Plasticized

I watched plasticized for my Environmental Science class. It was about a voyage to the north pacific gyres to collect plastic. In the movie the narrator doesn't seem quite convinced that the plastic is a problem. It starts out that they are collecting plastic bits and at first it isn't that much. They continue to sail on. The evidence becomes more and more overwhelming as they sail further and further out. There is a point in the film where their sail breaks and they have to fix it themselves and carry on. For a week of their journey the waters are harsh and the sky is pouring rain. Their catch does not seem significant. The scientist explains that with the rough waters and the weather that the plastics are being cycled down deep into the ocean. They then come along a calm time again. The scientist jumps in after a water bottle. They then finally come to what they were looking for, the so called plastic island. The narrator still doesn't seem impressed with the fact that it is not completely covered like an island. they begin to have fun and catch large pieces of plastic that have not biodegraded. This is because they simply can not biodegrade, they can only photo-degrade, which means the sun breaks them into smaller and small pieces but never gets rid of them. After this they head back to shore and your hear them report a lot of their findings. It was a very interesting documentary.

Most Important Environmental Issues

After all that we have learned this semester, our teacher wants us to now reflect on the most important and most interesting parts of what we learned. By far the two things that were most interesting and most important to me were the use of plastics and our food sources. Plastics are important to me because of the nature of what they are. Plastics are a single use item that does not biodegrade. I don't like the idea that something we use once will pollute the earth almost indefinitely. I also do not like that the plastics are polluting the oceans and harming animals. I think it is very selfish of humans to think that these matters don't concern us because its only harming the animals and ecosystems and not our own self. I think society needs to think about putting more regulations and bans on plastics. I think we need to change our thoughts about why we do what we do. Why do we use a plastic bag once and throw it way only so that it can go into the ocean and be eaten by turtles who are killed by the plastic bags and don't know any better? I know myself I am trying to be better about bringing my own cups for coffee and taking my own bags instead of plastic bags. Also refusing to use water bottles and taking my own water as well. I also am not a fan of our food industry now after learning a little more about it. I specifically was horrified by the treatment of the animals that become our meat. It has really prompted me to eat less meat and to really strive to eat better meat if I am going to eat it. To really research where it came from and how the animals were treated. Also I have been going to more farmers markets for my produce. I didn't like how the pesticides that are used on our produce are potentially harmful and harm those who live in the area surrounding. I think we all should make a better effort to know where our food is coming from and to use local foods. Pertaining to the food I thought it was interesting the difference between mono-crop farms and farms that rotate crops. Mono-crop farms plant one crop in the area and do not switch out whats being grown. It depletes the soil of nutrients and does not distribute them back. Farms that rotate crops will plant one crop and the next time they plant a crop that will distribute nutrients that the first plant took out to help keep the soil rich and nutrient rich. I thought this was cool and interesting.

Energy Use

For 24 hours I had to unplug from energy usage as much as possible for my Environmental Science class. I picked to do this on memorial day. One thing I realized is a good way to save energy is to get out. Why do I need to be inside all the time with all my electronics on all at once when I could spend time outside? One thing we did use was the bbq, which was gas, so that used some energy, whether or not charcoal would be better that gas for the environment though I am not so sure yet. Another thing I realized was that in the middle of the day when it is perfectly bright, why do I turn all my lights on instead of just opening the blinds and windows and letting natural light in. This saves energy. My roommate and I are already pretty good at keeping things unplugged from the wall so that was easy to keep up with, we don't keep our microwave, toaster, coffee pot, or hair dryers plugged in when they are not being used. One thing I did forget though was to unplug the tv. I already currently try to use my windows to bring in cool air if possible. Unfortunately it was very hot on Monday and I did end up turning on the air conditioner for a short amount of time. One thing that would help is if my apartments had better windows and sliding doors that would keep the cool in, the windows and doors are pretty outdated in that department. I didn't really drive that day. I consciously decided not to even though I forgot to pick up some things. So I called someone and asked them to bring the stuff instead to save driving time. The changes were pretty reasonable. It did make me think about wasting energy. I really could live with those changes like opening the windows and doors more for air flow and light. One thing I didn't do and could not really see myself doing is hanging up my clothes to dry. I usually do my laundry late at night and it would not be convenient not to mention we have some problems with theft in our area. I will however try my best to not waste when i do my laundry and to make sure to do full loads. We do have energy efficient appliances. I could also manage to take shorter showers and cut back on taking baths.

Climate Change

For my Environmental Science class we have been asked to research a little bit about climate change. According to EPA the climate is changing and has risen 1.4F over the past century. This is resulting in sever global weather changes. The large release of carbon dioxide and green house gases by humans is the biggest player in this climate change. Climate change can affect everything from rainfall to human health and that's why it is important that we preserve our environment. Climate change also can effect species like the polar bear, which we learned in class, and agriculture. Skeptics think that global warming is a product of political agenda a desire to raise taxes. They also say that the globe has always went through climate change and it cant be proven that human impact is the source of this. If this were to continue in 50 years, it seems that there would be a lot more natural disasters and erosion. If there is more erosion then that can cause damage to many coastal homes and possibly some harm to citizens. Also there would be possibly drought and a fight to survive on the water we have.

Amy's Farm

I went on a field trip to Amy's Farm with my environmental science class. It was a very great experience. We first walked through the herb garden and they told us about their Turkey share program. After that we visited the chickens and pigs. He then told us about the heirloom tomato's they recently started growing. We then visited three very large steers that are apart of their steer share program. After that we visited two cows, one was a jersey cow and one was a regular cow. He explained to us about the way cows are meant to eat wheat and grains and how this makes the milk more pure and safe to drink and makes the cow more healthy. We then took a walk through some of the produce. We tried some broccoli and it was the most delicious broccoli I have ever tasted. We then saw the composts which they consider the lifeblood of the farm. They explained that they use a type of farming that puts nutrients back into the soil to help keep the soil useable unlike the current industrial farming methods of farming only one crop on one piece of land over and over again. We then saw some animal and went to the produce store. They told us that we could go and volunteer as well which sounds really fun.

The movie Tapped

I watched the movie tapped for my Environmental Science class. It was a real eye opener to the reality behind bottled water. It started off with the harsh reality of how much of our earths water is drinkable. Out of the 75% or more of the earth covered in water, only 1% of that water is drinkable. That's crazy! On top of that we act and believe that this resource will be here forever. In Maine they had a conflict with Nestle who came in an began pumping the cities municipal water. Municipal water is the water used or tap water. Nestle was pumping the cities water and then selling it back in plastic water bottles for profit while the city underwent a drought for a few days, leaving the citizens and nursing homes importing water. This system seems to be a system on profit and not the citizens well being. Not only that but the production of water bottles themselves are leading to major health problems to those who live near the plants. It also has some major effects on the ones drinking from the bottles. Out of the whole FDA they have one person overseeing the quality of bottled water, and the person who submits the reports and does the testing on the water is the company itself. How does this seem fair? Unlike the plastic bottle industry, the municipal water gets extra precautions. Per amount of people living in the city, the municipal water company must check the water a certain amount of times a month to make sure that water is not contaminated for its people. We wouldn't know this though with the false media we are fed that municipal water is dangerous and unsanitary and that our plastic bottled water is "highly" regulated by the FDA and therefor safe. The bottled water is just municipal water that is filtered. It often times though contains very harmful chemicals, mostly chemicals that are leached from the plastic itself that the water is contained in. Things like BPA and Phalates that are endocrine disruptors and act as estrogen in the body. they are now linking these to many serious illnesses we face today. BPA specifically is practically the FDA's dirty little secret. The movie ended with some information on how plastic is effecting the environment and the oceans specifically, how animals are suffering from the plastic we are using. It ends with some information on the successes against water bottles and how you can help.

Dried Mango

For my blog this week in my Environmental Science class we are researching one food we particularly like. I chose dried mangos and dried chili mangos because both are my favorite snacks. My absolute favorite is the Davis Lewis Orchard chili mango slices, this is the product at this site http://www.davislewisorchards.com/chili-mango.html. The mangoes use: Mango, Sugar, Chili, Salt, Citric Acid, Sulphur Dioxide, Color FD&C Yellow 5/6 and originate in Thailand. There is not much information about how it is made or where the products came from besides Thailand. One thing that is a little annoying is how much plastic they use to wrap the tiny amount of mangoes you get in the pack, they should probably find a more Eco-friendly way to package them. They don't really have any nutritional value good or bad, the only thing that may be concerning is the sodium. Another thing that might be concerning is the Sulphur Dioxide and the Color FD&C Yellow 5/6. According to the sources I have read it seems that Sulphur Dioxide would be dangerous to lungs and respiratory systems of a not so healthy person, possibly causing asthma but those who are healthy are not to threatened by small doses of it. Also, the food color FD&C yellow 5/6 is one of the most irritant colors that are out there causing more allergic reactions out of most the colors, this color also may have a link with asthma and maybe even hyperactivity in children when mixed with other compounds but these are still being tested. The dried mangoes without chili I like from Gerrard's but I could not find much information on them like I could the chili mangoes but would thing they are made relatively similar without the chili. I do also notice a difference in the mangoes where Gerrard's taste more like real mangoes as were the Davis chili mangoes taste a little more gelatinous. The mangoes from gerrards are definitely more natural just by taste alone maybe leaving out more unnecessary chemicals?