Valuing Nature

Through many of my formative years my parents were part of a CSA that required its members to spend a certain amount of time in the fields working for their share. While I strongly detested the fresh chard and other products of my parent’s hard work, I detested tagging along to the farm even more. The parents of my childhood best friends were also contributing members in this CSA. This meant our stay at home mothers would put on their work clothes maybe once or twice a week throughout the summer and force us all into the Volvo to carpool out into the country. The farm, in my memory, was hell on earth. It was always hot and intensely boring. As our parents, usually mothers, weeded and watered, the kids tended to get a little “Lord of the Flies” on each other. There was rarely a work day that went by that someone didn’t end up in tears with an incredible number of burrs in their hair. One summer when I was about eleven had been particularly unbearable. Maybe it was hotter than most years or we had just grown tired of each other sooner, but those farm days were becoming brutal. Our mothers had grown so tired of us and our complaints they encouraged/forced us to go out and explore.

We had previously been forbidden to wander beyond the confines of the barn or the fields they happened to be working in. This new license to explore meant we could venture into the woods that abut the fields. After having spent a summer hanging out in an overheated barn or in the fields bothering our parents, this felt like a dream. And the woods did not disappoint. We found an oasis, an area where a beautiful creek ran through the woods. We climbed trees, waded in the water, and built forts of fallen branches. We spotted a few deer, a multitude of insects, and an alarming number of snakes. The place seemed entirely private and untouched. Having grown up in a densely populated urban neighborhood, our interactions with the ‘wild’ were limited. What we found entirely changed our opinions of all that nature had to offer. The magic of that spot is something we, my friends and our respective siblings, still discuss when we all make the obligatory Thanksgiving migration back to our hometown. This experience in nature really began my love of the natural world. It is something I value and hope that we can conserve into the future. Unfortunately, there are many who do not share this value of preservation of the natural world and instead look to what we can take from nature or how it can be manipulated to suit our needs. I think changing this viewpoint and valuing nature for what it is instead of what it can offer is a large obstacle.

Competition

Consider, why is there such fierce competition around the science of climate change? How should we make sense of and evaluate the scientific claims these two competing websites make? Is one of the sites more convincing than the other? If so, why?

I think there is such fierce competition around the science of because some people do not want to accept that the climate really is changing. Many people support the science of the one that fits their ideas. They do not dig into the science themselves they only support the science that supports their ideas. That is one of the largest reasons why there is such great competition. It is difficult to evaluate the claims each website makes. I think the website that talks about how to speak to someone who is against the claims of climate change does the best job because it refutes the evidence the other website gives. It is more convincing because it gives a lot more evidence against the other sides claims. I could also be biased though because I believe that climate change is real and I think that most of this science against that claim is from funding from people who do not want loose money by having to change their business practices if evidence is proven against them.

Island Style

Growing up on a small island such as Guam made me appreciate what nature has to offer. One of my favorite past times on the island is heading down to Tumon Bay, where the central beaches on the island are located. I would sit at my usual spot underneath a coconut tree far removed from people and just take time to enjoy the beautiful view of the ocean, catch an occasional sunrise or sunset as well. There’s definitely a feeling of tranquility as I observe this picturesque view of the clear blue Pacific Ocean and listen to the waves as they crash onto the reef. It’s a great way to escape from the frenzy of everyday life and appreciate the simplicity of our natural surroundings.

Living on an island such as Guam, I’ve always been aware of the importance of conservation and preservation of natural habitats. All throughout my elementary, middle, and high school years I’ve been taught the significance of various ecosystems and its benefits for the island and people; whether it is about mangrove estuaries, the coral reef, or the importance of keeping the coastal areas free of trash and the consequences to fisheries of not doing so. I remember during my senior year of high school as part of my marine biology course and with it being earth week, I along with a group of students were tasked with presenting to 3^rd and 4^th grade students the benefits of coral reefs and the significance of ‘saving’ them. This project made me realize the impact that learning earlier on about natural habitats have on making future generations aware of and appreciate them more. With this in mind, I would say that ‘saving nature’ is an issue that should be of concern especially for future generations.

Hot Springs

Upon answering this question, I had to ponder for a while. Although I have gone camping, hiking, walking in the woods, I have never felt “thrilling, magical, or enchanting.” I never cherished the environment and the non-human world. I guess one thing that sticks out the most is the hot springs. I come from a town where hot springs are very famous and a lot of them exist in a short driving distance. My family and I love the hot springs—yes these hotels are human-made, but the hot springs they have are natural, no chemicals added. Depending on what the hot springs have inside, it is said to improve health, moisturize skin, and much more benefits. Just this past summer, I was given a chance to go to a hot springs for an overnight event for my internship. I was stressed and anxious at the same time, and I needed sometime for myself to relax and forget everything that was going on. I woke up early in the morning to enjoy the hot springs by myself. I felt relaxed, made me forget about stress, and gave me motivation for the day.

I think a lot of people in the United States do not have a chance to enjoy and experience the hot springs, as they are not a common culture here, but hot springs is definitely an experience that you should have. If you have a chance to visit a hot spring, please take that chance!

“Saving nature” is something that we should concern ourselves with. I think there are many ways to interpret this question, but I believe that no, we should not provide too much chemicals and human made whatever to the nature to preserve nature, but we should conserve what we have and first try and rebuild what human population does to the environment every day. For example, not littering in the forests—this also ties into recycling. Also, conserving water, electricity and any other energy used in everyday lives. Use public transportation and much more. I think once everybody (this is ideal, not realistic) do these small things every day, then we can figure out what must be done by chemical and technological means. But in reality, it is impossible to persuade everybody in the world. Maybe, the convention-protocol approach should be applied here regarding conserving nature.

"Green Education Foundation"

“Green Education Foundation”

http://www.greeneducationfoundation.org/

Green Education Foundation “provides sustainability education resources to K-12 classrooms” (“Green”). Their target age groups are these youth, but also their families as well as they can carry out their knowledge and transfer them into their families. Their objective is to promote and enhance environmental education (“Green”). The organization believes that enhancing the youth’s awareness of environmental education, will be effective to enforces people to save the environment.

This organization features what I personally believe is the most important to increase environmental awareness, through education. Without the knowledge of what is happening in the world, without understanding why it is happening, ways to prevent them, it is almost impossible to improve the environmental situations. Bringing awareness from a young age will also increase its effectiveness as they will be able to carry out the awareness and preventing the worsening of the environment in the future.

The Unlikely Greening of Walmart

When one hears Walmart, thoughts of green friendly practices and local farmers are probably far from anyone’s mind. Walmart is often equated with our consumerism, focus on low prices that don’t reflect true costs, corporatism, and, to many, all that is evil. It’s difficult then to reconcile this image with the changes Walmart is making in how they do business. In the past five years, Walmart has begun using hybrid 18 wheelers, recycling the plastic from their water bottles into dog beds, and carrying more environmentally sustainable products. It’s newest initiative focuses on the produce each Walmart sells.

Walmart is the biggest grocer in the world. This past Thursday, Walmart announced that it would be buying produce from more local farmers worldwide. In the United States, it is aiming to have 9% of purchases be locally grown produce by 2015. Farms will be held accountable for how much and how water, energy, fertilizer, and pesticides are used. Buying from small and female owned farms is also being incorporated into this initiative. In addition, each store will try to buy produce from areas close to the store or along main transportation corridors so that transportation costs are reduced. The new focus on local is only part of the new push. Walmart also plans to only buy palm oil from sustainable sellers and Brazilian beef only from producers who are not harming the Amazon as these two industries are huge contributors to the deforestation of the Amazon. These new goals are admirable and give hope that corporations have a conscience and a big picture view of the changes that need to happen. Seeing as Walmart is huge not just domestically but internationally, the example they’re setting of environmental and economic sustainability not being mutually exclusive is important. I must skeptically question how well these initiatives are kept to and how large an impact they make, but it is undeniably a step in the right direction for Walmart and corporate responsibility.

Walmart’s Greening

Abound Solar

http://www.abound.com/default.asp

http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/07/06/obama-pledges-2b-stimulus-funds-solar-firms

Abound Solar company creates state of the art solar panels that produce more power for a fraction of the cost. They use cadium telluride in comparison to normal crystalline silicon. It only takes about 5 months to create more energy than it took to make the panels which is also 5x faster than the traditional solar panels. Obama has also given a $400 million for them to expand their plant in Colorado and create a new one in Indiana. This plant construction will create 2000 jobs and 1500 permanent jobs. This production will also be enough to fuel 200,000 homes. It is great that there are amazing advancements taking place in the world of green energy.