Here's Hoping #19 and 20

In a perfect world, people would invest in solar panels, pour money into alternative fuel technologies, drive electric vehicles, and refrain from polluting the air and water of our planet.  The government would strictly regulate the carbon output of big businesses and incentives would be given to those that decided to go green.  Students would be educated on the ways of the world which would include how to care for and maintain it.  In reality, I am well aware that we are not living in this kind of world and I do not see us reaching that point in the projected future.
While I would like to hope that we can stop arguing over petty differences and realize what is truly important, many of the reading have taught me that politics will always win out over what is right and the desires of the interest groups will take precedent over the greater good.  It is disheartening to think that our system is so corrupt and failing us at this great time of need.
I do not mean to be a pessimist but I can't see modern society pulling out of this downward spiral in order to maintain itself.  I live in fear that I will see the decline of civilization as we currently know it and our children will look back at us and ask why we did not do anything sooner.  It seems that scientists are losing their voices trying to warn us about the impending danger and consequences of our actions but we continue to ignore their pleas.  People have known about global warming for decades but cognitive dissonance and ignorance has allowed the general population to view climate change as an opinion as opposed to fact.
I foresee a future where manners are replaced with survival instincts and communities are traded in for something that resembles more of a tribe.  Granted, I do not believe that people will start wearing loin cloths and beat each other over the head with rocks but I can see people killing over what little resources remain.  Then, when the dust clears from all the fighting, I envision humans returning to a more simplistic way of life.  The big farms will cease to exist and all produce will be grown by individuals or small communities.  I weep for my children and even myself.  I am afraid of that future and I honestly hope more than anything that I’m wrong.

Highs and Lows #18

I loved the field trips that we got to take. Also, while I never thought I would say this, I also enjoyed my service learning experience.  They were the rare opportunities that we got to venture outside of the classroom and see many of the things that we discussed in class be put to use.  While I grudgingly headed to my service learning, I truly did love my time there and have made plans to go back because I now truly believe in what they are trying to do.  Even if we find a way to correct global warming and our current food system is not destroyed, it would be good to have the skills to maintain my own sustainable garden.  It could be more cost effective and provide its own type of mental therapy.

One thing that I did find difficult for this class was the amount of work.  As I am a senior, my core classes took priority throughout this semester and I made the mistake of letting this one fall to the side.  Because this class is required for all students I did not expect the work load to be so great and was not prepared to balance this with everything else that I had to do for the college of education.

What it Means to Me #17

The major thing that I took from this class was something that we actually read about in the beginning.  I was fascinated when it came to the excerpt about ADHD and how an environmental education can actually help.  In an age where students are used to constant stimulation and instant gratification, a classroom setting can become intolerable.  This article helped me to realize how I can use the world around me to modify the behavior of my students in a mutually beneficial way.

One thing that I now do because of this class is monitor my power usage.  My roommate has a habit of leaving her lights and television on when she leaves the house and I am constantly running in there to turn them off. I unplug my phone and computer chargers when I am not using them and make sure to turn the air conditioning off if nobody is home.  I always turned things off if I happened to notice them just to save on the electric bill but now it is a conscious decision that I make to better the environment and limit my carbon footprint.  Likewise, my roommate and I take her car whenever we go out together because her gas mileage is better than mine.  It saves us both on the cost of gas and makes me feel like I'm taking that little extra step. I cannot expect others to care about the planet we live on if I do not

Service Learning Reflection 15 and 16

 

Heartland Gardens is a not-for-profit organization where I completed my service learning portion for this course.  It is a single acre located off of McGregor Blvd that you could not even notice if you didn’t know it was there.  Everything that is cultivated in this garden is organically grown and distributed locally.  The garden offers classes about anything from proper composting to fungi growth and sustainable gardening.  One great thing about this small business is that they exchange volunteer time for money toward their classes.  Every hour spent volunteering in the garden counts as five dollars toward a class.

The 10 hours that I volunteered spanned over two days; during which time my roommate and I completed the construction of a rather large spiral herb garden.  The garden was a mere patch of dirt when we were first told what we would be doing.  The men who worked at Heartland Gardens helped us with the measurements and drew out the lines in the dirt where we would need to begin digging.  With their help, we dug a spiral about 6 or 7 inches deep into the ground.  We then laid a relatively thin layer of shells in the spiral that we had just dug.  We spent the rest of the first day filling it to the brim with palms to create a cushioned walk way.  While the palms were a fabulous idea, there never seemed to be enough.  Every time we reached the top of the garden, we had to run around it and compact it down, then add more.

During the second day we traveled with one of the Heartland Gardens Employees to a rock quarry to collect truck loads of rock.  The rock was then layered on top of the existing palm passageway to create and aesthetically pleasing and functional path around the garden.  As we only had one truck and it required a great deal of rock, this process took all day. We were informed by founder Ben Pino that they were going to build the soil up in the center and make it slowly decline down the spiral.  This would allow for a multitude of herbs to be grown in the same garden.  Water craving herbs would be kept closer to the ground while the drier weather herbs could be kept toward the top of the spiral.

This garden is doing so many great and innovative things that people from ECHO were actually there to exchange ideas and enhance both of their locations.  It was encouraging to see the collaboration between the two organizations and made me hope that more people would be encouraged to start backyard sustainable gardening.

El Laguno del Espiritu Santo #14

That is what the Spanish called the forbidding but awe inspiring Everglades. 
I loved the author's description of the area as, "vast, miasmic swamps, poisonous lagoons, huge dismal marshes without outlet, a rotting, shallow, inland sea, or labyrinths of dark trees hung and looped about with snakes and dripping mosses, malignant with tropical fevers and malarias, evil to the white man."  Perhaps this was my favorite depiction of the Everglades because that is what I used to assume it was like.  As I have stated several times before, I am no nature lover and I actually fear the idea of unknown living things lurking just out of sight.
The author does however offer the counter point of the beauty and majesty of the vast expanse that is the shining green emerald located on the oversize spit that we call home.

My only experiences through the Everglades have been driving down Alligator Alley, often during the unlit hours of the night.  I find the entire situation rather terrifying and it has deterred me from wanting to see what it is that other people love about the area. However, my views might change as I have been convinced to go on an airboat with a friend of mine and witness the splendor for myself.

In the Year 2000 #13

Saving the Everglades is something that should be important to every Floridian.  It is a designated national park but at the time of this article, it was falling to pieces.  There was a major push for an Everglades restoration project which, despite cost concerns, most politicians were behind.  It is difficult to justify not supporting the restoration of one of the mostly untouched areas of the state and conservationists were pushing the plan heavily.
The only issues was that the conservationists were concerned as to what was actually going to be done and, like every other environmental bill run at either the state or national level, politics got in the way.

While I understand that our government has a representative government in place to uphold the ideals of the constituency, I cannot grasp how this fell through the cracks at any point.  The interest groups in Florida believed that it would elevate the rights of the environment over the people and it seemed as though the action was dead in the water.  It is upsetting that people do not understand that the environment and nature determine the well being and very existence of the people that they are so concerned about.  It is easy to forget what is important in this world but preserving what little nature we have left should not slip through the cracks so easily.

Trial by Fire #12

ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) was the first field trip that we took and I definitely feel that it was our most intense.  I honestly worried that all of our subsequent trips were going to be equally fast paced and overwhelming. There was a great deal of information to take in that day, the bugs were definitely out, and the heat was more than noticeable.
I love the idea and vision of the non-profit organization whose goal is to create a more sustainable food source for the third world and here at home. They provide various options for growing food as well as simple technologies to limit the need for coal and wood burning cookers.

My favorite part was definitely the urban garden options.  It made me want to go out and start growing herbs in a tire that instant.  It is easy to forget that many cities around the world house starving people and by teaching them to grow their own food withing the confines of their home or front porch eases this burden.  I also liked the idea of community gardens where they community as a whole comes together to grow food to feed the whole.  This not only encourages strong bonds and cooperation but solves the food issue.