Agriculture
Where in California do we grow most of our food?
The central valley
What are the names of some of the most famous farm workers?
Dolores Huerta, Larry Itliong and Cesar Chavez
What is fast fashion?
Fast fashion → is quickly and cheaply produced clothing sold at a really low prices. The brands that do this are constantly releasing new clothing to go along with “micro-trends” (micro-trends are like the popular clothing trends we see on instagram or tik-tok a major example of this are granola girl hiking gear trends
What is overfishing?
Overfishing → is when companies and other groups are catching fish faster than their populations can regenerate. This means too many fish are being killed at one time
What percentage of earth is covered in water?
71% fun fact only 1% of that is what we can actually use!
What is polyclture?
"the agricultural practice of growing multiple plant or animal species together in one area, copying natural ecosystems to increase biodiversity, soil health, and resilience. It enhances yields (the amount of crop grown) and reduces pests/diseases"
what is environmental justice?
Environmental Justice: The fair treatment + inclusion of every person no matter their race, color, culture, national origin, income, or educational levels in all kinds of decisions about the environment including: making and enforcing laws, regulations and policies or any other kinds of decisions!
What are some of the main fast fashion brands (name at least 3 to get full points or 66 points per fashion brand you name)
Shein
Temu
PrettyLittleThing
Fashion Nova
Boohoo
Zara
H&M
Urban Outfitters
Brandy Melville
Pink
What is bycatch and what happens to it?
Bycatch → is the unintended capture of unwanted sea creatures (turtles, sting rays, dolphins etc) while fishing for a specific species. Bycatch are not usually 1-2 fish but thousands to millions
These fish are unnecessarily killed and not used!! Instead these dead fish are thrown overboard and wasted
do trees talk to each other?
Trees can "communicate" with each other, sharing nutrients and information through underground fungi networks
What was the dustbowl? What happened, why did it happen and who did it affect?
Settlers in the 1930s/40s cleared a bunch of land for agriculture and a combination of severe drought and really intense monoculture practices dried out the land completely killing the soil. It created desert like conditions where wind storms would throw sandy soil causing dust storms that would blow through towns injuring and killing people. It affected towns people and farmers and animals and impacted peoples livelihoods because they could not make money.
How can agriculture become an environmental justice issue?
- Monoculture practices can harm workers because of pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers
- people growing our food are often paid very little and work under very harsh conditions that are often unsafe and a lot of times its undocumented immigrants that may have a language barrier. This creates power imbalances between the farm owners/employers and these workers who can be threatened by deportation and even not paid.
- there are child laborers
- living conditions can often be just as bad
- workers are just generally really exploited
What is a micro-plastic and how does it relate to fast fashion?
Microplastics are released everywhere from our bloodstreams to the Arctic Ocean. From the very start of a garment’s creation to when we throw a piece of clothing into the wash, it releases microplastics. A single load of laundry releases about 700,000 plastic microfibers and this gets into our ecosystems. Fast fashion brands tend to use worse fabrics that are made of plastic and thus break down into micro-plastics. These micro-plastics can cause major illnesses like cancer, harm our digestion, harm our breathing etc
What is one of the most destructive fishing methods and why?
Bottom trawling
- size of net
- bycatch
- amout of fish killed
- corals and other things destroyed completely at bottom of ocean
What is greenwashing? Detailed description to get full points
Greenwashing → is when a product, service or company is presented to the public and or investors as “eco-friendly” when in reality this is misleading and often completely false as its environmental impact is the same or worse as other non “eco-friendly” products.
The company actively makes that product appear like a better, more environmental conscious choice than other products in order to try and get more profit by appealing to people's concern for climate change.
What is monoculture and why is it harmful?
Monoculture → the cultivation or growth of a single crop or organism over and over again for years.
Basically the same crop is grown by itself over and over again on the same land but this creates huge changes on the land.
In monoculture farmers grow the same crop over and over again every single year. This means that the same nutrients are being pulled, depleted and never reinstated back into the earth. This weakens and decreases the nutrients of the soil.
In times when the monoculture crop is not being grown soil is often left barren without anything covering it, this exposes it to erosion from wind and drying from the sun.
Makes crops more vulnerable to pests and diseases.
How are farmworkers impacted by climate change?
Farmers are on the front lines and exposed directly to the sun for long periods of time while doing very physical work with no access to shade or water provided by employers - they can suffer from heat stroke/heat stress
In California particularly wildfires also pose a major threat to farm workers who are exposed directly to the smoke which often carriers dangerous chemicals - they might not be able to hear or read warnings about fires and do not get time off to get better if they do get sick
How did fast fashion change fashion trends (like going from seasonal clothing to...?)
In the 1900s the average middle class woman only owned ~9 outfits total!
VS Today the average middle class woman owns ~103 pieces of clothing
What is illegal fishing and what is the name of the organization that we talked about that fights it (or what do they do).
Illegal fishing → fishing that is not authorized puts immense pressure on our ocean systems and leads to even more over fishing
Sea shepherd is a non-profit that attacks illegal fishing vessels like pirates to stop them
What are some examples of greenwashing? Name at least 3 to get full points
Using nature imagery on packaging or advertising Ex. bottle water
Using environmental buzzwords with no found for example calling a product “eco-friendly” or “sustainable” or “natural”
Products using official looking labels ex. recycling
Companies that really broadcast their newest sustainability efforts
Really ambitious climate pledges/plans that are unspecific
What is soil? (like what is it made of/whats inside of it?)
Soil is a mixture of organic material, minerals, air, and water. Soil carriers billions of different of microorganisms like fungi, bacteria, and nematodes. From it plants draw water and the nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium and micronutrients such as iron, manganese, and zinc.
Can be like clay, silt or sand.
How are farmers impacted by pesticides?
Pesticides are a huge threat to farm workers. They are 2x more likely to die from pesticide poisoning than people in any other occupation. They can be sprayed directly or exposed by entering fields too soon after a spray Or from handling the pesticide containers or from having a Lack of protective equipment. Farm workers’ families can also be harmed by these toxins. Farm workers and their families are exposed to pesticides in their homes as many live nearby fields that have been sprayed. Farm workers can also bring the poisonous pesticides home with them on their clothes, shoes and bodies. Persistent pesticide exposure has been associated with cancer, depression & diabetes.
What kinds of fabrics is fast fashion now using and what kinds of clothing are they in?
Today most of our clothing is made synthetically.
From unnatural fabrics like polyester, nylon, rayon, acrylic and spandex
It’s in everything from our jeans to our undergarments to our sweaters and more
Polyester → activewear, jackets, shirts, dresses
Nylon → swim, sportswear, backpacks, toothbrushes
Spandex →stretchy fabric in leggings, swim, sports wear, socks, underwear, jeans, form-fitting clothes, dancewear, costumes etc..
Each of these releases microplastics and breaks down everytime we use/wash it.
What is the law of the sea?
The law of the sea governs where/how close ships can get to a countries land mass
This can get complicated but basically for 12 nautical miles off shore this area is considered part of that country
What are carbon offsets?
Carbon offsets → a way that companies claim to “zero” out or cancel out their own emissions by investing in a piece of land or renewable energy or carbon capture that takes out the same amount of carbon that they are creating/putting out into the atmosphere.