education Archives - A\J https://www.alternativesjournal.ca Canada's Environmental Voice Wed, 19 May 2021 17:56:11 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 I found out there might be a toy “heaven” after all. https://www.alternativesjournal.ca/aj-2/i-found-out-there-might-be-a-toy-heaven-after-all/ https://www.alternativesjournal.ca/aj-2/i-found-out-there-might-be-a-toy-heaven-after-all/#respond Fri, 14 May 2021 14:33:43 +0000 https://www.alternativesjournal.ca/?p=9023 For those who do not know I am turning 23 this upcoming weekend. All week my mother has been asking me what I wanted exactly for my birthday. As I am leaping into adulthood, this is now a time of reflection on exactly what could bring me happiness at the […]

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For those who do not know I am turning 23 this upcoming weekend. All week my mother has been asking me what I wanted exactly for my birthday. As I am leaping into adulthood, this is now a time of reflection on exactly what could bring me happiness at the age of 23. Would it be a rice cooker? New bedroom rugs? Or should I make room for more things by throwing away the toys I had in the past?

According to CNN Business, the company Mattel wants to recycle your old plastic toys that have been ruminating in my parents’ basement. This gives the company the opportunity to recover and reuse materials for future products in the United States and Canada. This is at no cost to the consumer after the toy has been bought and will be processed directly from package to plant. Any toy that cannot be recycled will be used to create more plastic products or incinerated to generate energy.

This is Mattels’ first step into making a closed circular economy. According to Pamela Gill- Alabaster, the head of sustainability of Mattel, now “has the opportunity to learn from the circular model,” that they haven’t pursued before.

This is not the first time I have heard this idea. I have heard of childhood companies like Crayola initiating the ColorCycle program. It can also be related to recycling plastic grocery bags at select locations.

I for one have never participated in any company sustainability program because the company wants me to get over my attachment to the toy, print, pack, drive, ship, and then drive home. I think these programs are great ideas and keep more pieces of plastic out of the landfill. It is also great PR for the companies making these programs as well! Moreover, it does make the consumer think about how their choices are affecting the planet.

But I do not think companies truly think consumers will go the extra mile to do so. Even though the company makes it as easy as possible for the consumer to send the toys back, there may be that thought in the back of their heads saying, “Oh I will need that later.” There are memories attached to our childhood mementos, and if we were done with them consumers would rather donate them or throw them away because that would seem easier.

I think at the age of 23 I should really be thinking about how to speak with my dollar. What I spend my money on will determine how much goes into the landfill per year. And when I see companies have available options like this in the early part of my life, it gives me hope for the future. Maybe I will not be surrounded by the plastic when I turn 73. Who knows, maybe I will buy a doll for myself, but second-hand only of course.

 

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The WTF: The Week This Friday Vol. 43 https://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/aj/the-wtf-the-week-this-friday-vol-43/ https://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/aj/the-wtf-the-week-this-friday-vol-43/#respond Fri, 09 Apr 2021 15:34:36 +0000 https://www.alternativesjournal.ca/?p=8749 Increasing Numbers of North Atlantic Right Whales: A Promising Sign Or False Hope? Source: Science North Atlantic Right Whales are listed as Critically Endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); their populations are in decline and they’re on track to becoming extinct. Three years ago, this […]

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Increasing Numbers of North Atlantic Right Whales: A Promising Sign Or False Hope?

Source: Science

North Atlantic Right Whales are listed as Critically Endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); their populations are in decline and they’re on track to becoming extinct. Three years ago, this species was observed to be producing no offspring at all, which was quite a blow to the scientific community and conservation groups. However, this past winter (2020-2021), these whale populations reproduced in greater numbers than have been seen since 2015. Is this increase in births a promising trend for this whale species or could it just be false hope since many threats to this species still exist?

The past few years have been dismal for this species’ reproduction, but this year we’ve seen more newborns than the combined total for the past 3 years. Researchers believe that the declining trends could have been due to a shortage in available food (e.g. zooplankton) and this new spike could be attributed to the whales moving into regions with more abundant food sources.

This past winter season, research teams spotted 17 newborn right whales with their mothers offshore between Florida and North Carolina. However, one of the newborns soon died after being struck by a boat – a prime example of a threat that experts fear is driving their declining numbers. Along with boat collisions, the other major threat to this species’ survival is entanglement in fishing gear.

The overall population of North Atlantic Right Whales is dwindling around 360 individuals, so scientists are still very cautious and hope to see higher birth trends continue. This upward climb in newborns is a hopeful sign, but in order to help this species stabilize to a healthy level and grow again, they need to be better protected and the human activities that threaten their existence need to be better managed.

The Earliest Cherry Blossom Bloom in Japan – Result of Climate Change

Source: Unsplash

The earliest bloom in over 1,200 years. Read that again. Japan’s cherry blossoms are hitting historical records of the earliest bloom due to climate warming. The peak of the bloom was recorded on March 25th in the capital city of Kyoto. Researchers at Osaka University, traced back in time while looking at historical data that was recorded in diaries of emperors, aristocrats, governors and monks to conclude this finding.

Due to the fluctuation in the weather, it leads the cherry trees to bloom faster than ever this year. In Japan this year, January was very cold and then February was very warm, leading to the acceleration of the blooms.

The cherry blossoms are a big part of the Japanese culture and often attract large crowds during their blooming season; the flower viewing has become a tradition which dates back centuries. The cherry trees are very sensitive to temperatures, and out of the 58 tracked trees, 40 have hit their peak bloom.

Lights Off For Fireflies

Source: Unsplash

Light pollution is classified as another driving force for the insect apocalypse that we are facing. There are two new studies which point to the negative unintentional effects of artificial light. One study focuses on how grasshoppers were drawn to the city lights of Las Vegas (Maybe they wanted to hop over and try their luck at the casinos?). While another study is showing the correlation between artificial light at night and the mating of fireflies – this could long-term drive a wedge in the survival of the species.

Avalon Owens, an entomologist at Tufts University has been studying fireflies for about ten years between North America to Taiwan, where the insects can be seen year-round and thought to be the spirits of ancestors.

Fireflies are part of the beetle family and create flashes of light in their abdomens. These flashes depend on the species itself, but the main purpose of the flashes is to attract mates. With light pollution being the main disturbance of this natural process, disconnecting the search for potential mates within the species. Such courtship suppresses light, and the study has concluded that bright amber light was the worst culprit behind the disturbance.

While no light is the most obvious solution, it is often still needed to light the way for safety and traffic. There are suggestions for lights with motion sensors to help the situation as we don’t need constant lights on.

Americans Opting for Economic Relief Instead of Environmental Protection

Source: Gallup

A new survey released this week showed that many Americans are currently more worried about the economy than protecting the environment. A company known as Gallup has been surveying the American population annually for over 36 years, and the most recent poll conducted in 2020 has shown that 50% of Americans believe that protecting the environment is of importance. Whereas 42% of the surveyed population believe that strengthening the economy is a greater priority.

At first glance, the results may show that more Americans prioritize the environment over economic growth, however, this is one of the lowest percentages recorded of this category since 2015; this year’s result is down from 60% in early 2020 (surveyed before the pandemic) and is the lowest recorded since 2015 when only 46% of the population held this view.

Gallup has stated that the rise of interest in the economy might be due to the current U.S. unemployment rate, which has been steadily increasing ever since the initial lockdown in March 2020. The struggle to make a stable income has most definitely affected how many people view the economy within their country, as they seek relief and stability from it.

However, it is still impressive that more Americans still value the environment, even if only by a slim margin. Gallup has been quick to say that the current Biden administration has been pursuing an environmental agenda that might cause economic risks but protects the country’s natural systems in the process. Progress is progress nonetheless.

Coffee Can Wake Up Forests, Too!

Source: Stuff

New research from a study in Costa Rica shows that putting coffee pulp on the ground layer of forests can help ecosystem restoration. The study took place in a region of southern Costa Rica that had previously experienced rapid deforestation of the tropical rainforests for agricultural land. Before the experiment, the lands were mostly dominated by non-native pasture grasses.

The team compared two sites in their study, one covered with coffee pulp and the other not. They measured soil quality, plant species, tree trunk diameter, and forest ground cover. On the coffee-treated land, they saw faster tree growth, more vegetation, denser tree trunks, and greater canopy height after two years compared to non-treated land. The coffee-treated land also had nearly 30 times more tree coverage than the non-treated land.

After the two year study period, the non-treated land was still more than 75% covered in the non-native grasses, but the coffee-treated land had new growth of herbaceous plants, improvements in the soil quality, and a much more lush ecosystem overall.

The researchers believe that their results could be very useful to inform future forest restoration efforts, although they note that restoration methods vary depending on location and other local factors. This method appears to be a promising solution to this region, at least. Who knew that this beloved brew could revitalize nature as well as humans?

New Documentary Takes Us Behind the Scenes of B.C.’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre 

10 questions with a marine mammal rescue expert | Cottage Life

The Marine Mammal Rescue Centre team freeing a seal entangled by plastic // Source: Cottage Life citing White Pine Pictures Inc.

If you’re an avid browser of environmental news, the oceans should be on your radar, especially in the past few weeks. A new three-part documentary series titled “Wild Pacific Rescue” follows the B.C. Marine Mammal Rescue Centre (MMR) and shows us what goes on behind the scenes, from the operating room to the ocean. The documentary explores things like the Sealion Disentanglement Program, which involves remotely injecting animals that have been severely entangled in marine debris with a dart gun and freeing them. Viewers will get to meet some of the animals recovering at the centre, like Quatse, a baby sea otter found isolated and unconscious near Port Hardy, and Sandy, a stellar sealion who was discovered lying comatose on a beach near Tofino in March.

The Vancouver Aquarium’s rescue centre saves more than 100 marine mammals each year and rehabilitates them at its facility near Crab Park before releasing them back into the wild. The documentary series will start airing this coming Wednesday, April 14th on Cottage Life TV. Documentary director Michael Sheehan was given exclusive access to the team and its facilities to document their work and to show people the front-line work that goes on to protect these amazing animals. “The underlying goal was just to engage people, the whole idea of conservation and the threats that wildlife face and how those threats are related to human activity, and what people can do to eliminate those negative threats,” Vancouver Aquarium head veterinarian Dr. Martin Haulena explains. To find out more about the series, click here. Cottage Life also conducted an exclusive interview with the team to answer a list of top 10 questions about the MMR.

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The Future of Education? https://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/education/the-future-of-education/ https://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/education/the-future-of-education/#respond Thu, 01 Apr 2021 16:43:47 +0000 https://www.alternativesjournal.ca/?p=8577 In 2020, it’s very hard to not have had any exposure to the newest technologies. If you have ever played video games, gone virtual furniture shopping, used Snapchats filters, or even participated in Zoom calls during the pandemic, you have been exposed to the world of virtual and augmented reality. Many […]

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In 2020, it’s very hard to not have had any exposure to the newest technologies. If you have ever played video games, gone virtual furniture shopping, used Snapchats filters, or even participated in Zoom calls during the pandemic, you have been exposed to the world of virtual and augmented reality. Many of us come into contact with this technology every day, and yet we don’t even notice it.

Digital devices are being increasingly adopted for learning and education purposes. Computers and online learning have become intensively and widely used in the last decade or so, and with the pandemic restricting students from their classrooms, our reliance on online learning has never become more prominent. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, although not new innovations, are actively being incorporated into education, teaching, and training in various application domains. Virtual reality is a simulated experience that can be similar to or completely different from the real world. This differs from augmented reality, where it is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information.

The greatest challenges in environmental education is communicating climate science to the public and bridging the knowledge-to-action gap. This gap refers to the general lack of environmental behaviour change by individuals or society at large despite increases in communication about environmental problems. Recently the nature documentary film David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet has received a plethora of media attention for the use of the negative framing of human-induced climate change impacts on nature. Research has shown that the content of the message, and level of visual immersion can have an impact on the intensity of emotional responses and influence behaviour. The emotional impact of VR has proven to increase awareness, evoke empathy, and elicit action.

Virtual reality has been described as the learning aid of the 21st century. But where are these technologies being implemented in education? Simulation is a cornerstone for clinical and medical training in many post-secondary institutions across the country. Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario, is advancing the development of adaptive AR and VR simulations for many facilities, including Engineering and Applied Sciences. Even pilots that we trust flying us across the globe have used flight simulators in their training programs for decades. In both industries, VR and AR are ushering in an entirely new era of educational tools. But where is this technology in environmental education?

Dr. Paul Mensink, professor at Western University, takes his students on a marine biology field course in New Brunswick every year. Through the Ontario Universities’ Program in Field Biology, Western University offers a marine biology course at the Huntsman Marine Sciences Centre in New Brunswick. The trip provides the students with real- world scenarios of ecosystem issues. Dr. Mensink is trying to incorporate VR into his teaching to create more efficient learning processes and better outcomes. “There can be a lot of logistical problems with field trips like this, health and safety, accessibility […] there are just a lot of moving pieces involved that make it difficult to organize” he says. “I can pack the same amount of learning that would be done by taking students out on a 2 to 3-hour field trip, into a 5 to 10-minute virtual reality experience.” With virtual reality, Dr. Mensink is bringing together technology and environmental education, to create a better experience for students. For instance, he can take his students out on a simulated scuba dive to explore the coral reefs. “I can take the students out to places that they otherwise would not be able to go to and give them a more interactive and immersive learning experience.” In a VR simulation, students use headsets to view their surroundings. When the user looks right, they see the video footage to the right, when they look down or when they look up, they see the corresponding video footage – for instance, showing the sea floor or the surface of the water.

Dr. Mensink was even nice enough to give me a tour of his game-based learning scenario that can be run on a computer or VR headset. The game- based learning scenario brings in realistic simulation of jobs to build into comprehensive case studies. His goal is to create an attachment to the learning by allowing students to visualize the data of which they are analyzing in class. His game simulation, which is used to represent the monitoring of endangered species, uses government aerial survey monitoring for protected marine mammal species. The simulation takes the data that has been collected from the field and represents it in a real-world scenario. In the tour he gave me, we looked at different characteristics of whale species, such as their size, speed, and their species population. Even things such as the number of boats and the speed to which they sail at is collected. “The idea of the realistic simulation is bringing together everything to understand the data through experiencing the data and understanding where it is coming from” Dr. Mensink explains. The simulation will teach students about proper sampling designs, observation bias, and collection of one’s own data. The result of the game: endless practical knowledge. Just one example of practical use is allowing students to think about how to implement policies and protocols that can reduce conflict between fisherman and mammal species by imposing speed and boat limits. “It creates opportunities for students that otherwise wouldn’t be there”, like putting them in a plane to make an aerial survey of whales.

The opportunities seem endless in the virtual and augmented realm, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t challenges that come with it. “We have to think about where and when it should be used. We don’t want it to act as a blanket to be used over everything”, Dr. Mensink claims. VR simulation is not a panacea. Rather, it is a tool used to accomplish a defined set of learning goals and should be used as such, integrated within an institution’s curriculum and pedagogy to ensure effective use.

Cognitive overload is a term that scholars use when your working memory receives more information than it can handle comfortably, leading to frustration and compromised decision-making. Virtual reality can sometimes be so overwhelming for the students that they are unable to report on what they are seeing in real time. This challenge represents the technology’s lack of flexibility in that students are unable to ask questions, receive answers, and even take notes during usage. The challenges are identifying places or situations where it is far superior to be using virtual and augmented reality over the real-world environment. Ultimately, there is no scenario where virtual reality replaces real-world experiences, they just want to take the benefits of this technology and bring it into the classroom for a more blended, well-rounded approach to teaching.

Where does the future lie? Rather than simulations being occasional, faculty-led, day-long events, VR simulation will continuously expand and improve in performance to suit learners needs. Increasing hand control, voice control, haptics (sense of touch in VR), will all become increasingly used and become integrated within scenarios to blur the lines between real and virtual.

Imagine the possibilities. Imagine being able to view endangered species and simulate their road to recovery. Imagine experiencing a simulation of ocean acidification, deforestation, or desertification. Imagine scuba diving in the coral reefs while you sit next to your classmates. Imagine if every environmental student learns, like medical students, from virtual reality and augmented reality. The possibilities for the future are high, and technology is at the forefront. Technologies, like VR and AR, have come a long way. These technologies have helped to increase awareness in our society; evoke empathy into the minds of our youth. It now must elicit action.

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