Colloquium Blog Entries

"Right outside our doors is a vast, living "instruction manual." Our task is to understand as much as we can about how systems function, that is, to read the instruction manual carefully, so that we can propose positive solutions that work." The way in which we take care of the environment around us can be taught formally or non formally. Anyone can get otdoors and study, analyze, take note of the natural processes happening around them. The first step is, ass the qoute mentions, stepping out to see it. The awareness of nature is brought about throughout the experience of it. Natural processes are natural teachers, they teach us patience and how to to be gentle. It is nature that have survived for 3.8 billion years. It has not been inhabited by humans for 150,000 of those years. What we are left with is what has been sustaining itself for a large amount of time. It is now up to us to continue the process of the natural environment. The way in which to do that is o

"Resilience is the capacity to accommodate disturbance ans still retain its basic function and structure." When reading the definition of resilience, it was natural for me to relate the definition to a personal level. I am now considering different examples of ecological resilience. The ecological resilience of the land after Hurricane Irma is what my mind immediately goes to. Being that there were many places that withstood the storm, there were many other places that were drastically altered. Agriculture was hit hard during the storm. There was an estimated 2.5 billion in damages to agriculture. Through a trip to the Food Forest on FGCU campus, we learned what makes it a ecologically resilient place. To build a resilient environment is to create a self-organizing, diverse, environment. https://www.express.co.uk/news/weather/853576/Hurricane-Irma-damage-aftermath-death-toll-caribbean-florida-usa "The researchers have found that humanity has already exceeded the

Education "Children who spend time directly experiencing natural processes and materials are far more likely to grow into adults who care about the biosphere.They will have developed biophilia, love of life. However, these tendencies tend to atrophy if not fostered in childhood."  I didn't grow up on a farm or anything that had a diverse biosphere, relatively. I grew up in the suburbs of Stone Mountain, GA. My exposure to nature was actually through early years of playing outside, my family was fortunate to have a front and backyard big enough to play endless games of tag, hid and go seek, and most of all, a game the neighborhood kids favored, "Family". I game where we all assign familial roles. Being the oldest, I was constantly the mother or the auntie. Being that in our households, the mother cooked, I was the one collecting berries and worms and leaves. I interacted with all sorts of living and nonliving things, or "natural processes and materials&

Water "In many parts of the world, lack of access to clean water is the largest cause of disease transmission and, as a result, poverty." I was not aware that water had anything to do with poverty other than the fact that it is scarce. Now i know that the lack of clean water is a contributor to the transmission of disease. I did a little research and found that one billion people don't have access to clean water. That's nearly 1 out of 8 people worldwide. Access to clean water is one of the leading contributors to poverty. According to The Water Project, this is solvable. Without water, you cannot grow food; you cannot build houses; you cannot stay in school and you cannot work. Water is so essential and I'm beginning to realize how privileged I am to have accessible water. We cannot function without water. I now feel ashamed that I have not taken full advantage of the fact that I have water readily available. I should be more hydrated.  http://sncyear7g

"The world produces enough grain to keep every person alive at a subsistence level and it produces enough grain plus vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat raised on grass rather than grain to provide a healthy diet to every person (Kimbrell 2002, 7; Meados et al. 2004,57). The shortages result from unequal distribution." Local markets are also unequally distributed, location wise. In many developing countries, the people there have no transportation. Also, there are no good quality roads to transport the goods to these food deserts. Transportation routes are expensive and requires public funding and public maintenance. Extreme climate and geographic variance make this an issue that needs to be solved locally, pertaining to the area's situation. Robertson makes the point that even though grain is used to feed the animals for sustenance, grass-fed animals are sufficient and we can use the grain to actually feed people. I thin a lot of people in developed countries believe th

9 Energy Blog Entry #8: Energy "In fact, however, 95 percent of the world's petroleum came not from giant land animals but from microscopic marine organisms." I had the impression that our fossil fuels came from the bones of huge dinosaurs. But, as the text says, it was from the tiny microscopic marine organisms that is fueling our cars. I find it interesting that such seemingly insignificant organisms are responsible for so much. When looking up petroleum. I found a gas station named, "Go Green Petroleum".  A 2012 Gallup Poll found that 61% of people have a negative view of oil companies. Oil companies are now making strides to be seen as a positive influence on the environment. Go Green Petroleum, on of the stations are in Estero, is an example of this. Hopefully, there is actual progress being made and not just the word "Green" plastered on the sign to gain people's trust. https://www.carbonbrief.org/study-most-fossil-fuels-unburna