Luke's "Do Some Good" Project

Do Some Good Project

Featuring: Luke Chatwin

Topic: Sustainability (Overfishing to be exact)

Introduction

Hello! Before I mention anything else, I’m gonna address the fact that you might  be wondering: “Why overfishing? There’s plenty of fish in the ocean.” Well, there was. So what happened to the fish if there WERE plenty of fish? Here’s the simple answer: Population and technology happened. 

There’s an ever increasing demand from an ever increasing population. Before we go any further, here’s an explanation about sustainability and how it can help prevent overfishing.

Explanation

Sustainability. Let’s say we have a fisherman fishing out of a pond of 36 fish (36 is the carrying capacity of the pond). The fisherman catches 18 fish every month, and by the next month, the fish have safely doubled back up to 36 fish. This is a sustainable cycle; as long as these fish can double back up to 36 fish every time, they can survive forever. However, one month the man takes 20 fish instead, leaving 16 in the pond. The next month the fish only double up to 32. After seeing the slight difference, the man decides to go back to fishing 18 each month since that was safe. When he fishes 18, the number of fish decreases to 14, then doubles to 28. 28 decreases to 10, and doubles to 20. 20 decreases to 2, doubles to 4, and now the man has barely any fish left in the pond, and would have to wait multiple months for the fish to reproduce all the way back up to 36.

This is how sustainability works. As long as there are enough to reproduce to the carrying capacity, they will survive forever. However in our world today, fish are not being caught at a safe sustainable rate. By now, you probably get the picture, so let’s take a look at what the main causes of overfishing are.

The Main Cause

There is one major cause of overfishing, and that is again, our ever increasing population, and the food market’s increasing demand for seafood. However, the main method of overfishing is “Bottom Trawling”. What this is: Boats cast huge, heavy nets that are opened by heavy doors (these doors weigh several tons) that drag the nets across the ocean floor. It not only catches LOTS of fish, but it damages any habitats that it happens to run over.

The Effects

Disclaimer: Not only is marine life being impacted by overfishing, but human lives are as well.

-Coral reefs (which house 25% of marine life) are being destroyed from overfishing.

Healthy coral reef

Dying coral reef

-Loss of livelihood for fishermen, requiring them to move to a different profession or career.

-Imbalance in the ecosystem which also causes other habitats, and fish species to be destroyed.

-Reduction in marine biodiversity (number of species and population).

-Makes stressed ecosystems more vulnerable to invasive species, which could endanger said species.

-Since Industrial fishing began in the 1960’s, 90% of commercially targeted fish have disappeared.

-It’s exploiting other types of marine wildlife getting caught in the nets, such as dolphins, or other fish not needed for the market. These fish usually die while getting sorted out, and are known as bycatch.

-At this rate (which will likely only speed up), all seafood will be gone in 27 years. (You can see the countdown at https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/facts-on-overfishing)

The list goes on and on… although mine doesn’t.

However, it’s not hopeless. There are things people are trying to do to prevent/mitigate overfishing, and you can check them out at https://greentumble.com/long-term-effects-of-overfishieng/. 

Instead of telling you what OTHER people are doing, I’m gonna cut straight to the chase and explain what YOU can do to make a difference.

What You/The People Can Do to Help

(Another) Disclaimer: Seafood supplies protein to over a billion people in the world, so tackling this problem will take lots of combined efforts.

-The government is closely watching the fishing industry, and banning illegal fishing of endangered fish so they have time to replenish and restore numbers. You can do your share by watching what you eat and spreading the word about it.

-Look for the Dolphin Safe label instead of Dolphin Friendly. According to theworldcounts.com it was awarded by the Earth Island Institute who has the strictest system of monitoring.

-You can tweet or email your congressman about overfishing. Let your voice be heard, and you could start a revolution of change!

-Support industries/websites that protect the ocean. They have a big job ahead of them, and they need all the help from every person they can get.

-Don’t look at this list and say, “Ehh, someone else can do it”. YOU can make a difference. I encourage you to complete at least one of these things on this list.

Conclusion

I hope you learned something about the seriousness of overfishing. With over 90% of commercially targeted seafood gone, that makes more competition over less fish, which means that they’re numbers will only decrease from here… unless we do something about it.

(Also, I'd appreciate it if you left a comment telling me what you learned from this post and which of the challenges you're going to do. I'm looking forward to seeing what you all do!)

The City Lehi

Hi, this is Luke. This is my post for my Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge. This blog is about The City of Lehi, Utah - its history and other cool stuff. I love it here.

This is a picture of Lehi Roller Mills. I was always scared of this building for some reason, it's really big. (Legit don't know why.) Anyway, this place sells good pancake and brownie mix, it's what we'd buy from here sometimes. I visited this place because it's on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been open for over 100 years.

Up there is the Thanksgiving Point tower. Thanksgiving Point is such a cool and awesome place with so many things to do. Some of these things are the gardens, a golf course, the show barn (where Voicemale performs), and the Museum of Natural Curiosity. So much fun.

This is the Lehi Fire Department. This is the Fire Station right by my school. Thankfully, they've never had to come to my school, unless told to for a drill or something. Also, there's a little park right next to it that's pretty fun to play at. That park is great.

Lehi has this outdoor pool with waterslides and diving boards, lots of fun!

This is the Hutchings Museum. I came here with my Scout group, and it was pretty fun. It's a cool place to learn about history, or the Indians, or geology. I have also volunteered here. I helped with cleaning glass cases, bagging trilobytes, taking out nails, screws, and hooks that shouldn't be there, organizing and making the place look good, and cleaning out cages in the reptile room.

This is the public library. Reading is one of my mom's favorite hobbies, so she comes here a lot. It also has a book drop off slot in the back.

Last but not least, this is the Lehi Legacy Center. It has a cool indoor kiddie pool, and a lap pool. It also has basketball courts and a rock climbing wall. 10/10! So much fun to play here. Also, the huge green slide is not there just for show.

English Summer Homework

This is Seth. Here's my summer homework for English.

#1. Attend a festival or concert. I went to Music & the Spoken Word with my family. We have to go to a lot of concerts and plays -- Utah Symphony, Tabernacle Choir, VoiceMale. VoiceMale is actually awesome though.

#2. Go swimming at a rec center. I went swimming but didn't take a picture, so instead here is a picture of me on a giant water slide at my family 4th of July party.

#3. Learn to play a musical instrument. I've been in percussion for four years so I've learned how to play lots of songs. This year I play vibraphone in the pit with the Skyridge marching band. Don't get confused. I'm the one in the hat.

#4. Talk to an older relative about family history. My grandma told me about her dad who was in the British Royal Navy in Japan at the end of World War II. He stole an American Jeep in Japan. Funny true story. He stole it and painted it so it looked like a British Jeep. The Americans never found out.

#5. Switch off your online presence. This is actually easy for me because I like to read and play video games. The only thing I usually do online is go on youtube to watch cool science videos or videos about video games. So to go offline, I just have to play video games that aren't online. If it said go off electronics, that would be much harder.

#6. Walk somewhere you would normally drive. I'm walking to band practice. It's not that far but I normally drive.

#7. Make a list of positive things in your life:
Church, marching band, Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, Super Smash Brothers, family, food.
#8. Write a bucket list of 25 things:
Beat all the Zelda games, win a Smash Brother tournament, go skydiving, hike a mountain, design a video game, visit another country, build a gaming PC, build a drone, own a quantum computer, go to space, create Vid campaign, win money from e-sports, go bungee jumping, go scuba diving, start a nerd podcast, take part in a drum corps, build a tomb for my family, drive a car 120 mph, invent a jet pack, complete the Pokedex, kill a bear, meet Peanut Butter gamer, meet Nate Wants to Battle, meet the guy from Game Theory.

#9. Watch the news. Super exciting. This is them talking to the weatherman about how it's going to be hot tomorrow but not as hot as it was today. P.S. I don't want Trump or Clinton to be president. 

#10. Do a chore without being asked. On Saturday mornings, I always mow the lawn first thing before I get in the shower, because I know if I get in the shower first, then they'll just ask me to mow the lawn and I'll get all hot and sweaty and have to shower again.

#11. Learn a poem by heart. I memorized "Hat" by Shel Silverstein. I actually read that whole book last year for English. It's called "Where the Sidewalk Ends."

#12. Try an unusual flavor of snow cone. My mom talked me into trying chocolate. It was not that good.

#13. Lie on the grass and look at the clouds. It was hard to keep my eyes open because it was so bright. I've heard that if you touch the ground with your bare skin for 10 minutes every day, it's good for your health. I don't know why, or if that's even true.

#14. Skip a rock on a body of water. This is me after Scout Camp where we went fishing and skipped rocks. I got super dirty. And yes, I always wear yellow shorts.

#15. Volunteer somewhere for a day. I volunteered for a week at the "Art in Video Games" day camp at the Museum of Natural Curiosity. It was a class of mostly 12 and 13-year-olds.

#16. Write an old-fashioned letter and mail it. I wrote to my brother Nathan, who is on a mission in Uruguay. I email him every week, and he responds every Monday. I have no idea when he will get this letter. Maybe sometime before Christmas. The Charlie Brown Christmas stamps on it are awesome.

Seth's "Do Some Good" Project.... Living Sustainably

What is living sustainably? Well, I'm glad you asked that question that I just typed. Allow me to give you an example using fish. Say you were allowed to fish in an area with 30 fish in it, and before each time you went fishing again, the fish reproduced to double the number of fish left after the last time you went fishing. So if there are 30 fish and you fish out 15, by the time you fish again, they reproduce back to 30. You could keep doing this and the fish would never run out.

But, let's say that there are 30 and you fish out 16. Then there are 14 left and they reproduce to 28. So you realize that was a bad idea so you fish out 15 again cause you saw that was safe. Well, then there are 13 left, and those reproduce to 26. Then you fish out 15 again, and there are 11 left, and those reproduce to 22. Then you fish out 15, and there are 7 left, and they reproduce to 14. Then you go to fish out 15 but you can only get 14. So you have emptied out your area of fish, and can no longer catch any fish.

Only catching 15 every time would be living sustainably. But if you catch even one extra fish one time, then you would have to catch less fish than usual to avoid eventually fishing out all of them.

To learn more about the concept of over-fishing, click this link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6nwZUkBeas

Now you see, stopping overfishing would be a lot harder than it seems.  Even if you were able to get almost every country to agree on a fishing limit, the few countries that didn't agree would catch more fish, and therefore, their fish would be cheaper. And then everyone would buy their fish because it is cheaper and they would fish even more than usual.

But living sustainably is about much more than just fish. There are a lot of resources that humanity is using up faster than it is replenishing, including money. The biggest example of that is America's debt. The government is spending $2.6 trillion on Social Security, $2.1 on Federal Reserve, and $1 trillion on federal retirement and disability. And America owes $1.3 trillion to China, $1.1 trillion to Japan, and $2.6 trillion to other countries. Add those numbers up and you get $10.7 trillion. And that isn't the entire thing. And the number rises 1 trillion each year.

Now, chances are you don't make a living off of fish, and you aren't in charge of how much the United States Government spends or borrows from other countries. So let's talk about something you will care about: your money! Tell me, are you spending more than you're making? Try tracking how much you make and how much you spend for a year. And be sure to always have a considerable amount saved up in case you need a lot at a moment's notice.

And you might consider not having one of these.

    

Ah, the iPhone, the gift that keeps on taking. In fact, the teacher that is having me do this project does not even own a cell phone.

How about other ways to live sustainably? Well, you could conserve your energy usage. I bet most people leave a lot of lights on when they leave a room. You could save a lot of money just by turning off unnecessary lights. You can try drinking tap water. Yes, I know a ton of people think tap water is either gross or dangerous. But that just isn't true. Especially since most bottled water comes from the same locations as tap water does. And this will save you from spending a lot of money on bottles of water. And on the point of taste, there have been studies showing that people actually like the taste of Utah tap water better than bottled water.

And you probably have never heard of the fair-trade certification, have you? You see, on a lot of imported goods, you may be able to find the fair-trade certificate. If it has it, that means it was produced using sustainable methods, and that you are getting a good deal.

Another idea is that you could just drive less. Gas is expensive and you could save a lot by walking the half mile or so to what ever happens to be in your vicinity.

Well, that's all I got today. Hope you enjoyed learning that in a few hundred years, seafood will be a thing of history books, and America won't have any money.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW WITH ANY IDEAS YOU HAVE FOR LIVING SUSTAINABLY.

See ya later.

Posted by Seth.

A City in Utah

This is Seth. I'm doing this blog post for my Citizenship in the Community merit badge. This is about the great city of Lehi in the great state of Utah. Enjoy.

This is where you can find Lehi on the map. As you can see, and as I mentioned before, it is in the state of Utah, in the United States of America.

This is my elementary school, Eaglecrest. Like most of the schools in Lehi, it gives very great education.

This is the Legacy Center. No, it is not all red like in the picture. However, it is a different shade of red in real life. The Legacy Center has a fitness center with gyms which can be used for gymnastics and basketball. It has a lap pool and a pool for kids to play in. It also has rock climbing wall.

This is Thanksgiving Point. However, I can hardly find anything about Thanksgiving unless it is Thanksgiving. It has many fun things to do there. There is a dinosaur museum there as well as a megaplex movie theater. You can also visit the flower gardens there. They also have concerts and shows. During Christmas time, the group called Voice Male comes to do a concert there.

This is the Lehi Roller Mills. The Lehi Roller Mills is on the National Registry of Historic Places. It has been open over 100 years. And I wouldn't be surprised if you came to Lehi just for its brownie mix.

This is IM Flash Technologies. It is one of the most important businesses in Lehi.

This is Broadbent's. It has been in business (if you can't read the sign) since 1882. It has a big variety of gifts and home decorations.

And that is the end of this. I hope you enjoyed this. And I hope you want to visit Lehi now.

Lehi

Caleb here, I am working on my Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge for a Pow wow and I am going to tell you about Lehi City. (I hope you like it!)

This is Thanksgiving Point. Here you can come to walk through the flower gardens, go to a dinosaur museum, see how a real farm works, see a movie, etc. It is a very fun place.

This is Lehi Roller Mills. It is on the National Registry of Historic Places. It has been open for over 100 years. It has really good brownie mixes.

Here is the Hutching's Museum. It has very cool things about different subjects such as Natural History, Utah's Indian Tribes, Explorers, Pioneers, and other early settlers of Utah. You will learn a lot of things there.

This is IM Flash Technologies. It's an important business in Lehi.

This my friends, is the Legacy Center. It has a lap pool, a kids pool, gyms, a running track, a rock climbing wall, not to mention the water slide and all of that good stuff.

This is Broadbent's. It's been in business since 1882. It sells a lot of cool gifts and home decorations.

And that concludes my tour of Lehi City. It is a great place to live.

Thank you! Bye!

Sad/Scary/Freaky Story

Caleb is talking to you right now. Like right now. Isn't that almost so awesome!?

Sorry I can't talk about how awesome I am right now.

I....... have a story to tell.

One day a 16 year old boy drove his car into town.

Then he saw Death

[or the grim reaper]

Death beckoned to him.

He drove his car as fast as he could to his grandpa's barn,

After he told his grandpa what had happened he said.

"Let me take the car to the city, Death won't find me there"

After he left to the city, his grandpa went to town to look for Death.

When he found Death he said,

"Why did you scare my grandson? He's too young to die."

Death replied, "I did not expect to see him here because I have an appointment with him. . . in the city."

Welcome to Chuck Norris-ville

Hey. Nathan here. As the title says, welcome to Chuck Norris-ville. I'm gonna tell a LOT of Chuck Norris jokes. Here we go.

Chuck Norris can divide by zero.

Chuck Norris can win a game of Connect Four in 3 moves.

Chuck Norris CAN believe it's not butter.

Chuck Norris wrestled The Hulk and won 4 out of 3 times.

Chuck Norris had an arm wrestling competition with Superman. The loser had to wear tights.

Chuck Norris counted to infinity twice.

Chuck Norris can slam revolving doors.

When Chuck Norris does push-ups, he doesn't push up. He pushes the earth down.

Kids wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.

Chuck Norris doesn't go hunting. Hunting has a 44% chance of failing. Chuck Norris goes KILLING.

Chuck Norris split the atom with his bare hands.

Chuck Norris doesn't read. He just stares down books until he gets the information he wants.

Chuck Norris doesn't use scuba diving equipment. He just holds his breath.

Chuck Norris can make a snow man out of rain.

Chuck Norris can gargle peanut butter.

Chuck Norris can do a wheelie on a unicycle.

Every night when kids check their closet for the boogeyman, the boogeyman checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris's keyboard has no ctrl button because Chuck Norris is in control.

The only person tougher than Chuck Norris is Chuck Norris's mom.

Oxygen needs Chuck Norris to live.

When Chuck Norris falls in a lake, he doesn't get wet. The water gets Chuck Norris.

I'm excited

This is Seth. I have something to tell you.

I'm going to a hotel

with my dad

with a water slide.

Mt. Rushmore

Hello Humans, This is Caleb.

I have a little surprise for you.

It's an alien invasion!!!!!

Evacuate Your Homes!!!!!

Get to Safety Immediately!!!!!

Never mind about that.

I have something to tell you.

We might be going to Mt. Rushmore!!!

Don't ask me what that has to do with aliens.

(Seriously, don't ask.)

Well, later!