Reflection
Reflection
While working on the web case and interviewing Mary Lou and Megan Wolff we have found that plastic poses a lot of challenges in the community, especially single-use plastic and virgin plastic. Along with this, we learned that the production of petrochemical companies is also very harmful for the public health because it produces high levels of air pollution. This is harmful because it affects the agricultural environment and poses health issues such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. In the beginning, we weren’t really aware and well-informed about the dangers the production of petrochemical companies had on the environment. It wasn’t until we learned in class about St. James Parish. St. James Parish, which is one place that is being affected by petrochemical companies.
From our web pages and some parts of our web case, a few things that need sharpening are bringing more awareness and education about plastic and air pollution. In addition, we believe that more health initiatives need to be done to help spread the word about plastic and air pollution to help improve public crises. By bringing and taking more health initiatives this will help make changes to the climate crisis as well. From our research and interviews we have learned that by spreading education and awareness on the harmful affects this can lead to communities getting together and standing up for themselves. However, even though these initiatives are being made, sometimes there are little to no improvements being made. This is due to companies not considering and ignoring the risks petrochemical companies pose on public health and the government not suppressing the issue. As a result, this part of our webcase needs sharpening because even though little progress is being made to prevent the construction of these companies, providing useful resources and links is helpful to stay on top of ongoing issues.
In addition, a few gaps in our research we discovered in are research is that sometimes it’s difficult to gain the government officials support regarding air and plastic pollution concerns. For this reason, it may be challenging to improve community needs and prevent future petrochemical companies from being built. Nevertheless, we need to continue to speak up, participate in organizations and spread awareness on the ongoing issues to gain support and create change.