Medea

Today I ventured up to the University of Utah with my friend, Deborah, to see the yearly Greek play. Every fall the Theater Department has a Greek Theater Festival, the only one in the United States, where students perform a Greek play, usually a tragedy, and for the past two years I have attended. In Ancient Greece, plays were performed at sunrise. Luckily for me, the play was at 9:00 this morning, instead of the traditional 6:00 sunrise performance. (The University used to perform at sunrise, but have changed that tradition in that past couple of years due to weather and attendance issues.)

The Greek play is traditionally performed outside in front of Pioneer Theater where the stage is the arched sidewalk and broad stairs that slope downward toward the grass where the audience spreads out on blankets and lawn chairs with their breakfasts. Last year, my dear friend Deborah was in Euripides' Helen. It was freezing cold that morning, with frost on the grass. The blanket that I brought to sit on was soaked through well before the half way point . The sun was out for most of the performance, but the air was crisp and you could see the breath exhaling from the viewers. As I proudly watched my friend display all her talents and the show was beginning to wrap up, clouds loomed and the last ten minutes were completely encased in an all out blizzard. The audience was freezing, and the minimally clad cast even more so. But it was an experience that I will never forget.

Deborah, Stacey, and Ruth

photo credit Ruth Jones

Today, however, was a beautiful September day, full of light, color, and warmth. Medea was the Greek play this year. Also by Euripides, Medea is about a mother, married to Jason, who along with her two children are banished from Corinth. Jason is getting another wife, the daughter of the King Kreon. Jason sees this as a political move, one that will be beneficial for them all as he gains power by marrying the Princess and thereby makes better prospects for his two sons, even though they are banished. Medea is of course outraged and in her quest for revenge poisons the Princess and King. But in order for her revenge to be completely felt by her husband, she slays her two sons with her bare hands, determined to leave Jason with nothing. It is tragedy at it's finest. They say pictures speak louder than words, so here are some scenes from the play:

"Goddess of Midnight" Medea
Photo Credit: Ruth Jones

"Nurse Fetch Her" Medea Chorus
Photo Credit: Ruth Jones

Ending Scene: Medea at top with two dead sons, Chorus with dragon, Jason in front.
Photo Credit: Ruth Jones

Plant Anatomy 101

Potatoes. Potatoes are one of those things that tended to come up during my field trips that I used to teach when I worked at Red Butte Garden. The first grade field trip curriculum is based on teaching and discussing with kids the different parts of plants and which of those parts we eat. We talked about the roots (carrots, beets, turnips) the stems (celery, broccoli - "Right, most of the broccoli plant is the stem while the dark green parts on the top are what? Flowers, that's right" - asparagus, sugarcane) the leaves
(lettuce and salad - "Right, salad. What else? Have you ever herd of kale or Swiss chard? Those are different kinds of lettuces that people eat. What about spinach? Raise your hand if you like spinach! Yeah, I love spinach, too") and the fruits of the plant (tomatoes, watermelon, peaches, raspberries, strawberries - "Now where are the seeds on a strawberry? Right, the outside!" - bananas, pineapples, carrots - "Are carrots a fruit? Remember when we talked about those during the root section? That's okay if you forgot, that was a little while ago. What about peppers? Are they fruits? Well, they have seeds inside them, right? So if something has seeds inside of it, what does that make it? Exactly, a fruit" - apples and oranges.)

But what about potatoes? They're a root right? Well, not exactly. Which brings me to the point of this post. Today at work a co-worker, Andree', and I had a tabling event at Bend in the River, where we were doing an outreach event geared towards teachers. A teacher, who had just been to Red Butte Gardens with her first grade class last week, wanted to know if we knew what potatoes were. Are they fruits? Because you can plant a new potato plant from the actual potatoes. But they're not seeds, so technically, not fruits. And the potato plant, just like every other plant in the Solanaceae family which includes tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants as well as potatoes, flowers when conditions are right and gets pollinated by honey bees. But when the flowers are pollinated, what kind of fruit ripens in their place? Can we eat these fruits, or would they be poisonous like Deadly Night Shade (which is also in the potato family)?

Are they a root? Well, no because actually they are tubers. But what is a tuber? It stores energy for the plant for use at a later date, maybe during the winter for energy in the spring. That is why potatoes are so starchy and full of energy in the form of carbohydrates. And is a tuber a root, or what is it? No, a tuber is something different. A potato tuber is a type of subterranean stem. This differs from a regular stem as plants use stems for the transport of water from the roots to the leaves of the plant and for the downward transport of vital sugars (chlorophyll) from the leaves to the roots that provide energy for the plant. Besides potatoes, bulbs such as onions and leeks are also subterranean stems. You can tell this from the way the bulb is in between the stem that is above ground and the actual, smaller roots.

photo credit

Potatoes. Potatoes are a subterranean stem. I think with a little patience and some really fun pictures of potatoes, (or even better, use an actual potato plant that you can dig out of the ground to explain this all, and make something yummy later. You would be amazed at how many kids don't know that our food comes from plants that live in the ground!) a first grader might be able to grasp this concept...maybe.

Success!

The US House of Representatives passed the No Child Left Inside Act! The act received bipartisan support and was approved with a vote of 293 to 109. This is only one step in the long process of getting the Act approved, but it is a major step that provides strong momentum to keep working to pass the Act in the months ahead. What a victory for all of us who support efforts to continually incorporate environmental education into our schools and communities.

In light of this victory, please take a moment to write your representatives about your support of environmental education and to thank them for their support as well. In Utah, you can thank Jim Matheson (who voted for the act) and notify Chris Cannon (who voted against it) and Rob Bishop (who did not vote) about your support for environmental education. You can find their contact information here.

Field Day 1 - Brighton Lakes

Over the weekend, my organization hosted its annual Environmental Education Conference. Maybe we'll have more on that later. But, because we all worked so hard leading up to and during the conference, my boss closed shop Monday and Tuesday. Sounds like fun to me!

I spent Monday getting lost in the woods; hiking in the Wasatch Front, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Brighton Lakes. The trail to the Brighton Lakes begins at the basin of the Brighton Ski Resort. I have been hiking this trail basically since I can remember when my mom needed to hear the wind breathing through the pines, whispering in quaking aspen. My sister and I whined and complained the whole time (but we trudged up that mountain just the same) and by the time we got to the lakes we were just as happy to be out in our mountains, as sunshine-pine glided into our noses, as our mother was.

The trail goes up a pretty steep grade to the first lake, Mary. Mary is a beautiful lake with a large rock island in the middle, where a shaky, makeshift stepping-stone path connects the island to shore. It is muddy just beyond the shifting rock path, but the boulders above provide ample room to spread out and read a book, have lunch. The water is a deep iridescent blue.

On beyond Mary is Lake Martha. Nearly as clear, but smaller and I hardly visit. We cordially exchange glances before I move on. There is another lake ahead on which I have my sites set.

Lake Katherine is, and has always been, a yearly destination for my family. I have neglected my visiting rights these past years throughout college, and my return is well past due. Lake Katherine, of the three, is by far the most beautiful. It is not the biggest, nor the smallest, but it is the most remote. People there are few and far between. Indeed on this Monday I was alone but for the trees, fish, and occasional horsefly. There is a constant breeze that whips from high ridges above and down into the bowl of the icy glacial lake where it fans out across the rippling water. Everywhere is the raw beauty of alpine.

Lake Katherine has been waiting for me, and it is a happy reunion. She has changed but little in those subtle ways that mother nature cyclically gives and takes, where I have changed much more. A college graduate, no longer the girl I once was, but still am, where only my reflection gives me away. A survivor of trials, life-changing decisions, and joys, too. Does she realize my new stories of accomplishments and defeats? I can't tell, but she embraces me with open arms just the same.

As I say my good-bye and start making my way down the mountain, a Cooper's Hawk skims the space between us. Her belly is lightly speckled, her tail a striped fan. The trail descends, over and over. I can feel the sun beating on the backs of my ears and neck, as my toes cram further into my shoes and cry out for release. Close to the slope, it seems sundown is coming as the sun slants through the trees making long shadows before me, though it is only four o'clock. Fall's flirtations are all around and some vines have blushed in response. A peaceful feeling encompasses me, like the knowledge of a lost friend returned, as if nothing has ever changed. This, my friends, is happiness.

On the Lighter Side

When I was younger, all the way into high school actually now that I think about it, I never wanted to make my bed. I hated making my bed. When my mom would tell me to make my bed I would get so mad and nearly refuse to do it. Eventually, I started reasoning with my mom, and myself, that making your bed is pointless because you're just going to mess it up when you go to bed again anyway.

Now that I am older, my reasoning has changed. Making your bed is the best! It is the best way to make your room look better. I mean, think about it, all of the pillows and blankets that are carelessly strewn about when you clear off your bed to finally crawl into a hopefully deep slumber. They cause a large mess. But then in the morning, with a little effort of less-than-five minutes, the tornado that had hit the evening before had never been. Presto change-o, insta clean room!

Unfortunately, with as easy as it is to clean your room by making your bed, it doesn't necessarily mean that making your bed will keep your room clean.

Food Irradiation

There is always two sides to every story. That is what I've been telling myself as I have been reading articles about the latest piece of news that I have unearthed. Now this may be old-news to some people, but for me, it was one more blow to my already skeptical view of this nation's food suppliers. Did you know that the FDA just ruled to allow spinach and iceberg lettuce to be treated with irradiation? This new treatment of some of our leafy greens is to prevent e. coli. My initial instinct is to be incredibly worried about this new legislation, and I think I remain in a state of alarm about the whole thing. However, I looked up some other articles about the issue, following a stream of links leading from one question to another, and I came up with some interesting discoveries.

The first side of this story comes from the standpoint that food irradiation is bad. Chemicals called furans, which are often toxic and may be carcinogenic, are found in food that has been irradiated. Another chemical family called the 2-alkylcyclobutanones are not found naturally in foods, but are found in food that has been irradiated. This is alarming if 2-alkylcyclobutanones are not found in our food naturally, and therefore not part of our digestion processes and immune defense mechanisms, then the side effects of exposure are relatively unknown. I can't help thinking about Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and the impacts that the world is slowly recovering, but still suffering, from DDT. There are also labeling issues about food that has been irradiated. For instance, spinach and iceberg lettuce that is unpackaged and fresh in the produce section must say "Treated with Irradiation" or be marked with the Radura symbol:
On the other hand, some say food irradiation is okay, as it provides a necessary service that is the only way in the production process to ensure a "pathogen-free" product. Strains of E. coli and Salmonella can usually be washed clean off of the surfaces of fruits and veggies. So unless you never wash the produce you are eating, you usually should be okay. That isn't where the problem lies, however. Food irradiation is being used to get rid of "internalized bacteria," or bacteria that can't be washed off. The irradiation breaks up water molecules housed in the plant's cells, releasing free-radicals that damage cell walls and any nearby bacteria DNA. Other defenses of food irradiation include the points that furans naturally occur when food is cooked and studies of 2-alkylcylcobutanones are found in very low levels and have produced different results. Some studies have found that 2-alkylcylcobutanones damage DNA, while others have found they do nothing of the sort.

In all of the information that I read about this issue, not one shred of evidence, either for or agains food irradiation, was done by independent analysts. One thing that all articles were in agreement on, however, was the knowledge that irraditing food destroys vitamins and minerals in the vegetables we eat, especially Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Thiamine, and Folate. Though irriadiating our food could significantly cut down on internalized bacteria, there is no way that 100% of E. coli and Salmonella strains would be destroyed. An important point to also realize is that while it takes thousands and thousand of E. coli bacterium to make a person sick, it only takes a handful for a person to become ill from Salmonella. Is this treatment really even effective? What are we sacrificing?

The largest problem of all that concerns me the most is the fact that none of the arguments presented thus far are addressing the main issue. What is the main issue? E. coli and Salmonella strains are bacteriums that are classically defined by their presence in raw meats. What on earth are they doing showing up in the flesh of our fruits and veggies? The agricultural industry, FDA, and food porduction agencies should not be looking for substututes for CLEAN FARMING PRACTICES. If bacteriums are causing health crises in industries where shouldn't even be present, then the logical answer would be to take a serious look at the food industry and clean up our farming, processing, packaging, and handling practices.

So how do we even go about changing this? Especially as citizens? What are your thoughts on this matter?

No Child Left Inside

Today's post has a little more to do with my work than anything. It is, however, something that I've been thinking about all day long so I might as well share it with you all. The No Child Left Inside Coalition (NCLI) is an organization that is working to bring strong education about our natural worlds to kids in school. NCLI's focus is to pass the No Child Left Inside Act. This federal legislation, if passed, would provide major funding for states to be able to provide high-quality environmental education.

There are over 600 organizations that are members of the NCLI Coalition and they range from education centers, businesses, outdoor recreation groups, environmental groups, and to public health agencies. The organization that I work for, The Utah Society for Environmental Education (USEE), is also a member of the NCLI coalition and the NCLI Act basically embodies a lot of what I do at USEE.

Today, I received an email from the NCLI Coalition notifying me of a very important event. The date has been set for Congress to vote next week on the No Child Left Inside Act. This is a chance for me to get the word out! I contacted my representative, Jim Matheson, and sent him an email asking him to support the NCLI Act in next week's House vote.

Do you want to make a difference in Environmental Education? Well, contact your representatives and ask them to support this important piece of legislation. It was a piece of cake for me to do this, and I was very surprised how simple it was. Just quickly fill out some information and presto, NCLI already has a letter prepared with all of the details! You can even edit the email so that it says exactly what you would like it to. (I have heard it said that for every person that a representative hears from is considered to represent 1,000 other people who haven't said anything. We'll see how this goes, I guess...) For more background information on NCLI, check out the post on Green Fork's blog.

And now, after all of this, one of my favorite things that the NCLI Coalition has done is a movie entitled Get 'Em Outside. It is about the importance of environmental education in all of our lives and is only about five minutes long. Definately worth it. I highly recommend this movie (as I have watched it several times myself), especially if you have kids. And so, without further ado:

A Random Extension

Hello!

Welcome to my blog, Eco-Logical Adventures! The creation of this blog was all at once a little random but also still seems part of a naturally occurring chapter in my quest to become Eco-Logical. This is technically my second blog-creation as my first blog, Green Fork, was made for the organization that I work for. I have really enjoyed creating and writing for Green Fork, but due the nature of the organization Green Fork represents, I find myself wanting to say more. I work for the Utah Society for Environmental Education (USEE) which is strictly a non-advocacy non-profit organization. Though Green Fork does not directly represent USEE, I still don't feel at liberty to quite express myself on all subjects in the manner in which I would like.

So here it goes, a new way to reach the world. To say what I think is important and to get my messages out there. So why should you read my blog? Well, as times are a changin', environmental awareness is coming together with the public at large in ways it never has been able to before. This blog is a quest in environmental literacy, and I am anticipating to learn as much from you as I hope you may learn from me.

And who am I? I am a recent college graduate from the University of Utah. I received my degree in Environmental Studies in May of 2008, and I am ready to take on the world...one blog post at a time, of course. ;-) I am the product of four parents (my mother and step-father, and my dad and step-mom). I also have two younger half-sisters that live with my dad in Tennessee, and one other younger sister, whom I am very close with. I can usually be found spending my leisure time hiking, bike-riding, reading, or rock-climbing. I enjoy cooking and spending time with my family and friends as well.

My interests also include environmental education, issues of sustainability, food choices, climate change, environmental literacy, ecology, alternative energy, environmental awareness, gardening, and basically anything else dealing with the 'green movement.' This is life-long learning that I am talking about here. With this blog I am hoping to provide a space for respectful discussion where topics include the impacts that our everyday choices have on our own individual health and the greater world around us, using my own life stories as a platform. It is the choices that we make every day and the culmination of these decisions that interest me the most. So please, join me on this journey of ongoing Eco-Logical literacy.