State of the World

After reading these articles there are some main issues that stand out to me and what I think is important are: health care and education. The impact it has on me is that education is something that should be accessible to people. People should have the option to learn about what is happening to their Earth. There are solutions for education, some solutions require organizing communities and mobilizing international forces to address the problem. There are schools in Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala that are ecologically sustainable. Also, locally grown agriculture promotes health and nutrition. There are solutions for health care and that would be to give everyone some type of health care, whether it be free shots etc. By giving free shots or even free checkup and educating those who are in need will help to protect people from our climate change.

Images by personalmonm.edu and greenfieldforward.com

The Earth Charter

I enjoyed the Earth Charter, I just wished that people would somewhat follow it. After our class discussion on this reading, a lot of us pointed out that it is a good start but the only thing is that Americans are lazy and it would be extremely hard for someone to break out of their daily routine. We can expect other countries to follow it but we will probably be the last ones to try to follow it. I related this reading to my State of the World article, Women and Climate Change: Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacities with the example number 11. Example, Affirm gender equality and equity as prerequisites to sustainable development and ensure universal access to education, health care and economic opportunity related to my article by educating women in third world countries they were able to prevent fatalities when hurricane Mitch hit Central America. In Rwanda women produce more than 600 varieties of beans. So if we can educated everyone then there will be more production of things and more indigenous people can come and be a voice of why it's important to save the planet and why we should not deforest our Earth. We can apply this reading to our daily lives slowly, by recycling, and planting trees etc.

Image is by earthcharterinaction.org

Affluenza

On the first quiz Are you coming down with affluenza?, I scored a 17. My scores suggested that I am in the warning stage and I have mild affluena. One my second quiz Are you escaping from affluenza? my results suggested that I am positive from fractured family, social scars, chronic stress, swollen expectations which are all symptoms of affluenza. After reviewing the 10 Giant Steps to a Simpler Life I think that I don't need to change my life style because I purchase things that I can reuse all the time. I use tupperware for my lunches everyday, I can't return my kids so I will have to find other ways to reduce my expenses on food. When I have tried to use small amounts of shampoo and conditioner but the problem with me is that my hair is so curly that I need to have a good amount of conditioner in order for it to undo my knots. I do purchase detergent and dish soap that environmentally friendly. I do tend to share my findings with my friends and family, for example my dish soap, my mother in law now buys it.

My Neighborhood part 2

My neighborhood has not changed much from initial post. I walked around my neighborhood this weekend and notice that one of the duplexes that had a for rent sign is completely full. Which is a good sign cause that means we have one less empty house on the block. My neighborhoods that live on the corner just put up a fence and planted some plants in their front yard. As far as species roaming the area, the owls are still around, their was one on my mail box the other night. There have been no new construction around, just less buses driving up and down Del Prado Blvd.

Final Impressions

I did enjoy the course but there are a few things that I would change. I did enjoy the articles but I would have to say to shorten the time for discussion. Do have the discussions but once your done do show a movie that relates to the topic just discussed. That would help the to see exactly was is going on, students these days tend to be more visual. Since this is an environment course, I would suggest more field trips, the more hands on the better the experience. I would keep all the current assigned field trips but I would also add the Six Mile Cypress Preserve Slough. While on these field trips you can take the opportunity to have an open discussion, for example how we did the State of World articles at Fort Myers Beach. During this field trip we took time to enjoy the articles while relaxing next to the water. One of the readings I enjoyed was The Gift on Nature, just because it talks about how kids today are worried about where they can plug their devices into. They don't know what its like to go outside and enjoy nature. Nature helps our kids imagination to run wild, kids tend to become creative while outdoors. The only reason why I disliked the reading "Traditional versus Progressive Education" is because it confused me.

Spirituality

After watching the movie "Renewal" I think that it is great that churches want to get involve with helping out our environment. People follow whatever their pastor or priest do, so I think that if they see what the church is doing to help the environment they will begin to help out. I think that with all the money that churches get from their followers they should invest in going green, since it will eventually help everyone in the long run. With them wanting to help protect the environment they would be protecting what god has given us, so that we can pass it down to our future generations. We don't want to harm our kids so we need to take action now and clean up our air so that in the future we won't harm our children. My personal beliefs are that in order for us to continue on this planet we need to respect it, stop destroying it cause once its gone its gone, there's not turning back. I'm not a very religious person, but when I do go to church with my mother in law, I am amazed at how they become like zombies and they agree with everything the pastor says. So if they listen and agree to everything the pastor is preaching, then just imagine if he puts in their heads that the environment is important and that we need to take care of it.

Image is from betterthanfaith.com

My grandmother

I decided to interview my grandmother who was born on March 30, 1929 in Puerto Rico. My grandmothers life was not an easy one, she had many struggles. My grandmother was raised in what we call "campo" which is like a country woody area. She attended school for only a year which means she only completed first grade. She never learned how to read or write, the only thing she knows how to do is write her name and do math. As she explained to me her days were spent doing house work, feeding her animals, which were goats and chickens. She would walk to her locations and at times if her father had time he would drive her. Eventually, they moved into town in where things were a lot closer for her. She enjoyed planting and till this day she continues to plants her fruits and vegetables. She planted some pigeon pea plants and a banana tree in my backyard. My grandma still practices what she was taught while growing up, when she cooks she cooks only enough for those to eat. She hates to waste food, water and electricity. While living with me for a few months, she would wash her clothes in the washer but would hang them outside to dry, she would not watch TV during the day except at night to watch her soap operas. During the days she would go for walks or just hang out outside. My bring up is completely different from hers, I just go to the stores and get what I want, not like her who would have to raise her food. I did mention to her about our class and she just said that's great.

Downtown Fort Myers

Our trip to downtown Fort Myers was the first time that I actually took the time to learn its history. I have been to Centennial Park, driven through the downtown area and even walked the US 41 bridge but I never paid attention to detail, I guess you can say. I think what I enjoyed looking at was the mosaic that showed our history, it had Indians, a black solider and people working on the railroad. Who would have thought that huge mosaic would be so hidden, along with a hotel. when we got to the train cart and walked through it, it kind of freaked me out, it was too tiny for me. What I thought was really interesting was the fact that in order to keep the train cool, they would put ice in some compartments on top of the train in order to keep cool. That was something new and interesting for me to know. The cracker house was also interesting, especially the wood they used to build them. I learned the correct meaning of the word cracker.

Canoe Trip

Our canoe field trip for me was the most funniest and fun field trip of the semester. I have never been in a two person canoe before, I have however been canoeing on the beach of Hawaii. I must say that I was afraid to fall in the water so I was extremely careful on not moving too much. I enjoyed going outside of my comfort zone on this day, I got up close a personal with a mangrove due to bad communication, my partner and I at first did not get the hang of padding so we kept going in circles, I couldn't stop laughing the whole time. During our adventure we saw shrimp, a raccoon that eventually showed the class that they can swim, and a fish that was swimming so fast that it would lift the water. Some classmates decided to try some fresh oysters, now that just grossed me out. We also passed by an oysters cove, I think that's what it's called, and that required some major paddling. I must say that I would definitely do that trip again as a matter of fact some coworkers want to go, after I told them about my experience and how much fun I had.

Environment in Local news

Back in October President Obama came to a city in southwest Florida, named Arcadia. The reason behind this visit was due to the largest solar panels in the country. He was to visit the DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center. This company produces 42,000 megawatt-hours which equals enough power to help serve 3000 homes annually. The President is interested in investing in renewable energy. Solar panels will help prevent the emission of more than 575,000 tons of greenhouse gases, which would be eliminating 4500 cars from the road. Solar energy will also decrease the use of fossil fuel usage and help secure Florida in its energy future. The energy center along with two other companies will have the capacity of 100 megawatts which will then make Florida the second largest solar power producing state in the country. With all this excitement of the solar panels and centers, people are thinking that this would also help bring in new jobs.

Article was found on naplesnews.com

Image rechargenews.com

Since I arrive at my house at 7:45 p.m. I walk into my house through my front door. I walk in and right away I turn on my kitchen light since the one in my living room is broken. As I get dinner ready I have the TV on and its normally on for about two hours. I do have an elcetric stove which is used for about an hour while I prepare dinner. I go to bed around 11:00 p.m. and I connect my cell phone on to its charger which I then connect to the wall. I do have an alarm clock which is constantly plugged in. My day begins at 6:45 a.m. and the first thing I do is turn on the TV to hear the news as I get ready. I turn on the bathroom light and is on until I finish taking a shower. The total time the TV is on is about 45 minutes. The bathroom light is turned off once I exit the shower, cause by then the sun is out. The AC unit is not on today, Wednesday,

due to a cool front pass through. Also since it is Wednesday, no laundry will be done.

The total usage of my plasma TV is about .8kWh for three hours. The clock radio uses about .1kWh, lights alone take up to 2.4 kWh, since the refrigerator has to be connected at all times, it can use up to 57-160 watts.

I travel everyday to work with my son who attends the daycare at my job. We commute from Cape Coral to Fort Myers for a total round trip mileage of 20.60, which releases 7.1 carbon into the atmosphere. For being an average person, I do think that I have cut down on leaving the lights on and leaving things connected when they can be unplugged. I guess I finally realized this after I bought my house and had to pay the bills myself.

Water Rights Reflection

I must say that after reading this article I am against the selling of water for profit. First of all water is not a commodity that you can go and pick up at a mall, its something that we all need to survive. Whether we like it or not we need it. Before the United States became a divided country everyone shared what the nation had to offer. Now, since everyone owns their own land, it does not give them the right to control what everyone needs and what the land has to offer. This project can affect the community when for example the economy is down and companies decided that they want to raise the amount on your bill. Or if they decide to go into a a poor neighborhood and threaten people by saying that if they don;t pay they will not get water. Wildlife will also be impacted by not having some pond to go to drink because the owner might have hunters on he lookout for anything or anyone who is trying to drink their water. There might be a situation like this in Florida since the electricity is already being controlled, for each city you have a different company.

Water usage

On a regular day I must say I use a good amount of water for my daily uses. My mornings start off with a nice 15 minute shower, in where I also brush my teeth while I leave my conditioner in my hair. A 15 minute shower consists of 30 gallons of water usage. I use the bathroom twice at home and about once at work, its about 3 gallons a flush so I would use 9 gallons a day. My house did cone with a dishwasher but since its been broken for the longest time, I wash my dishes by hand. What I do first I just somewhat wet them, soap them up first and then turn on the water when I'm ready to rinse. In order to was a load of dishes you use approximately 5 gallons. I have a schedule for my laundry, I only wash starting Friday night after 7 and Saturday morning. Now I only wash big loads I try to stay away from doing mini loads. My washing machine takes about 10 gallons of water to do one load. While at home I do try to drink as much water as possible, but one glass of water is 1/16 of a gallon. I think I do take water conservation into consideration, I limit my showers and I don't let water run why doing the dishes or etc.

The website I used to help calculate my information was ga2.er.usgs.gov

20/20

This is the first time I have heard of Conservation 20/20. The programs main focus is to protect and preserve natural wildlife habitat, protect and preserve water quality and supply, protect developed lands from flooding and provide resource based recreation. This program was in charge of putting on the voter's ballot the option of increasing taxes to help preserve Florida's native land. Thanks to this program we can go to places and experience firsthand what Florida's nature is like. I honestly think this program is awesome, it wasn't too long ago when the city of Cape Coral was one of the nations fastest growing city in the nation. Us humans when building or expanding we tend to go outwards instead of up, by doing all this we are destroying habitats. The only conservation 20/20 property that I have been to is the Matanzas Pass Preserve in Lee county. I would like to visit the Six Mile Cypress slough with my son one day.

Ecological Footprint

My score after completing the ecological footprint was 4.3 planets. Si, it would take 4.3 worlds to sustain my type of living. I must say my score did surprise me. I honestly thought I was doing my part to help conserve our planet. My family and I scored high on food consumption(10), home (2), electricity (1), recycling (1), transportation (4) and goods and services (1). After taking this quiz with my husband by my side we were concerned with our food consumption; we have noticed that we do eat a lot of red meat. So, we came to an agreement that we would eat red meat once or twice, at the most, a week instead of every other day. Another agreement was once the toilet paper was done, that we would put the paper holder into the recycling bin. We discovered this after watching a special on a woman who only throws out her trash once a year. What she does is she sorts out the trash and most of it is all recyclable. This inspired us, we went out and bought washable napkins, instead of paper towel, and all kinds of stuff that can be reused instead of throwing things away.

Everday items

When actually having to sit and think of all the items I handle daily, I realize that I tend to handle certain items daily. The list of items are cell phone, of course, my purse with my wallet inside, credit/debit cards, hair products, makeup, mail, and my shower and hygiene products.

When I received my cell phone, after ordering it online, it arrived in a medium size box. Once I opened the box there was a smaller box that actually contained my phone in it. The phone was wrapped in a plastic bag, which was had Styrofoam around it which helps protect it from getting damaged. My purse and wallet didn't come wrapped, when I bought it but I'm sure it did when it arrived at the store. My credit/debit cards came in an envelope along with a letter stating this is my new card. Just like my credit/debit cards my mail arrives in a sealed envelope.

My hygiene and shower products were all wrapped in a plastic bag and some do come a box just like my makeup.

Corkscrew Swamp

This was my first time hearing and going to corkscrew swap. While on our way I was informed that the state purchased several acres of land to have as preserved land. The facility was very different compared to others. They actually have a treatment system on their property just a few feet away from the restrooms. This allows them to reuse their water supply. If I remember correctly, once the toilets are flushed the water would go the treatment plant and come so clean that it is considered drink able. As we walked through the sanctuary I saw a red ribbon, I believe it was called a turkey vulture, and a lot of spiders in their webs, big cypress trees that have been there for ages. I also learned about the Plume Birds, and how they were almost extinct due to people wanting their feathers. I enjoyed walking through all those trees, the cypress trees are just huge, I kept hearing about cypress tree and I thought that they were going to look average. I enjoyed the experience and would go again, in hope to see some wildlife, besides spiders.

I must say our nature trail field trip has been so far the best field trip we have done. I’ve been in the wilderness before but I never been so close to a snake before. During our walk we heard a woodpecker, saw a snake, heard and saw baby wild bores running through the bushes and saw the different type of trees that surround the trial. In 2004 there was a suspicious fire on campus which almost ended up going to the road. Our tour guide mentioned that some trees do benefit from being burned a little. The burring process allows the tree to let go its old bark an example of a tree that needs to be burned every so often is the Oak tree. As we walked more in to nature we walked to a little swamp, where the water was cold and was knee high. This part for me was fun and muddy; it’s not every day that you go to school and end up walking through a nature trail. I think that it’s great that FGCU has a somewhat getaway right on campus, one minute you’re in class and the next you could end up hanging out with wild bores.

Estero Bay Historic Cottage & Matanzas Pass Preserve

When we arrived at Fort Myers Beach I remember looking around trying to see which house was the cottage. I was amazed to see that this cottage was somewhat hidden. Walking into the cabin we were greeted by a very nice lady who informed us that she is a Fort Myers beach native. She had lived on the island all her life, and how the new bridge to Fort Myers didn’t exist is fairly new. The cottage in where our adventure began used to be located on the actual beach and was later moved back inwards to help persevere it. The cottage was used as a home, and a school house. After our introduction of the Matanzas Pass Persevere began, in where we crossed a board walk and we saw some animals, mangroves, heard birds singing and got attacked by mosquitoes. I really enjoyed sitting by the water and just watching people drive their boats slowly through the river. By just being in the cottage and walking the trail I felt like we were back in time.

San Leandro Marina

I feel I have a sense of place is first of all my home town, but pinpointing an exact location, then I would have to pick the San Leandro Marina. I feel like this is my place because I've enjoyed celebrating my birthday parties/ graduation party from high school there. When there I like to watch the wildlife interact with one another, people walking their pets,and watching the planes get ready to land at the Oakland airport. When there I feel like it’s my park due to all the wonderful memories.

My favorite food is Arroz con Gandules (Rice with Pigeon Peas) is typical Puerto Rican rice. It consist of ingredients if you go can go personally and select.
•
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup sofrito
• 2 cups rice
• 4 cups water
• 1 packet sazón
• 1 15-ounce can Pigeon Peas/Gandules (drained and rinsed)
• http://latinfood.about.com/od/maindishes/r/ricegandules.htm
•
• Olive oil is made by picking olives from a tree, the olive is then passed through a press machine that presses down on the olive squeezing out the oil, which is then stored in a bottle. http://www.oliveoilsource.com/making_olive_oil.htm
Sofrito is made up of, green peppers, red sweet pepper, tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro leaves, 1 parsley leaves, which can be locally grown. http://latinfood.about.com/od/beginnerrecipes/ss/sofritosteps.htm

Sazon seasoning is a combination of herbs and spices. http://ezinearticles.com/?Sazon-Seasoning-Ingredients---Goya-Sazon-Seasoning&id=1753891
Pigeon peas are small beans which can be grown in your backyard.
Rice is a grain or grass that is grown mostly in east Asia http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/food/rice.htm

My surroundings

My neighborhood is a very quite one, when walking down the street you will see several unoccupied homes, have several different animals either running around or flying around example owls nest, wild rabbits running around, vultures and have heard bats.
Besides having a lot of animals around, I have seen that a lot of homes with trees in their backyards, I have seen what looks like to be a mango tree a few houses down,. My neighbor has several different plants and trees growing, ex: papaya tree, tomatoes, and palm trees.

Journal 4

I really enjoyed our fieldtrip to Echo because it was just amazing at how much they help others around the world with such little things, that we take for granted or are just too lazy to do ourselves. I would like to be able to grow plants; I have tried but not really succeeded. I would like to grow my own food but when it comes to meat I don’t have the heart to kill an animal.