Blog #6: ECHO Trip

My opinon of ECHO is that it is a great learning center in creating new ideas and technology for other countries to utilize such as in Africa. They have seven different climate to which they see which plants will grow in those environnments and how to help them. The tire gardens stood out to me as being excellent ideas for growing plants and vegetables on your roof top. The examples which we saw at ECHO were completely different to my view of American agriculture in that when I think of American agriculture I think of huge industrilized farms or family owned ones. I do feel that their work is relevant to the developing world because they are providing 3rd world countried with new technologies on how to utilize their resources. Appropriate technology is increasing the standard of living for the developing world with out environmental damage. I would be interested in performing service learning there because it is a unique learning experience which one can carry with them.

Blog #5:

The major elements of sustainable farming are meeting the current population needs without scarificing the future needs, protecting the quality and water supply, maintaining biodiversity and habitats, renewable energy resources and plant and animal production processes. Ecological principles are woven into this framework by carefully managing the livestock and crops so they do not devastate the environment. Also, by tailoring choices to minimize the devastating effects they can have. The principles are also woven because this type of farming works to make only what we need and not over production the land. I sometimes buy organic foods such as fruit, meat, and dairy products because I do not like the harsh chemicals they use on the animals or the hormones. I buy organic fruit simply because I prefer the taste, but I do not buy them all the time due to the cost. I feel disconnected to the food system because it is so mass produced. If the products came from local farms and markets I think that there would be a more connection for people if we all recieved our produce this way. If there was space on campus to grow my own veggies and fruit I most likely would grow my own or if we grew fruit and veggies on campus and had a market every month then I would participate.

Blog #4: Most pressing global environment issue

In my opinion the most pressing environmental issue is the depletion of biodiversity caused by the affects of the overpopulation of the human race. I believe this because all of the environment is affected in some way by the disappearence of animals. It causes problems in the natural order and can be potentially devastating. If a wealthy benefactor gave me $100 billion to a global problem I would allocate and divide the money up between various issues. I would do this because I believe that there is not just one concrete issue which is more pressing than the other. All of the problems need to be addressed in some way to help reduce the effects.

Blog # 3: Corkscrew Sancturary

The trip to the Corkscrew sanctuary was very informative and fun to see all of the wildlife which surround the sanctuary. They have many reptiles as shown above a water snake and a 9ft female Alligator. There are also numerous birds such as Hawks, Egrets, and much more. The sanctuary has three distinct ecosystems, the wet lands, pine uplands, and a cypress dome. The pine uplands the trees are good usages for building materials. In the cypress dome there are pond cypress and bold cypress which live submerged in the swamp waters providing nutrients and oxygen to the water. The wet lands in the dry season provide good shelter and hiding spots for Deer and other animals. The sanctuary also has a living machine where they use plants to turn human waste into purified water which is then used for sprinklers and as toilet water for flushing. Conservation is the act of preserving something or protecting, or restoring the natural environment. Stewardship is the ethic that embodies responsible planning and management of resources. The role of private non-profit in these two endevors are that they have to conserve the environment while ensuring stewardship because they need to plan how and what they are going to do to conserve that area. Like-minded people can affect change by implementing ideas on how to conserve environments or how to destory them. They can be very influential in the decisions about conservation. Civic engagement factors into this by the sanctuary is trying to promote the importance of conservation and the ecosystems which will be destroyed if they are not protected. The motivation to preserve this sanctuary was due to all of the plume feathers being harvested and the birds were disappearing, so one soldier protected the birds from hunters and that is how the sanctuary was developed. The proper role of the government should be to help preserve ecosystems like these however, whether they do show their support is debatable. This sanctuary should not just be bulldozed and used for condos because there are so many ecosystems which thrive there and if they did that then all of those animals who live there would be pushed out of their environment and would migrate somewhere else causing chaos.

Blog #2: Campus Trail

I found that the FGCU campus nature trail was very intact with the school's mission. The nature trail allows students to see what climates are in Florida, and the different ecosystems which thrive there. It also familiarizes the student population with the natural environment arround them to promote this eco-empowerment of the university. On the trail were various types of trees and animals which thrive there. A few months ago a Panther was seen on the trail. In the picture above is an empty hornets nest which we discovered walking through. I think that the trail is compatible with the mission of the university because it is encouraging students to go and explore the wildlife Florida has. My background may predispose me to a  certain view point as I enjoy wildlife and exploring nature trails.

Blog #1 Sustainability & Coloquium

I have a few expectations for the University Colloquium class at FGCU. I am expecting to learn a lot about the environment, especially Florida's, and about various environmental issues which are prevalent. I expect that I will come out of this course with a great deal of knowledge about the environment and sustainability. Sustainability is the conditions to which creates and maintains the blanance between nature and humans. Another defnition of sustainability could be the effort or method of using a resource in a way which does not deplete resources or cause damage to them. Sustainability realates to my chosen major of child studies by if I become a pre-K teacher I have to have knowledge of the  environment in order to be able to teach the students about it. There are several personal behaviors which can been seen as being unsustainable such as running the shower for a long time before using it as it is wasting gallons of water, leaving the lights on when not in the room, and leaving other elcetronic devices plugged in or chargers plugged in when not in use.