Junkyard Miracle Part 1 By: Anna Vaclavek The engine gurgled to life, flooding my ears with the soft put-put-put of the propeller churning the murky water. My small boat sped deeper into the debris, cutting through endless layers of plastic and other assorted trash. I longed to break from it all, flowing into the blue abyss of the clear ocean –but that dream had been dashed long ago. Reaching the ideal swatch of water, I drew my pole from the floor and watched as the hook sank through the grime, searching for reprieve in clear, clean water. Something tugged on the line and I jerked to reveal my catch. I pulled up a small, anemic fish, not only bony, but dead as well. This was the same result as every day, but it was the only way my Californian coastal town received any fish –the fishing industry had since collapsed and no one but me ventured into the ocean. After catching six other fish like the first, I decided today was not a good day for fishing and headed back to shore. As I began to put-put back to my town, movements out of the corner of my eye made me stop abruptly. I shut off the motor and listened. Small ripples emerged on the surface of the murky water, and I dug my hand into the trash to further investigate (being the intelligent girl I am). What I pulled out made me gasp –a baby seal of a species that hadn’t been seen since 2025 (almost ten years ago) rested in my hand, his small chest slowly pushing out and in with his shallow breathing. Without thinking I placed the animal in my pack and sped towards home. I crept through the back door, making no noise as I proceeded to wind my way through the house to the bathroom. I filled the bathtub up about halfway and let the small creature soak in the lukewarm water. Globs of oil and small pellets of plastic separated from the seal’s skin, revealing a matte grey coat with dark speckles. I decided to name him Junkyard, after the conditions I had found him in. After he was sparkling clean, I attempted to feed Junkyard whatever I thought was good for a seal. It was only after the fourth course I had served him that I realized he wasn’t eating any of it. I decided to take him to the local vet, Dr. Matthews, to see what was going on. She was definitely surprised to see me walking in cradling the small aquatic creature. “Well what do we have here?” She asked, incredibly interested in Junkyard. I explained to her where I found him and the fact he wasn’t eating. The doctor took him into the examining room and promptly performed a small X-ray. The X-ray revealed Junkyard’s stomach, which was filled to the brim with plastic bottle caps and small pieces of netting. I looked at the poor baby, lying on the examination table, not sure what was going on around him. Dr. Matthews explained a procedure that could remove the plastic, and I decided to do whatever I could to save Junkyard. From then on I saved up the money from my (very) small fishing business, found everything I could to collect money, and begged my mother for the rest. After two months of hard work and pleading, I had enough money to pay for Junkyard’s surgery. He went in on a windy Tuesday afternoon; I still remember the day clearly. Dr. Matthews took Junkyard into a back room, leaving me anxiously waiting in the lobby of the office. It seemed to take hours before I saw the doctor’s face again, allowing my mind to wander to the events going on beyond the thick oak door. An hour and a half later, Dr. Matthews emerged, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. I stood up, slowly wandering over to her. She beckoned me inside the room and closed the door. I stared at the seal lying on the table, looking up at me with anesthesia filled eyes. It was in that moment that I decided to finally take action against the poison filled water that plagued the coast. Junkyard had to stay overnight to be monitored, so I hastily pulled the crumpled up bills from my pocket, paid for the surgery, and rushed home.
Once home I pulled out a drawing pad and several ocean-based books and developed what I addressed as the Junkyard Miracle. The Junkyard Miracle was my attempt at helping Junkyard and the rest of the ocean life being harmed by the current condition of the waters. But I couldn’t do it alone. I spent the remainder of the night working away on my dinky desktop computer, composing the perfect flyer to post all over town. The flyer read: It’s time to do something about the trash! Come to the town meeting at 6:00pm on Monday night to learn about the Junkyard Miracle. –Carly J. I printed out several copies and carried them with me to the veterinarian’s office the next day. The office was happy to hang the paper, and after picking up Junkyard we hung the rest in various places around town. It felt right, holding Junkyard in my arms. It seemed like there had always been a place for him there. Monday arrived much too soon, and I found my legs shaking as I stood behind the curtain that shielded me from the audience awaiting me. Looking to Junkyard for reassurance, he gave me a knowing glance. I took a breath as the curtain glided away and exposed me to the people of my town. Clearing my throat, I stepped up to the podium. “Um, welcome,” I started as the crowd hushed. “I bet you’re wondering what the Junkyard Miracle is all about.” A murmur rippled through the crowd. “Well, I’ll, um, I’ll tell you.” A large projection screen cascaded from the ceiling, flickering to life. What came upon the screen was a picture I had taken the day before of the ocean.
“Look at this! This, this is our ocean. This is what is waiting beyond our coast, what is beyond everyone’s coast.” Gasps erupted from the audience, startling Junkyard. I clicked a button and the next picture glowed from the screen. This one was of the plastic that had been discovered in Junkyard’s stomach. “Now, I’m sure you want to know what this is. This, ladies and gents, is the amount of plastic found in my buddy’s stomach,” I explained. With that, Junkyard hopped up on the podium, earning sighs and sobs from many people. “This is Junkyard. He’s a baby seal I found a week ago in our waters. With the help of Dr. Matthews,” I pointed to the doctor, “I saved this creature from dying –but there are so many more animals that weren’t saved. Almost every fish I catch, day after day, are dead. But with the Junkyard Miracle, we can rescue ourselves and the creatures from this horrid water–” I paused as a hand rose from the sea of faces. I pointed to it, and the owner began to speak with a snide voice. “So what exactly is this ‘project’ you’re trying to explain? It seems like a waste of my time.” Many piped up and joined in with the person who had spoken. I raised my hand and they hushed once again. “The Junkyard Miracle is my way of cleaning up our mess. It combines learning, and doing. I mean, how can you fix something you don’t even know about? We need to inform adults as well as children about the issue. The first step of the project is the learning aspect. Teachers and parents need to learn more about the amount of trash in the ocean that builds up to create what is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and once they are adequately educated, they will then pass down the information to the younger population.” People still didn’t seem convinced. The same nasty voice erupted from the crowd once again. “How is learning going to help anything?” “I’m glad you asked,” I replied nonchalantly. “Once everyone knows about the pollution in the water, we move to the doing part. Once we learn the fact that over 14 billion pounds of trash arrive at the ocean each year, we can alter our lifestyle to a more conservative way of living, as well as attempt to pull some garbage from the cycle. We may not be able to clean every single particle of plastic from the oceans, but we can slow the amount of persistent plastic going into the ever growing whirlpool of trash. Together we can save our ocean, its animals, and spread the knowledge worldwide –all starting with you. Thank you.” One after another, people rose to their feet, applauding and vowing to join me and Junkyard. We were going to save our ocean, one step at a time.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5aEBcsrVuqbWHBHY004VUt4eW8/edit?usp=sharing Link for download to arcade game Project: Ocean Soup. Have fun! my high score is 5000
Isa leaned out of her family’s farming boat and submerged her arm in the murky water of the Pacific, a few miles off the coast of her home in Kaviang, New Guinea. She pulled out a crumpled plastic milk carton and added it to the pile of detritus at her feet, then dunking her hand back in. Isa knew the contents of her harvest would look like garbage to most people, but it was the livelihood of her family, as well as many others in the area. Soon she would go back to shore and treat the plastics by melting them down and re-shaping them with home-made chemicals and tools. Isa knew little about the nature of the chemicals and how they affected the plants and animals in the ocean, which was where they excess toxins were dumped. She suspected that they might have a bad effect, but she and the other plastic farmers had to survive. This was how they did it.
Almost 3 billion tons of plastic had been manufactured by 2049, when the PNPDC (Pacific Nations Plastics Disposal Committee) was formed. An island plastic the size of the Indian subcontinent had been floating in a ring of rotating currents in the Pacific Ocean. This gyre of trash was what brought about mass conservation efforts in the mid-21st century, but the efforts of those concerned about the amount of garbage in the oceans, which stretched almost 200 meters below the surface in some areas, could not outweigh the level that trash was being deposited into the ocean. The cycle of plastic consumption was moving at too great a speed, filling up the landfills and making its way to the oceans. Plastic products were being manufactured, used, and disposed of at a record rate.
The PNPDC made multiple efforts to find alternative plastic disposal options, including incineration, above-ground landfills, and passing tariffs on non-biodegradable plastics. None of these options were successful in lowering the creation, consumption, and environmentally unfriendly waste of plastic. PNPDC also attempted to raise awareness about the harm plastics were doing to the worlds’ oceans, but still nothing happened. They knew that something had to be done.
In 2054, the PNPDC learned of a new problem that had arisen from the trash in the ocean: plastic farming. Plastic farmers, people unemployed and living in low-income areas, would “harvest” pieces of plastic from the ocean using nets attached to small rowboats, then taking it back to the shore to melt it down with chemicals and ingredients they had made themselves. The farmers would then reform the plastic using molds, making them into cheap products to sell: beads, key chains, buttons, etc. When the PNPDC first learned about this they saw no problem with it; some even saw it as a good thing-plastic being removed from the ocean. But they quickly realized that this farming was an all-new source of challenge.
In early 2055 the PNPDC held a meeting to discuss plastic farming, alongside leading chemists and oceanographers. They debated the pros and cons of plastic farming, and what should be done about it, if anything. On one hand, plastic farming both removed plastic from the ocean, which was much needed, and provided a source of income for poor families. On the other hand, however, PNPDC investigators discovered that the farmers’ process of heat-treating the plastics in order to re-shape them was releasing plastic additives into the ocean that were harming aquatic organisms. The topic was discussed thoroughly, but despite their efforts, the PNPDC and the other officials reached no decision about what course of action to take.
HoloBroadcast-2/23/2055, Tokyo, Japan, PNPDC Headquarters. PNPDC Director Sakura Zhao: “In an effort to best resolve the problems facing our worlds’ oceans due to human pollution, specifically the Pacific trash gyre, the Pacific Nations Plastics Disposal Committee is issuing a formal request to Future Problem Solving International to consider taking on this issue and devising a solution. World Problem Solvers, please use your skills to develop a plan of action in order to assist the PNPDC in addressing these challenges, therefore assisting future generations on this Earth by attempting to clean up our oceans before it is too late.
Montiera Ferrell-Nelson Sloane Scott EEE: 01 Ocean Soup Future Scene An artificial volcano named Rebekahh has been created to consume trash and toxicants of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The volcano is located in the center of the patch. The volcano was constructed in 2020. This volcano was named in tribute to the great idealist, activist, humanitarian, futurist, and environmentalist that constructed the design for the artificial volcano. This great volcanic construction can withstand extreme temperature with unique advanced material that withstands all extreme weathers. The artificial volcano has reduced the amount of waste; every 5min 1,000 pieces of trash are consumed from the once “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” Rebekahh can hold 50,000 tons of garbage. In 2052 the volcano reached half capacity, and is now threatening to overflow in 2080 due to the exponential growth of human consumption. Residents from a nearby island are complaining about the stench of the compacted trash reaching their docks. A poison has been leaking from base fractures of the volcano and has begun seeping into the water. Many different types of tropical marine life are being reported by fisherman to have floated to the surface from the poison. As well as common marine wildlife, many endangered species have been affected as well. The ecosystem surrounding the Great Pacific Garbage Patch has become critically damaged, and said animals may become extinct. Not only is marine life being affected, but exotic birds as well. Residents have found the carcasses of pelican and gulls washed ashore from the morning tide. Due to the religious beliefs of the survived indigenous people, these birds are seen as animal gods, and have become increasingly worried about their well-being. They are now seen making rare appearances in the City of Cypris, the only city within miles of Rebekahh. For the past 2 months they have been chanting on the steps of City Hall, causing public disturbance due to their loud volume. The City of Cypris needs your help to promote recycling throughout the world because the artificial volcano Rebekahh is going to overflow and damage the waters and destroy the City of Cypris.
Montiera Ferrell-Nelson Sloane Scott EEE: 01 Challenges: 1.Since Rebekahh is half way full there could be a problem with the artificial volcano exploding into the ocean because the compacted trash will begin to produce more waste and the volcano can only hold so much. 2.Rebekahh is leaking from the base this might be a problem for the citizens because it could kill there tropical marine life. 3.With endangered species being effected by the volcano there might be a problem with the animals becoming extinct which could affect the food chain in the ocean because there may be predators plus prey that are cut of the food chain and there could be overpopulation on more common prey. 4.Having nearby islands complaining of a stench coming from the volcano this could be a problem for the islands tourism because tourist might be less tempted to visit surrounding islands which could take from the islands economic income. 5.With birds dying from the volcano this could be a problem with the indigenous people because their religious beliefs betray birds as gods, this cause the dead birds to anger the indigenous people of surrounding islands. 6.Indigenous peoples loud chanting might be a problem with the citizens of Cypris because the citizens are trying to live there everyday life and the indigenous people are being distraction. 7.With a poison leaking into the ocean there may be a problem with drinking water becoming contaminated because all water is recycled meaning fresh water comes from the ocean. 8.Having the City of Cypris only being a few miles from Rebekahh a problem could occur with the volcanos eruption because if the artificial volcano overflows the compacted trash will in the seaside of Cypris causing chaos in the city. Underlying Problem: Since the volcano Rebekahh is going to fill up and overflow, how might we promote the habits of recycling so that the citizens can save the town from the overflow of the volcano? Solutions: 1.All citizen’s homes will have incinerators implemented into their houses, using their ashes to either grow produce in home gardens or put the ashes on the curb for a city garden in replace of trash on the curb going to the city dump. 2.The City will send in the willing unemployed to pick through the items salvageable for recycling so that they may promote good habits. For every item recycled each person will get 10 cents. 3.Kindergarten teachers will implement recycling into their regular teaching curriculum so kids will learn recycling at an early age. 4.All persons in jail will be given the option of one day off of their sentence for every 100lbs. of trash recycled from the volcano. 5.Recycling bins with all types of recycling numbers will be implemented into every citizen’s home, as well as all homes currently being built.
• A major problem with the existance of the GPGP is that the artificial poisons of the plastics concentrate the natural poisons in the water to millions of times more concentrated than they naturaly occur in the water. This, "super poison" can kill almost any creature in the area. •Fish and birds somtimes mistake small peices of plastic for food and eat them themselves or feed it to their young. This usualy kills the animal. • The garbage is not going to go away anytime in the next 1000 years, and the GPGP is constantly expanding, killing more and more organisms in our oceans. •Hundreds of thousands of creatures die every year because of the poisins in the oceans. •Plastic is finding its way into every part of our lives, and, as we throw so much away, this produces a huge amount of plastic that is thrown into the ocean. •The garbage slowly drifts into landmasses and horribly destroys beutiful landscapes. •The oceans could become toxic in the near future, and that would cause a huge portion of the worlds food to die. •The plastic in fish that we eat can cause an imbalance of chemicals in humans that cause the female/male distinction.
Remember that your challenges must clearly identify a FACT, PROBLEM, and then explain WHY it is a problem. Some of your challenges are missing these elements. You were also supposed to use a WEB 2.0 tool to creatively display these. Do you have a link?
This arcade game is designed to focus on the pollution of our international waters. One part of this topic is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The GPGP is a giant landmass in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, made of complete trash. It's double the size of Texas, and is just an example of all of the problems with polution of metals and plastics. Notice in this game the problems of:
1. Plastic floating on the surface and getting in the way of boats 2. Fish mistaking plastic and metal for food. 3. Fish, a major protein source, becoming endangered. 3. Toxins in metals poisoning fish 4. Trash ruining tourist businesses 5. Wasting tons of trash each day instead of recycling 6. Not enough people caring 7. Not having an efficent method to clean up trash 8. Not having an efficent method to stop trash pollution.
Some solutions to fix problem 6: 1. Selling this game on the app store 2. Putting commercials on television 3. placing ads in magizines and food products 4. Requiring Schools to teach about ocean soup 5. Getting celebrity sponsers
Great job guys! Eli - I'm giving you credit for these, but you need to realize that your collaboration evaluations will reflect your time on task. Don't use full last names when publishing online. Nice use of goanimate!
Great start Joey. If you are going to write a novel, then we need to decide together what constitutes ACCEPTABLE progress. Jackson needs to contribute as well. This is your writing, not his. He needs to submit his own checkpoint 1. I'm watching both of you carefully. Make sure your time on task and collaboration follow the criteria of our rubric.
Richard Noah Clay checkpoint 1 Ocean Soup future scene
Steven stepped out of his door, coughing as he smelled the smell of hot plastic in the tropical air. He groped for his carton shoes, blinking at the bright sun. As he put them on, he realized that the rope made of plastic bags, tying his house to the main island, was starting to come apart. He scrambled for some more bags, tying them together as he secured his house again. He realized that his setup was temporary, but he didn’t want to put the effort into permanently securing his house to the island using hard plastic frames. He swam across to the bank, wincing as a stray computer part scratched him along the arm. He wondered what it was like, living on solid land instead of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. He had been born on the island, in the year 2016. His parents had been some of the first people to realize how easy it would be to scrounge a living from the giant monstrosity of trash that was the GPGP. they could grab fish and birds that had been trapped in the trash for food. They had everything they needed, literally at their doorstep. They could even grow plants, with the airtight plastic being used to evaporate and desalinate the ocean water. With a little practice, the community could use the various bits of plastic to build whatever they wanted. This morning, he went to the central mound of garbage to scrounge for breakfast. Usually, his family can find a few birds to eat, but for some reason, there were none. When he got back to his house, he picked up the nets that they used to catch sea animals and picked a few fish from them. He then went to their plastic “farm” and pulled up a few vegetables. As he picked, he thought of what to make for breakfast. “A salad would be good, and few seasoned fried fish.” Everyday, Steven made breakfast for his family, as he was the most healthy and fit to go out. When he returned from this morning trek to gather food, he had to feed his family, who were sick from the toxins that the plastic attracted. His mother, who permanently lay in her plastic bed, had to be spoon fed by Steven every morning. Life was looking pretty bleak for Steven, but that day he found a waterproof plastic radio among the rubble. After opening the watertight compartment, he found instructions on how to use the radio. He flipped the on switch, and he listened, but quickly turned it off when he heard a commercial about plastic products. He wished all this trash would just disappear. It is your job, Future Problem Solvers, to give these people any more ways to reduce the amount of pollution in the oceans, improving their quality of life.
Gilmore inches to the window of his loft in the island Clearia, formerly known as Hawaii. He hasn’t left his house in weeks, since the creatures invaded. Approaching the window he glances outside and catches a glimpse of the disturbing mutant, just another product of the toxins of the polluted oceans surrounding Clearia.
Clearia is not the only land facing this strange phenomena, it has spread worldwide. These strange mutants once started as fish but evolved to a rather disturbing species. Fish began to mutate after consuming obscene amounts of toxic pollution found in the ocean. All the pollution began with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) was once a small accumulation of trash about twice the size of Sector Z—previously known as Texas—but increased with time. The trash found in the GPGP was and is mainly plastic, which takes an abundance of time to degrade in the ocean; once broken down the plastic releases harmful toxins, the source of the up and coming amphibian issues.
These unnatural creatures, known as Ichthyoid Mutatulus (or simply “Ichthies”), began developing in the early 22nd century; astonishing the citizens of the islands that had been invaded. Islanders were clueless on how to deal with such a phenomenal, yet alarming situation. The fish that consumed the toxins released into the ocean by plastic, among other pollutants, have transformed into a creature like no other before. These fish have adapted to not only breathe on land, but have grown arm and leg like appendages that allow them to walk and function very similarly to humans.
Ichthies would not be such a pressing issue if not for their agenda; these monstrosities have developed highly intelligent minds that linked their creation and mutation with the pollution from mankind—thus making revenge on humans the first on their list of priorities. The island invasions have been very brutal; Ichthies began invading islands with the largest amounts of the most toxic pollution. They show no mercy, taking children hostage, torturing anyone and everyone for information on the pollutants.
No one is certain what the sole purpose of the Ichthies quest for knowledge is. Many assume they only want information of our behaviors only to make destroying our inhabitants of the Earth all the more simple, however some choose to believe their search for a deeper understanding is rooted in reversing the damage that the human race has caused. Aside from the reasons for the creatures’ behaviors, they have still showed opposition against the people of the Earth.
The government and people encountering the treacherous Ichthies are looking for any help in war against these mutants; any and all suggestions possible on how to reduce the pollution as well as the impact of these beasts on their peaceful world is greatly appreciated. The Problem Solvers of the World need to unite to conquer the great threat posed by the unwelcome invaders.
This is the overflow for checkpoint one. It is important that you pay attention to the post you are uploading to. You will interact with online classrooms in the future, and in order to do so successfully - YOU MUST READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! You still do not have credit for checkpoint two. UPLOAD TO CHECKPOINT TWO!
Lucy M. and Gabe C.- our checkpoint display was phsical rather than on the computer. Here are the challenges we used Because many people are not aware of the existence of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and other similar gyres there could be issues with getting people to help address the problem when they aren’t aware of it.
Since people are accustomed to using huge amounts of plastic in their daily lives it might be difficult to get them to reduce that because people may not welcome a change that could make their lives more difficult.
As the Great Pacific Garbage Patch remains in its location it will continue to harm all life in its vicinity which will insurmountably degrade the quality of the ocean(s) and ocean based food.
When toxins from plastic work their way into sea life it can cause widespread sickness in humanity if people consume enough contaminated seafood.
Very often people tend to be apathetic and adopt the attitude of “not my problem” which could make it difficult to deal with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch since even the people who are aware of its existence may hope that somebody else will take care of it and go back to the way they were before they learned of its existence.
Since a large amount of people don’t recycle the Great Pacific Garbage Patch could very possibly grow even bigger before there is time to start dealing with it because of all of the unrecycled plastic humanity can produce.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is located in the middle of the ocean so getting everyday people involved might be more difficult since people can’t just join an “ocean clean up team” and drive out to the middle of the ocean to help.
Because the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is roughly twice the size of Texas it will probably be difficult to convince the government to fund a cleanup since it would probably be rather expensive and our government doesn’t exactly have a boatload of extra money floating around.
Junkyard Miracle Part 1
ReplyDeleteBy: Anna Vaclavek
The engine gurgled to life, flooding my ears with the soft put-put-put of the propeller churning the murky water. My small boat sped deeper into the debris, cutting through endless layers of plastic and other assorted trash. I longed to break from it all, flowing into the blue abyss of the clear ocean –but that dream had been dashed long ago.
Reaching the ideal swatch of water, I drew my pole from the floor and watched as the hook sank through the grime, searching for reprieve in clear, clean water. Something tugged on the line and I jerked to reveal my catch. I pulled up a small, anemic fish, not only bony, but dead as well. This was the same result as every day, but it was the only way my Californian coastal town received any fish –the fishing industry had since collapsed and no one but me ventured into the ocean.
After catching six other fish like the first, I decided today was not a good day for fishing and headed back to shore. As I began to put-put back to my town, movements out of the corner of my eye made me stop abruptly. I shut off the motor and listened. Small ripples emerged on the surface of the murky water, and I dug my hand into the trash to further investigate (being the intelligent girl I am). What I pulled out made me gasp –a baby seal of a species that hadn’t been seen since 2025 (almost ten years ago) rested in my hand, his small chest slowly pushing out and in with his shallow breathing. Without thinking I placed the animal in my pack and sped towards home.
I crept through the back door, making no noise as I proceeded to wind my way through the house to the bathroom. I filled the bathtub up about halfway and let the small creature soak in the lukewarm water. Globs of oil and small pellets of plastic separated from the seal’s skin, revealing a matte grey coat with dark speckles. I decided to name him Junkyard, after the conditions I had found him in.
After he was sparkling clean, I attempted to feed Junkyard whatever I thought was good for a seal. It was only after the fourth course I had served him that I realized he wasn’t eating any of it. I decided to take him to the local vet, Dr. Matthews, to see what was going on. She was definitely surprised to see me walking in cradling the small aquatic creature.
“Well what do we have here?” She asked, incredibly interested in Junkyard. I explained to her where I found him and the fact he wasn’t eating. The doctor took him into the examining room and promptly performed a small X-ray. The X-ray revealed Junkyard’s stomach, which was filled to the brim with plastic bottle caps and small pieces of netting. I looked at the poor baby, lying on the examination table, not sure what was going on around him. Dr. Matthews explained a procedure that could remove the plastic, and I decided to do whatever I could to save Junkyard.
From then on I saved up the money from my (very) small fishing business, found everything I could to collect money, and begged my mother for the rest. After two months of hard work and pleading, I had enough money to pay for Junkyard’s surgery. He went in on a windy Tuesday afternoon; I still remember the day clearly.
Dr. Matthews took Junkyard into a back room, leaving me anxiously waiting in the lobby of the office. It seemed to take hours before I saw the doctor’s face again, allowing my mind to wander to the events going on beyond the thick oak door.
An hour and a half later, Dr. Matthews emerged, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. I stood up, slowly wandering over to her. She beckoned me inside the room and closed the door. I stared at the seal lying on the table, looking up at me with anesthesia filled eyes. It was in that moment that I decided to finally take action against the poison filled water that plagued the coast. Junkyard had to stay overnight to be monitored, so I hastily pulled the crumpled up bills from my pocket, paid for the surgery, and rushed home.
Once home I pulled out a drawing pad and several ocean-based books and developed what I addressed as the Junkyard Miracle. The Junkyard Miracle was my attempt at helping Junkyard and the rest of the ocean life being harmed by the current condition of the waters. But I couldn’t do it alone.
ReplyDeleteI spent the remainder of the night working away on my dinky desktop computer, composing the perfect flyer to post all over town. The flyer read:
It’s time to do something about the trash! Come to the town meeting at 6:00pm on Monday night to learn about the Junkyard Miracle. –Carly J.
I printed out several copies and carried them with me to the veterinarian’s office the next day. The office was happy to hang the paper, and after picking up Junkyard we hung the rest in various places around town. It felt right, holding Junkyard in my arms. It seemed like there had always been a place for him there.
Monday arrived much too soon, and I found my legs shaking as I stood behind the curtain that shielded me from the audience awaiting me. Looking to Junkyard for reassurance, he gave me a knowing glance. I took a breath as the curtain glided away and exposed me to the people of my town. Clearing my throat, I stepped up to the podium.
“Um, welcome,” I started as the crowd hushed. “I bet you’re wondering what the Junkyard Miracle is all about.” A murmur rippled through the crowd. “Well, I’ll, um, I’ll tell you.” A large projection screen cascaded from the ceiling, flickering to life. What came upon the screen was a picture I had taken the day before of the ocean.
“Look at this! This, this is our ocean. This is what is waiting beyond our coast, what is beyond everyone’s coast.” Gasps erupted from the audience, startling Junkyard. I clicked a button and the next picture glowed from the screen. This one was of the plastic that had been discovered in Junkyard’s stomach.
Delete“Now, I’m sure you want to know what this is. This, ladies and gents, is the amount of plastic found in my buddy’s stomach,” I explained. With that, Junkyard hopped up on the podium, earning sighs and sobs from many people.
“This is Junkyard. He’s a baby seal I found a week ago in our waters. With the help of Dr. Matthews,” I pointed to the doctor, “I saved this creature from dying –but there are so many more animals that weren’t saved. Almost every fish I catch, day after day, are dead. But with the Junkyard Miracle, we can rescue ourselves and the creatures from this horrid water–” I paused as a hand rose from the sea of faces. I pointed to it, and the owner began to speak with a snide voice.
“So what exactly is this ‘project’ you’re trying to explain? It seems like a waste of my time.” Many piped up and joined in with the person who had spoken. I raised my hand and they hushed once again.
“The Junkyard Miracle is my way of cleaning up our mess. It combines learning, and doing. I mean, how can you fix something you don’t even know about? We need to inform adults as well as children about the issue. The first step of the project is the learning aspect. Teachers and parents need to learn more about the amount of trash in the ocean that builds up to create what is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and once they are adequately educated, they will then pass down the information to the younger population.” People still didn’t seem convinced. The same nasty voice erupted from the crowd once again.
“How is learning going to help anything?”
“I’m glad you asked,” I replied nonchalantly. “Once everyone knows about the pollution in the water, we move to the doing part. Once we learn the fact that over 14 billion pounds of trash arrive at the ocean each year, we can alter our lifestyle to a more conservative way of living, as well as attempt to pull some garbage from the cycle. We may not be able to clean every single particle of plastic from the oceans, but we can slow the amount of persistent plastic going into the ever growing whirlpool of trash. Together we can save our ocean, its animals, and spread the knowledge worldwide –all starting with you. Thank you.”
One after another, people rose to their feet, applauding and vowing to join me and Junkyard. We were going to save our ocean, one step at a time.
Word Count: 1,499
Awesome Future Scenario Anna!
Deletehttp://prezi.com/jcsn2tndobdz/julia-hill-checkpoint-1/
ReplyDeleteThis is the link to the instructions for my game.
This is going to be so cool. I love the originality of your idea. Can't wait to play it.
Deletehttps://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5aEBcsrVuqbWHBHY004VUt4eW8/edit?usp=sharing Link for download to arcade game Project: Ocean Soup. Have fun! my high score is 5000
ReplyDeleteVery cool display of what you can do with Web 2.0 when you take chances. Great job Jack. By the way... my score of 3500 is currently 1st place.
DeleteIsabel G Dyke
ReplyDeleteOcean Soup Future Scene
3/7/13
Isa leaned out of her family’s farming boat and submerged her arm in the murky water of the Pacific, a few miles off the coast of her home in Kaviang, New Guinea. She pulled out a crumpled plastic milk carton and added it to the pile of detritus at her feet, then dunking her hand back in. Isa knew the contents of her harvest would look like garbage to most people, but it was the livelihood of her family, as well as many others in the area. Soon she would go back to shore and treat the plastics by melting them down and re-shaping them with home-made chemicals and tools. Isa knew little about the nature of the chemicals and how they affected the plants and animals in the ocean, which was where they excess toxins were dumped. She suspected that they might have a bad effect, but she and the other plastic farmers had to survive. This was how they did it.
Almost 3 billion tons of plastic had been manufactured by 2049, when the PNPDC (Pacific Nations Plastics Disposal Committee) was formed. An island plastic the size of the Indian subcontinent had been floating in a ring of rotating currents in the Pacific Ocean. This gyre of trash was what brought about mass conservation efforts in the mid-21st century, but the efforts of those concerned about the amount of garbage in the oceans, which stretched almost 200 meters below the surface in some areas, could not outweigh the level that trash was being deposited into the ocean. The cycle of plastic consumption was moving at too great a speed, filling up the landfills and making its way to the oceans. Plastic products were being manufactured, used, and disposed of at a record rate.
The PNPDC made multiple efforts to find alternative plastic disposal options, including incineration, above-ground landfills, and passing tariffs on non-biodegradable plastics. None of these options were successful in lowering the creation, consumption, and environmentally unfriendly waste of plastic. PNPDC also attempted to raise awareness about the harm plastics were doing to the worlds’ oceans, but still nothing happened. They knew that something had to be done.
ReplyDeleteIn 2054, the PNPDC learned of a new problem that had arisen from the trash in the ocean: plastic farming. Plastic farmers, people unemployed and living in low-income areas, would “harvest” pieces of plastic from the ocean using nets attached to small rowboats, then taking it back to the shore to melt it down with chemicals and ingredients they had made themselves. The farmers would then reform the plastic using molds, making them into cheap products to sell: beads, key chains, buttons, etc. When the PNPDC first learned about this they saw no problem with it; some even saw it as a good thing-plastic being removed from the ocean. But they quickly realized that this farming was an all-new source of challenge.
In early 2055 the PNPDC held a meeting to discuss plastic farming, alongside leading chemists and oceanographers. They debated the pros and cons of plastic farming, and what should be done about it, if anything. On one hand, plastic farming both removed plastic from the ocean, which was much needed, and provided a source of income for poor families. On the other hand, however, PNPDC investigators discovered that the farmers’ process of heat-treating the plastics in order to re-shape them was releasing plastic additives into the ocean that were harming aquatic organisms. The topic was discussed thoroughly, but despite their efforts, the PNPDC and the other officials reached no decision about what course of action to take.
HoloBroadcast-2/23/2055, Tokyo, Japan, PNPDC Headquarters. PNPDC Director Sakura Zhao: “In an effort to best resolve the problems facing our worlds’ oceans due to human pollution, specifically the Pacific trash gyre, the Pacific Nations Plastics Disposal Committee is issuing a formal request to Future Problem Solving International to consider taking on this issue and devising a solution. World Problem Solvers, please use your skills to develop a plan of action in order to assist the PNPDC in addressing these challenges, therefore assisting future generations on this Earth by attempting to clean up our oceans before it is too late.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE your literary voice. You have a unique style that many readers will identify with. Keep it growing!
DeleteMontiera Ferrell-Nelson
ReplyDeleteSloane Scott
EEE: 01
Ocean Soup Future Scene
An artificial volcano named Rebekahh has been created to consume trash and toxicants of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The volcano is located in the center of the patch. The volcano was constructed in 2020. This volcano was named in tribute to the great idealist, activist, humanitarian, futurist, and environmentalist that constructed the design for the artificial volcano. This great volcanic construction can withstand extreme temperature with unique advanced material that withstands all extreme weathers.
The artificial volcano has reduced the amount of waste; every 5min 1,000 pieces of trash are consumed from the once “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” Rebekahh can hold 50,000 tons of garbage. In 2052 the volcano reached half capacity, and is now threatening to overflow in 2080 due to the exponential growth of human consumption. Residents from a nearby island are complaining about the stench of the compacted trash reaching their docks.
A poison has been leaking from base fractures of the volcano and has begun seeping into the water. Many different types of tropical marine life are being reported by fisherman to have floated to the surface from the poison. As well as common marine wildlife, many endangered species have been affected as well. The ecosystem surrounding the Great Pacific Garbage Patch has become critically damaged, and said animals may become extinct.
Not only is marine life being affected, but exotic birds as well. Residents have found the carcasses of pelican and gulls washed ashore from the morning tide. Due to the religious beliefs of the survived indigenous people, these birds are seen as animal gods, and have become increasingly worried about their well-being. They are now seen making rare appearances in the City of Cypris, the only city within miles of Rebekahh. For the past 2 months they have been chanting on the steps of City Hall, causing public disturbance due to their loud volume.
The City of Cypris needs your help to promote recycling throughout the world because the artificial volcano Rebekahh is going to overflow and damage the waters and destroy the City of Cypris.
Great job ladies.
DeleteMontiera Ferrell-Nelson
ReplyDeleteSloane Scott
EEE: 01
Challenges:
1.Since Rebekahh is half way full there could be a problem with the artificial volcano exploding into the ocean because the compacted trash will begin to produce more waste and the volcano can only hold so much.
2.Rebekahh is leaking from the base this might be a problem for the citizens because it could kill there tropical marine life.
3.With endangered species being effected by the volcano there might be a problem with the animals becoming extinct which could affect the food chain in the ocean because there may be predators plus prey that are cut of the food chain and there could be overpopulation on more common prey.
4.Having nearby islands complaining of a stench coming from the volcano this could be a problem for the islands tourism because tourist might be less tempted to visit surrounding islands which could take from the islands economic income.
5.With birds dying from the volcano this could be a problem with the indigenous people because their religious beliefs betray birds as gods, this cause the dead birds to anger the indigenous people of surrounding islands.
6.Indigenous peoples loud chanting might be a problem with the citizens of Cypris because the citizens are trying to live there everyday life and the indigenous people are being distraction.
7.With a poison leaking into the ocean there may be a problem with drinking water becoming contaminated because all water is recycled meaning fresh water comes from the ocean.
8.Having the City of Cypris only being a few miles from Rebekahh a problem could occur with the volcanos eruption because if the artificial volcano overflows the compacted trash will in the seaside of Cypris causing chaos in the city.
Underlying Problem:
Since the volcano Rebekahh is going to fill up and overflow, how might we promote the habits of recycling so that the citizens can save the town from the overflow of the volcano?
Solutions:
1.All citizen’s homes will have incinerators implemented into their houses, using their ashes to either grow produce in home gardens or put the ashes on the curb for a city garden in replace of trash on the curb going to the city dump.
2.The City will send in the willing unemployed to pick through the items salvageable for recycling so that they may promote good habits. For every item recycled each person will get 10 cents.
3.Kindergarten teachers will implement recycling into their regular teaching curriculum so kids will learn recycling at an early age.
4.All persons in jail will be given the option of one day off of their sentence for every 100lbs. of trash recycled from the volcano.
5.Recycling bins with all types of recycling numbers will be implemented into every citizen’s home, as well as all homes currently being built.
• A major problem with the existance of the GPGP is that the artificial poisons of the plastics concentrate the natural poisons in the water to millions of times more concentrated than they naturaly occur in the water. This, "super poison" can kill almost any creature in the area.
ReplyDelete•Fish and birds somtimes mistake small peices of plastic for food and eat them themselves or feed it to their young. This usualy kills the animal.
• The garbage is not going to go away anytime in the next 1000 years, and the GPGP is constantly expanding, killing more and more organisms in our oceans.
•Hundreds of thousands of creatures die every year because of the poisins in the oceans.
•Plastic is finding its way into every part of our lives, and, as we throw so much away, this produces a huge amount of plastic that is thrown into the ocean.
•The garbage slowly drifts into landmasses and horribly destroys beutiful landscapes.
•The oceans could become toxic in the near future, and that would cause a huge portion of the worlds food to die.
•The plastic in fish that we eat can cause an imbalance of chemicals in humans that cause the female/male distinction.
Per,
DeleteRemember that your challenges must clearly identify a FACT, PROBLEM, and then explain WHY it is a problem. Some of your challenges are missing these elements. You were also supposed to use a WEB 2.0 tool to creatively display these. Do you have a link?
This arcade game is designed to focus on the pollution of our international waters. One part of this topic is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The GPGP is a giant landmass in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, made of complete trash. It's double the size of Texas, and is just an example of all of the problems with polution of metals and plastics. Notice in this game the problems of:
ReplyDelete1. Plastic floating on the surface and getting in the way of boats
2. Fish mistaking plastic and metal for food.
3. Fish, a major protein source, becoming endangered.
3. Toxins in metals poisoning fish
4. Trash ruining tourist businesses
5. Wasting tons of trash each day instead of recycling
6. Not enough people caring
7. Not having an efficent method to clean up trash
8. Not having an efficent method to stop trash pollution.
Some solutions to fix problem 6:
1. Selling this game on the app store
2. Putting commercials on television
3. placing ads in magizines and food products
4. Requiring Schools to teach about ocean soup
5. Getting celebrity sponsers
-Jack Allen
This is the information included in your game correct? Remember - challenges must clearly identify a FACT, PROBLEM, and explain WHY it is a problem.
Deletehttp://goanimate.com/videos/0iG110u1yT3c?utm_source=linkshare&uid=0ErU9SSFgsaY
ReplyDeletehttp://goanimate.com/videos/07DhXYWNCkrE?utm_source=linkshare&uid=0ErU9SSFgsaY
http://goanimate.com/videos/0mYozvaxPGH8?utm_source=linkshare&uid=0ErU9SSFgsaY
http://goanimate.com/videos/00gd7SMaMkL4?utm_source=linkshare&uid=0ErU9SSFgsaY
Animations made by Quinn, Nathan, and Eli Rice
Great job guys! Eli - I'm giving you credit for these, but you need to realize that your collaboration evaluations will reflect your time on task. Don't use full last names when publishing online. Nice use of goanimate!
Deletehttp://prezi.com/exc22a0sivwl/sydney-timmerman-checkpoint-1/
ReplyDeleteSydney Timmerman
Great Job Sydney. Your prezi has been embedded in the EEE Website.
Deletehttps://sites.google.com/site/mrltripeee/classroom-pictures
Check email Mr. L
ReplyDeleteGreat start Joey. If you are going to write a novel, then we need to decide together what constitutes ACCEPTABLE progress. Jackson needs to contribute as well. This is your writing, not his. He needs to submit his own checkpoint 1. I'm watching both of you carefully. Make sure your time on task and collaboration follow the criteria of our rubric.
DeleteRichard Noah Clay checkpoint 1
ReplyDeleteOcean Soup future scene
Steven stepped out of his door, coughing as he smelled the smell of hot plastic in the tropical air. He groped for his carton shoes, blinking at the bright sun. As he put them on, he realized that the rope made of plastic bags, tying his house to the main island, was starting to come apart. He scrambled for some more bags, tying them together as he secured his house again. He realized that his setup was temporary, but he didn’t want to put the effort into permanently securing his house to the island using hard plastic frames. He swam across to the bank, wincing as a stray computer part scratched him along the arm. He wondered what it was like, living on solid land instead of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
He had been born on the island, in the year 2016. His parents had been some of the first people to realize how easy it would be to scrounge a living from the giant monstrosity of trash that was the GPGP. they could grab fish and birds that had been trapped in the trash for food. They had everything they needed, literally at their doorstep. They could even grow plants, with the airtight plastic being used to evaporate and desalinate the ocean water. With a little practice, the community could use the various bits of plastic to build whatever they wanted.
This morning, he went to the central mound of garbage to scrounge for breakfast. Usually, his family can find a few birds to eat, but for some reason, there were none. When he got back to his house, he picked up the nets that they used to catch sea animals and picked a few fish from them. He then went to their plastic “farm” and pulled up a few vegetables. As he picked, he thought of what to make for breakfast. “A salad would be good, and few seasoned fried fish.” Everyday, Steven made breakfast for his family, as he was the most healthy and fit to go out. When he returned from this morning trek to gather food, he had to feed his family, who were sick from the toxins that the plastic attracted. His mother, who permanently lay in her plastic bed, had to be spoon fed by Steven every morning.
Life was looking pretty bleak for Steven, but that day he found a waterproof plastic radio among the rubble. After opening the watertight compartment, he found instructions on how to use the radio. He flipped the on switch, and he listened, but quickly turned it off when he heard a commercial about plastic products. He wished all this trash would just disappear.
It is your job, Future Problem Solvers, to give these people any more ways to reduce the amount of pollution in the oceans, improving their quality of life.
Good work Gentlemen. I'm glad you finally uploaded to the correct spot.
DeleteJasmine Jalali
ReplyDeleteFuture Scene
Gilmore inches to the window of his loft in the island Clearia, formerly known as Hawaii. He hasn’t left his house in weeks, since the creatures invaded. Approaching the window he glances outside and catches a glimpse of the disturbing mutant, just another product of the toxins of the polluted oceans surrounding Clearia.
Clearia is not the only land facing this strange phenomena, it has spread worldwide. These strange mutants once started as fish but evolved to a rather disturbing species. Fish began to mutate after consuming obscene amounts of toxic pollution found in the ocean. All the pollution began with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) was once a small accumulation of trash about twice the size of Sector Z—previously known as Texas—but increased with time. The trash found in the GPGP was and is mainly plastic, which takes an abundance of time to degrade in the ocean; once broken down the plastic releases harmful toxins, the source of the up and coming amphibian issues.
These unnatural creatures, known as Ichthyoid Mutatulus (or simply “Ichthies”), began developing in the early 22nd century; astonishing the citizens of the islands that had been invaded. Islanders were clueless on how to deal with such a phenomenal, yet alarming situation. The fish that consumed the toxins released into the ocean by plastic, among other pollutants, have transformed into a creature like no other before. These fish have adapted to not only breathe on land, but have grown arm and leg like appendages that allow them to walk and function very similarly to humans.
Ichthies would not be such a pressing issue if not for their agenda; these monstrosities have developed highly intelligent minds that linked their creation and mutation with the pollution from mankind—thus making revenge on humans the first on their list of priorities. The island invasions have been very brutal; Ichthies began invading islands with the largest amounts of the most toxic pollution. They show no mercy, taking children hostage, torturing anyone and everyone for information on the pollutants.
No one is certain what the sole purpose of the Ichthies quest for knowledge is. Many assume they only want information of our behaviors only to make destroying our inhabitants of the Earth all the more simple, however some choose to believe their search for a deeper understanding is rooted in reversing the damage that the human race has caused. Aside from the reasons for the creatures’ behaviors, they have still showed opposition against the people of the Earth.
The government and people encountering the treacherous Ichthies are looking for any help in war against these mutants; any and all suggestions possible on how to reduce the pollution as well as the impact of these beasts on their peaceful world is greatly appreciated. The Problem Solvers of the World need to unite to conquer the great threat posed by the unwelcome invaders.
Great Job Ladies. Glad you finally uploaded to the correct spot.
DeleteKate and Kaiya's second checkpoint (prezi).
ReplyDeletehttp://prezi.com/ql1scqylrlhe/ocean-soup/
Ladies,
DeleteThis is the overflow for checkpoint one. It is important that you pay attention to the post you are uploading to. You will interact with online classrooms in the future, and in order to do so successfully - YOU MUST READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! You still do not have credit for checkpoint two. UPLOAD TO CHECKPOINT TWO!
Here is the web link to my checkpoint 1.
ReplyDeletehttp://lmt150.wix.com/eeechallenges
Lucy M. and Gabe C.- our checkpoint display was phsical rather than on the computer. Here are the challenges we used
ReplyDeleteBecause many people are not aware of the existence of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and other similar gyres there could be issues with getting people to help address the problem when they aren’t aware of it.
Since people are accustomed to using huge amounts of plastic in their daily lives it might be difficult to get them to reduce that because people may not welcome a change that could make their lives more difficult.
As the Great Pacific Garbage Patch remains in its location it will continue to harm all life in its vicinity which will insurmountably degrade the quality of the ocean(s) and ocean based food.
When toxins from plastic work their way into sea life it can cause widespread sickness in humanity if people consume enough contaminated seafood.
Very often people tend to be apathetic and adopt the attitude of “not my problem” which could make it difficult to deal with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch since even the people who are aware of its existence may hope that somebody else will take care of it and go back to the way they were before they learned of its existence.
Since a large amount of people don’t recycle the Great Pacific Garbage Patch could very possibly grow even bigger before there is time to start dealing with it because of all of the unrecycled plastic humanity can produce.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is located in the middle of the ocean so getting everyday people involved might be more difficult since people can’t just join an “ocean clean up team” and drive out to the middle of the ocean to help.
Because the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is roughly twice the size of Texas it will probably be difficult to convince the government to fund a cleanup since it would probably be rather expensive and our government doesn’t exactly have a boatload of extra money floating around.