I’m working on a environmental science multi-part question and need support to help me learn.

Discussion Post

Superfund” sites are places that have been polluted for decades and have been designated by the federal government as needing a substantial amount of cleanup. The “super fund” was a pot of money that industries were supposed to pay into to clean up industrial waste sites. It didn’t go well. Industries sued the government and got away with not paying their share. The fund dried up. Now all toxic waste sites are cleaned up with whatever small amount of money Congress decides to throw at the problem each year. There are 1344 Toxic Waste sites (Links to an external site.) in the United States in various states of restoration.

The Lower Duwamish River in Seattle has been listed as a Superfund site since 2001. Industrial plants have lined the river for over a century, including a large Boeing plant. Sediments in the river contain mercury, arsenic, pthalates, PCBs, and dioxins among other contaminants. People live and fish along the river. According to a recent study (Links to an external site.), residents that live near the river have a life expectancy that’s 8 years shorter than other Seattle residents.

For this week’s discussion, I want you to watch the following video and read the following article that details some of the issues surrounding the cleanup. The video is kind of old, but it’s a good introduction to the Duwamish as a toxic waste site:

Video: PCBs, Activism,Duwamish River (Links to an external site.)

Article: https://crosscut.com/2015/10/can-we-really-restore-seattles-industrial-river (Links to an external site.)

For your Initial post, I want you to talk about what you think the goals of the Duwamish restoration project should be. Knowing that an urban river can never be fully “restored” (or can it?) what should the priorities be? Who should be responsible for the project? Your post should be 1-2 paragraphs long.

Assignment

Part 1: Your Draft Presentation (10 pts)

This is where you will upload your presentation. This presentation might be:

• a poster. Please use ppt or pdf format
• a video. Make sure it will work on anyone’s computer.
• a visually interesting report. I suggest pdf for this.
• a prezi or powerpoint presentation with recorded audio.
• a LINK to a website containing any of these. For example, if you do a video, you could upload it to Youtube and post the link here.

Remember that your presentation must include the following components:

1. A thorough explanation of the environmental issue. The audience needs to fully understand the importance of this issue.
2. A thorough explanation of one or more potential solutions. Don’t just list them. Explain how each addresses the problem.
3. A description of how your topic relates to 1 or more of the Sustainable Development Goals
4. Four or more images (videos count). These images should bring clarity to a concept in your presentation and not just act as decoration.
5. A list of 5 or more references using APA style. This includes both intext citations (or footnotes) and a reference list at the end. For information on how to use APA format, I’ve included the library’s reference material here: APA 7 Guide to Plagiarism & Citing Sources

Your presentation will then be sent to other students for peer review. You’ll be getting feedback from those reviews back (and feedback from me) so that you can make your presentation AWESOMER. Then you will be submitting your very awesome presentation at the end of the quarter.