I recently watch a video called The 11th Hour which was narrated, created and produced by film star Leonardo DiCaprio in 2007. This environmental expose examined such issues as climate change, greenhouse gas emissions and the oil industry. However, after viewing many environmental films during my studies within the last few months I feel this film fell short compared to the other environmental documentaries. Given DiCaprio's expansive budget and star appeal I expected a better, well informed depiction of what's really occurring around the world. One thing it did not fall short of however, is drama. This films was packed with disturbing imagery which flashed randomly throughout the movie. While it tried to depict the seriousness of the world's environmental problems it failed to provide fresh information. During the film I was waiting for some new revelation to be revealed, but unfortunately, that never occurred. Basically, this movie did not produce the kind of emotional connection compared to similar movies such as Future of Food or FLOW. The downside to having bland environmental films packed with drama is that the audience, the world, is going to become immuned. There's a long line of films that have spurred since Al Gore released The Inconvenient Truth. If you can't offer the audience something new other than bad imagery then you shouldn't have made the film. Also, it failed to provide any information to the audience on how to change our current environmental issues. As I recall, it basically stated that the government needs to change. Maybe Mr. DiCaprio could of offered some suggestions on how we can accomplish that. Overall, it seemed like a scare tactic that was reminiscent of Nostradamus prophecies.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Environmental News
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100308-715555.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines
I found an interesting article in which Wal-Mart settles environmental suits in reference to their stores in California. The suit stem from the greenhouse gas emissions that is produced by Wal-Mart due to "operations and ...(its) expansion of three stores". As part of the settlement agreement, Wal-Mart had to install three solar panels on the roofs and use energy efficient designs and equipment for their stores built in Perris and Yucca Valley. The Center for Biological Diversity sued Wal-Mart over permits that were issued to have the two stores expanded. "Wal-Mart said last week it aims to cut 20 million metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions from its global supply chain by the end of 2015. Wal-Mart worked with the Environmental Defense Fund to develop the plan and is also working with PricewaterhouseCoopers, ClearCarbon Inc., the Carbon Disclosure Project and the Applied Sustainability Center at the University of Arkansas." (Sweet) A California law adopted in 2006 aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2020. Hopefully other major chains will follow suit in the wake of such lawsuits.
Sweet, Cassandra, Wal-Mart Settles Environmental Complaints Over Calif Stores, March 8, 2010,http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100308-715555.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines
Sustainability Challenge
http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/
I took the above sustainability challenge on the link below which took a lot of consideration and about 15 minutes to complete. I would have to say that the result is surprising. I thought for sure that I wouldn't exceed one planet and I was wrong. After taking the quiz, my result was a disappointing 2.3 earths. The quiz indicated how many planet earths it would take to sustain the lifestyle your currently living. Of course, the highest number was due to transportation and I scored a 5 in that area. I don't think that a lot of the world realizes how large America is and that mostly we're just trying to commute to work. If you don't live in a big city then you have to travel to the big cities to find work. You can't live in the big cities because it's too expensive. Therefore, you have to live in the rural or suburb areas and commute to work. With how much driving we have to do just to get anywhere of course we use a lot of oil. But I think it's not practical to take the bus. You get off of work, then pick up the kids, then go to the store....you'd spend most of your day waiting for a bus. I think compared to a lot of countries, Americans tend to work more. Then we have to multitask like going grocery shopping during lunch or running errands. We can't do those chores if we had taken the bus to work. So until someone comes up with and implements a better way to communte....things aren't going to change. People do what they can by recycling, saving water, using energy efficient lighting and appliances...but bottom line is that we need to fix the oil problem to have any kind of impact.
I took the above sustainability challenge on the link below which took a lot of consideration and about 15 minutes to complete. I would have to say that the result is surprising. I thought for sure that I wouldn't exceed one planet and I was wrong. After taking the quiz, my result was a disappointing 2.3 earths. The quiz indicated how many planet earths it would take to sustain the lifestyle your currently living. Of course, the highest number was due to transportation and I scored a 5 in that area. I don't think that a lot of the world realizes how large America is and that mostly we're just trying to commute to work. If you don't live in a big city then you have to travel to the big cities to find work. You can't live in the big cities because it's too expensive. Therefore, you have to live in the rural or suburb areas and commute to work. With how much driving we have to do just to get anywhere of course we use a lot of oil. But I think it's not practical to take the bus. You get off of work, then pick up the kids, then go to the store....you'd spend most of your day waiting for a bus. I think compared to a lot of countries, Americans tend to work more. Then we have to multitask like going grocery shopping during lunch or running errands. We can't do those chores if we had taken the bus to work. So until someone comes up with and implements a better way to communte....things aren't going to change. People do what they can by recycling, saving water, using energy efficient lighting and appliances...but bottom line is that we need to fix the oil problem to have any kind of impact.
Food Intake and Packaging
For the first part of this post I am calculating the food and drink I consumed, my caloric intake, and how much energy and water went into producing it.
Food/Drink for one day:
Coffee (black)-Calories: 2, Contents: 2 cups of water and 1 scoop of instant coffee, Packaging: Plastic Folgers container and ceramic coffee cup; Total water used: 8 cups, Total energy used: 800 watts, Preparation: self-made.
Yogurt-Calories: 115, Contents: 4 oz, Packaging: Plastic w/ Aluminum lid; Total water used: 12 cups, Total energy used: 300 watts, Preparation: pre-made.
Salad with tomatoes, oil and vinager dressing-Calories: 33, Contents: 3.7 oz, Packaging: none-farmer's market, Total water used: 15 cups (including rising salad and tomatoes, Total energy used: 1000 watts, Preparation: self-made. Oil and Vinager Dressing-Calories: 43, Packaging: two plastic containers, total water used: 2 cups, total energy used: 500 watts, Preparation: self-made.
Water (tap from well)-Calories: 0, Packaging: none, total water used: 1 liter, total energy used: 2,400 watts (electric from well system).
Tomato Soup-Calories: 150, Packaging: 1 can, Contents: 1 cup, total water used: 15 cups, total energy used: 3,000 watts (mostly from production of can), Preparation: pre-made.
*To determine how much water is used to make a certain product I have used the following sources:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_water_does_it_take_to_make_a_plastic_bottle
**To determine how much energy is used to make a certain product I have used the following sources:
http://www.dearbornswcd.org/plastic%20bags%20campaign.pdf
http://www.pacinst.org/topics/water_and_sustainability/bottled_water/bottled_water_and_energy.html
http://forum.grasscity.com/general-indoor-growing/162215-chart-how-many-watts-needed-run-most-common-appliances.html
***To determine calories I am utilizing the information listed on the product and the following sources:
http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/Foods/1400/14214/Food.aspx
For the next section I am going to list portable items, the packaging, and the energy and water used in production and packaging.
Purse: no packaging, came with recycled paper stuffing, estimating 200 watts, 1 liter of water.
Cellphone: plastic container, 8000 watts, 5 gallons of water for single production of phone and container and charge, battery 6 volts, 200 watts, 1/2 gallon of water.
Pen: plastic with some metal, 200 watts, 2 liters, for production of set of pens and thin plastic wrap bag.
Ceramic mug: 6000 watts, 1 gallon of water for production.
Sources used:
http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagid=24437
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_(electricity)
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=3
http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/00ccdb/cc00_tabA9.pdf
Food/Drink for one day:
Coffee (black)-Calories: 2, Contents: 2 cups of water and 1 scoop of instant coffee, Packaging: Plastic Folgers container and ceramic coffee cup; Total water used: 8 cups, Total energy used: 800 watts, Preparation: self-made.
Yogurt-Calories: 115, Contents: 4 oz, Packaging: Plastic w/ Aluminum lid; Total water used: 12 cups, Total energy used: 300 watts, Preparation: pre-made.
Salad with tomatoes, oil and vinager dressing-Calories: 33, Contents: 3.7 oz, Packaging: none-farmer's market, Total water used: 15 cups (including rising salad and tomatoes, Total energy used: 1000 watts, Preparation: self-made. Oil and Vinager Dressing-Calories: 43, Packaging: two plastic containers, total water used: 2 cups, total energy used: 500 watts, Preparation: self-made.
Water (tap from well)-Calories: 0, Packaging: none, total water used: 1 liter, total energy used: 2,400 watts (electric from well system).
Tomato Soup-Calories: 150, Packaging: 1 can, Contents: 1 cup, total water used: 15 cups, total energy used: 3,000 watts (mostly from production of can), Preparation: pre-made.
*To determine how much water is used to make a certain product I have used the following sources:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_water_does_it_take_to_make_a_plastic_bottle
**To determine how much energy is used to make a certain product I have used the following sources:
http://www.dearbornswcd.org/plastic%20bags%20campaign.pdf
http://www.pacinst.org/topics/water_and_sustainability/bottled_water/bottled_water_and_energy.html
http://forum.grasscity.com/general-indoor-growing/162215-chart-how-many-watts-needed-run-most-common-appliances.html
***To determine calories I am utilizing the information listed on the product and the following sources:
http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/Foods/1400/14214/Food.aspx
For the next section I am going to list portable items, the packaging, and the energy and water used in production and packaging.
Purse: no packaging, came with recycled paper stuffing, estimating 200 watts, 1 liter of water.
Cellphone: plastic container, 8000 watts, 5 gallons of water for single production of phone and container and charge, battery 6 volts, 200 watts, 1/2 gallon of water.
Pen: plastic with some metal, 200 watts, 2 liters, for production of set of pens and thin plastic wrap bag.
Ceramic mug: 6000 watts, 1 gallon of water for production.
Sources used:
http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagid=24437
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_(electricity)
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=3
http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/00ccdb/cc00_tabA9.pdf
Sunday, March 7, 2010
My Trip to the Estero Bay Historic Cottage and Matanzas Pass Preserve
While I am a native to Fort Myers, Florida, I have never experienced the Matanzas Pass Preserve. I actually got lost on my way there and drove all the way past Lover's Key despite having checked the directions before I left. It's quite tucked away off the main road with no signs indicating that there's a preserve there. After getting lost and driving at a snails pace through all the beach traffic I was to say the least in an unpleasant mood.
However, after walking on the boardwalk through the mangroves my mood seemed to change rather quickly and I began to relax. The trail is very narrow with the brush encroaching on the boardwalk. There are mangroves on both sides in various states of growth. The sign on the path indicated that the area had been planted in 1996 in which all the exotic vegetation was removed. It stated that the exotic vegetation was harmful to the native wildlife.
The trail seemed endless as it looped and forked in several directions. It's amazing that something so serene could be seconds away from the busy main road. It was really beautiful and provided a glimpse as to how this land use to look. I don't think I've ever seen a region located on the beach that was untouched.
My favorite part of the whole trip was sitting by the dock watching the water flow through the mangroves. I must have been there for at least an hour. It was nice hearing the gentle waves hitting the mangroves. It was relatively quiet except when a load boat would pass by. The weather was especially beautiful today and there was a nice gentle breeze. After spending quite a bit of time there I headed back to check out the cottages.
What struck me most about the cottages was the plaque they had containing the names and dates of the original Homesteaders of Estero Island. I couldn't imagine what it was like to only have 8 families on the entire beach.
The above is a picture of an 18th Century Anchor that was donated to the preserve.
The above is a picture of a rain barrel that was used during the 1920's through the 1940's as the island residents primary source of collecting fresh water.
What struck me most about the cottages was the plaque they had containing the names and dates of the original Homesteaders of Estero Island. I couldn't imagine what it was like to only have 8 families on the entire beach.
The above is a picture of an 18th Century Anchor that was donated to the preserve.
The above is a picture of a rain barrel that was used during the 1920's through the 1940's as the island residents primary source of collecting fresh water.
This beach cottage was built in 1921 and was the fourth house that was built on the island. It's really amazing to get a glimpse of how people use to live on Fort Myers Beach. This trip was very informative and allowed me to see a different perspective of the area. I wished today it had retained some of that quaintness that it once was.
Water Rights
I believe that no single person or company should be able to claim rights over water. Water is not something that should be owned no more than the air being owned. Our mentality to claim whatever we want in this world is preposterous. This type of greed is affecting communities all over the world for the worse. We can see the damage that this kind of mentality has created. “With two-thirds of the world’s population expected to run short of fresh drinking water by 2025, water has come to be known as “the oil of the 21st century.” Around the world, multinational corporations are parlaying the misery of our water-starved regions into profits for their stockholders and executives. In the United States, 86 percent of people get their household water services from a public utility. But some members of Congress and local politicians want to see private companies take over more water systems. And public utilities are struggling financially to meet federal clean water standards and to maintain and modernize water
systems.”(Care2)
These companies cannot be trusted. They’re taking water away from the community and then selling it back to them. Of course this is wrong. It’s happening all over the world and it’s only going to get worse. Unfortunately, these companies are taking in large amounts of water which causes the rivers and streams to be depleted so much so that they’re drying up. Can you image paying extra for a river on your land only to have it dried up from a company that’s pumping water for profit upstream? This is the problems a lot of communities are facing.
I think that communities should keep their water within their own community. To prevent major water shortages, proper water conservation is essential. I’ve decided to monitor my water usage to determine if I’m wasting water and to determine where I can conserve water. Here are the results for my water usage for one day:
Date: March 6, 2010
TIME ACTIVITY Amount of
Water Used
8:10 AM Flush Toilet 5 Gallons
8:13 AM Morning Shower for 15 minutes 60 Gallons
8:40 AM Brush Teeth (water not running while brushing) ½ Gallon
9:00 AM Drink of Water (tap water) 4 Cups
10:00 AM Flush Toilet 5 Gallons
10:30 AM Made Coffee 3 Cups
12:20 PM Made Lunch 8 Cups
12: 35 PM Flush Toilet 5 Gallons
1:30 PM Laundry to Wash 50 Gallons
2:00 PM Drink of Water (tap water) 8 Cups
2:10 PM Flush Toilet 5 Gallons
3:30 PM Washed Dishes (Dishwasher) 14 Gallons
4:00 PM Flush Toilet 5 Gallons
5:30 PM Cooked Dinner 1 Gallon
5:40 PM Made Iced Tea 1/5 Gallon
6:12 PM Flushed Toilet 5 Gallons
8:00 PM Washed Dishes by hand 3 Gallons
8:27 PM Flushed Toilet 5 Gallons
9:13 PM Bath 20 Gallons
9: 42 PM Brushed Teeth (water not running while brushing ½ Gallon
TOTAL WATER USED IN ONE DAY: 194.5 Gallons
http://www.stormwater.ucf.edu/toolkit/vol1/Contents/pdfs/Water%20Conservation/Water%20used%20handout.pdf
I utilized the above link to help me approximate my water usage. The amount seems high because it’s an average of my personal use plus that of household activities. Although, I think there are some ways in which I can reduce my water usage. For instance, the chart shows that you use less water in a bath than a shower. I’m really surprised by the amount of water used. I can’t imagine living somewhere that you only get a gallon of water a day if you’re lucky.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/who-should-own-our-water.html
systems.”(Care2)
These companies cannot be trusted. They’re taking water away from the community and then selling it back to them. Of course this is wrong. It’s happening all over the world and it’s only going to get worse. Unfortunately, these companies are taking in large amounts of water which causes the rivers and streams to be depleted so much so that they’re drying up. Can you image paying extra for a river on your land only to have it dried up from a company that’s pumping water for profit upstream? This is the problems a lot of communities are facing.
I think that communities should keep their water within their own community. To prevent major water shortages, proper water conservation is essential. I’ve decided to monitor my water usage to determine if I’m wasting water and to determine where I can conserve water. Here are the results for my water usage for one day:
Date: March 6, 2010
TIME ACTIVITY Amount of
Water Used
8:10 AM Flush Toilet 5 Gallons
8:13 AM Morning Shower for 15 minutes 60 Gallons
8:40 AM Brush Teeth (water not running while brushing) ½ Gallon
9:00 AM Drink of Water (tap water) 4 Cups
10:00 AM Flush Toilet 5 Gallons
10:30 AM Made Coffee 3 Cups
12:20 PM Made Lunch 8 Cups
12: 35 PM Flush Toilet 5 Gallons
1:30 PM Laundry to Wash 50 Gallons
2:00 PM Drink of Water (tap water) 8 Cups
2:10 PM Flush Toilet 5 Gallons
3:30 PM Washed Dishes (Dishwasher) 14 Gallons
4:00 PM Flush Toilet 5 Gallons
5:30 PM Cooked Dinner 1 Gallon
5:40 PM Made Iced Tea 1/5 Gallon
6:12 PM Flushed Toilet 5 Gallons
8:00 PM Washed Dishes by hand 3 Gallons
8:27 PM Flushed Toilet 5 Gallons
9:13 PM Bath 20 Gallons
9: 42 PM Brushed Teeth (water not running while brushing ½ Gallon
TOTAL WATER USED IN ONE DAY: 194.5 Gallons
http://www.stormwater.ucf.edu/toolkit/vol1/Contents/pdfs/Water%20Conservation/Water%20used%20handout.pdf
I utilized the above link to help me approximate my water usage. The amount seems high because it’s an average of my personal use plus that of household activities. Although, I think there are some ways in which I can reduce my water usage. For instance, the chart shows that you use less water in a bath than a shower. I’m really surprised by the amount of water used. I can’t imagine living somewhere that you only get a gallon of water a day if you’re lucky.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/who-should-own-our-water.html
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