While climate change as a whole has certainly impacted the likelihood and severity of flooding, I see the relationship between haphazard, large-scale agricultural practices and climate change as a bigger factor contributing toward the worsening of flooding. Monoculture farming has become wildly popular with large-scale agriculture operations. The benefits are clear, especially when considering the huge monetary savings it provides these companies. However, monoculture farming is exactly what leads to the perfect conditions for eutrophication of local waterways as well as excessive runoff and flooding in nearby populated areas. Planting the same crop season after season depletes the soil of its nutrients and of the biodiversity which typically exists in soil—which is necessary to maintain its structure. With only one plant species present, to the outside view of a human, all seems fine, but the relationships that each plant species holds beyond the view of the naked eye are immense. Every plant fills a niche in its environment, interacting with microorganisms in the soil based upon its specific nutrient needs, as well as holding close relationships with specific mycorrhizae and fungal species. Mycelium makes up a huge portion of soil everywhere that there is dirt. Its natural form is a net-like web which connects plants, facilitates the transport of nutrients, and physically supports soil structure. With only one plant species, the diversity of fungus in the soil is depleted, and especially upon the massive applications of fertilizer on monoculture farms, the fungus becomes obsolete in this symbiotic relationship. With the loss of all this biodiversity in the form of pollinators, microorganisms, fungus, and plants, the soil effectively dies. It loses its ability to retain its shape and health, and thus its ability to retain water. These farmlands turn to desolate wastelands within years, and they become the perfect environment for water to roll off in sheets and travel to wherever is downhill, which very often is in poor, agricultural communities. The environment is a loop. All species impact one another in some way, and when we tinker with nature we find out why biodiversity is so important. The removal of even one species can cause an ecosystem to crash, just as planting only one crop can cause a plot of land which was once teeming with biodiversity to become a desolate site, perfect for facilitating the flooding of communities who cannot afford to combat it. The simplest solution is to fight against monoculture farming by promoting the practice of switching crops each season, such as alternating between planting soy and corn. This retains the health of the soil, ultimately preventing these disastrous consequences as well as saving money through retaining land for decades and still only focusing on one crop per season. Generally speaking, the issue faced with implementing environmental policies is in the form of money and political backing. If the person responsible for reviewing proposals sees no immediate monetary benefit, but rather views the plan as a lengthy project requiring years of construction and battling permitting, the costs are viewed as outweighing the benefit to the environment or local communities. So, highlighting the monetary benefits of these solutions is essential to their successful implementation, as the targets here are large agricultural companies whose only real driver is money. I plan to spend my life as a wildlife biologist working directly with conservation efforts to preserve biodiversity across the globe, for the many benefits it provides, including flood prevention. A healthy ecosystem is essential to mitigate the depletion of healthy soil, and thus the only natural aid we have to prevent flooding.

I have always had a passion for nature. I have fond memories of feeding ducks at a pond with my grandmother and visiting Sequoia national park as a kid, and not only being in awe at how incredible the natural world is, but also realizing how much more important it is than me. My goal is to help preserve biodiversity both for the sake of the planet and for people to be able to appreciate nature for generations to come. My grandmother, who I fed ducks with whenever she took care of me, passed away when I was 9 years old. She was born in Transylvania, and I’ve heard stories of her fleeing Romania. She was forced to bear a Jewish star and she wished to be free from the communist state in which she was treated as less than human simply because of her identity and beliefs. My grandfather, although not Romanian, was also Jewish and was a Holocaust survivor, which led my grandparents to come to the United States. My grandma fought to become a citizen, learned English, and worked full-time to help support her family. My grandma bent the rules sometimes, such as taking me to feed the ducks while blatantly ignoring the signs that warned against doing so, because through her hardships she learned what was truly important to her. She did everything in her power to make me smile. My grandmother’s unbreakable kindness despite being faced with an onslaught of judgment and violence simply for existing as herself has inspired me to carry the same kindness for all living things. I have learned to be merciful. A spider in my kitchen is simply existing in what I have judged to be the wrong place for it. It may scare me, but it has done no harm to me and does not deserve death as a penalty for being in my kitchen. I used to have a horrible fear of spiders, but after realizing that humans are the ones who have taken away their homes, not the other way around, I decided that a spider deserves to be treated with the same kindness as any other living thing. I do not squish bugs anymore, I use a cup to take them outside. I view all life, despite being so vastly different from me, with a sense of wonder rather than as something to be afraid of. My grandmother was a Jewish woman in a communist state in the 1950’s. By all accounts, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but she did not deserve to be treated as less than a living being. Her history, and my experience of who she was on the other side of that—a kind, gentle, caring person—has taught me to approach people and other living things with curiosity and compassion first, before judgment. In doing so, I have found such a deep passion for the natural world that I want to do everything in my power to protect it, which I intend to learn to do through my education by getting a degree in Conservation Biology.