Thank you for reading!

Thank you for taking time to read and stop by my blog! 
As this semester closes I can truly say I have enjoyed this assignment and have loved posting for whoever is reading out there.

Before taking environmental science this semester I would say I was only doing the minimum to really take hold of what my family and I are able to do to better our environment every single day. I have learned how to stay up to date about issues that should matter to all of us who share this beautiful planet and have also taken time to research what is coming up in the future with innovation.

I took a picture and made a little caption with a quote that I love: 

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

Albert Einstein 


Stay Involved,

Melanie M.

Locally Grown Produce is my favorite!

My Recycling !

Recycling is a huge part for our community, state, country, and world! In these part couple years I have really learned the importance of recycling and really how it can help not just at a local level, but truly global level as well. For this lab I had to do some research about how I personally recycled.

1. Describe your system for recycling.

Living here in Ocala our townhome community has a recycling time pick up time every Thursday. We have a large brown colored bin designed specifically for our plastics, cans, paper, cardboard, and more. When we didn’t live here in this community and in a privately owned neighborhood, it was much more difficult to recycle.

2. Estimate the daily and weekly volumes of materials. (You can record the data as numbers individual items or weights)

The bin we have here at home has the capacity of 224lbs or 64 gallons. Here at home we try to always be very conscious about recycling since all we have to do is walk to the garage and open a bin. We try to remind each other when we see other family members forgetting that there is the bin outside. Some weeks are tending to see more and others it’s much less, really depending on the amount of food we bought for the week.

3. Estimate your annual volume if you continued to recycle and describe how the environment is better for your efforts.

We don’t use all 64 gallons of our bin, I would say half of it but even with half of it, about 32 gallons a week, times 52 weeks in a year would be about 1664 gallons of material in a year. Now if we did use all 64 gallons of our bin, times 52 weeks a year, would be 3328 gallons of material a year.  This makes a huge difference and I can only imagine how big of a different could make in the community if we all used our recycling bins properly.

4. What recyclable material do you generate in the greatest quantities?

We mostly have plastic, and this is due to the large amount of water bottles bought in our home that my younger brothers use at their athletic practice.

5. What recyclable material do you generate the least amount of?

I would say we use paper the least, it’s not very common to see a large amount of paper in our recycling bin.

6. Describe the location and place you recycled your materials.

We have a recycling truck come every Thursday morning for our bin and the matierals that are not able to be recycled straight into the bin we can easily take to our closest waste facility that is about 10 mintues away from our home. 

Water Conservation Importance

This one was huge in our household to share because we have personally been working on really conserving our water. I need to definitely be working on how to wash dishes more efficiently  and not waste as much water. I think that is my biggest downfall with water conservation. One part that really caught my attention with this article was that we are the number state that reuses the most water.

Now as summer is approaching and water usage might be even higher, the tips at the end of article are a great remeinder to us all !

CONTACT: DEP Press Office, 850.245.2112, DEPNews@dep.state.fl.us 

WATER CONSERVATION MONTH SHOWS FLORIDIANS IMPORTANCE OF YEAR-ROUND SAVING

~DEP encourages residents to implement water conservation strategies this and every month~

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection recognizes April as Water Conservation Month, a time dedicated to educating residents and visitors of the importance of protecting Florida's water resources and supply and everyday steps that can be taken at home to help.

Governor Rick Scott has recognized April as Water Conservation Month in aproclamation that emphasizes the importance of increasing awareness and prompting action for efficient use of the state's water resources.

"Our priority continues to be to ensure the sustainable supply and quality of our water," said Greg Munson, Deputy Secretary for Water Policy and Ecosystem Restoration. "This April is the perfect time for Floridians to join us in these efforts by learning more about water conservation."

For the last 16 months, the Department has led a statewide effort to improve consistency in the consumptive water use permitting programs implemented by the state’s five water management districts. As part of that process, the Department has taken steps to incentivize water conservation measures at the local level. The Department is also revising and expanding state rules to further increase Florida's use of reclaimed water. Even as the rules have been developed, the state's five water management districts continue to fund extensive water conservation initiatives through education campaigns and reclaimed water development projects.

Ongoing efforts statewide show that water conservation efforts are working. Florida remains one of the most water-efficient states in the nation. In 2011, Florida usedmore than 722 million gallons of reclaimed water every day to conserve freshwater and replenish rivers, streams, lakes and aquifers. Florida uses reclaimed water to irrigate 311,068 residences, 546 golf courses, 998 parks and 346 schools, according to 2011 data. As a result, Florida re-uses more water than any other state.

“On this 15th anniversary of April as water conservation month we would like to thank all that adopt and integrate conservation into their everyday routine," saidLisa Krentz, Water Use Efficiency Division Chair of the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association. "It is imperative we continue to recognize water is the keystone to life in Florida.”

Since most areas of Florida continue to struggle with drought conditions, water conservation is critical. Water conservation is the least costly and easiest plan to preserving our natural resources. Floridians can participate this month by implementing one or more of these 10 simple tips from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. These tips can help lower monthly water bills while helping to save hundreds of gallons of water:

Indoor Tips:

• Only run your washing machine and dishwasher when they are full.
• Use the shortest clothes washing cycle for lightly soiled loads.
• Thaw frozen food in the refrigerator or microwave, not under running water.
• Scrape, don’t rinse, your dishes before loading in the dishwasher.
• Install high-efficiency showerheads, faucets and toilets.

Outdoor Tips:

• Check your home’s irrigation system for leaks to save up to 6,300 gallons of water per month.
• Turn off your home’s irrigation system and only water as needed; save up to 2,000 gallons each time a watering day is skipped.
• Don’t leave sprinklers unattended. Use a kitchen timer to remind yourself to turn sprinklers off.
• Use a hose with a shutoff nozzle when washing the car to save around 40 gallons per wash.
• Consider installing a rain barrel with a drip irrigation system for watering your landscaping.  Rainwater is free and better for your plants because it doesn’t contain hard minerals.

For facts and information about water conservation throughout April, follow @FLDEPNews on Twitter.

Locally Grown Food

Another lab I really enjoyed was my locally grown food lab, here is the excerpt and a couple pictures:

Sustainable Communities – Locally Grown Food Lab

There is much discussion today about getting our communities to become more sustainable. This is due to the fact that American communities today require vast amounts of energy. One of the reasons for the amount of energy used is due to the fact most all resources must be imported into the community, sometimes thousands of miles. One way to reduce the energy used to import resources is to obtain those resources locally. Food is one item that really does not need to be shipped so far. Here in Florida does it make sense to ship tomatoes from California when it is possible to grow them here? Most people would say not. Even if the crop can be grown more efficiently someplace else the energy used to ship will likely outweigh the growing efficiency. In this lab prepare a meal using all locally grown food. When we say locally grown we consider a 100-mile radius from your home or city to be local. Crones cradle reserve http://www.cronescradleconserve.com in Citra carries locally grown food items.

1.     Describe your “locally grown” meal.

This lab for me was very enjoyable to do because it is usually what I do everyday! In the past couple years have become much more environmentally aware, which has not only affect my personal health but that of our beautiful nature. My family and I made the decision to start eating “clean” meals where we would also be able to lean more towards the organic side. I am going to show 3 pictures of just some of my “locally grown” meals. The first one is my breakfast with locally baked bread (it had no brand name), almond milk, and the blueberries on top were from the farmers market as well. The second picture is the one of my mid morning snack which is usually fruit or my green juice that I personally make. I always like buying organic fruits and veggies (at the farmers market) for this because the idea of a pesticide cocktail doesn’t appease me. The last one is another breakfast option I have which is asparagus (from Ocala farmers market), grape fruit (from Ocala farmers market), and flat English muffins, and an egg white.

2.     Where did you obtain the food?

All the produce that I organically consume come from the Ocala Farmers market at the square on Saturdays. It’s not far from home and it is a great place to also grow relationships with the farmers themselves.

3.     How do you know that the food was locally grown?

I usually check out the website from growers before purchasing and most of them have banners with the website information as well.

4.     How difficult was it to find the locally grown food?

When I started looking a couple years ago, I never thought it would be so easy to find! I can find it just 15 minutes away from home.

5.     How does the taste of the meal compare to similar meals you normally eat?

It usually is the same meals I normally eat, I’m a regular at the farmers market.

6.     How does you purchasing locally grown products support your community?

It helps out so much with our community economy and also our local workers as well.

7.     How does you purchasing locally grown products improve the environment?

We do not have to use energy in exportation, travel time and gas usage, and reducing chances of waste.

8.     What other things could be locally produced besides food, which would help the environment and community?

I noted in a following lab that we could produce several locally produced items: Honey, bottled water, eggs, milk, and even meat.