Iron Chef Lab - Using the BPA

As mentioned in the previous post, we successfully created BPA to be used in our experiment. The next step in our procedures was to neutralize the chemical before adding it to the corn kernels. We added a significant amount of distilled water until our BPA reached a neutral pH level. In doing this we discovered that BPA is a very acidic chemical, because the color of the pH strip was so intensely colored before the distillation.

Next we swabbed four corn kernels with our BPA. We carefully extracted each kernal from the cob, keeping the cell membrane intact and leaving no breaches. The reasoning behind this was that when corn experiences BPA leaks while being preserved in plastic, the chemical is applied on the outside of the corn, not directly inside. Thus, we tried to artificially recreate a similar process with our corn. The BPA would have to penetrate the cell walls to cause any cellular damage, just like with ordinary store-bought products.






After the corn kernels had BPA applied to them, we carefully stored them in glass containers (no plastic of else more BPA could have been mixed in!). In a separate container we put corn kernels without any BPA on them - straight from the cob. Both sets of corn kernels were from the same cob, therefore they were the same age and experienced all the same variables in their lifespans. Both containers were placed in a refrigerator to be stored for three days. With this the BPA was able to sink in, perhaps breaking through the cell walls. We could not say in all confidence that the BPA was able to breach through into the corn, because the corn was not viewed beforehand. In real circumstances, BPA has much more time to leak into foods prior to consumption, specifically in cans which can sit for ages. However, neither we nor the short-lived corn had several months to complete this experiment, therefore we could not determine just how long it takes BPA to break through the outer membrane of the corn. Therefore we do not know for sure whether the BPA ever had time to react and cause any cellular damage. We viewed the corn under the microscope and the results are shown below. The images on the left are three ordinary corn kernels, without influence from BPA. The three on the right have all had BPA added.

As you can see, there are not any clear differences between the right and left. The top four all have significant visible decay, most likely because of their age at this point in the experiment. Without microscopes of increased visibility, we cannot clearly determine the nucleus, mitochondria, etc. of the cell. These could have undergone damage, so it is unfortunate that we cannot view them. 

Unfortunately, the internet has not been our biggest friend in this experiment, given that there is such a lack of information on this topic. Furthermore, all images of corn under a microscope are so dramatically different from ours that are comparing/contrasting is of no use.

The lack of obvious results certainly does not mean the experiment was a waste of time, or even a failure for that matter. It simply means that future experiments need to be rearranged based on what we know and what we need to do differently. We now have what we need and what the world needs to create an effective experiment. For example, based on our experiences we now know that a microscope of greater magnitude is needed. Also, a separate experiment should be conducted to see how long it takes BPA to penetrate the membrane of corn. This information could be used to shorten or elongate the time the BPA was allowed to sink it after application. Some things worked out great...the creation of BPA was definitely a success and could be used for experiments in the future. Despite the lack of hard proof at this moment, we still saw first hand the toxicity of the BPA, and it is certainly something we want to prevent from being in our food, even if it does not cause visible cellular damage.

For now that is all, but stay tuned to hear more about our lab report and big presentation for the Iron Chef winner - which will be us! ;) 

Homes Cure Homelessness; Smiles Cure the Homeless

With the beginning of our mental health unit, we had the unique opportunity to hear a presentation about homelessness. The Director of Shelter and Housing, Jennielynn Holmes, gracefully agreed to come speak, and share her experiences working for Catholic Charities. 

Hearing Jennielynn speak was definitely an eye-opening experience, because I personally knew very little about homelessness before today. I was, like many others, one who stereotypes homeless people as those who hold a sign on the side of the street. Today I learned that they are only a small subset of the enormous homeless population. The issue of homelessness is so much more prominent in Sonoma County then we are aware of, with around 3,000 people living without a home per night. 

Clearly Sonoma Country is experiencing major issues in terms of homelessness, and though a sad topic, it was great to hear about the hopeful approach Catholic Charities is undertaking. I love to know that there are things we can do to help in these times of crisis. Because in reality, the problems of homelessness are so much more severe than many think. We tend to overlook that so many people (30 per year in Sonoma County) die from homelessness, and others suffer extreme mental health issues. 

From here on out I am definitely going to be looking for ways I can get involved. The major takeaway from the presentation is that the only way to truly solve homelessness is with housing, however before this can be achieved we can definitely help.  I got Jennielynn's business card and am planning on contacting her about volunteering. Other simple ways to help, involve collecting necessities for the homeless, which can be donated to the shelters or played in packages for them. 

Overall I am super grateful for Jennielynn's talk today, because it created an awareness about people in the community that many of us avoid. Jennielynn hit the nail on the head when she illustrated a barrier of sorts that we construct between us and the homeless. This wall only creates further isolating between us, and drains the hope that the homeless need to get back on their feet. Therefore, small as it seems, interactions such as a smile can make a big difference in the lives of the homeless, who are just like us facing different struggles.

Click here to listen to the presentation.

Keeping it Local Publishing

It appears that our site is complete, apart from perhaps a few tweaks that may take place. We decided on the name "Keeping It Local" because "Keeping Sonoma Sustainable" was a bit of a tongue twister. Below is what the home page looks like:

I checked with Tucker the day the project was due to see if I could make some edits over the weekend to the product completed by the group in class. Predictably I changed a lot of things from what the groups had done...particularly with the design aspect. The photo below is what the design team had chosen for a background which made it look very chaotic. 

Along with that, they had chosen a photo of grains for the header, mixing very poorly with the peppers. The pinkish page background was tan and the text and photos were falling off the page. Overall it was a disaster. Part of me wishes I had a before/after photo for you, but I actually really did not want to take a photo before because it was so ugly.

A lot of smaller things were changed on the design side by me: fonts, colors, pages, etc. I guess you could say I was slightly disappointed by what the design team had come up with. Luckily I was able to work on it quite a bit and get it to where it is now. Personally I think it has a soft, inviting look. It is colorful, yet not crazy, and easily accessible. 

This is how the map turned out. It can be easily enlarged, and information comes up about each farm when selected. The map was the one aspect of the project where I did not really need to get involved. The products, maps, and photography teams definitely came together well with this one, creating an excellent piece of content. One idea brought up by other classmates was that it would be interesting to implement a way for viewers to find specific foods more easily. Currently they can filter by type of farm, but not, for example, if they want to just buy carrots. Additional layers would have to be added to the map, and I am not entirely sure that Google Maps allows you to do that, but if possible it would be something very helpful to add to the map down the road.

Next was the articles page, which I exclusively designed. I wish we had more articles on the site right now, but I think it could definitely expand over the years if students continued to write pieces. 

Then we have the "Ask Ashley" column which I have had nothing to do with - Ashley and her crew have been working on this and I know nothing about it. This was the only aspect of the site that may have had some coding involved...one of the members of the design team claimed he coded all of this, yet there are simple ways to do this on Wix so I do not know for sure. The student also said he coded many other aspects that were not actually coded, so it is hard to know for sure.

The media section contains a variety of works from members not exclusively in the website group. This includes lesson plans for students, info graphics, etc. Again, I am hoping this area will expand as students produce different works over the years. 

The last major page is the about page, which describes the project and its members. It was difficult to edit this page, because it contains descriptions of each students' jobs, and some of them are not totally truthful. Because in reality many of the jobs were taken over my people such as myself (and mostly myself) when the members were not working up to par. However, this was just something that had to be accepted, and hopefully now that I know each classmate more, future projects will work out better. I can definitely say that I learned a lot about organization with this project, and it certainly felt like a real work environment with needing to hold others accountable for their works. I really hope that "Keeping it Local" will expand significantly and help Sonoma grow more sustainable.

Website Design - We Are Progressing!

The construction of the website is definitely coming along! The structure of our meetings/work time has changed, mostly because I have implemented a new program called Kanbanchi (see instructions under Technology Notes & Resources). Kanbanchi is a program linked to Google, which I highly recommend for tracking progress. I have been updating tasks for individual students, as well as committee tasks, and color coding and labeling.



At this point we are about halfway through the development. The map is all plotted and labeled according to the type of farm (organic, conventional, etc.). Now we have the photography team implementing photos to the map, and the products team adding an elaborate list of products available from each farm. Stay tuned for more details!