Last Bio 36 Field Trip

Today will be my last blog for Bio 36 and I must say that it is coming with a feeling of relief! However I enjoyed myself, and this environmental science blog...

   For this final post I would like to talk about my very last field trip for my environmental science class. This semester I attended all three field trips for my class and I can honestly say that they were all interesting and I learned many new things from them. Our final trip was to an environmentally friendly building called the Frontier Project. We went on a tour of the building which is on a one-acre site, and is literally a 14,000 square foot demonstration building. It displays water-efficient gardens, and rainwater capture systems, permeable concrete, natural lighting, recycled building materials, and much more. The purpose of the Frontier Project is to educate resident consumers, commercial builders, and sustainable advocates about the latest methods and technologies in water, energy, and site conservation. It is open to the public for all members of the community to learn about environmentally sustainable products, systems, technologies, and building design. The building received a  LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2010. The tour and the building itself was very interesting. We were able to see new ideas, and technology that are making homes more sustainable and environmentally friendly. On top of being a "green" building the Frontier Project is nothing short of spectacular. The layout and design of the entire building is very intriguing and it makes viewers want to implicate some of the ideas into their own homes. The building itself had an enormous cost of 22 million dollars but at the same time is striving to lead by example. Its purpose is to give builders, and the public new ideas and inspiration to try new environmentally friendly building strategies, and designs. The field trip was a good one to end on, it tied in great with the over all topic of my Bio 36, which really came down to the environment, and the impacts us humans have on it.

The Bandland Sanitary Landfill

What's up everybody!!

    A week ago I went on my second field trip, for BIO36 and lets just say it was a surprising one. We took a trip to the Badland's Sanitary Landfill (where most our trash goes). We got lucky on our visit because we got to see an expansion of the land fill taking place. So basically we got to see some of the engineering that goes behind our landfills to keep them from leaking contaminated water into our ground water. On top of that we got to see the actual depth and starting point of a landfill and how high the pile of trash actually becomes. We were standing on a giant hill of trash looking down at the preparation for another gigantic hill of trash. After seeing the expansion we took a small tour of their recycling center where their main goal was to divert trash from the landfill and recycle it also removing hazardous things from electronics and appliances. Separating metals, car tires, computers, and televisions all so that they could be recycled, keeping them from taking up space in the landfill. As we took the tour there was practically a constant traffic of trucks, big rigs full of trash, and in the background you could see the giant pile of trash being added to, and bulldozed with tractors. We then saw the Gas-to-Energy facility where  methane from all the trash is collected and then converted into energy. The landfill actually puts power back into the grid, with the energy they produce!
   All in all the amounts of trash were very unimaginable to me. It was shocking to see how much trash there was and how much was coming in. However at the same time it was somewhat reassuring seeing that the trash was being managed as best as it possibly can be. I was a great field trip and I learned a lot that day. Most people don't think about where their trash goes, but now I know(: 

CLIMATE CHANGE!!

 Hello world!
    The topic of the week is Climate Change!?!?! what is it? what's causing it? Is it a myth? To be honest I never think about it. People hear climate change and they think of the seasons changing, but that's far from being correct! The bottom line is that our planet is getting warmer, and many believe that us humans are the reason why. However there is a difference in Global Warming and Climate Change, but for the most part the two go hand in hand. This week my focus is answering some questions regarding the topic. Questions like is the climate changing right now? What are  humans’ roles in the changing climate? And how climate change may affect our society and our world?  Some major questions, on a major topic!
So first off, Climate Change refers to any significant change in the measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time. In other words, climate change includes major changes in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns, among other effects, that occur over several decades or longer.

    To answer the first question, YES!! Climate Change is happening right now! We might not be able to tell but the Earth's average temperature has risen by 1.4°F over the past century, and according to the EPA, is projected to rise another 2 to 11.5°F over the next hundred years. Although 1.4 might not seem like much, small changes in the average temperature of the planet can translate to large and potentially dangerous shifts in climate and weather. So rising global temperatures are only part of climate change, triggering changes in weather and climate of ecosystems. Many places have seen changes in rainfall, which results in more floods, droughts, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves. Oceans and glaciers have also experienced some big changes, oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, and ice caps are melting resulting in rising sea levels. If Earth's climate change stays on its current path with rising temperatures, it will likely present challenges to our society and the environment in the future.


    Over the past century, human activity has been at the forefront of climate change. Our day to day activities and constant growth is beginning to take its toll. We release large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere leading to the Global Warming phenomenon. The majority of the greenhouse gases we release come from the burning of fossil fuels to produce our energy. But just to build our cities and produce our food we emit gases into the atmosphere through deforestation, industry, and some agricultural practices.
These Greenhouse gases we are producing act as a blanket around Earth, trapping energy in the atmosphere and causing the planet to warm. The natural greenhouse effect has been keeping the earth warm for millions of years and is necessary for life on Earth. However, when the green house effect is mentioned today normally it is know as the accelerated buildup of greenhouse gases that are changing the Earth's climate and result in dangerous effects on ecosystems as well as us humans. Furthermore all evidence of recent climate change and global warming points at humans, and our exploitation on non renewable resources.

     The choices we make today will affect the amount of greenhouse gases we put in the atmosphere in the future and for years to come. Climate Change can impact societies and ecosystems in many different ways. For example climate change can increase or decrease rainfall, influence agricultural crop yields, affect human health, cause changes to forests and other ecosystems, or even impact our energy supply. If global warming continues and escalates it could lead to major disasters and possibly human extinction. We need to start being cautious of the way we are living and try to reduce and slow the warming of the earth by making better decisions. It can be done with enough of the worlds efforts put together in reducing fossil fuel consumption. There is some skepticism about Climate Change and global warming and wherever or not it is real or not. The majority of that skepticism is in the United States which one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases. I believe the reason for that is simply DENIAL. People here in the U.S. don't want to believe things like global warming are real because they would rather continue to live their comfy lives. Ill admit it, I'm one of those American's. We see that is a real thing but yet we don't do much about fixing it. 50 years from now I pray that slow or lower our fossil fuel consumption. But given what I learned in my research I don't think the Earth will be the way it is now if we continue to live this way. If no changes are made within 50 years a major disaster a major disaster is bound to happen. BUT  Out of sight, out of mind is how we tend to deal with things like climate change when really it is something we should worry about. So I think that we all need to remember that really we are at bay to mother nature, which is something that has shown to be very unforgiving.

Childhood Snack That is TOO Good to Give Up!

Hello Everyone!

 Well so far so good! Bio 36 is going well and I am learning lots of new things! This weeks blog assignment is a fun one and deals with food! The assignment is too pick a food that you eat on a regular basis or a food interesting and unusual, and then research that food. Find out where it came from, how it was made, what it is made of, the whole works, as much information as  possible. The very first food that came to my mind was a long time favorite snack of mine that we always have around the house and that is fruit snacks!! You haven't had a childhood if you have never had a fruit snack! I am a fan of all fruit snacks but I do have a favorite!

These are my favorite!! Out of the hundreds of fruit snacks I've had growing up, these ones take the cake! They are amazing, and I almost cant help but to eat the whole bag at once. And the value pack is the way to go! But where did these delicious little snacks come from? and how the heck were they made!? Are they good for me? bad for me? what does their production consist of and what all is involved, as well as effected? All this information I went looking for, so let me share what I found out about my favorite fruit snack             

According to Shopwell.com Sunkist fruit snacks have things you would them to have, like low cholesterol, fat, saturated fat, and sodium, and not to mention that they are a great source of calcium! Some things about the snacks that aren't so good are that they have color additives, and sugar is added to them. However Sunkist claims that their snacks have 90% less sugar  then regular fruit snacks. And get this, the actual Sunkist company doesn't even make the fruit snacks, they rent their trademark name to other companies like Snapple, and General Mills, which is the company that actually makes theses fruit snacks. So all this time I thought I was buying a product made by Sunkist when all this time it was General Mills, one of the worlds largest food companies. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just means I fell fool to good marketing. General Mills is actually a company which is striving to be as sustainable as possible. They are here in the United States located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. More than 85% of their packaging in North America is recyclable, and is among the largest users of post-consumer recycled paper packaging in the United States.   The fruit snacks themselves however, do come in individual plastic packaging. They are generally not made from fruit, but rather from sugar and fruit juice flavoring, or artificial flavoring. In this case these fruit snacks have both natural and artificial. Being a fruit snack it is obviously a processed food, that is produced in a factory. How it got from the factory to the shelves of my local grocery store, I am assuming is freight lines, since the company is located in the U.S. Things like how are food gets to our stores and the distances they are traveling is never really thought about we just are happy its their, fresh on the shelf. Weather or not these fruit snacks are healthy is entirely up to the consumer. I believe all food is healthy when eaten in moderation. When something like fruit snacks is over-consumed then of course they are unhealthy. But the way I look at it a pack of fruit snacks a day (maybe 2), cant hurt anyone. All in all it is surprising how much you can learn about an everyday snack when you just take a little bit of time to do the research.
General Mills Packaging Improvments