Interview
1. What pulled you into this topic to work for environment?
2. What kind of your research on environment?
3. What you have been learned from environment?
4. What are your opinion about environment and your work?
5. Global warming cause worse or become better?
6. Which people or group would try make environment become better?
7. What kind of enjoy you have doing on your work or research?
8. Do you have any idea that you would suggest to that group to help environment become better?
9. Do you think that pollution environment affect people’s health become terrible?
10. What government can help environment become improve?
11. Who pay you when you doing some research on pollution environment that are enough money to pay you?
1. Why did you get involved in environmental research?
2. What kind of research do you do? What is the focus of your work?
3. What have you learned about our environment?
4. What do you enjoy most about your work with the environment?
5. How is your project funded? Is there enough support?
6. In your opinion, what is the condition of our environment?
7. How do you feel your work helps the environment?
8. What groups do you think help improve or environment?
9. What would you suggest others do to help the environment and reduce pollution?
10. Do you think the pollution in our environment causes health problems? Is yes, what kind of health problems?
11. How can our government help improve the environment and reduce pollution?
12. Have anything to add or any final thoughts?
Answer to Question
1. What kind of work do you do? What is involved in your research regarding the environment?
“There are two particular projects I worked on. When I was in college I worked on Cadmium pollution. Cadmium is an element that dissolves your bones. In Japan there was a lot of Cadmium in the rice fields because they had a nickel cadmium battery plant and the water from that went into the rice fields. Remember that rice needs a lot of water. And so it was primarily people that needed to eat a lot of rice like mothers who were pregnant or nursing their babies. They got a lot of [cadmium exposure]. They called this the “ouch ouch” disease because it was very very painful. I saw pictures of, mainly women, and their backs were bent over like this, because it was dissolving their backbone. I was concerned because in Riverside County they have a lot of nickel cadmium battery plants. I wanted to know if any of the waste water that came from the plants went into the sewage system into our water system and went down into Orange County. So I went to sewage plants and I collected sewage, raw sewage, it smells horrible. Then I tested it in the lab to see the levels of cadmium….The problem is the sewage, the sludge, some of it is dried and put on farms for fertilizer. Like in the central valley or like you could go to Home Depot to buy it and put on your plants. Some plants, like tomatoes, hold a lot of the cadmium in their plants. So the tomatoes could have cadmium in them. In fact, in the Central Valley they will only allow the farmers to use this fertilizer for three years in a row then they have to let the land sit for five years before they use it again.”
“A year and a half ago I worked on a coffee farm in Costa Rica. There were several farms they are part of a co-operative. They formed this cooperative so that they can compete with the big coffee farmers like in Columbia. What they need to do because of global warming and the coffee plants grow on the hill they have to keep moving them higher and higher on the hill to reduce the heat from the global warming down low. We were measuring; my job was work with the light. To measure how much light the plants got so that we could think about where to put the trees, like bananas trees, to shade the crops; where would be the best place. We looked at the health of the plant, we tested the soil, we looked at how much light it was getting, and then we looked at the coffee fruit to see which ones were doing best; what the best condition for the coffee was.
2. What have you learned so far through your experiences and research about our environment?
I have a lot of concerns about [the environment]. I think it’s very important that students understand the data because there is a lot of information that’s out there. Part of our job as high school teachers is to help students learn how to make decisions based on good data not just from someone’s opinion about things.
Savannah, “In the future I want to become involved with fixing cars to improve the exhaust and pollution effects and reduce the pollution in our environment. That’s how I want to help the environment.”
That’s good. You know there have been a lot of laws passed in California that are stricter than national laws. And there are continually auto makers, often, who don’t what a lot of restrictions on making cars that are gas efficient, they lobby against those laws so you have to look at the politics involved too; the oil companies, the auto makers for example. You need to make sure you’re looking at good research that will help answer questions.
Savannah, “I’ve noticed the smog is a darker color now; which is disgusting.”
You don’t want to breathe that and you don’t want your children to breathe that.
Savannah, “No, I absolutely do not. I do not want my children to breathe that at all!”
3. What have you enjoyed most about your work with the environment and your research?
I think it is very satisfying. You really feel like one person can help do something if a lot of other people are considering it too. One person can have an impact; especially as a high school teacher.
- Yes I am satisfied to affect my learner to teach my entire student. I am enjoying how student was teaching thing from me.
- when first researcher, I get MA degree as I work by myself as support myself. I was work alone for that researcher about Japanese, women bent. So second researcher, I was sign in the fellowship on earth – watch, that company was giving money to airplane for you to plane anywhere, paying you full time like where stay and food and everything.
Yes, all environment was relating to that research project, really you are like more worker, you going there for volunteers also authority was order me to work to what I should doing. So there have many different kind work for each person, also there has scuba or hiking the mountain or working coffee farm which is on the mountain.
Also I was work in the island name Chiali to doing bio variety studying, and I am living with moarrie… well I don’t know how spelling that name, but they are exactly that the families kind, but they are from new gearldland. Those are in New York group only live that area, but very far middle of ocean island name cook island. While I was living there, we are analysis archorliy like find the bone, also interview two teen, they was age around 14 and 15. I teach them chemistry, they has flower in their behind ear while they listen to learn. So it is take lot time to find my element paper, then when I get back to home. I was send some big box to cook island to help them to learn more. That is opportunity to apply the earth watch, fellowship. So lot work and lot enjoy.
- Umm there has some concern about environment, I cant remember exactly which or name, but two states try passing the law then they want global warming to remove from textbook in the school. All pollution from car and other thing cause pollution, that was remove from textbook in the school. Your work is really important for future.
- Well i work with second research, we give them the my little research about information which they could use how many use the fertile to little unique limit then so it wont be expensive to them also we put plant the trees to use light shine on plant. So with big organization work together, they has voluntary for coffee did not going to bad, they can stay so long time, if they work together, when increase price then they would sell many to gather lot money which is better. While they are together then borrow the money from bank, to make farm then sell it to other then gather more money to pay back to bank.
- well okay, I don’t know where the problem are now, but I know now more strict rule about water, we have to test before they are going the system, but before in my college, they are not test the water, but now they are testing it.
