Our Impact Today

ourimpacttoday.blogspot.com | Fall 2010

Our Impact Today

How We Change the World

The Not-So-Frozen North

Less ice and more heat means trouble on the horizon.

Heaven Or Hades?

Oil Addicts

Green Teens of Austin 1 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

REALITY CHECK

?

ow ck wid a l b e al all a m c u o y hat do W : h As r. ead.

Ari: D idowe w k c bla ck: A e h C y Realit

Denic

e: I s ink li ke a duck Reali . ty ch eck: Duck s don Denic ’t sin e: Str k. aight up to my w aist.

Den no. ice:A-A Ari! !!! A- Ash !!! L Ari: ook Is th a- W at m ait, yn Rea a me lity ? che ck: Yes . Ye s it is.

Ash: What’s a guy ladybug called?

Us: Uh... A manbug?

Reality check: It’s just a ladybug.

A note from the Editors Congratulations. You have found this one (and only) issue of Our Impact Today, a magazine written to depress the heck out of you by teenage liberals. Yes, it’s your worst nightmare. Sorry.

Through in-depth, engaging articles, Our Impact Today explores and illuminates how our actions impact our fragile environment and challenges young adults to make a positive difference in the world.

-the Team

2 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

the Team Ari P. Ari is a sometimes introverted person who doesn’t like it when people mispronounce her name (It’s ar’ ee, not air’ ee).

She writes a lot and tends to be just a bit OCD about the little things in life (like grammar). She likes wolves and hawks, and her favorite color is black (like her soul...). She’ll probably end up working in the arts when she grows up. Something Ari learned from working on this magazine is that CS4 and CS3 don’t like to be compatible and that the Ezine classes should get Macs.

Photo courtesy of Scot Campbell

Denice R. A fourteen year old girl who would rather be reading in her room than anything else, Denice would like to thank you for reading this addition of Our Impact Today. She likes wolves and Siberian huskies. Her goal is to become a pediatrician with her own clinic when she grows up. What she learned through all of this is, no matter how much you think you know someone, they can still be different.

Photo courtesy of Todd Ryburn

Ash S. Fifteen year old Ash is absolutely overjoyed that you deiced to read this. No really she is, even if she doesn’t say it out loud. That aside, she likes cats, books, and her favorite color is deep wood green, known as ‘Myrtle’ properly (and happens to be a color of St. Aloysius’ College in Glasgow. Who knew?). She hopes to be a psychologist when she grows up, and her goal at the moment is to survive life at LASA, preferably with good grades. What did she learn from this class? That the Team is one whacked up family and that making a magazine is hard.

Photo courtesy of Bluxfire

3 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Table of contents | Our Impact Today

Table of contents

8

Mission: Rescue

Many of the animals who are adopted from shelters have suffered abuse at some time in their lives.

They heal under the care of loving, friendly people.

Bear is one lucky dog who got a second chance.

10 15

Heaven or Hades?

In this day and age, zoos tend to be thought of as shelters for animals who need protecting in the wild. But are zoos really as great as we make them out to be?

The Not-So-Frozen North

Capping Earth are large sheets of ice, best known as the polar ice caps. In the recent years, the ice caps and glaciers around them have become smaller, melting and contributing to climate change while people around the world work to halt their disappearance.

4 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Photo courtesy of Niklas Sjöblom Cover photo courtesy of flicr.com Back cover photo courtesy of woodleywonderworks

20

Endangered ...or Not

The criteria for endangered animals states that, to be list as critically endangered, an animal’s population must have less than 50 individuals. And yet some animals that fit this criteria are not on the list for endangered species. What other rules for the endangered have we not followed?

24

Oil Addicts

Since the 1960s, people in positions of power have made claims that we will reduce and perhaps eradicate our dependence on oil and other nonrenewable energy sources, yet it still hasn’t happened. Is it possible this goal is forever out of our reach?

30

Green Teens of Austin

Youth ages twelve and up participating in help to Keep Austin Beautiful. They’re cleaning, they’re fixing, they’re saving. Bit by bit, they help Austin for the better.

5 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

The Ozone Layer Earth’s atmosphere is made of many gasses and is split into five layers -- the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, and the exosphere. Contained in the stratosphere, about twelve miles above sea level, is the ozone layrer.

The ozone layer rests about twenty kilometers above Earth’s surface and continues for forty kilometers, fading to the mesosphere at sixty kilometers above Earth (thirty-seven miles). It is the layer of our atmosphere that protects us from the suns UV rays. It reflects the radiation back into space so the plants and animals on Earth don’t die. It’s an important part of our atmosphere.

UV rays bouncing off ozone

SUN

OzOoznoene lay laeyrer

Light, heat and radiation from the sun

Earth 6 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Images not to scale.

Earth photo courtesy of woodleywonderworks

Wildlife

7 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Wildlife | Our Impact Today

Mission: Animal Rescue

“C

By: Denice R. ourtney called me in a near

had for years and was uncertain about get-

little dog was going to be put

convinced him to call his friend back and

panic saying that this sweet

down. She knew I had recently lost my dog, and I was looking for a new one,” said Travis Reed. When the puppy, Bear, was just a

few months old, the wildlife foundation that

he was a part of was going to put him down, simply because he was to small to return to the wild. Bear’s life was put in to the hands of someone else, and time was ticking by.

Travis was very

resistant; he had

just lost a dog he

ting a new one. But his mother, Linda Reed, ask to have the dog.

On average most pets that are ad-

opted from a shelter or rescue center have

been abused or neglected. If these animals are not adopted in a timely manner then

they could be killed.Travis Reed was the

reason Bear lived or died. With the loss of

his previous dog, Travis wasn’t really ready for another dog of his own.

“Bear is just a giant puppy.

He couldn’t hurt a fly.”

Photo courtesy of dbarronoss

Bear is now a six year

old Siberian husky who loves

to run and escape form things.

This is because Siberian huskies are notorious for escaping the tricki-

est of things. But Bear is a sweet, loving dog, who loves to play and

lick everyone that comes to him. To some, however, he is something to be feared, just because of his long

teeth and other features similar to wolves. These characteristics are

common for Siberian huskies. Still this striking resemblance to wolfs scares people away.

According to Travis though,

“Bear is just a giant puppy. He couldn’t hurt a fly.”

Huskies and wolves share many characteristics, like pointed ears, long jaws, and sharp teeth.

8 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Ph o of to c El iza ourt be esy th Re ed

Bear is protective of his family. “He

tends to back or growl at the cars that pull up to buy the farm-fresh eggs my mother

sells, but the more the people come back and the more they talk to him, the more he becomes accepting of them.”

Even though Travis was in the mili-

tary, he would spend day in and day out with Bear. There was a small chance that things

could go wrong but that was just that a small chance. Sadly, Travis’s wife left him and the time he was spending with Bear was short-

ened drastically. Just when Travis’s life was

“I still get emotional when I leave him...its like leaving my child.” getting back in order, the military stationed Travis in Austin. As the boxes slowly began

to appear so did the idea that he had to find a place to put this six foot dog that he loved

Bear the Siberain Husky

so much.

“I couldn’t stand the thought of giving

o-o-o

him up; my family had grown too attached

again for help. . Time was running short, and

him. Travis visits Bear every other weekend.

to him.” Travis looked towards his mom yet

the boxes were packed and being loaded by

the movers while Travis was at his mother’s setting up a place for Bear to stay. The hus-

kies new home included a large oak tree, and plenty of space to play. With Siberian huskies are infamous for being escape artists, Travis fixed the lot to have a electric fence too, and released Bear onto the lot.

For three years Bear has been living

on his lot. The kids feed, water, and play with

“I still get emotional when I leave

him... it’s like leaving a child,” Travis

somberly stated. His mom will continue to watch over Bear and her own dog, Penny,

until Travis can get a house of his own or a

stationary job. Then Bear will be able to stay with his beloved owner. Permanently.

9 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Wildlife | Our Impact Today

Heaven or Hades?

By: Ari P.

Z

oos protect, care for, and aid animals. But are they really the havens they’re described as?

10 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Animals are free to wander in the large Wild Animal Park in San Diego, California.

W

ide, open enclosures, full of toys and fellow animals, habitats that mimic those

back in native Australia, or Africa, and well cared for animals: this is the San Diego Zoo in 2010, a wildlife conservation center, wild animal park, and research

center with hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on animal care. Now, picture a

smaller, cheaper zoo. Smaller enclosures with cages and little to do for the animals pacing on the packed dirt floor, waiting for nothing more than to be fed and gawked at by people who don’t see their suffering.

Before one can really discuss the pros or cons of zoos, before we can argue for or

against the animal institutions, we must know what a ‘zoo’ is. Is it a “relic of a bygone

age...[that] divert funds from positive conservation” as the Captive Animals’ Protective

society protest? Perhaps a zoo can be defined as a collection of animals that can be found anywhere- someone’s backyard, at the side of the road, or alternately it could be an insti

Photo courtesy of San Diego Wild Animal Park

The San Diego Wild Animal Park, where Dunda was beaten by her zookeeper.

11 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Wildlife | Our Impact Today

tution with thousands of dollars and large,

comfortable enclosures. Zoos have the possibility of being wonderful places, full of

learning experiences and happy animals.

However, this possibility has yet to become reality in many countries and cites around

the world, where zoos are poorly run or too small or don’t give animals the care they

need. If zoos want to keep up with the growing movement for animal rights, they need to get their act together.

Now, that’s not saying all zoos should

be abolished instantly. Zoos, as an idea, are good; it’s how they’re run that needs to be

changed. They can insure the continuation of endangered species, protect animals

from predators and natural disasters in the wild, and allow humans to interact with

Courtesy of kilroy238 from flickr.com

A small and grimy concrete room makes a poor home for this alligator.

animals they might never see otherwise.

humanely as possible. Zoos like this are the

Zoo, who are “committed to generating,

care for animals and want to help. They put

vital to the conservation of animals, plants,

educate people about wild animals and how

derstand the organisms and treat them as

them, and often lengthens or improves the

There are zoos out there, like the San Diego

flagships, the perfect examples of zoos that

sharing, and applying scientific knowledge

money towards animal care and zookeepers,

and habitats worldwide.” They work to un-

our interactions with the environment affect

Courtesy of kilroy238 from flickr.com

life span of animals. It’s obvious that these

menageries exist to help the animals under

their care. And yet, not all zoos are like that.

Zoos have been questioned for a long

time. In Versailles, France after Louis XVI was removed from the throne, a group of

French citizens demanded that the animals

in the King’s menagerie be released. As time has progressed, more and more people are

beginning to think of the animal’s rights and needs, as opposed to our wants. Zoos are Turtles are crammed together in a vat of dirty water in a Chinese zoo.

12 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

our entertainment and we enjoy watching

the animals interact and move. Fuzzy crea-

tures are cooed over, predators are oohed

Dunda who was transferred over from her

noses pressed to glass. Any discomfort of

Wild Animal Park. At the park, her new zoo-

and ahhed at, and children run amok with the animals isn’t obvious, because we don’t expect it and we don’t know what to look for.

are

In

zoos,

harmed,

animals

knowingly

or unknowingly. They are confined, put on display,

given incorrect food or

place at the San Diego Zoo to the San Diego keeper chained her to the ground and beat

Animals are complex, sentient creatures and sometimes it’s hard to remember that, but forgetting is a mistake that can lead to death or illness.

her with an ax handle

for two days. Later, he was cited saying that,

“You have to motivate

[the animals], and the way you do that is by beating the hell out

too small enclosures. According to Richard

of them.” All over the web and around the

DC, two of the zoos red pandas died after

promote animal rights and the need for zoo

Farinato at the National Zoo in Washington, ingesting rat poison. Had the animal keep-

ers been paying attention, they may have survived. Keep in mind, just because someone works at a zoo or has a degree in zool-

ogy or a similar field doesn’t mean they know exactly what they are doing. Animals are complex, sentient creatures and sometimes it’s hard to remember that, but forgetting is

a mistake that can lead to death or illness.

Because of these mistakes and mis-

management, zoos aren’t popular with ev-

eryone, especially individuals or foundations

world, essays and sites can be found that reform or shut downs.

Perhaps those crying out for change

are right. Despite the good zoos can do, it is

what the zoos actually do that needs looking at, and right now that’s what needs chang-

ing. The fantastical pictures painted in one’s head upon hearing ‘zoo’ are just that- pic-

tures. Until they become reality, those animal institutions will be frowned upon and be-

littled. It’s obvious- zoos need to get their act together.

who believe zoos leave animals in unnatural habitats or don’t give animals the care they

need. They see that zoos aren’t run well, they

see the problems and flaws in zoos. Animals like elephants, who wander up to thirty

miles a day in their native habitats, end up

stuck standing still all day in much too small enclosures. Stories of animals euthanized

when the zoo can’t pay to care for them crop up all over the world. Other animals are

physically harmed. A well known story from the LA Times is that of an elephant named

“WHAT CAN I DO?”

Inerested in helping out? Here are some things you can do:

-Visit your local zoo -Donate to animal rights organizations -Join an organization -Talk to zookeepers about the state of animal care -Help your zoo raise money to care for animals

13 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Enviroment

| Our Impact | fall 1410 | Our Impact Today Today | fall 2010

2010

The Not-So-Frozen North

By: Ari P.

Less ice and more heat means trouble on the horizon.

15 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010 Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

Environment | Our Impact Today

The icecaps and glaciers of our poles

are melting. Ice melting at such a large scale leads to changing climate regions, flooding and water shortages in regions that

use glacier water, along with other harmful

changes. And yet, there are still people in the world, members of the scientific community and politicians and citizens, who don’t believe in climate change.

Not everyone is uncertain about the

credibility of this growing problem. Studies are being conducted around the world and

the evidence points towards the conclusion

that our planet is warming at alarming rates.

“Nothing is comparable to what we see now -- the rapidity of change is unprecedented,” states Claire Griffin, a LASA alumni and a

graduate student at the University of Texas

at Austin’s Marine Science Institute. Griffin participated in the 2009 Polaris Project, a

program that brings undergraduate students and faculty from six universities in the US

and Russia to northeastern Siberia, near the Kolyma River.

“Getting to go to the Arctic was an

amazing experience,” Griffin says, discussing her time in Siberia. They spent their

time there looking at carbon cycling in and

around the river, and doing research on climate change and its impact in the region.

The Siberian north is not the only

place that is experiencing changing climate.

All around the world, some places are be16 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Photo from Geology Rocks

F

ar to the north, a cold, sparkling sheet of ice crowns the blue and green earth. This is the north pole and the glaciers that surround it, a seemingly never ending stretch of white that provides a surface for heat and light from the sun to reflect off of, which helps keep Earth cool.

However, that far reaching stretch of Earth-protecting ice isn’t nearly as large as it once was; it isn’t as expansive as it should be. It’s becoming smaller. coming rainier and

flooded. Riverbanks are overflowing

and washing away homes and cars

and people, wreaking havoc. In other

regions, drought is killing crops and

causing death from starvation because

parched soil cannot

yield nutritional harvests according to

the National Drought Mitigation Center. Sea levels are rising too -- according to a recent study published in the Earth and Planetary

Science Letters, they’ve already risen about eight inches since the nineteenth century,

causing erosion along coastlines. If they continue to rise, the oceans will begin flooding

major port cities. “Houston, Galveston, New

Orleans, and many, if not most, coastal cities would be in danger,” warns Griffin.

Contrasting this belief is a large

community of people. Paul MacRae, author of False Alarm, says that while the climate

is changing, it isn’t happening as quickly as was predicted. According to a study by the

Met Office’s Hadley Institute, by the end of the twenty-first century temperatures will have only risen 0.1˚ C, one-sixth of the increase expected.

Dark, heat absorbing vegitation is taking up more and more land once covered by reflective ice.

This increase, however large or small

it is, will cause changes in sea level because ice will continue to melt, no matter the tem-

perature difference. More melting ice means

less reflective surface to bounce sunlight and therefore heat back out into space and more dark, heat gathering ocean water instead.

Many sources, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, agree

Earth’s albedo (the amount of sunlight be-

ing bounced off Earth’s surface) is decrease, which in turn increasing melting. This will

continue unless something breaks the chain of eternal cause and effect, the system will

spiral and Earth will keep warming, causing major harm.

But the different regions of the world

won’t grow warmer together. Our atmo-

sphere is very complex, and not every region will be affected the same way at the

same time. Two places won’t warm at the

same rate, or experience the same changes.

So, while Greenland may be melting due to rising temperatures, it’s also possible for

increased snowfall in the north and south poles. Don’t let that fool you, though. “As a whole [the ice sheets] are melting and

shrinking,” says Griffin. Not to mention that

whether you’re experiencing severe drought or unnatural cold, our climate is still in flux.

What is the cause? Is there someone

to blame? Some of the changes we have seen are natural (like the last ice age). However,

17 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Environment | Our Impact Today

as Griffin says, “Warming since mid century

(and therefore heat) in the

forcings.” In plain English, as RealClimate.

play an important job keeping

is definitely attributable to anthropogenic org, an online community of climate sci-

entist defines it, part of this is due to what

we, humans, have done. We drive around in gas-guzzling cars, large SUVs that need to

be topped up often with gas, which releases carbon dioxide and other chemicals into the atmosphere when we turn on the engine.

Others say that climate change is

completely natural. released in a dossier

issued by the European Foundation, gave

one hundred reasons why climate change

was due to natural forcings. The report laid out arguments that included the fact that only 0.00022% of carbon dioxide emissions

throughout history come from human activities, and despite a surge in carbon dioxide levels after WWII, global temperatures fell for four decades afterwards.

Either way, carbon dioxide harms the

environment.

It

is a greenhouse gas, a gas that traps

sunlight

atmosphere. Normally, they

Earth warm enough to support life. However, with increased greenhouse gas emissions by humans, the amount

of greenhouse gasses in the

atmosphere is becoming high

enough to not only keep Earth

warm, but actually raise temperatures, melting ice. And trapped in the ice is carbon and

methane

dating

from thousands of years ago, both of which are greenhouse

gasses. When the ice melts, that gas will escape, causing further harm.

However, the chemicals in the ice can

do other things for us. “The chemistry of

water in ice and air bubbles trapped in ice

“The chemistry of water in ice and air bubbles trapped in ice can be used to reconstruct past climates.”

Climate Change at a Glance Climate change is caused in part when greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere warm up the Earth. Rising tempertures cause ice to melt, which makes ice sheets smaller. ice caps and glaciers have the important job of being reflectibe -- they reflect sunlight back out through the atmosphere, cooling Earth. However, when the ice begins to melt, there’s less ice to reflect the light and heat. Instead, it is replaced with ocean water and forest, both of which are darker and absorb sunlight instead of reflecting it, causing Earth to warm even more. It’s a continuous downward spiral.

18 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

back

can be used to

reconstruct past cli-

mates,” Griffin explains.

“From Antarctica, we

now have temperature

reconstructions going back 800,000 years.”

In those 800,000 years worth of information, we have never seen climate change like this.

In fact, it is possible that by the turn of the

century in 2100 we will not be able to fix the damage caused.

Griffin has a few examples of what we

can do to slow down damage. “Going vege-

tarian, carpooling or using mass transit, buying energy efficient are just a few examples of how to help,” she says. In addition, she

recommends taking a politician’s environmental stance into account while voting.

Photo courtesy of WORLD360

A polar bear stands on a lone piece of ice in the not-so-frozen north.

Glaciers, iceburgs, and ice floes like these are all melting, lessening the surface the reflective ice covers while adding to the heat-absorbing water.

“There is a limit to what humans and

ecosystems might be able to cope with,

without being forced to radically change

life strategies,“ says Griffin. She, along with many others, is working to keep that far-

reaching stretch of pristine white that caps Earth from disappearing forever.

Photo courtesy of Simon Tong

Photo courtesy of Vaughn Photo courtesy of Michael Van Woert

19 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Wildlife | Our Impact Today

Endangered... or Not

By: Ashley S.

I

“Over all, we don’t seem to be too worried with endangered animals.”

n 1978, an estimate of around a 1000 to 1500 Iberian Lynx, a medium sized wild cat that has a light grey or brow coat with leopard-like spots, left in the world. Now with as few as 120 left, they are one of the many listed as ‘critically endangered’ animals. Population drops are not abnormal. Thousands of species numbers have decreased in such away and many of them continue to do so, others having ceased to existed. Why do we create laws to protect endangered animals, if we don’t even do it right?’

Photo courtesy of iberianature

Endangered animals are not as protected as they should be, even when they are under laws which says they will be and that is not how we should take care of our brothers and sisters. One example is that animals who have a lower population then a ‘critically endan-

20 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Photo courtesy of milehigh.ca

The Vancour Island Marmot

gered’ animal are listed as endangered.

This means that even though there maybe as few as 40 individuals in a species left but they will not be list as ‘critically endangered’. Because of this, they will not as much protection from the law to help them from dieing out. On the other hand, there could be as many as 400 or even 1000 in a different species it will still have more protect then the other because it is listed as critically endangered. While many different factors, such as species fertility, whether the animal is used as a resource, which habitat they live in, and so on, come into play in whether an animal is endangered or critically endangered, some of these, such as the population requirement, are not being followed. Animalinfo.org, a website that compiles information from various different analyse on

endangered animals, lists the criteria for critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable animals. In part D of the Criteria for Critically Endangered animals, it states that the population estimated to number less than 50 mature individuals. And yet on that same website its say that the Vancouver Island Marmot only has around 29 individuals left, and it is listed as endangered. Not the best example of animal protection from humans.

The criteria isn’t the only thing we’ve gone about the wrong way in trying to help. Did you know that many of animals that we eat are listed as endangered? Dozens of animals listed all over the world continue to be eaten, despite being in danger of extinction. One would think that with the animals being endangered, some cut backs would be made considering the intake of these species, however that doesn’t seem to be the case. Webecoist, a website that blogs about environmental issues and everything green, gives a list of twelve endangered animals still being consumed. These animals include chimpanzees, gorillas, Bluefin tuna, green sea turtles, river dolphins, and more. I’m sure these aren’t the only endangered animals continuing to be consumed by humans, but hopefully, we can change

that around. It is one thing to take the life of an animal for food, but it’s another thing entirely to wipe out the whole species.

Photo courtesy of Gunnar Ries Amphibol

Even with all the protection we like to think they’re getting, sometimes a species on the list still goes extinct.

There are those that denied this, and others that say they’re still out there and we just can’t find them, but the truth is that the animals have died out.

A blog website called dodosgone, dedi-

21 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Wildlife | Our Impact Today

cated to informing others about recent or on going extinctions, list several

species that have gone extinct in the 21st century do to deforestation, hu-

man expansion, over hunting, and so on. This includes the Tecopa Pupfish

(1982), Amistad Gambusia (1987), and

the Dusky Seaside Sparrow (1990). But don’t fool yourself into thinking that

it only happened then and not in the

2000s. Other animals are listed as well, such as the Spix’s Macaw (2004), Baiji Dolphin (2006), and the Holdridge’s

Toad (2007), and quite a few more. It

seems just a selected few that most people in general seem to know about, such as Grey Wolves, Polar Bears, etc. They

are ones that are really being protected.

But what about the others? That isn’t

to say that we shouldn’t help them too, just that we should stop to think about

all the ones we don’t. The point is that, over all, we don’t seem to be too wor-

ried with endangered animals, and it’s

time we got up and did something about it. Start a run for the endangered, pick up a shovel and plant a tree, even go

shout in the street about it if you want

Photo Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

to, just get up and do it.

One the last picture ever taken of the now-extincted Dusky Seaside Sparrow.

22 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Human Aspect

23 | Our Impact|Today | fall 2010 19 | Our Impact Today fall 2010

human aspect | Our Impact Today

Oil Addicts Maybe we will never be a completely green society.

By: Denice R.

T

about it, almost all of us know someone who

he tires wailed as they hit a tall,

has a car. Whether they drive to and from

sounding bang and a crunch. Now,

at one point or another have driven or will

old oak tree in a nearby field with a

work, around town, or cross country, people

three weeks later I stand in front of the spot

drive a car. In 2007, according Car Advice, a

planted it. They say it is cheaper to leave the

of cars that were owned in the United States

shocking that we go for the cheaper alterna-

fifty-five million. Keep in mind that this is

begins to raise the thought that maybe we’ll

vehicles that were registered. Out of those

them were hybrids. There was also a de-

where that tree once was; the city hasn’t re-

monthly reporting car magazine, the number

spot empty than finding a new tree. I find it

was at a record-breaking number, nearly

tives when we need things, but it happens. It

only counting the number of four wheeled

never be a oil free society.

cars that were owned, nearly two million of

ness to go to the more costly side of things,

crease of oil running cars on the road, but it

society. We more often than not chose the

ment incentives to trade oil running cars for

the amount of oil needed to keep the oil cars

Our oil dependency, and our unwilling-

has cost us the chance to be an all green

wasn’t large. The reasons for this are move-

cheaper means of doing anything.

the more environmentally friendly cars. Still,

from plastics to fuels to Chap Stick. Thomas

running is at an increase, because people are

Prize winner, once wrote”We are who we

I understand that we have solar cars, and

Oil is in almost everything we use,

L. Friedman, a New York Times, Pulitzer

driving places instead of flying or carpooling.

are — including a car culture.” If you think

hydro-cars, but what we use to power the

plants isn’t solar power and water, it is the cheaper method, fossil fule.

According to Environment Main, an

environmental

magazine,

on average every dollar that an American household spends each

year, about nine cents go towards the purchase of energy, but most Photo coutesy of Oil Addicts Anonymous 24 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

of that energy is fossil fuel. This

Photo coutesy of Oil Addicts Anonymous

is simply because we have a lot of

what Environment Main calls “cookie cutter houses.” These are cheaper

to build and are just “solidifying our

dependence on fossil fuels”. The reason these “cookie cutter homes” are cheaper to make is because the materials are often bad and

aren’t the best and are constantly needed to be replaced, and are powered on fossil fuels.

Most oil companies are focused on the shareholders. “It is [the company’s] job to make money.” says Dr.Ling Wen, CEO of Shenhua

Energy, the second largest coal plant. This

trend is common throughout oil companies; it

generally leads to the use of cheaper power sources. But this doesn’t mean the companies don’t want to make a change. Take T. Boone

Pickens, owner of a major Texan oil company.

His company is investing money into making the worlds largest wind farm. He is still gathering oil so it is just adding to the leaning towards fossil fuels.

Because of this tendency towards fos-

sil fuel use, there have been many claims

by the president of our country to get rid of

the dependency on oil, though most of them have fallen threw. Many presidents have

made claims since Richard Nixon took office just over forty years ago. In his State of the

Union address on January 30, 1974, Richard Nixon said “I am recommending a plan to

make us invulnerable to cutoffs of foreign

oil. It will require sacrifices, but it -- and this is most important -- it will work.” What he

is saying is that we will have a dependency on foreign oil, this would cut back on the

amount of oil we used. Claims like those of

Mr. Nixon were said again in other State of

the Union addresses, such as those from Gerald R. Ford on January 12, 1977, Jimmy

Carter on January 19, 1978, and George W. Bush on January 23, 2007. All of these men said that we would no longer be oil dependant, whether that oil comes from foreign domestic sources. Words are merely words though, and little action has been taken. The action that was taken only included a few laws that lowered admissions a bit, but those were done during the Bush administration, not in the 1970s. It is my belief that because Nixon was the first to bring up our oil consumption and it is almost to late to change back, our Presidents should have done something for the reduction of oil, not just simply stand there and say one thing and do another.

So now here we are, dealing with the ranting of news reporters saying lower your carbon admissions, when we should really be lowering our oil depen25 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

human aspect | Our Impact Today

dency. But all you can do is reduce the use products that have oil in them. All we can do right now, as a oil consuming nation, is try to make cut backs on oil and push our politicians to keep their word just to make this world greener.

Photo courtesy of tonywoods41

Photo courtesy of Kevin

People drive cars like these, thinking they’re cool. However, they are part of the reason the oil is going fast, as old and vintage cars like these get bad milage.

Photo courtesy of Kevin

26 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Unique Pets

They’re just a little different.

Dingo Wild dogs from Australia, Dingoes can be very smart and affectionate when raised from puppy hood. They tend to be curious, and love to be on high ground so they can over look the area around them. Most Dingoes do not bark, although when raised with other dogs, they may develop a sort ‘copy’ bark. One the cutest quirks that some Dingoes have are their ‘smiles’ they give when happy.

Photo Cosurety of Brad Smith

Sugar Glider Sugar Gliders are lovely, playful companions. They are very social, and should be kept in pairs or groups. Gilders adore being near their owners, and like to form ‘bonds’ with the family. Once they are fully bonded with the family, owners can even take them out public without a cage, as they will want to set on their shoulder or hide in their pockets.

Photo Cosurety of Alessandro Di Grazia

Fennec Fox The smallest fox in the family, Fennec Foxes are full of spunk and love to play. With all the bubbling energy they have, it’s good to let them have routine exercises, and give them toys to play with. They’re really good at moving around silently, so it’s a good idea to get them a collar with a cat bell. It helps when they try to ‘seal’ your food, as they love to try it for themselves!

Photo Cosurety of Craig Lymm

Bearded Dragon A cousin of the Horny Toad, and the only one that is not an ‘exotic’ animal on this small list, Bearded Dragons are social, easy to handle, and great for first time reptile owners. They have a range interesting behaviors, such as their cute greeting behavior in which they lift one of their front legs in almost circular motion, as if they were waving.

Photo Cosurety of Brad Smith

27 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Human Aspect |Our Impact Today

The Road To Urbanization Photos courtesy of Denice R.

As you leave the city of Austin and travle due west to Rising Star, the city life fades and roling hills fill their place.

.

.

But when the city comes back, it is very rustic and old. The hills still roll and the town seems to be close.

28 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

.

.

The citys try to keep the old bulidings new and sometimes it works. Others, not so much.

. .

As you leave the small city and continue to Rising Star . The town life vanishes and the hills role back in.

29 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

human aspect | Our Impact Today

Green Teens of Austin

By: Ashley S.

“...they started having some things that they were proud of...”

A

t the end of day on October 27,

Green Teens members at LBJ met

in their cafeteria and hung out with

Photo courtesy of Ashley S.

the Boys and Girls Club while they waited

for their project leader, Emily Maher, to arrive. Around four o’clock, the members of

Green Teens, along with one or two of the

Boys and Girls Club members, headed out to the small boxed gardens in front of the

school. The gardens were filled with many different green vegetables, all lined up in

rows, planted the year before. Emily, as she

The Green Teens vegetable garden.

prefers to be called, started to explain what

luted, trash is being scattered, and are be-

shared snacks she had provided under a

tive way is no easy task. Still, the members

out Austin. They may not be in a lab try-

they would be doing that day, the teens

ing used up. Helping to change it in a posi-

large oak tree.

of Green Teens, like many others, try to help

the oak’s leaves swaying with the wind in

ing to figure out how to stop global warm-

them that they would be working with and

cleaning, they’re fixing, they’re saving. Bit

There was a soft, peaceful sound of

the background as Emily explained to the

ing, but they are doing something. They’re

“Every time we come, we pick out weeds or make sure they’re watered.” decorating some recycled cans. The cans

by bit, they help clean Austin for the better.

native flowers” for the Keep Austin Beau-

es for a awards luncheon.

members also helped to create other center-

had being working on were for the 25th

within the past few weeks.

place shortly afterwards on November 3rd.

changing world. Today, rivers are being pol-

shown proudly throughout the room as the

would be “painted and then potted with

Even if it’s something small like centerpiec-

tiful Awards Luncheon. The Green Teens

pieces from “assorted recycled materials”

Keep Austin Beautiful Awards, which took

The cans, along with centerpieces, were

Green Teens go out to help our

30 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

The centerpiece projects that they

guests enjoyed the lunch that had been

Much of what they had planted the in 2009

a time, according to the Keep Austin Beau-

making yet another successful garden.

provided and listened to the awards. It was tiful website, where they “honor[ed] the

efforts of businesses individuals, and community groups, both large and small, that serve as inspirations for greater environmental stewardship.”

Green Teens was launched by Keep

Austin Beautiful in 2005, designed to teach youth from ages twelve and up about how they can help the environment. Once a

week, for around a hour and a half, teens

from six schools in the Austin area; Martin Middle School, Bedichek Middle School,

Kealing Middle School, Eastside Memorial High School, LBJ High School, and Rea-

Teens program. From designing a garden to cleaning up the creeks, Green Teens gives

the teens a chance to work on a wide variety of projects to help the environment.

Of course, making centerpieces are

not the only thing Green Teens members do. Every week when they meet up, the

Green Teens teens work on their vegetable garden, made the previous year. “Every

time we come, we pick out weeds or make sure they’re watered.” says Keith Sears, a student at LBJ. In 2009, they had planted

“Maybe one day I can make my own gar-

den.” says another student, Kelsey Sears while thinking about the things they’ve learned. “It’s fun.”

It wasn’t always like this of course,

the teens weren’t always helping out Austin. In fact, for most of them they start

coming because their friends were there. “I just saw my friends here. A lot of them still come.” says Lester White. It was way to hang out with their friends.

Cans decorated by the members of Green Teens.

Photo courtesy of Keep Austin Beautiful

gan High School, participate in the Green

had been replanted at the start of the year,

peas, sage, rosemary, swiss chard, spinach, collards, lettuce, and parsley. When it had been time to harvests, they did activities

were they learn about healthy eating and

ways to cook with vegetables. They got to enjoy their hand-grown meal with some scrabble eggs, proud of they had done.

31 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

human aspect | Our Impact Today

Photo courtesy of Keep Austin Beautiful

For more information visit http://www. keepaustinbeautiful.org/GreenTeens.

Another centernpeice at the KAB awards called ‘the Butterfly.’

Michael Quist, the leader of the Boys

and Girls Club, which often works with

Green Teens, explained more on the sub-

ject. “I think that, in the beginning, it was

The Green Teens:

saying let’s go out and go work in a gar-

Emily Maher-“We hope that were creating environmental stewards that will continue to care about it.”

interested in it, and once they started hav-

Lakendrick Collins-“I started come here last year, and I’m a Senior now.”

we started seeing some more and more.”

Tanthony Patterson-“When I have free time I come and help.”

just like with the hard work they put into the

Kelsey Sears-“Maybe one day I can make my own garden.”

pieces, it simply blossomed from there.

Keith Sears- “I like that we get to be outside.”

just getting kids interested. You know, just den is kind of hard to do. But once they got ing some things that they were proud of,

he said with a small smile. And, in the end,

gardens and with the flowers in the center-

Tamisa Hart- “Centerpieces were my favorite project.”

Freedom White-“I like the planting and gardening.”

Lester White- “I just saw my friends here. A lot of them still come.”

Micheal- “You know, just saying lets go out and go work in a gardern is kind of hard to do.”

32 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Find Your Inner Animal What’s your favorite color?

A: Red B: Blue C: White D: Green

Are you a monkey? A crane?

What animal best describes you? Take this quiz and find your inner animal!

What do you want to find yourself doing in your free time?

Where’s your favorite place to be?

Are you a risk taker?

Pick one word that describes you.

A: Reading or napping B: Sports C: Art D: Hanging with my pals

A: Sometimes B: Never C: Rarely D: YES!!!

A: Outside in the sun B: Playing in the water C: Near water D: Up a tree

A: Independent B: Scattered C: Graceful D: Active

So, what’s your inner animal?

If you answered ‘A’ to at least three questions, you’re a cat. Independent and smart, you’d love nothing more than to spend your time lazing around somwhere warm and comfortable.

If you answered ‘B’ to at least three questions, you’re a fish. Always on the go, you’re an active and fun-loving person.

If you answered ‘C’ to at least three questions, you’re a crane. Artisic and graceful are two words that describe you wonderfully.

If you answered ‘D’ to at least three questions, you’re a monkey. Crazy and al| Our there!

Impact Today | fall 2010 ways looking for fun, no gathering’s ever dull when 33 you’re

Photo courtesy of by-mark “Strength”

34 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Congratulations, you made your way through without throwing down this issue in amazement, disgust, or some other extreme emotion. We hope you’ve gained something from this, whether it be understanding or a need to help out somewhere. Remember, this is our world. It’s the only one we have.

Protect it.

35 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010

Round and round goes the little blue top, Whirling and turning with never a stop.

Dappled with white, dappled with brown.

The little blue top keeps a-turning around.

-�The Little Blue Top� by Tony Hughes

36 | Our Impact Today | fall 2010