[AAACE-NLA] Teaching the environment

[Merle Ayres]

Andrew you are correct in some of your assumptions. Environment and health 
go hand in hand.
Let say you own a hog confinement operation and want to expand so your son 
or daughter can be in the family farm. Then comes along an opposing group 
which says it will pollute the rivers, drive real estate prices down and 
affect your health. Then the farmer takes it to the DNR which here in Iowa 
determines  you follow all the rules and get the go ahead. In the meantime 
the opposing group writes letters to the editor, lobbies legislature and 
hold meetings to further roadblock your operation. You get the farm bureau 
out of Des Moines and says its all emotion and not sound science. The 
legislature makes rules that you cannot have 99 local rules so one set of 
rules exist today. This is real here  in Iowa. Its ongoing and fluid. I have 
a friend who tries to be a good neighbor in his hog confinement operation. 
Some do not. The streams occasionally get polluted from run off of  faulty 
pump or break in a pipe. or someone not knifing in the manure. Its science 
and health  demanding more answers and solutions. We as a state are trying 
to save the water for future generations and still make a living raising 
hogs for food for the world. Its hard work doing this and this has been the 
trend for over 10 years. Its a real problem to satisfy different opposing 
groups on saving the enviornment and health issues. I hope we can do this= 
be environmental friendly farmers and save our streams and air quality. Its  
  justifiable to teach environmental ed in school or adult ed for reasons of 
making our planet better and safer. It should be an adult ed priority..


Merle Ayres
412 8th st. North
Humboldt,Iowa 50548
Tel.1-515-332-4630
Fax 515-332-1738




>From: Andrew Pleasant <pleasant at aesop.rutgers.edu>
>Reply-To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by 
>AAACE<aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
>To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by 
>AAACE<aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
>Subject: Re: [AAACE-NLA] Teaching the environment
>Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 11:57:42 -0500
>
>HI all,
>
>While these (and many other) specific environmental topics and
>situations can provide context and relevance, it strikes me that the
>focus should be on using these sorts of topics as an opportunity to
>build/reinforce the underpinning skills that individuals and
>communities need to address threats to the environment as well as
>environmental-based threats to health - i.e. environmental and health
>literacy - which are quite rich concepts for those working in these
>areas. For instance, we can 'educate' people about the environmental
>science all day long, but that has not necessarily meant they
>will/can do anything about global climate change, or the quality of a
>local river, etc.
>
>Best wishes,
>
>Andrew
>
>
> >Andrea,
> >
> >Try googling Ogallala Aquifer depletion for
> >information on how an ancient underwater aquifer under
> >the High Plains is being rapidly depleted mainly by
> >intensive agricultural practices.
> >
> >Terry Pruett-Said
> >
> >
> >--- Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net> wrote:
> >
> >>  David,  Merle,
> >>
> >>  Wow!  Ask a simple question and get a flood back!
> >>  Thank you both.  Is
> >  > anyone else out there doing environmental education?
> >
>
>--
> >snip>>
>
>-----------------------------------------------
>Andrew Pleasant
>Assistant Professor
>Department of Human Ecology
>Extension Department of Family and Community Health Sciences
>Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
>Cook Office Building, 55 Dudley Road #207
>New Brunswick, NJ 08901
>phone: 732-932-9153 x. 320; fax: 732-932-6667
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