On July 3rd, I went to Fire Island off the coast of Long Island, NY. While we were there, we took some time to walk through the Sunken Forest, which is a several hundred year-old patch of forest that is protected from the ocean water by dunes.
Bogs! Just talking about them makes me cringe from thoughts of all the bugs that could bite me. Bogs are a type of wetland that is made up of acidic peat. Older bogs will have less water on the surface as the peat builds up. Eventually, the bog may fill up completely with peat and other matter and be completely solid.
I visited a bog when I was at Bucknell University for undergraduate and it was nearly completely covered in vegetation, but mostly shrubs and underbrush. We could stand on the bog and jump to make it undulate and move because underneath the peat was water. Next time I go back, it might be more solid because more peat has accumulated to absorb and overtake the water layer.
The boggy areas in the Sunken Forest had mostly trees that were tolerant to being soaked. The canopy was also pretty much closed with all the branches from the trees extending out quite far.
We took a lot of pictures on the trail through the forest. Here are some of the highlights:
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It bothers me that some restaurants that are supposedly trying to educate the public about food choices and farming STILL charge exorbitant prices for their dishes. One example is the Blue Hill restaurants and farms (which are super prestigious and has received special chef awards and recognition).
What is the point of having that goal for the farm and restaurant if you are only going to reach people whose pocketbooks are fat enough to eat there?
Who is your target? And if you can’t grow and serve food cheaply and on a large enough scale, what are you really accomplishing?
This system is just perpetuating the idea that fresh, healthy food is something that only the elite have a chance of realizing.
I recall the time I spent in China as the hottest and stuffiest days of my life. I was there for a summer study abroad experience, as well as the chance to visit with relatives that I had not seen since I was five years old. At every step of my travels, in the dusty background were the old and the poor. My companions and I would give our leftovers to the man squatting outside of the restaurant. When at the markets, a “good deal” was often difficult to come by because, although my face looks Chinese, everyone could tell I was American and gave me the “foreigner’s price,” resulting in a double emotional stab of sympathy and feeling cheated. Often, on the street corners a tired unkempt old woman would approach me. But unlike all my previous experiences, she wasn’t looking for money; she wanted the water bottle in my hand.
In China, you can buy a bottle of water on nearly every street corner, and sometimes there are just as many people there selling them as collecting them. Many of the less fortunate in the United States parallel those in China by learning to adapt and take advantage of redeemable container policies that allow them to make some daily cash. The biggest difference in container redemption policy between the two countries is that the United States does not have a national law regarding beverage containers that may be redeemed for their deposit. The deposit is a small fraction of the price that was paid on the product bought by the consumer. It may be refunded when containers are returned at a collection center, such as a local supermarket. More specifically, only 11 states, which is about one fifth of the country, have such policies.
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when will we learn, when will we change
May 4, 2009
Society, Some Comments
6 comments
There are few things to cover today that I have been meaning to talk about!
The author of the blog entry makes an interesting point that Obama is encouraging creativity, over consumerism. I think that is an especially important perspective to take on a lot of our problems. People are deathly afraid of changing their lifestyle, but if framed in the light that they can creatively contribute to society, consuming less can make sense while not damaging our very high standard of living.
Which brings me to the Bigger Better Bottle Bill in New York State. (It is almost a reality! It recently passed in Albany.) This bill has been bouncing around for years, and has never had the right amount of momentum to get passed, which is a shame because the Returnable Container Act that is in place is over 25 years old. The update to the Act would allow more types of beverage containers to be redeemed for 5 cents, or more like in Michigan where it is 10 cents.
The redemption rate hovers above 70% in New York state, whereas in Michigan it is 95% or higher. Note that this is not the same as recycling rate, just the redemption of beverage containers that have a deposit on them. (For more info on how deposits work, check out http://www.bottlebill.org/. Also check out a piece I posted earlier on recycling.)
In 1982 when the Returnable Container Act was passed, the majority of beverages were sodas and beer (both being carbonated). Since then, the types of beverages sold have grown exponentially to include juices, sports drinks, and water.
Going back to what President Obama said, we could creatively pass policy that will promote consuming less. We could be actively reforming old and outdated policy that no longer is adequate or effective for today’s society.
While I agree that young people should be encouraged “to be makers of things, no just consumers of things,” I think this motto can be applied much more widely than just in the sciences. Fresh, creative thinking and innovation should be driving forces in every field!
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