Colloquium Blog Entries

What Is Biodiversity and Why Is It So Important? Vandana Shiva "The erosion of biodiversity and the erosion of cultural diversity are related. Both have been threatened by the globalization of an industrial culture based on reductionist knowledge, mechanistic technologies and the commodification of resources." I was surprised to read such a devastating fact of our modern society. The commodification of our earth's resources has not only drastically altered the natural structure and diversity within the environment, but between us as people. I am determining what Shiva meant by "Reductionist knowledge". I came across a definition that defines reductionist knowledge as a way to break things, phenomena, into simpler terms. Is it then wrong to think of the state of our environment in simple terms? Does he suggest we should think of the environment in a more holistic way?  I believe the commodification of our resources have stunted the growth of the sp

The Land Ethic "There is as yet no ethic dealing with man's relation to land and to the animals and plants which grow upon it. Land, like Odysseus' slave-girls, is still property. The land-relation is still strictly economic, entailing privileges but not obligations." I completely agree with this statement. During schooling, I didn't learn to have respect for the animals and plants living around me. In fact, I remember having the mindset that these things dont deserve my respect. And that I do not have any obligations to them. A couple of examples I remember from my childhood is disruptively knocking down a nest with a stick. It was sitting on top of the drain. My friends and I were playing "house", and as the "mother", I decided we needed eggs. I then stood on my friend's back and knocked it down, when it fell heavily on the concreted driveway, the smallest little birds let out a screech and in their confusion scurried away. "What

Nature Deficit Disorder "...nature can help people recover from 'normal psychological wear and tear' - but nature also improves the capacity to pay attention" I find it interesting that the simple act of going outside can carry on into the everyday goings on of your life. I am curious what Hartig describes a normal psychological wear and tear. My guess is, being out in nature, away from social norms, it is the conditioning of being a citizen. I would describe psychological wear and tear, specific to my experience, as socializing with people, planning the day, constantly executing, and constantly thinking about the next thing to do. Even being on the bus I'm not thinking of my environment or being in the moment, it is the time i wonder. Being in nature, I presume, can allow for the mind to focus on the present and when any thoughts come up, there is space for it. http://www.lynntelfordsahl.com/blog/2014/3/7/your-stressed-brain-on-money-3-steps-to-make-better

'Biophilia,' which E. O. Wilson (1984) has defined as 'the urge to affiliate with other forms of life'   I want to unpack this statement. To urge for something is to have a strong desire for it. The urge to eat icecream after working out; the urge to kiss someone in the middle of the hallway. These are beautifully, wonderfully innate part of being human. This is a unique part of being human is to have an ambition; in this case, an ambition to coexist. In order to affiliate with something or someone, there needs to be a respect for it; an acceptance of it. To accept other forms of life requires an amount of understanding, tolerance, and curiosity on the part of the person. With the understanding that other forms of life may not accept you back, the person still aims to associate themselves with that of which they are considered a stranger. As my Colloquium class walked through the largest Food Forest in North America, I couldn't help but notice how human-friendly th