Senior Project Essential Questions

I feel that what I learned from other people's outlines was that we need to have structure. The way ours was laid out wasn't self explanatory, so when people read it they got very confused as to what our movie was actually about. So, we need to work to make ours more self explanatory.

My essential questions are as follows:
Where does our food come from?
What is in the food we eat?

http://nutrition.about.com/od/askyournutritionist/f/processedfoods.htm
This website lays out exactly what processed foods are, in relation to what actual food is. This helps to put into perspective how unhealthy processed foods are, as well as why its better to have the original kinds of food.

http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/
This website explains how there is a danger to commercial farming because of the pesticides that are on our food, and how they may be literally poisoning us.

Irrigation Research Essay

How Gardening Responsibly Can Help Our World

Overusing water is something that happens often within the garden. When these practices are adopted by others, massive amounts of water become wasted. On top of this, people will often use pesticides to help their garden grow, unaware of the widespread and dangerous effects that these chemicals are having on our environment, our food, and even us. Sometimes, the overuse of water and the misuse of pesticides can work together to make the situation even more hazardous. However, this is by no means an unsolvable problem. There are ways to responsibly garden. These responsible gardening practices are beneficial for us, the world around us, and public health.

We live in a world where water is becoming more and more valuable, as with a growing population, the demand for it becomes higher. However, we are still practicing many techniques that waste millions of gallons of water. If one waters their lawn on a hot day, they could be losing around 50% of the water from their sprinklers to evaporation. Some people also favor over watering their lawns. If, for example, someone runs their sprinkler for 2 hours, they are wasting around 500 gallons of water. These numbers are beginning to add up, and having enough clean water is starting to become a legitimate concern for the world. Unfortunately, wasting copious amounts of water is not the only thing that faulty gardening practices are doing. There is a threat that is possibly far worse.

Pesticides are often used to maintain a garden by killing off the pests within it. Pesticides present a major threat to our environment. Pesticides themselves are a poison, designed to kill certain types of organisms that might interfere with the growing of a garden. However, these pesticides will often become airborne, and then infect other organisms. Since they spread like this, they are very difficult to get rid of, and have spawned into multiple self-sustaining strains. Among the organisms these strains infect are flowers. When these plants get infected, the creatures that pollinate them die, such as bees and butterflies. As the Global Healing Center puts it, “Pesticides are a major threat to bees. The systemic poisoning of flowers has killed scores of bees. We're simply losing too many of them… More than 25% of the bee colonies died in winter 2006/07. That translates to a loss of tens of billions of bees. And it's estimated that this loss will negatively impact the agricultural economy to the tune of $8 to $12 billion.” These are just a few of the adverse effects that pesticides have on the world around us, which as can be seen, can also have very damaging effects on our economy.

However, that’s not all. There are major health risks associated with pesticides, as well. Some of the most deadly poisons known to man are contained in pesticides, and although regulated, the effects can still be seen. Many pesticides contain neurotoxins, which can damage brain activity. This has been known to affect the growth and development of fetuses, with a 70% increase in the chance of getting Parkinson’s disease. The risk is not only associated with the first exposure to pesticides; sometimes they build up in the body, to the point where they can become fatal. In China, an estimated 500,000 people a year are adversely affected by pesticide poisoning. Also, the production of pesticides has been known to kill. Another fact from the GHS states, “One disaster at a pesticide manufacturing plant was in Bhopal, India. The plant accidentally released 40 tons of an intermediate chemical gas, methyl isocyanate, used to produce some pesticides. In that disaster, nearly 3,000 people were killed immediately, overall approximately 15,000 deaths occurred. Today nearly 100,000 people suffer from mild to severe permanent damage as a result of that disaster.”

Wasteful water practices and pesticides, when combined, have adverse affects of their own. When someone uses pesticides on their lawn, and then over waters, those pesticides make it into our water system. This contaminates our public water supply, and also gets into our ocean, and into the fish that we eat. This process ensures that we cannot escape from these poisons. They go into the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat – no matter whether the food was farmed or fished.

There are a few solutions to all of this. Firstly, people can stop using pesticides on their lawn. This would stop adding more pesticides to our system, and allow the current levels to decline. We would then begin to see lower levels in all sorts of diseases, such as cancer or Parkinson’s. Next, people can stop over watering. A lawn only needs water that goes down a few centimeters to get to the root. If puddles start collecting on top, then the lawn is being over watered. People should try to water in the morning or evening if it is going to be a hot day, so that the water won’t be lost to evaporation. EarthEasy suggests; “Mulch will slow evaporation of moisture while discouraging weed growth. Adding 2 - 4 inches of organic material such as compost or bark mulch will increase the ability of the soil to retain moisture. Press the mulch down around the drip line of each plant to form a slight depression which will prevent or minimize water runoff.” Finally, there is a solution that can hit 2 birds with one stone: drip irrigation. This is a highly efficient watering system, which only releases single drops of water at a time in multiple areas of a lawn or garden. This ensures that there won’t be any excessive water used, and almost none of it will be lost to evaporation. It is known to conserve both money and water, and help the plants grow better, as well. Also, if one chooses to use pesticides on their garden – although it is not ideal – there is no runoff with drip irrigation, which ensures that the pesticides won’t enter the water system. No matter which of the aforementioned options one might choose, these recommended gardening practices would all be beneficial to our standard of living, our way of life, and our world.

Annotated Bibliography

http://www.eartheasy.com/live_water_saving.htm

This website suggests a list of various ways to conserve water within the home and in the garden. It gives a wide variety of water conservation tips for every major household plumbing appliance and outdoor watering piece.

http://www.geoflow.com/wastewater/sdi.htm
This study suggests that drip irrigation is effective for applying the water right where it is needed, and not creating runoff. This, in turn, reduces waste, and runoff. This article suggests that pesticides and any other chemical may be alright to use, when used alongside drip irrigation, because they stay right where they are needed, and don't become a part of our environment.

http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/health/human.htm
This government website discusses a few aspects of pesticides, the most interesting being the health effects. Depending on the type, they could affect the nervous system, skin, eyes, hormones, and heart.

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/effects-of-pesticides.html
This website gives a lot of background information of what pesticides are, the different variations, what they do, how they are used, and all the different health and environmental effects. At the end, it suggests ways to reduce the number of pesticides that are used.

http://www.servicemagic.com/article.show.Water-Efficiently-with-a-Home-Irrigation-System.14246.html

This website explains the basics of installing, using, and maintaining a garden irrigation system. The main focus is on why irrigation is needed, and sprinklers.

http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/controlling/garden.htm

This is a website for the environmental protection agency. It talks about what pesticides are, what the downsides of using them can be, and provides some helpful alternatives for taking care of things such as weeds, fungus and pests in the garden.

Annotated Sources On Water Pollution (For Irrigation)

http://www.geoflow.com/wastewater/sdi.htm

This study suggests that drip irrigation is effective for applying the water right where it is needed, and not creating runoff. This, in turn, reduces waste, and runoff. This article suggests that pesticides and any other chemical may be alright to use, when used alongside drip irrigation, because they stay right where they are needed, and don't become a part of our environment.

http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/health/human.htm

This government website discusses a few aspects of pesticides, the most interesting being the health effects. Depending on the type, they could affect the nervous system, skin, eyes, hormones, and heart.

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/effects-of-pesticides.html

This website gives a lot of background information of what pesticides are, the different variations, what they do, how they are used, and all the different health and environmental effects. At the end, it suggests ways to reduce the number of pesticides that are used.

Farmer In Chief Socratic Seminar

I felt the reading we had; Farmer In Chief - was a very educational and interesting piece. More than any of the facts, figures, and ideas mentioned in the article though, what I liked best was the tone of the article. As I mentioned in the Socratic seminar, the author did not take the stance that he had a point to make, and he would make the reader believe what he felt. Rather, he had a certain way that he felt about the issue, with certain ideas as to why things are the way they are, and how to fix them, and he provided his evidence that led him to these conclusions.

We spent much of our discussion hashing out the pros and cons of the plan suggested in the article, and whether or not it would be worth it to attempt to follow this advice. I believe our end conclusion was that this was a road we needed to head down, because the path we are on will not lead us anywhere good. However, we cannot expect to reach any desired results - such as an abundant supply of organic food for the world, drastically less reliance on fossil fuels, and an increase in public health and awareness - anytime soon. As the article stated, this is a process that would take at least 5 decades.

However, after reading this article, and hashing it out in the discussion in class, I can hardly find any reason to dislike or disapprove of this reading and what it suggests. Despite the cost, difficulty, and long time frame, I believe that this intricate, multiphase process of changing the way the world does food is not only beneficial, but necessary.

Guest Speaker

Note: Internet was down Wednesday night. So I posted this at school on thursday.

I found what our guest speaker had to say to be quite interesting. The thing that got to me is that he is just a normal person like us, but he was able to do something pretty interesting and extraordinary, simply because he had the drive to. The idea of a veggie bus is very intriguing, and so is the fact that he was motivated to do this.

What I have learned from his visit to our classroom is all that you really need to succeed in what you want to do is really to be passionate about it. After this, knowledge on the topic, as well as what you can do to be a part of it, will follow. In order to be successful in environmental science, all I need to do is focus on the parts that I find interesting, and really fixate on them. Once I do that, I will subsequently learn and become interested in related topics, and discover new solutions to any problems that arise - for myself or for the world that I live in.

Best Irrigation Practice?

While our group's plans for irrigation are still in the works, we have decided that the best irrigation practice, and the route that we want to go down, is drip irrigation. Drip irrigation releases little bits of water at a time, meaning that the plants get the amount of water they need at any given time. They aren't drenched with water, then left without for the rest of the day.

Drip irrigation has gotten quite popular lately, because of all its benefits. It is cost effective, and helps the plants to grow better. We have already gotten plans underway for finding the drip irrigation equipment we are going to use.

Cheap Food

While there are certain facts in this article that scare me and get a bit of a reaction out of me, such as how we are consuming far more food than we are currently creating, I still feel as if I'm really only getting one side of this story. I feel that facts can be skewed any which way, and when only given certain numbers and incidences, it's easy to make anything look bad. While I don't doubt that this article brings up many good points, I would still like to see something a bit less biased, so I can gain a clearer view on things.

The picture that struck me the most was the picture of the woman in Bangladesh harvesting leftover grains. The picture itself wasn't too shocking, but with the backstory, it gave me more insight as to how people in some countries are affected by this situation. Apparently, there was flooding, and a cyclone, which destroyed crops, and increased the number of starving people to 35 million. When I read that, and then see her harvesting the precious few grains she has for food, it makes me sad and a bit angry at the situation.


Response to http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/06/cheap-food/bourne-text

The Plant My Partner And I Are Growing

The plant my partner are going to grow is lettuce. It does well in cold temperatures, it grows quickly, and it can be put to great use (such as in a salad).

Source: http://www.floridata.com/ref/L/lact_sat.cfm

9/11/09 - Presentation Notes

I found the presentation on waste to very interesting. While it reminded me of many things I already knew (like the things waste is comprised of), to hear that the litter, food, nuclear waste, and the many other things that we are all responsible for at once brought it all to the forefront of my mind, and made me think about the part that I play in the waste that we output. The number that really struck me was when they said that over 8 billion tons of waste is output in the U.S. each year.

Learning about water is something I've done a lot, but like waste, to be reminded of the major contributing factors to water pollution, and the ways to help, is still beneficial to me. It's always important to remind myself to take shorter showers, not dump toxic chemicals, and throw away trash.

Something else I found to be interesting was the presentation on food. This is especially important to me because this is the topic I am going to do my senior project on. It's scary for me to think about all the food that is genetically altered, and treated with chemicals known to be hazardous to my health. What I found useful from this presentation were some of the major pros and cons of imported food and non imported food. Imported, like I said, contains hazardous chemicals and can be genetically altered. Meanwhile, non imported food helps to generate jobs, is fresh, has no chemicals, is all healthy, and saves fossil fuels.

VERY FIRST ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE BLOG

The first plant I wanted to put in our garden is the pea. The pea is a fruit. It thrives the most in the fall and winter months, since it generally likes the cold. The has a life cycle of about one year. It should grow around the end of our semester. It may come in time for exhibition, but if not, it could still be a valuable asset to the future of the garden. After all, peas have many various culinary applications, so they are a great addition to our garden.

We should grow our pea from a seed, since that is the conventional way of going about it. They may require a few cubic meters to grow (but no more than that). Each seed should probably be separated by a half foot or so. Peas tend to like slightly acidic soil. They also prefer a bit of moist soil. Although there is no exact science to watering them, they prefer to be watered around once a week. One fun fact about peas is that they originate from the middle east, from places like Syria and Jordan.

The second plant I want to put in our garden is a carrot. The carrot is a vegetable. It tends to prefer the summer, but with our San Diego climate, it could still do fine in the fall and winter months. We should grow it from a seed, soaking the seeds in warm water overnight, and then planting them. We should spread the seeds out as we plant them, and plant them at different times, so as to scatter their growing times. Many carrots can be grown in a small area—a few dozen in just a few cubic feet.

Like the peas, the carrots would probably grow to full size at around the end of the semester, so this may be more of a long term commitment to the garden, even though there is a good chance we’ll get a lot of good carrots on this time around. Some of the requirements for maintaining the carrots are that they prefer light soil, which is rich in nutrients, as well as moisture. They also need sunlight. They should be watered every few days. Like peas, carrots also originate from the middle east, Afghanistan being a country of origin.