Me * Blog 15

There comes a day when all good things must come to an end…unfortunately for these Colloquium blogs tonight is that day. Yes I am cutting it close to the due time, but I wanted to spend as much time with my blogger.com colloquium blog as I possibly could before they become lost into internet oblivion.

Okay, so that last part might have been a bit sarcastic, but I really have enjoyed writing these blogs. I think it has given us a great way to be a little creative with the pictures instead of printing on plain black and white pages or writing with pen and pencil. Also, and most importantly, seeing as this is an environmental class, it has cut down on paper use.

Dr. Snapp: Thank you for exposing me to the different environments we have so close to our school and my temporary home. You have made me aware of the sustainable possibilities around my friends and me that I hope to continue to spread to more of my friends. I appreciate the time and effort you put into the class.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the trip to downtown Fort Myers was my favorite out of the four environments we experienced. To learn that Day of the Dead was filmed there is absolutely fascinating. When I think Fort Myers, I don’t think of it as a hot spot for Hollywood directors to film a cult classic. It just goes to show that people, such as myself, take advantage of the landscaping and weather that we have every day, and don’t imagine it as something unique and indigenous to the area.

Another high point I think was the service learning I did with my friends. I believe we all had a great time not only teaching the youth soccer skills, but also the importance of keeping their practice/game fields clean. It was great being able work with a group so that we could share our knowledge with a larger amount of kids.

I think my only complaint about the class and what I found to be most difficult, is that the final post test shouldn’t be worth 5% of our grades. To attempt to study several different essays for maybe ten questions is rather impossible to do. I think the blogs and papers reflect what and how much we learned this past semester—not a standardized test.

As I have said previously in other blogs and papers, I want to be a sports journalist. This profession should (hopefully) keep me in the outdoors depending on what sports I’ll be covering. I would very much like to work outside—at least in the fall, spring and summer—in the New England area. It is an environment totally different from southwest Florida and I’m super excited at the prospect of living there.

Overall, I think Colloquium is a good class for creating awareness of the southwest environment and the effects of climate change.

FGCU and Sustainability * Blog 14

Being as big of an environmental school as FGCU is, the students on this campus have really stepped up in working to make it as green as possible.

The first thing most people, who need to throw something away, spot when they walk on campus are the forest green trash compactors. They not only compact trash into smaller substances, but they do it by being solar powered.
These trash cans and recycle bins are placed on most corners and outside all of the restaurants. I think FGCU should make it a point to putting them inside Jamba Juice, the Perch, SoVi, Subway/Taco Bell and Einstein’s.

There is a recycling project called Recyclemania going on right now. It is a competition between many schools to see who can recycle the most. Friendly competition will also make students more aware of the benefits of recycling.

Another thing happening that is making campus more sustainable is the tap water project set up by student government. Many of the water fountains now have spigots that students and faculty can refill their water bottles with. FGCU is trying to cut down on the use of plastic water bottles that are constantly being thrown away if people don’t recycle them. Last week student government was handing out green water bottles that can easily attach to back packs in hopes students will start using them on a daily basis.

The same thing happens in athletics at the start of every year. Each student athlete is given a water bottle for practices and games, therefore, cutting down on the amount of plastic cups being used every day. Now this is actually done so that the athletic department doesn’t have to build cups into their budget, but supplying the water bottles gets the job done environmentally as well.

Building the solar panel field is another way FGCU has contributed to sustainability. Much of the energy comes being used in campus buildings is from the panels. It is a great way to save on electricity and other things fueling FGCU.

Faculty and students are always looking for new ways to make FGCU more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Downtown * Blog 13

“When you’re alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go…downtown.” –Petula Clark

Yes, I can honestly say that I just typed up that sentence without having to look it up. That song has been one of my favorites for a long while before I hopped onto the Dolphin (our bus). It’s definitely a great song.

Before that day, I had only been to downtown Ft. Myers by accident last October. My mom and I decided to get tattoos spontaneously (kind of). I had been wanting one for a couple years, but that’s beside the point. We first went to this place on 41 who didn’t have any openings for walk-ins, so they referred us to a place downtown.

My mom, my aunt, my cousin and I all went down there, and three out of the four of us got some ink done. My cousin and I decided to walk around after eating some pizza on the road. We watched the roads get blocked off for an antique car parade.

Anyway, I found our trip to downtown Ft. Myers the most interesting field trip we have been on. The weather was perfect for walking around the park near the water and then throughout the streets for the historic Ft. Myers area.
I found the story about how Edison, Firestone and Ford came down to this area to go camping and discuss the uses of rubber. The fountain with the three oversized statues portraying the great men showed what the area of Ft. Myers looked like during the time they were there. That was definitely something I have never heard of in all of my high school history classes.

Learning about the history of the buildings was fascinating. The whole awning thing covering the sidewalks for shade story was pretty obvious, but I had no idea that the buildings like the arcade and the post office had breezeways branching out to other shops. When I saw the “Arcade” sign I really thought it was a video game arcade. I wonder if it ever was a nickelodeon or old school video game arcade.

It was unbelievable to hear that the Caloosahatchee River used to be where a park and two roads now lie. The reason why the river was dredged and narrowed is understandable because it was necessary for economic purpose; however, the changes as to what is built now seem almost unrealistic.

By far, it was the coolest trip this past semester—and there wasn’t even lemonade or cookies. It could be a good idea, for future reference, to possibly stop for lunch at one of the local cafes.

Poverty * Blog 12

According to http://www.globalissues.org/issue/2/causes-of-poverty, “almost half the world — over 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.”

That is an unbelievable statistic, and yet, it seems to be a truthful one that is not known around our classroom, much less the world. From one look around the classroom at the phones being texted on, the designer clothes being worn, and the headphones in everybody’s ears playing music, I would venture to guess that not too many people are living at the poverty level right now.

And yet, if any one of us was to drive to Immokalee, where the tomato workers live, the content in peoples’ home would not amount to the dollars spent on any of the items in one room.

During the tomato strikes that were popularized last semester on campus through several of my classes, TV news and the Eagle News, I, and many students, learned that they were not being provided with fair amounts of wages. The concept did not sit well with not only the workers, but students and citizens in the area.

The short walk from Ft. Myers City Hall to Publix signaled the need for change in the amount paid to each worker for each bucket of tomatoes each worker picks. Teachers and students from FGCU walked side by side with hundreds of workers supporting them in their efforts.

The point of bringing this up is to show that with poverty comes the realization that something must be done in order to better circumstances. This example goes to show that it is important that people pull together to break out of a situation. It is necessary to help these people to an extent, but if someone truly wants to get out of poverty, then they need to help themselves.

The neighborhoods these people live in are not by any means wealthy—obviously. The homes are dilapidated with broken down cars on the lawns. There are children playing outside because they don’t have televisions to keep them occupied inside. That could definitely been seen as a good thing though.

Poverty, to me, is something that is a part of every economy. There never has been and never will be a class that isn’t poor. It’s not pessimistic to say this, but real. If there wasn’t a poor or lower class, then the economy would get screwed up. With only a middle and high class, then market prices for everyday things would rise, such as a gallon of milk or gas. There will never be enough money in the world to make sure everyone has the necessities. If that were

true, then we would be living in a utopia.

Matanzas Pass Preserve * Blog 11

Wait. We’re going to the beach, but not really? Rumor has it that we get cookies and lemonade on this field trip though. Silver lining?

When my classmates and I walked into the Estero Bay Historic Cottage, a very nice woman, Jo, presented us with just that—chocolate chip M&M cookies, Publix lemonade, and crackers and a homemade spread. It was the easiest, smartest way to win a crowd over.

She spoke of her life on the island. As she grew up, Jo watched the growth and change of the island for 50-60 years. She explained that there was pretty much nothing when her family first settled on the island. The ocean water was crystal clear up to 15 feet below her and her friends as they swam in the water.

What could be most interesting about her speech was how the use of the island evolved over time. Jo said that there was literally nothing on the island but a small population of people and a school after some time. Basically, the people who lived on the island provided for themselves because it was expensive to import goods and services at the time. Progressively, Jo’s island was found by more and more fisherman who eventually bombarded the coastline.

This economic upswing brought more and more advertisement to the semi-unknown locale. Tourism has been a huge reason to why there are so many more people, restaurants, fishermen, etc. on the island destroying parts of the environment, but stimulating the local small businesses.
Walking through the Matanzas Pass Preserve gives insight to what used to be there not even a century ago. It was like history museum—a small bit of land preserved for future reference of the past. I saw lots of Mangroves of course, but also quite a few small crabs scurrying around the area under the boardwalk. I can only imagine how the island looked before people and technology arrived.

I think currently the island is not 100% sustainable. Nowhere really is, but I think it once used to be. From the stories Jo told us, the island was very environmentally friendly because of the people who lived there. With time, technology and the urge of humankind to dominate nature, the island became less sustainable.

Thousands of cars drive to Ft. Myers everyday for work and/or play. There is so much energy being used because of that alone. The people in these cars, however, have places to go and things to do, thus spending more of the earth’s resources.

Corporate Ethics * Blog 10

Exxon Mobile is a large company that works in an industry which continuously affects the environment in several different ways. There are certain rules and regulations that corporate companies like this one have to abide by to keep their carbon footprint as unnoticeable as possible.

For the purpose of this blog entry, I will be writing about Exxon as a symbol of all corporate companies and how they appear to be on top of things according to their website: http://www.exxon.com/.

When I hear about Exxon, my first thought isn’t what are they doing FOR the environment, but what are they doing TO the environment? Exxon provides fuel which various vehicles run off of. Well, that obviously isn’t helping pollution in any sort of form. The next thing I thought of was an oil spill.

I had remembered hearing that Exxon was involved in some sort of oil spill, but I wasn’t sure of the details, so I Googled it. (Something I think is the most amazing current invention.)

In March 1989, Exxon Valdez spilled 10.8 billion gallons of oil off the coast of Valdez, Alaska near the Bligh Reef—this information according to http://www.valdezalaska.org/history/oilSpill.html. “No crude oil actually made it into the Port of Valdez, as Bligh Reef is about 25 miles south of the Port. However, winds and tides moved the floating crude oil further south into the Sound and onto beaches. Oil covered over 1200 miles of rocky beaches.”

Destroying the environment, accident or not, is not a reputation a huge corporation is keen on having; therefore, Exxon has done their best on their Web site to make the environmental efforts known.

I went on the Exxon Web site and clicked on the “Our Company” tab. From there, I went to “About Us” hoping I would find the information I was looking for. I found a “Current Issues” link—struck gold. Clicking the link brought me to an entire page about what they are doing to contribute to environmental studies, energy efficiencies, and their views on climate change and biodiversity.

Our organizational structure is built on a concept of global businesses and is designed to allow ExxonMobil to compete most effectively in the ever-changing and challenging worldwide energy industry. –Exxon

Every sentence on their Web site is politically correct in the sense that representatives of Exxon would never intentionally throw the company under the bus. They are of course going to say they are doing everything possible to help the environment while still providing a product that only speeds up the elimination of the world’s natural resources.

There are pages on climate change and energy efficiency, but nothing of true substance. It seems as though there are a lot of scientific, environmentalist words that the average American wouldn’t truly understand due to their lack of awareness.

There is also a page regarding the Alaskan oil spill. Their latest comment on the destructive accident is this: The 1989 Valdez accident was one of the lowest points in ExxonMobil's 125-year history. However, we took immediate responsibility for the spill and have spent over $3.8 billion as a result of the accident, including compensatory payments, cleanup payments, settlements and fines.

Handle with Care * Blog 9

Yesterday, March 7, 2010, I handled and ate only a few things:
· Toothbrush – plastic
· Shampoo/Conditioner – plastic
· Crepes (300 cal) – conglomeration of paper and plastic to make the final product
· Clothes – cotton/nylon/polyester
· Car – metal/leather/carpet etc.
· Laptop – plastic
· Spaghetti (450 cal) – cardboard/glass jar/metal pots
· Door handles – metal
· Water throughout the day – shower, drinks
· Glasses for drinks

ECHO * Blog 8

Echo, my voice is an echo of places I don't know and stories I've been told.
--The Hush Sound

So pretty much that first sentence is in here because that’s the first song that came to mind when I first heard about ECHO. It’s a great song. And, has a little bit to do with ECHO or Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization.

Before this Colloquium class, I had never heard of such a place—only been told stories from teammates.

“ECHO is a non-profit organization whose vision is "to bring glory to God and a blessing to mankind by using science and technology to help the poor.’”

This Christian foundation studies new ways to develop food in different settings including rain forests, hillsides, desert land and moderate temperatures. They do this to learn for themselves, but also in order to distribute their knowledge to the rest of the world. The ECHO farm is located in Ft. Myers, but there are people all over the world working with this widely known organization.

One of their aims is to teach people in underdeveloped countries how to grow and produce food in their own yards or even on their own roofs. One of the testing houses had old tires with different plants growing in them.

Helen, our tour guide, gave an awesome tour of the complex showing us two different ways of watering crops, how they are decomposing trash with worms and that the chickens are cultivating the soil so crops can grow.

In order to be more sustainable, people can become more aware of how growing his or her own food can help each other be compatible with the earth. By doing so, people not only enrich the soil, but cause less trips to the grocery store or market because the food will be in his or her own back yard. ECHO’s goal is to teach the world how to grow foods from unlikely sources, not just from the norm.

Publix has a small organic section that I could possibly shop in. I have eaten organic food before, but do not purchase it regularly for it is a bit more expensive than other foods. There is a variety of foods the few aisles; for example, different types of seeds, various pastas, milk, chips and other foods are available for purchase.

ECHO was a very cool field trip. I think climbing the tree across the way was pretty legitimate too.

My Footprint * Blog 7

Well, if everyone lived my lifestyle, supposedly we would need 5.66 Earths. That can’t be a good thing.

I am hesitant to fully believe in the statistics of this quiz, only because as of right now I can only do so much. I was slightly above the global average in Carbon Footprint and Food Footprint, but I was slightly below in Housing and more than half under in Goods and Services.

I am not surprised that my Carbon Footprint is higher than the global average. It’s not that I don’t carpool because my teammates and I do it very often; it’s because I am a student athlete and we travel more often than regular students. We bus to all away games that vary in distance from Miami to Atlanta. We also fly to schools in Tennessee and next year to New York.

One of the sections in Reduce Your Footprint under the Carbon Footprint category talks about making a home more energy efficient. Well, I live with four other people and none of us own the townhouse we live in; therefore, it is nearly impossible to replace the windows and appliances, for example, with more energy efficient alternatives. All I can say right now is that when I finally do buy a home in the distant future, that I can do my best to make it as energy efficient as possible.

I don’t really have a problem with any of the Food Footprint suggestions except for the “plant your own garden” idea. It definitely is a great idea and would be a great way to save money, but having a garden is against the Home Owner’s Association rules in Copper Oaks. They wouldn’t like it.

As I said before, I am doing well in the latter two categories. I was semi-surprised that my Goods and Services Footprint stat wasn’t higher. I pretty much only recycle when I am on campus so when that question came up, I said that I didn’t recycle at all basically. It is something that my roommates and I can work on. All we have to do is get a bin. Lord knows we have quite a few bottles and cans that fill up our trash that could be recycled.

Shark Attacks, Resulting Human Deaths on the Rise * Blog 6

By Jennifer Viegas Mon Mar 1, 2010 01:32 PM ET

This is an article that hits close to home. How close? Well about 45 minutes.

According to Viegas, deaths that resulted from shark attacks in 2009 increased by one from 2008. 61 deaths occurred last year around the world off the coasts of several countries including the United States (28), South Africa (6), Egypt (2), Ecuador (1), Indonesia (1), Mozambique (1), New Caledonia (1), and Vietnam (1).

Even though the world number has slightly increased, the U.S.’s death rate has decreased severely in the last two years.

In 2008 the magic number was 41.

The article mentions that the decrease parallels the recent recession during the past decade. It seems as though not as people are visiting the beaches for vacations and such.

Out of the 28 in 2009, 19 deaths occurred off the coast of the Sunshine State. This in fact, is where this particular article affects or doesn’t affect me depending on the day.

“Volusia County in Florida retains its dubious distinction as being ‘the world's shark bite capital.’ That's due, in part, to waves off New Smyrna Beach on the central Atlantic coast that can attract both surfers and sharks.”

I live about 45 minutes from New Smyrna Beach and the fact that it is somewhat known as the “world’s shark bite capital” is something I have heard a few times before. This fact, though, does not deter me from going to the beach let alone deep into the water.

On a hot summer day, the dark water calls to me as I lie on the beach sweating. New Smyrna Beach definitely does not have the prettiest water compared to the panhandle or Florida Keys. The water is very sandy and once I go in passed my knees; there is no seeing what lies below the surface. I feel like it becomes a game to see how far my friends and I can swim.

Yes the statistics show that Volusia County beaches have the most shark attacks, but the percentage of everyday attacks is low. And, if I’m supposed to be eaten, well then there is nothing I can do about it.

A Day in the Life--Outside * Blog 5

Sunday, February 21, 2010
· 2-3 a.m. kayaking
· 12:15-3 p.m. soccer game

Monday, February 22, 2010
· 5:30-7:30 a.m. soccer practice
· 75 minutes walking between classes (four total)

Tuesday, February 23, 2010
· 20 minutes walking to and from Colloquium

Wednesday, February 24, 2010
· 5:30-7:30 a.m. soccer practice
· 75 minutes walking between classes (four total)
· 6-8 p.m. ate dinner outside

Thursday, February 25, 2010
· 2-4 p.m. soccer practice
· 6-7:30 p.m. soccer clinic with little kids

Friday, February 26, 2010
· 20 minutes walking on campus for office hours

Saturday, February 27, 2010
· 60 minutes walking around Coconut Point



After doing the math, I learned that there are 10, 080 minutes in a week. This equates to about 1440 minutes in a day. The amount of time I spend outside during the day obviously varies after viewing the information above. To calculate the percentage of time I spend outside on a weekly basis, I think it’s only fair to take out the amount of time sleeping.

Last week I slept approximately 49 hours or 2760 minutes—compared to the average of 56 hours or 3360 minutes we are supposed to get—it’s really not too much. I did a little bit of math, and figured out that I spent roughly 955 minutes outside being productive (not just going to a from my car). Therefore, if I divide 955 by 7320 (10,080-2760), I get .1304. I spent 13% of my time, awake, last week outside.

CSS * Blog 4

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary (CSS) was an experience that actually brought me back to my childhood. Near a playground where my mother would take my sister, my friends and I to play, there was a nature walk just like CSS. I remember seeing the alligators lie on the bank sunbathing, watching the fish swim in the water and wondering what the big deal was. Well, a few weeks ago at CSS I figured it out.

I can appreciate now how wonderful it is to see wild animals in their natural habitats. And on our walk through, I saw a hawk, a raccoon (which was not so good being that it was about 2:30 in the afternoon when he was spotted), a couple Egrets, several White Ibises and an alligator that was lurking in the distant weeds.

Wetlands, such as CSS, are protected in Florida for the benefit of our ecosystem. They are habitats for animals that otherwise would have to live among us in the cities and suburbs. It is important to keep them clean for several reasons including wildlife, plant life and human life.

As I aforementioned, if wetlands aren’t protected, then many, many animal species would be displaced; therefore, leaving them nowhere to go but into our everyday lives. On occasion alligators have been found in swimming pools, sewage drains and soccer fields. Instances like these are not only dangerous for us humans, but are dangerous for the animals.

Plants, for the most part, thrive on water and sunlight. There are exceptions to every rule; however, for the basis of this blog, the simplest of terms will do. Polluting wetlands not only diminishes the species of animals count, but also the species of plant life count. Without plants in the ecosystem, several types of animals would have to leave to find food elsewhere. If they were to leave, their predators would have to follow suit. And again, animals are displaced.

With all of these things occurring, humans are, for lack of a better word, inconvenienced. Intrusions of wildlife are dangerous to the human world, just as we are to theirs. From plants, we receive a little known gas called Oxygen. It really is only semi-important to our everyday lives. We can’t just go tearing down every acre of land for housing developments or malls.

Protecting the watershed ranks right up there with the other reasons for protecting the wetlands. The watershed is an area that holds water in a contained area from several different run offs. This is important because it splits up the different species of plant life giving fair chance to grow to various types.

The CSS gave me a chance to get back to the roots of the environment (no pun intended). Protected wetlands such as CSS and the one in Mt. Dora, Florida, work to create awareness that they need to stay healthy and that humans need to know how to coexist with nature.

Sustainability*Blog 3

According to www.epa.gov, “the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 declared as its goal a national policy to ‘create and maintain conditions under which [humans] and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans.’" To me, this means that sustainability is obviously very important in the world we live in today and should continue to be if we would still like to be alive in it.

Being an English major, I have read several novels and novellas that describe in detail the beauty of nature so it is impossible not to absolutely fall in love with it. Influences such as these encourage cohabitation with the forests, rivers, animals etc. in an underlying manner. Usually there aren’t people talking to me directly about ecosystems, but descriptive words painting a picture, causing awareness about what needs to be saved if it is endangered. As for my career, or future career I suppose, I hope to be outside for parts of my job. I hope to be in a ball park outside, covering baseball or football preferably. I don’t know if that counts or not—some of the elements are there.

To be honest, even though I do read often about nature, I don’t really give too much back in ways to maintain the natural resources around me. I pretty much take in the cool weather when we have it, listen to the palm fronds rustle as a breeze pushes them together, and stomp on the grass probably killing it when I play soccer. About all I do is recycle and that’s really only when I am home for short periods of time.

When I first looked at FGCU, I didn’t know it was such an environmentally oriented school. I just knew that they were starting a soccer team and wanted me to play for it. Since I have attended classes here, I definitely have seen the big push to be eco-friendly and “green.” I took Environmental Health my freshmen year and that class opened my eyes a bit to what was going on in the nature world. I believe Colloquium will further my education on sustainability and get me into a habit of thinking about how I can coexist with the environment around me.

Favorite Place on Campus*Blog 2

Exploring the campus has never been a favorite past time of mine. Until this semester, I pretty much drove to class and then drove home; however, because of new circumstances, this semester I spend much of my day at the library studying. Last week I found my favorite place on campus because I decided I didn’t need to use a computer. I sat in the courtyard in front of the library. The time was circa 3:30. I pulled out my books onto a silver table that still caught the light of the setting sun and took a moment to realize where I was.

Guys throw a football around on the library lawn, while other students study in the grass. Palm trees line the bank of the pond, with blue picnic tables to contrast the green leaves, also scatter with educated minds. On a good day, like the one last week, there is a breeze just strong enough to blow textbooks close, without being gust like. The pond, just beyond the balcony, contains fish, turtles and sometimes the occasional alligator. The scene is almost distracting because it is so awesome. For now, this is my favorite spot on campus. It is very mellow in a very contradicting way. People constantly walk in and out of the library and/or Starbucks, but once I put my headphones on I am in my own little world, relaxing as I attempt to increase my brain capacity.

Colloquium Expectations * Entry 1

Rumors about Colloquium travel through the school, most of the time giving the class a bad reputation. It is a class we are told as freshmen that we will eventually have to take in order to graduate. When I first questioned a classmate about Colloquium, I was told it is a lot of writing because it is labeled as a “Gordon Rule” class. I remember thinking, “Great—I’m not a big fan of writing.” Well, this was when I called myself a Finance major. The closer I came to taking this class, the more I heard it was not just writing, but the study of the environmental world around us. And, now that I am an English major with a minor in Journalism, the writing no longer scares or bothers me.

My expectation for learning in this class is to actually reconnect with the nature world. My early childhood was filled with camping trips, days spent in swimming pools and afternoons climbing in trees. I believe that when I started training hard core for soccer was probably when I stopped exploring the outdoors. Practices/games almost every day took the desire to be outside all the time away. I am looking forward to the campus tours and other field trips to catch up on what I have been missing. As terrible as it sounds, this class is going to force me to go back outside.

Also, southwest Florida is definitely a different part of the world. Originally I am from New Hampshire, and when I was almost two my family moved to Central Florida. The ecosystems in these two different places are very different from that of the Ft. Myers area. I have gone into the forests, climbed through gorges, and attempted to climb a mountain in upstate NH—there are no palm trees or alligators. Central Florida is definitely more similar to SW Florida; however, there are more nature preserves and less suburban cities in this area. I am interested in learning more about the region that I have occupied for the last few years.