Label 'Em!

When it comes to genetically modified foots. I most definitely think that they should all be labeled so that we, the consumers, know whether or not we’re eating “frankenfoods”. Don’t get me wrong, I am not necessarily saying that GM foods are a bad thing; I am just of the opinion that we should know whether or not we’re eating them.

When it all comes down to it, there are many plusses and negatives of GM foods. On the plus side, the taste and quality of genetically modified food is enhanced, and the nutrition can also be increased. In addition to that, GM foods are more resistant to disease than the native crops, thanks to plant biologists.

On the negative side, some farmers are scared to try GMOs because of intimidating public opinion. A farmer in Derbyshire was scheduled to conduct a trial run of GM potatoes but pulled out of the experiment due to threats from anonymous callers and fear for his family. It’s sad that this type of reaction has occurred with GM foods, but was probably something that the scientists behind it all saw coming. On top of that, allergies in human beings have risen at the same time as the increase of loss of biodiversity in our food.

All in all, the debate will be ever-lasting about GM foods. However, it must be said that in the best interest of human health, GM foods should be labeled – this will prevent any discrepancies with consumers (us!) in the future.

Get Outta Here!

Whoops…

There are many species that have been introduced to North America by accident. Some are good, some are bad. One bad introduction to North America was the zebra mussel. The zebra mussel came from Europe some time around 1985-1986. This species reproduces rapidly, and has detrimental effects facilities that use raw surface water, because they attach and colonize on wells, screen systems, and water intake pipes, which clogs the water flow. One of the only thing controlling population are their predators which are diving ducks and freshwater drums. They’re eaten by these two species but they are not consumed enough to control their entire population. It is also easy to track their journey online. A detrimental effect of zebra mussels is the fact that they eat a lot of the same species that other larval fish and native species feed on, which may cause a decline in those types of species. Another threat that the zebra mussel poses is the issue that they attach themselves to other species such as crayfish and native mussels, as well as turtles.
Despite the best human efforts, it is almost impossible to kill all zebra mussels that infect a body of water without poisoning other types of underwater species, because zebra mussels can almost only be killed with poison; the current available technology cannot dispose of the invader.

Another species that has been introduced to North America is the Cactus Moth. It was introduced to Florida in 1989. This accidental species has introduced problems to the prickly pear cacti, as they thrive on the cactus pads. The species is also expected to have an immense effect on the western states and Mexico (maybe even Louisiana) and will be detrimental to their landscape. After the cactus pads are infested by the cactus moths, they become < “transparent and hollow”, and are no longer useful. After one pad is used up, the cactus moths move onto another. In order to counter-act the effect this species is having, there are phone numbers that can be called by citizens that are witnessing any infestations and wish to have them acknowledged by institutions dealing with the cactus moth.

One more species that has been dubbed a “pest” after it’s induction to North America is the starling. It came from Europe during the nineteenth century, but has only been an obvious pest during the last few decades. The bird is very aggressive and territorial, driving away native birds from its territory. Since starlings usually travel in packs, they’re a large noise nuisance for near-by citizens of starling rest-stops. Their damage also includes structural damage, as their feces (in abundance) can corrode stone, masonry, and metal. Nests of starlings can often clog drain pipes and backup which cause backup, therefore leading to extensive water damage.

A Little TOO Inconvenient?I

I have watched Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" a few too many times (on many boring Friday nights, yeah - I am that cool), and after I am finished, I always feel like I should turn off a light, walk to the store to return the movie, and never idle my car, ever, ever again. The movie also makes me wonder why, during this “era of procrastination”, we as human beings are polluting out earth so much when we KNOW that it’s terrible. After seeing the graphical data and hearing the evidence of our effects on the earth, it boggles my mind that people are still proceeding to commence their everyday activities (driving their big SUVs, creating un-recyclable waste, using toxic chemicals in factories) as they have been doing, without even keeping the environment in mind. I suppose that thought is sort of rhetorical, because I know that money is the driving force behind today’s society, and unless “going green” makes corporations money, it probably will not, at least any time soon, prevail over the materialistic life that we lead.

There are certain statistics and observations made in the video that lead me to believe that we need to start changing the way that we live. For example, the fact that rising global sea levels could rise at least 20 feet as a result of loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica – this could potentially wipe out coastal areas worldwide. Information also provided in the film includes the fact that by 2050, the Arctic Ocean could be completely ice free - very scary!

Although there is a lot of support for the information provided in AIT, there are also those who criticize and refute the arguments put forth by Mr. Gore. In one film review by Phil Hall, the film is heavily criticized and disfavored. Hall says Gore’s film is the “least riveting stand-up [routine] to play the lecture circuit” . Criticism from Hall also comes up poking fun at both Clinton and Gore because, during their time in the White House, never questioned the auto-industry’s energy efficiency standards because it was “making them money”.
On top of this comes news from Dick Cheney in an ABC interview. Cheney denies the fact that Global Warming is a direct cause of human activities and that it is definitely occuring – contradicting the information put forth by AIT.

When it comes to the assumption that AIT is “docuganda”, I am not one hundred per cent sure how I feel about that statement. For the most part, I believe this film is a solid documentary, going to places that were in need of visiting. The way Gore delivers the message of global warming is excellent, and the information put forth is backed up by educated professionals who do know what they’re talking about. In addition to that, global warming is, in my opinion, a very real thing. Therefore, I think Gore’s film is a necessary documentary with legitimate intensions of informing the general public – after all, something must be done to help prevent a total earth “melt-down”.


References for the support of AIT:

Washington Post, "Debate on Climate Shifts to Issue of Irreparable Change," Juliet Eilperin, January 29, 2006, Page A1.
Time Magazine, Feeling the Heat, David Bjerklie, March 26, 2006.

LEAD!

The Public and Catholic school boards for Thames Valley area are checking water for lead because, if found in the water, it could be terribly detrimental to the human body. If lead were to enter the human blood system, it will go to either your: blood, soft tissue, and mineralized tissue. Depending on the amount of lead and the age of the person, lead will have different side effects.

For low lead levels in children, the following side effects may occur:

• Nervous system and kidney damage.
• Learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and decreased intelligence.
• Speech, language, and behavior problems.
• Poor muscle coordination.
• Decreased muscle and bone growth.
• Hearing damage.
• Seizures, unconsciousness, and death.

For high levels of lead in adults, the following side effects may occur:

• Increased chance of illness during pregnancy.
• Harm to a fetus, including brain damage or death.
• Fertility problems (in men and women).
• High blood pressure.
• Digestive problems.
• Nerve disorders.
• Memory and concentration problems.
• Muscle and joint pain

According to CBC, there are some Londoners that may need to take caution when drinking tap water, and may be encouraged to change some part of their water system. This is because higher than normal levels of lead were found in water within some homes in London.

Those to be most effected by this lead problem would be homeowners who had water containing higher than normal levels of lead. Also, schools who have water containing an alarming amount of lead may be effected if the problem is not caught soon enough.

Testing must be done in cities and be taken seriously, as low levels of lead in children can cause detrimental effects, which may be irreversible.

Did January Seem WARM To You?

Did January Seem Warm To You?

The NOAA is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The “Goldilocks Effect” refers to three plants, Earth, Venus, and Mars. It is believed that Earth is “just right”, Venus is “too hot”, and Mars is “too cold”, just like in Goldilocks. Earth holds just the right gases, in just the right amounts to warm the earth to temperatures that are suitable to mankind. Earth’s ability to retain a certain amount of gas to warm the earth is what we call the greenhouse effect. This difference in temperature between the three planets is a result of the belief that each planet either has too much or too little greenhouse effect to support a sustainable life. The following is a clear explanation, which is taken directly from the website of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

Mars and Venus have essentially the same types and percentages of gases in their atmosphere. However, they have very different atmospheric densities.
Venus has an extremely dense atmosphere, so the concentration of is responsible for a "runaway" greenhouse effect and a very high surface temperature. 

Mars has almost no atmosphere; therefore the amount of is not sufficient to supply a warming effect and the surface temperatures of Mars are very low.

Mars is much further away from the Sun than is Venus.

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As for my own opinion global warming, I do believe that it is a result, perhaps not directly or mainly, but I do believe that it is a result of greenhouse gas emissions, however I am not saying that it is a fact. When it comes to the issue of global warming, I feel like the more I learn, the less I know. There are many theories that all support different causes of global warming, but I still stand strongly behind the GHG emission cause. Perhaps it is a bias, but I have learned much through classes in school, as well as watching Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth (as well as reading his book), that it just seems to make perfect sense. The science that backs up global warming due to GHG emissions is overwhelming, as well as the effects that can be seen in everyday life already. In addition, it is quite obvious that global warming is a result of GHG emissions, and can be seen through immense support of professionals.

My Footprint

When it comes to being ecologically friendly, I generally think of my-self as an environmentally friendly person. This was, of course, until I actually took a little test that confirmed my beliefs to be otherwise. As I received my results from myfootpring.org, I learned that if everyone lived the same lifestyle as me, we would need FOUR plants. That’s a lot! Considering how many people are on the Earth, my way of life is not the greatest lifestyle to live. This made me get to thinking, how can I be more environmentally friendly? Lots of things, actually. But before I move onto that, I would also like to add that after checking out my footprint, I surfed on over to another site that would, theoretically, let me know in a different way what my lifestyle footprint looks like. As I received my results from the second site, I learned that I have a “low growth” lifestyle. So, which is the correct site? I would like to believe that both are correct. At this point in time, I may not have the most environmentally friendly lifestyle, but who is to say that I don’t want to change that. I would also like to add that, although it would take four planets to sustain my type of lifestyle, there are many things that I am now learning about that can reduce that number – these are things that I completely intend on taking full advantage of. For example, a few things I can do to increase sustainability, and decrease my careless and potentially environmentally detrimental way of life are:

• Walk to school, instead of drive
• Buy locally grown organic food
• Not water the lawn
• Take shorter showers
• Turn the tap off while I brush my teeth
• Make others aware of the detrimental effects of careless lifestyles
• Use tap water instead of throw-away bottles

So, in conclusion, I would like to make it known that although it may take four planets to sustain by current lifestyle, who is to say that I don't want to change that? As I keep living life, I am going to live it in an environmentally friendly way, and hopefully decrease the amount of planets it would take to sustain my current lifestyle.

Carbon Tax An Excellent Idea!

When it comes to discussing carbon taxes in Canada, there are many different arguments that come along with it. In my opinion, if the money form the taxes is used productively, the carbon tax is an excellent idea. Although it means that we, as consumers, will be spending more money, it will benefit our lifestyle in the long run. I also think that there will need to be informative meetings and a lot of information for the public regarding the carbon tax, if the government chooses to impose it. If the public is simply asked to pay a tax and not given any inclination as to why they’re paying it, they may resent the idea – if they are informed, they may be a little less resistant to pay the extra money. On top of this, the money collected from the carbon tax should be put towards something that will further the “green” movement in Canada, and not just money in the bank for the government. Furthermore, although I am most likely stating the obvious, a carbon tax would potentially do great, great things for the environment. The emissions from vehicles are so harmful that, if gas was a little more expensive, people may walk more, bike more, or take more public transportation, resulting in a cleaner atmosphere. As well, it would be a push in the right direction, and counteract the procrastination of actually cleaning up the environmental mess that we have created.

What Can YOU Do?

Lately in the news there has been a lot of talk about green house gases and how terrible CO2 emissions are for the environment; everyone is talking about this issue. But that’s all people ever seem to do – talk. There are so many things that each and every person can be doing each and every day to have a positive impact on GHG emissions into the atmosphere. Although people seem to think of it as being such a huge task (because the environment is such a HUGE place) it is really a lot easier than everyone thinks. Aside from the obvious things such as walking more often, trying to carpool as much as often, and turning off more lights, there are many more ways everywhere you look to reduce GHG emissions. Below is a list of beneficial and efficient ways to help out our environment.

Water Conservation

• When you have a bath, simply fill the tub up half way, instead of all the way to the top
• Turn taps off tightly so there is no cause for dripping
• Don’t flush the toilet every single time you use it (you can be the judge of when it is necessary!)
• Conserve hot water – water heaters take up an exceptional amount of energy

Transportation

• Ride a bike as often as possible
• Carpool – if there are many people going to one place, talking to each other and putting as many people in a car as possible can probably save you from taking 5 cars as opposed to 2 or 3
• Use public transportation if it is available
• Use less gas
• When buying a new car, do your research on fuel consumption, or even buy a hybrid vehicle

Eat Healthier

• Buy local produce at your grocery store, and bring it home in bags that can be re-used
• Start eating more organic food – organic farms don’t usually use as many fossil fuels

When you go to the store…

• Buy only post-consumer recycled paper products – the third greatest contributer to global warming is the paper industry
• Tell companies that you invest in that if they don’t reduce their emissions, you’ll pull your stocks

In Your Community

• Make sure you’re knowledgeable about global warming so that you can avoid contributing to it
• Get involved – write a letter to the newspaper that warns them of the causes and effects
• Talk to a radio host and get on the air so your concerns will be shared with a broader audience
• Join an awareness group
• Watch “An Inconvenient Truth” and encourage others to do the same

Home and Garden

• Use a rake instead of a leaf blower – this way your lawn will get more oxygen and sun
• Plant a tree
• Use latex paint instead of oil-based
• Buy energy efficient appliances
• Unplug electronics when they’re not in use because even though they’re “off”, they still use little bits of energy
• Replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent light bulbs
• Before you turn up the heat, put on warm clothes to judge whether or not the extra heat is necessary

If we all do at least some of these things, GHG emissions could be reduced plenty. As long as we all have knowledge and are aware of the world around us, hopefully these little actions will have big results. After all, a few minutes a day is worth a safer and longer lifetime in the end.

Incentives and Rebates

On the website www.incentivesandrebates.com, there are many different offers that one can find to help preserve or sustain the renewable and non-renewable sources that we have access to.

One that I found most effective was obtaining percentage rebates on the purchase price of ENERGY STAR products. These products include refrigerators, clothes washers, freezers, furnaces, and more. On each item, one can receive 15% off the purchase price, up to a maximum of $500 on each product, depending on the type of product. However, customers can receive rebates on multiple products.

I think this is effective because people love to save money. All of the products which you can save money on are things that everyone needs, and are things that everyone will probably use in their lifetime. If you buy it this way, you’re helping the environment, as well as saving money; it’s a win/win situation for everyone. I especially like this one because ENERGY STAR is a good company, so it’s good that if the government is going to endorse (in a sense) a company, it’s a solid one. Also, I think this is a good program because it, potentially, gets the ball rolling for other companies to do the same. The only thing that might be complicated about this program is getting people to know about it. There needs to be more awareness about the types of programs that are available.

Another rebate that I think is particularly effective is the clothes washer rebate. With this incentive, one can receive a $60 rebate when they purchase a washing machine that is a qualifying new high-efficiency washer, after the date of January 1, 2003. Also, when they partake in this rebate, they can enter a draw and take a chance at winning the money back that they paid for their washing machine, up to $2500. I think this is a good rebate because lots of people buy washing machines, and they don’t have to go to much trouble just to get 60 free dollars. One thing I think people will be skeptical about is that it is “only” $60, and some people may think it should be higher. If the incentive is not high enough, there is a chance that not as many people will partake, just because they don’t think $60 is a lot, compared to the buying price of approximately $2000. The draw to win up to $2500 is a good addition though, because it gives people a little higher incentive to partake.

The third incentive that I picked is the Enersource Conservation Water Heater Tune-Up. I think this one is extremely effective because of it’s nature. For this incentive, one can receive a free water heater tune up: “The tune-up involves a visit by Enersource representatives who will install or provide, free of charge, a water heater blanket, pipe wrap, an energy efficient showerhead, compact fluorescent light bulbs and a faucet aerator”. I think this is wonderful because usually one would have to call a plumber to do this, which can be extremely expensive. Also, this is a good one because it is something that most people could use. Basically any home owner could use this service, so it, I imagine, would be very successful.

The other rebate I found that I really like is the Hot Savings Rebate. Ontario citizens can receive a $100 rebate when they replace an existing furnace with a qualifying furnace or air handler. A rebate of up to $75 is available for the purchase and installation of a programmable thermostat. A $500 rebate is available for the replacement of an existing central air conditioning system with an ENERGY STAR qualified system. This is wonderful because, once again, it is something that any homeowner could use at one point in time. I also like this rebate because the value is a little higher than most with the rebate.

My First Post

When choosing Environmental Resource Management as one of my classes, my first inclination was that it could be a tad boring and perhaps irrelevant to my future career choice as a psychologist. After doing some more research and listening to some of the feedback from my peers (who had taken this course previously), it occurred to me that this course may actually have a lot more to do with my life than I had expected. This thought occurred to me as, on a Friday night as I was home alone, I was watching Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”. I thought to myself that there must be a reason why I am at home on a Friday night watching a documentary, rather than out with my friends. That was when I really started to think about the relevance of this film, and furthermore the environment, to my own life. The environment and it’s condition is very crucial to my self as a person, and I have realized that it is so crucial to my well being as a human, and my future here on this earth – this earth that we all, every day, take advantage of in one way or another. I will be honest and say that up until the end of grade eleven, and the beginning of grade twelve, I would have considered myself a materialistic type of person. There were only certain things that concerned me, and those concerns were extremely materialistic and, looking back on them, were very selfish (and perhaps regrettable). I only wish that I had opened my eyes sooner to look at the grand spectrum of things that exist on earth, and the relevance of our every day activities that will of course, one day, contribute to the very condition of this planet.
I can honestly say that I definitely have some concerns about the environment. There are so many things happening in this world that we are oblivious to until we open our eyes. There are so many detrimental cycles and operations happening in many places all over the world that are completely avoidable and extremely abusive to this wonderful world. After realizing all of these things (thank goodness I did), I realized that I can do something about it. If we, as youth, learn how we can help the environment, then what is better than united youth? If we can take some chances, learn together, and progress towards a better good of humanity and well being, I believe that we can work wonders on anything we set our minds to. I also think it is awful and regressive that not all youth are working to their full potential. Resting potential is one of the most untapped resources this world has. We are the leaders of tomorrow, and we as a whole can hopefully make this earth less polluted, more preserved, and a better place for all of us in the future. The levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will be ridiculously high by the time we are 70, and will only continue to be worse by the time our children are grown ups. If we do not work out these problems, who is going to? The people that are doing it now are not going to be around forever, and we cannot always rely on others to do our jobs for us. We are getting to be at an age where we need to realize what we can do for ourselves, and take action on important issues.
I do believe that I will take a lot out of this course with me. I hope to work in the field of International Development, Third World Development etc. courses in University, and I know that the knowledge I retain here will help me to become further educated in the future. I also know that this course will help push me into the right direction with regards to living a greener life, and helping, as well as encouraging, others to do so as well. Though it is never 100% predictable what the future holds for us, it is 100% sure that we can try to do something about it. Hopefully the information we learn about the environment today will help us build a better environment tomorrow.