EARTH DAY

Before taking Int. I never really celebrated Earth Day but I'm really glad I got to this year. It was so nice to see everyone out on Earth Day enjoying the outdoors, it was a busy day at Sierra too. I think its important to take a day to celebrate the Earth just to remind us all to treat it with respect and to be environmentally friendly. Just like every other holiday, Earth Day to me is a reminder of what is important.

Frank DeCourten-Global Warming

Although I was aware of global warming before Franks speech, the extremity of it definitely caught me off guard. I liked the way he based his lecture off of the "Five points of universal consensus," because it helped me to better understand what his facts were all about. The fact that my generation is supposedly the last one to see a live polar bear is crazy to me; like I said before, I was aware, but not to this extent. It is insane to think that summers could get to 112 degrees in California, and that only 27% of the snow that falls will actually stick. Franks lecture, I think has been my favorite so far because of how big of an issue global warming has become even since I was young. Learning about issues like these are really interesting to me because we have so much impact on it and it is easy to get others involved in helping. The last point, "It's already too late to avoid some impacts," has never really occur ed to me but I see as very true now. Hopefully what we begin now will save humans as well as plants/animals from having to suffer through mass global warming.

Personal Viewpoint of the Environment

My environmental viewpoint comes directly from my upbringing. My parents really enjoyed to take my sisters and I camping/hiking/bike riding all the time when I was young. The time we spent together was generally spent outside and I loved it all. My dad would always talk to us about how beautiful nature was and how we should appreciate it, but hardly about conserving it. Because I was so young at the time, I think my parents only felt the need to instill positive thoughts about nature in my head, rather then revealing the politics of it all. My parents have never brought up ideas about saving the environment, almost as if it doesn't even occur to them, but they are always willing to help once I get a project started. I'm so glad that I grew up constantly being surrounded by nature because I feel that is the sole reason behind my passion for the environment. The elementary school I attended, K-8, was pretty involved in outdoor activities. Just off the top of my head I can remember a few activities/crafts we did: dissecting an owl pellet (haha), planting in the planter boxes, walking to downtown Loomis, and typically having P.E. courses on the playground. Although my teachers in elementary school took my classmates and I outdoors, I still believe my family is the number one reason for my love of the environment. I'm okay with my viewpoint and wouldn't change it at all, but if I could I would try and get my parents more involved in conserving the environment because I don't think that they take it as seriously as they should. My mom is the same way as Keelys and constantly tries to instill fear in me about foreign places and uncharted territories, but I hope to only continue to prove her wrong in all her false assumptions.

"Finding Nature at the Mall"

Vernon Martins philosophical viewpoint of the environment was pretty interesting to me. The term, "...seeking authenticity through retail therapy..." really stood out to me. I guess it's because I've subconsciously realized this, but never taken it into consideration. We are constantly surrounded by billboards, ads and commercials trying to sell us their brand name, their product, and I can definitely say I am one to give in. But what I don't understand still is why do we buy these things? Because honestly I hardly buy products because of the brand name attached to it, and ads rarely catch me eye, so what triggers me to spend my money? When Vernon spoke about malls being built like cathedrals nowadays it made me analyze our money crisis right now. Why is so much money going into things like this? Malls are meant, like he said, to buy "nothing stuff," so why in the world must it look like a palace? It seems to me that maybe people aren't experiencing true nature not because of the way buildings are being built, but because they are sidetracked with what the building has to offer, and adding fake plants and plastic flowers is just another reason to ignore whats really out there, "seeking authenticity through retail therapy." An analogy could be this, say there is a brand name on true nature, but its too expensive, it seems as though most people would either buy the real version, or settle for second best, and in our case, the majority are settling, because its easy and no time is taken up. What Vernon's speech made me realize most is that our generation needs to slow down, hence the title, "instant generation," we are so wrapped up in getting everything and everywhere so quickly that we don't stop to smell the roses. I really enjoyed his viewpoints and analogies and hope to be spending some more time in nature myself.

Toxins in the Environment

Mike Thornton's discussion of toxins in our environment was news to me. I was completely unaware of the extremity of toxic waste, and the health hazards that accompany it. But although it was a big surprise and it freaks me out a bit, I'm stuck on what should be done about it. We can toss toxic waste aside, bury it, rid of it for now, but what is going to happen when it begins to pile up? 100-200 years down the road, is all that toxic buildup going to be an extreme health hazard, even more so than it is now? Probably. I think something should definitely be done in order to clean up the waste, and i think it is a government issue, but I don't necessarily trust the government to rid of the waste properly. If burning the waste could be a possible way out, then I would take that route, but it seems as if that would be extremely harmful to the environment. I feel that toxic waste is a huge problem, yes, but at the same time, educating people about it seems to instill unnecessary fear, but in turn doesn't create any action. Toxic waste that is exposed or dug up should be the main concern, with follow up plans for the waste under the soil. I honestly cannot conjure up any good ideas for what should be done with the toxic waste, because I don't feel that discarding it anywhere could ever be considered actually cleaning it up.

Mike Thornton-Minings Toxic Legacy

Although Mike Thornton has only been doing this for a year, I thought he did a very good job of speaking. His slideshow was laid out really well and his information was interesting. I had no idea that mining has had such a large impact on the Sierra Nevada, and can easily see why nothing is being done about it, because nobody is educated about it. The program Mike works with seems awesome and a great way to get people involved in cleaning up old mines. The topic that really sparked my interest was the Native American facts; fish as their traditional diet and basket weaving are both essential to their lives, and it seemed as though mining really took a toll on their lifestyle more than anyone elses. A simple solution would be for us to help cleanup mines that lead into water sources in order to lessen the amount of mercury in their water supply. I was also amazed that there are 47,000 abandoned mines in California! That is crazy! I think if more people were educated on this topic, more action would take place and the amount of toxic waste would definitely decrease. Also, the government should be getting more involved in researching mines and their location before selling land plots, as well as checking out the amount of mercury that is reused for roads, buildings, etc. After listening to Mike's speech about the mines, I still have a few unanswered questions: Where does the cleaned up toxic waste end up in the end? What are the effects of the mercury on the fish? And Coloma, toxic or no? I hope to become more involved in the cleanup and education of mines and felt really good about Mike and Gary's speeches!

Gary Noy-Sierra Nevada

Gary's knowledge of the Sierra Nevada really impressed me. It was hard to fathom that this "hunk of granite" has been constantly changing for 600,000,000 years! The numbers he went over, including: the number of plant/animal species, the amount of water, and the population of Native Americans, was astounding. I thought that his regularly six hour speech was very ell condensed into one, especially considering the amount of information he covered. I was unaware of how much, as Californians, we rely on the Sierra Nevada for water and agriculture, and how dependant we are on the Sierra Nevada from an economic standpoint. Gary's questions such as: "With the economic and social behavior being so great, what does the future hold?" and "How has the range influenced us" VS. "What have we done to the Sierra Nevada? really put my mind to work. It seems as if the Sierra Nevada has influenced us in ways unimaginable, supplying us with water, soil, plants, animals, and even economic value' whereas we are constantly polluting and taking advantage of its resources. This can be seen more frequently through as a global issue, but with it happening right in our backyard is even more reason to start doing something about it. Overall I though Gary's stories of the tidal wave in Lake Tahoe, the first ski race, the gold/silver savvy tales, hydraulic mining, Woodriff VS. North Bloomfield and "The Chip", made me realize how much we do rely on the Sierra Nevada for almost daily life. The Conservation/Preservation ethics would be something interesting to look into, and by the end of Gary Noy's speech, I was knowledgeable enough to start spreading the word, and hopefully get something done to stop the harm, which maybe wasn't necessarily his objective, but I definitely learned more than I though I would and am looking forward to tomorrows speaker!

Conservation of Species

The conservation of species depends solely on the human population. Because depleting species of plants and animals cannot speak for themselves, it is up to us to make them heard. Extinction of both is, in my eyes, definitely a part of the evolutionary process, but human impact must also be taken into account. Our prior class conversation about competition between species can directly relate. There are many beliefs based on the fact the humans are the "top dog" of all species, and this theory must be rid of in order to conserve. In order to understand what is going on, or what the animals are going through, we must put ourselves in their place, in their environment. We must think of their families as well, and their will to survive in this crazy, industrialized world. So how do we choose which species to conserve? We don't. There is no need to choose which species should live and which should die off. What we must focus on is the bigger picture. What can we change in order to prevent extinction, because as the "top dog," it would be our duty, correct? The list can go on and on of things that our human population can prevent, i.e: chemicals being used to keep animals away from our food, clear cutting, polluting in their home (Mother Earth) and ignoring the fact that animals even coexist on this planet with us. Balancing our human needs with those of the plants and animals living along side of us is easy. Take what we need, and that is all. Sure it's not easy to think of creative ways to use the Earths resources, but species do it for us, so it is our job to return the favor. The conservation of species is a priority, and it starts with making changes to our daily lifestyle in order to change the rate of extinction. No animal should have to be chosen to survive, if the natural resources are used correctly by us, the evolutionary process with continue and hopefully if enough can be done, species won't have to be chosen to survive because at this point if the choice were in the animals hands I highly doubt they would choose us to survive.