Aperture: 2.2
Camera: Galaxy S23 Ultra
Iso: 320
Meeting at Sen Schumer’s Office
I often walk or bike with my family along the Centennial Trail. We always love to stop near the bridge and watch the ducks swimming there. Recently, I decided to take my first photo, and it struck me. The metal poles are part of the bridge barrier. It's a bridge, but I imagined it looking like a prison. A prison for animals, birds in this case. They're locked in. I think the photo clearly shows the mud and insufficient water for their survival, yet they constantly gather here. Looking at this, I thought about how many animals and birds leave their home every year due to environmental changes for the worse (lack of clean and safe drinking water, pollution from industrial waste and garbage); all of this affects the environment. This section of the waterway near Centennial Trail in Pleasanton appears to be moderately impacted by urban runoff. The water shows visible turbidity and sediment accumulation, likely influenced by channelization and surrounding infrastructure. Algal presence and shallow flow conditions suggest nutrient loading and altered natural hydrology. According to the California State Water Resources Control Board, many urban creek segments in Alameda County are listed as impaired due to pollutants such as sediment, nutrients, and bacteria under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. This photo isn't just of ducks swimming in a river; it's a photo of the current environmental situation. People, with their thoughtless and selfish actions, are destroying wildlife, sometimes without even realizing it.
Each of us can make this world a better, cleaner, safer place! I believe we should all start with ourselves and take care of the environment. Be friends with it!
Aperture: 1.7
Camera: Galaxy S23 Ultra
Iso: 640
Tri-Valley CAREs 2024 DC Days Team – Scott Yundt, Marylia Kelley, Barbara Dyskant, Sophia Stroud and Pam Richard (left to right) at the 2024 DC Days Award Ceremony.
Aperture: 5.6
Camera: ILCE-7M4
Iso: 125
I see the cave from Stranger Things that Henry or Vecna is scared to go into because of a childhood trauma. I went there with my parents, I like hiking and exploring new places with my family and friends. Usually we spend our vacation really active and i like it so much.
Aperture: 2.2
Camera: Galaxy S23 Ultra
Iso: 500
Aperture: 5.6
Camera: ILCE-7M4
Iso: 100
The relationship between humans and the environment has been a long-debated topic of discussion, with the question of what comes next. The Future of New Growth is meant to address the fact that older generations are handing down the Earth to younger generations, flaws in its entirety. As many say, Children are the future, and as such, will inherit an environment based on adults' decisions. There is a great importance placed on adults to both educate children on environmental protection and take actions that will help sustain and preserve the relationship between man and nature. Similar to some species of trees, some things, like undergrowth and industrial pollution, need to be burned away for new growth to take hold.
Aperture: 1.7
Camera: Galaxy S23 Ultra
Iso: 640
ANA members (left to right) Jay Coghlan, Ann Suellentrop, Deeps Vijh, Marylia Kelley (Tri-Valley CAREs), and Tanvi Kardile meet with Jim McConnell (Center) at National Nuclear Security Administration Headquarters during DC Days 2024.
Aperture: 5
Camera: ILCE-7M4
Iso: 100
The cherry blossom trees on the Arroyo Mocho trail are a bewildering sight to see. Passing through the trees while the petals are falling makes you feel the presence of the trees. In other words, cherry blossom trees have a great effect on your mental health. That is if your perception of the tree is something that makes you happy. This has to do with the relationship between people and the environment. I believe that this relationship is symbiotic where if you have good thoughts about the tree it will do good for you. Different people can have different feelings about the tree. For example, the pink color on the petals can be viewed differently. The pink color can have both positive and negative effects on your mind. The positive effect is that the tree is a symbol of kindness to different viewpoints. The negative effect is that people can have a difference of opinion on the way they perceive cherry blossom trees. This makes the tree sad and the society's view of the cherry blossom is destroyed. It is as if toxic poison has entered the tree spreading through its branches leaving people in disbelief. They yearn to have what was lost, but realize that the tree will never be the same as it is hurt. All that is left is the tree itself knowing what it was meant to be in solitude without the noise of people.
Aperture: 1.7
Camera: Galaxy S23 Ultra
Iso: 640
Aperture: 5.6
Camera: ILCE-7M4
Iso: 200
This picture shows a creek with two tires tossed into it. The symbolism of litter being thrown into a creek represents how pollution and trash around the world are contributing to climate change.
The most common effects are warmer winters and summers, along with more severe weather. Many areas have experienced droughts, which can be issues because they can lead to acidic pools of water that attract mosquitoes that can cause Malaria, Zika, Dengue, West Nile Virus, Yellow Fever, and Chikungunya, along with various forms of encephalitis, cause shortages of drinking water and water for crops, and dry up lakes and rivers. This has happened in regions such as South America, parts of North America, Europe, and East Asia.
Excessive rainfall can also be harmful, as flooding can destroy buildings, kill crops, and sometimes even people, in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Litter and pollution in the water isn't just a problem for the creek but affects most bodies of water, like oceans, seas, and lakes, seeing as Climate Change can dry up lakes. Trash in the oceans is often eaten by fish, which we also eat. Animals like turtles can mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, eat them, and die, throwing off the food web and ecosystem.
To conclude, human littering is leading us to consume plastic, get deadly diseases like Malaria and West Nile Virus, as well as dying from food shortages and the destruction of towns and cities.
Aperture: 1.7
Camera: Galaxy S23 Ultra
Iso: 400
Aperture: 5.6
Camera: ILCE-7M4
Iso: 100
On a summer night in 2024, more than 20 inches of rain fell in my hometown of Hallandale Beach. Growing up in South Florida, extreme weather was never unusual since hurricanes, flooding, and rising water were always a part of normal life. After moving to Washington, DC to pursue a career in environmental policy, I became more aware of how differently people talk about climate change. Conversations about sea
level rise often feel abstract and policy-related. Back home, streets are overtaken by seawater and floods so often that lawns are left yellowed from salt exposure.
On June 13, 2024, record rainfall flooded the neighborhoods of Hallandale. For the first time, water entered my parents’ home before they could return from work. My father slept in his car while my mother was stranded on the road home. The next day, my best
friend and her brother inflated a raft and paddled down their street, not far from my house. In the photograph, they drift through what looks like a calm river, smiling as if on a summer outing. In actuality, they exist only feet from their front door, surrounded by floodwater. The image captures a feeling difficult to explain. Florida communities adapt
to repeated disasters not because they choose to, but because they have to. The innocence you see is of a place where extreme flooding has become a part of everyday
life.
Aperture: 1.7
Camera: Galaxy S23 Ultra
Iso: 500
Aperture: 11
Camera: ILCE-7M4
Iso: 100
