I think I'm off to a rough start in this class. I don't think Doug got my blog address, so nobody even knows I'm out here. Then I blogged on the wrong topic. That's what you get for ignoring Deetle.
I had a few ideas pop into my head when I was sitting in class the other day. I think I'd like to focus on something that deals with earth sciences - geology, paleontology, animals, plants and the like. Perhaps agriculture is a good topic to start with. That seems to be on the tip of everyone's brains these days - what is good for you? How do you grow more with less land? What are the implications of diet on humans or animals?
A project that would get me down to Yellowstone would be a welcome change to sitting behind a desk! Perhaps I could find some interesting developments regarding that boiling cauldron of life down south of us. Yellowstone is a hot bed (no pun intended) of research. What scientists discover there has implications that reach far beyond Montana and Wyoming. We're sitting on top of one of the most geologically active places in the world. I'd love to find out more about that!
I'll ruminate on that a little while longer and see what I can come up with. I'd love to see some comments on this. I hope y'all finally find my blog.
Hi Matt, welcome to the blogoland.
ReplyDeleteYou're on to something...going to Yellowstone "for a class" is the best idea I've heard in a while. And it's true, at MSU we like to talk about how many mountain ranges and geological wonders are "at our fingertips" but I imagine only about 1% of MSU students really explore "our fingertips." Ok, I'm sure it's more than 1%, but the oblivious conversations I hear every day amaze me (because I always eavesdrop).
About agriculture — I live in a second floor unit, so our "yard" is kind of our deck (my landlord the landscaper lives below and has attempted to "landscape" the real yard this summer). We planted about 12 pots on our deck this summer and now it's harvest time, I'm amazed how much those little pots produced. And how spicy those banana peppers are, wow. I'm not sure how we'll go through all six varieties of pepper we planted, four of them being spicy.
The point is agriculture doesn't always have to be large-scale, what can people gain from investing a little time and money into mini-gardens? I don't think I would survive eating only the herbs and spicy peppers from our deck (the broccoli was a fail, although I think the slugs loved it), but with a bit of planning it could be quite a sustainable deck-garden.
Whatever angle you choose, if you narrow your focus you'll write an interesting story. See you in class.
Karen
That's awesome Karen! My wife and I have a community garden plot that we've been scratching with a rake for about 5 years. We've had good and bad years, but this year was particularly rough with the lack of water. I'm glad you found some space on the deck to grow things. It's so rewarding in so many ways!
ReplyDeleteI found a cool new study about organics that I think I'm going to pursue. It's actually about how they've found that organic foods aren't any better for you than the pesticide- and herbicide-laced food that are the products of the "evil" Monsanto corp.
It should be noted that this runs contrary to EVERYTHING that I've ever believed in. I am a vegetarian, eat organic as often as is practical and am probably what most people would call a nutcase environmentalist. So this study is super-interesting to me. I want to get in there and see the science behind it.
I think it's also interesting how not just science, but psychology gets involved in our daily decisions. Sometimes we do things that don't make logical sense (think of the first time you fell in love!). But we do them regardless. Why?
I'll probably still grow my own veggies in the summer and buy organic when I can, regardless of this study. And I imagine others will too. I think this is a fascinating train wreck of a ton of different branches of science. Can't wait to dive in!
If you are looking for a scientific angle, especially considering you have a community garden, maybe look into what type of social impacts are created from community gardens? Obviously the positive social impact of neighbor helping neighbor, but also the positive economic impact because people aren't having to stand in line to get their food and also the presumed positive effects of agriculture that literally has a hands on approach versus mass produced agriculture and the use of pesticides and chemicals versus a natural form of fertilizer...
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a pretty cool idea and it could turn out to be a pretty fun article, as well, since Bozeman has a very community based approach to just about everything we do... Great idea!