| Summary: | By LeAnna Lesmeister We all know the mission statement. I won’t waste the space and your time by quoting it yet again. But are Concordia’s students truly going out into the world thoughtful and informed? It wouldn’t appear to be so if you look in a garbage can. You may not have thought to do this before— after all, we like to think that our garbage magically disap-pears after we throw it in the trash. But Concordia’s students think little before they throw something away. They think not about where it goes or whether it’s even supposed to be in there. I encourage you to start recycling, even if just as a per-sonal favor to me and the other eco-friendly students on this campus who dig through your garbage to recover the recy-clables, as I’m sure you’ve seen us do before. In addition, recy-cling your Concordian or your Forum not only prevents trees from having to be cut down, but it also reduces air pollution and reduces energy consump-tion. Have you ever thought about how much office paper we go through on this campus? Taking that one step further, have you considered how much of that just gets thrown away without ever being reused or recycled? And we could use less in the first place, too— most professors don’t mind if you print a paper on both sides; ask yours if that’s okay. You may only be saving three pages, but that’s still three pages, which is better than none. And if you can take the time to go buy a soda, you can take the time to think twice about where it goes when you’re done. I am especially frustrated by people’s utter lack of consider-ation around the PO area. There are two garbage cans and some six or eight recycling bins for the various materials. Generally, the newspaper con-tainer is about eighteen inches away from one garbage can, but the garbage can still gets full by noon on Friday, as I’m sure it did this Friday as well. This is not only a sign of disre-spect for the earth but also a sign of utter physical and men-tal laziness. In order for a person to be thoughtful, one must think, and in order for one to be informed, one must seek infor-mation. That may sound a little coarse, but my indignation is a righteous one. You may think that my ranting and raving is just another tree-hugger bemoaning our lack of envi-ronmental consciousness. You’re right about part of that: I am a proud environmentalist, as I believe everyone should be because the environment affects everyone. But I’m not just anything. Discounting a position for which the only opposition is laziness or igno-rance is the epitome of a true fool. Millions of people have to carry the very river water they drink, if they have access to it at all. We are blessed with opportunity and convenience here in America, but we abuse this privilege at every turn. Don’t make other students clean up after you and don’t make the rest of the world pay for your laziness. We’ll influ-ence the affairs of the world regardless of whether or not we’re thoughtful and informed, but whether that’s a positive or negative influence depends on whether or not we’re willing to take a few seconds to think about what we do. Thoughtful and informed EARTH WEEK COMMENTARY SUPPLEMENT SPECIAL TO THE CONCORDIAN 04 Volume XCVI, Issue 24 - Friday, April 15 2005 7 15 Buy organic and/or locally produced food and clothing Eat lower on the food chain Purchase clothes, appliances, tools, etc., second-hand instead of new Turn off electronic devices such as lights, TV, stereo when not in use Set thermostat at 68 degrees in winter and 74 in summer Turn the computer monitor off when not in use Install compact fluorescent bulbs in lamps etc. Instead of buying single serving items, buy in bulk or in large containers and separate into reusable containers Pack lunches in reusable lunch boxes or cloth bags Use rechargeable batteries Use cloth napkins and towels Use washable plates and cups rather than disposable Use electric or hand razor with replaceable blades instead of disposable Get high quality tires and service your vehicle regularly to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions Use washable coffee mug versus styrofoam Bring your own bags to market, either cloth or old plastic ones If where you’re going is less than a mile away, WALK or bike. Carpool or use MAT (it’s free!) Retire your ATV or snowmobile (unless you can find a way to make them quieter, less damaging, and less polluting) After using the toilet, remember: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow…” Only take 1 napkin at DS, then go back for more if needed Re-use scrap paper or paper that has only been printed on one side Remove recyclables from garbage bins and dispose of properly Start a recycle bin and compost bin at your place of living Take shorter showers and/or only turn water on to rinse and/or show-er only every 2-3 days as needed to prevent nastiness Let your legislators know that you want to see an alternative energy and conservation-friendly agenda, and vote accordingly Live green or die Tips for an eco-friendly lifestyle By Sarah Wassberg In recent years there has been increasing awareness about the food we eat. Words such as “organic,” “natural,” “free-range,” etc., have been bandied around without much explanation as to what things are. So, in the spirit of the Age of Information, allow me to explain. Let’s start at the top: What is organic? The U.S. Department of Agriculture now has a certification pro-gram for ranking organically grown foods and according to the USDA National Organic Program website, organic is defined as, “raised without using most conven-tional pesticides, petroleum-based fertilizers, or sewage sludge-based fertilizers. Animals raised on an organic operation must be fed organ-ic feed and given access to the outdoors. They are given no antibiotics or growth hor-mones.” Also, “(t)he regula-tions prohibit the use of genetic engineering, ionizing radiation, and sewage sludge in organic production and handling. As a general rule, all natural (non-synthetic) substances are allowed in organic production and all synthetic substances are pro-hibited.” The website also defines USDA labels: “100 percent Organic” means that all ingredients are certified organic; “Organic” means that at least 95 percent of all ingredients are organic; products with 70 percent or more organic ingredients may say, “Made with organic ingredients,” but do not merit the USDA Certified Organic seal; products with less than 70 percent organic ingredients may list the organic ingredients under the ingredients list, but may not make any other claims on the packaging. Organic labels can apply to produce, grains, meat, and poultry, but not to fish or seafood. “Natural” is a label that can be deceiving. Really, “natural” only means that it is free from artificial ingredi-ents such as colors and preservatives, but could potentially contain hor-mones, pesticides, and antibiotics. “Free range” applies only to meat and poultry and means that the animals have access to the outdoors at least once a day. This does not mean that they actually get out of doors. “Free range” also cannot apply to eggs. “Grass-fed” implies that the animal has had access to open pastureland for grazing or foraging and was not fed grain or protein-based feed. However, there are no offi-cial standards for this label. “Hormone free” means that the animal was raised without hormone injections to increase or speed growth. “Fair Trade” is a label issued by TransFair USA, a company based in California that sends inspectors to Latin America, Africa, and Asia to make sure companies are paying their farmers a fair wage for their produce. “Free-Farmed” is a label in which meat, poultry, and eggs come from animals raised with adequate space and comfort and without unnecessary antibiotics, in accordance with American Humane Association stan-dards. A third-party inspec-tor certifies this label. Now that you know all about food labels, perhaps you’ll think more critically about the food you eat. For if these labels exist, it isn’t hard to imagine why, or just what exactly is in the convention-ally grown food we all eat so often. You can try foods with such labels at your local grocery store, health food shop, or farmer’s market. Eco-labeling ‘Silent Spring’ author Rachel Carson remembered By Donna Lenius Never has the field of environmental science been spoken of as eloquently by others as it has by Rachel Carson. Carson is known as the moth-er of modern environmentalism due to her 1962 book, “Silent Spring,” which uncovered the haunting truth of insecticides and herbicides. (The most famous of these is DDT, an insecti-cide that Carson exposed for what it really is: a severe cancer-causing death elixir.) Carson metic-ulously described how DDT entered the food chain and accumulated in the fatty tissues of ani-mals, including human beings, and caused cancer and genetic damage. A single application on a crop, she wrote, killed insects for weeks and months, and not only the targeted insects but countless more and remained toxic in the envi-ronment even after it was diluted by rainwater. Ten years after the book was published, the EPA banned the use of DDT; thanks to Carson, DDT has been banned in most countries of the world. Her attack was not limited to DDT and included stronger chemicals like arsenic, parathion, chlordane, mercury, and dieldrin. Her message was clear: once chemicals enter the food chain, it is impossible to remove them. But her environmental contributions do not end there; her writing reminded people to look around and notice detail, and be amazed. She wrote several books. Many of these are about the oceans, as she was chiefly a marine zoologist. These include “Under the Sea Wind,” “Life at the Edge,” and “The Sea Around Us.” Most of her books contain this echoing theme:We are very small. In fact, so small we cannot begin to grasp our smallness, but this is not a bad thing. Quite the contrary, for we, along with all life, are a part of something that is so grand and magnificently designed, there is much that we don’t understand. Basically while everything is small, everything is connected to something enormous. The enormity is in the astounding intercon-nectedness with the environment that makes our existence small, yet so immense. Carson writes the following: “Some of nature’s most exquisite handiwork is on a miniature scale, as anyone knows who has applied a magnifying glass to a snowflake.” Yet that same snowflake is part of the whole water cycle and has traveled made a long journey to fall to the ground and affect you. Nature is one overwhelming balance-a bar-gaining among plants, animals, and the climate. Man is pushing this bargain with nature into a gamble with nature, an increasing gamble that aims to control more and more as time goes on. Carson states the following: “As man pro-ceeds toward his announced goal of the con-quest of nature, he has written a depressing record of destruction, directed not only against the earth he inhabits but against the life that shares it with him.” Carson’s solution to humanity’s control problems is revealed in her final book-one she would barely finish before she fell victim to cancer in 1964. “The Sense of Wonder” contains Carson’s advice and hope to a controlling, forceful human-ity. This book at first glance appears to be a child’s book, but in actuality it is a book for adults to help them raise their children to be more attuned to nature and to keep alive the inherent sense of wonder, as we grow older and mature. Carson writes this: “A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitements. It is our misfortune that for most of us, that clear-eyed vision, that instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood.” She continues by defining this sense of wonder as, “learning again to use your eyes, ears, nostrils, and finger tips, opening up the disused channels of sensory impression.” Over 40 years have now passed since Carson died. And still, when it comes to influential environmentalists, she is always near the top of the list. Not only do other environmentalists praise her, but the American public recognizes her contributions to society. In 1999 Time magazine named Carson one of its list of “100 People of the Century.” Seven years earlier, a panel of distinguished Americans had selected “Silent Spring” as the most influential book of the previous 50 years. After reading “Silent Spring,” it becomes obvious that the book’s effectiveness was due mainly to Carson’s passionate, poetic, yet scien-tific language describing the alleged horrors that modern synthetic chemicals wreak upon defenseless nature and hapless humanity. It is my hope that during this earth week and throughout the years to come, your sense of wonder will be heightened. For as Carson wrote, “Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.” I’ll leave you with one more thought from Rachel Carson; perhaps you are saying to yourself, “I’m not a biologist; I don’t study bark or caterpil-lars.” Well, my friend, you are in luck, because the sense of wonder is for everyone. “The lasting pleasures of contact with the natural world are not reserved for scientists, but are available to any-one who will place himself under the influence of earth, sea, and sky, and their amazing life.” By Jeannie Schultz Often misunderstood and underestimated, the isolated seasonal wetlands of the Great Plains, called prairie potholes, compose some of the most productive habitat on the continent. Formed 12,000 years ago by retreating glaciers, these small depres-sions dot nearly 300,000 square miles of the Great Plains stretching from Canada, through the Dakotas, and into western Minnesota. These indentations, often seemingly mere mud puddles, collect melted snow and the spring’s rains and contribute significantly to the health of the ecosystem. The prairie pothole region is the most important waterfowl breeding area in North America, com-prising the primary breeding ground for over 50 percent of the continent’s ducks and nec-essary stopover sites for many migrating bird species. By sup-porting such habitat for vari-ous wildlife the economies of the states in this region benefit greatly from the hunting and tourist industries. Wetlands also contribute greatly to the movement of water through the landscape called hydrolo-gy. Healthy wetlands replen-ish the ground water supply, reduce flooding in the spring and purify water by processing nutrients, suspended matter, and other pollutants. Historically in the Great Plains, prairie potholes have been regarded as mosquito breeding grounds and wasted cropland. In the past even the Department of Agriculture supported farmers in draining these small pools. Today how-ever the benefits are being rec-ognized and actions taken to help preserve these valuable ecosystems for the functions they provide as well as the vital habitat for animal life. Recent research by the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) supports a new pro-gram that recognizes the abili-ty of prairie potholes in car-bon sequestration and could possibly turn them into the region’s newest cash crop. The millions of depressions that dot the plains act as sponges that naturally absorb carbon dioxide emissions. Results from the study found that on one acre, in a single year, an average of two and a half tons of carbon can be stored when free of farming practices. This has inspired economists to devise a system to pay farmers for the carbon stored in pot-holes on their unfarmed lands. This project has helped in the development of a market to trade greenhouse gas emis-sions of industry and carbon storage agreements of private landowners. Entergy, a leading utility company engaged pri-marily in electric power pro-duction and retail distribution operations, is showing sup-port and has already commit-ted to purchasing 30,000 tons of carbon storage over the next decade in zero-tillage farmland. It is truly an amaz-ing phenomenon to compre-hend the ability and impor-tance of a mud puddle to replenish drinking water, act as the ideal habitat for an infi-nite amount of species, and be directly linked to the well-being of the environment. Incredible and astonishing, these minute structures are part of a great cycling arrangement thousands of years in the making. Wetlands important
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