Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson was one of the most well known scientist, advocate for nature and the environment and a writer. For the majority of her life she wrote about and studied what was around us. This allowed people to get a look into what was going on and how it affected them.

Carson was born in rural Springdale, Pennsylvania in 1907. She grew up in a small house and according to Linda Lear author of the website rachelcarson.org, Carson once said that her “mother introduced her to the world of loving nature that she expressed first as a writer and later as a student of marine biology.”

During her youth she explored the nature around her and wrote about it. Most of her explorations were around the farm she lived on. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Website, Carson was published in a children’s magazine at the age of 10.

Graduating from the “Pennsylvania College for Women in 1929, she studied at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory,” (Lear). After her undergraduate career she moved on to receive her Masters in Zoology from John Hopkins University in 1932. After college Carson would then move on to begin her career at the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries.

At the Bureau of Fisheries she wrote “radio scripts during the Depression” (Lear) and most of them were about marine life. As she wrote the radio scripts, she was also writing for another “newspapers and magazines about considering the welfare of fish and as well as that of fishermen,” (FWS). These were published in the Baltimore Sun.

During these times, women were not equal and it was very rare for any woman to hold jobs other than factory working, let alone hold any high positions. Carson soon became Editor-in-Chief of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during her 15 year career as a scientist and writer.

In 1937, Carson began what would make her known as a “naturalist and science writer for the public, writing about the ocean” (Lear). She published and article entitled “Undersea” for the Atlantic monthly. This article was the stepping stone for her first book she wrote entitled Under the Sea-Wind in 1942. From then on she wrote numerous books like The Sea Around Us in 1952 (which won a prize) and The Edge of the Sea in 1955.

Carson resigned from her job at the Fish and Wildlife Service and continued writing. “She wrote several other articles designed to teach people about the wonder and beauty of the living world,” (Lear). Lear also said that in all of “Carson’s writings it was the view that all humans were but one part of nature distinguished primarily by their power to alter it.”

She focused on ecology and made other people aware of it too. In 1962 her last book Silent Spring was published. In this book she exposed how pesticides can be harmful to the ecosystem. Pesticides were being misused and she wanted people to see the harmful effects of them.

She was attacked and discredited for being against pesticides but she was only trying to inform people of the safe ways to use them. She had previously studied DDT (a synthetic pesticide) and its affects. After appearing in court about the issue Carson “called for new policies to help protect human health and the environment,” (Lear). DDT was banned and Carson became credited “with launching the contemporary environmental movement and awakening the concern by thinking Americans about the environment,” (FWS).

Carson died in 1964 from breast cancer. She has truly been influential woman. She devoted her life to being an advocate for a healthy and safe life for everyone.

http://www.rachelcarson.org/

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/rachelcarson/carsonbio.html

Chad Pregracke: Native son of the Mississippi River

Chad Pregracke is no stranger to the Mississippi River. Growing up in the Quad Cities, Pregracke has always encountered the shorelines with his river enthusiast’s family. He is the founder and president of Living Lands and Waters.

According to George Spyros’s article Chad Pregracke Biography: Founder & President of Living Lands & Waters, “while attending high school and college he worked as a commercial shell diver, a commercial fisherman, and barge hand during the summers.” It was during that time that Pregracke noticed the poor conditions of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers due to the accumulation of trash on the shorelines.

In 1998, Pregracke founded the non-profit environmental organization, Living Lands and Waters, which is based out of East Moline, Ill. According to the Living Lands and Waters website the organization is “committed to the beautification and restoration of our land’s rivers.” Living Lands and Waters offer volunteer work through its Riverbottom Forest Restoration and Adopt-a-Mississippi River Mile programs.

In 2002, Pregracke was awarded the Jefferson Award, which is equivalent to the Nobel Peace Prize for public service. Also in the same year as stated by George Spyro Pregracke “was invited by the Coca-Cola Company to attend the World Summit on sustainable Environments in Johannesburg, South Africa.”

Pregracke received an honorary doctorate from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa for his work in education and the environment May 2003.

Pregracke other accomplishments:

• · The Social Entrepreneurship Award from the Manhattan Institute of Public Policy (2003)
• · Appeared in Readers Digest (2003)
• · Biography aired on Quad Cities PBS station (2003)
• · Quad Cities Area Leaders under 40 award (2004)
• · Black Hawk College Foundation Seventh annual “What’s Right with the Region!” award (2004)
• · Achievement in Conservation award (2005)
• · Environmental Stewardship Award
• · National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Award
• · People Are Today’s Heroes (PATH) Award
• · Named the 2005 Quad Citian of the Year by Best of the Quad Cities 2005 River Cities’ Readers Poll

Pregracke also is the author of the book From the Bottom Up: One Man’s Crusade to Clean America’s Rivers in 2007. The book is about the creation of Living Lands and Waters.

MSNBC news stated “Pregracke estimates that he and his crew have removed more than 2 million pounds of trash from the river since he started on a shoestring budget in 1997.” Living Lands and Waters now have a $600,000 annual budget.

A Profile of Norman Borlaug

In the latter half of the 20^th century, the international scientific community brought about incredible advances in the field of agronomy. The Green Movement, made up of farmers, researchers, scientists, humanitarians, and activists from around the world, developed new agricultural techniques that have forever changed food production.

At the heart of this movement was Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug, a man who enabled high-yield crops on a massive scale, and dealt a massive blow to world hunger.

Borlaug was born on March 25^th, 1914, in the small, Norweigian-American community of Cresco, Iowa. He assisted his parents in managing the family farm in his youth, leaving at age 19 to pursue higher education.

In 1933, Borlaug was accepted to the University of Minnesota—thanks in large part to his athleticism—where he took part in the school’s varsity wrestling team while studying forestry in the College of Agriculture.

At age 23, Borlaug graduated with a BS in Forestry, and quickly found work with the United States Forest Service.

After hearing a speech on plant disease by Elvin Stakman, professor of plant pathology for the University of Minnesota, Borlaug was inspired to return to the university for further study.

In 1942, he received his Ph. D. in plant pathology and genetics, and began work for E.I. Dupont de Nemours, where he conducted wartime research for the United States military. During this time, Borlaug assisted in the development of waterproof adhesives, insulation for small electronics, canteen disinfectants, and, notably, wartime pesticides and fertilizers.

When World War II ended, Borlaug became head of the Cooperative Wheat Research and Development Program, an international effort by the Mexican Office of Special Studies to hasten the nation’s agricultural development.

The country’s most common strains of wheat were generally tall, thin, and susceptible to disease. Borlaug was tasked with creating new varieties which would maximize growth rates, grain size, and durability.

To achieve this as quickly as possible, Borlaug planned to breed his wheat through summer and winter, which required his team to plant in two very distant regions. Borlaug’s superior, George Harrar, adamantly opposed this plan, pointing to increased costs and a now-disproven agronomical theory, which would require the seeds harvested in summer to “rest” through the winter in order to maximize growth.

Borlaug, with assistance from higher-level project leads, won the battle, and began supplementing his yearly harvest with winter crops in the Sonoran Desert. This allowed him to quickly breed out the Mexican wheat’s susceptibility to fungus, and unexpectedly, developed a new trait that allowed the wheat to adapt to very different regions.

To remedy the wheat’s low seed yield, he made heavy use of nitrogen fertilizer. This resulted in larger seed heads, but the tall, thin stalks were too weak to support them. By obtaining and crossbreeding with a Japanese strain, Norin 10, he was able to generate short, strong stalks capable of supporting the seeds’ weight.

Borlaug’s extensive efforts eventually led to the development of two dwarfed, highly-adaptable, disease-resistant breeds: Pitic 62 and Penjamo 62.

By 1963, these strains accounted for 95 percent of Mexico’s wheat output, which, since 1944, when Borlaug had begun his work, had increased sixfold.

In 1965, Indians were facing a major crisis. Due to post-WWII advances in medical technology, death rates had begun falling worldwide. Offsetting its historically high death rates, India faced a major population boom which couldn’t be sustained by the country’s weak agricultural system.

The Indian government reached out to Borlaug, who offered a massive shipment of his Mexican wheat seeds. Though he initially faced a degree of cultural resistance, his seeds gained popularity, and by 1968, farmers were producing record yields.

In 1970, Borlaug received the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to the science of agronomy, and for his massive humanitarian achievements in Mexico and South Asia.

Nine years later, Borlaug retired from his position with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, but continued to serve the field through research, education, and consultation. In 2009, at age 95, Borlaug died of lymphoma.

Despite his achievements, both scientific and humanitarian, he remains a controversial figure within the environmental community. Many resent his contributions to the Green Movement, which set the stage for industrial agriculture to dominate the market and diminish the role of subsistence farming throughout the world. Others criticize him for his use and promotion of nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides.

In life, Borlaug addressed these criticisms, “Some of the environmental lobbyists of the Western nations are the salt of the earth, but many of them are elitists. They've never experienced the physical sensation of hunger. They do their lobbying from comfortable office suites in Washington or Brussels. If they lived just one month amid the misery of the developing world, as I have for fifty years, they'd be crying out for tractors and fertilizer and irrigation canals and be outraged that fashionable elitists back home were trying to deny them these things.”

"Norman Borlaug - Biography." Nobelprize.org. Nobel Committee, n.d. Web. 18 June 2011. .

"Short Biography." The World Food Prize. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 June 2011. .

Stuertz, Mark. "Green Giant." The Dallas Observer. The Dallas Observer, 5 Dec. 2002. Web. 18 June 2011. .

Tierney, John. "Greens and Hunger." NYTimes.com. The New York Times, 19 May 2008. Web. 17 June 2011. .

Barefoot Gardens; natural food for natural people

The Barefoot Gardens, located in Macomb, Ill, is a market garden that works with nature to offer organic foods to local residents.

The Barefoot Gardens is a Community Supported Agriculture program. The food is grown on the garden and residents come to pick out the food they would like. The Barefoot Gardens grows up to 300 varieties of vegetation.

Besides offering food, the Barefoot Gardens have a social aspect to its existence. John Curtis, farmer and coordinator, explains how the Barefoot Gardens are known as a third place

“It’s [Barefoot Gardens] is a place that’s not work, not home, where you run into people you know.” Says Curtis.

To add to the appeal of the Barefoot Gardens, Curtis arranged everything so that it is consumer friendly.

“I designed the landscape with people in mind.” Curtis adds.

The Barefoot Gardens continue to supply naturally grown food even in a time when industrialization of food causes a decline in rural agriculture. Its continually strive is due to help from outside farmers and volunteers.

“Springfield [Ill} farmers come to Macomb to help out.” Curtis says.

The Barefoot Gardens is one of the only remaining “pick your own” CSA garden. Consumers are allowed to come onto the farm and pick whatever foods they would like.

“Consumers picking their own food is better for them rather than giving them an already made basket because what if the customer doesn’t want a bunch of squash.” Curtis says jokingly.

The Barefoot Gardens act as educators. They inform consumers about the improper handling and manufacturing of foods that are in the local markets The Barefoot Gardens are also advocates for other farmers in the region. The staff speaks out against things that may negatively affect farms. The Barefoot Gardens are against the placement of hog kennels, which can be damaging to the farms. The staff also urges consumers to help in protecting the farms.

“Consumers have the biggest effect on agriculture.” Curtis says.

Thomas Eisner "Father of Chemical Ecology"

Thomas Eisner was born in Berlin during the year of 1929 which was right when the Great Depression was getting ready to start. Throughout his young life his family had moved around a lot due to Hitler and the war. It is said that from a young age Eisner had been occupied with bugs: how they looked, what they ate, and how they fly. When Eisner’s family moved to 1947 he was allowed to get the education he always had wanted.
After receiving a college education Eisner became a very successful man in the biology field. Throughout his research Eisner had honors including membership in the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. Upon being involved in those organizations he also won many awards. The man area he seemed interested in knowing about was bugs. Throughout the rest of his life Eisner studied bugs; how they could be dangerous to human life as well. It all started when he was born in Berlin.
Growing up in Berlin, Eisner didn’t get a chance to learn much at the time for the fact that he was so young. His family didn’t spend much time in Berlin as they were quickly moved due to rise in power of Adolf Hitler. His father, being of Jewish decent, had the family on the run throughout most of Eisner’s early life. Eventually the Eisner family settled in South America before coming to the U.S. During their time in South America Eisner was said to be enthused with the various types of bugs. He was supported throughout his life by his parents his father being chemist. In 1947 the family moved to the United States which lead to Eisner enrolling at Chaplain College in New York. After two years he would transfer to Harvard where he earned a Bachelor’s degree and PhD in biology. In 1957 he gained his first big job as he joined Cornell where he worked in the department of Entomology. In 1964 he moved to the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior; also with Cornell, and he worked in this area until he passed away. He would also serve as director of the Cornell Institute for Research in Chemical Ecology during his time at Cornell.
During his time Eisner was considered the “father of chemical ecology” also he was either author or co-author of over 500 scientific articles. His main premise of his articles were studying insects. He studied how insects mate, trap their prey, and survive. In 2004 he released the book “For Love of Insects” which won Best Science Book, and he also received the Louis Thomas Prize for Writing. Eisner was regarded by many a genius of his time for his works he did. He released a film “Secret Weapons” which won an award at the New York Film Festival. During his time Eisner showed his great passion for insects prompted him to consult chemistry, biology, ecology, evolution, behavior, morphology, and insect physiology. As far as his experiments, and explorations he went beyond what others were doing when studying insects. His thought on insects is that they were “master chemists”. According to Eisner insects were able to tell us more about life than most animals could.
During his time he made a lot of discoveries with insects and their tendencies. Throughout his numerous discoveries his studies included: the web making process of spiders, the high temperature spray of the bombardier beetle, an how some male butterflies secret certain substances. The most recent study before his death in 2011, was the thought of “chemical prospecting” which is the search for new medicinal, agrochemicals and other useful substances from nature. His groundbreaking discoveries helped him earn the 1994 National Medal of Science, which is the highest scientific honor in the U.S.
Thomas Eisner’s discoveries have made him one of the most successful biologists of his time. He will always be known as the “father of chemical ecology” which means he will always be tied to family of environmentalists.
References:
Lang, S. (n.d.). Cornell Chronicle: Renowned biologist Tom Eisner dies at 81. Cornell Chronicle Online. Retrieved June 18, 2011, from http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories
appointment.. (n.d.). Research Interests. Department of Neurobiology and Behavior - Cornell University. Retrieved June 18, 2011, from http://www.nbb.cornell.edu/neurobio

John Muir-One of Nature's First Advocates

For nearly 100 years, Americans have relied on the United States National Park Service to care for, protect, and beautify this country’s many national parks. Who is responsible for the initial preservation of these havens for today’s use?

John Muir, inventor, naturalist, conservationist, author, and advocate, led the way for “protecting our natural heritage,” (“John Muir: A brief biography,” n.d.). Muir has become known as the “Father of Our National Park System” (“John Muir: A brief biography,” n.d.) by forming associations to protect various national parks, including Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, and the formation of the Sierra Club, one of the United States’ most prominent conservation organizations.

John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland on April 21, 1838. When he was eleven, Muir and his family immigrated to the United States and settled at Hickory Hill Farm in Portage, Wisconsin. Muir and his seven siblings were raised under their father’s strict hand and were required to work in the fields all day long. His father felt that daylight time should not be wasted on reading (“John Muir biography,” n.d.).

To work around his father’s orders, Muir invented a contraption called the “early rising machine” to toss him out of bed each day at one in the morning so that he could read and study (“John Muir biography,” n.d.).

During other brief recesses from fieldwork, Muir and his brother would explore the Wisconsin landscape, which helped to develop and expand his love and curiosity for nature. This love of nature would influence Muir to study botany and geology at the University of Wisconsin in 1860. That same year, he also displayed his inventions, including the early rising machine, at the Wisconsin State Fair (“John Muir (1838-1914),” n.d.).

However, Muir’s time in college would not last. After three years in college, Muir dropped out to begin a journey across the United States and Canada relying on small jobs to survive. In 1867, he suffered an eye injury while working in a factory in Indianapolis, which left him blind for months. When he regained his sight, he decided to leave his career at the factory and focus on “turning his eyes to the fields and woods,” (“John Muir: A brief biography,” n.d.). He began a journey, on foot, from Indiana to the Gulf of Mexico creating sketches of nature along the way (“John Muir (1838-1914),” n.d.).

After arriving in the Gulf, he sailed to Cuba, Panama, and eventually landed on the West Coast in California, where he made his home. After settling in, he walked from San Francisco to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He fell in love with the Sierra Nevada, or “Range of Light,” as he called it, stating that it was, “the most divinely beautiful of all the mountain chains I have ever seen,” (as cited in “John Muir: A brief biography,” n.d.).

He took several small jobs in his first years in California. He herded sheep and worked in a sawmill. In his free time, he explored Yosemite Valley to become closer to God as he felt, “God is revealed through nature,” (as cited in “John Muir (1838-1914),” n.d.). He took notes, made drawings, and wrote observations of the area. These notes would become articles about his theory of glaciations, or the carving of the Yosemite Valley by glaciers (“John Muir (1838-1914),” n.d.).

In 1880, Muir married Louie Wanda Strentzel and settled in Martinez, California, where they raised two daughters, Wanda and Helen. He began his career of farming a fruit ranch with his father-in-law. (“John Muir: A brief biography,” n.d.).

After ten years had passed, Muir began to grow restless in the confines of the orchard business. Muir, who had made enough money to support his family with his work in the orchards, decided to get back in touch with nature by traveling to Glacier Bay in Alaska and Mount Rainer in Washington to continue his study of glaciers and the freezing process. With the blessing of his wife, he would also travel extensively through Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America (“John Muir (1839-1914),” n.d.).

Muir’s expeditions correlated into 300 articles and 10 books. His most famous series of articles would be published in Century magazine in 1889. In these articles, Muir described and brought attention to the “devastation of mountain meadows and forests by sheep and cattle,” (“John Muir: A brief biography,” n.d.).

With the help of Century’s associate editor, Robert Johnson, Muir influenced Congress to pass an act to create and protect Yosemite National Park. This act (and Muir’s efforts) led the way for Muir to help create Sequoia, Mount Rainer, Petrified Forest, and the Grand Canyon National Parks earning him the title, “Father of Our National Park System,” (“John Muir: A brief biography,” n.d.).

With all of this newfound recognition, Muir gathered his supporters to help in the creation of the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club is an organization committed to preserving natural lands such as Yosemite. Muir stated the club’s mission was to, “do something for wildness and make the mountains glad," (as cited in “John Muir: A brief biography,” n.d.). Muir was appointed president of the club and served that position until his death.

In 1903, Muir caught the attention of then President Theodore Roosevelt with his book, Our National Parks. Roosevelt came out to Yosemite to camp with Muir. Muir used this trip to persuade Roosevelt to protect Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove. He convinced the president to return these areas to federal protection and make them apart of Yosemite National Park. This camping trip began Roosevelt’s “innovative” conservation plan for America (“John Muir (1838-1914),” n.d.).

After the death of his wife in 1905, Muir would only write four more books and embark on one last and unsuccessful crusade for the prevention of the building of a dam near Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Valley, which would create a giant reservoir. After battling with a brief illness, John Muir passed away on December 24, 1914 (“John Muir (1838-1914),” n.d.).

John Muir was a pioneer in creating America’s National Parks and preserving land in its most natural state. He paved the way for future lobbyists, environmentalists, and conservationists. Muir's efforts provide this generation with the ability to see natural landmarks, such as Yosemite, as they were in his time. Today, Muir’s name lives on not only through his writings, but also through colleges, landmarks, and hospitals named in his honor.

References

Notable Biographies.com. (n.d.). John Muir biography. Retrieved June 13, 2011, from

http://www.notablebiographies.com/Mo-Ni/Muir-John.html

PBS: Public Broadcasting System Online. (n.d.). John Muir (1838-1914). Retrieved June

13, 2011, from http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/people/historical/muir/

Sierra Club Online. (n.d.). John Muir: A brief biography. Retrieved June 13, 2011, from

http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/muir_biography.aspx

Community-Supported Agriculture

Barefoot Gardens, situated on the fringes of Macomb, offers locals a unique service: consumer-supported agriculture.

Operated in part by John Curtis, the Gardens build on the momentum of a recent Japanese movement for local, organic food.

While most CSAs require only a material investment, participants at Barefoot Gardens must themselves raise any produce they wish to take home. This is an effort to address the most common complaint among CSA participants: they never get the produce they want most.

Also, by requiring this level of participation, Curtis says, the Gardens provide a place—away from work and home—where amateur agronomists can enjoy each other’s company.

Curtis was inspired to start the CSA by what he saw as the general lack of quality in mass-grown produce. He wanted to provide a counterpoint to a largely automated, quantity-driven industry, and help restore some of the regional vibrancy that’s been lost due to rural industrialization.

In recent years, participation at Barefoot Gardens has boomed. What started as a small, organic farming operation expanded to a community garden, as more and more, customers found that they enjoyed staying and conversing, talking agriculture, and eventually, growing their own food.

The Gardens themselves have also expanded. The operation now features an incredible variety of produce, spilling over a substantial tract of land.

Due to the recent installation of a hoop house, Curtis and his gardeners are able to reap vegetables year-round, without any artificial heat source.

By investing time and money to a local, organic food market, Curtis says, consumers can send a message to the market that promotes sustainability, organic food, and local economies.