March 2012
83 posts
Reduce Reuse Recycle. There's a reason why it's last.
This will be a highly opinionated and sorely uninformed post, so feel free to ignore it.
After scanning the ‘Recycle’ Tag, I’ve realized that many people out there feel like recycling is the only way that soemone can ‘go green.’ While recylcing is always encouraged and certainly has its benefits, people always seem to forget that it is truly a last resort.
Recycling is costly, energy exhaustive, and isn’t exactly consequence free. Sure, it’s one million times better than throwing something into a landfill, where the product will sit and sit and sit for days innumerable. There’s also no denying that recycling is always done with the best intentions. I can’t express to you how very important and significant it is that people even care enough to recycle; there are still so many out there who don’t. But there are better options to resort to when trying to be ‘green.’
First and foremost we must try to Reduce. And in a world where more is better than less, getting people to reduce their use, reduce their consumption, is probably the biggest battle we’ll face. People don’t want to use less water, they don’t want to buy fewer ‘disposable’ plastics (eg. water bottles), they don’t want to cut back. But by reducing our use of certain things, like plastic bags and bottles, water and even electricity, we are thereby reducing the amount of waste we even have to deal with. By training ourselves to reduce, we have fewer things to worry about recycling. If we keep buying more, companies will keep producing more, and the damaging cycle of new product production continues. Reducing takes no energy at all, and really not much effort either, and it’s the first and best step we can take.
Reuse is often confused with Recycle. Yes, taking something old and using it for something new is recycling it’s purpose, but technically, that’s reusing. But why am I getting bothered by semantic technicaility, the point is all the same, and it’s wonderful. Reusing a product, or ‘recycling’ its purpose, either way, you’re saving yourself from purchasing a newly made product, and using the products that have already been produced to their full potential. In the case of glass products, you can use those for pretty much forever, and plastics, those too. Reusing something as something else takes almost no energy, and is more customizable to your needs and wants.
Recycling a product, the more technical meaning of the term, is more energy costly and not exactly effective. It’s great to see recycling bins next to trashcans, see symbols on shirts and bags, and see people making an effort. As I mentioned before, it is definitely better than letting a non-biodegradable product sit in a landfill for year and years, but it’s still an imperfect process, with it’s own pollutants and energy costs. It is the easiest of the three, but the least effective. While people argue that it takes less money and energy to create a product from recycled material than from new ones, the energy put into creating the original product, and the energy put into recycling it into something else still amounts to more than if we didn’t have to produce the product at all.
And even these opinions have flaws. The biggest argument is that one person’s reduction, or reuse, is not enough to make corporations stop producing as much as they do, but you’d be surprised. A company that notices product sales going down isn’t going to keep producing the same volume of products for their next quarter. It not about being one person that does something, it’s about being the one person to inspire others. Your good habits should never just be your own, they should be an example for the people around you. To be terribly cliche, I want you to be the small drop in the big pond, that makes all those ripples. Or something like that. But it will take more than just that third step.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
FREE BLACK POTS AT THE ARBORETUM!!
Hey all,
We have a couple hundred black pots up for grabs by the Arboretum Trailer. Come out and grab as many as you would like! They will be sent to recycling by Tuesday of next week.
Thanks,
Alex Stringfellow
UCF tumblr meetup
Wednesday April 18th at 2:00 PM @ UCF Memory Mall.
This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for :)
YESSSSSSSSS
I bet that meeting will be awkward.
Seen At UCF shall be there with its paparazzi camera crew. Around 2:30 though, after my last class. Lol
I will be in attendance. Get excite.
WOO!
Dr. Linda Walters will be Presenting at Tomorrow's (3/27) Water Summit!
Dr. Linda Walters
Dr. Linda Walters is a Professor of Biology at the University of Central Florida. She is also the Director of the UCF Fellers House Field Research Station in Canaveral National Seashore and the Interim Director of the UCF Women’s Research Center. Dr. Walters’ research focuses on human impacts in marine systems, including: 1) the impact of recreational boating on intertidal oyster reefs and coastal shorelines, 2) understanding the biology, ecology and impacts of marine invasive species associated with ballast water and home aquarium releases, and 3) interactions among corals, macroalgae and herbivores in tropical waters. Dr. Walters has led a community-based oyster reef restoration program with Brevard Zoo and The Nature Conservancy in the Indian River Lagoon since 2007 that has engaged over 25,000 individuals. Dr. Walters has recently received a National Outstanding Marine Educator Award (Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation), UCF Pegasus Professor and UCF Outstanding Professional Service Awards, and Volusia County named November 6, 2011 as “Dr. Linda Walters Day” in support of her regional conservation efforts.
http://ucfut.tumblr.com/post/19961811522/ucfut-get-excited-i-hope-ill-see-you-all
Listen to Alexandra Cousteau Tomorrow (3/27) as She Discusses Water and What's in Store for Us and Our Planet.
Alexandra Cousteau
Before hitting the road in 2010 for Expedition Blue Planet: North America, Alexandra served as the Water Advisor and spokesperson for the global Live Earth 2010 Run for Water—a project that teams her public advocacy on environmental issues with actress Jessica Biel, musician Pete Wentz and many more.
In early 2009, Alexandra joined the Discovery Channel line-up, co-hosting “Blue August” with her brother Philippe, Jr. and serving as a Chief Correspondent on Water Issues for Discovery’s Planet Green.
In 2008, she was honored as a National Geographic “Emerging Explorer”—an elite group of eleven visionary young trailblazers from around the world who push the boundaries of discovery, adventure, and global problem solving.
Alexandra has been honored as an “Earth Trustee” by the UN, named a “Principle Voice” by CNN International, and regularly delivers testimony on critical policy issues before governmental agencies. In 2010, Alexandra and her brother Philippe were named to Vanity Fair’s coveted “Next” list. She currently serves as a Senior Advisor for Oceana, on the prestigious Young Global Leaders Council and Global Agenda Council on Oceans of the World Economic Forum; the Board of Directors of the Global Water Challenge, Mother Nature Network, and EarthEcho; the Leadership Council for the Waterkeeper Alliance; the Science Advisory Council for George Mason University; the International Advisory Board of Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals/QScience.com; and the steering committee of The Shark Alliance. She is also a Parent Ambassador with Healthy Child Healthy World. Alexandra’s work regularly earns global recognition including the University of California Irvine’s Human Security Award, the South Carolina Aquarium’s Legacy Award, the Arava Institute’s Peace Building and Environmental Stewardship Award, and features at the National Press Club, the Royal Ontario Museum, Harvard University, and the Smithsonian Institute. She is regularly featured in publications ranging from Glamour and Elle to National Geographic and Scientific American and was named a “Fun Fearless Phenom” along with Tyra Banks by Cosmopolitan magazine
http://ucfut.tumblr.com/post/19961811522/ucfut-get-excited-i-hope-ill-see-you-all
“We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.”
—Thomas Fuller (via teensturninggreen)
TONIGHT: Unifying Theme's Environmental Ethics Film Series Continues With 'Tapped'!
Following along with this semesters Water Theme, we will be showing ‘Tapped’ at Natura Coffee and Tea on Monday, March 19th at 8:30pm! the last movie night was great, but we’d love to see even MORE of our tumblr followers! Come learn about drinking water, humanity, and what our love of bottled goods means for the world.
Please check out the facebook even or message me here for more details!!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/312917595432138/
Black, Gold and Green!!
FRIENDLY/AGGRESSIVE REMINDER!!
FILM ENTRIES FOR THE UCF UT ANNUAL SPRING SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION 2012 ARE DUE TODAY! RUN!
Don’t forget that application forms, which are required to be sumbitted in order for your entry to be valid, are online. The link for these can be found by heading to the UT tumblr home page and clicking on the link appropriate for your category!
The art deadline is also approaching, and I can’t wait to see what everyone has created!!
Unifying Theme's Environmental Ethics Film Series Continues With 'Tapped'!
Following along with this semesters Water Theme, we will be showing ‘Tapped’ at Natura Coffee and Tea on Monday, March 19th at 8:30pm! the last movie night was great, but we’d love to see even MORE of our tumblr followers! Come learn about drinking water, humanity, and what our love of bottled goods means for the world.
Please check out the facebook even or message me here for more details!!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/312917595432138/
Black, Gold and Green!!
Acid oceans: in some regions acidification a 'hundred times greater' than natural variation →
news.mongabay.com
Emissions of carbon over the last two centuries have raised the acidity of the oceans to the highest levels in 21,000 years and likely beyond, according to a new study inNature Climate Change. The change threatens a number of marine species, including coral reefs and molluscs.
The oceans play a massive role in the carbon cycle, sequestering a significant amount of the carbon released naturally. But for the past couple centuries human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, have substantially increased the amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere, forcing the oceans to sequester more. Currently, the oceans sequester about one third of all carbon emissions, however this influx of carbon is not benign: the carbon lowers the sea waters pH levels (a rise in acidity).
“In some regions, the man-made rate of change in ocean acidity since the Industrial Revolution is hundred times greater than the natural rate of change between the Last Glacial Maximum and pre-industrial times,” explains lead author Tobias Friedrich at the International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii.
The researchers used computer models to estimate the the abundance of a calcium carbonate known as aragonite in sea water—a commonly used proxy for acidification—from the Last Glacier Maximum (21,000 years ago) to today. According to the authors, it’s not just the level of acidity that is worrisome, but the speed at which it is happening.
“When Earth started to warm 17,000 years ago, terminating the last glacial period, atmospheric CO2 levels rose from 190 parts per million (ppm) to 280 ppm over 6,000 years. Marine ecosystems had ample time to adjust. Now, for a similar rise in CO2 concentration to the present level of 392 ppm, the adjustment time is reduced to only 100–200 years,” Friedrich says.
Species that produce shells and plates out of calcium carbonate are at risk from acidification, since acidity lowers the amount of available calcium carbonate. Carbonate ion concentrations are currently at their lowest rate in nearly a million years endangering shell fish, types of algae, foraminifera, pteropods, and corals. According to a recent report by 2100, 70 percent of cold water corals will be exposed to high acidification levels. As the most biodiverse ecosystem in the oceans, many species stand to lose out if coral reefs vanish.
“2.4 million pounds of plastic pollution enters the world’s oceans every hour. It’s been estimated that around 50,000 pieces of plastic are floating in every square mile of the world’s oceans.”
—Clean Air Council (via reagancharlescook)
Unifying Theme's Environmental Ethics Film Series Continues With 'Tapped'!
Following along with this semesters Water Theme, we will be showing ‘Tapped’ at Natura Coffee and Tea on Monday, March 19th at 8:30pm! the last movie night was great, but we’d love to see even MORE of our tumblr followers! Come learn about drinking water, humanity, and what our love of bottled goods means for the world.
Please check out the facebook even or message me here for more details!!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/312917595432138/
Black, Gold and Green!!
UCF FILM STUDENTS!! Entries due Monday!!
So I went to see some of you guys the other day!! Holla Holla if you’re from Ula’s 9am wednesday class, heeyyy. Okay, I’ll stop.
But for all of you film students I didn’t get the chance to meet, WHERE ARE YOU?! ARE YOU NOT AWARE THAT THERE IS MONEY TO BE WON???
C’mon guys! I know that you all have your classes in that super secret part of the communications building, but HELLO. FREE. MONEY.
GO!
Monsanto's Bt GMO corn to be sold at Wal-Mart with no indication it is genetically modified →
naturalnews.com
I don’t like to discourage or encourage specific products, but I think this is an interesting read just to open your mind to the idea of knowing what you’re eating. Understand how the things you eat and use everyday are made, where they come from, what your options are.
Most of the genetically-modified (GM) corn products forced on American consumers today are hidden in processed foods in the form of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), corn oil, corn starch, and various other corn-based additives. But soon to be available at a Walmart near you is Monsanto’s Bt sweet corn, the agri-giant’s first ever GM corn product made available to consumers as whole ears right on the cob in the produce section— and like with all other GMOs, neither Walmart nor Monsanto has any intention of labeling this new “Frankencorn.”
