Maddie+T

Entry #4

Clean Energy in Kenya
Recently, there has been a drought in Kenya. As a result, the women who formerly worked on the farms are now working in their homes and need a way to efficiently use the limited resources available to them. One of these women is Nyawira Njau. In order to eliminate the excessive use of firewood for cook stoves, Nyawira Njau is making aluminum foil cook stoves that require less amounts of firewood. These stoves are an example of clean energy. In addition to Njau, there are women in other Kenyan villages who are developing clean energy products. This helps the women create a profit during the harmful effects of climate change, like droughts, that rid their jobs on the farms and reduces deforestation as they are using less natural resources to work their stoves. As opposed to farming, the women are able to make more money quicker.

Women entrepreneurs are arising throughout various Kenyan villages. Another example of an alternative energy source in Kenya are charcoal briquettes. A Kenyan women has shown other women how to make these charcoal briquettes that are renewable sources of energy. They are made out of waste, demonstrating how they utilize trash in an efficient way that will help life on land. The smoke from the briquettes does not make the cookers or farmers who are using them choke, unlike firewood.

The aluminum foil cook stoves and charcoal briquettes among other developments provide numerous benefits for the people in Kenya. For example, it creates jobs for the women, which in relation to the United Nation's first goal will help eliminate poverty. Therefore, families will be able to pay for their children's education, which is goal #4: quality education. This week in class, we talked about the different forms of energy, like wind energy, solar energy, natural gases, hydropower, and biomass. Some of these forms are renewable whereas others are nonrenewable. We also looked at different products that people have made to collect energy, like the soccer ball that generates electricity with each kick. The women entrepreneurs of Kenya have also been finding new ways to gather energy. Nya wira Njau's aluminum foil stove and other developments like the charcoal briquettes made of waste are examples of renewable energy, or clean energy. As natural resources are becoming less accessible, people need to find ways to utilize different forms of energy that will not be as harmful to the environment.

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/as-farms-dry-up-kenyan-women-switch-to-clean-ene-5/

Entry #3 = Ending World Hunger with Veganism =

Factory farming consists of many harmful issues including: the creation of greenhouse gas emissions, the damaging effects on humans consuming the animals, and awful treatment of the animals. Another one of the harms that correlates to factory farming is global hunger. A possible solution to this problem is for people to become vegetarians or vegans. While vegetarians do not consume animal meats, vegans do not eat any animal by products. There are many foods that can be used to replace the animal products. Although it may be difficult for people to convert to this new diet, it is a beneficial way to solve such a major issue as world hunger.

According to Michael Chatam's article "Could Veganism End World Hunger?," there are 925 million people on the planet who suffer from starvation. There is enough food to feed all of these people. However, the food is not available to these people due to the consumption of animals and their by products. Instead of using plants and other crops to feed those who endure hunger, the crops are used for the animals. If people practiced a plant-based diet, then there would be enough food to feed those hungry as there would be 70% more food available to humans without factory farming. In addition, the article and video below, "What is factory farming?- Us and the planet" both state that factory farming involves the animals consuming more food than they produce. The animals require a substantial amount of food to yield a minimal amount of food. Therefore, the more and more the animals eat, the less food that is available for those humans in need. By becoming a vegan, the step where the crops are fed to the animals is eliminated and humans are able to directly access the grains and other crops. Also, land that can be used to grow food for those who are in need is being cleared for the livestock. Not only is this an inefficient use of the land but it diminishes the accessible land that could be used to benefit the people.

Factory farming produces numerous of problems. If veganism is progressively practiced, then these issues can be eliminated. World hunger is a topic that is prevalent in today's society and it is not solved by people continuing to consume meat. In relation to the topics discussed in class, the video about CAFO provides an overview of the various effects of factory farming. For example, the animals are forced into assembly lines to be processed which creates waste, factory farming is spreading throughout the world, and the farm utilize a large amount of vital land and resources. World hunger was one of these issues and people converting to veganism would be a step in the right direction to limit the effects.Graham Hill, in his TED Talk video, relayed the idea of becoming a "weekday veg." If you think that becoming a vegan is too extreme right now, then becoming a vegetarian on weekdays will still eliminate the issues with factory farming. As time goes on, maybe your diet can change to become a vegetarian all of the time and then possibly become a vegan eventually. Would you be willing to try veganism?

http://gentleworld.org/could-veganism-end-world-hunger/

media type="youtube" key="7I0v3LhKhQg" width="560" height="315" align="right"

Chatham, Michael. "Could Veganism End World Hunger?" Gentle World Header Image. N.p., 11 Mar. 2016. Web. 31 May 2017.

Entry #2

From Freshwater to Saltwater
In April 2017, the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) Fellowship Program published their studies on hundreds of lakes in the Midwestern and Northeastern regions of North America. The group focused on the chloride concentrations of the 371 lakes and compared the collected data to the chloride levels recorded over the past 10 years. For the past 80 years, these regions of North America have increased their usage of salt on the roads during the periods of snow and ice to provide safety for drivers. However, when the snow/ice melts, runoff causes the chloride to enter the bodies of water in regions within about a 100-1500 meter range. The studies of the North American Lakes Region showed that 70% of the lakes had increasing levels of salinization. If the chloride levels in the water continues to increase, then the freshwater aquatic life will be altered as the chloride levels are not suitable for the organisms. According to GOOD Magazine's video __Drinking Water__, water becomes contaminated without sanitation and hygiene. Due to the road salt entering the freshwater lakes, the water becomes contaminated. This can lead to diarrhea or other issues. When these freshwater lakes become saltwater lakes, it reduces the access to drinking water. If shorelines are not maintained to prevent the salt from entering the lakes, then the amount of accessible freshwater will be reduced right before our eyes. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170410124031.htm

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. "North America's freshwater lakes are getting saltier: Proximity to roads -- and road salt -- predicts escalating salinization." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 April 2017.

After watching WALL-E, use your own background knowledge to define SUSTAINABILITY in your own words.
Sustainability, in regards to biology, is the ability for life to exist, survive, and reproduce given the circumstances. ===What are the next steps for the new settlers? That is, if you were to colonize an area in this condition, what are some of the first major issues & solutions that need to be accomplished for successful & sustainable future? === Some of the first major issues would be the removal of the trash/waste that covers the land, finding a water source, growing food, and figuring out a way to produce less waste in order to prevent the same occurrence from happening again. The trash/waste issue can be solved by gathering all of the trash in one area, or multiple smaller areas. so that it is not covering a majority of the Earth's surface. Then, the people can maybe try to bury it where it can decompose over time. The people can dig to try to find water or it may rain where they can gather rain water. Due to the presence of the one plant, the seeds that this plant produces can be used to produce more and more plants which will also produce more oxygen. Lastly, in order to produce less waste the people can come up with a way to recycle the waste that is already there or with the waste that they produce.