Category Archives: Media

Can Cereal Save the Bees?

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As I was walking through the Harris Teeter cereal aisle one night, I turned and a particular box caught my eye. It was actually this box, and my immediate question was, “Where’s Buzz?”

Safe to say I ended up picking up (and eventually purchasing) this box of Honey Nut Cheerios. I was so excited for what I saw this brand doing in order to promote a change for things that are happening in and to our environment.

I know, it sounds crazy. Why in the world would you get so excited about  box of Honey Nut Cheerios? Well, not only did it catch my attention by NOT having their signature mascot Buzz Bee on it, but I also knew that I’d get a FREE packet of flower seeds “to help bring back the bees”! BRILLIANT! Since 2016, the brand has shown a cut-out silhouette of Buzz in order to more adequately inform consumers about the declining population of bees. General Mills, the company behind the #1 selling cereal in the U.S., joined forces with Burt’s Bees to bring awareness to this potentially catastrophic issue and are using the hashtag #BringBacktheBees on social media to further spread their message.

On the back of the box, there are tips and tricks as to how a potential consumer and petitioner for their cause can help bring back the bees! The box talks about the alarming rate that bee populations are declining, such as honeybees like Buzz. It also states a fact that 1 of 3 bites of food were made possible thanks to bees and other pollinators just from the work they do in our environments. Bees are the only insect that produce food eaten by man. Foods such as apples, almonds, coffee, and (obviously) honey all use pollinators to help grow, which is why some of the apples are missing from the apple tree.

So how can you help? Plant bee-friendly flowers like cosmos! Bees have great color vision, which is why flowers are so attractive to them especially blue, purple, yellow, and white colored buds. They also all need flower pollen and nectar in order to BEE happy, healthy, and helpful to the plants they get it from. Thankfully, the box already provides you with some, so you can go ahead and get started to #BringBacktheBees! By the end of 2020, farms that source oats for Honey Nut Cheerios will house about 3,300 total acres of dedicated pollinator habitats on almost 60,000 acres of land! Companies like General Mills and Burt’s Bees are making environmental impacts by calling on consumers to help join in their awareness movements. Do your part for what bees do for you! #BringBacktheBees

Earth Day Advertisements (Extra Credit)

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These two posters were made by Earth Day Network and were available to purchase in honor of Earth Day. All the proceeds from these posters go directly to Earth Day Network making their goals a reality. I found these posters particularly eye catching because I am a huge animal lover. It’s devastating to see those videos of that starving polar bear and know that we have contributed to that problem. These posters both display climate change issues. The goal of these posters is not only to inspire people to invoke change but it also contributes to changes being made since the proceeds are going towards this cause. I find the poster on the right particularly interesting because it not only displays the ice melting as a result of climate change, but it displays a sustainable solution to some of the environmental issues we experience. A windmill is a structure used to harness the power of the wind for many purposes such as grinding grain, pumping water, and generating electricity. It does not produce toxic emissions to generate electricity, unlike fossil fuels. These posters are so simple in design but bring up a much needed conversation on what is to be done to help.

Link: https://www.earthday.org/2017/02/15/special-posters-purchase-honor-earth-day-2017/

The Biggest State is Battling a Big Threat – Trump Wall vs the Texas Wildlife

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I did my news report assignment on the Trump Wall’s impacts on the diverse, wildlife environments in Texas and along its borders.

The Story:

What: President Trump’s US-Mexico border wall could pose a threat to vulnerable wildlife, plants, and the growing ecotourism industry in Texas and its border regions.

Who: Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin (Norma Fowler & Tim Keitt) published a letter outlining the potential ecological damage of such a major project in the area.

When: Whenever/if the wall gets built

Why: Texas currently has walls along its border with Mexico approximately 100 miles long. However, until now, the wall has gone through mostly desert and cities, but it’s on the verge of hitting the Rio Grande regions.

Where: Texas and the bordering areas surrounding the state

How: The wall would destroy much of the habitat biodiversity of plants and animals these areas.

Impacts of the Wall:

Here’s a closer look at the impacts from the scientists themselves: https://youtu.be/it6O3Pf4jFQ

  • It’s set to cut through hundreds of miles of protected federal land, which includes Big Bend National Park the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
  • Construction would directly destroy the habitats and resources that animals need in order to survive.
    • Use of trucks and equipment in order to change the landscape.
  • The wall would destroy the biodiversity of the area, especially for the Riparian forest and threatened Tamaulipan thorn-scrub ecosystems.
  • It would fragment animal and plant habitats with a physical barrier.
    • It would restrict their movements and seed dispersals.
    • Though they might leave small gaps for animals to get through, normally they won’t use them.
    • Even if animals could go over the wall, they normally will choose not to.
  • The wall would also divide breeding populations of animals, such as the ocelot.

Local animals that could be affected:

The Green Jay and Whiskerbush Cactus

The Ocelot

The Zebra longwing Butterfly

The American black bear

How we can decrease these impacts’ effects:

Scientists suggests that these impacts could be lessened by:

  • limiting the extent of physical barriers and associated roads
  • designing barriers to permit animal passage
  • substituting less biologically harmful methods, such as electronic sensors, for physical barriers

Or, we don’t build the wall!

Relevance to Class and Society:

  • By building the wall, we increase the human impacts we have on nature while aiding in habitat destruction and degradation caused by the construction and the roads on either side of the wall.
  • The wall symbolizes the human dominance we try to have over nature.
  • The wall may pose a threat to all 3 pillars of sustainability for these regions
    • Local recreation and ecotourism declines may cause a negative economic impact.
      • Birdwatching generates $344 million in the Lower Rio Grande region alone
    • Private land owners who don’t want the wall on their property should hold precedence, but are still fighting to keep their land.
    • Barriers that are created would destroy much of the environment in the areas and those that aren’t far enough from the river could potentially trap animals causing many environmental issues.

Questions Raised by the News:

  • What are some ways that we could stop the wall from being built?
  • Is there anything circulating through the Texas government that already is fighting against the wall being built?
  • Why don’t people talk about the environmental and ecological impacts on this wall instead of focusing on political standings

References:

uhttps://phys.org/news/2018-03-border-wall-texas-animals-scientists.html

uhttps://inhabitat.com/trumps-border-wall-threatens-texas-plants-and-wildlife/

uhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocelot (picture)

uhttps://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm

Shark Tank: Season 8 Episode 7

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If any of you have watched the ABC show, Shark Tank and have watched any of the latest episodes then you might have seen a 10-year-old boy and his lemonade stand. If you haven’t watched Shark Tank before or watched that episode then I advise you to stop what you’re doing and GO WATCH IT! His name is Jack Bonneau and his a 10-year-old boy from Broomfield, Colorado. Jack is paving the way for kid entrepreneurs with not only his incredible lemonade stand but, his vast knowledge of the business industry! When I saw this cute little boy standing in front of the 5 biggest titans of the business industry today I immediately thought that this was going to end horribly. I told my brother that if this cute, little boy cries then I’m going to cry! Once Jack started speaking, to say I was blown away is an understatement. His knowledge, public speaking skills, just how eloquently he spoke was extremely impressive.

Bonneau came to Shark Tank to pitch his lemonade stands and marketplace startups. Bonneau asked the 5 sharks for $50,000 for 10% equity in his business. He highlighted how other kids could start their own entrepreneurial journeys. Bonneau shared ways that kid’s like himself, could operate drink stands or marketplace locations, all the while learning about business strategies, entrepreneurship, logistics, and profits starting at a young age (Shulman, 2018). After the presentation and the Sharks were able to present their offers or be “out”, 4 out of the 5 sharks decided that they were “out” because they felt he still needed to grow the business and more importantly grow and focus on his education career since he is 10-years-old. Which is malarkey! Mark Cuban said and quote, “Jack you’re incredible! I mean one of the reason’s I do this show is to inspire kids like you. I hope my kids and millions of kids watching, can turn what they see into a dream and, from a dream into a real company. You know, I started my first company when I was 10, so I definitely love what you’re doing. The challenge is, there’s millions of kids who might want to do the same thing. I don’t know if you can manage it all…you haven’t really taken it to that point to demonstrate that you can support them outside of Denver. And, so while I applaud you, I have to say I’m out”. By this point, you’re probably saying, “Kori, just tell us what happened!!!”. Well at the end of all 4 sharks being “out” one of the Sharks, Chris Sacca offered Jack Sacca a $50,000 loan at 2% interest which Bonneau accepted the loan. What bother’s me with Mark Cubans response is that he even said that he started his business at the age of 10! And, questions whether or not Jack can support kid’s who want to participate in the Lemonade stand outside of his home state. For starters Mr. Cuban, Lori Greiner, and Kevin O’Leary (aka “Mr. Wonderful”) Jack is 10 and only started this in the comfort of his home state, he hasn’t been given the chance to see if he can take this business farther than Denver. Secondly, you better applaud this kid because he’s so incredibly sharp. Yes, he is 10 and should focus on school, but why judge a kid for going after his dream and providing that same dream to other kid’s? He’s doing what most of you did at his age like Mark Cuban. Also, to say “there’s millions of kids who might want to do the same thing. I don’t know if you can manage it all” is false because it’s not just a lemonade stand, it’s business education strategies incorporated with in-person training and help with Jack, himself.

People say to go after what you believe and are most passionate about no matter how old you are, what stages of life you’re in, and no matter what anyone says’s or thinks! Well, I sure hope to see Jack Bonneau’s Lemonade stands in Charleston, South Carolina in the following year’s to come and to have him prove all the other shark’s wrong. You go, Jack and keep doing you because you’re crushing it at life…more than I ever have!!

Sources:
Shulman, R. (2018, February 23). How 12-Year-Old Jack Bonneau From Shark Tank Is Leading The Way For Kid Entrepreneurs. Retrieved April 11, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/robynshulman/2018/02/23/how-12-year-old-jack-bonneau-from-shark-tank-is-leading-the-way-for-kid-entrepreneurs/

 

Marlboro Advertisement

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This is an advertisement for Marlboro cigarettes made by the company. It’s target audience is most likely older men who work outdoors regularly as it is labeled “Marlboro Country” and has two cowboys on it. Personally, my Grandpa watches old western movies 24/7, and this ad would definitely appeal to him. This ad appeals to people who live a country lifestyle; working outside doing hard manual labor, working on farms, etc. I think it is extremely ironic that they are displaying a cigarette ad in the countryside as if it’s natural. It gives you the indication that people who consider themselves “country” smoke marlboro cigarettes, which isn’t always the case. It is extremely common for people who smoke cigarettes to discard their buds anywhere, as there is not always a designated spot for them to leave the buds. More than likely, if those men were smoking, they would end up polluting that land by tossing their cigarette buds out. So it’s interesting that they would use land that typically is untouched by mankind as an advertisement for cigarettes. Many people looking at this advertisement could have different opinions on it. They could think it’s cool because it’s got an old-time feel to it, or they could think it’s ironic like I have. The goal of this advertisement is for people to have more positive associations with cigarettes. The placement of the ad in the countryside could give a person the perception that they aren’t super harmful to your health (even though there is a small disclaimer in the left hand corner).

Not Just Water

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The text is “Not just water” and the subtext would be more about what is in the water and how we, the people, are contaminating water and how it is affecting society (baby bottle) and the severity of the issue. I found this image on Pinterest and I do not have anymore information from where the image was taken from, but I believe their goal was to make people really think and see this image emotionally and see that pollution is a real issue. I also believe this poster may have a correlation with the Flint, Michigan Water Crisis of 2014. Where because of the river water corroded city pipes, the pipes leached lead into drinking water and almost a 100,000 people were potentially affected by the contamination. The motherly point of view is portrayed in this poster to pull on heart strings and draw towards an ethical point of view. The value of life is demonstrated, and a common lifestyle of using regular drinking water to add to formula for bottles. I found this image to be extremely powerful and eye-catching.

Link to picture: www.pinterest.com/pin/148126275215558896
“Ads & Publicity.” Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/pin/148126275215558896.

A whole lot of ‘Junk’ that you’d probably like to see

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The Charleston Music Hall has said to be set to screen the plastic pollution activist documentary “Junk” at the end of April in 2018.

As many people know, and as we all know by talking about pollution in our class, there is A LOT of junk in our oceans and clearly, it’s not getting any better. Dr. Marcus Eriksen, an international plastic pollution expert, wrote a book all about this oceanic junk titled, Junk Raft: An Ocean Voyage and a Rising Tide of Activism to Fight Plastic Pollution. The book’s content relays just what the title describes it to convey: a man, which is Eriksen, is on a journey through the ocean and is buoyed only on a raft that is actually made out of the plastic junk found within our seas.

The film itself is about a 27-minute long documentary based on Eriksen’s book and was filmed while he and several others were floating for 88 days on a raft made out of 15,000 plastic bottles in the North Pacific Gyre.

“In the Spring of 2008, 3 marine scientists built a raft from 15,000 plastic bottles, 30 sailboat masts, and a Cessna 310 aircraft fuselage. We launched on June 1st, beginning an adventure from Long Beach, California to Hawaii. We ran out of food, outran 3 hurricanes, and met a female rower in the middle of the ocean. It was an amazing adventure to bring attention to the rising plague of plastic waste in our ocean.” – Eriksen

You can watch the film at the Charleston Music Hall, which is located at 37 John Street, on Sunday, April 29th at 6:30 p.m. Tickets will only be $8 and after the film there will be a panel discussion with Eriksen himself! Others on the panel will also include Chris Jones, who is the film’s director, and Anna Cummins, who’s another leader in the ocean plastic pollution movement.

James Cameron, a filmmaker and deep ocean explorer, describes Junk as an “adventure far from shore, the spirit of exploration, and the fight to save our oceans — all in a gripping narrative that is also a parable for our time.” I highly recommend everyone planning to take a break from studying during finals week to go out and see this film. I will more than likely be there, so we can all be involved in the panel discussions together! 🙂

This is a short trailer to show what the film will be like:

Eating For Pleasure

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I recently read an article published online by the journal Scientific American titled,

“How Sugar and Fat Trick the Brian into Wanting More Food”

This article was written on January 1st, 2016 by Ferris Jabr

 

In summation, the article discusses how human advancements have resulted in an overabundance and availability of food. This, in turn, has led to overconsumption or the habit of eating for pleasure and no longer for survival. This change in the way we obtain food has resulted in a chemical change in our brains. According to the article, this is referred to, by scientists, as Hedonic Hunger. Simply put, hedonic hunger is what we consider to be “cravings.” A strong urge to eat foods even when we are not hungry. This urge in combination with copious amounts of inexpensive and unhealthy food has led to rising rates of obesity and associated health concerns.

If the body is functioning correctly, when we are low on energy hormones are released to create a feeling of hunger. Once we have consumed enough nutrients a different hormone is released to create a feeling of being full. These hormones alternate throughout the day to ensure energy levels remain balanced. The control center that regulates this release of hormones is the hypothalamus.

It wasn’t until the late 1990s that rodent research led to a new discovery about food and the brain. The hypothalamus was not the only pathway capable of releasing the hungry/full hormones. Scientist calls it “the reward circuit” and it is the same area that lights up in response to gambling or drug use. This part of the brian is “captivated” by foods high in sugar or fat. This is a problem because the reward circuit is POWERFUL. Studies show that our brain’s reward circuit lights up (releasing large amounts of dopamine) simply by viewing or smelling foods that are high in sugar and fat. The release of dopamine consistently over long periods of time can create dopamine resistance in the body that ultimately results in larger amounts of the sweet or fatty food required to achieve the same pleasure high. On the opposide side of this cycle, we find sharp drop-offs and very low lows. The absence of food that activates the reward circuit, in a person who has routinely consumed it,  can result in feelings of depression, anxiety, and desperation. This often results in the person consuming more unhealthy foods in an attempt to maintain their “sense of well-being.”

 

 

This article goes in-depth about the modern relationship that many humans have with food. Now that we no longer have to hunt and gather food to survive we can eat more freely and in much larger amounts than ever before. With so much abundance of food, how do we ensure that we are self-regulating or diets in a way that is healthy but still enjoyable? Much research has been done to answer that question. Today, you can log onto a computer and find resources dedicated to helping you manage your diet through portion control and a balanced diet.

One of my favorite websites for this is choosemyplate.gov

This site has a variety of resources for you to use including a food tracker and lifestyle quizzes.

Let’s be the generation that reverses the trend and lives long, healthy, active lives!

 

The link for the article is here:

 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-sugar-and-fat-trick-the-brain-into-wanting-more-food/

YMCA Advertisement

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This advertisement was found under the health and wellness tab of Today’s website. The text of this ad reads, “When communities get better, the world gets better”. The saying is a bit over exaggerated but makes sense in the case that communities make up the world and therefore when one gets better the other will do the same. Although, I believe that this statement can also be proven wrong. For example, our world has gotten better in the sense that we have made a ton of progressions throughout history into a developed country. As we have learned in class, the world has not gotten better at preserving nature, becoming sustainable for the sake of earth and our future generations, etc. The bottom right corner of the ad reads “The Y. For a better us”, promoting the idea that there are benefits to having a Y in the community. The YMCA logo is placed in the top right corner of the ad to denote that this ad was created by the YMCA Company. The ad addresses the community through text, but only captures a picture of one specific individual in the picture. The ad consists of a young, African-American boy smiling as he rests against the handlebars of his bike. Is the ad attempting to target one specific race, gender, or age range? The background and the bike as a whole are omitted from the ad. For all we know this could be a random boy playing outside with no affiliation to the Y. He may not even be physically riding a bike given that the background is unclear. The boy could also just be posing for the picture instead of genuinely enjoying his bike ride as the viewer would assume. Embedded below the primary text is a bright green donation button. The goal of the ad is to receive donation money from people that come across the ad by promoting healthy living, unity, and a better world overall. The ad does not state specifically that the company wishes to use the donation money on improving their YMCA facilities although it is strongly implied through its text. By giving the company more money they can expand and improve their facilities which in turn will bring satisfaction to the company, as well as, residents that attend the Y, if that is indeed the company’s intention. Some viewers may see it strictly as a money bribe. Others may be able to see past the donation urge and see its promotion in healthy living through community efforts and activities and physical activity. Because a child is depicted in this ad it targets families or individuals with kids. Parents of younger children may see this ad as an opportunity to get a break from their kids. Not only will the parents get a break, but the children will have something healthy and/or active to partake in. An older crowd or individual without kids may find the ad to be inapplicable to them and only see the ad as a plea for donation.

Blue Skies in Beijing? YEAAA Right

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The other week, I decided to present my news report based on the air pollution in China, namely, the efforts being made to combat this major environmental issue. For many years now, devastating levels of toxic pollutants including PM2.5, O3, NO2, and SO2 have consumed China. PM2.5 is a contaminated air particle so small that it can only be detected with an electron microscope. O3 is a resulting pollutant in our atmosphere that is formed when previous pollutants react under the sunlight. NO2 is Nitrogen dioxide and this is a group of gaseous air pollutants most commonly formed as a result of fossil fuel combustion and carbon emissions. NO2 mixing with other air pollutants results in acid rain. Lastly, SO2 is Sulfur dioxide, and this too is produced from the burning of fossil fuels. In addition, SO2 is produced from the smelting of mineral ores that contain sulphur. Like NO2, it is a major component of acid rain. . In 2013, China’s State Council implemented the Action Plan for Air Pollution and Control – which included three goals focusing on the air pollution in China. The goals included PM2.5 reduction, setting a limit on coal consumption, and mandated renewable energy growth. In a way to measure the effectiveness of this plan, a group called Greenpeace East Asia decided to collect data on the pollutant levels in China’s cities and provinces. The article that first drew my attention to this current event discussed the decreasing levels of pollutants in Beijing, a major city in China. Hoping to read something actually cheerful in the realm of environmentalism, I read into the article: “A Blue Sky in Beijing? It’s Not A Fluke, Says Greenpeace” from The New York Times. According to author Steven Myers, “In Beijing, pollution fell 53 percent. Greenpeace estimated that lower pollution levels resulted in 160,000 fewer premature deaths across China in 2017” (Myers, 2018).  Even though pollutant levels have decreased since 2014 in the populous city of Beijing, one should not think that the problem is over. On the contrary, polluting coal and metal industries have only increased their output, causing more pollutants being released! This is happening in places other than Beijing, like the providence of Anhui. Since 2014, O3 has increased from roughly 40 ug/m3 to approximately 70 ug/m3 in Anhui alone. In addition, NO2 is on the rise as well (Greenpeace East Asia, 2018).

 

Learning this, I understood a little bit more about the complexity of the environmental crisis that China faces. It’s next to impossible for the State Council to make strides with their Action Plan for Air Pollution and Control if the fossil fuel burning and metal industries undermine their attempts! It’s easy to become frustrated when you know so well how awful these corporations and industries are affecting air quality – this means even children are affected – but if it means they can make money…

I have attached the link to the short film by Jia Zhangke, bringing awareness to the daily lives of those in China living in air pollution. When we educate ourselves we can more effectively make a difference.

 

“We don’t have to sacrifice a strong economy for a healthy environment” – Dennis Weaver

 

 

 

Myers, Steven. “A Blue Sky In Beijing? It’s Not A Fluke, Says Greenpeace.” The New York Times 2018. Web. 26 Jan. 2018.

“PM2.5 In Beijing Down 54%, But Nationwide Air Quality Improvements Slow As Coal Use Increases.” Greenpeace East Asia. N.p., 2018. Web. 26 Jan. 2018.

Zhangke, Jia. Smog Journeys. East Asia: Greenpeace East Asia, 2015. film.