Hiking at SRS

Class today was at SRS field station. We went to look at wetlands and do some GIS exercises. We started in the classroom getting information about how to use the GPS unit ans other things need for the Hike.We then walked as one group into the forest with the GPS units for guidance. The GPS units were to be used to find a wetland area at cracker neck. When we got to the area where the wetland was, we noticed it was dry. we learned that a wetland area can be wet or dry depending on the season. We found another wetland area that was not completely dry. This black water swamp gave us the opportunity to see all the features of a wetland area. It was extremely hot today but it was definitely a fun trip.

Phinizy Swamp Nature Park

Today we visited Phinizy Swamp Nature Park in Augusta GA. We had a very interesting tour by our tour guide Ruth. She was awesome, showed us around the wetland and gave us plenty of information about wetlands, like how to classify a wetland. As long as there is presence of water, diversity of plants, and anaerobic soil you can classify a piece of land as a wetland. After the discussion we had the opportunity to get in the water and gather samples to test and compile wether the creek was healthy or not.








After we gathered the samples it was determined that the creek was healthy. The pH was fairly neutral at 6.3 and it had an ample amount of diversity of species. After the creek we ate lunch and took a tour of the man made wetlands that are amazingly used for waste water treatment. This reduces the need for chemicals used at water plants. The natural microorganisms and bacterias in the wetlands decomposes some impurities in the water. So the water from the wetlands is pumped into the water plants which is then put back into our water systems.

Today was very educational. I have never visited a wetland, i think it was fun.

LIbrary

Today we had the first part of our class in the library. We learnt how to get informations we need for our research papers which we would be turning in at the end of the program. The library was very helpful, we were able to get articles and books from the university's online library data base. The library had some interesting gadgets that would be useful to you in getting what ever informations you needed. Still looking forward to the trip to the zoo.

4th of July

This day is going to be one of my memorable days in Aiken. Our professors made it fun for us, we played volley ball, we had a nice cookout, with a lot of food, we had cup cakes, then we went swimming. Later at night we had fireworks, it was a great day especially to those of us that had no plans. Thank you Dr. Ck and Dr. Wierda.

First day of Class (USC AIKEN)

Today we went to the Savannah river site but not to do much, we talked about the class, the syllabus and field trips which we would be taking. We also did a tour on the site, to places we would be doing our research on. This was my first time on the site, and i would say it is a big one, i just hope the bugs would not be a problem.

More fun at dinner

More fun from our dinner at our professors house.

Dinner at Dr. Klotz House

We had dinner at our professors house after our last class. This was just to round up everything and have a little last chat amongst ourselves. We had a lot of last fun together, and the food was very good.

Day 12 (Last day of class)

Finally we came to our Last day of class. Today although i was happy it was the last day i must say it was a very interesting class. The professor especially i would say has a hand in making the class interesting. We had our Last quiz, and we also talked about the use of Biomimicry to solve our problems, as well as our energy problem. We had a review of everything we learn't in the class from the beginning. I must say, the first day of class, i had no idea how important sustainability was, but i leave this class with a lot of knowledge about energy efficiency which i would use to educate more people. I am glad to have been selected for this class, and i would say it was an experience i would always remember. Thanks for the hospitality Clemson, it was so much fun.

Day 11 in class (Making a difference - System Thinking and Energy Policy)

Today was basically about each individuals thinking on what we do about solving this energy issue. We also had a presentation from Jim London on policy. We were coming to the end of the class so basically our last two classes were just to see how we can use all that we have learnt wisely.

Day 10 in class (Energy Policy

Today in class we talked about energy policies. We looked at the current USA energy policy, and what we could do to make it a better energy efficient policy. We studied several leverage points adapted from "Meadows's "places to intervene in a system". Each person in class had to do an individual writing on what leverage points they think would be most important, and would be of great help to our recent energy status.

Day 9 (Biofuels)

Today we talked about Biofuels, and their role in Energy production and savings.
Dr. Caye Drapschau an associate professor in Biosystems Engineering at clemson, spoke to us on her research on Biofeuls and book she wrote with the help of some other professors, titled : BIOFEULS ENGINEERING PROCESS TECHNOLOGY...

Day 8 in Class (Trip to Duke Power Field)

We had class earlier today because we had to go to duke energy. It was a very interesting one, The way the buildings were built, it had so much safety.

It was an interesting tour, learnt a lot about energy.

Day 7 in Class (Quiz & Debate)

Today we had our first quiz, which i thought had some very interesting questions.We had to use our understanding and thoughts about sustainable energy so far to answer the questions. After the quiz we had a debate on Wind vs Nuclear. I was for Wind against Nuclear, and we won the debate because we were able to convince the judges that wind was a better way and was more cost efficient than Nuclear. It was an interesting debate.

Day 6 (Trip to Sunstore Solar)

Today we took a trip to Sunstore Solar Energy. It was an interesting one, I learnt much more about solar energy that i did not know about. Solar Energy does not only reduce the amount of energy used in a building, but it also goes a long way in reducing the electricity bill. Although the cost to buy and install the equipments might not favor everyone, the end product is worth a try.

Day 5 In Class

Today in class we talked about the involvement of the Food we eat to how much energy is been wasted. It was been brought to conclusion that breeding and cooking our own meat and food, saves alot of energy. Today its like meat has become a part of our everyday life. About 100 years ago, it was only home cooked meal, people grew food and ate them, but today its a different story. Most of these animals are been bred artificially with fertilizers and more, and therefore requires more energy, and the meat gotten not only contains more calories, but instead of been useful to the body, it becomes harmful to the body. We need to cut down on the amount of meet we eat, or instead breed our own animals and cook our own food.

Botanical Gardens & Lake

Myself, Sheldon, Alicia, and Nicole visited Botanical Gardens and the Lake. It was a much needed break from looking at books and working on our project. Botanical Gardens was fun. There are plenty of trails to walk and explore, just to many bugs to fight LOL.


After Botanical Gardens we went to the lake. I don't really like swimming in lakes, but this one was different, it was clean so definitely going back to jump in.

Hiking (Table Rock Mountain)

Myself, and two other interns Faith and Nicole along side our professor Dr. Klotz, Hiked to the top of Table Rock Mountains. It was my first time to ever go on a hike, and i was so eager to keep going to get to the highest peak. It was a very fun experience, especially the view from the top. It was a 7-miles walk altogether, believe me it was alot of walking. After that we visited different waterfalls. It was an interesting saturday.

Day 4 of Class - Tour of Clemson Facilities

Today's class was basically about clemson's campus. We had an overview of the campus planning, we studied the facilities, and what the campus is doing at the moment to reduce their carbon footprint and energy usage. They had someone from the energy department come and talk to us about all the facilities they have, and also new projects which they are working on.

Trip To ICAR

ICAR is Clemson University's Automobile Engineering campus in Greenville SC. It was pretty cool. The first thing that caught my eye when we got there was the architecture of the building. It had a very unique style and its LEED certified. We had the privilege to see the projects that were going on such as Deep Orange. Deep Orange is the project the grad students attending ICAR are working on. The project consist of them designing an electric-hybrid car of the future. We were able to see the car in the beginning stages of the remodeling. We also got to see the other rooms and technology that they used to test and build cars. It was a very nice tour.

After the tour we went downtown and walked around and also grabbed something to eat.

Trip to Duke Energy

These are videos from our trip to duke energy.There are alot more coming...