September 2006

Art of the Month

Ichida
Sandra Nguyen, Piedmont HS,
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The Big Bug Hunt

Video by Elizabeth Price and Dyani Main, St Mary’s HS,

Click here to see the big bug hunt - (2.7 mb)

Green Team students, Elizabeth and Dyani, get up close to a spider web to learn about how bugs are good for our creeks and gardens.

Song of Autumn

Never did a drop of rain hold so much meaning, Nor ever did stars in a dark, night sky. It feels like the world is always singing, When the trees whistle as I pass by. I feel my heart beat with the rhythm of the wind, As it swirls and gusts here and there. I can sense its cold touch on my skin, Inviting me to come and fly in the air. A squirrel scurries up a giant oak, Its graceful movements like a dance to the beat of the breeze. Its furry tail swishes smoothly like smoke, As it climbs onto the thick, strong branches of the trees. Water flows softly over rocks in the stream, While a golden lark begins to cry. Its light voice is the melody of nature’s musical theme, And touches my heart as I pass by. Never was the color of leaves so vibrant and fiery, Nor ever did damp soil smell so sweet. My heart has searched far and wide for such beauty, And now it has awakened me from a lifetime of sleep. Suddenly, the rain stops pouring down, And the lark’s song has flown far away from here. The tree branches are still, not a slight movement found, And the song of autumn seems to disappear. I walk away from the forest; start my car and leave, I walk away from the forest; start my car and leave, Saddened that the song has ended and gone. I can’t see the trees, the rain, the leaves, Yet the song of autumn continues to play on and on. Natasha Gupta Monte Vista HS, Danville	Stop the Littering Victoria Delgado, De Anza HS, Richmond Click Image to download and print this poster for your school
	You Are Not Alone You are not alone. The sun, the moon, the sky The trees and all the flowers Are on your side You spy the sun when you flip open your blinds And as you wake up, he radiantly shines The moon stands by when you close your eyes And as you rest, she smiles and sighs The sky is endless and clouds often swirl Giving the feeling that it will swallow the world You hear the trees whisper when you listen at night Playing with the wind, secrets hidden fom sight The flowers you touch, smell, and admire But cannot understand the respect they desire So nature is there no matter where you go Be smart and don't make them your foe. Tiffany Mao Monte Vista High School, Danville
To Recycle? Zenas Saephan, De Anza HS, Richmond Click Image to download and print this poster for your school

Letters to Dr. Green		Too Lazy Melanie Udna, De Anza HS, Richmond Click Image to download and print this poster for your school
EarthTeam’s own environmental “advice” columnist with a prescription for what ails her readers –and our Earth.

Dear Dr. Green,

What can I say? I am a meat-eating, junk food-loving, Safeway-shopping, traditional American boy.  For gosh sakes, I’m watching football gulping down a fat Taco Bell Chalupa right now.  However, in terms of football and food selection, my girlfriend is the total opposite.  Although she gives in when I make my mean pot roast, she would never touch a fast food product and typically tries to eat only organic food.  What a wimp!  Furthermore, in order for her to “consent” to eating in her house, she makes her parents (loyal Safeway/Albertsons customers) go on separate shopping trips to the health food store.  How self-absorbed and ridiculous is that?!?!?!

This leaves me with one question—WHY?  Why would she make everyone go so far out of their way simply to avoid devouring cheap yet hearty food? I know it’s processed... blah blah blah, but she even claims that it’s bad for the environment! Come on! Use logic now! Eating processed food may be the unhealthier option, but it tastes better, and it certainly isn’t going to harm the environment! Although I’m positive that I’m right, please reassure me that she is in fact the one who is insane.

Frankly,

Organic Objector

Dear Organic Objector,

Before you embarrass yourself any further, set aside your Nacho Cheese Chalupa. I could continue my letter by going into the unsanitary and unhealthy contents of Taco Bell’s meals, but I will let you pick up your own copy of Fast Food Nation for that.  Another result of Taco Bell consumption to keep in mind goes by the name of diarrhea.  Diarrhea is not necessarily the most pleasurable thing in the world, but hey then again who am I to say what’s cool?

Look mister—don’t be so sure of yourself.  Allow me to define organic:

or_gan_ic r_gaen_k - [awr-gan-ik]–adjective

pertaining to,  involving, or grown with fertilizers or pesticides of animal or vegetable origin, as distinguished from manufactured chemicals

Spending the extra few bucks on organic (healthier) food not only benefits your health, but ameliorates the environment.  Organic farming has many benefits including conservation of biodiversity, preservation of clean water, and enhancement of soil.  You may think I’m preaching, but if action isn’t taken soon, the clean water and food you are used to will no longer be a reality.

On the other hand, unnatural food is a huge concern internationally for a lot of it contains all kinds of inorganic fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides. For instance, take Eutrophication, the “suffocation of organic plants and animals due to rapid growth of algae.”  This process commonly used in the production of unnatural foods is responsible for destroying lakes among other beautiful and beneficial bodies of water.

The idea may sound scary, but in my humble opinion you should take one trip to Trader Joe’s, or one of the cheaper health food stores, just to see how you like it.  You will be surprised to learn how much more pure organic food tastes; its ingredients come directly from the earth.  Try making a few dishes with your new ingredients.  Maybe your girlfriend will even watch a football game with you.

Take a hint,

Dr. Green

References:

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=organic&x=29&y=15
http://www.ifoam.org/organic_facts/benefits/index.html

Dr. Green,

I’m a supporter of environmental cleanliness but in all honesty I am scared of the outdoors.  As a joke, while I wasn’t home, my friends put plastic spiders under my covers.  When I was crawling into bed, I immediately noticed the creatures, screamed at the top of my lungs and pathetically fainted shortly thereafter!  Please understand that although I respect nature and its excellence, I am utterly mortified by the mere thought of a skeletal creature crawling against my skin. 

As you have probably already guessed, I am a pretty typical girly-girl.  My hobbies include cheerleading, watching the OC, partying with my friends, and of course, shopping.  Needless to say, these activities don’t involve much environmental education.  Despite my seemingly stupid stereotype, I want to do something grand for the world and I know there must be other ways besides outdoor restoration projects.

Now that you know a little bit about what I like to do, do you have any advice as to how I can help out the environment without having to be hands-on? Please tell me I am not the only girly-girl out there that loves the environment but is skeptical of its contents.

Helplessly,
Naturephobic

Dear Naturephobic,

Don’t worry!  In my old AP Biology class, there was a brilliant girly-girl who had good intentions, received straight A’s, but was absolutely petrified by living creatures. She would constantly make a huge fool out of herself when she would run outside of the class screaming if she just saw a moving insect.  Furthermore, although I have never been a “girly-girl”, I used to be exactly like you in terms of being afraid of spiders.  Even Dr. Green had her arachnophobia phase , so you are definitely not alone there.

Although you can overcome these fears, I have thought of a solution for you to help the environment in a way that doesn’t require you to be kinesthetic.  You can help to save the environment by going shopping, I kid you not.  Have you ever heard of Eco-fashion?  Eco-fashion refers to “stylized clothing that uses environmentally sensitive fabrics and responsible production techniques.” Eco-fashion exemplifies fair conditions and wages for workers and is made from organic cotton or recycled material.  

Although you may be thinking that Eco-fashion probably only comes in tie-dye T-shirts and Grateful Dead paraphernalia, you couldn’t be any further from the truth. In fact, Eco-Fashion prevailed on the runways during Fashion Week in New York.  The world of eco-chic fashion only continues to get bigger as it is appearing in high fashion magazines such as Elle and being featured in new, innovative runway shows.  You can order eco-chic products online at sites such as www.thegreenloop.com, buy clothes at environmentally-conscious stores like American Apparel or Patagonia, or find out if your favorite places to shop carry any environmentally-friendly brands.

Happy Shopping!

-Dr. Green

References:

http://environment.about.com/od/earthtalkcolumns/a/ecofashion.htm

An Evening With Igor and Pavel

Russia, the land of cold winters, Babushka dolls, and towering cathedrals with colorful domes shaped like Hershey’s Kisses. This fascinating country, covering more land mass than any other nation in the world, is one of the hot topics among environmentalists today. As Russia’s economy has become more and more dependent on industrialization, many pressing environmental issues have emerged as a result. Not only have they taken a toll on Russians, but gradually, these issues are also having an effect on the global biological balance. To explore this further, I spoke with two Russian environmentalists, Igor Bababin and Pavel Chigvintsev, and discussed their insight on the impact of these problems.
Green reporter Natasha learned about environmental action in Russia from two young environmentalists visiting the U.S. in August.  A Richmond teacher, Yulia Solovieva, also a Russian native, assisted with the translation.	Igor is a Project Coordinator for Saint-Petersburg branch of Greenpeace Russia, and is aiding in natural resource and energy conservation. The timber industry is a huge industry in Russia, and has caused damage to many ancient forests due to clear cutting and inadequate restoration methods. As Igor showed me on a map, green areas depicting untouched forests were sparsely dotted in Russia, but there were many gray areas signifying forests  affected by people.   . He explained that these gray areas are places where roads and cities have emerged, and “very few live in green areas, which is why these forests are more protected”. He also pointed out that not only are forests growing smaller at a fast rate, but government and legislation helps to destroy them: according to the law, forest is cutting by private companies, but restoring and keeping by federal forest service, and forest cutters pay to the government for wood they cut much less then work for forest growing really cost!  The forest industry in Russia uses 10 times more wood than its neighboring country, Finland and other neighboring countries have also had a say in this issue, as the European Union is very concerned about the trans-border effects. In 1997, there were successful actions made in forest preservation, when  two big Finnish companies declared that they would stop destroying ancient forests.
“Though these companies lost economically, in the future they gain privileges”, said Igor. The youth of Russia are aware of this issue and its long-term impacts, and have been involved in forest preservation as well. “Children from small villages make their own plantings to help restore the forest,” Igor told me. Greenpeace has already established a project for children, Kids for Forests, where they are given ecological education and asked to build nurseries for making tree samplings that will be planted in forests. After speaking with Igor, I talked to Pavel, a representative from the Ural Ecological Union who is working on a nuclear safety project. Currently, the issue of nuclear waste is an important issue for the country, as there are several areas of nuclear waste that are dumped throughout Russia. These wastes are being imported from other countries and it is affecting the ecological balance in the country. “The constitution bans importing nuclear waste, but materials are given different names by the companies exporting them to disguise the radioactive material,” said Pavel. Unfortunately, people profiting from these imports are the ones who are aware of the material contents, and most of the public is not aware. These imports are potentially dangerous not just for Russians who live in close proximity, but also for neighboring countries. “People in neighboring countries are trying to involve politicians in stopping the import of nuclear waste in France and Germany,” noted Pavel, “European countries have a positive influence on the matter, and we can expect the construction of new nuclear stations outside Russia.” However, President Putin fervently supports research in nuclear power and believes it is the future. In fact, recently new types of nuclear reactors are built with a mixed fuel of uranium and plutonium. Though beforehand they were known to be potentially dangerous to civilians living in the area due to their toxic waste, Russia went ahead  and built these anyway. While the issue of nuclear waste remains a pressing issue for Russia, the youth is beginning to become more aware of these “disguised imports” and taking action. “Most  volunteers in the organization are college students,” said Pavel. These college students participate in efforts to establish nuclear safety in affected areas.  Talking with Igor and Pavel about some of Russia’s environmental problems raised some questions about our country’s future. Russia, a country almost as industrialized as our own, is already suffering the consequences of the harm done to its numerous natural resources. Could this be our country’s ecological future as well? Natasha Gupta Monte Vista HS, Danville

Is that old cell phone in your backpack? or your junk drawer?

Hello returning students! Did you and your friends just go back to school shopping? If so, did that include new cell phones?

Here I am accepting phones that were collected at the Richmond YMCA

If it did you should consider recycling them by getting a bucket and putting a sign on it to indicate what its for. If you can, try to get it in the office at your school so parents and kids with old phones can recycle them. It is a very fun way to get rid of that out of date cell phone and its good for the environment! Do the earth a favor, and recycle your phone today. And if you’re earthy enough to do this, send us an email with your name and school attached.                       Josh Martarella Jr. Stone Valley Middle School, Alamo   CLICK here to download and print a sign for your cell phone collection bucket.

"Phone talk"
by Tyler Jolley, Stewart MS, Pinole
Click Image to download and print this poster for your school

What Kind Of Justice???

by Sandra Nguyen, Piedmont HS, Piedmont

Environmental Justice is about equal and fair access to a healthy environment; equal enforcement of environmental regulations; and a movement to protect communities of color and poor communities from environmental hazards. Environmental Racism can be seen as the placement of waste sites and other hazardous facilities in towns and neighborhoods in which most of the residents are non-white. Environmental Racism is seen around the world, especially in developing countries. Some of the poverty of the developing countries can be attributed to unjust economic practices of the wealthy industrialized countries. However, environmental justice issues can also be found right here in the United States.

             New Orleans East is the home of the largest Vietnamese community in New Orleans. They managed to hang on after Hurricane Katrina despite being overlooked, and are one of the first communities to resettle in the city again. However, the city wants to build a land fill less than a mile away from their community. It would be a 100 acre land fill probably leading to an 85 foot high mountain of debris left from Hurricane Katrina.  The debris from the Hurricane is not exactly your typical landfill garbage. As seen in the news, there are many chemicals, electronics, and other hazardous materials that could seriously be a threat to the area. There is also a chance of having a contaminated water leak from the landfill into the community's water which would lead to the cruel cost of human lives, by ground or by a nearby canal.

            Couldn't the city just dump the waste somewhere else? Well, the city would be saving money by putting the landfill near New Orleans East. Waste Management Inc., the waste management company in charge of the debris, would not even let groups in the community test for toxic materials currently being dumped into the site.  Is this environmentally just? This is a clear act of environmental racism.

            Learn how you can help New Orleans East by going to http://www.saveneworleanseast.org/. Learn more about Environmental Justice, Environmental Racism, and the Environmental Justice Movement at the EPA's main website http://www.epa.gov/.

Contact LanaH@earthteam.net to submit your photographs, stories, articles, poetry or videos to The Green News. We also welcome your ideas to upgrade this student  part of the Earthteam website.    Be creative!   Show us your new technology skills!   Share your ideas with EarthTeam.

Letter to the Editor

I think a problem we have is that the costs to the environment of our actions are not internalized in the system. Although it is a difficult decision to put a specific cost on the environment (especially as it us likely lawmakers will put in loopholes in definitions and the like), I think it will help people to think of the costs of their action in more immediate and concrete terms. Waiting to rely on the virtue and caution of people (and this requires the virtue of nearly everyone) may unfortunately come too late. It is in some ways like Hurricane Katrina. Why didn't more people heed the warnings? Because they didn't have the resources to do so, and hoped chance would favor them. Thus if we show people that the chance they are taking really is costly here and now, it will help them make the right decision. What we need more than anything is action now.

Kevin Shen

Irvington High School

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