Colloquium Blog Entries

"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...

Blog Entry #7 "Strontium 90, released through nuclear explosions into the air, comes to earth in rain or drifts down as fallout, lodges in soil, enters into the grass or corn or wheat grown there, and in time takes up its abode in the bones of a human being, there to remain until his death." This is an example of how our destruction can be aimed and destructive in a plethora of ways. The movement of strontium 90 is horrendous. Its amazing how transferable this substance is. All the while, Strontium 90 is emitting radioactive energy. Imagining that resting in my body is a scary thought. Being that it is transferable through water then into the food people eat, is scary. It is said that Strontium 90 can contribute to cancer and leukemia. I am reading from EPA's official website that the testing of nuclear bombs in 1960's caused it to go into the environment. https://nuclear-news.net/2015/08/01/what-strontium-90-does-to-the-body/ "Can anyone believe it is ...

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...