Reflections on Climate Project
Whether we like it or not, we all have a responsibility to help the environment. Our amounts of waste go into the world, and while they may seem like a drop in the ocean to us, all those little drops are heating up the world, and melting the glaciers and making our weather systems go crazy. Some may choose to do something about their own emissions, some will not. But for those who do want to do something about it, there are many small ways to help. Riding a bike, even once a week or so; using a compost pile for food waste; when building a house, choosing to face it a certain direction; recycling; and many more. But there are also ways of changing that will have greater impacts, and greater costs. Buying a hybrid car is more expensive than buying a gasoline engine car, but will cut down on the individual’s emissions in huge chunks. Using a renewable source of energy is another really big change, and also expensive, but over a long period of time will be able to pay for itself many times over. Since I am still in high school, and do not have to power yet to choose what type of energy to use, or which way to face my house, I think I will do my best to change in little ways to reduce my own emissions. It will be even easier now, since I know how to ride a bike.
We had a nice late morning in Grizzly Park, but many people woke up early anyway. For breakfast there was an assortment of hot drinks, courtesy of the park, and oatmeal. After breakfast we washed up, packed on the coach, and headed for the first thing on our agenda: the Buffalo Field Campaign.
The whole group at the Campaign was very welcoming, and eager to share their opinions with us. Some of the things they said contradicted what we heard from Pat Povah, and many people became unsure as to which group, if either, was completely in the right. We also talked with Mike Mease, who is actually the person who founded the Buffalo Field Campaign, and it was easy to see that he knew a lot of information on the subject, and was very passionate about his cause.
Our trip to see Old Faithful was less exciting than it could have been. Only a couple minutes after we drove in and started setting up lunch, Mr. Hoover, who had walked around a little bit, called to us that Old Faithful had started, and if we hurried we might be able to see it. So all of us ran or walked to the geyser, but by the time we got there it was dying down. After that we had lunch, and were given an hour to go and shop in the gift shops around Old Faithful. Just as we were gathering to leave, the geyser started acting like it was just about to blow, but we had to be to our next appointment on time, so we couldn’t stay. As we pulled out of the road, we saw the eruption go off, but we were too far away for many people to get pictures.
Our next stop was the Yellowstone Institute, a trip of several hours. Shortly before we got there, it started to rain, and continued on hard and strong when we reached our destination. Since it would’ve been difficult to meet outside, we had our speaker, Dr. Rick Wallen, the Bison Management Chief for Yellowstone, come on the bus. He talked to us about the problem of buffalo being killed because of supposedly spreading brucellosis to cattle, the history of the buffalo in Yellowstone Park, some of the scientific research being done on brucellosis, and his personal opinion on the whole thing. It seems that he wants this issue settled as much as anybody else, but with all the strong supporters on both sides finding a solution may take a while.
After our meeting with Dr. Wallen, we drove for another couple hours, stopped at a Wendy’s for supper, and ended our day at our campsite.