Saving our Species-in recognition of World Earth Day Vol.5 #3

Our Posterity = Our Children

Posterity comes from Middle English posterite, from Anglo-French pusterite, from Latin posterus ("coming after")

He who knows what sweets and virtues are in the ground, the waters, the plants, the heavens, and how to come at these enchantments, is the rich and royal man. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

This year's Earth Day campaign is "Save our Species." Due to things like climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, trafficking and poaching, unsustainable agriculture, pollution and pesticides, we are in serious danger of losing many species to extinction.

Everything that is alive on earth plays a vital role in the health and sustainability of our planet. Insects, for example, have decreased by 75% in Germany over the last 28 years. This is a serious issue since 80% of the plants rely on bees for pollination. Now because of that rapid decline, 40% of the world's bird population is also at risk of extinction because a large number of them rely on insects for food. For more information on these facts as well as other animals that are threatened to become nonexistent please visit the Earth Day website.

Here are some areas of concern and how environmental engineers are developing ways to solve them.

Air- Cars, factories and manufacturing plants emit carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and other harmful chemicals into the air that deteriorates our air quality. Environmental Engineers come up with ways to take these toxins out of the air. They design things like ventilation systems, regenerative incinerators and many other control mechanisms to try and keep our air as clean as possible.

Climate Change- By monitoring the health of the environment and researching different treatment methods, engineers can develop ways to improve our interaction with the world and reduce our carbon footprint.

Land and Cleanup- According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 1,900 landfills exist in the continental United States and are maintained by the states they are located in. Engineers design these landfills so that the waste we dispose of does not contaminate our soil and drinking water.

Waste and Water- Wastewater is sent to treatment plants that were designed by environmental engineers to clean and treat millions of gallons of water.

Environmental Engineers having been modifying the environment around them since the beginning of civilization, using science and engineering principles to aid in the preservation of earth and all it's living things. They are doing their best to identify and solve problems before the earth gets to a point on no return.

Teaching our students about the problems facing the environment today will ensure the health and sustainability of our planet for years to come.

Let's Think Green!

Let's help our students think like an Environmental Engineer and design a solution to a problem in your school or community. All you will need for this activity is a pen and paper and internet access. For more information on this activity visit the Teach Engineering website.