Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - Demo - (Page 16)

WHAT DOES GREEN MEAN? Growing concerns about global warming and environmental degradation have changed not only the way we live, but the way we do business. We asked professionals from various fields to talk about what green means to them and how the public’s recent awareness of environmental issues has changed the work they do. Farmer Paul Willis lives on the farm where he grew up in Thornton, Iowa. He manages the pork operation at Niman Ranch, a network of over 600 traditional family-owned and operated American farms. He also raises 2,500 Farmers’ Hybrid hogs on the Willis Free Range Pig Farm and grows his own nonGMO soybeans and organic alfalfa and oats for feed and bedding. Green means understanding the food system and being aware of the many people involved in the process of getting food from the farm to your kitchen. Green means environmental stewardship, using natural systems as opposed to engineering food. I was an environmentalist long before it became popular. Industrial systems were taking over markets and shutting down middle and small size farms. In those unnatural systems, thousands of animals are held in tight quarters. Gestating sows are kept in crates and never see natural daylight. They’re usually fed antibiotics their whole life. When raising pigs, our farms follow the welfare standards of the Animal Welfare Institute. We never use antibiotics. The animals are raised in an environment where they can exhibit their natural behavior. They can go outdoors, and sows can build nests when they’re about to give birth. The result is a place where the farmers are good stewards, where they take care of and respect the animals. Nurse Denise Choiniere is a nurse at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. A founder and chair of the hospital’s Green Team, she is pursuing her master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, focusing on Environmental Health. For hospitals, green means reassessing product purchasing practices, waste disposal practices, and food options. One way that my hospital is minimizing waste is through a battery recycling program. Batteries are used everywhere—in heart monitors, beepers, cell phones. I helped to initiate the recycling of these batteries after I learned that batteries were being sent away for incineration, where they release harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. Now we collect used batteries from all of the hospital units, we have battery collection containers in our lobby, and we encourage visitors and employees to bring in their used batteries to be recycled rather than thrown out in the trash. 16 imagine March/April 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - Demo

Imagine Magazine - March/April 2008 Contents Letters Big Problems Big Picture In My Own Words Putting E-Waste in Its Place Big Juice Making Waves What Does "Green" Mean? Into the Woods Swimming with Whale Sharks Crash Course in Costa Rica Selected Opportunities & Resources Hooked on Logistics Off the Shelf Word Wise Middle Ground One Step Ahead Exploring Career Options Planning Ahead for College Students Review Creative Minds Imagine Sudoku Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - Demo

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