Back to the Bahamas...Next stop, Hawaii!!

Outside, the pollen is flying and temperatures are beginning to soar, so it’s time to get out the suitcase and get ready for travel blog season! I'm looking forward to being "on the road again" because this year has been extraordinarily busy for me. I've finished my main doctoral coursework, completed my comprehensive exams, worked as a marine science graduate teaching assistant, and did other things like the subjects of today’s post: a wedding in the Bahamas, an environmental conference, and writing (and receiving) a grant that will send me to Hawaii!

First, though, a big “CONGRATULATIONS” to my brother and (new) sister-in-law who got married in March! They got married on a cruise ship that took us Freeport and Nassau. The wedding was beautiful, and we had so much fun with the whole family together. I even managed to wake up early for a spectacular sunrise on the first full day of the cruise. However, once I got home, my supervisor spent about 20 minutes of a meeting one week going on and on about how awful cruise ships were for the marine environment. Afterward, I did a little research and found this NOAA website and this EPA website about cruise ship impacts.




Apparently, once the cruise ships are on the “high seas” outside of any nation’s exclusive economic zone, they are not under strict environmental dumping laws, so a lot of the waste from the ship gets pumped out in the water. I know the cruise lines would probably say that the waste is just a “drop in the bucket” since the oceans are so massive. But the cruising industry is expanding so rapidly, so I doubt that claim will hold true for long.

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Some estimates say that the average American produces 4.4 pounds of garbage, 350 grams of stool, and generates 265 liters of gray water (waste water from washing dishes, showering, etc.) each day. If you’re on a 3,000 person cruise ship, how much waste is potentially being pumped in the ocean over a three day cruise? Check out this metric website for conversions.

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On another aquatic environmental note, I learned some things about freshwater pollution that I never knew were problems at the most recent Environmental Education Alliance conference. For example, did you know that the exact same thing that happens in your arteries when you eat fatty foods can happen in the drain pipes leading out of your house??? When you rinse off your plates, pots, and pans after making a meal, all the fats found in the food you’re washing off can build up, a little at a time, in the sewer lines. This can cause complete blockages in the pipes, which can cause man-holes to overflow into streams. Check out this F.O.G. You Tube video of FOG from New Zealand. It's an excellent explanation of the issue (with a slightly hilarious New Zealand-er twist.) Also, cleaning up the blockages is a HUGE waste of taxpayer money and completely preventable. So wipe out that residue left in your ice-cream bowl with a paper towel before putting it in the dishwasher! By the way, I also learned at the EEA conference that the same goes for pharmaceuticals: Check out this e-article called "Fish on Drugs" to see what happens to fish populations when you flush drugs down the drain. Here's some more official information: EPA on Pharmaceuticals in water

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We take a lot of things for granted with our waste. Make a list of ALL the things that go down the drain in your house on a typical day. What could be some possible effects of these things? What steps can you take to lower the amount of gray water?
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One of the last sessions I attended at the EEA conference was called “A Smorgasbord of Web-Based Tools for EE,” and I had to share these two websites for all the teachers following my blog. Here is powerpoint for the session , and a list of helpful websites. They had some incredible suggestions!

On a completely different (and much more positive) note: I’m headed to Hawaii! Last fall, a colleague and I wrote an Improving Teacher Quality grant for a program known as Project ISLE: Integrated Science Learning Experiences. Since then, Project ISLE has been funded, we’ve recruited a dozen teachers, and we’re busy planning an incredible science learning experience. The teachers will spend one week at the Kilauea Military Camp in Volcano National Park on Hawaii’s Big Island (June 7-14). While there, we will study volcanology, astronomy, and a little marine biology and conservation. Next, we’ll take a short flight to Maui where the teachers will stay at Camp Olowalu and study island ecology, marine biology, and marine conservation (June 14-21). Both locations have WiFi access, so I will try and post about my adventures each day. We’re headed out a week early to get ready for the teachers, so you can expect updates starting June 2nd!

Also coming up, in July I’ll be an intern for an Environmental Education course that goes on field trips to places like recycling centers and organic farms, so I’ll be sure to bring my camera! After that, I will be officially ABD (which stands for All But the Dissertation)! I think my husband might be counting down the days... :)