Gasland 2 Documentary Review*Extra Credit Post*

Imagesource:http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/07/06/arts/06GASLAND/06GASLAND-superJumbo.jpg

 

No the above image is NOT a photo-shopped image you see, but a still from the documentary Gasland 2 screened on a movie night hosted by the Student Sustainability Collective at Riverside Community College. This homeowner's water supply could be set on fire just like most homeowners' water supply affected by fracking. I really had no idea what fracking was (which is what the documentary is about) and didn't really think it affected me. Now I've come to learn that there is big support and plans to have fracking in California. "In most states, fracking operations are designed to extract natural gas reserves. In California, it’s all about oil. California has the largest shale oil play in the nation- the Monterey Shale. It spans much of the Central Valley and Southern California. It lies below many of the sources of drinking water for Central Valley residents and contains an estimated 13.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil that have historically been too difficult to extract." Yes, alternative energy sources are important so that the U.S. does not have to be so dependent on foreign energy sources, but at what cost? After viewing Gasland 2 I can say that the repercussions of fracking are unsafe and harmful and I strongly oppose any plans for fracking anywhere! The one thing that really scared me about the movie was the way that government was portrayed. The government is actually under the govern of corporations and companies as evidenced by the film, and if we can't turn to the government for help where can we go? I highly recommend this movie!

Here are notes I took while watching the film, so you can get an idea of what the film's about:

• Gas industry denies water contamination and air pollution result of fracking, "We don't believe... haven't seen proof..."
• Families told not to fish or swim in ponds because of unsafe water, altering their lifestyle
• Victoria Switzer-property values decrease, "hey have to bring your own water"
• Cabbot Oil and Gas had contaminated Dimmick, Pennsylvania water with methane (causing it to be able to set on fire)
• EPA told pavilion residents not to drink their water
• natural filtration in ground wont filter fracking chemicals
• this isn't news, resource extraction at expense of indigenous people done for years in the history of the U.S.
• Some residents forced to leave their homes because house can blow up, or they were getting really sick. forced to take the financial loss
• Counterinsurgency, psy-ops techniques used by companies against public. military terms
• Cement failure within the fracking systems at high rates, allowing chemicals to escape into resorvoirs
• fracking cause of earthquakes
• natural gas good for weaning of fossil fuels
• sufficient clean renewable energy available (wind)- do not need to dig for fuels
• corporations have high influence in government more than ever
• court cases with angry homeowners settled with nondisclosure agreements
• EPA rep said they could not tell the truth (lied and said water was safe). They have to listen to the higher ups in D.C.
• oil control  business has so much money and power over what's going on with fracking
• own government afraid of a business

Sources:If you would like to learn more about fracking in California visit:http://www.cleanwateraction.org/fracking-california

Tap VS Bottled Water? Is One Really Better Than The Other?

 

 

Maybe your better off giving up bottled water!

imagesource:http://everythingsimpsons.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/boyscoutz3.jpg

http://bestepisodeever.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/9f22b.jpg

 

So this week's assignment is about where our water at home comes from as well as learning if bottled water is any better than tap water. After short investigation at the site http://www.riversideca.gov/utilities/water-wqr.asp I learned my tap water is "groundwater from wells in the Bunker Hill Basin and Riverside Basin." The Water Annual Report from Riverside provides a little more information about my water:

Riverside’s water begins as rain and snow that touches down in our local foothills and mountains and flows down through the earth into underground aquifers. With every storm, these water sources, located throughout the Riverside and San Bernardino basins, receive new water that is filtered through percolation, a naturally occurring purification process.

I learned that California's drinking water standards are among the highest in the U.S. That certainly makes me feel a little better about drinking my tap water.. if I had too. Lab tests are carried out daily to test for harmful chemicals as well. The tap water is safe to drink and has a safe amount of chlorine to prevent bacteria from growing in it (but the water can be filtered if the chlorine is an issue).

 

On another note, it is of interest to know WHO regulates our bottled water and tap water. Not surprisingly, the Environmental Protection Agency regulates tap water. They have National Primary Drinking Water Regulations and primary standards to protect the public by limiting the amount of contaminants in drinking water by enforcing maximum contaminant levels. Bottled water is regulated by The Food and Drug Administration. It appears that tap water might be the safest to drink after all because "Public water systems must also provide reports to customers about their water, noting its source, evidence of contaminants and compliance with regulations." The FDA seems to lack in  regulatory authority unlike the  EPA. "By comparison, GAO said, FDA regulates bottled water as a food and cannot require certified lab testing or violation reporting. Furthermore, FDA does not require bottled water companies to disclose to consumers where the water came from, how it has been treated or what contaminants it contains."

 

There are also a lot of concerns and drawbacks with water bottles. Their has been a lot of media on the impact of plastic water bottles. Apparently the most environmental thing you can do is carry around your own reusable water bottle filled with tap water. A spokesperson for the Natural Resources Defense Council says roughly 70% or more of water bottles end up in landfills and incinerators, "That's 170 bottles per year for every man, woman and child in America,". You also have to think about the money and energy going into manufacturing the bottles as well as transporting them. The most alarming factor is the chemical bisphenol A found in plastic bottles that may alter the hormone levels in your body.

 

In conclusion, " In study after study, bottled water has been proven to be no cleaner than tap water, and has the added disadvantage that it isn't nearly as well regulated as your tap water." Let's not forget your tap water is cheaper than bottled water.

 

Additional Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/07/09/09greenwire-fewer-regulations-for-bottled-water-than-tap-g-33331.html

 

 http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/

 

http://www.culturechange.org/cms/content/view/181/62/

Riverside -Corona Resource Conservation District First Class Fieldtrip

On April 4th, my environmental science class went on it's first fieldtrip! Seeing as this is college, no, my classmates and I were not transported by a big yellow school bus unfortunately (I rather enjoy school bus rides). Seeing as we are adults we drove to the location , which was conveniently 5 minutes from Riverside Community College. It's literally right at the base of Mt. Rubidoux. I never knew such an interesting place was so close by! They have this neat outdoor Land Use Learning Center  which is a 3 & 1/2 educational facility (that I believe is still in construction by the looks of some of it) "that demonstrates four important plant communities of the inland empire: coastal-sage-scrub, chaparral, oak woodland, and riparian." This project is only one of the many things the RCRCD contributes to the community. The district also :conducts educational, technical assistance, and on-the-land conservation programs. To become involved contact them at (909)683-7691.

Before we got to venture into the habitat models in the Learning Center, we got to learn about pest control from a Dr. David Morgan. He had a British accent I believe? Any who it made the mini-lecture more enjoyable, at least for me seeing as how I love accents especially British ones.
Here are some notes from the lecture:

• find a predator or pathogen that kills the insect/pest.
• has to reproduce more rapidly than the pest to control it
• the solution predator must be tested in the new climate to which it has been relocated to make sure that it will survive where the problem prey is habituating
• has to be tested to make sure it only preys on the pest
• lots of tests done in quarantine
• have to apply for a permit to bring in the new predator, requires 75 pages of research: geographic range, etc. 
• have to do follow up studies after pathogen/predator released
• Permit goes through. find a way of producing/storing/releasing the good pathogen/predator.
• hard to control pests in urban areas, most insecticides not allowed in urban areas
• birth of bio-control @ University California Riverside

My tour guide  went on to discuss the conservation work:

• Santa Ana Sucker-threatened fish, so impacted by pollution, human development
• the district propagates the fish and releases(populations separated genetically because of adaptations to certain habitats)
• Brown Headed Cowbird-Invasive species. parasite nests of other birds
• double door system to avoid infestation
• overpopulation? species within a habitat will naturally downsize (talking about the fish)

At the end of the tour we reached the agriculture demo area:

• Agriculture can't succeed without good soil and access to water
• And the craziest thing my guide said that I don't know  if it's true but it certainly got my attention and sorry for the run on sentence was  "There are more organisms in a handful of soil than people on Earth."

Here are some shots I took at the Learning Center: