About Environment Discovery


Lakes in Northeast Florida
Photo by Donna Kaluzniak

Hi, I'm Donna Kaluzniak, and this is Environment Discovery. I worked in the water industry for over 35 years, and loved it. Now I own H2O Writing, and write articles and case studies for water equipment manufacturers and others in the water biz.

Nature photography is another love. Feel free to check out my photography on Fine Art America.
I'm a pretty down-to-earth type of person (no pun intended!), but have a lot of curiosity about all facets of our environment--from the tiniest insect to the far reaches of outer space. I believe learning about the world around us--new discoveries, ancient species, what's helping and what's hurting--is beneficial.

So, this blog will be for those who want to discover news and views about earth, water, fire, air, space, medicine, and other cool things about this beautiful planet. And I'll include some of my photos from time to time.

Would you like to join me in this journey? Let's see where it takes us.


Sunflower Friends
Photo by Donna Kaluzniak





Popular posts from this blog

Extracting Water from the Moon

Image
  Photo by Allen Kaluzniak I've always found space exploration fascinating. I still remember the excitement when hearing about our first attempts to orbit the earth, our challenge to reach the moon. I still feel my family's amazement as Neil Armstrong took his first steps there in 1969.  The moon is garnering new interest lately. NASA's Artemis Mission will establish a long-term presence on the moon to continue scientific discovery and technology innovation. As such, they plan to implement  sustainable infrastructure using in-situ resources .  Understanding the critical importance of water, NASA's astronauts will collect and remove large amounts of water and icy regolith, a loose rocky soil layer, from an area near the moon's south pole. To find the best way to accomplish this, NASA opened the Break the Ice Lunar Challenge  in November 2020.  On August 18, 2021 NASA awarded $500,000 in prizes to the winners of Phase 1 . In this phase, teams designed a system to col
Read more

A Setback for Cleaning the Ocean of Plastic

Image
Dolphin at Marineland, FL Photo by Donna Kaluzniak My last blog post was about The Ocean Cleanup , a massive project for removing plastic debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). After successfully completing Pacific trials in September 2018, the long trip to the GPGP began. On October 16, 2018 System 001, nicknamed "Wilson," was deployed. After tweaking and testing Wilson through November and December, it appeared the system was attracting and concentrating plastic, but could not retain it. At the end of December, the crew found that an 18-meter end-section of the system became detached. The December 31, 2018 Project Update noted the crew planned to return to port earlier than planned, and as soon as weather permitted. This allows them to make necessary upgrades to the system. Even with the malfunction, Wilson and the crew are bringing back 2,000 kilograms of plastic recovered by the system and from ghost net fishing. Some setbacks are to be exp
Read more

Earth: Pressing Flowers and Other Bits of Nature

Image
One of the best ways to appreciate the environment is to spend a little time observing and enjoying the outdoors. This doesn't have to mean a big camping trip or an entire day on the nature trail. You can take ten minutes at lunch to walk around, and look at nearby natural beauty--even if that's only a butterfly enjoying some planted flowers! Or sit in your back yard and watch the squirrels climb up the tree, or listen to the birds singing to each other. Don't just look for "pretty" things either. I've even enjoyed looking at wildflowers that some might call "weeds," or mushrooms growing along the sidewalk. I previously took a course in Nature Journaling . Now my instructor, Kelly Johnson, author of Wings, Worms and Wonder   has a new book available. It's a book about flower pressing and nature-inspired art journaling. Pressed  An Herbarium Inspired Art Journal   is an instruction book/herbarium/journal that offers a way to collect
Read more