Tag: climate change

The Timber Industry

March 10, 2016 / Ian

Tree Farming and its Effects

Executive Summary:

In the 1800 and 1900’s the logging industry took off in America. Now it is a world-wide big business reaching into Asia, South America and Africa, much to the local peoples’ discontent. The industry is still very strong, and farming trees is fairly sustainable because trees retain carbon even when cut. But it is unnecessary to continue the business in the modern world because of technological advances and wood alternatives. Here I discuss the timber industry, its impact on the environment and its effect on indigenous peoples. I also search for alternatives to wood such as hemp, and argue for the end of logging.

Full essay found here: Tree Farming PDF (Calibri)

Photo Essay (All shots from T.E.S.C woods)

Horizontally growing tree

Ferns and moss on log

Slug and fungus living on tree

Vertical view of canopy

Young tree

Young tree in nurse log

The Dairy Dynamic: The Relationship between Climate Change and Dairy Farming

March 8, 2016 / Evan

Executive Summary:

Climate Change is overtaking our planet faster than we can anticipate as major corporations, industries, as well as individual citizens contribute to our global pollution. Humans, despite their inability to realize the fact, are some of the heaviest polluting animals in the world due to our interests in certain commodities. A majority of humans are conditioned to enjoy using animal products, and this is becoming a problem as climate change develops because animal agriculture is one of the leading causes of emissions of greenhouse gasses not just in the United States, but the entire world. Over 50 billion animals are raised as livestock globally each year, each one emitting waste which must be regulated. A smaller division of animal agriculture, the dairy industry, is one of the key sectors in which there is both a potential for very large yet very regulated emissions. Through proper practice of caring for the livestock and being conservative with the storage and distribution of milk, manure, and biomass, we can begin to make steps in reducing our impact on global climate change.

link to The Dairy Dynamic

Photo Essay:

: Dairy can manifest in many familiar forms; it is both high in supply and demand. it can be found in varieties similar if not bigger in size than pictured in stores worldwide.

: Dairy products are usually neatly packaged, featuring earthy colors on a bright backdrop that gives the perception of a product being healthy, natural, and clean.

: Goats are an animal often raised for milk production.

: Farms aren’t usually the cleanest of environments. A young goat is pictured here resting inside the rusty remains of a scrapped automobile.

: Farms aren’t usually the cleanest of environments. A young goat is pictured here resting inside the rusty remains of a scrapped automobile goatupclose if left unattended, climate change will get up close and personal.

A Streamlined Explanation of Anthropogenic Global Warming

February 29, 2016 / Austin

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report will discuss the evidence for and history of global warming in the broad sense of the term. It will make the case for the claims of climate scientists, and will also discuss dissenting arguments, misconceptions about global warming and the effects of climate change on Washington state (from the impacts on the state’s environment
to the potential repercussions on the social and economic fronts).

A significant portion of the report will also detail the history of the theory, from the Irish physicist’s John Tyndall’s first model of the greenhouse effect to the overt politicization of the subject around the late twentieth century. This will include examination of the methods used for measuring the planet’s warming phenomenon, from the increasing trends in
heat that has been trapped in the atmosphere to other direct effects such as the acidification of oceans and the detrimental effects on the polar ice caps.

A Streamlined Explanation of AGW

View of Olympia Capitol Building through the dew from a west side hill.

View from atop a Seattle rooftop urban farm, juxtaposing organic life with an urban landscape.

Wintry decay on an Evergreen beach.

Treetops near the Evergreen State College.

Murky waters in Capitol Lake.

Impact of Climate Change on Elk

February 29, 2016 / Justin LaRue

Executive Summary:

The future effects of climate change on elk are uncertain. The number of elk in the United States fell significantly in the early 20^th century, but has since risen back up due to effort from conservation agencies. Elk numbers are still supported through the sale of sport hunting. The loss of habitat may cause elk to compete with local livestock population and lead to a higher rate of interaction with humans. A greater number of elk have been reported to be inflicted with digital dermatitis, linked to an increase in bacteria numbers in the environment. Along with an increase in bacteria, there has also been an increase in ticks which can be attributed to reduced snowpack and warmer winters. Climate change has led to a change in available plant species available to elk for both food and habitat sources. There are many factors that make it difficult to predict the future of elk populations from the effects of climate change.

Full Report