Final Blog

For this week's blog I had to look back at the semester and decide what I feel is the most pressing threat to our environment. I feel that our reliance on plastic is the greatest threat facing our environment because of its long-lasting and harmful effects.

A dangerous amount of plastic that gets in to the environment works its way in to the bodies of the inhabitants. This can lead to animals higher up on the food chain receiving dangerous amounts of plastic in their digestive system. Solid plastics can be accidentally eaten as well, as shown by birds swallowing bags that they confused for jellyfish. Regardless, both of these effects lead to a sicker and sicker environment. Too many plastics can even lead to dead zones appearing in the ocean.

As a society we can lower our dependence on plastics. A person at home could easily avoid throwing away or purchasing disposable cutlery or cups. Another could carry around a reusable water bottle. On the governmental level, we could much better regulate what products carry plastics and how plastics may be used. A ban on microplastics would go a long way in preventing future damage too.

The most interesting thing I learned this year was the cycle of trash in America. It was awesome seeing the efforts made in my area to contain and reduce waste. On the other hand, it was discouraging to see how so much of our dirty waste is sent off to third world cultures. It was depressing to see the effects these dirty wastes have on the locals of said countries. I hope that we can find an ethical and efficient fix to this entire issue.

Climate Change

This week I was tasked with reading up on climate change to find information on how it is affecting the world right now, what role humans played in it, and how it will affect society and our world in the future.I decided to get my information from the UN's page on climate change.

1. Based off of the information the I read in the UN's page along with other articles, I can see that the world will become a drastically more dangerous place if we don't slow down and eventually stop climate change. The UN page mentions hotter temperatures, increased sea levels, and higher average precipitation. Taking this information along with the current trends of more frequent and more powerful tropical storms, droughts, and winters, one can see that humanity will be in a dangerous position if we don't stop our climate changing activities.

2. The skepticism that the United States populous has about climate control is centered around whether or not man can "defy" god and change his/her world. I think that this still exists because it has become a partisan issue and for some reason. man made climate change is seen as a possible attack on religion. Climate change has unfortunately become a partisan issue because some groups see it as an attack on their careers and an increase in government meddling in the free market. This belief has only been cemented further through the efforts of lobbyists working for the different fossil fuel companies. Misinformation has also done a number on climate change information in the US, with many people seeing harsh winters as a sign that "global warming" isn't real, this group of misinformed deniers includes politicians and others with an influential voice to Americans.

Energy

For this week's blog, our assignment was to spend a 24 hour period reducing our energy use as much as possible. We were given a quick guide that provided both simple and more in depth ways to help with this.

1. The first thing I did to help reduce my energy consumption was to find all the vampires in my house that I could unplug without bother my roommates too much. For a quick clarification, vampires are electronics that draw energy as long as they are plugged in, being off doesn't matter. These items included phone chargers, the toaster, my laptop charger, the microwave, and the various other chargers for wireless controllers we have around the house. I also made sure that I had a lot more curtains open during this period, I wanted to use natural light as much as possible. I also only drove if I was going to work or school. I already take >5 minute showers and I didn't do laundry during the 24 hour period.

2. I felt pretty at ease during this experience. I have already gone 6 months without most electronics. My only electronic being a digital watch that served as my alarm clock. For entertainment, I had no issue sitting down with a book or taking my dogs or myself for a walk. The hardest change would be handling the vampires on a daily basis. It's not a huge thing, but because it is small and tedious, it can easily slip through the cracks. At the very least I'll try to handle my personal vampires. I'd be willing to switch to a cold shower. I already take short showers and have dealt with bathing in the cold before. But that is something that I might leave on hold until summer rolls back around. Luckily, my roommates and I already avoid using AC or heat as much as we can.

3. The biggest improvement I could do for my home would be the electronics of all my roommates. I am currently getting them to be a bit more environmentally minded, but it is a slow process. Besides that, we already do a good job of choosing energy efficient bulbs, turning off lights, and avoiding using the heat and AC. Realistically, I just need to get my roommates on board with unplugging their vampires and I think our house will be low energy.

Bottled Water vs Tap

For this weeks blog we had to research where our tap water comes from along with the standards that tap is regulated to. We also had to look in to the benefits and consequences of bottle water.

1. My homes tap water comes from the Riverside Public Utilities source. From reading this information, I was able to determine that my water source is pretty damn reliable and safe. Just looking at the analysis, I can see that everything is within regulated levels.

2.
a. The government agency that regulates tap water is the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA. The EPA sets a criteria that makes so all tap sources must fit between certain percentages of microbiological life, chlorine, clarity, ect.

b. On the other hand, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is what regulates bottled water. The FDA ensures that all water that is bottled fits the same standards that the EPA has for tap water. The FDA also has strict identification criteria for different types of bottled waters, such as artesian or mineral water.

c. The two appear to be about the same when it comes to standards, though bottled water can be slightly more regulated. The FDA uses the same list of chemicals that the EPA uses for regulation purposes. The FDA though does have its uniform standards on different types of water. The FDA also extends all of its legal authority to state health organizations during inspection and enforcement activities.

3. The issues with bottled water are plentiful and effect both the environment and humans. First of all, disposable water bottles account for a large amount of plastic waste created each year, with about 26 billion plastic bottles being created each year. This equals about 30 million tons of plastic. (source) It also takes about 1.5 million barrels of oil to produce this ridiculous amount of bottles.

For humans, bottled water has economical impacts on the areas that the water is drained from. The water is cheap for the companies but can have long lasting effects on local communities who must still maintain the infrastructure and well being for the source. Besides this, water companies tend to produce as much as they can with no thought for local droughts or water shortages. For instance, Nestle was found to be collecting water from California in May of 2017 despite the extreme drought conditions. (Article about Nestle)

Sustainable RCC

This week our assignment was to mock assess just how "green" RCC is. I decided that the easiest way to do so would be to head to the staff of the school for preliminary information. (Note, I did not actually do that) I also pulled an example of a environmental impact assessment from Humboldt State University, one because I think that HSU would be very environmentally minded, and two because I do eventually plan to transfer there. So I'm a little more interested in their campus.

1.     When checking the sustainability of RCC I would want to schedule a meeting with one of the heads of maintenance and facilities. The first step to finding out how green the campus is would be to get the definite information from someone in the know. Making cursory observations could lead me down a bad path of assumptions and misinformation. I would want to know how they handle the different kinds of trash that the school goes through in a day, a week, a month. What do they make an effort to recycle, how do they deal with food trash, ect. I would also want to find out if the school's power grid is connected to any kind of renewable source, maybe ask i the school has any kind of wind turbine system or solar panel attached directly to it. Lastly, I would want to ask how the school handles green spaces, areas where they focus on grass and flora rather than concrete. Walking around the school one can see that they have several green spaces, I would want to know if they plan to expand any of these or add any more.

2.     I decided to look at Humboldt State University as an example of another campus making actual sustainability assessments. I found that they are assessing how the school can deal with its storm water runoff. This document shows all of the information that the school has made for its assessment so far. The problems that the assessment have shown include an increased sediment load in the storm drain and a increase in harmful chemicals making their way to Humboldt Bay, as the water is untreated. The assessment also initially tested for lead in the drinking water but found none and quickly abandoned that part of the project.

Photo showing the harmful affects of overuse of fertilizer.
Taken from the article at the bottom of the blog

3.     For my assessment I would want to see how the school maintains it's green areas. I would want to see what kind of fertilizer that they use and what kind of tools, whether they be powered or not. My ultimate goal would be to see what kind of chemicals or nutrients the school was putting in the ground and potentially in to the watershed. I would start by furthering my questioning of the head of facilities, simple questions about what kind of fertilizer they use and how often they maintain the grounds. From here I could see what kind of chemicals were going into the ground and just how much exhaust was potentially getting put in to the atmosphere every maintenance day. I don't think that the staff would give me any problems if I tried to attain this information.

To add some extra information, I found an article about the dangers of rampant fertilizer usage. It can be found here

Quiet in the Canyon

For this weeks blog assignment, I had to go enjoy a small period (20 minutes or more) of silent observation in a natural area of my choosing. I decided to hike to a nice high place in Sycamore Canyon.

I began my trek around 2:30 pm. The wind was blowing all throughout the canyon and provided a wonderful cooling affect against the harsh sun. I carried my water bottle and a directionless gait, my plan being to hike around aimlessly until I discovered a satisfactory spot. Luckily, I soon stumbled upon a flat bed of granite between two hills. The hills blocked my vision of the surrounding developed area while also amplifying the winds whisper through the chaparral.

I sat, got comfortable, and got quiet. I listened. I noticed nothing, all around me felt abandoned, this feeling amplified by the winds rustling through the dry plants. So I sat alone, my only company being the faux slither of a thousand windswept bushes.

Eventually I just closed my eyes and thought, had I somehow chosen the one lifeless roost in the canyon? Surely there was life around, on my walk alone I had encountered a dozen anthills and glimpsed the frantic movements of disturbed lizards, even the occasional bird had flown out of the chaparral whenever I trudged by. Fortunately, I was awoken from this thought by a sudden cawing of some bird above and behind me. I quickly turned to look to only be disappointing to find nothing. But when I faced my front again I was greeted by one of the small brown lizards common to the area.

The lizard looked to be fully grown, much larger and longer than the hatchlings one usually encounters. He was probably about 6 inches long with a width of 1 and a half inches. He seemed surprised to see me, frozen as I turned to look back at him, our eyes locking as we attempted to assert dominance over each other. Then he ran past me to the far edge of the rock, deciding that the two of us could coexist for the time being.

Seeing that I finally had something to write about I decided to devote my undivided attention to this reptilian rapscallion. (He appears to be a Western Fence Lizard) Soon the little guy began to do what I can only assume was an intimidation tactic or a mating display. He began to do more push-ups than a snarky rich kid in boot camp. After doing this on and off for a couple of minutes, the lizard turned towards me one more time before darting away from my view. From here on out I was alone again. I finished my sit without much more activity, my biggest question being if I was surrounded by native plants or invasive mustard.

As a consolation, I have hiked around Sycamore Canyon before and have some awesome photos of rattlesnakes that I have found during my walks. I'll share those.

Blog Post #3: Information Literacy

1.
So, this week I had to find a news story that is somehow related to the environment. I decided on a TIME article titled:

Republican Senator Endorses 'Price on Carbon' to Fight Climate Change

2.

        a. I chose TIME as my reputable source because I personally feel it is trustworthy and that this particular article has no degree of partisanship. TIME is owned and operated by TIME Inc. the CEO is Rich Battista, the Executive Chairman is Joseph A. Ripp. TIME Inc. is a publicly traded company. TIME has a great reputation as a news agency, frequently reporting on Americans and American politics since its founding in 1922. The mission of TIME is to keep its readers informed, even adapting to the times to make this happen. I found this information through the history section on TIME Inc.'s website along with the history section of the Wikipedia page on TIME. 

        b. I decided to search around for other sources also reporting on Senator Graham's support for a carbon tax. With just some simple Google-Fu I was able to find several other reports from reputable news agencies confirming the TIME article and the Yale climate conference where Graham made his statement.

        c. This article honestly gave me hope that there will be more bipartisan support for answers to climate change. As our tropical storms continue to worsen, our droughts deepen, and our weather reaches extremes, we will have to come together and stop denying the danger that is climate change.