Andrew Ball 7639321
Assignment #7: Blog 4
1. Reading Summaries
Selection 12
We need to change our ways to fit the needs of the environment. This should include everything from government policy, to the economies of countries, to the attitudes that people have towards environmentalism. Governments apply legislation to dictate what can and cannot be done to harm the environment. Countries have to change to stop overproducing goods for economic benefit. The key to all of this change is attitude. People are the ones making the decisions in government and business. Once people stop viewing environmentalists as hippies or tree huggers, such changes that need to happen can begin. This reading really hit home for me. I spend a lot of my time trying to get my friends, family, and anyone who will take a second to listen, to better understand what needs to happen and why these changes are so important. Too many people value reality TV ahead of independent news that features important events like environmental issues that affect us every day.
Selection 31
It is the common assumption that only things that cause cancer are smoking, radiation exposure, or the disease “running in the family”. There are other sources in our daily lives that can have a negative affect us. These are called aromatic enzymes, which are carcinogenic. They can be found in many products from pesticides sprayed on your food, to the clothes you wear, to the drugs given to you by your pharmacist. Not only does the article promote more research into the causes of cancer in your environment, but also encourages people to get tested regularly. Cancer is something that needs to be detected early before it spreads and becomes fatal.
Selection 32
This article is about hormone disrupters. Scientists have been looking into wildlife and marine life and have discovered some very negative effects on hormonal systems linked to chemicals used by humans. Because we share that same environment, and sometimes even eat these creatures, we are bound to be exposed as well. The article states that all mammals have similar hormonal systems. If the developing fetus of an animal is being altered or changed, then a human fetus is also at risk. Therefore, the scientists released the “Wingspead Statement”. This stated that from the facts gathered and the tests run, humans are in direct danger from the chemicals that have been disrupting hormones in animals from around the world.
Selection 34
The attention environmental issues get stems from the ecosystem or from the demographic that is most directly affected by it. The smaller the voice of a community, the easier it is for that community to be discriminated against. Racial or social minorities often find themselves the target of waste disposal or hazardous wastes from industry. This is called “Environmental Racism”. It is the direct or indirect negative effects on a community of race or color by legislation or policies of government. During the late 60’s the environmental movements gained momentum and this included human safety as well as environmental concerns. Multiple lawsuits ranging from Monsanto’s PCB dumping in Aniston, Alabama to a Shell chemical plant in Norco, Louisiana were enacted not only due to human rights concerns over health risks, but also due to the fact that the neighborhoods were predominately African-American. The article says that for our communities to be safe and clean for their residents, it must not discriminate on where it applies its regulations. All demographical minorities must be respected; black or white, rich or poor.
Selection 10
Salt marshes are habitats that are dying off at a rapid rate. The reasons for their destruction are mostly needless and careless. Human activity will destroy little bits of each for water access and even conservation use, but it is mostly pointless destruction. A lot of salt marshes are used as landfills or dug up for expanding cities. This leaves them with a disgusting sulfur smell. A natural marsh would smell mildly of salt water, sulfur, and decaying plant life. These habitats not only filter sea water but act as a habitat for water fowl and amphibious creatures. The best way, according to the article, is to have government step in at multiple levels. Business will always push to build on these areas due to overpopulation of people, but every saved salt marsh is a victory.
Activity
The Nature of Things with David Suzuki: Save My Lake
(CBC Winnipeg, April 3, 2011, 7:00-8:00pm)
I decided to do this activity when I read in the Winnipeg Free Press that the documentary would be airing on Sunday. I knew it would be important to me because Lake Winnipeg is close to home, I have spent summers at Grand Beach and Victoria Beach, and the quality and sustainability of our water resources is a crucial environmental issue.
According to David Suzuki, there have been only two major studies done on Lake Winnipeg, one in 1929 and the other in 1969. Both of these concluded that it was a normal healthy lake. It was ignored for decades until the 1990’s when algae blooms began to be a common occurrence on the lake. In 1997 the water quality became an issue after the Red River Flood. In 1998 the NAMO research ship began mapping the ecology of the lake in order to understand the causes of algae blooms that were appearing. Victoria Beach was often unusable, covered in green sludge, with an unbearable stench. The full extent of the problem was only visible from outer space. In some years, the blooms covered 10,000 to 12,000 square kilometers and during one year covered the entire surface of the lake which is more than 25,000 square kilometers. It indicated a massive problem because Lake Winnipeg is the tenth largest fresh water lake in the world. It is the one of the largest drainage basins in Canada with water coming all the way from the Rockies, throughout most of western Canada and from the Dakotas in the U.S.
University of Manitoba biologists began to monitor Lake Winnipeg and noticed changes in the lake organisms, some doubling and tripling in size and quantity. Others biologists were taking core samples of the lake sediment and found huge amounts of dead algae on the bottom. Something was altering the food supply to unnaturally favor algae. Chlorophyll concentrations were larger than any other lake in the world. Veteran fisherman reported catches in unheard of quantities. They had to increase the size of their nets to accommodate six to seven pound fish. Unfortunately, there was nothing natural about the increase in fish population and size. Because it is a consequence of nutrification, the population collapses as the lake becomes a dead zone with no oxygen in the water. The deoxygenated water moves through the lake killing things that cannot move. The Blue-Green algae on the surface could take over the lake and become lethal to humans causing neurotoxins and liver failure. It would become the “Perfect Storm” of factors putting the lake and its inhabitants at risk.
Similar conditions were created on Lake 227 which is a remote test tube lake. Adding phosphorus to the water, like those found in detergents, fertilizers, sewage, and pig farm runoff caused similar algae blooms. University of Manitoba scientists determined how more runoff from farmer’s fields in times of floods put more phosphorus into the watershed. Ducks Unlimited said it was like dumping the equivalent of 144 bags of lawn fertilizer straight into the lake. They also noted that potholes, the prairie’s natural cleaners were being drained. This loss of about 70% of the wetlands was causing huge water quality issues. All the extra nutrients were flowing directly downstream instead of being locked into the marshes. Naturalists also saw the marsh at Netley turn into a deadzone with no ducks or geese nesting because there were no plants available for breeding sites. Marshes need times of droughts for seeds to germinate. Biologists blamed an increase in water levels on the hydro electric dam that affected the normal outflows of the lake. Nutrients were no longer being flushed out and all the phosphorus was going directly into the lake.
At the end of the documentary, David Suzuki said there was good news for Lake Winnipeg. Although there is no one single solution, a series of small changes could be implemented that would have a positive effect on the massive watershed, the marshes and the lake itself. One of these would involve injecting pig manure at least four inches into the soil to prevent nutrient runoff from the farms. Another solution would involve the creation of many small marshes with little dams that would act like natural beaver dams. This would allow for a 90% decrease in phosphorus with the slowing down of runoff. Another suggestion was to recycle the phosphorus trapped in plants. Cattails absorb huge amounts of phosphorus and other nutrients. These could be harvested and reused on farms. Finally, eco-friendly sewage lagoons could be created to treat sewage and control the rate they flow thought the filter basins.
David Suzuki calls it a simple problem with simple solutions. The damage is reversible if we do the right things. We have the ability to save Lake Winnipeg and follow the very definition of sustainable development to ensure its survival for future generations.
Reflection
I have taken some time to examine my core values, and it seems I am not living up to my full potential. The basics of my ideas are in humanism and environmentalism. I have looked at the pros and cons of such things as fair trade and sweatshop free products, and products that do less environmental damage like phosphorus-free soap. Unfortunately, those products are harder to find and usually cost more, so I end up taking the easy way out and buying things that don’t necessarily support my core values. If I adjust my spending so that I have a bit more in my wallet by making smarter choices and spending less on non-necessities, I will be able to live by such values.
Fair trade is an issue I have though a lot about. I wondered what the frog symbol on several coffee products was. In grade twelve I saw a video in my World Issues class about the coffee and chocolate industries. It showed how companies like Nestle run plantation operations that are completely unfair to farmers. A farmer will toil to grow and harvest the coffee and cocoa beans. A middle man called a “coyote” will buy the beans from the farmers for super cheap due to their monopoly on the industry. The coyote will roast the beans, using a cheap and easy process, and sell them to the producer of the foods for a decent price. The roasted beans are then sold in stores by a company such as Nestle for a slightly higher price, which also gains them a profit. Neither the food producer, nor the middle man, have to do a lot of work to gain a large profit. The farmers on the other hand are stuck selling to a monopolized industry which leaves them barely getting by after doing all of the work. Fair trade products eliminate the middle man so that the farmer gets a living profit from their toil. So now when I see the fair trade symbol of the frog on a product, I know that the product I am buying is socially responsible. Also, farmers who make more profit from their practices will be able to use more sustainable growing and irrigation methods. It’s a win-win situation for everyone who deserves it.
Nuclear power has been praised over the years for being “clean” because it does not produce CO2 emissions. This is very important because of the increasing greenhouse effects created by burning fossil fuels and the possibility that we could be reaching Peak Oil (maximum extraction rate of oil). The dark side of nuclear energy has reared its ugly head recently in Japan. Not only was it shaken with an earthquake but was also hit by a tsunami. The Fukushima power plant, which was built back in 1971, suffered greatly during the shaking and when the tsunami hit on March 11th. The crisis is not as bad as Chernobyl yet, but the news seems to get worse every day. The problem, on the other hand, is that it could be worse than Three Mile Island. The cooling systems are offline and the containment core has cracked. This has caused thousands of tonnes of radiation to leak out into the ocean every day. Not only is the radiation outside of the containment zone, but it has been found as far as the east coast of the U.S. All of this radiation leakage has sparked protests around the world about the safety and future of nuclear power. Although it is clean in a carbon sense, the devastating effects of radioactive wastes and possible meltdowns seem almost not worth the risk.
Since I began this course, I have been more conscious about the products that my family and I buy and use. My parents are currently painting the house. When they left to go buy paint I asked them to see if they could find paint that was eco-friendly. They found a type from Pittsburgh Paints that has an ecologically friendly latex compound. It is used by architects in “green” buildings, since it contains no VOCs (volatile organic compounds). These are the “carriers” of the paint which allow it to stay in liquid form. Once the VOCs have evaporated, the paint is left on the wall to dry. The problem with VOCs is that they have acute affects on human health and can contribute to air pollution. The latex form of paint is water based so when the paint dries; only harmless water vapor is released.
We are also far more careful about what we throw away as garbage and what can be recycled or reused. I make sure that all possible material is put into the composter that I built. The other day I explained to my parents what e-waste was. Some companies have a higher rating for sustainability, according to the Greenpeace scale. In the future we will try to buy products that will have a better rating. The things that we have discussed in this environmental science course have had a great effect on me, but also on the daily choices that my family is making as well.
