PS 1010 Reflection

With air pollution being such a widespread problem throughout the country, effecting the

entire nation but also negatively impacting specific smaller communities with high

concentrations of volatile gases. The further I delved into the policies in place on both a national

and local level, I was surprised to notice that nearly all the effective initiatives originated in the

government sphere of action. In fact, I was not able to find a single significant policy in the

market or business sphere of action. However, I was able to find a fair share of civic policy, but

the majority of these only indirectly helped ameliorate the problem. This include one of the sites

I visited to volunteer at: Green Living Science. This site works to encourage and teach locals

about recycling and gives them an area to do so. Recycling indirectly helps fight air pollution

unrecycled waste goes into landfills which rot and deteriorate, eventually leading to air pollution.

I have been working for environmental causes for a few years, with focus on the Flint

Water Crisis and protections of freshwater sources since last year. Over the past year and this

semester of PS101, I have felt the pros and cons of group work. The primary con with group

work is communication difficulties. For some reason or another, there is always some sort of

error in communication leading to confusion. Additionally, sometimes I am strict on the quality

of work that I accept from other; this is mainly because I have very high standards for myself.

The main benefit of group work is that separation of responsibilities allows the creation of a

higher standard of work since each member only has to focus on their own responsibilities.

Nevertheless, I plan to continue doing work, even if it is with a group, for the protection of the

environment.

One of the most valuable things that I learned this semester was the importance of being

aware of the information that I am receiving. Primarily, it is important to judge media sources
and make sure the news and statistics are credible. Furthermore, it is also important to get

involved in whichever initiatives you know about. The effects of pollution are taught to most

children in schools, yet there is only a very minute amount of people actually working to resolve

the problem. I believe this a key aspect of a good citizen; a good citizen is fully aware of his or

her surroundings and the problems that are present near him or her. However, knowing is not just

enough it is imperative that a citizen is active in some way or another, whether that be

legislative advocacy or rolling up their sleeves and doing volunteer work.