For the past couple of weeks in class, our class learned more about the world agriculture, and how it has improved over time. During this time, we watched the documentary “Botany of Desire”, which focused on the importance of the diversity of different crops rather than sticking with monoculture, learned about the Green Revolution, researched the pros and cons of GMOs, and learned about sustainable agriculture.
Because of technology usage today, the crops that we produce and grow has evidently increased. If multiple crop patterns were never introduced to the world, our soils would not be as rich in nutrients (planting only one crop for eternity will never provide the proper nutrients required for soil), and that a more balanced diet of foods is better encouraged. If high yield variety crops did not come to play, the foods harvested would not be grown as quickly, nor would there be such a high yield of various crops. On the world of agriculture, the Green Revolution has overall made a positive impact. It is because of this time period that new technologies were created in order to increase the production of food as the world’s population continues to increase rapidly. As a result, farmers are able to use multiple crop patterns, herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, mechanization of farming, irrigation, and legislation in order to yield healthier and a larger amount of crops. The drawbacks, however, are that some methods can result in polluting our water sources, some countries are unable to afford these technologies, and there may be issues of soil depletion and increased nitrate levels. One of the benefits of GMO foods is that they are able to provide a source of food for all growing and developing nations. In many countries, there are not enough resources to help feed every single person, such as money, soil, and other technologies that can help to produce food. With the aid of GMOs, a specific crop can be planted in any given state of environment, hence providing enough food for the nation to have at a low price. Some of the drawbacks of GMO foods is that there are many risks for the environment. For example, biodiversity of plants is at risk because the original seed that is planted is now replaced by a GM counterpart, resulting in any original traits from the organic plant to never be passed on to other plants. Because GM crops are generally planted in monocultures, only the GM plant is being used, and there is no chance that the soil underneath will be as fertile and filled with nitrates since the same plant is being used repeatedly In the long run, GMOs are needed to help support our growing population. There are several parts of the world (especially in underdeveloped countries) that are unable to provide a sufficient amount of food for everyone, and with the help of GMOs, this problem can certainly be alleviated! The technology that I researched was herbicides and pesticides. Pesticides are used in order to kill various pests that may invade the crops that we grow, while herbicides are used to kill unwanted weeds and plants that may grow near the crops. While both herbicides and pesticides are known to harm our environment, the benefits of using these two are that there will be no pests or herbs in the way, and that food production will be increased because of the lack of pests and herbs that may interfere with the growth of your crops. At the end of the day, it is rather unrealistic to move away from Green Revolution technologies that are widely used today. If we all start to use sustainable farming methods only, planting and harvesting crops would take much longer compared to when technology is being used. While sustainable farming methods are considerably more environmentally friendly, the methods will not be able to help bring a stop to the rising hunger levels in the world, which increases rapidly alongside the world population. Understanding agriculture is incredibly important for people’s food choices. Today, people make it essential to know if the foods they are selecting contain GMOs or not, are organically produced, shipped from another country, etc. When gardening, gardeners and farmers must always be sure to grow their plants with care, such as that they are not using any incredibly harmful pesticides or herbicides (like Roundup) that can contribute to harming the environment.
0 Comments
Over my winter break, I honestly did not do much. My family went down to Merced for two days to celebrate Christmas, but my younger cousin ended up getting sick, so we had to leave early. I also found out that I have an extremely rare type of eczema (lichenoid dermatitis, if you're curious) and also found a way to help reduce the amount of acne that I have. Aside from that, I was able to go to a great Bollywood-themed New Years Eve party with my brother, his girlfriend, and my cousins. For this upcoming year, my goal for the environment is to definitely take shorter showers; I have a terrible habit of taking long showers, and I hope to reduce that immediately!! My goal is to also make sure that I am not wasting the food that I eat by taking the amount of food that I will actually eat, as well as be even more aware of the world around me than I already am by. For myself, my goals for 2018 include: working out more (or rather, start working out), spending more time with my family, stop procrastinating, stop doubting myself, keep being happy, keep loving music, and definitely not crying my eye sockets out during graduation (that's probably going to fail. Miserably.). 2018 is definitely a year for me to look forward to! This year, I will be going to New York twice, becoming an adult, performing at Carnegie Hall, deciding on which college I will be attending, graduating, going on a cruise in Europe with my parents and close family friend, and finally... actually going to college (ahhhhh!!). While 2018 will be exciting for me, I am sad to say goodbye to the place that I have called home for four years, as well as leaving my chorus group (PGC-- by the way, our big performance is at Aragon High School on June 3, if you're interested in attending!!). Just before Thanksgiving break, our class, along with the AP Biology and Sports Medicine classes, took an intriguing field trip at the San Jose Tech Museum. In particular, we explored Body Worlds, which consisted of preserved body parts and organs that were actually donated!
One of the body systems that I explored was the digestive system. While looking at the different parts of the system, I learned about the function of the liver. The liver is in charge of at least 500 functions, including converting proteins into energy for the body to use, as well as cleaning our blood. One condition that is linked to the liver is known as cirrhosis. Cirrhosis consists of multiple scars on the liver, mainly due to drinking excessive alcohol among other factors, and results in killing liver cells and forming permanent tissue scars. Another fascinating disease that is in the digestive system is appendicitis, which is caused by inflammation of the appendix due to a blockage that prevents the organ's bacteria to move, causing multiplication and eventually infection. Appendicitis is commonly cured with surgery or antibiotics (https://www.livescience.com/43006-appendicitis-signs-symptoms.html). During this trip, I was absolutely fascinated by what I had seen! At first, I believed that I would be one of those people who would either pass out or have to leave the exhibit from being too grossed out (or both, really). Fortunately, that was not the case for me, and I am so glad that I was able to truly see what the exhibit had to share. I would absolutely recommend others to visit this exhibit because anybody (hehe, no pun intended!) is able to see what a person's organs look like, as well as their functions, along with the comparisons of a healthy organ versus an unhealthy version. The exhibit overall was truly fascinating for me, knowing that all of the organs that I was seeing were donated and preserved for display. I would say that Body Worlds is a bit more appropriate for teens and adults. While I believe that children should go out and see the exhibit, I would do so with extreme caution. One connection that can be made to the human body and the environment is the impact of ozone depletion. As the ozone layer of our atmosphere weakens, the UV rays from the sun penetrate the atmosphere with more strength. As a result for humans, there is a higher chance of genetic mutations due to overexposure to UV rays, such as skin cancer.
Throughout most of last month, our class participated in Project Green Challenge (PGC-- I always get this confused with my chorus organization's name, who also happens to be shortened to PGC!). For every day of October, PGC offered a new challenge every day in order to bring awareness to students of what is surrounding them and how they are unknowingly impacting the environment. For example, one challenge focused on students tracking what their water footprint is like, and how it is increased by different factors, such as buying certain products at the supermarket.
I would say that my favorite challenge that I took part in was from Day 22: Space, which focused on what materials are used in order to create your bedroom necessities. During this challenge, I investigated my blanket, which is made of 100% polyester fiber. I was shocked during my research that, while polyester is an essential material and is used in many everyday items, there is a large amount of energy required to create polyester, and adds to the impacts of water & air pollution. I would say that this was my favorite challenge because I was able to learn more about what my sleeping necessity is made of, as well as what impact the main (and only) material can affect our environment. Overall, while doing my assigned PGC days, I feel that I have become more aware of what I am doing that impacts our environment in every single way. I will be sure to take into account what I am doing to our depleting environment with every little thing that I do.
https://projectgreenchallenge.com/2017-day-22-spaces/
The Marine Debris Program is an organization that actively monitors the amount of marine debris found on our lovely coasts and works towards eliminating the amount of waste, especially plastics, that are found by the shores of the coasts. The program's goal is to prevent even more trash from being left by the ocean shores and investigate the impacts of each pollutant that is found (i.e. how much of one type of trash is found and the components of the garbage piece that can harm the ocean). Last week, our Environmental Science in Action class went on a field trip to the every Girl Scout's favorite place to go with their group: the beach! However, we did not go to have fun, dip our toes in the ocean water, or make sand castles, unfortunately. We went in order to help the Marine Debris Program work on collecting data for their research on the garbage that is found on the sand. The class was split into 4 to 5 small groups, with each group finding different categories of trash within a specific area that was assigned. For every trash piece picked up, one group member was required to record what type of trash was picked up (ex: plastic wrappers) that were larger than the diameter of a plastic water bottle cap. Any garbage found that was over one foot was measured out, then recorded. A picture was also taken of that object. The information that we gave will be used in order to further investigate the types of trash found that can potentially wash away into the ocean and harm the giant body of water. Overall, I found this experience to be very eye opening. I never knew that there was such an organization that helps to monitor the trash that is close to our ocean shores, and that there was so much in just one small sector! I think that our group found the craziest item recorded: a giant beach blanket that was 5'5" x 5'5" long! Just yesterday was Laudato Si day, which celebrates the document "Laudato Si" by our current Pope, Pope Francis. Laudato Si was written in order to address today's modern issues that involve around our environment, particularly the reality of climate change. This document, in particular, is different compared to other dialogues on the environment since this is the first document to be released by a Pope, and is also, if I am not mistaken, the first encyclical to only address environmental issues.
After watching a TED Talk given by Pope Francis, one thing that really stood out to me was how he addresses each and every individual, that each person is the start of making a difference. I found this to be powerful, as his words created a special connection with all of the listeners. A second takeaway for me was his overall message of hope and solidarity for our generation and the future ones to come. Today, it is so important that each person helps to contribute to saving our depleting environment. I believe that Pope Francis, through this encyclical, is trying to accomplish his goal of bringing awareness to the people today about the impacts of climate change, particularly those who are members of the Church, as well as those who are still in denial of the existence of climate change. In response to Pope Francis's message, I will start to do more little actions to help our environment. Some of these actions include: remembering to turn off any lights that should not be on, eating the food that I am given and not wasting so much, reducing the amount of water that I use while taking a shower or brushing my teeth/washing my hands, and even throwing items away in their respective bins. While these are just small and rather basic actions, they will somehow help with the conservation of our environment. |