“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.”
―
Mahatma Gandhi
I found this quote extremely intersting. I really like Mahatma Gandhi and all that he stands for. I too am Indian which just reinforces my beliefs for the things he believes in. This quote especially struck me and I thought that it would be most appropriately related to my Colloquium class. He is explaining that we are hurting the worlds forests by cutting down trees, killing wildlife and ridding them of their natural habitats. He explains that what we are doing to the forests, we are also doing to one another. Is it true that the human race has gotten so greedy and violent that we would do such hostile things to each other? We really should check ourselves because it is a little scary to think what this world is turning into. I hope that everyone who reads this will think twice the next time they want to hurt another human being or cut down trees in a forest. Very powerful, yet very true.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
A Quote from State of the World 2012
Part of my discussion for the class was to find a quote from our book. This quote really stood out to me and I wanted to include it in my journal.
PG 58-59 "Currently, more than 1.2 million people are killed and 50 million injured each year on the world's roads."
In our book, there was a statistic that shows how many hundreds of thousands of people die each year in car related accidents. 1.2 million to be more specific. That’s right, a whopping 1, 200 000 people. SO that’s pretty much wiping out the entire population of Maine, or Hawaii, or New Hampshire. Yeah, an entire state can be sacrificed in return for the 1.2 million people that die. And that statistic isn’t within 10 years, 5 years, not even 3 years. That’s 1.2 million people EVERY SINGLE YEAR. Speeding is the number one cause for traffic related incidents on the roads. So you know when you’re driving and you are disgusted by seeing a police officer hiding in the bushes with his radar on? Well, he’s actually saving your life, and thousands of others. I know that their tactics work. Throughout my first two years of driving I sped constantly, on the highways doing at least 80+ MPH. Thankfully I was never involved in an accident (knocks on wood). However, I received about 3 speeding related tickets within two years. Now I drive at the speed limit, or slightly above it, because I now understand what the consequences of speeding are. I’m lucky that the consequences I had to face were only a ticket and not something worse like death or a hospital visit for myself or someone else. Other than not speeding, everyone can take part in safer driving habits by driving more defensively instead of aggressive - stop riding bumpers! Arriving somewhere 10 minutes earlier is not worth the aggravation and danger you put yourself and others in. It's never worth it. It is important to enforce stricter laws regarding aggressive driving habits because I see it on a daily basis, especially in Southwest Florida with all of the college students driving back and forth to and from school and on I-75.
PG 58-59 "Currently, more than 1.2 million people are killed and 50 million injured each year on the world's roads."
In our book, there was a statistic that shows how many hundreds of thousands of people die each year in car related accidents. 1.2 million to be more specific. That’s right, a whopping 1, 200 000 people. SO that’s pretty much wiping out the entire population of Maine, or Hawaii, or New Hampshire. Yeah, an entire state can be sacrificed in return for the 1.2 million people that die. And that statistic isn’t within 10 years, 5 years, not even 3 years. That’s 1.2 million people EVERY SINGLE YEAR. Speeding is the number one cause for traffic related incidents on the roads. So you know when you’re driving and you are disgusted by seeing a police officer hiding in the bushes with his radar on? Well, he’s actually saving your life, and thousands of others. I know that their tactics work. Throughout my first two years of driving I sped constantly, on the highways doing at least 80+ MPH. Thankfully I was never involved in an accident (knocks on wood). However, I received about 3 speeding related tickets within two years. Now I drive at the speed limit, or slightly above it, because I now understand what the consequences of speeding are. I’m lucky that the consequences I had to face were only a ticket and not something worse like death or a hospital visit for myself or someone else. Other than not speeding, everyone can take part in safer driving habits by driving more defensively instead of aggressive - stop riding bumpers! Arriving somewhere 10 minutes earlier is not worth the aggravation and danger you put yourself and others in. It's never worth it. It is important to enforce stricter laws regarding aggressive driving habits because I see it on a daily basis, especially in Southwest Florida with all of the college students driving back and forth to and from school and on I-75.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Salt Water Field Trip
For my Marine Field Trip, I went to a familiar place - The Loggerhead Marine Life Center. If you live in South Florida, you have probably heard of this place. The Loggerhead Marine Life Center is a center in Juno Beach, Florida that rehabilitates sea turtles (hence the name Loggerhead). I say that this place is familiar because I used to volunteer there in high school for about one year. During that volunteer process I learned all about sea turtles, their habitats, how to rehabilitate them, etc. I also worked in the gift shop and sold many Marine Life Center souvenirs to tourists from all over the world. It was really the best volunteer experience i had other than my community service hours.
Upon entering the Marine Life Center, there is a museum that houses many different types of sea turtles and talks about the history of them. Hanging from the ceiling is an enormous model sculpture of a sea turtle that once roamed this earth millions of years ago. Unfortunately, it is extinct now. However, sea turtles are one of the longest living, oldest known type of species that are still in existence today. A part of that success is due to the Marine Life Center that finds all of these turtles that have been hurt by oceanic activity like boats, or turtles that have been attacked by sharks. FYI the Marine Life Center is a non profit company that only works off of donations. What an amazing center huh? They are truly a wonderful group of people and veterinarians that work there.
Every year that have something called Turtle Fest that is happening on April 5th. I will be going to the event just like I do every year. At the event there is a live band, boutiques, shops, food stands and more all on the Marine Life Center property. It is beautiful because it backs right up onto the beach and overlooks the ocean. At that point, you really realize the true beauty of nature in all its glory.
This is the Marine Life Center
Me at Turtle Fest:
Upon entering the Marine Life Center, there is a museum that houses many different types of sea turtles and talks about the history of them. Hanging from the ceiling is an enormous model sculpture of a sea turtle that once roamed this earth millions of years ago. Unfortunately, it is extinct now. However, sea turtles are one of the longest living, oldest known type of species that are still in existence today. A part of that success is due to the Marine Life Center that finds all of these turtles that have been hurt by oceanic activity like boats, or turtles that have been attacked by sharks. FYI the Marine Life Center is a non profit company that only works off of donations. What an amazing center huh? They are truly a wonderful group of people and veterinarians that work there.
Every year that have something called Turtle Fest that is happening on April 5th. I will be going to the event just like I do every year. At the event there is a live band, boutiques, shops, food stands and more all on the Marine Life Center property. It is beautiful because it backs right up onto the beach and overlooks the ocean. At that point, you really realize the true beauty of nature in all its glory.
This is the Marine Life Center
Me at Turtle Fest:
The Lee County Conservation 20/20 has a mission statement on their website that states: "To acquire properties of
environmental significance, restore those lands to their natural state
and condition, manage them in an environmentally acceptable manner and
provide public recreational opportunities that are compatible with
protecting the natural resources."
Retrieved from: http://www.conservation2020.org/
Monday, March 10, 2014
Urban Field Trip
I have lived in Fort Myers for probably about 4 years now and have yet to be downtown! Unfortunately I don't have a camera, and I'm using an old flip phone at the moment while my iPhone screen is being replaced. But luckily i found some good photos of downtown Fort Myers online so I can use them to spice this blog up a bit.
Urban locations are very very deadly on the environment. It is a lot of people crammed into a tiny space. That is my definition of an urban area. Businesses are flourishing, restaurants always busy, nightlife is awesome, not much wildlife, and expensive! I have always been an urban type of guy, however recently I have started like the rural aspects of life. I enjoy having a lot of land, and the peacefulness of being away from the urban life. Downtown has many places to eat and things to do. There are also a lot of place to go. However, the urban life take a large toll on the environment. There is a lot of pollution because there are many people concentrated in one location. The amount of electricity, water, and gas that are used in the location is quite heavy since a lot of the urban areas have places open 24/7 and a lot of people don't sleep!
Many trees and forests are cut down in urban areas in order to make room for more houses and buildings to sustain the large, dense population in these areas. This takes an enormous toll on the environment in these areas because there are no trees to help filter out the pollution. Deforestation is a huge issue in urban areas. If anyone has been to times square, there is barely any grass or any trees on the strip. If there are, there are just a few usually for decoration. People litter a lot in urban areas more than any other type of area which adds to the stress on the environment. If anyone has ever been to an underground subway, especially in New York, they will see how disgusting it is with all of the garage and rats in and out of the tunnels. It is actually disgusting.
Here are some images from downtown Fort Myers that I found on Google since I had no camera.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Earthday Ecological Footprint
Our ecological footprint is the "footprint" we leave behind on this earth that allows us to determine how we have made our mark on the Earth. Some of our ecological footprints are bigger than others and some have a very small footprint.
On the Earth Day Footprinter Calculator here is what my results looked like:
I never realized that my living conditions meant that 6.3 earths would be needed just to sustain my lifestyle! That is crazy. Thankfully everyone doesn't do the same things I do or eat the same way. However, that also tells me that I need to cut down on the amount of things I do that cause harm to the environment. There really needs to be some sort of balance where we can all live a decent life one just one Earth without using up all of its resources at once. My driving and services account for most of the negativity in my ecological footprinter However, the ecological footprint does not take into consideration the amount of cleanups I do on beach and around my community. So hopefully, that helps lower it.
On the Earth Day Footprinter Calculator here is what my results looked like:
I never realized that my living conditions meant that 6.3 earths would be needed just to sustain my lifestyle! That is crazy. Thankfully everyone doesn't do the same things I do or eat the same way. However, that also tells me that I need to cut down on the amount of things I do that cause harm to the environment. There really needs to be some sort of balance where we can all live a decent life one just one Earth without using up all of its resources at once. My driving and services account for most of the negativity in my ecological footprinter However, the ecological footprint does not take into consideration the amount of cleanups I do on beach and around my community. So hopefully, that helps lower it.
TED Talk - Gorgeous photos of a backyard wilderness worth saving
I was going through the wonderful TED talk website one day. I have always been interested in the sections with videos that talk about our food and what we are putting into our body. How big companies are artificially enhancing everything we eat in order to save them money. Today, I actually just read about how Simple Orange (an orange juice brand) hires fragrance makers like Calvin Klein to enhance their orange juice to make it seem fresh. Even more alarming is that these fragrance companies are NOT required to be listed on the ingredients label!!!
Here is the description of the video from the TED website: "Ethnographer Wade Davis explores hidden places in the wider world — but in this powerful short talk he urges us to save a paradise in his backyard, Northern Canada. The Sacred Headwaters, remote and pristine, are under threat because they hide rich tar sands. With stunning photos, Davis asks a tough question: How can we balance society's need for fuels with the urge to protect such glorious wilderness?"
He basically talks about how heavily America depends on our need for fuel to power our daily lives and what effect this is having on the environment. I liked this video because he talks about land in Northern Canada that needs to be saved and being that I am from Canada, the video really interested me.
Here is the description of the video from the TED website: "Ethnographer Wade Davis explores hidden places in the wider world — but in this powerful short talk he urges us to save a paradise in his backyard, Northern Canada. The Sacred Headwaters, remote and pristine, are under threat because they hide rich tar sands. With stunning photos, Davis asks a tough question: How can we balance society's need for fuels with the urge to protect such glorious wilderness?"
He basically talks about how heavily America depends on our need for fuel to power our daily lives and what effect this is having on the environment. I liked this video because he talks about land in Northern Canada that needs to be saved and being that I am from Canada, the video really interested me.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
I have never been for a Swamp Sanctuary before. The Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is very interesting and wet! I have always been a little frightened of swamps, not because of alligators, but because of the snakes. I have a serious fear of snakes.
Upon entering the sanctuary the first thing I noticed was the huge size of it. It is 13,000 acres! On the premises there are these very tall birds called Woodstocks. Woodstock birds usually only come to habitats that have a lush, healthy ecosystem. I don't think I ever saw an owl in the wild, but when I went to the sanctuary I saw one. The swamp sanctuary prides themselves on helping to protect the everglades that so many species rely on for food and shelter. The everglades is home to millions of different species.
There are these trees that are the oldest in North America that are covered in moss and extend extremely high. I hurt my neck looking up at them. The width of these trees were like 3 car lengths, they were enormous. I never knew trees of this size ever existed. It was a beautiful site of history to see.
There are a few different animals that I saw during my visit. The first animal I saw was the Woodstock birds. Upon walking through the lake I saw the otters. In the wet marsh and swamp I saw alligators, probably about 20 of them at once just sun bathing. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera, but this field trip was pretty awesome.
Upon entering the sanctuary the first thing I noticed was the huge size of it. It is 13,000 acres! On the premises there are these very tall birds called Woodstocks. Woodstock birds usually only come to habitats that have a lush, healthy ecosystem. I don't think I ever saw an owl in the wild, but when I went to the sanctuary I saw one. The swamp sanctuary prides themselves on helping to protect the everglades that so many species rely on for food and shelter. The everglades is home to millions of different species.
There are these trees that are the oldest in North America that are covered in moss and extend extremely high. I hurt my neck looking up at them. The width of these trees were like 3 car lengths, they were enormous. I never knew trees of this size ever existed. It was a beautiful site of history to see.
There are a few different animals that I saw during my visit. The first animal I saw was the Woodstock birds. Upon walking through the lake I saw the otters. In the wet marsh and swamp I saw alligators, probably about 20 of them at once just sun bathing. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera, but this field trip was pretty awesome.
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