WSDE North Park: The McGaughy Family

Connie, John and Madison always get up early. John wakes up first, makes a pot of coffee himself and ginger tea for Connie. They then wake Madison, around 7:30 on weekdays and 5:15 on Saturdays. Typically, they either have bagels or pre-made waffles for breakfast before starting their day.

Lunch either consists of mixed nuts and a half a bagel, or nothing at all. Dinner is the only time the McGaughys really have a chance to be creative with food. All of the McGaughys enjoy cooking, so they often switch who cooks when. Madison will often make Mexican food, rice, sandwiches and whatever else seems appropriate at the time. She also bakes a lot. Connie and John both make a large variety of things as well, anything from soup to homemade bread.

All of the McGaughys are vegetarian, with the exception of Madison, who is a vegan. John and Connie’s son Nathan was the one who enjoyed dairy products the most, so when he left for college the family didn’t feel the need to buy as many dairy products. The whole family is now, for the most part, vegan, but John and Connie still occasionally eat dairy products.

The McGaughys often go out to eat as well. They aren’t fans of fast food and they have eclectic tastes, so they eat at several different places. Every Thursday, Madison and John go and get a potato pancake and John and Connie often go get Italian food at their favorite family run restaurant. They all like to eat at a Thai restaurant near Madison’s school as well as several other places. Living a vegetarian and vegan lifestyle used to make going out to eat difficult for the McGaughys, but within the last few year a lot more options have been made available. Because of this, the McGaughys like to go out to eat and relax as a family as often as possible.

WSDE Photos with Captions

In this picture, John is making a white sauce for his famous vegan cream of tomato soup. Every time Madison has a rowing regatta, John makes enough soup to feed the entire team. Here, he is making the soup for the Long Beach Annual Christmas Regatta. It is a must have for any soup or vegan food lover.

I this picture, Connie is making a berry flavored smoothie. They are quick and easy to make, not to mention they are one of her favorite breakfast items. Connie used to make recipes for smoothies for her brother’s restaurant “Mama Loves” back in the seventies. In this picture, Connie is adding ground flax seeds to the smoothie.

This photo is an aerial shot of the smoothie that Connie was making in the previous picture. The smoothie has strawberry flavored soy “yogurt”, raspberries, orange juice, frozen bananas and flax seeds. Connie like to use flax seeds in a lot of her cooking because it gives the family a boost in omega-3s that they don’t get normally because they don’t eat fish. Flax is virtually undetectable in food.

WSDE Shopping List

Grains and Starchy Foods: ($18.45) Spaghetti Wheat Bread Sourdough Bread Tortillas Vans Waffles Quaker Oats	Snacks and Deserts: ($6.25) Pistachios Nuts Soy “Ice Cream”
“Dairy”: ($17.25) Soy “Milk” Rice “Milk” Soy “Yogurt” Tofutti “Cream cheese” Earth Balance “Butter”	Beverages: ($40.25) Florida’s Natural Orange Juice Coca-Cola Apple Juice Water
“Meat, Fish, and Eggs”: ($8.25) San Diego Soy Dairy Tofu Meatless “Meatballs”	Restaurants: ($12.85) Potato Pancake Yellow Curry
Condiments: ($7.85) Pickles Artichoke hearts Ortega Chilies Salsa	Miscellaneous: ($8.90) Jif Peanut Butter Honey Pinto Beans Black Beans
Fruits, Vegetables, and Nuts: (30.55) Bananas Apples Oranges Craisins Pineapple Slices Avocado Onion Garlic Tomatoes Lettuce Carrots Green Beans Sprouts

WSDE Recipe(s)

Tofu with Spinach

• 1 block of San Diego Soy Dairy Tofu
• Olive Oil
• Earth Balance “Butter”
• Mustard
• Ketchup
• Sun Dried Tomatoes
• Sliced Pineapple
• Fresh Spinach

OPTIONAL: Salt, pepper, spike, chili powder, ground ginger, cinnamon

Slice tofu into three even sections. Put tofu between two cutting boards and press excess liquid out of the tofu.

Turn the stove up all the way. Put butter and/or olive oil into a pan. Put a handful of sun-dried tomatoes in the pan. Let simmer briefly.

Cut tofu into 1” by 1” blocks and toss into the pan. Let simmer until a light brown, stirring frequently. Put a light sprinkling of your choice of seasonings on tofu. Squirt mustard and ketchup all over the top of the tofu. Stir together.

Open can of sliced pineapples. Carefully pour the pineapple and pineapple juice onto tofu. Let the pineapple brown lightly. Turn off the stove and let it cool.

Wash the spinach and put into a pot of water. Put on stove and turn all the way up. Let spinach wilt slightly. Turn off stove and drain the rest of the water. Put your choice of dressing on the spinach, (I usually use an olive oil/vinegar mix). Put tofu on top of spinach and serve.

Re-Fried Beans

• 1 can of pinto beans per person
• Earth Balance “Butter”
• Chili Powder
• Ground Ginger
• Salt
• Pepper

Open can(s) of beans. Drain juices according to how watery you want your beans to be.

Turn stove up all the way. Put pot on stove. Put one tablespoon of butter per can in the pot. Pour beans into pot.

Add your choice of seasonings, (I use salt, pepper, chili powder and ground ginger). Mash beans with potato masher. Turn off over. Let beans cool then serve.

WSDE Interview

General demographic questions:

1. How many people live in the home?

Three.

2. What are the professions of the adults in the home (ex: teacher, food service, lab technician, unemployed)?

Architectural Designer, (John) and an Art Consultant, (Connie).

3. Where does the family live (what part of San Diego)?

North Park.

Food specific questions:

1. How often does your family eat out? Where do you usually go?

Once or twice a week. We often go to Antique Thai, a Thai restaurant in Point Loma, Toronados, a Pub in North Park, or Pisano’s, a family-owned Italian restaurant in North Park.

2. Do you typically buy food based on price, health, or something else?

We typically buy whatever doesn’t have meat or dairy products in it, (everyone in our family is either vegetarian or vegan). We do try to buy whatever is on sale though.

3. Do you usually cook more from scratch or buy pre-made foods?

We try to cook from scratch as often as possible. Whatever we buy that is “pre-made” often requires quite a bit of preparation, (such as pasta etc.)

4. If time/money/etc. were not an issue, what would you change about your eating habits?

Nothing really, we would probably have slightly better portion control, but otherwise there isn’t much we would change.

5. How many meals per week does your family typically eat together? Which meal do you eat together (ie: dinner)?

We almost always eat dinner together, and occasionally breakfast. We don’t usually get to eat lunch together since Madison is at school and Connie works away from the house. So typically, we have around seven to fourteen meals together a week.

6. Do you buy any organic foods? Why or why not? Are there any other constraints or requirements for the food you buy?

We try to buy organic whenever possible. We have done a lot of research on where food comes from, so we like to try to eat as naturally as possible. The only real “constraint” for us is that we don’t eat meat products. But luckily, it has become easier and easier within recent years to be a vegetarian or vegan.

7. Does culture or ethnicity have any influence on what you eat? How? (give examples)

Not really, we like experiencing different types of food. Again, the only thing we have to think about is our vegetarianism and veganism.

8. Do you feel like you spend too much money on food?

Only occasionally. We try to buy on sale whenever possible, but with inflation and trying to buy organic we do end up spending a lot of money on food. However, we often buy our food far ahead of time, so we do get a break from shopping.

9. What food tradition do you think Americans value?

Thanksgiving is the only “tradition” that I can think of. In all honesty, so many people today are concerned about price and fast gratification, the fast food industry has completely taken off. We have stopped valuing what we eat and we no longer appreciate what “good food” tastes like.

10. Where do you buy your food?

Von's, Henry’s, Trader Joe’s, and Fresh and Easy.

11. Who shops? Who cooks?

Typically John shops, but everyone cooks. We like to switch who cooks fairly regularly so we can have a wide variety of tastes and types of cooking.

12. Does your family eat more fresh produce or processed foods?

Fresh produce, we can’t eat a lot of processes foods. We don’t feel like we are missing out at all.

Nuclear Power: Risking a Comeback

Quote:

The Nuclear Energy Institute estimates that without nuclear power playing its current role in the generation of electricity, the U.S. would spew 29 percent—190 million metric tons (209.4 million tons)—more carbon than it does now.

Question:

Where would the carbon come from and how is atomic energy safer?

Comment:

I would imagine that the carbon would come from coal and other energy creators, but is more carbon in the air less safe than having nuclear power plants everywhere? I want to know what the difference between the long term effects are. I know that if too much carbon gets into the atmosphere, then the ozone layer could deplete, but there are alternatives that we can use to avoid that. But if a nuclear power plant explodes, that could mean hundreds to thousands of years of mutations in humans and it could leave heavy toxins in the earth.

Clean Coal? New Technology Buries Greenhouse Emissions

Quote:

"A key to achieving this, Couch and other researchers say, is to capture the carbon dioxide and send it underground instead of releasing it into the atmosphere."

Question:

What problems would occur by pushing the carbon dioxide underground?

Comment:

I would assume that capturing the carbon dioxide underground would have its own problems, so is capturing it really a good idea? Food could stand the risk of getting contaminated, soil could be permanently damaged and I'm sure that there would be a whole other string of problems as well. I'm not sure if in the long run, capturing the gases underground would be more beneficial than letting it go into the air.

An Inconvenient Conversation

I sat down with my mom fairly late at night over the weekend. I pulled up the description of the discussion we were supposed to be having and read it aloud. It was late and we were both tired, so our conversation wasn’t particularly long, but it was interesting nonetheless. We began by running down the list of topics.

“What forms of energy are available?” I asked. She thought for just a moment before she started listing different sources. She mentioned petroleum, coal, solar, using corn and soybeans in cars and different sources. With nothing to add, I asked the next question. “What are the benefits and drawbacks of current energy sources?” She thought again and mentioned that the air is being polluted by coal; drilling oil is polluting water and a whole slew of other problems.

I looked at the next question, but I had one of my own that I wanted to ask instead. “What do you think of the use of corn and soybeans as a form of energy?” I asked. She stopped temporarily before saying, “Well, it’s natural. I don’t really know a lot about the benefits and problems with it though.” I figured this would be her answer, so I decided to tell her a bit about it.

I told her about how, while corn is natural, it is one of the few foods that can never be truly “organic” since it is so susceptible to parasites and other problems. I told her that corn almost always has some form of pesticide being used on it, organic or non-organic, and while corn is good because it can be used in hundreds of different items, it causes many problems as well.

She seemed interested and asked me to elaborate, so I did. I mentioned that the runoff from cornfields has been known to get into streams and pollute water and other fields. She seemed to understand what I was talking about fairly quickly. She added in the fact that since farmers realized that corn was a super food and could be grown in bulk for cheap prices, crops weren’t being rotated. She mentioned to me how it was FDR that really pushed for crop rotation, so the not all of the nutrients would get sucked out of one spot and there would be less chance of landslides.

I decided to tell her about when the class watched “Food Inc.” and about how feeding corn to cattle has been one of the main causes of E. coli poisoning. My mom, being quite the animal activist, thought that it was terrible how people are so concerned about what is best for their pocket book, that they don’t care about what is best for the animals that provide them with nourishment and they don’t care about their own health. I told her about how if farmers fed cows grass for five days after a lifetime of feeding them corn, roughly 80% of the E. coli in their bodies would die immediately.

At this point, we started running out of things to add on to this topic, so we quickly ran down the rest of the list of topics. There was nothing that truly intrigued us, and I had asked my question and said my piece. I looked at the clock and realized that we had been talking for almost a half an hour, not to mention that it was twelve thirty at night and I had to get up in the morning. So we said our goodnights and I headed off to bed.

Back to 1983 for a Day

I woke up on Thanksgiving morning, purposely a bit later than usual so I wouldn’t be pressured into watching the annual parade and dog show that my mom and I get a kick out of. I took my time getting dressed and heading out to the dining room, where my pie-making station awaited me. I had planned to make my “TV free day” on Thanksgiving because I knew that I was going to be busy cooking and converting recipes all day, and I don’t care about football unless it’s on a collegiate level.

I spent the day figuring out how to create a vegan pumpkin pie, (apple pie was easy enough, granted the lattice on top took me forever to do nicely) as my dad and uncle teased me for being “Amish”. There mocking was actually rather funny and I enjoyed spending time with them, (my dad was making his famous homemade bread as my uncle carefully supervised).

All was well until my pies had to bake and suddenly, I had absolutely nothing to do. My mom was at work, my brother was playing my Wii in the back room, and the other two oh-so-supportive ones were watching the football game, even though neither of them likes football. I stood around for a bit, tried tidying up the kitchen a little and started wondering if my teachers had emailed me the information for my letter(s) of recommendation yet.

My dad told me to stop fidgeting and calm down, so I swayed in a doorway for about ten minutes. As I bumped into the jamb repeatedly, I remembered a trick that I used to do when I was younger where I would press my hands against the doorjamb for thirty seconds, then watch them raise up when I stepped away from the door. I did this for almost an hour.

Finally, I was able to pull my first pie out of the over and start on mashed potatoes. I was hard at work again, my boredom quickly being eased. I skinned the potatoes with great enthusiasm as my dad handed me a slice of his freshly baked bread. I put the potatoes on the stove and waited. My dad decided that he wanted to bring some bread and soup, (famous amongst my rowing team) to some people that worked at a local pub that we normally go to on Thursdays. I wanted to go too, so I quickly mashed my potatoes, covered them with a lid, turned off the oven, and he my uncle and I headed down to the pub.

Apparently, my dad had told the waiters about my “project” and they found the whole situation rather amusing themselves. My uncle kept asking questions such as, “Are you allowed to talk about TV?” knowing that movies were one of my favorite subjects. So after drinking my holiday Mexican Coca-Cola, the only way to drink it, we headed home and I finished setting the table.

We ate the dinner, it was quite delicious if I may say so myself, and after that we all passed out from a food coma for the rest of the night. Except for my brother, who continued to play on my Wii until about two thirty in the morning.

How did you communicate?

I barely use my phone anyway, so giving up my cell phone was easy. As for Facebook and other social networking sites, I can honestly say that I check my school email far more often than I check any of those, so finding out a day later about so and so’s new nose ring wasn’t a he loss. My whole family, (two uncles, parents, one brother and I) were all there, and I’m notorious for not keeping in touch with my friends, so it wasn’t much different than a normal day.

How did you get your news?

I read the newspaper, that’s how I typically get my news anyway. Newspaper reporting is a dying industry that I think people will be sorry to see it gone if all the newspapers disappear, so I try to support my local newspaper. That was until they started shoving their uber-conservative views on everyone without giving another side to the story. I need to find a new newspaper…

How did you entertain yourself?

I cooked and baked all day long which is a favorite hobby of mine. I also did the thing in the doorjamb, the one where you watch your hands go in the air after you press them against the jamb for a while. If you haven’t tried it you should, it’s a trip. I also played solitaire when times got really tough.

What was the most difficult gadget you had to give up and why?

The hardest thing for me to give up wasn’t even really a gadget. I had a hard time giving up my email. I’m fine with giving up my computer for a day because I don’t have any video games or anything like that on it anyway, but my email was something that I really wanted to check. I had been waiting for some responses to college related questions for a few days and the second I got my answer I was going to submit my applications, so not being able to work on my applications was extremely stressful for me.

What about the least difficult sacrifice?

Probably my cell phone. I barely use it anyway and most people know that about me so if they wanted to get a hold of me, so they probably wouldn’t call me unless they knew I wasn’t going to be at my house. Then I usually answer it.

Were there any surprises for you?

Not really, I already knew that I work better when I have background noise, so having my dad and uncle there was helpful. When I didn’t have anything to do I pretty much expected to get bored. So no, there weren’t any real surprises. I’m pretty much Amish anyway, you should see my stove, (not a complaint at all).

Food articles

Cheap Food: Workers Pay the Price

"Cheap Food" talked about America's want to produce incredibly low-priced food and how the farmers pay for that want. Many of the farm workers die from heat stress because they are undocumented and aren't guaranteed any form of benefits or even basic necessities, (such as water). It talks about how sever heat related deaths happen a year but many of them go unrecorded since the companies that own the farms don't want to be found out for having undocumented workers, or anyone in general, die on their watch.

Fields of Poison: California Farm workers and Pesticides

"Fields of Poison" looked into the effects of pesticide poisoning and how often farmers especially were poisoned by pesticides. It went on to discuss how California is one of the few states to be gathering information on pesticide poisoning because it is one of the few states that have farmers that are wiling to give up the little they have and advocate for themselves. It also talked about how many safety regulations don't apply to farmers and how they don't have adequate protection from all of the chemicals they work with.

The Scope of the World Food Crisis

"The Scope of the World Food Crisis" discussed the issue of starvation and why some countries can no longer afford to grow their own food, (similar subject to "The Financial Crisis and World Hunger"). It talked about how rising oil prices make it difficult for farmers to afford some of the same materials they once used. It also discussed how the majority of farms in the world are owned by the same four or so companies.

The Financial Crisis and World Hunger

"The Financial Crisis and World Hunger" was mainly about prices on certain foods and how people in impoverished countries especially cannot afford to even grow their own food anymore. It talked a lot about micro-loans, which are basically tiny loans, (sometimes only a couple of dollars) which are basically used in order to start a small business. Micro-loans were started by Muhammad Yunus, (who later went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize).

If I had to look into one of these topics in particular, I would probably look more into "Fields of Poison". I am a pretty big advocate for organic food so reading about the effects of pesticides, not only on the body but on people in general, would probably be rather interesting to me. I don't necessarily think that this article ranks above all of the others, I think all of these issues are important, especially the ones about starvation. My reason for picking it is the fact that it is the shortest article by a long shot. There is so little research on pesticide poisoning that the article barely covered three pages and half of one of those pages was covered by a giant graph, so it's probably closer to two pages. I think that more research needs to be done about pesticide poisoning so it will no longer be a topic that is completely brushed under the rug by big food companies.

Study guide: Question 12

Identify patterns of global water use. Describe the patterns of global water use shown in the bar graph in the water power point.

How has America's water use changed over time?

• Used more water
• Used less water
• Used the same amount of water
• No distinguishable pattern

Which continent uses the most water?

• North America
• Europe
• Asia
• South America

Describe the current role of aquaculture in providing seafood.

What is aquaculture?

• Aquatic ecosystems
• The harvesting of fish, crustaceans and other sea animals
• The scientific name for fish
• Al of the above

What is aquaculture's role in providing seafood?

• It is the term for harvesting seafood
• It is the process used to clean seafood
• It creates pollution problems which kills fish
• All of the above

Describe ways that countries are working together to solve the problem of acid precipitation.

What is acid precipitation?

• Rain with a higher level of acid than normal
• Runoff from landfills
• battery acid
• All of the above

How is America doing to stop acid precipitation?

• Controlling automobile emissions
• Using products to remove sulfur from power plants
• Enacting the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
• All of the above

Biomes Reading

Temperate Forest: The Intimate Wild

Quote: "Ernst had grown up hunting in the Ozark National Forest."
Question: Was/is it legal to hunt in a national forest?
Comment: I found this quote interesting because I always thought that it was illegal to hunt in a national forest. There could be endangered species in the forest and hunting in it could cause damage to the surrounding area itself.

Grassland: Grassland Kingdom

Quote: "...1,800 Asiatic wild buffalo, the largest remaining population anywhere..."

Question: Does this mean in all of the world or just in that particular area?

Comment: I was just wondering if this means that this particular species was endangered or almost extinct.

Freshwater: Reuniting a River

Quote: "...But when the weather turned sunny and hot, the fish, wearied by the false start and weakened by infections, didn't get far: At least 30,000 chinook salmon died in the lower 40 miles."

Question: What types of infections did the fish get and how did they develop?

Comment: I couldn't find any information on what infections the fish had. I wonder if it came from the pesticides the farmers used or if it came from another source.

Extra Article: Black Smokers, Cold Seeps, Whale Falls

Quote: "Smith finds that when whales die their soft parts are eaten, but the bones linger for decades."

Question: What happens to the bones, are they a problem or is it okay for them to be on the bottom of the ocean?

Comment: According to the article, it sounds like different animals live in the bones and use the oils in them for different purposes, but that doesn't mean that the ocean floor isn't covered in bones. I was just wondering if it is okay for all of those bones to be there or if they are somehow damaging the environment around them.

Biomes

Freshwater

What percentage of the earth's water is freshwater? How much of this freshwater is drinkable?

2.5% is freshwater, 1% of freshwater is drinkable.

Marine

Is coral classified as an animal or a plant? Is it both?

Coral is an animal. It is built up of several animals called polyps, which cling together on rocks or dead polyps to create coral.

Desert

Why is a cold desert considered to be a desert if it is known to have heavy rainfall and snow?

I couldn't find much information on this question. What I have gathered is that cold deserts, like regular deserts, can become extremely hot during the summer and are known to be very dry. Cold deserts are often higher in altitude that regular deserts. I believe it is still considered to be a desert because it is usually very flat and barren.

Forest

Why do tropical forests not have much change in weather? Is it just the overall density of the trees doesn't allow much change in weather to be felt or is it the location itself?

I couldn't find much information on this question. From what I gathered, the weather doesn't change that much because the tree cover is so thick that a consistent amount of sunlight is let through, which usually isn't much. There are usually several interesting plants and animals where the sunlight does shine through.

Grassland

Is the only difference between temperate grasslands and savannas just a slight change in conditions, (exp: savannas need just a bit more rainfall than temperate grasslands do)?

The main difference is that savannas are just abut always in warm climates whereas a temperate grassland is often, but not always, in a warm climate. Also, savannas need more water than a temperate grassland does.

Tundra

How cold does the Alpine tundra get, what is the exact difference between the temperatures of the Alpine and Arctic tundra?

The Alpine tundra can be anywhere from 10 degrees Fahrenheit to 50 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer. The Arctic tundra is never hotter than 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Four Goals: Day Two

My four goals for Friday, (Oct. 15, 2010) are:

1) Continue changing all of my buildings and plants to scale. So far, I have created an entirely new draft of my project and I have already re-sized all of the pine trees and the greenhouse is now a realistic size, as is the lot itself. Now I just have to create the "flowers" and other plants and make them to scale. I will probably be working on this all of the class period, since there are quite a few things that need to be made to scale. Hopefully, I will be completely done with resizing everything by the end of class, but it might push into the weekend slightly. I will begin placing all of my plants over the weekend.

2) Add a fountain to the reflecting pond. I want the pollinators to have plenty of areas to drink water, especially the birds. Also, adding a fountain is visually appealing. I will probably start this either in the second hour of class or over the weekend. This should probably only take up to a half an hour since it's easy enough to make a reflecting pond, so I would just have to do a bit in order to add a fountain to it.

3) Add a sitting area to the garden. I plan on putting the sitting area next to the greenhouse. I want to put some of the more fragrant plants near the sitting area so that when they are stepped on and crushed they make a pleasant aroma. I will start working on this when I begin placing my plants over the weekend, since I will be picking the more aromatic plants to go in this area.

4) Add the legend to the design itself. I have completely retyped the legend so now I can just copy and paste it onto the design. I plan on adding this in over the weekend, just so it doesn't get in the way of my design itself while I am working.

Four Goals

My four goals for class this Thursday, (Oct 14, 2010) are:

1) Change the size of all of my buildings and plants in order to make them to scale.

2) Add a fountain to the reflecting pool in order to make it a bit more visually appealing and give the pollinators more water.

3) Place legend onto the actual design rather than leaving it in Microsoft Word.

4) Add a sitting area to the design, (add tables, benches, and fragrant plants that add an aroma to the area). This way, once the plants get crushed it will create a nice aroma.

Cited and Annotated sources on Ecosystems

"Extent of Land Degradation and Recovery on Western Rangelands." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. Science Daily, 01 Oct. 2010. Web. 02 Oct. 2010.

This article is about the falling apart of western rangelands over time. It discusses the steps that farmers have been taking in order to revive the land so that it becomes healthy and usable again.

I would like to do my project about desert based ecosystems, so studying about a more drought ridden area would be good.

"How to Still Kill a Resistant Parasite." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. Science Daily, 02 Oct. 2010. Web. 02 Oct. 2010.

This article is about a parasite in cows that is resistant to almost all known medicines. This parasite is similar to one that can infect and harm humans, so it is dangerous for people to eat the animals.

This relates a bit to my life because of the fact that I am vegan. Part of the reason that I am vegan is because there are so many diseases passes from animals to humans do to bad animal care and hormones put into their food.

"Growing Drought-resistant Plants: Research Could Offer Alternative to Genetically-engineered Crops to Combat Global Food Shortages." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. Science Daily, 01 Oct. 2010. Web. 02 Oct. 2010.

This article is about a new, environmentally friendly spray, that farmers can use on their plants to help them survive from droughts. This article talks about the research that Van Andel Research Institute has been doing on the subject and how it can help prolong the lives of several plants.

This goes along with my topic because San Diego typically goes for long periods of time without rain, so this spray would probably be used on local plants.

Ecosystems in California

Some of the ecosystems in California are as follows:


-California Mesic Chaparral

-Mediterranean California Foothill and Lower Montane Riparian Woodland

-California Central Valley Mixed Oak Savanna

-Mediterranean California Lower Montane Black Oak-Conifer Forest and Woodland

-California Central Valley and Southern Coastal Grassland

-California Central Valley Mixed Oak Savanna

Some plants included in these ecosystems are:

Desert, Seaside, Grassland and Marsh Communities

• -Alkali Sink
• -Alpine Fell-Fields
• -Coastal Prairie
• -Coastal Salt Marsh
• -Coastal Strand
• -Creosote Bush Scrub
• -Freshwater Marsh
• -Great Basin Sagebrush
• -Joshua Tree Woodland
• -Mountain Meadow
• -Northern Juniper Woodland
• -Sagebrush Scrub
• -Shadscale Scrub
• -Valley Grassland

Woodlands and Scrublands

• -Bristle-cone Pine
• -Chaparral
• -Central (Foothill) Oak Woodland
• -Coast Redwood Forest
• -Coastal Sage Scrub
• -Mixed-evergreen Forest
• -Northern Coastal Scrub
• -Northern Oak Woodland
• -Pinyon-Juniper Woodland
• -Riparian rivers and creeks
• -Southern Oak Woodland

Coniferous Forests

• -Closed-cone Pine Forest
• -Coastal Coniferous Forest
• -Douglas-Fir Forest
• -Lodgepole Pine Forest
• -Red Fir Forest
• -Subalpine Forest
• -Yellow Pine Forest
• 
  

I think that I will focus on a close-cone pine forest since I want to create a garden that will attract pollinators such as hummingbirds and butterflies.

Idea for Garden

I think I would like to create a pollinator garden. Pollinator gardens are gardens that attract birds and insects that carry pollen to different plants. These gardens mainly consist of flowers, which are easier to maintain than edibles in the coming winter. Some positives of having a pollinator garden are:

- They attract hummingbirds, butterflies and other visually appealing creatures
- Pollinator gardens are visually appealing
- Attracting pollinators can improve local plant life because they will spread pollen throughout the area
- The nectar in the flowers gives the bees, hummingbirds, butterflies etc. the nutrients they need to survive

The materials that we would need for this are:

- Nectar/pollen-rich flowers of all different shapes, colors and sizes
- Flowers that bloom at different times throughout the year so the pollinators have a continuous string of flowers to return to
- Food for the insects and birds, but not too much since we don't want birds of prey coming and eating all of the birds
- Nesting spots for the insects
- Spots for eggs and larva to hatch, this way we could have more bees which are critically important for us as humans to survive
- Water for the flowers and a shallow pool of water for the birds and insects that come by
- No pesticides or chemicals allowed

There are several different pollinators and each one has a different preference for flowers etc. Some pollinators common to Southern California include:

- Bats
- Bees
- Butterflies
- Flies
- Hummingbirds
- Moths
- Pollinating beetles

I think that our garden should probably attract butterflies, hummingbirds and bees. These three are very common to the area that we live in, so we stand a better chance of attracting these creatures. Also, these three are some of the most effective pollinators, and the most visually appealing. Each of these pollinators have their own preference for flowers and plant life.

Bees like yellow, blue and purple flowers. Smaller bees like small flowers, often grouped tightly together. Some flowers that bees, (particularly small ones) like are marigold, butterfly weed and daisies. They also like fragrant herbs.

Butterflies like orange, red, blue, yellow and pink flowers. Butterflies can't keep flying while extracting nectar and pollen, so the need flatter flowers that they can land on top of. Some good examples of these are butterfly weed, daisies, calendula, yarrow and zinnia. They prefer sunny locations, and they need places to lay eggs and larva, so plants like milkweed, lupine, aster, thistle, violets, black-eyed Susan, fennel and hollyhock are good places for them.

Hummingbirds like tubular flowers that are red, orange, and purple/red. They like plants that have a lot of nectar in them, so things like honeysuckle, sage, jewelweed, fuchsia, cardinal flowers, nasturtium, fireweed, bee balm and century plants.

From what I can see, I think that we should definitely bring in some honeysuckle, black-eyed Susan, hollyhock, marigold, butterfly weed, and daisies. These plants handle well in the cold, plus the are exceptionally good pollinating flowers, so they would be perfect for our garden.

Six Degrees of Separation

I am a vegan, so I don't eat anything that comes from an animal. Basically this means that I don't eat meat, dairy or eggs. Because of this, I need to get my protein from other sources, such as tofu!

Tofu is basically soybeans and water compressed together into a block. Soybeans are typically grown in North and South America, as well as several Asian countries. Often, the soybeans will be sprayed with pesticides or other chemicals, which can both cause health problems and ruin the flavor of the tofu. Because of this I only buy 100% organic tofu. Soybeans are incredibly high in protein which is great for people that don't eat meat. Unfortunately, soybeans can cause several health problems, such as deformities in babies, (there are properties in soybeans that mimic estrogen) and other health problems.

Once the beans are harvested, they are shipped off to different tofu factories worldwide. The company that I buy my tofu from is called San Diego Soy Dairy. SDSD is entirely organic, so they don't use any chemicals when processing their tofu. Because of this, the taste is greatly improved and there are more health benefits, (tofu is proven to help and reverse the effects of osteoporosis and heart disease). Unfortunately, the machines in the factory do have to be run off of energy from power plants, but otherwise there are very few negative effects on the environment.

After this, the tofu is shipped to the stores. I have yet to see a single package of tofu that wasn't wrapped in plastic, which is a problem since it can't be recycled. Once the tofu gets to my house, I have to throw out the packaging, then I begin the preparation process. I will often chop up other vegetables to throw in with the tofu, (since it doesn't really taste that good on its own). Sadly, the more vegetables you use, the more trees that have to be chopped down in order to make room for plants. However, when you think about it, the more soybeans that are planted, the more tofu there is. The more tofu there is, the less animals have to die. So rather than killing an animal for a couple of pieces of extremely expensive meat, why not just buy a package of tofu?

So, over all, here are some of the ways that tofu affects the environment, both good and bad:

1) Trees get cut down in order for crops to grow2)Soybeans can cause birth defects and other health problems
3) Tofu manufacturing plants have to use energy from power plants
4) Some tofu/soybean manufacturers use pesticides5) Tofu comes in plastic packages
6) A lot of soybeans are grown in the US, (less fuel used on shipping)
7) Tofu prevents osteoporosis and heart disease
8) Tofu is high in protein
9) Tofu helps keep animals alive

So the next time you are going to the store, please consider trying tofu. It is delicious and is extremely good for you in reasonable portions.

Environmental Science Post One

Essay Questions:

Q1: What all organisms are in your house, (living, non-living etc.) and where they can be found in your home.
A1: List should include people, different plants, possible bacteria, pets, pests, different bugs and wildlife common to their area and where all of these things can be found.

Q2: (Continuation of question one) How would you describe your home? Would you call it a community, ecosystem, population etc? Why would you call it that?
A2: It would most likely be considered an ecosystem because it has both living and non-living elements. Also, all of these elements are living in one general area.

Q3: Describe the difference between an ecosystem and a population. Which one would you consider our classroom to be? Why?
A3: An ecosystem includes both living and non-living elements. These elements are all located in one general area and the surrounding area would be greatly altered if one of these organisms were removed. A population consists of one species living together in a specific area. Our classroom could be considered an ecosystem if you are including the snake, bugs, bacteria and other elements that live in or near the classroom. If you do not count those factors and only think of the people that are going to class, you could call it a population because it is a singular species temporarily living in the same space.