The Wonders of The Wondrous Backyard

In an age of mechanized machinery, actions, and reactions we living and breathing human beings forget that there is a natural world beyond us.  This week I decided to take a small part of my time in order to become a little more in tune with what was right outside my doorstep, the backyard which I had not stepped into for months.  So, like Buddha who once sat under the fig tree, I decided to sit under my orange tree hoping one would not fall on me and learn about my habitat.

In the time that I spent under the orange tree I learned that in my immediate vicinity there would be no way that I could avoid human intervention and neither could the living organisms present.  Instead of being a total hindrance many of our man-made items actually became a part of the abiotic environment.  Around the base of our tree are red bricks which cordon the area.  However, small insects such as ants used it as a passageway to get to their destination.  In addition, it actually seemed that some species were calling those bricks home.

While I tried to make my impact as minimal as possible with every step I took there would be certain insects mainly grasshoppers which would jump up from the grass to escape the crushing weight of a human.  Another creature that I noticed was the much dreaded cockroach.  Many months back we had a professional apply fluids around our house after which we did not witness cockroaches nor other "pests" within the confines of our home or even in our front/back yards.  However, where there is one there are many and I wonder if we are about to have yet another chemical attack.

There were also some species which I expected to find but I did not.  The first was worms.  I am aware that worms are necessary for the soil to have good nutrition; however, in the time I spent sitting and gazing over the soil I did not find any worms.  Another creature which I thankfully did not see were groundhogs or any other creature capable of making holes.  While there are about 1-2 holes present in my backyard near the vicinity of my orange tree, there was no presence of the species that made them.

Looking at other biotic factors I noticed what the orange tree itself had to offer.  Of course the tree itself is living and there are marvelous white features on it known as flowers.  However, in addition to the beautiful white flowers I noticed some leaves had small white spots on them.  At first I believed it to be bird droppings and when I later looked closer I realized that they were not.  After I regained access to human technology and the internet I discovered that this may be a type of fungus.  Since, I live in Loma Linda this is actually not uncommon and many other households would have the same type of problem.  Alas, it is a problem that should be taken care of otherwise our oranges, which are among the best I have had, might face problems.  Looking at the ground there was a single orange that fallen some time ago.  Inside the orange there was a type of black fly which, again looking at the internet, may be fungus gnats a type of fly.  Obviously if a fruit is decomposing then there is going to be bacteria which is an addition to the biotic factors of the yeard.

http://www.olyrose.org/images/Anthracnose-2.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/OrangeBloss_wb.jpg

While I may have not found the answers to the universe during my time in the back yard I sure did enjoy the fresh air and the citrus aroma which flew with the wind.  A beautiful bird with a blue tail landed on the top of a fence not close to me, unfortunately I was not able to take a picture of it but I was able to enjoy its company and was made aware that due tot the presence of so many different types of organisms such as insects and birds, at the very least my backyard was alive and possibly even thriving.  I had producers such as the orange tree and grass present.  I had primary consumers such as insects present.  Birds could be considered secondary and even tertiary consumers.  Finally, we had detrivores such as bacteria present.

So to sum up my experience some of the abiotic and biotic features present in my back yard are:

Abiotic:
-Plastic
-Red Bricks
-Air & temperature
-Rocks
-Dirt
-Sunlight
-Fence
-Water Hose

Biotic
-Grass
-3 Spiders
-1 Cockroach
-5 Grasshoppers
-7 Birds
-10s of Ants
-Orange tree
-Bacteria
-Fungus
-Oranges

The picture above were not original but a accurate description of what I saw.  They were provided by:

http://www.olyrose.org/images/Anthracnose-2.jpg

and 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/OrangeBloss_wb.jpg

Protecting the Safety of our Mouths

The fight over global warming, for most people, is only about arguing whether it exists or not.  However, many do not consider whether global warming exists or not we are undoubtedly experiencing weather conditions which we had not anticipated.  Due to the lack of preparedness human populations are facing problems which may not effect us directly or immediately, however, they ultimately cause the degradation of human development.  An article written by Oxfam International in 2012 focuses specifically on how extreme weather influences food production and the ability to feed millions.  Some points that the article makes are:
-The United States is a vital component of the world's production of corn and maize.
-A drought in USA in 2030 could raise food prices by nearly 100%.  Drought and/or flooding in southern Africa and India would raise prices on importing countries and leave millions without food.
-Extreme weather can eliminate harvests altogether.
-Food discussions are not heavily debated in current climate talks.

If we were to look further into the situation we could see that extreme weather in key locations such as the United States of America could cause global famine as the US is one of the biggest exporters of food to malnourished nations.

Now how do we know that we can trust Oxfam in providing accurate information?  Oxfam International is an Non governmental organization.  It is a reliable source of information because Oxfam is internationally reputed to bring attention to worldwide poverty and issues which affect the most vulnerable.  If we were to dig into the financials of Oxfam, specifically their annual report, we can see that Oxfam is not heavily funded by any specific country or corporation.  This means that Oxfam would not be biased towards any entity.  Oxfam is over 60 years old and is present in about 90 countries.  All information of their projects and how funding is used can be easily located on their website.  All these factors combined make Oxfam a reliable source for information.

There are many claims which may sound to be unbelievable.  How does Oxfam arrive to statements such as,  "Between 2010 and 2030, average world market export prices for maize could rise by 177%, with up to half the increase due to climate change".  One thing to point out is that there are no definitive statements. Instead words such as "could" and "may" are used.  Why is this?  The main reason is that Oxfam is predicting about what the world may have to experience in the year 2030.  The information provided by Oxfam is also heavily reliant on forecast models. These models have been created by using information collected over the past few decades such as what affect previous droughts have had on the world's production of food.  In addition. Oxfam references studies and sources done by organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.  Yes, the results in 2030 may not be as severe as what may happen.  However, Oxfam has given their worst case scenarios and have also listed what factors go into these forecasts.  For example, if the world's population were not to increase as rapidly as studies indicate then the food problem would not be as severe.

After reading this article I am in dismay.  Despite the tremendous amount of technology we are still insufficient in providing hundreds of millions with proper nutrition.  In fact, even many in the United States suffer from the lack of proper nutrition.  However, after reading this article there is some hope that humans all over the world can be fed.  While there may be little to nothing that we can about changing climate and extreme weather conditions, there is much that we can do to safeguard access to food.  If we are to protect our agricultural capacity it is important for governments to truly come together and reduce dangerous pollutants and use existing ways to boost the production of clean agriculture.

The original Oxfam article and the report it pertains to can be found at the inks below:
-http://www.oxfam.org/en/grow/pressroom/pressrelease/2012-09-05/food-price-spikes-will-get-worse-extreme-weather-climate-change
-http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/20120905-ib-extreme-weather-extreme-prices-en.pdf

Chemical Take Over in the Household

Technology bring out many inventions that change the world for the better.  However, along with this change we see product sold into the market that are dangerous for our bodies.  Companies are pressured to use chemicals which can be harmful to humans in order to keep costs low, be competitive, and deliver a product which ultimately gets the job done.  Many chemicals which can be potentially harmful are included in products that we use everyday, among these chemicals are Pyrithione Zinc and Acetone.

Pyrithone zinc is a product used in multiple shampoos such as the widely used Head and Shoulders.  This chemical mainly helps with the removal of dandruff.  For some people Pyrithione zinc can be an irritant and cause allergic reactions such as rashes and swelling.  In laboratory testing on animals pyrithione zinc has shown to damage immune systems.  Well dandruff remains a problem, but Pyrithione zinc is not necessary to remove it.  Other cost-effective and natural methods exist such as using lemons.  Lemons can be grown in one's backyard or bough for a very low price at the local farmers market.  They will leave no artificial residue and hair will be just as healthy if not more healthier than if an artificial shampoo is used.

Acetone is another product which many of us to remove unwanted substances.  Acetone can be found in nail polish remover, paint remover, and dish washing material.  Acetone can cause dryness, dizziness, nausea, and even coma.  In fact, that is why kids are recommended to stay away from nail polish remover and in movies people are seen using acetone products as a way to "get high".  There have been many cases of acetone abuse or misuse reported in hospitals.  Some natural methods, again, using lemons along with vinegar to create a solution to dissolve some substances.  This is actually beneficial when using it for uses such as fingernails because not only is it natural but also because it can strengthen the local body parts.  Toothpaste, is another item which can be used to take off nail polish and other substances.  Using toothpaste such as Arm & Hammer are especially beneficial due to the heavy use of baking soda which is an effective dissolving solution.

For many decades American society has been relying on using artificial products in order to cure common problems.  These chemicals end up being more expensive to the consumer than natural methods such as lemons and the chemicals have more side effects.  There is hope as consumers are becoming aware and there has been a push to use and consume more natural substances.  Eventually we will seen cleaner products on the market which are affordable for all.  For now we must remain educated on various use of chemicals and use best practices to mitigate the effects of them.