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.