houses and buildings out of trash

http://greenopolis.com/goblog/litegreen/houses-pet-built

Cool New Water Cleaning System!

Here is a link to a video I found about a new invention that uses the suns energy to break water bonds, and use the hydrogen to power the process to turn dirty water into drinkable water. The video explains it all: http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/20/hydra-a-solar-and-hydrogen-powered-mobile-water-purification-system/

Food Production and Deforestation

Rainforests provide homes for 50%-90% of all organisms and humans receive 25% of medicine extracts from rainforests. Trees improve our air quality by breathing in carbon dioxide and other pollutants and exhaling oxygen. Forests regulate the earth’s climate and prevent erosion, landslides, and give fertility to soil. Why are we cutting down trees if they benefit human life?

There are many reasons humans partake in deforestation - overpopulation, logging, and cattle grazing are three big incentives. These reasons all relate to our consumption. Logging industries cut 11 million acres per year for commercial and property industries uses. (http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/deforestation.htm) For example, McDonald’s needs 800 square miles of trees to make the amount of paper they need for a year, according to Peter Heller. Since we are talking about food this week in class, I will touch on the repercussions the food industry and consumption has on deforestation.

Many forests are cleared to make room for food production. This wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if the methods used were ecologically friendly. Farmers resort to the slash and burn method because it is cheap, using ash as fertilizer until it runs out and then use infertile land for cattle grazing. Slash and burn is a terrible method for forest removal, creating no positive long-term outcomes. In class we talked about how in the United States many people want what is fast and convenient, so rather than packing a lunch, many people choose fast food during their lunch breaks. However, according to Heller, “as the burger giants of industrialized society are making high demands for more beef, more forests are being torn down.”

How can we change our unsustainable deforestation habits? According to Robert Cialdini (http://www.grist.org/article/2010-01-12-never-mind-what-people-believe-how-can-we-change-what-they-do), there are six methods of social psychology that can change attitudes and actions toward saving the environment. Four of his weapons of influence are pertinent to changing deforestation. The first is reciprocity- if people are educated on what trees give us and about the importance of their presence for our survival, people could be convinced to change their consumption. According to the social proof, people do what others do- so if you adjust your lifestyle to become more ecologically friendly, you might convince your neighbors, too. Authority- if people obey authority then law needs to be passed to protect more rainforests. Lastly, people desire what is perceived as scarce, so if the knowledge of our diminishing forests is spread, hopefully more would be encouraged to protect the forests.

Wendell Berry’s statement, “to be interested in food but not in food production is clearly absurd”, needs to be taken more seriously for people to understand their food went through a process to end up on their plate. We need to change the dialogue from determining what we are going to eat, into how we are going to eat and the relationship we choose have with our food.

Morgan Miller


Sources

Pollan, Michael. "Wendell Berry's Wisdom." The Nation. 2 Sept. 2009. Web. 25 May 2010. .

Roberts, David. "Never Mind What People Believe—how Can We Change What They Do? A Chat with Robert Cialdini | Grist." Grist | Environmental News, Commentary, Advice. 12 Jan. 2010. Web. 25 May 2010. .

Stock, Jocelyn. "Deforestation." University of Michigan. Web. 25 May 2010. .

Heating Up Action To Cool Down The Planet

The Arctic and Antarctic ice caps are only two of the major features facing the ills of climate change over the past few decades. Scientists have been studying the increasing levels of temperature on Earth that have risen steadily over the years. CO2 emissions are at an all time high because of pollution and need to be addressed and resolved. According the Environmental Protection Agency, this increase in heat has caused the sea levels around the world to rise about 6-8 inches in the past 100 years. Most of this growth in water level is directly from the melting of the ice caps. This short clip below shows a satellite image of the Arctic ice from January 2000 to recently in May of 2009.



Now the question is, how do we help prevent further increases in temperature levels? Who is responsible for this change and how is society going to go about it? John Tribbia from the University of Colorado presents five factors that affect individuals’ environmentally responsible behavior, or ERB as he refers to it. The first factor is the inclination to engage in an environmentally conscious behavior. There are certain characteristics of people that might encourage or not encourage them to engage in environmentally friendly actions that will help climate change – such as gender, race, socioeconomic status, and values. The second factor is motivation to actually become involved in the cause. The public might not be fully informed about the melting of the polar ice caps causing confusion about how to actually help prevent it. This brings us to Tribbia’s third factor, information process and behavioral intent. How individuals’ perceive and feel about the issue of the melting Arctic and Antarctic ice will directly effect how they act in return. Therefore it is extremely important to stress the significance of the problem of climate change due to the daily pollution of the population.

Image of estimated thickness of Arctic Ice


The fourth and fifth factors focus on the ability and skill of the individual to engage in ERB as well as the external support one receives for acting environmentally friendly. The “good citizen” of America has certain standards that all people should live by, however this all depends on certain social, economical, and personal factors that greatly influence their ability to act in ERB. Informing the public is only the first step in this problem of climate change’s distress on the ice caps. Grabbing their attention, motivating them to be environmentally conscious, and letting the public know exactly how they can help this worrying issue will be the next necessary steps to address and hopefully end global warming.

Briauna F.

Here are some links with interesting information and tips to help stop global warming:

http://www.takepart.com/news/tag/stop-the-ice-caps-from-melting

http://scienceray.com/earth-sciences/five-potential-results-of-melting-polar-ice-caps

Works Cited

"Actic Sea". YouTube. May 19,2010 .

"Is the polar ice caps melt, how much would the ocean rise?". howstuffworks. May 19,2010 .

Tribbia, J. (2007). Stuck in the slow lane of behavior change? A not-so-superhuman perspective on getting out of our cars. In Moser, S.C. & Dilling, L (Eds.), Creating a Climate for Change: Communicating Climate Change and Facilitating Social Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 251-265.

"Food, Inc." and "The 11th Hour": How Documentaries are Promoting Change

Food, Inc. was created to raise awareness for the American consumer about the practices going on in our nation’s food industry. Much of this is going on under consent of our own government agencies, and being controlled by corporations only concerned with monetary gain. This economic selfishness has lead to major problems for our nation’s health, farmers, workers, and the environment (Food, Inc., 2008).

We watched the documentary The 11th Hour in class this week, and although it was not specifically about food, it had a lot of overlap with Food, Inc. on certain topics. The 11th Hour brought up the issues of politics and selfishness with the environment, and how we as a nation are much too focused on economics and not enough on sustainability. This point was very evident in Food, Inc. when talking about corporate ownership of the food industry and how factory farming and food transportation has very negatively impacted our planet. Annual greenhouse gas emissions for transporting food alone are up to over 30,000 tons, and industrial farms are greatly contributing to global warming through pollution.

Besides negative effects such as disease and threats to national security, food is one of the main culprits in destruction of our planet and our economic health. Food is supposed to make us healthy and good for the environment, so where did we as a nation go wrong? One of the main problems is that we do not demand for it to be better. This relates to both the food industry and our environment as a whole, because it is ultimately the consumer that decides what is produced. Buying is approval, and if we stop buying, then they will be forced to stop selling (Pino, 2009).

Most of the time people don’t even realize the power and impact they can have. Whether it is bettering the food industry or the environment, we have the power to make change, and awareness is the first step to make things happen. We need to change the way the system works in order to break the system and create a healthy, sustainable economy and environment for everyone. Both Food, Inc. and The 11th Hour have pushed us to think about our decisions and impact on the world. Because of this, change is happening at all levels, from the individual all the way up to global (Newman, 2009).

Here is the link to the Food, Inc. site where you can view the trailer:
www.foodincmovie.com

- Erika L. Hurn

Works Cited
1. Food, Inc. Hungry for Change. 2009.
2. Newman, Sarah. “From Fries to Fennel, How Food, Inc. Is Changing America.” The Huffington Post. 3 September, 2009.
3. Pino, Daria. “Food, Inc. Shows How Your Food Choices Can Change the World.” Summer Tomato. 15 June, 2009.
4. The 11th Hour. Documentary. 2007.

Public Sphere vs The Oil Industry...

By: Roy Sim & Science of Pollution Group

If the public sphere teaches us anything, it should be that action is supposed to be influenced by the public sphere. The issues the public identifies as most crucial to society are the topics that should be addressed first. While there are numerous environmental concerns pertaining to society today, the most significant and pressing matter is the impact of oil.

Oil – specifically petroleum, also known as crude oil – has many facets. Not only is the resource itself becoming scarce, the actual drilling for oil has been detrimental to the environment and earth. The increased exploration and extraction of oil results in more refining and transporting, the outcome then is more pipelines and larger consumption of the resource. The production, distribution, refining and retailing of petroleum based products as a whole, represents the world’s largest industry in terms of dollar value.

Areas that were once rich in oil are drying up and new land is being searched for possible oil reserves. According to the 2008 BP Statistical Review of World Energy, the United States is the largest consumers and importers of oil worldwide.^[1] Gasoline accounts for 46% of uses for petroleum. Other nations, such as China, are showing rapid growth in consumption as well. Still the United States remains as the highest consumers of oil at over 19.5 million barrels per day, which is higher than the entire European Union.^[2]

Thus assuming the world consumes at our current rates, there is enough world petroleum reserves to last for 40 years reports Technical Editor Margery Conner of Electronic Design, Strategy, News.

The article points out four key points:^[3]

^{1. Two-thirds of oil reserves are in the Middle East}

^{2. The fossil fuel that’s seen the fastest increase in consumption is coal (because certain power stations rely on coal, and are being built in China and burning creates more green-house gas emissions than any other form of energy)}

3. The world’s proven reserves of natural gas rose, and are enough to provide more than 60 years of current consumption

4. Some economists say oil is already and its peak. However BP says, “We don't believe there is an absolute resource constraint. When peak oil comes, it is just as likely to come from consumption peaking, perhaps because of climate change policies or for some other reason, as from production peaking."

For years the public has been aware of the issue at hand. As a result, the public sphere has become more concerned and attempts for viable solutions are being found. However, the effects of oil are felt worldwide. Oil spills cause harm to the oceans, wildlife and environment as a whole. The drilling for oil and implementing of pipelines causes land and habitats to be destroyed. Petroleum is one of the highest contributors to global fossil carbon emissions with coal a close second.

Because of the public sphere’s concerns, there has been a rise in solutions to ease the problem as well. Alternative-fuel vehicles are being researched everyday. The use of Hybrid cars helps alleviate some of the effects, but these cars still use fossil fuels. Thus, car companies are looking into hydrogen-fuel cell based vehicles. These cars have their own energy generating power plants on board with zero carbon emissions. It fuels up with hydrogen and the only byproduct is water (hydrogen plus oxygen equals water). Solutions such as these help move along the process to a cleaner future. It is important to realize the impacts the oil industry has. Its reach influences economic issues including environmental ones. Individuals must take it upon themselves to do their part and reduce their carbon footprint.

The future of motoring:

Sources:

1. www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2008/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/pdf/statistical_review_of_world_energy_full_review_2008.pdf

2. www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2174rank.html

3. www.edn.com/blog/1470000147/post/1030010703.html

Global Warming... Rocking This World

Came across a great article on global warming and its possible effects on earthquakes... check it out!

http://www.livescience.com/environment/070830_gw_quakes.html