as raising awareness to Raleigh citizens and people in North Carolina. We hope by doing this we can make the Neuse a better place. We will have to advertize to volunteers and donations for the supplies for the cleanup. Conclusion Hopefully, by raising awareness and helping the streams, we will have far less pollution in the waters of North Carolina, and have a cleaner environment. What we will do is ask permission from our principal, then we will plan where we are going and how to get there. Finally once we arrive at the Neuse we will begin to reach our goal by collecting 50 pounds of trash out of the river. Even doing a small part can help a lot when it comes to pollution. Bibliography "Protecting Streams from Water Pollution." Protecting Streams from Water Pollution. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2017. <https://www.raleighnc.gov/home/content/PWksStormwater/Articles/WaterPollution.html> "Carolina Canoe Club." Carolina Canoe Club - Canoe, Kayak, SUP, and Others. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2017. <https://www.carolinacanoeclub.org/content/neuse-river-cleanup> "River Guardian Foundation, Inc." River Guardian Foundation, Inc. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2017. <http://www.riverguardfdn.org/index.html>. http://blog.al.com/live/2012/06/rains_fill_mobiles_dog_river_w.html
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The Wake County Animal Care is full! There is no space there for anyone to bring abandoned or stray animals. This is a big issue in our community because there is no where for stray animals to go. This means there is a good chance it will lead to a lot of animals on the streets without a home. I am interested in this topic because I love animals and I don't want to see any animal without a home. Everyone in the community is affected by this topic because this can lead to more strays on the streets and no one will have a place to take stray or abandoned animals in their community. Everyone should care about this issue because they are animals! No animal should live without a home and if they are they are most likely living in poor conditions, with no food or water, and could catch disease. I think there is a lot we can do to spread the word. I think everyone should always adopt their pets from animal shelters, and I think we could spread the word by putting up flyers in the community.
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May 2017
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