"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

Saving Water One Barrel At A Time

More and more these days I am hearing about the world water crisis which is scary because we all need water to live. Lately, I have been hearing a lot of talk about a new trend using rain water barrels. What this is, is when people buy large barrels and place them under their gutters and house ledges. Instead of water running off into the ground, it is caught in the barrels and then is able to be stored for various uses like watering gardens, washing cars, etc. Basically you are storing and using water that the Earth is already naturally giving to you instead of using even more water by retrieving it from your sink or hose.

Many people, as you can see in this picture, attach a hose to their barrel for even easier access. This rain that is "caught" would otherwise just be lost due to runoff. Many people are saying this is a new and "greener" way to use and save water. I have somewhat mixed feelings about it. First of all, I have to wonder exactly how clean the water is if it is sitting for an extended period of time, therefore lessening your options of what it could be used for. Also, while I can see the argument for it helping with the water crisis, I also have to wonder if it is somewhat adding to the water crisis. In the water cycle, runoff is a vital step before the water is evaporated back up into a cloud. If we are keeping the water from running off and thus evaporating into the sky, are we not putting a slight disruption into the water cycle?

On the flip side, I do think there is also an argument for the fact that rain water barrels can help to save more water because we are using what we already have as opposed to the rain being wasted and we use more water out of our sinks. You just have to outweigh the costs and decide for yourselves which is a bigger water consumer. Either way, people do need to take into consideration the world's growing water crisis because it does exsist and is becoming more and more dangerous. If you would like to hear more, the movie Thirst is a great documentary that I highly recommend. It covers the water crisis from many different backgrounds and shows how it effects people from different areas of the world.

Also, if you are interested in having a rain water barrel system in your home, they seem fairly easy to make or you can buy one that is already put together. I just googled "rain water barrel" and found more information on it than I needed to know. I urge all of you to check it out and see what you think.

Thirst The Movie

http://www.thirstthemovie.org/index.html

Eco-Nuts

East Tennessee State University wasn't always a green campus. After the student body voted on the ETSU Green Fee, money used to bring sustainability efforts to campus, there was more and more steps towards being a greener campus. This year, the sustainability office created a new student position called an Eco-Nut. This job/organization was open to any undergraduate student who was passionate about sustainability on campus. Fifteen students were hired and each assigned one of the twelve residents halls on campus to work in. Duties include keeping up with the recycling bins inside the establishment, raising awareness with residents, and researching sustainable living ideas for the halls. So far, these Eco-nuts have made a good start on campus by having students sign sustainability pledges on recycled CDs. They also have many ideas in the works for the campus. They are hoping to hold many campus wide events to raise awareness not just to the residence halls, but to the student body as a whole. If you are interested in learning more about this group of students and what they are doing for their community, visit the website at...
http://gogreen.etsu.edu