Videos

On Tuesday, we watched three video clips about different environmental topics. I was shocked at how much of the content of the films was new to me. The first one we watched was about erosion of farmland and other farming facts. 2/3 of farming land has been degraded, which seems like a huge chunk to me; it makes me worry about the future. The video also talked about the "dead zone" in the gulf at the mouth of the Mississippi river, which I also didn't know existed. I cannot believe that absolutely nothing can survive in those waters, but it makes sense when you think about all the run off from pesticides. I also learned about the "Farming the Government" program where the more money the farmers spend, the more money they get. This is contributing to pesticide use way too much.

The second video was about non native plants and how they consume the water supply wherever they are growing. This was news to me as well. 50% less stream flow is a lot, no wonder there is water shortages where native plants are found. The video said something that really made me think: "Within 25 years, half of us will face serious water shortages." This is so scary to me because my children and I will be alive in 25 years and I never thought any of us would really have to go through a water shortage. We really take clean water for granted.

The third video was about logging. I did not realize how detrimental clear-cutting is. I really prefer wood that is harvested in a sustainable way, and I would definitely spend the extra money to contribute to this instead of wood that has come from clear-cutting forests.