FernGully

Yesterday I had the opportunity to see the movie FernGully. It was a wonderful animated movie made in 1992 with an environmental theme. For some reason I missed this film somewhere in my childhood and was glad for the chance to come and view with my son at the Riverside City College campus.

The film centers around a group of fairies and forest animals deep in the rain forest. They are so deep in the forest that they long ago stopped believing humans even existed. Crista (the principle protagonist of the movie), is a young fairy that is an apprentice of their clans medicine woman (or shaman), Magi. Christa, like many young adults, is curious and has yet to master the skills of her trade. Her curiosity has lead her to the discovery of humans entering the rain forest. The humans are in the forest for one reason... exploitation of course. The humans turn out to work for a logging company that has been charged with the clear cutting of the forest. The humans loggers end up accidentally releasing Hexxus (the primary antagonist), who ends up enlisting the unsuspecting humans into his service. Zak is a young man that is working with the loggers as a summer job. Zak and the other loggers are not maliciously destructive. They are the product of the expected selfish and uncaring behavior of humans that are uneducated in the matters of the environment. Crista, who is unable to control her fledgling powers, shrinks Zak to save him from calamity. Unable to change him back the two embark on a journey to Ferngully where Magi can change Zak back to his normal size. During the journey Crista teaches Zak how the forest is a living being that feels love and pain. In the end Hexxus ends up in Ferngully intent on destroying it. Magi in parts Christa with the knowledge of the power of a seed. Crista allows herself, along with a seed, to be swollowed by Hexxus. The seed grows into a great tree entrapping him inside it.

I believe the seed represents the seed of knowledge. Once planted inside someone it has the ability to grow and change someone from the inside. Where there is a lack of knowledge there can be no enlightenment. Where ignorance thrives often so does destruction and wastefulness. Once one because aware of the negative effect one has on their surrounding it becomes near impossible to ignore and thus promotes change. I believe it is the duty of all who have become "enlightened" to plant the seeds of knowledge in order to bring about global change.

What's Plaguing US?

I entered this class at the beginning of the semester not unlike many of my fellow countrymen (and women);  unaware and uncaring of many environmental issues. I was a climate skeptic at best and at times a down right climate change denier at worst. Despite this line of thinking I was determined to take on this class and this semester with a completely open-mind. I've tried new things this semester,  such as taking up a plot in the RCC Community Garden and have participated in the RCC Sustainability Club (with whom I plan on going on a conservation trip to Catalina in a couple of weeks). I have had somewhat of an awakening and feel enriched by the new people and ideas I have encountered. I am not saying all skepticism on every environmental issue has been completely erased. I am a skeptic by nature and I think it is an important quality of a free thinker. I have strong Free Market Libertarian beliefs and I loath the idea of government infringement of personal freedoms. That being said, I don't think there is anything wrong with free men and women wanting to educate themselves about real life events that are happening right now. There is nothing wrong with free peoples wanting clean air and water. There is especially nothing wrong with voting with your pocket book and putting pressure on corporations to work to do it better and cleaner than they have. You see; that is what capitalism is all about. If we the people reward companies with our money for doing environmentally friendly things; then, that will motivate other companies to do the same.

In my opinion the biggest issue that the environmental/conservation movements are having is one of messaging. It seems to me that the movement spends to much time trying to pass laws so that the government will force people and companies into doing what they "feel" is right. There is many life examples of how this thinking is ineffective. I believe the better way to bring about real change is a huge grassroots movement to educate our fellow citizens on the benefits of conservation. Nobody, no matter what party affiliation, likes smog, or plastic bags in the ocean, cigarette butts ect. polluting everything. Likewise nobody minds if individuals chose to forgo that plastic bag at the store or if a private shopkeeper (or corporation for that matter), decides to stop using them. Where people get upset is when government comes and tell them what they can and can't use. I believe most people when properly educated will chose to forgo the bags on their own. I did and have. Ever since I watched Bag It! I have become acutely aware of every plastic bag that I see and only use the ones I already have (most of the time).

I believe it is our duty as swards of our planet to pass on the information we have learned in this course. I'm not necessarily suggesting we all turn into fervent evangelical environmentalist. I'm suggesting we start by having sensible discussions with friends and family. I'm saying we should impart our children with the valves of conservationism. If you are a highly motivated individual perhaps start or get evolved with community outreach groups dealing with environmental issues.

 People act like it is some secret on what motivates corporations. It's not. Money is what motivates them. Likewise people underestimate the power of the consumer ..... especially consumers that are united, educated and casting the only vote that counts ..... the ol' mighty DOLLAR!

 I know this was not exactly what Dr. Huff was looking for, BUT I feel that what I lined out here is the best way to bring about change in all environmental issues. I believe the increased carbon in the atmosphere and our oceans (causing the acidification) is the biggest sign that something serious is happening to our planet. I'm driven more than ever to stop spending money at the big corporate conglomerates. Big companies (especially in the restaurant industry), are more likely to ship food from far off places all over the world. This causes more CO2's to be released into the atmosphere.

Amy's Farm

On Saturday the 17th of May, I had the opportunity to visit Amy's Farm, a small sustainable family farm. They are a real working poly culture farm, but also allow tours for students to have a real hands on educational experience.

They are a poly culture farm, that means they farm a verity of crops and they will try to incorporate native spices of weeds and plant life mixed throughout their farm. This, they hope, will invite the proper insects to help keep the "bad" insects in check. On thing that the tour guide said that stuck with me is that you can judge the health of a garden by the insects that you see living there. If the produce isn't safe enough for insects to eat, it may not be safe for you to eat either.

One other thing that I found interesting is that they offered a heard share program. This is where private individuates came "chip in " money to buy and care for a dairy cow. Because they are part "owners" of this cow they then can come and milk and keep the milk of their cow. This is the only legal way one can obtain and consume "raw" milk under Federal Law.

For those of you that would wish to visit Amy's Farm for fresh produce and eggs can contact them at 909-393-2936 or go visit them at 7698 Eucalyptus, Ontario, CA 91762

Sit Back, Unplug, and Relax

This weekend I spent a day (24 hours), without the use of energy (as much as possible). The idea is to bring into focus the amount of energy use/waste is used daily and what energy use is really necessary. Living in a technologically connect society as we do these days; the issue of not using my cell phone and laptop will probably be the items that cause the most anxiety.

I had a strategy going into the day that I was going to unplug. My plan was #1 sleep in as much as possible, and #2 stay away from home during my waking hours. I could not stay in bed past 8:30am; so, so much for part 1 of my plan. Once we were up (my son Wyatt and I), we ate a bowl of cereal and went on a bike ride to the park. It was an awesome time to catchup  on some reading (environmental science of course), while Wyatt played on the play ground. We returned home at about 12 and got ready to go swimming. I had preplanned to meet a few friends at our community pool. I had my ice chest ready with fruit salad and drinks. We went down to the pool and had a barbecue/picnic for about 8 hours (well after dark). We went to sleep shortly after.

There were a few places I realize I kinda cheated. When I planned the BBQ I was thinking this is a wonderful way to not consume energy. Then as I was standing there in front of my barbecue I realized that I was in fact still using energy. I was using propane. I then thought about how I was using ice for the ice chest.
 This is kind of like using a battery. I took energy to freeze ice so that I could use it later....that later was this day.

Over all I did great staying away from the technology. I did let my son watch a little TV before bed. This was my project not his. I did well though, he went through the entire day without using energy without realizing it.
It was not hard to get through the day of being unplugged the way that I did it. It would have been much harder if I did not use the BBQ. Much of my car usage was done the day before to prepare for this day.

I'm not sure what I could do on a daily basis to continue using less energy. One thing I could do is to start using those "green strips" to plug my computers and entertainment systems into. That way I can get my electricity vampires under control.

FOOD!!!

Every morning I seem to be running late to work or class. In a perfect world I would have time to eat a good breakfast before tackling the day. In reality I'm scrambling out the door with a travel mug of coffee and a banana in my hand. This week I am going to look into bananas, a food item I eat everyday (unless I run out), and find out the environmental impact of producing and bringing it to market as well as find out the health benefits and/or consequences of it.

Places where Chiquita Bananas are grown

I know bananas are not the most exiting or interesting food item in the world, but they are vary convenient  to grab when you're on the run or to through in your backpack for a snake later in the day. Since they come in there vary own biodegradable packaging the environmental impact on the back end is slim to none. On the other hand; I know nothing about the resources it takes to grow and ship product to bring it to market. The brand of bananas I eat is Chiquita (Of course.... not sure if there is any other brand. The only brand I have had over my entire life has been Chiquita I think.). On the Chiquita website, chiquitabananas.com, they state,  " Chiquita Banana farms are located in South America and North America. Chiquita banana farms are most concentrated in fertile soil regions of Central America; from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador. As you can imagine shipping bananas to the states creates a large ecological footprint. According to a website One Green Planet, at onegreenplanet.org, CO2 emissions caused by transporting bananas such far distances is the primary reason not to eat them. They also had some concerns about the pesticides used and the impact on the farm workers.


The ingredients of bananas seems simple because it is a single ingredient food, but if you break it down and analyze it chemically it contains:

The health benifits bananas have are well know. They are high in vitamens such as: Vitamin B6, Manganese, Vitamin C, Potassium, Dietary Fiber, Protein, Magnesium, Folate, Riboflavi, Niacin, Vitamin A, and Iron. They are also known to have positive benefits in dealing with blood pressure, Asthma, Cancer, Heart health, Diabetes, treating diarrhea, preserving memory and boosting mood. According to healthnews.com.

Taking a Look at the Amount of Waste I Create

This week I was asked to take a closer look at the amount of waste (as in trash that goes to our land fills), I create in a two day period. I tried to pick to days that were similar in routine. I reasoned that I most likely created more trash on the weekends than on the weekdays. So, my first two days was a Friday and a Saturday; my next two was Sunday and Monday. This way each two day period had one weekday and one weekend day. I also decided to measure the amount of trash my entire household created (household of 4).

My first two days created 14.6 lbs. of trash (3 bags). My second two days my family created 5.5 lbs. of trash. My assignment was to implement waste reduction strategies between the first two days and the last two days. Going by these stats it would appear that I did an awesome job. However it is not the truth.  Despite my best efforts I believe my data was skewed. The reason I believe this is because Friday and Saturdays seem to be the days that many of the large containers that I buy once a week goes empty. For example in those first two day I had three milk containers, one orange juice container, two boxes of cereal, and laundry detergent. These items are used all week long, but only thrown out at the end of the week. Also we had a barbecue on Saturday that also added extra trash.

I wasn't really able to implement any real waste reduction for the second two days, because it would of involved more planning and it would have required me to change my shopping habits ahead of time. I did produce less waste the second two days because we ate left overs from the barbecue and had no need to throw out any big containers. I believe this experiment would have to be done in weekly increments to get a better idea of the effectiveness of waste reduction strategies. 

Below is a list of some waste reduction strategies I got from http://www.epa.gov/waste/wycd/funfacts/index.htm:

• Reduce Your Packaging: Buy bulk or concentrated products when you can.
• Reduce Toxicity or Learn How: Recycle your batteries and use batteries with reduced mercury.
• Select Reusable Products: Sturdy, washable utensils, tableware, cloth napkins, and dishcloths can be used many times.
• Use Durable Products: Choose furniture, sports equipment, toys, and tools that will stand the test of time.
• Reuse Products: Reuse newspaper, boxes, shipping "peanuts," and "bubble wrap" to ship packages.
• Recycle Automotive Products: Take car batteries, antifreeze, and motor oil to participating recycling centers.
• Buy Products Made From Recycled Material: Many bottles, cans, cereal boxes, containers, and cartons are made from recycled material.
• Compost or Learn How: Food scraps and yard waste can become natural soil conditioners.

UCR "Bug Ladies" visit the RCC Community Garden

Two weeks ago Thursday, April 24th, we were lucky enough to have two vary knowledgeable UCR Entomology graduate students come to our (RCC's), community garden. They came to educate us on a method of pest control that can effectively control pest in our gardens without the use of potentially harmful chemicals. That method is to use the natural enemies of the harmful pest. Here is a chart I got off the UC Davis website at http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74140.html. This an example of what the grad students where talking about.

PESTS	NATURAL ENEMIES
	Lacewings	Lady beetles	Parasitic flies	Parasitic wasps	Predatory mites	Other groups and examples
aphids	•	•		•		entomopathogenic fungi syrphid fly larvae
carpenterworm, clearwing moth larvae				•		entomopathogenic nematodes
caterpillars (e.g., California oakworm)	•		•	•		Bacillus thuringiensis birds pathogenic fungi and viruses predaceous wasps Trichogramma spp.(egg parasitic wasps) spiders
cottony cushion scale		•	•			Cryptochaetum iceryae (parasitic fly) vedalia beetle
elm leaf beetle			•	•		Erynniopsis antennata (parasitic fly) Oomyzus (=Tetrastichus) spp. (parasitic wasps)
eucalyptus longhorned borers				•		Avetianella longoi (egg parasitic wasp) Syngaster lepidus (larval parasitic wasp)
eucalyptus redgum lerp psyllid		•		•		Psyllaephagus bliteus (parasitic wasp)
giant whitefly	•	•		•	•	Entedononecremnus krauteri, Encarsiella noyesii, and Idioporus affinis (parasitic wasp)
glassy-winged sharpshooter				•		Gonatocerus spp. (egg parasitic wasps)
lace bugs	•	•		•		pirate bugs spiders
mealybugs	•	•		•	•	mealybug destroyer lady beetle
mosquitoes						Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. israelensis
psyllids	•	•		•		pirate bugs
scales	•	•		•	•	Aphytis spp. (armored scale parasites)
slugs, snails			•			Rumina decollata (predatory snail) predaceous ground beetles vertebrates
spider mites	•	•			•	sixspotted thrips Stethorus picipes (spider mite destroyer lady beetle)
thrips	•				•	predatory thrips
weevils, root or soil-dwelling						Steinernema carpocapsae and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (entomopathogenic nematodes)

 One way we can promote a diverse insect population in our gardens is to have a garden that is biologically diverse in the types of fruits and vegetables we grow.  The other way to have beneficial insects is to by and release them in your garden. Releasing the correct predator insect requires that you identify the enemy in your garden then looking up its natural predictor on the chart above.

The other thing these grad students did is bring some live and preserved insect specimens from around the world. Here are some pictures.