Radio Grenadines & Richmond Vale Academy - Radio Program Fact Sheets

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1. Fact-sheet Topic: R esources

Title: How to easily save resources

Introduction This fact sheet provides a brief introduction to the questions of 'why it is important to use resources consciously' and 'how to easily save resources' To answer these questions, we'll spend our time today exploring three key concepts: 1.

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1. Mother Earth's resources 2. Follow a few simple steps to save resources on a daily basis 3. Resources and climate change Body

Why is it important to use resources consciously?

Mother Earth can only provide a certain amount of all resources that we can find in nature. Drinkable water, for example, is a limited resource, which means that if we don't use the water we have consciously by using only the amount we need and not wasting it unnecessarily, there will be a lack of drinking water which leads to a lot of heavy problems for us and our nature.

Like in this example, every other natural resource is limited which is showing us the important boundaries of its consumption that we need to respect and not overstep, if we want to continue to use resources as wood, water, and all the other natural resources in the future.

How to easily save resources In our everyday life, we are using a lot of different resources and therefore, we can follow simple steps to save a lot of different resources, like water and fossil fuels and on the other hand save money.

The two main resources that we are consuming on a daily basis are water and fossil fuels (in forms of energy) and therefore we can use easy steps to reduce their consumption.

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At home, you can easily save energy and water. Therefore I present you a list with easy steps to follow and to implement right away: 1.

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Shower only as long as necessary While brushing your teeth, turn off the water flow When you boil water in a pot or cook, put a lid on the pot When you are not using technical devices, turn them off and unplug them Turn off all the lights at night

Another easy way to save resources is possible by wisely using your car: 1.

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1. Make sure to turn off your car when you are staying in one spot longer than one minute, because when the engine is working, it wastes gasoline 2. Make sure to inflate your tires properly. This preserves the life of the tires, creates a safer ride, and saves gas 3. It's best to transport a lot of people at the same time in a car. That saves resources and the ride is more fun.

And last but not least, it is very important to consider things we buy and their environmental impact. So, make sure to 1.

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1. Buy local products and 2. Buy technical equipment that is using energy wisely

Resources and climate change The things we consume and our use of water and energy are having a huge impact on our environment. For example, if we waste a lot of energy that is made with fossil fuels, we are letting a lot of harmful greenhouse gases into our atmosphere which is the main reason why climate change is happening. In addition, resources like water are essential for life and our survival, so if we don't use its capacities consciously, then we will have struggles to survive.

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Conclusion/Summary Resources are essential in our daily life and if we are not using them wisely, but wasting them, future generations will face huge environmental and health problems, because of water scarcities, for example. The good thing is that we can follow easy steps to reduce our consumption and save resources.

Sources https://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/20-easy-ways/ Question 1

Why is it important to use resources consciously?

Question 2

Why are resources affecting climate change?

Answer 1 Natural resources are limited which is showing us the important boundaries of its consumption that we need to respect and not overstep, if we want to continue to use resources as wood, water and all the other natural resources in the future.

Answer 2 The things we consume and our use of water and energy are having a huge impact on our environment. For example, if we waste a lot of energy that is made with fossil fuels, we are letting a lot of harmful greenhouse gases into our atmosphere which is the main reason why climate change is happening. In addition, resources like water are essential for life and our survival, so if we don't use its capacities consciously, then we will have struggles to survive.

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2. Fact-sheet Topic: Tree planting

Title: The im portance of planting trees and w hy it is a big step to fight climate change

Introduction This fact sheet provides a brief introduction to understand the importance of planting trees and answers the question “why it is a big step to fight climate change�.

To explain the importance of trees and to answer this question, we'll spend our time today exploring three key concepts: 1.

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1. The value of trees shown by their importance in many sectors of life 2. Why is planting trees a big step to fight climate change?

3. How to get active Body

The value of trees shown by their importance in many sectors of life Trees are essential for our existence as well as for our Earth's health and all other species. Since the beginning they have been around us, providing us food and oxygen and a lot of people easily forget that there are many more reasons why they have such a high value and why it is important to plant as many trees as possible.

Let's take a closer look in the different areas that trees are benefiting.

First of all, they are important to us socially, because they create a peaceful and pleasing environment in cities and they bring nature and wildlife into our cities. In addition, they provide us shade and in some cities, trees have a high historical value.

Trees also have a personal value due to their beauty, uniqueness and there majestic look. Every tree is different from another and a lot of people have special relations to trees they see every day and especially the ones they planted themselves.

Furthermore, trees have an economical importance, because if trees are planted around a building, the owner saves cooling costs in the summer due to the cooling shade of trees and in the winter, one can also save money thanks to trees creating a windbreak.

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All these reasons are already impressive and now we can get to the most important reasons to have and plant trees: Their environmental value.

First of all, trees are producing the oxygen that we and almost all species need to survive. Trees are taking carbon dioxide from the air and soil and through the process of photosynthesis they produce oxygen. Therefore, trees improve the air and soil quality, as well as being home for a lot of different animals. They also help maintaining the climate, because they absorb heat, give shade, slow down the wind and provide shelter. Another huge benefit is that trees save rain water and take away a lot of polluting harmful particles and dust.

Why is planting trees a big step to fight climate change?

As we now know, trees are essential for Mother Earth and all its inhabitants. And since we are slowly facing the impacts of climate change, we need to fight it and take action because we are still emitting a lot of harmful gases into the air and making climate change even worse.

The good news is that we can easily take action with planting trees. By planting trees, we are fighting climate change by reducing the harmful gases, like carbon dioxide, and we are preparing for the impacts that climate change will cause in the future.

And in addition, when we plant trees, we have the possibility to enjoy all the benefits explained before. We are helping to provide ourselves with food, to use shade to cool down our houses, to give plants protection from drought and heat and to simply give life.

How to get active Over all, the best news is that it is incredibly easy to get active and help our environment with planting trees. Either you keep seeds from fruits or vegetables and plant them into good soil or you ask in your community for grown seedlings. It is really that easy and it is obvious that planting trees is improving our life and the life of future generations, so we should no longer wait and get active.

And don't worry, there is not something as “too much trees�! So, please help us to create a better future.

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Conclusion/Summary Trees provide with their many benefits life, food, a healthy Earth, shelter, shade and much more. But due to climate change, our Mother Earth needs by far much more trees to minimize climate change's future impacts on us and our environment.

Therefore it is essential to plant as much trees as possible to help our Mother Earth to heal herself.

Sources http://www.savatree.com/whytrees.html http://www.climaterally.org/planting-trees.html http://forestry.about.com/od/treephysiology/tp/tree_value.htm Question 1

Why is planting trees a big step to fight climate change?

Question 2

How can I get active and plant trees?

Answer 1 By planting trees, we are fighting climate change by reducing the harmful gases, like carbon dioxide, and we are preparing for the impacts that climate change will cause in the future.

And in addition, when we plant trees, we have the possibility to enjoy all the benefits explained before. We are helping to provide ourselves with food, to use shade to cool down our houses, to give plants protection from drought and heat and to simply give life.

Answer 2 Either you keep seeds from fruits or vegetables and plant them into good soil or you ask in your community for grown seedlings. It is really that easy and it is obvious that planting trees is improving our life and the life of future generations, so we should no longer wait and get active.

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3. Fact-sheet Topic: P erm aculture

Title: P erm aculture offers practical solutions

Introduction This fact sheet provides a brief introduction to Permaculture.

It explains the definition and the origin of Permaculture and explains some of the key benefits of Permaculture, being: 1.

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Preventing erosion and recharging the water table Increasing diversity Soil regeneration Obtaining Yields

Body Origin Bill Mollison and David Holmgren developed the philosophy behind permaculture about thirty years ago in Australia.

During his many years as a wildlife biologist Bill Mollison had witnessed first hand the destruction that humans are causing in natural systems, but he also had a chance to observe how these natural ecosystems work and what keeps them in balance.

Definition The term permaculture combines the words permanent and culture, or permanent and agriculture, and that is the first hint to w hat it's all about. “Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems, which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems.

It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people. Providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way.

Without permanent agriculture there is no possibility of a stable social order.�

- Bill Mollison

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Summary Permaculture offers design principles and practical tools, based on observations of nature, that allow us to transform our landscape to one offering greater abundance in a sustainable and chemical free way.

Permaculture offers a holistic viewpoint on sustainable agriculture, we learn that soil is ‘alive’ and needs to be ‘fed’, that the trees of the forest are ‘connected’ by threads of fungi called mycelium which transfer information and nutrients, that life is interdependent – the destruction of nature preceding our own.

Principles and their benefits 1. Preventing erosion and recharging the water table Before we can begin the process of restoring the soil we must first prevent further damage. Water is a critical resource; the management of it as it passes through our land is crucial to the success of our design. Permaculture teaches us to make a simple A— frame that can be used to establish the contour of the land, starting at the highest point on the land we can then dig and plant a swale (a trench along contour).

Swales can be planted at intervals down the slope of the land – passive water harvesting. This will lead to reduced erosion and greater water infiltration into the soil - where it enhances existing water table levels. This can mean greater resilience, by our tree crops in particular, to extended drought. It can also, over time, lead to the emergence of springs on lower slopes.

2. Increasing diversity As we observe natural tropical forests, we notice the diversity of plant species occurring in a pattern of typically seven layers. In our designs we mimic nature by providing for diversity, which leads to greater stability in our constructed ecosystem.

In Permaculture we achieve effective diversity by using ‘plant guilds’ (i.e. beneficial associations of plants)

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3. Soil regeneration Before restoring soil we need to understand how nutrients are cycled in tropical forests. We then seek to apply this knowledge to our farm and garden designs. In tropical forest systems nutrients are cycled primarily in the abundant biomass (i.e. vegetative cover), which breaks down under sheltered conditions on the forest floor offering organic material to the hungry bacteria (microbes) and mycelium. This process gives rise to the most abundant and luxuriant forest systems known to man.

For such a forest to develop there is a biological succession which takes place, this succession builds the soil over time. The key to building sustainable forest and farming systems lies in understanding this succession and the use of Nitrogen Fixing Trees (NFT’s) and Green Manure Cover Crops in its development.

In the regeneration of typically exhausted tropical soils you can use the following strategies:     

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Nitrogen fixing trees and other useful pioneer species Dispersed shade systems Mulch (e.g. Glyricidia leaves, Leucaena, Vetiver grass, Cardboard...)

Green manure, cover crops Compost and grass-fed animal manure

4. Obtaining a yield In our Permaculture design a primary principle is ‘obtaining a yield’. In Permaculture design our yield should come from varied sources and be spaced to accrue over time thus providing greater resilience in our income streams.

Yields can be designed to generate themselves over the short, medium and longer terms. An example of a worthwhile longer-term yield is sustainable forestry. Mixed stands of timber trees can be planted and sustainable yields can be realized in as soon as 6 years for some varieties of Leaucena (the weed variety is known locally as River Tamarind) and longer terms depending on the type of timber tree selected.

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Conclusion/Summary In a world of impending crisis, Permaculture offers practical solutions to building greater resilience into our lives and landscapes.

Sources Luke Punnett, Permaculture Teacher

Chatoyer Gardens, Vermont Valley Question 1

What is Permaculture?

Question 2

What are the basic principles and benefits of permaculture?

Answer 1 The term permaculture combines the words permanent and culture, or permanent and agriculture, and that is the first hint to w hat it's all about.

Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems, which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems Answer 2 1.

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Preventing erosion and recharging the water table Increasing diversity Soil regeneration Obtaining a yield

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4. Fact-sheet Topic: Health

Title: Eating healthy, living healthy

Introduction This fact sheet provides a brief introduction to the importance of eating healthy as well as living healthy and how we can achieve this goal.

To answer these questions, we'll spend our time today exploring four key concepts: 1.

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Why is eating healthy important?

What do I have to take care of to eat healthy?

What is a healthy lifestyle and how do I live healthy?

The importance to pass on these information Body

Why is eating healthy important?

Every day, our body is replacing old cells with new cells, recovers and is active. All these processes have one main source of energy and resources: The food we eat. As our body uses the food we eat to build new cells, we really become what we eat. And the way we eat determines our future: If we eat good, varied and healthy, we become fit, happy, energized and age better. And if we eat bad, we have weight problems, age faster, are unhappier and have less energy. In addition, we set the base for a lot of different diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart attack and many more.

Eating healthy simply means to give our body the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats as well as vitamins and minerals. And if you do so, you'll experience a lot of benefits: You'll be more productive, happier, less stressed, you'll control your weight, eat less, enjoy more your meals and the time afterwards, you'll age better, be healthier, live longer and even save money. Another important aspect is that we decrease the risk of being ill and to have many diseases And all these benefits can simply be achieved by eating healthy food.

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What do I need to take care of to eat healthy?

Eating healthy is easier than you might think. A healthy diet is mainly a high carbohydrates, low fat and medium protein diet. This means that you should eat a lot of whole grains like brown rice, whole wheat bread and oats and a lot of vegetables and fruits. To get a good source of fat, it is best to eat some unsalted nuts and seeds, avocados and good oils like coconut oil. And to get a good source of protein, it is good to eat plain chicken, soy, beans and other legumes like lentils.

To get a good source of vitamin and minerals, you should focus on eating fresh fruits and vegetables. So that in the end you have a nice diet that consists out of a varied, fresh and nutritious food. And to create an image of how your plate should look like, I present you an example: Half of you plate should consist of vegetables and a little bit of fruits, one quarter should be whole grains like brown rice and the last quarter should be food that is high in protein.

Now another key to eat healthy: Not only what you eat is important for your body and diet, but also what you drink. It is best to only drink water and unsweetened tea.

When you switch to only drink water, you will experience a huge difference. And it is important to drink at least two liters of water every day. In hot climates like here in SVG even more.

And now I explain what you should not eat. You should cut out any food that is low in vitamins and nutritional value and only has a lot of calories. This means to eat as few refined processed foods as possible. It's best for your body to eat only sugar that comes from fruits and not from candies and sweets, to not eat fatty, fried food and to only eat a little bit of white flour dishes. And of course, to not drink sugars through soft drinks, coke and energy drinks.

Over all, it is also best to listen to your body and see how he reacts to food. If you feel tired, low energized and unhappy after a meal, you should consider to change the food you eat. And of course, you do not have to change your diet from one day to another, but try to implement small changes every day. Your body will thank you for that.

What is a healthy lifestyle and how do I live healthy?

A healthy lifestyle is basically to eat healthy food, drink a lot of water, a good hygiene, to exercise frequently and to avoid unhealthy habits like drinking alcohol or eat candies.

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When you are on a good way to eat healthy, you will feel that you have more energy and you want to improve your body condition even more. The best way to do this, is to exercise frequently. This means that you should do a lot of sports like running, playing football, swimming or any other activity that you like to do. Just be active and feel great.

Your body will also thank you for avoiding unhealthy habits like smoking cigarettes, drink alcohol and eat candies as well as drink soft drinks.

And if you combine all these factors together, you are living a healthy lifestyle and you will feel fit, happy and energized.

The importance to pass on these information To eat and live healthy is very important for our well-being and our health. Our body is the only thing that we need to keep our whole life and which determines our mood and how we can live our life. And especially children and youths need to eat and grow up healthy because they set the base of their future health condition while growing up and it enables them a healthy future with a good body condition. Since we want our children and grandchildren to grow up good and be happy, we as parents are responsible to teach our children and our family how to eat healthy and why it is so important.

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Conclusion/Summary Eating and living healthy are essential for our body to function long and well. We can save costs, decrease stress as well as diseases and increase happiness, our energy level and our living quality by simply eating the right food and avoiding the unhealthy ones. It is in our hands and if we eat right, our body will thank us for it with a lot of benefits.

Sources http://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/healthy-eating.htm http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/health/2014/05/20/benefits-of-eating-healthy/ http://www.wikihow.com/Live-a-Healthy-Lifestyle Question 1

Why is eating healthy important?

Question 2

Why is it important to pass on these information?

Answer 1 As our body uses the food we eat to build new cells, we really become what we eat.

And the way we eat determines our future: If we eat good, varied and healthy, we become fit, happy, energized and age better. And if we eat bad, we have weight problems, age faster, are unhappier and have less energy. In addition, we set the base for a lot of different diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart attack and many more.

Answer 2 To eat and live healthy is very important for our well-being and our health. Our body is the only thing that we need to keep our whole life and which determines our mood and how we can live our life. And especially children and youths need to eat and grow up healthy because they set the base of their future health condition while growing up and it enables them a healthy future with a good body condition. Since we want our children and grandchildren to grow up good and be happy, we as parents are responsible to teach our children and our family how to eat healthy and why it is so important.

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5. Fact-sheet Topic: Farm ing

Title: Organic farm ing – the natural way of growing food

Introduction This fact sheet provides a brief introduction to organic farming, its concepts and it provides general information about it.

To answer these questions, we'll spend our time today exploring five key concepts: 1.

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The definition The concepts The benefits How to establish an organic garden The importance of growing crops organically nowadays and in the future Body

What is organic farming?

Organic farming is to have a vegetable and livestock production which is only using natural sources of nutrients (such as compost, crop residues, and manure) and natural methods of crop and weed control, instead of using synthetic or inorganic chemicals. It is also called low input farming which in harmony with nature rather than against it.

The concepts of organic farming The primary goal of organic agriculture is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals and people. Therefore, organic farmers grow crops naturally by using natural fertilizers like mulch, manure and compost systems. These natural protection layers and nutrition sources are better to maintain a healthy soil than harming the soil's bacteria and animals with chemicals.

Another concept of growing organically is to set the focus on quality rather than on quantity to grow nutritive and natural crops that have never been in touch with chemicals. In addition, it is important to preserve natural resources and biodiversity as well as to support animal health and welfare.

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The benefits of organic farming Organic farming has many benefits which are mostly long-term benefits to the environment and people, because it increases long-term soil fertility and helps maintaining a healthy soil and balances a good relationship between nature and animals.

It also controls pest and diseases without harming the environment and ensures that safe water stays clean and safe, because water is not polluted with chemical pesticides etc.

Furthermore, growing crops organically is cheaper, because we only use resources that a farmer already has instead of buying chemicals from companies. Another big benefit is that we can produce nutritious food, feed for animals and high quality crops that we can sell at a good price.

And in relation to climate change, it is helping to fight climate change because it is not necessary to produce chemicals with the use of fossil fuels and a natural soil is absorbing much more carbon dioxide which is one of the reasons that climate change is happening.

How to establish an organic garden 1. Prepare the soil by making a bed and look for high quality soil 2. Make a compost pile with manure and organic kitchen waste such as vegetable and fruit leaves and waste products 3. Choose the right plants: Find out which plants grow the best in your climate 4. Plant the crops in beds 5. Water the plants properly (water the roots and it's best to water plants in the morning) 6. Put mulch (leaves and compost) on top of the soil to protect the soil from heat, weed and water evaporation 7. Don't forget to weed, because weeds soak important nutrition up that the crops need 8. Harvest crops when they are ready The importance of growing crops organically nowadays and in the future To grow your food organically is the most sustainable way of growing food, because we are working in harmony with nature and its animals which guarantees a healthy environment in the future. It has also many benefits as already mentioned over growing crops with chemicals which shows that growing organically is a long-term method that provides healthy crops and a healthy soil.

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And especially right now where climate change and its effects are occurring more and more, we need to focus on healthy methods to grow our food and to not harm our environment by doing it.

Conclusion/Summary Organic farming is a farming method that works in harmony with our nature while optimizing the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals and people. It has many benefits and regarding to climate change, it is a good method to minimize our impact on our environment and not harming it.

Sources http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organic-farming.html http://www.infonet-biovision.org/res/res/files/488.OrgFarm.pdf http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/y4137e/y4137e01.htm http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome? contentidonly=true&contentid=organi c-agriculture.html http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/gardening/advice/g2104/organicgardeningtips- 460309/?

Question 1

What is organic farming?

Question 2

What are the benefits of organic farming?

Answer 1

Organic farming is to have a vegetable and livestock production which is only using natural sources of nutrients (such as compost, crop residues, and manure) and natural methods of crop and weed control, instead of using synthetic or inorganic chemicals. It is also called low input farming which in harmony with nature rather than against it.

Answer 2 Organic farming has many benefits: • increases long-term soil fertility and helps maintaining a healthy soil and balances a good relationship between nature and animals

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• controls pest and diseases without harming the environment and ensures that safe water stays clean and safe, because water is not polluted with chemical pesticides etc.

• is cheaper, because we only use resources that a farmer already has instead of buying chemicals from companies • we can produce nutritious food, feed for animals and high quality crops that we can sell at a good price.

• And in relation to climate change, it is helping to fight climate change because it is not necessary to produce chemicals with the use of fossil fuels and a natural soil is absorbing much more carbon dioxide which is one of the reasons that climate change is happening.

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6. Fact-sheet Topic: 6 degrees Introduction What is the scientific theory “6 degrees” related to climate change that scientists are talking about?

This fact sheet will give a brief overview on the changes in temperature throughout history, examine the theory of “6 degrees”, and what the Earth will look like if this happens.

“Six Degrees” refers to a theory that scientists are using to describe the conditions on Earth if it heats up six degrees from the current average temperature. This report will also discuss the type of environmental changes that we can expect from a rise in one degree to six.

Body Evidence of the changes in temperature throughout history We know that Earth has always gone through major changes on it’s own without the help of humans. Earth started as a very hot place and organisms developed under these conditions 4 billion years ago. Since then, it has cooled itself by covering itself totally with ice. Because of the changes that Earth has undergone throughout history we know a bit about weather patterns. For example, we know that the more plants and trees that exist on Earth also means that there is less co2 in the air which means that the Earth experiences colder weather. We know that the more farms (monoculture) means that there are less trees, which leads to more co2 in the air, which creates warmer conditions on Earth.

This can be viewed easily as a simple math equation: More Trees = less Co2 = colder temperatures More Farms = less trees/ more land cleared = more Co2 = warmer temperatures Every time nature has reclaimed the land from humans throughout history, the Earth experiences cooler temperatures.

In the last fifty years the burning of fossil fuels and massive deforestation due to agriculture has increased the Co2 levels on Earth. In fact, these levels are one third higher than they were before the Industrial Revolution and now the Earth is warmer by 7 degrees celsius. Think of all the changes we are now seeing with global warming and this is only 7 degrees.

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We have seen:      

13 of the hottest years since 1990 a rise in sea level by.82 meters hurricanes are 50% more intense than ever recorded before Lakes are drying up Animals natural rhythms and cycles have changed Billions of $ in damage from natural disasters

With the rate of global warming now, there is much concern that Earth’s temperature will rise anywhere from one to six degrees if greenhouse gases are not cut by 60% in the next century. Scientists around the world have come up with a theory called “6 degrees” which explains what we can expect life on Earth to be like if it heats up 1- 6 degrees celsius.

What can we expect: The following will explain the changes in conditions by each degree.

1-2 degrees - With a rise in temperature of just one degree we can expect changes.

Massive heatwaves will sweep the land. These heat waves will have an intensity level equivalent to the Saharan desert. Many elderly will not be able to withstand such temperatures. Much of the crops will begin to cook and forest fires will be quite normal. There will be an extreme shortage of water especially in terms of agriculture and hydroelectricity. Plants will begin to emit even more Co2 in the atmosphere creating an effect that could cause global warming to become uncontrollable. People will no longer take vacations to the Mediterranean because it will be much too warm.

Many cities will disappear such as Miami and Manhattan. More than half of the human population will need to migrate to higher ground in order to survive. As the glaciers begin to melt, their water flow will eventually cease. This means that a lot of fresh water rivers which are vital resources will stop flowing as well. Water scarcity and famine are issues that we will be faced with as well. More than one third of the ecosystem will face extinction.

In order to avoid these changes, we have 10 years to reduce greenhouse gases by 60%.

2-3 degrees - Starvation will be a key concern at this point for places like Africa. It is a possibility that trees will begin to grow in the Arctic because all of the glaciers will have melted. The sea levels will at least be 25 meters higher and the amazon will be facing extinction.

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3-4 degrees - In this scenario, plants and soils will start to emit Co2 rather than

absorb it. The Amazon will not exist and this will create a huge decrease in oxygen on the planet. “Super Hurricanes” will continue to hit the coasts. Food production will decline on a massive scale and people will now face starvation on many parts of the planet. A rise in salt water will contaminate much of the reserved fresh drinking water. People will now migrate to find the resources they need and there certainly won’t be enough for everyone. Much of the land will now burn and the sea levels will continue to rise. China’s food production will crumble. Cities will be uninhabitable.

Both of the poles will melt completely. many renewable energy resources such as hydroelectricity will not be an option at this point. The social economy is on the brink of failure.

4-5 degrees - The planet will look completely different. Mangrove and other tropical

trees will grow as far north as England. Subtropical species such as alligators will live in the Arctic region. Heatwaves will kill all vegetation in the summer in places like Spain and in the winter heavy rainfalls will create landslides and cause the land to erode on a major scale. International aid will not exist and there will be nothing left to buy. Perhaps these conditions could lead to civil wars or other such conflicts in order to survive. Humans would have to hunt in order to feed themselves and the majority of species would eventually become extinct.

5-6 degrees - 251 million years ago the planet was in fact 6 degrees warmer. To

understand what life may be like under these temperatures we need to look at what life was like then. 95% of species were extinct. Only fungi now exists on land. Almost all ocean animals have now suffocated and cannot exist in the stagnant and anoxic ocean. Super storms, floods, and landslides now make it impossible for any other life forms to survive on land. Methane air clouds will be a result of oceanic eruptions and these will shoot fire into the skies. The planet will be uninhabitable.

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Conclusion In conclusion, humans will be faced with a rise in temperatures that will bring along many scenarios of unfavorable and even uninhabitable conditions. If we do not want these dark and life threatening conditions we must act now. We must start living in harmony with the Earth, finding sustainable ways to produce energy and use water.

Most importantly we must cut back greenhouse gas emissions by 60% in the next 10 years. How do we cut back greenhouse gases? First, we cut the burning of fossil fuels and rely on sustainable energy sources such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, and wind energy. Secondly, we quit consuming so much and cut down drastically the disposal of trash. We cannot continue to produce and discard plastic and other items that stress the Earth in order to break it down. Thirdly, we need to adopt sustainable ways to feed ourselves. It is time to rely on ourselves to feed ourselves. We can’t continue to rely on factory farming and we cannot rely on monocrops anymore. It is time to work with the Earth rather than against her.

Sources:

Global Warming, Our Future http://globalwarming.berrens.nl/globalwarming.htm Questions:

1). What is one means of sustainable energy that we can adopt in homes to cut back on the use of fossil fuels to provide us with energy?

Answer: Solar Panels= energy from the sun

2). By what percent must greenhouse gas emissions be cut in the next 10 years to prevent the unfavourable and ultimately uninhabitable conditions on Earth?

Answer: 60%

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7. Fact-sheet Topic: Gaia Theory Introduction This fact sheet will provide a brief introduction explaining what is “Gaia” and explain the concept of the Gaia Theory. This will also demonstrate why this theory is an important way for us to view life on earth and how this offers insight to climate change, health, and education.

Body History of Gaia Gaia was actually the first Greek Goddess, Mother Earth or Mother Nature. She created herself out of primordial chaos. All life was created out of her womb. Mother Earth personifies the ecosystem on the entire planet. All life on the planet depends on her and she is always working to achieve and maintain a state of balance.

What is the Gaia Theory?

The “Gaia Theory” was created by a man named James Lovelock in the 1970’s. It is the idea that the biosphere is a self regulating entity with the capacity to keep our planet healthy by controlling the chemical and physical environment. This theory allows us to view the Earth as a planet that is in fact alive. More specifically, Lovelock suggested and proved that Gaia regulates things such as the temperature on Earth’s surface and the salinity of the ocean. Also, the Gaian system maintains a balance of all the gases of the atmosphere such as oxygen, methane, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide. All of these gases act in accordance with every living species on the planet no matter how big or how small.

Some more examples: 

For the past 400 million years, Gaia has regulated the oxygen level at 20% so that life can continue sustaining itself. The maintenance of these conditions and many others are essential for all life on earth to survive.



Another example that we can see how Gaia regulates itself is through the sun’s radiance. Since the beginning of life on this planet the sun’s intensity has increased by one third. However, Gaia has kept temperatures within a very small range so that life can continue to exist.

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Some other systems that work together include, excretion, breathing, reproduction, lightning, and water condensation.

This is proof that there are in fact balanced interactions between organic and inorganic components of Earth’s surface. This balance of interactions helps us to more clearly see Earth/Gaia as single mega organism.

Gaia Theory Can Pave the Way for Alternative Education The Gaia Theory allows us to personify the Earth, attaching human or life like qualities to it. This opens up the door to earth stewardship. Humans are more likely to be compassionate and sensitive towards another living being. It is more probable that we will feel a responsibility to care for our planet if we see it as alive, as our Mother. Through science we can prove that the Earth is a living conscious organism.

We see this through the way it regulates itself and many processes that occur on the planet itself. This new view can provide us with all of the wisdom associated with creating a deep bond between ourselves and our planet that will allow us all to heal together. We see that the earth is more than willing to cooperate. Even though we pollute her rivers and land, cut down her beautiful trees and destroy her oceans, she is still fighting very hard to maintain a balance so that we and other life can go on existing. However, science is showing us that she cannot go on doing this forever. No matter what, the Earth will do what it needs to in order to achieve balance.

Unfortunately, if healing herself means creating conditions that do not support life then this is what will happen. Think of it like this, if you had a cancer living in your body that was causing you to be ill, what would you do? At first, depending on how bad the cancer is, you might make a few lifestyle changes seeing if this doesn’t help.

However, if the cancer continues to spread, creating more imbalance and sickness throughout the body, continuing on a ruthless path and stopping not until it has ravished and taken everything from you, what would you do? The answer is that you would fight back. You would fight for your life. Unfortunately, in reality humans are acting like a sort of cancer upon this planet, consuming and destroying whatever they feel entitled too. Climate change and the conditions surrounding it are prime examples of the way in which Earth is fighting to stay healthy from the “disease” that threatens her healthy existence. This is why taking actions against climate change are so important. If we want to be healthy and continue to live in a healthy existence then we must take care of our Earth and ensure that she is able to live a healthy existence too.

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Conclusion In conclusion, the name Gaia was actually the name of a Greek goddess which involves a creation story of the earth. The Gaia Theory is created much later from this. The Gaia Theory offers us a new and enlightened way of viewing the planet. It allows us to personify earth. the personification of our planet provides us with a completely unique way of viewing education, the environment, and ourselves. It supplies us with an entirely new way of viewing all life. This new view of life will allow us to live in a more balanced in harmonious state.

Source: Martin Ogle. Gaia Theory Model & Metaphor for 21st century http://www.gaiatheory.org/resources/essays-articles/ Entrepreneurial Earth LLC - www.EntrepreneurialEarth.com Questions:

1) Where does the word Gaia come from?

Answer: First Greek goddess, she created herself also known as Mother Earth.

2) What is one thing Gaia is responsible for regulating?

Answer: Atmospheric gases/ ocean salinity/ oxygen levels/ air and surface temperatures etc.

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8. Fact-sheet Topic: GM O 101 – The Rundown Introduction This fact sheet will provide the listener with an explanation about GMO’S. More specifically, it will focus around three major questions and responses. The listener should be able to walk away from the program with more than just a basic idea about GMO’S. The questions that we will be exploring are as follows: What exactly are GMO’S, What are their health and environmental implications, and in what types of foods are they found?

Body So what are GMO’s? A Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is essentially food or seeds that have been genetically engineered. It occurs when the DNA of one species is chemically inserted or forced into a totally separate plant, animal, or bacteria. This in turn creates a completely new organism that is different from cross breeding or grafting. These “new organisms” are entities that we would never see existing within nature on their own.

So why would anyone do this?

A major benefit of these commercially produced GMO’S is that they are designed to withstand direct contact with herbicides and also possess the ability to produce their own pesticides.

We can group GMO’S into 3 different categories: 1.

2.

3.

Pesticide Resistant Plants - These are resistant to pesticides/ poison that is produced by the same companies that genetically engineer the crops.

Insecticide Induced Plants - These produce their own pesticide/poison to kill insects.

Plants with Longer Life Span - These are modified to live longer so they can undergo long distance transportation. (Contribute to Global warming because long distance transportation emits a lot of C02 into the atmosphere)

What are the benefits, if any, associated with GMO’S? The benefits can only be seen from an economic standpoint. GMO’S are NOT designed to provide a better yield, resist drought, or improve nutrition.

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What are the environmental and health risks associated with GMO’S? Environmental dangers It is no secret that nature finds ways to evolve. Many weeds are becoming resistant to the commercial herbicides and pesticides created by these big companies. This means they must continue to produce stronger and stronger poison each time. It impacts the other living organisms around it, which make it very dangerous. For example, in India, an investigation was conducted and the results showed, “ at least 1,820 sheep were reported dead after grazing on post-harvest Bt cotton crops; the symptoms and post-mortem findings strongly suggest they died from severe toxicity.” (7) Health risks Many studies illustrate that genetically engineered foods are correlated with tumors, cancer, and birth defects in lab mice. A study conducted by a group of scientists from France’s University of Caen, published pictures of sick rats filled with tumors after they were fed a diet of GM corn. (1) Jefery Smith, author of “Genetic Roulette: The Dangers of GMO’S” states that GMO foods are “linked to toxic and allergic reactions, sick, sterile, and dead livestock, and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab animals.”

In what types of foods can GMO’S be found?

So far there are several crops being grown that are genetically engineered. There are also several they are working on to get approved. The GM crops that currently exist are cotton, soy, sweet corn, sugar beets, wheat, Hawaiian papaya, canola, summer squash. The crops that are currently being worked on or waiting for approval are tomatoes, rice, alfalfa, peas, salmon, and yeast. When you are grocery shopping it is important to read labels because the majority of processed foods contain gm ingredients. For example, anything with vegetable, corn, soy, or canola oil is more than likely gm. You also need to watch out for ingredients associated with the crops like lets say high fructose corn syrup, or other products associated with corn or soy.

Almost all meat that is imported is probably fed a diet high in gm corn or grain. Most dairy, unless labeled organic or rBST- free comes from cows that have been injected with rBST, a GM hormone. Most cereal, cookies, chips, and other snacks have beet sugar, corn syrup or other corn products, soy proteins or isolates, or rBST milk proteins that are GM.

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Conclusion GMO’s are dangerous to humans, plants and animals, and the earth. They harm our bodies making us sick slowly but surely, they kill the plants and animals and other life around us, and they are polluting our soil turning it into poison. They offer no benefits besides the economical gain by the giant corporate companies that produce them. As consumers, it is our right to know what we are eating and choose for ourselves. It is our responsibility to protect our children, ourselves, and the environment. If we continue to let these huge corporations contaminate our planet, what will be left for our children and the future generations.

Questions: 1.What does the abbreviation GMO stand for?

1.

Answer: Genetically M odified Organism 1.

2. Name one of the three categories that GMO’s fall into?

Answer: P esticide R esistant P lants, I nsecticide I nduced P lants, Long Life Span Plants 3. Name one GM crop that is being grown?

Answer: sw eet corn, soy, canola, sugar beets, w heat, cotton, Haw aiian papaya, summer squash.

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9. Fact-sheet Topic: Gunter’s Fable Introduction This fact sheet will briefly explore the main focus and themes behind the children’s series Gunter’s Fables, and will also explain how this different and new kind of education can pave the way for a brighter future on this planet for all.

In order to do this we must ask a few questions: 1.

2.

3.

What are the main concepts or subjects of this children’s series?

How are they different from the traditional educational system?

How can implementing these books into the school system influence humanity’s future in a positively?

Body

What are Gunter’s Fables all about?

Gunter’s Fables is the name of a children series of books written by a man named Gunter Pauli. The first book was written 20 years ago and is titled (Strongest Tree).

He has 200 books already written and his goal is to have 365 written in the next decade. Gunter says, “The fables ask children questions that we never asked: how did the apple get up in the tree? why do we say a cup is half full when it is full with water and air? how does life and diversity emerge every year in a pool of water that dries out?” He designed the books to provide children with a new way of thinking about the arts, science, and how this new way of seeing these subjects can contribute to the world in a positive way.

Some of the different topics of the fables include real life issues around the world such as, “the regeneration of rain-forest in Latin America, to mushroom farming on water hyacinth in Southern Africa, to the conversion of a cement plant into a solid municipal waste treatment facility in Japan, and the approval of bamboo as a building material in Germany.”

The idea is to inspire children to create or look for sustainable answers to face many world issues, to find sustainable sources that can ensure people’s essential needs are met.

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How are these stories different from the traditional educational system?

Each of the stories were inspired by a scientist who is conducting research on the particular subject the fable is written about. These stories are scientifically accurate because they are based on the research of these scientists. According to Pauli, “The fables introduce key concepts that anyone can use to make the leap from from raw science to implementation. At the end of each fable students are thus increasingly capable of making the same connections that the scientist did. The students can then apply those connections to think creatively about implementing their own projects.�

How can implementing these books into the school system influence humanity’s future in a positively?

These stories teach children to become more aware, more present. They start to believe in the endless possibilities that can be applied in helping our earth and people in need. They start to believe in themselves. Children become equipped to problem solve in ways they would have never been able to before. Everyone knows that if you want to change the system then you must first start with education. If we want to start thinking differently about the way we relate to one another and our Mother Earth, first we must start to teach in a different way. These books provide that different way of teaching. To change the future we must start with the youth.

Conclusion In conclusion, these fables provide an alternative means of education that embraces science and the arts on a profound level. This type of education provides children with the ability to make decisions and problem solve in a completely new way. It enables them to stand up to challenges with a completely open mind and with an eagerness to make a change. This change of thought is exactly what will shape our world for a better tomorrow.

Sources: Gunter P auli: http:/ / w w w .guntersfables.org/ index .htm l Questions: 1) How are the fables different from traditional stories in school?

Answer: They w ere w ritten by real scientists w ho have been conducting research on the subjects found in the fables.

2) What is the name of the author?

Answer: Gunter P auli

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10. Fact-sheet Topic: Ocean Acidification Introduction What is ocean acidification, how is it related to global warming, and in what ways can humans help to combat these processes?

In order to understand these questions, this fact sheet will delve into the following main points. More specifically, it will…

1.

2.

3.

4.

Break down global warming as a concept Identify the three main causes of global warming and climate change Explain the impacts of global warming on our oceans Illustrate how humans can play a positive role in offsetting these processes Body

What’s the deal with global warming?

Global warming is occurring at a rapid rate due to an excess amount of pressure on Earth’s natural systems. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are released into the earth’s atmosphere and this causes temperatures to rise. The excess gas traps the heat trying to escape from earth’s surface. In a short period of time, humans have used up a massive amount of carbon that has taken millions of years to build up.

So why is more Co2 and other greenhouse gases being released? (3 main causes)

This is mainly due to three things, deforestation, the burning of fossil fuels, industrialization.

1.

2.

3.

Deforestation - Many natural forests are cleared through the acts of logging or burning. This is done for to use the wood and land to build homes but mostly for agriculture. More specifically it is done for a type of agriculture called monoculture. Monoculture refers to the production of one type of crop on a massive scale, usually to sell.

Burning Fossil Fuels - This process uses decayed plants and animals that are dug up and turned into oil, coal, natural gas, and heavy oils to produce things such as electricity or fuel to provide transportation. (trucks, buses, airplanes, ships) 3.

Industrialization - Industries use fossil fuels for the production of things such as cement, metals, iron, and steel to build things.

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How is global warming or the release of the extra greenhouse gases related to ocean acidification?

First let’s define ocean acidification. This term refers to the process that occurs when oceans try to fluctuate carbon levels to control global warming, which results in an offset of their ph levels making them more acidic. The oceans want balance so they try to absorb all the extra co2. Ocean acidification is a consequence of 79 million tons of carbon dioxide being sent out into the atmosphere by humans daily. In order to wrap our minds around the concept of ocean acidification we must understand the nature of carbon. Carbon has a few different forms and it shows up in the atmosphere, biosphere, and in the oceans. Once the oceans dissolve carbon it can either become a a part of photosynthesis or, stay free in different dissolved forms in water. The latter of the two lead to ocean acidification. If co2 continues to be released at current levels, it will reach a ph level by the end of this century that it has not seen for millions of years. This could potentially mean that ecosystems do not have time to adapt. Shells, reefs, and other calcifying organisms may dissolve if ph levels continue to decline. This is critical because they are an important part of the food chain. If these go, then it causes disruption among the entire food chain and a disruption of biodiversity. Currently, 70% of all fish stocks are in danger and the reefs are dying quickly. 80% of Caribbean reefs are dying.

How can we play our part?

I think there are several steps we as humans can take to combat global warming and ocean acidification specifically. We need to focus a lot of our attention on mass production. The oceans are being overfished just so fish can be sold on a massive scale. This overfishing is taking food away from the more impoverished areas of the world because big fishing vessels are outsourcing their catch in the poorer areas of the world. On top of this, 25% of their catch is all wasted. The second issue that needs to be addressed is pollution. Trash is killing the marine life. I believe we are going to need to ban most types of plastic if not all and find a way to use what we already have. Farming on a massive scale has to stop. This is leading to deforestation which is releasing too much carbon into the air. If people try to grow their own food or start community gardens I feel that this is a step in the right direction. However, I think change needs to start in the education system. People can also mobilize each other to hold local beach sweeps once a month or more often. This is better than nothing. It is important for us to start thinking about renewable energy. How can we obtain this kind of energy? We know clean energy can come from sources such as water, the sun, the wind, volcanoes and more places. If we want to find alternatives for clean energy it must become a mandatory part of education; changing the way we view the world.

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Conclusion/Summary Ocean acidification is directly related to global warming and global warming is a direct result of humans and the ways in which we coexist on this planet. If we want to stop ocean acidification we have to change the way in which we view and live our lives.

Frankly, we will need to start caring about the earth and one another.

Questions: 1. What is the main greenhouse gas contributing to global warming and ocean acidification?

Answer: carbon diox ide 2. Name one thing you can personally do to play your part?

Answer: Beach clean ups, properly dispose of trash to ensure it doesn ’t end up in our rivers and oceans, buy local, harvest rainwater, invest in a clean energy source, create a garden and grow your own food, walk to work or the store if possible or carpool with a friend, try and conserve energy and turn off and unplug all appliances not being used. There are many more ways, just think about it and be creative. Most importantly, teach the youth to live in harmony with the earth.

Sources http://www.savatree.com/whytrees.html http://www.climaterally.org/planting-trees.html http://forestry.about.com/od/treephysiology/tp/tree_value.htm Question 1 W hy is planting trees a big step to fight clim ate change?

Question 2 How can I get active and plant trees?

Answer 1 By planting trees, w e are fighting clim ate change by reducing the harmful gases, like carbon dioxide, and we are preparing for the impacts that climate change will cause in the future. And in addition, when we plant trees, we have the possibility to enjoy all the benefits explained before. We are helping to provide ourselves with food, to use shade to cool down our houses, to give plants protection from drought and heat and to simply give life.

Answer 2 Either you k eep seeds from fruits or vegetables and plant them into good soil or you ask in your community for grown seedlings. It is really that easy and it is obvious that planting trees is improving our life and the life of future generations, so we should no longer wait and get active.

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11. Fact-sheet Topic: Organic Farm ing

Title: Can organic Farm ing Feed the w orld

Introduction The agribusiness and conventional farmers have for years expressed that organic farming is unprofitable, maybe OK as a tiny niche for those who are willing to pay high prices, but certainly not anything that would ever feed the world.

Body In St. Vincent farmers are starting to grow food with less or even no chemicals while some are in doubt if we can produce enough food organic and argue that we need conventional farming.

What is organic farming 1.

2.

3.

4.

Organic farming minimizes chemical usage Organic farming promotes bio diversity Soil health is improved with organic farming practices Only natural methods are used in organic farming

What is conventional farming 1.

2.

3.

4.

Conventional farming makes use of chemicals, synthetics, and other materials to manage weeds and pests Conventional farming uses unnatural farming methods Conventional farming use of pesticides has garnered attention towards acceptable levels of toxicity, and whether there should actually be an acceptable level Pesticides used in conventional farming can be damaging to your health.

There are many other differences between organic and conventional farming, but these seem to be the most spoken of in regards to consumer health. There have been arguments around whether or not conventional farming methods are safe for one’s health.

The view of agribusiness and farming is probably not changing much, since they earn their money on selling their products to industrial farmers and their profits depend on the amount of products - hybrid and genetically modified seeds, pesticides of all kinds and chemical fertilizers.

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But as many smaller farmers show that it is actually profitable to farm organically and as more and more customers ask for organically grown products, and as the crop varieties for organic farming are developed, even some of the industrial farmers become interested in this.

There are examples of industrial strawberry farmers in Mexico, who have hundreds of hectare under production who have seen some of their neighbors produce organic strawberries on a much smaller scale, and can see that the profit per hectare is actually higher. Not just because there is a better price, but most of all because there are much smaller expenses of spraying chemicals.

In the role of Global Warming and Climate Change there is another questions to be raised on conventional farming which is the usage of fossil fuels. Compared to Organic Farming, Conventional farming relies heavily on fossil fuels, which pollutes the atmosphere. The dependency on fossil fuels has an uncertain future as oil reserves deplete.

The Rodale Institute in the USA has run some long-term trials over 30 years to compare organic farming with conventional methods.

The conclusions of these tests are that:      

organic yields match conventional yields. organic outperforms conventional in years of drought. organic farming systems build rather than deplete soil organic matter, making it a more sustainable system. organic farming uses 45% less energy and is more efficient. conventional systems produce 40% more greenhouse gases. organic farming systems are more profitable than conventional.

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Conclusion Organic farming is better equipped to feed a growing population. But it also becomes clear that once again we have a situation of facing huge powers with other interests than feeding everyone on Earth in a sustainable way and with nutritious food - the interests of immediate profits.

Sources Rodale Institute in the USA http://rodaleinstitute.org/ http://www.sustainabletable.org/982/agriculture-energy-climate-change Question 1 What is the difference between conventional farming and organic farming

Answer 1 What is organic farming 1. Organic farming minimizes chemical usage 2. Organic farming promotes bio diversity 3. Soil health is improved with organic farming practices 4. Only natural methods are used in organic farming What is conventional farming 1. Conventional farming makes use of chemicals, synthetics, and other materials to manage weeds and pests 2. Conventional farming uses unnatural farming methods 3. Conventional farming use of pesticides has garnered attention towards acceptable levels of toxicity, and whether there should actually be an acceptable level 4. Pesticides used in conventional farming can be damaging to your health Question 2 Why does conventional agriculture use more fossil fuels than organic agriculture?

Answer 2 Conventional farming relies heavily on inputs of fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides from fossil fuels, organic farming does not.

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12. Fact-sheet Topic: M oringa

Title: Benefits of M oringa Tree

Introduction The tree called Moringa Olifeira is seen as a “miracle� of nature. The Moringa Tree has a manifold of health benefits, benefits for agriculture and possible income generating projects.

Pollution of the air with CO2 emission is endangering the life on our planet. One way to take action against climate change is plant trees.

Body Planting Trees for a cleaner atmosphere

Planting Trees is an absolutely necessary action in conserving this planet. Industrial and technological development, hand in hand with massive population growth, has put a lot of pressure on the planet Earth. CO2 emissions are polluting the atmosphere, keeping the Greenhouse Gases trapped in it. Trees play an important role in our life by transforming carbon dioxide into oxygen and therefore planting a tree means planting life. The Trees are to the planet what lungs are to our body.

Benefits of Moringa Moringa can play an important role in the agricultural development of the island and for some Moringa could be a good opportunity to generate a better income. The Moringa Olifeira Tree is widely spread in developing countries, and is a true miracle of mother Earth. The tree has multiple purposes and the benefits are unimaginable.

There are extremely high nutritional benefits, the tree is a perfect animal fodder, it can be used as a natural fertilizer, and the seeds can be used to clean water.

Nutritional Value The Moringa Tree can help improving health of anyone who decides to take the benefits. The nutritional value, using the tree in our diet, is incredibly high, but cannot replaced with medicine. 100 gram of dry Moringa leafs contain twice the Vitamin A of carrots, 7 times the Vitamin C of oranges, 17 times the Calcium of milk, 15 times the Potassium of bananas, 25 times the Iron of spinach and 7 times the Protein of yoghurt.

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One thing is very important not to forget about, that Moringa is good to use as a supplement, as an energy booster. Moringa products have many medical purposes and can help with blood pressure, diabetes, diarrhea, skin infections, soars, ulcers, fevers and headache If you take medicines for you disease or illness, use Moringa WITH it as a support, NOT INSTEAD. DON’T LEAVE YOUR MEDICINES BEHIND, DON’T REPLACE IT WITH THIS PLANT! Beneficial use in agriculture Animals The leaves, branches and drumsticks can be used as animal food. It will help your animals to grow stronger than with any traditional animal feed. And since the tree grows much faster than traditional trees, it can provide animal food the whole year through.

Fertilizer Extracts of the Moringa leafs can be used as a fertilizer to spray on plants and has shown an increase of 25 to 30% in different crops Conclusion Moringa plays an important role in St. Vincent, because of its health benefits, use in the agriculture and fight against climate change. Every household should have one tree as a step in creating a healthy and sustainable nation.

Sources:

Prof. Dr. K. Becker, University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim, Germany https://www.treesforlife.org

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Question 1 What are the benefits of Moringa?

Answer 1       

Moringa is very healthy and contain more than 90 nutrients and 46 antioxidants.

Moringa seeds can be used as water purifier The trees can be used for erosion control The leaves can be used a fertilizer, insecticide, fungicide The leaves are good for animals Moringa products have many medical purposes and can help with blood pressure, diabetes, diarrhea, skin infections, soars, ulcers, fevers and headache Moringa as other trees will absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.

Question 2

Why is it important to plant Moringa trees in St. Vincent?

Answer 2  

Trees: clean air and provide us oxygen, help prevent soil erosion, provide food and heal us, create economic opportunities Enormous health benefits

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13. Fact-sheet Topic: P ollution

Title: How polluting our planet w ith garbage is slowly killing us and Mother Earth

Introduction This fact sheet provides a brief introduction to the topic Pollution and answers the question “How littering our planet is slowly killing us and Mother Earth�.

To answer these questions, we'll spend our time today exploring five key concepts: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

What is pollution?

Where does littering come from?

How long does it take for nature to decompose garbage?

How is polluting our planet slowly killing us and Mother Earth?

What can we do to stop pollution?

Body What is pollution?

In general, pollution is to put contaminants into the natural environment which causes a harming change in nature. Most of the times it is the meaning of air, soil and water pollution and these contaminants are harmful substances such as chemicals and garbage like plastics etc., and they are taking a big role in the health of our environment. Every day we can find garbage in the nature and that is a huge problem world wide, so we need to be aware of our impact on our nature through throwing garbage in the nature.

In addition, the definition of littering is to throw inappropriate man-made objects onto public and private properties.

And since, this is a big issue in the Caribbean and everybody can easily participate to stop littering our environment and help cleaning up, in this radio program, we are focusing on pollution through garbage.

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Where does littering come from?

Every garbage that one can find in nature was thrown there by humans, because we are the only species that is producing waste that is not being used by other animals.

That means that everything that we throw in nature, on the streets or elsewhere than in a trash can, will stay in nature for decades or even centuries. And most of the trash is finding its ways to the oceans, because it is washed away into rivers or sewers and then goes directly into the ocean.

Therefore, the ocean is crowded by trash that is thrown away by locals and visitors at beaches, by ships on the open sea and by companies that are putting their waste and sewage water into the ocean. And this trash is sometimes traveling for a long distance before it reaches a beach and is finding its way to the sand.

How long does it take for nature to decompose garbage?

In general, it depends on the materials and their components. Trash that is mostly found in the sea and the beaches is plastic in form of candy wrappers, bottles and bags. And plastic bottles need about 450 years, plastic bags 10-20 years, furthermore fishing lines need 600 years, rubber-boot soles 50-80 years and cigarette butts 1-5 years.

As you can see, we are not talking about days or months, but years, decades and centuries that garbage is remaining in nature. And during that time, it is very likely that marine animals and birds are eating parts of this garbage and then get sick and die.

Therefore, it is essential to remember that garbage stays for a really long time in nature and it is necessary to throw trash into trash cans if we want our children and grand-children to enjoy the same beautiful and healthy environment that we know and love.

How is polluting our planet slowly killing us and Mother Earth?

Garbage that decomposes in nature, especially plastic, is slowly falling into pieces and when this happens it is spreading over an even larger distance and pollutes more wild life. Especially in the oceans it is a gigantic problem since fishes are eating these small particles because they think it is plankton. Bigger fish are then eating these contaminated smaller fishes and we humans are catching these contaminated fishes and eat it. So, we are consuming toxins and other garbage rests and harming our health.

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But the biggest problem is that a lot of fishes and other marine animals are dying because of the pollution and at the same time, garbage is destroying corrals and other plants when they get stuck on these organisms. Therefore, we are slowly destroying Mother Earth's living capacities with destroying and killing her organisms and animals.

And we are slowly harming ourselves because of air pollution through industrial production and the gases they are producing. And of course by harming the nature that gives all the life there is.

What can we do to stop pollution?

The good news is that we can easily prevent pollution and help maintaining a healthy earth. We just have to make sure to throw away our garbage properly into trash cans and recycle or reuse materials that can be reused. It is also important to spread the message to those who are not aware of the importance of keeping trash out of nature. Another thing we can do, is to organize and join clean-up actions in your community in order to clean the beaches and forests from trash. But the biggest action is to take care of your garbage and try to avoid to buy too much plastics and reuse materials such as glass or plastics. It is very important to remember that we can do a lot to create a clean and healthy nature and to help maintaining it.

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Conclusion/Summary Littering is one of the biggest pollution problems that we are facing right now and we are harming ourselves, the oceans, plants and especially animals with throwing garbage into the nature. It is our responsibility to properly take care of our own trash and keep our communities and countries clean. So, remember: Don't litter, keep SVG glitter!

Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollution http://nature.ca/explore/di-ef/wdgc_e.cfm http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/wmb/coastal/trash/documents/ marine_ debris.pdf https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/pollution http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-pollution-facts.php Question 1

How is polluting our planet slowly killing us and Mother Earth?

Question 2

What can we do to stop pollution?

Answer 1 Garbage that decomposes in nature, especially plastic, is slowly falling into pieces and when this happens it is spreading over an even larger distance and pollutes more wild life. Especially in the oceans it is a gigantic problem since fishes are eating these small particles because they think it is plankton. Bigger fish are then eating these contaminated smaller fishes and we humans are catching these contaminated fishes and eat it. So, we are consuming toxins and other garbage rests and harming our health. And we are slowly harming ourselves because of air pollution through industrial production and the gases they are producing. And of course by harming the nature that gives all the life there is.

Answer 2 We just have to make sure to throw away our garbage properly into trash cans and recycle or reuse materials that can be reused. It is also important to spread the message to those who are not aware of the importance of keeping trash out of nature. Another thing we can do, is to organize and join clean-up actions in your community in order to clean the beaches and forests from trash.

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