What you eat is your business, but so is what you choose to recycle, and how much energy you decide to use.  When you sit down for a meal and enjoy a juicy burger or sizzling steak, you might not have considered what impact on the environment the environment your beef may have had.  Meat consumption in the United States is going down based on a per person average, but Americans still consume twice the USDA daily recommended amount of meat.  While I enjoy beef as much as the next person,  it is important to consider that it may not sustainable in the long run as the population continues to grow.  There are several threats that raising livestock poses to the environment. Foremost, is deforestation.

Think about it this way.  The Earth has been around for an estimated 4.6 billion years. If you scaled that to 45 years, humans have only been on Earth for 4 hours of that time, and the industrial revolution only began 1 minute ago out of 45 years.   Yet in that time we have managed to destroy over 50% of the world’s forests, and much of that has been to clear land for agriculture and cattle.

Another potential issue is that cattle produce greenhouse gasses!  You may not want to imagine it, but huge cattle farms where your food comes from are massive sources of pollution  as cows and other animals “pass gas”.   In just the last 250 years, the concentration of those gases in the atmosphere has increased as much as 150%, with cattle representing an estimated 18% of that pollution.

As the food productivity of land fails to keep up with the population growth in the United States and elsewhere, it’s important to consider the impact that your diet has on the environment.

On the International Space Station, astronauts could drink and shower with the same water for well over a year before they would be forced to get water from another ship.  That raises the question, why are most of us so wasteful with water in our everyday life?

Being sustainable while saving money at the same time is something we can all get behind. In our everyday lives, there are many opportunities for us to make sustainable choices. One of these ways is through the conservation of water.  Simply turning off your faucet while brushing your teeth, cutting back on shower times, and waiting until the dishwasher is full are all easy ways that we can reduce our water usage at home or in student housing. Rainwater can also be collected and reused to irrigate gardens or other landscaping. During the hot summer months, this can be especially important. Rainfall can also be filtered to remove pollutants, leaving the water potable (drinkable).  These minor changes can end up meaning savings on your water bills, but what else makes water conservation and filtration so important?

Water filtration is an increasingly important factor in countries that do not have easy access to drinkable water. Many times, drinkable water is used for non-potable reasons such as watering plants. However, non-potable water cannot be used to drink due to pollutants present in the water. Discovering ways that we can better collect, conserve, and filter water can mean great benefits for all of us.

Have you ever been behind the Wells Towers, and seen the large prairie down the road?  Have you ever wondered what it is, or why it is there? What that area actually is, is a nature preserve where the campus is making efforts to restore native prairie species.

About 15,000 years ago, two small glacial formations (Drumlins) formed there and created the 110 acre area that you see today.  There are lots of trails you can hike, but the area in and of itself is quite interesting.  Each week, staff and students go into the prairie and collect seeds from the native species.  Before winter, those seeds are spread out to areas where we hope to expand the prairie to, and to promote biodiversity.

The area has grown rapidly since the restoration project began, and the prairie is thriving.  It is not only plant species that this restoration benefits either!  Pictured below is the Upland Plover. This rare bird is one of 8 species currently being considered for “endangered” status by the state of Wisconsin.  However, one of these birds was recently spotted in the prairie, and this has gained attention from the state Department of Natural Resources.

Below, you can see the bird, as well as several of the plant species that are commonly found in the prairie.  Don’t forget, you can always help! The UW-Whitewater Earth Initiative, SAGE, and other orgs come to help collect seeds every Friday morning at 10am, and you can too!  Not only is it fun and sustainable, but you can get volunteer hours for your efforts!

Check out this video below, which shows what one of these prairie seed collections looks like, and provides some more insights as to the purpose of collecting and seeding the prairie!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3f9LB-_zQA

Pictured (left to right): Upland Plover, Rattlesnake Master, Showy Goldenrod