Week 9: CO2

This blog will likely be a little shorter and with less humor than some of the regular blogs that I have posted.

Week 9

1/3) List some of the indirect ways in which you contribute to global warming? What are some of the ways you contribute to air pollution?

I impact global warming through chemical impacts, such as I learned today (4 december) in class that water pollution is related to air pollution in some ways. Anyway,

• I use plastics, the production of which goes into the atmosphere
• Use paper, let me explain-I believe that some trees are harvested for paper, thenthat releases CO2; and also the machines that cuts them also puts CO2 into the atmosphere
• I use energy and fuel for driving, heat...etc. Some of this energy comes from coal, which can also contribute to global warming.
• Obviously, I drive a car which contributes to Global warming
• Chemicals can also contribute to CO2, such as sulphourous acid which creates acid rain
• Burning wood/or biomass products

2/3) How could you realistically reduce your contributions of greenhouse gases? How could you reduce your impact?

This is a seemingly hard question (at least for me). Anyway...the most obvious, and I may have written a dozen times about driving a car which puts CO2 emissions into the air...

• is to reduce driving, and either walk or take a bus and save fuel. Walking to a grocery store is hard here because they can be at least 20 minutes away up hill. Whereas in Thame, England where couple of my relatives live, you can easily walk into stores in the town. Most everything (except the mall) is there, this is what I like about some cities in Europe, where transportation by train and buses are sometimes more reliable than cars and where you can walk.
• Reduce chemical use. Hence if I wanted to use pesticides (which I never use), I would have to think twice. Could these toxic chemicals be released into the atmosphere even if you sprayed plants with them? Maybe most likely.
• Use less fuel/energy. Burning biomass can release carbon emissions as well
• Use less paper-which would actually be hard, but I could use more e-mail, since trees are harvested, and they release CO2.

3) What could Seattle/Bellevue do to reduce air pollution?

They could do a number of things. I think this is one of Mayor Nickel's goal, which is to reduce Global warming. These things could be:

• Improve transportation, such as providing a better train system or bus system (keep in mind, I don't take the trains or busses)
• Develop better and safer bicycle route

These two are to lessen cars, and encourage more people to walk, cycle or take a transportation

• Reduce pesticide/chemical use. Lawns don't always need to have heavy doses of chemicals to be kept green, although I guess cities want to make their cities welcoming
• Maybe reduce industries, since they also emit dangerous toxins into the atmosphere
• Planting more trees
• Careful planning with developments

These are some of the suggestions.

I wasn't sure whether question number 3 was related to questions number 1 and 2, since I thought they were similar to one another. Anyway, if I think of anymore answers I may write more.

Week 7/8: Fueled up and water wise (part I /IIcontinued)

I have found where the energy I use come from. This is the second question:

Week 7:

2) Where does the energy you use come from? What impact does your energy use have on the environment?

I called they Puget Sound Energy company line, and understandingly they were busy because there were power outages, with the wind and what not. Anyway they directed me to their website, which had quite a lot of information about where their energy came from. I also got the percentages of the power supply which PSE uses. Source http://www.pse.com/
Coal 34%
Hydro 45%
Natural gas 17%
Nuclear 1%
Other 1%
Wind 2%
Total 100%
I was surprised to find that some of the energy that I use also came from hydroelectricity, wind power and nuclear. Also on their website they listed the sources of their power source.

Hydro electricity:
They seem to have a couple more hydroelectricity projects coming along, one of them included Snoqualmie Falls. Anyway, their hydro power comes from Baker River Hydroelectricity Project, which has two dams and both are located on the Skagit River

Thermal:
According to PSE's website, they said their largest share of total power supply is electricity, natural and coal-fired plants comes from East Montana's Colstrip Power Plant, which provides 700 megawatts. I was surprised to hear that PSE's thermal energy came from as far away as Montana...

Wind
PSE's first wind farm was Hopkins Ridge Wind Facility in Columbia County
Their second (one having a nice name) Wild Horse Wind Facility in Kittitas County

Natural Gas
Surprisingly, the gas comes from both Western U.S. and Canada.
PSE buys most of their gas during the summer monthes when the prices are lower, and store it in an underground reservoir. However, during the winter when most of their customers use it (not surprising due to the freezing weather) PSE taps it from the reservoir.
The underground facility is in Jackson Prairie Southwestern Washington state, which is a natural gas storage facility.

There are many environmental impacts. Most of the problems are related to CO2 emissions being put into the atmosphere. Espcially when 34% of the power supply is coal, this is especially related to Global warming and the limited resources due to demands. The other is the number of resources being used, since gas is a natural resource-and hence I could be impacting the environment by using too much of it. Also, the impacts of hydroelectricity is uncertain (at least for me) because dams are an either 'take it or leave it' power supply. They can either have an impact on the environment, due to water shortages and ipacts on species, or drive communities out due to building the dams or they can be just as helpful, providing communities with energy supply. Fortunately, PSE uses a combination of power sources instead of focusing on just one power source.

Week 8

Before I go start answering the questions, I have to rant about the rain in Pacific Northwest. There are quite a lot of flooding-maybe due to the surface material and the angle (steep) of the roads and hills-thus rain and snow runsoff. Could this be an impact of Global Warming/Climate Change? Is it the Pineapple Express? Who knows.
Anyway,number 1 question is on another blog posting.

Week 8:

2) What are realistic activities you could do to cut back on your water use?

There are many ways I could cut back and I should cut back. These activities include:
-showering for shorter periods of time, instead of 15 minutes maybe 5 minutes
-Using less or no water for cleaning. Instead of cleaning a countertop with water I could alternatively use a dry cloth (like micro-fiber) to wipe. Or I could run water into a bucket, then use that water to wash/clean. However, this could pollute water (more about that later)
-Using less water for washing fruits and vegetables. I don't know how this could apply with using less water, but washing fruits and vegetables is important to get rid of dust...the same goes for rice and legumes, which sometimes need a thorough was until the water runs clear. Sometimes I have used some of the water from this to was pans, then afterwards I would rinse the pans
-Cutting back on wheat grown in the Midwest-and use local wheat grown in Washington or Oregon State. Since the Midwest doesn't have as much water (it's not surrounded by any oceans), then one of the alternatives is to use flour or produces grown in states that have more water resource
-Cut back by washing clothes at least once a week, or when you don't have any clean clothes
To save energy, you can hang them out in the sun to dry (not a job I like doing particularly).
- I have heard that if you want to wash your car, it's ideal to wash it at a car washing facility (ei: Brown Bear) since they use less water
- Buy less bottled water. Use tap water resource instead.

3) What are some of the ways you directly/indirectly contribute to water pollution?

Again, there are many ways I indirectly impact water. These can include:

• I contaminate water by using it for cleaning, dirty water goes into the sink
• Using too much of it, even when I use it for washing produces
• I use lots of shampoos and soaps, which probably drains into bodies of water
• Using energy, some of which comes from coal (34%) which is mined from the ground, not only is it hazardous to water, but humans and the environment; and using Hydroelectricity-dams are built on bodies of water, and could impact species
• Using oil/gas/petroleum for transportation, as a result these resources are transported on cargo ships and can have devastating results if spilled into bodies of water; such is the most recent examples in San Francisco (California) and in Russia. Not only does it impact species of birds, fish...but also water
• Using plastic-again, the result is the same as the examples above. Plastic degrade slowly, if not ever.

Question 4 is not really a question, but a worksheet which will be included along with week 7.

Week 7: Energy (Blog part I)

December started with two days of snow, which created a beautiful winter wonderland. Although I wondered after reading a newspaper heading which said that the snow could create potential runoffs...something along this line. It's not very romantic-but could it be the effect of climate change? Certainly it would create runoffs...Anyway I have questions to answer.
The handout will be turned in. The second question might come later. So it is question number 3 I will start with.

Week 7: Questions

3) In what ways do you indirectly use energy? How could you reduce your indirect use of energy?

I use energy indirectly in several ways. Although in the beginning I was not aware that what I did do use energy, until I learned more about energy use in class. Some of how I use energy indirectly is more for communication, others are imports from other countries and traveling.

A) I send letters, "snail mail" to my family and friends. I like sending letters the slow way since a hand written letter can be personal and heartfelt. I will say that some family friends and relatives don't have computers, hence I have to resort to sending letters 'snail mail.' I could also send e-mails for those who do have e-mail addresses and computers, and it would not only save fuel (from airplanes carrying the mail) but also paper. Like 'killing two birds with one stone," which is a very cruel saying.

B) Go Local. I could buy produces and products specifically from Washington or the Pacific Northwest. There seems to have been a small movement for shoppers to 'go local' and buy products, which come from a certain number of distances. This not only saves energy from importing products from other countries like New Zealand, but supports local companies. I will have to make an exception to certain luxury products, such as chocolates or imported Olive oil, or products which one doesn't find in the Northwest, but only from a specialty store.

C) Traveling, while we all love traveling-we could cut back once in a while. Whether it's by car or air, they use energy and fuel and also puts CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Traveling in the 'friendly skies" once in a while is alright, but not everyday.
As for car transportation, most or some people see cars as a necessity (I'm one of them), but if there is a nearby grocery store, then it could be ideal to walk or bike there. I suppose I could take the bus, but since I don't know the bus route and I'm too lazy to find where the nearest bus stops are, I like to drive the car to BCC.

D) Manufactured goods made in other countries. Manufactured goods take energy and fuel to make, hence we could either stop buying goods made in China and buy goods made in the USA, or cut back on the number of goods we buy. Although I'm not sure the latter is the most reasonable solution. Most of the goods we buy are produced in China, not only that, but they are probably flown into the US afterwards, which uses more fuel from importing goods

E) This is linked to D, but the energy to produce products takes energy. For example the energy in the factory to manufacture bottled water, or running a farm in order to produce goods takes energy from animals, humans and even technology.

F) Energy from food. When we eat the food we have eaten will be fuel. We use this energy to do quite a number of things, such as walking or studying. Enough said.

A lot of what we take for granted takes energy-it seems. I never even thought of all this even when I had last opened bottled water-or eaten an apple grown in New Zealand. This means this computer is using energy, and I'm using the energy to write this blog. I could either cut back the number of time I write blogs, or turn the computer off after I'm done (this is more logical).

Part II will follow up shortly afterwards.

Week 6: Continued and moving on

I have decided to do number 4 seperately since I haven't reserched much about the certain inorganic products.

4) Where do some of the inorganic products you are using come from?
We consume a lot of inorganic products. Most of the products we consume are plastics, however much recently there have been relative concerns over plastics containing toxins. It's strange how products have been discovered but the more one research on them, then everybody uses them, then the next minute there are concerns over these products. This could be true for GMO and it was the same for trans-fat. Anyway...moving on. Here are several products: I'm referring to my old chemistry textbook:
Conceptual Chemistry. Suchocki, John. Perason Benjamin Cummings, 2007.

a) paper-paper is made from wood pulp, which is cellulose fibers but the whiteness from the paper comes from chloride.

b) A sterling silver ring-in high school, I was in a Material science class where one of the projects we did was make a sterling silver ring. Sterling silver is an alloy, which is a mixture of two metals:
silver and copper. Both metals are natural, and yes, they can be found on the periodic table.

c) Gold coins....etc-Strike it rich! its' pure gold, unfortunately I don't have any-so I either have to be a gold miner or a pirate. Gold can be found in oceans (according to the textbook), but there is no way to get gold out.

d) Plastics: Most plastics have been discovered through experimental accidents. Let's take plastic bottles. Plastic bottles are increasingly a big controversy these days. According to Energy Story: Chapter 8: Fossil Fuels-Coal, Oil and Natural Gas. http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter08.html. Plastic bottles come from oil! The same oil, which can be used to fuel car tanks for gas. In another website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic, plastics were based from original plastics, such as plastics from the rubber tree. The plastics we know now are a major concern because they do not degrade as well, and there are increasing concerns of level of toxins in plastic bottles.
On NPR (national public radio) today (13, november) someone was talking about the level of lead and toxins in materials such as make-up, and plastic bottles. One caller called and said that she was concerned about the company switching to plastic bottles from glass bottles. The expertise said that switching to tap water would be the best alternative. It could be said that plastics have been used because they are lighter and less likely to break than glass bottles.

I hope this covers all most of the questions for week 6.

Week 6: GMO and Soil

When it comes to the sciences there are no right answers-so it appears in discussing genetically Modified crops (GM). Even though people had opposing view points, there were no right answers to the question of GM. The topics of food, economy and world concerns all seem to be a topics of passion, of course most people do like food, I noticed this when we were discussing seafood in discussion #2, and when we talked about Genetically modified crops; and most of us probably want to understand what is happening to the economy and world situations.
During the discussion, I was expecting more debate about environmental and more on human health issues due to risks of allergens in GM, however societal concerns was a major topic throughout. Although I like the idea of GM crops helping developing nations, I am still skeptical about using GM since there is a potential that it can impact human health. I read in one of the resources I found by a biotech industry analyst Sergey Vasnetsov, "Let's stop pretending we face food shortages. There is hunger, but not food shortages." I agree. There's hunger in developing countries due proably to the political and economic issues. However, there's proably no shortage of food-yet. Hence, being the type of person who likes supporting organics, I would proably go against GM crops.

Week 6 Questions:

1) Are any of the foods that you eat GM? Are you o.k. with this? Would like to see these foods labled so that you know what you are buying?
My guess would be that there are and will be foods that are GM that I eat without knowing. Certain processed and pre-packaged foods will probably be GM without the consumer knowing. I called the company General Mills, even though I don't eat their product anymore. A pleasant sounding person answered and when I said I was during research to find out whether any of their foods contained GM, they said there was a possiblilty that products with corn and canola are GM. Hmmm...how could I convince my mother not to buy any of their products? Well, I couldn't. My parents didn't care, they were rather amused and made a joke about turning into werewolves (very funny), and then they proceeded to eat one of General Mills product.
I found a list of foods on a website that was suggested on the readings. The list contained some of the foods which were GM and some which weren't. The list is at this address:
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/true-food-shopping-list. Maybe not surprisingly, most of the organic foods weren't GM, while most of the major brands were. I believe a student mentioned that most of the organic foods weren't GM, while others were. I was quite surprised some of the the major brand of chocolate bars, such as Snickers were GM.
Who knows what ingredients the food will have-however, there is increasing awareness about foods-whether they are organic, and even what ingredients are in them. Not many people will want unidentifiable names of ingredients-same could be said for GM, although not many people are aware of this-there will proably be a growing awareness of GM. There should proably be a label on pre-packaged foods and crops saying whether or not it's GM-I would want one any way so I knew which foods were GM. Hence, I'll go down the list of foods and say, "I'll buy this, this and this, but not that because it's GM." Don't expect me to stand outside Safeway handing out fliers about how GM impacts the environment and human health (if I was working there, I probably wouldn't get a good reputation as a good Safeway employer).

2) What are some of the ways that you personally (indirectly and directly) impact soils? What could you do differently to reduce these impacts?
The soil and I are on cordial terms. I have always regarded the soil as lowly, bottom of the list of ecoystems, I'm sorry to say. But I was wrong. Soil is teeming with living things-unseen to the naked eyes. It plays a major role in providing nutrients and root growth, and controls water drainage. Soil, I never knew, is made up of weathered rock, organic matter, water and air. There were many new knowledge that I have never known, which is what a student gets when they go to school/college-more knowledge (being a student can be fun, sometimes!). Anyway...
I have impacted soil in certain ways; mostly through gardening. When I garden, which isn't very often,

• I probably destroy the topsoil from digging a hole, sometimes cutting through the root growth, then after placing seeds or transplanting plants, filling the soil unceremoniously back into the hole.
• When I plant on a small mound, and water, the water would run down the slope-carrying some soil (which is one ofthe way soil erosion can happens, I learned)
• I proably trample the soil underneath my feet without directly knowing that the soil will be compacted
• When I weed dandelions or other plants, sometimes the soil would cling to the roots, and I don't always brush it off the roots.

These are some ways I impact soil. To reduce these impacts, I probably wouldn't garden at all (I hardly do anyway) for fear that I would be causing soil degradation. There are several ways, one of them is to do sustainable gardening, which means I should or like to do:

• Using less or no pesticides
• Planting natives, which I vouch for
• using less fertilisers and organic ones
• less water on lawns during summers and winters
• Compost and mulch
• Some gardeners have suggested reducing lawns to plant more plants

More importantly, I believe is learning about the role soil plays in the ecosystem and how we impact soil health. Since I am learning about soils, I have a little more respect for the role soil plays; the more I learn about soil, the more I think about how I impact the soil. I never knew, before I learned about soil, that soils could degrade and erode-and that there were many different types of soils, and also there were different textures depending on the size of the rocks.

Question #4 is in another blog following shortly.

Journal activity: The Giant Squid and the Y2Y

"Species are not specimens but dynamic works in progress. Communities are not colections of species so much as mixtures of organic chemicals, genes, instincts, acquired immunities, memories, social behaviors, communication techniques, and niches that are constantly evolving relative to one another." Douglas H. Chadwick (51, Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam)

I couldn't decide what to do for a journal activity, though I had thought of doing a volunteer project, I found the activity was due earlier than I expected. Anyway for my journal project, I went to two small exhibitions, one was about the the mysterious Giant Squid, the other was called the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) exhibitionl. I'll start with going to the Yellowstone to Yukon.
The Y2Y was a photographic exhibtion by a German-born photographer, Florian Schulz. He wanted to capture the wilderness through photography, after studying biology. His photographs were reminiscent of another favorite photographer of mine: Thomas Mangelsen, who also photographs incredible landscapes and animals. Anyway Schulz has devoted much of his time with the Y2Y photography, which seemed to be part of the project to conserve Yellowstone to Yukon.
What is the Y2Y? It is a conservation effort by a group of dedicated scientists and environmentalists, who want to make a large "bridge" between the Yukon to Yellowstone; hence it would be a large corridor for species of animals to roam. This also means there wouldn't be any large fragmented 'islands' of land where species, such as grizzly bears can not have space to roam freely, since tertiary carnivores need large amount of space to roam.
My parents also came, which they thoroughly enjoyed. And they bought a book, with Florian Schulz's photographs. The book also contains articles by scientists who talk about the ecosystem and the beauty of the lands. Hence one scientist wrote:
" Isolated populations go extinct under circumstances in which mainland populations refill the gaphs. Net result: Fragmentation of habitat into ecological islands leads to loss of diversity in each fragment." David Quammen (36, Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam). This is crucial, since if there was a bridge between the Yukon and Yellowstone, species of animals will be able to adapt better, without disturbance and losses of diversity. One of the most positive sides was when I read that some ranchers, living close to Yellowstone are working with scientists and conservationists to 'fit in' with the biodiversity. Ted Kerasote, who wrote an article for book wrote that one rancher "avoids conflicts with grizzlies by breeding his herd earlier in the year than is traditional. He's also worked with local fish adn game department to distribute cattle carcasses....hungry grizzlies count out their dens, they can fill up on the meat of dead cattle...." (66, Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam). I found several of what scientists wrote crucial and tied in with environmental science. I could write a lot more about what the other scientists wrote and what the project entails, but since it is a journal project, I won't pontificate and bore readers.
Florian Schulz's photos of animlas were my favorite (I prefer photos of animals to landscapes). However, I found some of his photos of landscape were amazing: my favorite being one of the "spine of the continent, southewestern of B.C." the mountains were a dark blue, but there was an icy frostiness to them-it's hard to describe without seeing a photo of it. Another photo was one of Kokanee Salmon in British Columbia. This was surprising to me, since Kokanee salmon population decreased due to the Opossum shrimp in Montana. Then I wondered could Kokanee salmon from B.C. be reintroduced into the Flathead lake?
The exhibition was one, which was insightful and though I don't like art exibitions, I think I may have gained some insightul examples of ecoystem and conservation in a real life scale.

Another exhibition is about the mysterious Giant Squid. I'll just write a small piece. The exhibition, being small had a short documentary film about the Giant Squid. I didn't see thw whole film, though I heard that scientist were trying to raise baby squids to learn more about the Giant squids.
There are few interesting facts about Giant Squids that I never knew, some of these facts I wrote down from the display board:

• The Giant Squid captures its' food using a feeding tentacle, tentacle club and suckers
• It has beak, which is made from the same material similar to the finger-nail. The beak is used to tear food into small pieces
• It uses its' arms and suckers to hang onto its' food
• Their eyes are the size of our heads...Scary!
• They are the largest invetbrates
• One of the funniest facts that I read was: a scientist was curious to know what the Giant Squid tasted like, so he tasted one which had been frozen. It didn't taste good, at all! Cross that off the seafood list!
• Scientists who study the Giant Squids are called teuthologist

I don't think the Burke Museum is hosting the Giant Squid exhibition, though they are still hosting the Y2Y photo exhibition. The opportunity to see both these exhibitions has been interesting-though fact based...I see them as a supplement to what I am learning.

Week 4/5: Teff Conservation of Ecologial communities continued

Here is another blog post for the remaining questions; 3 and 4. I will continue to write about the journal project soon.

Week 4/5 questions continued:

3) Try a new type of food-maybe a grain other than wheat, rice or corn. Did you like it? How does eating different grains maintain biodiversity?

I have always been curious about trying different foods, but I have been skeptical in the past, since I'm not really sure whether I will like them. Just very recently, I have been 'going against the grain,' to say- I am trying Teff, which is a grain from Etheopia. The size is miniscule, one would wonder how a minute grain could be 'food?' When you cook it, it looks almost like soil because of its' dark color and size, and it creates lumps (this is what I observed when I cooked it). After a while, the mixture can solidify (it's edible and soft) almost like polenta, which was how I ate it. The smell is almost smoky, almost like the smell of freshly cut tree or when I've been in a barn full of hay. The taste-hard to describe but I read somewhere that someone thought it tasted a little like chocolate-but when I tried it-it's taste was deeper than chocolate...like wood? Though it may not be the number one grain on my list, its' one I would refer back to. However, I may try Teff flour sometime. There are so many other grains such as:

• Kamut
• Amaranth
• Farro
• Millet

I have also tried Kiwi berries, which look like mini kiwi fruits but without the requirement of peeling the skin. Personally, I thought they were a little too sweet for my taste. They have them at PCC Natural Market.
Trying new grains, or any variety of foods is exciting-and interesting. It is crucial to maintain the biodiversity of food produces since species diversity plays a role in the biodiversity by providing a range of produces for consumers. Without diversity, there would not be an ecology, which could not function with just one species. Also, different species of foods can help maintain soils and habitats, and helps stabilize the ecological community.

4) What are the pros and cons of keepign animals in a zoo? What is your opinion of zoos?


When I was young, I went to zoos-and saw animals. Zoos provide children (and adults) with an experience of seeing an animal they might have never seen. One of my cousins didn't like going to zoos because the animals were behind bars, in cages. The more I thought about this, the more I agreed with her. However, I agree and support zoos who are very much in favor of conserving, researching and helping protect species. They would also have to have certain large area of land for animals and recreate habitats. Many are now pros, and there are few cons:
Pros:

• Zoos are helping and trying new ways to breed endangered species, research, conserve and protect species from being threatened
• Zoos try to recreate a species ecological niche
• They provide children with a learning experience to not only appreciate, but maybe move future generations to protect species
• zoos are learning more about species and their habits

Cons:

• Species could be in small cages; the area of the cage is relatively small due to lack of funds, or even lack of space for zoos to provide enough space
• Animals are fed by zoo keepers
• There may be a lot of noise by onlookers
• Animals may be suspectible to diseases, and they may also seem depressed at times
• The caged environment doesn't make up for their own habitats

If I was in a cage and I was looking at the onlookers, I would wonder why they were staring at me-but I'm not in a cage-I probably wouldn't like people looking at me...anyway, I have to say I would support zoos solely for their move to protect species, but not when I see animals in a caged environment. And I would gladly support zoos since they could provide children with an experience solely for seeing a fascinating animal and they would becomewide- eyed with fascination.

5) About the Marine Biodiversity Discussion...

I don't really mean to be accusatory when I say this, but I believe the discussion though interesting-veered from the subject couple of times to discussions. Many of what I heard was interesting-especially when I hear about other students' and their expericences and careers in restaurants. However, not everything didn't seem (to me) to correspond with the topic of Marine biodiversit. I was hoping to cover more topics such as pollution, and how climate chage effected seas. Seafood consumption is an important topic of choice, I know because it deals with population and insustainable fishing. I was also wanting to discuss more about what should be done to lessen polllution in seas, unfortunately I don't quite recall everything that was discussed.

I will write about the journal activity soon.
Ciao!