Another Way -- 10 things we can do

Annie Leonard (www.storyofstuff.com) has put together a list of 10 things we can do to minimize the effects discussed in "The Story of Stuff."

You can access them directly at:

But I have posted them here for quick reference:

Another Way
Many people who have seen The Story of Stuff have asked what they can do to address the problems identified in the film.

Each of us can promote sustainability and justice at multiple levels: as an individual, as a teacher or parent, a community member, a national citizen, and as a global citizen. As Annie says in the film, “the good thing about such an all pervasive problem is that there are so many points of intervention.” That means that there are lots and lots of places to plug in, to get involved, and to make a difference. There is no single simple thing to do, because the set of problems we’re addressing just isn’t simple. But everyone can make a difference, but the bigger your action the bigger the difference you’ll make. Here are some ideas:

10 Little and Big Things You Can Do

1.Power down!
A great deal of the resources we use and the waste we create is in the energy we consume. Look for opportunities in your life to significantly reduce energy use: drive less, fly less, turn off lights, buy local seasonal food (food takes energy to grow, package, store and transport), wear a sweater instead of turning up the heat, use a clothesline instead of a dryer, vacation closer to home, buy used or borrow things before buying new, recycle. All these things save energy and save you money. And, if you can switch to alternative energy by supporting a company that sells green energy to the grid or by installing solar panels on your home, bravo!

2.Waste less.
Per capita waste production in the U.S. just keeps growing. There are hundreds of opportunities each day to nurture a Zero Waste culture in your home, school, workplace, church, community. This takes developing new habits which soon become second nature. Use both sides of the paper, carry your own mugs and shopping bags, get printer cartridges refilled instead of replaced, compost food scraps, avoid bottled water and other over packaged products, upgrade computers rather than buying new ones, repair and mend rather than replace….the list is endless! The more we visibly engage in re-use over wasting, the more we cultivate a new cultural norm, or actually, reclaim an old one!

3. Talk to everyone about these issues.
At school, your neighbors, in line at the supermarket, on the bus…A student once asked Cesar Chavez how he organized. He said, “First, I talk to one person. Then I talk to another person.” “No,” said the student, “how do you organize?” Chavez answered, “First I talk to one person. Then I talk to another person.” You get the point. Talking about these issues raises awareness, builds community and can inspire others to action.

4.Make Your Voice Heard.
Write letters to the editor and submit articles to local press. In the last two years, and especially with Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the media has been forced to write about Climate Change. As individuals, we can influence the media to better represent other important issues as well. Letters to the editor are a great way to help newspaper readers make connections they might not make without your help. Also local papers are often willing to print book and film reviews, interviews and articles by community members. Let’s get the issues we care about in the news.

5.DeTox your body, DeTox your home, and DeTox the Economy.
Many of today’s consumer products – from children’s pajamas to lipstick – contain toxic chemical additives that simply aren’t necessary. Research online (for example, http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/) before you buy to be sure you’re not inadvertently introducing toxics into your home and body. Then tell your friends about toxics in consumer products. Together, ask the businesses why they’re using toxic chemicals without any warning labels. And ask your elected officials why they are permitting this practice. The European Union has adopted strong policies that require toxics to be removed from many products. So, while our electronic gadgets and cosmetics have toxics in them, people in Europe can buy the same things toxics-free. Let’s demand the same thing here. Getting the toxics out of production at the source is the best way to ensure they don’t get into any home and body.

6.Unplug (the TV and internet) and Plug In (the community).
The average person in the U.S. watches T.V. over 4 hours a day. Four hours per day filled with messages about stuff we should buy. That is four hours a day that could be spent with family, friends and in our community. On-line activism is a good start, but spending time in face-to-face civic or community activities strengthens the community and many studies show that a stronger community is a source of social and logistical support, greater security and happiness. A strong community is also critical to having a strong, active democracy.

7. Park your car and walk…and when necessary MARCH!
Car-centric land use policies and life styles lead to more greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel extraction, conversion of agricultural and wildlands to roads and parking lots. Driving less and walking more is good for the climate, the planet, your health, and your wallet. But sometimes we don’t have an option to leave the car home because of inadequate bike lanes or public transportation options. Then, we may need to march, to join with others to demand sustainable transportation options. Throughout U.S. history, peaceful non-violent marches have played a powerful role in raising awareness about issues, mobilizing people, and sending messages to decision makers.

8.Change your lightbulbs…and then, change your paradigm.
Changing lightbulbs is quick and easy. Energy efficient lightbulbs use 75% less energy and last 10 times longer than conventional ones. That's a no-brainer. But changing lightbulbs is just tinkering at the margins of a fundamentally flawed system unless we also change our paradigm. A paradigm is a collection of assumptions, concepts, beliefs, and values that together make up a community’s way of viewing reality. Our current paradigm dictates that more stuff is better, that infinite economic growth is desirable and possible, and that pollution is the price of progress. To really turn things around, we need to nurture a different paradigm based on the values of sustainability, justice, health, and community.

9. Recycle your trash…and, recycle your elected officials.
Recycling saves energy and reduces both waste and the pressure to harvest and mine new stuff. Unfortunately, many cities still don’t have adequate recycling systems in place. In that case you can usually find some recycling options in the phone book to start recycling while you’re pressuring your local government to support recycling city-wide. Also, many products – for example, most electronics - are designed not to be recycled or contain toxics so recycling is hazardous. In these cases, we need to lobby government to prohibit toxics in consumer products and to enact Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, as is happening in Europe. EPR is a policy which holds producers responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products, so that electronics company who use toxics in their products, have to take them back. That is a great incentive for them to get the toxics out!

10.Buy Green, Buy Fair, Buy Local, Buy Used, and most importantly, Buy Less.
Shopping is not the solution to the environmental problems we currently face because the real changes we need just aren’t for sale in even the greenest shop. But, when we do shop, we should ensure our dollars support businesses that protect the environment and worker rights. Look beyond vague claims on packages like “all natural” to find hard facts. Is it organic? Is it free of super-toxic PVC plastic? When you can, buy local products from local stores, which keeps more of our hard earned money in the community. Buying used items keeps them out of the trash and avoids the upstream waste created during extraction and production. But, buying less may be the best option of all. Less pollution. Less Waste. Less time working to pay for the stuff. Sometimes, less really is more.

The Story of Stuff

In today's MASTERS class, you watched the video, "The Story of Stuff" by Annie Leonard. In the video, we learned all about the five stages that involve the "life" of a product:

Extraction
Production
Distribution
Consumption
Disposal

Next week, we will be going to the Santa Monica Recycling Center to see first hand how part of the "Disposal" stage works in our area. We want to be able to ask the recycling center volunteer some really great questions based on what we have learned from both the video, and also some other resources.

To come up with some good questions, please visit the following websites to learn more about the "Disposal" stage:

http://www.storyofstuff.com/ngodisposal.html

As you read through some of the websites, think about the ways we could encourage more responsible "disposal" behaviors in our own Seven Arrows community.

Write your questions and thoughts in response to this post on the blog.

Coming together as a Team and finding the best in ourselves!

I don't know about you guys, but I thought that Friday's field trip to Temescal Canyon Park was about as fun as it gets! It was so wonderful to see how each of you stepped up to the plate and really gave your best, for yourself and your team!

I'd love to hear your thoughts about Friday's teambuilding. What was the most exciting part for you? What parts of the event really suprised you? What impressed you? And most importantly, what did you learn about yourself? about your team?

Please post your responses using the comment feature below.

Paper Usage at SAE!!!

Today you had a chance to hear from the leaders of Seven Arrows about how we use paper here. You probably found out that we sometimes use paper wisely, and often use paper unwisely!!

For this week's homework assignment, we want you to think about all the information shared by the panelists today. Consider the following questions:

What do you think we could do better?

What ideas do you have about how we can reduce our use of paper?

What ideas do you have about how we can do a better job of recycling?

What are some ways we can save money with paper, and save trees at the same time?

What will happen if we don't start reducing our use?

Think back (or reivew) the post, "Important Tree Facts" (posted below). How many trees does our paper usage equal? How can you find out?

We want you to post your ideas in response to today's class and share your ideas. Eventually we will look at all the ideas and create a plan for "leading the way" in reducing our use of paper here at school.

Important TREE facts!!!

Today we shared a LOT of facts about trees. What is your response to those facts? How does learning about the important contributions of trees help make you feel about paper production? about recycling? about the article below on Amazon deforestation?

Review the tree facts from our activity listed below. Then post a comment in response to the questions listed above.


********* TREE FACTS ************

• A mature tree removes 48 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year from the air (that’s nearly 10 TONS per acre)!!

• The amount of carbon stored yearly by an acre of trees (about the area of a baseball field) is almost equal to the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released by burning 1,000 gallons of gasoline.

• A tree that provide shade and wind protection to buildings can reduce the amount of energy that building will need to stay warm in the winter, or cool in the summer (energy conservation). Because of this, trees next to buildings reduce CO2 emissions 15 times more than just the amount of CO2 that the tree actually stores.

• In ONE year, an acre of trees consumes the amount of CO2 that is produced by a car driving an average of 26,000 miles.

• In ONE year, an acre of trees produces enough oxygen for 18 people to breathe for a year.

• A healthy tree stores about 13 lbs of carbon each year. An acre of trees can store about 2.6 TONS of carbon in a year.

• It takes the wood from a 100 Foot tree to keep the average American supplied for a year with newspaper, books, magazines, tissues, paper towels, housing materials, furniture, desks, fences, boxes and other wood products.

• It takes wood from 100 foot tree to make 613 lbs of paper products

• Over its lifetime, a 100 ft. tree will transpire nearly FIVE MILLION gallons of water (5,000,000) back into the air as part of the water cycle!!!

• Over its lifetime, a 100 ft. tree will keep 100 lbs of nutrients in its wood, and return 200 lbs of nutrients to the soil.

• Over its lifetime, a 100 ft. tree will produce over 6,000 lbs of oxygen!!

• 30% of EVERYTHING we throw away is paper, and 15% of that is newspaper! ONE issue of the Sunday New York Times uses 65,000 Trees!!!!!!!!


Source: The NC Forest Stewardship
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/nreos/forest/plt/pdf/branching_out/branch4.pdf

DONT FORGET TO POST A COMMENT!!!

Deforestation of the Amazon... even today!!!

Brazil: Surprise rise in Amazon destruction, AP Sept. 29, 2008

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - The Amazon is being deforested more than twice as fast as last year, Brazilian officials said Monday, acknowledging a sharp reversal after three years of declines in the deforestation rate.



Brazil's Environment Minister Carlos Minc said upcoming nationwide elections are partly to blame, with mayors in the Amazon region turning a blind eye to illegal logging in hopes of gaining votes locally.

Environmentalists blame the global spike in food prices for encouraging soy farmers and cattle ranchers to clear land for crops and grazing.



Amazon destruction jumped 228 percent in August when compared to the same month a year ago, according to a report from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research. Some 292 square miles of Amazon was destroyed last month, compared to 89 square miles in August 2007.

The institute, which uses satellite imagery to track illegal logging, said the destruction was likely even worse than its figures show, since no information was available for about 26 percent of the Amazon covered by clouds during the tracking.



Aerial View of Sediment Run-off Caused by Massive Amazon Deforestation. This entire area has been stripped bare of forest, so there are no longer any plants, bushes or tree roots to hold soil...which runs off into rivers and streams, killing marine life, even after the animals on land have been killed due to deforestation.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26944664/wid=18298287

THINK AND POST:

What is your response to this article?

Why is it a bad idea to increase the rate at which we are cutting down the rainforest?

How can we get people to stop?

Please post your reponse in the comments section.

Learning About Paper Production...

Hello MASTERS Students!!

For your homework this week, you've been asked to learn a little bit more about paper production. We have collected MANY different resources that you can take a look at to learn more. You do NOT have to read every single one. We just wanted to give you some choices.

Take a look through the websites and read those that seem interesting to you. We have also included as part of this blog post a couple of videos that you can watch on paper production.

While you read, or watch the videos, please think about:

How is paper production affecting the environment?

How much energy does it take to make paper?

What is better, recycle paper or use less paper?

What takes more energy, recycling paper or making electricy to power computers?

After you have read through a couple of the articles and maybe watched a video or two, please post your comments in response to this blog post. In your response, please share what you have learned about paper production so far, and whether or not you have any feelings about how we use paper at our school, in our homes, and even in our community.

Websites (you may have to copy and paste them into a new window):


http://www.ecstaticrelations.com/booksintotrees/


http://www.livingtreepaper.com/about_pulp.html


http://www.idahoforests.org/paprmake.htm


http://www.paperrecycles.org/paper_environment/index.html

How Copy Paper is Made!!


via videosift.com

How Toilet Paper is Made!!


via videosift.com

If for some reason you don't see the button to post your comment -- click on the title of this post. It will take you to a new window and you should see the "post comment" button there.

An Inconvenient Truth

For the past two sessions you have been viewing the documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth", and answering questions based on what you have learned.

Out of all the questions on the handout that you have answered -- which ones seemed particularly important?

Please choose between 4-7 questions on the handout that seem particularly important, and answer them here in the blog.

Please make your responses thoughtful and thorough.

Thanks!

MASTERS End of the Year Survey

Well, its hard to believe but its nearly the end of the school year.

We are very interested in getting your opinion about things that have gone well, and things that haven't gone so well this year.

So, we have a survey for you to complete! Please go to the following link and complete the survey. Be as SPECIFIC and DETAILED as possible! Thanks!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=3eAWvnKUjnTzo9NaTnpjFA_3d_3d

Earth Day ECO-FAIR

Boy -- what a lot of work it was to prepare and host the first ever Earth Day ECO-FAIR!! But you know what? You guys did an AMAZING job!!

Here are some pictures of your wonderful presentations:

Creating Our Power Point Presentation

Hello everyone!

Today we are going to be working on developing our PowerPoint Presentation slides. At the end of the year we will be doing a presentation for some special guests. So, we need to start developing those slides!

If you are reading this blog post, then you should already have picked out the slide(s) that you and a partner are going to be working on. Pairs of students are going to be working on different slides -- every pair has a different topic. You can make just one slide for your topic, or, you can make 2-3 if you feel you need that many to explain.

To get the information that you will need to make your slides, you will have to remember all that you have learned, and you may have to do some research. Here are some links to websites that will be very helpful as you make your slides:

Global Warming & Climate Change
http://tiki.oneworld.net/global_warming/climate_home.html


Global Warming & Climate Change
http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html


GREAT CHARTS AND GRAPHICS on fossil fuels
http://www.solcomhouse.com/fossilfuels.htm


There are also some websites to the right ------>
in the "Important Links" section that you can visit to get more information (like the Wind Energy Page).


Remember:
Effective PowerPoint slides get to the point (are not wordy), and usually include images or charts.

If you have questions, just ask!

When your slides are complete, EMAIL THEM TO Ms. BETTS @ abetts@sevenarrows.com.

Thanks!

Our Intrepid Recycling Adventure...

Hopefully this will work. I created a mini-comic out of our adventure at the Santa Monica Recycling Center. I think if you click on the image, it will enlarge it enough so that you can read the text. Enjoy!

Reduce Reuse and Recycle!!!

Today we went to the Santa Monica City Recycling Center. It was so interesting to see the ways in which the City of Santa Monica is trying to reduce the amount of trash going to the landfills. I, for one, learned so much!!

What did you learn? What crazy or interesting fact are swirling around in your head?

In response to this post, write three comments that meet the following:

1. What is something that "squared" with you (something that you agree with, or makes sense to you)

2. What is something that is still going "round and round" in your mind (in other words, what questions do you still have?)

3. What are the THREE most important things you will remember?


I can't wait to see what you come up with!

LEARNING ABOUT WIND...

Today we have been learning about wind. As part of this investigation, you will explore a website that is all about wind and wind energy. Please look at the "Important Links" column to the right of this page, and click on the "What is Wind Energy?" link.

Your task is to conduct an information "scavenger hunt", gathering as much information about wind as you dare! The questions below will guide your search. Please post all of the information you found in response to the following questions. Thanks!

Questions:

1. What happens when cold air and warm air meet?


2. What are some things you found out about the Troposphere?


3. What happens to the air in the atmosphere as you get further and further away from the surface of the earth?


4. What are the two main causes of wind?


5. What effect does the sun have on creating wind?


We can't wait to see all that you have learned!

Hyperion Plant Gives a New Meaning to BioFuel!

Today the MASTERS students went on a field trip to the Hyperion Waste Treatment Plant. It was amazing to think that human waste can be transformed into enough energy to power the plant!

Here are some great pictures from our trip-- ENJOY!


I think this picture "says" it all!!















Before we can tour the plant, we have to put on our fashionable hairnets and hard hats!
















At last we are on the tram and ready to go!

















Below are the containers where bacteria, feeding on the solid waste, create methane gas. The methane gas is then piped next door to the Scattergood Power Plant, where it is converted into electricty. The electricity is then piped back to Hyperion, to power nearly all of their operations! It's amazing to think that this giant waste treatment plant, with all its energy needs, takes almost nothing from the main power grid!

















So what did you think about the Hyperion Power Plant? What did you learn? Feel free to post your thoughts and comments (all appropriate of course!) in response to this post!

Solar Car Lab ATTENDANCE -- confirm your attendance here

Please let us know whether you WILL or WILL NOT be attending tomorrow's SOLAR CAR BUILDING LAB.

Also let us know if one of your parents will also be attending.

And lastly, if you still have magnets from the homework experiments, please return them right away -- Ms. Hiss is crying for her lost magnets!!!


Thank you !!!

Solar Collection Experiment

In today's experiment, you collected water in containers with black or white bottoms, with or with out a lid.

What is your prediction about how the temperature of the water will be effected? (write your predictions)

How did the actual results of the experiment differ from your initial predictions?

Solar Energy: Show us you know!

Over the past few weeks in Ms. Hiss' groups, your group has been participating in a variety of experiments related to the production of electricity from solar energy.

We want you to think about what you have experienced and learned so far.

Consider these questions:

What's the connection between the experiments you've been doing in Ms. Hiss' group and the production of solar energy?


What is moving? How fast is it moving?


What is the relationship between heat and the movement of electrons? How is this related to the energy from the sun?

History of Solar Energy Use

Over the past several weeks, you have been learning more about the ways in which humans have used solar energy to make their lives easier. When your group spent time with Ms. Atkins, you worked to create a Solar Energy timeline, that described events and advancements in the use of solar energy from ancient times until today.

Take a moment to reflect on some of the amazing things that you learned.

What information surprised you? Why?

What new information did you learn?

What questions do you still have?

What would you like to learn next?

Take a moment to post your thoughts in response in the blog.

Archimedes Death Ray... Fact or Fiction??

Sadly.... today in MASTERS there was no sun!!! That means Ms. Betts' magnifying glass group was out of luck and could not do their amazing paper burning experiments!!

However, we had an interesting time trying to ignite paper using a halogen lamp. Though no paper actually burned, we discovered that we need a more powerful bulb (at least 100 watts), and a clear casing (not a diffused surface). I guess its back to the drawing board!

Students were encouraged to wait for some sun, and try the experiments again.

Even though the sun abandoned us, we had fun watching a really cool video on "Archimedes' Death Ray." History tells us that during the Punic wars, a famous scientist (Archimedes) used a giant mirror to burn holes in the attacking Roman ships. Many historians think this story is a myth, that it couldn't really happen. But, some professors and students at MIT decided to find out.

Click on the link below to watch a video demonstration of their experiments with "Archimedes' Death Ray." Feel free to post your comments about the video in response to this entry!

http://web.mit.edu/2.009/www//experiments/deathray/10_archimedesMovies/dailyPlanetMedium.mov

Maybe you can answer the question... is Archimedes' Death Ray-- fact? or fiction?

How do Solar Cars work?

The last activity you were assigned for homework this week was to research how a solar car works. You have seen how the heat of the sun's rays can burn a hole through paper (and in some cases the wooden clip board!). But how does it make a car go? What has to happen before the sun's energy can be used to move a vehicle?

Click the comment button below, and post your ideas based on your research.

Compass Activity

One of the activities you were assigned for homework required you to try some experiments with a compass. Please click the comment button below and post your answers to the questions at the bottom of the activity handout.

Static Electricity

One of the activities you were assigned for homework had to do with static electricity. Please click the comment button below and post your answers to the questions at the bottom of the activity handout.

What is Solar Energy?

Today you began to understand more about how the sun works, and how humans use the sun's rays to create energy. Though your journey is just beginning, you already know more about solar energy than you think!

Today's activities were varied, and each group participated in a different experience. Some of you learned how Helium and Hydrogen (the elements that make up the sun) interact to create heat. Others learned how to convert the sun's rays into heat energy with a magnifying glass. Still others worked on a timeline that chronicles the ways in which humans have used and benefitted from solar energy since the ancient times. But no matter which experience your group was part of, you were learning important things about solar energy!

Based on your experiences today, respond to this blog with some of the information you have learned. Use the following questions to guide your response. Be sure to answer each question completely.

What are some things you understand so far about solar energy?

What are some questions you still might have?

What are some connections have you made?

As we move through this unit on solar energy, we will be using your understandings, questions, and connections to guide us!