Kevin Mercy

I am thankful to have grown up in my hometown of Lakewood, CO where the city landscape has not taken over the entirety of the natural land. Upon moving out to Los Angeles for my undergraduate career at the University of Southern California I faced a cultural shock. I was stuck in a concrete jungle where the devastating effects of human activity were present to me throughout everyday. Over 22% of Los Angeles land is vacant parking lots, and the urban environment sees no end. We've even fortified the Los Angeles River into a concrete machine to prevent flood control, but did not hesitate to question the destruction of the natural ecosystem. I worked as a Provost Undergraduate Research Associate over the summer on Catalina Island where the Island has entered Stage Three Water Rationing due to severe drought. The drought is human caused; within just five years the surface water has receded due to the lack of groundwater recharge from the rain and the systematic pumping of groundwater from the well systems. We have much bigger problems too, the use of plastic has created barges of trash within our oceans, and we continue to burn fossil fuels intoxicating the air with detrimental quantities of Carbon Dioxide. The question is, have we gone too far or can we own up to our misuse and restore order in the sea of chaos that we have sired?