Week 12 Downtown Ft Myers

When I think of the “downtown” of a city I think of a lot of tourists walking around on a cute little street, with a lot of shopping, dining, and beautiful scenery.  In larger cities I tend to think of a downtown area as more of the business district, usually in the middle of a city, with a ton of hustle and bustle.  Downtown Ft Myers is extremely lucky to be the home of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.  MacGregor Blvd is truly a site to be scene and definitely not one to miss if you are ever in Ft Myers for the day.  The history of that road is amazing.  Mina Edison, Thomas Edison’s wife, planted all the palm trees lining the street way back in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s.  The trees take a very long time to grow, but now, over 100 years later they are huge! Tourists will come to town and actually think the trees are fake.  They look like concrete posts with little tree branches placed on top!  Another extremely amazing tree can also be found at Thomas Edison’s old estate.  This tree is the second largest Banyan tree in the entire world and it was a gift to Edison from India.  The history in this small downtown Ft Myers area is absolutely incredible.  It is very helpful to have a downtown area in a city for the sake of the economy.  A lot of jobs reside downtown, as well as a lot of shopping.  Downtown is also a huge tourist spot to hit, especially in Ft Myers with the Edison house.  

Week 11 Eucalyptus

The Eucalyptus tree is also known as the gum tree and is only able to grow in warm environments.  It is commonly found in Australia, Philippines, and Taiwan.  It is a flowering tree and found in over 700 species; however most of the species are found in Australia only.  The tree offers many benefits, making it an easy choice for potential genetic modification.  The eucalyptus is a great source of wood and oil.  Eucalyptus oil is great for cleaning and it works well as a natural insecticide.  They also grow extremely rapidly and can produce a full canopy in only a few years.  The tree also has several other beneficial qualities.

ArborGen wants to create a genetically modified version of the eucalyptus to be able to withstand cold weathers better.  It could be a really good source of wood and allow for higher timber exports.  The extra wood could also be use for a source of biofuel feedstock.  Skeptics are concerned the tree could grow out of control.  ArborGen assures us that they have provided a genetic tweak that will prevent the trees from reproducing.  However, anytime you are genetically modifying a plant and trying new things with science, no one really knows what the result could potentially be!  I would say it is definitely worth a try though.  We need to move forward in the advancement of technology and science.  We also need to do something about our dimensioning fossil fuels.  If we could find an alternative to fossil fuels through the eucalyptus tree, it is at least worth a shot.  We should not live in fear of the negative aspects or negative potential outcomes of genetically modified plants.  If we could end up benefitting from them, it is at least worth a shot.  We will know if it doesn’t work out and we will just try something new!

Week 10 Sustainable Farming

In order to maintain sustainable farming, many precautions and extra steps are necessary.  There are certain methods of harvesting the land that farmers must use in order to not erode too much of the land.  They also cannot use too many pesticides.  I do not buy organic foods, mostly because they cost a lot more money and I am on a tight budget.  If I had the money to buy them, I still don’t know if I would, because I do not really think they are that much better.  There are certain products, such as organic beef, that I do feel are better products.  But as far as most of the fruit and vegetables, I do not see much of a difference between the organic and the regular products.  I feel like I am extremely DISCONNECTED from the current food system. I have no idea where 99% of my food is coming from.  Even in organic farming, the farmers are allowed to use pesticides just like in regular farming. I would be all for a space on campus to grow our own vegetables.  I would even contribute to developing the area and helping to grow and maintain the plants.  My mom and I have grown a few of our own pineapples along with limes, oranges, and tomatoes.  I also love going to little farmers markets and picking up locally grown fresh vegetables.  They always taste so much better than anything you could possibly by from the grocery store. 

Week 9 Estero Island

I thought Estero Island Cottage was really cool! Jo, our host was a very nice, sweet, older woman.  It was amazing to see how concerned she was with the island and with the previous and potential hurricane damage.  It seems like the last devastating hurricane broke up the island greatly and created many canals.  The story about the bird Iggy was really neat to hear.  Way back in the day Iggy the bird would come right up to the house for treats and if the owner wasn’t home Iggy would go across the street for a treat!  It really shows you how close the people used to be with nature.  Even today sometimes you will see birds come right up to the back of people’s houses that live on the water.  You might even see a bird walking across the street.  Another cool thing Jo told us about was the manatees.  You used to be able to feed manatees in your own backyard! I thought it was hilarious that you had to be careful how much you fed the manatees so they would not sink!  Unfortunately, times have changed a lot though.  There is no longer as much of a small town feel to Estero.  I grew up in Lake Forest, Illinois and I am very fortunate to say I was able to visit last summer. The town has not changed much at all!!  There was still a very small town feel to it, especially when walking around downtown.  I would not take any developer’s offer to change my childhood home into condos, no matter how much I was offered!  

Week 8 Alternative Energy Sources

Society has turned conservation into a bad word.  For some reason anytime a public figure talks about conservation he or she receives negative feedback from the public.  No one likes to hear that we need to change the way we live our lives, especially if it means making any sacrifices in our everyday lives.  I would love to say I’m a “free-marketer,” however I do not think we can get enough people to change that free marketers will be able to make any significant changes.  The amount of people who actually care and acknowledge that we have a dependence and growing problem with fossil fuels is extremely minute.  Within this group the amount of us actually working to make any change is even smaller.  I feel like government intervention is almost absolutely necessary.  If the government taxed energy even just a penny on the dollar more they could pool that money and pour it into research and development into alternate energy sources.  I am a big fan of Algenol Biofuels.  I really feel like this could be a good alternative energy source.  Because the algae is harvested in labs, it allows for the building upward, unlike corn or some other methods, increasing output per square mile drastically.  As individuals we can make the proactive decision to cut back on our own energy consumption.  I know it doesn’t sound fun, but it is really easier than we might think.  We can also send letters to the government lobbying for change.  With enough of us working together, we might be able to make a change, hopefully before it’s too late!

Climate Change Week 7

I would say climate change is definitely a combination of both manmade and natural causes.  This is really not a good thing for me to be blogging about because I really know very little information about it.  I would say Al Gore is definitely a very UNreputable source for climate change information.  I would be very hard pressed to actually believe anything the man says, so when he makes a movie about climate change, I'm not sure how accurate it could be.  I also don't know how accurate a book that Professor Durham's friend wrote that was actually funded by Exxon Mobile. Obviously the gas companies are not going to fund anything that doesn't make them sound good or make them sound like they are not a contributing factor at all.  
I think it is nearly impossible to find a reputable source on this topic.  Everyone is bound to have his or her own opinion.  There are certain hard cold FACTS to take into consideration, but past that, everyone sort of forms an opinion of their own.  The best thing we could do is to take all the facts and review different sides of the spectrum to formulate our own individual opinions.  
I would say that the media portrays climate change as a much more manmade phenomena than anything else.  In more recent years there has been a huge push to break away from our dependency on fossil fuels.  This is for many reasons, but a huge one being its negative environmental impacts.  Another huge cause of global warming is carbon emissions.  After hearing what my carbon footprint was, I was a little shocked.  However, I am not going to stop eating meat products or seeing my boyfriend who is in the military and requires either a 10 hour car ride or a plane flight to see.  I don't think anything I do is really that bad, however it would be nice if there were alternative solutions to some of these issues.  If we could develop an effective way to use ethanol and biofuels for transportation, we could cut back on CO2 emissions greatly.  
I am hoping as time and technology progress, we can figure out safer and more environmentally friendly alternatives to our current practices.  Hopefully future generations will be spared of any further climate change. 

ECHO Farms Week 6

I really loved the field trip to ECHO.  I wish that it had not been so rainy that day though.  We ended up having to cut our tour short due to the weather.  When the tour guide first started the video, I was thinking, "Oh great, here we go...." but it ended up being very entertaining.  The video was a very good background to ECHO's mission.  Basically what ECHO is trying to do is provide poor people with the necessary resources to be self sufficient.  They teach others how to farm and harvest properly.  They also look at each region specifically and offer plants and foods that will thrive in every living condition.  ECHO has really done a great job at creating many "MacGyver-like" tools and apparatuses to get every job done.  They have found seeds to purify water and created special heating boxes to cook food using sunlight.  It is just really neat to see all the different things they have come up with to get every job done.  


These examples do not compare at all to my view of "American" agriculture.  When I think of American Agriculture I think of huge fields all containing different "typical" American produce.  Then I think of huge industrial tractors harvesting the crops when the time comes.  I feel that the work ECHO is doing is completely relevant to the developing world.  They are certainly not focused on improving industrialized American farming.  They truly want to help find what works best for each particular village or region.  They are highly specialized in knowing exactly what the effects, benefits, and uses for every plant are. For example, if they know a certain disease is highly prevalent in an area, they might be able to suggest a plant that reduces symptoms of the disease.


I would have been interested in performing my service learning here, however I already found another site I really liked.  I do think it is an absolutely wonderful cause though and maybe at some point in my future career I might have time to volunteer or get involved with ECHO. 

The most pressing global environmental issue Week 5

I would say the most pressing global environmental issue facing us today relates to food and our lack of adequate distribution.  There is plenty of food on this earth to feed every human being living on it; however millions go hungry everyday.  Why is this?  There are is no clear answer and probably millions of contributing factors.  The distribution of wealth in this world is so skewed that a huge portion of the world can't even afford to keep their families fed.  But we are seeing this right here in the United States as well.  We are supposed to be one of the wealthiest countries, however it is a fact that many American's still don't get enough to eat.  According to the Department of Agriculture, nearly a half a million households suffer from hungry each day.  If we, as Americans, can't even take care of each other, what is the hope for the rest of the world?!!  It's also extremely scary that the governmental bodies in some of these third world countries are actually to blame for inadequate food distribution.  I don't know exactly how I would go about spending $100 billion dollars to address these issues.  I really love what Echo is doing.  The old saying give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, but teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime, couldn't be more true.  If we just keep feeding all the poor people or all the people that do not have access to enough food, we are only solving the problem for a short time.  Unless we continued to do this forever, the problem will continue to prevail.  I feel like it would help to start at home, so maybe a good chunk of that money could be donated to trying to restore America's economy.  How would we do this? That I have absolutely no idea.  It would just be nice to see the lower class get an opportunity for work and to get themselves stable again.  After that, we could spend another portion of the money continuing efforts mirroring those of ECHO.  It might not solve any problems right away, but they are slowly spreading and helping more and more people.  With the right financial resources, we could get help out faster.  I would not want to spend the entire 100 billion on this issue, even though I think we could easily spend the entire amount.  There are many different global issues facing us today and even a tiny fraction of that money could go a very long way.  

Nature Deficit Disorder Week 4

            Today’s class was very interactive and seemed to go by rather quickly.  We talked about the topic of Nature Deficit Disorder and it seemed like everyone had something to contribute to the discussion!  At least 70% of the class raised their hands to say something, at some point.  I felt like the entire discussion was very relatable to everyone’s lives.   Nature deficit disorder is basically what happens when humans do not spend an adequate amount of time outside in nature. 

            It is sad to look at the youth and to see what this world is coming to.  Almost every child has an Ipod, TV, laptop, video gaming console.  Try to balance school, extracurricular activities, family time, social time, and the overabundance of technology and it can be a challenge.  For most kids nowadays, when given a free moment to do whatever they want, they will choose television or Xbox over going outside to play.  I liked how someone in class said they even saw a difference between how they grew up and how a younger sibling of 5 years is growing up.  When I was a child, I loved going outside and playing with all the neighborhood kids.  We would make up silly games that involved running from one person’s yard down the street to another yard or summersault competitions.  It was very rare that we were inside for more than an hour or two at any given time.  Now studies have been done that link nature deficit disorder to all kinds of diseases such as ADD, mental illness, hypertension, and high blood pressure.  This is not surprising to me, however it further proves the importance of spending time outdoors.  

Corkscrew trip Week 3

The Corkscrew trip was a huge step up from our swamp walk.  I actually didn't mind the tour and learned quite a bit.  It was a very hot day and the mosquitoes and fire ants were really bad, but I guess thats to be expected at a swamp.  
Upon arrival, we were taught about the "living machine" housed at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.  I thought it was very neat how they chose to go this route.  It is so much more environmentally friendly than to put a water treatment plant at the swamp.  It also takes up a lot less room to house.  Essentially what happens is the waste water produced on site is filtered through the ground and the plants and purified, then recycled.  Someone would go to the bathroom, flush the toilet, at which time the water is sent to a holding tank with no oxygen.  It goes through that tank and into a tank with oxygen exposure, then through 2 manufactured wetlands.  The plants pick up more of the waste, however after all these steps, they are still required to chloronize and dechloronize the water before it is used again.  Then final step is to trim the plants and incinerate the trimmings to eliminate any toxins lurking on the plants. The chloronize/dechloronize step seems kind of silly and hypocritical to the mission of the living machine. It is almost as if they are saying the water isn't actually safe or good enough so they have to add chemicals, which is the opposite of what they are trying to do in the first place.  The idea of the living system is to reduce pollution created from a waste treatment plant.  It is literally a biological waste water treatment system.  I really like how the swamp chose to use this type of system and I think it is completely in line with their mission to be environmentally sustainable.  
After hearing about the living machine we were split into two groups for a tour of the sanctuary.  We learned about what an ecosystem is, which until that day I have to say I wasn't completely sure about.  It seems like such a simple word and a simple concept but without ever formally learning about ecosystems, I was not sure exactly what they were.  An ecosystem is basically all the living and nonliving parts of the environment.  There are many different types of ecosystems.  Corkscrew Swamp is home to four different types of ecosystems. 
All in all, I'd say my trip to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary was very beneficial and enlightening.   

Week 2

                I did not enjoy the campus trail walk very much.  After the first week of class I decided to go into it with an open mind, however it still didn’t help much.  I did not like being up to my knees in swamp water and not being able to see through the water.  I felt things against my legs and I almost fell on my butt a half a dozen times due to tree hidden tree branches.  Needless to say, I was very happy when the walk was over. 

                I think the selection of this site for the FGCU campus was a good choice.  It is unfortunate that we did have to destroy some wetlands to create the campus here; however I still think it was a good choice.  The fact that we were able to designate an additional area of land as a preserved safe area was really great.  I don’t think the site choice was consistent with our “eco-empowerment” mission however.  It doesn’t seem possible that putting the site right in the middle of a natural wetland and destroying a huge part of the wetlands is consistent with an environmental sustainability mission.  With that being said, the school has still taken a huge initiative to be environmentally friendly.   Erica told us about the way we conserve power by freezing ice over night when energy is most efficient and using that as A/C throughout the day.  How neat!  I also think it’s great that we have a solar field at the school!

Week 1 blog John Dewey

                Nature walks, muddy shoes, wet clothes and constant sweating…… not exactly my definition of fun. Knowing that I would eventually have to take this class, I always dreaded the thought of dealing with the unusual syllabus.  That is probably why I have waited until my senior year to take this class.  The first day of class I was slightly relieved that my professor seemed like a very nice, down to earth guy.  He explained that the following class we would be taking a wet walk around the campus.  Again, not super excited!  He also explained that our grade would be comprised of a series of journals and papers about readings and our field trips.  At this point, I am trying to keep as open of a mind as I could. 

                A few days after class, I decided I needed to sit down and get the readings done.   It only took 30 seconds before I realized I was in hell with these readings.  John Dewey is probably the driest author I have ever read!  I do not like reading about educational styles and experiences in the first place, but this guy made it even worse.   However, after hearing one girl ask, “How do we get an A in this class?” And the professor answering, “by doing the readings/journals, coming to class and the field trips, etc.” I knew I had to keep going.

                I think what Dewey was trying to say was that a traditional education system is not effective.  He feels that the students are way too disconnected from the teacher because the teacher’s education level surpasses that of the student by so much.   It is nearly impossible for a child to learn when they cannot comprehend what the teacher is telling them.  I do not know if I totally buy this thought process, however I see where he is coming from. His main thought was that students need to experience learning hands on for it to be effective.  I think this is what we are supposed to be doing with the colloquium class.