Where'd all these eggshells come from?

Happy Sunday everyone! And wish me luck (I have a cumulative final on Wednesday, a Philosophy exam on Thursday and then another cumulative final on Thursday night. Some how The "Tao Te Ching", Archeology of the Chesapeake and a History of the Earth have to congeal in my head before then. The results have been interesting)

But I wanted to put up my environmental learning tale for the week. First though I have to give a shout out to Diana who correctly answered that a symbiotic relationship is an interaction between two species whereby both benefit. My favorite example is that of the ants in the acacia trees. The ants get to live in a convenient little home that comes equipped with thorns to reply ant eating animals, and the acacia gets the little ants to repel all acacia eating creatures of the buggy variety. Go Mother Nature!

And now...for my Environmental Learning Tale entitled...

Where'd All These Eggshells Come From?

Okay, recently the environmental community has gotten pretty riled up about the whole "Global Warming/Global Climate Change" thing. And thanks to Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" (say what you will, we eco-geeks were having a field day. One of our own! On TV!) the general public has basically been apprised of the situation.

I believe that Global Warming is an issue.

No one panic, I am not about the brow beat you into accepting this idea (hence the idea of walking on eggshells conveyed by the title). I think one of the problems with this issue is that no one is giving any one the facts. The scientist have them, the media doesn't want to talk about them, and the general public doesn't really know them.

In the interest of raising public awareness (this is a revolution after all, facts are not just for scientists people!) I am going to give you one example of why I feel that Global Warming could become a problem. I am not going to touch human involvement in the development of this issue in this post (but be on the lookout! I'll happen when you least expect it!)

Here's what I will tell you. When the earth was formed during the Hadean era, about 4.5 billion years ago (oh man, maybe I won't fail my physics final) the atmosphere was mostly carbon dioxide. As a result of this, life took a darn long time to evolve, but eventually, during the Archean, some wee little protozoa popped up. They became cyanobacteria. These cyanobacteria set up shop and grew like crazy. However, things were about to change...

These cyanobacteria breathed in carbon dioxide and breathed out oxygen (think of them as little tiny trees) This went okay for a while, but eventually there were so many cyanobacteria that most of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere wound up inside them. Consequently the air on earth became what it is today. Which was just great actually. Temperatures dropped (say what you will, Carbon Dioxide is a green house gas) and lots of little critters evolved, and now here we are. As a note, there is still carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and THAT IS A GOOD THING. In fact, its a great thing, because without it the earth would be too cold for any life at all to have evolved. So things are pretty good.

Basically to recap: Earth formed - CO2 atmosphere - cyanobacteria - O2 atmosphere - people

If I drew that outline on my test my teacher would go into cardiac arrest, but it serves my purpose. What I just told you actually happened, it is accepted as fact with in the scientific community. I even wrote a poem about it for my poetry class. Its all good.

That is my learning tale, and here is the question that goes along with it. Its a tough one, but I have faith in you all.

When did Homo sapiens sapiens evolve?

Have a wonderful week everyone. If you attend WaC, good luck on finals!

Let There Be Light!

Hi Everyone! Hope you are all having a wonderful Monday.

My environmental tip for the day is a short one. But it is also an incredibly easy one to do! It involves the sun. No one panic, you're not going to get cancer. Probably.

A really great way to keep warm on these very cold winter days is to make use of our friend the sun. The Cherokee called the sun, "Nu-gah" which translates roughly to mean "The Giver of Life" and believe me the sun earned this title. Here are some things you can do to keep your house warm and bright for the winter.

1. Use natural light when ever possible. If it is a sunny day, pull up the shades and turn off the over head lights. The sunlight really is enough, and its better for you and the earth!

2. If your windows face south, try to keep the blinds up as much as possible, southern light is strong and will keep the room warm.

3. The outside world looks pretty, so look out the window as often as possible, and you won't feel quite as bad about the way finals are ruling your life right now (okay, maybe I'm projecting a little...)

Have a great week everyone!

Further Proof Concerning My Favorite Animal

Hello everyone! I am very sorry for my lack of posts lately. Its been a VERY busy week (finals are quickly approaching. Eek)

First, my shout outs. Good work Brenna, Gillian and Alexis for knowing that the scientific name of the Grey Wolf is Canis lupis. Yay everyone!!!!!!!! You are all my heroes.

But, I can't let another week go by without an Environmental Learning Tale, and this weeks is actually a legitimate tale as it was told for generations by the Inuit people of Alaska. It was also one of my favorite bed time stories as a child (which just goes to show you what kind of a kid I was...)

And so without further delay...

The Educational Story of Wolf and Caribou (as told by Me, the descendant of Irish-Italian immigrants)

A very long time ago there lived in Alaska a Woman and a Man and the Woman's five sons (note the obvious indication of matrilineal descent here...). Now, the world was a very different place in those days, in that over all the earth, the only living beings were Woman, her husband, and her children. They dwelt in houses made of sod and ate only lichen (which is actually a symbiotic relationship between two living organisms, but we'll let it go). They lived very happily for a long time.

But one year a winter came that was much worse than all the ones before it. The wind was very cold (it is Alaska after all) and the whole world seemed frozen solid. Woman had to cut her way out of her house everyday and melt foot after foot of snow to reach the buried lichen. And on the cold winter nights they often wished they had something more substantial to eat.

In fact, with only lichen to eat, Woman's sons fell very ill. One after the other they could no longer get out of bed and Woman feared very much that they would die. She waited anxiously for summer, but when summer came her children still did not get well. She decided to see Great Raven (kind of a super creator God) and ask him what to do.

Well, she traveled for many days to see Great Raven, and when she reached him and told him of her trouble he agreed to help. They went together down to a field of ice and cut a hole through to where the ocean moved underneath. Then Woman dangled a long line in the water while Raven sat upon her shoulder in his bird form. She waited for many days, but at last there came a tugging on the line and Woman pulled up the first animal in the world. This animal was snowshoe hare. She dangled the line in again and pulled out yet another animal, and again and again until many of the animals we see in the world were set free over the Tundra. The last animal she pulled out was Caribou.

"This animal is a great gift," Said Great Raven. "For its fur shall be your house, it's bones your weapons, and its meat your food."

And so it was. Woman went home to her family and the next day woke to the sound of Caribou hooves moving across the tundra. For many years they ate happily of the Caribou and Woman's sons grew stronger then ever they had been before.

But that is not the end of the story.

For after many years of this, Woman noticed that the Caribou herds began to grow ill. Her husband had to travel farther and father each day to get a healthy caribou, and the time finally came when there were none left and Woman and her family were forced to eat the sick. This was very bad, as their skin and bones were weak and their flesh poor too eat. In fact, as soon as they began to eat of it Woman's sons grew very ill once more and Woman feared that they would die.

In great terror she went to see Great Raven again and explained to him what had happened. he nodded to himself and rose to his feet.

"When we went to the ice," he said. "I believe there was an animal we forgot to pull out."

So Woman and Great Raven returned to the ice field and cut another hole and dangled the fishing line in. Right away there came a tugging on the line, as if there was something below the ice that had been waiting a very long time. Woman pulled up the line and out came the last animal. It was the wolf.

"This animal is as great a gift as the caribou." Said Great Raven.

But Woman did not believe him. She went home with a heavy heart. But over the next few months she noticed something very strange. The healthy caribou were beginning to come back. Soon her husband did not have to travel to find caribou to bring home to his family. Woman wondered very much why this way, but did not know until she watched the wolves hunting one day.

She saw that the wolves were not fast enough to catch the healthy caribou, and so hunted only the sick ones. She was very pleased with what she found and returned to tell her children. From then on the people understood that, although it is the caribou that feeds the wolf, it is the wolf that keeps the caribou alive.

Well, that's my learning tale for the week. It has a great deal in common with my last learning tale (as you all probably noticed). But like I said, wolves really are my favorite animal. So that leaves only the Environmental Question of the week.

And here it is...

What is the definition of a "symbiotic relationship"?

Have a wonderful week everyone!!!!!

Kitchen Appliances Deserve Breaks Too...

Environmental Reform Tip time! See, I'd never miss two weeks, I promise. Here's a great tip I can give you all. Works like a charm...

When you are going to put food in the refrigerator, check to see if the food is warm. If it is (and this won't result in you getting food poisoning) leave the food on the counter until it cools down. If you put it in to the fridge hot, it takes much more energy to keep the refrigerator at a cold temperature because the food is warmining it up. Think of how hard your poor refrigerator must have to work!

You'd be surprised how much energy (and money!) this saves! Have a great week everyone, and a wonderful Turkey-day! Eat lots of good food, I know I will.

When Deer Attack...

I apologize sincerely for my lack of Environmental Reform Tip this past Monday! It is the week before Thanksgiving Break and I have been frantically working to get as far ahead as possible so that I don't have to work too much during visit home. (My theory is, I haven't seen my family since October, I deserve to spend some homework free time with them!)

But...I can't let a Sunday pass without my Environmental Learning Tale! I have a good one too, for this week. But first I must answer two questions from my last post.

1st. of all: a HUGE shout out to Brenna's brilliant sister Meag, for correctly replying that last week's post title was in fact from the Disney Movie "Pocahontas" (what a ridiculously inaccurate movie, by the way...) You rock Meag!

However, no one tried to answer the environmental question, tsk tsk. That's okay though, its a pretty cool answer. Planting a cover crop like beans actually prevents soil erosion. If you plant cover crops while you're not using the plot of land, much less soil will wash away. Preventing erosion is good for so many reasons, not the least of which being preventing sediment deposition in waterways. Yay cover crops!

Okay, here is my Environmental Learning Tale for the week...

"Hey! Get That Deer Out Of My Living Room!"

If you are from Pennsylvania (or Maryland...or Delaware...or New Jersey...etc) you are familiar with road signs encouraging you to watch out for the deer that might commit hara-kiri by throwing themselves in front of your car late at night.* Not very nice for the deer, or the car owner. The fun doesn't end there though, some deer have even been known to take a bite or two out of houses. What's up with that? But as there come to be more and more deer (and less and less deer food) our houses start to look like a five star meal.

But where the heck did all those deer come from?

Well, there are lots of ways you could take that question. But here's the environmental answer. A long time ago in the lower 48 states there used to be large packs of roving dogs known as wolves. For all of you who just recoiled in terror, wolves are no where near as bad as the media makes them out to be. They are actually pack animals who care for their pups, and even watch out for the sick and injured members of their pack. Yes, they kill and eat large animals, and yes, they are really good at what they do. But they are not the vicious, blood thirsty beasts that popular culture has made them out to be.

In case you can't tell, they are my favorite animal...

Back to the deer though. So there were lots of wolves running around North America, and they were eating the deer that also were running around North America. For that matter, the people running around North America were also eating the deer, but the point is, everything was in balance.

But then, man decided that wolves were going to eat their children (MYTH!!!! NOT REAL!!!!) and so they killed them all and were really proud of themselves.

Many years passed.

And now man is putting up signs on the side of the road and insuring their cars because deer keep jumping in front of them. The connection? With out the wolves to eat the deer, the deer began to over populate the forest. In some places they actually strip the land of vegetation. What's a farmer to do?

Clearly, they need to hire hunters to snipe out the deer.

Sounds like a good plan, right? Well, in theory, but not really in practice. The hunters are actually not helping the deer (or the people) very much at all. You see, wolves are pretty cool critters, they are good at running, and at jumping, but the one thing they can't do is run down and take out a healthy adult deer. They have to go after the sick ones instead, because those are the only ones they can bring down. Kinda puts a crimp in the idea of wolves as vicious killing machines doesn't it? I mean, deer aren't that big...

People don't have that problem though, and if it has four legs, antlers, and is deer-like, the hunters working to control the population will shoot it. Unfortunately, more often than not, the dead deer was actually a perfectly healthy adult. And if there are no healthy adults, guess who gets to repopulate the herd?

In short, because we killed off the deer's natural predator, the wolf, we now have diseased deer leaping in front of our cars late at night, and eating our houses.

I think the deer got the short end of the stick when the wolf went out, and I think we did to. In fact, I begin to wonder if there was ever any long end to the stick at all...maybe the deer ate it.

So that's that. I hope you enjoyed that tale as much as I enjoyed writing it. To go along with it, here's the environmental question for the week.

Environmental Question: What is the scientific name for the Gray Wolf?

* Deer do not actually commit hara-kiri because they aren't committing ritualistic Japanese suicide using a Katana. They're just trying to cross the road.

You Think I'm An Ignorant Savage

"And you've been so many places I guess it must be so/But still I cannot see/If the savage one is me/How can there be so much that you don't know?"

Bonus Question: If you can name that Disney Movie you get a really BIG shout out in the next post.

Okay, before I tell you how all that relates to my next Environmental Learning Tale I should answer the question from last week's post. Also, shout out to Brenna who got pretty close to the real answer. Here it is...

Lake Eutriphication comes about because of the deposition of nutrients into a lake. Things like nitrogen and phosphorus run off from farmland and wind up in the water. Now, algae gets really excited when that happens (because it loves nutrients) and starts to grow like crazy. This isn't the best plan, however, because it quickly runs out of nutrients, dies, and sinks down in the lake where it is broken down by little decomposer organisms. These organisms need oxygen to do their job, so they suck up all the oxygen in the lake and use it all (greedy things). As as result, the lake has no oxygen left at all. And that, my friends, is Eutriphication. It is worst in lakes because the water has no where to go to get more oxygen. It just hangs out and makes lots of fish unhappy.

So, to tie this back to the title of this post, here is the Environmental Learning Tale for the week....

Too Bad About The Europeans...

This is a story about the importance of observing what is going on around you.

When the European's landed in America and decided that they discovered it, they were pleased with what they found. Seemed to them like America was a pretty neat place (all those trees and things) but they really thought that it could do with some domestication, so they cleaned up a few patches of troublesome forest and set up a couple farms. The Native Americans (who actually lived here before the Europeans arrived, calling the nature of the white man's 'discovery' into question) weren't thrilled.

The Europeans, for their part, weren't too thrilled with the Native American's either. Generally they thought they were savages (hence the title of the post, despite the hideous inaccuracy of the movie from whence it came.) So when they caught sight of what the Native Americans called 'farms' they laughed up their sleeves.

This was because the Native American's excelled at what is known as Polyculture. They actually grew multiple plants on the same patch of land. The crops they grew (corn, beans, and squash) were known to them as The Three Sisters, and the commonly held view was that they didn't grow well unless they were planted all together.

Well, the Europeans thought this was pretty silly (Three Sisters? Come on! Corn doesn't have a sister...) So they planted their crops separately and patted themselves on the back for being so civilized.

Until, that is, their croplands began to fail.

They just couldn't figure out why they had to keep finding more cropland (and cutting more forests down while they were at it). What was wrong with the soil? Moreover, WHY THE HECK WEREN'T THE NATIVE AMERICANS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM?!?!?!?!*

Because, my friends, the Native American's knew something that the Europeans did not. Namely that The Three Sisters really DO grow better together. That's because the squash vines can grow up the cornstalks, and the beans can fix nitrogen in the soil for the corn and squash to use. All in all, a happy little field. Sister's, after all, work well together (most of the time.)

Tragically the Europeans did not figure this out, and while they did get enough food to sustain themselves, it took a lot more work than it would have if they'd stooped to taking a lesson from the people who'd lived on this continent since the Pleistocene.

So, who were the ignorant savages in the end?

*Note: The Native Americans actually did have to move their cropland around every so often, it was just MUCH less often than the Europeans. Also, when they did rotate their cropland, they would let the forest reclaim the portion that they had abandoned. When they needed that patch of land again they would burn the growing wood down and let the ash fertilize the soil even more. Which was pretty good planning on their part.

Well that's my tale for the week, I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. To follow up, here is my Environmental Question.

Environmental Question: If you don't need to farm a given patch of land for a few years, why is it a good idea to plant a cover crops like beans (excluding the benefits of nitrogen fixing in the soil)?

Saving the World: One Laundry Room At A Time

Thanks for checking in on Monday's Environmental Reform Tip! This is an easy one for everyone to do (its a favorite of mine too!)

When you're drying things in the laundry, throw a dry towel in with the clothes before starting the dryer up. Your things will dry so much faster! If you have a moisture sensor on your dryer, your stuff will be done sooner. If you're like me and therefore are a college student who lives in a dorm, you can check your stuff after like half an hour and it'll probably be done (depending on how large the load). Since most college dryers are programmed to run for an hour, you can throw another load of wet stuff in and use the remaining half an hour to dry that load. This will save money, time, and energy! Plus it will eliminate those pesky laundry room pile ups (since the washer takes half an hour and the dryer takes an hour...sigh, you can do the math as well, if not better, than I can)

Hope that helps! Have an awesome Monday!

The Lake Water is Always Bluer On the Other Side of the Country (or Why Chicago Should Keep A Close Eye on Lake Michigan)

First of all, a big thanks to my roomie for providing me with this interesting (though slightly more than disconcerting) environmental current event.

That's right everyone! Its time for my weekly Environmental Learning Tale. Here goes...

Why We All Wish We Were Chicago

I am a proud Philadelphian (E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES! Except we always lose, and when we do, there is looting so, not really) but I have to admit that I realized a few days ago that Chicago has one thing that Philadelphia does not have (and cheese stakes, Pat's OR Gino's just doesn't make up for it.)

They have.....

LAKE MICHIGAN!

That's right, its big, it pretty cold (being a glacial lake and all) and it is a pretty significant source of drinking water. My roommate, being from outside Chicago actually gets her drinking water from the lake. Good for her. However, most of the rest of the nation, barring the east coast and northern California, really wish they had that darn lake. Until recently, however, they restricted themselves to gazing longingly towards Chicago and its nearby glacial lake.

Well, no more! Because, well, the South West just really doesn't think its fair that Chicago should have all that water while they are mostly just desert. For some reason (oh shoot, my own views are going to color the next sentence) it never occurred to them that they don't have water because THEY ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT! Lack of water is actually part of the definition of a desert. Therefore, I'm not sure anyone should be confused as to why they don't get much rain when there is a cactus in their back yard.

Of course, the Southwest doesn't see it that way, and I sort of understand it. After all, everyone needs water. But I think they've taken it a little far.

In short. They want Lake Michigan.

This actually happened. Please refer to the link of the side of the page entitled "Great Lakes Key Front in Water Wars." Basically the idea behind the article is that the Southwest wants water from the Great Lakes and Chicago just doesn't want to give it to them.

Can you really blame them?

No. Because there are tons of environmental reasons why you don't want to ship water half way across the country to give it to a desert. Of course, there is the obvious reason that if you are going to pipe water somewhere you must have, of course, a pipe. This will take money, and resources. Enough said.

But why stop there?

It is also a bad idea because, as it stands now, water used in Chicago will drain back into Lake Michigan because Chicago is part of the lake's drainage basin. The Southwest is not. If some one pours a glass of water on to the ground it will wind up in the ocean, not in Lake Michigan. I'm not dissing the ocean here, it needs water too, but unfortunately if Chicago ships its water to the Southwest, its gone, and its not going to come back.

Which makes the third objection I have to this situation all the more important. When lake Michigan runs out of water (assuming its being piped out) the Southwest is going to be in BIG TROUBLE. It will have no more water, at all.

Chicago better keep an eye on Lake Michigan. I for one hope that it stays where the glacier put it.

To be fair, however, the Southwest should probably figure out how to get something to drink. I'd be pretty thirsty if I was in the middle of a desert. Desert frogs, for instance, bury themselves in the mud and soak up water through their skin. That might not be a possibility for people though. I don't know, I'll have to look into it.

So here's my environmental question for the week:

Environmental Question: What is the definition of Eutriphication and why is it so bad in lakes?

Post answers! And have a great week!

In Which I Discover My People

For all those people in Blog-land!

Alexis: You are so close with the cow comment. Way to go!!!!!!! Even though you deleted the answer you were going to type, I think you were right, so here is your shout out.

ALEXIS IS BRILLIANT!

Brenna: You also rock because you knew the first environmental question. So you get a shout out as well. Because you have a history blog, I am going to try to make your shout out historic.

BRENNA, much more intelligent than your average Roman Emperor. Thank God Plutarc is dead and cannot write a biography about you.

In other news, I have returned. I am sorry for my long absence. I wish I could say I was off doing something fun and environmental (although, part of my time was spent this week examining rocks for my Exploring the Solid Earth class and determining their classification). However, I was not. Which, of course, I am sad about.

Since I have nothing new and environmental to tell you about, I will fill you in on an amusing anecdote from my summer volunteer stint with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
Here you go...

Well, as the EPA is a government organization, I arrived to begin my work with them in a somewhat heightened state of agitation. I have never worked for the government before. In fact, I have spent a portion of my life at protests attempted to reform the government. So this was new for me.

Of course, what I found was not as intimidating as I feared it might be. I envisioned, on the anxious SEPTA ride down to Suburban Station Philadelphia, a crowd of black-suited individuals sitting around discussing (in serious voices) the need for such-and-such in so-and-so's contract. Etc. I had hoped the word "green" would come up perhaps twice a day, and optimistically I anticipated perhaps no more than one reference to "environmental reform."

Boy, did I underestimate the EPA.

What I found was a gaggle of very dedicated environmentalists who passionately advocated environmental change and were sorely discontented with the amount of pressure being put on them by the current administration (my political views are obvious to all who know me, but I hope to keep them out of this blog. However, the pressure on the EPA is so resoundingly apparent that this is entirely a bi-partisan observation). In short, I found that I fit right in.

It did however, confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt, a past employers observation that the environmental field is peopled by "hippies and malcontents."

I was deeply impressed by the amount of dedication that I found. These people worked tirelessly to make environmental change. What's more, they did what I am not sure I could ever do, which is go through the political red-tape necessary to make those changes in a way that conforms with America's governmental procedures. Impressive.

They arrive every day to an over-air-conditioned office in a crowed heat-island of a city (I love Philly, by the way) and used high tech computers to navigate a number of chilly political frontiers. And they very rarely complained.

But they did express a nostalgia for what is known in to environmentalists far and wide as "The Field."

The Field is a magical place, where the sky is blue (or, alternatively, engaged in torrential downpour) and the grass is green (or, possibly quicksand. The Field is not for the weak of heart) In short, though, The Field represents a kind of Mecca.

This conversation actually happened.

Character list: (all EPA employees have been give fake names)
Me
Mike
Fred
John
Sara

(Each time a person says "The Field" they should be imagine to have a dreamy quality to their voice)

SARA: (with sigh) John is in...The Field today.
FRED: (longingly) really? Its been so long since I was in..The Field.
MIKE: (happily) John is going to bring me a turtle.
ME: (hesitantly) I was in The Field...once.

(all turn in unison towards me in my little cubical)

SARA: really? What was it like?
ME: Um...I tested the health of a lake...
MIKE: (excitedly) Was there algae? What was the Dissolved Oxygen content?

(A conversation about lake eutriphication ensued)

FRED: (shyly) I have new hiking boots.
MIKE: Really! Did you buy socks too?
ME: um...cool?
FRED: (nodding) I'm wearing them RIGHT NOW!
EVERYONE BUT FRED: NO WAY!!!

(Fred rolls his pant leg up to show brand new timberland hiking boots. All exclaim enviously)

SARA: So will you go out into..The Field soon?
FRED: Yes! Next week.
ALL: TAKE ME WITH YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

In other news, I did go out into the field once that summer. I saw a turtle, and a baby turtle. John was with me, he spent a good deal of time trying to catch a snake. To the disappointment of all, he was unsuccessful. The turtles, however, were wonderful. There was heated debate as to the species, but it was generally agreed upon that they were snapping turtles.

It was a good day.

Let There be Light

As promised, here is the Monday "Environmental Reform" tip. Enjoy!

This is probably gonna sound like a commercial for Energy Star light bulbs, but then, it kind of is. The fact of the matter is, the do save energy. Some sources say that they even save up to 75% more energy than the standard brand. They do this, in part, because they don't release as much heat.

Come on, that's pretty sweet.

In fact, think of how much energy we'd all save if everyone replaced one of their light bulbs with an Energy Star.

However, in case you don't believe me/want something cool to play with/are procrastinating from doing your own homework/work/taxes or something, go to then link on the side of the page entitled "The Get Green Savings Calculator".

Check it out! It kinda rocks!

And have a wonderful day!

Remember, comment on this blog and answer the Environmental Question!

Dedicated to my Roommate

Brenna, my roommate, has already answered the Environmental Question of the week. I should add that she cheated, as I had told her that very fact earlier last week. I am however, very proud that she remembered

Therefore, here is the NEW environmental question...

Environmental Question: What is one natural source of CH4, (methane), and why is it of particular interest to dairy farmers?

Fun Facts with Bess

Hello dear readers. Yesterday, at the creation of this blog, I introduced myself. Now I will introduce the blog. As you could probably tell from the title (and the color scheme) this is to be an environmentalist blog. As a result, I have decided to do several things

1) Have a post every Sunday that talks about an environmental event, historic or current.

2) End every post with a trivia question (Those who answer in my comments will get a shout out and a pony through the mail in about six to eight weeks)

3) Have a greening tip on Mondays (start your week with a little environmental reform! Stay tuned for Energy Star Light bulbs this Monday!)

So, without further delay, here is my first environmental event.

Easter Island

A very long time ago, a whole bunch of Polynesian sea travelers decided to get in a bunch of tiny canoes and row to the middle of the ocean. This went pretty well for a while, and at about the point when land was starting to look like a pretty cool idea, they spotted an island and decided that they were going to live there even if it happened to be populated by cannibalistic giants. This island happened to be Easter Island. Well, they landed on Easter Island some many thousand years ago, bringing with them a few plants from their homeland. It turned out, however, that Easter Island happened to be semi arid, hot, and possessed of very poor soils. I guess, however, that a near desert looked better than more time at sea, so there on Easter Island they built their humble shelters and attempted to cultivate their humble plants. This first attempt bore fruit, but the latter, in every sense of the word, did not. In fact the only thing they managed to grow were yams, which, although delicious, grow tedious after time. They ate this nutritionally adequate but intensely repetitive food, not for a week, or a month, or a year, but about a thousand.

And somehow they managed to flourish. In fact they were so proud of their prominent success in flourishing that they decided to erect a couple of statues made of stone. To do so they chopped down a great many trees and then quarried a whole lot of rock and when they were finished they had a very handsome fellow who stood quite tall and would make Easter Island famous long after more unfortunate events occurred. Well, it looked so darn cool that they figured they'd build another one. And after that, well, you needed three to complete the set. In short, they began to run out of trees.

From then on out Easter Island began to literally wash away into the sea. It turned out that the trees had been performing a thankless task for thousands of years. They had been keeping the soil from eroding so that the people of Easter Island could grow yams. When they disappeared the soil went with them and the yams could not longer be grown. You might think this would be a relief, I’m sure after a thousand years no one on that island ever wanted to see a yam again, much less eat one. However, after the passing of the yam, there was nothing let to eat but chickens. These chickens suddenly became very important, and, consequently, very scarce. People began to build chicken houses to protect their chickens, and in a final desperate attempt to placate their gods, built still more statues with the remaining trees.

Many years went by and white traders appeared on the island.

They found nothing there but the huge statues and a handful of natives who were living in caves and resorting to cannibalism to keep alive. When questioned as to how the giant statues were erected it was discovered that the natives no longer recalled the methods their ancestors used. They replied simply that the statues had walked there. As there were no trees left on Easter Island the scientists scratched their heads, decided it was a miracle and took pictures of the statues and put them on postcards. Then they all sat down together, invented archeology, and figured out what actually happened and published a book, which I read.

Well, that's the environmental story of the day. Now here's the question (that has nothing to do with the post, but, whatever)

Environmental Question: What is the difference between extinction and extirpation?

post answers!!!!!!
And have an awesome week!

You Say You Want a Revolution...

Hi Everyone!

This is my first ever blog, created largely because a) I felt I should have one and b) My school told me that it would be cool if everyone had blogs so that prospective freshman could read about what it is like to attend WaC.

Here is what I have to say.
WAC ROCKS!!!!!!

Especially if your an Environmental Studies major. We have awesome profs. stellar field trips and sometimes our labs get canceled because it rains. Just kidding (about it being a good thing, not about them getting canceled. That really happens).

To give you a low down on myself. I am a junior, I am an environmental studies major, and a creative writing minor (keep your eyes peeled for a possible declaration of an anthro minor in the near future). Love to read, knit, hang with friends, attend protests, drink chai, listen to Joni MItchell and Bob Dylan, do Yoga, and recycle. I hope to make this blog interesting (and informative since this is sort of an environmental blog thing, I don't know. We'll see, it'll be funny though I promise.)

So, stay tuned. The Revolution has begun!!!!!!