Ten Dots

1.) Continue the environmental mission at college - it doesn't have to stop at Deering - find the environmental club in whichever school and make a difference; the environment will only improve if we all make an effort to make difference wherever we are.

2.) Volunteer - Like what we did with the invasive species, there is so much that people need help with because, of course, we're more efficient working together.

3.) Encourage and educate my peers and family that is unaware of environmental rules of thumb. By extending my knowledge into my community, that knowledge will hopefully spread into other communities and cause a chain reaction of environmentally informed people.

4.) I, myself, admit to having a bad habit of leaving lights on, electronics plugged in, or something running when I leave the room or house. I will be more considerate of not only my mother's money, but also of the amount of power that even a cord unconnected to a device can take while plugged into an outlet.

5.) As I'm sure my other peers have said, I will do my best to shorten my time in the shower no matter how good the warm water feels. Not only is this an extreme loss of water, same with brushing my teeth with the water running, but it also is completely unnecessary in general. Maybe I'll look into a bath... or maybe not.

6.) Since I hope to be able to travel in whatever career I finally choose to pursue, I will do my best to spread my knowledge to other places around the world whether it be a small or large. If people around the world or even the country see other people from different places pushing the same goal then maybe the movement will gain support and action. 

7.) Carpooling - the sure way to reduce the amount of cars on the road. Plus, it's fun to ride with other people - road trip! It's a win-win situation.

8.) Reducing paper and plastic waste - During the summer disposable plates and cups are often used, instead we could use reusable plastic dishes like Tupperware. Also, all year there is a mass use of plastic water bottles that are really only good for a use or two, metal bottles are the best bottles to use.

9.) Something that we don't see very often anymore is air drying clothes. During the warmer months I may try to incorporate this more into my laundry schedule. I've done it before and it leaves the clothes smelling fresh! Might be even fun to do.

10.) Asking for plastic instead of paper - This is a simple way to help the environment because it keeps the amount of plastic bags going to the landfill at a minimum. One step up would be to buy the reusable cloth bags - I do have some, but constantly forget to bring them into the store, I will try better to do that as for it'll make for a more environmentally friendly trip. 

Dystopia

Just a simple search of dystopia will give you this definition: "an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one." In no way, shape, or form does this sound the least bit pleasant. Looking farther in this topic lead me to an article titled "Dystopia at the Bay." Dystopia, contrary to having such a blatant definition, can be understood in many different ways. This article tells the story of a man who finds "dystopia" at the a train station simply because the trains were shut down because of a power glitch. After announcing the shut down of the trains he heard the news story about a controversial voter topic of building new condominiums. He eventually comes to the thought of "a city without its nurses, its teachers, its artists, its waiters, its bus drivers, its cops, its musicians and writers and grandmothers as residents is a monoculture — as sterile as a forest of a single commercial tree species" (Egan). All this thinking came out of a simple news story. 

Basically dystopia can come in all ways and means. Not only does this story show the true nature of dystopia but it also reveals how people truly think. I feel like people ignore their inner thoughts on the environment and all they have to offer to it. If people do their duty to the environment, given all the take from it, the world can avoid dystopia and the dreaded consequences it comes with.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/opinion/dystopia-by-the-bay.html?_r=0

Chapter 15: Peace and Conflict

Although it may not seem like it, peace and conflict does contribute to the topic of the environment. Not only does conflict hurt people mentally and physically but "conflict can be just as hard on the environment.. chemical warfare... can cause direct healthcare problems" (271). To me just the idea of war makes me shiver, especially since I know people personally who risk their lives. If there weren't so much conflict in the world then there wouldn't be so many wars. But at the same time, there really is no way to make everyone in the world agree, especially given the fact that many of the world leaders are the most opinionated people ever.

There is more conflict than just war though. The fact that countries don't get along affects the industries. Everyone knows that most of the products found in the United States are made in China. You'll hear jokes about it all the time. But all those products have to get here somehow and that, unfortunately, includes leaving pollution in the air. Even transporting within the United States leaves pollution. This is why environmentalists so strongly encourage local buying. This includes no only household products but also produce. Food grown locally is some of the best produce that can be used on your dinner table. Imported groceries often go through different levels of chemicals to keep ripeness and taste. Who knows what that tomato has been through.

Yes, this all does go back to peace and conflict. Conflict between leaders causes conflict between people of the countries. Most people believe anything that the government tells them. If the governments can't even come to a compromise then how can we be expected to do the same? How can countries work together to create environmental and social peace if the governments won't let them interact in a friendly way - "negative impacts of violent conflict make it a barrier to improved human security and environmental sustainability" (270).

Chapter 22: Community Development

One of the titles in this section is "Stronger Together" and I think this is a powerful message because I feel like people tend to forget that the world really does work best as a whole. "Communities exists within societies" (388) and can consist of just a neighborhood or even people around the globe working towards a common cause whether it be environmental or not. I think people tend to forget that their choices don't effect them but also their community. Everyone is part of a community whether they say they are or not. Sometimes even the simplest things classify a group of people as a community. In the case of this post, we're talking environmental issues. Issues like "common resources such as clean air and water.. [which] all community members have a stake in the protection of" (390) are just a few examples.

Think about it, just one person, one, can make an impact. Even if it's not globally, the impact will positively influence someone. A simple consistent recycling routine can affect the amount of trees having to be cut down. Even though it seems like you're just one person and you can't make a difference, if every person thought that they could then all their efforts would combine to make one huge movement. It's the same with all movements. Most global and societal changes can't be made by just one person, it takes a group of people willing to put in the effort to make the world a better place.

Communities can only develop from multiple people, whether it be a farming community or school community. And communities can only become stronger if the people within the community put in the work to make t stronger. Therefore, the environmental community can only become stronger if people put in the work. Sometimes support of the idea isn't quite enough, it is hugely encouraged, but just the small actions can do so much and people need to realize that.

Ozone Layer and Climate Change

We've all heard about the ozone, it is no secret.  But how many people actually listen? I would assume not many. I've always been that really annoying person to say "don't use hairspray it's bad for the ozone!" Most people just laughing off, and I just Leticoe because what site do I really have? I've always been worried about the ozone and the decrease of it. And as I said before it's always been something that people know about, and heard about on the news, but nothing that anyone has appeared to take any strong attack against. For some reason I don't think people realize that "the ozone layer protects all life on earth from the harmful effects of the sun's rays" (Shah) because no one seems to care. People always ask for scientific proof and evidence, something that will show them that this is true. And even though scientists are giving proof, people still fail to believe it. So what frustrates me is the fact that they ask for proof, are given proof, but still don't listen. For years people have been warned about the harmful effects of their carbon footprint and the fumes from their cars, but people are so self absorbed in their daily lives that they don't realize what they're doing to the earth. "Scientists have said that currently over Antarctica the ozone hole is three times the size of United States and growing" print (Shah) and I don't see how people don't find that absolutely terrifying.

I feel like the big issue here is that people don't want to take action until absolutely necessary. People avoid the issue until it's at its worst. That's why people end up dying because we won't take any action to prevent issues, we only take actions to fix issues. The ozone is only a small issue, for now. Years from now the ozone will be gone and all of the human race will be exposed to very very harmful ultraviolet radiation. People hear that all the time, but some say "oh, I won't be here so I don't care" or "why should I worry about what's going to happen in the future when I can just live in the present." But think about this. Your children will be in the future, would you want to be a part of the generation that messed up their lives?

Anup Shah

http://www.globalissues.org/article/184/the-ozone-layer-and-climate-change

Environmentalists Ignore Impact of Adding People

It's weird to think that immigration and the climate could have anything to do with each other but after reading this article it brought to light that they do. What we don't realize is with the population change and growth there comes a point when we have to nourish this population growth and give in to what these immigrants need. So what we fail to realize is that with the new increasing population we have to make new homes and new stores and places for these people to be cared for. Not only do we have all these immigrants coming in, but we also have the normal population growth of the United States. So if you think about all these millions of immigrants coming in every year to you have to think on a bigger scale of what it will be like in 50 years. "By 2050, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the United States will add 122 million new people, bringing its population to 440 million" (Holmes). 122 million new people means 122 million mouths to feed and bodies to clothe. Plus, all these people need transportation and shelter which means more buses, more cars, and more homes being built. If more and more places are being built to home these people then that means that land is being destroyed in order for society to fit all these millions and millions of people arriving. We can't afford to ruin anymore land then we already have and are currently destroying. So even though I personally hadn't connected immigration and population increase to climate, in the scheme of things I really do realize that these do coincide and affect one another.

But then the issue of who we let into the United States and who we force to stay out becomes a controversial topic because we don't want to deny anyone but we also have to look out for our own environment.  Even with that said, unfortunately the topic of environmental preservation doesn't appear to be one of the top issues that the government appears to consider when dealing with immigration into the United States.  Therefore, it appears that the only option that the public has to influence the effect of immigration and new population increase on the environment is to make it known. Again, this article really brought light to just how many influences the population increase has on climate because I've never deeply thought upon this idea even though I feel like it should be almost blatant.

http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/letters/Letter_to_the_editor__Environmentalists_ignore_impact_of_adding_people.html

Benjamin Holmes

Quarter Reflection

1.) My independent readings and blog postings
Although all my blog posts and comments weren't completely on time, I still completed them all. I thoroughly enjoyed reading my fellow interns' insight into our common topic. When I completed the posts I put in a lot of thought and did my best to connect personalize and summarize the readings. I really did enjoy the readings because they helped me find insight into different topics that I might not have otherwise known about.

2.) My personal projects
As Hannah mentioned in her post, I feel like all of our projects somehow overlapped and everyone managed their projects very well. I personally had the project of writing the EcoMaine grant and currently am working to organize a bottle drive after Thanksgiving. I also helped a little with Colleen's composting stations project since our projects seemed to overlap.

3.) My communications with faculty, professionals, peers
Although I was unable to be present for some meetings, I feel like I kept in good touch with my peers. We always had emails and Facebook chats going keeping one another updated on each of our activities. Yet, my projects did not need as much faculty and professional interaction to the same extent the other projects needed. Although, if I had been able to attend more out of school meetings or small trips (ex. the trip to Cape Elizabeth High School) I may have had more interaction.

4.) My community involvements
Well, there are each of our projects that are slowly working towards a common project. Plus, a while back, all four of the interns canvassed in South Portland about the topic of tar sands. I feel like this was a great way to connect with the Greater Portland community and learn about different environmental movements. Also, up until the last month, Colleen and I monitored the cafeteria stations during lunch in order to ensure that people were composting and recycling properly.

5. ) Our internship meetings, Tuesday lunches, gatherings, communication, etc...
I have attended every Tuesday lunch meeting, Wednesday morning meetings, and taken notes to keep us on track. As I mentioned previously, I was unable to attend some of the meetings, like the meeting with Mr. Kehoe, but only due to my busy schedule.

6.)  My greatest epiphany
I'd say my greatest epiphany was truly realizing how unwilling some people are towards recycling and composting. Maybe not even unwilling, but how unimportant it can be in some minds. For example, there was always those few people I'd recognize each day who would never recycle properly even with me standing there pointing out the right way. Even the people who would take a moment to listen to me but still go and throw everything away in the trash can. I feel like this shows the true stubbornness of people to change their daily actions. Either that or they're just not educated enough to care. Yet, in whatever case, it does frustrate me that some students and even faculty fail to understand the importance or lack the motive to carry out the actions properly. Although, with that said, I was also surprised at how many students already knew how to correctly compost and recycle. Those students definitely caught my eye and made me happy.

7.) My hopes, wishes, goals for quarter two
In quarter two, I hope to keep a better hold on my personal blog posts and hopefully post weekly like I am supposed to. I also hope that our new composting initiative and students we are paying will be successful in reducing the bags of trash that leave the school. Lastly, I hope that our project for the new stations will happen and the EcoMaine grant will come through.

11/3 Mother Nature Puts Shell's Artic Drilling on Hold

Drilling has always been extremely important to the United Staes and without it we wouldn't have as much oil as we do now. In Alaska oil rigs like the Noble Kulluk aren't being designed to undergo the strong currents of the ocean and are being damaged. The damage is so severe that they need long-term repair that is expensive. Unfortunately, this damage caused a rough year for Shell and forced drilling plans for the summer to be abandoned. Even with Shell's failures proved that "there is no safe way to drill in Article offshore waters," other companies are eager to get permits to drill in the same places. This is unnecessary because Shell has already demonstrated that it cannot be done safely. Therefore, the other companies are wasting money, time, and equipment to retry an already failed experiment.


Earthjustice has long opposed drilling and is trying to stop the permits being allowed to the offshore drilling. With new oil rigs comes contaminated oceans and contaminated habits for species like the polar bear and endangered species like the bowhead whale and the walrus.

10/27 People for Puget Sound

Ocean life is critical to many people, especially on the coasts. For many cities and towns, the ocean is extremely vital for revenue. Yet, our other resources are affecting the oceans. "As autumn rains begin to fall.. Puget Sound becomes the repository for the oil,  fertilizer, heavy metals, and chemicals that run off our roads, roofs, parking lots and other developed land;" I think that sometimes we forget that every piece of trash that we have has to go somewhere, it doesn't just disappear. Every plastic bag, every candy rapper, and every piece of gum that we throw out the car window.

In the past year or so, Washington Environmental Council (WEC) secured $100 million in funding for a new program at the Department of Ecology that works to reduce polluted storm water runoff across the state. Unfortunately, that will only go so far. The only way that this will have an impact is if cities make an effort to change how they work. It isn't only Puget Sound though, cities around the country, and globe, need to make this effort to ensure that our environment is being treated correctly.

10/20 EDF Support

It is no secret that the globe's climate is increasing at a worrying rate. Global warming has been a huge controversy for so many years now, but now more than ever there is a need to take action to decrease the pollution. I think that is it so crazy that "China is now the world's largest emitter of pollution - contributing one-fifth of the total global warming emission." I think that should raise a red flag for all of the world's population. If one country alone can cause 1/5 of the emissions, then imagine what a single country can do to cut down the emissions. I realize that it's a big step for President Obama to publicly address the need to change the environment, but let's be honest, is that something everyone didn't already know? What we need to do now is make an effort to fix the climate even if it takes years and years. "Climate is an unprecedented challenge... [it] will require sustained engagement from every single one of us" (EDF). What I don't think people realize is that every effort counts. Organizations and groups like the Environmental Defense Fund are doing a good job to try and spread the word, but people need to meet them halfway. Yes, I've heard it all: "my actions aren't going to change anything" or "I won't be alive to see the consequences," but we don't think about how it's our children and grandchildren that will be the ones trying to fix the earth. Plus, not only do our actions affect the human race, but they also affect wildlife like animals, plants, and other natural substances. For examples, oceans are taking a big hit because much of our waste is ending up in the oceans. This effects marine life and in turn effects us. The less fish and sea life there is, then the less resources we have from the water. The main point is that everything we do is part of a larger cycle that will help our earth and in the end help us by making earth an efficient planet to live on.

10/13 Tar Sands

So recently I read about tar sand issues in South Portland. Not only did I read them, but I also had a chance to advocate against them. I learned that oil companies in South Portland want to create an oil line that exports oil from South Portland to Canada.Yet, the oil pipes are old and thin while the tar sands are thick. The pipes go directly through Sebago Lake which is the main source for many communities. If the pipes were to burst, then the lake would be infected and many people would lose their water source. Also, exporting tar sands would cause more air pollution and create more toxic chemicals in the city.The project would create two new 70-foot smokestacks that would be near locations like Bug Light and a children's daycare. Basically the idea of exporting tar sands has more cons than pros and should no be allowed.

"The oil industry is making false claims and misrepresenting the scope and effect of the ordinance."

It's crazy to think that these large money making industries would be so selfish as to create false claims about the situation. If the system works well now, then why change it? More people will be affected if we DO export tar sands than if we don't. The risk is too great for the reward.

10/2 Chapter 11: Oceans

Everybody knows that Earth is mainly composed of water, over 71% of it to be exact. The ocean's water is what makes Earth so livable to so many species. In the ocean lives millions of different species of animals and plants, millions that scientists even have yet to discover. I'd say that many humans take the ocean for granted, we swim in it, take water from it, but do wee really appreciate what it does? The ocean holds an entire other world, a world in which the human race relies on for food and life in general. It's amazing to think that the ocean provides 50% of the oxygen we breathe every day (197). Some communities rely on the ocean for their means of economic advancements, their main industries and exports may involve sea food. Yet, the sad part of the lack of the appreciation for the ocean is the millions of people that allow the ocean to be littered with the pounds and pounds of trash that we throw out everyday. Just the other day I was shown a video of what is called the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" which is literally a massive landfill in the middle of the ocean. The idea of how many animals die from all the trash in the ocean is disturbing and makes me embarrassed of how we treat our planet, which, if I may add, is the entire reason for our existence.

Skelton, Laura, et al. Exploring Global Issues: Social, Economic, and
     Environmental Interconnections. Seattle: Facing the Future, 2013. Print.

9/25 Chapter 3: Food

Starvation has never been a silent talk among the world, " have you ever been unable to finish your meal and then heard someone say, 'you shouldn't waste food when there are starving people in the world'?" (39).  Thinking about the many ways that we obtain food nowadays, it seems like it'd be impossible for anyone to starve. Yet, we also have to think about the environment we are living in. When we think about how we treat our world it is easier to believe that the food supply is slowly decreasing; every tree we take down, every forest we destroy, we are destroying food supply for not only the human race but also for animals. The less land we have to grow food on, the less food we will have for the ever growing population. As the human race evolves, food is more and more important and desired whether or not people actually need it. Farmers are struggling to provide for the vast demand of multiple crops and some agricultural farmland is over worked (41). Now some people may think that starvation in some countries may be because of greed or selfishness but in reality it isn't, it's lack of land to cultivate and too many people to feed.


Skelton, Laura, et al. Exploring Global Issues: Social, Economic, and
     Environmental Interconnections. Seattle: Facing the Future, 2013. Print.

9/18 - Molly Kilbride

As I sat here thinking about the different articles I could read about the environment, I immediately thought of Earth Day. Little did I know that there are very few personal articles about the day. Yet, that search brought me to an article about recycling. The article portrays the different views of a majority of the average public. Most people support the idea of recycling but may not carry out the actual act.

Justin Ramirez talks about how he recycles all the time and he feels good about himself for contributing his part to the environment. On the other hand, his brother Eddie says how he supports the e environment but finds it inconvenient to. actually recycle. He also mentions how he feels that even if he were to recycle as often as his brother, his part wouldn't actually affect the earth enough. His exact mindset, unfortunately, is a reason in why the environment is often left unprioritized in the increasingly busy minds of the average citizen. People feel as if their contributions don't make a difference therefore they don't bother. See, if one person were to feel this way then maybe the environment wouldn't feel so bad. But, if we have two hundred or so people in one city all thinking 'my actions won't make a difference' then there becomes a silent chaos in the environment.

This article reminds me of just how uniformed people really are of how their actions affect their environment and how every little step they can take really does help. Eddie needs to realize that he's one of so manual people that think they take no part in the well being of the environment.

I realize that this article covers so many more statistics of recycling but what really hit me was the more personal aspect of it. Yes, it is amazing that 'of the 250 million tons of trash thrown out of homes in 2010, 85 million was diverted from landfills.'  Still, though, the fact that there is still so much trash thrown out in general is incredibly eye opening. 

Citation: 

Dover, Sara. "Is Recycling worth It?" CBSNews. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.