Indigenous People and Modern Sustainability/ The Iroquois

Exploring what native people in one's area did to help insure their own tribe's sustainability might be an avenue that some might want to think about when considering modern or local sustainability issues. I used the book Iroquois Uses of Maize and Other Food Plants to try and see if some of their ideas could be used today. Credits for the book are given below.

  I found out through reading about the native people of my area, the Iroquois, what they grew and gathered for food and I was interested in learning more about some of the ways that indigenous people helped their tribes to survive through hard times.  The Iroquois nation for example, grew and  collected a variety of food items some of which they preserved through low tech methods that could be used today. They helped each other out through hospitality rules. No one ever went hungry because they had others to depend on. The sick and the elderly all were allowed "community food". People shared and helped each other. Hospitality was encouraged even among strangers and many early colonist and  early explorers attest to the generosity of many different native tribes for helping them through hard times.

  All manner of different types of corn which could be cooked in different ways to make hominy, puddings and breads. They grew string beans, bush beans, two kinds of kidney beans, and collected wild peas as well as some wild rice. There were many different squashes like crookneck, hubbard squash, scalloped, and winter squash. There were pumpkins, cucumbers and musk melons. For sweeteners they had maple sugar,and corn sugar. All different types of nuts like beechnuts, black walnuts, butternuts, hickory and hazel nuts could be gathered. They could find and dry  blueberries, huckleberries, cranberries, mulberries, strawberries, currants, pears and apples and more. They had a pretty good supply of gathered and grown food stuffs to last them through the year and the book explored ways food was stored, cooked and used.

 It was very interesting to see how a peoples philosophy helped them in cultivating and sharing their natural environment. I was also interested in learning what they did grow and gathered in my area, how food was preserved. The book stimulated a lot of thoughts in my mind as to different avenues we can explore when thinking about modern sustainability issues. Perhaps a greater variety of natural produce that has been shown to have done well in this area, could be offered  in our local grocery stores.

Iroquois Uses of Maize and other food plants by Arthur Parker 1910. Reprint in 1983. Albany State of New York. Education Department. New York State Museum.

Why should we be concerned about fossil fuels?/ Updated

There are three main types of fossil fuels, coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels were formed millions of years before the dinosaurs. Prehistoric plants form the basis of the different types of fossil fuels. Oil and gas for instance were formed from plants that lived in water and were buried under oceans and rivers. Over millions of years sediments built up and compressed them down. Thick liquid we call oil formed first and in the deeper hotter areas natural gas was formed. Around 300 million years ago some of the oil and gas began working their way back up to surface areas through the earth's crust until they ran into geological formations called cap rocks. It is under these cap rocks most oil and natural gas is found today. Different types of fossil fuels depend not only on the biological material, but conditions it  encountered as it decomposed. Some things that effect fossil fuel bearing depends on how long the material was buried, the environmental conditions that existed millions of years ago, and the temperature and pressure applied from the sediment that covered them. Coal was formed, for instance with plants from primordial swamps ( for more info see US department of Energy, or fossil.energy.gov)

We are currently using up the reserves of these fossil fuels formed  millions of years ago. The Natural Resources Defense Council (nrdc.org) reports with others that American's currently are using about 1/4 of the world's oil even though we produce only about 2%.The California energy commission reports that fossil fuels should be considered as a finite energy resource, and will at some point be tapped out, it will cost more to extract. The costs for using these types of resources seems to be increasing.

Geologists often find it is hard to predict and accurately forecast rates of remaining oil. Geology.uprm.edu predicts that " It is likely that conventional oil accumulations will be in decline from conventional oil accumulations before the middle of the century (2000)".  Because oil is a geological event and some places may not have been discovered, geologists use analysis and probabilistic methodology to estimate the amount of recoverable oil. About three million barrels may be left. Of this amount over 1/2 is already being produced or booked as reserves.  For more see Global Petroleum Resources- A view to the Future.   (geology.uprm.edu)

Fossil fuels that are found throughout the world may belong already to different countries. Geogolists report that areas that might contain the greatest volumes of undiscovered oil include: The Middle East, Western Siberia, the Caspin region, The Niger and Congo deltas. Much of the undiscovered oil may lie off shore which may be off the coasts of countries that claim ocean provinces. This oil might be outside of provinces of US, former Soviet Union, Middle East, and North Africa. The Artic basin may have undiscovered petroleum resources.

One must often consider a variety of issues that surround energy usage such as  economics, political conditions, and rate of usage. In 2009 the US imported about 52% of it's crude oil. Some oil is used for energy supplies to run automobiles, and for other energy uses like heating homes and running appliances. Petroleum according to ( how stuff works. com/fuel) is  the name for the raw product that comes out of the ground, It must then be refined to finally be used as used in gasoline and further refined for uses in many common household products and for petrochemical uses.


A lot of common household products depend on fossil fuels.Plastic is certainly a big one others include : food preservatives, and dyes, candles, balloons, some crayons, nail polish, deodorant, insect repellents,  artificial fertilizers,  pesticides, ammonia, paint, shampoos, cosmetics, soap- less detergents, synthetic clothing materials like nylon, polyester, asphalt and so many other products. Ranken Energy Corporation states that if one were to consider a 42 gallon barrel of oil, it can be thought to create 19.4 gallons of gas, the rest is usually refined more to be used to create common household items. For a  more complete list of common household products see Ranken-energy.com


If one uses Electricity they are not immune from using fossil fuels to generate electricity. The US Energy Information Administration (eia.doe.gov/electricity) states that various sources are used to generate electricity the most common being some 70% coming from fossil fuels like coal, petroleum and natural gas.

The US Department of Energy says that the usage of fossil fuels can emit millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the air besides other significant chemical emissions. The levels of CO2 (carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere occurs  somewhat naturally. Lower levels of CO2  were once better able to be balanced/ regulated by natural processes such as plant photosynthesis.


 The gap  between emissions and natural absorption rate has been increasing due to large scale advancing world wide industrialization which had it's beginnings some 150 years ago.



 why it is good to educate ourselves on these topics see : Ecology in Times of Scarcity, by John Day, Charles Hall and others. If interested in this publication, See the Journal Bioscience, April 2009, Volume 59, Issue 4. One can also explore Greenhouse effects, and natural earth cycles to see how chemicals build up or recycle through different major earth systems.

Finding Frogs and Toads/ Updated

Whether one is attracting frogs and toads to one's living area, trying to conserve them, trying to find them, or when noticing and photographing them in the wild, it is helpful to know some information.

Most of us know Frogs and Toads are Amphibians who begin life in water, hatch into a larval stage (which we call tadpoles) undergo metamorphosis and evolve legs and lungs that are able to breathe above the water. True frogs and toads are closely related. They belong to the same order called Anura (or tail less). Under this order, there are families. The family of true toads for example is Bufonidae, while the true frogs are called Ranidae. These huge families may have hundreds of individual species.

 Hearing different frog and toad sounds can be one way to help identify and to select the species.  Some of their sounds may mean different things than "I'm ready for love" although the loudest sounds we hear may be just that. The spring peeper, a frog that can climb trees but prefers debris on the forest floor, can sometimes be heard more often than seen right in our back yards in eastern North America.  Sounds that frogs and toads make under water can often be recorded using underwater microphones, although in my explorations around the internet I heard mostly frog sounds underwater . The center for global environmental education (hamline.edu)  suggest the the average lifespan is somewhere between 4- 15 years, some species have longer lifespans others shorter than this average.

Frogs and toads are commonly found near wetlands which include marshes, ponds, lakes in the shallower parts, streams,edges of slower flowing rivers, creeks and vernal pools (those pools of water that are seasonal). Even seasonal drainage ditches, and depressions in the earth that collect water can be favored by frogs and toads.  Frogs seem to prefer staying more near a water source, and I have seen them more frequently in areas with water. Toads  are adapted to more terrestrial living and can often be found more often farther afield on dryer ground. Because toads return to the water to mate and to lay their eggs, they can be found in or near near water also. The ribbon like strands of eggs one sees in the water are probably toad eggs, the clusters are probably the frog's eggs.  Toads may hide under leaves, burrow in soft ground or hide or between rocks during the day to help keep their skin moist when they are not near a water source. Rainy days or just after a rain can be good days to look for frogs and toads.

Telling frogs and toads apart can sometimes be hard.  If you see one in the water it is pretty safe to say that if it has long powerful hind legs with webbing between the rear feet or"toes" and bulging eyes it is probably a frog. Some frogs however only have partial webbing. Toads do hop when alarmed, they just can not jump as far as away in one bound as a frog. Toads usually have drier looking and feeling skin and a bumpier appearance. Individual species vary. A toad may sometimes have eyes that appear to bulge and rear foot webs can be hard to see.  A toad's  skin can sometimes look smoother, very much like a frog. Both family groups hibernate. Some adaptations occur that allows some species to semi-hibernate (estivation) ) during seasonal dry periods.

Gardeners  like frogs and toads because they eat a lot of insects. An individual may eat up to 10,000 insects in one summer. The toads and frogs especially toads because they may come more frequently to human gardens, have sometimes been called the "gardener's friend."


 Eat and be eaten.
Sometimes a toad captures a meal so fast that one needs a slow motion camera to capture the event. While toads depend entirely on the lightening  like strike of  their tongues,  Frogs while still using tongues, have a small set of teeth they use in the upper jaw and roof of mouth to use after capturing their prey to help hold it, until they swallow. Frogs and Toads both need large amounts of live food to exist. In North America, the toad is the one who is more poisonous. If a toad becomes frightened, paratoid glands in the skin near the eyes or on side of their neck may ooze a poison that deters many animals. Toad tadpole stages also have poison which helps them possibly from being eaten here in this country by many species of native fish.

 The egg and tadpole stage is probably the most vulnerable stage of the life cycle but both adult frogs and toads are eaten by a variety of natural predators. Not all animals are immune to a toads  poison, both frogs and toads as adults are eaten and have naturally evolved to be somewhat on the mid range in the food chain for their wildlife habitats. They eat and in turn are eaten. Many natural predators  include lizards in our dryer areas. There are also snakes, turtles, and some birds eat that eat and depend on them. Some common mammals like skunks and raccoons and others seek out amphibians as a valuable food source.

 The aquatic life cycle, and their permeable skin  makes frogs, toads and other amphibians very susceptible to both air and water pollution. Handling frogs and toads can dry out their skin and can lead to a greater susceptibility of diseases. I have read that taking pictures, just enjoying the moment, or drawing what we saw is a safer way to remember our experiences finding frogs and toads.

 Creating frog and toad habitats in your yard.Leaving some loose piles of rocks, or making Toad houses out of overturned pots that have openings large enough for Toads to get through is one way to help to encourage Toads in the garden. A very cultivated yard or back ground area nearby with no leaf litter, rocks, downed wood, or animal burrows can discourage amphibians from living there. It is just too dry and barren, there is no place to hide or to find shelter on hot days. An area that is left "wilder"encourages them to come closer to where you live.  A small home pond that one makes can help attract native frogs, toads and possibly salamanders to the home areas during the spring and summer seasons could still have some vegetative cover nearby.



Some sites I found in my internet travels besides those mentioned above include: Huston Zoo, Frog. Us, California Herps.com, Library Think Quest.org, BBC production "Crisis for the world's Amphibians", The Cofrin Center for Biodiversity- wwgbd.ed, and an international amphibian group trying to address international conservation called amphibianark.org. All of these places seem to have interesting and factual info, if one wants to explore further.











 

  

One more Reason to Recycle/ Landfills

Does your garbage go to a landfill? What breaks down and what does not......
 The EPA says that it is likely that our glass and Styrofoam materials will not possibly break down at all into their smallest possible elements (decompose) even we buried them in the soil of our yards. These materials are listed under the category of " unknown ". Some rates are known. A tin for instance can take up to 80-100 years to break down, an Aluminum can 200-500 years. Plastic depends on it's chemical composition as to rate of break-down but a typical plastic jug may take a up to a million years. The thinner the plastic, it may break down sooner. A thin plastic six pack ring would take approximately 450 years.  If we bury a banana skin (organic) probably three to four weeks. They caution that these estimates are  based on scientific speculation of the chemical components. We simply haven't had a lot of time to bury these things and make observations on how long it actually would take.

Most of our garbage in the US, currently goes into landfills. We put our garbage into plastic bags which are compacted and covered with dirt. There is no sun, wind or rain or an abundance of living organisms which live in the soil to help break down even many of the organic materials we throw away. In the 1970's the Tucson Garbage Project, headed by William Rathje, actually used an archaeology experiment set up to see what things broke down in an older landfill and what didn't. They were surprised to find the landfill they studied did not even help break up much of the organic matter down into simpler materials simply because we pack our garbage in plastic bags and throw dirt over everything. This creates a closed system.


The EPA recommends that we try and reduce the amount of trash that we discard. They estimate that the bulk of municipal solid waste (65%) is from residences and schools, hospitals and businesses. Containers or other packaging can usually be recycled. Glass, aluminum, steel, paper, cardboard, and certain plastics can be recycled. Some Styrofoam can be recycled. In my area they will give you money at the dump for your metals if you have it weighed.  One person can do a lot to help the environment simply by taking the time to sort and recycle as much of their garbage as they can.


References used: Environmental Protection Agency in general has a lot of great ideas on seasonal and home owner tips. It also lists what is likely to be found in our garbage and how much as a nation we are recycling. It is updated every two years with statistics. There is also a wealth of educational materials for  parents or people who teach in schools on ways to teach kids about garbage and the benefits of recycling using simple experiments and research questions. Well worth a peek at the EPA website for most any age concerned. Updates may be available now. I also looked at the William Rathje study done here in USA.

Clearing the clutter/ Developing a Philosophy and Goals

 It's a new idea for me to try and live more simply as much as I can. It is an idea that has been around a while but people are starting to think about ways to do this. People are starting to wonder at the debt that they are suddenly in, and are starting to notice all the time and effort they put in to try and store, maintain and get rid of all of their things.Some people are starting to wonder what is important in life and what isn't. I know I have. Here are four things that worked for me.

1. I decided to take "control" and to own up to living in a "consumer oriented culture" where my main choices seem to revolve around what I buy. To get rid of old ideas that occasionally still pop up in my mind like... " I worked ..., I deserve "stuff" for it." I now counter  ask myself....  " How do those thoughts enter my thinking process?" "Where do these thoughts come from? What messages have I received?" Can I become more aware of my attachment to physical things and learn to let go?

2. Having a philosophy that includes the hope that we can all learn to live more sustainably by living more simply has helped me to establish a personal philosophy that requires a commitment on my part.
3. Looking at different blog posts and other informational sites on the internet helped. I could see what other people are doing. How they are "living with less." I also talked to people who were interested in this subject and asked them questions. A friend of mine who is a minimalist, said that he believes that everything needs to have a function. I decided that for me, I also like aesthetics.

4. I made a goal that I would get rid of at least one whole room of my house and live in two rooms. I now have a large eat in kitchen which now serves four functions, a work space, a craft table, an entertaining area with a couch for guests and as a functional kitchen. The couch is across from the table, to the right of the picture so that people can talk to each other while sitting at the table or on the couch. I also have a goal to get rid of all of the stuff from the former living room area.

Wild Bird Feeding/ What works for me

One can get simple or complex when feeding the wild birds. I have been feeding them for about fifteen years now. I'm a renter so I have fed them at various locations around the Hudson Valley in NY. It gets cold here in the winter so I usually start feeding the birds around November to let them get used to where the feeder is located.

Starting out I just look around my yard to find a suitable space. This takes some thought because I want to be able to get to the feeder in the snow, and I'll have to shovel a path. I also want to think about the needs of the birds. I don't usually put the feeder too close to the house because the birds make kind of a mess near and under the feeder. Birds as well as rodents and other animals may be attracted to this ground seed. I also think about where the birds might feel less threatened so I look for some trees and shrubs nearby so birds will feel safer. They often take "turns" at the feeders and smaller birds seem to feel safer with some cover nearby.

Squirrels can be a problem at feeders so when I buy a feeder look for one that is "relatively squirrel proof. I say relatively because squirrels are pretty smart. Some times one can put kind of a baffle above if hanging a feeder, or below a feeder that the squirrels can't climb over for a feeder on  a post. I used to try and put out separate food for the squirrels but it just seemed to attract more squirrels. They eat what falls to the ground anyway.


 In the past I have found or used different bird feeding stations.   One can always add on later. Birds prefer to eat in different ways. When I have more than one feeder, or feeding station, I like to space these  feeding stations somewhat apart from each other as they can get quite crowded with birds and sometimes there is competition over the seed. Buying a feeder is not as simple as the sellers would like one to think, one must consider a lot of factors.. Drainage can be a problem in many platform feeders for instance. Ease of use is important for me. In the winter I'm usually standing on a crate freezing and trying to put food in the feeder. It has got to be simple to operate. I found I had to do a lot of research on feeders.


 I  mix my own bird seed which I find is cheaper than what one can find mixed in the grocery store. I have found if one gets one or two types of sunflower seeds, and millet this alone will attract a number of song birds and smaller birds. The striped sunflower and the black sunflower I mix together with the white millet for the platform type feeder, or for my regular tube type feeder. These have attracted chickadees, nuthatches, titmice, mourning doves, cardinals, sparrows etc. Thistle or niger seed also attracts finches and other interesting birds but needs it's own special type feeder for this purpose.  Suet in wire mesh cages helps provide some substance to woodpeckers and more.  Mixes with added cracked corn to the bird feeding mix, I find just attracts loud noisy bigger birds and other "corn eaters".

 I find that it sometimes  takes a while maybe two weeks or so before the birds really seem to be into "finding my feeder", so I ignore the urge to move it without giving the feeder location time to register,

I stop feeding the birds when the ground thaws and spring has arrived. I find birds are pretty smart. This way they are only dependent on my feeder during the coldest months when they really  need the energy boost.