up next on eco company growing green never felt so crafty it's a hands-on
lesson with stuff destined for the ducks then it's panel power to the rescue
how these students help their school get solar panels to save energy and the
view from up there NASA satellites give us a bird's-eye view of the planet and
climate change and scientists show us some of their research plus we visit a
museum with creatures big and small and we'll learn how some insects are being
affected by climate change eco company starts now
hey guys thanks for joining us I'm Jordan and I'm Brendan first up making the
world a little greener as you might guess it's about growing plants but it's
also about a whole lot more and we made up with some teens that are breaking
ground in more ways than one let's go join them all right see you later
so how do you get inspired these teens are getting into the gardening spirit
with some music at the breaking ground conference organized by the San Francisco
Parks Trust it's a program designed to get young people involved in greening
their neighborhoods our first stop to meet use from literacy for environmental
justice we're a nonprofit organization and we we grow native plants we grow at
least 10,000 native plants a year L.E.J. focuses on restoring neglected urban
areas and promotes the right of everyone to have access to a clean
non-toxic environment around them hey I hear these guys are working with a
rare native plant let's go help them out what we do is we take out a clump of
dirt including the California facilia from here and then we try and separate
the full plant so we take it from the roots and we just try and get all this
dirt off of it for now and then we take our chopstick we use it to dig a
little hole which we can then put the roots in and eventually it'll grow to
become this so what's the message of literacy so our goal for youth is just
to get a new like aspect of life because we don't have access to nature in school
and so this was a great program for youth to get outdoor connections and just get
a new different aspect of life that's what breaking ground is all about
according to SFPT's Julia Brashiers it's about getting high school students
together to share ideas best practices get inspired it's about the environment
and land stewardship now let's find out what Jordan's up to if this stuff
looks like an oddball pile of scraps that's because it is but these guys are
putting it to you what are you learning about recycling today to use scraps and
that everything can be used for something they're making recycled hanging
gardens out of stuff you might normally just toss into the trash and I'm trying
my hand at it - kind of hold it in the expanded form Ian colon is with scrap the
Scrounger Center for reusable art parts scrap is all about getting people
creative and taking one man's trash and make me in another's treasure it's a
lesson in reuse that Ian hopes we'll get these teens to think about scraps in a
new way did you know you couldn't make stuff out of all these recycled materials
honestly if I lifted all this stuff I would just throw it away I mean it doesn't
look very interesting but we were making really cool stuff out of it what do you
hope teens learn from this activity today I hope that they saw that everyday
things around them that they normally throw away can be repurposed to make the
world better let's go see what Brendan's up to they can't have a garden without
bees they're necessary for pollinating flowers and reproducing plants and I
know just where to find some wild bee populations have been on the decline
baffling scientists here teens are finding out why they're so important to
the ecosystem meanwhile outside we spotted another group of teens with
green thumps what we're doing here is we're transplanting geraniums these guys
are volunteers with the visitation valley green stewards their youth on a
mission to spruce up their community we garden at parks and gardens around the
neighborhood we do planting, weeding, watering right now we're teaching people
how to propagate by cutting organizers say hands-on education like this is what
it's all about young people are vital to the environmental movement and they're
the future and so this conference is all learning about how you can get
involved how you can improve your communities and make our cities healthier
better places to live something all the youth here are working towards as they
break ground for a more sustainable future
so does your school have solar panels yet if not it could thanks to students for
solar schools it's a group founded by a teen in southern California and Jessica's
paying a trip to his high school campus hey there I'm on the campus of West Lake
high school this is home base for a group called students for solar schools an
organization run entirely by teens and they're thinking big when it comes to
getting solar panels on schools not just here but everywhere getting our power
from the Sun it's not just an idea to this group of high schoolers it's a bright
reality you guys like to move on to the earth's solar project meet the teens
behind students for solar schools all right are there any questions it's a
group founded by Adam Rodontas a high school student in California climate
champion students for solar schools is a nationwide network of schools that are
working together to put solar panels on their high schools Rodontas got SSS off
the ground at West Lake high school where he was a member of the class of 2010
fellow classmate Michelle Carney had a big hand in it too what was it like
getting this started I mean I heard that you were one of the co-founders yeah I
actually start up the West Lake high school earth club as well and one day
Adam just came in and said hey let's go get solar panels and I don't know I just
hopped on board and two years later we have like 18 branches worldwide and a
huge solar panel array and it's just been great she's talking about these
they're crown jewel a 6.3 kilowatt system that powers five classrooms but it
wasn't easy getting there it took a year and a half to bring the city district
and school together to make it happen it was definitely the most challenging
thing I've ever done in my life it took a lot of perseverance we definitely had
some hard times when we thought it might not ever happen but finally it did and
it's great to see it here generating power the idea behind SSS is that the
school districts pay nothing students fundraise to pay for the systems and get
donations or discounts from businesses how did you feel when you finally saw
this up here I mean all your hard work had paid off it felt amazing to finally
see the panels up it took about two days to install so it means some of my
friends are in the club ditch class to watch the panels being installed and
that's definitely one of my happiest memories second semester senior year
there were smiles all around at the unveiling and a crown turned out to see
Westlake's newest addition it really is a genuine student-run project and that's
what I'm less proud of to we had a chance to sit down with some of the SSS
team so what made you guys decide to join SSS well I know for me I really
care about the environment and we're so lucky to live in Southern California
where the sun shining like 360 days a year that why not go solar it'd be a
great way for school to help the environment it's really a good way for
us to share ideas and come together and be able to work on the same common goal
of solar panels on schools there's really not often that we get to have a
chance to really change something in the world really make a difference and to
leave a lasting impact and make the world a better place than we left it
Pam Chang means that literally this Oak Park High Schooler is showing us her
old elementary school it didn't have all this much you left and it's just great
to see how much this garden has grown I mean when I was here it's just three
plots with some sparse plants but now you can see it's quite filled it's like
this little jungle and it sure didn't have these what else is special about
this greenhouse well the most unique thing about the greenhouse is that it's
almost completely solar powered we have solar panels on the roof behind it it's
a 2.8 kilowatt system 12 solar panels that completely cover the electrical
needs of the greenhouse so that it's really you know a greenhouse Chang helped
get the panels installed they power the heater fan and sprinkler system that
are needed to keep the plants happy my goal right now is to make everyone
realize that solar panels are the present they are the option that we should
have to save our planet how does it feel to come back and see this installed and
know that you were part of the process it makes me very inspired to be able to
know that I left something at my own elementary school that thousands of
kids will be able to experience when they go through the school it can also be
used to educate kids about renewable energy over at Westlake there are plans
for that too we will be setting up like monitoring systems and stuff so
students can view it in their science classes and learn from that too because
informed people make informed decisions and these guys say decisions are what
it's all about we're gonna be the generation to make the biggest change and
I think that you know it starts with us everyone tells you know you're just a
kid like what can you do but I think that if you really work hard if you
really determined you can see that there are times when kids can accomplish
more than adults that when we get together you really can do something
that would make a real change in the world so how can you make a real change
Redonas has some advice I would tell other students to just find what they're
passionate about and take that to the fullest extent possible I wasn't really
sure that we actually could put solar panels on Westlake high school it was a
really big goal but we went for it and just by keep working at it you can
achieve your goals
it's one of the most advanced climate research centers on earth Adam visits
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to get the scoop on the health of the planet
and its future plus we're on the hunt for some of nature's most elusive creatures
butterflies you got it and they're not the only insects being threatened by
climate change this guy is too that's next on Pico company
hey guys we're at the bowheart museum of entomology and this isn't just any
museum you'll never guess what's in all of these insects like these gorgeous
butterflies can tell us a lot about climate change let's go find out more
take your pick of bugs creepy crawlies or even these walking sticks if it's an
insect you're looking for chances are you'll find it here at the bowheart
museum of entomology on the campus of University of California Davis senior
scientist Steve Hayden makes sure everything's in order here down to the
tiniest of creatures Steve tell us about this museum there's so much going on we
have about seven million insects in this museum it's the second largest
insect collection west of the Mississippi River so why study bugs well for one
they play an important role in our food chain bees give us honey but also they
give us like apples and apricots and all kinds of fruits through their
pollination effort and there's some small flies that give us chocolate when
they pollinate the chocolate flowers on the chocolate plant in the tropics insects
are also the backbone of our ecosystems mess with them and nature knows it but
a warming planet is threatening many species changing plant habitats they
rely on to survive and in some cases their habitat could be destroyed all
together the rising of the sea levels as the ice sheets melt will actually end
up covering some islands and the insects on islands are commonly unique
because the islands are isolated from other areas around them that's bad news
for creatures like this green guy these are a kind of a walking stick that lives
in some of the Caribbean islands and this is an insect that might be affected by
climate change since being on an island it has no place to go it kind of has to
sink or swim on the island so here you want to hold him the walking sticks are
definitely cool but another big crowd pleaser here are the butterflies that's
Swallowtail from New Guinea that's where professor art Shapiro comes in he's
known as the butterfly guy in these parts and beyond in fact Shapiro is
behind one of the most extensive butterfly studies on record funded by
the National Science Foundation art's been trekking out to the same sites in
northern California and the Sierra Nevada for nearly 40 years so he's seen
what warming temperatures and habitat changes can do over time we're in Gate
Canyon one of his study sites so much stuff flying around let's catch up with
him to see what we can spot out here today a lot of California hair streaks
who's that in the road that's another Buckeye you were just fuzzed by an echo
blue here comes the pale Swallowtail my lithic crescent there's a workwinds
admiral right there that's a farmer skipper and there's a tail copper down
there we're up to 23 there's a Buckeye posing right by the roadside see him
opening and closing his wings let's see if I can catch one oh you got it what
kind of butterflies that's a my lithic crescent it's one that breeds on
fissons what kind of tree are we looking at and why is it so good for
butterflies it's the California Buckeye it is the best nectar source for
butterflies in late spring it's habitat like this that plays a key role in
insect survival are butterflies being affected by climate and how do we know
definitely they are and especially in extreme climates particularly at high
elevations in the mountains and in the Arctic and sub Antarctic so species that
live in colder climates that are warming are the ones most in trouble and
back at the museum art shows me this is one of the ones from my study sites in
the Sierra which is contracting apparently as a result of climate change this is a
butterfly known as an Arctic found in very cold climates they go all the way up
to the shores of the Arctic Ocean it's getting more local more rare and the
marginal populations are apparently on their way out as a result of climate
change if the climate continues to be this way what does this mean for
butterflies they're going to have to adapt or die it's that simple and it's
the past that's filed away in these drawers that could help predict the
future you actually owe a lot more insects than you really realize so even
the earth's tiniest creatures are affected by climate change and other
environmental factors they can tell us a lot about the world we live in
I'm at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory where they don't just study the stars
they've got their eyes on earth and climate change more eco-company is next
when you think NASA you probably think space shuttles or telescopes right well
it turns out scientists are doing a lot more than just giving us a glimpse of
the stars they also have their eyes on earth it's climate and how it's changing
Adams paying them a visit after getting cleared for takeoff so what do we know
about global warming and greenhouse gases for that matter not nearly enough
according to NASA researchers which brings me here I'm at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory where top scientists are studying greenhouse gases now they're
a major part of climate change let's get the scoop here at JPL it's not just
about studying the universe there's still a lot to learn about earth the
place we call home especially when it comes to greenhouse gases climate
change and what the earth's future could look like one of the great questions of
today is even though we know for a long time now we've been letting come at
our side out into the atmosphere emitting it when we burn fossil fuels like
gasoline coal natural gas even what we don't really know is how the nature is
responding to this it's that question NASA scientist Mike Gunson hopes to
answer he's got his eye on the earth's carbon cycle and as part of the
orbiting carbon observatory team or OCO our overall objective is to measure
the distribution of carbon dioxide around the world in the earth's atmosphere
CO2 is a crucial part of the atmosphere in fact did you know we actually need
it to survive for instance plants use sunlight and CO2 photosynthesis ecosystems
even emit some CO2 naturally good news we need greenhouse gases because that
maintains life here on the planet but on the other hand if you have too much of
these greenhouse gases it could start to warm up beyond where we could say the
earth is even habitable too much human emitted CO2 in the atmosphere will trap
too much of the Sun's energy heating the earth up and it's something that's
already happening global warming is a very real problem at climate change we
see the the world changing faster today than probably has in any time in the
past thousand years so what could a warmer planet look like just look to the
solar system in Venus the second planet from the Sun a runaway greenhouse effect
is not a pretty site and you can see that on Venus it's not a pretty place it's
not a pretty place and very inhospitable while that's an extreme example you get
the idea we certainly don't want to end up like that fortunately even though
mankind hasn't done a great job of keeping CO2 out of the air nature has
the Earth's oceans and forests act as carbon sinks storing some CO2 but there
are consequences to that as well we want to understand the role of forest
oceans and other areas in effects on carbon dioxide concentrations once launched
into space the OCO2 will provide the first complete picture of human and
natural carbon dioxide sources and those sinks we mentioned it will map them and
study their changes over time it will also look at reflective sunlight as that
sunlight passes through the atmosphere some of the sunlight is absorbed by
carbon dioxide and oxygen and we actually fingerprint the absorption event of
sunlight so that we can actually measure then the amounts of carbon dioxide
present in the atmosphere and the carbon dioxide up there stays there for
hundreds of years and while NASA can use data to predict the future
Guns N says it depends on what we do now if there were a magic wand if there were
one thing you'd want to do is you want to stop completely putting carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere but unfortunately day-to-day life hinges on driving your car
using electricity whatever you think of we depend on energy provided by
burning fossil fuels and as long as that continues climate change will be a
reality and those of us on planet Earth will be forced to adjust to a different
world for every person going through high school today unfortunately what
they're going to inherit are a whole new set of problems they're going to
understand how they're going to adapt to a changing climate a climate that's
changed before and is changing again
well that's it for us this week thanks for tuning in don't forget to check out
our website at eco-company.tv for more on the show we'll see you next time on
Eco Company
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