Gleanings of the Week Ending December 12, 2015

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Women don beards for documentary about inequality in the geosciences – This documentary is about women in paleontology but the challenges faced by women in any field that is overwhelmingly dominated by men are similar. The ‘beard’ is a fun visualization! It reminded me of the female pharaoh that wore a beard.

Report: China Clean Energy Investments Beat U.S., U.K, and France Combined – Hmm. Maybe the whole world is getting more focused on the challenges we have re climate change. It would be great if the US could be a leader…sad if we abdicate.

How will future archaeologists study us? – CDs last 2-5 years before they risk losing data. This article is about encoding information on DNA and storing it in glass particles…artificial fossils. Of course – they may also find our landfills to be sources of information of how we really lived.

Some Thoughts about the Coming Winter: Part One – The further out a forecast is – the less accurate it is. The post from Dan Satterfield explains why…some graphics about weather model results.

Failing phytoplankton, failing oxygen: Global warming disaster could suffocate life on planet Earth – I’ve often wondered what happens to oxygen levels as the Earth’s temperature climbs. This is on scenario…and a scary one. If we have a 6 degree Celsius increase in the water temperature of the oceans – which some models predict by 2100 – the photosynthesis of phytoplankton in the oceans could be disrupted. Two-thirds of the planet’s total atmospheric ocean is produced by phytoplankton.

Photographer Captures Stunning South Korean Landscapes Reflected in Mirror-Like Lakes – Some beautiful images. I like reflections….and I need to be observant to find them and photograph them. I always try at Centennial Lake (image to the left) but there are other places that I probably overlook completely.

The Unregulation of Biotech Crops – In some ways – this situation is similar to the designer performance enhancement drugs that are hard to test for too. Modern techniques are streaming ahead – creating things we have little ability to understand very well – let along any unintended consequences.

Physicians and burnout: It’s getting worse – This was a frustrating article. It reported the burnout statistics comparing 2011 to 2014 but no deep understanding for why burnout is increasing. I am not particularly happy with the US health system either but any attempts to change it very much seem to be impossible politically.

DIY: Cinn-Apple Ornaments – One of my daughter’s friends made and gave us some of these ornaments for Christmas …probably about 15 years ago. I carefully put them away at the end of each season and they still smell like cinnamon every time I get them out! I’m not going to make any this year but I may do it next year and put them on every knob in the house!

Eat a paleo peach: First fossil peaches discovered in southwest China – Peach pits that are 2.5 million years old! The peaches from this time period would have been about the size of the smallest commercial peaches of today.

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 28, 2015

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Plastic by the Numbers in the Atlantic Ocean – Samples taken during the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers show that microplastics are very common. There were 0 samples without any plastic! On a personal level, I’m reading labels on face washes and toothpastes now and not buying any that have microbeads.

6 Common Activities that Harm Wildlife – One of the six is ‘microbeads’ so another spur to action. The other activities are also thought provoking: sunscreen, feeding bread to birds, bleached products, removing weeds, and plastic bags. Most of them I had heard about before…sunscreen only recently.

Are superbugs deadlier near where you live? – They are everywhere…some places worse than others. Often they are indicators of use (and misuse) of antibiotics.

An easy pill to swallow – Research into a mechanism to deliver mucoadhesive patches via pill through the digestive tract to the small intestine. There is potential that this could change delivery of protein based therapies (insulin, growth hormone, antibodies, and vaccines) from a injections to a pill.

A Flight of Birds – 14 unusual birds…portraits from the Photo Ark project (one of the 14 is a California Condor)

800-Year-Old Ancient Extinct Squash Uncovered during Archeological Dig on Menominee Indian Reservation – I’d like to see this one in my grocery store!

Shenandoah National Park Counting on Beetles to Slow Invasive Insect – The wooly adelgid is killing the hemlocks in Shenandoah (and in our area of Maryland too). Shenandoah is importing a beetle from Japan (where the wooly adelgid came from). Evidently the beetle has already been used successfully in other parks, including Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

1,700-Year-Old Roman Mosaic Discovered During City Sewer Construction Project – Found in Israel by workers upgrading the sewer system.  It was the floor of a large room in a villa during the Roman period.

Pictures: Great Smoky Mountains National Park  and Pictures: Rocky Mountain National Park and Explore the Power of Parks – From National Geographic…lots of great pictures, of course.

Obesity: A Complex Disorder – Graphic from The Scientist with a link at the bottom for the full article. The more we learn about obesity, the more complex it seems to become.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 03, 2015

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

What you may not know about the world beneath your feet – 10 items from BBC future. A short paragraph is included for each one and then a link to a more detailed larger article is provided.

Salamanders Lost, Found and Saved – From National Geographic about salamanders in Guatemala.

U.N. Dreams Big: 17 Huge New Goals to Build a Better World – As I looked at the list – I asked myself if they are all equally important and how the goals will get translated into action by individuals and organizations and governments. Two keywords that appear again and again (standing out to me): sustainability and inclusive.

Angry Birds: Why Molting Makes Our Feathered Friends Grumpy – Many birds molt between the time nesting ends and migration begins. Since our cardinals are here year-round, I have been watching them closely this year. They did look scruffy for a time…then I didn’t see them as often…and now they are looking much better. The male goldfinches have already made the change to their winter plumage; I wonder where they dropped their yellow feathers?

Photography in The National Parks: Your Armchair Guide to Arches National Park – Part 2  - We didn’t get to see Arches a few years ago when we went to Utah in early October 2013; the government (and national parks) were closed. I enjoyed these pictures…and attached a picture of Wilson Arch that is right on Route 191 south of Moab that was the only arch picture I got during the trip!

For U.S. Tribes, a Movement to Revive Native Foods and Lands – Wild rice in wetlands being restored in Minnesota.

Decision aids help patients with depression feel better about medication choices – From the Mayo clinic. It bothered me that before using the tool…’clinicians are often uneasy or unwilling to offer options other than their preferred prescriptions.’ That is probably true of more than depression medications!

Increased internet access led to a rise in racial hate crimes in the early 2000s - So many things are positive about broadband internet access….this is a downside. We often think that more information helps people understand others better --- but this is another study that shows that it can also lead to extreme polarization.

Work in Transition – On sentence from the article: Choreographers, elementary school teachers, and psychiatric social works are probably safe…telemarketers and tax preparers are more likely to be replaced. Work done by humans will increasingly involve innovative thinking, flexibility, creativity, and social skills.

The curious chemistry of custard – I make pumpkin (or other winter squash) custard frequently this time of year. I’ve always wanted how the consistency develops. It turns out it is all about eggs and their protein!

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 19, 2015

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

tado° Smart Air-Conditioner Control Reaches Major US Retailers – Smart thermostats are getting smarter!

World on Path to Miss 2C Target – Depressing. The emission reduction plans submitted by 29 governments as of September 1^st are not enough to change the temperature rise of our planet…we are looking at warming by more than 2 degrees C. The trend is for the earth to be 2.9-3.1 degrees warmer by 2100.

Cave Towers - Mule Canyon – We vacationed in this area a few years ago….the whole area is full of interesting hikes. This post makes me want to visit there again.

Sierra Nevada snowpack lowest in five centuries – Just another indicator of how bad the drought in California really is.

First Detailed Public Map of U.S. Internet Backbone Could Make It Stronger – The fiber optic cables that carry Internet data across the Continental US...considering them as critical public infrastructure.

Lost Weather Balloon GoPro Found Two Years Later with Astounding Shots of Earth from Space – The 4 minute video near the end of the post is worth watching too.

51 Favorite Photos from Astronaut Scott Kelly's First Six Months in Space - Further from earth than the weather balloon and GoPro....from the International Space Station.

Lessons Learned: Aquaponics in Baltimore – I had learned a little about this project in a Food System course from Johns Hopkins (via Coursera). It would good to get an update.

The Recycling Rates of Smartphone Metals – Recycling tech (smartphones and other tech) has got to improve since the tech refresh cycle is relatively short.

What Restaurants Can Teach Us about Reducing Food Waste – And some of the things these restaurants are doing can be done at home too!

Energy Saving Days

Our local gas and electric provider notifies us the day before an Energy Savings Day. The idea is to encourage people to use less energy between 1 and 7 on those days - usually the hottest days of the summer.

My husband and I make a game of thinking of things we can do to reduce our energy consumption on those days….and still be reasonably comfortable. We are usually at home in the afternoons during the summer - and usually entrenched in indoor activities.

• We close draperies or blinds anywhere the sun might be shining in (the west facing windows) primarily. This is something that has become a habit even on the days that are not Energy Savings Days.
• I switch to battery power for my laptop and tablet….usually the battery power lasts for as long as I want to use the devices during the energy savings hours.
• It is easy to not run the dishwasher or washing machine/dryer on those afternoons.
• We eat our big meal of the day (the one that might need the stove) at noon rather than the early evening or plan to cook everything on the grill for the evening meal. Eating cool salads or raw foods helps us feel cooler too.
• We turn up the thermostat by 5 degrees and move down in the house (sometimes to the basement) as the house heats up enough on the second story to be uncomfortable.
• We wear lightweight clothing (for me that is usually a skirt and short sleeved top and go barefoot (Somehow I always feel cooler when I am not wearing shoes!).
• I always have something cool to drink nearby. My favorite this simmer icy cold lemon water (no sugar…just the hint of lemon).

The feedback we get the day after the Energy Savings Day has been positive…we are generally in the top 10% of savers. There is a double benefit in that we actually use less energy and we get a rebate from the electric provider. Energy Savings Days are becoming just an integral part of life in the summertime.

Online Classes - August 2015

After a hiatus from Courses for about 6 weeks - I couldn’t resist starting Geodesign: Change your World from PennState. The topic appealed to me and I am enjoying the short introduction videos, guest lectures, readings, and activities. These days knowing something about geodesign comes close to basic literacy because so many of the issues we have  are only understood if integrated spatial relationships are considered. This is far beyond the basic map reading I learned in school 40 years ago and the statistical analyses I specialized in during the 1980s and 1990s. Geodesign thinking is helping everyone cope with the increased complexity in the world.

In a departure from Coursera courses - I also did a Creative Live course while it was recorded (and free): Outdoor Photography Experience with Chris Burkard. They are recorded on the west coast and I am on the east coast so watching it ‘live’ means watching from noon to 7 for two days! My husband and I watched it together….he is interested in everything; I am more interested in composition and locations than equipment. These video courses are different in that they are all video - no embedded quizzes, no readings, no web based activities. I take notes while I watch….still learn something…and they motivate me to learn more about my camera and try new things photographically. In the particular class - the discussion about water housings got me thinking about getting one for my camera…using it when we travel to waterfalls in western New York and in a few months to Hawaii.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 11, 2015

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

The dystopian lake filled by the world’s tech lust - It’s in Inner Mongolia…a place that is one of the world’s biggest suppliers of ‘rare earth’ minerals. So sad that we can’t manage to build our tech in a way that is sustainable for the planet.

A Delicate Stone Bridge Creates a Mystical Passage with Its Reflection - After that last story - I needed to look at something beautiful for a bit...and this was it: a picture of a half-circle bridge reflected in water to complete the illusion of a full circle.

Bombing Range Is National Example for Wildlife Conservation - Elgin Air Force Base had 300 year old trees and is home to the last remaining old-growth longleaf pines in Florida…there is a natural resources visitor center and has 250,000 acres open for public recreation/wildlife habitat.

Erupting Volcanic Lightning! - A volcano on Mexico’s west coast.

A complex landscape has both vulnerabilities and resilience to climate change - Changes in the length of growing season and timing of rainfall will change the forests in Central Appalachia over the next century….and probably in the area of Maryland where I live too.

Can You Identify 20 Of The Most Common Birds in North America? - The quiz is here. Identify the bird pictured from the list - you’ll know if you got it right immediately. How many can you identify? I got 15 out of 20!

Theoretical study suggests huge lava tubes could exist on moon - So - how long will it take to have a mission to the moon to discover if the lava tubes exist?

Essential Spring Guide '15: On the Road to Castles of Stone and Wood Turned To Rock - This story brought back memories of the vacation to northeastern Arizona last January! My picture of Montezuma Castle is below!

Yellowstone by Moonlight - A 3 minute film that includes a series of time-lapse views of moonlit scenes in Yellowstone - including geysers and stars. I don’t have the patience for this kind of photography but I enjoy seeing the work of others.

MIT Climate CoLab Asks All For Impactful Climate Plans - Contests seeking high impact ideas on how to tackle climate change…submission due 5/16/2015. The Climate CoLab site is here.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 04, 2015

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Disturbingly little known about microbeads, plastics in the Great Lakes - Microbeads and small plastic debris may be a bigger environmental problem than anticipated.

Scientists Urge Museums to Cut Koch Ties - Do sponsors of exhibits at places like American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History influence the content of the exhibits they sponsor? An uncomfortable reality of modern America?

Watch Plants Sprout and Grow In Seconds, In These Astonishing Timelapses - There is a lot of sprouting going on in the springtime. I enjoyed this collection of videos showing acorns, mung beans, and chia seeds sprouting.

15 subway-style maps that explain everything but subways - Some of these maps work well…some are a stretch. Just because the style of map works for subways does not meant it is good for everything. It is fun to see the various subjects depicted this way.

What Creatures Can You Identify In This Fossilized Sea Floor? - How good were powers of observation?  Maybe a larger image would help?

Solar Shingles’ Electricity: Interview with Integrated Solar Technology - I’ve always thought solar shingles would be appealing - if this price was right they should be part of the roof on every house!

Lessons of the world’s most unique supercentenarians - More and more people are living into their 90s…and even past 100. Researchers looking at people over 85 are discovering that chronological age may not be a valid form of measuring health at all.

Good luck and the Chinese reverse global forest loss - Over the past 20 years - China has tree planting projects, there is been more rain in Australia, South America in Africa savanna areas, and Russia/former Soviet republics have regrowing forests on abandoned farmland. That has offset the vegetation loss in the Amazon forests and Indonesia.

With 'Single-Stream' Recycling, Convenience Comes at a Cost - This is frustrating. We have ‘single stream’ recycling in our area. It’s easy but it may mean that more that we ‘recycle’ actually goes to the landfill.

Exercise largely absent from US medical school curriculum, study shows - More confirmation that in the US we train doctors to help sick people….not to help people sustain (or regain) health.

Universities on the Brink of a Nervous Breakdown - Really? Isn’t it healthy for organizations to evolve rather than be static?

Sustainability - Fabrics

When I look through my closet, more than half the items are made of fabrics with synthetic fibers: things like polyester and acrylic. They are incredibly versatile. I can remember when polyester replaced cotton when I was growing up and everyone thought “how wonderful” because it was wrinkle resistant and lasted longer. Now I still enjoy those features but am realizing that that are downsides to synthetic fabrics in terms of sustainability.

• They do not biodegrade easily. The fabric will last long after the garment is unwearable.
• If the fibers do get into water - they can be ingested by fish and other wildlife and cause health problems or death.
• They are derived from fossil fuels.

So - if the goal it to live more sustainably, there are actions to take:

• Look at the fiber content of all new clothes purchases and minimize synthetic fabrics.
• Wear clothes as long as possible. My goal in many cases is to wear the completely out --- and then recycle them.
• Recycle (or donate) clothing rather than putting it in the trash.
• Launder synthetic fabrics only when needed (i.e. hoodies and vests usually don’t need to be laundered every time they are worn) to minimize the fibers into the water supply.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 21, 2015

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Nine superfruits and super seeds to add to your diet - I eat 3 of the 9 frequently (chai, flaxseeds, and blueberries)!  There is only one that I haven’t added to my diet (yet): Acai berries.

There May Be More Water on Jupiter's Largest Moon than on Earth - Subterranean oceans - on Ganymede. It wasn’t so long ago that we assumed that the Earth’s oceans were unique…and now we are thinking that maybe they aren’t.

World's most iconic ecosystems: World heritage sites risk collapse without stronger local management - These sites have importance to world…the researchers argue for stronger local management. That is needed but these ecosystems are connected to other ecosystems are not iconic but may be critical to sustaining these designated iconic areas. We have to start thinking about how we sustain the Earth - worldwide - more often than we’ve ever done before.

Cherry Tree that needs pruningPrune Trees like a Pro - This post has good diagrams. I noticed it this week just as I was thinking about what I need to do first in my yard and decided pruning was high on the list; our cherry and plum both need it.

Archaeologists Uncover Ancient Egyptian Tombs with Stunning Murals - They were found near Luxor. Isn’t it amazing that there are still things like to be found in places that have been intensely searched for over a century? Hopefully they will be preserved in a way that the colors remain as vivid as they are now.

Towels top kitchen contamination hazards list - Ugh! I think I’ll start putting out a fresh towel every day.

The World’s Largest Solar Energy Projects - Some projects from India and California…these are huge installations.

Oncologists reveal reasons for high cost of cancer drugs in U.S. - There is a list of some potential solutions at the end of the article. One that sticks out is to allow the FDA or physician panels to recommend target prices based on the drug’s magnitude of benefit (i.e. value based pricing). Why has our system allowed something other than value based pricing to be the norm? Hurray for the doctors that are standing up for their patients!

10 National Monuments you’ve never heard of - Vacation ideas. I always like to keep these in mind to add to the itinerary of a trip to the area. I’ve been to El Malpais several times. Maybe next time I visit Tucson - Chiricahua will be a day trip.

Chitin, a structural molecule associated with allergy response, is identified in vertebrates - A few weeks ago, I learned that chitin (the material of insects’ exoskeletons) is in the cell walls of mushrooms…and then this article about chitin in fishes and amphibians! And chitin has been shown to be an excellent material for biodegradable plastics!

Sustainability - Thrift Stores

Thrift stores are a study in re-use. Items are used (sometimes gently). I donate any items I have that have some usable life rather than recycling or trashing…and they generally end up in thrift stores.

The thrift store offerings are unpredictable but often great bargains. I have several I like that are located in upper middle class areas - people that buy more than they need and often end up donating items that are well worth a second round. One has to shop with an open mind rather than a particular item in mind.

At first, I thought it would be impossible to find specific clothing. Now when I look at my closest I realize that almost all my slacks and jeans are from the thrift store. I look for black pants of any kind every time I go to a thrift store. Sometime I find several pairs in my size - sometimes none at all. Right now I am replacing pants that have gotten too big now that I’ve lost weight!

I also have collected skirts. With the low cost - I pull out anything I like and check size and washability. I have several that I would never have bought if they had been priced higher than $5!

Blouses wear out faster than pants and skirts…so when I find blouses that will supplement what I have, I purchase them even if I don’t need them right away. Only about half my blouses/sweaters/tops are from the thrift store…still a substantial contribution to my closet.

Another thrift store find: Several years ago, I discovered that I like ‘meal in a bowl’ (salads, soups, stir fry) and it needs to be a larger bowl than a cereal bowl…more like a small serving bowl. Small serving bowls are easy to find at thrift stores….I just wish I had purchased the second bowl they had like the one I bought! Never count on being able to find it again later!

Anything I am able to buy from a thrift store rather than new is an act toward sustainability….and good for my budget too.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 14, 2015

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Karnak: Excavation yields 38 artifacts - New techniques and new finds at Karnak.

71% of Investors Are Interested In Sustainable Investing - It’s positive news that more people are voting for sustainability via their investments.

New Study Pinpoints Where Ocean Acidification Will Hit Hardest - Not only hardest…but earliest. The ocean does not acidify uniformly. Estuaries with excess nutrients will acidify more rapidly. Not a good new message for the Chesapeake Bay’s shell fish industry.

Boosting older adults' vision through training - The core of the message from the research was positive but it was frustrating that the next steps were all about more research. If the initial research finding holds - then why is there not already a strategy activity to think through how vision training could be delivered to larger numbers of people at low cost.

By separating nature from economics, we have walked blindly into tragedy - We live in complex world…making decisions based on simplifying assumptions that ignore the environment or economic or social aspects are perilous.

New research into materials for tooth fillings - The composite that is most common right now is problematic because it requires adhesive to bond to the tooth, needs to be illuminated with a lamp to harden, and needs to be replaced more frequently. A new material - glass ionomer cement - may be the filling material of the future.

Widely Used Antibiotics Affect Mitochondria - The environmental accumulation of tetraclines might be harming us in ways that are just now being studied. Scary.

Epoch-defining study pinpoints when humans came to dominate planet Earth - Two dates jump out: 1610 with the irreversible exchange of species between new and old worlds and 1964 associated with the fallout from nuclear weapons testing. Either way - humans have driven Earth into a new epoch…the Anthropocene.

Fun Parks to Visit in the Top 10 Cities for Wildlife - Staycation fodder. There are interesting parks in most areas of the country. These 10 are clearly the tip of the iceberg!

Did Neanderthals make jewelry 130,000 years go? Eagle claws provide clues - From a site in present day Croatia dating from 130,000 years ago.

Sustainability - Food

There is a lot about the food system in the US that is not sustainable but what can individuals do to nudge the system toward sustainability through our purchasing power?

For the items I buy from grocery store chains I

• Buy organic. It is becoming more affordable all the time.
• Avoid plastic bags and packaging when I can - and when I can’t I make sure they get into the recycling system rather than the trash. If the packaging is not recyclable - I think very hard about whether I need to buy the product at all.
• Buy local when possible. I want to minimize the transport of my food when I can so the Community Supported Agriculture farm that is less than a mile from my house is a good option for produce during the summer and fall.

Another dimension of the way we eat is when we are away from home.

• When I can - I take my own food from home and I try to package it in reusable containers rather than plastic bags.
• Eating out is not a good option from a sustainability standpoint. Very few restaurants provide meals that are sourced or prepared sustainably. It is not important enough to their customers. I have to admit that culturally, I think of ‘going out to eat’ as something that is special (for a birthday or anniversary) or convenient (but is it really faster than a meal at home if the food is already in the kitchen?) or a treat of a more complex meal that I would normally take the time to prepare. My husband and I eat out much less frequently now that we don’t go to work every day - a positive trend but still not sustainable.

And what about ‘food’ that is nutritionally ‘empty’? There is an environment cost to everything we eat - so eating more sustainability should probably include minimalizing or eliminating foods that are not food like soft drinks and candy.

Last but not least - never waste food. Eat all the food that you buy before it spoils. It is a simple concept but not always easy. It takes some thought. In the US - many households don’t think about it enough since the stats always show we have tremendous food waste in this country. We need to care more about the future of food…and embrace sustainability.

Sustainability - Planting Trees

I am thinking about spring even though it is still a bit too cold to be out planting things just yet. Today I thought about trees rather than the chaos garden or the deck garden. Trees are a lot bigger and long lived too. Trees make a home more sustainable by

• Providing shade in the summer (cooling) and bright sunlight in the winter (warming)
• Soaking up rain - slowing down the runoff into nearby stream or gutters
• Providing nesting places for birds and squirrels…food for pollinators and their larvae…and sometimes food for humans too

The oak tree to the east of our house has grown tremendously in the 20 years we’ve lived here and now shades the front of the house almost completely in the summer. In the winter, the leaves are gone and we get the sun warming the front rooms during winter. We like it - and our cats seem to migrate to the patches of sunlight on winter mornings.

On the southwest side of the house a sycamore has gotten tall enough to shade the dining room and one side of master bedroom in the summer ---- and let the sunlight reach the house through its bare branches in the winter. Ideal placement!

So - in keeping with thinking about gardens and plantings - do I want another tree in the yard? I am concerned that the deer population in our area is so overwhelming that they are eating everything. How would a young tree survive? I’ve convinced myself that we’ll not add any trees in the near term. I’m grateful that the lowest branches of the trees we have are out of deer reach!  I would like to plant some fruit trees....and beging the process of dramatically reducing the grassy part of the lawn...but that is for some future year.

Master Naturalist Training - Week 2

This week was the second of eight days of training to become a Master Naturalist in Maryland. Like last week, the day was sandwiched between snow days; the roads were clear but snow was still piled up and salt was being sprinkled on walkways. We keep saying that hikes are part of the training days but it hasn’t been possible so far. I took a few pictures in the morning as I walked into the classroom building at Belmont. The cypress stands at the edge of the ice covered pond (above); we noticed the knees on a hike down to the pond last spring. A pine provides some contrast to the bare trees and white ground looking over the hill toward the forest. Since the class, another 3 inches of snow has fallen. The forecast does appear to be warming - but will it all be melted by next Wednesday?

My preparation for the second class included reading the Science of Science section of the notebooks - which was provided to us during the first class….and I did the web based pre-reading as I had done before. The area I spent the most time looking at was web-based: Criticalthinking.org - I read the complementary articles.

When I got to class - the topic for the morning was focused on local activism toward sustainability using Bethesda Green as an example. The presentation then small group collaboration on specifics for our county was invigorating. Now I’m dangerous and thinking about what to do next to further sustainability. I am already consciously making changes in the way I live but it is clear that there are challenges that cannot be addressed by individuals acting alone. Even some well-intentioned actions at an institutional level can go awry; we heard examples of a university cafeteria providing compostable to go cartons….and then not providing a bin for compostables (so they were treated as trash); a corporation having recycle bins in offices but the maintenance people emptying everything into the trash as they cleaned the offices at night.

In the afternoon - we looked more closely at rocks in our area. At mid-afternoon we were looking at bins of rocks and trying to identify them. We have a field trip in late March which will take us through areas where we should see many of the rocks along the trail! I bought the Maryland’s Geology by Martin F. Schmidt, Jr. (our instructor) to refresh my memory before the hike.

The second class was an intense and the first. I am very glad that the class days are a week apart. This is the type material that could not be absorbed in back to back days!

Sustainability - Electronics

Electronics are so integrated with modern life - but are they sustainable? Cell phones, cameras, computers, tablets, eReaders, Game consoles, printers, televisions, DVDs, GPS devices….the list is long.

The life cycle of these devices can be relatively short. For a cell phone it is a few years at best if the latest functionality is desired. Sometimes the products are not very durable either: my sister cracked the display screen on her camera, my laptop has a piece of trim that is loose (I taped it down). We might continue to use the devices for a little longer but not indefinitely. They are inexpensive enough to replace and upgrade to current hardware/software at the same time.

I am more conscious of delaying that new purchase for as long as I can…and know where I will take the old device for recycling. Electronics are made of valuable (and sometimes toxic) components so should always be recycled rather than trashed….after wiping the memory/storage for security reasons.

In Maryland - Best Buy is the most convenient place for recycling electronics for me.

So back to the beginning question: Are electronic sustainable? I’m deciding that I will answer ‘yes’ as long as I can recycle the old products. 

Sustainability - Attention to Packaging

Last month I posted about reusable bags which is certainly a way of reducing ‘packaging’ of plastic bags provided by stores (grocery and otherwise). But what about all the other packaging that usually ends up in the trash or recycling such as envelopes (paper, paper bonded to bubblewrap, filament reinforced paper, heavy plastic), cereal boxes, non-recyclable plastic (in our area: plastic clamshell packaging and stiffer plastic bags), cardboard, plastic/glass bottles/jars or egg cartons.

My first line strategy is to purchase items in packaging that I can reuse. For example - buying spaghetti and salsa in glass jars that I can reuse for left overs (my goal is to gradually reduce my use of plastic to store leftovers). Of course - this only works up to the point that I have enough containers. I also reuse the large padded envelopes although I receive more than I can reuse. I am also saving the padded envelopes for packing away things like Christmas ornaments. I am saving clamshell type bins that I am buying salad in now at the grocery for storing greens I get from the CSA next summer; they’ll keep the refrigerator bins neat and hold the moisture around the greens better than putting them directly into the crisper.

Recycling is the second line strategy. Sometimes this feeds into my decision of which product to buy. For example - the organic eggs in my grocery come in pulp paper cartons that can be recycled while the others come in non-recyclable Styrofoam. I probably would buy the organic eggs anyway but the packaging issue clinches the purchase. I’ve also become very aware of the types of plastic bags and film that can be taken back to the grocery store for recycling; it takes longer to accumulate since I use my own bags when shopping but there other similar plastics like dry cleaner bags and newspaper sleeves to collect and recycle.

There is still packaging that goes directly into the trash: messy plastic (meats, frozen foods, veggies) that cannot be recycled (because they are messy or because of the type of plastic). I don’t know how to avoid that until the stores provide some other kind of packaging. It is clearly not sustainable for us to continue this type of packaging indefinitely.

In the end - the options we have to move toward more sustainability when it comes to packaging are primarily to increase reuse and recycling as much as possible by making choices when we shop…and being very aware of packaging that can be recycled in our community or back to the store (particularly grocery stores). 

What is the next step from the reuse and recycle strategy? I'm beginning to think about it. There is too much packaging that is unavoidable today - from bottles of salad dressing to cardboard centers to toilet paper rolls. We need innovation in packaging as much as we do in actual products!

My other sustainability posts:

Choosing organic food

Focus on Light

Join a CSA

Reusable bags vs single use plastic bags

The Progress Paradox and Sustainability

Water Use

Sustainability - Focus on Light

One of the luxuries we often times take for granted is the availability of light at the flip of a switch. It makes it possible for us to do just about anything we want at any time of the day or night. What are the elements of sustainability related to light?

Lighting requires energy so:

• Use energy efficient fixtures and bulbs. All our lamps that originally had incandescent bulbs now have compact fluorescent bulbs and the overhead lighting fixtures in the kitchen/basement utilize the tube style fluorescent bulbs. There are still a few halogen floor lamps in our house but I try to not turn them on in the summer when the heat they generate is at cross purposes with the air conditioner! The lights around the mirrors in the bathroom and the dining room fixture still use incandescent bulbs and I don’t plant to replace them.
• Turn off lights when they are not needed. ‘Need’ is full of nuance. When I read - I need a light. But how much extra light do I need if I am reading on a tablet…or if it is in the daytime and my chair is by a window? How important are some lights to feeling secure? We do have a timer system in our house that turns a few lights on and off even if we are not home. If we are home - the lights are on in the evenings and early mornings in the rooms where we are….and not in other parts of the house.

Another element of sustainability when it comes to light - is the influence light has on health. It is an area of research and harder to internalize that the energy consumption issue.

• More outdoor light exposure seems to reduce nearsightedness. It’s not clear what it is about outdoor light that is important.
• Seasonal depression is linked to the amount of daylight (i.e. winter blues).
• Light from computer monitors and e-reader before bedtime can impact sleep.
• Melatonin in linked to light exposure and then a lot of other biological functions. One researcher is investigating the use of blue light to slow, prevent preterm labor (because it reduces melatonin which is linked to contractions).

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 07, 2015

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Millions of Mutated Mosquitoes Could Be Unleashed In Florida—On Purpose - There is concern that tropical diseases like Dengue and Chikungunya will become more common in the US as the climate becomes warmer. Reducing the number of mosquitoes that spread the disease may become a priority and there biotech firm Oxitec has experimented in the Caymen Islands and Brazil with GMO mosquitoes that suppressed the population there by 96%.

Swarm of microprobes to head for Jupiter - The probes will burn up in Jupiter’s atmosphere was send a mass of data for 15 minutes. A lot will be learned about the atmosphere of the planet.

Assateague Island National Seashore Turning 50 This Year - Chincoteague/Assateague is my favorite place on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay….I’ll keep an eye out for extra activities that celebrate its 50 years as a National Seashore.

Mindfulness-based program in schools making a positive impact, study shows - Something to combat the stress of modern childhood?

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #75 - A feast of bird images from around the world. I always enjoy looking through these collections.

This Glorious Gallery Highlights A Myriad Optical Delights - Wow - images from a visual celebration of the International Year of Light. Next time I go to Arizona - I want to see Antelope Canyon

The origin of life: Labyrinths as crucibles of life - This article caught by eye for two reasons: it linked well with the Origins course I finished recently on Coursera and I like the picture of lava.

Two Graphs Highlighting Growth Surge in US Solar Market - With oil prices lower, will the trend continue in 2015?

Food Industry Drags Its Heels on Recyclable and Compostable Packaging - The food industry - particularly the fast food industry - is definitely not trending toward sustainable practices (with the possible exception of McDonald’s and Starbucks….and do we really need K-cups anywhere?

A Stunning 3D Cross-Section of Greenland's Ice Sheet - Made using ice cores and ice penetrating radar technologies. Watch the video to understand how it was done. There are three distinct periods of climate reflected in the Greenland Ice sheet.

Sustainability - Water Use

There are projections that say that water will become a bigger problem in the years to come both because of increased population and climate change. So it is wise to think about how we as individuals can use water more sustainably. Here are some strategies I’ve implemented to reduce the amount of water we use in our home:

• Yet the yellow mellow. We don’t flush our toilets after every urination. This could be a bigger water saving strategy for houses that don’t have low flow toilets (our house is new enough that it was built with low flow toilets originally).
• No drips. We maintain our faucets so that no water is used when they are turned off. This is not a hard maintenace task (although one that usually requires turning off the water under the since before the job!).
• Take short showers. Sometimes I time my showers because it is so easy to enjoy standing under the hot water. I can’t remember the last time I took a bath - which almost always use more water than showers.
• Use the dishwasher - don’t pre-rinse dishes. The dishwasher takes less water than hand washing dishes…but only when we don’t thoroughly rinse off items while loading it up.
• Wear clothes more than one day. It depends on our level of activity. Many days we can wear our clothes for a couple of days unless we do something that is dirty or hot/sweaty. Daily changes of underwear and socks don’t take much room in the laundry!
• Load up the washer. Launder clothes when there is enough to fill the washer rather than doing several smaller loads for the same clothes. We always use cold water so generally can do different colors together (unless they are new and may fade).
• Develop rain-watered yard. We water vegetables and new plantings but not the grass. It rains enough in Maryland that this is an easy strategy. If we lived in a drier area - I would probably not have a grass lawn at all.
• Rinse water for watering indoor or deck plants. During the summer, I keep a container in the sink to capture rinse water when prepping fresh veggies….and use it to water pots on the deck or indoors. The downside is that water is heavy! Maybe I’ll figure out a way to capture and utilize gray or rain water that doesn’t involve carrying it by next summer.

Another aspect of sustainability when it comes to water has to do with runoff. The water that runs off our yard flows into the Patuxent River and then into the Chesapeake Bay. There is a band of forest that starts at our house and extends for 0.25 miles to the river. The forest floor is deep with leaf mulch that acts as a sponge to slow the water down as trickles toward the river. We have minimized our application of yard treatments over the years and have not added any additional impervious sources (other than the house and the driveway).  The trees have gotten bigger and are shading the back of our yard enough that the grass is thinning. I’ve started letting the forest leaf mulch accumulate in those areas rather than leave the ground bare (and eroding). Next fall I’ll plant daffodil bulbs to hold the leaves. At some point perhaps I’ll to get ferns started in that shady area that gets the first runoff from our yard. Plantings will absorb water and/or slow it down enough that more will soak into the sediments rather than taking soil to the river.

I've stopped using the disposal in the kitchen sink and started composting instead. Using the disposal contributes to the nutrient enrichment of waste water that causes algal blooms (and dead zones); compost is a better destination for food parings and cores!

There is quite a lot we as individuals can do to utilize water more sustainably.