Students weigh in on improving city
Eighth-graders in City Pod at Longfellow Middle School in La Crosse recently wrote essays that attempt to answer the question: "What would make La Crosse a better place?"
Here are some of their efforts:
Cora Slade:
La Crosse, being a city of about 52,000 people, could be improved in many ways. If we want a better today and a healthier tomorrow, we need to improve everyday things and clean up our city. The most substantial, though, would be improving our environment. La Crosse is not overly polluted, but to think that it couldn't be enhanced by further efforts to clean it would be ignorant.
Unlike the smog that cloaks some cities, La Crosse would definitely be considered cleaner than most. One immense problem, though, is the murky, russet rivers that curve throughout the city and the amount of filth that is being tossed into them. Some people throw garbage into the river with no understanding of what they are doing to our environment. Whether it's the La Crosse or Mississippi River, both of them merge and go all the way down to the Gulf, bringing pollutants into their ecosystem. This further contaminates the natural order of things. One way we could stop this from happening would be to make sure people, adults and children alike, know the consequences. Last year, a bill was passed that insured if anyone littered a large item like furniture, an appliance, a car, or boat, they would have to pay a fine of at least $1,000 on a first offense. It is around $500 for cigarettes, wrappers, or water bottles, which is a large sum for something that could have easily been thrown away. If more people in Wisconsin knew about this, we would surely have a much healthier community.
Another thing we could do to embellish our surroundings would be to make everyday things less harmful.Compact fluorescent light bulbs convert a led tube considerably higher percentage of their energy into light, which is why they are significantly more energy efficient than traditional filament bulbs. All around the world, cities have to use transportation on a daily basis, so what if we switched out our buses that we have now for hybrid ones? There are numerous possibilities that would make our carbon footprint, or the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere by a person,While using compact fluorescent light bulbs energy saving light helps conserve energy, it is important that the bulbs are collected and recycled properly to protect our environment less and make our city flourish with a newfound well-being. On any given day a city bus can produce around two kilograms of carbon dioxide per liter of diesel fuel. Buses all over the country are emitting tons of carbon dioxide because of the colossal number of people who need a ride. Hybrid buses can reduce carbon dioxide emissions up to 85 percent per bus. That is a considerable amount compared to having a full tank producing 100 percent carbon dioxide. Cities have roads, buses, cars, and,Compact fluorescent light bulbs convert a led tube considerably higher percentage of their energy into light, which is why they are significantly more energy efficient than traditional filament bulbs. of course, stop lights. What if we could make every traffic light in the city of La Crosse solar powered? Traffic lights that use solar power would be self-sufficient, meaning that they would need no outside source in order to work, only solar power from the Sun. They would last for about 20-25 years, they are brighter, and they save money that would otherwise be used for electricity.
La Crosse should contemplate sending some city employees or people who have to do community service to clean up the various beaches and communities around the city. Simple things like quality, non-trashed beaches could make a massive difference in the amount of tourism we get and the possibility of an improved economy. If our beaches had less litter left strewn about in the sand and water, more people may want to visit. The city, however, should be cleaned up regularly, so the efforts on the river and beaches don't go to waste. Downtown, especially after big events like Oktoberfest and St. Patrick's Day, is really cluttered with cans and wrappers. If we placed more garbage cans around the city around that time, we could prevent a lot of it from making it to waterways and into the Mississippi.
La Crosse could be enormously changed for the better with these small, yet significant, actions to make our environment, economy, and the community more refined. Let's create a better today and a healthier tomorrow by cleaning up the city of La Crosse!
Jessica Jaye Miller:
There are many ideas and projects that could greatly improve the quality of life in La Crosse. However, I've thought of an important concept to be altered during winter and if changed, could make traveling much easier for the citizens of La Crosse. Something that would improve La Crosse is if the city worked harder on plowing every street. I understand that plowing the streets requires a workforce to do it and funds to keep the plows from breaking down. However, I also know that when La Crosse receives money, there could always be a portion kept to hire and pay workers. This would also go to gas for the plows and anything needed to keep them running. After all, the snow plows are perhaps one of the most important vehicles needed in winter.
Eighth-graders in City Pod at Longfellow Middle School in La Crosse recently wrote essays that attempt to answer the question: "What would make La Crosse a better place?"
Here are some of their efforts:
Cora Slade:
La Crosse, being a city of about 52,000 people, could be improved in many ways. If we want a better today and a healthier tomorrow, we need to improve everyday things and clean up our city. The most substantial, though, would be improving our environment. La Crosse is not overly polluted, but to think that it couldn't be enhanced by further efforts to clean it would be ignorant.
Unlike the smog that cloaks some cities, La Crosse would definitely be considered cleaner than most. One immense problem, though, is the murky, russet rivers that curve throughout the city and the amount of filth that is being tossed into them. Some people throw garbage into the river with no understanding of what they are doing to our environment. Whether it's the La Crosse or Mississippi River, both of them merge and go all the way down to the Gulf, bringing pollutants into their ecosystem. This further contaminates the natural order of things. One way we could stop this from happening would be to make sure people, adults and children alike, know the consequences. Last year, a bill was passed that insured if anyone littered a large item like furniture, an appliance, a car, or boat, they would have to pay a fine of at least $1,000 on a first offense. It is around $500 for cigarettes, wrappers, or water bottles, which is a large sum for something that could have easily been thrown away. If more people in Wisconsin knew about this, we would surely have a much healthier community.
Another thing we could do to embellish our surroundings would be to make everyday things less harmful.Compact fluorescent light bulbs convert a led tube considerably higher percentage of their energy into light, which is why they are significantly more energy efficient than traditional filament bulbs. All around the world, cities have to use transportation on a daily basis, so what if we switched out our buses that we have now for hybrid ones? There are numerous possibilities that would make our carbon footprint, or the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere by a person,While using compact fluorescent light bulbs energy saving light helps conserve energy, it is important that the bulbs are collected and recycled properly to protect our environment less and make our city flourish with a newfound well-being. On any given day a city bus can produce around two kilograms of carbon dioxide per liter of diesel fuel. Buses all over the country are emitting tons of carbon dioxide because of the colossal number of people who need a ride. Hybrid buses can reduce carbon dioxide emissions up to 85 percent per bus. That is a considerable amount compared to having a full tank producing 100 percent carbon dioxide. Cities have roads, buses, cars, and,Compact fluorescent light bulbs convert a led tube considerably higher percentage of their energy into light, which is why they are significantly more energy efficient than traditional filament bulbs. of course, stop lights. What if we could make every traffic light in the city of La Crosse solar powered? Traffic lights that use solar power would be self-sufficient, meaning that they would need no outside source in order to work, only solar power from the Sun. They would last for about 20-25 years, they are brighter, and they save money that would otherwise be used for electricity.
La Crosse should contemplate sending some city employees or people who have to do community service to clean up the various beaches and communities around the city. Simple things like quality, non-trashed beaches could make a massive difference in the amount of tourism we get and the possibility of an improved economy. If our beaches had less litter left strewn about in the sand and water, more people may want to visit. The city, however, should be cleaned up regularly, so the efforts on the river and beaches don't go to waste. Downtown, especially after big events like Oktoberfest and St. Patrick's Day, is really cluttered with cans and wrappers. If we placed more garbage cans around the city around that time, we could prevent a lot of it from making it to waterways and into the Mississippi.
La Crosse could be enormously changed for the better with these small, yet significant, actions to make our environment, economy, and the community more refined. Let's create a better today and a healthier tomorrow by cleaning up the city of La Crosse!
Jessica Jaye Miller:
There are many ideas and projects that could greatly improve the quality of life in La Crosse. However, I've thought of an important concept to be altered during winter and if changed, could make traveling much easier for the citizens of La Crosse. Something that would improve La Crosse is if the city worked harder on plowing every street. I understand that plowing the streets requires a workforce to do it and funds to keep the plows from breaking down. However, I also know that when La Crosse receives money, there could always be a portion kept to hire and pay workers. This would also go to gas for the plows and anything needed to keep them running. After all, the snow plows are perhaps one of the most important vehicles needed in winter.
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