Educating Others on Environmental Conservation

In this blog I will talk about ten things one can do to become a more sustainable person. It's really simple and sometimes these changes can be fun and drastic difference to your life. It's going to be quite a bit of information, so bear with me! :)

What brings you hope for a sustainable future? 

Personally, it's the thought that if everyone can have a sound environmental ethic then that's the first step in working for a sustainable future. Over the last few years, a lot of environmental awareness has been brought up and being spread to raise attention on quite a few serious issues, and I feel during this time a lot of people are starting to think about their own environmental ethics. 

What do they value in nature? How do they value nature? How do they really treat nature? How do nature inconvenience them? How to bring about a more friendly relationship with nature? How to be more aware of your every single action that do have an affect on the environment? How to educate and raise awareness with those around you to be environmentally friendly? 

Take your time and think about it.

Tips of shopping locally! Shopping locally helps put economic stimulation back into your own city. Plus it's a way of establishing a community and creating connections with others. Look up local shops that you can take your usual shopping to. Farmer's market, love it, it's like a fair and you meet new people and have fun. I found a local butcher shop that raises their own meat sustainable and animal friendly way, it's pretty cool.

Global warming, I'm sure everybody is familiar with this topic. Don't just automatically think that you have to change all your household appliance to energy efficient, or sell your car and use public transportation, or don't turn on lights or use any water. It can be simple steps, like shopping at your local farmer's market, put out two trash cans to make recycle and regular trash (I started doing this, it's so simple!), walking to grocery shop when you have time, or plant one native and species friendly plant one per week, eventually you'll have a whole garden full of beautiful plants. I'll attach a video about global warming, it will be very detail orientated on how certain human activities are causing disturbances to global life cycles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVQnPytgwQ0

This link will provide you simple steps to reduce your impact on most activities you do. http://wwf.panda.org/how_you_can_help/live_green/

Oooh, have you ever looked video that shows you amazing data about human life through out hundreds years? Well, the video I am about to attach below will show you human population from the beginning to present history. It's so fascinating to see how population thrive and decline, and how it spreads. https://vimeo.com/130468614   Show others this video! It's so cool because you can aligned the population rate based on the history. It will change your perspective on the world and how you are just an individual among billions of individuals going through similar things.

Did you know mushroom can save the world? I didn't know either. Mycelium, a type of mushroom, can do these:

1. Mycelium, infuses landscape and soil together.

2. Support multi transfer of nutrients from mycelium to rest of the soil and plants.

3. Restore habitat from pollution.

4. Antibiotic.

5. Kill insects without the use of harmful pesticides.

6. Produce sustainable fuel known as Econol.

Right! Here's a link to a TedTalk about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5gUSyKTCx4

Water is scarce, and precious. One way you can help reduce your consumption of local clean water is to create your own rain catchment system. This is if have a home and have a bit of extra money that put turn this project into something really helpful. I have done a bit of math to show how much water one can save from rain. A typical 1,500 square feet rooftop collecting 88 inches of rainwater annually can sum up a total of 6,800 gallons of rainwater. Harvested rainwater can be replaced with most household used water supply except for drinking and cooking water. It can replace dish water, laundry water, toilet water, gardening water, and showered water. That’s a lot of water that can be replaced easily by rainwater if one were to harvest it! Watch this, http://www.harvestingrainwater.com/street-runoff-harvesting/backwater-or-eddy-basins/

Involve yourself in learning about species that are in need of support. It's really amazing to learn how many different species are out there and how their lives are impacted by our lives. 

First one, the life cycle of Salmon. It's so sad, they worked so hard their whole life and travel miles and miles of obstacles and challenges to give birth to their children and die soon after. Such hardship, sometimes they can't even make it back because their path are blocked by dams and barriers that humans have built up. https://www.nps.gov/olym/learn/nature/the-salmon-life-cycle.htm
And cute mountain lions! :( They are so cute and so relate-able. Watch this cute and sad video: https://vimeo.com/157288534 Thankfully there people out there supporting these animals and bringing back their population. It was really interesting to learn about what we can do and how to support these animals.

3 Simple Steps' in getting ready for wildfire

1. Assess property to prepare for hotter months to come.

2. Defensible space, one hundred feet around the property, areas to slow or hold fire from engulfing your property. 

3. Hardening your home. Fire can find weak points on your home to penetrate and engulf. No dead trees or vegetation, no leaf or litter.

4. Prepare wildfire action plan in case a wildfire approaches. Escape location, pre-pack evac items, etc. Also plan escape routes for your doggies!!! Don't forget about doggos!

Bark Beetle Infestations!

a.  Why is there an infestation of bark beetles?

When a tree is disease or stressed by drought it is unable to fight by the beetle's burring. And since at least some California trees are disease, and most stressed by drought it has been unable to fight back. 

b.  What are the 'signs' of bark beetle infestation?  

Small white or reddish brown pitch tubes outside of the bark. White means the tree has successfully defended itself, if reddish brown means that bark beetle was successful in infesting. Pitch tube follows sawdust like substance called Frass, either on tree bark or on the ground. Bark flaking or hole by wood pecker could also be a sign of bark beetles. 

The top of the tree starts to fade in color, it could quickly after infestation or years after when it's dead. 

c.  What can homeowners and land managers do to manage the bark beetle infestation?

If an infestation is spotted on limbs or branches, cut off immediately and dispose of it properly without spreading it to other trees. If spotted on the trunk of a tree, must remove the entire between it spreads into the roots and infest other nearby trees. 

Replant native species. Thin and prun your trees in late fall and winter. 

The top ten hazard counties that are expecting 80-100% die off are near middle of CA. 

Wildfire can be a good thing! If you see smoke while driving through 101 North past Mendocino, it doesn't necessarily have to be a bad and scary thing. It could be a good thing where forest service is reducing fuel built up plants at the base of the forest and supporting the old growth forest to be healthy and maintain biodiversity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUTw5xegyG8



One more thing, last night I read a chapter from Post Carbon Reader, the chapter is called Personal Preparation by Chris Martenson. He talks about how to become resilience as he experienced through natural disaster and it's a really organized thoughts that will help reduce anxiety and stress about being prepared. https://www.scribd.com/document/63670448/RESILIENCE-Personal-Preparation-by-Chris-Martenson
He also has his own website that shows what he has done in preparing for being resilient.

Guys, all of these information are in my previous blog posts. These are simple and useful tips to becoming sustainable yourself, share it with others, share it with your family. 

Forest Management

3 Simple Steps' in getting ready for wildfire

1. Assess property to prepare for hotter months to come.

2. Defensible space, one hundred feet around the property, areas to slow or hold fire from engulfing your property. 

3. Hardening your home. Fire can find weak points on your home to penetrate and engulf. No dead trees or vegetation, no leaf or litter.

4. Prepare wildfire action plan in case a wildfire approaches. Escape location, pre-pack evac items, etc. Also plan escape routes for your doggies!!! Don't forget about doggos!

Bark Beetle Infestations!

a.  Why is there an infestation of bark beetles?

When a tree is disease or stressed by drought it is unable to fight by the beetle's burring. And since at least some California trees are disease, and most stressed by drought it has been unable to fight back.  

b.  What are the 'signs' of bark beetle infestation?  

Small white or reddish brown pitch tubes outside of the bark. White means the tree has successfully defended itself, if reddish brown means that bark beetle was successful in infesting. Pitch tube follows sawdust like substance called Frass, either on tree bark or on the ground. Bark flaking or hole by wood pecker could also be a sign of bark beetles. 

The top of the tree starts to fade in color, it could quickly after infestation or years after when it's dead. 

c.  What can homeowners and land managers do to manage the bark beetle infestation?

If an infestation is spotted on limbs or branches, cut off immediately and dispose of it properly without spreading it to other trees. If spotted on the trunk of a tree, must remove the entire between it spreads into the roots and infest other nearby trees. 

Replant native species. Thin and prun your trees in late fall and winter. 

The top ten hazard counties that are expecting 80-100% die off are near middle of CA. 

Wildfires

Ecologist view of wildfire: wildfire is both good and bad depending on which type it is. Prescribed fire is good and uncharacteristic fire is bad. 

Urban interface area is urban space that are potential for wildfire damage. There have been many homes burned due to fire suppression, lack of wildfire preparation around homes, and awareness. Let it burn policy is when forest service realized the importance of wildfire in managing forest to keep it healthy, fire resilient, maintain biodiversity, and reduce major wildfire. But these two come in contradiction because people's homes that have been burned down now have fear of wildfire and aren't aware of prescribed fire's benefit to the forest. 

Yosemite now apply prescribed fire because Giant sequoias require heat from fire to regenerate because the seeds will only burst and spread when it's heated. Flame clear the hearth for their germination. Heat opens up the seeds pouches.  

Guys we need to be more aware of these issues! It's so simple to completely change your view of your everyday life, from the moment you walk your door step and look at the forest around you or near you, and be able to inform others and make change. I'm going to attach some useful links that are short and simple for you learn about bark beetles, forest fires, and wildfire preparations. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcf8FRAqUww&list=PL2764ECC94B457E89

http://www.readyforwildfire.org/

http://www.npr.org/2013/07/21/203245958/fighting-fire-with-fire-why-some-burns-are-good-for-nature

http://blog.nature.org/science/2013/05/15/good-fire-bad-fire-an-ecologists-perspective/

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/yosemite-sequoias-fire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUTw5xegyG8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0G8jXwgegY

Mountain Lions

https://vimeo.com/157288534

Mountain lions are feared, hunted. They are actually really affectionate and playful. They have close family ties, very social and interdependent. Cubs are with their mom for up to two years. Leaving cubs for up to days to feed them.

a.) Five threats mountain lions that we should be aware of

1. Hunting
2. Natural predators
3. Natural occurrences (weather, disease)
4. Habitat loss
5. Poaching
6. Environmental pollution

b.) Conservation organizations that are helping Mountain lions and what’s being done.

• Mountain Lion Foundation: i find this organization sort of similar to SIerra Club, there are news magazines for updates and news on mountain lions, awareness, and donation for supporting mountain lions, and providing vital current information. They also provide space and connection to larger communities that are in support of mountain lions. A door to larger population.
• The Humane Society of United States: Similar structure. Donation, magazines on useful information and awareness, supply useful tips on being sustainable without harming animals, volunteer work for animal rescue and care, and humane wildlife service. Animal advocacy through public policy, corporate reforms and major campaigns. Provide training for local shelter and rescue groups.
• This organization seems much bigger and wider is scope of accomplishments and establishment.

There are many more organizations that can be found on this website that also contribute to supporting mountain lions and other wildlife.

Mountain lions are also key stone species like the wolves in Yellowstone that keep the levels in ecosystem in balance. Mountain lions prey on deer and elk, which help prevent wild herbivores from overgrazing vegetation. And not overgrazing the vegetation provide habitats, food, and natural ecosystem service back into the overall ecosystem.

Suislaw National Forest Change

https://vimeo.com/125160364

This video talks about the suislaw national forest and the changes it occurred under the Northwest Forest Plan outlined by former president Clinton. Below are some bullet points of my learning from the video, hopefully you guys will find it easy to understand and grasp the importance I'm convey here. 

Trees that fall into tstream in the forest play critical roles

Slow rushing water, protecting young fish and other species.

Create pool for spawning and trap gravel for spawning adults

Hold on to smaller organic debris that nourish the entire web of life

Landslide, erosion, and storms.

Timber industry and forest service came and worked together. Found a common ground in restoration of the salmon and the overall national forest.

Changes of management.

Decommission old, open roads that were leading to erosion, landslides, and minimize impact on streams.

Maintaining existing roads in ways that won't effect the surrounding population and streams.

Replacing coverts, allowing salmon to travel back and forth along with other organisms.

Selective cutting allowing forest habitat and ecosystem to maintain and thrive at best even with timbering.

The revenue generated by the from the forest is spent on restoration of forest itself, and 40% to salmon restoration.

The community started having bigger influence on the decision made with these companies and the national forest.

The fundamental change of this whole process was that now, the community, timber industry, and forest service are using long term planning. Thinking for the future generations, instead of current profits and benefits.

Life Cycle of Salmon

Salmon goes through four major stages. Spawning, out migration, ocean life, and upstream migration. 

Spawning stage. Female salmon uses her tail to clean and shape the gravel to form strings of nests called redds. While depositing thousands of eggs, their male partner immediately fertilizes them. The female salmon then covers the now fertilized eggs with clean gravel and defends the nests. 

Cold, clean water is vital. While the eggs are growing, nutrients and oxygen are delivered via the flow of stream water and at the same time removing waste. When the tiny fishes hatch, they are attached to their sace for nutrients, at this stage they are called frye sac. When they are ready, they move up through the gravels and emerge into the stream. Once they are one inch long, they are called fingerlin. Fingerlins remember the stream and the smell to return to spawn and die later on in life. 

Out Migration.  Fingerlins' time in freshwater with other salmon could be a few days to a few years. They dwell in backwater and stream margins where the current is weak and have the insects to provide nutrients.  As they grow, they move into main channel. Best pools are deep with large wood and rocks for hiding and shades for insects and varrying water speed. The salmons carried down stream by spring thaw, the salmons go through smolting. Smolting is triggered by increasing daylight and rising water temperature. Color change, kidney change, allowing transition from freshwater to salt water.

Ocean Life. The salmons could live in ocean from two to five years. Tough life. Fishing limit on salmon. While salmon in ocean, travel long distance to get food. Large percent don't survive. Body size increase drastically. 

Upstream migration. Triggered by instinct to spawn. Travel upstream back into the fresh water. Homeward bound fish non longer and survived off body fat. Travel hundreds of miles. Health decline rapidly. Salmon carcasses return nutrients to the river. 

It amazes me how hard salmons work. Thousands of fishes, but few survived and even fewer survived to spawn. It is very sad. 

Why does Salmon being enlished at threatened or endangered species matters? Well, because salmon accounts for a major part of the river's ecosystem. The return of nutrient, the flow of species, and contributing to the biodiversity. 

Rain Water Harvest Potential

Harvesting rainwater using rooftops can be incorporated easily into our daily water usage and replace 70% to 90% water use from the municipal plant. A typical 1,500 square feet rooftop collecting 88 inches of rainwater annually can sum up a total of 6,800 gallons of rainwater. Harvested rainwater can be replaced with most household used water supply except for drinking and cooking water. It can replace dish water, laundry water, toilet water, gardening water, and showered water. That’s a lot of water that can be replaced easily by rainwater if one were to harvest it!

Living in a Mediterranean climate should also be a incentive for people to install rainwater harvesting system in every home. The disadvantages of living in a Mediterranean climate is that during summer we can experience drought, requires more expansive irrigated crops, and experience often forest fire. Due to the low amount of rainwater during winter time and the high level of runoff, the groundwater of which we rely on are depleting quickly as we pull what we need and for irrigation, it is important to harvest rainwater so to decrease the amount we pull the groundwater.

Below attached is a website for information on harvesting rain water, installing system, what methods can be used for collecting rain water, what can be done with grey water, condensate harvesting, etc. It provides a variety of ways of collecting water based on your area.

http://www.harvestingrainwater.com/street-runoff-harvesting/backwater-or-eddy-basins/

From the website provided, one thing I really liked is the street curb cut. The benefits you get would be more plants, more habitats inviting more species, carbon dioxide absorption, oxygen production, soil stability, reduce soil erosion, reduce risk of flood, visually pleasing, and low maintenance! This should be done all over major cities, especially LA because they get really bad flooding whenever it rains. Plus this would increase the amount of plants even if its desert plants, it would please the eyes and bring liveliness to the city nature-wise. Economic benefits would be that there would less cost to infrastructure repair and recovery.

Story of Bottled Water

Bottled water is a ruse to mislead the public that tap water is unclean so that the soda company can gain from the free tap water. In fact bottled water has been found to be less regulated than tap water, more expensive, less taste flavor, more bacteria, transportation cost, and environmental damage.

The way that soda company made the public choose bottled water over tap water is through manufactured demand. They advertised bottled water by scaring us that tap water is unclean and unsafe to drink. Then they use pristine picture of nature or sparkly clean running stream to seduce us into thinking that this water is super clean, fresh from the mountains, and is safe for us.

Lastly, they mislead us about how it's the most environmentally safe water of choice. It is not. The oil, fuel, and energy is cost to just make the water bottle are enough to pollute a many cities' source of water. Not including the transportation cost and the environmental damage. And at last the recycling part of the bottle life cycle. It is not recycle, and dump into land field or ship to India for land field. In India it is down cycle into smaller bits of plastic that just ends up in someone else backyard. All these plastic bottle in land field is polluting the land and the underground water.

The funny thing is that the water in these bottled water are tap water from our local water tap.

Company Tactic
- Scaring us
- Seducing us
- Misleading us

!!!!Solutions!!!!
1. Say no to bottled water unless tap water is truly unclean.
2. Join campaign that invest in public water infrastructure.
3. Prevent pollution
4. Drinking fountains
5. Water bottle boycott

The link below is the video that contains all these information
https://vimeo.com/10441794

Here's another link to food and water watch
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/our-impact
This website gives some important information.

Mushrooms can save the world!

Mushrooms are surprisingly important and significant key to our habitat.

1. Mycelium, infuses landscape and soil together.
2. Support multi transfer of nutrients from mycelium to rest of the soil and plants.
3. Restore habitat from pollution.
4. Antibiotic.
5. Kill insects without the use of harmful pesticides.
6. Produce sustainable fuel known as Econol.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5gUSyKTCx4

Hope you enjoy the video, it's very informative.

World Population

World population video. Pretty simple, yet powerful message on the increase in human population since the beginning of history.
-> https://vimeo.com/130468614

Humans thrive on less than 17% of Earth surface, yet we are depleting natural resources and increasing human population with no consideration that there is only a finite amount on Earth and for future generations. It is rather daunting to see how fast the global population increased just over 2,000 years and imagining how much humans have developed through technological, medicinal, science, industrial, and agricultural innovation. Such rapid development, it must have come at a great cost to humans and the Earth.

Everyday most think about the environmental impact and consequence of their actions and what they can do to reduce it, but just thinking about making a change or doing something we are not putting words to actions. The website below is a site that allows you to measure your impact and provides numerous idea to changing your lifestyle.
-> http://wwf.panda.org/how_you_can_help/live_green/

Global Warming

Global Warming is occurring due to human activity and the pace at which the processes is adding/cost to the environment. Human development, mining, deforestation, draining marsh and swamp, building concrete cities that reduces water infiltration into the water table, massive cow farming that emit large amount of methane, cars that produce a good portion of carbon dioxide, ocean acidification that reduces carbon dioxide absorption, and melting of glaciers that release high amount of carbon dioxide that were stored in the ice. These activities and processes led to global warming happening at a faster pace than it should have been. 

http://ww2.kqed.org/quest/2014/04/29/the-roots-of-the-carbon-cycle/

http://ww2.kqed.org/quest/2014/04/09/follow-that-nutrient/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVQnPytgwQ0

To reduce one's carbon footprint, you can take public transportation when you can to reduce using your own car. Don't turn the heater on high all day, set it low during the day to reduce using too much electricity. Plant a few garden flowers or bushes, pleasant to the eyes and benefit for the animals. 

Shopping Locally

I am located in Marin County.

The first local business that I am willing to shop at is the farmer's market at the civic center on the weekend. It is affordable and close by, plus the people are extremely nice.
https://www.agriculturalinstitute.org/directory/listing-details/sunday-san-rafael-market

Second, coffee shop. Peet's is pretty local, it was originated in Berkeley. There are several stores around Marin County that still gets it's beans and roasting done in Berkeley.
https://www.peets.com/

Third, Book Passage, a book store located in Corte Madera, San Francisco, and newly open Sausalito. Local people work here, and the resources are provided locally as well and it is an independent store.
http://www.bookpassage.com/

Fourth, Cibo resturant in Sausalito. It's produce and workers are locally sourced. In fact, they get their produce from the Farmer's Market every week.
http://cibosausalito.com/

Fifth, Marin Sun Farm, it is located in Oakland and administration located in Petaluma. It is sourced locally.
http://www.marinsunfarms.com/contact/

Consciousness Runs Deep Land Ethic

Consciousness Runs Deep, a music video produced by Soul River Runs Deep company. Below attached is the video, enjoy.

                                                                                                                                                                   

This video is about our environmental ethics that we sometime seems to forget. It is also reminding us again the work of nature around us even if we are in the city, suburban area, or country side and that appreciation through preservation and awareness is needed now and in the future.

My personal environmental ethics aren't as strong as I believe it to be, but I care for the environment enough to pick up after someone's trash, recycle, reduce the mileage I put on the car, buy local organic produce, and most importantly being aware of my energy footprint. Although it is hardly enough what I do for the environment to reduce my energy footprint, but I'd like to reorganize my thoughts on my personal environmental ethic and improve my decision making so that it also consider the environmental effect.

My Favorite Nature Place

Favorite nature place. Hmm... It would be my grandparents' home in the mountains in Taiwan. Nantou county, Taiwan, is a mountainous place and isn't as populated as it did in the past. It used to be and still is now land for farming, but not as much anymore. 

Unfortunately it is becoming quite a tourists destination that there was a booming development of hotel, motel, and resorts. Which sort of depreciates the beauty of the mountains, forests, and the serene quietness that it used to have.

As a kid I used to run around the terrace farms with my cousins and siblings and provoking the farmers to yell at us for running through their crops. The air was crispy clean, fresh, just like California air. The cool breeze that blow through the mountains alway contain scents of the forest and rain. Everyday there would fog rolling through the mountains just like the fog that rolls in San Francisco bay.