DOTS

1. Take shorter showers. I’ve always had a problem with taking short showers. Globally, this will help the environment by conserving water. Throughout my overpopulation posts, I learned that one of the many consequences of overpopulation is the draining of resources, including water.

2. Drink from metal water bottle, not plastic. Mr. Sproul has gone off on many tangents questioning why anyone would drink from bottled water when we have perfectly good tap water in Maine, all while a Poland Springs water bottle stood on my desk. It also wastes plastic and research has shown that tap water is healthier. Nationally, this will conserve water (about three times more water is used for a water bottle than actually put in), lower toxic fumes that are created when making bottles, and help the landfills, oceans, and other areas that recyclable bottles help destroy (although I always recycle!).

3. Correct others when they misuse bins. Speaking up has been something I’ve been working on. I see people putting their bottles, food, and trash into the wrong bins all the time. Since monitoring the stations, I’ve now started to correct people. I want to continue this within Deering and around the community. Hopefully, people around the world help out others, so we can teach people how to properly recycle, compost, and redeem.

4. Continue environmental events. I’ve never been great with keeping up with the news, but the blog posts have kept me informed about environmental news. I hope to continue keeping up with the news so I know what’s going on with the environment locally, nationally, and globally.

5. Eat organic. Recently, I’ve been trying to eat less processed food and more organic food. Not only does this benefit my body but also the environment. There are a great amount of pros for eating organic food: it’s local - so less transportation costs, less chemicals and pesticides, cage free animals, it reduces farm pollution, it support local sellers, and usually the food has more taste!

6. Save energy. To help save energy (and money!), I’ll remember to shut off the lights and unplug things like the hair dryer and toaster. Globally, this will help conserve energy.

7. Lower the printing. I will print back to back, and only if I must print something. Saving paper will help our forests, and waste, air, and even water pollution.

8. Bike more. Not only is biking good for me but it also helps the environment by saving gas. Cars are a huge contributor to pollution. WIth new hybrid technology hopefully we can decrease this amount of pollution from transportation.

9. No styrofoam. I want to cut down on styrofoam and help Portland become a styrofoam free city! At my work, The Woods at Canco, they use so much styrofoam. I’m not sure if it will convince them to change to their cups and boxes, but I want to inform them of the harm of styrofoam for the environment. Also, I will avoid any styrofoam at home and places like Dunkin Donuts. Eventually, I think our country, and then world will be styrofoam free.

10. Finally, I want to continue my environmental work in college. Throughout high school, especially this year, environmental club / the independent study has been a great experience. I hope to use what I’ve learned to continue advocating, studying, and improving the environment within my school, the country, and throughout the world.

Dolphin Cruelty Around the World

Recently, I’ve been seeing a lot of articles about the cruelty of dolphins. In one that Ms. McWilliams posted, dolphins were stabbed and slaughtered during a coming of age ceremony. In a recent article, Caroline Kennedy, the U.S ambassador to Japan, mentions the cruelty dolphins endure in Japan. They have an annual dolphin hunt where they round up about five hundred dolphins in an unknown bay. They either kill the dolphins for meat, let them back into the oceans, or sell the to a marine park. Kennedy tweeted, “Deeply concerned by inhumaneness of drive hunt dolphin killing. USG opposes drive hunt fisheries.”

In 2009, a documentary called “The Cove” showed animal activists fighting against Japanese police to find the location of this dolphin hunt. This reminded me of the documentary “Blackfish” which I have previously posted about. However, the reception was much different. Unlike “Blackfish” most Japanese criticized the movie because they thought that this dolphin hunt is part of the Japanese culture. I think it’s interested how reception to documentaries about very similar topics, in this case animal cruelty, can be completely different in different cultures. I think this is true for many major issues in the world, including climate change. Many people have different opinions and believe some things to be much important than others. I think these issues can be hard to overcome when everyone is on a different page.

Sustainability Design

In my last post, I mentioned industrialization and how modern technology allows us to create more sustainable buildings / technology. Today, I read the chapter called sustainable design. Sustainable design is building and designing products and architecture to benefit the environment. This is important for the environment because buildings are a large percentage of energy use, material use, and portable water use. Sustainable design also benefits the economy and society because they lower future costs and it has many health benefits. Portland, Oregon has started a program to reduce emissions from transportation. Portland is has the largest percent of bicycling commuters in the country and enacted the Climate Change Action Plan.

“The focus of design has been on creating a building that is affordable, serves the purpose for which it was intended, lasts a long time, and is comfortable for its residents. Green building considers these factors in addition to the building’s environmental footprint.” This quote shows that finally many people are altering the focus of the design to help the environment and not just accommodate low costs and other purposes. In many buildings, sustainability has become a key part in the design process.

I think it’s interesting how sustainable design has financial benefits because it seems many people avoid this for that reason. However, it the long run it lowers utility costs extremely.

In the “What can you do” section of the chapter it mentioned going to town meetings to talk about transportation policies and action plans. I think it would be very interested to attend a meeting similar to that in Portland.

Blackfish Documentary

The documentary Blackfish has caused a rage among animal activists when it was released on Netflix in December. The documentary shows the lives of killer whales held in captivity in Seaworld. When they’re not in the pool doing shows, the killer whales are kept in a tank where they can barely move. This causes them to develop physiological problems which has resulted in horrifying incidents. One killer whale, Tilikum, has killed three humans at Sea World. Although many people believe orcas to be very dangerous, there has never been a reported human killing by a killer whale in the wild. They are not naturally dangerous animals, until they are kept under harsh conditions, which isn’t their fault.

“SeaWorld is proud of its legacy of supporting marine science and environmental awareness in general and the cause of killer whales in particular,” it stated in the letter (from SeaWorld). This quote shows the lies that SeaWorld told. Luckily, since the documentary, there has been a lot of protesting against Seaworld. I think impact that the documentary made is incredible!  This documentary really shocked me because I would've never thought that these horrible things were happening in Seaworld. Although I know it’s usually better to keep animals in the wild, I couldn’t believe Sea World, a place that advocates for environmental awareness, could be so cruel. This also reminded me of the article Ms. McWilliams posted about the dolphins that were slaughtered in Denmark.

Blackfish Documentary

Overpopulation Follow Up

I recently did a blog post on overpopulation and dystopias. When I saw a chapter on it in the book, I decided to do a follow up. There’s over seven billion people living on the planet and a net gain of 180 people per minute. This exemplifies the large positive growth rate. The two main causes of a country’s increase in population are an increased birth rate and immigration. Because immigration is the migration of people to a country, from another country, this doesn’t actually affect the world’s population like the increased birth rate. An increasing world population affects resources which harms both people and the environment. As our population grows, we take up more land, use more water, and our country becomes more industrialized which causes pollution. However, During the Deering Debate team practice, they talked about the Kuznet’s curve which shows that as developing countries progress, their population goes up. However they reach a point where it levels out and eventually goes down. So although industrialization causes pollution, modern technology is working to make things more environmentally friendly. However, I think we need to do more of this. Also, although the human population is increasing, many species are becoming extinct because of our unsustainable ways.

“Others argue that population growth does not necessarily undermine sustainability if we are able to limit our individual impacts on the planet and carefully manage our natural resources (119).” I chose this quote because it shows that although overpopulation is a major issue, especially in the sustainability issue, but we can still manage it. It just worries me that people aren’t working hard enough to do so.

Dystopia - Overpopulation

Dystopia is a world where the environment is in a horrible condition because of overpopulation, disasters, or terror. Overpopulation is becoming a major issue today. It is estimated that by 2050, there will be 9.7 billion people on Earth. The difference between that number and the world population today (which is 7.2 billion) is 2.5 billion which is about 200 million more than the entire world population in 1940. There are not enough resources, including food, space, and safe drinking water to support this many people. Even today, we are running out of natural resources. The world is 8,000 miles wide and 24,000 miles in circumference, making space on land an issue as well. People are already being forced into lands that were unpopulated just a few decades ago which are prone to flooding and tsunamis. Global warming will worsen this problem, displacing many people from their homes due to its effects.

When asked what will happen to our world if our population continues to grow at the rate we are now, Isaac Asimov, an author, said, “It will be completely destroyed.” I like this quote because it shows how serious this issue is. Although it’s too late to reverse our damage, we can still help lower the consequences. I think this problem has become so serious because there aren’t really any good solutions to overpopulation. However, if we don’t do anything, there will be very dangerous consequences.

11/6 Quarter Reflection

1. Throughout my blog posts I’ve looked at different issues such as Obama’s environmental accomplishes, endangered animals, and alternative energy sources. The blogs have helped me learn more about the environment on a global scale, instead of just what’s going on at Deering.

2. My main personal project was the composting/ recycling bins in the cafeteria. I went to Cape Elizabeth with Hannah and we talked to their janitor and vice principal. I measured the stations at Cape and Deering and put a slide show together based on this information. Then we went to the meeting to Mr. Kehoe and presented the slide show.

3. I emailed Mr. Kehoe a few times about the composting bins and about the slideshow. I emailed Mr. Waltz, Doug Sherwood, Ms. Jepson, Mr. Moses, Ms. Adam, and Mr. Pineda introducing us as interns. Also, I have sent several other emails with them planning meetings and asking questions.

4. In October I canvassed for the Waterfront Ordinance with the other interns. I think that was a perfect way to do something in the community. For about the first two months I monitored the composting stations everyday (except Tuesdays) in the cafeteria with Molly.

5. The meetings have been a good time to catch up, stay focused, and come together to see what we’ve accomplished in the past week and what we need to accomplish the following week.

6. I think it always bothered me when I saw someone litter or throw a redeemable can in the trash, but this year I’ve realized that it’s reached a whole other level. In the cafeteria while composting at first I was very hesitant to tell anyone where to put things. Usually, I would wait until they dumped everything in the trash and then dig through it myself. Now I’m not afraid to tell them where everything goes. I think this internship has already helped me be more assertive. A couple days ago I saw a recycling sign on a trash can and got kind of frustrated and went up and switched it. I think monitoring the stations made recycling, redeeming, and composting automatic.

7. I would really like to see the composting/ recycling bin be a success. I also hope the egg project get the students a little more motivated to compost. I think it would be great to leave Deering with the compost bins set up and the students using them properly. Also, Garbage to Garden emailed me asking if we wanted to take a picture with the shirts they gave us on and then they could possibly promote us on their social media page!

11/3 Obama on Climate Change

After Molly mentioned Obama is one of her posts, I was interested in seeing his environmental accomplishments as president. In June, Obama announced a plan to cut carbon pollution, help with international climate change, and prepare for the consequences of climate change. In his second inaugural address, he promised that America will lead against climate change. However, this hasn't exactly happened. He has made some progress but not quite as much as he promised. One of Obama's biggest interferences is the unwillingness of the Congress. There are many congressmen that don't think climate change is an issue or don't even believe that global warming exists. Also, many people believe that environmental changes will hurt the economy because of large costs and cutting jobs. Others think it would also hurt our competition with other countries such as China. 

Obama said, "We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that failure to do so would betray our children and future generations." I think that he should be focused on the environment more, however, he is definitely trying and he obviously understands that not doing anything will have serious repercussions. Since the start of his presidency, emissions have declined about ten percent which is a start but not enough. Still, it is very difficult when a large number of Congress is against him. I think that as years go on, environmental laws and politics will improve. However, I fear that it will be too late.

10/27 Chapter 6: Energy

Energy is the ability to do work. The amount of energy that people consume has been increasing for decades. Many of our energy sources release greenhouse gases when they are burned; it is the biggest contributor of CO2 emissions produced by humans. There are many types of renewable energy we should be utilizing including water, bio energy, wind, and solar. However, there are some ecological cons to most of these forms of energy. Simple actions like shutting off the lights help conserve energy. There are also ways to make energy usage more efficient like using LED lights.                      

“Being educated is about more than reading and writing, it’s about caring for yourself, your community, and the world around you.” This is a quote from a case study of Barefoot Solar Engineers, a college where people from rural places learn to help communities solve problems involving sustainability. For example, they build and install solar lighting for impoverished families. I think this organization is a great idea because it benefits the families, the trainees, and the whole community. Many of their projects helps reduce the amount of energy we produce and it educates many people who wouldn't get the chance to learn about ecology.

10/20 Moose Population is Decreasing

The moose population throughout North America has decreased substantially throughout the last few years. Climate change is one of the main contributing factors. Winters are shorter because of global warming. Moose's bodies are designed for the winter time, so many die from heat from the long summers. Shorter winters have also caused an increase in the amount of diseases spread from ticks and snails that survive in warmer weather. Some moose have over 100000 ticks on them. Ticks drain the moose of blood and cause them to scratch their hair off. 

"In the Cariboo Mountains of British Columbia, a recent study pinned the decline of moose on the widespread killing of forest by an epidemic of pine bark beetles, which seem to thrive in warmer weather. The loss of trees left the moose exposed to human and animal predators." This quote shows how animals, plants, and everything in our ecosystem affects everything else. As the temperatures rise, the population of bark beetles increases, which causes the population of trees to decrease causing the population of moose to decrease too because of protection. As the population of moose decreases many other organisms are affected as well. This is happening everywhere on earth. A long chain of extinctions are affecting each other. By saving the environment, we are saving every animal. There is not one animal that won't be affected by global warming eventually. 

10/9 Cellulosic Biofuels

I read an Article in OnEarth Magazine called “Turning Grass Into Gas”. Cellulose is a compound found in plants; in the early 1800’s Henri Braconnot discovered that it can be turned into a crude form of ethanol. However, due to economic reasons, cellulosic biofuels weren’t produced until the 2000’s. Even then, the United States faced many problems with producing them. In 2007, cellulosic biofuels were included in the Renewable Fuel Standard, a program mandating more biofuels to be produced. The government promised millions of gallons of these biofuels would be produced in the following several years. However only about 20,000 gallons were produced because of economic and technologic reasons. Finally, in 2013 refineries are beginning to produce fuel while the demand for it increased. The military and the airlines are the two biggest demanders of cellulosic biofuels. If the process is done correctly, these biofuels can help reduce the amount of oil the world depends on.

“Imagine a future in which airlines run on cornstalks and Navy ships ply the oceans on tanks of switchgrass.” I found this quote to be very inspiring because it is possible and this is what our country is working towards. Cellulosic biofuels is a very good start to decreasing our nation’s dependency on oil. Although it was a challenge to get going, it is finally beginning to work. This shows that our technology is improving, leading us down a track to improve our our ecosystem.

This week I read about tar sands, particularly in South Portland. An oil company called ExxonMobil is attempting to turn South Portland into a shipping port for tar sands. On November 5th there will be a citywide vote. If this passes, tar sands will cause more chemicals in the air, new smokestacks, a new oil station, and increase in the risk of spills from the oil tanks exporting the tar sands from South Portland. Overall, the tar sands will severely harm the environment, not only in South Portland but also surrounding cities. ExxonMobil and its supporters want to create this tar sand port solely to profit themselves. So, the town of South Portland has come up with about 3800 signatures, leading the movement to pass the Waterfront Protection Ordinance. Their involvement shows how important this issue is to the citizens of South Portland.

“The oil sands are the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.” The oil sand are also more toxic than crude oil. Therefore, this is a very important issue that needs to be addressed immediately. It also shows that this isn’t just an issue in South Portland, it is happening all over the continent, including Canada. We should be focused on stopping ExxonMobil but also trying to decrease the amount of chemicals harming the environment from tar sands across the world.

9/29 Introduction to Global Issues

Technology, different cultures, and the media influence our lives and the earth. New technology and media influences allow people to communicate across the globe. Technology also influences many other global issues such as food production and health. Different cultures let nations learn from other nations and develop a better global awareness; this helps us solve global issues more effectively. These global issues such as poverty, the environment, health, and human rights all affect each other.

Quote: “When thinking about sustainability, understanding that our personal choices have global impacts is key.” I chose this quote because I think it is one of the most important things that everyone should understand and will help motivate people to make changes. Most people, including many students and teachers at Deering, don’t think that their personal choices will make any impact. It seems many people use this as an excuse to not doing anything about this major issue, thus society need to understand that their actions do make an impact. Everyone’s actions build up. If everyone made small adjustments to their lives like shutting off lights, recycling, composting, etc, then the earth could completely change.

9/18/13

Colleen Donlan

9/18/13

I began my first search looking up the most “green” countries to see what other countries do to lower their carbon footprint. Germany was at the top of a list. Vauban is a small town in Germany where they have barely any cars. If a citizen wants a car, he has to pay for a parking spot on the outskirts of the town. Paterson calls this town “one of Europe’s most successful experiments in green living.” Also, the houses in Vauban have environmentally friendly heating systems which cost about the same as normal heat (Paterson). Another article talked about Sweden’s energy’s system. Almost half of their energy is renewable energy, putting Sweden “at the front of the line” (Energy) when it comes to improving green energy systems.

“They have banished everything with four wheels and an engine from the streets.” This quote shows that there is still hope to help the environment globally. I thought it was unbelievable that a town could achieve this! Although it may not be realistic globally, it’s a step in the right direction, and also proves that when people come together to make a change, it does make an impact.

Other countries are working towards reducing their carbon levels and starting programs to benefit the earth. Norway is planning on becoming carbon neutral by 2030. There are so many things the United States could do to help our carbon footprint. Along with Brazil, the United States was ranked one of the countries negatively impacting the environment. Other countries’ actions show that it is not too late to help global warming! We should be investing money and time to help make our country more green, like Australia, Sweden, and Norway.

Work Cited:

Paterson, Tony. "Auto-ban: German Town Goes Car-free." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 26 June 2009. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.

"Energy: Generating Power for a Sustainable Future." Energy: Generating Power for a Sustainable Future. Swedish Institute, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.