Green Jobs - Joe Medeiros

Wow!! Great web sites to look at and the advice on how to match our passions with being environmental responsibility. In every line of work education, law, engineering, agriculture, sales and politics can be connected to a environmental responsibility position. They idea of contribution to others and mankind and doing something you love and making that a career choice is important. I think having Rich demonstrate his hydrogen/water energy producer was a get tie in to this lecture. Rich who is going for an automotive career links it with finding a better way to fuel our cars and helping to cut down on our toxins was really cool! I like the fact that Joe mentioned even if our goal was to just live off the grid that would be a tremendous help to balance out the people who don't think about the environment. Whether it be outside, out of the country or inside a building there are a lot of environmentally responsible jobs out there to look at and choose from. It's exciting!

Gary Liss - Zero Waste

Talking about zero waste was really interesting. Mr. Liss said that if everyone in the state of California recycled and composted all our waste that would be equal in eliminating all the auto exhaust in California. That seems huge. Having zero waste doesn't seem difficult. Mr. Liss stated several times that the system of how goods are brought to us and how we dispose of what we don't use, could be changed and that would make a huge difference. Countries like New Zeland have policies in place that make it a zero waste country. In the bay area San Francisco, Berkeley, Marin county, Oakland and Palo Alto have adopted and set up a recycle system for zero waste. Business like HP in Roseville, Apple, Toyota and restaurants in San Francisco have been leading the way with 90% no waste. Vons and Safeway grocery stores take back the goods not sold to their distribution center where it is made into compost. Ricoh Electronics is another zero waste company and also asking their suppliers to adopt a zero waste policy. I was disturbed to hear that every land fill leaks and for most companies the output related to put out a product they have produce 2/3rds of waste.The cost to redesign a system to have zero waste is not expensive. Thought needs to be taken on where the products suppliers are coming from. Products need to be made with the environment in mind. Incentives need to be put into place to encourage companies to change to zero waste strategies. The government has the power to make the companies change with tax credits to companies who comply and fines for the companies who don't. I thought his was a very informative speaker.

Earth Day Hurray!

Before taking this class, I remember I was standing in line at Whole Foods to check out and the patron in front of me asked the grocery clerk if the farmer's market that is held in their parking lot on Tuesdays was a good one. The patron also asked if the store was in support of the farmer's market or found it to be in competition with the store. The grocery clerk admitted she had never been, but heard, the farmer's market was good and that Whole Foods was happy that they set up near them. The patron then said that she can't seem to remember to go the the farmer's market and that shopping at Whole Foods was just the same. The grocery clerk smiled and nodded her head in agreement. Then this class opened the door to the truth and the understanding of what was really happening. I wish I had the knowledge then to correct both people like I do today.
Awareness and knowledge are good things. Sometimes in order to get many people to pay attention we have to make things look fancy, sexy or the "in" thing to do. Like it was talked about in class, we have to sell the idea to the masses. Earth Day, that has been around for a long time, and is getting more recognition and a message is going out. It has become commercialized. It is common to see a t-shirt that has a picture of the earth and says, "reduce, recycle, renew". I was told that Oprah had a show on "earth friendly" products. It a good thing! We need everyone to participate in helping the world clean up and be more efficient before it is really really too late. As long as the the correct information is going out to the public, then Earth Day is a perfect reminder for us all to be more responsible. Sometimes when I can't quite button my pants, it's a good reminder for me to cut back on my calories and pick-up on my exercise. If people need that reminder to stay on track once a year, then it is better than having a dirty world that we can't fit into.

Virtual Joe Mederios

I hate to admit it but I was one of those people who didn't know much about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I remembering hearing the acronym ANWAR and it was in Alaska. I didn't know that it is a 19.6 million acre area and has 18 major rivers and 300 archaeological sites. I didn't know that it was a migratory biomone with 135 migratory bird species from 4 continents go there to nest. Joe let us in on the fact that 36 different fish species are there and 180 different bird species. Lots of animals live here too. Musk Ox, caribou, polar bears, brown bears and black bears are a few larger animals that Joe mentioned that come to the area or live there. Joe told us about the 100 times a year there is an oil spill or leak and it is not a clean operation. It's terrible that they put this area on danger of losing so much natural habitat. It seems here on earth we have lost so much already. Can we afford to causes more damage? I thought it was really interesting how we only receive 16% of our oil from the Persian Gulf. It seems like the government would have you believe we get almost all of our supply from there. I was lead to believe we are at their mercy because they have the oil and we do not. But it turns out that we also have other sources that are not talked about too much, 21% from Africa, 49% from the Western Hemisphere too. I thought Joe's lecture was interesting and something to think about and start talking about and looking into more.

Ray Darby- The Energy Guy

I was just thinking about solar electricity and if it was something that might be right for my house and then Ray came and talked about it. I didn't know that 50% of the cooling or heating in our houses goes out if you have forced air. Nor did I know that we lose 2/3rds of the electricity generated from power plants to our homes. I can see how transportation is a huge part of what we use energy on. It seems like everyone drives and hardly anyone walks anymore. I try and do all my errands in the same direction to help cut down on driving too much. I also have a hybrid which I feel good about driving. I think it is true how builder's don't care if your house is efficient but focuses mostly on how it looks with the design. I know in Roseville a few years back they built homes that had solar tiles on the roofs. I thought that was a good idea. I've seen solar panels on Stanford Ranch across from Costco at a car wash and on E Roseville Parkway the fire station has solar panels on it's roof. Ray suggested that we reevaluate the way we drive, the efficiency of our homes and how we use electricity. His solutions about eating locally and lower on the food chain was good too.

A Change of Perspective

With knowledge comes awareness and with the awareness comes choices.
This class has given me a lot of choices to think about. Before this class I was aware of global warming and believed it was occurring. I didn't like being dependent on foreign oil or the bad emissions from cars that go into the air. I bought a hybrid not because I can get better gas mileage (which I do get about 52mpg) but for air quality. My car may not be the coolest looking or the fastest but it gets me to where I need to go safely, timely and I feel good about driving it. I have heard of the WWF and that we have to "Save the Panda's, the polar bears...." but I didn't understand the whole cycle of the way in which the environment, ecosystems and species worked.
I am overwhelmed by all the things we are learning in class. Some days I think, how is this ever going to get better? But I try and tell my friends and family about what I'm learning so they can see what I'm seeing. I shop at Farmer's Markets more. I am more conscious to buy local, California grown and in season fruits and veggies. As much as I might want to make guacamole, I just can't buy the avocados from Chile. I try and have meatless days 2 times a week. I've gone to the library and on-line for vegetarian dishes to try. I've thought about finding a spot in my small yard to grow vegetables, which never interested me before. I always bring my own bags when I shop. I turn lights off when I leave a room. During the colder months I wore lots of sweatshirts and jackets around my house and only turned on the heat when I knew company was coming. I'm not sure how I'll do in the hot months, but I'm already thinking about what I can do to keep myself from using the air conditioner to a minimum. When I run errands I think about where I need to go and try and make my stops in the same directions. Before I purchase something I stop and ask myself if I really need what I'm buying more than I have in the past. More times then not, I find myself putting items back on the shelf. Learning about poverty has changed the way I think about things as well. I have heard about the slum of India and have even read about them, but it was nothing compared to seeing the slum in the movie "Slumdog Millionaire". The massive poverty shown was jaw dropping and I know it was just one example of what is out there. Population, education, mining waste, agriculture, politics and our interdependency and the connectedness of all these topics, I never even considered before.
So, you ask if this class has changed my perspective? I would say that this class has changed my life and the way I live and view the world is very different than before.

Dr. Larid Thompson

I wasn't able to watch the program on t.v. because I had to take my daughter to the Dr. So I watched in on iTunes and the quality wasn't very good. I had a difficult time seeing the power point slides clearly. I thought his presentation was full of lots of complex and complicated slides. A little difficult to keep up with what he was talking about on the iTunes version. I wished Dr. Thompson had a pointer because that would have helped to see in which part of his slide he was referring to during his presentation.
He had a lot of information and I felt very informed when he was done. It is so scary too to see how our consumption is high and growing and the resources of oil and coal are depleting. His information on how we reached the mid-point of total production capacity in the 1970's was depressing. Also when he talked about that fact that 63% of oil, natural seeps into the earth and atmosphere was scary to me too. The fact that we are very inefficient and we use only 63% of the energy we produce made me feel like a greedy American.
The process of oil and where it was found was really interesting. I was one of those people who thought it came from dinosaurs although I did question this belief. I thought it was interesting seeing how the oil platforms and rigs work. The information on the barrel of oil and how it is refined was difficult to see but I can tell that it goes into making different things at the different levels in the barrel. I thought that was interesting.
I like the idea of biodiesel and did hear that Volkswagen is going to sell a Passat that is diesel and can run on biofuels. I thought the idea of switching from corn to switch grass was interesting except it is not native to the U.S. The fact that sweet potatoes and sugar beets can produce more ethanol fuel than corn was something I did not know either. But like Dr. Thompson said economics drives everything and with the corn farmer lobbyist out there I'm not sure if the use of corn can be changed or shared with another source.
It seems there has to be a better solution. Someone in class asked it a little bit of all the different ideas that are valid and being presented can be put into practice. I liked that idea. I think then it might not put a strain on one thing. Like with the corn crops it isn't great for the soil to keep having the same type of crop.
So the bottom line sounds like we need to be more efficient as individuals and be more aware of how we use our energy. There was a show on television that had a family of four trying to live off the grid. I watched a little of it and tried to tape it because I'd like to see what they did and how I can incorporate it into my life.

Joe Mederios - Sustainability

Joe's information was mind boggling. 50-100 species go extinct a day, 15 million tons of carbon is added to our atmosphere a day, 250,000 people are added to earth a day! I think back on the carbon foot print test we took and am frightened that we will never be able to solve this problem. I think a lot of people have forgotten that we are responsible for earth. Americans do tend to be blingaholics. A sustainable environment is important and impacts both the economy and our society. It would be nice if everyone did small things to help them sustain their own life and see what kind of a change might occur in the overall world environment that we life in.

Frank DeCourten

Scary!!! All his visual aids and data about of how we are getting hotter and hotter. Yikes! Plus we are the problem! I guess the good news we can start making a difference today. We can be careful with our transportation/fossil fuels and electricity use. We should think about how we move things about we can be more careful and buy locally grown foods. We can think walking when we can to do things instead of driving. We can inform our families and friends that global warming is occuring and we are a big part of the problem but we can make a difference. I liked all of Frank's visual aids and charts. Some were difficult to understand but interesting to see what climate scientist are looking at and coming up with.

Religion and the Environment

Jane's lecture was really interesting. Looking at the environment from the different religions and seeing there point of view about the environment. I got the impression that they were all utilitarian points of view. Chaos was tamed for us to reign yet we are also responsible to take care of nature. From the book of Genesis Jane talked about Adam and Eve making a bad choice and why did they do this. I think it really echos how the general population sees the environment. It was brought up on how Adam and Eve made a bad choice because they didn't value what they had and they also didn't understand the consequence of their choice. But it leaded us back into chaos with their disobedience. I think it was also interesting when she talked about the Eastern views and the Law of karma. What we fix today will be something we will not have to fix in the next lifetime. I also thought the Hindu religion was interesting on how it sees how the world was created.

Lynn Mederios Rocks!

I loved Lynn Mederios talk on facts vs. values! She was energetic, and entertaining and passionate about the subjects she was talking about. I appreciate her sharing stories of her life to help us better understand her point of view. The time in class flew by! I thought is was interesting about background beliefs and I liked that she reminded everyone to keep an open mind even if you disagree with what the speaker is saying, because in the long run you might just learn something. Our background beliefs should be evolving and we should challenge ourselves to critically think and evaluate information. We should also be able to throw out what is longer held up by facts. I like the idea of finding out all you need to know about an opposite point of view because when you have a clear understanding of the facts than you are able to make a better argument. She made me want to learn more about history because then I might have a better understanding of how we got to be where we are today politically, environmentally and personally.

My view point of the Environment

First off, I have to say that my view point of the environment has changed slowly through the years and especially since the beginning of this class. I have Spring time allergies so my view point of the environment for me is partly associated with sneezing, watery eyes and a runny nose. I grew-up only going camping a few times with my family and with Girl Scouts. I think my family's idea of nature and the environment was more utilitarian. Although my Mom loved plants and we had lots of plants around the house and in the front yard. She was constantly weeding. She was also constantly buying new plants because she did not have a green thumb and replaced the ones that died. But again it was more in a utilitarian way. I just recently read a book by John Connolly called, "The Book of Lost Things". It is about a boy who grows up and loses his innocents and sees death, danger, betrayal, friendship and love in the world in a grown-up perspective. The author uses fairy tales and twist them to make his point and it takes place in a dark forest. The dark forest has creatures that want to kill him making it a very dangerous place. The description of the forest was a lot like the one Snow White sees when the woodsman takes her to the deep dark forest as the Queen requests to cut out her heart. I suppose this is the point of view of the environment that is easier for me to associate with. Although, I look around me and think that the trees, ocean, birds and streams are beautiful. I love spending time at the beach where all the elements meet (air, sun, earth, water). But now I go further and think about the species that live in the ocean and the layers of biomes that are out there. It takes on a different significance and meaning to me. I walk through a ravine every Saturday morning and enjoy the sounds of nature and seeing the ducks and the heron in the stream near by. It wasn't until taking this class do I appreciate the homes of these species in a whole new way. I am seeing that the environment exists for more than just myself. The world really is diverse in so many more ways and on so many different levels and here for us all to exists together.

Vernon Martin - Finding Nature in the Mall

I thought Vernon Martin was an interesting speaker. He made me think differently about the mall. I haven't been to the mall in a long time but it is true how they try and bring a false sense of "nature" to inside the mall. The natural lighting and trees and water elements surround you as you walk around. I see parents bringing kids to the mall to play on the little play structures they have set up and sometimes I do wonder why they don't just take them to an outdoor park. I was really fascinated with the way marketing and advertising has changed. It was interesting to see the "er" of advertising in the 1950's to what is it today with giving us a sense of belonging and something to believe in when at the end of the day it just a tennis shoe. It is almost scary how easy it is to buy into this advertising. I can now see how I have done this in some of my purchases in the past. It is sort of like Gigi in the movie "He's Just Not That into You"and how she thinks she sees the signs of how the guy feels but really she is misreading and looking at something that isn't real. So we walk into the Rainforest Cafe and we think we are experiencing something real and but it really isn't. It is just an idea of what is palpable for most of the public to understand and digest and feel comfortable looking at. It was also interesting to see how we used to buy things like a television, new car to signify our class status and today we buy name brands to signify who we are. Are you a Coca-cola vs. Pepsi drinker? Are you a Mac vs. PC user?
I really liked the quote by Baudrillard," It is no longer a question of imitation, nor of duplication, nor even a parody. It is rather a question of substituting signs of the real for the real itself" Interesting stuff to think about.

Joe Mederios

I found Joe's talk to be very informative and helped me make sense of the different kingdoms of species, ecosystems and the need for biodiversity. I liked how Joe used the example of the grocery store to explain biodiversity. It made it very understandable. I also liked the number circle used in the video in showing the number of different species there are and to see the numbers within each group. I never knew there we so many different kinds of ants, fungus and beetles. I feel bad now that I was so angry when ants invaded my home a few years ago and the measures I went to for them to go away. Makes me look at the insect kingdom differently. I like how he broke it down to show how dependent we humans are on the different species or derivatives of the species, to what we eat, wear, live and the medications we use. I have a better understanding of ecosystems and the importance of the biodiversity within them. It seems that everything in nature is important because we all need one another to exists. Again, I am reminded of how interdependent and connect we all are.

Yikes Toxins!

I care that we have toxins in the environment. They are everywhere in our earth, in our air and water. In the youTube clip, "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" in 5 years we have much more plastic in our oceans. It is frighting. We have toxic problems in other states as well as California. I think we should clean up the mining waste in our community. But who will pay for it? And more importantly, where will we put the waste? I think this is an important question. We can't burn it because then it will float into our air and we can't bury it because then it will get into our soil. The same problem with the baseball field that was on top of a tailing's pile and all the asbestos in on the hazard suits would happen again. It might even be a more toxic substance that doesn't take years to kill you but days. We also need to make sure it doesn't harm any other species.
If we didn't have so much garbage maybe it can cut down on adding more toxins to our environment. I think we all have a personal responsibility to take care of the choices we make as we live our lives. The amount of water we use, the types of containers we choose to story food in, cook with and drink from are all choices that we make. We also have a personal responsibility to be informed and stay informed about our environment. But I also feel that the government has a responsibility of providing us with acquate information about our environmental issues that we might not know are happening. It would help for them to be open and honest about the short term and long term effects that can happen if we choose not to care.

Dr Mike Thornton

Wow! Dr. Thornton's talk was so interesting! I had no idea about hydraulic mining or suction mining/dredging. I was one of those people who thought of gold mining with a pick and a pan. I never knew about the devastation and carelessness that happened during the gold rush. What a mess! It is sort of scary all the clean up that must be done. It is sad that tourism seem to want to cover up the whole truth of the gold rush mining and the impact it has left today. My daughter studied the Gold Rush last year in fourth grade and we went on many field trips and they never mentioned any of the bad effects that have happen in the Gold Rush, from the environmental impact, the towns being built up fast, the trees being cut down, to the mercury dumped in the water and contaminating the rivers and fish. I'm glad I got to learn about the other aspects of the gold rush. In some ways I feel overwhelmed by the devastation that humans can do all in the name of staking a claim and finding their fortune.

Gary Noy

I learned a lot from Gary Noy's talk on Tuesday. I did not know that Sacramento was part of the Sierra Nevada range. Never knew that they cut down trees in the past just because they could. I did not know about hydrolic mining and the damage it has done. Or about the law suit, Woodruff vs. Northbloomfield and how if is still refered to today. I did know about the how we are looking into the way the Native Americans set controlled fire to renew the soil. I also knew a little about the gold rush in 1848. I'm pretty new to this area but have heard or visited some of the areas he was refering to in his speech. I found it interesting.

Who Decides?

Who do we save? Which species matters most? How do we know that a species extinction is not part of the natural evolutionary process?
Wow! These are really difficult questions to answer. It seems that even scientist in the program we watched did not seem to have answers to these questions. It is clear that something must be done in conservation or else everyone will suffer. But what right do Western countries have to tell others what to do? What right do we have interfering with other countries that live with these animals, insects, plants and amphibians/reptiles to tell them what to do? I'm not sure we do. But if something must be done and we have the resources to do the research then I think at least this much should be done.
We know that the cute, fluffy animals are the one's with the most attention to conserve because of their charismatic appeal and more people will pay attention. This is good as far as opening the door to introducing the idea of conservation to the masses. In time maybe other species that might need help will get t because conservation will be a common idea and movement. Everything is so interdependent with the food chain and the people of the world, with poverty effecting the environment and also our affluence as shown in the carbon foot print test.
We tend to ignore insects and plants but I feel they are very important. I think we should look into what plants are on the verge of extinction. Plants are important on different levels. Plants can feed us and give us oxygen. Some medicines have been made from plants which means some plants can cure us. As far as eliminating new species, I think we shouldn't. They might be the next step in some evolutionary process that might effect and help with new growth and development in other species.
Who decides what species matters most? I really don't know. Since plants, animals, insects, humans, reptiles/amphibians and the environment are so interconnected it seems that any change will effect the whole system. A balance can be made between humans and wildlife. We just need more people to be aware of the fact we do share this planet, not only with other humans, but with many other species and the importance they all serve to help us maintain life on earth.

Carbon Footprint

I put off taking the test because I dreaded seeing the results. Not because I don't care but because I do. I care enough that I pay extra to the city of Roseville to have all my energy come from Green sources. I have also driven a Prius for the last 2 years. I have purchased energy efficient washer, dryer and refrigerator in the last 2 years as well. I try to remember to turn off lights when I leave a room and to turn off the water faucet when soaping and rinsing off the dishes and my hands. I am consistent with not turning on the heat and wearing many layers of clothing around the house to keep warm and not turning on the air conditioner in the summer to the point where some days it is cooler outside than in my house.
The number for me goes up because I am inconsistent with recycling, purchasing and I drive over 80 miles a day. I was a tad over the average in housing and services. As far as housing I know I use a lot of water especially in the summer because I have a pool. My yard is not large in front or back but I do have grass and vegetation that I water regularly. I have started to do No-Meat-Mondays and Fish Fridays. I occasionally do shop at Farmer's Markets and I do buy organic products. But again this is all not done on a inconsistent bases. I need to be more consistently conscious of the choices I'm making regularly.
If everyone keeps living at the rate that I am with the 6.03 earths, our world will be deleted in a very short period of time. I don't know how I feel about the question of fairness for people in the US to have such a large ecological footprint in comparison to others. It is sort of like asking...Is it fair that I don't have to worry about feeding my family or getting good medical care where other people in different countries do? It just all seems out of balance and unfair. I understand that people in the US can be overindulgent and some people take for granted all that we have at our fingertips. The good part about is that the US is making efforts to put money into green technologies that can help us save our planet.
Taking this test was good. I like to see where changes can be made even though it is just with me. At least if I start to make a change then the people in my family will be affected by it and it might help them to make a change. Can't wait gotta try!