Bye Bye Trash!

Hello! This blog was by far the most difficult of all blogs yet this semester. My teacher assigned my environmental science class to keep track of all the trash we wasted in a two day period. Then, look up ways to reduce the amount of waste. Following up with the new ideas of reducing waste, take two more days and try to reduce as much trash as possible. So the first day, I used up a total of 64 pieces of trash. I woke up and made breakfast. Breakfast included the gallon of milk, the plastic bag of french toast bread, and the card board container for the eggs. We also used disposable paper plates and utensils because we did not have time to clean up after. I also cleaned up the house, using paper towels to clean mirrors and etc. I also got reciepts from the store, grocergy bags, and reciepts from the gas station. For dinner, I was at work. I bought food their. This was an additional amount of trash to the day. The second day I used half the amount because I did not go to the grocery store. I did not get gas either.  Most of my trash consisted of recycables, like paper, reciepts and paper towels. A huge amount was the grocery bags. A list of reducing wastes were: using reusable napkins, reusing bottle cleaners and making your own home cleaners, buys reusable grocery bags, and etc. The third day, I went and bought bags from ralphs that were reusable. I bought cloths to use for hand drying.I also used the newspaper articles I usually throw away to clean my mirrors. It actually leaves them cleaner with no little pieces of paper left on the mirror. I will continue using these new ideas, because I used as much trash both days, as I used the second day. 32 pieces of trash! No plastic plates, no plastic forks, no plastic cups, or plastic bags! Bye bye trash!!!

Mission Unplugged!

Welcome back! This weeks blog assignment is probably one of the most difficult to achieve. I had to be on no usage or as little usage of power possible for 24 hours. As a daily routine, when I wake up in the morning, I usually turn on my music and get ready for school. That includes, using the restroom light, my hair curler, my blow dryer, & my stereo. Some occasions, I even have my cell-phone plugged in to charge while being used to listen to music. That is power usage on steroids!! This time, instead of using all the energy I sang instead of listening to music, I did not use any source of electrical equipment to get ready in the morning (which is not only healthy for the environment but for my hair too!), and instead of getting ready in the bathroom with the light on, I went to my living room and brought a mirror. The light is always good in my living room anyways. I was not capable of riding a bike to school or to work. I am on a tight schedule as it is so a vehicle is very much needed. I did unplug my television in my room and my computer. Giving up all my hair equipment and light was fairly easy. It was not hard at all to get rid of unnecessary energy. But, I did come to realize a lot of other people depend on it. When I go to work, all around me are equipment used to run the business. My family members also use energy for the video games they play, or to watch the soap opera for an hour a day. I was able to disconnect a few lamps around the house until we needed them at night and as for the living room television, I disconnect it when people are not home. So, someways will be able to change occasionally, but most people are very dependent on unnecessary energy. The toaster is never going to be connected if not in use and the microwave as well. We also have two refrigerators and I have suggested we use only one since the second refrigerator is not really used. Hopefully, the refrigerator is removed. This blog has made me realize I do not need so much of the energy I use. I just thought I need it....

Tap or Bottled?

Hello again! Returning from a very much needed spring break today with a new blog. Tap water versus bottled. My teacher assigned a blog where we must research where tap water comes from, who protects it, who protects bottled water, and some drawbacks of bottled water. So, let me share with you what I have came aware of. Tap water from Riverside, the city I live in, comes from snow and rain that lands on local mountains and foothills. The water goes through underground aquifiers. The water is naturally purified through the process of percolation. Every time a storm occurs, the process of purificatin is repeated. Riversides water distribution is one of the cleanest in the nation and exports as much as 26 billion gallons of water. 
The federal agency that protects tap water is Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA sets legal limits on levels of certain types of contaminants in the drinking water. The federal agency that is responsible for bottled water is Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The regulations they set forth are correct labeling and make sure the water is safe for consumption. But, bottled water, even though is easy to get, may not be the safest choice. Water bottles have created an enormous problem in our landfills. Our landfills have been filled with empty bottled waters that should be recycled, but instead are being tossed into dumpsters.  Another drawback occured in October of 2008. Five years ago, a scientist named Olga Naidenko found contaminants in bottled water that exceeded the level permitted in tap water. Four out of ten brands had bacterial contamination and the rest had 38 different contaminants. That means, atleast 8 contaminants in each of the other 6 left over brands. Cancer causing agents have also been found in water manifactures that allowed testing done to there water. With all the research I have found, I am more than positive tap water is a better decision. It is filtered through a natural process and is not stored in an unfriendly container for our environment. Make your decision with the research I found!!

Blog #4:It All Counts

This week's blog, my assignment was to list a few factors I would assess to determine how "green" my college campus is. I attend a community college in Riverside. The school has recently built new buildings on campus. When I thought of factors at school, I immediately thought of the high tech and economically efficient bathrooms. Now, the bathrooms do not have towel dispensers to dry off your hands. They installed hand blowdryers and sensors to turn on and off the lights. Another factor on campus I come across, are all the disposable waste bins spread all around the campus. This convienence will make sure noone throws their trash on the ground. Also, the Quad building has plenty of area filled with grass, trees, and plants growing around. Another part of my assignment was to research some other colleges that have took the initiative to create a sustainable campus. I found The College of the Atlantic very interesting. They took gurastic measures to create a "green" campus. The students have been trying to make the school sustainable since it was open in 1969. In 2009, the schools added small wind turbines to the campuses organic farm. They also installed waterless compostinf toilets to their bathrooms. Because of a few changes, the school has become the first carbon neutral U.S. college. I found that pretty neat. In addition, this assignment also asks for cettain procedures to make our school "green" using the list I started with. I would try and advance all the bathrooms on campus. A way to see if the change will actually bring success would be to weigh the bags of garbage used for a week in both the electronically advanced bathrooms and the not so advanced bathrooms. I would only weigh the trash near the faucets. A way to get permission to do so I would talk to my Environmental Science teacher to get her outlook on my idea then talk to a school administrater. I would try and get more people involved by making the testings a fun learning experience. Gathering a group of friends and have people spread the word and be more informed can help us and maybe also help get some funds to actually make the change, because every step COUNTS!!!

Absorb Nature!!

On Wednesday of last week, I had an assignment in my Environmental Science class. We had to embrace nature and identify some abiotic and biotic things. So my adventure was to Promenade Park in Corona. I went at night with some friends. We sat on the baseball field for twenty minutes, but didn't see much happen. Right when we were ready to leave, I heard a squealing noise. I thought it was bats but it couldn't have been. We looked around and seen nothing. When we got in the car, as we turned, the lights shined on what seemed to be hundred of birds. These birds were on the ground and they had pink long legs and small round bodies with black and white feathers. These birds were biotic (alive). They looked like miniture flamingos but different colored feathers. It seemed odd to me to see so many birds on the floor so late at night. I tried searching to see what kind of bird it was but nothing popped up. The only bird that was similar was the stilt of Trabago. Some abiotic things i seen at the park were the gates that divided the baseball fields and the trash bins. Some other things I saw that were biotic are the grass, the trees and the birds. This is my nature experience. And I plan on going back to take a picture of all the birds.

About Marissa!

Hello, my name is Marissa Ibarra. I was born in San Pedro, California, right along the coast. I left the beach cities to riverside when I was around the age of 11-12. I am not sure what my major is as of now, but criminal justice is definitely an interest for me. My absolute dream career would be a Homicide Detective. I've grown up around many family members in law enforcement so it has definitely influenced me deeply. I am an artist as well. Drawing is something I feel I was born knowing to do. I am taking biology to finish my all my courses. I definitely am interested in nature and how we can help the Earth. I want to learn more of what I can do and will be doing to play my part on the planet!