well as you all might know, i was on a spring break service trip this past week! i went to Terre Haute, Indiana to work at this place called St. Mary of the Woods. It was a college, but i stayed at the convent side of the campus where there is an alpaca farm, orchards, and vegetable plots amongst other things. We basically had our own house when we stayed there, it was a house/dorm place for visitors (called Marian Hall). there were 8 rooms which was perfect for our group of 8, and a kitchen, and living room area. really cozy house :-). anyhow, let me talk about my trip. keep in mind that i chose to go to this site because of their interest in eco-justice and environmental justice. i'm actually very interested in those things now. so...some of the first things we did there was learn about how to save the environment and the world! :-D perfect right? but yah, their main goal was to educate us about the dangers and threats of certain factors that affect the world. They are really involved in the "green-movement" and i think i'm about ready to jump on their bandwagon. This place is amazing. They run everything economically aware and safe...for example, all the cafeteria food is prepared mostly with the organic produce that they grow on site. Also, they compost the waste products (extra foods, paper napkins, and the like). this compost goes to their piles of green products, waste, and manure from the animals (alpacas and horses) and it all goes into gardening their produce. the entire process is so amazing...also..get this. they heat their buildings with "biomass." Biomass is another absolutely amazing process. let me explain. buildings are heated with fuel..most buildings are heated with fossil fuels such as gases and coal that release Carbon Dioxide products into the air contributing to the greenhouse effect. so...no good. but St. Mary of the Woods uses Biomass! this is fuel from wood..not chopped down trees destroying forests..no..but instead, fallen branches and trees, donated wood from carpenters with surplus resources (that they would otherwise throw away), and scrap wood from other sites. then..get this next part. they take it to their on site shop where they have a boiler, and they create steam (clean products, no toxic gases) to heat building units. it's quite impressive when you think about it, because it's just as effective, costs less, and burns clean! that's not all i learned about. they also make their own biodiesel. what's that? well...you know how diesel trucks run on regular diesel, but also contributes to the greenhouse effect? biodiesel burns clean, but works just like regular diesel. and some of their buses actually runs on their biodiesel that they make. i didn't get to learn about the whole process of how biodiesel is made, but basically, they make it not with fossil fuels, but again with wood chips, and recycled wood. such an amazing thing to actually see that there is another substitute for oil and fossil fuels. because i know that the world's resources are going to run out soon, and we need something else to meet our needs. this is it. i thought while i was there...that this is our future, of clean and resourceful fuels. it's exciting to know that there's something out there :-).
but continuing on with the trip. that's not all that i learned. in order to really be involved with the green movement, we need to eat green also. and they taught us about foods. most of our foods are really quite bad for us. america doesn't know what we're consuming. ever heard of "Genetically modified organisms?" imagine this...a corn plant that grows naturally is susceptible to certain diseases or insects that eat and destroy the plant. along comes a scientist who looks at a bacteria or virus such as E. coli, and sees that it has a trait to ward off disease. "hmm..." thinks the scientist..and then takes a bacteria gene and injects it into the corn plant. sure, now the corn plant works fine with warding off insects..but the really disturbing part is...we don't know how this affects humans who consume the corn plants. do you know what's even more disturbing? almost all of the foods we eat are GMOs. High fructose corn syrup...90% comes from genetically modified corn. people have all kinds of weird allergic reactions and sicknesses...but they can't trace it back to genetically modified organisms because...hear this...America does not label their GMO foods. it's scary. i also learned about this huge company "Monsanto." look it up. they are the devil. they have patents on living organisms. they have patented certain GMOs such as the corn plants that i was talking about earlier. they are able to sue many smaller organic farms if they find one of their plants in their fields. Crazy thing is...corn can cross pollinate through wind currents and such...but does that matter to Monsanto? nope. they sue those farms anyway. i can talk about Monsanto for much longer, but that's just the gist of it. Genetically Modified Organisms aren't natural...and they may be making people sick, but we don't know it. Most of America doesn't even know what GMOs are. well..now you do. i'm just saying to be aware..because you never know how it might affect you. all i've learned is that..organic foods and naturally raised animals are a healthy substitute, and even though they might be more expensive, you know exactly what is going into your body, and you know how it's going to affect you. plus, there are more nutrients in organic foods (also look for "natural foods" [but be careful because some naturals contain GMOs] because some companies can't afford to get certified for an organic label). there is a way to shop for foods, and i will share it with you:
Seasonal
Local (farmer's markets. know your farmers!)
Whole foods (whole grains for example)
Meats...as in less of it
Organics
Education (become educated about GMOs and unhealthy foods)
follow SLWMOE and this will lead you to a healthier lifestyle.
hah...so i know most of this blog entry was me ranting about the green movement and all of these new things. but you know what? in order for the green movement to grow, it needs to spread. so that's what i'm doing. you are now a bit more educated about this issue, and it would be great if everyone else was also. you don't have to become a hippie to be green. but just be smart about things. i learned not to be wasteful, and how to conserve the Earth. just wanted to say thanks for reading this important blog, and don't worry...i'll write more about my trip later!
some extra things to be "green":
1. instead of using www.google.com, use www.blackle.com (it's the exact same thing, but because the background is black you save a ton of energy. set it as your home page and help to make a difference!)
2. when shopping for groceries, shop at the perimeter of the store. this is where most of the produce and organics are found. the inner portions of the store contains more processed foods and GMOs.
3. bring your own canvas bag (can be bought for only $0.99 at a grocery store) to store groceries instead of taking plastic bags all the time.
4. Use energy saving lightbulbs
5. Take shorter showers (something i'm working on! :-D)
6. Eat less meats. If each person gave up meat for one meal a day it would cut down on the slaughtering and over excessive grazing.
7. drink organic milk, hormones in cows are unhealthy for you, and for the cows. did you know that a cow on hormones to produce more milk only lives for a couple of years, while a cow naturally milked lives out the proper lifespan of 25 years.
just thought i'd spread the green! :-D
