Monthly Archives: February 2019

Nature Inspiration

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Lately, I’ve been feeling more connected to the natural world than I ever have before. I really started to recognize nature and began to appreciate it last spring, and now my understanding of it is expanding due to being enrolled in two environmentally-related classes (Intro to Environmental Studies and Environmental Ethics). Prior to last spring, I only valued nature and the environment in an anthropocentric way; I viewed it as having purely aesthetic value. I wasn’t even aware that there was a term for that kind of perspective until this semester. I’ve learned in this class, as well as in Environmental Ethics, about anthropocentrism and what it means to view the world in a human-centered light. While I did appreciate nature’s beauty and how it made me feel, I now have grown to cherish that the environment has intrinsic value. There’s more to the environment than the ways in which it can be convenient and instrumental to humans. It might be important to be connected to the natural world because we collectively can act respectfully and responsibly in order to protect our environment and prevent further damage. I find it especially important to take care of our planet because human activity can result in detrimental impacts to all species. Personally, my view has shifted to a biocentrist one. Human needs are not more important than those of other living things, so we should refrain from indirectly harming the environment through our actions and practices.

Instead of simply going outside to my back patio, I chose to make a trip to the beach. I went to Sullivan’s Island this past Saturday with these guidelines in mind. I chose Sullivan’s over the other beaches in the area because it’s my favorite destination for whenever I need to clear my mind and calm down. Thinking ahead and bringing a blanket to sit on, I made it just in time for the sunset. Unsurprisingly, I ended up staying for nearly half an hour embracing my surroundings. I’ve witnessed many Charleston sunsets over my three years here, but this one was different. I focused on the various aspects of my immediate area, which included the dunes, sand, and the sound of the crashing waves in the near distance. Typically, I turn to my phone in order to capture the moment in pictures. This time though, I chose just to sit there and take in the ocean’s serenity. I realized how much more relaxing it felt to just observe instead of capturing it in a photo. Sometimes it’s better to enjoy every second of the picture in front of you, instead of looking through a phone’s camera. With the sound of the waves as a backdrop, I felt entirely enthralled by the natural area around me. As I watched the light pinks and yellows gradually mesh and fade in the sky, I took in a deep breath and exhaled. As I left Sullivan’s that night, I not only had a clearer mind but felt closer to nature than I have in months. Even though the sunset was not saved in a photograph, it’s fixed in my memory.

Solving World Water Crises

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Today I was lucky enough to attend a talk by Maude Barlow on Solving the World Water Crises. Maude Barlow has been all around the world from UN conferences to the slums in search of solutions for these crises. What the event was about was to raise the awareness about water and to show people it’s just as big of a problem as global warming/climate change. Along with how Humans have a right to water, and how the world has denied millions that right. It so amazing to see her speak because of how much she has down to raise awareness and in taking action to help fix this massive crisis. She highlighted two twin crises that our world faces today, one Ecological, the other Human. Industries today have and continue to use water as a source of human development and disregards how much they use, pollute, and completed destroy. Some of the information she presented was jaw-dropping, to the point where it makes you sit and ponder what is going to happen to our world once we pass. What I really learned today, that I had no idea about, was the massive source of groundwater that many countries have, but are exploiting and polluting. Maude referred to them as the underground “seas”, but what was so interesting was how little governments care about how much industries are polluting these water sources. Along with that, we are taking so much more from these “seas” then earth can replenish. This is such a scary and to be honest an aggravating problem because people and along with governments push this problem to the side as if it’s going to fix itself when really it’ll get to a point of no return that causes conflict/wars. I thought this connected very well with what we have been talking about in class and relating to the triple bottom line of sustainability. We talked about the triple bottom line of sustainability during our third lecture and after learning how it all works this is a perfect example of how society isn’t even thinking about the triple bottom line. In order for our society to be sustainable, we need to be able to maintain change in a balanced environment. Where the social, economic, and environment are all in harmony which increases current/future potential. The problems Maude was discussing show how industries are doing exactly the opposite. Instead of finding a more sustainable way and respecting the environment, industries are destroying them and taking so much from them that ecosystems are just fully failing. I’m very happy I attended her talk because it really broadened my knowledge of our water crises. More importantly, it inspired me to want to do more than just sit and read about. Usually, I’m just reading an article about these problems and it makes me upset, but nothing more comes from it, but after seeing Maude speak I want to take action even if it’s small contributions to start.

The Myth of Abundance

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In Maude Barlow’s “Solving World Water Crises” talk, she explained how there are two main water crises that the world is currently facing: the ecological water crisis and the human water crisis. Just like all the other problems that society and the world are facing, they are interconnected. The ecological water crisis, which Barlow called the “scourge of the Earth,” is due to the increased demand of clean drinking and the decreased supply of it due to increased population and pollution. Humans are extracting ground water at a rate that the system cannot replenish itself fast enough to keep up with our demand for it. The human water crisis is that the number of people on Earth is growing, which increases the demand for clean drinking water. In 30 years, there will be 5 billion people without clean water. The solutions that Barlow has for these twin crises are that we should identify water as a human right, we should establish a public trust for the protection of water, and we need to protect our water sheds. Maude Barlow concluded her talk by quoting one of her dear friends by saying that “fighting for justice is a lot like taking a bath; do it every day or you stink.”

 

All the ideas Maude Barlow presented in her talk today have everything to do with our class, everything from policy to systems thinking to environmental justice. The main learning outcome that this talk relates to is how interdisciplinary everything is. All societal problems are interrelated, between each other and the earth. All of them deal with policy and culture and the environment. In order to really appreciate and make a difference in this world we really do need to understand a broader range of issues and points of views.

 

Personally, I feel as though it is very hard to understand something if you personally are not experiencing it or are being affected by it. Almost everywhere, the idea of coping with a problem is using the “out of sight, out of mind” expression. I think it’s an educational and eye-opening experience to go visit another country and experience first-hand the problems those countries face. So, if any of you haven’t faced a problem like this, I’ll supply my experience. My parents live in Qatar, which is located in the Middle East on the Arabian Peninsula. It’s a little piece of land that sticks off into the Persian Gulf. You might think that because it’s a peninsula that sticks into the Persian Gulf that there would be an abundance of water that could be used and be turned into drinking water, you’d be very wrong. If you go to any of the beaches, there is trash everywhere and it’s worse than anything in America. I was told I shouldn’t go swimming in the water because of how polluted it was and how many diseases were in it. I was told I wasn’t allowed to drink from the tap or from the refrigerator because the water would make me very ill. If you wanted clean safe water, you had to either buy packs of plastic bottles or buy the 25-gallon jugs of it. But these plastic containers of water have been sitting out in the crazy heat, allowing the plastics to leach into the water, contaminating that too (and, from what I learned from Barlow’s talk, these plastic containers of water are classified as food, so the water isn’t tested for how clean and purified it is). Going out to a restaurant, you couldn’t just get a glass of water from a soda machine, the waiters would bring out bottles of water that were imported from countries hundreds of miles away. Like so many other countries, water there is privatized, and the groundwater is not safe to drink. Luckily for me, my parents could afford to buy the jugs of water and packs of water bottles, but so many millions of people cannot so they resort to drinking contaminated groundwater. Living there and learning about all of these places that are affected by the privatization and contamination of water made me realize that people who have access to clean water really do take water for granted and we think that there is an abundance of it. If we can get out of this mindset of taking such things for granted and being practical about water, then we can help solve these two crises.

 

Ocean Acidification

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The documentary film, “Acid Test: The Global Challenge of Ocean Acidification”, directed by Tristan Bayer and Daniel Hinerfeld explores the shocking environmental effects of Ocean Acidification and its real life consequences. The documentary was made to raise awareness about the largely unknown problem of ocean acidification, which poses a fundamental challenge to marine life and the health of the entire planet.

Acid Test: The Global Challenge of Ocean Acidification defines Ocean acidification as the process by which the pH of the ocean is decreased (becomes more acidic). The driving force behind the acidification of our oceans is widely attributed to the continuous burning of fossil fuels and subsequent release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. As the levels of carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere, more and more is absorbed by the oceans. This carbon dioxide reacts with hydrogen monoxide, or water, and results in the formation of hydrogen ions, increasing the acidity. In other words, since the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide has increased in the earths atmosphere causing the ocean to acidify.

The film begins with footage of all the marine life that’s in the ocean, from white sharks to jelly fish. It talks about how incredible the ocean is and how so many people depend on the ocean in so many ways, some ways are obvious like food, recreation, and transportation. Additionally, the ocean protects our shores and it protects our coastal lines from storms. Oceans regulate climate, provide the world with most of its oxygen and has the power to create life. However, due to ocean acidification, it is transforming the chemical of the ocean. In decades, rising ocean acidity may challenge life within the ocean on a scale that has not occurred for tens of millions of years.

Since the industrial revolution, the ocean has roughly absorbed one quarter of the carbon dioxide produced by burning fuels. If we continue to put vast amounts of carbon dioxide, animals ranging from shellfish, crabs, lobsters, shrimp to mussels and oysters will start to die. Corals and reefs are also being put at risk, because, OA is messing with the skeletal density of these corals, therefore, they are dying.  all these life form animals are being put at risk. If we continue to eliminate these animals we are interrupting the food web, this interruption can effect the livelihoods of people. Specially, on the people that rely on the ocean for their food system.  If we continue to profound the oceans chemistry, we will see drastic consequences.  The film poses the question how can we as a society move beyond fossil fuels?  It is by reducing the use of carbon dioxide, or using energy more efficiently like the use of natural energy from solar panels. This new promising green revolution may help us protect our economy and our environment but only if we chose to engage and shift to these new changes.

Overall, if we don’t take action, Ocean acidification does and will continue to have major effects on the overall health of our oceans and by extension, it is no exaggeration to say, human society as a whole, effecting everything from coral reefs to kelp forest, and marine life.

https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/acid-test-global-challenge-ocean-acidification/

 

News Report: Artificial Leaves

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Artificial Leaves: Out of the lab and into the Air

Citation: (APA)

Innovation Toronto. (2019, February 17). Artificial leaves move into daylight. Retrieved from http://www.innovationtoronto.com/2019/02/artificial-leaves-move-into-daylight/

Original research:University of Illinois at Chicago, 2019

Link to article: http://www.innovationtoronto.com/2019/02/artificial-leaves-move-into-daylight/

Summary:

  • The source: Innovation Toronto reporting on research conducted by the University of Illinois at Chicago (Also reported in Their findings are reported in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Science Daily)
  • What: Artificial Leaves that mimic photosynthesis
  • Who: University of Chicago at Illinois
  • Why: The finalized concept design offers an artificial source of reducing the compounding carbon emissions.
  • When: February, 2019. The date to release the official device has not yet been determined
  • Where: This technology would have global impact and use
  • How: Their improved leaf, which would use carbon dioxide from the air, would be at least 10 times more efficient than natural leaves at converting carbon dioxide to fuel. They accomplished this by encapsulating an artificial leaf inside a semi-permeable membrane. When warmed by the sun, water from within the resin membrane evaporates out and, at the same, pulls in CO2. The artificial photosynthetic unit inside the membrane then converts the CO2 into CO. This CO is then used to create various synthetic fuels. O2 is also produced and can either be collected or released into the surrounding environment.
  • Significance:
    • A solution to the growing atmospheric CO2 concentration
    • Answers the call to find a new renewable source of fuel
    • 360 leaves –> 1/2 ton of CO per day to be used for synthetic fuel
    • 360 leaves –> reduce CO2 levels within a 100 m space 10% in one day

Questions:

  • Since this technology is taking in carbon dioxide from the environment and creating carbohydrates with the sun’s energy, can this be considered a primary producer?
  • Will the release and development of this technology reduce the significance of protecting natural areas like the Amazon rainforest in the eyes of policy makers?
  • Where might this technology prove to be most effective?

Personal Change

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Personal change is something that is sometimes necessary for the everyday human being; whether it be eating healthier, exercising more, or just trying to get rid of bad habits, it is necessary for those who want to change their current way of living. My personal change goal was to stop depending on eating so much meat that was not produced locally. When we did the ecological footprint assignment that told you how many Earths would be needed to sustain our planet if everyone lived like me, I was astonished. If everyone lived the way I had, then we would need 5.3 Earths to sustain us. To me, that was a shock, and something that made me feel uncomfortable. The change that I decided to bring to my life, not only for my own benefit, but for the earth’s, was to consume less processed and shipped in meat. This change from me, if done by many, could make the world a much better place. Meat that isn’t local has to go through many processes to get to our stomachs, including excess plastic usage during packaging, and the fossil fuels needed for the transportation of it, as well as the sheer amount I (as long as many others) were consuming, made for a higher demand for processed goods in the local area. When I changed this aspect of my everyday life, I decided to take the ecological footprint test again, and I was now using 3.8 earths instead of 5.3. This still is not the best, but is definitely a major step for me towards sustainability. In my efforts to reduce my ecological footprint, I started buying more local grown and raised foods for the past week. This past week has been a triumph for me, as I like a better human being as well as feeling much healthier by eating more plant based products and less processed foods. I have been more energized and have felt an overall shift in my actions. During my journey towards ecological benefit, I have since noticed a change in my behaviors as well, like going outside and getting more exercise rather than staying in and playing video games, and have been a more overall positive person towards my peers and have been more invested in my classes. I have noticed that I have also been spending less money by cooking most of my foods rather than buying fast food and other expensive products from the grocery stores. This is a change that I definitely will stick with, not only for my own good, but the Earth’s good as well.One challenge I have encountered was the time it takes to cook and prepare my foods, but has not been that much of a shift, and has been a better use of my time rather than the past activities I was engaging in. My advice to others who would also like to embark on a personal goal of ecological sustainability and living a healthier life is to stick with it! Even though it may seem tough, it is for the benefit of everyone, and mainly yourself! By reducing the amount of processed foods, you are not only making a better and more healthy life for yourself, but you are also helping the future generations to be able to experience the beauty of the Earth, which we would most likely not have if everyone continued to live like I once did.

Personal Change

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For my first blog of the semester, I decided to focus on my personal lifestyle choices. I have always consider myself to fit in with the group of people who never really took the time to consider how their actions would affect the things around them. I was never one to have a second thought about how I was disposing of things or even how I was using different things. After spending some time in the Intro to Environmental and Sustainability Studies, I realized that my actions play a big part in keeping the Earth healthy and alive.

I believe on of the biggest issues I have is recycling. I knew that it was important, but I didn’t know just how important it was. I believe if I could recycle more, I would contribute more towards protecting the Earth and less towards damaging it. Recycling greatly affects nature, including things we never really think about on the daily basis. There is a great amount of plastic and debris in the oceans, which is harming and killing marine life and because I don’t recycle, I am apart of that. I have recently been recycling more and more. I do want to change because I know how much it can benefit the Earth and it makes me feel better about the decisions I make.

I also think another one of my biggest problems is reusing material. I have a bad habit of just throwing things away once I am done with it. This isn’t intentionally, it’s almost like second nature to just toss my empty cans in the trash instead of turning them into a pencil holder or maybe even a vase for fake flowers. Who knows, the ideas are endless with some objects. I am not that creative, so it’s hard to figure out new inventions for my used objects. It’s easier for me to just throw them away. The more I reuse things, the less trash there will be, which will then lead to a much cleaner Earth! I have not yet tried to reuse anything, the most I’ve done is keep my plastic shopping bags from stores like Walmart and I use them as trash bags but then I eventually end up throwing them away which isn’t helping the problem.

The only challenges I face when it comes to trying to improve these things are forgetting because I am so used to doing the wrong thing and also finding ways to reuse certain items. When I recycle, I do feel good about myself because I’m making improvement. I went from not caring about recycling because I wasn’t educated that much about it, to recycling every time I am out and about. It’s not the best, but I’m working on it and you have to start somewhere. As far as reusing material, I have not started yet but I will eventually. I definitely believe I will stick to recycling but reusing, I’m not entirely sure. To others I would say, be the change. It will be a little difficult at first but once you get used to it, you will feel pretty good. At the end of the day just think of how many tiny lives you could save by properly disposing of your trash. It’s definitely worth it!

Connecting with nature

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I have always felt connected to the natural world. A connection that is really deep and has really been a huge factor into shaping who I am and who I want to be. My connection with nature has always been there, drawing back on my first memories of being a child and enjoying the outdoors at the farm of my grandmother. Another keystone in my connection to nature would be my binge watching of animal planet as a child. Getting to see the natural wonders of the world has really solidified my thoughts for the future, and my plans to work in wildlife biology and conservation. With getting the opportunity to work in conservation   I feel as though I’m helping the next few generations have the opportunity to be connected to nature like I was. Hoping that maybe they can have their lives changed for the better though the power of nature and the way we can connect to it. I feel like a connection to the natural world is very important because it is the root of all we are and all we have. A connection to where we come from, a connection to the soil that grows our food, to the air that blows our windmills for air power, the raging rivers that contain so much life.

Deciding to do the option of sitting among nature and soaking it all in. I decided to go and sit in the Cistern among the Oak trees. Upon arriving to the Cistern, I picked a spot in the grass to do my becoming one with nature time. Sitting down on the grass, the first thing I do is extend my hands into the grass and really take it in. Admiring how the warm sun also felt on my skin and how I could feel its warm soaking into my skin. After sitting and just taking in the sun, I look up at the Oak trees and have to admire them. Thinking about all of the years and storms they have weathered, yet how they stand so powerful. Upon further inspection of these trees, you can see that these trees have a certain type of green foliage on them. This plant is known as resection fern and it gets its name through the way it survives times without water. In times without water the fern shrives up and appearing like the plant has died. But if you pay attention to this same plant after rain it perks back up to its beautiful green and springy fashion. Looking at the tops of trees, I could hear scurrying which got my attention to see squirrels chasing each other around, scurrying up the trees at extreme speeds. Looking up at the tops of the trees made my eyes wonder up to the sky itself, a blue sky full of clouds. Going back to my childhood and sitting at recess making shapes out of the clouds with my friends just enjoying being outdoors. Thinking back on the aspects of people in the outdoors, I shift my gaze upon the other students enjoying their time there. Throwing toys to their dogs, students walking to class though the grass and among the trees. It really gave me an insight on just how much we are walking among nature and made me think if sometimes we could just take a break from our busy lives and just sat among the grass and trees. And, how though that we could really reignite the deep connection we should have with mother earth around us.

The Challenge of Preparing for the Unexpected with Public Health Emergencies Lecture

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For my first blog of the semester, I chose to attend a guest lecture on January 28th titled, “The Challenge of Preparing for the Unexpected with Public Health Emergencies”. I thought that attending this event would be good for me, because I am a public health major, and am interested in absorbing as much information as I can from different aspects and experiences from people. This lecture was given by Dr. Stephen Redd, he holds important titles within the Department of Health and Human Services. He is the Deputy Director for the Public Health Service and Implementation Science. Dr. Redd is also the Director for the Center for Preparedness and Response at the CDC. He is in charge of primarily making sure the public is prepared for any hazards, by having adequate information regarding the issues that come up “unexpectedly”, as well as being ready to respond with resources efficiently. Dr. Redd discussed multiple topics that are of interest to me, those being the H1N1 and Ebola epidemics, and vaccinations.

Throughout the years, Dr. Redd has held his current positions during the time that the United States has been the most vulnerable. He showed us things that were implemented during the Ebola outbreak. Dr. Redd and his staff used John Snow’s idea of spot mapping to identify anyone who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus after it was brought into the United States from Africa. Anyone that posed a threat had been given a pre-paid phone, so that if need be they could easily be tracked. In regards to vaccinations, Dr. Redd mentioned the importance of getting vaccines at the recommended time. If most of the population receives vaccines, then a herd immunity is developed. A herd immunity is important in a community, because there are some people who have negative beliefs on vaccines, whether that be health outcomes, cultural beliefs, or for many other reasons. With most of the population getting vaccines, it makes diseases that are coming about, less likely to affect you.

This event relates back to our class, mostly because of the impact that human populations have on the environment. Just like any topic, a growing population comes with pros and cons. Some pros of a growing population include: a better economy, bigger working class, and more development. Some cons of a growing population include: increased class stratification, which leads to increased poverty, which leads to more diseases. A growing population also means that there is competition for limited resources. Due to class stratification, those that are lower class, oftentimes lack adequate resources, to get the required health implementations like vaccines or even a basic visit to a general doctor.

I was excited to go to this event, because my step-dad who continues to work for NYC Swat team and the Emergency Service Unit, also gets chosen frequently to help with FEMA efforts where needed, after natural disasters. I found the lecture fascinating, because I got to learn about preparedness efforts from a different perspective that I am not used to.

The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition!

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This past weekend I attended the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) in Marion Square with a roommate of mine. I had never been before, and I really enjoyed all of the aspects it had to offer. Many art exhibits were included in the event, which was enjoyable to see. The abundance of dogs roaming around Marion Square was definitely my favorite part! The Boykin Spaniel Rescue team had volunteers attend the event and walk around with dogs that could be rescued. Throughout the event I was able to see and learn about different types of owls, turtles, dogs, snakes, birds, and alligators. There was an event occuring when I arrived where a faculty member showcased a falcon and an owl in flight, while providing educational content as well. I can’t remember the type at the moment; however, as you walked through the tent that had all of the snakes in it, the faculty member informed you of the types that you should report to them if you were to see them in the wild. This is due to the fact that they are endangered and the organization works to conserve wildlife. My roommate and I were able to see a large type of snapping turtle and watched the man in charge of this portion of the event pick it up. A fact that I learned about alligators, which I did not know before, is that they grow throughout their entire life and can live for 75 to 100 years! I personally found this extremely shocking.

My absolute least favorite part of the event was that I was able to hold a snake, which I only did because my roommate was encouraging it. I also learned that the fastest snake in the world is able to move at around 10 miles per hour, which slightly scares me. Another tent at the event included various species of birds and owls that were from all different climates, for example one type of owl, that had engaging coloring, was from the rain forest. An enjoyable aspect of SEWE was that I was able to meet a calf, named Jersey, that had only been born 3 days prior to the event.

In addition to the many types of animals at the event, there was a great deal of locally grown food products available. There was an entire tent full of fruits and vegetables that had been locally grown. As you walked through the tent, faculty explained where everything came from, which made me think about the fact that we normally have no idea where the produce bought from the grocery store comes from. A stand was in the event that offered many different types and flavors of olive oil. Here it was explained that around half of their products were locally produced or blended. Spread throughout Marion square was multiple opportunities to recycle, along with various educational content regarding ecological conservation. The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition as a whole related to our class, because they share our passion for conserving the environment and all of the species it has to offer!