Posting on the blog – a reminder

In order for your post to receive full credit, you must have selected 3 categories:

*term (Spring 2010)
*assignment type (reading response, short essay, research draft)
*subject matter (energy, conservation, pollution, etc)

Thanks!

Response #1: Veggies are good, but meat is tasty.

Our planet is in trouble, plain and simple; something needs to be done to slow down, if not reverse this. Buying products that are eco-friendly, following the Three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) are ways of helping. Kathy Freston has an idea as well: become vegetarian. In her article, Vegetarian is the New Prius she explains how meat farms produce exceptionally high amounts of gas fumes and unwanted, unhealthy, waste. Freston presents a wonderful thought, not only is it an easy way to be eco-friendly, but it will also be beneficial to peoples health. I was shocked to read the amount of contaminants that are being put into the environment, was caused by meat farms. It will be a foot in the right direction to be done with meat and meat farms, is the idea I was picking up from Kathy Freston. However, by doing so you would eradicate the farmers income. Personally I really think that it would be better not only for: the environment and overall health of the people, but also for the economy if; the farming techniques were changed. Organic farming would be safer for the consumers and environment. For this thought to come full circle slaughter houses would need to start implementing different standards to follow as well. Using safer, more humane ways to handle the slaughtering process. Attempts need to be made to change the way meat farms and slaughter houses are operated, before going as far as completely removing it, meat, from our diets.

Reading Response 4: Alternative fuel:Biodiesel

http://www.biodiesel.org/

The world is constantly changing and new, beneficial products are being released all the time. Biodiesel is the new alternative fuel being used. The National Biodiesel Board has created a great website to inform those ready to take care of our planet. I found this web site very informational as well as inviting, I didn’t get bored. Everything you want to know about biodiesel from the basics of what it is and where to get it to news articles about biodiesel and MANY benefits of using it.

Biodiesel is starts as vegetable oil and goes through a chemical process, Transesterification, where two substances are left, Methyl esters or biodiesel and glycerin. This clean burning fuel is biodegradable and non-toxic thus helping keep our planet cleaner and around for a little bit longer. Biodiesel can be mixed with a petroleum diesel to create a blend. Along with helping save the environment, Biodiesel is helping with lessen our dependence on foreign oil boosting our own economy.

The website shows where to buy biodiesel from gas pumps to purchasing in bulk. A map that shows areas near that produces and sells biodiesel. This new super fuel even works well in extreme cold weather climates and distributors will make sure the right mix is sold in cold conditions. Biodiesel is a great alternative to regular diesel fuel and is helping cut down on nasty emissions. The biodiesel website gives all the information to successfully switching to a saver, environmentally wise fuel.

Response #6 Lets Gain Back Some Qualities

The world is growing and so is the energy consumption, it’s a fact. How and what to do with these facts are a question many times asked. In the article, The Need For Sustainability it discusses what is happening because of high energy consumption and what individuals can do about it. The high energy consumption is causing the earth to be effected negatively. The reasons the high numbers of people are hurting the earth is not just because of the high numbers of individuals, it is because people have lost their understanding of the earth they live in.

Negative effects are happening on the planet right now. Temperatures are rising and glaciers are melting more and more. With climate changes come the weather extremes such as more occurring horrific hurricanes and heat waves. The downsides to these changes are affecting people today and will affect those down the road even more. Sense the planet is changing so is the health of what is living on the earth. Animals are becoming ever more endangered and plants are disappearing. Know it or not people depend on random plants and animals much more then they think; many animals and plants rely on each other and many pharmaceuticals are dependant on plants and animals that are relying on each other.

More people roam the earth now than ever before and that isn’t the big problem. The big problem is that the people roaming the earth now have forgotten their connection to the earth. Everything interacts with each other on this planet. What an individual does to the earth, good or bad, comes back to that person in one way or another. The article asks that people take a closer look at nature and learn to appreciate it and reflect with it. The environmental health of the planet is the health of everyone living on it. David Orr writes that people’s qualities on this earth have been lost, qualities such as: curiosity, clarity, courage, generosity, kindness, wisdom, and humor. Without these qualities people have become more abrasive on the earth.

So what to do about all of this? Well the article does not really offer any detailed ideas because as usual it is a very difficult topic. What is known is that people must act now and do whatever it is that they think they ought to do with a goal of being living more appreciatively, more sustainably, more harmoniously with our natural world?

Respone #5 Lets Get The Oil

In the article, OIL EXPLORATION CAN BE A BOON TO ALASKANS AND ENVIRONMENT by Don Young explains the general feelings about oil exploration in Alaska. Alaska has the highest standards for oil drilling in the United States and that’s why after 20 years the environmental effects of the Prudhoe Bay project are unseen. The group that would be expected to complain about oil production in the northern part of Alaska supports it completely and that is the Native villages. Don Young explains the plans for ANWR oil production and how it would be done thoughtfully if given permission to go forward with it.

ANWR is disputed over because it is a National Wildlife Refuge with predictions of high amounts of oil in that region. The Native villages in the region support oil production in the northern rim of Alaska. They have seen how environmentally friendly the Prudhoe Bay oil production has been and they also understand the benefits oil production in that area would bring. The oil industry in Alaska has brought a lot of wealth into the Native villages offering them heated school and better living environments. These same villages still depend on the land a great deal, but with the environmentally conscience people working the oil industry in Alaska the land is unaffected and the Natives still have the same amount of wild game coming through regardless of the oil production up north.

If Alaska got permission to go into ANWR it would be at least ten years before pumping would get started. Alaska would use those years to create an environmentally friendly plan for oil production in the northern brim of Alaska. This sounds like a good plan, especially under the assumption that some day the US will need oil badly and will call on Alaska and demand for oil fast, which would lead to driving up into ANWR and not taking near as many precautions for the environment.

The US is also very dependant on foreign fossil fuels which isn’t in the best interests of the nation. The production that would take place in ANWR would help lower the nation’s dependencies on foreign fuels. Lower the nation’s need of foreign fuels would lower the nation’s trade deficit. Profit from the fuel in Alaska would lead to much more money going into the nation’s nation treasury each year. New jobs would be created if oil production were opened. The benefits would not only support Alaskan Natives and locals, but the entire United States.

Response #4 Going Green Gots To Be Easier On The Wallet Greens

The idea that bio fuels are the way to go green has become a topic of dispute. In Who Wants My Bio Fuel, it shows arguments for and against using bio fuels. Using bio fuels replaces the burning of fossil fuels, which omit harmful gasses into the air and fossil fuels are also limited. In contrast people are arguing that in the big picture of things bio fuels are harder on the planet because of the extra farming needed to produce the oils used for bio fuels and that farming leads to more forest being cleared and grasslands being torn up. In attempts to go green the economic ability to do so plays a large factor in the overall positives and negatives of the plan.

At the moment using bio fuels are so much more expensive than fossil fuels, making the use of bio fuels an unsuccessful attempt at going greener. Right now in the US the bio fuel industry is hurting badly. Even with government support these companies are barely scraping by and now with new research and opinions about bio fuels the government support may become less. Imperium Renewables opened a biodiesel plant in Washington with high hopes, but the factory is now closed because of economic issues. Even if a person wants to go green and believes in using biodiesel, it is still hard to pay $3.50-2.50 for biodiesel when the petroleum option is just $1.50. Now trying to go green with bio fuels is proving difficult because of those costs compared to petroleum and the argument that bio fuels may not be as green as once thought.

This article is applicable to anyone how strives to be greener or at least more conscience of their carbon foot print. The issue with trying to go green is that there truly are only a handful of people who would pay at least double the normal cost to go green. With a cost difference so high (using biodiesel vs. petroleum) I am curious if people could keep using petroleum and with the money saved by sticking with petroleum, could a person spend money on making their house more efficient or buying slightly more expensive groceries that in the long run are more beneficial to themselves and the environment. Going green for most must be beneficial to the individual and not thin the wallet too much at the same time.

Reading Response 3: Save our Planet!

Sustainability: How humans fulfill they’re duty to use resources smartly over their lifespan. The article written by Peter McLean, “The Need for Sustainability” really reinforces the concept of taking care of our mother earth. Humans are extremely rough on our planet causing pollution and wasting resources, which in turn leads to change in climate and extinction of animals. We need to love our planet and appreciate the beauty it offers, the plants, animals and elements.

In the article, McLean explains how his high school biology teacher used to “encourage her students of explore the outdoors”(McLean) Teaching kids at a young age the what our planet has to offer and how to take care of it better is a great message to put out. Giving science projects to observe the different trees, name different species of birds or wildflowers and challenge students to familiarize themselves with the world that takes care of us.

Another huge problem these days that is mentioned in the article is that more people recognize logos and materialistic items better than they can identify something natural outside. This lack of observance is hurting our planet and in turn hurting ourselves.

Simple actions such as recycling, reducing waste, finding efficient ways to travel such as riding the train or bicycling to work can help our earth as well as help us notice the beauty around. Stop and smell the flowers, don’t rush through life discarding waste wherever and taking the more than needed just because it’s easy. We need to take action to keep our planet clean and safe for future generations.

Reading Response 2: No more Livestock, Only Hybrids?

The article, Vegetarian is the New Prius, written by Kathy Freston, gives some scary statistics due to the growing demand for meat, eggs, and dairy and the harmful effects producing the goods is doing to our planet. This article was written for everyone to put an awareness out that we’ve started to do better for our planet by driving Toyota Prius cars with low emissions but the next step is to cut out poultry and other meats. Livestock is the highest contributing factor to harming our environment with both air and water pollution, poisoning land and worst, gases aiding in Global Warming.

Now we’ve started to reduce emissions by converting cars to hybrids such as the Prius. This article is suggesting our next step is to go vegetarian, start eating veggie burgers, soy based dairy, and tofu. Some restaurants are even helping move forward by serving veggie-based meals. Adding to helping our environment, this article demonstrates that going vegetarian will help our bodies as well.

This all sounds like a good thing but opposing this subject, not everyone wants to cut out meats all together. The pollution leading to global warming can be reduced without halting production on livestock. A lot of the farms can be more efficient in their waste disposal and growing of the animals. Reducing the steroids and chemicals used to grow the livestock would be a good start as well. What happened hundreds of years ago when all the extra chemicals weren’t used? Just raising the animals isn’t the only problem, the energy and gasses it takes to transport and slaughter the animals is harmful too. People need to be more inventive and find ways to do those jobs instead of just giving up and turning vegetarian.

This is a serious concern any way you look at it, but the way it can be handled could make the difference in eating meat or going for the veggie burger. Make a wise choice in a balanced meal, trying veggie meals more often. More responsible production, eating a salad, and driving a Pruis, every little bit helps keep our world in better shape.

Response 2: Toxic Waters – Clean Water Laws Are Neglected, at a Cost in Suffering
Spring 2010
Response
Water pollution
 
In the article Clean Water Laws Are neglected, at a Cost in Suffering by Charles Duhigg the authors targeting audience is local households, companies, EPA, and anyone and anything that drinks, bathes, or even washes there dishes. The main point of this article is the EPA isn’t doing enough about the chemicals getting into our water system. By not doing what they should be more and more of the water we drink and bath in is getting polluted.  It was reported that one in ten Americans are exposed to drinking water that contains dangerous chemicals, 19.5 million fall ill from water, 40 percent of community water violates the safe water drinking act, and more than 23 million people receive drinking water that violates the health-based standards. Companies such as gas stations, dry cleaners, shopping malls, and mobile home parks report, chemical factories, power plants, sewage treatment centers and zinc smelters have reported polluting local rivers. Chemicals dumped in rivers from these companies such as arsenic, lead, beryllium, copper, zinc, chlorine, manganese, and selenium can contribute to mental retardation, cancer, birth defects, organ failure, developmental problems, and neurological disorders. The article also goes on how the EPA isn’t doing much to stop it they accidently overlook pollution records and “hesitate to push the states” out of “fear of risking their relationships.” This article is effective because it’s telling people why some of things such as rashes, major enamel damage, and chronic stomach problems are becoming more and more common in there neighborhood. It also informs people what the government is doing to fix the amount of pollution that gets into our drinking water, even if the EPA isn’t doing much. I would start researching whether or not the amount of chemicals going into our water systems is going down or not and what the EPA is doing and whether or not they are cracking down on the Clean Water Act

Response 1: Vegetarian is the new Prius.
Spring 2010
Response
Agriculture and Environment
 
In the article Vegetarian is the new Prius by Kathy Freston I believe that her targeted audience is everyone. The main point of this article is that animals are the main reason for our high emissions and going vegetarian would reduce our global warming emissions tremendously. Vegetarian is the new Prius is an effective article because it gives you percentages and other information on how livestock are a large part of high emissions. As writen in the article livestock agriculture takes up about 70 percent of agriculture land, and about 30 percent of the planets land surface. They also take up about 70 percent of former Amazon rainforest which they use for pasture land, and crops for the animals. Livestock also give off 9 percent of our carbon dioxide, 37 percent of our methane, and 65 percent of our nitrous oxide. By Americans being carnivores we slaughter more than 10 billion animals a year. Animals consume most of the water in the U.S; they also cause about two-thirds of the acid-rain in the world and are the largest source of water pollution. If America was to go vegetarian Kathy believes that the it would make planet a nicer place to live with lower gas emissions it would cool the planet . There aren’t really any counterarguments, Kathy goes on how animals are the main reason for high emissions and reducing the amount of livestock we have on earth and going vegetarian would not just lower the high emissions but make the planet a healthier planet. If I were to purse the issue I would research more on how animal agriculture is causing the high gas emissions and whether there was another way to lower the emission because yes maybe some people would go vegetarian, but not all people would go along with it and come up with more reasons why gas emissions is so high.