*Header Borrowed from UN.org
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CHOOSING A TOPIC
As a junior in high school, AP environmental science was one of the classes I was enrolled in. In the beginning of the year, I was not going into APES believing I would come out with a whole new perspective on the importance of conservation, preservation, and over all environmentalism, but I did. I never understood why some people tried so hard to change how people view mankind's impact on the environment, but now I do. We only have one Earth, if we do not work harder to protect it, we will destroy it. When posed with the task to write about a global issue, I knew right away I wanted it to be an environmental issue. I could have chosen huge more controversial topics like Global Warming, but I figured pesticides were a topic people strongly argue for and against, has substantial evidence, and it is one of the leading causes in environmental degradation that we can improve. Living in a developed country like the United States, the negative effects of pesticides is decreasing with the increasing use of modern technology, new information, and better education of pesticides. This is one of the reasons I chose the developing region of East Africa. The lack of education and regulation on these harmful chemicals is exasperating the economic instability of East Africa and the environmental degradation of the Earth. Although this area seems so far, around 7,350 miles (NYC- Kenya), the consequences of pesticides in this region are going to be felt around the world. This is just another reason why I insisted on writing about pesticides, because although it is specific to a certain region, it connects to everyone and requires progress to be made around the world in order to fix it.
THE WRITING PROCESS
Before submitting my topic question, I did a quick search about my topic to make sure there was information supporting my topic. I stumbled upon the website ScienceDirect, which had multiple articles on pesticide use in East Africa. This is the main reason I choose East Africa, because I knew I wanted to focus on Africa but not which region. After I knew that pesticide use was what I wanted to write about for sure, I developed a thesis that focused on the broad consequences of pesticides and then refined it to more detailed hypothesis that I based my paper on. When beginning to research my topic, it was challenging to get evidence that was specific to the East African region instead of just Africa or South Africa from other sources than ScienceDirect. When I did find research specific to my region, many times it would be out of date and I was unable to use it. Although it took time, I found some great articles and research that discussed the pros, cons, and solutions to pesticide use in East Africa. I knew the basics about the impacts of pesticides from my APES class but did not expect to see how little progress was being made in East Africa and how impactful pesticides truly are. I discovered how its not just the chemicals that are dangerous but the cost and disposal that create even more problems for the people of East Africa. Although I did find that there is still a lot of progress that needs to be made in reducing pesticide use, there are small solutions that are popping up. For example, a handbook was published by researchers that entails details and tips on integrated pest management and sustainable farming techniques. Although we are far from a pesticide free world, writing about this topic has made me more conscious of my decisions as a consumer that can aid in the decreased use of pesticides.