Threats to Olympic Sites

Insurance companies feared financial losses if the coronavirus caused the cancellation of this summer's 2020 Olympic Games in Toyota. As it turned out, the games were rescheduled for July, 2021. Violence, including World War II, that marred the noble purpose of the games in the past, could again be a factor next year, if North Korea continues to launch missiles toward Japan.

     Environmental threats from pollution and climate change also have had an impact on the Olympics. Debris in the waters off Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, before the 2016 summer Olympics worried open-water swimmers and skippers in boating events. High winds delayed skiing events and kept spectators off the slopes at the 2018 winter games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

     Despite efforts to switch away from fossil fuels and plant trees to control the sand and dirt blown south from the Gobi Desert, athletes at the 2022 winter Olympics in China could face a breathing, as well as a competitive, challenge at events in Yanqing and Chongli, north of Beijing. During winter, heating homes and factories increases pollution in an area that suffers year round. Smog is likely to obscure views from the 4-story tower built in Yanqing to give visitors to the Olympics a glimpse of the Great Wall of China.

     Since the fur from four goats is needed to respond to the fashion industry's demand for one cashmere sweater, grazing goats turned the Mongolian steppes north of China into a desert no longer capable of protecting Beijing from wind-blown sand. To stabilize top soil, the government removed up to 700,000 villagers in northern China from land designated for planting trees. However, at the same time climate change reduced rainfall in arid areas, many non-native trees planted in China required more water and worsened water shortages. An attempt to plant shrubs needing less water is underway. In any case, it is hard to know if China's new trees and shrubs will be ready to shield 2022's Olympic athletes from the Gobi Desert's blowing sand. According to Congbin Fu, the director of the Institute for Climate and Global Change Research at Nanjing University, growing forests is a long-term process that "can take several decades or even 100 years."

Holiday Gifts Come From Away

Investigate presents that help others and the world.

• SERRV (serrv.org/category/gifts)
• UNICEF (market.unicefusa.org)
• Heifer (heifer.org/marketplace)
• World Wildlife Fund (gifts.worldwildlife.org)
• National Wildlife Federation (shopnwf.org)
• kiva micro loans (kiva.org)
• Samaritan's Purse (samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child)
• Arbor Day Foundation (shop.arborday.org)

Make Holiday Season the Best Time of the Year

It's important to make sure everyone enjoys the holiday season, since studies show it can be a very sad time for some folks.

     Excited kids and adults who need to chill in what also can be a hectic season need to work on projects together. Making holiday cookies can be as easy as slicing and baking readymade sugar cookie dough from the grocery store or as complicated as mixing, rolling out dough, cutting shapes with cookie cutters, and frosting them.

     Making a garland paper chain to trim a tree has become easier through the years. You still cut out red and green strips of construction paper, but connecting the loops of paper together has gone from using some kind of paste that slops all over to staples to a neat little 3M dispenser that rolls out glue on two sides.

     One year my young daughter and I made scented pomanders by stuffing oranges full of whole cloves. We tried it unsuccessfully another year with limes that went bad and mushy before we finished, however.

     Then, there are the potato prints you can use to make gift tags and wrapping paper. Cut a really large baking potato in half and use a star cookie cutter to press the shape into the smooth side of each potato half. Then, carefully cut away the part outside the star shape to make the star stand out. Pour poster paint: red, green, yellow, blue, or whatever colors you want to use, on two different saucers. Dip the potato star into the paint and stamp the design on heavy card stock to make gift tags (Cut the holiday cards you receive this year into usable pieces to use for gift tags next year.) or stamp the star shape all over plain tissue to make wrapping paper.

     Germany is credited with originating the custom of having a live, decorated Christmas tree at home and in the public square. St. Francis of Assisi added the custom of including a Nativity scene with Mary, Joseph, and the baby Christ child. St. Francis, who is associated with his love of animals, would be happy to see how sheep, cows, oxen, camels, and other animals often complete the manger scene.

     Singing carols is a tradition in homes, churches, schools, and even in concerts where the audience sings along. Entertainers make holiday records and CDs and host seasonal  music specials on TV.

     St. Nicholas and Father Christmas make sure there are gifts and gift drives that bring joy to the naughty and nice alike. Presents might be placed under trees, in shoes, in hanging stockings (thanks to a custom from Holland), and in bins for the less fortunate at community centers, churches, libraries, and stores.

     Presents come earlier in some countries and later in others. St. Nicholas can arrive December 6. Sweden celebrates St. Lucy Day on December 13. When days are about to become lighter, young daughters, dressed in white, wear a wreath of greens and lighted candles on their heads and carry trays of coffee and buns to family members. Elsewhere, shoes are filled with gifts from the Three Kings (Magi) on January 6.

     What is the holiday season's best gift? Good will toward each other, of course.   

   

   

After A Disaster, Give Me A Break

Climate change doesn't let up. Four blizzards hit the East Coast of the United States one after another this winter, and, on the West Coast, mudslides followed the fires that burnt away the trees anchoring soil. People on Caribbean islands, like Haiti, recovered from one hurricane only to be struck by drought and then the wind and torrential rain of another hurricane.

     Knowing a hurricane's devastation, or that of a war, and the effort and money needed to repair damage provides motivation for preventive measures. Immense benefit can be gained, if, for example, planting trees goes hand in hand with development, such as China has planned in its One Belt One road Initiative. Consider the benefits of tree projects in Haiti.

     A farmer in Haiti, who already had fields planted in potatoes and beans, was working to increase his income by diversifying, when a hurricane hit. His four goats, unable to bear the wind and rain, died of heart attacks. All his potatoes were lost along with at least 80% of his bean crop and what was left of the trees that had been cut down for fuel.

     Restoration of trees became a high priority, since they were needed to improve air quality, to stabilize hillsides from washing down over farms, and to provide avocado, mango, and papaya trees for food and income. Fast growing native oaks were needed to provide charcoal for cooking, and cedars and pines were a source of raw material for construction. Reforestation by the Plant With Purpose group's "Cash for Work" program gave immediate income to 2,000 employees.

     Long term, a variety of religious groups, the Arbor Day Foundation, and agronomy teams in Haiti have set up nurseries that now plant as many as 60,000 trees per year. Agronomy teams "get down and dirty" with local farmers to start income-producing fruit and other tree nurseries shaded by palm fronds propped up by sticks, to start tree plants in discarded broken buckets, and to employ procedures, such as drip irrigation, composting, and grafting citrus trees. As a result of student hikes to the forests on once barren mountains, from an early age, young people gain an appreciation for their country and learn to value and help plant trees.

   

China Tries to Build a Tree Wall

Rather than keeping immigrants out, China's new tree wall is designed to keep out the smog-producing sand and dirt that blows south into Beijing from the Gobi Desert.

     To combat pollution's health hazard and fossil-fuel causing climate change, China is employing a 3-pronged plan: 1) manufacturing electric cars and banning gas-fueled vehicles, 2) constructing towers to filter dirty air, and 3) planting a wall of pine and poplar trees.

Trees are the focus here, because electric cars powered by lithium batteries and air-filtering towers were the subjects of the earlier post, "How to Meet the Clean Air Challenge."

     Like the Sahara in Africa that even blows sand into Europe, the Gobi Desert expands into China, covering as much as 1,000 more square miles annually. Besides causing pollution, sand eliminates farming and livestock grazing land and closes roads and rail lines. By adding to the demand on groundwater and the loss of trees for firewood, population growth in Inner Mongolia, directly south of the Gobi Desert, also strips Beijing of any protection from wind blown sand. In both Africa and China, before close analysis, planting trees seems like a good solution to stabilize topsoil, absorb greenhouse gases, and even increase rainfall.

     According to an article in Mother Jones (August, 2017), Beijing's forestation efforts began in 1978 and accelerated as a government priority after 2000. Since then, up to 700,000 villagers have been forced off their family plats to make way for trees. By 2018, the government set ambitious planting targets: 32,400 new square miles worth of trees by the end of the year and an increase in the forested area of China's landmass from 21% to 23% by 2020 and to 26% by 2035. Villagers are paid to plant seedlings, and in 2018 armed police and 60,000 soldiers from the People's Liberation Army were reassigned from duty on the northern border in order to plant trees in Hebei Province around Beijing and the area where China will host the Winter Olympics in 2022.

     In response to the government's commitment to battle sand, the State Forestry Administration gained an incentive to claim the frequency of sandstorms decreased 20% between 2009 and 2014, rainfall increased almost six fold in 29 years, and a high percentage (60% to 75%) of new trees survived three years. By planting trees, running solar power fields, and attracting ecotourists, contractors, such as Wang Wenbiao, who heads the $6 billion Elion Resources Group, are making fortunes implementing these government programs. Wang also owns the Seven Star Lakes Desert Hotel and golf course which has a fountain at the entrance and a green lawn and grove of poplars.

Trees in the fast growing poplar genus include aspen trees that require an extensive root system to acquire the large amount of water desert conditions do not provide. Pictures of what are said to be poplars do not look as though they are growing the 3' to 5' annually that is expected.
     The smog reduction potential of China's electric cars, and maybe air filtering towers, seems to offer more promise than forestation.

Help Trees Work for Us

Since trees are an important means of absorbing carbon emissions, The Arbor Foundation, headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, engages in large-scale tree conservation projects in 27 countries, supplies trees from its Tree Nursery (arborday.org.shipping), and provides informative bulletins about trees.

Arbor Foundation projects save threatened rain forests and offer education and tree planting assistance for farm communities. For example, you can read about the Latin American farmers who grow coffee in the shade and natural nutrients of rain forest soils at shop.arborday.org/coffee. At this site, you also can purchase Arbor Day Blend coffee for yourself or as a gift. This rain-forest-saving coffee avoids the problems mentioned in earlier blog posts: "I Love Coffee, I Love Tea" and "Coffee Prices Going Up, Allowances Going Down?"

Developing hybrid trees and bushes that resist disease and insect damage, thrive in various soils and climates, and provide an abundant yield also is the work of The Arbor Foundation. One such project involves meeting the global demand for hazelnuts that now outruns the supply of this nutritious food, one that can grow on marginal soils. Although a collection of 1,899 wild hazelnut plants, some from behind the former Iron Curtain, already has been screened for this project, more plants are welcome. To learn how to help, visit arborday.org/hazelnuts.

From the Arbor Foundation, you also can obtain a copy of the publication: How to Fight the Emerald Ash Borer. The bulletin tells how this Asian insect operates and what chemical treatments prevent beetle damage. Request a copy at arborday.org/bulletins.

Boil or Preserve the Planet?

Attention to rising temperatures and sea levels is generating positive and negative reactions, depending on which side of the climate change citizens, organizations, and governments are on.

     An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, the new film on climate change from former U.S. Vice President and presidential candidate, Al Gore, opened at movie theaters  August 4, 2017.

     In her current book, No Is Not Enough, Naomi Klein reports current U.S. Secretary of State and former head of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson, expects humans to adapt to an overheated planet by moving crop production around as they have in the past, when weather patterns changed. Yet, ExxonMobil's oil and gas drilling equipment has arrived in the Arctic before the world's farmers, who can't work long outdoors even if their crops and livestock could survive in blistering heat.

     Although James Hansen, who formerly headed NASA's climate research team, expects melting polar ice caps to keep temperatures cooler than some suggest, he believes the melting cannot help but cause a rise in sea levels. He further notes a mass inland migration of people from flooded coastal cities could cause ungovernable chaos.

     Klein's book reveals Exxon's scientists knew as far back as 1978 there was general scientific agreement that humans burning fossil fuels released the carbon dioxide that influenced climate changes, and only five to 10 years remained before a serious decision to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources was needed. A report by the Climate Accountability Institute found 25 investor-owned corporate and state-owned fossil fuel producers, including ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, and Chevron, are responsible for half of all global greenhouse gas emissions since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established in 1988.

     In California, three communities already have filed law suits for compensation from oil, gas, and coal companies for current and future costs of property damage from and adapting to rising sea levels. San Mateo, Marin, and San Diego counties claim that instead of working to reduce the impact of  fossil fuel emissions that they had known about for up to 50 years, they launched a campaign to discredit scientific findings about climate change.

     Members in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to insideclimatenews.org, have been voting to prevent regulatory agencies from evaluating future damage from greenhouse gas pollution, to streamline environmental reviews of pipelines and electric transmission projects that cross state borders, and to sponsor legislation supporting federal coal leasing. In contrast, a bipartisan House caucus of 6 Democrats and 7 Republicans introduced the Climate Solutions Commission Act of 2017 (H.R.2320) to establish a National Climate Solutions Commission. By appointing Commission members, the President and Congressional leaders from both parties would acknowledge climate change is "real, human caused, and requires solutions." Based on the latest scientific findings, Commission members would recommend to the President, Congress, and the States policies and actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

     Environmental organizations, such as the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, are warning investors in publicly traded fossil fuel producers that they are jeopardizing the value of their stock holdings, since auto makers are moving toward electric and hybrid models and companies, such as Apple, Facebook, Google, and Ikea, are leading the way to a corporate culture committed to the use of 100% renewable power.

     Finally, the Arbor Day Foundation (arborday.org) has a program to help homeowners absorb air pollution and reduce the need for fossil fuel-generated energy. To find out if there is a nearby active U.S. program to select trees and determine the best location to plant them to provide shade around homes, go to arborday.org/est.

You've Got To Move It, Move It. Trees, that is.

If you've seen the movie, Madagascar, you remember King Julien, the saucy lemur whose dances encouraged other animals to "Move, it, move it."

     Although Arbor Day began in the United States in 1972 as a way to celebrate trees for their ability to provide clean air, shade, lower energy costs, and control of storm water run-off, when rain forests began to be burned or bulldozed and animals, such as the lemur, were endangered because their habitats were disappearing, tree planting conservation needed to move it, move it, move it to other parts of the world.

     Islands like Madagascar, just like the Galapagos made famous by Darwin, have unique biodiversity environments. When Jean Norbert Rakotonirina, known as Dadalioka, guided Dr. Edward Louis, Jr. to his tropical village, the black and white ruffed lemur population was almost gone. By 2009, only eight lemurs lived in the Sangasanga Mountain of Madagascar.

     Thanks to the Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, which includes the Arbor Day Foundation, 1,700, once unemployed young and old Madagascar residents have worked in nurseries and planted one million trees, especially fruit trees that are a lemur's main diet. Even the lemur population, that increased to 50 in the Sangasanga Mountain by 2015, helps the reforestation effort. When lemurs eat fruit, the seeds their tummies don't digest plant more fruit trees.

     By working on the tree planting project, single mothers in Madagascar have been able to send their children to school, support their aging relatives, start small poultry farms, repair their homes, and trade points for non-polluting stoves and sewing machines. People have learned the value of trees and of the conservation of forests, up to 80% of which were destroyed in Madagascar by 2012.

     What I especially like about the Arbor Day Foundation (arborday.org) is its modest financial request. A tax-deductible contribution of $10 plants 10 trees in an endangered rain forest that produces as much as 40% of the world's oxygen and ingredients for almost a quarter of our medicines. Also, a tree is planted in the recipient's name for each holiday card you purchase and send. Cards are shipped to you within five days. For details, go to arborday.org/giveatree. Other gift ideas, such as rain forest-saving coffee, can be found at arborday.org/holiday gifts.

     King Julien, the original party animal, says, "Thank you, and you've got to move it, move it."

     

1 Invention + 1 Invention = 1 New Invention

Combining two inventions to make a new one has solved a world of problems. Kids need outdoor exercise and water so a South African entrepreneur combined a merry-go-round and pump (See the earlier post, "Hope for the Future.").

     There are many reasons to invent a machine to solve the back-breaking problem of planting trees in the hot African sun. Drought-plagued countries, such as Ethiopia and Kenya, need to plant trees along river banks to prevent agricultural soil erosion. New trees also are needed to replace those harvested for firewood and charcoal and eaten by goats. And by sucking carbon dioxide out of the air, trees reduce the greenhouse gases associated with climate change.

     The Equinox Community Farm in Wisconsin, USA, has come up with a "water wheel transplanter" it uses to save time and the back breaking work of planting onion seedlings in straight rows. A tractor drags a sort of flatbed trailer that has three large wheels lined with hollow spikes that dig and water holes to ready them for two men who ride on the flatbed and plant pre-grown seedlings. by two men seated on the flatbed. Two 80-gallon tanks leak water out of the spiked wheels that make Could this system be modified to simplify the process of planting trees? After the trees are planted, another pass over the field might put the plastic cones that conserve water over each new tree.

     Obviously this is just one idea for creating an invention that can plant the trees Africa needs. There are a wide variety of organizations, government agencies, and companies already looking for solutions: the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100); World Resources Institute (WRI); government Ministries of Agriculture, Environment, Forest, and Climate Change; Farmers Managed Natural Regeneration; Kenya-based Komaza; the Unique Forestry and Land Use consulting firm; Moringa Partnership.

(Incidentally, by purchasing cards at arborday.org/giveatree, you can plant trees in America's National Forests in honor of family and friends.)
   

Uncover the Economic Value of Wood

We are used to valuing trees because they absorb greenhouse gases (See the earlier post, "A Healthy Environment.") and provide the shade other crops need to grow (See "Coffee Prices Going Up, Allowances Going Down?"). But at a recent 4H meeting of young people who enter their animals and agricultural projects in competitions at county fairs every year, one of the members demonstrated the value of trees after their growing days are finished. Seeing the bowl he had made out of a variety of local woods started members thinking.

     What happens to trees that are uprooted by wind and storms, trees that are removed to make room for roads, utility poles, and developers' projects, evergreen trees after Christmas, and all the area trees that have been removed because they were infested by the emerald ash borer insect? Some dead trees are used for firewood, but others just rot.

     When my sister was in college, I remember she drove several students in one of her art classes to a lot that collected bits and pieces of wood. I have the statue she carved, sanded, and oiled to show, not only the form of a woman, but also the beautiful grain of the wood she used. Besides the grain of wood, the perfume of freshly sawn cherry tree logs first attracted the man who now owns a custom-made furniture business.

     Beyond firewood, there is a market for useful and beautiful objects made from the world's sustainable and rotting wood. Leafing through a catalog from SERRV (serrv.org), I saw how artisans in the Philippines had turned coral tree and acacia wood into birdhouses and bowls, Bangladesh craftsmen had used albizia wood to make stools, and carvers in India had stained and transformed mango and shesham wood into tables. I've also read how a Mozambican wood carver sold an expensive three-foot-tall ebony sculpture to a tourist in Kenya.

     Clearly, trees can play an important role in sopping up greenhouse gases that cause global warming, and wood products can boost a country's economy. A UN study concludes forest land the size of South Africa has disappeared since 1990. In square miles, an article in TIME magazine (September 28, 2015) shows deforested areas have been lost fastest annually since 2010 in the following countries: Brazil (3,799 square miles), Indonesia (2,641), Burma (2,108), Nigeria (1,583), and Tanzania (1,436). Before turning trees into logs for export, these countries and others need to consider how builders can use whole trees instead of steel to support structures and how an increase in their middle class populations represents the income potential of future furniture markets. Moreover, Global Witness and the Environmental Investigation Agency reports illegal logging of rosewood in Madagascar deprives the country of $460,000 a day. Illegal logging also has been used to fund conflicts in Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

     Kids might begin to get an appreciation of uses for wood by making craft projects out of Popsicle sticks. They might go on to think about finding jobs operating tractor-powered sawmills, learning how to dry wood, or if they would like to sell products made from wood. Who knows, some day they may be in a position to invite architects and planners to consider showcasing local woods in major projects. For more ideas about the use of wood, check wisconsinurbanwood.org.



   

A Healthy Environment

Children are growing up with a concern for the environment. Their textbooks cover subjects like acid rain and pollution. School receptacles help them take recycling for granted. From the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 to the report from the UN-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on April 6, 2007, young people have seen the environment make news. During their lifetimes, in 2007, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore shared a Nobel Prize for Peace for his contribution to global warming awareness. Some students probably have seen "An Inconvenient Truth," Gore's Oscar-winning documentary film on the subject.

     Carbon dioxide and other gases, such as methane, have the shorthand name, greenhouse gases. The IPCC report, Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, said there was unequivocal evidence that human activities generate the greenhouse gases that trap energy from the sun and cause global warming. Children who know they cannot leave pets alone in a car in the summer are well aware of the dangerous result when glass lets in the heat of the sun without reflecting it back out.

     Greenhouse gases are generated in a number of ways. Garbage dumped in landfills and cattle during their digestive process emit methane. Oil and coal produce needed electricity, but burning these fossil fuels produces trapped heat. Yet, more than a third of the energy consumed in the U.S. comes from oil, and coal generates nearly half of all U.S. electricity. The military requires these reliable sources of power for national security. Throughout the world, the growing industrial and transportation demand for oil, including increased domestic demand in countries that currently export oil, adds pressure to continue an aggressive search for oil shale and other limited oil reserves here and abroad.

     With the growth of world economies fueled by coal and oil, air pollution increases and the greenhouse gases that are heating the earth will continue to melt the polar ice cap and glaciers that reflect heat away from the planet. In 2012, the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, 1.58 million square miles, was at a record low. Storms build in warm water, and, since the Atlantic Ocean is now warmer than it was in the early 20th century, storms can become more violent. Also, melting ice has caused water to rise, thereby leading to more coastal flooding from storms. As a result of the rising sea level off the coast of India and Bangladesh, New Moore Island disappeared in 2010.

     Glacier melt high up in the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau affects the water supply of three billion people in India, Pakistan, China, Nepal, and Bhutan. Increased melting can cause flash floods to overwhelm villages in Nepal and Bhutan. Flooding from Kashmir's record rainfall, the heaviest in 50 years, killed 400 people in 2014. Ultimately, vanishing glaciers could cause competition for limited melt, especially to grow food, among three nuclear powers: India, Pakistan, and China. On March 31, 2017, a court in India granted Himalayan glaciers the status of "legal persons" to give legal representatives a way to protect them. Water shortages are already a fact of life in China, where drought and a dam on the Yangtze River caused the country's largest freshwater lake to drop to 5% of its usual capacity. With China now planning to construct three dams on rivers flowing from the Tibetan plateau, the area's future water shortage could be even more dire. A plan to build a dam on the Irrawaddy River was blocked, because it was expected to produce electricity for China, but flood villages in Myanmar.

    Every year, World Water Day on March 22 calls attention to the fact that the U.N. already estimates over one-sixth of the world's population lacks fresh water for drinking, washing, and cooking. The Water.org website provides information about efforts to come up with solutions to the need for water in developing countries. In a limited way, according to trendwatching.com, a billboard in Peru collects water from humidity in the air. Trendwatching.com also reports that the nonprofit, Water Is Life, is distributing a "Drinkable Book" in Africa, China, and India. The pages not only provide basic health information, but they also act as water filters. Coated with silver nanoparticles, the pages remove 99% of harmful bacteria, when water passes through them.

     All in all, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projected the following results from an anticipated three to seven degree Fahrenheit temperature increase. Oceans would rise over islands and coastal areas, and already dry desert countries would suffer greater water shortages. There would be lower crop yields, diseases, extinction of up to 30% of plant and animal species, and intense natural disasters. Some 50 million people could become what the IPCC termed environmental refugees.

     The impact of drought on food production is leading to some solutions. Scientists are developing drought-resistant crops with longer roots to reach water and with genes, such as those from ferns and mosses, that enable crops to recover from dry periods. The Swiss firm, PlantCare Ltd, has developed a system to reduce water used to irrigate fields. Soil sensors monitor the water needs for plants at various growth stages, seasonal temperatures, and time of day before a central computer determines the amount of irrigation to deliver to a field as large as one with a 18.6 mile radius. The company also can deliver mobile irrigation systems to fields that do not have permanent ones. Another promising development is the cross-breeding process that mates animals with breeds from Africa and India that already have developed a tolerance to heat and drought. Trendwatching.com reports a truly innovative idea Korean designer, Gyeongwan Kooz, has for turning chopsticks into plants. He would put a seed under a starch cap on each chopstick. After use, the sticks would be placed tip first into soil.

Student action

From two directions, students can take action to reduce global warming and contribute to a healthy environment for the world's population. They can reduce activities that produce greenhouse gases by consuming less electricity for light, heat, air conditioning, transportation, manufacturing, pumping and purifying water, and running appliances. Secondly, they can reduce the amount of refuse that ends up in methane-producing landfills, explore ways to sop up greenhouse gases before they go into the atmosphere, and identify energy alternatives for oil and coal. The book, Green Is Good by Brian F. Keane, might even give them an idea for a career in which they can take advantage of money-making, responsible environmental opportunities.

     Summer offers students an opportunity, not only to read about ways to implement clean energy solutions, but also the chance to make a healthy contribution to the planet by drinking tap water instead of water from plastic bottles that last forever in landfills. Summer also presents an opportunity to plant a rain garden of flowers at the curb to stop dirty water from running into the street and ultimately into streams and lakes. By planting a vegetable garden, youngsters can eliminate the fossil fuel burnt carrying some foods to market. Raising vegetables and herbs can be a major undertaking (See "How Does Your Garden Grow?" at the end of this post.), but planting seeds or tomato plants in any available plot of ground still helps children learn how to care for the earth by watering their "crop," seeing it grow, removing weeds, and harvesting their own food. Young Explorers (YoungExplorers.com) and MindWare (mindware.com) both provide kits that enable children to watch a few carrots, onions, and radishes grow in a Root-Vue Farm year round. In grocery and other stores, kids might find herb plants or seeds and soil to grow rosemary, oregano, thyme, and mint in containers on sunny window sills.  

      Several science kits from MindWare (mindware.com) and Young Explorers (YoungExplorers.com) also enable young people to gain  hands-on-experience with solar power during the sunny days of summer. They will  see how solar panels can power models, including robots, a windmill and airboat. Another MindWare science kit shows how to make an oven that can cook an egg using sun power, and MindWare's Weather Station kit provides experiments that demonstrate the greenhouse effect, while its Clean Water Science kit helps kids understand the process of desalination. Free Spirit Publishing in Minneapolis offers two books that describe water-related projects for children in elementary school (Make a Splash) and those in high school (Going Blue). The company also publishes A Kids' Guide to Climate Change and Global Warming.

     When it's time to go back-to-school, the Environmental Protection Agency (epa.gov) reminds students to purchase notebooks made from recycled paper. The carbonrally.com website challenges students to strive for waste free lunches by carrying a reusable lunch box/bag and putting lunch items in washable, recycled "butter," sour cream, and cottage cheese containers. Carbonrally also suggests substituting reusable, insulated stainless steel bottles for disposable juice boxes and plastic water bottles that require energy for production and emit gases in landfills. If a school does not elect a Commissioner of Environment to student council, students should suggest the need to add this office. At my granddaughter's school, the Commissioner collects and properly disposes of recycled items from each classroom, suggests projects (planting a tree), and finds ways to participate in energy saving and other contests for students.

     Year round, children can recycle their outgrown toys and clothing at a garage sale or thrift store to eliminate the need to use electricity to manufacture new ones. They can save energy as often as they walk or run outside instead of on an electric-powered treadmill and when they walk, bike, or take public transportation rather than ask to be driven to school, activities, or the mall. Finally, they can help save water by sweeping decks, walks, and driveways rather than hosing them down.

     The same beguiling ways children use to persuade parents to buy a new cereal and scouts use to sell cookies can urge adults to:

• Replace incandescent bulbs that release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere with compact fluorescent lights. Turn off lights (and computers), when no one is using them.
• Buy ENERGY STAR (registered trademark) efficient appliances.
• When information is available on clothing tags, company websites, and apps, buy clothing that has received a high Higg Index score from the Sustainable Apparel Coalition for reducing energy costs, use of water and harmful chemicals, and unrecycled landfill fabric. 
• Buy hybrid cars that burn less fossil fuel and electric cars that run on lithium-ion battery packs.
• Paint roofs white to absorb less heat and weatherize windows and attics to prevent heat loss.
• Cut down on the use of fuel to generate electricity for air conditioning by setting summer thermostats at 78 degrees. Keep warm in winter by wearing a heavy sweater or robe rather than turning up the heat past 68 degrees.
• In hot weather, reduce the need for air conditioning by cooking in the cooler mornings and evenings.
• Rediscover awnings. Investigate and use other ways people kept buildings cool before air conditioning.
• Buy produce a a local farmers' market to reduce the fuel needed for transport, and remind them to carry a reusable sack to market and to store leftovers in glass rather than disposable plastic bags and containers.
• Urge parents to buy a mulching mower that leaves grass clippings on the lawn to decompose and   provide moisture to shade roots and reduce watering needs.
• Conserve water by fixing dripping faucets; taking shorter showers; and wetting hands or toothbrush and turning off water while applying soap or toothpaste before turning the water back on again. 
• Pave walkways, drives, and parking lots with porous concrete that enables storm water to flow back into the ground.
• Start petitions to establish recycling centers for electronic goods and to pad playgrounds with recycled, shredded tires.
• Remind adults to recycle ink cartridges at stores where they were purchased.
• Reduce landfill waste that releases methane emissions and pollutes the soil by recycling glass, paper, cans, and plastic and reusing padded mailing envelopes, plastic bags, and other items. Not only do plastic bags last forever in landfills, but they also end up in water where they kill over 100,000 whales, seals, turtles, and birds every yearSa.
• Save trees by getting off mailing lists for unwanted catalogs and viewing brochures and other information that is available online.
• Keep from contaminating soil and water by using safe community disposal methods for used batteries, oil, computers, and energy efficient light bulbs that contain mercury.
• Visit the website, smartpower.org, to learn about the Neighbor to Neighbor Challenge.

 Absorb less heat

Scientists in the field of geoengineering are discovering ways to control global warming by helping the planet absorb less heat. To counteract the loss of reflective ice from shrinking polar ice caps, they would force the ocean's dark open water to absorb more carbon dioxide by fertilizing plankton with iron and phosphorus. Other geoengineering proposals worthy of pro and con study include: sending giant mirrors into space, injecting reflective sulfate particles into the stratosphere, pumping seawater into clouds to help them block more sun, covering the deserts with reflective sheets, and engineering trees to absorb more carbon dioxide.

     As is, one mature tree already absorbs 48 pounds of carbon dioxide according to the website, planetgreen. discovery.com. The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Wangari Maathai, founded a program to plant a billion trees. The United Nations Environmental Programme reports her idea has resulted in 12 billion trees being planted in 193 countries. At school and at home, students can join this effort by planting trees and going to unep.org/billiontreecampaign to record the number of trees they planted.

     Trees have the added benefit of cutting down on electricity consumption. The Department of Energy reports as few as three leafy deciduous trees placed on the south and west sides of a building block sunlight and prevent summer heat buildup indoors. Once these same trees lose their leaves in fall, they let in sunlight to warm buildings in the winter. Evergreen trees on the north and west sides of a building block wintry winds.

    Another idea to keep an eye on is a light-colored coating for black asphalt pavements. Several colors are being tested. They show promise for reflecting up to 40% of energy.

    

Energy alternatives

The need to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases has set off a race to find quick fix solutions and alternatives for fossil fuels. Much like foods that stress their low fat and high fiber content, but fail to mention they contain lots of salt and sugar, remedies proposed as renewable resources, solutions for a clean environment, and the cure for global warming gloss over drawbacks. The Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy website (eere.energy.gov) provides information about alternative energy sources, such as solar, wind, water, biomass, geothermal, and hydrogen and fuel cells.

        Students challenged to develop science fair, scouting, or research projects might want to learn more about the peel-and-stick solar panels developed by Chi Hwan Lee and Xiaolin Zheng at Stanford. Unlike the heavy, rigid fixed panels that now collect solar energy, their process creates a flexible film of solar cells. Students should be able to find many uses for this low cost, peel-and-stick solar cell film that can adhere to irregular surfaces and to paper, plastic, window glass, and other materials.

     Students interested in designing a full scale green city of the future will want to keep an eye on Chengdu, the city in southwestern China that is designed to accommodate 80,000 residents in a central core surrounded by green areas and parks. This city aims to develop solar, water, and waste systems that use 48% less energy and 58% less water than towns of a comparable size.

     Students also need to think about tackling some of the problems associated with the following "solutions."

     Although hybrid and electric automobiles reduce carbon emissions from burning fossil fuel, expansion of the electric power grid needed to supply these cars requires additional fuel. Moreover, these cars are too expensive for most buyers, and more battery exchange or electric charging stations are needed to service hybrid and electric autos. According to the website, trendwatching.com, a company in Italy has come up with a solar powered charger for electric vehicles.

     Without any changes, all automobiles can reduce gasoline consumption by substituting a 10% ethanol additive. However, land needed to grow ethanol crops, such as corn and soybeans, has led to food and animal feed shortages, the destruction of rain forests that sop up greenhouse gases, and reduced animal habitats.

     Biodiesel fuel can be extracted from algae that is fertilized by municipal and agricultural wastewater and even saltwater. The carbon dioxide released from burning algae-based biodiesel fuel is less than the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed during the algae growing process. But the cost of establishing a one acre algae pond mixed by motorized paddle wheels is higher than planting corn for ethanol. Bioreactors that prevent microorganisms from invading ponds increase costs even more. Algae ponds also absorb less carbon dioxide in winter and none at night. At the moment, the cost of extracting and refining biodiesel from algae is too high to be economically feasible.

     Homes and businesses can tap into the Earth's underground heat (geothermal energy) to reduce carbon emissions, but front-end installation costs, including small bore drilling to reach the heat source target, can be expensive. Underground lakes of heated water, not available everywhere, are the best sources of geothermal power. However, the permits and other hurdles involved can delay a geothermal power plant from being built for 5 to 10 years.

     A close look at wind power also reveals drawbacks as well as benefits. At best, one estimate suggests wind could generate only 20% of the energy used in the U.S. by 2030. A less reported problem is the number of wind turbines that have caught on fire. Touted as a non-polluting and renewable source of electricity, wind power proponents also stress the industry's potential for job creation. What has been downplayed is the need to spend billions for new transmission lines to connect remote wind farms to urban areas and the need to develop storage capacity to save wind energy for calm days, since wind speed (and sun for solar power) does not ebb and flow with the demand for electricity.

      Apple is seeking a  patent on a process that addresses the problem of storing wind power energy by enabling the heat generated by rotating wind turbines to be stored in fluid. This concept of turning wind power into heated fluid also is being used to generate electricity by turning solar power provided by mirrors into superheated water that becomes the steam that turns turbines. While solar-thermal plants can generate electricity without the pollution and carbon emissions of fossil fuels, they are more costly than coal and natural gas furnaces. Government guaranteed loans were needed to help finance Ivanpah, the solar-thermal plant on the California-Nevada border in the Mojave Desert. Nonetheless, this plant, which also enjoys the guaranteed purchase of its electricity at above market prices from California's utilities, is a model for interested Middle Eastern desert countries, such as Saudi Arabia.

     Further, besides the problems of transmitting and storing wind power, some are concerned about the effect wind farms have on people, especially those living in wide open spaces where the wind power industry pressures local governments to grant noise control exemptions. Noise from wind turbines is described either as a jet engine or a rhythmic hum. In either case, the sound cannot be ignored while watching TV or trying to sleep. One study at a home 1,280 feet from a wind farm in Brown County, Wisconsin, found that even almost inaudible, low-frequency sound coming from outside caused homeowners nausea, dizziness, headaches, and ear pressure similar to motion sickness. According to a report in the "Wisconsin State Journal" (January 4, 2013), Clean Wisconsin, an environmental group that arranged the test and favors renewable energy, contended the study did not conclude that low-frequency sound caused the health problems, because no peer-reviewed studies found health problems related to inaudible sounds. Headaches, dizziness, and nausea also have been claimed by some people affected by the flicker effect of alternating shadows and sunlight caused by the spinning blades.

     Four years from now, wind turbines developed by the Spanish firm, Vortex Bladeless, could overcome some of the criticisms that have prevented windfarms from serving as an alternate source of energy, especially near homes in urban areas. A smaller version of the Vortex bladeless wind turbine, coupled with a solar panel and small battery, could be available to run three lights, a TV, and a refrigerator in homes in Africa and India in 18 months.

     By eliminating moving parts, bladeless wind turbines don't cause the flicker effect, and they are less visually intrusive, almost noiseless, and safer for birds. Yet they are able to collect close to 40% of energy from the wind (less than the 50% some conventional wind turbines collect and generate). Positioned on a magnetic base, the bladeless mast amplifies the oscillation caused by the swirling air passing by the 150-meter tall turbine. Since there is no friction, there is no need for lubricating oils. The lack of mechanical parts also reduces manufacturing and maintenance costs.

     Like Vortex Bladeless, students might focus on the questions about wind power that need answers. Are people making health claims because they do not like the look of wind turbines and the view they obstruct? Could strategically placed trees muffle sound and prevent flickering light and shadows? In terms of zoning, how close should turbines be to homes? What are acceptable low-frequency and high-frequency decibel sound levels? At what noise level do conventional wind turbines constitute a nuisance? What percentage of the nearby population has to be disturbed in order for a community to get an injunction stopping windfarm construction? Should state and/or federal governments prohibit local authorities from imposing regulations that block or ban wind energy projects?

Conclusion

Books and toys are beginning to tap into the concern children show for the planet. A Child's Introduction to the Environment, which comes with a reusable lunch sack, explains the need to protect the air, earth, and sea and lists 15 easy things to do to help the environment. It also includes instructions for conducting experiments, such as detecting smog. Catalogues from MindWare (mindware.com) and Young Explorers (YoungExplorers.com) come with more and more toys that demonstrate how new power sources work.

     Focusing on the environment means focusing on an interrelated system that includes the natural world and all the peoples that inhabit the Earth. Sometime in a child's future there may be no magazine articles, talk shows, television segments, websites, or documentary films devoted to reducing carbon footprints, water conservation, and recycling. These activities could become such a normal part of life that they would merit no more public discussion that how to order fast food, use an ATM, or wear contact lenses do today. If that day comes, kids can congratulate themselves for the healthy world they helped create.


                                                How Does Your Garden Grow?

Different soils have different needs Get a soil test by the state's cooperative extension service or buy a soil test kit at a garden center. Heavy clay soil, for example, requires added sand and nutrients from peat moss, manure, or compost. Acidic soil may need lime; alkaline soil, sulfur.

Dig up and turn over the top layer of soil before planting Remove weeds, rocks, and other debris from garden plot. Add compost or manure fertilizer. Make organic compost from lawn clippings, leaves, kitchen vegetable scraps, and egg shells. Go to the websites, birdsandblooms.com/mag and planetgreen.discovery.com, for additional composting ideas.

Fence out predators, including rabbits and pets Marigolds may deter rabbits, but, to really deter burrowers, a fine mesh fence needs to extend below ground level. Keeping deer out will require a six-foot fence. Pest control may require treatments matched to specific bugs.

Grow vegetables and herbs Check seed packets for advice about when to plant, how deep to plant, and how far apart to space plants. On little sticks, label which vegetables have been planted where. Tall plants, such as tomatoes and cucumbers, require support by tall stakes or small branches, and they should be planted on the north side of the garden to keep from shading lower plants. Vegetables might include: beets, broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, peppers, radishes, scallions, snap peas, squash,  and Swiss chard. Plant herbs, such as basil, chives, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme.

Maintain the garden by watering, weeding, and removing withered growths When possible, water with rainwater collected in buckets. Sandy soil needs more frequent watering than clay. Weeds will take over the garden if not pulled out by the root.

A mini-greenhouse provides a year round growing season. The website, fourseasonfarm.com, lists sources for glass greenhouses.