Quote: During the first three years of the plan, China's energy intensity-its energy consumption per unit of GDP-fell y just over 10 percent, saving 290 million tons of coal equivalent and reducing the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 750 million tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent. This pace of energy conservation has rarely been achieved by the rest of the world.
Question: Why is that?
Comment: As I read this article, I wondered why China has such a steady achievement with energy conservation when their population it is such a large country. Will our country ever achieve a steadiness with energy?
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
An Inconvenient Conversation
Today I sat down with my parents to discuss the importance of Global Warming and the impacts it has on the fragile ecosystems. We discussed how in the past century, global environmental threats have tripled in numbers and doubled in reoccurrences. More fossil fuels, harsh toxins, and man made issues have served as a catalyst to the deteriorating environments, such as the Amazon rainforest, Great Barrier Reef, and northern glaciers. Eventually, the sixth mass extinction in the world’s history could occur because more of these environmental hazards are assisting the rapid decline in animal and plant populations. Many of the earth’s fragile factors are in some case, preventative, and in others, past the tipping point. Some irrepressible hypotheses that are a danger to Earth’s environments also deal with deadly particles from a predicted sunburst, which could harm thousands, if not millions, of living creatures. Due to the global threats of climate change, mass extinction, and an uncontrollable sunburst, the global community will face lack of basic human needs and in result, the global community will have to prevent and/or prepare for such devastating events.
As the Earth faces an increasing amount of destructive effects, the global community is already viewing the dangerous toll human activity has caused. With the amount of gases humans have put into the air, trapped heat is causing rapid climate changes in places all over the world. In winter of 2001, more than 900 bush fires occurred in Australia, which later will worsen and consume more water to put out the fires. In Greenland, glaciers currently melt twice as fast as they used to and cause rivers to flow into the ocean. These rivers lubricate and propel the rest of the glaciers into the sea. Due to climate change, 8 miles of Greenland fall off annually. In the south Atlantic, hurricanes are increasing. It is estimated that in three decades, the Himalayan’s water supply could be completely diminished.
All of these examples are current issues, but with a film my parents and I recently watched (National Geographic’s Six Degrees Could Change the World documentary), each warmer degree radically changes the climate, which eventually leads to food and water shortages.
If the Earth became one degree warmer, which it is currently approaching, droughts in America’s Midwest will affect global meat and grain production and consumption. Colder countries, such as England, will gain the ability to produce more Mediterranean crops such as olives and grapes for wine. Northern glaciers will begin to melt, producing quicker trade routes for ships. Although this seems somewhat beneficial to humans, the change in weather will serve as a catalyst to what scientists refer to as the “tipping point” of Global Warming.
The tipping point of Global Warming lies in the effects of Earth becoming two degrees warmer. If this point occurs, marine life will mainly be impacted. The Great Barrier Reef and other coral reefs will suffer due to the toxins and temperature rise, which causes coral to expel the algae it needs to survive. After this point, glaciers will no longer refreeze; they will solely continue to melt. This point will also cause a global raise in oceans—about 3-4 feet over a century, causing coastal cities to turn into a New Orleans disaster—a city largely below sea level.
After reaching 3 degrees warmer, the Amazon River and rainforest will dry out; 20% of the world’s oxygen is created there. Raging brush fires will occur due to dry, desert-like land, causing hundreds of species of flora and fauna to die out. Northern Europe will be wetter for much of the year, causing flooding that used to be seen once a century, every two or three years. The Mediterranean and southern Europe will wither away, no longer supplying crops.
Once the Earth hits 4 degrees warmer, China’s agricultural production will crash. Staple crops like rice, wheat, and corn will decline by roughly 40% or more if water continues to run out. China will face feeding 1.5 billion people on two-thirds of its supply it has now.
After 5 and 6 degrees warmer, the global community will no longer be divided by governments and countries. Most Americans will look for refugee in Canada and most Europeans will look for refugee in the North. Eventually, the Gulf Stream will shut down, creating an anoxic environment, killing most ocean life.
With the Earth facing incredibly destructive effects on the fragile environments, much of the animal and plant population will become extinct. Scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, stated that if present extinction rates progress, Earth could lose three-quarters of its species as soon as three centuries from now. “Once you lose species, you don’t get them back. It takes millions of years to rebound from a mass extinction,” said Nicholas Matzke, a graduate student at UC Berkeley.
The Earth is currently on the brink of the sixth mass extinction, meaning that 75 percent of all species will disappear within a short time. If this will occur, the food chain will radically transform, affecting the number of more species and eventually us humans. With less food, governments will face feeding billons of people with a strained amount of supplies. (Source: Extinction)
Although these previous issues are somewhat controllable and preventable, one hypothesis that could affect our entire Earth, in one hit, is the sunburst. In 1989, an explosion occurred on the sun’s surface, causing a billion tons of solar plasma to come hurtling towards the Earth. It flew over Canada, creating chaos in the ionosphere and Earth’s magnetic field. The surge of electricity shut down Quebec’s power, causing most of the community’s reliance on electricity to abruptly stop.
While Quebec recovered, many of the natural disasters have shaped and altered communities and one that can be added to the list are the major effect of sunbursts—called Coronal Mass Ejections, which have an incredibly destructive effect on society.
Although it is hard to predict all of the locations Global Warming will have an impact on, the issue could change the way humans survive, thrive, and cultivate. The mixture of climate change, aggressive storms, and disruption of water and food will most likely cause food shortages and disruption of infrastructure in local areas.
Overpopulation in some counties will occur because of the coastal communities forced to move inland. The negative effects it will have on the US range in topics, but one main subject is the increased hurricanes that will cost America billions. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina created $125 billion in damage, and $66 billion in insured losses. In 2008, two more hurricanes occurred in the US, supporting the trend of more frequent hurricanes in the South Atlantic.
It is predicted that 14-23 billion dollars will be spent annually in the US. Efforts to curb Global Warming have affected and will affect the US Economy. America’s Department of Energy invested $1 billion to stimulate the biofuels industry. Recently, in a year, over 100 biofuel factories produced 6.4 billion gallons of ethanol using 18 million acres of corn, which is 20% of America’s total corn production. As anyone can imagine, corn prices went up immensely—about $4 per bushel
Scientists predict that temperatures will increase between 1.5 and 4 degrees Celsius, by 2100. At 3.5 degrees, scientists say up to 70% of the world’s known species risk extinction. This means that the sixth mass extinction of plants and animals could occur in the next century. The reasons vary from human activity, climate change, habitat destruction, ocean acidification and more.
If the biodiversity declines to an unsustainable level, then the problems resulting could dramatically affect communities. For example, in regions such as India, more trees are being demolished, causing the natural barriers against mud slides, monsoons, floods, and avalanches to take a harder, and deadlier, hit on nearby villages. With these issues, related problems such as diseases and rebuilding can arise, causing more cost, maintenance, and overall chaos.
As for animal populations, most amphibians and marine life will suffer the worst damage. Already, 1 out of 3 amphibians and 6 out of 7 marine turtles are threatened with extinction. 75% of the world’s fisheries are somewhat or completely overexploited and 1/3 of reef-building corals are threatened with extinction as well. With these issues, humans will suffer the number one sought out protein source—fish. The food chain will also stagger if there is less fish. “The good news is, we still have most of what we want to save, “said Berkeley paleobiologist Anthony Barnkosky. “But things are clearly going extinct too fast today.”
Even though mass extinction could be prevented, there are still chances of natural events such as the sunbursts’ effects— Coronal Mass Ejections. CME’s have the effect of altering Earth’s magnetic field. If one were to occur, the CME would send a surge of energy that is 100 million times more energy than the strongest man made nuclear device. Billions of tons of solar particles would fly into Earth’s atmosphere, weakening and eventually transforming the magnetic field. Mass power outages would occur, shutting down the entire power grid infrastructure, which would take years to restore. This loss of power would affect the food, water, transportation, and communication systems society currently thrives on.
Unlike the climate change and mass extinction, Coronal Mass Ejections are unpredictable, and unpreventable. However, humans can prepare for the power shortages by stocking up with food, water, and resources for cooking, keeping warm, and security. Society was able to thrive without electricity, but today’s society has become so dependable on it that they need to prepare themselves mentally if a CME were to occur.
With preparation and preventative measures for Global Warming, humans need to begin reducing carbon and greenhouse emissions. This will reduce the amount of gases that have trapped heat in the Earth’s atmosphere and in turn, slow down the rate of climate change and habitat destructions. If fewer habitats are destroyed, then fewer animals will be threatened with extinction and food chain alteration.
In terms of local communities, the US needs to reduce their carbon and greenhouse emissions immensely. Currently, one household in America produces 59 tons of Carbon Dioxide annually. This includes heating, lighting, appliances, hot water, air conditioning, refrigerating, automobiles, and other indirect emissions. One household in any other country produces on average 9.5 tons. If Americans begin to reduce, the Earth will largely benefit.
The Earth’s fragile environments all contain precious resources that are valuable to human society. Everyone is dependable on food, water, and fresh air; if these human needs are restricted, my parents and I theorized that society will clearly suffer. With global threats of climate change, mass extinction, and a sunburst, the global community will face lack of basic human needs and in result, society will have to come together, prevent, and prepare for such devastating events.
As the Earth faces an increasing amount of destructive effects, the global community is already viewing the dangerous toll human activity has caused. With the amount of gases humans have put into the air, trapped heat is causing rapid climate changes in places all over the world. In winter of 2001, more than 900 bush fires occurred in Australia, which later will worsen and consume more water to put out the fires. In Greenland, glaciers currently melt twice as fast as they used to and cause rivers to flow into the ocean. These rivers lubricate and propel the rest of the glaciers into the sea. Due to climate change, 8 miles of Greenland fall off annually. In the south Atlantic, hurricanes are increasing. It is estimated that in three decades, the Himalayan’s water supply could be completely diminished.
All of these examples are current issues, but with a film my parents and I recently watched (National Geographic’s Six Degrees Could Change the World documentary), each warmer degree radically changes the climate, which eventually leads to food and water shortages.
If the Earth became one degree warmer, which it is currently approaching, droughts in America’s Midwest will affect global meat and grain production and consumption. Colder countries, such as England, will gain the ability to produce more Mediterranean crops such as olives and grapes for wine. Northern glaciers will begin to melt, producing quicker trade routes for ships. Although this seems somewhat beneficial to humans, the change in weather will serve as a catalyst to what scientists refer to as the “tipping point” of Global Warming.
The tipping point of Global Warming lies in the effects of Earth becoming two degrees warmer. If this point occurs, marine life will mainly be impacted. The Great Barrier Reef and other coral reefs will suffer due to the toxins and temperature rise, which causes coral to expel the algae it needs to survive. After this point, glaciers will no longer refreeze; they will solely continue to melt. This point will also cause a global raise in oceans—about 3-4 feet over a century, causing coastal cities to turn into a New Orleans disaster—a city largely below sea level.
After reaching 3 degrees warmer, the Amazon River and rainforest will dry out; 20% of the world’s oxygen is created there. Raging brush fires will occur due to dry, desert-like land, causing hundreds of species of flora and fauna to die out. Northern Europe will be wetter for much of the year, causing flooding that used to be seen once a century, every two or three years. The Mediterranean and southern Europe will wither away, no longer supplying crops.
Once the Earth hits 4 degrees warmer, China’s agricultural production will crash. Staple crops like rice, wheat, and corn will decline by roughly 40% or more if water continues to run out. China will face feeding 1.5 billion people on two-thirds of its supply it has now.
After 5 and 6 degrees warmer, the global community will no longer be divided by governments and countries. Most Americans will look for refugee in Canada and most Europeans will look for refugee in the North. Eventually, the Gulf Stream will shut down, creating an anoxic environment, killing most ocean life.
With the Earth facing incredibly destructive effects on the fragile environments, much of the animal and plant population will become extinct. Scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, stated that if present extinction rates progress, Earth could lose three-quarters of its species as soon as three centuries from now. “Once you lose species, you don’t get them back. It takes millions of years to rebound from a mass extinction,” said Nicholas Matzke, a graduate student at UC Berkeley.
The Earth is currently on the brink of the sixth mass extinction, meaning that 75 percent of all species will disappear within a short time. If this will occur, the food chain will radically transform, affecting the number of more species and eventually us humans. With less food, governments will face feeding billons of people with a strained amount of supplies. (Source: Extinction)
Although these previous issues are somewhat controllable and preventable, one hypothesis that could affect our entire Earth, in one hit, is the sunburst. In 1989, an explosion occurred on the sun’s surface, causing a billion tons of solar plasma to come hurtling towards the Earth. It flew over Canada, creating chaos in the ionosphere and Earth’s magnetic field. The surge of electricity shut down Quebec’s power, causing most of the community’s reliance on electricity to abruptly stop.
While Quebec recovered, many of the natural disasters have shaped and altered communities and one that can be added to the list are the major effect of sunbursts—called Coronal Mass Ejections, which have an incredibly destructive effect on society.
Although it is hard to predict all of the locations Global Warming will have an impact on, the issue could change the way humans survive, thrive, and cultivate. The mixture of climate change, aggressive storms, and disruption of water and food will most likely cause food shortages and disruption of infrastructure in local areas.
Overpopulation in some counties will occur because of the coastal communities forced to move inland. The negative effects it will have on the US range in topics, but one main subject is the increased hurricanes that will cost America billions. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina created $125 billion in damage, and $66 billion in insured losses. In 2008, two more hurricanes occurred in the US, supporting the trend of more frequent hurricanes in the South Atlantic.
It is predicted that 14-23 billion dollars will be spent annually in the US. Efforts to curb Global Warming have affected and will affect the US Economy. America’s Department of Energy invested $1 billion to stimulate the biofuels industry. Recently, in a year, over 100 biofuel factories produced 6.4 billion gallons of ethanol using 18 million acres of corn, which is 20% of America’s total corn production. As anyone can imagine, corn prices went up immensely—about $4 per bushel
Scientists predict that temperatures will increase between 1.5 and 4 degrees Celsius, by 2100. At 3.5 degrees, scientists say up to 70% of the world’s known species risk extinction. This means that the sixth mass extinction of plants and animals could occur in the next century. The reasons vary from human activity, climate change, habitat destruction, ocean acidification and more.
If the biodiversity declines to an unsustainable level, then the problems resulting could dramatically affect communities. For example, in regions such as India, more trees are being demolished, causing the natural barriers against mud slides, monsoons, floods, and avalanches to take a harder, and deadlier, hit on nearby villages. With these issues, related problems such as diseases and rebuilding can arise, causing more cost, maintenance, and overall chaos.
As for animal populations, most amphibians and marine life will suffer the worst damage. Already, 1 out of 3 amphibians and 6 out of 7 marine turtles are threatened with extinction. 75% of the world’s fisheries are somewhat or completely overexploited and 1/3 of reef-building corals are threatened with extinction as well. With these issues, humans will suffer the number one sought out protein source—fish. The food chain will also stagger if there is less fish. “The good news is, we still have most of what we want to save, “said Berkeley paleobiologist Anthony Barnkosky. “But things are clearly going extinct too fast today.”
Even though mass extinction could be prevented, there are still chances of natural events such as the sunbursts’ effects— Coronal Mass Ejections. CME’s have the effect of altering Earth’s magnetic field. If one were to occur, the CME would send a surge of energy that is 100 million times more energy than the strongest man made nuclear device. Billions of tons of solar particles would fly into Earth’s atmosphere, weakening and eventually transforming the magnetic field. Mass power outages would occur, shutting down the entire power grid infrastructure, which would take years to restore. This loss of power would affect the food, water, transportation, and communication systems society currently thrives on.
Unlike the climate change and mass extinction, Coronal Mass Ejections are unpredictable, and unpreventable. However, humans can prepare for the power shortages by stocking up with food, water, and resources for cooking, keeping warm, and security. Society was able to thrive without electricity, but today’s society has become so dependable on it that they need to prepare themselves mentally if a CME were to occur.
With preparation and preventative measures for Global Warming, humans need to begin reducing carbon and greenhouse emissions. This will reduce the amount of gases that have trapped heat in the Earth’s atmosphere and in turn, slow down the rate of climate change and habitat destructions. If fewer habitats are destroyed, then fewer animals will be threatened with extinction and food chain alteration.
In terms of local communities, the US needs to reduce their carbon and greenhouse emissions immensely. Currently, one household in America produces 59 tons of Carbon Dioxide annually. This includes heating, lighting, appliances, hot water, air conditioning, refrigerating, automobiles, and other indirect emissions. One household in any other country produces on average 9.5 tons. If Americans begin to reduce, the Earth will largely benefit.
The Earth’s fragile environments all contain precious resources that are valuable to human society. Everyone is dependable on food, water, and fresh air; if these human needs are restricted, my parents and I theorized that society will clearly suffer. With global threats of climate change, mass extinction, and a sunburst, the global community will face lack of basic human needs and in result, society will have to come together, prevent, and prepare for such devastating events.
Back to 1983
While in Italy, I decided to distract myself from modern day society’s technological advances. We began our third day in Venice, a quaint and beautiful and ancient city right on the water. Due to our budget and transportation systems, my group and I decided to walk around and explore the city by foot. We saw beautiful boutiques that contained genuine hand blown glass, hand painted candles, and local cheese and wine shops. Throughout this time, I was very tempted to use my SLR camera, but was happy that I took photos of the city the previous days.
As we walked along the paths, we made our way towards the most famous plaza that had pigeons everywhere! We took bread and began to feed them, and they flew on our arms and hands to eat the bread. At this time, I was very tempted to take photos, and luckily, some people got photos of me. (That is still obeying my personal usage of technology.)
We then made our way back to the hotel, where Dominic and Margaret would meet us and direct the group towards the nearest train station. Here, we took a train towards a small city known as Sienna. The train ride was three hours long, and I wanted to take out my iPod but chose to take a nap instead. It was so tempting the entire time, especially since everyone else had headphones in.
We arrived in Sienna, where we took a bus to the smaller town we stayed in. We arrived, walked to our hotel, and unpacked. After, we went out to dinner and desert, and then went back to the room to play a game of cards and hang out with friends. Overall, the day wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, but I figure it is because of the amount of time I used to spend time with others.
As we walked along the paths, we made our way towards the most famous plaza that had pigeons everywhere! We took bread and began to feed them, and they flew on our arms and hands to eat the bread. At this time, I was very tempted to take photos, and luckily, some people got photos of me. (That is still obeying my personal usage of technology.)
We then made our way back to the hotel, where Dominic and Margaret would meet us and direct the group towards the nearest train station. Here, we took a train towards a small city known as Sienna. The train ride was three hours long, and I wanted to take out my iPod but chose to take a nap instead. It was so tempting the entire time, especially since everyone else had headphones in.
We arrived in Sienna, where we took a bus to the smaller town we stayed in. We arrived, walked to our hotel, and unpacked. After, we went out to dinner and desert, and then went back to the room to play a game of cards and hang out with friends. Overall, the day wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, but I figure it is because of the amount of time I used to spend time with others.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Introduction Draft
The depletion of fish populations caused by overfishing is a global concern, and is even affected by us San Diegans. Through the years, overfishing has become an extreme concern in oceanic issues. Today 75% of the world’s fisheries are exploited, overexploited, or completely depleted. The global fishing groups have operated at 2.5 times the sustainable amount. The most vulnerable group of fish to overfishing consists of larger fish, due to their slow reproduction rate, like 17% of all shark species and even Rockfish.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
WSDE Articles
QQC for "Sea Ethic"
Quote:
It now seems desirable that we should extend our sense of community below high tide- complimenting the Land Ethic with a "Sea Ethic"- including all life on Earth in our concept of community. Were it not for the fact that we are such visual creatures, our sense of community with the ocean would be easier and more intuitive to grasp than even our sense of land, because our connection with the sea is intimate. Most of the oxygen we breathe is made by ocean plankton. And when animals left the seas in which life arose, they took the saltwater with them, in their bodies- an internal environment crucial for cellular survival. We are, in a sense, soft vessels of seawater. Seventy percent of our bodies is water, the same percentage that covers the Earth's surface. We are wrapped around an ocean within. You can test this simply enough; taste your tears.
Question:
While reading this, I began to make connections to salt in the water versus salt in animals and food. I began to question- Does the salt in animals enter our systems because of what we eat? Why are our tears naturally made up of salt, and does it relate to the food we eat? And if so, why can't we drink salt water?
Comment:
Out of the WSDE articles we read, I was most influenced by the "Sea Ethic" reading, one that focuses on the demand of fishing. It really inspired me to find my own WSDE subject- I could focus on overfishing or even our local fisheries in San Diego. I could also go into subtopics of toxic and healthier fish to eat.
Quote:
It now seems desirable that we should extend our sense of community below high tide- complimenting the Land Ethic with a "Sea Ethic"- including all life on Earth in our concept of community. Were it not for the fact that we are such visual creatures, our sense of community with the ocean would be easier and more intuitive to grasp than even our sense of land, because our connection with the sea is intimate. Most of the oxygen we breathe is made by ocean plankton. And when animals left the seas in which life arose, they took the saltwater with them, in their bodies- an internal environment crucial for cellular survival. We are, in a sense, soft vessels of seawater. Seventy percent of our bodies is water, the same percentage that covers the Earth's surface. We are wrapped around an ocean within. You can test this simply enough; taste your tears.
Question:
While reading this, I began to make connections to salt in the water versus salt in animals and food. I began to question- Does the salt in animals enter our systems because of what we eat? Why are our tears naturally made up of salt, and does it relate to the food we eat? And if so, why can't we drink salt water?
Comment:
Out of the WSDE articles we read, I was most influenced by the "Sea Ethic" reading, one that focuses on the demand of fishing. It really inspired me to find my own WSDE subject- I could focus on overfishing or even our local fisheries in San Diego. I could also go into subtopics of toxic and healthier fish to eat.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Six Degrees of Separation: Lipstick
During this project, our class was assigned to research a topic and separate the topic into six different subjects. I chose to study lipstick, and to research and separate the:
Essay:
Since I began high school, I have noticed that many girls, including myself, rely on makeup each day. We put it on before school, during school, after school, and constantly reapply. As I recorded my daily journal, I noticed that this was important in my routine, and noticed that it’s been a key factor in many of my friends’ routines as well. Because of this, I decided to research the effects of makeup, and narrowed it down to lipstick due to the myths I previously heard such as the production involving fish scales. Throughout my research, I learned today’s six degrees of separation for lipstick include ingredients, production, labeling and packaging, byproducts, quality control, and importation. Through this project, I learned that much of the degrees of lipstick production does not harm the environment, and actually uses environmental savvy reusable techniques due to the expenses.
Lipstick’s ingredients include Beeswax, Candelilla wax, Carnauba wax, Vegetable oil, Lanolin oil, Mineral oil, Castor oil, Cocoa butter, Bromo acid, pigments and dyes, antioxidants and preservatives, and fragrance. During the production, there are many machines including: Mixing machine, Seizing machine, Grinding machine, Tri-Rolling machine, Heating mixing machine, mold sets, filling machine, Mold releasing machine,
Box folding machine, Carton machine, carton tapping machine. The manufacturing of lipstick begins with mixing several pigments and oils together. The oil base material is then mixed with fats and waxes, and heated to create a paste. A perfume will be added to the paste, as well. The mixed materials are then heated to about 70-90 degrees Celsius. (158-194 Fahrenheit). After the paste is heated, it is placed in a copper or aluminum mold to form its shape. After the paste is molded, it is cooled to about 0-5 degrees Celsius, and then packaged and labeled.
As for the packaging and labeling, normally this depends on whether or not the lipstick is packaged in bulk, or individually. In bulk, the packaging of lipsticks are through a machine, while as the individual packaging is done by hand. Surprisingly, lipstick packaging and labeling machines are available to the public for sale. In the production of lipstick, there are rarely any byproducts due to the expense of the ingredients. They are
usually reused and kept for later manufacturing. However, in the normal manufacturing process, there are no byproducts and waste portions of lipstick will be thrown out with cleaning materials.
Due to the FDA standards, quality control procedures for lipstick are strict, especially since it is the only cosmetic truly ingested. Materials are tested because lipstick is supposed to be mixed in a controlled environment, free of contamination. Tests for quality control ensure that it meets the required specifications. To further ensure the quality of lipstick, there are two tests called the Rupture test and Heat test. Each makes
sure there is no distortion of the lipstick under harsh conditions. Each manufacturer sets its own parameters. Usually, the importing and exporting depends on the brands, but most lipsticks are imported from Asian countries such as Thailand and China.
- Ingredients
- Production
- Labeling and packaging
- Byproducts
- Quality control
- And importation
Essay:
Since I began high school, I have noticed that many girls, including myself, rely on makeup each day. We put it on before school, during school, after school, and constantly reapply. As I recorded my daily journal, I noticed that this was important in my routine, and noticed that it’s been a key factor in many of my friends’ routines as well. Because of this, I decided to research the effects of makeup, and narrowed it down to lipstick due to the myths I previously heard such as the production involving fish scales. Throughout my research, I learned today’s six degrees of separation for lipstick include ingredients, production, labeling and packaging, byproducts, quality control, and importation. Through this project, I learned that much of the degrees of lipstick production does not harm the environment, and actually uses environmental savvy reusable techniques due to the expenses.
Lipstick’s ingredients include Beeswax, Candelilla wax, Carnauba wax, Vegetable oil, Lanolin oil, Mineral oil, Castor oil, Cocoa butter, Bromo acid, pigments and dyes, antioxidants and preservatives, and fragrance. During the production, there are many machines including: Mixing machine, Seizing machine, Grinding machine, Tri-Rolling machine, Heating mixing machine, mold sets, filling machine, Mold releasing machine,
Box folding machine, Carton machine, carton tapping machine. The manufacturing of lipstick begins with mixing several pigments and oils together. The oil base material is then mixed with fats and waxes, and heated to create a paste. A perfume will be added to the paste, as well. The mixed materials are then heated to about 70-90 degrees Celsius. (158-194 Fahrenheit). After the paste is heated, it is placed in a copper or aluminum mold to form its shape. After the paste is molded, it is cooled to about 0-5 degrees Celsius, and then packaged and labeled.
As for the packaging and labeling, normally this depends on whether or not the lipstick is packaged in bulk, or individually. In bulk, the packaging of lipsticks are through a machine, while as the individual packaging is done by hand. Surprisingly, lipstick packaging and labeling machines are available to the public for sale. In the production of lipstick, there are rarely any byproducts due to the expense of the ingredients. They are
usually reused and kept for later manufacturing. However, in the normal manufacturing process, there are no byproducts and waste portions of lipstick will be thrown out with cleaning materials.
Due to the FDA standards, quality control procedures for lipstick are strict, especially since it is the only cosmetic truly ingested. Materials are tested because lipstick is supposed to be mixed in a controlled environment, free of contamination. Tests for quality control ensure that it meets the required specifications. To further ensure the quality of lipstick, there are two tests called the Rupture test and Heat test. Each makes
sure there is no distortion of the lipstick under harsh conditions. Each manufacturer sets its own parameters. Usually, the importing and exporting depends on the brands, but most lipsticks are imported from Asian countries such as Thailand and China.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Cove
Dolphin habitat, behaviour and dolphinariums
A central argument developed through The Cove is that for physiological reasons dolphins cannot adapt to dolphinariums, particularly of the amusement park variety.
Food chain and mercury poisoning
Before looking closely at the ways in which dolphins either adapt or do not adapt to particular salt-water environments, explain what Roger Payne means by his statement in the film that, ‘people and dolphins feed at the same level in the food chain’.
Draw an illustrated chart of a ‘food chain’ that demonstrates Payne’s comment.
Explain how and why dolphins in their ocean element can acquire high levels of mercury due to their position in the food chain.
Where does this mercury come from, and how does it enter the food chain? Show this on your chart.
Dolphin communications
From viewing the film, and from further examination of the issue, discuss in class and make notes on the ways in which dolphins are suited to living in natural ocean environments, and the methods by which they communicate with each other in those environments.
How do they react to noise?
Why is it that they suffer from nervous stress if barricaded or fenced in within those environments?
In what way is their sound perception, as suggested by O’Barry, ‘their downfall in Taiji’?
During the film O’Barry says, ‘... in these fish houses [at places such as Miami Sea World], you’ll see bottles of Maalox and Tagamet.’
Find out what these medicinal aids are normally used for, and whether they have any health side effects.
What claims does O’Barry make about Maalox and Tagamet in relation to dolphins?
From further research are we able to verify the truth of these claims?
A central argument developed through The Cove is that for physiological reasons dolphins cannot adapt to dolphinariums, particularly of the amusement park variety.
Food chain and mercury poisoning
Before looking closely at the ways in which dolphins either adapt or do not adapt to particular salt-water environments, explain what Roger Payne means by his statement in the film that, ‘people and dolphins feed at the same level in the food chain’.
Draw an illustrated chart of a ‘food chain’ that demonstrates Payne’s comment.
Explain how and why dolphins in their ocean element can acquire high levels of mercury due to their position in the food chain.
Where does this mercury come from, and how does it enter the food chain? Show this on your chart.
Dolphin communications
From viewing the film, and from further examination of the issue, discuss in class and make notes on the ways in which dolphins are suited to living in natural ocean environments, and the methods by which they communicate with each other in those environments.
How do they react to noise?
Why is it that they suffer from nervous stress if barricaded or fenced in within those environments?
In what way is their sound perception, as suggested by O’Barry, ‘their downfall in Taiji’?
During the film O’Barry says, ‘... in these fish houses [at places such as Miami Sea World], you’ll see bottles of Maalox and Tagamet.’
Find out what these medicinal aids are normally used for, and whether they have any health side effects.
What claims does O’Barry make about Maalox and Tagamet in relation to dolphins?
From further research are we able to verify the truth of these claims?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
first choice
My first choice would be strawberries, and when I looked up seeds online, I came across Italian Alpine Stawberry seeds. The strawberries are much more petite than the regular strawberries, and are ideal for rock gardens usually but once harvested, they have a much more flavorful taste then the regular strawberries we usually eat.
Here is the link.
Here is the link.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Strawberries- The growing season is in the spring, and it is advised to plant them when the soil is not wet and on a cloudy day. From my research, not many people grow the strawberries from seed, but it is possible. If we do grow them from seed they must be frozen for 2 weeks and take 2-3 weeks to germinate. Most articles and stores sell the actual plant. The time to harvest is anywhere from 6-10 months, but it is also dependant on how the mature the strawberry plant is when you plant it. In 4 to 5 weeks, the plant will produce daughter plants and runners. I think it makes sense to plant, even if they aren’t ready in time for exhibition they might be ready during early fall for the next group of students. Since we don’t have to worry about frost, there is potential for the strawberries to continue growing, some plants can come back for up to 6 years. Strawberries need to be planted 12-18" apart in rows 3-4 feet apart. No specific soil requirements, but it is advised to have as much organic matter as possible and to use fertilizer. The soil's pH should be slightly acid, from 5.5 to 6.5.The soil is supposed to be worked very well, almost one foot into the dirt. Watering is 1-2 inches per week, or a moderate amount, especially when the flowers are blooming.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Wednesday Journal
Today I had a normal day- driving to school, going to class, and driving home. But one big difference was today I had my oil and brake fluid changed for my car. This made me wonder where oil comes from, how it's produced, and how it's distributed. It also made me wonder if oil just comes from a natural source, or if it is processed into many different chemicals, and where do those chemicals come from? It made me also think about the amount of gas I use to drive from El Cajon to Point Loma twice each day. That takes 30 miles each, and it makes me wonder how many gallons it uses per day.
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