The Benefits of a Community

The no driving/ fish cleanup community has a variety of commonalities for many different reasons. Reading about Ted’s love for fishing, it was easy to relate as I, too, very much enjoy fishing, for my dad is an avid fisherman who I learned the skill from at a young age. The pollution in the Delaware, Bushkill, and many other places I have fished is very upsetting and I understand Ted’s desire for a healthy change. Although our sustainable behaviors approach the problem in different ways both of our behaviors are beneficial on aquatic life overall. Ted’s material based pollution reduction by removing on-scene garbage is essential for this trash is severely disrupting the fish habitat, but carbon emission reduction is imperative as well. With the way emissions increase water global water temperatures, we are putting enormous stress on the species that rely on this environment. The ocean is one of the largest absorbers of CO2 in the atmosphere, and with our constant increase in emissions the ocean can only handle this intake for so long. The temperature rise of the ocean will kill off species that cannot withstand a small temperature change. Along with these deaths, water temperature increase causes frozen methane layers on the the bottom of the ocean to release the methane as it warms up, turning to CO2 released into the atmosphere and furthering our global warming. In reducing carbon emissions by leaving the car behind, Zach and I are both assisting Ted in his fight for aquatic life. In this fashion, we can see how having a community with common interests can unknowingly be working together to help one another while focusing on their own main interest.

Finding pleasure and relaxation in nature has grown to touch our whole community. While Ted knew the value nature posed for him and his enjoyment in being outdoors and fishing, Zach and I quickly caught on. The ease of driving, for saving time and energy, was a difficult obstacle we needed to overcome. Dropping a habit that has been common since getting our licenses was a strange adjustment to make for a school project, but was ever so rewarding in the long run. The key to breaking this habit was not viewing the situation as a temporary inconvenience, but rather embracing it as a healthy alternative. What we both realized was that walking around is very nice and calming this time of year with the weather changing and the desire by most students to be outside more often. This, coupled with the eradication of negative thoughts pertaining to not driving, laid down a perfect incentive to embrace our new sustainable behavior.