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.

Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District Field Trip

        So last Friday, 9/8/2017, a couple of us from the environmental science class met up at RCRCD to learn about the ecosystem for the area of Riverside. We were given an awesome tour by Erin, one of the workers. She covered the basics of water run off, natural plants, urban plants and how we can balance urban development with the ecosystem.

        Erin started the tour by covering how pavement affects water runoff and collection. She pointed out several examples around the property where the concrete or pavement was combined with dirt or decomposed granite. Using these as building materials allows any water to seep into the ground rather than run over it towards a storm drain. This helps to prevent erosion and helps with flood control simply by giving the water a place to go that isn't a storm drain,

        After this we made our way to the local ecosystem area. The area started with some awesome examples of chaparral before we moved on to a riparian zone. In the chaparral area we learned about the evolution of those plants to be conservative in the summer when water is scarce, unlike other plants that conserve for the long winters. The riparian zone had an artificial creek that allowed us to get a glimpse at local fauna, it also showcased the cooling abilities of well shaded areas. The temperature around the riparian zone was a solid 20 degrees cooler than the sunny areas. The last area in the natural environment zone was the live oak habitat. It showed us a pretty rare site of a rare habitat in California. It also showcased the help that shade provides to the local environment.

        We eventually made our way to the urban habitat area. Here we got to see good examples of flora that can be placed around houses and developed areas. These different plants are water efficient and have beneficial effects on the local environment. These benefits were pollination and shade. By placing pollinators around urban areas we can provide food to a multitude of local creatures and help out agriculture. The shade providers help keep urban areas cool, a problem that has gotten worse as more and more places are paved.

         All in all it was an awesome trip. The property of RCRCD is beautiful and provides an awesome glimpse to what the Riverside area used to look like. Hopefully their examples of urban habitats can take hold in the inland empire.

My Biography

Hey guys, I'm Jett, though my full name is Arvel Jett Reeves. I was born in Chino, California but have basically lived my entire life in or around Riverside. In 2015 I ended up moving to South Lake Tahoe to work with the California Conservation Corps. I did that for two years before moving to central California to do some contract work. Once the contract was up I decided it was time for me to go back to college.

My years with the CCC really gave me a new direction in life and gave me the motivation to return to college with the goal of getting some kind of environmental science degree, most likely in forestry. With this degree I could honestly go work anywhere in the US with a huge amount of organizations ranging from the Forest Service or National Park Service to private logging companies and fire services. 

I rent a house from my mom along with my sister, her boyfriend, my cousin, and my best friend. In the house we have two dogs and a number of cats. I spend my time reading, hiking, or playing videogames online with my other best friend who is in the army. I also listen to a lot of music, though I tend to avoid anything that plays on the radio, I don't really care for poppy crap. 

I've always cared for the environment but grew up with the main goal of being a history teacher. My time in the CCC gave me a much larger appreciation for nature and how ecosystems function. This time also gave me my first experiences away from civilization, situations where the closest humans were perhaps miles away and all around me was nature. To be completely honest, experiences like this turned me in to a bit of a misanthrope.

I hope to learn more about different environments during this class.

Honestly, I could totally get this down to one Earth if I tried. Maybe I should look into riding a bike to school and work. In the meantime I'll continue my journey to veganism. Currently struggling with giving up cheese because it is one of my reasons to live.