Typing 4 Trees | An Eco-Friendly Blog
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23 Jan
Put a Little Quintuple R in YourLifeIn an earlier post, I briefly mentioned the “3 R’s” concept as one that should be incorporated in everyone’s daily behavior. While the three R’s are still quite useful, I have learned recently that two more R’s can be added to this model: “Refuse” (refusing to purchase, use, or consume products and foods that are harmful to the environment in their production, distribution, and/or disposal) to be placed before the initial “Reduce,” and “Rot” (the idea of composting your organic wastes) to be placed after “Recycle,” thus, making the new fun phrase “Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot.”
Now, for some of you, just the tasks brought about by implementing the more common “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” behaviors into your lives are too much to be bothered by, but I promise it really is not a hard adjustment to make!
Check out this blog for more information.
16 Dec
Putting a Price onNatureThere have been many different approaches to the environmental crisis. One solution, brought about by taking an economic approach, is to put a price on nature, which would give people monetary motivation to put the best interest of our environment first. This TED Talks video explains this idea a little further:
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14 Nov
Religion Can Establish a Successful EnvironmentalEthicAs sustainability rises as a theme among environmentalists as a new way of life that ends degradation to the planet, concepts of environmental ethics have also risen. Ethics in general have always been a highly debated topic as people make decisions based on differing ethical backgrounds, and so it is difficult to decide whether there should be one specific environmental ethic, that determines what actions are “wrong” and what actions are “right” when it comes to how we treat our environment. The importance of an environmental ethic, however, is huge. Establishing such an ethic might provide more incentive for a greater number of people to take into account the importance of respect for the planet as it would serve them internally to abide by ethical or moral good standing.
On that note, it should be noted that religion is, and has been, a dominant driving factor in motivations for human action and inaction. As such, I personally believe that said environmental ethic should contain religious background, whether from on religion or many, in order to be effective. That being said, the next question would be, which religion holds the best basis for an environmental ethic? My answer: no one religion holds the key to saving the planet by way of environmental ethics. I think it is possible to form one environmental ethic by taking concepts from different religions.
Many different religions hold key components to respecting the earth and taking care of it, which would serve an environmental ethic well. For example, the stewardship principle present in Christianity holds humans responsible for the land they survive off of, and plants them with the duty to take care of it. Also, the concept of Indra’s net in Buddhism holds that we are all interdependent pieces of one great web of life; not just the humans, but all parts of nature are connected as one. If it was possible to attain the motivational powers behind each of these concepts, among others, and present them as one environmental ethic, I think it would be most effective.
However, because people hold tight to their religions as a whole, which usually entails not following “rules” of other religions as that action would forsake their own sacred religion, it is unlikely at this time that people would consider the idea of combining parts of different religions for any reason, especially if this combination would have to apply to some sort of lifestyle change. So, it is also important to point out that many religions have some general ideas that are remarkably similar among them. For example, some version of the Golden Rule, put forth by Confucius and used in many religions across the board (do unto others as you would have done to yourself, or some variety of this), shows that this one concept could be used within an environmental ethic, and everyone would be happy with is as it does not change their beliefs.
It is possible to create an environmental ethic without pushing religion as a dominating part of it. Aldo Leopold proved this with his Land Ethic. Nonetheless, as I have seen religion or sets of moral values provoke people to act, or not act, in a certain way, and it is for this reason that I think religion should be present in any successful attempt at the creation of an environmental ethic. In Sustainability, Dr. Leslie Thiele states, “Fostering an ethic of sustainability may require the aid, and perhaps transformation, of the religious traditions that provide moral instruction to so many,” (Thiele, 178). The motivating factor behind religion proves its power in providing a cause to act. If it is possible to focus on the aspects of specific religions that motivate people to act in ways that better the planet, I think it would be possible to create and sustain an effective environmental ethic.
5 Oct
Venom Sounds Promising for Future ofMedicineThere are several species of poisonous snakes that can have you near death in minutes with a single bite. These snakes can be found all over the world with varying torturous effects from different kinds of venom. As each snakes venom may induce different degrees of suffering on different people, snake venom in generally can be divided into two main categories: hemotoxins and neurotoxins. Hemotoxins, toxins that attack and destroy red blood cells, cause extreme pain starting in the area of the bite and spreading. Often a bite of this nature causes tissue damage, and if not treated quickly can result in the loss of the affected area (for example, a bite on the foot may result in whole foot amputation). On the other hand, neurotoxins often cause a rapid onset of paralysis, as the toxin attacks nerve cells. Left untreated this venom kills its victims much faster than hemotoxins. Certain species of spiders, scorpions, and bees also produce neurotoxins in their venom.
But there is a way to make use out of these different toxins found in venom, medicinally. Today, there are already medications on the market that have used the toxins in chemical formulations that aid in treatment of certain ills. Scientists are still figuring out more ways to use the toxins in different treatments and medications, and believe that they could even assist in the formulation of a stronger treatment of some of the “big” diseases, like cancer.
The Huffington Post video, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/01/snake-venom-medicine-toxic_n_2957975.html, explains a little more on this.
Bush Viper (http://www.mrwallpaper.com/view/bush-viper-snake-19201080/)
26 Sep
Optimists Vs. PessimistsThe decision of whether or not the future holds hope or despair on the environmental front is merely a choice made by individuals based on world outlook and opinion rooted in outside source information. This decision determines a person’s standing in the constant battles about what is “right” or what is “most important,” thereby determining their action, or inaction, in the name of what they think will happen in the future.
Is this war of optimists vs. pessimists producing more positive outcomes or negative outcomes? I would argue that it only slows any process that might result in the planet’s saving grace way down. Although there is no one magic solution to the catastrophe that is the human-caused earth degradation, each solution that could be, becomes a hot topic of argument not only between environmentalists and non-environmentalists, but among environmentalists themselves. Who cares what side of the line you are on? I’d like to believe we all have a common goal. I think that the Worldwatch Institute said it best: “Optimism and pessimism are equal distractions from what we need in our current circumstance: realism, a commitment to nature and to each other, and a determination not to waste more time” (Worldwatch Institute, 16).
26 Sep
What is the right way tochange?Are college students studying forms of environmental science misguided, or even misinformed, on “real” processes of effective social change? Some might argue that we, as a collective group of students, are continuously “spread too thin” over the amount of environmental issues facing the peoples of our planet, and that we are driven to try to find solutions to all of them. But the way we are taught to address the mass amount of issues is by making small changes in our everyday lives, and promoting these changes in others’ lifestyles, in order to somehow make a worldwide difference.
I think we are all in agreement that some sort of changes need to be made if we want to avert some of the worst crises to come, and we all know a long list of causes of these crises and potential ways to solve them, or at least lessen the ill effects. So, are tiny acts of kindness toward the earth an effective strategy for social change?
The Worldwatch Institute claims this idea is not effective. “Social change does not happen through mass, uncoordinated shifts in lifestyles or consumption choices: small and easy is attractive, plausible, and dead wrong” (Maniates, Worldwatch Institute, 260). Furthermore, this chapter states that we have been trained to think this “small and easy” is a much better alternative to radical activism: “U.S. environmentalism has historically been a ‘polite movement,’ where offering additional research and compelling facts has been a more comfortable way of promoting change than noisy activism or social protest” (Maniates, Worldwatch Institute, 259).
There is no doubt in my mind that collective action is a successful way to make a difference toward bettering our planet, even if that difference is small. Until we find a more radical way to produce the “right” kind of social change, I think it is important to continue small changes. We need to learn how to prepare ourselves for slow motion disasters in the present, those that may not be so slow in the future, and may not move people to action as we’d hoped.
20 Sep
GIVE to Make aDifferenceIn earlier posts, I have stressed the importance of getting involved in some sort of organization that you feel a connection to, and also to consider participating in a project of that organization. There are so many varieties of sustainability related organizations and so many opportunities to reach out to any number of communities. I think that it is essential to any kind of success on the environmental crises front that we remember we are one planet, and if you are able to give help to a community in need, you should.
A few months ago I went on a service project trip to Nicaragua with an organization called Growth International Volunteer Excursions (GIVE). The trip lasted two weeks and took place in a few different locations in the country. We arrived in Managua late on a Sunday, and took a bus to Jiquilillo, a small city on the northwest coast of Nicaragua. Here, we spent our days working hard to build up the walls for a new school in the community. Instead of using normal bricks for the walls, however, we filled up three liter plastic bottles with sand to make our more sustainable bottle bricks. This was our way to not only clean up the town, but also turn it into something positive, a school, while educating the community on sustainability along the way, as this town had no efficient way to recycle.
The GIVE organization allowed us to engage in “work hard, play hard” activities as well. They know the importance of involving yourself in foreign community in more ways than one, so you can learn something from a different culture. It widens your perspective. We had some down time in between working where we could surf and enjoy the scenery of a beautiful country, as well as free time at night to relax or enjoy a new type of nightlife. We went to local clubs, ate local foods, climbed a volcano, and went to a local marketplace all before we traveled to the other side of the country to spend the rest of our trip on Little Corn Island. Here, we spent our days participating in local activities (I played a lot of volleyball) and teaching English in a local school. This side of Nicaragua exposed us to an almost completely different culture with new things to learn.
I could talk about this trip for pages and pages, and I think that is why I want more people to experience something like it. Trips like this one, or projects similar, are the ones that will change your life and see the world with a different outlook. This trip showed me how much of a difference I could make with my own hands, and if more people got to feel that, I think we would be a lot closer to healing our planet. I met some of the most amazing people and I did things I didnt expect, and discovered things about myself I didnt expect. GIVE pushed me out of my comfort zone in a way that opened my eyes to the bigger picture, and taught me how to play an effective role in making a positive impact. They taught me how to leave a mark on the world.
10 Sep
Extinction Vs. SpeciationIt’s common knowledge by now that the extinction rate of countless sets of species is through the roof. However, it should also be known that speciation goes hand-in-hand with species extinction. It has always been the way of the world that various species of plants and animals see their last days on this earth as more species are discovered. This is natural selection at work.
Even as speciation is occurring, though, human involvement has tipped the scales quite significantly in favor of species extinction. The rate of extinction has risen so severely that speciation cannot keep up. Furthermore, extinction is not so much a natural occurrence as it has been. Due to a series of anthropogenic causes of extinction including destruction of natural habitat, introduction of invasive species, pollution, and climate change, human activity does not allow the proper conditions to be set for speciation to continue.
In order to try to slow down rates of extinction, national parks and reserves are set up to help protect those species facing extinction. Although this has been somewhat helpful, rates are still high.
According to numerous studies, we are among the days of the sixth mass extinction in history. If and when the most significant levels of extinction occur since the end of the dinosaurs, I wonder what will happen next. What new species will evolve then? Will we be stuck with more bacteria and cockroaches than birds and mammals? What happens to the ecosystem services we depend on we inevitable ecosystem destruction follows this mass extinction?
21 Aug
Reducing Carbon Emissions Could Be As SimpleAs…With all the hullabaloo these days about the need for drastic reductions in carbon emissions, “painting the town white” has the potential to slow down our emergency. The darker a surface is, the more heat that surface absorbs. So, by painting the roofs of buildings white, that surface will then reflect more heat than it absorbs, reducing overall carbon emissions and air conditioning costs of the building. Can you imagine what painting every roof white in the world would do to decrease global warming temperatures? This quick, cheap, and easy fix could easily help put our damaged planet on the mend. An article by Steve Connor of The Independent states that painting rooftops white, “would save the same amount of carbon as taking all the cars in the world off the roads for 50 years, a study has found” (http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/painting-roofs-white-is-as-green-as-taking-cars-off-the-roads-for-50-years-says-study-7640770.html).
However, as with most “solutions” to the earth’s many man-made problems, there is a downside. An article by Ben Schiller states that while there may be positive effects from painting rooftops white in the summer (keeping air conditioning cost down by making houses and buildings cooler), these effect will be offset by negative effects in the winter. Schiller goes on to suggest that solar panels are the more beneficial alternative (http://www.fastcompany.com/1790991/painting-your-roof-white-doesnt-work).
So, as with almost every environmental issue, there are two sides, leaving the decision up to you. Is painting your rooftop white worth a shot? Or should we all just stick to solar panels?
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