Climate Change Vigil

If you passed through down town Jonesborough on Thursday April 18, 2013, you would have seen little lights shining on the steps of the Jonesborough courthouse.  Community members gathered for a candlelight vigil for climate change.  The event was sponsored by the TN Interfaith Power and Light and Green Interfaith Network Inc. or GINI.  The vigil was supported and led by the Cross of Grace Lutheran Church.  The event was a chance for people of different faiths from the community to come together and share their concern for climate change through understanding, practice and outreach.

            Speakers at the vigil included Rev. Ed Wolff of the Cross of Grace Lutheran Church, Rev. Bob Robertson of the Central Christian Church and Rev. Allen Huff of the Jonesborough Presbyterian Church. “I think the climate vigils offer some solidarity for people of faith in the TriCities area who acknowledge the seriousness of climate change.” says Carol Landis, GINI member. “This is especially important in upper East TN, where we live among hard-working families who may be struggling as we address the implications of climate change on our changing society.”

            The TN Interfaith Power and Light is the state affiliate of a network of faith communities working across the U.S., offering a spiritual response to climate change. Their mutual efforts protect the climate through upholding the sacredness of life, defending those most vulnerable to the many impacts of climate change and the advocating for effective climate protection policies. 

            “I hope people will realize that the changing climate is not a political 

issue--it is a moral and ethical issue that is directly related to our core values and beliefs.” says Landis. “All the major religions of the world include a message of caring...for the gifts we've been given and about the plight of others. We need to acknowledge that people of faith have an inherent obligation to humanity (to love one another, etc.), and also acknowledge that low-income communities will be disproportionately affected by climate change. We have an obligation to the present, and to future generations, to reduce our impact. This can be done through making personal choices toward improved energy efficiency, wise use of resources, and being responsible about purchasing durable items and assuring their proper disposal to eliminate unnecessary contamination of soil, water, and air.”

            For more information on future vigils or how to become involved, please visit www.greeninterfaith.org or email GreenInterfaith@gmail.com.

World's Largest Turtle Could Be Extinct in 20 Years

''We're not doing enough to save leatherback sea turtles or their ocean home. The problems they face -- climate change, plastic pollution, fisheries that catch far more than fish -- are problems that threaten us, too," said Kilduff" This is a quote from Catherine Kilduff of the Centre for Biological.


This quote is found in a recent article from CBS News. The article is about the leather back sea turtle and how it is going extinct. Of course the biggest problems are related to humans.

The article gives four different reasons that the sea turtles are dying out. One of them is plastic pollution. It astonishes me how still in this day and age people still think its ok to throw garbage into the environment. There should be better efforts to keep not just our beaches clean, but other environments too.

Another major problem is climate change. There is argument on both sides whether or not climate change is generated from humans. Personally, I think that it is a little of both. I would say that humans most certainly contribute to climate change. We put so many burnt fossil fuels into the air each day, I don't see how anyone could say that doesn't effect anything. At the same time though, if you look back in time, there are records of extreme climate changes and there have been scientific studies proving that the Earth's climate goes through cycles.

I found it interesting that due to the climate change, whatever it is caused by, the turtle eggs aren't able to fully grow because the climate heats up the sand too much and it damages the eggs. This is something I have never heard, but it makes sense.

It is sad that so many animals are on the brink of extinction. Attached to the article is a link of over 60 animals that are nearing extinction due to issues like the leather back sea turtle are facing.

View the original CBS article here
World's largest turtle could be extinct in 20 years, scientists say - CBS News:

'via Blog this'

"Pooping" Out Valuable Soil

In this article by National Geographic, they inform readers about the current new sanitation systems in Haiti. The organization known as SOIL is installing toilets that actually separate liquid and solid wastes. The solid wastes are then taken to compost plants where they are put through a compost treatment and made into fertilizer for crops.

I absolutely love this idea. There are so many health issues in Haiti and other countries around the world due to the bacteria of human waste ending up in the water supply. By instead basically recycling human waste, they are being healthier and using greener options for farming.

Obviously in our society, I think it would be very hard to get most Americans to look past the fact that they would be using their own poop to grow the food they are eating. However, it would be beneficial as currently many fertilizers and pesticides used on our agriculture has many harmful chemicals. Obviously this isn't something that will become abundant in our society, but I think it is something to really consider in less fortunate areas of the world. I would be ok with this whole prospect as when they waste is actually used on crops it has gone through so many processes, it is no longer waste. It is instead a very rich soil that does not contain any harmful bacteria.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/10/111026-haiti-waste-poop-fertilizer-farms-soil-science-environment/

Baby Gorilla Rescue

This tiny sweet little gorilla is very lucky! He was found by under cover park rangers and saved. The rangers were undercover when poachers tried to sell this cute little guy to them. The poachers were arrested. I was shocked to find out that this cute little guy is worth $40, 000 US. I think that the poachers definately got what they deserve. I find the killing of animals for sport and to sell, for reasons that the poachers do, is despicable. This cute little gorilla baby was torn away from his family and his mom and thrown into a world that he wasn't meant to grow up in.

This isn't the only reason why we should care about this issue. There are many different species that are either endangered or already extinct. For those of you who did not realize this, animals that are extinct CANNOT come back! This is not Jurassic Park. That was a movie and not real life. If we don't protect these species, then they won't be around for the generations who come after us to enjoy. These animals were placed here for a reason and we are destroying them by exploiting them for money. If poaching doesn't stop, we are going to lose something great.









If you would like to check out this article, you can find it here...

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/10/pictures/111014-baby-gorilla-rescue-science-congo-shamavu-poachers-orphan/#/infant-eastern-gorilla-rescued-poachers-holding_41919_600x450.jpg
This is also where I found the pictures!

Waving to Energy

The ocean is such a wonder that I feel most people take for granted. I can remember as a little girl going to the beach with my family adn not ever wanting to leave at the end of the day. There is something magical about the way that the waves crash down in a relentless yet reliable motion.

Most people probably don't think about just how powerful waves are when they are relaxing on the beaches, but waves pact alot of energy. Enough energy, in fact, that scientist are staring to try and harness wave energy to power things much like hydrological, wind, and solar power.

I think that this is such an awesome idea. You hear so many horror stories all the time of how we are running out of energy. Waves are constant. If we use wave energy, we aren't using anything up or having to create anything new, but using something that has been given to us. Obviously it is not realistic for everything in the world to run off of waves, but if somethings did, it could extent our resources. As long as we keep our ocean floors healthy and in good shape, the waves should be around forever.

Photos found at

http://nees.oregonstate.edu/killer_wave/characteristics.htm
http://bdfbuzz.wordpress.com/2010/07/11/louisiana-makes-waves-with-obamacare-and-ultrasound-laws/

Spreading Our Germs In Unlikely Places

After/Before

Coral reef depletion is a huge problem that faces the world today. I love the ocean and all of the wonders of the underwater world. It is beautiful and people take it for granted. People don't realize how much that they can impact the coral reefs and how important they are to the ocean ecosystems.

I read an article written by Ker Than for National Geographic News on August 18,2011 that was talking about how humans have actually given coral a disease.
(View Atrticle Here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/08/110818-human-waste-feces-bacteria-coral-plos-florida-caribbean-science/ )

Basically the article is saying that humans in the Keys are giving the coral a disease from bacteria that contaminates human blood. It is spreading to the coral by way of human feces. Now, obviously the biggest issue here is the fact that our "waste" is killing an entire species. This is not good. Bacteria is seeping into our oceans from one sewage plant in the Keys and has done this much damage to a species? If thats just one place, just think about how much happens around the world. I am sure that the Florida Keys are not the only sewage plants with this issue.

One thing the article doesn't discuss though is the fact that, if our waste is killing this coral, what is it doing to other species including humans themselves? Then there is the other obvious factor that really grosses me out the most. Our feces is killing coral. Coral is found in the ocean. We swim in the ocean. Therefore, we are swimming in bacteria from our own feces. Doesn't that make you want to go to the beach?
White pox is what they are calling this disease which sounds awful to me because it sounds like small pox or chicken pox. It is so sad to think of all the coral we have lost because of the carlessness of people not making sure that their factories and plants are safe and secure. In the article, it states that Key West has now updated their facilities so that there are no leaks, but they didn't do that until after tests were done to prove that it was in fact human feces and not another animal that was causing the problem. All businesses and people in general need to be aware of the impact they have on the environment because once we lose it, we can't get it back.

Pictures Found At...
http://divegallery.com/coral_colony.htm
http://123rf.com/photo_9552749-phot0-of-a-coral-colony-on-a-reef-red-sea-egypt.html

A Flush For Whatever You Do! Number One Or Number Two

When i was using the restroom one day on campus, I noticed that the flush handle on the toilet was a bright green color. The color caught my eye, but i really didn't think much of it. I flushed the toilet and went on with my day.

In my past post, I talked briefly about the world water crisis and how we need to conserve our water. On the ETSU campus, the Department of Sustainability has installed double flush toilets in all of the community bathrooms in the on campus residence halls. You can distinguish a double flush toilet by the green flush device on the commode as you can see in this picture.

So How does a double flush toilet work? If you go "#2", then you would push the flusher down just like normal and the toilet would get rid of the waste. If you go "#1" however, you push the handle up and the toilet removes the waste just like normal, but it uses less water and therefore is more sustainable than a normal toilet. According to the ETSU Director of Sustainability, these toilets can save up to 30% of the water that is used by a normal toilet.
I think that these toilets are an amazing idea. However, I don't feel like enough people actually know what they are. I didn't recognize one when I saw it and I think thats probably true for most others as well. I think that the campus should work on adding signs like the one above so that these sustainable toilets are actually doing their jobs.

Pictures Found at:
http://community.seas.columbia.edu/cslp/project.cgi?id=589 and http://pointriderrepublican.typepad.com/pr/2008/04/index.html