"Orange Dust"

 Before my college days, I played field hockey in both middle and high school for five years. I remember the field we practiced on quite well. It was standard size with two nets at opposite ends, had white lines that sectioned off the grass field and was notorious for leaving orange residue all over cleats, shin guards, shorts, sticks, and hands. When my team first started noticing this "orange dust" on all of our apparel we asked our coach what it was. She said it was just a fungus and to make sure to wash our hands. After asking our coach about the dust, the grass was practically clear of the fungus the next day. But every season- when the weather peaked, the fungus would return for a few days and would be gone like magic as soon as a parent would inquire about the dust to the athletic director.

I recently looked into the pesticide/fungicide use at my former high school. It turns out there really does exist a grass "rust" fungus that typically appears in certain kinds of grasses in hot weather, however, in order to eradicate it entirely for a season requires the use of fungicides.

I played and ran on this field, I would lay in it to do curl ups, planted my hands into the ground to do push ups, I even ate snacks and would place my mouthguard down on this field. No one was ever told about the use of fungicides on my field hockey field and it was not until recently that I learned about how detrimental fungicides can be on one's future health. According to Sandra Steingraber (Living Downstream): 54 million pounds of synthetic pesticides are applied each year. In addition to this alarming rate, pesticides do not always stay on the fields where they are sprayed.

"They evaporate and drift in the air. They dissolve in water and flow downhill into streams and creeks. They bind to soil particles and rise into the air as dust. They migrate into glacial aquifers and thereby enter groundwater. They fall in the rain. They are found in snowflakes. And fog. And wind. And clouds. And backyard swimming pools." 

Some pesticides have been linked to cancer.

After further research, I found out that my former high school, Webster Schroeder High School, falls in the 10th percentile (12,339 of 127, 809) as having some of the worst polluted air in America's schools (Special USA Today report- The Smokestack Effect). It has some of the worst exposures to cancer causing toxins as well as exposures to others harmful chemicals including: 70% Sulfuric Acid, 12% Chlorine, 7% Hydrochloric acid, 6% Chromium/Chromium compounds, and 2% Manganese/Manganese compounds. According to this report, polluters most responsible for these toxins outside the school include: Eastman Kodak Co, Russell Station, Ferronics Inc, Arch Chemicals Inc, and Delphi Energy & Chassis Rochester.

I am not implying that my high school field hockey field will give me cancer. I do believe it has elevated my chances to one day develop some form of cancer, although the development of cancer depends on a combination of genetics, lifestyle, and environmental factors.

I was not able to find out anything about Canisius College and the pollution in the surrounding air or about the use of pesticides. According to one faculty member- "There are a lot of pesticides used, and something should be done to stop it."

In the pictures I took this weekend and observing my area, there are no signs of pesticide use so far ("signs" meaning both physical signs staked in the ground to warn about pesticide use and "signs" meaning no residue stains or dead insects/weeds were observed). I imagine I will observe the use of pesticides once the winter season concludes and the warm spring air arrives. 

 

However, in other news- now that the snow has almost completely melted away over the course of the past two days, the appearance of garbage is beginning to spring up. Cigarette buds, a bottle cap, a straw, and a piece of gum were observed in my spot in the quad. Although the quad appears to still look as clean and orderly as normal, does anyone ever stop to question the ways in which we treat our land, spraying pesticides or placing the ground litter elsewhere, to give it the appearance of being healthy is wrong? Because as we all have experienced in some point in our lives, a piece of fruit may appear to look, feel, and smell healthy and normal on the outside, but can be absolutely rotten and unhealthy in the inside.

Let Us Compare

The photo on the left was taken at Canisius College and was shown in one of my previous blog posts, the photo on the right was taken on my trip to NYC this past weekend.

According to www.nyc.gov, there are strict guidelines residents of NYC must follow after snowfall occurs including:

• If snowfall ends between 7 AM and 5 PM, property owners must clear sidewalks within 4 hours.
• If snowfall ends between 5 PM and 7 AM, property owners must clear sidewalks before 11 AM.

"The City may issue property owners a summons for a failure to clear the sidewalks within these time frames.You can make a complaint at any time about snow or ice on sidewalks in front of public property, such as bus stop shelters, park paths, or schools. You can also make a complaint about snow or ice on sidewalks in front of private property after property owners have had an appropriate amount of time to clear their sidewalks."

When I took a deeper look into my school's snow removal protocols- all I was able to find was a job description (posted by Canisius) for a "housekeeping" staff position

A "housekeeper" position at Canisius requires 9 duties; snow removal being duty #9

All Canisius requires is that housekeepers "must be able to understand/follow basic safety precautions involved in the use of cleaning chemicals, the operation of motorized equipment, and personal protective equipment. Must be able to understand and follow a work schedule and complete assigned tasks in the time allotted." And of course- must have a "valid New York State driver’s license and a good driving record."

But nothing in this $11.23 per hour job description does it explicitly state any experience working with harmful, potent chemicals is found to be necessary

 (only "cleaning" chemicals- like windex and lysol)

having any environmentally conscious sense is not a requirement for the job

I strongly believe this may account for why our pavements are bleached with salt residue due to over salting when it snows- and how even though the streets of NYC may be more polluted than the street of Buffalo, plant life around walk ways and streets in NYC are protected because the residents are held accountable for their property and resort to using shovels- not chemicals

Green Streets

Greetings all! This past long weekend, I travelled to the big apple (New York City) to visit my uncles on Riverside drive. I wanted to take this opportunity to compare my suburban college intersection (the quad) to the numerous intersections in Manhattan. Normally when I travel to NYC I keep my eyes open for sales, this trip, however, my eyes were glued to the ground and my nearby surroundings. I observed that NYC actually has A LOT of city-wide programs involved in keeping certain areas clean and tidy. For instance- my uncle, who is a graphic designer, became involved in the Riverside Oval Association whose aim is to preserve and raise awareness for their residential area.

 

My uncle designed this logo- at first you think it is a leaf and maybe even a feather, but it also incorporates the street mapping of his residential area! Around where he lives, there are "Green Streets" or adopted areas of NYC where volunteers work around the clock to plant trees and keep up the maintenance of these gardens. The areas are represented by the following sign:

 

In addition to these programs, garbage bins in Brooklyn incorporate these messages around the rim:

 

 Other community initiatives exist to keep homes and streets clean as well.

However, as much as I feel there are some areas of NYC cleaner than our salt stained walkways and rain drains in the quad of Canisius College, other areas where no volunteer services resonate were found to be filthy and highly polluted.

On Sunday I attended a parade in Chinatown to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year; I was shocked by the amount of debris left on the ground from all the festivities

 

Look at all the piles of garbage just left on or near the streets

  

When you compare the two intersections- the one is looking at our small community intersection in the green area on campus and then look at all the traffic occuring in Colombus Circle, where the only yellow thing buzzing in the area are taxi cabs. The air is polluted by soot and dust, sidewalks are littered with discharged metro passes and gum wrappers, and people are dodging one another, barelling in every direction to get to where they need to go. Although I do enjoy vacationing in New York City from time to time, you learn quickly to appreciate the beauty of cleanliness and the sensible people of Buffalo, NY.

 

 

"Many shadows do I see, six more weeks of winter it must be."

After Punxsutawney Phil "saw" his shadow on Saturday, I thought I would reiterate the news that winter is far from being over. Although sunny, many parts on campus were still covered in snow late yesterday afternoon.

Be sure to take note, however, that the side walks were free from all the snow build up...

Perhaps it has to do with the rock salt Canisius sprinkles on the ground. According to the IAPPO- Illinois Association of Public Procurement Officials, the salt products used to instantly melt snow from roads and sides walks raise serious environmental concerns for local communities including: the accumulating chloride concentrations in our aquatic systems, coniferous species (and other plant life) near salted areas are experiencing browning and "die backs," the reduction of diversity of animals as deer and birds are consuming herbivory poisoned with chemicals, an increase in salt resistant invasive species, and damages to roadways and vehicles.

And I cannot help but image salt left piled on top of our storm drains is very healthy...
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However, in lighter news- there seemed to be some more activity since returning to my spot in the Quad

And what I mean by "activity" is the tire marks left by a plow, the paw prints of a small animal, and my own foot prints.

Happy Friday everyone!

Take on the challenge this weekend to do something green

Buffalo Broke a Record

As I sit at my desk early Thursday morning, the beautiful 65 degree day of Wednesday has long past. I hear the wet wind whipping at my window and according to my IPhone, today will have only a high of 52, and a low of 27 degrees. For many, Wednesday was the highlight of their week. Kids did not have to wear their heavy winter jackets to school, no one needed to pull out a shovel or snow blower, and I know my mother was certainly thankful for a smooth ride to work this morning. But we are avoiding the giant pink elephant in the room. Yesterday was January 30th. According to http://www.wunderground.com:

Normal temperature for Buffalo NY on January 31st: 18  -  32 degrees
Record for Buffalo NY on January 31st:                   - 11  -  66 degrees
                                                                               (1920)        (2013)  

There is a problem with the fact that I am wearing Toms shoes in the picture posted above instead of my snow boots, as well as the fact that the snow has all melted and green grass is prominent across the quad. My environmental sociology professor (Erin Robinson) mentioned how tulips in her neighborhood were beginning to pop out of the ground this morning and she "just wanted to tap them back in...it is not time to bloom yet!" The signs for global warming are here, and have been here for some time- some people just do not recognize the repercussions of having one nice day when we are supposed to be in the dead of winter. I mean, even someone as environmentally conscience as myself still appreciated the pleasant weather on Wednesday, even though I know how harmful it was to our surrounding ecosystems.

While observing the quad yesterday, the overall mood seemed to be calm and distant. I was surprised that I  saw less than a dozen people walk through the quad from 1:45-2:00 pm since everyone in my earlier classes had been ecstatic about "how nice it is outside." I hate that expression. How nice it is outside? It is "nice" outside everyday- the environment can never be mean (joke). The air feels "fresh" (or at least it feels that way) against my skin and being out in the sunlight always makes me feel a little more rejuvenated afterwords. I believe the majority of students took the tunnels to classes once it began to sprinkle outside.

Here were some of my interesting finds at my spot today:

This is a metal pole that surrounds the statue in front of the Horan O'Donnell building. As one can see, it has begun to experience some rusting. Also observe the complete melting of the snow, however, the concrete base was damp from the sporadic rain showers that took place yesterday




Although it is hard to see in this picture, there are multiple foot steps in the soil around the area where the statue is situated



The tress in the quad are stripped of leaves and budding does not seem to be present



Where the grassy patches meet the bricks/concrete sidewalks, the lawn is destroyed due to the "salts" laid down during the heavy snow accumulation over the past few weeks. This can be noted around the entire campus.


I am eager to go exploring in my spot again next week, stay tuned!

"There is an air of unreality in debating these arcane points when the world is changing in such dramatic ways right in front of our eyes because of global warming." - Al Gore

The Spot

Let me first start off by explicitly stating my mission:

It was proposed by my RST 342 professor to creatively journal about a spot of your choice outside over the course of the semester. 

The goal: to discover something new about this spot- a spot that maybe you pass everyday and have never stopped to appreciate. I intend to research my location- especially since I only recently found out Canisius College was not always located at 2001 Main Street and to relate back to my audience all the new and exciting spectacles I find out about my spot. 

Today was the day I decided to begin observing my spot. My own little area in the vast wide world where I will sit and reflect at every week. It took me a while to find a spot I liked. I first envisioned picking a spot in Delaware Park, but after countless days of snow, rain, and sleet- I came to the conclusion I would not want to walk that far every week, let alone walk that far with that dry, freezing wind Buffalo is notoriously known to get this time of year. Therefore I decided to go with this spot right here. The Quad. I specifically chose this angle- my back facing Horan O'Donnell, looking  towards Loyola Hall because I will not get distracted from what is behind (as it is a building). I will purely get to capture every moment that occurs in front of my eyes. Also- I am curious to witness the traffic of students, faculty, and staff trying to reach their desired destinations as you can go four different ways on this brick road and the spot I chose to observe allows me to view all of the activity.

I like this spot because I remember when I was a freshmen the quad ignited with activity as soon as the first spring days struck. I think it would be an incredible experience to document the quad's activity up to that point. Because as you can see, the quad is not too busy this time a year. However, that does not mean I wont uncover some of the quad's winter marvels in future posts...

Get to Know the Author

Let me introduce myself- My name is Marissa Verdi. I am currently a sophomore at Canisius College pursuing an undergraduate degree in biology. I was not always a bio major, in fact I was a digital media arts major all of last year until I had a life altering experience. Okay- I mean it was not as dramatic as I just made it sound. More of a reality check. I had realized after seeing my professors' enthusiasm and passion for the subjects they preach that I completely lacked any zeal for computers and design. I was in the major for two reasons. 

1. My uncle is a graphic designer and was pretty successful until he got laid off over a year ago.

 2. I thought DMA would be easy. 

I came to the conclusion shortly after spring semester began that I wanted out of DMA; what I thought I wanted to do as a naive senior in high school had changed.

However, the odd thing was- I knew exactly what I wanted to switch my major to. A total epiphany moment occurred when I decided I wanted to become an entomologist. 

Entomology- The Scientific Science of Insects

Just even saying the word makes my mouth muscles twitch to smile because it is absolutely what I want to do. As a child- my first grade teacher asked us to write down what job we wanted to have when we grew up. I had three in mind.

1. Cashier

2. Waitress

3. A job no one else has

Well- I've accomplished having the first two jobs, but the third is an interesting one. I knew even fifteen years ago that I did not want some job behind a cubicle, where a suit would need to be worn, and a briefcase purchased. I have always tried to be uniquely myself. 

But why entomology?

I have travelled to Costa Rica twice- once in 10th grade, the other time senior year and that is where my appreciation for conservation began to cultivate. When I returned back home the second time (senior year)- I came back to school to my 7:30 am AP Biology class to find a new assignment on my desk. We were to catch, pin, and identify 10 insects and write a small paragraph summary about each specimen. By the time the project was due I had caught 25 insects- some of which I hunted for in the early morning hours to even going on adventures chasing moths and dragon flies for hours at a time. I loved the project. However,  It was not until I came to college that the thought of even tackling entomology crossed my radar. 

I have recently come to the conclusion that I will go on to graduate school for entomology and continue my education to get my ph.D. With entomology I would absolutely love to explore the forensic side and use insects to determine time/cause of death in murder cases like on television shows! Unfortunately for me my chemistry skills = nonexistent and I would not be happy being in a laboratory all day. That is why I think I want to endeavor in environmental entomology. I want to be one of the leading ladies to discover why our bee colony numbers are dwindling down to almost non existent, create alternatives to using harmful pesticides in the world war battle of invasive species vs our native species of plants, animals, and vegetation, and I want to investigate more into the deadly diseases transferred to humans through insect vectors. 

Enough about what I want to do with my life....here are some other fun facts about myself:

Activities I am involved in on campus:

Vice President and Co-Captain of the Club Field Hockey Team

Sophomore Senator

Rifle Team

Orientation Leader

Hometown: Webster, NY

Favorite Food: All dairy, specifically- cheese

Favorite Animal: a woodchuck

Favorite Insect(s): bees, beetles, & moths

If I could bring back an extinct species what would it be: Dinosaurs

If I could spend a whole day with someone who would I pick: My dog

What I hope to get out of this blog: a clearer understanding of our relationship with the environment and to witness the changing of a season unlike any other