Two videos for my class: Sewage treatment and drugs in the water

I'm parking these two videos here so that I can find them tomorrow morning, when I plan on showing them to my Environmental Science class as part of a lecture about sewage treatment and water pollution.  The two of them go very well together, as the first one describes how sewage treatment works and eliminates the pollutants for which it was designed, while the second explains how there are just some pollutants that the same processes just don't touch and what can be done about it.

First, here is LCC Biology 120's virtual tour of a Sewage Treatment plant, from the same source as the virtual tour of a dairy barn that I used in Video tour of Michigan State University's farms.

A virtual field trip to a sewage treatment plant.

Next, here's Discovery News explaining How Drugs Pollute Our Drinking Water.

We expect our drinking water to be germ free, but what about drug free? You probably haven't given it much thought...but new research is showing our water is teeming with all kinds of drugs! Trace looks at what this is doing to our bodies and the environment.
...
"Although millions of people flush unused medications down the toilet and discharge them in bodily waste, sewage treatment plants and septic systems are not required to deal with such contaminants."

I hope my students enjoy them and don't mind back-to-back videos.

Video tour of Michigan State University's farms

What is today's prompt?

Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Talk about a time you were on a farm.

When I was teaching at Lansing Community College, the Environmental Science class I taught took a field trip to two of Michigan State University's farms that that MSU uses for teaching, research, and community outreach.  The first farm the class visited was the http://www.msuorganicfarm.com/MSU Student Organic Farm.  I mentioned it two years ago in a flattering comparison to Purdue.

The flip side of Purdue's concern with food is that it's very much in the pocket of industrial agriculture, and this article shows that relationship in unapologetic detail. Honestly, I find Michigan State University, where there is a program in organic agriculture that was created by student demand, to have a more progressive perspective, and MSU is also a land-grant agricultural college.

As you can tell, I was impressed by my visit.  As far as describing it, I can do better than that.  I can show you a video produced by MSU about the Student Organic Farm.

Michigan State University student Denae Friedheim talks about the MSU Student Organic Farm which offers an opportunity for students to volunteer and work to create a sustainable farm. The program, which has been running since 1999, features a strong academic program along with hands-on experience working in various capacities at the farm. Learn more about the MSU Student Organic Farm at www.msuorganicfarm.com.

That's not all from the MSU Student Organic Farm.  Here's a more recent video showing the hoop houses that allow for vegetables to be grown year-round in Michigan.

At a time when most Michigan farmers are getting their land ready for planting, students and others working at Michigan State Universitys Student Organic Farm are bringing in the crops. Of course, that is a year-round occurrence at the farms hoop houses, a type of greenhouse that allows for non-stop planting and harvesting.

The class also visited the MSU Dairy Farm, which is open to the public and offers self-guiding tours.  Very conveniently, the course has a video tour of the dairy barn for students to view.  I couldn't type out a better replica of my in person tour, so I'll just show it to you.


All the video is missing are the cows with portholes in their sides, such as one can see in Food, Inc.  That's a sight that never fails to gross out my students.

That's not all of what my class saw.  We also visited the dairy processing  facility.  Fortunately, MSU has a video showing that, too.

The MSU Dairy Store not only creates delicious ice cream flavors but also serves as a teaching facility for students.

There, I've just compressed a three-hour visit, not including travel time, into a 20 minute video session.  Isn't YouTube wonderful?

Lansing Community College Earth Day event with a comment about one of its sponsors--Walmart

Lansing Community College: LCC celebrates Earth Day

Students for Political Involvement & Public Service at Lansing Community College presents:
Earth Day 2011

Join SPIPS in a great panel discussion on how we can make an impact (or less of one) on our planet. Other topics of discussion will include:

Food Safety
Renewable/Alternative Energies
Sustainability
Water/Air Pollution
Urban Farming
Monday April 18, 2011

11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Gymnasium, Gannon Building, Third Floor

Cost: Free

All students, staff, faculty and community members are encouraged to attend!

Our panel will include individuals from Michigan State University, the Michigan House of Representatives,Lansing Community College, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), other state agencies and companies in the private sector, including Walmart - a proven leader in sustainability. There will be a question and answer session for students and community members following the panel presentation. Stop by for great discussion and free popcorn, cookies,punch following the program!

The story calls Walmart "a proven leader in sustainability." That claim deserves some unpacking, especially since one of the parts of sustainability involves a sustainable society. On its own website, Walmart describes its sustainability efforts and supports its reputation with an impressive list of awards, but note how it defines sustainability:

Our broad environmental goals at Walmart are simple and straightforward:

•To be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy;
•To create zero waste;
•To sell products that sustain people and the environment.

These goals are all about ecology and economy; there is little or nothing about society. The makers of the movie Walmart: the high cost of low price had a lot to say about the chain's effect on society and local economies. Walmart changed many, but not all, of its behavior after that film came out. Note that the corporation earned most of awards for good corporate citizenship after 2005.

Sunshine works as a disinfectant.