Tag Archives: pollution

From the Field: Heifer Improves the Environment

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Improving the EnviornmentThis weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org’s “From the Field” section.

Because the Earth sustains us, environmental responsibility is of the utmost value to Heifer International. Improving the environment, one of Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development, means that our projects do not contribute to soil erosion, increase pollution, or cause or worsen environmental problems. Rather, Heifer projects have a positive impact on biodiversity, local wildlife, watershed conditions, sanitation and soil fertility.

Improving the Environment

Photo courtesy of Heifer International

Heifer tailors its projects to work with the local environment, creating projects that enrich it and can thrive in that region’s conditions. In Central and South America, Heifer has organized its projects around regional conditions. In the Andes, for example, project participants raise camelids, using them as draft animals and harvesting their wool. These domesticated creatures thrive in the local conditions, and their padded feet don’t damage delicate mountainous foliage. Similarly, Heifer works with farmers in dry forest areas, teaching them to grow crops while avoiding soil erosion, increasing soil fertility and maximizing water resources. We also work with coffee, coca and cardamom farmers in our Americas-area programs. Working with a region’s environmental conditions ensures that the land will be productive for its future tenants.

Heifer Armenia and the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development’s (CARD) joint program works with farmers to breed cattle in the Syunik region. The organizations choose to work in the Syunik region because high-quality grass for animal feed is abundant, while in other communities, such as Armavir, Lori, Ararat and Shirak, securing feed is a problem.

Heifer Armenia’s YES! Youth Club Student Avet Grigoryan decided to launch a garlic business. The 16 year-old surveyed the land available to him. He consulted his uncle, also a garlic producer, who advised him to find sandy soil to plant in. After learning about Heifer’s Cornerstones, Avet knew that finding a patch of sandy soil would mean that his plants would thrive and that he wouldn’t have to use large amounts of chemical fertilizer and pesticides. He found that the soil at his home was unsuitable for growing and used his grandfather’s plot to raise his crops.

Help more families by donating now.

 

That Drive-Thru Isn’t Just Bad for Your Waistline

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A new study from the University of California at Riverside has even more bad news about the effects that swinging by your favorite fast-food chain to gobble up a delicious burger could have. And it’s not what you might think.

Photo credit mag3737

The study found that commercial char-broilers emit as much pollution cooking just one hamburger as an 18-wheel diesel engine truck driving 143-miles on the freeway. That seems like a lot. The crazy part is, it doesn’t really matter what the burger is made of—it all has to do with the device cooking them. Veggie patties on a commercial char-broiler are just as bad.

But that’s no reason to stop grilling up your favorite patty—of any variety—in your backyard. The study also said that grilling releases fewer particulates into the air than charbroiling.

What do you think? Can you give up the drive-thru for the sake of our air quality?

Taking Out the Trash — Where Does It Really Go?

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Once a week we will be featuring a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom.

Animals forage in trash on the southern edge of Port-au-Prince.

Animals forage in trash on the southern edge of Port-au-Prince, eight months following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that stuck January 12, 2010. Heifer International is part of the recovery efforts there.

With Earth Day only a week away — April 22 —  my mind is on garbage and what it does to our awesome planet. This experiment is a great way to find out what happens to garbage when we throw it in the trash.

When we throw something “away” does it really go away? What kinds of garbage break down the easiest? The fastest? The most? Let’s find out.

What you need:

  • A plastic container (like a yogurt cup)
  • 3 types of garbage (for example: vegetable peels, egg shells, mushrooms, nut shells, paper, aluminum foil or plastic)
  • Soil (from your yard, not potting soil)

Directions:

  • Fill a plastic container halfway with soil.
  • Add a little water, but only enough to make the soil wet, not watery.
  • Bury three kinds of garbage in the soil, one from each of the sets below:
    1. Vegetable peelings, bread, food leftovers
    2. Egg shells, nut shells, paper
    3. Aluminum foil, plastic, a penny
  • Make a list of the garbage and check it every day for changes.
  • Be sure the soil stays damp. Add a teaspoon of water each day, if necessary.

Make a chart to record your observations. Which materials break down the fastest, the most and the easiest? Which materials show no signs of breaking down?

After this experiment, think about the garbage you throw away. What can you do to lessen the materials that are hardest to break down? One way to lessen the materials is to compost. We will be offering several composting activities in the upcoming months like this blog post about worm bins and their valuable fertilizer.

Or read this article about food waste in America and what you can do about it.

You can find this and many other fun and informative activities in the Classroom Resources section of Heifer International’s website.