Week 2 Questions:
1) What are some things that you do that have a direct (or indirect) impact on the carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous and sulfur cycles? What could you do to lessen your impact?
Most of what I do have an indirect impact on these cycles. I For example: I used carpet cleaner, which definitely has chemicals to get rid of stains and odors; and when I empty the carpet cleaner, I am actually washing the residue and wastes into the sink, which could then go into a lake: I don't think about what that carpet cleaner will do to these cylcles. The residue that I washed down the sink could effect certain cycles, such as phosphorous cycles because the cleaner contained phospahte. This in turn could effect some bodies of waters, if there were excess phosphate; to grow algae. I drive a car, which has a direct impact on carbon cycle; I am burning fuel, which goes into the atmosphere, and builds up carbon into the atmosphere, which is probably one of the causes of global warming . These are just two examples. If I were to try to lessen my impact, I would say I would drive the car less, if I lived close to a specific area, such as Bellevue Community College; and I would use less phosphate soaps and bleaches, which gets gets distributed into oceans from the sinks.
Most of the things I do, and maybe for some people, it is out of necessity because we have depended on certain household cleaners to do the work for us, and we depend on our cars for transportation. It could be said, as more people are coming to udnerstand the environmental impact we have, we are trying to find more environmentally friendly alternatives, such as using alternative fuel.
2) At what trophic level do you primarily eat at? What impact does this have on the global environment?
I consider myself a vegetarian, with the exception to dairy products and an occassional fish. Thus I consider myself to be at a tertiary level because, though I try to eat primarily produce, I can still be able to eat meat, if I wanted to. As a vegetarian, what I eat could impact production and agriculture, since I eat primarily produce, which takes feeds itself from photosynthesis. Food production can have an impact on
- Land degradation: how agriculture can impact the cycles as a whole, the number of trees cleared primarily for agriculture
- Water: how much water is used for food production
- Genetic engineered produces: Farmers could have grown such products because they seem more stable...
- Amount of crops prduced to feed a population: at what levels are crops produced and the amount to feed a population depends on pollination, weather...and luck.
I like to think that humans are tertiary consumers because we have technology to produce a wide range of foods, and we can also do great harm to other consumers by way of pesticides...
3) Where does the food you eat come from (before it gets to the supermarket)? With this new information, how does the food you eat imparct our environment?
Let's take a simple example, such as Rainbow Chard. This chard was grown organically, and locally on a farm in Stanwood, Washington State in Rent's Due Ranch. This farm is grown locally, and within standards of PCC Natural Markets. Another example I can take is unsweetened cocoa powder, which I use for drinks...etc. The Equal Exchange cocoa powder was grown in the Dominican Republic, which according to the packet says it was grown in the "second most economically depressed country in the Caribbean." The company: Equal Exchange encourages farmers to grow sustaninably, "under the canopy of the tropical forest preserving the habitat of millions of migrating songbirds." With these two 'raw' produces in mind, we should also take in account a manufactured product: bread. Bread was made from wheat obviously grown on a farm. I called the Wild Wheat Company about where their wheat was grown, but I could not hear, though they did say something similarly to "Ferrato (?)" in Oregon, I've tried looking the word on the internet, but nothing came up with anything to do with bread. Maybe I will try another bakery....I have noticed that what I choose to eat are foods basically and primarily grown organically, though I have eaten foods which have not been under the organic standards. What does eating organic mean? For some, it means eating foods locally grown and without the use of pesticdes, chemicals or genetically modifed products. And mostly, from what I can determing it means eating produces which haven't been grown with the use of chemicals, fertilisers, or been genetically engineered; it also means sustainable practices; such as cage-free chickens for their eggs for example. While eating organic food is good because the use of less chemicals could mean that the environmental cycles aren't likely to be as disturbed. While organically food production is one of the best ideas, technology could play a factor at times in these practices.
4) In what ways do you use products that directly or indirectly come from living things? List a few specific items you used this week.
The majority of the products that I use are paper, which comes indirectly from trees and plants. I 'consume' paper with a diligence-for writing mostly, and paper towels for cleaning up any spills, and wiping my hands dry. I also use a lot of water for the purpose of washing and cleaning. I'm not so sure if water comes 'directly from the source,' or whether it is placed elsewhere to be cleaned (something to look up on the internet...)Anyway, I also use plastics, which comes indirectly from sources-but then it's proably man-made product. I use a lot of plastic for storing and freezing food products, and I'm also using plastics now while I'm using this computer, which is mostly made up of plastics. I also fill my car up with gas, which come directly from the ground and burns off into the atmosphere. Another product, I haven't mentioned is cotton, which is the material for t-shirts, and clothing: the material comes indirectly from the source since there is a long process to turn the produce into a material. I also use wool; actually wear them, whcih comes directly from woolen (domestic) animals. However, the wool was probably washed, dyed and then turned into yarn for knitting. Here are the lists of products I have used:
- paper: paper towels, recycled papers, notebook paper
- water
- plastics
- gas/oil
- Cotton
- wool
5) Consider how much food you waste. How can you reduce this waste?
While I try to use up most of the food products, sometimes I can't help but throw away certain food products for certain reasons, which include: the product is past its' expiration date, the food is moldy, or its' old, past its' expiration date and unopened. There are quite a few at my house, and I have wasted quite a few, until I decided to try and use up most of the food products. mostly I try to use up most of the food products that I have before, or a little after its' expiration date. The produces (broccoli stems, egg shells...) are sometimes thrown in the compost bin. Another way to reduce the piling food products is to buy less, and use up dry goods and what you have in the cupboard/pantry, with the exception to fresh produces. As one of my grandmother would have said alosng this line: when she bought or used foods past their expiration date; "I haven't killed you yet!"
While reducing products for some, including me, can be challenging, we have to keep in mind the consequences. What we choose to consume could indirectly or directly impact the environmental cycles; thus we have many options in life. Yes, we can drive a car-and no, we shouldn't use chemicals on our lawns...and the number of products we consume can also be challenging because we have chosen to be dependent on them: they are essential. However, we can try and reduce the number of paper products by using recycled papers, using computers, walking to a nearby shop (which I have done in England) instead of driving...there are many options. Also, we also have the option of eating locally grown foods by going to farmer' s market (though I've rarely gone).
No comments:
Post a Comment