The Keeling Curve

I know I forgot to post a Meme of The Day Yesterday but.....

TAAA-DAAAAAA!! presenting the Keeling curve!!

(http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/obop/mlo/programs/coop/scripps/co2/co2.html)

For those of you who don't know the wonderful keeling curve: the keeling curve plots the change in concentration of CO2 in the earths atmosphere since 1958. It was named after the man who started taking measurements, Charles David Keeling. These measurements are taken in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a volcano in Hawaii (the Mauna Loa Observatory). These measurements showed the first significant evidence of rapidly increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and has been credited with first bringing the world's attention to the current increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. 

All hail the keeling curve!

-A

Caricature of Mr. Marc Morano, one of the leading climate skeptics and founder of skeptic website climatedepot.com. According to Mr. Morano rising levels of CO2 does nothing to effect the planet, and climate scientist are just trying to scare everyone. He also believes that human impact has not caused any type of climate change.

Not only do people like Marc Morano make me angry, I just don't understand them. There really is no denying climate change at this point, the lifestyle we currently lead is affecting out ecosystems and the overall health of our planet. I don't see how building a career out of denying climate change is really helping anybody in the long run.

This picture depicts someone who is motivated by money, profiting off environmental degradation. It's sad really.

- S

Join The Movement

A few weeks ago A and I attended PowerShift Atlantic, an environmental conference concerned with climate change and climate justice. There were a lot of very radical thinkers in attendance, some much more radical and strong willed than I ever imagine myself to be. However, there were a lot of productive steps taken towards active change at this youth conference. One of the main issues PowerShift focused on this year was fracking, the tar sands and the energy east pipeline.

"This year, the Nova Scotia government will make a major decision regarding the future of fracking in the province. This decision will impact our province for generations to come. On May 10, join communities across Canada who are stepping up to defend communities from pipelines, dirty energy projects, and runaway climate change."

The Halifax Rally will start at Parade Square at 11 am, but there will be other events planned across Canada.

We aren't going to stop pushing for clean energy, despite the industries gross push to stop us.

The linked article is related to what A talked about yesterday. Here's a quote "big Carbon advocates aren't giving up. The same group is trying to repeal or freeze Ohio's requirement that 12.5 percent of the state's electric power come from renewable sources like solar and wind by 2025. Twenty-nine states have established similar standards that call for 10 percent or more in renewable power. These states can now anticipate will-financed campaigns to eliminate these targets or scale them back."

The Kock Attack on Solar Energy

This is disgusting no wonder there were so many radical people at Powershift, we need to be. They want to fight dirty, and we are going to fight for clean and green!

Picture of the day today is actually going to be a video of the day, here is a little inspiration: United to Defend our Climate.

-S

Save Clean Energy

Some of you may not know, but Oklahoma is taxing energy made from household solar power. 

"Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed the "solar surcharge" bill into law on Monday, Permitting utilities to charge an extra fee to any customer using distributed power generation, such as rooftop solar or a small wind turbine." (Source)

So basically if anyone has solar or wind power attached to their home that they send to the grid, they will be taxed on the extra energy they produced when trying to send it back to the grid. This is instead of homeowners recieving credits from the utility companies whom recieve this extra (clean) energy like in most other states.

Oklahoma is caught in the resource trap and in turn is to making it more difficult to advance its green energy sector and supports the greed from oil and gas. THIS IS DISGUSTING!!

-A

Greenpeace on GM salmon implications and effects

Dr. Vandana talks GM salmon

The article and the video linked above both have a lot of interesting information about the future of GM salmon and GM seafood in general.

 "The Canadian government has just recently given the approval for development of GM salmon in Atlantic Canada by the American company Aquabounty" (Ian Mauro, 2014).

These developments are not productive scientific advancements, they have known and unknown future health implications, they disrupt the marine environment, there are food safety concerns and often times corporations like Aquabounty are not transparent and consumers are left in the dark.

By adding GM salmon to our already long list of GM foods we are taking ourselves further and further away from healthy, food sovereign lifestyles.

I will leave you with a bit of a positive, there are many alternatives to the GM food lifestyle, it is all up to us. Making smart informed food choices is the best thing we can do and there are many books and other forms of information on how to do this out there. Here is one example I found, the book is called Food Rules: An Eaters Manual by Michael Pollan and here is a picture excerpt from his book:

- S

Not the Cat!!

I love this meme the most. Contaminated water can be caused by so many different environmental destructions (agriculture, fracking, drilling, mining, waste disposal, etc.). Don't kill the cat, find out your impact on the local water sources! 

-A

Greenhouse Gas Counter

10,379,020,919

Just wanted to point out that when we first started this blog (only a few weeks ago) it was at 9- something and now it's reached 10…

I copied the number it was at when I decided to make this post so you can compare how much it's gone up at a later date.

Crazy.

- S

Late Meme Post!

I am terrible! Sorry about the late post. I think the message in this one is pretty self explanatory with a lot of truth to it. We must learn to live at the boundaries as my prof would say, we also need to start living on a sustainable scale.

- S

Late Meme Attempt

So sorry this is so late. I was flying home today so I couldn't really find a good meme or picture for today. But I did find this gif. Its from the movie 21 Jump street (I highly recommend it)

(http://hopingf0rthebest.tumblr.com/post/33155942447)

-A

COOOOOOOOOOKKKKIIIIIEEEEESSSSSSSS

Alsoooo EARTH DAY COOKIES!!! Who doesn't love some cookies. Here is an awesome way to celebrate Earth Day: http://www.tammileetips.com/2014/04/earth-day-cookies/

Bake on. Bake on

-A

"I'm Sorry"

Genius!! Different billboards posted in the Copenhagen airport for COP15 in 2009. This one is of the Prime Minister of Canada (a.k.a. the tar sand lover). At this link (http://osocio.org/message/im_sorry_we_could_have_stopped_catastrophic_climate_change/) you can find billboards of the heads of states for France, Germany, USA, Poland, Brazil, Spain, and UK.

You know its true.

-A

Hello world,

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Today A and S celebrated Earth Day with a neon green tequila mixture….2 parts tequila 1 part mio..DO NOT TRY!

Sustainability is awesome and cool and if you want to learn about sust you should come to DALHOUSIE!

Earth Day is like saint pattys for sustainability kids..or maybe just us!! Happy celebrating!

- Green Girl Warriors

HAPPY EARTH DAY

Today is probably going to be a day of multiple posts just so we can share all of the awesome facts and figures about Earth Day and why it is important! So to kick off the day here is some wisdom from Dr. Seuss and The Lorax. I think this message can definitely be applied to our current environmental situation. I think we have established that we cannot continue to sustain our current lifestyle, we have seen the effects of what it can do.. however, nothing is going to change if we don't start to pay attention and caring about the effects that our human impact is having on the planet. How many wake up calls do we need?

- S

Extinction is Forever

We are in the midst of a sixth extinction solely due to human activities. There have been way too many organisms that have gone extinct because of humans. 

"Scientists estimate that 150-200 species of plant, insect, bird and mammal become extinct every 24 hours. This is nearly 1,000 times the 'natural' or 'background' rate and, say many biologists, is greater than anything the world has experienced since the vanishing of the dinosaurs nearly 65m years ago. around 15% of mammal species and 11% of bird species are classified as threatened with extinction."

The animals did not deserve this.

-A

The quote can be found in the guardian article here

Climate Change

And to go along with this lovely picture/meme of the day I add this joke (a favourite among the Green Girl Warriors):

Q: How many climate skeptics does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: None. It's too early to say if the light bulb needs changing.

Climate skeptics make no sense to me...

-S

Jackie Chan Wants you to Recycle

I'm sorry I just had to post this, this might be the funniest meme on this blog (in my opinion). You don't want Jackie Chan to be on your bad side. Separating recyclables: easy as one, two, three. -A

(http://fourgreensteps.tumblr.com/post/24546242900/midweek-memes-green-memes-to-break-up-your-work)

Denial.

People are still living in denial. The fact that there are still climate skeptics astounds me. We are too attached to a destructive way of life and we've been living in denial for way too long.

- S

Say 'No' to GMO's

nongmoproject.org

Found this really awesome website today when I was buying my amazingly tasty Kettle Brand Sriracha  chips which by the way are a verified non GMO product. Anyway, this website allows you to browse products by brand, search them individually or browse by category so you can find out which foods are non-GMO certified. This way we can all make informed choices when we shop and 'vote with our wallets' as they say. Check it out!

Do What You Can

Great quote from an inspiring person! Everyone can make a difference.- A

(http://fightingforanimals.tumblr.com/post/82809597488)

I don't have the brain power to come up with a meme with a deep meaning so this will have to suffice and it's kind fitting considering todays events. Today A and I had our sustainability final exam. Throughout the course we learned how nation states and organizations struggle to bring us out of the anthropocene into a more sustainable way of life. However, the mega conferences set up to do this (such as Rio+20) have failed to achieve this. It ain't easy being green and we need to continue to think of ways to engage the general community in sustainable living.

- S

Plastic, plastic everywhere

Todays meme of the day is a picture I found on Sustainableman.org (I really recommend that site!). From microplastics to plastic bags, the amount of waste in the ocean that cannot be decomposed is outrageously high. This is not only detrimental to the fish who eat or get tangled in these but also to everything downstream in the food web (including us).

(http://sustainableman.org/blog/2013/03/28/what-ends-up-in-the-ocean-ends-up-in-you/)

Perhaps as a marine biologist in-training I'm a little biased but the oceans should be the primary goal for any environmental change. Whatever the ocean does the terrestrial world will follow. The oceans need to be in much better health before anything in the terrestrial world can get better. Before you litter think twice!! I'll leave you with a quote from my favorite movie, Finding Nemo, "all drains lead to the ocean."

-A

Studying for our last sustainability final of the year and this picture popped up. Perfect for picture of the day. Learning about food sovereignty vs food security and GMO's all that jazz. Makes ya think - S

First Meme of the Day

We will be starting a meme or picture of the day. These will have some environmental message or impact that may be blunt or thought provoking.

Hope you enjoy them- A

Source: http://isfcollege.tumblr.com/post/48324369751/awareness-isf-cab

Welcome to our blog!

We are two sustainability students in university who have a large interest in all things GREEN!! We aim to provide our readers in up-to-date innovations and facts about sustainability and all things related.

xoxo
Green Girl Warriors