Loans cut for Chinese polluters

Issue: Loans cut for Chinese polluters

This article highlights China’s new “green credit policy.”
“The purpose of this move is to force enterprises to pay the price for environmental violations,” according to an official from the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). China’s cities are among the most polluted in the world and cities such as Beijing have made economic growth a priority over environmental protection. In 2007, 30 companies have been identified as flouting environmental laws. Twelve of the companies have been sanctioned either to pay fines or have had loans blocked or withdrawn. I certainly hope the new policies will also establish regulations, that if aren’t followed, can result in temporary closure of the facility. I’m not convinced that fines are the most effective means of holding companies accountable to environmental protection regulations. The companies can choose to pay to pollute; potentially, if the fines aren’t substantial to the company the fine will only serve as an inconvenience, not a punishment.

Discussion based on Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/7098754.stmPublished: 2007/11/16 16:01:56 GMT© BBC MMVII

Deed:

I will be carpooling to a friends’ house for the holiday. My friend and I don’t eat meat so as a result her family isn’t even going to make a turkey this year. There’s one for the birds! Unfortunately I have to get new tires but he old ones will be recycled. And by replacing them before they blow out keeps the tire scraps from trashing the interstate.

Japan to commence whaling mission and Applesauce cups

Issue: Japan to commence whaling mission

This mission to kill 1,000 whales confuses me. “The 239-man mission plans to kill more than 900 minke whales as well as fin whales and humpbacks, in a South Pacific whale hunt that will run until mid-April.” The Japanese fisheries officials explain this murder mission is so biologist can do research on the whales’ internal organs. And although the meat collected going to market, gaining a profit is not the primary driver of this excursion. I really think that it is wonderful that the fishery officials can declare that killing 50 humpback whales will be no biggy. "Taking 50 humpbacks from a population of tens of thousands will have no significant impact whatsoever." I want to see the statistical analysis that is supporting the statement “no significant impact.” Um excuse me, where’s the p-value to back that up, pal? The article’s author throws in that a Greenpeace ship will be following the fleet. I just hope that whatever tactics they are planning don’t just result in a pollution of the oceans. Otherwise what are we doing? Contaminating the oceans to save whales…ya, that doesn’t add up. I say this because I had recently heard from a classmate, that an “environmentalists” group was ramming and cannon balling a Japanese fishing boat in the Arctic. Sinking a boat probably isn’t going to help the condition of the oceans.

Discussion based on Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7099720.stmPublished: 2007/11/17 13:18:35 GMT© BBC MMVII

Deed: I stopped buying the six-pack of small applesauce cups and just got the large glass jar. Then I recycled the jar.

Oil Catastrophe

Issue:
Sunday, November 11, in the narrow Kerch Strait between Russia and Ukraine, the Russian tanker Volganeft-139 broke in two after a storm caused 67 mph winds and 16 ft waves. The tanker was caring more than 4,000 tons of fuel and nearly half the load has spilled as of Tuesday. Increasing the devastation to the seas, at least ten other ships sank during this storm and one contained nearly 6,000 tons of sulphur. The number of fish already killed by the oil spill is too great in number to even estimate and as of Tuesday, 30,000 birds have been killed. The photos of the dead, oil soaked birds along the shore with their beaks locked open, after struggling for any available air to penetrate the suffocating oil are horrific. Adding to the tragedy to the environmental catastrophe is the persistent bad weather, hampering rescue and clean up efforts. The heavy oil is sinking to the seabed and is forecasted to take several years to clean up. Investigations have begun if the tanker was sea worthy or if any of the other ships’ captains ignored warnings of the approaching storm.
It is unfortunate that oil spills are even occurring. The seas polluted, marine ecosystems destroyed, and the most prized possession, 4, 000 tons of oil are lost. These animals die in vain. If they were to find their end as a consequence of climate change, that means we at least got to use that oil. In this case nobody wins.

Discussion based on Story from BBC NEWS:Black Sea faces oil 'catastrophe'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/7092071.stmPublished: 2007/11/13 12:13:37 GMT© BBC MMVII

Deed:
Well, I haven’t eaten fish or seafood in three years, since I became a vegetarian. And in conjunction with today’s lecture, I don’t plan on starting. Since we, the U.S. or the rest of the world, really haven’t picked up on safe aquaculture and agriculture I’m going to stay away. But I did give the fish smart guide to my friend who is a big consumer of fish and seafood. Let me clarify, the person isn’t big, they just eat a lot of seafood.
On a totally different subject matter, I told my boss that she can and should recycle her plastic shopping bags, instead of throwing them away in the garbage. She had no idea. I even tried getting her pumped about reusable shopping bags-she’s not there yet. Bummer.

Lebanon farmers and Applesauce cups

Issue:
In 2006 Lebanon imported nearly five times of what it exported; more than $1 billion in foodstuffs. According to the founder of Ard w’ Nath (“land and people” in Arabic), Rami Zurayk, he is trying to help build a country. Zurayk thinks if farmers know more about their land and soils they can increase their production and thus their profits. With an increased income Zurayk hopes these farmers will be able to send their children to school and pay medical bills. And with healthy, educated citizens Zurayk believes he will see a country being built. Zurayk’s organization is he along with two engineers and three volunteers traveling to landholders throughout Southern Lebanon and providing free soil analysis, technical expertise, and linking growers with sustainable markets.

Source: Ode Magazine, (November 2007), “Food Fight” by Anna Sussman

Deed: I have help with this week’s deed. My elementary school teacher friend helps me recycle by reusing my applesauce cups, fruit cups, butter tubs, paper towel rolls, etc. for projects or containers in her classroom.

Geoexchange and Office Depot

Issue:
This month’s featured alternative energy source in Ode magazine was geoexchange, also known as geothermal heat pumps. The Environmental Protection Agency calls geothermal heat pumps the most environmentally clean and energy efficient way to heat and cool buildings (Orzech, 2007). Although, the environmental benefits are huge, the big roadblock is the cost (Orzech, 2007). The executive director of the Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium, John Kelly, said, “Geoexchange could cost a homeowner twice as much as a conventional system.” A lot of well to do individuals, like President Bush, the Starbucks boss, and Queen Elizabeth II, are among those who are taking advantage of this type of heating/cooling system. I think that it is great that people who can afford this are choosing to. But why do alternative energy systems like wind turbines, and geothermal heat pumps, and solar panels, which are safer for the environment and efficient replacements of conventional methods, limited in use solely do to cost? Individuals, for example, in a under developed country in Africa, living without electricity or able to bring water up from an aquifer, could use a single or few wind turbines and drastically improve their quality of life. Lives could be changed without the implementation of an electricity company and service, with all that that would entail. I’m sick of hearing that we can’t chose alternative “greener”-healthier methods because it is too expensive! It would be great if across the country we could implement wind turbines, geoexchange systems, and solar panels in areas that make the most sense for that device. (We will have to work on the blade design as not to increase the mortality of bats, naturally.) But think of it. How can it be too expensive to do the right thing?

Orzech, D., “Heat pumps of the rich and famous,” Ode Magazine. 2007 November. 5, 9: 42-44.

Deed: I read a profile about Office Depot as an environmentally responsible corporation. Since I was out of printer paper and ink, I purchased the remanufactured ink cartridge and ream of recycled copy paper that was in the report.

Water in the Southwest and Carpooling

Issue:
This week’s environmental section of the NYT has begun with the topic of available freshwater in the West and Southwestern parts of the U.S. A potential problem that scientists have been discussing for years but jus recently presented to the public. The article states the alarming truth that the Colorado River’s water, is depended on by 30 million people, from seven different states: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California.

“An almost unfathomable legal morass might well result, with farmers suing the federal government; cities suing cities; states suing states; Indian nations suing state officials; and foreign nations (by treaty, Mexico has a small claim on the river) bringing international law to bear on the United States government.”

With 30 million people dependent on life all from the same diminishing source…we should have some serious water conservation movements in all the seven states! Instead…

“Over the past few decades, the driest states in the United States have become some of our fastest-growing; meanwhile, an ongoing drought has brought the flow of the Colorado to its lowest levels since measurements at Lee’s Ferry began 85 years ago.”

Why is Las Vegas the fastest growing city in the U.S? It doesn’t make any sense to me why you would want to move somewhere that has no water resources and is the last on the ‘list’ for water rights. If the water management protocol is first come first serve as Dr. Ostergren stated in an ENV 101 class, than it doesn’t sound very smart. The Strip is the most absurd destination in the desert. It is a slap in the face to the desert southwest! With all of the casinos, water fountains, millions of flushing toilets, and buffets, using such a large amount of water, there should be conservation techniques employed there. As a minimum, all of the toilets and showerheads should be low flow, water consumption. It is unfortunate that the city planner’s didn’t implement this in the first place but there’s still time to change.

Furthermore it is irresponsible by our AZ politician’s that we don’t have large-scale conservation movements just because there is enough estimated water for about 100 years. According to Dr. O, politicians don’t see the value in alarming the public of a water shortage if there is enough for 100 years. So, instead lets have a pool in every backyard, grass in there front yards, city fountains, and golf courses! Anywhere we can use water lets do it! (Although, most neighborhoods now have watering rotating schedules it is still silly to keep planting grass for the new housing communities when “desert landscaping” should be though of as “natural landscaping.”) I say even though we won’t personally be here in a 100 years, it is a lot closer than it seems and we should conserve now so there is a potential for that water to last longer!

Source: J. Gertner, “The Future is Drying Up” 10.21.2007 <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/magazine/21water-t.html?ref=environment>

Deed:
I have been carpooling to school two days a week. I also carpooled to a wedding this weekend!

China and the Environment & the Revelation

Issue:
The NYT’s has completed a three part series on China’s epic pollution crisis. The first article introduces China’s roaring economic growth and population growth as pollution reaches dangerous extremes. The second article discusses the cause of groundwater depletion due to development. This last article addresses the toxic cyanobacteria that turned the big lake, Lake Tai, fluorescent green. The lake is “the center of China’s ancient ‘land of fish and rice,’ succumbed this year to floods of industrial and agricultural waste.”
“At least two million people who live amid the canals, rice paddies and chemical plants around the lake had to stop drinking or cooking with their main source of water.”
The article goes on for five shockingly written pages of environmental degradation and environmental injustices. Since the 1950’s the lake was dammed and phosphates and other pollution-borne nutrients made the lake eutrophic. In the 1980’s chemical factories started drawing and dumping prolific amounts of water from China’s third largest source of freshwater.
By the 1990’s the north arc of the lake had 2,800 factories. The lake used to contain three very common fish species and a popular crustacean. The water also used to be used to irrigate rice paddy fields. Now, farmers swear that they do not enter the rice paddies without gloves or goulashes because the water caused their skin to peel off. The prominent activist working to protect the ecology of the lake and the water resource highlighted in the article was arrested for months before the algae bloom appeared. He was sentenced to three years “on an alchemy of charges that smacked of official retribution,” said the NYT’s writer. The journalist also claims that the local government views environmental warriors as a greater threat that environmental degradation. The reasoning, the chemical factories transformed the economy.
“By the mid-1990s, taxes on chemical industry profits accounted for four-fifths of local government revenue, according to a report from the city of Yixing, which oversees Zhoutie.”
What does this example in a Lake in China mean for the rest of the world? Although, the fingers are pointed at the communist power of this country, is extreme environmental degradation not likely in a democratic society? Rather is it a transition of values and standards? Are officials in this local government thinking now, what ought we to do? How do we promote a healthy, preventative, “what ought we to do” in this country and globally?

Site: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/10/14/world/asia/choking_on_growth_3.html


Deed:
Instead of a deed this week I wanted to share my thankfulness for taking a philosophy class. I have four more classes to take in the spring then I will have earned my Undergraduate degree. I have been taking course at NAU for 12 terms and only have one more! But the Environmental ethics course has been stimulating and invaluable to my education. Although, it has been difficult transitioning from making slides from my root samples, then thinking in this whole new mind stretching, philosophical way, then going to an ecology class back to straightforward science, it has been painfully exciting. I have an old catalog but I hope every emphasis is required to take this course. It is necessary to illustrate that there is more to science than just a scientific lens.
So as an environmental scientist, ONLY trained to do and read science…the PHI 331 class has been invaluable! I’ve enjoyed this new world of thought so much I take offense when my “fellow” scientists-to-be devalue the importance of other disciplines. Some don’t realize that our human perspective is limited! And the only way to understand it ALL is to think things out in all disciplines. All disciplines have their place and perhaps those places should not have such distinct borders.
This revelation that perhaps science should become more interdisciplinary is what pushed me to purse getting a sociology class accepted for my program. A course focused on human populations and the environment; the history of the emergence, growth, and organization of human populations and distribution patterns in relation to natural resources and environmental stress. I hope this class will reveal an avenue of knowledge by sociologists that is not addressed by natural scientists.

Hydrogen Energy and Flip-Flops

News/Issue:

“Welcome to the Hydrogen Age, ”featured in Ode magazine, this article was adapted from the new book Freedom from Mid-East Oil. The article talks about the path toward a hydrogen future. Hydrogen is an energy source that is safe, clean, and sustainable. The article addresses the five main misconceptions about hydrogen as an energy source.
Myth 1) “A hydrogen industry needs to be built from scratch”
Myth 2) “ Hydrogen is too dangerous for common use”
Myth 3) “ Hydrogen can’t be distributed via existing pipelines”
Myth 4) “ There is no practical way to run cars on hydrogen”
Myth 5) “ Hydrogen is too expensive to compete with gasoline”
When in fact, hydrogen is very clean and doesn’t contribute to global warming. Although, it is expensive, with fuel cells, it beats current and projected oil prices per barrel. Also hydrogen can be used in homes, offices, cars, and trucks (stationary or mobile applications).
Another point in the case for hydrogen is it can be “generated from natural gas and eventually from water via local, decentralized energy systems, removing the costs and risks or fuel distribution associated with fossil fuels and nuclear power.” Locally, California and Florida have started planning for hydrogen. The Hydrogen Highway network Action Plan, plans to build 150-200 hydrogen-refueling stations along California highways. In Florida, the government has started tax refunds, credits, plus other financial incentives for private companies, local governments, universities, and environmental groups to promote and develop hydrogen as a strategic growth sector.
<www.worldbusiness.org/freedom-from-mid-east-oil/>

Deed:
According to me°, an initiative of TNT, “wearing flip-flops saves up to three wash loads of sweaty socks each year.” If so, I’m saving electricity and water resources from not washing or drying socks. I prefer wearing flip-flops or sandals as much as possible. While talking about saving water, I also wash my dishes by hand and limit my showers from three to five minutes. I do have to admit that using a dishwasher is rather tempting at times and my short showers may be a mute point since my roommate takes 10-15 minute showers. But I did put in a 5-minute timer in the shower, which has shown to help the roommate to gradually lessen the shower time. (The roommate’s showers used to be a standard 20 minutes.) I’m currently trying to think of a use for the shower water that just goes straight down the drain while I wait for it to warm up. I wish I had room for a garden.
<www.tntplanetme.com>

Redwoods in CA and green products in OR

Issue:
For the past 20 years environmentalists have been fighting big timber corporations due to the destruction of old-growth redwoods (in the coastal region of California) and local employees of the timber corporations have been battling environmentalists in efforts to keep their jobs. The Redwood Forest Foundation, Inc. (RFFI), the first non-profit organization dedicated to saving redwood forests has a plan to strike deals with both perspectives. This past June, RFFI bought a 50,000-acre parcel of land from the Hawthorne Timber Company for $65 million. They borrowed the money from the Bank of America. Over the next 100 years RFFI intends to restore this heavily logged forest to a natural state. With that plans involve guarding the forests against future development and permitting the harvest of the trees at a 2 % (or less) rate, annually, to preserve local jobs and help pay off the loan.
Although this plan/partnership of environmentalists and business is the first of it’s kind, it seems practical and beneficial for all parties. I wonder if this plan will spur conservation/restoration efforts in other ecosystems or at a larger scale for the redwoods. I don’t think 50,00-acres should be all that is left of these forests. I also fear that business’ investing in these projects may be apprehensive to commit, if they have to wait a century to see the “progress.”

Article: “Save the trees so the trees can save us,” Ode Magazine, October 2007.


Deed:
While visiting and exploring Portland, OR and other cities in the state, I noticed numerous “green” alternatives available to consumers and citizens of the area. Some of these “green” alternatives may be in other cities but not as frequently seen in places such as Phoenix or Flagstaff, AZ. This is simply a list of the type of things I saw or used while my short stay in Oregon. I am sure there where other environmentally friendly services and products I just wasn’t exposed to them on my journey.
§ Dual flow toilets-little flush for 1 and real flush for 2
§ Solar powered parking meters
§ Accessible, convenient, and efficient public transportation (light-rail, bus, streetcar, sky-shuttle thing)
§ Biker friendly roadways and bridges
§ Service industries’ had recycled paper products and recycled plastics, papers, and glass
§ Styrofoam ‘to go’ boxes banned
§ Recycled paints
§ Restaurants furniture made from recycled materials
§ Restaurants served locally grown food
§ Farmers’ Markets
§ Community members monthly remove the invasive vine species that are choking out trees in Washington Park
§ Portland Saturday Market- facilitates the sales of locally made or grown merchandise

Ecuador seeks oil ‘compensation’ and my oil consumption

Issue:

The Yasuni National Park in Ecuador, in the country’s Amazon rainforest, and in a designated UN biosphere reserve, has an estimated one billion barrels of oil beneath it! Now the Ecuadorian government is discussing the process and profits of retrieving the reserves. Environmental groups and a professor of the Andrean University in Quito have proposed a prevention plan, a promise not to exploit the reserves for foreign donations worth $350m. Because Ecuador has already done some drilling in close proximity to the protected reserves Robert Hofstede for the World Conservation Union has said, “ Ecuador is asking for money to stop doing something they should have never done in the first place.”

Ecuador has signed the Kyoto Protocol so if the proposal were successful, instead of trading in greenhouse gases this would be a way of fighting global warming by not producing them in the first place. Although, there are many skeptics of the plan, for there is no guarantee that the $350m will protect the National Park indefinitely. In addition, many including those from the environmental group, doubt they will collect the full $350m. This will then excuse the exploitation of the reserves because the president will have no other “option” but to drill. If Ecuador does permit drilling there is fear that the past will repeat itself and foreign companies will profit at the detriment of the indigenous people and Ecuador’s own energy industry. For the sake of the biodiversity of the region, global warming, and the people of Ecuador, I hope the UN or enough opposition to the drilling prevent the destruction of the park. I agree with Paolo Cacciari, an Italian member of parliament, “We have an ecological debt to pay back, and this suggestion by Ecuador (to leave the region alone) is an intelligent solution. It’s the responsibility of all of us to look after these reserves.”

Ecuador seeks oil ‘compensation’ by Daniel Gordon
BBC News article: <https://webmail.nau.edu/redirect?http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7000345.stm.>

Deed:

This week I wanted to discuss an environmental good "deed" that I want to and need to participate in. First let me be completely honest...I own (figuratively speaking) and drive a car. I know, I know, disgusting. When I'm driving through town to arrive at campus, I say to myself, "Self look at you. You are the only one in this car. And look in your rearview mirror, and in front of you. There is only one person in each of those cars but you all are going to the same place!" I don't live that far from campus, it's Flagstaff no townies really live that far from any destination in town. So the solution is obvious! I need to buy a bike, and a helmet, and shoulder pads, and life insurance so my dog will be set for life when something happens to me. If I seem a bit hesitant to get on a bike, I am. Number one I don't ride a bike with much grace; I haven't had that much experience. I'm also worried about other drivers. I have heard the disdain for bikers’ vocalized by many motorists. They joke of "taking a biker out." Since I don't maneuver well on a bike, I don't feel comfortable or prepared to ride aggressively or defensively. Cars are big, bikes are small. But my plan is to get over this fear and start putting money aside to purchase a bike. (Remember, I'm still paying for that car.) Then I will ride that bike in place of my vehicle around town and to school. I acknowledge that my vehicle not only consumes nonrenewable resources but also pollutes the environment. I need to reduce my dependence on my car and join the biking race. A little bit of a pun there, for fun there.

Weeds as Biofuel, Poor Journalism, and Re-useable Shopping Bags

Issue:
I was going to do my issue on the weed jatropha, that originated in Central America and has spread around the world, that companies like BP and British biofuel giants are dumping money into as a future biofuel. Unlike ethanol from corn and sugar cane, it does not require the use of pesticides, or large amounts of water and fertilizer to grow and it yields many times as much biofuel per acre as planted corn. Farmers can plant it along side their food crops and it can grow in marginal soil. Other countries like India, China, the Philippines, and Malaysia are starting huge jatropha plantations in attempts to become more energy independent. Although jatropha can grow in barren lands with little rainfall I’m concerned that in places such as Mali, if all the farmers’ decided to convert to jatropha production how will the countries food production be affected? In addition, even if the jatropha is a more profitable crop can farmers be assured they will receive the profits or will the owners of the biofuel companies be the profiteers?

NYTimes article: Mali’s Farmers Discover a Weed’s Potential Power by Lydia Polgreen, 9 Sept. 2007
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/world/africa/09biofuel.html?ref=environment>.

Issue part II:
I read this article and also wanted to address it and my reaction. This article is a blatant example of journalists’ decision to represent one side of a story and present the single sided issue as “findings” to suggest it contains only facts.
This type of reporting generally confuses the public. It is the opposite of environmentalist extremist but has the same result. It makes it more difficult to express and identify to the general public an important issue without them blocking it out as invalidated, exaggerated, unproductive concern. The reporter’s main source is Lomborg and his recently published book. In the NYT article, Lomborg address that the countries of Africa are battling malaria, AIDS, and hunger and that we should not ignore them by only concerning ourselves with climate change and I fully agree! However, I hope that when the author discusses what he calls bigger issues (than climate change), he is also explaining that a climate change will affect the continent of Africa the hardest.
I have not read his book, so I can only hope that Lomborg is a responsibly writer and has done some researcher. The IPCC has clearly expressed that Africa is the least prepared for the consequences of global warming. Parts of the continent will experience drought, lessening the already small amounts of available food, some regions will experience intense rainfall where erosion is prevalent also cutting into food availability. Most populations will need to move to the coastal areas to avoid the extreme weather factors. The coasts will become crowded and in areas of dense populations with low quality of sanitation or health disease can spread faster. Sadly, global warming is also expected to raise sea level, cause greater coastal erosion, flooding, and saltwater intrusion; therefore significantly impacting Africa’s large coastal communities (IPCC, 2001). Because of erosion also around the coast the waters salinity may increase. If so, fish populations will struggle to survive and fisheries may also suffer.
These are all projects, from models, but they have been tested and collaborated on by many in the IPCC. Although, the exact unfolding of the future conditions of any continent is unknown it is arrogant for one writer to suggest global warming is something to be skeptical of and should not be a concern. It would be more responsible to say it should not be the only concern.

"Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming." Bjorn Lomborg. Knopf, 2007.

NYTimes article: ‘Feel Good’ vs. ‘Do Good’ on Climate by John Tierney, 11 September 2007
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/11/science/earth/11tiern.html?ref=environment>.

Deed:
A simple environmental good deed that I practice involves using reusable shopping bags. Eliminating my use of plastic shopping bags has been easy. I just have to remember to put the bags back in my car after every shopping trip so I always have them. If I forget my bags, I can’t stand getting one of the plastic ones, knowing that I have my cloth bag at home. So if you ever see me leaving a store juggling my groceries in my arms…it is safe to assume I forgot my bags.
Sadly, the plastic bags came out of the outcry for something other than the tree killing paper bags. But plastic didn’t put an end to the environmentalists shoppers’ concern it simply re-directed it. Even if you just purchased a pack of gum you are given a plastic bag, they are everywhere! Generally, the plastic bags aren’t recycled because they can’t be! The bags can’t go in your at home recycling bin. And the bags that are filling up landfills will not biodegrade in my great grandchildren’s lifetime. Although, there is equipment that can recycle the bags these sites are few in number and expensive to operate. For example, in Flagstaff I know of only one store that collects the bags for recycling, Walmart. Weird, isn’t? And only just recently, the first grocery store in town, Safeway, has begun to offer a re-useable bag for sale by the checkout line.
I don’t know about you but I’m sick of seeing those plastic grocery bags tumbling down the street or sidewalk, blowing in the wind along beaches, ending up in the oceans harassing the already struggling aquatic species, and filling up landfills. The use of re-usable shopping bags is an easy, quiet, but effective way to help soften our footprint.

Environmental issue and deed discussion 1

Issue:
August 14, 2007 the New York Times addressed the water level drop in three of the Great Lakes, Michigan, Huron, and Superior. The drop in levels of the Great Lakes, the world’s largest freshwater resivor, is variously attributed to climate change, new rainfall patterns, and specific human activities. The specific human activities, such as mining in the early 20th century and dredging in the mid-1960s, widened and deepened the St. Clair River. Alterations to the river have caused erosion and erosion has increased the outflow of the river into Lake Erie. There is also a new estimate, 2.5 billion gallons a day, of water being diverted to Chicago and northern Illinois through the expanded part of St. Clair River for water supplies.
The decreased water level has impacted ship channels and caused wetlands to dry up leaving fish and birds without places to reproduce. Further impacts include many beaches becoming marshes; shorefronts becoming wetlands, and one third of Michigan boat ramps are unusable. Currently, coastal and river engineers want to place a great deal of blame on man-made changes but have not determined if those have played a greater role than factors like climate change. To effectively use funds to mitigate the problem we need to study the waterways to identify the major factor or factors that are causing the drop in water levels. If it is erosion, we need to stabilize the river channel so the increased outflow is reduced and not rushing to the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, if climate change or new rainfall patterns are to blame, I do not have any strategies to combat the impacts on the Great Lakes.

NYTimes article: Water Levels in 3 Great Lakes Dip Far Below Normal
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/us/14lakes.html?ex=1189483200&en=c7dc236ad035baaf&ei=5070

Good deed:
The first environmental good deed that I would like to share was my decision to no longer eat meat and also decrease my intake of dairy products. I chose to address this issue because it has recently been in the news. The Humane Society of the United States created and published an ad with an image of a car key and a fork. The headline reads, “Which one of these contributes more to Global Warming?” Below the images the answer says, “It’s not the one that starts the car.” Because this ad is the first of its kind to be printed in magazines and hit the general public, it has brought some attention to the issue of agribusiness and the environment. The New York Times did a feature on the ad and the Humane Society. The article also referenced the PETA organization, which scares off a lot of people because of their unpopular tactics. But I’m glad that the Humane Society is actively on board with this topic. I hope this ad gets nationwide attention and American’s start to think about reducing the amount of animal products in their diet.
I made the decision to become a vegetarian a little over 2 years ago when I was researching an environmental issue to present for a public speaking class. The more and more research I came across about animal agribusiness and its contributions to global warming, pollution, and land degradation, I was shocked! I had no chose as a concerned member of this planet, but to give up animal products. It is hard to become aware of an issue that you can take full control of in your life and not step up too the challenge.
Unfortunately, I have had discouraging conversations with many people including friends, family, strangers, and even fellow students of the sciences. They act as if reducing the amount of meat, eggs, and dairy products in their life is too difficult a task. If you can ride ten miles to school or work on a bike instead of driving your vehicle, I’m telling you, you are tuff enough to start enjoying meatless meals for your mamma Earth.
As an aside, it really can be healthy to reduce your intake of animal products. According to the American Heart Association, animal products are the number one cause of saturated fat in the American diet. Not to mention, (this is a different soap box) imagine how the fast food market would change if people didn’t eat meat at every meal? The issue of obesity sweeping the nation? If the population began to eat meatless meals, would they need to stop at a fast food venue for every course? I can’t say it would solve all of the problems of the world but I think it is worth the effort.

NYTimes article: Trying to Connect the Dinner Plate to Climate Change
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/business/media/29adco.html?ex=1189483200&en=61699a93e2c874d9&ei=5070

Humane Society of the United States
http://www.hsus.org/farm/humaneeating/rrr.html

A little more about me

After a certain age how do you talk about yourself without it sounding like a personal ad? Here goes. I’m 23 and in my 5th year at Northern Arizona University as an environmental science major (communication emphasis). I didn’t start my college career in the sciences. I thought I wanted to be in advertising or elementary art education. I quickly learned that the advertising world makes me throw up a little in my mouth and I am intimidated by kids younger than 11. It wasn’t till my junior year that I found this area of study. I’ve had so much fun learning about the subject of environmental science I didn’t think too far past graduation. I don’t know what I want to do with the degree, perhaps a job for a few years and then back to school to earn a Masters.
In regards to my personal interests, I love the outdoors. I enjoy photographing, or sketching landscapes or participating in outdoor sports. Essentially, I am content just sitting in my back yard soaking it all in. I also have two dogs, which I love and a best friend, Rachel, who I can always count on for some fun. Corona “Cory” is an 8-year-old mutt who loves to track squirrels and Mei is a 2-year-old pug who can hike better than you so step off. I was born in a small white house in downtown Phoenix, Arizona but I have lived in Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, and Michigan. Somehow I found my way back to Arizona but I don’t plan on calling it home for too much longer. My future goals, besides getting that “job,” I hope will involve traveling outside the United States and locating a new state to call home for a while.