PASS THE GREENS PLEASE, GREENHOUSE GASSES THAT IS!

A carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases that are produced to support everyday human activities such as transportation, energy consumption and the production of food and goods to be consumed.  Carbon footprints are expressed in tons of CO2 in which are emitted into the atmosphere.

To find out how much my household and my fathers household (he lives on Maui with my brothers) I went to Nature Conservancy website. Here I was asked a serious of questions ranging from our driving habits, preferences in food and even recycling habits. My results were astounding.

For my apartment in Kalamazoo which houses my three roommate’s and I our total greenhouse gas emissions are 120 tons of carbon dioxide per year. WOW! This serves to be greater than that of the U.S national average by 10 tons and more than five times the world average. Ways in which would have helped in reducing my households carbon footprint would have been choosing to recycle, walking to class or riding the bus, and convincing my roommate’s that an organic vegetarian lifestyle is better( as I buy almost all organic and was raised vegetarian). These small changes would have reduced our carbon footprint by an estimated 35 tons per year. I found this to be quite shocking, because I never knew that such small changes in our daily routine could have such an impact on our earth.

Our Carbon Footprint Without Cutbacks :(

 For the second household in my study was my fathers house in Maui, Hawaii. Here he lives with his wife and my three younger brothers. Due to his increased awareness for the environment this household is much lower than that of the national average by almost 40 tons per year. I believe this households carbon footprint is lower because my dad is the head of a vegetarian,bike-riding, compost loving, tree hugging lifestyle.My father is an avid flyer who takes on average 15 to 20 long trips every year for his job(owns an investment firm). 

HIppies Rule- Peace Love and Happiness!

After comparing the two household I thought it would be interesting to look at that of the carbon emitted by each country to as to which was contributing most and which one the least. My expectation was that the United States and China would take the lead in the most CO2 emissions. I was shocked to see that although my expectations for the U.S was correct, China is in fact in a much better global position. It is scary to think that if all other countries lived like the United States we would need over five earths to sustain our practices!

Wouldn’t mind taking him out for Ice Cream! Hellooooo Dr. Cameron

Not only is James Cameron the filmmaker behind movies like “Avatar” and “Titanic,” but he is also an underwater pioneer. Recently Mr. Cameron made history when he descended 7 miles below sea level in a submersible of his own design.

I found this video very interesting :) 

Let's Get NARC'ed!

                 Today, I thought I would share one of my most interesting diving experiences. It was on my first dive on the Spiegel Grove in Key Largo, Florida where I first experienced Nitrogen Narcoses. Nitrogen narcosis is a diving "phenomenon" that usually happens when divers go beyond four atmospheres ( on land we are at one atmosphere, each additional atmosphere is 33 feet) or 100 feet. Also known as "the martini effect," nitrogen narcosis increases the pressure of nitrogen and thus creates a feeling much like that of being drunk. Although this condition is seen as a life threatening event, it is easily corrected by a careful and controlled accent of one to two atmospheres or the avoidance of deep diving all together.

               I imagine this is what i looked like :p
                Spiegel grove, which was once a dock landing ship, was purposely sunk as an artificial reef in 2002. Lying at 140 feet, this wreck is insane! While on my initial decent i was stoked, the anticipation of of being able to dive one of worlds largest wrecks was mind-blowing. As i began to see bottom, my excitement amplified, and I started to feel a feeling of euphoria.  While trailing behind my dive group, i motioned to my dive buddy Mike, that something wasn't right. Sensing my euphoric state, he smiled and  held out his hand and for us to continue the dive together. Imagine being at a depth of five atmospheres, with thousands of fish around you, on a 600 foot wreck as countless sharks and barracuda swim slowly around you, while you feel DRUNK! Everything about this dive was incredible, but as i descended further into the holding tanks(a depth of 130) I could not contain my excitement so i began to laugh. Laughing uncontrollably is hard to do with a regulator and periodically it was forced out of my mouth. At this point it was time to ascend, and as i began my journey upward i looked back at my dive with pride. I had just experienced being NARC'ed and as i climbed back onto the boat I looked down into the water and thought "God i'm cool." 

Eaarth

Holy Sea cucumber! I just finished the first two chapters of Bill McKibben’s Eaarth and let me tell you, I feel nauseated.  McKibben discusses how we, mankind has basically buried ourselves in the attempts for economic prosperity and growth. He sheds light on how current climate changes due to increased CO2 emissions have in turn greatly affected our planet and that if we as a society refuse to acknowledge these problems we will forever be faced with hardships and suffering. 

As the main focus of my blog is centered on the world ocean, I felt it only right to explore further the affects of what McKibben so ferociously seeks to change.

The melting of the northern polar ice cap is just one case as to why there has been a sharp rise in sea levels throughout the world. The increase of Greenhouse gasses is causing an increase in atmospheric temperature, which in turn is causing polar ice caps to melt. Apart from the obvious affect of habitat loss for polar bears, seals and many other animals the affects of rising sea levels are far more complex. Take mangroves for example. Mangroves are different kinds of trees that grow in shallow waters. They serve as a critical habitat to numerous species and greatly deplete if they are not able to move into shallower waters. Such an ecosystem is then unable to keep up with the rising sea levels and is in turn destroyed in the process.  

It’s getting hot in here! Just as sea level affects shallow water ecosystems, increases in water temperatures cause a reduction of CO2 absorption.  Here’s a crazy fact that I remembered was on one of my dive master exams. Today, our ocean has absorbed more than 80% of the heat that has been added to the earth by changes in climate. Think about that, its insane! This change, which has led to warmer waters, has caused two major problems within the underwater world (within the realm of changes in climate). The first is coral bleaching. Coral bleaching occurs when small algae leave coral beds in response to higher temperatures. Algae make up almost an entire reefs diet, and also give coral its vibrant colors. However when algae is no longer present coral reefs become stressed, thus leading to a bleached look.  From 1998 to 2002 the Great Barrier Reef and other reefs around the world experienced catastrophic bleaching (Recorded by NOAA). The second important problem that arises with warmer water temperatures is the change in migratory patterns and lapsed spawning periods.  Species, no matter how large are simple creatures: if their habitat is warmer than normal, its time to move (most times northward). This unnatural move creates a new array of organisms in a foreign environment, greatly impacting the predatory scale as well as spawning habits.

Light at the end of the tunnel! Although Bill McKibbon’s point of view is very depressing, he does point out an interesting ideology: The world is changing and instead of trying to change it back to the way it has been in the past we as a society need to change with it. I agree with this ideology. I do believe however, that for the world to be “saved” we must create a plan of action. No matter how small, we can make a difference in hopes that our planet will one day be healthy and happy again :)