Flowers Try Not To Be Wasteful

"Packaging design is a sub specialty within the engineering fields, with several professional societies, professional journals, and industry organizations devoted to more sustainable packaging." (Robertson, 2014.)

My favorite makeup company Colourpop has foam inserts in the packaging. (http://www.beaumiroir.com/2015/10/colourpop-haul-photos-swatches.html)

 

 

 

Since online shopping has become so big companies are trying to set themselves a part from each other. So to do that they have specific ways to do their packaging.  Some companies that do just this is the makeup companies. Some makeup companies add extra decorative paper or inserts to make  sure the makeup stays completely still and will not move in transit. Of course it is cute and for some customers it makes the company look more upscale and worth the money that they pay. Little do most customers know that the different decorative packaging materials that they just throw away are just left in a landfill but some of the paper can be recycled over and over again. We just have to learn the proper and safe way of getting rid the decorative packaging material so that we do not hurt the environment.

"An environmental management system (EMS) is an organization's formal system for developing, implementing, and maintaining its environmental policy, the framework by which it manages the quality of the environment over which it has influence." (Robertson, 2014.)

The sign that should start hanging in every company. (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-14430190/stock-photo-reuse-reduce-recycle.html)

 If we were to enforce the environmental management system (EMS) then we slowly change companies one by one until each one is more environmentally safe then they were before. We should just make sure that they have environmental rules the fit the type of products or services the companies make. This may take a long time to figure out how to maintain a  safe environmental process for each company but in the end it would benefit the world and making it better. The framework that needs to be put in place can start at one company and from there on the influence of one company starting with the EMS then other companies will follow along and soon it would be everywhere. It always starts with one and continues on to another like a chain reaction but in a good way.


"Electronic waste, or e-waste, is the name given to discarded electronics and electrical appliances including computers, cell phones, televisions, and refrigerators." (Robertson, 2014.)

People do not know that they should also recycle all the different types of electronics when they get old. If we do not then the different pieces of a phone go to landfills and just sit there. Electronics do not break down they have to be processed so that they can be taken apart made into new electronics. Sometimes if the parts on the inside are not heavily damaged then it would be easier to recycle them into new products so that they can help other people. Even some cell phone pieces could help make any type of medical electronics in smaller countries. Also different types of electronics have toxic materials in it that could pollute the Earth and everyone around it and then in turn everyone that lives around or near a landfill.

A electronic landfill. (https://trivalleyrecyclers.com/electronic-waste/)

 

 

 

 

Flowers Need Healthy Food

“Human health can also be impacted by too much food or food of the wrong kind, resulting in obesity and increased risk of disease.” (Robertson, 2014.)

McDonald's first menu.  (http://flashbak.com/you-deserve-a-break-today-1960s-1980s-mcdonalds-history-in-advertising-29820/)

Every time I hear something like that it makes me think of how back in the early 1900s back when McDonalds, Burger King, and my favorite Wendy’s was first established (1940,1954, 1964). I love how I hear how older people talk about how “back in their day” they only had small and large and the large was the size the medium nowadays or how they say the small drinks are their larges. All in all the fast food restaurants are not what they use to be with portion sizes getting bigger as we go on through out the ages which is calling our health as a whole society to fail. Either we need to find figure out a way to change how we eat completely or make it less desirable to each such things or a regular basis.

The part that shocked me was the part when they pointed out how the 100s of Mexican farmers were displaced because they found a cheaper way to farm corn. (Food Inc., 2008.)

Mexican corn farmers on protesting because they were let go.  (https://www.solidarity-us.org/site/node/4448)

The fact that people were put out of a job just because they found a cheaper way of producing corn surprised me. It also confused me because I hear so much talk about how we do not have enough jobs in America for all the people that live. So for them to take away jobs from people who already have some to make hormone grown vegetables that are not all that good.  If we were to make sure our food stays safe and organic we could hire more people for the job and it would be a win-win for all. Like Joel Salatin said “ We are successful of hitting the bull’s eye on the wrong target.” Which I took to mean we are worried about the wrong things like the price of much we are going to have to pay to make the for rather than if it good or not.

The part that shocked me was the part when farmers explained how the numbers of their profession dwindled through out the years. (Food Inc., 2008.)

A seed cleaner machine.  (http://www.benchindustries.com/mobile-grain-seed-cleaners/)

A machine took out the job of seed cleaner in more than one state. Moe Parr explains that there are only six seed cleaners left in the state of Indiana they used to have three in every county maybe more. Machines that have been around for a few centuries and did not originally plan on taking over someone’s job are being improved and then let loose into the world to slowly displace men. As well as put them on the street without anything to fall back on or any job offers that would be available to them because so many jobs are given to machines these days. Hopefully this does not cost us the safety of how healthy our food is supposed to be.

Flowers Don't Like Pollutants

A diagram of an aquifer. (http://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthgwaquifer.html)

The first step in the twelve step process. (http://www.clipartkid.com/green-recycling-bin-cliparts/)

An example of a petroleum plant.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_refinery)

“Once water in an underground aquifer is polluted it is very difficult to decontaminate.” (Robertson, 2014.)

Aquifers is where we get our water from. If we are unable to make sure that our quivers are clean we slowly start to loose our fresh water. Once our fresh water slowly starts to deplete we start to loose numerous other systems that thrive on water such as rain forests. Our aquifers are all over the world and are very beneficial to not only the most water based systems, but also even the most driest systems. Also it is very hard to clean an under ground aquifer because once it reaches the surface all of the surface water bacteria can grow into something else because of the sunlight which can be more powerful. Since aquifers are underneath porous soil it is very easy for different oils or containments slip down into the aquifer water.

“Pollution remediation means stopping and reversing damage to environmental systems caused by pollution.” (Robertson, 2014.)

Once we start to stop polluting the air and waters of different systems we can then reverse all the damage we have so far on this world. I like to think to think that the world can go through basically “Pollution Rehab”. We can make a twelve step process, starting with making sure we actually use the recycle bins around campuses and not just throw or trash in the big trash can. Once we start that we are one our way to a better world because we are only on our way up from there. Then we can start making protective plans for our most endangered species as well as areas such as the tropical rainforest, and animals such as white-tailed deer. Once we complete the world’s twelve step process we will see a more beautiful as well as sustainable world.

“Sites contaminated with petroleum and other hydrocarbons are generally rich in carbon and poor in nitrogen and phosphorus.” (Robertson, 2014.)

Petroleum plant sites are also hard to keep clean because of the different nutrients that are already in the petroleum and what is not around present. One of the important nutrients needed to “eat” organic pollutants is phosphorus and phosphorus is not commonly found in around petroleum plant sites. Another environmentally safe nutrient that can absorb organic pollutants is nitrogen. These two nutrients can be added to petroleum to make it more environmentally safe. This can also be done to other chemical spills to easily clean the mess up and make the spill less toxic within the situation. This type of organic clean up is called biostimulation. Scientist can also do this along the shores to kill the different organic pollutants in the water around the world.

Flower Habitats

 

“The rate of new species development typically equals or exceeds the background rate of extinction, and biodiversity increases over time.” (Robertson, 2014.)

A tasmanian tigers became extinct in the 30s.(https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/11/zoologists-on-the-hunt-for-tasmanian-tiger-declare-no-doubt-species-still-alive)

As the world goes on numerous things have changed through history. The only constant thing that has continued to happen is when new species outgrow older species causing them to become extinct. I like to think of this as the natural order of things as one thing goes something else that is somewhat better or different comes in and takes its place. The idea of this can compared to how the new piece of technology is introduced each year and the old technology is then thrown out the window and is forgotten. If this did not happen it would be like the ecosystem all together is on a pause causing everything to be stagnant and not be able to grow. If things are not able to grow then everything stays the same, which is not good because we need change in our lives.

 

“Tropical rainforests are considered biodiversity hotspots, habitats that constitute the richest and most threatened reservoirs of species in the world.” (Robertson, 2014.)

A tropical rainforest. (https://www.reference.com/science/tropical-rainforest-landforms-9d3890ce4c8f328c)

My favorite ecosystem may have to definitely be the tropical rainforests. I love how beautiful they are and how many beautiful organisms live in them from the trees to the animals that live in the trees and cohabitate with the plants on the ground. The only problem with the tropical rainforest is that they are plentiful in nutrients and different resources that we continuously take from it. If we keep taking from it there will not be anything left for us to admire and love about the rainforest, or even a rainforest left to visit. A lot of the species in the tropical rainforest are endangered which means they are slowly becoming extinct. Once species become extinct without a species to take their place that does their job it causes that job to go undone and may cause problems in the ecosystem. 

 

“Conservation is one of the three approaches to maintaining the health of the natural world, together with restoration and reconciliation.” (Robertson, 2014.)

An example of a garbage composter. (http://www.gardeners.com/buy/deluxe-pyramid-composter/38-682.html)

 As we continue to live in a world that is slowly dying we need to conserve the little energy and resources we have left so that we can sustain the Earth as long as possible. We are even able to use the different technologies of the world and use it to our advantage and restore the different areas of the world. Restoration and reconciliation are another part of the maintaining the health of the world. I think if everyone makes sure that they are making the effort to change different things in their life like maybe start composting trash or saving rainwater to drink and stop using plastic water bottles, or even doing something as simple as using reusable bags instead of plastic bags at the grocery store it would help the world even a little.

Flower Food (Water Duh!)

“In addition, there is a mismatch between where water is located and where people live, a problem that is especially serious in developing countries.” (Robertson, 2014.)

Little boy drinking water from local pond or lake. (http://blogs.ft.com/photo-diary/tag/poverty/page/2/)

Being an individual living in a country that does not need to worry about where their next drink of water is coming from and whether on it will be cleaned or tainted water has its perks. The only problem is that we do not think about other living in developing countries, and all the problems they must face with if their water is clean enough to drink, how do they filter the dirty water to make clean water and numerous other things. Some countries in Africa and some city-states in India have a very high poverty rate in which numerous people go every day without clean water, and risk their health because the only thing they have to drink is dirty water. As a community of people who share the Earth we should find more ways that are efficient to provide water to everyone all over the world.

 

“Humans in the industrialized world use huge quantities of water to support our lifestyle of a meat-rich diet and plentiful consumer goods.” (Robertson, 2014.)

An ecosystem that is surrounded and benefits from its water source. (http://www.wallpaperhd.pk/amazon-rainforest-wallpaper/)

If we continue to use our lands resources such as water the aquifers will continue to deplete causing land to slow sink beneath the ocean as well as harming environments, which are the homes to numerous types of vegetation and animal life. Once all the animals and vegetation start disappearing the cycles of each environment slowly start to disintegrate into nothing. The whole area will slowly start to fall apart causing everything around it; areas that were not even heavily affected by water to slowly fall apart. We need to make sure that our water footprint just like our carbon footprint is not so large that it causes massive changes in the ecosystem, which cause our world to slowly die.

 

“When all the spaces in the lower soil layers are filled with water, the soil is saturated; in this zone of saturation is called groundwater, and the top of this zone is called the water table.” (Robertson, 2014.)

An easy to understand diagram of a water table. (http://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthgw.html)

Water tables are important for our aquifers to help make sure that the water in the area is enough to support the ecosystem that it thrives in. Also because we do get our clean drinking water from aquifers all around the world, which can technically be considered as nonrenewable resources, which are sources that can not be replenished. Our water tables depleting would cause the same chain reaction as our aquifers depleting in size and then later disappearing. We should find new and inventive ways to be able produce water from thin air just like how people do when they are stuck in the desert. Overall we need to just make sure we conserve the water in our respective areas better so that we have continuous resources from the Earth to help sustain our future generations.

Flower Child Reacts to the Climate

Ice core drilling (http://research.bpcrc.osu.edu/resources/pfp/ice_cores.php)

                

“Ice cores are proxies that can go back in time nearly a million years, collected by drilling into an ice sheet in Greenland, the Artic, or Antarctic.

When I think of ice cores I think of the cockroach that last through everything. Ice cores are literally pieces of history within itself. If you were able to break open an ice core and study what it looks like inside you can test how different the air quality was back when the dinosaurs roamed. They are like mini time capsules that can tell the pass in a more scientific way and help us figure out how to explain the different changes such as climate, and land that the Earth has gone through. Like the book says the best way to get to ice core is to drill through ice sheets. An ice sheet is just compact snow from numerous snowstorms. With ice cores you would also be able to see the different types of animals that walked the area over the years.

“If unusual changes are detected, we want to know to what to attribute them. We want to know if the changes are anthropogenic, or human-caused.”

Chernobyl and it radiation sign (https://www.thenation.com/article/30-years-after-the-chernobyl-meltdown-why-is-the-ukrainian-government-pushing-nuclear-energy/)

                 

Us humans have taken over the world and molded it into something that we aspire it to be, and because of this we have caused the world to somewhat cry. We can see more of the human impact dating back to the “Iron Age” or the “Industrial Age”. That is when we decided that we should open more factories and have steamboats, which literally blows toxic gas straight into our ozone. Some other human made impacts include Chernobyl, which was a reactor that was built in a small town and exploded. This did not only harm the land around the reactor but also the people within the village it was next to. The radioactive spill can still be seen till this day because of the ancestors of the people who lived in village as well as those who lived in near villages.

“Coral reefs work best for warm tropical water temperatures, while tree rings work best for temperate-region land temperatures.”

Tree clearing (http://www.northerntree.com/commercial-tree-care-services/land-clearing/)

                                 

I liked this quote because it shows how different things are in different ecosystem and how everything has a different piece of history of that area. The number of tree rings a tree has shows its age, so just imagine a tree that is so thick and packed with tree rings, and imagine all of the different things it has seen and gone through in its many years. The only problem with that is the fact that we cut down trees to make room for more buildings. If we were to take the time to study the trees and understand the different conditions they have gone through we could learn from them and hopefully repair the environment.

Flowers are Humans Too

"Meanwhile, human' innate tendency to acquire things has assumed a central position in contemporary culture." (Robertson, 2014)

A collection of lip glosses (not mine). (https://colourpop.com/)

 

I am not going to lie I love clothes, jewelry, and makeup (oh can not forget purses). I have acquired a lot of things over the years. I think this is just part of the piece inside everyone that makes them feel like the one thing the love the most they need to have a lot of. This is like the person who loves lip glosses (me) and has over one hundred in a drawer but would only use the same 25 different colors every 6 months. This may not exactly improve my social standing or anything but it does make me feel more at home and it does help that I am not alone in my slight obsession over things. The sense of wanting different things has helped people decide what they are passionate about and how something that is acquired can turn into something way bigger.

"Bringing together multiple disciplines can sometimes yield insights that were not previously known to either discipline by itself." (Robertson, 2014)

Teaching someone to fish or teaching them help the environment. (http://lawrencehilton.com/fluency-with-lawrence/teaching-someone-how-to-fish-proverbs-in-class)

 

Learning about different things can help people continue to improve in their life. The same can be said about the different ways people learn to control different aspects in their life. When people are able to have more disciplines you are able to not only learn about patience but also thrive in your professional. Not only does your professional life thrive but if you turn that discipline towards saving the universe you could not only help the environment. You can also in turn teach someone else about the different disciplines needed to help them help the environment, because “if you give a man a fish he eats for a day, but teach him to fish and he never goes hungry.” That is the premise of teaching people the discipline of saving the environment and not hurting it.

"Humanity is part of a vast evolving universe." (UNESCO, 1992)

Everything is constantly changing not just the weather. As humans evolve they take along everything with them such as technology as well as popular culture. Humanity does not stand still because if it did we would still be stuck in the Stone Age. As humanity brings everything into the continuous modern age we need to remember to still make sure we still teach and learn about how to conserve energy and to continue to teach sustainability of the environment. This is so that we can continue to live on this Earth and continue to evolve even more so that we can get to the point where we not only be more technologically advanced but also be a place where we do not have to worry so much about the environment and it dying sooner rather than later.

The evolution of the ever present IPhone. (http://phys.org/news/2014-09-chinese-buyers-iphone-global-debut.html)