Experts say more is needed to stop dead zone

This year's dead zone, an area of oxygen-starved water that forms annually off the Louisiana coast, is smaller than expected. But scientists and environmentalists say that's an anomaly. They predict it will continue growing because little is done to control the agricultural pollution that fuels it.

This year's dead zone was expected to be the biggest ever due to Mississippi River flooding, but Tropical Storm Don mixed up Gulf waters, reducing the areas of low oxygen. This year's dead zone is 6,765 square miles, an area bigger than Connecticut.

This maybe isn't the biggest dead zone, but it's still well above the goal. The dead zone is detrimental to Gulf sea life and the coastal residents' way of life, and yet EPA continues to rely on the states to do things they have failed to do for well over a decade.

URL: Dead Zone

Maize and Malaria

Back in 1950s the World Health Organizations (WHO) sprayed large amounts of DDT to counter a malaria outbreak in Borneo (island near Indonesia), successfully killing off malaria mosquitoes, as well as some pesky cockroaches. But then thatched roofs began falling on peoples' heads. The pesticide, it turned out, had also killed off wasps that ate thatch-eating caterpillars. What's more, the pesticide moved up the food chain, poisoning lizards, which were then eaten by cats. And as cats died, rats flourished, spreading new diseases, including typhus. 


Lacking food security, Africans grew a new maize that which grows faster and more abundantly than traditional varieties. A maize field produces large amounts of pollen — about 300 pounds per hectare, or 2.5 acres. Unfortunately, mosquito larvae thrive on it. 


One solution would have farmers grow a genetically modified variety of maize containing an insecticide that would kill mosquito larvae. But the costs of that would be beyond the means of local farmers.Another possible solution would involve detasseling, removing the pollen-producing tassel from a maize plant by hand and preventing pollination, but that is a time-consuming process.A third option, would be to encourage farmers to grow a maize variety that sheds its pollen earlier in the season, prior to peak mosquito development. Farmers could also plant their fields at least sixty meters from their homesteads to create a buffer zone between the breeding grounds and the houses. 

Why We Need Bees

Many people think of bees simply as a summertime nuisance. But these small and hard-working insects actually make it possible for many of your favorite foods to reach your table. From apples to almonds to the pumpkin in our pumpkin pies, we have bees to thank. Now, a condition known as Colony Collapse Disorder is causing bee populations to plummet, which means these foods are also at risk. In the United States alone, more than 25 percent of the managed honey bee population has disappeared since 1990.
Bees are one of a myriad of other animals, including birds, bats, beetles, and butterflies, called pollinators. Pollinators transfer pollen and seeds from one flower to another, fertilizing the plant so it can grow and produce food. Cross-pollination helps at least 30 percent of the world’s crops and 90 percent of our wild plants to thrive.
Without bees to spread seeds, many plants—including food crops—would die off. 
Bees Keep Our Economy Humming More than $15 billion a year in U.S. crops are pollinated by bees, including apples, berries, cantaloupes, cucumbers, alfalfa, and almonds. U.S. honey bees also produce about $150 million in honey annually. But fewer bees means the economy takes a hit: The global economic cost of bee decline, including lower crop yields and increased production costs, has been estimated at as high as $5.7 billion per year.
Keeping bee populations safe is critical for keeping American tables stocked with high-quality produce and our agriculture sector running smoothly.

http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/animals/files/bees.pdf

Genetically engineered (GE) crops (Transgenic crops)

Genetically engineered (GE) crops (Transgenic crops) such as corn, cotton, and soybean became both or either herbicide tolerance (HT) and insect resistance (Bt) through biotechnology since 2000. If you have a positive or negative opinion about this process one must consider the increase in population in every country. Many observers have suggested that biotechnology has the potential to increase world food output and reduce food insecurity by improving crop yields and reducing crop loss. As with any improvement in technology, farmers in developing countries must find the new advances profitable. Consumers in developing countries will benefit if biotech crops are less expensive or more nutritious than traditional crops. By adding genes to conventional crops to help them resist pests, disease, or drought, producers of biotech seed can make crops that use less of an expensive input or crops that produce higher yields. Any or several types of improvements toward increasing food supply can be tailored to make individual crops more likely to thrive in a particular country’s growing conditions, and can potentially allow a wider variety of innovations.


The benefits of using GM crops included enhanced taste and quality, reduced maturation time, increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance, improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides, new products and growing techniques. Animals increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency; better yields of meat, eggs, and milk; improved animal health and diagnostic methods. GM crops would be healthy on the environment through "friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides, conservation of soil, water, and energy; bioprocessing for forestry products, better natural waste management, more efficient processing. Societies can increase food security for growing populations.


Controversies include safety of potential human health impacts including allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects. Potential environmental impacts including unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity. Access and intellectual property domination of world food production by a few companies; increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries; biopiracy or foreign exploitation of natural resources. Ethics such as violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species; objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa; stress for animal; labeling; not mandatory in some countries (United States); mixing GM crops with non-GM products confounds labeling attempts. Society - new advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries.

Mitchell, Lorraine. 2011. Biotechnology and food security. United States department of agriculture. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib765/aib765-11.pdf (accessed October 14, 2011).


Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge. 2011. Adoption of genetically engineered crops in the U.S. United States department of agriculture. http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/BiotechCrops/ (accessed October 14, 2011).


United States of Energy. 2008. Genetically Modified Foods and Organisms. U.S. Department of Energy Genome Program. http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml (accessed October 14, 2011).

USDA Conservation programs

Water Quality and Management Research Programs is a main category for many smaller research projects such as natural resources and sustained agricultural system. Their National Programs include Water Availability and Watershed Management, Climate Change, Soils, and Emissions Bioenergy, Agricultural and Industrial Byproducts, Pasture, Forage and Rangeland Systems, and Agricultural System Competitiveness and Sustainability.

Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems National Programs support researchers developing the technologies and strategies needed to help farmers, ranchers, and other managers effectively steward the diverse agricultural mosaic spread across the nation. From livestock grazing expansive natural western rangelands, to crops grown in the rich Midwestern Heartland and the Southern States regions, to the high-value produce that comes from the valleys and plains along both coasts, these diverse landscapes generate more than $200-billion in goods and services that are the basis of a strong rural economy. Emphasis is given to developing technologies that are economical to use and systems that support profitable production and enhance the Nation's vast renewable natural resource base. Research priorities are identified through a continual dialogue with a wide range of customers and stakeholders to ensure that their science is relevant and provides effective solutions to their concerns. They address issues affecting both private and public lands, because together these are the foundation of a healthy and vibrant agricultural industry that not only provides food, feed, fiber, and renewable energy to the nation, but also abundant and high quality supplies of fresh water and clean air, as well as healthy ecosystems (USDA 2011).

Water Quality Information Center (WQIC) provides electronic access to information on water quality and agriculture. The center collects, organizes, and communicates the scientific findings, educational methodologies, and public policy issues related to water quality and agriculture. For example, The Electronic Publications Database offers 1,900 online documents covering water and agriculture from decision-making technology, irrigation, laws and regulations, nutrient management, and pollution (USDA 2011).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program, which responds to emergencies created by natural disasters. It is not necessary for a national emergency to be declared for an area to be eligible for assistance. The program is designed to help people and conserve natural resources by relieving imminent hazards to life and property caused by floods, fires, wind­storms, and other natural occurrences. EWP is an emergency recovery program. All projects undertaken, with the exception of the pur­chase of floodplain easements, must have a project sponsor.

NRCS may bear up to 75 percent of the construction cost of emergency measures. The remaining 25 per­cent must come from local sources and can be in the form of cash or in-kind services. Funding is subject to Congressional approval.

Their purpose is to remove debris from stream channels, road culverts, and bridges, reshape and protect eroded banks, correct damaged drainage facilities, establish cover on critically eroding lands, repair levees and structures, and repair conservation practices (USDA 2011).

References:

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 2011. Emergency watershed protection (EWP) program. 

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 2011. Natural resources and sustainable agricultural systems. 

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 2011. Water quality information center. 

Swampbuster provisions

The Food Security Act of 1985, more commonly known as the “Swampbuster Act,” refers to certain provisions of the act discouraging the conversion of wetlands to farmland.

Under the Swampbuster provisions, a landowner is allowed to use farming practices as long as wetlands are not converted or wetland drainage increases for agricultural purposes. The program discourages farmers from altering wetlands by withholding Federal farm program benefits such as lose eligibility for USDA program benefits, including loans, subsidies, crop insurance, and other important agricultural after December 23, 1985. There have been several revisions since this date, such as 1990 and 1996. The 1990 provision added conversion of a wetland for the purpose of or to make agricultural commodity production possible.

The 1996 Farm Bill changed Swampbuster to give increased flexibility to farmers in complying with Swampbuster including the option to for the USDA to certify and make a determination if the land is indeed a wetland, the expansion of wetland mitigation options, fast tracking changes that are considered to have a "minimal effect" on a wetland and finally a clause that allows converted wetlands that were abandoned to again be used as farmland without violating Swampbuster.

Both the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administer the Swampbuster provisions jointly and determine if a producer's land has wetlands that are subject to the provisions. The agency maintains a list of the plants and combinations of soils and plants found in wetlands and uses these technical tools, along with the hydrology of the area, to conduct determinations, which stay in effect as long as the land is used for agricultural purposes or until the producer requests a review.

U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA). 2011. Wetland conversation provisions (Swampbuster). http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/?ss=16&navtype=SUBNAVIGATION&cid=stelprdb1043554&navid=100170150000000&pnavid=100170000000000&position=Not%20Yet%20Determined.Html&ttype=detailfull&pname=Wetland%20Conservation%20Provisions%20(Swampbuster)%20|%20NRCS (accessed September 28, 2011).

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. 2003. Wetland conservation – swampbuster. http://www.fws.gov/policy/504fw4.html (accessed September 28, 2011).

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2011. Section 404 and swampbuster: wetlands on agricultural lands. http://water.epa.gov/grants_funding/wetlands/facts/fact19.cfm (accessed June 17, 2011).  

Touch junk mail once

Do you ever get your mail and you receive junk mail or advertisements. I have learned to touch mail once. After picking up the mail, sort it on the spot, and put unwanted items in the recycle bin; junk mail with my name on it gets shredded right then. It keeps clutter to a minimum.

Colorado Water

Colorado receives less than 20 inches of natural precipitation each year most areas, so most of the state requires irrigation to grow crops or to support urban landscapes. In the high mountain areas, which generally receive more than 20 inches of precipitation, almost all of the precipitation falls as snow. Therefore, Colorado’s water supplies are primarily snow melt runoff.


Colorado’s major rivers include Colorado River, Rio Grande, Arkansas River, and South Platte River. Major lakes include Grand Lake, Blue Mesa Reservoir, and the John Martin Reservoir.


While the state’s river systems generate an average 16 million acre feet of renewable water each year, about two-thirds of this water is obligated to leave the state under various interstate compacts and agreements. In addition, of the 16 million AF, about 80% of the water is on the Western Slope, yet about 80% of the state’s population resides on the Eastern Slope. Most of the irrigated agriculture lands are on the Eastern Slope as well. Colorado also uses renewable and non-renewable groundwater to meet our water supply needs (CO Water Conservation Board 2011).

The Arkansas River Basin drains an area of 24,904 square miles of southeastern Colorado and has experienced growth and is expected to have significant increases in growth in the future. Demands on the limited water resources also will increase as changes in water storage, water releases, and/or transfer of waters within or outside of the basin are likely to occur to accommodate the growing population. Water use and quality within the basin can be affected by land-use changes associated with urbanization and agricultural practices (USGS 2009). Back in May 2011, temperatures heated up a snowpack that were two to three times its normal depth; flooding was "likely" in parts of the high country. Current precipitation is 0” (USGS 2011).

The Blue River drains approximately 680 square miles west of the Continental Divide in central Colorado before flowing northward into the Colorado River near Kremmling, Colorado. The Blue River watershed (BRW) is almost entirely located in Summit County and includes the towns of Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco, Montezuma, and Silverthorne. Dillon Reservoir and Green Mountain Reservoir are major water storage facilities in the watershed. Ski resorts such as Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, and Keystone have brought rapid population growth and increased tourism and development to the area. In the last seven days, this area collected 0.28” of precipitation (USGS 2011).

The Eagle River drains approximately 970 square miles west of the Continental Divide in central Colorado before flowing into the Colorado River. The Eagle River watershed (ERW) is located primarily within Eagle County and includes the towns of Vail, Minturn, Avon, Edwards, Eagle, and Gypsum. The eastern boundary of the ERW is drained by Gore Creek, located at Vail Pass. Gore Creek flows along I-70 through the town of Vail before its confluence with the main stem Eagle River near the town of Minturn. The Eagle River continues to flow along I-70 to its western boundary near Dotsero. The annual precipitation for this area is 11” for rain and 54” of snow; town of Vail currently has 300” of snow (Eagle County 2011).

The Upper Gunnison River Watershed, located in the Rocky Mountains 150 miles southwest of Denver, Colorado, drains approximately 3,965 square miles. Forest and rangeland comprise 89 percent of land within the watershed, but the traditional western ranching economy is increasingly supplemented through a tourism economy centered around Crested Butte Mountain Resort and the Curecanti National Recreation area. Recreational development and population growth in recent years have the potential to affect both the quantity and quality of water. According to the Water Information Program back in June 2011, The Denver Post posted a report that the Rocky Mountains' winter snow is gradually being replaced by spring rain, and it's likely to get worse in the decades to come (Waterinfo 2011).

As large-scale energy development continues in the Piceance Basin, there is potential for changes in surface-water and groundwater resources. In the southern Piceance Basin, a water task force consisting of numerous local governments, municipalities, and energy companies collectively identified the need for a common data repository. In the northern Piceance Basin, similar efforts were underway in approximately the same timeframe. The outcome of these efforts is the combined northern and southern Piceance Basins project and data repository, referred to collectively as "the Piceance Basin."

The entire state of Colorado as witnessed a fairly warm summer with only 0’-2” of rain from September 15-22 2011 (Intellicast 2011). Colorado is split into two different climates due to higher plain and mountain regions. September will be warmer and wetter than normal and October will be cooler and drier in the higher plains. The mountain regions will experience winter temperatures of above normal, especially in the south, with the coldest periods in early and late December and mid- and late February. Precipitation and snowfall will be above normal in the north and below normal in the south. The snowiest periods will occur in early November, mid-December, mid-January, and early and late March. April and May will be much cooler and snowier than normal. Next summer will be hotter and drier than normal in the north and cooler and wetter in the south. The hottest periods will be in early July and much of August. Colorado is going through a dry year with not precipitation (Almanac 2011).

References:

Colorado Water Conservation Board. 2011. Water supply planning. http://cwcb.state.co.us/water-management/water-supply-planning/Pages/main.aspx (accessed September 22, 2011).

Eagle County. 2011. Quick facts. http://www.eaglecounty.us/localinfo/Quick_Facts/ (accessed September 22, 2011).

Intellicast. 2011. Weekly precipitation. http://www.intellicast.com/National/Precipitation/Weekly.aspx (accessed September 22, 2011).

USGS. 2009. Arkansas River water-quality data. http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/cwqdr/Arkansas/index.shtml (accessed September 22, 2011).

USGS. 2011. Blue River water-quality data. http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/cwqdr/Blue/index.shtml (accessed September 22, 2011).

USGS. 2011. Eagle River water-quality data. http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/cwqdr/Eagle/index.shtml (accessed September 22, 2011).

USGS. 2011. NWIS. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/co/nwis/current/?type=precip&group_key=basin_cd&search_site_no_station_nm=Arkansas%20River%20&site_no_name_select=station_nm (accessed September 22, 2011).

USGS. 2011. Piceance Basin water-quality data repository. http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/cwqdr/Piceance/index.shtml (accessed September 22, 2011).

USGS.  2011. Upper Gunnison River water quality data. http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/cwqdr/Gunnison/index.shtml (accessed September 22, 2011).

USGS. 2011. Water storage. http://www.waterinfo.org/water-storage. (accessed September 22, 2011).

Triple Bottom Line:

Food and Agriculture (economic): Explore new economic models that support sustainable food and agriculture while raising public awareness of the value of organic and biodynamic farming.

Ecological Stewardship (environmental): Provide funding to organizations and projects devoted to sustaining, regenerating and preserving the earth's ecosystems, especially integrated, systems-based and culturally relevant approaches.

Education and the Arts (social): Fund education and arts projects that are holistic and therapeutic.

My dream for a vacuum to clean garbage patches around the world

Someday I would love to have a fleet of ocean vacuums that would filter marine life from plastic pollution and ship the pollution to civilization to be reused again for another product rather than having it go to waste, be eaten by marine life and humans.

CGI - Sustainable Consumption: Redefining Business As Usual

Sustainable Consumption: Redefining Business As Usual 

More than ever before, the world’s population – and its ever-increasing demand for products and services – is putting pressure on the planet. In an era of rapidly depleting and finite resources, businesses and society have the opportunity to reframe how value is created and how consumption acts as a driver for economic growth. At the most basic levels, companies must take responsibility for their environmental, economic, political, and social impact across their value chains and spheres of influence. Governments, businesses, and civil society must build participatory and accountable processes with stakeholders throughout their operations, and report on their impacts in a transparent manner. However, significant change can only occur if sustainability practices are incorporated into core business models, rather than simply remaining in the realm of corporate social responsibility. Design decisions at the highest levels will drive consumer choices, and innovative marketing and branding can encourage consumer demand to drive more sustainable supply. This panel will address these opportunities and challenges through the lens of the global food business. The current food system has resulted in high prices being paid by the natural environment and by consumer health; but the opportunity exists to redefine this system. How do we ensure sustainability in an unequal world? How can we evaluate what is driving consumption patterns to determine both ethical and profitable responses to these challenges?

Participants:
Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway
Bob Diamond, Chief Executive, Barclays
Viviane Victorine Kinyaga, Director, Desert Research Foundation of Namibia
Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo
Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever

Clinton Global Initiative

Waste to Wealth

Every second, 52 tons of waste are deposited in landfills globally. This waste poisons the land and makes its way into the planet’s rivers and oceans, threatening wildlife and aquatic habitats. It creates toxic environments for the estimated 15 million people around the world who earn their living by gleaning recyclable materials from garbage dumps. Furthermore, the waste is largely comprised of finite resources that could have been exempt from extraction or otherwise repurposed after first use. This panel will reveal ways that organizations are leveraging their collective resources and influence to challenge current thinking on waste management and envision creative approaches to reduce the amount of material entering the waste stream. It will highlight efforts to incorporate material re-use into products and profit from waste-to-energy initiatives, as well as incorporate the recycling power of waste pickers into the formal economy.

Participants:
John F. Williams, II, Senior Vice President, National Director, Sustainable Development, HDR, Inc.
Klaus Kleinfeld, Chairman and CEO, Alcoa Inc.
Thomas Nagy, Executive Vice President, COS, Novozymes
Albina Ruiz, President, Ciudad Saludable
Vikki Spruill, President and CEO, Ocean Conservancy, Inc.

MRSA

Tonight I was informed that my aunt is passing away from MRSA; she is only 61 years old. She was full of piss and vinegar, along with tons of energy. She is such a great aunt, the best. I am awaiting to hear about her condition through the night.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a form (or strain) of S. aureus bacteria. This type of bacteria is common type that live ordinarily on the skin and also can be found sometimes in the nasal passages of healthy people. MRSA concerns to Staphylococcus aureus strains that do not respond to different types of the antibiotics normally used in treatment for staph infections.

Ordinarily bacteria causing infection in case when enter the organic structure through a sore, cut, catheter or breathing tube. The following infections are usually:

• local and minor such as pimple, or
• serious in case when involving blood,heart, lung or bone.

On severe staph infections mentioned above are more common individuals with weak immune systems, mostly patients in hospitals and long-term care facilities and individuals who receiving kidney dialysis.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus can be transmitted by direct (skin and body fluids) and indirect contact ( diapers, towels, toys) to healthy individuals. Some people have this strain on their body (on their skin , in nose or throat ) but shows no symptoms of MRSA infection. These people are carriers of MRSA and can transfer this dangerous bacteria to others. Some statistic data show that CA-MRSA is the predominant type of this strain found in the population.

This means anybody can get this bacterial virus.

Fall Season

Fall is a great time of year; the leaves are turning colors and beginning to fall to the ground. The temperature is slowly lowering to sweater weather. What a great time of year. Our planet needs help to keep it clean and pretty.

America's Dams

What do you know about the dams in your state? How old are they? Has any maintenance been done on them lately? Makes you wonder. Most dams in America are nearly 100 years old. Humans age, don't you think dams do? Think about it.

Bridges and roads

Watched Rachel Maddow Show night; Congress finally signed a Bill to help bridges and roads that were damaged by Hurricane Irene a few weeks back. It is rather sad when one party of our government is that selfish not to fix America.

Water and Food Sustainability

Well, my first week of class on water and food sustainability.

1.   In your view, what are the two most significant differences in the American public’s view of water management/utilization as described in the assigned reading (“Improving America’s Rivers”) and today?

The two most significant differences in the American public’s view is concern over economic and societal value in the early 1900s and environmental and safety hazards today.

Water management/utilization meant economic and societal value back in the early 1900s. This meant creating thousands of jobs to get people back to work after the Great Depression Era and being innovative to improve life. Dams were built to store water, avert and control floods, irrigation, soil conservation, improve navigation, and generate electrical energy. The “Big Dam Era” elaborates on the legacy of the Progressive Era water policy to maximize on the efficiency of natural resources. Flowing water could be manipulated to provide an abundance of water source for irrigation and urban use such as electricity. The Shasta Dam (1945) was built to control the temperamental waters of the Sacramento area, which meant supplying water to both agriculture and industrial empire in the Central Valley of California. Back in the 1950s Dams were “heroes”, a symbol of American achievement of the modern age of the West, American engineering at its best. Both the Hoover Dam (1930s) and Grand Coulee Dam (1938) are two examples of the seven civil engineering wonders of the United States. The Glen Canyon Dam was granted outstanding engineering triumph of the year in 1964.

Today there are international movements that oppose dams due to environmental and safety hazards. Flooding, displaced farmers, and block fish migrations. Dams reduce water quality and change the natural riverine flows forever. Dams are now considered to be short-sighted structures that drew fund away from other potential sounder technologies. Some people would like to destroy or decommission the dams and free the rivers. Unfortunately, people were not happy about water management system from the beginning and the negativity never ceased through the years. Several Indian reservations were impacted by the construction of federal dams on major rivers. Thousand of acres of Seneca land were taken along the Alleghany River for building of the Kinzua Dam; reservations in Arizona, Colorado, and California lost land to proposed flooding from dam building. The Bonneville Dam displaced Indian fishery and eliminated prized fishing site of Celilo Falls. Dams tend to create erosion of downstream channels, alter fish population and riparian vegetation, water evaporation loss, displacement of native people, dwindling scenic wonders, and urban sprawl. Another major issue of dams: age. Dam infrastructure is aging and raises concern about performance and safety. Water management systems were built over 50 years ago and need constant upgrading; unfortunately, America’s political system funds are given away elsewhere ignoring the original infrastructure that made this country thrive.

Times have changed for America also. Voters have changed their priorities and there is an increase demand on the federal budget and the role government plays on this country. After 50+ years the population is more concerned with political, economic, environmental, and social issues than building more power structures.

Reference:

Billington, David P., Donald C. Jackson, and Martin V. Melosi. 2005. The history of large federal dams: planning, design, and construction in the era of big dams. U.S. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Reclamation. http://www.usbr.gov/history/HistoryofLargeDams/LargeFederalDams.pdf (accessed September 11, 2011).

Today is about team work

Today I had the TV on most of the time, either listening or watching about the events of September 11, 2001. Tonight the Science Channel provided viewers with a detailed episode about the architects, plumbers, electricians, and various construction workers building and preparing the site for today's activities. It was fascinating to watch how all the workers were able to work as team members to have the memorial finished by the service. It makes you feel like team work can be a reality in any industry or group of people after the festivities are over.

Environmental research

I love to research companies; are they environmentally-friendly, greenwashing, or have a small ecological footprint. I enjoy posting the good, the bad, the ugly on companies.

Infrastructure

Tonight we learned that our President wants to grow and fix America's infrastructure. I hope it comes through. Our bridges, roads, lakes, rivers, and oceans need fixed and cleaned.

Save our water

Per EPA
Use nontoxic household products. Want to reduce the number of chemicals in your home and in your waterways? Start by purchasing nontoxic household products such as nontoxic cleaning supplies, laundry products, paints, insecticides, and pool chemicals. If your local store does not carry nontoxic products, ask them to start.

Dispose of hazardous household products properly. Don't toss hazardous household chemicals down the drain. Contact your local public works, sanitation, or environmental health department and find out if your city has a hazardous waste collection day. If your city doesn't have a local program, ask them to start one.

Save water. Don't let the water run while brushing your teeth or washing your face. Run your dishwasher and washing machine only when they are full. Fix leaky plumbing fixtures and switch to low-flow toilets and showerheads. Changing small habits can save more than 100 gallons of water a week.

Recycle. Deposit waste in a trash can. Never flush non-degradable products or sweep debris into the street or storm sewer. Trash can damage city sewer systems and end up littered on beaches and in your water.

Don't flush old prescription drugs down the drain (unless directed). Wastewater treatment plants are unable to remove drugs from sewer system water and they end up in our rivers and streams.

Don't let pollutants go down the drain, inside OR outside. Urban waters take on large amounts of pollution from a variety of sources, including polluted runoff from urban landscapes, which creates public and environmental health hazards. Remember, what goes on the ground and down your drain eventually ends up in the water. Don't dump oil, gasoline, solvents, paint, or other household chemicals down your household drains or storm drain.

Recycle used motor oil and maintain your car. Throwing motor oil in the trash is illegal and harmful to your water source. Recycling centers and many service stations accept used motor oil for recycling. Also, be sure to keep up with regular car maintenance to prevent oil, coolant, antifreeze, or other hazardous chemicals from leaking onto the ground.

Take your car to a car wash. A commercial car wash reclaims its wastewater using special filtration systems. This not only conserves water, but minimizes polluted runoff entering local storm drain.

Credo smartphone

I received a Credo smartphone in the mail today. Works great. Even better, I can send my old cell phone back to them and they will reuse/recycle all the parts. Now, that's a great environmental solution.

Water and food sustainability

I am finally able to log into my last and final class at the University of Denver - Water and food sustainability. Wow, the syllabus looks busy but exciting. I will be learning about both U.S. and global sustainability. There is even a week long reading tour of India. Fun fun fun.

Water

Today's thought is about water. What do we know about water? We drink it, cook with it, grow food, clean, play in it; our bodies are made up of water; fruits and veggies make up water; our entire life is based on water. So why is it finite, not to mention unhealthy? How can we as a nation clean it up?

It is time to get innovative and creative.

Today is a great day to think about RE, CleanTech, and Innovation

Friday, nothing particular special about today, right? Well, maybe not.

Today I have I hopes that America will learn from past mistakes and get on with focusing on the important things in life like renewable energy, CleanTech, innovation, a few ideas to help the environment and make a better planet.

Domestic natural gas and oil reserves locked in shale rock

Today's topic is about natural gas and oil reserved locked in shale rock a mile beneath our feet. It is safe? It can if done correctly through hydraulic fracturing coupled with horizontal drilling - to safely recover vast supplies that before were out of reach.

How not to be a hoarder

Ever noticed that your older family members are hoarders?

There is no magic potion, except to organize, sort, and clean every six months.

1. Make a to-do list of every room in the house, and include the garbage, shed, and basement. Every six months sort through things; feels like xmas every time since you don't remember what you own anyway. If you knew everything you owned it would blow your mind.

2. If you lost weight, get rid of your "fluffy" clothes - donate them to freecycle, Goodwill, neighbors, garage sale, whatever; just say bye bye. If you never worn the item, get rid of it.

3. If you haven't used the item in a year, get rid of it. Give it to someone who may be looking for one.

4. Check the expiration dates, the item may be too old to consume.

5. Own several of the same item, keep one or two and donate the others.

6. Go through your shoes; any too tight, too loose, ugly, or plain suck, get rid of them.

Trust me, it is great fun giving away items that other people need.

Hani Yaafouri writes on escalating food prices and food shortages

Hani Yaafouri, Graduate student at Sturm College of Law, lays out the reasons behind the escalating food prices and the shortages in food supply in the developing nations. In its state of security report in 2006, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FOA), estimated that 854 million people worldwide suffer from hunger and malnutrition including 820 million in developing countries due to shortages in food supply.

The increase in food prices is due to several factors. First, economic growth in some developing nations like China and India is straining our natural resources as demand for food has reached historic levels. Second, the rapid rise in petroleum prices due to constant unrest in the oil rich Middle East (Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria) and the escalating cost of shipping food supply across the globe are putting an unprecedented pressure on food prices due to the increase in transportation costs. Third, continuous increase in temperature due to climate change has impacted fresh water supply which is affecting crop production and supply. Fourth, the unprecedented demand from the biofuels sector is also affecting food prices.

Food shortages and escalating food prices are serious threats facing our world. The main reasons are attributed to unprecedented demand on our natural resources from the developing world, continuous increase in oil prices and the huge demand from the biofuels sector for agricultural lands. In order to mitigate these challenges, we need new agricultural policies and a new sustainable food frame work that increase the participation of developing nations in order to mitigate these challenges.

Hani Yaafouri Masters of Resources Law Studies program graduate

The environment's future

While watching Rachel Maddow Show and The Ed Show, learned that Eric Cantor and Republcans are trying to rid of the EPA to "save" money. Our health and the environment we live in is at risk folks.

Plastic Polution is real folks!

The 5 Gyres team has covered over 20,000 miles across the North Pacific, North Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and South Atlantic Gyres to study plastic pollution.

The 5 Gyres where plastic pollution and other garbage is located.

Welcome to Knowourplanet.com

Hi folks, 

I am Julie, Founder and Environmental Correspondent for Knowourplanet.com. As a researcher, I enjoy writing and chatting about environmental issues, plastic pollution, sustainability, water pollution, and whatever else harms this planet.

Cheers.