Assignment 7: Testing the Hypothesis Part 1

1.
Pollution in Florida
2.
Pollution issues are killing off Floridian ecosystems
Who? Floridians and the life that is dying off because of this issue
What? Bodies of water are being polluted with these materials so the life that are inhabiting those areas die off
Why? People just don't think about the overall effects of their choices and it may be cheaper to buy a certain product that's toxic or easier to dispose of poisonous material improperly than to do it the right way.
3.
Testing the Who: I believe that everyone in Florida is affected by this issue, especially the ecosystems being disrupted and killed off by this problem. Others around the world have this problem too, to different extents but it exists in the vast majority of places around the world.
Testing the What: This problem really effects everyone, whether they see it or not.
Testing the Why: Some people probably won't immediately see the problems that arise from pollution and getting people to see and acknowledge this issue is half the battle. There are some programs to raise awareness and some that do things like beach cleanups to help ease the issue but I don't think there are enough of those.
4.
Interview 1:
For this interview, I talked to a senior in high school and she expressed how upsetting it was that older generations and big industries don't even acknowledge pollution as an issue. She told me that she is a part of the Environmental Academy at her school and she spends most of her free time at events like beach cleanups and "save the manatee" campaigns. She is an active advocate for the environment and survival of local ecosystems that are threatened by pollution.
Interview 2:
For this interview, I talked to a second year at Florida Atlantic University and he said he doesn't really think about the effects of pollution on a daily basis but he doesn't actively try to contribute to the problem. He said that he acknowledges that there is an issue but he was brought up in a household that thinks pollution isn't an issue at all so he feels like more programs and campaigns for this issue would be beneficial in educating the older generations about how serious pollution is.
Interview 3:
For this interview, I talked to a businessman in West Palm and he told me that he actively looks for opportunities to help advocate for this issue and pitch in to whatever cleanup he can. He also said that his family and friends are very similar to him, in that they all acknowledge and try to help reduce pollution in the environment. Later in the interview, he mentioned that he has organized environmental awareness events and some cleanups himself.
Interview 4:
For this interview, I talked to a lawyer and she told me that she believes pollution is definitely a problem and that it's completely preventable if more people acknowledged it as an issue with an intent to solve it. She said that she believes that more people need to be educated about this issue and that she has faith that the upcoming generations will be able to solve this, since they are more environmentally aware than the older generations. She mentioned that she is too busy to be able to attend events but she recycles and walks to work.
Interview 5:
For this interview, I talked to my retired neighbor and she told me that she believed that pollution is a problem for the younger generations. She expressed that it may or may not be an issue but even if she were to consider it an issue, that it wasn't her problem to save the planet since she'll be leaving it soon. She also said that there really isn't very much she can do to help even if she wanted to, so she just goes about her daily life taking each day as if it were her last.
5.
The interviews, overall, showed me that the majority of people do consider pollution to be an issue and that it is definitely possible to find solutions. I was happy to see that most of them acknowledge it and at least try to reduce their contribution to the problem. Some of them do go out of their way to spread awareness and clean some of the pollutants up that they notice in their communities. The younger generations tend to have more time to be able to contribute their time to the events while the others had careers and families to focus on so they would just do what they could in their everyday life. This shows me that we need to work harder to spread awareness and make environmental cleanups the new societal norms.