ECHO

When I first heart about ECHO, I thought it had more to do with feeding hungry people than educating them. That was before I knew what it stood for: Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization. The whole concept of this farm is very interesting and useful. I thought it was really great that the people of this organization came up with ways for people who do not have the means to make a living to farm and feed their families. Someone in a village in Africa (or any country, for that matter) could really benefit from these methods of farming plants and animals. I also really liked how ECHO has a seed bank and a nursery. The seeds can benefit people all over the world because the plants can grow in areas where it is too dry, too wet, or too hilly. The trees at the nursery can benefit local consumers as well, and in turn their money benefits ECHO. I would rather spend my money at a nursery like this where I know my money is going to help fight world hunger as opposed to Lowe's or Home Depot. I am definitely going to go back to get some plants, and if not, the Moringa seeds were only $3.00...it seems like that would be three dollars well spent for all the nutrition in one leaf!

Paper or Plastic?

Most people think paper bags are more environmentally friendly than plastic bags. I learned that this is not the case when reading an article on the subject from treehugger.com, an environmental blog. I thought that paper bags would be more environmentally friendly because they are biodegradable, but what are paper bags made from? Wood. Where does wood come from? Trees. Therefore, paper bags are ultimately just another product of clear-cutting forests. Both paper and plastic bags can be recycled, but neither of the processes are simple and they both involve many harsh chemicals (not to mention fossil fuels to run the machinery and transport materials). Even the new "biodegradable" plastic bags aren't 100% biodegradable, so everyone's best bet would be to start using the reusable canvas grocery bags. From an energy standpoint, canvas bags work out to be better than both paper and plastic if used 500 times in their lifetime.

Service Learning

I did half of my service learning at Koreshan State Historic Site on Friday. My assignment was to uproot and dispose of non-native invasive plant species that were taking over the campgrounds. The biggest problem at Koreshan is the Air Potato, which can grow up to 8 inches per day eventually killing native plants. Most of these were already cleared out by other students, so I had to pick this Brazillian vine that was all over the place, climbing up and strangling the native plants and trees. It is important to completely uproot the plants so they would not keep growing and to dispose of all of its seeds as well. I also learned that I could not just throw the vines in the dumpster because they will re-root when they eventually get to the landfill. The invasive vines were to be burned later on in the week by the staff, as well as a non-native bush we cut down. I will be going back to pick other invasive plants, herbs, and weeds this Friday. This is the abrus precatorius seed I was picking on Friday. All of these seeds are potential new invasive vines.

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.

Times Beach, Missouri

This was the first time I have ever heard of Dioxin or its harmful effects on plants, animals and humans. After learning a little bit about this in class, I wanted to look it up and learn more about it. It was the largest civilian exposure to the chemical in the United States. Russell Bliss was ordered to oil the roads around town, and assured everyone that it was just waste engine oil(lies!). In 1982, the levels were 100 times higher than the 1 part per billion that is considered hazardous. He also used the waste to spray down stables to get rid of the dust, which resulted in the deaths of 62 horses. After the soil was tested in 1982, humans were still living in the town. They lived there until it flooded; 10 feet of water covered 95% of the city. Since everyone was already evacuated, the town was quarantined and demolished. The rest of the debris and contamination were not incinerated until 1996. People still question as to weather or not the evacuation was necessary. I think that if the dioxin could kill 62 horses (much bigger than humans), then it could easily kill a person.

The city now is a 419-acre national park along Route 66. There is a large grass mound, and beneath it is debris from the old buildings of the city.

Reference: http://www.legendsofamerica.com/mo-timesbeach.html

Class 5/24

I found out in class today that the chromium level in Lee county is seven times California's legal limit (Florida does not have a legal standard for this chemical). This kind of scares me because of the Erin Brockovich movie. I know that the chromium limit in Lee county is not nearly that high, but its still scary! I immediately thought, "I need to go buy bottled water." As soon as the thought crossed my mind, Dr. Morris told the class: "don't even bother buying bottled water because that comes from a tap that they didn't test either." Makes perfect sense. Now I want to know where the chromium is coming from...

I also learned something interesting about Corkscrew Sanctuary. They use a special kind of wood from Brazil for three reasons: 1. its dense and hard. 2. bugs won't eat it & 3. it is harvested sustainably. Trees being harvested sustainably is new to me. We watched a video on this as well. I actually would be one of the people to pay more for the lumber that was collected in an environmentally friendly way.

I also learned some other fun facts today in class:
-50% of jobs are farming
-Primary energy source is wood
-90% food crops would not exist without pollinators
-75% of fish are depleted from overfishing
-It will cost $8billion to restore the everglades

A Land Remembered is really good, by the way!

--Julie

The Living Machine

This water purification process was truly fascinating...I had no idea that this was even possible (maybe its been a while since freshman year bio, but I don't remember hearing anything about organisms purifying water that's that dirty). I really could not believe how nature went to work and how the water came out looking just as clean as it went in...all without chemicals. If this is possible at a place like Corkscrew, it should be implemented other places as well. I know that urbanized cities in the U.S. have chlorine regulations and rules, but what about places in third world countries? What about places where people are literally dying of thirst? I think this would be cheap compared to large water purification plants, it would need very little maintenance, and it would not take as long to set up or build as a large purification plant would. Someone needs to think about this idea...I know I've heard of people in other countries drinking extremely contaminated water because they have no choice. This sounds like a tangible solution.