Entry # 8 - Plant Warfare

Plants may seems like the most inactive things on earth but that is a complete lie. Its ommon knowledge that they can make their own food and from one of my previous posts, you now know they can "breathe". So what more can plants do? Well they don't secretly have eyes to see, hidden ears to listen, or undetecable mouths to speak... but they do have a communication network and it isn't wifi.

Truth of the matter is that plants communicate with one other with scents. Is this the reason why some plants smell gross and other plants have pleasant aromas? Yes and no. The smells are more or less a distress call. But the smalls that I am talking about are more subtle and almost never detectable for humans. 

So how does this smell talk network work exactly. Well let me illustrate.

Lets name some plant pests.

So lets say one of these guys (more like an army) lands on your plant and starts tearing away at the leaves. The plant won't sit there quietly and take a beating from these bullies. No, it will engage in a chemical warfare, releasing chemicals into the air that carry small odors that act as an alarm of sorts. 

Two outcomes come from this message. The first one is plant fortification. The plant under siege is actually warning the other plants of its kind of the attack and giving them a chance to fend for themselves before the armies reach them. In turn, the neighboring plants react to the alarm by releasing the same chemical into the air to warn other plants that are further.

The second result of the alarm system is... 

Calling in the Cavalry.

Yes, the plant is also trying to attract more insects. Most would think that would be bad but these helpful warriors do not tolerate the plant bullies and turn the tables. Those who were once the destroyers become the destroyed. 

Not only that but plants outside of the attacked plants family will pick up on the signal and protect themselves as well, sometimes acting as strong repellants to the invadors. Thus the foreign plant who selfishly tried to protect itself essentially becomes the victim plant's savior.

So next time you go to mow the lawn and you smell that fresh cut grass smell, just remember that that's the alarm going off.

Entry # 7 - Rooting Dumb into Men

I recently came across a blog that essentially was exposing male bashing in advertisemnt. As we go day to day and watch all these commerials on TV, we think nothing of it. It's mostly entertaining at best with the humor that appeals to many. The author of the blog sight called Dumb Men posts commercials and briefly provides a synopsis on what message is believed to be sent. The sight isn't much too look at and there is no real opinion as to what the author feels about the male bashing other than annoyance. Does a good job presenting the material, but thats as far as it goes.

With so many stereotypes going around that surround woman, sometimes there's a need to balance the field to avoid conflicts. In today's society, a lot of entertainment is based on belitting one another and no one really seems to care as to the consequences. A good laugh is worth it anyways right?

In the following commercial, a husband goes out to kill weeds but as a man, he is insensitive to what happens to everything else. As long as the goal is achieved then it is true success. The wife, who examines the job is not happy about the patch work. Then it proceeds to the wife schooling the husband in making right choices and to be more than one track minded by saying "kill the weeds, not the lawn." Then, as if it wasn't clear goes on to say "Got it?" as if the concept was incomprehensable to the man.

Now the purpose of the video was to sell Ortho's Weed B Gone Max. In essence, the message was that it doesn't take rocket science to figure out how to kill weeds while preserving wanted lawn grass. The product does it for you and kills even the hardiest of weeds. But as I look more into this, it doesn't only bash on the man's intelligence but on the woman's abilities also. To clarify, it is common stereotype that men are the ones that do yard work. However, in this video, the woman was the one with the so called smarts who knew exactly what to use and guided her husband to use it. So as a hidden message I see is that it so easy that even a woman can do it. Of course it appeals to women to be shown as intellectually superior to men, but that prideful thought blinds them from the hidden message. 

The bashing just never stops. 

Entry #2 - Treesons to Enjoy a Hot Day

I'm sure by now many of you have caught on to my cheesy plant puns... yeah that was definately a thing. The idea behind this blog is for me to share the world of plants. In my first post I sowed my interest in plants into this blog soil. Now that the elements have settled through my second post, that seed is ready to grow. 

Today's fun facts are about TREES (secretly my favorite)! 

Now I'm in Arizona so the diversity of trees isn't really out there. The majority of trees around here are palms, mesquites, palo verdes and the ever popular, saguaro cacti. 

 If you don't believe they're trees just look at their 20 foot selves and tell me they don't compete.

However the main reason I bring up Arizona is that it is unarguably hot and shade is very valuable around here. When people go to park, the parking spot under the tree is the most sought out for. Now the question I want to bring up is why exactly is the shady area around the tree very popular since I am pretty sure that fact is true everywhere. 

So why is tree shade so treasured?

The answer: 

A tree is nature's air conditioner.

A tree makes cool air equivalent to that of 10 room-sized air conditioners that run for 20 hours. 
And that's all from ONE single tree.(1)

To understand how this is possible we have to look at a leaf...

Actually a bit closer...

Closer still...

Almost there...

There we go!

Those tiny little opening that look like lizard eyes are what a leaf uses to breathe. Yes, plants do actually breathe. Well transpire is more appropriate. The opening is called a stomata. Through the stomata transpiration occurs, which is the release of water through plants.(2) As the plant drinks up water from the soil, the plant uses maybe a small percentage of it and the rest is "exhaled" back into the air. The plant does this essentially to cool itself off from the energy it is using during photosynthesis to break up hydrogen molecules.(3) During a day, a leaf will "exhale" water that is many times more than its own weight. To put things into perspective, an oak tree will give off about 40,000 lbs of water in a year.(2)Thats enough water to fill about one and a half average pools. With all that water vapor leaving the plant, it's no surprise that the plant's vicinity should be cool. 

If you ever want to actually see this process in action, just wrap a plastic bag around a part of the plant and leave it for a few hours. When you return to the plant and remove the bag, you'll find that the inside of the bag will be covered with the condesation from the evaporated water the plant released. 

So next time you're complaining about a hot day and plan on escaping back into the confinements of your house, maybe just sit under a tree and enjoy the day. Although you might not want to sit under a saguaro. They can be a bit mean if someone gets too close.

Souces: 1. Canopy.org

              2. USGS

              3. Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary

Entry #1 - Rooting into Blogs

Me!

Blog World

I've known and heard about blogging but never really cared to actually find out what it is. When my college English professor introduced me to the world of blogs, I found it actually fascinating. Now I am staring my own blog and the big question pops up; where do I start? I have no idea what the do's and don't's of blogging were, so I do what any beginner to anything does: look for inspiration. I start going through various popular blogs to get a sense of where to start and essentially get an idea of where I want it to go.

I found that different things attracted me about some blogs and other things just made me yawn and scroll. Let me share a few with you.

The first blog I really like is by Martin Cherrett called World War II Today. At first my attraction to this blog isa bit biased since I really enjoy learning about WWII; however, what I really like about this blog is that it is right to the point. Cherrett displays a picture and elaborates on what exactly the viewer/reader is looking at. The content he displays are fascinating fact on what was going on during the current date of any of the years that WWII took place in. Cherrett is also really committed to his blog, keepiing up to date daily.

The second blog I diverted to is Elemental from the Wired science blogs. Despite the fact that Deborah Blum, the author of Elemental, hasn't written for a few months now, what is left over for the time being is interesting, her subject: poison. A bit unnerving at first since poisons don't generally have a nice rep, the topics Blum discusses are diverse. From history, to foods to the envirnment, you come to realize that toxins take many different forms.

Now the one style I am not very fond of belongs to Jason Kottke's blog, Kottke.org. His topics are very diverse. I don't mind the amount of information he has to offer, but the orginization of them all falls short of effective. 

What the other two blogs provide that Kottke's doesn't are illustrations. Sure, he links the things he talks about but I'd rather he flash up his blog more. It isn't very appealing to look at.

Based on what I've encountered in some blogs, I have gotten myself a pretty good idea on how I want this blog to grow and blossom.

A Blogger Sprout

Hello, my name is Rico Aguirre and this is my first ever blog. Whether or not this will be my only one depends on this experience. Who knows what might happen.

I'd like to start by giving a little freeze frame into my life. I am an energetic guy who likes to believe I have my heart in the right place. I'm always looking out for others no matter how much someone might ultimately cross me the wrong way. My well of positivity seems to never run dry or be tainted by those feelings which should not be named since they have no place near my well. 

I love nature, and by nature I mean plants. Among the vast creations this world has on display, there's nothing more interestingly beautiful to me than plants. They are just as diverse as humans and inhabit just about anywhere anyone can think of. They are literally everywhere. From awfully scented plants to gloriously eye-appealing flowers to bitter healing herbs to mouthwatering harvests, there is a plant for just about anything. Of course I can't just ramble on about how magnificent plants are without confirming that I am in fact a green thumb. I enjoy the simple pleasantries of  gardening. Planting is my way of soothing my soul, waging war against the natural order of the elements, testing my patience or the ever popular, parenting a new creation into an unknown world.