Anthropocentric Climate Change

     Alterations to climate resulting from human impact is referred to as anthropocentric climate change. Through the releasing of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, the Earths atmosphere has developed a blanket of gases trapping heat in. This has resulted in an increase in global average temperature, glaciers melting, sea levels rising, and ocean acidification.
This is the biggest problem facing humanity today.

Climate change has already begun.

The Earth is currently adjusting to past greenhouse gas emissions, and is struggling to keep up with our demand. Climate models have determined an increase of 0.2 - 0.6 C in global average temperatures since 1910, and if conditions persist expect a 1.4 - 5.08 C increase by 2100.

Human roll on climate change.

Aerosols are microscopic particles derived from sulfur dioxide, which is produced from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal. Smoke from forest fires and burning waste release aerosols into the air as well, but we are emitting too much into the atmosphere to allow them to dissolve completely.

The future of our planet.

Climate change has environmental, health, social and economic consequences.


According to evidence, is the climate changing right now? - What does evidence say about humans’ roles in the changing climate? - How is climate change likely to affect our society and our world

Flamin' Hot Funyuns

     One of my favorite things to snack on are these chips called Flamin' Hot Funyuns. They are these crispy, oniony flavored chips covered with a spicy powder that makes your jaw quiver and eyes slightly water. I don't have them too often but when I do, I really enjoy them; so I decided to do some research on the product.

     They are distributed by Frito Lay, a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo Inc. So just from looking at the non-recyclable plastic bag they come packaged in, I counted about 30 ingredients that make up these chips. The first and main ingredient is enriched corn meal, which is pretty much corn ground into a fine powder with added vitamins like Riboflavin and Niacin. Funyuns are for the most part made up of simple ingredients like: Butter and skim milks, sugar, salt, onion and garlic powders, cheese. But they also contain a flavor enhancing ingredient called Monosodium Glutamate or MSG; there has been controversy over whether or not this ingredient is linked to food illnesses and many studies have been conducted, but none have found a correlation.

     I did some research on the Frito Lay website, and found out that most of the corn used in their products distributed west of the Mississippi River comes from Gothenburg, Nebraska. This location supplies about 12 million bushels of corn, is responsible for about 13,000 semi trucks, and utilizes 125 growers almost all from central Nebraska. Frito Lay has asked its suppliers to refrain from the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO's) in their crops but have not refused to buy them. Therefore they have promised to strictly abide by the rules, regulations and proper labeling practices of each country their products are sold in.

     Through the works of their "Green Teams", Frito Lay has implemented many sustainability practices: by using solar energy and biofuel, they have reduced the electricity used to make each bag by 22%, enough to power 15,000 homes for a year. Technological advances have enabled them to make less water work harder, thus reducing their water consumption by 40% for each bag, saving 1.5 billion gallons since 1999. In 2006 and 2007 unspecified changes to their fleet and facilities reduced their CO2 emissions by 96 million pounds; most likely the use of clean burning fuels in their trucks.
http://www.fritolay.com/our-planet.html

Amy's Farm

     On Saturday November 2nd, 2013 I woke up anxious to get the day started. I was scheduled to go on a class field trip to Amy's Farm, a small non-profit community farm out in Ontario, CA. The trip there took about 25 minutes and I arrived just in time as Tim began the tour.
     The farm raises livestock and crops in a very organic and traditional manner, refraining from the use of pesticides or fertilizers, and feeding the livestock food scraps from the vegetables. Green beans, tomatoes, radishes, lettuce, spinach, and beets are some of the veggies grown there. They also harvest fruit, and have a herb garden that grows parsley, basil, and rosemary.

 

   The livestock are what intrigued me the most. I got to meet and milk 2 awesome dairy cows, but the farm also raises cattle and pigs with a much less fortunate fate, slaughter. You can actually help raise the animal until it is slaughtered and take home your share of the deal. I also met a couple of piglets, some goats, turkeys, bunch of roaming around chickens and a mini horse.


So after the tour was over me, Tim, and Anthony decided to volunteer for a couple of hours. I wanted to get a first hand look at what it was like to help coordinate a small organization like this farm. We began with weeding the radish and lettuce batches, which was very tedious work and we had to be careful so as not to pull out the actual plant. At the end of the day you put your hours into a book and depending on how long you volunteered you take home your share of any crop on the farm, a very trustworthy system. It was an excellent experience and I will hopefully return to volunteer and get my share of fresh Amy's farm produce!

Reduction In My Waste Production

     Ever since I started taking this class, I have noticed that most Americans have no regard for the trash they produce and simply forget about it as soon as it leaves their hand into the trash can. Most people do not care about how many plastic bottles they throw away, or how much paper towels they use simply to dry their hands or clean a small mess, then assume it is no longer useful. Some people throw away stuff they haven't even used! In this weeks assignment I will be keeping track of my trash for 2 days, implement some waste reduction techniques, then see if there was a reduction in my waste production.

  Trash 11/8 - 11/9

• 1 plastic bottle
• Approx. 5 paper towels/napkins
• 2 Styrofoam cups
• Couple of plastic bags
• 3 chip/candy wrappers
• 2 Noodle cups
• Ate fast food twice which includes paper bag, cup, wrappers, straw
• 1 aluminum can
• 3 pieces of writing paper

That's about it!

Trash Reduction Techniques

• Instead of using paper towels or napkins I had a handkerchief in my pocket for drying/cleaning my hands.
• I reused the plastic bottle from the previous day for my water.
• Went out and bought groceries which eliminated the need for fast food
• I tried to buy items with the least amount of packaging.
• Reuse plastic bags

Next 2 days... 11/10-11/11

• 2 Hot pocket wrappers
• 2 chip/candy wrappers
• Shampoo bottle
• Deodorant stick
• Plastic lockset packaging (work)
• 1 aluminum can
• 1 plastic bag

How did I do?

     I feel like there was a definite reduction in my trash using these strategies I implemented. Although I did observe that when I went out and bought groceries, I replaced all the items that I needed and discarded the old ones plastic packaging. It was so hard finding food with less packaging at the store, so I decided to just cut certain ones out like those cupped noodles which produce so much trash; the cup is covered with a paper tab, wrapped in plastic, with a cardboard outer display for advertisement. But I couldn't resist those convenient and delicious Hot Pockets which come in a cardboard box and individually wrapped. I reused the plastic bags they gave me by putting them in my smaller trash cans, acting like trash bags. I don't think I used anything that was recyclable. I will definitely continue to carry my handkerchief around to reduce my paper waste.

Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution

     Have you ever thought about all the things that you use in a 24 hour period? From the moment we wake up to the time we go to sleep, and even in between, we continually use things that one way or another came from resources our Earth has provided. My assignment is to evaluate and assemble a list of all the different types of things I used in just one day of my life which was 10/14/13.

Food and Drink                                                    Housing

• Cereal                                                           -My house
• Turkey sandwich                                          -Arby's restaurant
• Fries
• Soda
• Water
• Hot pocket

Transportation and Roads                                   Clothing                                     

•  My 2006 Nissan Sentra                               -Shirt   -Belt   -Hat
• Used numerous roads and freeways             -Pants  -Socks
• Traveled about 220 miles                             -Boxers  -Shoes

Personal Care Products                                        Leisure Items

• Toothbrush                                                    -Smart phone
• Toothpaste                                                     -Laptop computer
• Mouthwash                                                    -LED Television
• Shampoo                                                        -Jackson Dinky Guitar
• Body wash                                                     -Xbox game console
• Facial cleanser
• Deodorant
• Q-tips

Miscellaneous Items

• Mattress
• Pillows
• Blanket
• Chairs
• Tables
• Cups
• Refrigerator
• Oven
• Silverware
• Glass bowl

     I would have to say my favorite and most prized item on this list is my guitar, a Jackson DKXT Dinky model. I did some research to find out just what it's made out of.

What it's made of
Basswood, maple, and rosewood make up the body, neck, and fingerboard. Body finish (paint) includes polyester and polyurethane. Pickups are quite interesting, they are responsible for making sound by picking up wave lengths from the vibrations of the strings. Pickups are made of ferromagnetic material, therefore strings are made of nickel, a magnetic metal.

How it's used
It is used to make notes that if placed in a sequence can produce music.

How, where, and by whom was it acquired?
Since the primary ingredient in my guitar is wood, trees had to be cut down to make it. The metals had to be excavated from mines and treated, they most likely have a deal with a big metal company. On the back of my guitar it says it was made in India, so Indian laborers gathered the materials and assembled it.

How did it get to me?
Well after it was assembled in India, it was most likely transported to the nearest port, then placed on a ship to the US. I got it over ebay, its original location was Brooklyn, NY. So it then traveled on a truck across the country to the deep south of Houston, TX, where it made its way to me.

Where will it go when it is no longer useful to me?
Assuming something did happen to my baby which would ultimately crush me, it would end up in a landfill and remain buried there for a very long time.

Effect on environment
Other than noise pollution, I don't think my guitar does much harm. Even if it breaks in half, most parts are small and can be removed and used on another guitar or somewhere else. Until it ends up in a landfill, will any harm be done because none of its parts are biodegradable.

Was it available 100 years ago?
The first electric guitars where introduced in the 1930's so no, but earlier forms such as sitars can be traced to ancient civilizations as far back as 3,000 years.

                                                                    And here she is..

Many factors can determine how sustainable RCC is and/or could be. Energy consumption, waste production and removal, transportation, and water usage are among the top subjects; which break off into subcategories like paper usage, emissions into the atmosphere, food products and recycling.

-Electric and utility bills can assess energy and resource consumption
-Disposal of solid and septic waste could be determined by contacting the waste management company to evaluate how much paper, plastic, biodegradable trash we produced and WHERE
it goes.
-Methods of transportation can be assessed by surveying students, asking what types of vehicles they drive and how many times are they at campus a week. Also by counting the number parking permits sold in a semester.

San Francisco Sustainability

The University of San Francisco is among one of the top sustainable campuses in the country.

Since 2008, the university has achieved an 8% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce energy use, USF operates a cogeneration facility, has implemented temperature setbacks, and has installed energy management systems in nearly half of campus buildings. The university also uses LED lighting, lighting sensors, and energy efficient lighting. Solar panels generate renewable energy on campus as well.
Campus report cards can be seen here,

LINK >>http://www.greenreportcard.org/

 

What's in RCC's trash?

 

An observational study can be conducted in which we analyze and measure all the types of trash produced by RCC in one month. The trash produced in that month would be taken to a single location, and then categorized accordingly (paper, plastic, metals). Measure all the categories within themselves then sum up the total. We could get students in science classes to do the labor for credit.



Capturing the Western Frontier

 

     My profession as a property manager requires me to travel throughout southern California; scouting foreclosed properties with the intent to aquire them at auction. In the course of a week, I have observed and explored several different types of ecosystems, analyzing the biotic and abiotic factors of each one. These are MY OWN photos, a small glimpse of capturing the western frontier.  

Aguanga, CA
Biotic factors include the shrubs displaying a uniform distribution pattern. It was very quiet the only sound was the wind whispering, and there wasn't even one bird in the sky. Abiotic factors include the rocks, dead tree(bottom right corner), and dirt/sand. Interactions may include competition between plants for resources(water) and space.

                                                                     
                                                              NEXT STOP...
                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                            Big Bear Lake, CA

Biotic factors include all the organisms living in the water including: fish, bacteria, and plants. From my observations, the San Bernardino forest is looking quite healthy, with thousands of alive and dead pine trees providing a habitat for many species of birds as seen in the background. The birds and trees display a commensalism relationship, the birds live in the trees and the trees are unaffected.
When I was there I also noticed a slimy green substance lining the banks of the lake, which might include some algae or decaying plant matter(abiotic) as seen in the bottom left corner. The lake itself is also an abiotic factor.

 

I took this photo on Highway 18 near Crestline, biotic factors include all the green vegetation and birds in the sky. Abiotic factors include rocks, dirt and ice (snow) in the winter, and the smog generated by San Bernardino in the distance.

 QUEST THROUGH THE DESERT

 

The Mojave Desert covers a significant portion of southeastern California, it is home to the San Jacinto Mountains and cities like Barstow, Palm Springs, CA and Las Vegas, NV. In this picture I took off Highway 62 going towards Yucca Valley, you can see a perfect example of uniform distribution displayed by the shrubs. As I kneeled quietly, I noticed several lizards and other reptilians, sunbathing. All of which are biotic  factors. Some abiotic factors are the many small rocks and sand covering the landscape, also the hills in the background which affect climate.

 



HAVE YOU REACHED YOUR DESTINATION?