Global Warming Take Two

I know I already wrote a blog about Global Warming when I wrote my Global Warming paper. However, I read an article called "Search for Solutions" and it really shows how we all have to make changes in our lives if we really do want to stop Global Warming and make our world a better place.

Right now, we all need we all need to make small changes in our lives in order to make a big difference in the world. Things like recycling more and eating more organic and locally grown foods to reduce gas emissions can really help turn Global Warming around. I know everyone says we need to change, but it's true. Why does it have to take Global Warming for us to really make a change. We should always conserve and we should have been doing it for a long time already.

We are in the middle of a crisis, and it does not matter if it is naturally occurring or not. If it is, fine, that can be acceptable, but then for sure we are speeding the process. If it's not and we are really at fault for this, then we need to still make a change. In the end, since we started all of this, we need to make changes to try to restore things and clean up our air and our earth. Again, by making these small changes, like changing a light bulb, we can really make a big difference, but everyone needs to help to see results.

Coastal Retreat

This week we learned about something that I found very interesting and important for everyone to know, coastal retreat. I first learned about this in my Geology class two years ago. My professor told me that at the time, San Francisco's cliff area was losing one whole street every 10 years or so. This is very important to know when you want to buy a house, especially one that overlooks the bay).

This information is very valuable for me because now I know the processes that are involved when cliffs collapse. Much of California's coast is some kind of cliff and these cliffs are eroding due to the weather changes, rising in the sea level and tectonic activity.

If people do not pay attention to where we are building, we are going to be putting ourselves in danger. It is not nature's fault because these are natural processes that have been going on for years. But we choose to build because cliffs offer a wonderful view. But sooner or later, these buildings are going to be put in danger as the land from under them gets eroded. This is why we all need to know about coastal retreat, not just college students, because this, like everything else, affects everyone.

Field Trip to the Guadalupe River

Today we took our field trip to the Guadalupe River in downtown San Jose. I have to say that even though it was freezing, I had a really good time and it was a really educational experience for me.

Actually going out to the field to look at what we study in the classroom is really rewarding because I am more of a visual learner and physically being there helps me understand what we are learning. By looking at the way the water runs over the rocks wrapped in chicken wire and the cottonwood trees settled at the edge of the river, we were able to understand why these things were there and if they were naturally placed there or placed there by humans.

Not only did I love walking the "nature trail" or downtown San Jose, but I also liked looking at how people try to plant trees in urban areas where they should not be grown, like palm trees. I never realized that palm trees could not live in a Mediterranean-like climate and I was very surprised to know that most of them have to be treated very carefully. This makes me realize that it is very important when planning where to put "picturesque" things in a city environment because it is currently costing San Jose thousands of dollars just to keep a couple hundred trees alive!

Anyway, I am glad I got up so early in the morning to go on this field trip and it makes me excited to take the field trip course next semester.

Indian Cyclone

I have been reading lately about the cyclones in India. They are actually very devastating, ruining many peoples homes and land. Recently, Indian officers banned the exporting of rice and other crops so that the government can help it's people recover. Since the cyclone hit, thousands of people have been injured and died. However, with the help of the government and other Indian cities, places like Bangladesh, where the cyclone had very disastrous effects, can rebuild themselves.

I had mentioned in a previous blog about the ENSO effects in India more than a century ago. In that case, the natural disaster caused drought and crop failure, however the government's incapacity to help is what caused the famine.

Now, cyclones are not uncommon in India, they actually can happen a couple of times a year. Yet, the government is now helping to make sure that it's people are ok. this is a major difference that I have seen and I'm glad that it is happening.

Oil Spill in the Bay

There was an oil spill earlier this month and I thought it was about time I wrote about it. A barge hit the Bay Bridge and gallons of oil spilled into the bay. This has caused major problems environmentally.

I remember looking at the news and seeing all these birds being completely covered in oil and I pretty much figured that many other marine animals looked the same. This is harmful for birds because the oil can never be fully cleaned naturally and this can affect their ability to fly. People could not even go in the water because of the thick oil in the water and the sand.

This oil spill got me really upset because I feel like we all need to be very careful with our waters and not take advantage of them. This oil spill was a serious problem and it really caused damage to the bay. Even by doing other activities such us jet skiing can cause small amounts of oil to leak into our waters and that affects the wildlife as well. Therefore, there should be severe consequences for anyone who causes oil spills or damages our wildlife.

El Nino

I am reading this book called Late Victorian Holocausts in my other Geography class. It talks about how El Nino caused severe drought in some places at certain times, but then flooding at other times. The way I understood it (and I hope this is right) drought occurred where there should have been heavy moonsoon rains.

I remember talking about the El Nino Southern Oscillation in class and did not realize how disastrous it could be.

This caused massive starvation to many Indians in India (which is mainly what the book focuses on) and much of it was due to El Nino and the drought that it caused. Of course, since India was under imperial rule from Britain, the distribution of food was not very good, which also contributed to the famine.

This is an example where one could see how terrible it can be to have hazardous weather in a place that is both geographically and politically not ready for it. Many people died as a result of this famine, as these people were waiting for monsoons to come.

While I was reading this book I just found it interesting and helpful, knowing that I have background information about ENSO that I would otherwise not have had!

The Movie

The movie we watched after the midterm was very interesting! I liked learning about the different rocks in different areas of the world. I especially liked how they did a special segment about the bay area and the Hayward Fault. Being from Union City, which is the next city south of Hayward, the Hayward fault is probably the most hazardous thing around us. When the fault lets out an earthquake, it will cause a lot of destruction the area and it is important to be aware of that and plan accordingly.

This was also fitting because I think the next day was when we had the earthquake in San Jose. When I first felt it, I thought it was the big Hayward Fault earthquake!! I was really scared, especially because I was still on campus, away from my family. However, when I got home I heard it was the Calaveras Fault that emitted the earthquake and that the fault was shaking southbound instead of northbound. This was scary because if the fault hit northbound, it could have caused the Hayward Fault to shake too!

All I know is that we all need to be very prepared when this quake hits because it will probably be more than a 5.6 which is what the San Jose earthquake was. I personally am going to make an emergency kit to have incase of any problems.

I guess this quake was a wake up call for a lot of people!

Global Warming

Doing Activity 3 about Global Warming has really opened my eyes to problems I had never even thought about. I already knew about threats of a hotter climate and rising of the sea level, but to think that we may starve (which is an extreme assumption) is a serious wake up call.

Basically my article was about the threat of slowing crop production and the rising cost to may food supplies. I mean I suppose we could grow more food in colder countries becasue with the hotter climate comes longer growing seasons for them. But if we all had to get our food imported just to survive, I feel like our world would be in total chaos. Wars might spring out of lack of food production and you never know, may even go as far as saying who has rights to these lands if food production is low. In other words, this ordeal could become very political.

This is why people need to start opening their eyes about Global Warming. I mean if you do not believe in Global Warming, is it going to hurt that much to conserve anyway? It would still help the world. It just upsets me that people think that we can live on forever and that the world can keep taking care of us and supplying us with unlimited resources. I hope people can really start thinking about the world they live in and not themselves all the time. Ugghh....

The Weather Man!

John Farley was definitely not what I expected at all. He was really funny and down to earth, I guess I expected some snobby guy who would be totally uninterested in talking to us! But he answered all our questions above and beyond, even adding information.

I like how he was very knowledgeable (in this field he said it wasn't unheard of to not be!) in many of the things we were asking him and things we talked about in class. I noticed that although he says he does not have a certain opinion on global warming, he is passionate about knowing why some people do, when it seems they do not know much about it. That was pretty funny.

I also liked how he said he went to different types of conventions, from weather to global warming/environmental. This helps make him a very well rounded person and easy to talk to. I never realized how different things are incorporated into his job such as marketing. I guess if you like different things and are interested in weather, it can make your job more interesting.

In the end, I really liked our conversation and thought it was a very rewarding experience. Whoever didn't go missed valuable information! (Suckers).

Southern California Fires

Honestly, I did not really think these fires were going to get as out of hand as they have. And I really did not pay attention at first but know I see that this is not only changing the lives of our fellow Californians, but is stepping more into my own personal life.

I am glad I know more about what is causing these fires, more than most people I talk to actually. I noticed on a lot of reports that there was mention about the Santa Ana winds and how they are causing all the fires. If I had never learned about them in class, I would be clueless as to why they are the cause. But now that I know, I can let others know and help them out in understanding our weather.

At my job, we have to let our customers know that if we ship to Southern California, there may be a delay since UPS is having trouble delivering to many areas. One package going to Kansas even got delayed because it stopped in L.A. first (I don't know why UPS took that detour), and they were mad but that's mother nature...sorry!

Also, another thing that hits close to home is that my aunt lives in San Diego and hoping her house is surviving is constantly in my mind. Hopefully everything turns out ok in the end, whenever that will be....

Water Temperature

I was sitting in my US Geography class and we were learning about the Bypass East section of the country. (This has to do with your class I promise!) And we were talking how the coast of Maine can be about 10 to 15 degrees higher than the inner part of the part. Granted it will still be cold as heck, but not as much. He said if any of you have ever taken Physical Geography or Environmental Geography, you know that the water warms the land next to it because it takes and longer time to cool down. I was so excited that he mentioned that because I knew exactly what he was talking about! It also made a lot of sense and helped me understand this kind of situation better.

Learning about how water takes a long time to get and release temperatures helps me understand our weird weather over here in the Bay Area. Now I know why it is so chilly in the summer time in San Francisco but when autumn hits, it is actually a little warmer. But I also never knew that the water actually warmer in months like October than in the summer, it is very interesting, but again makes sense.

I am just excited that what I am learning in this class is already applying to my other classes and vice versa. That's how it was last year with Global Warming. For some reason, all of my classes talked about Global Warming in one way or another and they weren't even related classes, just general education classes. But by the end of the semester I had a good idea of what it was, which will make it a little easier to write this paper. Everything is starting to reiterate itself and that will help to stick in my brain that much more.

Measuring Distance

After doing the worksheet measuring distances, I realized that in different situations distances can be really short or very very long. When we were measuring roads around the South Bay one had to be a straight distance and the other had to be a road distance, the time it took to get to the same place using the different ways was huge! In reality, places are a lot closer to us than they seem, it's just that when we have to drive or travel on ground to go to those places, the topography of an area varies and we have to go around those areas to get there. That is what takes up the extra time.

Also, as another part of the exercise, I found that measuring distance is really very helpful when looking at maps. I took a class last semester in Geology and used a lot of maps in that class. I learned a little bit about how to measure distance but not very much. (Maybe it just didn't stick as well!) However, now that I am taking more Geography courses, I am looking at maps more often. Therefore, learning how to read the scales is especially important because it helps a person determine if the map is a large scale or small scale map. Those two terms where hard to differentiate on a map because they don't mean what we think they mean in everyday life. But what I learned in this class and in my Cultural Geography class is that a small scale map can cover a larger area, and you cannot see to much detail. A large scale map covers a smaller area but has more detail in it. (I hope I got that right!) So that for sure is going to stick in my brain because it is important that I know that. So this distance exercise was really very helpful for future measuring.

Time Zones

I really found it very helpful learning about time zones and how they really work. I always wondered what determined time zones andy why certain parts were ahead and why some were behind.

By reading the chapter and listening to the lecture in class made me realize that it was all about Geography and the rotation of the planet. Since not all of the planet faces the sun all at the same time, time zones were made. However, it is true that governments can have a say in time zones in there country. I remember hearing about China in class and how their time zone is not the same because the government does not want to go by it. That means their lifestyle might be very different from the rest of the world's, just because their hours do not coincide with ours.

In was also reading how on Yahoo! News, Anne Bligh from Queensland (I'm guessing Australia?) does not want to enforce daylight savings time in that part of the country. This decision has split the state apart. Even tourists are saddened because no daylight savings time means less time to go out at night. (I can't believe it even affects tourism!).

It amazes me how time difference can be so controversial around the world. This must be a really important issue, and I can understand that.

Learning about "Spare the Air" days...

Learning about "Spare the Air" days was very interesting when we learned about that on the first day of class. Specifically, learning about those days when it's cold is even more interesting because somehow, it is more self-explanatory when its hot. I remember around the time when we used those days in January, because that was around my birthday. I just remember being out and about and it was EXTREMELY cold that night! I felt like it was just degrees from my car and everything in it icing over.

Then I remember learning hearing about how we should not use our fire places but never knowing why, other than that carbon monoxide can get in the house.

But then in class, I learned that when the air is cold and stands still, meaning no wind, the air stays in one spot. All the exhaust from cars and other sources can cause more pollution and I found that very interesting and it made a lot of sense.

I since I am really into the environment and want to conserve as much as I can, this is good for me to know as winter approaches.

First Entry: Maps being a part of my daily life...

So this is my first blog. I guess to start off this string of online journals, I'll look at how I can and do use maps and other Geography tools in my daily life.

First of all, I am a Geography major, although I just started taking classes for this major this semester. I have always liked maps and learning how the geography of a place helps to shape how people live and how their cultures and tranditions form. I also like learning about the environment so I'm pretty excited for this class!

Anyways, other than taking a whole bunch of classes this semester in geography, I have noticed that I use geography and maps all the time at work. I work for the Raider Image Distribution Center and basically we ship out merchandise to customers from our online store. Everyday we deal with customers from different parts of the country, even the world and therefore, I have to use maps to locate where their packages are. Also, There is a link that connects to Yahoo! maps where I can see their exact location! (I know, a little stalkerish!). Since I am so used to all this, I never realized how much geography is used in my life, more than what I am studying at the moment.

This was a pretty good start to the blog writing! Hopefully you enjoy!