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.