All posts by Allegra DePasquale

Ecological Footprint: Creating a Sustainable World

December 13, 2014 Allegra DePasquale 1 Comment

Going into this activity, I wasn’t even slightly worried that my footprint might be large. I don’t eat meat, and I take public transportation regularly. I really try to be conscious of my energy use. These things made me feel like an environmentalist extraordinaire. I was wrong.

According to this calculator, to sustain my lifestyle worldwide we’d need 4.6 Earths. Granted this is below the American average, it’s still not good – especially in light of what I thought it was. In terms of acreage, my lifestyle takes up 20.5 of global acres, compared to the average of 17. So in this regard, my footprint is actually worse than that of the average American. Most of the acreage is used by energy land. To me, the fact that my acreage is more than the average American is even more disturbing than the amount of Earths it takes to sustain my lifestyle. This is really eye-opening.

My ecological footprint consisted primarily of services. I’m not entirely sure what this means exactly, but I’m positive that there are many changes I could make in my life to shrink my footprint. I could start eating more locally grown produce, and preparing more of my own food – which, as a college kid, I’m not the best at. I could also cut down on my use of electricity and my consumption of new gadgets, which take a lot of resources to make, and a lot of land to produce. I could encourage my family and friends to do the same, so that our household and others live more sustainably.

According to my graph, eating large quantities of meat has the greatest effect on ecological footprint. It follows that if everyone around the world were to switch to a vegetarian diet, it would be conducive to creating a much more sustainable society. In conjunction with using mass transit more and using energy sparingly, this could create a more sustainable world. Of course, these individual choices are important, and mass awareness is key – but to change the course of the world definitively, more must be done. Industry is the cause of a large amount of the environmental issues we are seeing today; we either change this system, or resign ourselves indefinitely to environmental degradation. This is something we all need to come to terms with, and commit to taking action against.

AMNH

An Afternoon at AMNH

December 5, 2014 Allegra DePasquale 1 Comment

The Museum of Natural History is incredible, and I had a really good time exploring the Hall of Biodiversity and seeing how the public interacted with the exhibits. I chose the sea otter exhibit and the endangered species exhibit, the latter of which contains gibbons, pandas, tigers, tortoises, and many other endangered animals.

The sea otter exhibit is meant to provide information on the otter’s ecosystem and biology. It is in the Hall of Ocean Life, so the otter is put in context of the larger ocean and the many marine ecosystems. There is also behavioral information in this exhibit, like how the sea otter uses rocks as a tool to open clams. It helps the public to understand the specific needs and niches of the sea otter, while putting it in perspective of the greater ocean ecosystem.

The endangered species exhibit is intended to educate people on the plight of particularly threatened species, who face possible extinction by loss of habitat, human conflict, pollution, and a great many other factors. By educating the public on endangerment, the exhibit is trying to foster a more aware and more compassionate populace, thus making conservation a popular issue and avoiding extinction where possible.

People were generally more interested in the endangered species exhibit rather than the sea otter one. I believe this is mainly because the endangered species exhibit contains many more animals, and is probably seen as more interesting than the sea otter in absolute terms. Of course, I’m sure there are sea otter fanatics who’d rather spend prolonged periods with the otter,

but I didn’t happen to observe these people. There were more people observing the endangered spe

cies exhibit rather than the sea otter – 57 visitors in fifteen minutes as opposed to 45 visitors. Commentary on both exhibits was about the same though – “Oh, he’s so cute! I want to pet him!” or just simply, “Sea otter!” and, “Panda!” While there were some visitors (mainly adults, speaking to children) who were interested in the actual information on the animals, most people maintained an only superficial and brief interest. In both exhibits, people looked at the animal(s) involved and, after a moment, just walked away. Very few stayed to read the information on the animals. People were most interested by far, though, in the roaring tiger. People copied his face, roared, and took photos. Perhaps if the good people at the museum could, when they acquire animals in the future, position them in engaging poses/positions, it would hold people’s attention for longer. For example, like having a gorilla beat its chest, or having a crow caw – these would engage the audience. This suggestion might be implausible, however. I also feel like the exhibits are great as they are, and people just have short attention spans and don’t care to read about one animal, especially when there are so many others to briefly observe. This, I believe, is largely due to the time in which we live, where people can’t go five minutes without checking their phone, and can barely pay attention to one thing continuously.

I think perhaps if the exhibits were more interactive, and thus engaging, people would be more inclined to seriously contemplate conservation. As are, the exhibits seem to lack dimension. Of course, for an animal lover they’re great – but animals don’t intrigue everyone immediately. Some people need to be shown how cool and interesting animals are – and this is where interactive exhibits would greatly benefit conservation.

Overall, I think the Hall of Biodiversity is great. Even if not everyone wanted to read all the text, people seemed to love being able to see such a variety of animals the likes of which they’d never seen before. It was lovely to see how enthusiastic the children were when viewing the exhibits. To think that if the Hall of Biodiversity didn’t exist that it would deprive thousands of people of this experience – well, that’s unthinkable.

P.S. We also saw Lonesome George and the Taung Child. They were awesome.

What is Science?

Cataclysmic Climate Change: Arctic Peoples’ Struggle to Cope

October 17, 2014 Allegra DePasquale 1 Comment

When people think of the Arctic, they seldom think of the indigenous people living in the frozen tundra. But, in fact, these people do exist, and they are in great peril, according to a recent Al Jazeera article entitled, “Climate change threatens Arctic food security and culture.” This article describes how climate change is forcing previously adapted peoples to alter their way of life, to suit their rapidly changing environment. The author of this article cites mainly a UN report entitled, “Global Biodiversity Outlook 4.”

This article concludes that indigenous people in the Arctic are being seriously impacted by climate change. Climate change has led to increased human activity in the Arctic, for fishing and fossil fuel development. Thus, it has becoming increasingly difficult to find sufficient food using traditional hunting methods, with unpredictable hunting seasons, and food sold in stores is too costly for the indigenous people to afford. As a result, food security has become major a problem.

This article assumes, first and foremost, that the reader believes that climate change is happening. While this is scientific fact at this point, there are still people who deny its existence. For this reason, it should be pointed out that the author assumes that the reader is abreast of the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change, and is too, on board with the idea.

As evidence, the author uses a convincing mix of first-hand accounts (interviews with village chiefs and people who are experiencing the trauma) and scientific evidence, like testimonies of Arctic scientists. The article itself is based on a UN report, and it uses the report’s findings as evidence. To supplement the ethos of the UN, the author also includes evidence from the World Wildlife Fund, Ocean Conservancy, and the United States Arctic Research Commission. The author also includes the point of view of an Alaskan village chief, who testifies to the struggle of Arctic communities. I feel that the article is balanced: towards the end, it also includes the point of view of native people who have managed to adapt to the changes, though these are certainly not the majority. This melange of evidence is (on the whole) scientific and convincing. I came away from the article with a definite sense of empathy for the Arctic peoples.

The conclusion is basically that climate change is affecting everyone, even at the far reaches of the globe. It is a serious, culture-endangering, phenomenon. Whole civilizations are at stake, and so climate change must be taken seriously. It is beyond some abstract environmental concept: it is here, it is happening, and it is dangerous.

Link: http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/10/8/melting-arctic-icethreatensfoodsecuritycultureofnorthernpeople.html

Bioblitz

BioBlitz 2014: Mammal Mania

September 11, 2014 Allegra DePasquale Leave a comment

10660744_10152661113766069_1185281822_n — There is a chipmunk sitting on the log in the center left of the photo if you look closely. It’s there, I swear! Mammal tracking is hard 🙁

BioBlitz was a really wonderful experience for me. From the minute I got to Macaulay and my friend Emaad offered me donuts, to the minute I got back, tired and sweaty, I was having a great time. I was fortunately placed in the mammals group, which meant seeking chipmunks, squirrels, and raccoons. Basically, if it nursed its young, we were looking for it. As an animal lover and environmentalist, I was so excited to get BioBlitz 2014 underway.

Our guides, Jason Munshi-South and Mary Pearl, were awesome. They led us to the mammalian hot spots, and knew so much about everything we found along the way. First we went down by the Twin Lakes. We found many things, though most were non-mammalian. We came across hornets, dragonflies, a heron, and even a red-tailed hawk! Seeing these things was really interesting, as our guides knew a lot about all the residents of NYBG. In terms of mammals, we saw two chipmunks, one alive and one dead (RIP), a squirrel, and some raccoon tracks down by the water’s edge. On our way out of the Twin Lakes area, Professor Pearl informed me that looking for mammals can be frustrating, because unless they’re especially outgoing, they hide when humans come close. Because of this, we used traps to record the presence of other mammals in the gardens.

Bw9Wy5aIQAIYZci — Photo Credit: Jason Munshi-South

We set up metal tunnel traps for white-footed mice and possibly chipmunks, and then set up camera traps to see if any raccoons, coyotes, or skunks were milling about. Apparently these were a success! According to the tweets of one of our guides, we trapped a few mice and got some pictures of a little raccoon visitor. Professor Pearl also pointed out tiny disruptions in the forest floor, and informed us that they were evidence of a skunk looking for food. What a night, huh?

Bw9WQ5ACIAE8Sof — Photo Credit: Jason Munshi South

Being outside interacting with the environment and studying wildlife really resonated with me. For a long time I’ve considered switching my major from political science to something that involves the environment, because I love animals and I love learning about the world around me. After talking to Professor Pearl, who is a primatologist and a professor of biology at Brooklyn College, I am sure that I want to switch majors. I’d really like to go into conservation, and perhaps become a primatologist myself. Or a marine biologist! In short, BioBlitz was a success – I learned a tremendous not just about mammals, but about myself.