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Aaron Olson
Mrs. Schaefer
Anthropology 2281
April 25, 2016
Global Problems, Local Solutions
Some issues that are a global problem are things such as climate change, land destruction,
illegal poaching and hunting, and possible extinction of species such as plants and animals.
Conservation is official supervision of rivers, forests, and other natural resources in order to
preserve and protect them through prudent management. (Dictionary.com) Conserving the
environment in many ways such as protecting rainforests from deforestation. Sustainability is
The quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby
supporting long-term ecological balance (Dictionary.com)
Environmental responsible behavior is behavior that isnt just something that you do once
in a while. It is doing something constantly and doing it with the intention that you will do it
again. Protecting primate species isnt simple doing one thing at a time, but doing multiple
things, multiple times then it can start to add up and make a difference. Primate species live in
forests, jungles and every place they live in has the chance that global warming will affect it and
change the temperature. If the temperature changes than the vegetation in the environment will
change too.
Some local issues on campus is the issue with energy efficient lighting in and outside of
the building. SLCC in 2008 had added energy saving Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights in the

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parking lot of 5 major campuses. Parking lot lighting retrofits at the 5 major campuses will save
approximately 600,000 kWH/year of energy. (SLCC, Sustainability) This would save
approximately $25,000 annually. Saving energy is useful because it will cost less money and
students will not need to worry about lighting issues when driving through the campus parking
lot at night and not being able to see anything.
SLCC has also implemented water conservation, they have added Low flow faucet
aerators 0.5 GPM. (SLCC) This means that every minute the water fountain is on and flowing
water, half a gallon will of water will be used where as if it wasnt implemented then more water
would be used than needed. They also have a redundant chilled water pump which pumps chilled
water to the Library, Rampton Technology building, and student pavilion. A BTU Meter was
installed which keeps track of how much water is supplied to each leased building. The reason
saving water is useful, is because it will help save money on water usage and save the school
money for other things as well.
The environmental protection agency (EPA) has a location in Salt Lake City which is
located at 700 south 1600 east PCE Plume, Salt Lake City, UT. The EPA is designed to keep
pollution down to a minimum or get rid of it all together. Anything from air pollution, climate
change, chemical/toxin spills or leaks the EPA will keep an eye and notify authority in case of
something happening. Some issues that they have with air pollution is that it can destroy the
ozone layer. If the ozone around the earth is destroyed then the planets vegetation.
If the vegetation on the planet is destroyed then primate species will end up dying as
well. Insect life will die off and cause species of animals to die off that cannot eat them and other
animals will die since the animals before them wont be able to eat either. The EPA is an

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organization that does what it can to help protect the environment from being destroyed and
causing life on this planet to go extinct. (Learn the issues, EPA)
The way that you can cut back on air pollution is by carpooling with friends. Instead of
driving to a store that is close by, walk their or ride a bike. This will save you gas and protect the
atmosphere from being destroyed. Cutting back on burning fuel for big companies may not be
able to cut back on using fuel, but they can try to use as little as possible, or find other ways of
creating energy for them to use in creating whatever they need to create.
In the US, Park rangers are often said to be the keepers of our nations natural resources
and protected public lands. Their mission it is to preserve and protect our nations local, state and
national parks for public use. (Utah Park Ranger) A park ranger is designed to work towards
protecting the environment so that way it stays safe for people and the living organisms in that
environment. In Utah, we have park rangers that maintain desert and mountain areas, in other
parts of the world they have park rangers but sometimes they are extremists.
Park rangers in the USA do everything in their legal power to keep people from
destroying, defacing public property and if needed, arrest any individual that is breaking the law.
They do this by patrolling areas randomly trying to keep people from vandalizing them. In
October 2013 two Boy Scout leaders were in Goblin Valley, Utah where the recorded themselves
toppling over a 170 million year old sand stone rock. This type of behavior is what can get
people killed and should be watched over more vigilantly. The way that they can be helped out is
by having as many park rangers in as many places as possible at any point in time.
The general public should be worried about these issues because they are affected by
them. They may not know it but they are affected by ever decision they make and others around

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them as well. Of course, some things may not affect them or somethings may not affect them in a
negative way but in the end they are still affected. People need the EPA in order for them to set
rules and regulations so that the worlds doesnt become polluted enough that you cant breathe
properly outside. Park rangers are needed so that the world can be preserved and protected from
people that may not take nature seriously. This planet is billions of years old and all it takes is
one person to destroy something that has been here billions of years ago. The world needs people
to protect it and it needs to be treated with more respect.
In primatology, issues with biodiversity, conservation and sustainability are discussed.is
because primate species are affected by everything that human beings are. Primates dont need
electricity or running cars to survive but they do need air and plants to eat. If fuel is constantly
used then the air will become too polluted and could very well spread to the other parts of the
world. Primatologists are taught these things in order to learn what could affect the life of a
primate species. How can a place they live in be affected by people going around and destroying
the land they live on.
I personally do not own a car there for I decide to take the bus or ride my bike to places
that I need to go to. This is a way that I am conserving the use of burning fuel and polluting the
air. I enjoy looking at nature and going camping to see the environment the way it is and enjoy
the silence that it has.
In a journal titled Journal of Environmental Psychology which has a part in it
discussing why college students arent the best option for teaching them to be environmentally
caring. They talk about how the better option is children, children havent matured enough to
have made up their minds on what they think of nature. If they are taught to care for nature then
the seed for this desire to protect nature and grow up to get careers in which they try and teach

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others about protecting nature as well. The authors decision is very understanding as college
students are too busy to change their schedule and daily lives in order to protect nature.
I wish that I could do more than just cut back on fuel and energy usage, possibly plant
more trees or flowers. It is possible to try and teach other people about environmental
conservation and sustainability as well. I will mostly try and bring awareness to people about
how the actions of everyday life has an effect on the environment and the ways that they may be
able to change in order to keep the planet healthy and alive.

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Work Cited
"Conservation". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 27 Apr. 2016.
<Dictionary.com http://www.dictionary.com/browse/conservation>.
NA. "Utah Park Ranger Training and Degree Requirements." How to Become a Park Ranger.
NA, 2016 update. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.
NA. "Learn the Issues." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 25 Nov. 2015. Web. 27 Apr.
2016.
NA. "Facilities Services." Sustainability. NA, 2008. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
<https://i.slcc.edu/facilities/sustainability.aspx>.
Osbaldiston R, Sheldon KM. 2003. Promoting internalized motivation for environmentally
responsible behavior: a prospective study of environmental goals. Journal of Environmental
Psychology 23:349-357. 29 April. 2016