How Does the Green Team Earn $Green$?

The Green Team is active in many fundraising endeavors such as concession stands throughout the school year, Terracycle Collection, and Planet Green Recycling. With Terracycle and Planet Green Recycle, we are removing items from the waste stream and turning them into cash for our projects!
Want to find out how you can help? First, do your research, visit Terracycle.net and register, then become a part of the EJSHS Green Team by selecting it from the menu options. When your finished registering there, go over to www.planetgreenrecycle.com/ejshsgreenteam and buy recycled ink cartridges from the website because 15% of the purchase price goes to the Green Team! Second, drop of your used ink cartridges and old cell phones in one of the many 'Planet Green' drop off boxes around town. In addition, start collecting those Terracyclable items such as Mars candy wrappers, Capri Sun and Kool-Aid drink pouches, and Frito-Lay chip bags to turn into the Green Team!

Planet Green Recycle Drop Off Boxes
Flint Hills Feed
GWCO Courthouse
GWCO Hospital
G&W
Alco
New Beginnings
Alan Johnson's Reality
Eureka Post Office
Community National Bank

Terracycle Drop Off
GWCO Courthouse
Eureka Jr/Sr High School

We're Being Attacked!

The Green Team's community garden is getting a sour taste of nature, if its not swallowtail caterpillars on our parsley, its hornworms and grasshoppers on our tomatoes! Because the Green Team would like to keep the garden free of artificial insecticides/herbicides we are going to use the idea that the local greenhouse operator gave us a while back: attack bad bugs with good bugs! We are going to use the harmless and tiny Braconid wasp, which is a natural parasite to the hornworm, to help get the population under check! This wasp will help with other pests as well!!

In the future, we are also going to plant dill, parsley, fennel, and cilantro close to our tomatoes in order to curb the hornworm population! If you have any other ideas, please let us know!!

It's Growing, I Mean Going, Well at the Community Garden!

Thanks to everyone who has been out to help with the community garden! We have picked so many squash and zucchini, peppers are about ready, and there are watermelons!! Just wanted to remind everyone of the new hours: Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday the Garden will be open from 7-9pm. On Tuesdays and Thursdays it is open from 6-8 pm. Please come out and see us! Thanks again :)

Help Needed in the Community Garden!!

The EJSHS Green Team Community Garden is up and growing! This means it is time for us to open the gates and let some community members in to help! Please give me a call or email the greenteam if you would like to schedule a shift with the community garden. Remember, after you have donated 30 minutes of your time, you have your pick of the garden! Chores would include basic garden responsibilities such as watering, mulching, and picking/pruning. I will be busy with the worms and the windrows, but will be available during hours to help. The hours are going to be 7-9pm weekdays starting June 20th. Enjoy :)

The Verdict is In!

Christmas of 2010 was when the Green Team realized that the HS had a problem. We conducted a waste audit where we weighed and documented all of the waste that was going into our dumpsters. We concluded that there was too much recyclable waste being disposed of improperly. So that's when we amplified our paper recycling collection, started to recycle cardboard, magazines, catalogs, glass and plastic containers of all sorts. In addition, we started to compost our cafeteria's food waste. We collect, mass, and mix 100% of our lunchroom waste and compost it to make our 'home grown top soil' that we have since used to plant lots of flowers and our community garden. This last semester we made sure we took meticulous data and the graph below tells us that we are wasting a huge amount of food during our lunch periods.

Spring of 2011 Data

                                        

Windrows created from mixing food waste, manure, leaves/grass, paper, and saw dust

 

 

If you would like to know more, or have any ideas on how we could curb our waste in the cafeteria, please let us know by commenting here, or by emailing us at ejshsgreenteam@yahoo.com.

Green Team Outdoor Classroom has just added a Community Garden!

Over the last few weeks, the EJSHS Green Team has been working exceptionally hard to bring the community of Eureka their own public garden! The garden is located on the west side of the Marshall Elementary building. It has four equal sized plots that are 10'x30'. Even though it is 1,200sq ft, we started small to ensure the success of our garden. The Green Team would like to say thank you to some very important individuals for making this a reality: Lisa Moots, owner/operator of the Eureka Greenhouses with her husband Eric for supplying the garden with wonderful plants! Also to Roy Wade for volunteering to come out and till for us! And finally, the faculty and administrators with USD 389 for their cooperation, flexibility, and support during this process.

If you would like to become a member of the community garden planning organization please email us at ejshsgreenteam@yahoo.com with your name, occupation, and the capacity with which you'd like to help. We are currently looking for people of all ages to participate in 'Making This Garden Grow!' We will be setting up meeting times to discuss ground rules, hours, shifts, and much more!

In addition, if you would like to learn more about vermicomposting or the lunch room waste composting that is going on as well, please email us!

Green Team Receives Donation from Cross Farms/Mansanto

On April 7th, the EJSHS Green Team was presented with a $2,500 check from the Mansanto Fund. The team was chosen as the recipient of the grant funds by local farmers Jesse and Colleen Cross of Cross Farms. With the help the GW County Economic Development Director, Ashley Bogle, the Green Team will now be able to finance the purchase of a tiller, and other items for projects in their outdoor classroom, such as the pond for the "AquaPonics system," and the pumps for the rain barrels.

For more information about the Green Team or about our Outdoor Classroom, email us at ejshsgreenteam@yahoo.com.

Home Grown Top Soil

EJSHS Green Team has been weighing, mixing, dumping, rowing, and turning tons of cafeteria waste since September. Yes tons! We average almost 75lbs of food waste per day at the High School. The Green Team takes the waste and mixes it with sawdust, paper, manure, grass and/or leaves. After mixing, the team will dump a windrow so that the microorganisms can break down all of our food waste and make a nutrient rich top soil. Our first row has been bagged up and is already in use for plants in our outdoor learning area.
If you would like more information about the projects the Green Team is doing, or to come visit the outdoor learning area, please email us at ejshsgreenteam@yahoo.com!

Bike or Walk to School or Work Day!

Next Wednesday, April 13th, in celebration of Environmental Education Week, EJSHS Green Team is sponsoring a Bike or Walk to School or Work Day. Students at the HS that walk or ride their bike to school that day will get out early (end of 7th Hour) on Thursday, April 21st. Students who live out in the country are encouraged to meet up at a friends house and walk or ride from there.

Also, at the HS during the week we will be having 'Least Waste Week.' Amount of discarded lunch material will be weighed at the end of each lunch period. The lunch with the least waste will be awarded a banana split/sundae on Monday, April 25th.

Members of the community are encouraged to participate as well! In fact the winning business will receive a Green Team approved prize which may include, but is not limited to, a flower planter full of flowers, installation of a water barrel, or a 50# bag of our 'home grown' topsoil.

Environmental Education Week April 10th-16th!

Governor Brownback (KS) has declared April 10-16th as Environmental Education Week. He is encouraging Kansans to preserve and learn about our state's natural resources through learning about the environment and actively experiencing the outdoors!

Check out National Environmental Education Foundations website dedicated to this very special week!

Water Temperatures

The temperatures of North Atlantic water flowing into the Arctic Ocean adjacent to Greenland. They are related to the amplification of global warming in the Arctic. We believe that the rapid warming of the Arctic and recent decrease in the Arctic sea ice extent are tied to the enhanced heat transfer from the North Atlantic Ocean. We can change this!

Ultragreen NASA Research Center

NASA is building an ultragreen research center designed to produce more energy then it uses! It is said to be one of the greenest federal government buildings ever built. It is going to have ceiling panels that cool the air, windows and shades that open automatically, and a constant LCD display of energy use along with many other cool new energy saving techniques. It also has a forward osmosis system that treats greywater, and it reuses it to flush toilets and urinals. This new facility will lower taxes and help the environment! What an awesome deal! Its Revit system allows architects to model designs for maximum performance so they know the impact of every change, such as the amount of daylight available if they rotate the building 10 degrees. The building will use 75% less energy and 90% less potable water than regular code=built structures. Computers will open windows at night to let in the cool air and close them during the day. Software will monitor the temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and light and noise levels.

This new establishment is said the be one of the most "greenest" buildings ever built. I think it was very cool what they are doing, maybe this will inspire other major corporations to follow in NASA's footsteps and go green also! If everyone could think of ways like this to conserve our natural resources then we might be on track to turning around our future.

Misson Ultragreen!

NASA has modified their base in Moffett Field, California to be as green as possible. This new green building contains ceiling panels that cool the air, window shades that open automatically and a constant LCD display of energy use!The NASA Sustainability Base was made to produce more energy than it needs, this way it isn't costing us money or extra energy and its helping. Obama himself had solar panels installed in the white house, this making federal buildings more energy efficient. Also Since the federal government is one of the biggest energy consumers, lowering the utility bill by using the solar panels NASA has used, will benefit taxpayers money and even better, help the environment. You ask why now? Why not sooner had this been done? Sofware. NASA's sustinablility Base wouldn't hve been possible with out our latest sofware. This 50,000 foot squared building cost 23 million dollars to build. Although the building will use 75% less energy than what a normally building would use. 90% less of potable water will be used than normal buildings. After what is called a solid oxide fuel is added to the solar panels and wind turbine, it is then when the Base is expected to produce a noraml flow of power.

Whos going green.. Ultragreen?

NASA is planning on designed to produce more energy then its uses at the sustainability base, this is federal governments greenest buildings, president Obama is planning on reinstalling solar panels on the white house this spring, lowering utility bills will save taxpayers money and save the environment. LEED standing for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, by requiring projects meet the LEED’s second highest, or gold standard. Veterans Affairs are working to install solar panels at facilities nationwide, with going to the sunny areas that will produce up to 100% of their electricity. 23 million, 50,000 square-foot NASA showpiece will use 75% less energy and 90% less water then regular code-built structures. Use 100 wells, each 140 feet deep, run water through copper tubes in ceiling panels, the water will stay at 58 degrees, this will make the cool air fall into the work space below, open the windows at night and close them during the day. Artificial light will be needed 40 day each year, they will benefit from daylight pouring in from floor and ceiling windows and the second floor the skylights.

NASA goes greenER!!!

NASA is currently making a green building. It is a smart building that identifies things.  The building uses the basics of physics and enginneering. It is listed to be on the LEED for its enviromental safety of the building. Leed is Leadership in Energy and Enviromental Design. This project should come out very well, It should help our planet by a major proportion if more and more building begin to come this way. Although the cost is high, the building is for business, not for living, so it can and should be proportionally smaller. This building is a major step in the future if the building comes to work. This project is a major step in the future.

NASA new "green" research center

NASA has been working on a new research center in Moffett Field, CA. They are using a software that is going to tell how must energy is being used in the center. They are also using solar panels, forward-osmosis system, and more to help the Earth. NASA is calling this the "latest misson on Earth".

To Green and beyond

NASA is known for being a leader in technology; well they just upped the ante with their new research center. The building got LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) highest standard possibly, Platinum. The design of the building is also more efficient because of the software that was used to design it. The architect could see how the environment would react to the building being rotated ten degrees. It also features a system of pipes going through the ceiling of the building that carries the water for the building that also cools the building. It will also use the used shower water for toilets, making it less wasteful then just using from a different source. It will only need forty days on the grid to fuel it; this will be days that the weather will interfere. This could be used in schools and other building that has a lot of people to cut cost and better the people in them.

Better fuels? Inside a cow?

Researchers looking at many different was for more affordable and environmentally sustainable bio-fuels, then using simple sugars in food crops such as corn, beets or sugar cane, they are looking for better ways to convert leaves and stems of grasses or woody plants to liquid fuel. Researchers are cutting holes into cow’s stomachs and placing a bag of grass such as switch-grass and alfalfa, to try and collect microbe’s enzymes that break down plants, breaking down plant matter and making it into energy, to us this would be like a catheter. The digestive system in the cow is allowing it to eat more than 150 pounds of plant matter every day such as milled switch-grass and alfalfa, into a permanent, surgically installed portal in the cow’s stomachs and examined the microbes that adhered to each plant type after two or three days. Microbes in the stomachs are sooner or later breaking down both types of plant matter, with different groups of microbes attacking the plant types, researchers are on to switchgrass a promising bio-fuel crop, the cows stomach is one of the best microbial habitats to explore this on the plant-degrading enzymes.

Inside a cow's stomach

Some researchers may have found a new way to make biofuel and it comes from a cow’s rumen. A cow’s first stomach that’s main use is for plant digestion. The way they’re doing this is by putting mesh bags of switchgrass in a cow’s stomach though a cannula. A cannula is a porthole like thing that lets someone look in side an animal’s stomach. The researchers believe that some of a cow’s stomach enzymes may help make less expensive bio-fuels.

Cows and Enzymes for Better Biofuels

I believe that this idea will work. They are artifically making better enzymes for biofuels.  We are using the cow rumens to make energy into biofuels. Microbes make the breakdown of the plant easier.  This should help to our growning problem of non-renewable resources. This is also very easily made into fuels. They can use the swithgrass and harvest and extract the sugars and make ethonal. Although it has to be broken down, this is one way of how to do it.

Cow Rumen Enzymes for better biofuels

Scientists placed mesh bags of switchgrass in the cow rumen to isolate those microbes that adhere to the grass and the microbial enzymes that help break down plant biomass. This effort yielded dozens of new candidate enzymes for biofuel production. When it comes to breaking down plant matter and converting it to energy, the cow has it all figured out. It's digestive system allows it to eat more than 150 pounds of plant matter every day.

cow rumen enzymes for better biofuels

this seems like a good idea, but i think that it would cost a bunch of money because there is millions of cattle around our part of the country. in kansas alone there are about 4-5 million cows, with a large growth rate. the new grass which is easily harvested, the cows can digest them better and break down the sugars more. but i also think that today as a son of a fellow rancher our cattle our doing very well for the harsh winter we are having. and we have only had problems with the cattle as they come off the trucks and are already very sick, actually too sick for our medicine to help them.

Cow Rumen

I think it is a good idea to try and find what bacteria are in the poop. It might be affecting the animals by putting one of the devices into them. But if we can learn stuff from it and it can help us in the long run then its a good thing.

Cow Rumen For Better Biofuels

Scientist put what they call "Mesh Bags" of switch grass in Cow Rumen. To better understand what I'm going to be talking about you should know what cow Rumen is, it is a large fermentation barrel where bacteria break down roughages (food) to hold the nutrients for their use. They did this to separate the microbes that are attached to the enzymes, which help break down plant bio-mass. Cows are basically experts at breaking down plants, and turning it into energy. Cows eat over 150 pounds of plants everyday, but because of their digest system its okay to do this. Scientist have figured out cows have dozens of microbe enzymes in their digestion chamber, that also help breakdown food. The reason being the grass is switch grass and not just any old grass is because switch grass has a sugar in it. And if we could replace the sugar with the sugar in the grass and not depend on crops we'd be better off. Another reason this is good is because grass is very sustainable, so if we used switch grass then it'd last longer and go a lot more ways. Also If the scientist figure out a way to break down cellulose from the switch grass then we could make ethanol from the sugars in the switch grass.

Cows are the key for new biofuels

Science professors are using a cow with cannula ( a prement, surgically installed portal) to see what microbes breakdown plant matter. The have found that different micribes attack the plants to break it down. This cause the professors to try and map the microbes in the cow's rumen ( the main main grass-digestion chamber). After they got the map they started to take some DNA of the microbes. With these new developments we might have a chapper source of fuel that is greener too.

Cow Rumen Enzymes for Better Biofuels

The article I just read was about finding ways to break down plant biomass in the cows Rumen. I didnt' really understand some of the article because it was all science talk but what I did understand was that they put bags of switchgrass in the cows rumen to break down the plant biomass and convert it into energy. The cows digestive system allows it to eat 150 pounds of plant matter every day. This tackles a major barrier to the development of more affordable and environmentally sustainable biofuels. The new way of converting the leaves and stems of grasses or woody plants to liquid fuel is more efficient than relying on fermentation. They say this process is not an easy one though, "The problem with second-generation biofuels is the problem of unlocking the soluble fermentable sugars that are in plant cell wall." said professor Roderick Mackie. Researchers focused on switchgrass for this study, they incubated the grass for 72 hours and conducted a geonmic analysis of all of the microbes that adhered to the switchgrass. These results suggest that the bovine rumen is one of the best microbial habitats to explore for sources of plant- degrading enzymes, the researchers reported. I think that this new discovery is pretty cool, it helps the cows help us make ethanol. This new way of producing ethanol is more efficient than fermentation.

Why is coral moving from the Atlanta to Detroit?

Some of many Pacific corals are moving from the sunny Atlanta to Detroit, because of rising ocean temperatures. The temperate climate zones have changed so much in the past few years. A few reasons why are that people are using are oceans as trash cans, and factories are letting out smoke and other gas into the air and are putting oil in the ocean and none of this is good. Therefore, many corals are moving and soon there will be no more. We can change this!

A Greener Pig for a Greener World

Pigs cannot digest phytate, so pig farmers put extra phosphorous in pig feed to break it down. The problem with this process it that nearly all of the phosphorous is pooped out and washed into the oceans creating a "dead zone"which is responsible for the deaths of many sea creatures. Cecil Forsburg saw this and spent 10 years genetically modefying Yorksire pigs so their saliva has phytase in it. The "EcoPig" is not leagally ready for tase testing due to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Health Canada, but it expected to taste "quite good."

"V" is for Vermicomposting

Tayler Smith and Madison Strate presented to Mrs. Schwartz's 3rd grade class on different ways to help the save the environment. Going through the alphabet and discussing eco-friendly practices in "S" is for Save the Planet, the girls gave the students an idea on how to do their part. The lesson they taught was about composting with the aid of worms. The class is going to see if there is a difference between how easily different types of bags break down. Paper bag, plastic bag and decompostable bags will be observed weekly in the class' very own 'vermi-composting' bin!

"L" is for Lorax

The Green Team is up to it again! Presenting environmentally-themed books and doing very cool projects with students at Marshall Elementary. Wayne Moots and Shelby McMullen presented "L" is for Lorax to Mrs. Alonso's 3rd grade class. They followed up with an activity to teach students about sustainably using the Earth's natural resources.

T-Shirt Design Contest

#1

#2

 These are the designs in the running for the t-shirt design contest. To vote on the design, leave a comment on this post with the option you like best. Thank you for your help!

#3

#4

#5

 

 

 

This Little Piggy!

When you see a pig or hear the word pig, most people only think of bacon. Think again! I bet you didn't know pigs need phosphorus to produce DNA, or to construct cell membranes, or to transport energy! Phytate is a phosphorus molecule in most food farmers give their pigs to eat, and pigs are not able to digest the phytate very well. So farmers tried putting pure phosphorus into the pig feed to try and help the pigs break down and digest the phytate, although this did not help much. the pigs were still releasing just about all of the phosphorus that we don't want in the waters killing wildlife and feeding algae. Biologist Cecil Foresberg has bred two pigs and made what is called the new Enviro-pig! When they bred they changed a bacteria to where only the bacteria we need to be released is released, and it is not harming the marine wildlife. Now the question is to switch to the Enviro-pig or not? I say it is a good idea because if its helping the world, and not harming anything that we should at least try it.

I found my information @

www.Popsci.com

Human Population and its effect on the earth.

The Current population of the world is six point five billion people. At the rate China is going, that number could easily increase to ten point five billion people. Ten point five people is a lot of people, and a lot of people means there are multiple ways the earth could be effected. Starting with the decrease of water supply and land to grow food to feed the six point five billion people. We also can have a greater chance of catching a deadly disease, because of how quickly it could spread, and all the pollution they would cause. These examples greatly affect our environment, and eventually the population.

The human body obviously needs water to function along with food and other things. In India the population is growing over nine hundred and seventy-four million people today, following close behind china. The problem with this relating to the environment is the depletion of water supply. The water tables are showing that they are falling by one up to five meters annually over the country of India. The way the earth if effected is that if people do not have water to survive, they will eventually die. Or there will not be enough water to water and help grow the food they need to eat to survive. This would put a big tole on the death and growth rates.

in 2002 the population in China was one point twenty-eight billion people. Which is over three times more than the United State's population. Although our land space is a little larger than theirs. They have more people and less land to put all their people on, while the Untied States has room to spare. This for India and China, means less room to grow their crops, then it makes it hard to feed all the people. More than half of the kids in India are already having trouble getting food supply, and are highly malnourished. If the kids do not get fed they turn very skinny and look sickly, and will die. The decrease of room to grow food could also become a threat to Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Pakistan.

Since China has such a large population, this greatly increases the amount of trash fr our earth. China has very bad pollution problems. Studies show that acid rain has been falling over about one third of the country. Over half of their was so polluted by trash, its simply useless. Almost a fifth of the trash that people are throwing away is treated in a sustainable way. All in all China's as ways over time has worsened and caused great damage on our planet.

The way all this ties into affecting the earth is very clear. The water depletion cuts off sources of way for things to grow, and for humans to eat. If we don't have room for crop land we can't grow food to eat. And of coarse, all the trash that is not being taken care of is polluting the earth, the air we breath and the water we could be drinking. Ether of two things could happen, the population could go down from people dying because of the resources being depleted, or people start realising whats going on, and try to become more sustainable, and save our earth.

Going 'Green' is Paying Off for the Green Team!

The EJSHS Green Team was able to send in their first shipment
of cell phones/ink jet cartridges for recycling to Planet Green. The small box was worth $19.99! An anonymous donor, Mr. Knapp, added the penny to make it an even $20! The Green Team still has a lot of work to do, but every little bit helps, and the Green Team is excited to make it happen! To find out how you can help, or for more information visit www.planetgreenrecycle.com/ejshsgreenteam

Bio-engineered Pig

In an article out of Popular Science I read about the EnviroPig. They discuss a chemical that is found in their “poop”. It turns out that this chemical phosphorus, is pollution the environment. They say it wastes into the ocean where it feeds bacteria and algae creating oxygen “dead zone”. These dead zones are places where very few species can survive. I don’t believe the pigs are the only things causing these “dead zones’ we are going to have to fix a lot more than just pigs.  I don’t believe this will be a big hit with farmers or the buyers because; this is going to cost farmers more money longer down the road. This would only save about $1.75 a pig. That is not a whole lot, if this pig doesn’t have the fat or the taste of a normal pig I don’t think any one will want to buy it, and when it comes out it will probably way to expensive. We are not able to try this pig at this time, it is illegal despite the temptation, Bjorn Carey said in the future he “expect they’ll taste quite good”

The New Pig

This week in class we were given an article about a pig that has been genetically modified. This pig produce less phosphorus in it wastes. The pig waste is said to cause dead zones in the ocean, but I think there are more then this one reason. I disagree with this article. Just because something new don't make it better.

Greener Bacon

Personally I disagree with what this article is saying. Cecil Forsberg, a biologist at the University of Guelph in Ontario, is the person who figured this out he genetically modified pigs so that their salivary glands would secrete phytase. This allows the pigs that are now in their eighth generation, to get their phosphate from grains alone and it will also excrete about 40% less of the phosphate. But I don't like real thin bacon that doesn't have some fat on it, I like the stuff that is has some fat on it and has a great taste. Cecil also says that this will expensive for farmers, we should not change something that is making them quite a bit of money right now to something that will cost them more money than they are already putting into their pig herds. He also doesn't know what it will taste like because right now it is illegal for them to do taste tests at this time.

green pig

I believe that the "enviro-pig" is a bad idea, because I'm sure that the pigs will eventually become unhealthy. Not only that it is more expensive for farmers, but in the long run supplements will save $1.75 per pig annually. I personally know some farmers and they know that pigs need to be nice and fat to bring good bacon for the freezer and they have been raising pigs and cattle all their lives. I support their feelings on this because this could effect pigs in the long run with not as much nutrients in the feed and minerals.

Pigs that we can't eat yet

Our posts this week will be dealing with genetically modified pigs that take in more phosphorus. Phosphorus is a toxic element if it is by its self, but is need to make our cells function properly and do their jobs. Humans can that in phosphorus from plants, animals, or minerals that we eat, but normal pigs can't do that. The new "Green Pigs" take up to 40% more than normal pigs. Now the pig have had eight generations to grow but the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Health Canada have yet to allow the "Green Pigs" to be used as food in our countries. "Unfortunately, it is illegal for us to do taste test at this time, despite the temptation," Cecil Forsberg, the man who change the pigs genes, said. "But I expect they'll taste quite good."

the environmentally friendly pig

Recently we have read an article from a magazine concerning the harm to the environment that a common form of livestock via the pig. The article stated that the common pig excretes a large amount of phosphorus which can have a negative effect on the ecosystem itself. To solve this problem a biologist at the University of Guelph in Ontario Canada genetically modified the DNA sequence of the common pig to absorb more of the phosphate supplements in their diet and excrete 30 to 65 percent less then they once previously did. A factor for any geneticists/biologist to pursue such a task would be that the fecal matter produced by common swine can be absorbed into underground water sources or as runoff from rain into any near water source thus making a breeding ground for algal blooms which steal oxygen from the water and also cause the water to become toxic preventing it from being drinking water.

Green Pig

I don't think genetically engineering a pigs food so it can be healthier is a good idea. What if something was to go wrong with the food and it poisoned the our food or people. Then there would be a nationwide problem with it. It would only save $1.75 dollars a pig annually. This doesn't seem like a good idea if your only going to save that much for each pig. If you however have 1000 pigs then it would help out some.

Service Learning: Environmental Science Literacy

On Thursday, two members of the Green Team visited the Mrs. Lowe's Kindergarten class to present their Environmental Science Lesson they developed. The student groups chose an Environmentally-themed, age appropriate book to read to the classes. Then they had to design a science-based activity for the students to reinforce the story. Angel and Jesse Fisher chose 'Enora and the Black Crane' as their book. Along with it, they concocted 'green,' 'environmentally friendly' paint for the students to use in the activity. After reading the book, the students were asked to choose a part of the story they liked, and use the paints to recreate it. The student's were able to interact with the children and the message was to observe the beauty in nature and being responsible, stewards of the environment. Stay tuned for more presentations!

Greener Poo

We have recently read an article about "Greener Bacon". In a post from Popular Science magazine,they are currently bioengineering a pig that excretes less phosphorus. I believe that this idea may work but it will need some fine tuning. It better not affect the taste of the bacon.

Greener Bacon

Today in class we read an article about scientists trials on pigs trying to make them "greener." They are genetically modified to poop less phosphorus, making the poop environmentally friendly. Pigs poop out nearly all of the phosphorus they eat and this washes out to the ocean where it feeds bacteria and algae that's a major killer of marine life. They poop nearly 40 percent less phosphorus then they used to. The down side to this new pig is that it will cost farmers a good chunk of cash, but in the long run it will save 1.75$ per pig annually. They are currently petitioning the U.S. department of Agriculture and Health Canada to serve Enviropig meat. Unfortunately they can't do taste tests on the meat right now because its considered illegal.
I think that this new pig will be very good for the environment, it will help out then environment and keep the marine life safer. It will help the farmers with the amount of waste their pigs produce, it won't hurt their farming area as much. Even though it will cost a little more to produce these pigs it will work out in the long run. It will eventually save the farmers 1.75$. Hopefully this new pig will taste better too! I don't think people will buy it at first because of how high it will cost but it will probably will go down in price in time.

Cereal Bag Brigade | TerraCycle

Cereal Bag Brigade | TerraCycle

What's Big and Blue and 'Green' All Over?

It's the Green Team's new addition to the High School and Marshall Buildings. This cart will be able to collect large amounts of items that the team can then send into Terracycle, Inc. You have probably seen their products which range from bags made out of Capri Sun pouches, to pencil boxes and plant food. Where does Terracycle, Inc. get their materials? They ask non-profit groups and individuals to collect the materials and send them in. In return, Terracycle will donate $.02 per item to a charity of the group's choice. So the Green Team signed up and chose EJSHS as their charity. The Green Team has joined the following brigades to collect the items below.

If you would like information on how to join the Green Team in their collection efforts, please email your request to ejshsgreenteam@yahoo.com.

Understanding our population problem

Currently, there are about 6.8 billion people in the world. Although the population growth is slowing, our resources are quickly depleting. There still is much disease that claim many lives, but that has changed because of the advancements of medicines. We have had a graphic change since America’s industrial revolution.

Many countries are realizing the state of the world and the world population problem. A new “program of action” was endorsed in 1994. The plan of this program is to provide universal access to family planning and reproductive health programs, to better care for the environment, make women equal, increase access to education and ensure healthy pregnancies.

To begin this program we must know our current state. Currently, the total fertility rates have dropped in many nations, because most women are having fewer children. A population with fewer younger people will likely decrease in the future. The sex ratios are very important to take toll of. For every 100 females born, 106 males are born. Culture is something else that is very important to compare the men to women ratio.

If we look at Chinas statistics of the population. The population growth is rapidly changing because of the one child policy. Chinas annual population growth rate is at a current state of 0.6% and their current population is 1345.8 million. While the worlds current state of growth rate is 1.2% while the current population is 6829.3 million. While china is recuperating from the population growth, Asian city and other old world countries are experiencing a growth of population, and many cities are turning into mega slums.

The policy seemed to help sustain the population in china. It is going to take months and possibly years to develop a full-proof plan to a policy that controls the world. But when it comes down to it, the policy that controls the world. The policy will help our future and designated our resources more wisely. The plan to put a policy on all countries would be a very wise thing for the current state of the world.

We must prepare for our future and live our lives to the fullest at the current state of the world. The economy is slowly falling and we are soon to experience food shortages across America and the world. We must start saving and be smart we our depleting world. It is time for change, and we must change. This may seem scary but it is the truth, we MUST change our ways. Our population is currently overgrowing and we must change our ways, The Cat is in The Hat. We know that rice production will peak and stay in one production outcome.
People must understand the situation of the world, and its current state. We know that we must survive, and we are capable of surviving a cataclysm. We are at the top of the food chain and we have used our power with greed and it is affecting everyone and everything. We must change our ways.

human population growth: policies and practice

With the human population increasing one must think about the environment. Our teacher showed us some information to go over. The information was about human population and why we live so long.

The class was handed articles to read. These articles talked about why human population is increasing and why humans are living so long. One of the reasons is the advance in technology. There are better food and water sources. Medical treatments have improved over the last 100 years.

People are starting to move in to town and cities that are often over-populated. With too many people in one area and with not enough jobs to work, there is not enough food and water for everyone. With so many people live on top of each illness can be everywhere. One of the video said that everyone in the world could live in Texas if each person only occupied a small area. The people who make the video didn’t count the raising of food, ability of clean water, walkways, or waste management.

With the human population still growing there is little time to worry about displacing wildlife or conservation of the environment. With better health care and food production people now live healthier and longer lives. Those were some of the reasons why the human population is still growing. With such a high population food and clean water will be harder to find and grow.

In contusion the environment is becoming a second though with the growth in human population rising above 6 million.

Human population growth policies and practice

Did you know, scientists project the human population to increase to more then 9 billion people by 2050, some other scientists project it could even reach highs of 10.5 billion. Immigration and emigration affect the population size in certain regions. Back in the year1950s, females had more kids then today. The average number was around 6 or so in a family, this helped the parents out on the farms and they could help take care of their parents the older they got.

Now people are having fewer kids, with the average being one to two kids. I think this is because our economy is doing poorly, less jobs and not enough money to support more then one or two. In the years to come I believe those numbers might jump, or go back up with all the government programs we have today that pay for food, insurance, and much more.

According to sex ratio of humans, for every 100 females born, about 106 males are born; males are slightly more likely to die during any given year of life. I think this is because men have to do more physical labor then most women that sit at a desk and work. With better sanitation, reliable food supplies, and better technology people are living a lot longer then they use to. Another reason for our population growth is we have been able to save many lives, like babies because our technology has improved over the past 50 or so years.

In China, girls are not wanted, they have set up a law, that people our punished for having a second child, which includes fines, loss of land grants, food, loans, farming supplies, benefits, jobs and discharge from the communist party. The Chinese can only have one child and it has to be a boy, this has lowered population on the girls side but on the other hand has made things worse, nearly 800,000 abortions, 4,700 maternal deaths and 77,000 infant and children’s death, but think about what happens when the boys get older, who will they have other kids with? What do you think this does to their population?

Did you know: the whole world could fit in the state of Texas? With a house, a yard and mailbox, but this doesn’t include, roads, jobs, different plants, sanitation, trash, cars, garages, and much more.

world population

The number of people sharing Earth's resources is growing by the minute. Scientists predict that by 2050 there will be more than 9 billion people in the world. This is a huge number of people, will Earth be able to support this many people in the human population.
By 2050, I am assuming that the Earth will not be able to support everybody and food will be much more unhealthy. The food, it will not be as healthy, and the life expectancy will not be as long as it is now. You would have to factor in how land residential will waste, and how much farmers will use to grow crops and how much ranchers will use to raise livestock.
In nations with good health care and reliable food supplies, people are living longer lives. In the past half- century world wide average life expectancy has increased from 46 years to 68 years old. Also, infant mortality rates have fallen in many countries, which is a horrible thought that babies across the world are dying because of bad health. With all of the countries having a positive population growth, if the world doesn't end in 2012 the population will eventually be so crowded that trees can not produce enough oxygen and natural selection will then occur. Societies gong though these changes are generally those that have undergone the shift from rural life to urban life and industrialization, and that have generated personal wealth for their citizens.
Ignoring these difficulties, the population growth of developing nations as a whole surpasses population grown in developed nations. This trend has been currently rising for many of years and has not yet peeked yet and wont peek for many years to come. Life expectancy can be depended on wealth also, not just what is available. Children now are much more healthy, rather than 50 years ago when they were bathing in muddy water. Their parents are full of money and provide better lives for the young ones.
By 2050, its predicted that there will be 9 billion people in the world, that is a very large number of people. It will more than likely very hard to support this large pass of world population.

World Population

The population of the world is increasing a lot. Our population is at 6 billion and counting. It’s said to be about 9 billion by 2050. Many things factor out population like birth rates and death rates. Also immigration and emigration have an effect as well.

China had increased in population from about .55 in 1950 to 1.32 billon in 2007. All though the growth rate has dropped since the one child policy was put into effect. Back in the day people had children to help with the farm work. The somethimes had many so at least one would survive. Now women have less children cause they will make it through their childhood. Some nation use the replacement fertility, this helps a country keep its population.

Age structure is a graph that shows us what age groups there are in a population. It helps predict how the size of the population will change over time. A population with a fewer younger kids will likely decrease over time. If you have an older population then your population will decrease. It’s better off to have a slightly older population.

Age structure also helps us with sex ratio. This is the number of males compared to girls. There are slightly more males up until age 40, then there are more females on the age chart. There may be more males do to the fact that some males immigrate for work, while females don’t. They are looked down upon in some cultures more than males. Some nations have good conditions and good health care. This increasing the death ages. Most developed companies have way better health and the conditions are way better. Developed countries are Canada, Western Europe Australia New Zealand, Japan, and we.

There are many things in the world that cause the population to grow and decrease the population. Things like death, plague, and immigration. It all Cause changes. Many people want to get the death rate low. But this would cause the worlds population to go up. Making the world smaller and maybe someday we will run out of room.

Human population growth and it's effect on the environment

We know that the world population is growing, but not in the developed world. 95% of the world's population growth has been in third world countries. Many don't have any sanitary place for these people to live in. You may think that this does not concern me or why should I care? The reason why this concerns us is because of all the animals displaced by the expansion of the humans in the area. This animals then have to move to another place to feed and raise their young, this would then cause competition for food with the animals already there.

Now that you see that the growth rate of these places are causing things in the environment to change for the worst. From Biology we know that competition and survival of the fittest will cause something to come along and start a chain reaction that will start killing things off. If people see that the world is being damaged by over population of an area then, we might realize that one area can only help the people for so long.

Policy and Practice: Human population and its effect on the environment

Our world is full of many different people and different cultures. Babies are being born every day in all different countries. People are dying every day in all different countries also. The human population is always growing, and in some regions there is not enough land for the amount of people. Countries like China have policies intact that try to control over population.
China started its one child policy in 1979. Chinas goal was to limit the population to 1.2 billion by 2000. The policy rewards citizens for having one child with grants, maternity leave, and the children are given educational opportunities, housing, and employment. The policy does allow a second child under circumstances, but doesn’t allow more than two. China did not achieve its goal of 1.2 billion by 2000; instead it grew to 1.3 billion by 2000. Chinas population is still a problem and could become a major threat to the world.
India’s population is growing much faster than Chinas. India could overtake Chinas population by passing the 2 billion mark by 2025. That concept is very scary. The HIV epidemic is still growing rapidly in India and many other countries. India’s water supply is also another serious problem, they’re water supply is decreasing rapidly. The cropland is also decreasing due to the amount of citizens taking over the land. Due to those three reasons the death rates are increasing but the population is still increasing rapidly.
The population problem is still increasing and we still don’t know how to stop it. We are running out of space for every person to live comfortably, in the United States this is not a big issue but in other parts of the world it’s becoming an alarming issue. What can we do though? We can’t just kill the whole country of China or India, so we need to get serious about the over population epidemic.
The population problem will affect the global environment greatly. Since India and Africa has a terrible AIDS issue is that going to spread to other countries? If their water supply is running low will people start dying due to the lack of hydration? I think we need to get serious about these things and what we can do to improve them. If the population increases in almost every country then will we have enough space to hold everyone? The economic impact of over population will become more and more and even more of a serious problem.
Over population will affect environmental aspects of the world also. If more and more people are over populating a certain area then there won’t be a lot of room left for plants and animals to live and their habitats will become ruined. Again the birth of babies will be even more risky because a lot of them will be exposed to AIDS or HIV or any kind of disease that could be fatal. The land in general will just go to ruins due to the amount of people taking over it. The land in India will become harder and harder to irrigate or keep clean or grow crops on because of the amount of junk on the ground. The world will just keep getting worse and harder to function with the over population.

human population......

the human population is increasing in almost every country and in the future will be a very large problem. some countries are already over populated and can't handle the amount of people trying to earn a job to support themselves. people cant even afford shoes and when they cant wear shoes they receive fungi growing on their feet and do not have enough money to pay the hospital to fix their feet. it eventually gets so bad that the person can not walk and are forced into a wheelchair or stay at their home. in china, they're so over populated that adults can only have two children and when they do have over two they are forced to put their child up for adoption. now in the U.S. we are overpopulated in the larger cities and people are forced to become homeless and beg for money, but in small towns most people do have jobs and do not have to worry about over population. Africa suffers the most in being overpopulated, they also pass around diseases very quickly like AIDS is very bad over there also. the worlds human population is steadily rising and has not yet peeked yet, i am not sure what will happen when it does peek.

2010-2011 Green Team Design Project

The Green Team wants to pay you $25!

Submit an awesome, original, t-shirt design idea to advertise some of the things the Green Team does here at EJSHS. From recycling to up-cycling, worms to windrows, our number one goal is to reduce energy and solid waste in the district!

Will your design make the cut? All designs will be posted on the school website and votes will be taken. The winner of the 2010-2011 Green Team Design contest will receive $25 cash and one of their original design t-shirts!
Download the Entry Form or pick one up from Ms. Hart's Classroom!

T-shirt designs are due by Friday, Jan. 21st!




Good Luck!

The world population and it's growth

Today I am going to tell you about several different things. One of the main things I will talk about is the Human population and it's effect on the environment. I will also be telling you about the policy and practice of the human population.
In many nations, the replacement fertility is about 2.1. If a nation's total fertility rate climbs about 2.1, then the population will most likely increase over time. If it falls bellow 2.1, then the population will most likely decrease over time. 179 nations endorsed a new "Program of Action" that called on governments to provide universal access to reproductive health care by 2015 as a global growth, this program tries to contribute. Total fertility rate helps demographers predict if a population's size will increase, decrease, or stay the same. The program of action helps to ensure that men fulfill their responsibility to ensure healthy pregnancies, proper child care, promotion of women's worth and dignity, prevention of unwanted pregnancies, and prevention of the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Age structure describes the relative numbers of organisms of each age within a population and is often represented by a graph called an age structure diagram. Nations undergoing rapid growth, such as Madagascar, face different challenges as they try to provide education, roads, and other resources to support a rapidly growing population. The sex ratios for the age structure diagrams is for every 100 females born, about 106 males are born, the sex ratio is 1.06 to 1. This phenomenon may be an evolutionary adaptation because males are slightly more likely to die during any given year of life.
Demographic transitions have shown that over the past half century, worldwide average life expectancy has increased from 46 to 68 years. The demographic transition is a model that explains the change from high birthrates and death rates to a condition of low birthrates and death rates. A demographic transition is the result of economic growth that has led to social changes.

Popuation life expectancy

Population growth is a considerable problem in the world today. Many countries add exceptional amounts to the percentage of the population annually. While some of the higher populated areas such as China surprisingly do not have that high of a percentage increase, although some of the smaller countries do produce larger percentage to their population. Along with the population increasing there are factors toward the population decreasing such as death. Many countries have high death rates for a number of reasons. As of a recent study though America has had some advances in medical research and has resulted in decreasing death rates and raising the average life expectancy.While previously in the past a persons life expectancy was signifigantly lower

How old will you be before you die???

Over the past couple days the Green Team has been discussing Growth population, did you know woman live about 5 years longer then men? Well it is a proven fact; over the last ten years the dieing rate has changed. The flu and HIV number are down for killing people, they say the average age to die is 80 for women and 75 for men. Cancer is the number one killer of Americans today, they think with all are Doctors, technology, and medications today, and someday they will be able to cure it. In 2008 the growth rate of some nations and the world were: China, annual population growth rate was 0.6% and population size (in millions) 1345.8, Hungry, 0.2% and 10, India 1.4% and1198.0, Madagascar 2.7% and 19.6, United States 1.0% and 314.7 and the world was 1.2% annual population growth and 6829.3 in population size.

Overpopulation-Underestimation

In out current state, we are currently being overpopulated on the planet. Our recent state is that many of our diseases are down, while obesity is up. Many diseases like flu is down, while diabetes is also down. The current condition of HIV/Aids is down in the U.S. while the world as a whole is currently up in sickness from the disease. Our growth rates in America is currently down, and the difference between men and woman's age expectancy is slowly narrowing. But as people begin to care about their health, it is becoming harder to live in our current state of economy. We currently have many things at are disposal to help our current state of health. Many people are quitting smoking and caring about their weight. The current age of men and woman is around 80 and is slowly peaking together. Many people know more about their health more, and know how to keep control of it. To live in the current state that we are in, we need to realize that as we live longer our resources will deplete faster. We need to control our births around the world to keep our resources in a fair condition. It will be a very long process but it is need for the health of humanity and the world around us.

Stacts of the U.S.

We are currently working on the growth rate of the World, but I will cover the United States, and the factors that limit our growth. In recent years our life expediencies had increased from in 69.9 in 1960 to 78.11 in 2010, this one is just estimated, and the different between men and women have shrunk slightly. The majors causes of death, such as cancer and HIV/AIDS, have dropped in the states. Doctors say that this could be due to the knowledge of how they can get diagnosis and how to get proper treatment for it. Also the availability of the information and how to tell if they need a doctor's help, even the small things, can be easily found. But anything that we get rid of, such as an illness, will be replaced with something new, such as the over availability of food has caused people to eat more and developed newer (or not as common as in the 20th century) illness. This is also shows just how people adapt to their environment and use technology to help solve some of our problems.

Death Rates

We did a packet on population growth, population distribution, and population density. Population growth is the rate of growth of the locations area, and population distribution is where all that population is located. Of coarse everyone knows China is a highly populated country, although its a serious issue. Some families are paid to not have children, just because their population growth rate is going up, the China is running out of land to provide for all the people. The current population is roughly around 6.8 billion people, and counting as of the year 2010. Over 300 years the human population growth has sky rocketed greatly. We also learned the different population growth rates of different countries such as Hungary, India, Madagascar, and even the US. The US population growth rate is exactly 1%, and we have 314.7 Million people living here as well. Population plays a big factor in everything we do, you learn about that in the next blog! :)

life expectancy

The life expectancy rate has steadily increased in the last fifty years worldwide. In the United States the average life expectancy in 1960 was 69, in 2008 average life expectancy was 78. The world wide average life expectancy in 1960 was 52, in 2008 average life expectancy was 68.

Infant death rate in the United States in 1970 for every 1000 birth there are 20 deaths, in 2009 for every 1000 birth there are 6 deaths. Infant death rate worldwide in 1970 for every 1000 birth there are 95 deaths, in 2009 for every 1000 birth there are 43 deaths.

World population doubled from 1960 to 2010, the rate of increase of the United States was slightly then that, but still increasing. In all probably the future should bring not in population, but a population that lives longer then the previous generation.

Death rates are down and dropping.

The death rates have dropped a lot over the last few years thus its raising the life expectancy. For men it’s 75.4 and 80.5 this is about a few years longer then I was 10 years ago. Many things have dropped to make this happen some of those things are, homicide is down, cancer deaths are down, heart disease is down. Although cancer and heart disease are still the highest death rate there is. Although about 40 years was the life expectancy years ago was about 40 for men, this was do that they had dangers work and disease they had to worry about unlike today where a lot of stuff was don’t for you. The population in people over 75 is .6% of our total population.
This number is said to double over the next 50 years. The gap of the years in between men and women is decreasing. Scientist says its do to better medicine and smarter patients. They also say that we are exercising more and being more active, but we are still getting fatter. This is what our country is known for most of the time is being fat, not for being a powerful country. Men will start living longer as well as females. But women will most likely stay on top of who lives longer.

Keeping our World Healthy

Today we watched a video in class about the decreasing death rates due to citizens getting better health care, eating right, being more cautious, and just doing everything they can to live longer. The numbers are down for many health problems like, diabetes, cancer, aides, and many others. In the early years of the United States people changed from hunters and gathers to farmers. They produced more crops and in result lived longer due to the nutritional health. One major reason why people back then ended up living longer is because of the Industrial Revolution, more machines were being made and more workers were needed and got paid for their work. That pay went to feeding their family and making sure they were healthy. Sanitary actions were also discovered during the Industrial Revolution and made living conditions ten times better.

We had a worksheet that we did earlier this week and on that worksheet is a graph showing different countries in the world and their annual population growth rate and population size. China's population size is 1345.8 million but the population growth rate is only 0.6%. To me that means that China has a large amount of people in the country but there also not gaining a lot of people. Their population is almost just standing still. Madagascar's population is only 19.6 and their growth rate is a whopping 2.6%. Madagascar is growing very rapidly. The whole world is trying to make efforts to decrease the death rates and that's what I think will really help the population size. Babies will always be born until the end of time so I think we should focus on keeping everyone as healthy as can be to keep them alive as long as possible.

Death Rates are down!!!!

The death rates are down in every way possible. The police have said that they have seen death rates drop in homoicides and in car wrecks. In the United States the HIV/AIDS death rates are down also, but in Africa for example the HIV/AIDS death rates are increasing instead of decreasing. The average life span for a typical man is 75 the average life span for a typical female is around 80 years old. The average man is said to quit smoking and see more birthdays. Heart disease and Cancer are still to this day is the mostly deadly thing around, those two things still have the highest death rates even though they have decreased some also.

By the year 2050 the people over 75 is suppose to double and the life span is going to get longer for men. The gap of the years in the between men and women in decreasing. Scientist say it's do to better medicine and smarter patients. The doctors are also saying that people are working out more often and and staying in shape better. The senior citizens of the nation are running more often and working out as well.