All posts by jessicajohnson

My Carbon Footprint

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1) My carbon  footprint was 5.1 earths and 22.8 acres, which means that if everyone lived my lifestyle, it would require 5.1 earths to provide enough resources. This is .1 earths above the national average of 5 earths, and a very concerning 5.8 acres above the national average of 17 acres.

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2) I chose to maximize diet, shelter and transportation. Maximizing my diet increased my total earths to 7.2, maximizing my shelter increased my total earths to 8.4 and finally, the largest increase, maximizing transportation increased my total earths to 18. I was not surprised that maximizing transportation led to the largest increase. When you are constantly contributing to the emission of the type of pollution that cars, bikes, buses and planes release, it is bound to drastically increase your footprint. Because of how drastically transportation affects one’s carbon footprint, I think this would be the best area to make a change in.  The easiest and most practical way to decrease my footprint would be to cut down the amount of times I use cars, buses, and trains and instead use a different form of transportation such as riding a bike or walking. By doing this and increasing the amount of carpooling I do, I was able to decrease my carbon footprint to 4.5 earths. It makes you wonder how many other simple changes in our lifestyle would not only benefit us in regards to our health, but also drastically reduce our carbon footprint on the Earth. It is definitely something worth looking into.

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3) As a society there are a number of things we can do to create a more sustainable world. For one thing, we should do more to support natural food that is grown locally. Also, like I already mentioned, reducing the amount of time we spend in cars and increasing walking and bike riding would do wonders for our sustainability. In regards to our electricity and other utilities we should pursue a lifestyle that is not wasteful. We should not leave lights on when not in use, we should not keep the water running and, in general, we should avoid using our resources in excess. Furthermore, more responsible and economical usage of our resources would go a long way. Creating more centralized communities would reduce commuting. Centralized housing would also make it easier to  provide heat and electricity to a number of units at once. Making even a  few of these changes would greatly improve the sustainability of our Earth. Jess footprint

A Stroll through the Hall of Biodiversity

On Monday afternoon, I strolled from the subway station at the 81st Street stop filled with intrigue as my eyes glanced at the enormous, intricately designed building that lay ahead of me. Since the last time I had visited the American Museum of Natural History was when I was four, I was excited to finally be able to walk through the halls of this famed museum. As I passed through security, I was awed to realize that my “Night at the Museum” impression of the museum was just a silly understatement of the true grandeur of the AMNH.

After twirling around in 360°s for five minutes and allowing my shock to subside, I slowly made my way down to the Hall of Biodiversity, which displayed the richness of life on planet earth and the dangers that are a menace to it. The displayed that I chose to closely watch were the Dzanga Sangha Rain Forest exhibit and the Solutions Wall.

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The Dzanga Sangh Rain Forest exhibit delineates the various species that reside in this Central African rainforest, including gorillas and elephants, along with other species of birds, mammals, and so on. This diorama gives the viewer a glimpse of how the forest itself looks and sounds like. It also raises awareness of the issues that threaten the forest, such as deforestation and trade.

Before entering the Dzanga Sangha Rain Forest exhibit, I noticed a class of fourth graders sitting on benches as their teacher explainedthe importance of an introductory video about conservation. I became aware of the divergences in attention span within one age group; as some kids paid attention and took notes, others simply looked around, unaware of the significance of the message. This class of 23 fourth graders also visited the rainforest exhibit first, and their teacher gave them the assignment of recording down four things that they’ve learned from each exhibition. Only 13 kids were somewhat attentive. While most of the girls were interested in learning about organisms of the Dzanga Sangha Rain Forest, many boys simply refused to get off the benches till their teacher prodded them. The teacher was rather tolerant and seemed genuinely concerned about the education of her kids as she pointed out to interesting videos and flip books that contained enlightening information about the species within this forest. Still, many boys were only interested in competing to find a certain organisms such as the tree pangolin and the great blue turaco, while many girls took their time looking through informational videos and captions.

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(Tree Pangolin)

I noticed that partners tended to seek knowledge of these creatures in an efficient manner, whereas larger groups that contained three or more members acted childishly and chaotically. Older kids who worked alone were relatively efficient as well because they were more capable of narrowing the abundance of information that was given to a few important, overarching bullet points. Along with these school children, a family of three, including a six-year-old daughter, wandered through this exhibit. However after a minute the family sat down on the bench and began creating small talk, ignoring the videos and flipbooks provided. The parents, unlike the teacher, did not pressure their daughter as much to actively learn something from this exhibit. It was interesting to see this trend that visiting the AMNH and learning is fostered more in a classroom situation that in a family vacation situation. Lastly, I observed a tour with three adults who sat on the benches across the diorama as the tour guide gave brief overview of how the museum attempted to create a room that simulates the Central African rainforest. In this overview, the tour guide mentioned many fun facts such as how the museum created around 411,000 leaves for this display. However, the adults themselves did not bother to stand up and look around themselves at the display descriptions and interactive videos, unfortunately.

Even though there was a wide range of responses to this rainforest display, I felt as if the simulation appealed to many sensory perceptions through its 3D structures and the sounds of rainforest creatures. It allowed its visitors to actively look for creatures that were hidden in this display, and it provided enough information through its videos/flipbooks without being overbearing.

The Solutions Wall focused on the human effects on the environment and how the visitors themselves can contribute in the conservation of nature. To educate the visitors on how they can make a difference in their daily lives, this wall displays many case studies that give examples of various ways to propagate conservation. This section of the hall also provided many desks where the visitors could sit and watch interactive videos that brought up various topics such as climate change, the importance of dungeon beetles, and so on.

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At the Protection and Restoration section the Solutions Wall, 5-6 children crowded around a screen that discussed about how dungeon beetles mediate methane. While the girls were more silent and attentive to how dung from livestock attract beetles, many boys complained how the girls were taking too long in writing down information. In the Reposting on Biodiversity section, the “crazy ant invasion” captured four boys attention, but some fooling around and bullying ensued unfortunately. While boys tended to randomly push buttons and move on, girls show more of an outward desire to learn.

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I really loved the Solutions Wall because it had a lot more interactive components and that intrigued the children who stopped by. The video’s pause button allowed the kids to watch the videos at their own pace. The set up, in which the wall was split into many sections with their own desks, was ingenious because it prevented children from overcrowding stations the way that they did in the rainforest display. Nevertheless, like the rainforest display, competition was the motivation to learn for some of the children who stopped by.

Overall, the Hall of Biodiversity was a very education experience that had just the right amount of information in correlation to its visual and interactive components. Through its elaborate displays, it increased the awe factor, thereby increasing it the attention drawn to the issues they were conveying. I, myself, had a wonderful experience at AMNH, and I hope to stop by with some friends soon!

Fracking is Better than Coal Usage…or is It?

This New Study Explains Why Fracking Won’t Solve Climate Change

In this article discussing the value of fracking, Tim McDonnell highlights the uselessness of fracking as a climate solution. Even though fracking promotes the use of natural gas instead of other energy sources such as coal, it adds to the carbon pollution that our nation has long been taking part in relentlessly. The author concludes that without certain policies that steer us closer to the use of low-carbon sources, the reliance on fracking as a more environmental-friendly energy source is a lie that will keep us from seeking out sources that substantially reduces our carbon output.

Within this article, McDonnell puts forth two assumptions before procuring support for his argument: he reminds us that the US is still in between using both coal and natural gas as sources of energy, but the data he presents compares an ideal state in which the US solely uses natural gas and the absence of such a revolution. Along with this, McDonnell assumes in his data that there will be no new policy change in regards to energy usage till 2050.

As evidence, McDonnell includes the research of five different teams of scientists who predicted the amount of global gas consumption, CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, total radiative forcing, and temperature change from 2010 to 2050. The overarching result reached by all the groups warns us that the global temperature will rise 2° Celsius by 2050. This gives support to the author’s argument that unless policies are made to limit the use fracking, there will be no difference in the harmful results caused by coal and natural gas. Although natural gas leaves a smaller carbon footprint than coal, it still doesn’t compare to the more environmental-friendly sources of energy such as wind or solar power.

When I read the first part of this article, it seemed that the author was strongly and fully biased against the fracking phenomenon, but towards the end of the article, he recognized that the use of natural gas instead of coal has reduced the number of deaths due to outdoor air pollution. Additionally, the author recognizes that gas is a more dependable source of energy when compared to solar and wind energy. This allows the reader to see that there are some benefits in changing our energy source from coal to the cleaner and reliable source of gas. However, the author’s general language throughout the article, such as “fracking alone won’t save us” and “fracking doesn’t work as a climate solution” strongly conveys his stance on this issue. It did not seem as if the evidence for both sides were balanced—the placement of the support of fracking at the end of the article deems it as almost unimportant –like an afterthought that one simply regards as negligible. Furthermore, the author fails to bring up statistical data to support fracking as a viable climate solution. This also indicates that there is definitely a bias to the author’s argument.

The author’s conclusions, which confirm that new policy changes must be made in regards to the use of natural gas as the main source of energy, draw the readers’ attention to the other possible sources of energy that leave a small carbon footprint—such as wind and solar energy. He urges the continuous pursuit of cleaner, more renewable resources rather than settling for a source that is in few senses better than older sources (i.e. coal). This implies that the US has an intrinsic responsibility to continually consider and invest in more environmentally favorable resources. We cannot be stagnant.

Bioblitz Reflection: Nature All Around Us

I am a nature enthusiast—whether it be running through a trail in an dense forest near my home in New Jersey or scuba diving in a lake filled with various fish and plant species, I can’t get enough. So when I heard that Macaulay was making a visit to the NYBG, I was super excited. With my hair tied back, my running sneakers on, and my skin lathered with sunscreen, I stolled through just a small section of NYBG (specifically Lat 40.87 and Long -73.88), examining several plant species with fellow Macaulay students.

Our endeavor to identify specific species was rather difficult. Even though we had huge books (the size of Harry Potter books!) with helpful keys to refer to, we had to constantly ask our guide, who had a PhD in Biology, to give us hints on how to start skimming through the book and name the species. Nevertheless, we were still able to categorize the plants by asking several questions: (1) Are the leaves simple or compound? (2) Is the plant a dicot or a monocot? (3) Are the leaves alternate or simple? (4) Are the sinuses between the principle leaf lobes rounded or blunt? (5) If they have flowers, how many petals do they have? Are they regular or irregular? What color are they?

Having these questions in mind helped us weed out (*pun intended*) several types of plants till we were down to between two to five species. At that point, we referred to Google Images and our knowledgeable guide to put a name to the specie in front of us.

Although we came across several species, there were a few that stuck out:

1—Laportea canadensis:

This perennial herbaceous plant, also known as the Canada nettle, is usually found in open woods with moist soil. But be wary: these innocent looking clump-like plants have both stinging and non stinging hairs on the stems and foliage. My fingers were a witness to that; the stinging lingered slightly for a couple of hours.

2—Aster divaricatus

Of all the species that we identified, this one took the most time. Even with a guide, we kept hitting dead ends when using the keys in the provided book. After many tries, we finally identified this white woodland aster that provides nesting material for birds and a seed source for songbirds.

3—Betula lenta

This deciduous tree with alternate green leaves and a rough, gray bark was my favorite during our visit. Twigs of this birch tree have a sweet sap that emits a scent (and taste!) of evergreen. I was so intrigued by the taste that I took a couple of twigs to take back home.

I have always known that nature fosters much variety, but our trip to NYBG really awed me with the countless types of plants that existed there—and this is not including all the other sorts of organisms that call this place home. Not only did the vast assortment and number of plants astound me, but the way that these plants grew next to each other was almost harmonious. While the trees served as a canopy, while the shrubs and wildlflowers that flourished underneath populated the soil, concealing it almost completely. It was beautiful to see how nature in NYC is so ALIVE with creatures and flora that we would never otherwise take the time to recognize. Bioblitz also showed me that scientists are very meticulous and pay attention to the smallest details in categorizing and organizing organisms. This is important to find and record species without becoming confused.

In the end, this trip confirmed what I have always known: nature is all around us, and without it, we will never be able to appreciate all the richness it has to offer us. Within NYC, nature provides us a chance to see how the earth truly is—and this should never be taken for granted.