Estero Bay Field Trip

I found the field trip to the Estero Bay Historic Cottage and the Matanzas Pass Preserve very interesting. As a history major, I was intrigued by the stories Jo had to tell because she was telling from memory. Pretty much everything she spoke about, she lived which puts the story into a different light than if she were merely reciting a history book. There was genuine emotion and opinion involved.

Matanzas Pass Preserve is surrounded by Fort Myers beach, which is industrialized and built up compared to the preserve. On the preserve we saw three kinds of magroves; red, black, and white. We saw crabs, and other wildlife. It was peaceful and calm on the boardwalk. Most beaches are tourist attractions, thus it is understandable that there are a plethora of hotels, restaurants, and shops. I think it is important that we preserve parts of our beaches, like the Matanzas Pass Preserve has. It has preserved the history, wildlife, and environment of what Ft. Myers Beach used to be like. For example, during Jo's talk she talked about the difference in trash that hurricanes brought in from then and now. Over time, the island has become much more of a tourist attraction, on a nice day in Fort Myers it may take over an hour to get to the Beach.

I believe that the Matanzas Pass Preserve and the Historic Cottage are sustainable and it teaches others about sustainability and its importance, but I do believe the rest of the beach could be much more environmentally friendly. Unfortunately, with a large group of people from all over, sustainability is not on the top of everybody's list which can make things hard. I believe, that the media coverage of the importance of our environment and sustaining it could make Fort Myers Beach much more sustainable in the future.

Corporate Ethics

Corporations run much of the world we live in, whether we are aware or not. I often do not think about the ethical standards of corporations. I shop at publix about once a week, I stop to get gas usually once a week as well. Corporations are important in my life because I am a consumer. I could shop at local grocery stores but to be quite honest, it is not convienient, I hope eventually my attitude will change. I have no choice but to buy gas, even if the prices are high because I need my car to get around.

Ethical standards within a business are very important for not only human beings but also the environment. The discussion on where things come from in class the other day really opened my eyes to how much time and effort is put in to transferring our everyday needs. For example, a carton of orange juice, I never realized how much is involved in producing orange juice and how bad it actually is for our environment. It is important that corporations take the incentive and start using energy efficient methods to produce goods. We live in a consumer based world, and unfortunately I do not believe that is something that will change. Thus, the way things are produced must involve better ethical standards.

I chose to look at the ethical standards of Chevron because I get gas there about once a week because it is close to where I live. Chevron's website states that they lead the future in biofuels and other renewables. Chevron claims "Our design standards for new capital projects require consideration of environmental aspects and resource conservation." The website lists a plethora of environmental causes such as a new project that would make water safer when drilling oil, projects that would minimize emissions, discharges, and waste at their current locations, and their support of biodiversity. Chevron's websites and commericials make it seem as though Chevron is quite environmentally friendly, doing everything in their power to help the environment. But after taking a closer look, Chevron is not so innocent. There is the destruction caused in Ecuador's Amazon Rainforst because of the Chevron company drilling. There have also been claims that Chevron promotes off shore drilling, and tapped into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

It seems that although big corporations may claim to be "green" and environmentally friendly, not all of them are. It is important that we look into the ehtical standards of the corporations we shop at, because although they may run much of our economy, we are the consumers, we can make a major difference if we come together.

24 Hours

Sunday, March 7th

When I woke up I had a cup of coffee with cream and sugar. I used my laptop to do homework. I drove my car to Publix to get a wrap with turkey, cheese, tomato, onion, lettuce, and mayonnaise. My wrap was wrapped in wax paper and put in a plastic bag. I also bought a bottled iced tea. I drove my car to the beach, where I drank a beer out of a plastic cup. I threw away my trash in a trash can at the beach. I had a bite of a burrito from taco bell, and an apple empanada. The empanada and burrito came in paper wrapping and a plastic bag. I ate dinner which consisted of pork tenderloin, baked potato and broccoli. The pork came from Sams and the potatoes and broccoli came from Publix. The food came in plastic wrapping which my mom recycled. We ate on dishes that we put in the dishwasher and cleaned the pans that the food was prepared in. I then ate ice cream from publix that came in cardboard container. I ate the ice cream out of a bowl which I put in the dishwasher. I then woke up this morning and had coffee with cream and sugar again.

I had roughly 1268 calories, it is hard to tell with the home cooked meal.

ECHO Field Trip

I found the ECHO organization to be very interesting and effective. I like that they use the saying "give a man a fish he will eat for a day, teach him how to fish he will eat for the rest of his life." I think this is important for developing countries. I found our guide to be very informative and she seemed to really care and want to make a difference; something that is important in all non-profit organizations.

ECHO bases their food production off of sustainability and what is right for certain environments. For example, ECHO sends seed samples to certain parts of the world to make sure the plants will grow rather than have the people plant an immense amount of seeds only for the crop to go to waste. ECHO also stressed the importance of using the environment in which people live. For example, countries that get a lot of sunlight can create safe drinking water by placing it in the sun. For people who live in urban cities, they can grow crops on the roof where the sunlight hits the most. In countries where bamboo is native, it can be used to build houses and buildings due to its strong durability. Animals can also be important resources. For example, in developing countries one goat can be a very important resource. We also learned about the use of ducks and their waste to feed tilapia. The ECHO field trip allowed me to see the importance of using the resources available in our country as well as the importance of teaching developing countries how to farm in environmental standards.

There are a variety of organic food available at local markets. The Cape Coral Farmers Market offers not only a variety of vegetables but seafood and plants as well. Fresh Organics SWFL also offers organic produce and eggs.

My Carbon Footprint

If everyone in the world lived my lifestye, we would need 4.89 earths. I am below the country average when it comes to my carbon footprint, my food footprint, and goods and services. I am a little over when it comes to housing.

This is a big eye opener for me because I honestly thought it would be a lot lower. I guess you don't realize how much of what you do effects the earth. For example, shopping at supermarkets like Publix, Target, and Walmart contribute to our carbon footprint. It would be better if I shopped at local farm markets, or grew my own vegetables (something my mom does). Not to mention, shopping at local markets or growing my own vegetables would help me not contribute to the slave labor that takes place in many agricultural fields including Immokalee. Simple things such as unplugging appliances when they aren't in use can make a big difference as well. Recycling is also a very important part of my carbon footprint because although I do recycle when I am at my parents house I do not always do it at school or when I am out and about. I was a bit surprised that my housing was over the average because I do not live in an elaborately huge house, it is only one story and my dad even has a solar panel on the roof. I guess compared to the many below substandard houses in the world, my house would be considered huge to some.

I believe it all comes down to convenience. We want to do whatever is convenient for us, it is not always convenient to take the extra steps to unplug an appliance when we are in a hurry, or to take the extra steps to recycle something, or to drive a little further or spend a little more on vegetables that are locally grown. That is the sad thing about the culture we live in, we are so used to having things at our fingertips that taking those extra steps seem like a big deal, when in reality not taking them will be a much bigger deal. I hope that with taking this quiz and seeing how much I really do contribute to the environmental crisis I can change my ways and actually make a difference.

Cold Weather and Global Warming

The cold weather that has been setting records across the world has led many people to believe that global warming is just a hoax. How can the climate be warming when Florida has had one of the coldest winters in 60 years? According to news source, Voice of America, we must remember to distinguish between climate and weather. Secretary of the World Meteorological Organization, Michael Jarrud states the trend towards global warming is still there. There will be record setting temperatures every year, whether it be because of cold or warm weather, or storms. According to Deke Ardnt a scientist at the National Climatic Data Center states that the cold weather most of the world has been experiencing is due to "bending airflow." He stated "we basically have seen just a big outbreak of arctic air" in the MSNBC article Experts: Despite Cold Snap, Earth Still Warming. Air flows east and west between the Arctic and the Tropics and it acts as a fence to keep the arctic air confined, but this year the air was let loose because of a zigzg pattern. Michelle L'Heureux, a meteorologist at the Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stated that the zigzag pattern we have been experiencing is normal from time to time, but scientists are unsure as to why it is so strong this year. Although cold weather has been prominent this winter, Deke Ardnt reminds us that 2009 ranked in the top ten hottest years ever. The cold weather has ruined 70 percent of Florida's tomato crops, hurting growers and farmers, but more importantly, hurting the migrant workers who cant afford to miss work because of weather. It seems that everybody is ready for the warmer weather to come, I know I am, but we must not forget that global warming is still happening, and that we must start changing our ways.

Outdoors Log

I have found that I spend more time outside than I realized because of the sports I play. Most of my time spent outside was playing sports, or sitting around waiting for games to start. Since I started taking this class I have tried to be more aware of my environmental surroundings and enjoy the nature around me. I have found that it is hard for me to focus on nature during sports because there is so much else going on. During my service learning at Koreshan I was able to focus on the environment around me and enjoy it.

Outdoors Log

Monday - 20 minutes; walking to and from class.

Tuesday - 1 hour and 20 minutes; intramural soccer game and walking to and from class.

Wednesday - 5 hours and 20 minutes; service learning at Koreshan State Park, and walking to and from class.

Thursday - 2 hours and 20 minutes; intramural flag football game and walking to and from class.

Friday - 6 hours; flag football tournament at FGCU

Saturday - 6 hours; flag football tournament at FGCU

Sunday - 4 hours; flag football tournament at FGCU

In seven days I spent a total of 25 hours and 20 minutes outside. For my current lifestyle I feel that this is a good amount of time but I also realize that much of this time is not an every week occurrence. For example, I spent five hours at Koreshan for class, and i spent 16 hours playing in a flag football tournament which does not happen every week. I am going to try to be more aware of my time outdoors and try to spend more time outdoors.