Making Biodiesel and Bioethanol

            During our trip to the lab in Mercer's Law School we touched on what bioethanol and biodiesel were and the effects and benefits of using it. We learned that ethanol was an alcohol product that could be produced from switch grass and it can even be produced from corn through the process of fermentation. Biodiesel is a renewable fuel derived from oils such as vegetable oils. Both biofuels have proven to be better for the environment than petroleum based gasoline. The problem with using biofuels as with implementing some other techniques to help keep our planet safe is that buying cars that take these certain fuels are really expensive so most people will stick to the norm. To learn more about biofuels feel free to visit the treehugger website. :)

My Sunflower Plant

            Earlier in the semester we were given the challenge of growing a plant. We could either grow a sunflower plant or a tomato plant. I wanted to grow a sunflower plant so bad that I took two cups of soil and some seeds and tried to grow one plant outside and the other in a windowsill in the lounge of Sherwood where the plant could get an ample supply of sunlight. The potential plant I would have grown outside did not work out because someone dumped my soil and seeds :(. Sunflowers usually grow best in areas where they can receive an ample amount of sunlight and get a good supply of water. When I first started growing my plant, I was not giving it enough water and my roommate suggested that I add a little more water and before I knew it my plant's life had begun. For more information on growing sunflower plants visit www.almanac.com/plant/sunflowers. Here is a picture diary of the growth of my plant from the beginning.

Mitochondrial Eve

            Mitochondrial Eve is a common maternal ancestor to all living humans today that was found by three scientists in 1987. This Eve was commonly mistaken for the biblical Eve that marks the beginning of all human life. She is called Mitochondrial Eve because the scientists based her existance on evidence found within the short genetic code, inside cells, known as the mitochondrial DNA. To learn more about mitochondrial DNA visit Tracing Ancestry with MtDNA . Mitochondrial Eve is supposedly the ancestor to all these people with unique characteristics . . . .

Agbani Darego- Nigerian

Selena- Mexican

Brenda Song- Hmong and Thai

Drew Barrymore- Irish

Lucina- Armenian 

Dog Parks

 

            During this week's lab we visited Macon's Dog Park. We had two canine visitors that were running around and enjoying the benefits of the Macon Dog Park. We took some samples of the water and performed a Fecal Coliform Bacteria Test. Fecal Coliform Bacteria are found in the feces of warm-blooded animals and humans. These bacteria can enter rivers directly from agriculture and storm runoff carrying animal waste as well as human sewage discharged in water. Our water samples produced a colony of bacteria which was not pathogenic. Pathogenic organisms are dangerous parasites, viruses, and bacteria that cause illnesses and diseases. A person that swims in a body of water that contains more than 200 colonies of fecal coliform bacteria per 100 ml of water has an increased risk of getting sick from swallowing or inhaling these pathogenic organisms.

            Dog parks can provide wonderful opportunities for dogs to learn appropriate dog-to-dog behavior and allow their owners to socialize and meet new friends. The dogs will also be allowed to exercise in a safe, supervised area. In other circumstances when owners do not know how to control their dogs or read their body language at the dog parks, negative aspects like dog fights break out that may cause serious harm among them. Unfortunately, dog parks do not check for vaccinations, therefore, dogs could be carrying parasites and pass them along.

Darwin's Dilemma

              During this lab we watched the movie Darwin's Dilemma. Darwin was trying to give a plausible geological reasoning for the sudden emergence of many diverse and complex animal species that were appearing in the fossils found during the Cambrian explosion. The Cambrian fossil record contained an unusually high volume of fossils that preserved the soft tissue of the fossilized organisms which allowed the paleontologists to examine their anatomy. Many arthropods were found during this period. Many of these fossils were found in the Burgess Shale Formation. The Burgess Shale is located in British Columbia's Yoho National Park as well as in an area of the Canadian Rocky Mountains known as the Burgess Pass. The Burgess Shale contained one of the best records of the Cambrian fossils. Life was believed to be restricted to the world's oceans during this time. The land was unproductive and subject to erosion which led to mudslides where sediment intermittently rolled into the seas and buried marine organisms. The Burgess Shale was discovered by Charles D. Walcott.

Hitchiti Experimental Forest

Our Hitchiti Experimental Forest trip day can also be known as Hug A Tree Day!!!

            During this lab we had a long walk through the Hitchiti trail where we made stops at many beautiful sites including the sites portrayed in the pictures below.

            During this lab, in the picture above, some of our classmates decided to take the alternate route to reach the destination in the picture below. I am not saying any names but they did have a hilarious fall and ended up really wet.

            During our hike we talked about Wild Ginger and Sassafras. Wild Ginger's genus is Asarum. Wild Ginger is usually six to ten inches tall and twelve to twenty-four inches wide. It experiences slow to moderate growth. This plant has many different species and can cause rashes on some people so care should be taken in dealing with Wild Ginger. The Mottled Wild Ginger (Asarum shuttleworthii) is one that is native to Georgia. Sassafras is a native tree or shrub native to the United States. It has its most active growth period in the spring and the summer. The late spring, however, is when it witnesses the greatest bloom of fruit and seed production. It has a moderate life span and a slow growth rate. The genus name for Sassafras is Albidum  and it will reach up to 75 feet in it's life span. It is allelopathic,which means it releases a chemical that keeps other plants from growing well so it can have a better chance of growth without competition.

       

                   Wild Ginger                                                 Sassafras

Jackson Springs

             Spring Street Park is an urban park. Urban parks are also known as municipal parks created to offer recreation and an open space reservation in an area. On our trip to Spring Street Park we acted as geologists and identified many different types of rock. We found gneiss which is a metamorphic rock that has nice layers or lines of rock. We also found some huge pieces of granite rock which contains pink feldspar and black hornblende. There is also a form of white feldspar which breaks in geometric layers. We also talked about the  Shirley Hills District in which Spring Street Park is located. The Shirley Hills district was a twentieth century planned residential subdivision that was home to many prominent businessman and leaders in Macon. The designers believed that the area should give off a picturesque park-like vibe.  

Indian Mounds

           The Ocmulgee Indian Mounds located in the fall line city, Macon, GA, is an ancient civilization that consists of seven mounds and associated plazas. Fall line cities are on areas where the upland region of the Piedmont meets the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The people believed to have built and occupied these mounds were believed to be Muskogean speakers and were later named Creek Indians by Europeans. According to a migration legend passed along by the Creek Indians, they originally came from a place farther west that had many earthquakes and some of the Indians decided to leave and travel further eastward to find where the sun rose. They traveled until they reached a volcano and decided to settle down in what is currently known as Macon after meeting three nations that taught them about herbs and other things.

            My experience at the Indian Mounds was very relaxing. I certainly did get some walking in but it was worth it to reach the top of one of the mounds. It was a beautiful day and I even saw a few classmates whistle with a piece a grass. It was not something I tried but it was interesting to watch. I could see all over Macon from the top of the mound. It reminded me of the first time my O-group went up to the tower in the Administrative Building at Mercer and we had this beautiful view from everywhere in the tower. I would recommend the mounds as a place to relax. For anyone looking to further explore the mounds, visit http://lostworlds.org/ocmulgee_mounds/ .

Negative/ Positive Feedback Loops

Feedback means that the results of a process feed back into the system to change the rate of that process.

 2 Feedback Loops

-Negative Feedback Loops are systems that respond to a change by returning to its original state, or at least by decreasing the rate at which the change is occurring.

- Positive Feedback Loops are systems that amplify changes, whereas negative feedback loops resist changes.

Negative  feedback loops usually predominate.

Example of Negative Feedback is the body's Insulin Response

Time	Blood Sugar Levels
0	104
5	145
10	180
15	185
20	132
25	20
30	108
35	105
40	104
45	105

Community Gardens

           
              In this week's lab we visited a community garden located behind Centenary United Methodist Church that is sponsored by the Macon Roots Organization. One of its founders,Mark Vanderhoek, told us a little about the work that some of the residents of Macon as well as students of Mercer are doing in the garden. We learned about the advantages of having a community garden and what has to be considered in the planning of it. A community garden can be very helpful in the world of environmentalists and environmental scientists because gardening is environmentally friendly. More people raising crops helps to balance the negative effects of over population and pollution from factories if people mainly eat the food they grow. When the participants of a community garden finally find a garden site they must make sure the soil is not contaminated and that the land and soil they plan to use will be fertile enough to grow their crops. For this reason, it would probably be a good idea for one to know the twelve soil orders of the world and how to recognize them so he or she can determine whether he or she needs to build wooden boxes like those shown in the picture above to avoid contamination .

Plant Identification

Ilex Opaca (Ilex Holly)

 Betula Nigra (Birch)

Magnolia Grandiflora

Platanus Occidentalis (Sycamore)

Castanea Mallissima (Chinese Chestnut)

Phlox Subulata

Ruellia Angustifolia (Mexican Petunia)

Loropetalum Chinense

Zinnias Elegans

Brugmansia Arborea (Angel's Trumpet)

Liriope Spicata (Monkey Grass)

Colocasia Esculenta Illustris (Elephant Ear)

Cycas Revoluta (Sago Palm)

Rhus Radican (Poison Ivy)

Nandina Domestica