To Russia with Love

Dear Russia,

Please stop bombing little Georgia.

XOXOXO,
me

Links to news articles
(Note that few of these are from US sources. Unfortunately this is obtaining more media attention internationally)

Russia turns war machine on Georgia (video)

Georgia pulls out troops from Iraq to fight at home

Russia portrays Georgia as aggressor

US backs Georgian territorial integrity

Christina
posted August 8, 2008 3:36 PM

Cloned Pups in the News

Has cloning pets become all the rage in Korea? Seems like it is among the working dog pup-ulation. Here is a piece about it, with adorable photo, from National Geographic News. Link to the full article: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/07/photogalleries/animal-photos-week1/photo2.html

Seoul, South Korea, July 1, 2008 - Who's the cutest? Four puppies cloned from a Labrador retriever pose with researchers at Seoul National University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

Two South Korean labs are offering cloning services to pet owners at prices ranging between U.S. $50,000 and $100,000.

Owners of working dogs have been the best customers to date, however. To South Korea's customs service, for example, cloning champion sniffers is a more efficient option than breeding the dogs the old-fashioned way.

Christina
posted July 23, 2008 9:37 PM

I never imagined what a degree in CNR would lead to in my career!

All through my youth I had a passion for the natural sciences and I wanted to follow it in college. During my first two years at Cal I took the prerequisite courses for Biology major, which were just about the same as for any science degree. When trying to decide on what major to declare I looked within the life sciences and earth sciences departments and within the College of Natural Resources (CNR). What attracted me to CNR was the opportunity to learn in a small class setting and have more contact with the professors, and be associated with the college that through its programs was studying the science issues of the day; like the energy crisis, food safety and security and environmental degradation and pollution. Sound familiar! I chose the Soils and Plant Nutrition major because of its overlap with both the life and earth sciences. So in 1977 I graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S degree in Soils and Plant Nutrition from the College of Natural Resources.

How did my years at Berkeley prepare me for the future? Besides the courses within the major, like soil classification, soil chemistry, soil microbiology, and plant physiology and biochemistry, I was able to take courses in geology, forest influences and forest soils, ecology, botany, mycology and ag economics. All of the courses included classroom lectures and either lab or field work or both.

One of the best courses offered in the department was a summer field course. Over a six week quarter, UC Berkeley and UC Davis professors covered the study of soils within many of the environments of California for students from both schools. The major offered opportunities for independent study where I worked on the impacts of fluoridated water on the environment in conjunction with the Sierra Club, and the issue of herbicide usage in the Viet Nam war. I conducted trials in the Oxford Tract greenhouse and I worked at the Oxford Tract organic garden. Because of the close contacts with the department and its professors we could access their latest analytical equipment for our work and study. I even found time to work at the US Forest Service Labs in Berkeley and had a small landscaping business in the community. It was a great time to be a student at Berkeley.

continue reading "I never imagined what a degree in CNR would lead to in my career!" »

John Casazza
posted July 14, 2008 3:34 PM

Good Books!

I recommend the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull. Highly enjoyable, light, easy read, fun, and filled with mystical creatures. Mom had these waiting for me after I finished finals, and I ate them up quickly.

With the help of magical milk from a giant cow, a young brother and sister find their way into a magical world. Filled with ancient, nearly extinct creatures of myths, the children roam a space that is some combination of mystical botanic garden and free range zoo. As they make friends with creatures and the humans that tend them, they embark on one fantastic adventure after another in the hopes of saving their friends and all of Fablehaven.


Book 1: Fablehaven


Book 2: Rise of the Evening Star


Book 3: Grip of the Shadow Plague

Book jacket images were taken from these websites:
http://deseretbook.com
http://www.ericdsnider.com
http://amazon.com

Christina
posted July 10, 2008 10:52 PM

Botanic Garden

Today I took my niece and nephew to the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden. They were fascinated by the flowers and the wildlife. They enjoyed learning about the plants, were mystified by their Latin names, and cherished the time doing something different. I brought those two 7-year-olds home well-exercised, tired, but happy. They had a lot of fun relating the adventures they experienced while out and about - the lizards and the butterflies, birds, rabbits, and flowers.

A few of their favorite spots:


The Butterfly Garden


The Bird Habitat

continue reading "Botanic Garden" »

Christina
posted July 10, 2008 10:11 PM

Wedding photographs

On June 7, I married my sweetheart, Tom.
A friend just sent me couple of photographs of the big day. Thought it'd be fun to share.

The Kiss



Dancing with Daddy.

'twas fun how our first dance and daddy dance worked out. Tom was dancing with me for our first dance, then my dad (with mic in hand) asked to cut in (This was impromptu, he asked the DJ for a mic). Tom passed on my hand, then asked his mom for a dance. They continued the chain for a bit, eventually I was dancing with Tom's dad, my dad was dancing with Tom's mom, and Tom was dancing with my mom.

Christina
posted July 1, 2008 7:20 PM

Summer Time

In a sense, you can say that I've "graduated." The only thing that's holding me back are two classes over the summer that I'm currently taking to finish my major. I'm really excited to get my degree in Molecular Toxicology, but also sad that I'm going to have to leave CAL which is weird because I'm usually not a sentimental person. The feeling struck me as I was walking towards the Mulford area. It's surreal to think that I have only two months left of summer school before I head out to Sacramento for my gap year. I'm going to miss all the labs and great professors who really helped me understand the area of Toxicology. After CAL, I plan to further my education by either going to public health or medical school (where ever God leads me) to pursue my interest in Maternal and Child health. However, I'm going to take a year off to unwind and work on my applications. I'll be sure to post updates so stay tuned.

Rebekah Kim
posted June 26, 2008 1:18 AM

My Future in Renewable Energy

Since October of 2007, I have been involved in a green marketing campaign. My passion lies in creating and using technology to solve problems, but after graduating from UC Berkeley, I decided that it would be an important first step to understand how people perceive environmental problems and how to reach them with solutions. My focus over the last two years developing and marketing an internet startup and a green marketing campaign has brought me to a point where I feel confident that I have developed a solid core of marketing knowledge and experience.

Now I find myself considering the future of the United States, and what I see are two possible scenarios:

  1. Maintain the status-quo:
    We as a nation proceed in the same direction we have been for decades now, and continue to be a nation focused on irresponsibly mass-consuming, and relying on foreign sources of oil. Given that the marginal cost of extracting additional quantities of fossil fuels will continue to climb along with global demand, this scenario results in the United States and its citizens essentially going bankrupt. We are already seeing the first signs of this scenario manifest in rising energy and product prices. If this happens, pretty much any career path has a dismal future, and we will find ourselves scrambling desperately to keep the country running.

  2. Become energy-independent:
    It is no mystery that the American lifestyle is highly dependent on oil - in the united States, we consume the energy equivalent of 8 tons of oil per person per year, while countries like Japan use about half that amount, and Peruvians use just 1/16th what the average US citizen does (Earthtrends). Every day, we import about 13 million of the 21 million barrels of the oil we consume, and at current prices a basic calculation shows we are sending about (13,000,000 barrels * $130/barrell) = $1,690,000,000 dollars abroad each day (CIA world fact book)!

    3. Beyond the pure insanity of how much money we are sending away, using oil contributes to a whole host of environmental problems, not the least of which is global climate change. So in this scenario, we wake up as a country, and elect leaders with the vision and determination to make the United States energy independent. In this future, developing renewable sources of energy like solar and wind become the major drivers of our economy. We simplify our lives and come to realize that we can live great lives without buying and consuming endlessly. I don’t know about you, but this future sounds pretty good, and full of opportunity.

continue reading "My Future in Renewable Energy" »

Nick Harris
posted June 20, 2008 3:40 PM

Life after a degree

A bachelor's in Genetics & Plant Biology. That's what I walked with May 2008.
What do I plan to do with it?
Continue my education.

With one requirement to complete before truly graduating, I'll return to Berkeley for the summer, before moving on to Miami University to begin a Master's program in Botany.

What kind of an education did my Berkeley degree provide me with?
An understanding of: plant genetics, plant physiology, plant cell biology, plant taxonomy, plant systematics, plant identification, light microscopy techniques, bioinformatics, molecular genetics, and probably more. Along with this, I gained field experience, lab experience, and a renewed confidence in myself. I learned to study until I could understand concepts that often seemed beyond my abilities. I also found the benefit of group study including how to effectively organize study sessions, and how to work alongside a diverse peer environment.

Sure, these skills will be of benefit in future academic pursuits - but they'll also come in handy in everyday life. You'll see.

Christina
posted June 17, 2008 6:04 PM