The point of our project isn’t to tell you what to believe, but rather get you to formulate your own opinion about the world in terms of the topic of sound pollution.
We chose the topic of sound pollution because we realized that we are bombarded by an overwhelming amount of sound every single day. We wanted to raise awareness of sound pollution by painting a sound picture of a city and all the sounds in the city, then transitioning to the country side over time.
We found that people who live in the city have higher levels of stress compared to people that live in the rural areas. Much of this stress comes from the daily bombardment of sound that people experience. From cars to airplanes, everyday we hear so many sounds that we don’t realize we hear or affect us, but they do.
The reason we chose to display our sound in this art installation was so that when people put their head inside, they would be able to get the full effect of what they are listening to.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Origin
Green Beans originated in the Americas, India and China.
Nutritional Value
Green beans have plenty of vitamin K, vitamin C, Manganese, vitamin A, Fiber, Potassium, fFolate and iron
Fun Fact
Green beans started to grow in popularity in the 19th century
The French were the first to serve green beans in their menus .
Sources
"The History of Green Beans." The Kitchen Project, The Complete Cooking Experience. Web. 02 Dec. 2009. .
"Green Beans Nutrition Facts." A 2 Z of Health and Beauty. Web. 02 Dec. 2009. .
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Things that will be in our art piece/ Sound instillation: Fun Facts (paper glued to recycled cardboard boxes) also charts Wire bike Speakers (our sound piece) Bike pump Bike bell A toy car (hot wheels) Bike helmet
Greenhouse gas emissions from food production and car travel due to increases in adiposity in a population of 1 billion are estimated to be between 0.4 Giga tons (GT) and 1.0 GT of carbon dioxide equivalents per year.
http://www.bikesbelong.org/node/1105356
If all Americans between 10 and 64 were to bicycle instead of drive for 60 minutes a day, the resulting reduction in CO2 emissions would be 11% of 1990 net US emissions.
If the number of kids who walk and bike to school returned to 1969 levels, it would save 3.2 billion vehicle miles, 1.5 million tons of CO2, and 89,000 tons of other pollutants annually. This is the equivalent of keeping more than 250,000 cars off the road for a year.
Half of U.S. schoolchildren are dropped off at school in the family car. If 20% of those living within two miles of school were to bike or walk instead, it would save 4.3 million miles of driving per day. Over a year, that saved driving would prevent 356,000 tons of CO2 and 21,500 tons of other pollutants from being emitted.
http://t4america.org/docs/011609_pr_nart4poll.pdf
89% of Americans believe that transportation investments should support the goals of reducing energy use.
"Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety." Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety | Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. Web. 09 Nov. 2009. .
“most ozone pollution is caused by motor vehicles, which account for 72% of nitrogen oxides and 52% of reactive hydrocarbons (principal components of smog).”
"Newsvine - Burning 1 Gallon of Gasoline Produces 20 Pounds of CO2." Jg2090.newsvine.com - blinkin. Web. 09 Nov. 2009. .
“For every gallon of gasoline you burn in your car, you remove 21 pounds of breathable Oxygen from the atmosphere, as well as adding 20 pounds of CO2, or Carbon Dioxide to the atmosphere.”
"40 Benefits of Bike Commuting & Recreational Bicycling." International Bicycle Fund: Promoting bicycle transport and economic development and cultural understanding worldwide. Web. 09 Nov. 2009. .
“A four mile bicycle trip keeps about 15 pounds of pollutants out of the air we breathe.”
"Automobiles: Pollution and Energy Use."Bicycle Universe: The kitchen sink of bicycles & transportation. Web. 09 Nov. 2009. .
“Pollution by cars causes lung cancer, respiratory problems, urban smog, and acid rain”
“Most ozone pollution is caused by motor vehicles, which account for 72% of nitrogen oxides and 52% of reactive hydrocarbons”
Not so long ago, there was a place where man and earth lived in harmony. Families, animals and crops lived in a community. But then populations of humans started to grow exponentially, the demand for food went up drastically and these small family farms could not keep up. In an effort to increase the amount of food they produced and increase money they made. The farms started to take the animals off the farms and put them in “factory farms”.
While this decision makes total sense in terms of money and productivity, the environmental side of it does not make sense at all. It is not very animal friendly. The animals in these “factory farms” produce a lot of waste. “A mega-dairy CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) [1]with 15,000 cows generates as much animal waste as a city of 315,000 people.”[2]For example, a dairy cow produces almost 21 times the waste than a human.[3] This is not good at all, all the urine and excrement are used on farms as manure helping make the soil to be rich and healthy, but now it is just polluting rivers, ponds and the air.
This pollution does not just affect the environment around us, it affects us too. In one case, workers of an animal factory farm in Iowa started to complain about sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, inflamed mucous membranes of the nose, irritation of the nose and throat, headaches, muscle aches and asthma.[4] This is a product of airborne bacteria in the air that would otherwise be in the ground fertilizing a field.
In other cases, the waste seeps through the earth into underground fresh water or gets into streams and pollutes drinking water. When people with wells drink and get sick by the polluted water from the underground ducts. There have been reports of “blue baby syndrome”- “A condition that can be caused by ingestion of high amounts of nitrate resulting in the blood losing its ability to effectively carry oxygen. It is most common in young infants and certain elderly people”.[5] Sometimes this “blue baby syndrome” can be fatal.
If we switched to have animals on farms again it would greatly decrease the amount of “waste”. This “waste” would not be waste at all; it would be valuable organic fertilizer. This is the better choice, even though it could mean less production of beef and other meats. Another problem is that the farms that took away the animals have started to use fertilizers and pesticides which are unnatural and harmful for the environment and their plants.
Most of the pesticides and fertilizers are derived from fossil fuels. This is a problem, not just because it forces plants to grow in unfertile soil, but it also contributes a lot to global warming. Oil is a long term storage place for carbon, one of the biggest of the green house gasses. In oil there are thousands and thousands of year’s worth of stored up carbon, when we burn it or use it in fertilizers we are releasing it into the air. Global warming is caused when greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere trap the sun’s rays in the planet excessively warming the planet, and carbon is one of the main greenhouse gasses.
Organic fertilizer is better because it puts organic material that is necessary for microorganisms instead of putting unnatural chemicals that make plants grow just enough for them to get by. It also does not force the plants to grow faster than they would normally grow, it also gives the plants more “balanced” nutrition.[6] And because it is just plain better for the environment, and instead of being waste, it is used in a way that heals the planet.
One big problem in the organic/ natural food industry is the fact that farmers don’t get the wage that they deserve from all their work and fabulous crops. That is why a program called “fair trade” was created. What is fair trade? According to transfairusa.org, “Fair Trade Certification empowers farmers and farm workers to lift themselves out of poverty by investing in their farms and communities, protecting the environment, and developing the business skills necessary to compete in the global marketplace”[7]
Basically, this project is allows poor farmers (mostly in poorer countries) who work on the soil and harvest their organic. All natural crops get paid what they deserve instead of a very minimal wage.
These poor farmers do not get the money that they deserve is because they are usually sending their crops overseas or out-of-town locations and there are many costs going into the handling, moving and legal fees. They have to pay a much higher price because so that we, the people of America, can get their crops.
[1] "Definition of a CAFO - Water Quality - extension.usu.edu." Utah State University Extension - extension.usu.edu. Web. 22 Oct. 2009. .
[5] "USGS CIRC 1158 subpage: Glossary." USGS Publications Warehouse. Web. 13 Oct. 2009. .
4 "A Summary Comparison of organic vs non organic fertilizer." Lawn Care For Everyone. How To Grow Grass And Get Rid Of Problems. Web. 13 Oct. 2009. .
[7] "TransFair USA | Fair Trade Overview." TransFair USA | Home. Web. 13 Oct. 2009. .
“Cars release 30 percent of the carbon dioxide in the earth's air. Carbon dioxide is released from the tailpipe of a car and can do much damage to the human respiratory system. Every time an automobile burns a gallon of gasoline it releases 22 pounds of carbon dioxide.”
“Cars account for 76 percent of the carbon monoxide in the earth's air”
“Carbon monoxide affects the bloods total capacity for carrying oxygen by to the heart, brain, and other important organs.”
What will your environmental science research entail (require)?
Who- The sounds of people and the surroundings (cars, sirens, people talking, horns honking, etc…)
What- Pollution produces by cars, sound pollution and how it affects people and the environment and the difference between driving and biking to work, carpooling or public transportation.
When- Still has yet to be decided.
Where- Urban areas and wilderness.
How- We will record around town, mostly on our free time and will do editing of sound at school.
Why is your project worth doing? Who cares? This project is worth doing because it will portray the importance of not driving to work and how much you destroy the environment when you drive yourself to work every day.
It is mostly aiming at promoting awareness to people and giving them something to think about.
What questions do you need to answer to get the background necessary to know what you are talking about?
How does sound pollution affect the environment and people in their daily lives?
If ___ amount of cars were taken off the road, pollution would go down by ___ amount.
What form will you use to display your research?...Will it be displayed in your Media piece, or will you use something to show your research in order to maintain your creative integrity?
It will be a sound clip. But there will also be a poster board with information and our research.
What are your next steps?(required) We need to go out and record. Also, we need to do research for our poster board.
