E-portfolio

Hey! Here is a link to my E-portfolio. It contains many essays and articles written by me for my writing class at the University of Texas.

"Oh Tannenbaum"

Given the merry holiday atmosphere that currently surrounds Austin, I couldn’t help but wonder about my favorite holiday tradition – the Christmas tree – and its origins and roots in the U.S.

The Christmas tree tradition was first introduced to Canada in 1781 by German soldiers who protected Quebec against American attacks. Later in 1848, the London news published a picture of the British Royal Family’s Christmas tree in Windsor Castle, which was then copied by Americans and published in Godey’s Lady’s Book (a magazine published in Philadelphia). The image was republished many times in the 1860’s and 1870’s, making it very popular to put up a Christmas tree in North America. While many German immigrants claim to be the first to introduce this tradition to Americans, Godey’s Lady’s Book is known to be the most important channel, responsible for spreading it throughout the country (K. Marling).  

All Christmas trees were initially freshly cut from alpine forests, but during the 19^th century, as an answer to continued deforestation, Germans created the first artificial trees. They were originally made out of green painted feathers, with berries in their tips that acted as candleholders; later, other materials like aluminum and brush bristles were used to create trees. The most recent artificial trees are made out of PVC plastic (recycled from used packaging materials).

Nowadays, there are some people who enjoy having a natural tree in their home (for different reasons such as: its incredible, mesmerizing scent; the sake of tradition and culture; the beautiful look of the evergreen branches; etc.), others, prefer to invest in an artificial, sometimes pre-lit tree, maybe to avoid having to buy a natural one every single year. Nevertheless, recent debates about how the cutting of natural trees affects the environment have made a lot of people reflect and consider switching to artificial.

The truth is, when it comes to this matter, there are two points of view (both very valid and equally important) from which to argue. First, the American Christmas Tree Association (a non-profit organization that represents those involved in the artificial Christmas tree industry) claims that the plastic of which artificial trees are made has excellent recyclable properties.

On the other hand, natural tree growers contend artificial trees are more environmentally harmful than natural ones. Natural trees are cultivated in crops, harvested, and then replanted in rotation after cutting. They provide a suitable habitat for wildlife; however, concerns have been raised about these crops not being a healthy habitat because of the pesticides used to grow trees. Natural trees can also be recycled as mulch, or used to prevent erosion. “Living” trees or potted trees can also be rented from local growers, and returned after the holidays, or purchased and then replanted by the owner. Finally, lead has often been used as a stabilizer to make artificial trees, which after a period of approximately nine years can reach dangerous contamination levels. Nevertheless, in the recent years tin (which is not as dangerous) has been used as a stabilizer.

From my point of view, both options are reasonable. One must be cautious and responsible when purchasing or renting a tree; if artificial, then we must make sure tin has been used as a stabilizer to build it and make sure it is properly recycled if we want to dispose of it. If natural, the most responsible choice would be renting, especially if you don’t have a backyard with proper weather conditions in which to replant your tree; if not, you may buy it and then make sure you dispose of it in a proper tree recycling center where it can be used for making mulch or for other means.  

Here are some pictures of my Christmas tree from last year in Venezuela. It was a natural Fraser Fir tree we purchased from a local vendor.

This year’s budget is really tight! So I think it will be my first Christmas without a natural tree to greet me good morning on every cold December day. However, Central Market carries some very beautiful mini rosemary trees that smell delicious! I think we will give them a try…

DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS

Reference Links:

Biello, David (2008, December 4). I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas (Tree). Scientific American. Retrieved November 24, 2014 from http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/im-dreaming-of-a-green-christmas-tr-08-12-05/

Facts on PVC Used in Artificial Christmas Trees. American Christmas Tree Association. Retrieved November 24, 2014 from http://www.christmastreeassociation.org/Article%20Pages/facts-about-pvc

Levin, R.; Brown, M. J.; Kashtock, M. E. et al. (2008, May 19). Lead Exposures in U.S. Children, 2008: Implications for Prevention. Environmental Health Perspectives. Retrieved November 24, 2014 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2569084/

Maples, Gareth. (2008, June 25). The History of Christmas – A Gift to All. Retrieved November 24, 2014 from http://www.thehistoryof.net/the-history-of-christmas.html

Marling, Karal Ann. Merry Christmas! Celebrating America's Greatest Holiday. Harvard University Press, 2000: 4.

E.P.A vs Texas?

Since the 1970’s, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has helped protect the environment by enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress.  It conducts research, assessment and education in environmental matter. In conference with local governments, the EPA delegates the enforcement and monitoring of all regulations.   

Texas, which is rich in natural resources like oil and gas, has had a hard time complying with EPA’s regulations, which demand major modifications to existent energy generating facilities that function by burning fossil fuels like oil or coal.

Marco Castañeda, a Peruvian environmental lawyer currently acquiring a Masters Degree at the University of Texas, was eager to comment on this particular matter, for he believes protecting the environment while maintaining Texas’ thriving economy is a controversial issue. Mr. Castañeda also believes expecting Texas will comply with E.P.A’s regulations is somehow unrealistic; he finds some of these regulations could threaten the establishment of traveling companies from the state of California.

“I think that E.P.A is realistic enough to understand that they have enough challenge trying to develop environmental policies in Texas. That’s something that they are really struggling with, that there are a couple of environmental regulations that should be enforced in every state in the next two years, related to gas emissions and they are struggling to get Texas to comply with these regulations. That’s their main goal, I think that’s a realistic goal, just trying to get Texas to comply with federal regulation, but I don’t think that they can go further, like try to make that Texas develop a more strict environmental regulation.” (M. Castañeda)

            

According to Mr. Castañeda Texas is merely going to comply with these regulations, in other words, as long as the EPA stops bothering them with new standards, they will comply to get them off their backs and let them make money out of non renewable energy plants. For example, new regulations for the emission of greenhouse gasses were recently issued; in regard with this matter, these were Mr. Castañeda’s comments:

“Texas probably wont adapt its industries to the E.P.A regulations regarding the emission of greenhouse gasses, however, the regulations are flexible and they permit that, in order to fulfill the goals, you can purchase the pollution rights from other states, or you can work with other states to achieve the environmental goal together. Texas will probably try to pair up with another state that doesn’t have enough pollution so they may try to use this clean state to fulfill its environmental goals…”

          

On the other hand, there are other environmental protection measures that do not involve the burning of fossil fuels. For example, generating renewable energy through natural resources like the sun; in spite of its incredible solar potential Texas still generates more energy from dangerous, polluting sources. The fact is, incredibly, “Texas is the biggest wind energy state in the U.S, it generates more energy based in wind than any other state of the union, and this energy is employed in their state’s electric rate.” (Castañeda). So, Texas is in fact generating clean, environment-safe, renewable energy, maybe not solar, but they are actually making an effort in other ways.

            

Also, according to my previous post on recycling and reusable materials, Texas -or Austin at least- is making an effort in preserving the environment by developing clever and easy recycling measures; projects like “The Bag Ban” and “Rock and Recycle” are proof of this city’s efforts regarding the environment.    

            

So, is Texas really cooperating? Mr. Castañeda believes, since oil and coal are very valuable resources, thinking Texas is going to change the entire energy matrix based in environmental protection criteria is something that is not realistic. Nevertheless, he believes they are doing the best they can with the resources they have in hand (they are protecting the environment in other ways).

Also, he thinks that what should change in order to get Texas to cooperate more, is the implementation of additional environmental protection criteria of besides the federal regulation (which applies to every state in the union, and it ensures environmental protection in every state). In tune with the current ambiance circulating the city of Austin due to upcoming elections, I asked Ms. Castañeda what he would do if elected Governor of Texas, and these were his thoughts on the subject:

“Ok. Well, if I were governor of Texas, I would try to develop environmental development plans; plans to fulfill the conservation of species and also the development of industries. This is not something new in Texas, the environmental regulation, the endangered species act, in fact, considers the development of plans, of environmental plans when there is going to be a direct or indirect harm to one species listed as an endangered species. It is something that has already happened in Texas; in the Austin area the Cannyonland’s environmental plan has accomplished the development of western Austin, the Travis County, and also has assured the protection of endangered species. I think that this is a good method; the main problem with these plans is the funding of them, because most of the land in Texas is private land, so, if you have to do these plans you have to at least secure an area for the development of the species listed as endangered species, and you would need to buy this land from the owner, so I think that this is a good way to do it, you could use the money that Texas has because of the industrial development and the recent boom in oil and gas industry.”

Non-utopic, his ideas are realistic and simple. They are easy to achieve because Texas has the required resources and the capacity to do so. I believe that, if polished and systematized, these plans could be turned into actions that would help protect the environment and its species while maintaining an active economical activity in the field of energy and industrial plants.

DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS

Hallow's Evening

My beautiful niece and me!

Naturally, this time of year one wonders about the history and the true meaning of Halloween. I always remember my school, and how we were not allowed to celebrate this "holiday" by doing traditional stuff like wearing costumes or trick-or-treating. I went to a school founded by Ursulines; my teachers (some of them were nuns) used to say "we do not celebrate it because of its pagan roots."

The truth is, Halloween or "Hallow's Evening" (All Saints' Eve) is a feast that is dedicated to remembering the dead and departed (including saints and martyrs); according to the liturgical calendar, it is celebrated the evening before All Saints Day. Its roots are believed to emerge from Celtic Harvest Festivals, hence, the pagan influence (Source: Wikipedia).

This year, I am particularly thrilled about living in the U.S and being able to participate in typical festive activities like pumpkin carving and costume parties. I am ready to take part in the whole american Halloween experience!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

UT Turtle Pond (Inspirational, Descriptive Writing)

Visiting the Turtle pond the first time was different. There was so much noise the first time, so many thoughts on my mind, so many things to do. I took the pictures and left. I hadn't been in the Turtle Pond, I merely stepped on a spot of the campus map that was on my iPhone. I only represented a blue spot on Google Maps.

This time it feels different. I didn't notice the water lilies before, my favorite flower. If you listen carefully, try to isolate the loud noise from the A.C generator, you can appreciate the birds' singing. The cool fall breeze makes the turtles float around the pond with much more ease; I envy the turtles, they have no duties or responsibilities, they watch busy students and teachers go by without even noticing the beautiful scene in front of them. The turtles are probably wondering why we haven't left, why we are staring so profoundly -they are now sun bathing- :)

People come and go, but the pond is always here. Leaves move with the wind and make a nice, calming sound, almost as if they were announcing winter is near. I feel like nature is making fun of us, it is so much smarter than we are, it has been here since the beginning, watching all the ridiculousness going on around it.

"Another day will go by" thought the turtle; the lilies will turn pink again and once more, busy teenagers will walk by wearing crazy outfits and doing absurd things.

The bells chime, it is time to leave. Snap back to reality. Stop day dreaming. Your routine awaits.

DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS

Recycle, Reduce, Reuse!

 When my husband and I arrived in Austin the whole recycling thing took us by surprise. Sure, we were expecting a huge difference from Venezuela’s recycling activities, but there were certain things that we didn’t anticipate about this city’s way of living.

It all began when we made our first trip to H-E-B. When we finished selecting all our groceries, we headed to the cashier to pay. The friendly, young austinite with the red t-shirt and cap kindly asked: do you need a bag? And we answered: yes please. Carefully placing the items inside the bag, the cashier wished us a nice day. As always, I reviewed the printed version of my unnecessary purchases, just in case something needed to be returned afterwards. Stunned, I realized they had charged us for the plastic bag! I couldn’t help but wonder, was this an H-E-B exclusive policy? Was Target going to charge us for bags as well?

Soon, we discovered almost every supermarket in the city had the same no-free-bag policy, or even worse, no-bag-at-all policy. We were astonished. After going online to find out the reason for this madness, we learned about The Bag Ban! Effective since March the 1^st, 2013, the ban passed by the Austin City Council forbid the use of thin plastic bags on every business, shop or retailer; it specified shoppers should carry their purchases in reusable bags. Certain exceptions were made such as thick plastic (easy to recycle) bags and paper bags made out of recycled materials, which could be sold to customers in case they forgot their reusable bag (CLEARLY our situation).

Photo Credit: austinpost.org

I must admit, even though it took a while to get used to it, I find the Bag Ban (from now on: B.B) to be an exemplary policy that should be applied in every city in the world. We don’t realize the harm we are causing the environment by littering with these non-biodegradable, single use bags. Our first negative reaction, of course, was natural. We were not used to this, and neither were austinites until March the 1^st 2013; the B.B made a lot of citizens angry, especially plastic bag manufacturers. Mitzie Stelte from Community Impact Newspaper mentions that, at the very beginning of the B.B, people started complaining about the cost of reusable bags. Shortly after, very thrifty ones were available at many local retailers; even Dollar stores carried pretty decent ones. Sequentially, citizens began to adapt to this new formality and transitioned to a more conscious, responsible way of living. Nowadays, there are hardly any austinites that do not own a reusable bag. It is rare to see a thin, plastic, non-biodegradable bag in this city.

 Living in Austin has showed us that, although it seems impossible, these recycling measures can be applied. There is a different lifestyle waiting right around the corner for citizens that do not recycle, City Councils just have to take action and guide them to it. There are animals all over the world suffering from the consequences of contamination, and many people are not aware of the damage they are causing the environment by acting irresponsibly and not cooperating with the recycling measures. We should all just follow Austin’s footsteps and help save our Planet.  

DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS