One Degree Changes Everything #8

It is terrifying to know that just one degree Fahrenheit can change absolutely everything in this world.  This is the only planet we have and it is being destroyed because of human dependance on fossil fuels.  While I was saddened by the various animals being pushed to extinction and the dwindling number of caribou, what concerned me the most was how cholera can now spread more easily due to the changing weather patterns.  Likewise, a 2003 heatwave in Europe is said to be responsible for the death of nearly 15,000 people.  If for no other reason, humans should be concerned with their health and how our actions can negatively effect it.  Our drinking supplies, air quality, and overall quality of life is already diminished already so why let this continue and potentially lose it all?
If for no other reason, people should care about the sports that they love.  There will be no more Breckenridge to ski on and no freezing days for the Polar Bear Club (assuming that there will even be polar bears). It will be too hot for America's pass time and fantasy football doesn't hold much weight when there is no actual football being played. 

That Panicky Feeling #7

As strange as it may be, the collapse of modern society frightens me more than the idea of a “zombie apocalypse” that everyone so loves to talk about.  Perhaps that is because society’s collapse is a potential reality and could occur in the foreseeable future.  This article paralleled the occurrences and circumstances in the United States with failed civilizations so poignantly that I found myself stressing by the time I reached the end.  It almost makes me feel like civilized life is some ridiculous social experiment doomed to fail.

However, I do understand the author’s point that a society writes its own fate.  In a certain sense, I feel like people refuse to learn from their own mistakes as well as the mistakes of others.  The example that pops into my head right now is Pompei.  The inhabitants are aware that there is an active volcano there.  They know that it has erupted and literally stopped people in their tracks and preserving them in lava rock. Yet, despite this knowledge, people still continue to inhabit the area. Granted that is an extreme example but how does that really differ from farms in the northern United States comparing to those in that failed in Greenland?

(Pictured above are ruins from a Norse farm in Greenland)

I am Not a Tree Hugger #6

After reading this selection, I guess that I could be considered a biophobic.  I really do not enjoy "the great outdoors."  I hate getting sweaty and dirty unless it involves playing a sport, I don't like bugs, and walking through any kind of plants usually makes me itchy (even if it is just unmaintained grass).  I feel much more comfortable walking the pavement of a big city and enjoying an overpriced cup of coffee while people watching.  I enjoy nice cars and beautiful houses almost as much as I enjoy designer heels. There is nothing really natural about these things other than the leather that potentially contributes to their creation.
Despite my great protesting, I was forced out into nature when I was younger as my brother was part of the Boy Scouts of America.  I went on family camping trips, I slept on the ground, I cooked over an open fire, I kayaked; I was miserable! There was no amount of bug spray that would make that situation enjoyable for me.  I often spent the whole time staring at what I liked to call tree huggers, but this reading has provided me with a more proper name for these people.  I just could not seem to understand how the biophilliacs could be so in tune with nature and embrace it so openly.  The only thing that I gained from the experiences was the ability to use a bow and arrow.
My roommate on the other hand fits in with that group rather well.  She enjoys hiking, biking, and all of the other general outdoorsy experiences.  She likes fishing, and while her family does eat some of them, she often names them before throwing them back.
As I read along, and looked at the life she leads, I realized that I can find a happy medium between the two extremes described in the article.  There is no need for me to despise the outdoors the way that I do but I could also learn to coexist with the world around me and respect nature.  While I realize this is silly, I actually didn't squish an ant today just because I wanted to be that much more environmentally conscious.

A Whole Lot of Crazy #5

I really don't see how the hanging of twelve people is the same thing as misusing land. Although I do feel that the author was a little dramatic and used some rather vivid imagery, I do get his point.  While I highly doubt that anybody will stop referring to land as property, I do believe that we have to stop the over development.
In any developed nation, we use and abuse our land but expect no consequences.  Lakes and rivers are polluted with runoff, land is starved of nutrients, animals are disappearing at an alarming rate and yet we continue to expand.
I have no problem with people owning land, or even corporations owning land.  However, they need to know how to use their land and respect it.  While we still have a long way to go, FGCU is really doing something amazing.  This is the only campus where I have ever seen recycle bins as prevalent as trash cans.  I love that we are only allowed to develop on a certain percentage of the land and even that colloquium is a required class.  It exposes students to the hardships and concerns of the world and the ways that we can help prevent or improve them.
This article has made me look at my own life in a strange way.  It makes me wonder how keeping a light on when I walk out of the room or throwing away a plastic bottle instead of recycling affects the world. If every person mad a conscious effort just to care about the way we use land, maybe we could reverse some of the damage and prevent that of the future.

Nature Cures ADD/ADHD #4

Being an education major, I found this article fascinating.  Doing my internships in the schools, I have seen the way that children lose their ability to focus during the day.
This does not just apply to the children with ADD and ADHD but all students.  In the college of education, the common idea is that no matter the age of the student, the average person can only focus on one subject at a time for a maximum of 20 minutes.
To know that simply providing students with an outdoor experience allows them to focus longer and perform better is an exciting concept. I can't believe that so few children are required to take physical education or any sort of class that keeps them active and engaged in their schooling.
However, with the pressure on test scores there is no way that schools will adapt this as an educational practice.  Even if it does mean that students will probably do better in the long run.
As it currently stands, schools are only concerned with making the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) which is highly represented by test scores.  According to an article I recently found, 82% of schools weren't going to make AYP by this year unless Congress made serious changes to No Child Left Behind anyway.
Article used: http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/adequate-yearly-progress/

Sense of Place #3

According to the Oxford English Dictionary of Geography, sense of place is, "either the intrinsic character of a place, or the meaning people give to it, but, more often, a mixture of both." This is the best definition I could find but still did not provide me with a comfortable basis to make an assessment of what this means to me.
For the most part, I see sense of place as the attachment that someone has to a certain location or the feelings and images that they connect to it.  As it stands right now, I look around this area of SW Florida that I have just begun to consider home and view it as significantly more rural than I am used to.  I was born in New York and mostly raised in Tampa so I grew up accustomed to heavily populated areas.
When I was younger, the most contact that I had with the outdoors involved the beach, a cooler and a radio.
However, this is a completely new experience for me.  I now jump in a car with my friends and drive out to the middle of nowhere which is surprisingly not that far away. The lack of streetlights make it possible to see a multitude of stars that I never before saw when drenched under the city lights and it is amazing.  It is a completely new experience that I never appreciated until now.

Now I think of these secluded areas as untouched and beautiful as opposed to boring and lacking.  It is amazing how being here for just over a year has completely changed my opinion.  While I do miss the hustle and bustle of urban areas, this has become my escape. Laying on top of a car and listening to crickets and frogs while staring up at stars is an experience that has no equal.  Of course, living in FL this depends on whether or not the mosquitoes permit it.

When the Earth Hurts #2

Jane Goodall is well known for her work and in this excerpt, she discusses how to save species through the recreation of habitats.  It's a simple question; what is the point of saving endangered animals if they are going to have no home?  Goodall believes that there are four things that can allow us to recreate the habitats for these desperate creatures. Her four reasons for hope are, "our quite extraordinary intellect, the resilience of nature, the energy and commitment of informed young people who are empowered to act, and the indomitable human spirit."
I do believe that these are somewhat ideal, however, she does provide me with hope of my own.  The story of the Kenyan Coast was inspiring.  When a small section of Africa was turned into a barren wasteland by the Bamburi Portland Cement Company, many thought that was how it would remain.  However Dr. Felix Mandl helped turn it back into a thriving forest.  The most impressive part of this story is that Dr. Mandl was not a activist or environmentalist but instead belonged to the cement company itself.  It is responsible business practices like these that should encourage other business owners.
Another story that stood out to me was the Loess Plateau in China.  When I think of China, I get the image of smog covered cities and people bustling around in crowded streets.  Amazingly, these people have restored the Loess Plateau which was considered the most eroded place on the planet.  If they can do that, I have hope that anybody anywhere can help bring the earth back to a more beautiful and livable place.