Parkour Teach-In

This is my first and final action project for my Global Peace class. This unit was about the different kinds of violence we see in the world and how we as a community can stop it. For this action project I first I chose a topic about violence that I could fight. Then I created a Parkour presentation and made a slideshow of me presenting Parkour in order to help involve kids in a new hobby. My favorite part of making this project was editing the slideshow because it’s always fun for me to see myself doing Parkour. For example I don’t normally get to see what I’m doing from a 3rd person perspective. Even though I had fun, the biggest problem I had while making this project was the weather on the day I had to present my Parkour class. I ended up having to do it without anyone being there because the weather was too cold for anyone to want to come.

One of the worst things anyone can do is be unproductive. Being unproductive can lead to growing up and not graduating high school or college. One of the worst things it can lead to is juveniles joining gangs. Around 40% of the gang members in the United States are Juveniles (under 18), while the other 60% are over 18. In other words this means that around over 400,000 teenagers are in gangs and 600,000 are adults. This is the product of not being productive. If we could get every child and teen to find a hobby that gives them something to do then this could substantially lower the amount of juveniles in gangs.

The issue that I am addressing is children who don’t have any hobbies. While it may seem like it is a small issue, I believe that is at the root of many other issues in the world and leads to to constant violence that can hurt their lives as well as those around them. The type of violence I’m trying to address is both cultural and structural. This violence is cultural because once teenagers see that they aren’t being productive then they see that a large amount of people in American culture are in gangs. It is also structural violence because the way the US has been built prevents certain people from being productive.

I used the Tree Model of Conflict Analysis to diagram the causes and effects of not having a hobby. Not having a hobby is terrible because the effects can lead you into a terrible life. The causes are not good either since a lot of them revolve around lack of self worth. For example, some of the causes include not thinking you’re good at anything, being lazy, and a lack of confidence.This conflict is happening because some children are being manipulated into not having a hobby.

The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is fighting the same problem as me while also helping clean up the earth. What they do is gather kids in both middle school and high school, and take them to a place in Chicago and work on removing invasive plant species, pick up trash, etc. After that, they do something fun like Ice Skating, Rock Climbing, etc.

One of the nonviolent actions I chose to use as a tool to intervene with my conflict was a teach in. I decided to teach people how to do Parkour as a hobby. Parkour is a sport where you use different movement styles to get from one point to another. Normally, Parkour includes gymnastics, but it can also include martial arts and dancing. The reason I wanted to use Parkour as an intervention was because I think I’m pretty good at making Parkour something that people want to do. It also gets people in shape while given them something to brag about.

There are four principles that Gandhi used to promote world peace. The principle I used for my action project was Swadeshi. The meaning of Swadeshi is “local economy”.My intervention relates to Swadeshi because I was able to use the local economy in order to promote a peaceful way to get kids to find a hobby. I was also able to use Sarvodoya (meaning “rising of all”) because I was able to get a group of people who didn’t have a hobby to start looking.

Works Cited 

Ojotriste, Jimmy. "Gang Statistics Last Update 2012 - New Update in Progress." Helpinggangyouth.com. Arturo Hernandez, 2015. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

"Shedd Stewards." Shedd Stewards | Shedd Aquarium. Shedd Aquarium, 2016. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

Bruce Lee

This is my final action project for my “Stories” class. This unit was titled “Heroes” and it was about how heroes all follow the same path to become a hero. For this action project I worked with RZD and KM created a slideshow to show the path Bruce Lee took. My favorite part of this project was having a reason to research Bruce Lee at school.I think the biggest challenge we had to face was working on the project after school without being able to interact with each other. All we could really do was text each other, but I think we were able to do an exceptional job overall.

Making A Womback!

This is my final action project for my Population class. This unit was about the survivorship curve of organisms. For this action project I found ten different data points that I researched and gathered data on for an organism that I chose which was Wombats. Then I did some research on how we as humans affect them. I made a video to show all the work I did. My favorite part of this project was coming with the name for this action project. For example I chose between “Mortal Wombat”, “Making a Womback”, and “No Wombat No Cry”.Even though I had fun, the biggest problem I had while making this project was choosing between all the awesome names for my project. I ended up choosing “Making a Womback” because it made the most sense for my data.

Works Cited

"Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat." , Lasorhinus Krefftii (Department of Environment and Heritage Protection). Queensland Government, 23 Oct. 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

UN, Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs. "Population of the Entire World, Yearly, 1950 - 2100." GeoHive. GeoHive, 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

Scyther the Boomslang Snake

This is my second action project for my “Stories” class. This unit was about different fables and character types. For this action project I created my own fable to teach a lesson. The way I made my story was just by writing it down. My favorite part of this project was making the drawing of the main character of the story which was a Boomslang Snake. I struggled with making the drawing the most even though I had fun. It was annoying to have to draw all the scales on the snake. All I had to do was come up with a strategy to make the scales quickly and, I eventually finished it.

MJF (2016) Boomslang

I am Scyther the Boomslang Snake. Ever since I was born I had to be both prey and a predator. There has always been one predator that has been in my life for as long as I can remember though. His name is Vincent the Verreaux's eagle-owl. He is an apex predator meaning that he is bigger, stronger, and faster than anyone in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, but I have always been able to evade him with my cunning strategic manipulative mind. Even though I am able to trick him often, this just makes him want to eat me even more. Recently he has been getting closer to catching me, even with me trying my hardest to outsmart him. He is growing wiser and I have to come up with a plan to stop him from eating me soon. As long as I’m in my tree home I’ll be safe.

I have to look at my advantages so I could know how to keep myself safe. I have green scales that can help me blend into trees, I am poisonous, and I am smart. Now all I have to do is come up with a plan for my next encounter with Vincent. Maybe I should hide in the trees for the rest of my life. That wouldn’t work because eventually I would have to come out to get water. What if I tried to use my poison to kill him first? That probably wouldn’t work either because he still has a strength, speed, and flight advantage. I think the best way to get hi from trying to eat me is to keep him to full to be hungry. All I have to do is find animals that I could manipulate or kill and give them to Vincent.

I decided to go looking for other small animals that I could easily kill and bring to Vincent. So I made my way to the ground to look for some hedgehogs. Eventually I found one named Harry. “Hello”, I said in the smoothest way possible, “I need someone who can help me move some branches out of the way of my home.” “If I help you, you’ll kill me” said the hedgehog. “If you don’t help me I’ll kill you. Besides, if I wanted to kill you I would’ve done it by now.” “Ok…, but if I help you, you have to promise not to eat me.”, Harry said. “I promise”. So we made my way to my tree where Iive in. Even though I wasn’t the one who was going to die, I was still nervous that I wouldn’t be able to pull off my plan.

As we arrived at the tree I heard a screech. It was Vincent, and  think he saw me on the way to my home. Luckily this is what I had planned for. As Vincent came to a landing in front of me I wrapped around the hedgehog. “ What’s this?” said Vincent. “I brought you a gift.”, I said calmly. “Oh?” said the giant owl. I slowly let go of the hedgehog and he started to run, but he was immediately grabbed by Vincent. “Thankyou”, he said “ I expect to see more of this in the future.” “Of course Vincent, as long as you promise not to eat me”. “ I promise”, he said slowly. Then he threw up the hedgehog into the sky and caught it in his mouth, and with that he flw away.

That last encounter was a close one, but I don’t know how I can keep doing this. If I keep this up then I’ll starve. I don’t care though, as long as I don’t die then I should keep going. While I was climbing up my tree, I was already thinking about the next meal I should give Vincent. Should I kill the next hedgehog before giving it to him or would he want him alive to eat. I heard he likes to play with his prey before eating it, so maybe I should bring him alive. The next day I decided to set out with the same goal as yesterday, which meant that I had to catch another living hedgehog. I was able to use the same strategy as the day before and bring him to my home.

I heard the same screech as yesterday but when the owl came, he seemed much happier than usual. I let the hedgehog loose, but this time Vincent didn’t try to catch the hedgehog. He looked at me like he knew something that I didn’t. Suddenly he grabbed me and I couldn’t move. “ Did you really think I would let you live after you have tricked me so many times?” he said as he laughed maniacally. I didn’t know what to do so I tried to bite him, but he clamped my mouth with his enormous talons. I should’ve known that this was going to happen. He was finally able to outsmart me in the end. Then  he slowly put me into his mouth while laughing and ate me.

Don’t sink to the level of your enemies.

Deceased by Disease

This is my second action project for my population class. This unit was about the evolution of animals and learning how to find data. For this action project I chose ten different cats that I researched and gathered data on them. Then I chose three of those cats and hypothetically put them in a place hey don’t naturally live. I made a video to explain what would happen if I were to put them there. My favorite part of this project was seeing all the cats that I researched as well as their awesome names.The biggest problem I had while making this project was having to work with the video without looking at the script. I ended up putting the script in the slideshow and just use it as subtitles, and I’m happy that it turned out pretty well.

India is a very interesting place, and it’s beaches can be even more interesting. Their beaches contain a large amount of wildlife, and it has an extremely warm climate. The beaches are covered in soft sand, grass, and saltwater. Wildlife in this area includes many predators like sharks, tigers, and especially snakes. For a species to live here they need to be able to fend for themselves against other species, and they need to be able to know how get fresh water. They also need to know what food is good to eat, and how to make a good shelter. Larger animals would thrive in this environment, while smaller animals are more at risk of becoming prey. A large threat for organisms would be insects since they are likely to carry diseases. House cats do not naturally live in this area but I think it would be interesting to see how they would adapt to this possibly harsh environment.

I researched ten different house cats from Paws Chicago and recorded data on them.

Crux- 9.94 lb

Gelada- 7.13 lb

Starburst- 2.24 lb

Hawking- 6 lb

Chorizo- 3 lb

Tzatziki- 4 lb

Fig- 7.56 lb

Cupertino- 3 lb

Roseanne- 14 lb

Jessco- 10.63 lb

Of these ten cats I chose Starburst, Hawking, and Roseanne to be moved from their foster homes to an Indian beach. I chose them because they represent the minimum, median, and maximum weights of my data.

I found the average weight of the ten cats I chose as well as the maximum, minimum and range.

Numbers: 2.24,3,3,4,6,7.13,7.56,9.94,10.63,14

Mean: 6.75

Median:  6.57(rounded)

Mode: 3

Max:14

Min: 2.24

Range: 11.76

After finding the average weight of the cats, I created a “Box and Whiskers” plot to find the lower and upper quartiles.

Lower quartile: 3.25

Median: 6.57

Upper quartile: 9.34

Standard Deviation

data	data-mean	(data - mean)2
2.24	-4.51	20.3401
3	-3.75	14.0625
3	-3.75	14.0625
4	-2.75	7.5625
6	-0.75	0.5625
7.13	0.38	0.1444
7.56	0.81	0.6561
9.94	3.19	10.1761
10.63	3.88	15.0544
14	7.25	52.5625

σ=3.8756

Combination

C(n,r) =

C(10,3) =

10! / (3! (10 - 3)!) =120

Permutation
P(n,r) =
P(10,3) =
10! / (10 - 3)! =720

Works Cited

"Health Information for Travelers to India." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24 May 2016. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.

Only, By Appointment. "Pets Available | PAWS Chicago." PAWS Chicago. Paws, 2016. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.

Backwards Earth

This is my first action project for my “Stories” class. This unit was about different stories on how earth could’ve began. For this action project I created my own etiology for a planet and society I created. The way I made my story was just by writing it down. My favorite part of this project was making the drawing the planet that I created because I like using google drawings for my action projects.I struggled with working on my action project, because the week I started working on it I broke my toe which meant I had to go to appointments to get it checked on, which gave me less time to work on it. All I did was work extra hard at night, and I took advantage of class time to work on it. I eventually finished it though.

MJF(2016)Backwards Earth 

In a parallel universe I created a refined planet called, “Backwards Earth”. Ther

e are some small noticeable differences about this world. It is a fairly small peaceful place where there was no need to kill. It is green and blue looking from space and it is mostly made up of plants and water. There are only 4 billion people in the world since the planet is so small. Since these people can photosynthesize, humans haven’t endangered any animals for eating purposes. Now the humans can enjoy Dodo Birds, Mammoths, etc, on a daily basis. Now that you have an idea of how this world looks, I can tell you how it began.

It all began when I decided to make a better copy of earth. The first thing I did was take part of the earth's core and put it in another universe so it could grow into a similar planet. Next I took some water from your planet and put it on Backwards Earth so the humans there could drink. And one it grew I took the worst thing about humans and changed it to something much better. All I did was get rid of the human’s need to eat, and gave them photosynthesis instead. Animals can now roam free without the risk of being endangered, and there is no wars that are food or land related. Now everyone living there can feel felicity.

The humans have some similarities to the humans on your planet, but there are some striking differences about them. For example, the skin on the humans here are a bright green color because it helps them photosynthesize. They also have no teeth since they don’t need to eat, but they still have a tongue to help them communicate. They also don’t need to sleep since they get all of their energy from the sun. Since they don’t sleep I decided to give Backwards earth two suns so it could be day time all the time. This process made the humans much larger than earthlings.

The humans give interesting input to their planet. For example, they created a transportation system to move quickly, but they soon saw what was happening to their planet with global warming. This made them get rid of their transportation and decided to practice walking and running. They also use non-energy consuming vehicles, like bikes and roller skates. Since there aren’t any cars the world is inviolate of getting hit by a vehicle. The humans used to use nonrenewable sources of energy but they saw how bad it was for their planet. Now they take advantage having two suns by using solar energy instead of any nonrenewable energy sources like coal or oil. This means that they have a large amount of solar panels everywhere, and it has become a earth friendly style of living.

The humans here also have a very creative mind. For example, they decided that the best way to settle law with bottle flips. Basically this means that if you wanted to get away with murder, you would have to be able to throw a bottle and land it every time. It is described to be as intense as a bear attack. Others say that it’s scarier than hell to experience. I didn’t really understand why they decided to settle law this way, but they said it was one of the most unbiased way to settle law. People on this planet are abjected when they fail the bottle flip arguments. The abysmal people who don’t believe in their way to solve their issues are punished

Sistrurus catenatus

This is my first action project for my population class. This unit was about the taxonomy of animals and learning how to classify a species. For this action project I chose an animal at the Lincoln Park Zoo, I compared it to other animals, and taxonomized it. The animal I chose was the Massasauga Rattlesnake or Sistrurus catenatus. I also made a collage of the rattlesnake and turned it into a GIF, to help show the taxonomy of the rattlesnake. My favorite part of this project was seeing all the other colleges that other classmates made.The biggest problem I had while making this project was that I broke my toe around the time we started the project and I had a day less to work on it. I ended up working all night to make sure that it would be finished on time, and I think it turned out pretty well.

S. catenatus, St. Louis Zoo(2016)

The animals that I compared to the Rattlesnake was MN's animal (the Eurasian Lynx) and AA's animal (the Gorilla). I noticed that it was easier to compare the Rattlesnake to the Lynx, than it was the Rattlesnake to the Gorilla. I put all the information into a Venn Diagram below.

                                         Comparison, MJF (2016)

Underneath I made some statements to compare and contrast using Set Theory language and then translated them into english so it’s easier to understand.

Let R=reptiles, S=Mammals, C=Cold Blooded, M= Massasauga Rattlesnake,L= Lynx, G= Gorilla

M ∈ {R}

Massasauga Rattlesnake is an element of Reptiles

R ∈ {C} ∴ M ∈ {C}

Reptiles are an element of Cold Blooded therefore Massasauga Rattlesnakes are an element of Cold Blooded

∀R:C
Being cold blooded is true for all reptiles

|{S}|=2
There are two elements in the set of Mammals

P(C) {{R}}

The subset of Cold Blooded is Reptiles

g ∈ Rc∩Cc∩S

Gorilla is an element of not reptiles or coldblooded but is an element of mammals

Works Cited

Michigan. "You Are HereDNR Wildlife & Habitat Wildlife Species Amphibians & Reptiles." DNR. State Of Michigan, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

Arcsin. "Sistrurus Catenatus." Massasauga Classification. Bioweb, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

Fried Chicken

This is my third and final action project for my “Food for Thought” class. This unit was about  understanding how the Industrial Revolution & World War II changed our food system. It was also about understanding the impact these changes have had on both our food and environment. For this action project we created a taste tested the same food from two different places and compared them as if we were food critics. One of the places had to be your house while the other had to be a restaurant. My favorite part of this action project was being able to eat for a grade. The only problem I had while making this project was that I forgot to take my picture the first time I made it at home so I had to redo it.

Chicken(2016)MJF)

Popeyes(2016)MJF

GMO's Are Great

This is my third and final action project for my “Food!” class. This unit was about GMO’s (Genetically Modify Organisms) in our food and how they help and mess up our food system. For this action project we chose a side saying whether GMO’s are good or bad and we made an argument to debate on which side is right. I made my Slideshow using google slides and screencastify instead of doing a video of me talking.. My favorite part of this action project was doing a actual debate in class, because it’s always fun being right and having a better argument. The only problem I had while making this project was choosing a side because at first using GMO’s seems morally wrong, but when you look at the facts GMO’s help so many people.

Soil Depletion & Salinization

This is my second action project for my “Food for Thought” class. This unit was about seeing what a global food system looks like, and to understand the human and environmental impacts of this system. For this action project we created a speech and presented it to a camera. The speech was about a topic that is threatening our global food system and my topic specifically about soil depletion and salinization. My favorite part of this action project was the different ways my project that my project could have gone with all the other varieties of topics I could have chosen. The only problem I had while making this project was that I ended up changing my topic so I started working on the action project a little late.

Irrigation can be very helpful in the moment but it is a big problem because of the massive damage it can cause in the future. The global food system heavily depends on plants, and plants grow in soil. This means that soil needs to be taken care just as well as the plants. I am trying to persuade you to fix what we messed up in the past and fix to soil as well as our future. 

Salinization in the earth’s soil is becoming an increasing issue because less youths know how to farm and change the soil. Soil has been ruined by farmers for a while now due to irrigation which lead to soil depletion and salinization. There is a lot less people that know how to fix soil depletion or salinization today than maybe 30 years ago when farming was bigger. Now all we can do to keep the future for the human race alive is to teach teens and children how to fix these problems with the soil. 

This has been happening for too long. In fact this has been going on since Mesopotamia and before. They have faced large problems with salinity as well. Mesopotamia is what Iraq used to be in the past. Mesopotamians used to have sudden floods from the highlands of Anatolia, so they decided to create an irrigation system that would not only help their crops but also solve flooding. Their irrigation system started in the Euphrates and drained out into the Tigris river. They would use some of that water to drain into their farms. It worked really well but that was because they never had a drought.

We can learn from the Mesopotamians and stop irrigation. We don’t think that anything will go wrong until it does but maybe we should start thinking about the future. The Abbasid Caliphate started to expand itself into other places around Europe around 762 AD. One of the places they traveled to was Mesopotamia where they saw the many flaws of their irrigation system. The only way they could think of to fix it was to tear it down completely and renovate it. We can show that we learned from this by not using irrigation or at least have certain laws that protect the soil from salinization and soil depletion. I’m not saying that what the Mesopotamians had wasn’t a good idea though. 

To compromise losing irrigation we can use fresh water sources like certain rivers or lakes to give the plants something to drink. While the salinization in the soil deteriorates we should plant plants that don’t need too much water to survive that way if the salt takes the water from the plant the plant won’t mind as much. An example of some of those plants are may different types of common beans. 

It’s not that hard to make these small changes. All you need to solve these problems is a commitment to help save the future for our children and the earth itself. Salinization is like a poison to plants. Like my teacher says, It sucks, meaning that it is sucking the water and the life out of plants. We want to keep on living and the best way to do that is to help other living organisms. Plants are the only reason that we have lived for so long so why not return the favor and keep them alive. It’s the Humane thing to do. 

Works Cited 

Ancient Irrigation. (1999, May). Retrieved May 13, 2016 

USDA. “Soil Quality Resource Concerns: Salinization”.nrcs.usda. January 1998. May 13 2016. 

"Irrigation Salinity." Office of Environment and Heritage. State of New South Wales and Office of Environment and Heritage, 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 13 May 2016.

Making Dough

This is my second action project for my “Food!” class. This unit was about different chemical reactions that occur while cooking or baking, like leaving for example. For this action project we conducted a lab experiment to see what would happen if we were to change the leavening agents in two types of bread, while we kept one the same. I made my document using isuu which is a website that turned my pdf to look pretty good.. My favorite part of this action project was doing the baking, because I don’t ever bake which made me appreciate the project so much more. The only problem I had while making this project was that a classmate forgot to time the yeast bread which may have affected the experiment.

Feeling Salty?

This is my first action project for my “Food for Thought” class. This unit was about different plants and how they are grown including what it took to get to where we are now in farming. For this action project we created a slideshow about how an ingredient of our choice came to be. I made my slideshow about salt using Prezi while using a map in the background so the participant of my presentation could have a visual sense of where salt came and went.. My favorite part of this action project was using Prezi. I don't use it too often so I was pretty cool to see the different dynamics it had. The only problem I had while making this project was that I turned my project in late which lowered my score.

Garden of My Dreams

This is my first action project for my “Food!” class. This unit was about different plants and how they interact with each other through symbiosis. For this action project we created some ideas for a garden that we could potentially grow near our houses. I made a drawing of the garden that I could grow where the plants help each other using a diagram I made with Google drawings. My favorite part of this action project was seeing all the different ways you could raise the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium level of the soil we were given. The only problem I had while making this project was that I accidentally left my computer charger at my cousin's house, so I had to use one of the school computers. It wouldn’t have been a problem if the school computers were good but the mouse button kept getting stuck therefore making my illustration harder to make.

My garden will be on a flat area of my roof. I would be able to put the bins and tank in any formation or pattern I want because the space that I can use is fairly big. The only major problem that might come up is that there are a lot of pipes up there which lowers the amount of space I could have had.

I have three different sized bins that I could plant my garden in. One is a bin that is 2.7 by 1.7 by 1.7 ft3. I think this container will grow the most vegetables because it has the largest height and the roots of the plants will be able to grow deeper. The other bin I have is a lot shorter but it has a longer width. Its dimensions are 3.8 by 1.7 by .6 ft3. I think the plants in this bin will grow the least because it has the lowest height, and the plants won’t be able to grow their roots. The final container I chose is a glass tank with the dimensions of 2.1 by 1.1 by 1.1 ft3. I have no Idea how the plants will grow in this container but it would be interesting to find out.

My original soil quality had a ph level of 5.0. This is not good because it’s too acidic for some plants. The best way to raise the acidity level would be to add limestone to the soil. The soil also had a nitrogen level of 2 which is about 20 ppm (parts per million). This is a little to low for vegetables so to raise it I would have to add 5 pounds of blood meal per 100 acres and 7 pounds per 100 square ft if I had that much soil. My original potassium level was 2 which is about 400 ppm in the soil. This means I don’t need to add any potassium to my soil because the potassium level is just high enough. My phosphorus level was 3 which is also a perfect amount because it’s just high enough so I don’t have to add anything to it.

I chose the plants I chose because they’re all plants that I like. They also happen to help each other out. When anything of the other plants fall off the mycelium that I would plant to grow the mushrooms would decompose the fallen biomaterial and turn it into nutrients for the other plants to help them grow and it would be a never ending cycle of love.

My garden is actually pretty efficient because of the symbiotic relationships that help the plants grow. In this project I was able learn how to help plants grow each other the way Masanobu Fukuoka did in his book One Straw Revolution.

MJF Garden (2016)

Pollution

This is my final action project for my fuel class. This unit was about different ways how pollution is a problem and the ways we can help reverse the process we’ve created. For this action project I looked at the different ways I could stop my own pollution emissions, and how much pollution I give off in a year. I showed one of my actions that I would use to help reverse pollution using a diagram I made with google drawings. My favorite part of this project was seeing how other people in my class gave off pollution compared to the amount I gave off. The only problem I had while making this project was that my computer stop working so I had to finish it on my phone. I eventually got a new computer, and besides that this AP was pretty fun.

M.J.F

3-8-16

Fuel

Saving the World

Pollution is just contaminants that are put into the earth leading to the harm of the planet. Pollution is released into the atmosphere in many different ways. A common way pollution can occur is through gases that we emit through vehicles. A second way we give off pollution is through making products, because they release gases like CO2 which gets caught in the carbon cycle. Pollution is also created when we don’t compost food. Decomposers can’t break down food when they’re put in landfills because the chemicals in other waste kill the bacteria that should decompose the food.

I release 15.3 tons of carbon per year if I continue to live my life the same way I've been. My annual greenhouse gases are equivalent to about 0.711 garbage trucks of waste recycled instead of land-filled. My annual CO2 emissions could compare to 578 propane cylinders used for home barbecues. To offset the carbon emissions that I give off per yearI have to plant 356 trees. The site used the equation 23.2 lbs C/tree × (44 units CO2 ÷ 12 units C) × 1 metric ton ÷ 2,204.6 lbs = 0.039 metric ton CO2 per urban tree planted. This means that each tree that I plant will take in 23.2 pounds of carbon. Then they divided the molecular weight of carbon dioxide to carbon. After that the website multiplied that with the ratio of 1 metric ton per pound.

I have come up with 3 actions that I could do to help reduce the atmosphere’s carbon ppm (parts per million). My first action to change would be to insulate my house which can reduce the cost of my house’s cooling as low as 90%. That would be great for the atmosphere and my family's wallet. The second way to help reduce the carbon in the earth's atmosphere would be to drive a Tesla electric car, because it gives no CO2 emissions off. A car that uses gas releases 20 pounds of carbon per gallon, and on average 6 tons of carbon is released in a year by a single gas using car. This can also benefit my family specifically because we wouldn’t have to pay for gas which can cost a lot of money. My last idea to reduce the amount of carbon is to travel less, meaning not flying. This would lower my CO2 emissions by 53.3 pounds per air mile, as one air mile produces 53.3 pounds of carbon dioxide. I travel about 1632.14 miles per year so by taking a plane I give off 86993.062 pounds of carbon.

MJF (2016) ”Action 3 Diagram”

My actions will help reduce the global carbon ppm ​from 400 to 350 since that is about the amount that is healthy to the earth because they are all more efficient ways of what I do now. I won’t make much of a difference just by myself, but I could influence or inspire people to follow some of my actions which can cause a massive chain reaction of influencing others which would create an astronomical change in the earth's atmosphere’s carbon ppm.

Works Cited

1."GHG Equivalencies Calculator - Calculations and References." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 8 Oct. 2015. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.

2."Powerwall." Tesla. 2016. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.

3."First Understand, Then Destroy, Your Home Heating Bill." Mr. Money Mustache.Money Mustache, 2011. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.