Why I hate palm oil-
I always enjoy thinking about the tropics, especially during a rainy/snowy cold January.  So our Junior Estuarine Ecology Class is studying tropical estuarine ecosystems and mangroves in specific.  We have been learning about mangrove adaptations, the important ecosystem services that they perform and also how they are threatened by human activities.  One of the most important lessons we can learn as students of environmental and marine science is how we as humans affect the environment we live in.  In our quest to achieve a sustainable society, where resources will be available for future generations, it is important to consider where resources come from and what trade-offs are made to access those resources.
     In the case of mangroves, this ecosystem is globally threatened by a plethora of human activities: shrimp farming, palm oil farming, development of the shoreline, wood harvesting for charcoal and furniture, and the list goes on.  We know very well the benefits of mangroves and the rain forests they protect, so why do these activities continue?
     The simple answer is that people continue to make lots of money from the destruction of these habitats as we as consumers blithely purchase products from these tropical locations.  In our class, we are examining where these products can be found, do we ourselves purchase them and how do we as consumers communicate our preferences to the corporations responsible for the devastation of such important habitat and the animals who once lived there. Aren't we as consumers largely responsible for the extinction of species in these threatened ecosystems?  That is the debate we are having in our class.  For my part, I do not knowingly purchase any products that have palm oil in them, which basically includes 98% of all prefab baked goods in stores and anything where fats have to stay solid at room temperature.  Also, it's really not good for you!
    In our study of these environmental issues, we are also searching for alternatives to the practices that cause problems, as well as identifying current solutions like forest stewardship council ratings and responsible palm oil practices, although these are hard to find and not always reputable.  Overall our goal is to gain an understanding of how these ecosystems work, the animals and ecology in them, and the threats to their future.  In it, we identify our role in this global ecosystem and try to ask ourselves how our actions can resonate from our space here in Virginia across the globe to Paradise Lost- Borneo.