Care for the Common Home - Olivia

Care for the Common Home

Over the next week or so, I, along with the rest of my AP Biology class have explored topics on citizen science, Asian Carp, and St. Francis’s message on Laudato Si.

In watching the video below, I learned about the message of Laudato Si, which Pope Francis, the pope of the Roman Catholic Church has been seeking to impose on the world for many years. The message is that all humans must work together to save the Earth’s and its resources, especially since together, we are stronger. What stood out to me in learning about this is that I completely agree with his message. In a world where the effects of climate change are extremely evident, even in my own community, with longer fire seasons, heat waves, and droughts, I see, firsthand what must be done to help protect our Earth for we only have one. What I hope others gain from Pope Francis’s message is to do their part. To go out into their own communities and to educate and advocate for environmental rights, to gather people together just like Pope Francis wants. I seek to do that myself by raising awareness in my community about examples of using less water in everyday life, such as fewer baths, shorter showers, and less shopping. Some curious questions I have about Pope Francis’s message is how is the church raising awareness about environmental rights? What steps are being implemented?

When watching the Invasive Carp of Kentucky I Adaptation, I learned about a certain solution to a man-made problem in a small town in Kentucky. Overwhelmed with an abundance of Asian Carp, a woman by the name of Angie Yu created a business for getting and selling Asian Carp to make a profit as well as clear out the waters of the Kentucky town of Asian Carp, bringing the community together. Seeing a solution come to life, I recognized the importance of science and innovation and how anything is possible when people come together, connecting to Pope Francis’s message.

Something that intrigued me was the fact that before Angie Yu created her business, people who lived in Kentucky disliked Asian Carp and refused to eat it. Seeing how large and the amount of Asian Carp present in Kentucky, it surprised me that no one took advantage of that until Angie Yu came. In learning about this, I hope the audience is once again reminded of the power of bringing people together for a common solution, and the immense benefits of it to a individual and a whole group of people. Some curious questions I have is How can other communities facing similar issues work together to create a common solution? How can a individual encourage a huge group of people to invest in a cause that is important to them?

What is citizen science? Citizen science is when anyone is able to contribute to scientific research, whether through a app, photos, game, etc, helping real scientists be able to gather a large amount of data. In researching scistarter.org, I saw how any interaction that I have with any project on this website would contribute to a scientist be able to collect more data for their project. This especially intrigues me because as someone who is interested in possibly becoming a research assistant, this tool is extremely helpful if I needed a large amount of data on a specific topic to help my research. Scistarter.org is able to achieve that, which is incredibly fascinating. I would highly encourage everyone to make a account on scistarter.org and choose a project about something that they are passionate about and look to find data for these scientists. I think it is extremely rewarding that someone’s own research is contributing to a better cause. Some curious questions I have is that Is there any way that as data collectors, people can see the impact of their research on real scientists’ work? Is there any way I can get recognition for contributing to a research project?

In submitting my Earth Science Week photo contest whose prompt was on Earth’s processes, I was reminded about the reality that nature is all around us and in us. Too often, as humans, we tend to overwhelm ourselves with so many tasks, that we believe would be detrimental if we don’t accomplish them. Myself included, I forget often how grateful I am to live in such a beautiful piece of the Earth, where I have the opportunity to witness nature all around me. By doing this contest, I am reminded to take each day at a time and to remember to breathe.

So I say to you, my audience, to not forget to spend time in nature, for you will not regret it!