FRINQ Sustainability: Class Blog

2012

babygirl30278 — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:25:45 +0000

As all of you can probably tell i am really into the History Channel. I absolutely love it! When I was watching it one day I was watching one show called The Universe, it is all about what is going on in space. One day it was talking about in 2012 how the sun will be at the peak of it’s solar cycle. What this means is that it is completely possibly for solar flares to hit the earth and be big enough to penitrate through the ozone layer and hit the earth.

Who killed the electric car?

babygirl30278 — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:19:12 +0000

I just watched this mocie and i found it very intrrguing. This documentary shows you alternatives to fuel cars have already been established and are being improved by individual people since the car companies decided to discontinue their project to produce them. They are now using the excuse that they are trying to find ways to make cars run on water which was stated to take at least another two decades to come up with.

Sustainability Rap

maddlamb — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:07:03 +0000

Portland Chickens

rogermguzman — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:37:17 +0000

This link to http://www.growing-gardens.org/portland-gardening-resources/chickens.php is pretty much all you need to know about upcoming events with urban chicken farming in Portland. The link gives you information about pretty much everything you’ll need to konw about chickens and where to go to get food and what vet to take them to. There is even an upcoming event on the 16th of march thats all about the basics of raising a chicken.

Oregon wind/solar streetlight

rogermguzman — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:12:45 +0000

Manufactured right here in Portland, Oregon Wind’s new streetlights could potentially revolutionize our way of powering the cities streets. Produced completely from recycled material and are safe for the wildlife. They are built to last for decades, and can run for 4 days without being recharged, and they are run by wind and solar power.When will we see these bad boys on the streets?

Australia Heating Up

ariz086 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:50:32 +0000

“We are seeing significant evidence of a changing climate. We are warming in every part of the country during every season and as each decade goes by, the records are being broken,” said Megan Clark, head of Australia’s state-backed Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization. Temperatures over all of Australia’s climate has shown rising from previous years every year. Since 1960, the mean temperature in Australia has increased by about 0.7 degrees Celsius, but some areas of the country had warmed by 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius in the past 50 years. The warmest decade on record is 2000 to 2009. Australian average temperatures are projected to rise by 0.6 to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030.

Paper or …Paper?

rogermguzman — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:45:06 +0000

On February 2nd, A hearing on the senate Bill 1009 was held before the state environmental committee to ban single use plastic bags statewide, and would prohibit the use of plastic bags as checkout bags. If passed, Oregon would be the first in history to have a complete statewide ban. Oregon already has a statute requiring retailers to supply paper bags to consumers, and some retailers are ahead of the game and only offer paper bags. Are retailers ready to step it up?

Wildlife Trade: Third Largest Illegal Trade

ariz086 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:05:30 +0000

Wildlife trade is the third largest trade after guns and drugs. Tigers in Asia are on the verge of extinction. 20 years ago there were 100,000 Tigers in Asia, and now there are only 3,200 in the wild. Tiger populations have declined by 95 percent over the past 100 years, and three sub-species have become extinct with a fourth not seen in the wild since the 1980′s. Tigers are poached for their skins and parts of their bodies are prized for decoration and traditional medicine. “The loss of tigers in Suklaphanta is undoubtedly liked to the powerful global mafia that controls illegal wildlife trade,” says the WWF’s Jon Miceler. “The evidence suggests that Nepal’s endangered tigers are increasingly vulnerable to this despicable trade that has already emptied several Indian tiger reserves – clearly, this is the symptomatic of the larger tiger crisis in the region.” Other popular animals sold on the Black Market include: Rhinos, Bears, Apes, Turtles, Sharks, Elephants, and Birds.

Is Wal-Mart becoming more “sustainable?”

credford7 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:54:50 +0000

In late February, Wal-Mart decided that they are “going green” by reducing their carbon footprint. Their plan is to cut 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2015. To do this, Wal-Mart is even asking suppliers to evaluate the carbon life cycles of their products. Representatives on their behalf have said that while it is not necessary to get the suppliers on board, it is the most effective way of reducing carbon footprint.

Personally, I believe that this is just a giant form of greenwashing. The president of Wal-Mart, Michael T. Duke, said in an interview that “we know we need to get ready for a world in which energy will only be more expensive.” It seems that their biggest concern is not environmental issues, but economic issues. Also, there is a lot more to being a sustainable business than simply reducing its carbon footprint. This is a good start, but Wal-Mart is still infamously known for their disregard towards employees and suppliers. I feel that sustainability incorporates the well-being of people in addition to the well-being of the planet. I hope I’m wrong and that Wal-Mart is making an honest effort to be eco/people-friendly.

New Sustainable Guru!! Woo hoo!!

credford7 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:17:05 +0000

In October 2009, President Obama created an executive order for federal sustainablilty. The General Services Administration has created the position, the Chief Greening Officer. The Chief Greening Order will be in charge of including green practices in all General Service Administration corporations. There will also be a committee of green officers who will assist the chair in “going green.” These representatives will be chosen from 11 different regions. These representatives can be in various fields of work such as engineering, architecture or even music.

It’s really inspiring that our government is actually showing an interest in incorporating green practices. I’m really surprised that the government implemented a chair dedicated to better sustaining our environment. I also think it’s cool that you can be in any kind of career field to be a part of the committee! I think this action will inspire more of the American people to make more sustainable choices now that we have our political leaders as role models. Hopefully this action will have long lasting effects and not be just a new trend that the government will address and then set aside for a time.