Learning about cork

This week's blog assignment for my environmental studies class was to record everything that I used or came in contact with that came from a natural source. The guidelines for what exactly is considered 'natural' was pretty vague, to be left open to our own individual interpretation.We were to place our list of items into 8 categories. These are as follows.
A) Food and drink

• coffee
• sugar
• eggs
• salad - lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, olives
• Naked fruit juice
•  cork from a wine bottle, along with the actual wine
• beans
• water

B)Housing and other Buildings

• wood
• brick
• leather couches

C) Transportation and Roads

• gasoline
• asphalt

D)Clothing

• leather shoes
• jeans
• cotton tee shirt and socks
•  cotton scar

E)School supplies

• paper
• pencils
•  

F)Personal Care products

• burts bees lip balm - (although it is slightly processed, most of the ingredients are natural) beeswax, sunflower oil, coconut oil, lanolin, comfrey root, vitamin E, honey, rosemary leaf oil
• witch hazel
• bar soap
• bare essentials make-up
• face lotion

G)Leisure activities

• chalk for rock climbing

H)Other 

The next part of this assignment was to pick out one of the items I listed and do some research on it to find out its origins and impact upon the environment. The item I chose to investigate the cork from the wine bottle. I knew beforehand that cork comes from a tree, but I didn't know which one or the impact of harvesting the cork. I have seen that some wineries have begun to use plastic corks instead of the natural cork and wondered if the reasoning behind that was practical, environmental, or maybe both. I have learned that the cork used in wine bottles is from a tree called the cork tree (pretty straight forward) a species of oak, and it's scientific name is Quercus Suber. This tree grows in areas in Spain and Portugal and the older it is the more cork it produces. After the processing of the bark, the part of the tree that is used, only 40% of the final product ends up being usable. The remaining cork is then ground up to be used in other compounds to make things like bulletin boards. The cork can only be cultivated around every 10 years so maintaining the health of the tree is vital. The strips of cork are removed by hand, no machinery is allowed to be used which is a positive thing for the environment. This system is pretty much the same one that has been used for hundreds of years because it is one of the most effective methods for its purpose. The harvesting industry employs more than 15,000 workers to harvest the cork as well as seasonal employees to maintain the forests. These forests seem to be fairly well cared for in order to maintain the profitable industry. The reason that this is used is to create an air tight seal for the wine bottles so that oxygen does not get into the bottle and aerate (get oxygen into) the wine before it is ready to be served. For the most part after corks are removed from the bottle there is no farther use for them and they get thrown away. I have seen people use them for things such as making art, but that is not a very important use. This product is, overall, a want and not a need. The cork is, however, a biodegradable and renewable substance. That is more than can be said for the new plastic cork stoppers some wineries are using. Wine industries demand 13 billion cork stoppers annually. I couldn't find much information on the methods that cork is shipped, but I am assuming special care would have to be taken in order for the cork to remain dry and free of germs and molds. It is a very light weight product though so I would think that shipping them would be minimal. In regard to the impact on the biodiversity after the extraction of the cork, a recent study of the birds that inhabit the area shows that the harvesting is relatively well balanced for the ecosystem. It indicates that while in the first year after harvesting the richness of certain bark dwelling insects would decrease and thus so would the richness of the birds that prey on them, but overall the biodiversity is well maintained. The threat of plastic bottle stoppers is becoming the norm in wine industries would lead to the eventual end of the cork harvesting industry and thus the forests that are maintaining this biodiversity would be put to different uses such as housing or other agricultural farming. Knowing this I think I would have to say that I will do my best to stick with real cork rather than the plastic ones. I was surprised that this product is better environmentally that the new synthetic products, I started out my research with the idea that the reality would be the other way around and cork harvesting would be bad for the environment.

Sources:
"Cork Institute of America--Harvesting Cork." Cork Institute of America. Web. 07 Mar. 2012. <http://www.corkinstitute.com/harvest.html>.

"History of Cork." Lisa Shea's WineIntro. Web. 07 Mar. 2012. <http://wineintro.com/history/glassware/cork.html>.

Leal, Ana, Ricardo Correia, José Granadeiro, and Jorge Palmeirim. "Impact of Cork Extraction on Birds: Relevance for Conservation of Mediterranean Biodiversity." EBSCO Host. Biologinal Conversation, May 2011. Web. 7 Mar. 2012. <http://ezproxy.rcc.edu:2059/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=24&sid=05162bf3-f70c-471a-a740-6304bba662f0%40sessionmgr113&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=8gh&AN=60789283>.

Observing the Santa Ana River

The second blog assignment given for my Environmental Science class was pretty fun for me. We were supposed to go outside somewhere to find a place with some nature, sit quietly for at least 20 minutes, and list all of our observations both biotic and abiotic. I chose to go down by the Santa Ana river, a place I had never been before. I sat down along the running water for around a half an hour. Here is an estimated list of everything that I saw:

Abiotic:

• Running water/Still water-bubbles in the still water
• Mud/Sand
• Stones-large and small
• Air- light breeze
• Sunlight
• (Not naturally found) Trash, Airplanes
• Clouds

Biotic:

• Moss
• Dead leaves/branches
• Seeds-on plants and floating in the air
• Various plants-grasses, bushes, trees
• Gnats
• One little red bug
• Other unidentifiable bugs/insects
• Birds- One turkey vulture, two redtails,quite a few(maybe around 20) small black and white birds(closest I could identify them was as a black phoebe), one humming bird, and one other bird that was probably related to a sand piper.
• Violet and yellow flowers
• Three bees
• Very small fish 

One other thing I saw that I could not really ID as biotic or abiotic was a spider web. I didn't see a spider though. 

Water Plant? Cat tails

 

Water Plant 2

The focus of this assignment is to note the biodiversity and species interactions. The first major thing I noticed was the plants' dependence on the water source. There were very few plants farther than ten feet away from the edge of the water, but the ones that were there were for the most part very green and healthy, not something that would do well going a couple of days without water. Another note on the dependence on the water is that most of the plants were leaning in the direction of the water flow. There were two plants that I noted as being, as far as I know, only found in watery or marshy areas, I have pictures of each. There were areas of still water that had run off from the main water flow and this is where the majority of moss was growing as well as where some insects were walking on the water and the very small fish were. There were clearly decaying leaves and sticks in these areas that were not in the running water. In the running water there were, however, scattered mounds of branches that formed the foundation of various plants to grow on. Another way that the plants were being used (if they really were being used, I couldn't really tell) was the way that certain trees were growing. I saw what looked to have been a thin tree that had fallen over but may have more likely been a root. Out of this I saw numerous tree-like plants all along the length of it. On some plants I noticed seeds and I saw two of those white fluffy seeds floating through the air in the light breeze. On other plants I saw flowers , mostly some yellow and violet ones. On the violet flowers I saw three bees collecting nectar in a mutualism interaction. Next I saw a good number of the small black and white bird that I best identified as the black phoebe flying above and around the plants surrounding the water. The birds were preying on the gnats and other flying insects about the water. I noticed the humming bird as well, although it did not seem to be feeding. The bird that is probably related to a sand piper I heard long before I saw. It came flying in making a lot of noise and landed maybe six feet to the side of me, I looked away for a moment and when I looked back it was gone. So I'm not really sure what it was doing. I also saw the redtails much higher up soaring in circles together. The last bird I saw was a lone turkey vulture circling a ways down the river.

That Branch/root I couldn't quite figure out

One of the patches of plants in the water growing on bunches of branches.

Some of the moss growing in the water

Introductory Blog

My name is Allison Stafford and I am a student at Riverside Community College. I am starting this blog as an assignment for an Environmental Science class that I am currently taking. For this first blog I will give a little information about myself and calculate my carbon footprint. I am 22-years old and have been at RCC for nearly 3 years. I plan to transfer this fall to major in Environmental Studies. Environmental issues have always been an interest to me and has become the basis of my academic goals. I know that there are solutions to the problems that face our environment, but feel that there are significant hurdles that these solutions need to overcome in order to be effective. Facing these hurdles is what I wish to do with my career. I was born in Orange, Ca. and have moved to various places throughout the Inland Empire before finally ending up in Riverside living with a wonderful couple named Beth and Gary who are letting me live with them while I attend school. I have 4 sisters, 1 brother, 2 nephews and 1 niece. I grew up with all sorts of animals as pets including cats, dogs, horses, various birds, rabbits, etc. Beth and Gary only have two little puppies which is a change of environment for me. When I was in high school I became an apprentice falconer for a year. Falconry is the sport of training, caring for, and hunting with birds of prey. It is an incredible sport and I miss it terribly, but it is very time consuming and not feasible for college students. I would describe myself as outdoorsy, one of my favorite places to go hiking is Azusa Canyon, especially in the spring.

Now I will calculate my carbon footprint using the website footprintnetwork.org. After answering a number of questions such as what I eat, where I live, my use of energy, how I travel, and how much I shop the website calculates that it would take 5.2 planet earths to sustain 1 planet full of me. The areas that appear to have the least impact are fishing grounds, built up land, and grazing land. This is probably due to my vegetarian diet and tenancy to buy locally and organic. Crop land and energy land are areas that I appear to have more impact. I think this is due to my housing and consumption such as buying clothes and books. The area with the biggest impact is energy land. I think that this is most likely due to how energy inefficient the house I live in is. I asked Beth how much their electric bill normally is and she said it usually runs around $400. The house was built around 1914 so there is not much that can be done unless they invest in something such as solar panels. Another problem is how far I usually have to drive because I work in Corona, CA which is about 20 miles away from where I live. Now that I know how much it costs to do nearly anything in my house, I will definitely be paying close attention to how often I use energy at home.