Light Pollution

As I walk around the streets of San Francisco with my friends on a crisp breezy evening, I look around at the sky only to realize that the sky seems to appear a dull shade of orange and purple and quite bland due to the lack of stars spotting the sky. For most people who live in the city, this would seem like any other night, but because of light pollution, city dwellers don’t know how many starts are actually out there. Light pollution may not seem like a big thing, but if you look at the consequences light pollution has on the surrounding environment, then you’ll see why it is becoming an increasingly problematic issue.

What exactly is “light pollution”? Light pollution, according to Starry Night Lights Blog, is “misused or misdirected light”, resulting from inappropriate or excessive light use. This can cause many problems such as Sky Glow, which is when excessive use of light causes a glow over urban areas. The glow causes problems for people and animals in the surrounding environment. The glow throws off people’s circadian rhythms or sleep cycles and in turn can cause sleep problems such as insomnia and has been even linked to speeding up tumor growth, as noted in Ron Chepesiuk’s Website http://www.ehponline.org/members/2009/117-1/focus.html , and its not only humans who suffer the consequences, animals in the surrounding environments are also affected by it. The sky glow can mess up the cycles of nocturnal animals and currently threatens species such as the Florida sea turtle who use the light to guide them to shore and their young to the water. Light pollution is not only a health hazard but also consumes a large amount of fossil fuels to produce the energy for the lights adding to the global warming factor.

What can be done to help? Just like buying energy saving lights to cut back on the use fossil fuels for electricity, there are night sky friendly lighting, meaning lighting that is directed downward and not up and out, available for purchase at most hardware stores. Another way to help become a friend of the night sky, is to cut back on the amount of lighting you use everyday and only use outdoor lighting when activity is present in the area. Imagine the change that could be made if everyone took the steps to reduce the unnecessary lighting.

"Forest of Extacy"

The over-exploitation of resources typically brings to mind industries such as logging or mining which seek to assuage the massive consumption of first world countries. However, a new form of exploitation of the natural world is flourishing in the Cardamom Mountains of Western Cambodia. Vietnamese crime syndicates decimated the entire population of Mreah Prew trees in their native country and have recently turned to the relatively untouched forests of Western Cambodia in search of this rare tree. The Mreah Prew tree is unique to Cambodia and its neighboring Southeast Asian countries and is renowned as the exclusive source of Safore oil, the key ingredient in the popular club drug Extacy. On the global black market, a single liter of the prized oil is worth at least 2,000 dollars. It takes 1 liter of Safore oil to make over 7,000 Extacy tabs, which easily translates to over 200,000 dollars once the Safore oil is in the right hands.

Until recently, the mountainous Cardamom forest was relatively virgin and had been fortunate enough to avoid the deprecating effects of exploitation for the most part. Following the topple of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge in the late 1970's, surviving members fled to the Cardamoms seeking refuge from a country that wanted justice for the horrific years of genocide it had endured at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Leaving hundreds of miles scattered with mines as they retreated into the mountains, the militants oddly helped to conserve a large area of rainforest for a couple decades. Now, this once pristine forest, home to at least 12 species found on the endangered list, is being opened up to all kinds of exploitation including illegal logging, poaching, and the extremely detrimental Safore Oil factories. They are no small operation and require heavy machinery in the process of chopping, chipping, and distilling the prized Mreah Prew Phnom trees, which are typically at least several hundred years old. Each factory can produce up to 1 ton of Safore oil a day and, with global demand for Extacy at all time high, these illegal operations quickly exhaust all the resources and promptly move on to set up another factory.

I know that we're all conscious individuals and are well-aware of the fact that our lifestyles of drastic over-consumption are quickly depleting the earth's resources and destroying the environment, but I thought this particular topic provided a unique development in this system. I feel like people are very quick to judge this kind of drug-related degradation of the environment, dubbing it a very selfish atrocity because it serves to provide drugs to party go-ers. While this is entirely true, is this type of exploitation really any more selfish than the legal exploitation that maintains an unsustainable lifestyle of consumerism and extreme comfort in the industrialized world? No. It's all the same. The legality of something doesn't correlate to it being ethical or justified. Exploitation in the name of recreation is the same whether its caused by an appetite for drugs or the desire to get places quickly in gas-powered cars or the disgusting amount of red meat eaten in the United States. Exploitation is Exploitation.

We Are What We Eat

Just as our eyes are the doors to our hearts, our refrigerators can act as the doors not only to our stomachs but also to our lifestyles. So, I must wonder: what do they tell about the consumers of today’s society? Mark Menjivar asked himself the same question and decided to begin a photography project in order to answer it and the result is a multi-page spread in the current issue of Orion magazine. The spread features refrigerators owned by a wide variety of American consumers, including bachelors, businessmen, families, and even a midwife and teacher. The refrigerators reveal many things about their owners’ diets and ways of living and shed light on our American culture and modern-day cuisine. They suggest that many of us often eat out of cartons and Styrofoam to-go containers because of either our laziness or busy lifestyles. However, they also illustrate the recent tendency toward local and organic eating, meaning that despite the fact that our society has gotten itself stuck in the rut of industrialism and convenience, many of us are attempting to dig ourselves out of it. Before even reading the brief captions underneath Menjivar’s photographs, I merely looked at them and could guess at what type of person owned each refrigerator and for the most part I was right. So, this leads me to the personal question of what does my family’s refrigerator and kitchen in general reveal? Well, first one would notice the various juices (orange, apple, and usually some berry mix) and inevitable gallon container of 1% milk in the right door shelf. Below them, one would then find the condiments on the next shelf (fat-free/low cal dressings, jellies, and many salsas. Further inside, one would most likely notice the large variety of salad ingredients and items for making sandwiches (deli meat, sliced cheese). Moving on to the freezer behind the left side door, one would immediately discover my family’s obsession with Dryer’s Light Ice Cream and the shelf of my sister’s diet frozen meals (Lean Cuisines and Weight Watchers products). If one wanted to know even more about how my family eats, one could merely open the pantry behind the door right beside the fridge. There, one would instantly notice both the absence of snack foods and the abundant selection of cereal. Oh, and don’t forget the 99% fat free popcorn. And to complete the journey to discover my family’s habits, one need only open the cabinet next to the kitchen sink to find our sore spot: tea. Chamomile tea, herbal tea, flavored tea, black tea, green tea, and even white tea (along with the choice of caffeinated or non-caffeinated). So, needless to say, one could learn many things about my family by the items in our kitchen. And now I must ask the question to everyone: what does your refrigerator reveal about how you live? I urge you to take the time to analyze this because it most likely will lead to great insight into who you are as an individual. At least, it did for me.

Green architecture. This is something that not too many people are familiar with, but has interested me for a number of years and has sparked my previous desire of becoming an architect. Being a green architect entails one to come up with a design that is not only unique, but also a design that will benefit the client in an environmentally friendly manner while using earth conscious materials.

Some may think that green architecture is easy, but the architect has to spend an ample amount of time pondering not only the aesthetics of the building, but the sustainability factor as well. Window placement is extremely important when it comes to designing a house. Making sure that natural light is able to filter through during certain times of the day is important so that it can cut down one’s electricity bill. There are many elements to be considered when designing “green.” Architects examine the relationship between aesthetics and ethics by referring to the dictum “less is more.” Green architects are often inspired by nature when designing which contributes to their abstract designs.

The Loblolly House located on Taylors Island in Maryland, is a perfect example of green living. The materials used to construct this were loblolly wood, cedar wood, aluminum, and fiber-cement panels. The fascinating elements of this house include the garden roof that provides natural cooling during the summer and insulates the home in the winter. Aside from that cool feature, there is even a semi-open atrium of bamboo that represents the house being in tune with the environment.

As we move into this generation of “going green”, the act of sustainable living is becoming more prevalent in today’s society. We are all considered consumers, and we often times have to think about how our lifestyle decisions impact the environment whether it be positively or negatively. However, people are slowly becoming more aware of environmental problems that we are facing and are becoming more earth conscious.

If you ever consider building your own home, I suggest that you consider hiring a green architect that will aid you in a design that will be not only energy efficient, but sustainable too. You would be surprised how much money you can save by having solar panels on your roof, and windows that are able to filter through enough natural light so that you won’t need to turn on any lights during the day. Living in an environmentally friendly home not only has its benefits economically, but it also expresses the creativity of the designer as well as the owner. As we discussed previously in class, buildings can teach you things. In this case, eco-friendly homes are teaching us how to live “greener” lifestyles.

Birds are pets for a reason!

So first while we were in class, the poem we read was "The Darkling Thrush" by Thomas Hardy and some wondered what a Thrush was. Well if it was not for the syllabus saying “each of these poems is about a bird” I would have not known that a thrush was a bird either. That has inspired me to look up what a thrush was instead of just imagining what Hardy had to say and describe about the thrush he encountered. He was indeed right when he said it was small and plump.They inhabit wooded areas and often feed on the ground or eat rose hips. They are insectivorous and are residents in warm climes, but migrate to higher latitudes for the summer. Also an interesting fact is that they lay 2 to 5 speckled eggs in cup shaped nests. So in a quick summary, you can imagine a small plump plum like bird in a cup shaped nest with 2 to 5 speckled eggs in it.And for those who cannot imagine a small plump plum, here is a picture;

What I found interesting in the poem was the fact that Hardy talks about a bird, a thrush, and how it is singing and is a source of happiness. Looking at modern day homes, we still keep birds as pets and look to them for music and a source of happiness. Back in the days when I was a young laddy at home alone, I turn to my sister’s pet birds for inspiration and company. They would always sing to me while I was in the garage with them and when I’d let them fly around in there, they would be nice and not bite or scratch me. So not only are they a source of music and happiness, they are animals that are seen as harmless and free. Birds are animals that are seen to be a sign of freedom and hope at times. Like how Hardy says “Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew and I was unaware.” Birds really just puzzle the human mind, but yet still intrigue the mind and bring about a certain happiness that cannot be brought upon by anything else. Birds do not have to be pets to be loved, people in parks feed and love the birds that are around them. If a bird is seen out of nowhere and is singing, no one can ignore it and not look at it and listen.

Paper or Plastic?

As Courtney reported in an earlier blog, the garbage patch that is in the North Pacific Ocean is twice the size of the state of Texas. It is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the Eastern Garbage Patch, and the Pacific Trash Vortex. It covers more than 15,000,000 square kilometers of space, and it is composed of over 100,000,00 tons of debris. Most of the debris is plastic. About eighty percent of the garbage comes from land while only 20 percent comes from the ships at sea. (http://www.kidzworld.com/article/19102-pacific-oceans-plastic-island) The most important thing to understand is that plastic can only become smaller in size over time when its in the ocean, but it will always be plastic. The patch is also made up of When the plastic becomes very small, organisms that live in water mistake it for zooplankton, and eat it. This also means that when the animals in the water eat it, it will later end up in our food when we eat those animals. This is not only important for the sake of the animals, but also for us. The different types of plastic are: Low Density PolyEthylene, High Density PolyEthylene, and a few more. Low Density PolyEthylene is used for vegetables, toys, and clothes, while High Density PolyEthylene is the supermarket bag. (http://plasticisrubbish.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/what-are-plastic-bags-made-from/) Plastic is very durable, made from natural gas, and because their molecular bonds are so strong, it therefore resists degradation. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic) Since they are so hard and cost a lot to recycle, plastic ends up in landfills. They can break down into toxic particles, and contaminate the soil. Every bag that goes down the drain, ends up in the ocean. (http://www.googobits.com/articles/1604-plastic-bag-pollution.html) In 2007, San Francisco was the first city in the U.S. to ban plastic bags in grocery stores and pharmacies. Most importantly, people think that plastic bags are free, but in San Francisco, they spent 8.5 million to deal with plastic bag litter. Bangladesh, and some African nations are thinking about banning them because they clog sewerage systems. China will also stop handing out free bags. Also, in order for us to use paper bags, deforestation has to occur, "take four times more energy to manufacture, and ten times more energy to recycle" (http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/07/ebg072909.html). In Ireland, the PlasTax (taxes on plastic bags, 33 cents per bag) cut 90 percent of bag use in a couple of weeks. Later, people carrying a plastic bag were looked upon the same way a person smoking on the plane would be looked at.

A couple of weeks ago I saw a commercial on television while I was watching the news, that interviewed different people about why they use reusable bags when they go grocery shopping. Some people said that they use them because it looks good for their clothes, while another man said that he wants to help the environment. One couple said that they use reusable bags from Trader Joes and after they are done unpacking the food, they leave the bags on their front porch until the next time. One woman said while laughing that the reusable ones don't rip, and her food does not fall out. After all of the people spoke about why they don't use plastic bags, a person said that we should use reusable bags to help the environment. This commercial was very important to me because I started to think about myself when I heard the diverse group of people talk. I realized that I am not doing something that is so easy, that could help the organisms in the ocean, and our planet. I have one of these bags from Safeway, but I always forget to use it, because I am so busy thinking about other things. I feel a little guilty that I am not doing something that is so easy. I feel that I should make it a routine to use that bag every time I go shopping, and maybe reward myself when I do. This ad was aimed towards the people that don't really think about these sorts of things because they are not directly affected by it. They don't live in the ocean, and they don't mistake plastic for food. If they did, then they would make sure they don't use the plastic. It was a very effective ad because we got the opinions of many different many that were different ages, so most people could relate to their stories.

There are people that are helping to clean the area of debris in the ocean. For example, one man named Richard Owen, a contractor and scuba diving teacher, created the Environmental Cleanup Coalition. The plan that he and this group has is to get ships to clean the area of all of the trash. He also wants to make a restoration and recycling laboratory called Gyre Island. (http://www.kidzworld.com/article/19102-pacific-oceans-plastic-island)

350 Together

On October 24th, 2009, The International Day of Climate Action is taking place throughout the world, in search of global support towards the reduction of Carbon Dioxide levels through political action. There are going to be conventions in almost every country across the planet this Saturday, to push the number 350 into peoples minds.

350 is the magic number for Carbon Dioxide levels in the atmosphere for reduction of climate change and for sustainability. As of now, our atmospheric level is too high causing the melting of polar ice caps, and other major environmental crisis. Currently, we stand at 390 parts per million which is significantly above the healthy level which has been determined by NASA. High Carbon Dioxide levels in the atmosphere are the leading cause of global warming which is an environmental crisis taking place right now. Our current Carbon Dioxide level of 390 parts per million is a global epidemic that will eventually destroy our planet if left unchanged for too long.

This Saturday, San Francisco is having a huge convention to make an impact, and to get our voices heard for the upcoming Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December. World leaders will be voting on political action which can either make or break our future if action is taken to actively reduce Carbon Emissions or not.

The Copenhagen Convention can be a turning point for humanity in changing the direction of our future towards a more socially responsible way of life. We must work together to make our voices heard because this is our chance to make a real change. In December, the Climate Conference in Copenhagen will consist of government officials from approximately 170 countries around the world. The goal for the Conference is to get a majority of votes toward a Copenhagen Protocol to prevent global warming and climate changes for the future.

This year many of us have learned about our personal carbon footprints, and little ways to reduce them with every day habits, and taking responsibility for our actions. However we all know that the answer for our globe lies on a much larger scale, and our own personal actions are not enough to change the devastating climate change. This Saturday is a great opportunity to be a part of something bigger, to get our voices heard, to take a stand for what we believe is right, and to make a difference.

Where's the next boom? Maybe in 'cleantech'

I stumbled up this article when I was browsing The Washington Post (my way of staying in touch with home, in a way). It's ironically about alternative energy research going on in Silicon Valley/San Francisco. Check it out--I hope the link works. If it asks you to sign in and you don't already have an account, you can also sign in using your Facebook.

Article

A Man named Pearl, and Topiary

Today I watch the movie A man Named Pearl and It really got me think about how we sculpt our world and how this can be part of nature because it is art and organic form. The man Pearl Fryar lives in rural South Carolina where he has a world famous topiary garden. His trees are beautiful and I think you should all take a look. Here is his WEBSITE , and also check out the movie because it is very inspirational.

It is Hot in Here?!

So what exactly is global warming? This crossed my mind, and I started to wonder when it started, when did we officially claim that we are in a state of global warming? What leads to it? What will it do? Can we fix it?

Well, global warming is the gradual increase of temperature on the whole earth over time. Global warming will change patterns in rain, sea level, and will have a big impact on plants, animals and humans. Global warming has been in effect since the mid 20th century. The main cause of global warming has been the increase of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are gases in the atmosphere that absorb and emit gases into the thermal infrared range. Greenhouse gas levels have been increased by the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. Deforestation will cause a rise in greenhouse gases and therefore contribute to global warming because trees intake the carbon dioxide we breathe out and give off oxygen for us to breathe. With the depletion of millions and millions of trees, we loose the process thats occurs with the trees in which the "trees [act] as lungs..." (Pollan 174). Without this breathing pattern, the Earth will choke, which is what happens during global warming. Global warming has not only been because of human intervention, volcanoes and solar radiation have done damage to the Earth for years and years before industrialization even began.

Not only will global warming cause the temperature to rise, but it will also cause the sea levels to rise, in turn causing the change in the amount and pattern of rainfall. Extreme weather events will also become more likely and more hard-hitting. We have seen an increase in devastating tropical storms in the past couple of years.

So what do we do? We have this huge problem facing us, our world is becoming hotter and hotter, and eventually will not be livable for human beings. The main problem is the emission of Carbon Dioxide (CO2). As I mentioned before we breathe out CO2 and trees take it in, so without those trees to take it in, and with more and more factories and cars put on the streets that emit CO2, it become a huge problem. So, in order to get rid of the problem, we have to reduce our output of CO2. Switching to hybrid cars (or even no cars at all), and planting plenty of trees are a great way to get this done. Recycling and watching the places where your food comes from to ensure it is grown naturally and without pesticides are also great ways to reduce carbon emissions. These are all small steps, but they will add up in the end and we will be able to see results, and if not us, future generations will be much happier!

Plastics can make us fat?

Obesity is a growing problem all over the world. According to the WHO, there are currently more than one billion adults overweight and at least three hundred million of them are clinically obese. According to the US Surgeon General, in the United States the number of overweight children has doubled since 1980. The rise of obesity is said to be caused by less physical activity and increased consumption of unhealthy foods (that can be found on almost every street in a city). I came across an article online that was titled “Can plastics make us fat?” I was interested in learning that there might be another factor in the rising number of obesity, especially from something that I use everyday. The article said that some “hormone-mimicking pollutants” in the food chain “have previously unsuspected effects”. These pollutants act on genes in the developing fetus and newborn to turn more precursor cells into fat cells “which stay with you for life”. This chemical, obesogen, could be a factor in the rising number of obese children. The “prevalence of obesity in infants under six months has risen seventy three percent since 1980”. The rise in obesity and the rise in industrialization could also be related. More plastics are created in the industrialized world where obesity is more common. Can plastics really make us fat?

The article goes on to list household items that include obesogen – the chemical compound, foreign to the body that can disrupt normal development or homeostasis inducing obesity. Almost everything listed was something needed for everyday living: carpets, mattresses, shoes, purses, detergents, furniture, toothbrushes, toothpaste, water from the shower that comes through PVC pipes, soaps, shampoos, and the list goes on. It was ridiculous “these chemicals are in everything”. We can’t possibly get rid of everything that has obesogen because then we’d be getting rid of virtually everything. The chemical is linked to such a growing problem in America, but how can we solve this problem? The article says “this fall, scientists from NIH, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environment Protection Agency, and academia will discuss obesogens at the largest-ever government-sponsored meeting on the topic”. Hopefully then we will be able to figure out how to stop the impending obesity on our children and ourselves… if it hasn’t already happened.

Industrialization may be the cause of this problem because I wouldn’t say that plastics are nature. In the meantime I’m going to try to cut back on the use of things I don’t necessarily need. Maybe that will hinder the growing problem that industrialization has caused for us.