What Ive been thinking of since 09/09 proposal

Originally torn between project ideas between the geography of wine, beer, or honey; I’ve decided, and have done much research on, the Geography of beer.

So what is the geography of beer? That i intend on thoroughly explaining via power point presentation. the geography of beer can more or less be displayed through history, biogeography, and thus defining evolution. So, this project would more aptly be called the “Evolution of Beer”.

Many things have shaped the evolution of beer. Going far back as the beginning of time of beer, we might suspect that the egyptians first utilized the concept of fermented barley as a mildly alcoholic soup; it tasted sweeter and lasted longer. Just a little later down the road, the beverage was born and was composed directly from withing the environment it was made. Many styles of beers are the direct result of the world’s many different environments, thus it is the environment that is single handedly the strongest influence in the geography of beer, and the many variables possesed by an environment may characterize further change. These further changes are culture, economy, agriculture, trade, and politics. 

The ingrediants and how they are shaped by their environment is important, and i will break this down in presentation and also by experiment. The experiment will include making 2 batches of beer with very similar ingrediants, however, geographically distinct.

Hops: Are extremely variable in different strains, so this will require very careful consideration and selection, hopefully obtainable fresh and from overseas.

Yeast: yeast cultures for ales have been recultured for typically many centuries and the colonies of yeast themselves have evolved incredibly over this time frame since yeasts reproduce via budding and can do so very quickly. The convenience of obtaining geographically distinct yeast strains is a garente, and it goes to show just how different strains are. yeasts have been recultured for so many years because it is very difficult to obtain a compatible strain in the wild, and the methods of reception are not understood due to the complexity and mysteriousness of wild yeasts.

Water: important, but lets be practical, i’m not going to order water from germany. However, water is a very important ingrediant and the wuality of water reflects the quality of beer. Interestingly, regions with poor quality water rely heavily on beer as measure of purification, for the metabolism of yeasts and production of alcohol have shown to purify the water, and is thus a safe beverage to drink almost anywhere.

Grain: Barley, wheat, corn, rice, you name and its probably been done. The previous four types mentioned are responsible for the 4 most general beers in the world.

The environment directly effects the variation in all 4 of these ingrediants, and thus the beer iteself. Also to be taken in consideration is the physical climate; the temperature and altitude are going to have a profound impact on the physical features of your beer.

All these factors are to be thoroughly considered more in the experiment to see if geography alone can alter the recipe of a beer. I am currently thinking about using a german and american or british recipe for a honey wheat ale; the yeasts will be distinct, the wheats will be obtained from the regions, and honey will be representative of the regions flora, as the bees collect pollen from the environments plants.

Project idea as proposed from 09/09/09

Here, I’m typing verbatim the project as it was in my mind from the getgo, 09/09/09, from a hardcopy that i though we were handing in. Just posting for the sake of showing something for progress to compare to. I had 3 ideas at the time;

1)Honey: the production of honey by bees, the manifestaation of apiculture, history, economy, ecology, and the current “cvolony collapse disorder”

sources;

Jacobsen, Rowan. Fruitless fall: the collapse of the honey bee and the coming agricutural crisis. New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2008.

Horn, Tammy. Bees in America: how the honey bee shaped America. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 2005.

Hubbel, Sue. A Book of bees and how to keep them. New york: Random House, 1988.

2) Wine: the science/production of, the history, geographical influences and agriculture.

sources:

Sommers, Brian J. The Geography of wine: how landscapes, culture, terriors, and the weather make a good drop. London: Plume, 2008

McGovern, Patrick E. Ancient wine: the search of the origin of viniculture. Woodstock: The Princeton University Press, 2003

Goode, Jamie. The Science of wine: from wine to glass. Los Angeles: The University of california Press, Berkely, 2005.

3)Beer: (specifically microbrew) the science and production of how to do it yourself, the agriculture, the economy, history, ecology, etc.

sources:

Unger, Richard W. Beer in the middle ages and Renaissance. Philadelphia: The University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004.

PS Hughes and Baxter, ED. Beer: quality, safety, and nutritional aspects. Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2001.

Mittleman, Amy. Brewing Battles: a history of american beer. New York: Algora Publishing, 2008.

Project Update: Porch Photography

Two days ago, I had the chance to hop on my bike to take some pictures of porches in and around Delaware. So far, I’ve looked at 23 houses. My intention was to contrast homes in a new suburban development with houses in traditional Delaware neighborhoods. For this reason, I first took pictures north of the Delaware Fairgrounds, then headed south back into town. Some of the streets in the main part of Delaware included: North Washington Street, Winter Street, Franklin Street, Oak Hill Avenue, and Central Avenue. In the new development, streets where I took pictures included: Executive Avenue, Saddle Creek Court, Pinecrest Drive, Governor’s Avenue, and Rutherford Avenue.

Several things immediately stood out for me when doing this photography. All pictures were taken between 4:00 and 6:00pm, meaning that most people were just returning home from work or from school. While many of the homes in the new development had porches, I never saw anyone using them. Instead, activity seemed to be concentrated to the sidewalk, the driveway, the front lawn, or the garage. Within Delaware itself, however, I did see a few porch-sitters, though still not that many. More pedestrians were also about.

In the new development, it also was immediately apparent that the first thing that greets you with many houses is not the front porch, but the garage. Additionally, driveways often cut directly through the sidewalk, which as a pedestrian, can make you feel unsafe. The two pictures below compare a house in the new development north of town to one that I photographed in Delaware on Winter Street.

The pictures presented here represent only a sample of the photographs I took. I also hope to look at other neighborhoods in Delaware, especially east of the Olentangy River.

More photos follow…

News actually/maybe/not really

As i’ve proposed, the geography of beer will be the subject of my project to be presented at the end of the semester; In addition to the powerpoint presentation i’ll be composing, regarding the actually science and geography involved, i will be making some homebrew. this homebrew be of 2 kinds; identically similar in ingrediants, but differing in taste..why? because of the ingrediants and their differences by geography (aka, ale yeasts from two different continents, carbonation of different altitudes, hops grown in different soils, etc.). This link is a short introduction to the aspects of homebrewing, simple and delightful- anyone can do it! Just a blurb on how its done and why you should do it if you’re a beer drinker. Enjoy.

Veronica’s Project update

I went through SurveyMonkey and established an account and made a sample survey just so I know how to go about making a real one in the future. This was my first time using SurveyMonkey, but it seems pretty basic and easy to navigate. I also did some internet research on writing surveys. I looked at basic tips and advanced issues to consider. I think the questions pertaining to how much/what kind of outdoor recreation people are involved in will be easy to write. The difficultly will be, I believe, in measuring people’s environmental attitudes. I probably won’t be able to make any causation conclusions, I will have to rely on other actual research for that. I will instead be looking for possible correlations between certain outdoor activities and environmental attitudes.

I also began reading through my book sources that I checked out of the library pertaining to outdoor recreation. I am taking notes and using the information to understand more about what outdoor recreation is, who does it, what are all the types, why do people do it and what are the problems that arise with management of outdoor recreation activities.

DZ Greening update 9-30

The Delta Zeta house greening is underway! 

I have submitted a short term proposal to the Executive Board of the chapter.  This proposal included 8 main project ideas ranging from sister education to updating the recycling process at the house to holding paper-free chapter meetings. The proposal can be seen here: Short_Term_proposal_goals_for_Greening the DZ House, and the proposal includes timelines and projected costs for each project.   The chapter is also considering the creation of a Pink Goes Green coordinator position to be held by a sister.  This position would be in charge of overseeing the greening process and planning events for the Delta Zeta’s to help make the school more environmentally friendly. 

Additionally, I have spoken with the house manager and the house mom about replacing one of our broken toilets with a low-flow model.  My research on this subject has shown me that most models are now low-flow – which means that there will be little extra cost to install an environmentally friendly variety.

Finally, I have begun putting together the long-term proposal for the house.  My goal is to complete this proposal by the end of the semester.

My Project Proposal

The goal of my project is to investigate the relationship between outdoor recreation and environmental behavior. I would like to see if encouragement of participation in outdoor recreation could be a means of increasing people’s environmental awareness and involvement in the environmental movement or in more sustainable day-to-day activities. I would also like to see if there is any relationship on the OWU campus between people who participate in outdoor recreation and their involvement in environmental groups or activities. To accomplish I want to first understand the motivations of people who participate in outdoor recreation.

Outline

I. Outdoor Recreation

A. what kinds of people participate in OR?

B. Why do people participate in OR?

C. How do people interaction with the environment during OR?

i. Different types of outdoor recreation

ii. Consumptive vs motorized vs hiking/backpacking type activities

D. What kind of impacts does OR have on the environment?

i. Are people conscious of damage they may be causing to the   environment when they participate in these activities?

ii. Recreation Carrying Capacity

E. OR in other countries verses in the United States

F. Benefits of OR

II. Outdoor Recreation and Environmental Attitudes and BehaviorOR’s impact on people’s view of the environment

1. 1. The relationship between Environmental Attitudes and actual ecological behavior
   2. Impact of OR on different types of people
      1. i.      OR’s impact on fostering environmental responsibility in kids
      2. ii.      OR’s impact on inner-city youth
      3. iii.      Are people for whom OR is a career or way of life more environmentally responsible than people who have a normal 9-5 job?
2. OWU Students, Outdoor Recreation and Environmental Behavior
   1. Survey of outdoor recreation involvement
      1. i.      What kind?
      2. ii.      How often?
      3. iii.      How important is it?
      4. iv.      Why do you participate?
   2. Any relationship between OR participation and positive environmental attitudes?
   3. Do these attitudes translate into environmental action?

SOURCES:

Ibrahim, Hilmi  Outdoor Recreation

- spiritual relationship to nature, regional and local economic impacts, outdoor pursuits and special populations, outdoor recreation in other countries, air pollution in national parks

Brown, Tom Jr.  Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Living With the Earth

- surviving and interacting with the environment, practical ways of interaction

Pigram, John T. and Jenkins John M. Outdoor Recreation Management

- OR motivations, OR in urban and rural settings, recreation impacts, recreation carrying capacity, tourism and sustainability attitudes

Manning, Robert E. Studies in Outdoor Recreation

perception of environmental impacts, motivations and benefits of recreation

Ewert, Alan Outdoor Adventure Pursuits

socio-economic factors, benefits, environmental relationships

Tarrant, Michael A Outdoor Recreation and the Predictive validity of Environmental Attitudes

- actual relationship between OR and environmental attitudes, how much of the variation can be explained by OR, different kinds of outdoor activities and their effect of environmental attitudes

Teisi, Mario F Who Cares and Who Acts, Outdoor Recreationists Exhibit Different Levels of Environmental Concern and Behavior

-what are the different levels, what are some of the causes of the variation?

Ewert, A Early Life Outdoor Experience and An Individual’s Environmental Attitudes

impacts of OR at an early age

Hartig, T., Kaiser, F. G., & Bowler, P. A. Psychological Restoration in Nature as a Positive Motivation for Ecological Behavior

nature’s ability to improve the psyche and how that could possible act as a motivator to preserve and protect it

Hartig, T., Kaiser, F. G., & Bowler, P. A. Environmental Attitudes and Ecological Behavior

-general relationship between environmental attitudes and people’s behavior

Palmberg, I. E. & Kuru, J. Outdoor Activities as a Basis for Environmental Responsibility

Project Idea: Alternative Automotive Fuels: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – An In Depth Comparison

Quick Overview:
My paper/project will be an introduction to the most common types of currently available alternative automotive fuels, such as hydrogen, ethanol, lpg, biodiesel and electric. From there I will go into detail about how each works, what its strengths and weaknesses are and (hopefully) conduct a gedanken/fermi problem to estimate the viability of applying an alternative fuel to a fleet of vehicles such as those operated by OWU, a fleet of taxis, a police department and finally nationwide. The possibility of a system of these alternative fuels (such as a biodiesel-electric hybrid) will also be looked at.

Outline:

Introduction

• Explanation of the purpose of the paper.
• Introduction to terms used throughout the paper.
• Relevancy of paper to society.

Hydrogen

• How hydrogen is refined.
• How hydrogen is stored.
• Technologies utilizing hydrogen as a fuel and their application to the automotive world.
• The safety of using hydrogen in an automobile.

Ethanol

• How ethanol is made, including the future of mass production.
• How ethanol may be transported throughout the U.S.
• Benefits/ease of converting to an ethanol infrastructure.

LPG

• Sources for LPG, possibility of running out.
• Implementation of LPG into the automotive industry.
• Safety of using LPG in an automobile.

Bio-diesel

• How bio-diesel is made, including the future in terms of possible mass production.
• How bio-diesel can be utilized in an automobile in today’s world.
• Drawbacks to using bio-diesel.

Electric

• How would electricity be used to move an automobile?
• Implementation of storage of electricity onboard the vehicle.
• Generation of electricity in order to sustain the electric vehicle, including a look at the U.S. power grid.

Mix

• Diesel-electric hybrids.
• Ethanol-electric hybrids.
• Flywheel-electric hybrids.
• Etc.

Comparison

• Implementation of gedanken/fermi problem to determine which system looks most promising, specifically for fleets of vehicles.

Wrap-up

• Draw a conclusion on which technology looks most promising in the long run.
• Discussion of where the country and the world is headed in terms of alternative automotive fuels.

Sources:

Here.  A government site which provides a good jumping off point to start research.

Here. Same as above, though through the DOE.

Here. Application of alternative automotive fuels to fleets.

Here. Just ’cause it’s awesome.

Conservation Education and the ECC

As of Setember 29, the ECC has been e-mailed. Now we are just need is to hear back from them.

Claire In the Dirt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.” – Bada Dioum

            In order have a passion to conserve there must be an understanding and an appreciation of something.  One of the major ways that we can ensure that we have natural wonders, however big and small, is to peak  interest at a young age.  Through conservation education children can develop their base of understanding of the world and with that understanding the importance of protection.  Many educators underestimate the appeal of bringing a native animal into the classroom or watching butterflies develop on milk weed.  These moments with nature give children a connection with their environment that includes all their senses.  This project will help the teachers at Ohio Wesleyan’s Early Childhood Center develop programs, activities and lessons that have a holistic understanding of nature.   

 

Mission Statement: Through the use of interconnected lessons, students of the Ohio Wesleyan Early Childhood Center will form a greater understanding and appreciation for nature and the world around them.

Porches, Placemaking, and the Urban Environment

Overview

The design of urban neighborhoods and the buildings of which they are composed do much to determine the nature of a community. More specifically, the existence or lack of porches or front stoops in residential areas greatly impacts the types of human interactions that occur within a given place. In the U.S., porches have been an essential component to traditional neighborhood design. In many ways, the front porch arose as a fundamentally American ideal, something to aspire to have–a symbol–but also a necessity in the days prior to air conditioning. Serving as a transition space between the public and the private realms, front stoops and porches offered not only a way to escape the oppressive heat of the house in mid-summer; they also allowed for socializing with neighbors and other passers-by, and in this way facilitated close-knit communities. Since the arrival of air conditioning, TVs, and back yard patios, however, many new homes have been built without porches. If porches are built, often, they are relegated to the aesthetic realm, being constructed not for function, but simply for look.

It is this division in the function of porches in historical neighborhoods verses those in new suburban developments that interests me most. I wish to not only explore the historical impacts of porches on neighborhoods, but also to look closely at how the broader features of neighborhood design interact with porches in the present. For instance, what purpose are porches for socializing if they are built in a community lacking pedestrian infrastructure or connected streets?