Blog #12 Final Thought

     I took a class this spring called Colloquium at Florida Gulf Coast University. I first heard about this class at orientation, and I was informed that it was a requirement. I think having Colloquium as a requirement is a phenomenal idea, and I really think it would be really great if more universities adopted the idea of making this course a requirement. It's one of those classes that sounds like a drag to most people (not me), but after you take it, you are definitely not wishing you have never taken it. That means that pretty much everyone has probably gained something from this class.

     In Colloquium, your class gets to go out on adventures. Our class got to go with a teacher that not only knows a lot about the area of southwest Florida, but he is also very passionate about his research, his teaching, the Earth, and the area he lives in. These field trips are a great learning experience, and you get to be outdoors, which is a great change of pace for most students who are inside during all their classes.

     Another thing I liked about this class is that you get to meet students that are working on other majors. It gets boring working with or next to other business students all the time. This is actually the only class I have that I made any new friends. In other classes I'm always listening to lectures, or doing budget analyses, even though I like doing budgets. I had a phenomenal time working with the other students. This class also lets you be creative, and there is nothing I love doing more than being able to use my creativity. Colloquium forces you to interact with your peers, and that is a key skill that employers look for.
     Colloquium had more of an impact on me than I thought it would. Since I am a business major, looking for a business to start or get into is a very key element in choosing my career. This class taught me that in the future, the businesses that will prosper are the ones that are looking for ways to help the Earth. Of course I would never intend to do anything that would hurt the Earth, but now I want to help save it. So I definitely want to work for a business that is eco friendly, and I want to help figure out ways we can sustain our resources better.

Blog #11 Downtown Ft. Myers

Downtown Ft. Myers, the home of my teacher, and a place I have been many times, especially when I was a little kid. Our class took a field trip to the downtown area, and I witnessed many familiar sights and even some new ones, or at least things I don't remember seeing. We drove by the Edison home, which is a beautiful sight at night during winter when they have it lit up with Christmas lights and decorations. Of course the Edison home being the house the famous inventor Thomas Edison lived in many years ago. The famous Henry Ford also lived right next to him, too. Our first stop on our tour was the Fort Myers Florida Historical Museum.

The museum looked kind of looks like it was made in Texas, and then shipped over here. The first thing we saw when we started the tour was a twelve foot Giant Ground Sloth. This thing was huuuuuge like the Kia dealer in Cape Coral! The Mammoth skull right next to the sloth was also humongous. Probably the most interesting display they had to me was the different types of tools and weapons that the Seminole and Calusa tribes used. There were also different kinds of war weapons, flags, and other neat old stuff in there, too. Before we left we went outside and peaked inside an old cracker house. They called them cracker houses because the sounds of the whips the farmers used on their cattle.
After we left the museum, we walked around downtown Ft. Myers for a little bit. Our teacher told us about the development there, and one of the most interesting parts was when he told us about how there was a line around the block to see Jaws at the movie theater there. We stopped at the Indigo hotel, and we went to the seventh floor to check out the view of the area. It was really nice, and they even had a pool up there, which was pretty sweet.

It was a really phenomenal trip, especially seeing these sights through my eyes fifteen years after the last time I saw some of this stuff. I remember when my family and I would go downtown for block parties and watch fireworks over the water on July fourth. The only bad part about the trip is when our bus broke down. I wouldn't have minded because the weather was really nice and we were having a good time, but I really had to be somewhere. It's all good though, because I wasn't late, but my girlfriend was down and I didn't get to spend as much time with her. Sorry that is way off subject, it was an awesome trip, and the downtown area of Ft. Myers has a lot of history.

Blog #9 The Everglades

The Everglades are very unique, as in there are no other ecosystems in the world like it. Marjory Stoneman Douglas describes how mysterious the Everglades are to everyone, and some history about the Everglades in the reading "The Nature of the Everglades." The Everglades go all the way from Lake Okeechobee down to the bottom of Florida.
One of the biggest things that make the Everglades so different is that the water is usually less than a foot deep, and stretches over seven hundred fifty square miles in actual area. I think that is just astonishing because usually big bodies of water like that get very deep for the most part. Another feature that is very interesting about this amazing part of Florida is all the sawgrass. I found all the information about sawgrass from the Florida Museum of Natural History's website. Sawgrass is covered with little sharp teeth along each one of the blades. The most interesting thing I was reminded about sawgrass was that they can grow up to nine feet. I say reminded because I kind of remember learning a lot about the Everglades when I was a youngster.
Douglas talks about how there is an outline that Douglas calls a Florida end-of-land made of rock that holds all this water in. It holds the fresh water in, and keeps it from escaping into the Gulf of Mexico. It's crazy how much rock formations can affect the way an ecosystem operates. One of the main components of the Everglades is the mangroves. Mangroves are found all over the place and one of the very few places that mangroves can flourish.
The Everglades is home to many different types of species of animals. Probably the most known is the Florida alligator. People come from all over to come see attractions here in Florida that have these alligators. A big problem lately in the Everglades has been invasive species, and they are thriving off this ecosystem. The biggest problem with the Everglades is that it is a perfect environment for mosquitoes to lay eggs and live in. Mosquitoes are probably our worst enemy when it comes to nature, because they carry some of the most deadly diseases that can spread.

Basically the Everglades are anything but basic. Douglas explained how it was a mystery when we explored it years ago, and it is still a mystery today. It's also pretty cool that we have modern day dinosaurs roaming the Everglades, aka alligators.

Blog #10 Campus Hike

Our class took a little walk through a small portion of the nature trails that Florida Gulf Coast University has to offer. We were guided by our teacher's assistant, who had a passion for trees and was very knowledgeable of the trees and the different ecosystems that were on the trails. The different kinds of ecosystems located on the trails are marsh vistas, mysterious oak hammocks, pine flatwoods, and pristine popash communities.

There used to be controlled fires in these woods but it isn't allowed anymore. When they did have the fires, the heat could be felt from the opposite side of campus. I'm glad they don't have these controlled fires anymore, because I don't believe fire can be 100% controlled when it is in the woods, and I don't want our school going up in flames. 

Some of the cool things about these trails are that they are a great place to go for a walk, ride bikes, or have a picnic. It's good to get away from the world of technology once in a while. There are some spots you have to watch out for though, like where the water gets really deep, especially during the summer when it's the rainy season. A lot of Florida Gulf Coast University students do clean ups on these trails to keep them looking nice, and also helps the ecosystems that are located there. A few students from our class even helped clean up the trails, too.

Although we didn't go into water up to our chest, we definitely got into some mud, and some girls were wearing nice shoes. I think one of them was wearing heels, it was hilarious! Anyways, I think it's really nice for a change to have a university that has a lot of people who care about the environment enough to do things to help it. With these trails, students get the chance to get a feel of what Florida is supposed to be like. The best way to get someone to be interested in something is to have them experience it for themselves, which is why I wish more universities had classes like Colloquium.

Overall I thought the nature trails were pretty sweet. I'll definitely have to explore more of the trails to see what's out there. It seems like a great spot to just walk around and think about stuff, and look at some beautiful nature while you're at it.

Blog #8 Sustainable Products

      Lately companies and people have been doing this thing called going green. Going green is when they use sustainable products to help conserve resources and help the environment. One example of a sustainable product is a toilet that has two flushes, one for liquid and the other is for solids. The flush for your number one uses less water than for your number two. Some more sustainable products include eco-friendly materials like compostable containers and accessories, energy saving light bulbs, 100% recycled material, biodegradable materials and much more. One of the more ridiculous ideas is the bottles with the smaller lids. Come on, thats not helping any cause, just really annoying to try and put those caps back on. I guess it is good because maybe now people will start to use re-usable containers like thermos's instead of buying a bunch of water bottles.

      To have the sustainable products you need the sustainable technology. Sustainable technology includes renewable energy, sustainable living, organic agriculture, environmental economics and environmental technology. These are all very important aspects of sustainability because without the knowledge of how to save resources and the environment, we could be having our hearts in the right places, but we could be going about it all wrong.

      It's also not enough to have the sustainable technology, use the sustainable technology, or even make the technology better. We need to share any knowledge we have about sustainability to other countries, and do as much as we can to get them to implement the ideas. There are other countries that use up a lot of resources and pollute like us, and we all share the same planet and atmosphere. Every time a developing country gets more and more access to resources, they take on America's worst qualities and uses up those resources really fast in bad ways. We need to not only set examples for those countries, but actually do everything we can to install a good eco-friendly way of living with their new developments.
      For more about sustainable products, they should be purchased more, because even though they may cost a lot more, in the long run they are products that will save you more money and help the environment. We need more companies to use and promote sustainable products for the good of each individual person, family, our country and the world. Our country needs to put all other petty problems aside and start looking at things that are about a million times more important.

Blog #7 Louv Readings

      
       Richard Louv explains how children have a disorder, which is why they don't like nature. He calls it nature-deficit. He does make a lot of good points about why children are not liking the outdoors anymore, but to give it a name is a little much for me. If we start giving something like this a name and blaming it for other disorders, then scientists are probably going to try and make medicine for it, and that is not what they need.
       My solution is to slow the pace down with the new technology for children so they get bored of the indoors, and the paents can then let them loose at a playground or a campsite, baseball for goodness sake! I'm sorry but the Nintendo Wii is not going to cure obesity, and keep your child fit. All the Wii will do for your kid is eliminate the need to go outside, rot their brain, give them carpal tunnel syndrom, turn them into brats, and break your $1000 television.

       See I think Louv is trying to say nature-deficit is causing attention disorders and depression, but I don't agree. I do believe that children being deprived of the outdoors can make these conditions worse. If someone is depressed, and is looking at horrible news or something on the television or computer, or a video game with killing in it, then that will make them more depressed and maybe do something that will hurt themselves. If that same depressed person took a walk at a park and maybe they could see some cute animals to make them happy, or accomplish something like climbing something, or even just be calmed down by a gentle breeze. The best thing to do is get your child to enjoy a hobby that involves something outside.
       Besides those 2 things i disagreed with, the solutions by Louv are definitely something I agree with. He wants what I want, for kids to go outside and play, and for parents to stop babying their children with every new video game console that comes out. When I was young my mom would kick us out of the house when we were sitting around too long, and we were happy when she did that because we would just ride our bikes down to the baseball field and play ball for hours. Most of the time she didn't have to kick us out because it was what we loved to do. Parents need to try every outdoor activity with their kids until they have a passion for something. My parents were lucky though because I loved sports as soon as I could walk. I also recommend keeping your baby away from the television, that might have something to do with it too.

Blog #6 Estero Bay

The Estero Bay was the first aquatic preserve established in Florida, and when our class took a field trip over there, we got to listen to a presentation by Jo Hughes. She put together a timeline of our area of the past century. I thought it was incredibly interesting that she has lived there for so long. One of the most interesting facts is that if you lived here in I believe she said the 1920's, you would have to drive to Arcadia to reach the nearest hospital.
       I also can't imagine anyone living by the Estero Bay before mosquito control. It was also crazy to find out how there are thousands of mosquito eggs each square foot in the mud at the Estero Bay.

When they hatch there are millions of them leaving the Bay at the same time, and that has got to be scary. Thanks to mosquito control, we're not completely overrun by mosquitoes, seeing how Florida is the perfect environment for mosquitoes to breed and live.
       Jo Hughes also told us about how her family depended on the health of Estero Bay, because her father was in charge of a fish house that sold mullet. The mullet numbers have decreased so much that if she still depended on the selling mullet, then she probably would have to move.
       There are many bike paths and hiking trails throughout the Estero Bay area, but we went on the boardwalk to see a nice view of the Bay. My advice is not to bring a plastic bottle on a windy day, because it will get away from you, and if you are like me and don't litter, you will get your shoes muddy. There are a couple things you have to watch out for, and one of those things is poison ivy. Some of the poison ivy goes over the railing of the boardwalk.

       Jo Hughes seemed like she knows more about this area than anyone else. She really loves southwest Florida to live here this long. Another thing I thought was a really neat subject she brought up was about how small her school was. I think she said there were 2 classrooms. Pretty much it was just extremely interesting to hear about the history of the place I've been living in since I was born. There were a lot of things I didn't know about this area before this trip to the Estero Bay.

Blog #3 An Inconvenient Truth

The former Vice President Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" deals with Global warming from high Carbon Dioxide levels, mainly from the burning of fossil fuels, and other effects to the atmosphere from human disturbances. Al Gore shows a lot of different data like Carbon Dioxide increases and temperature increases. Both these levels have spiked in the past few years, and Gore is right in trying to get people to act when it comes to helping the Earth. National Geographic News asked earth scientist Eric Steig about the claims Gore was making and the data he was giving. Steig watched the documentary and claimed that Gore wasn't many crazy accusations. Apparently Gore's data and claims were actually pretty accurate.

       I thought the documentary was not only inspiring, but it had facts, pictures and data to back up Gore's claims about global warming. Gore also shows that global warming is effecting the weather. Hurricanes have doubled in the past few years, and studies indicate that they've been getting stronger too as they enter the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Katrina was a perfect example, as it grew in size exponentially as it hit the now warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico. So I believe that the tragedy in Louisiana wasn't entirely a natural disaster because we helped those waters get warmer by poisoning our atmosphere with toxious gases. What is even worse about these facts is that disasters like this are more likely to happen more often if we don't get our act together. Al Gore is trying to get the whole world to understand that, and he deserves a lot more credit. Some people think he is doing all this to get attention, and that doesn't make much sense to me. Al Gore has done a lot of research and presentations around the world on this topic, and that seems like a little drastic if he was just trying to get attention. Paris Hilton is trying to get attention, not Al Gore. Al Gore is trying to save the only planet we live on, and like he said, he's doing it the only way he knows how, by doing these presentations all over the world one city at a time.

Pictures like this show what global warming is doing.

      Some of the picture comparisons of glaciers from now and back in the twenties shows that global warming is a real threat, because these glaciers and the ice near the poles are very important to this world.

Blog #2 Corkscrew Sanctuary

The Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is some of Florida's freshwater wetland ecosystems. The swamp contains the only wetlands that haven't been noticeably affected by human behavior. We need more protected ecosystems like this. The Sanctuary has many plants and animals that are protected from our waste and destruction. The boardwalk for visitors also provides education for many of Florida's students and that may spark interest in at least a few of them. The more knowledge that is instilled in children of south west Florida about the wetlands of Florida, the better chance of these protected areas have of staying protected. The Sanctuary also is a great place for scientists to research, because they don't have to worry about being interrupted by land development or anything of that sort.

      One of the really good things that they are doing with the wild life is creating an "Invasive Species Task Force" that launched in 2009. An invasive species is a plant or animal that is not native to a certain habitat, but somehow they are there anyways. They are usually brought from overseas by travelers and usually released into the wild accidentally, sometimes purposely. The Invasive Species Task Force monitors these species and are making an effort to controlling these species because most of them bring destruction to ecosystems and it is very important that populations of these invaders don't soar and bring more destruction to our wetlands. One species that is a huge problem is the Burmese Python. This species of python is very dangerous and is moving from the wild and into cities. Just imagine going in the shower, looking up at your shower head and instead it's the head of a python with his mouth opened up to the size of your shoulders, not cool.

       More vital than anything to Florida is our water levels. If anyone hasn't noticed, Florida is completely flat, so monitoring water levels is very important. Of course monitoring water levels is important for more reasons than just keeping us from going under. Different species of plants and animals benefit from the water being at certain levels, and monitoring these levels closely is very important for helping those species survive. The water levels affects us humans too, for instance the water we get from Lake Okeechobee. Water flows from Lake Okeechobee to south west Florida and south east Florida and that flowing water needs to be closely monitored for our sake.

Blog #1 The Environment

When discussing the environment, you have to talk about the natural environment, which are living and non-living things that take place naturally on Earth, and then there is the environment that is created by human activity. From what I have learned through environmentalists and from what I’ve learned in this class, the natural environment of our planet, is being effected much more than most of us know. If we want our planet to be here and all the resources that keep us alive to be here in the future, we must all do our part in something called ecological sustainability. This isn’t something we can fix all at once, it’s a developmental process that takes several steps from everyone to help our lives, and future generations. 

       

       Not only do we need to watch how we're effecting the environment for our own sake, but there are a lot of other species of plants and animals out there that deserve to live just as much as we do. Even if "we" don't need certain species to live, it's still important that they stay well populated because they are a part of this world too. The diversity of life is what makes Earth so great, not just that we have life on our planet. 

      I believe that global warming is something that needs to be dealt with now. What I think is going on is people don't want to believe that it's real, even though scientists have proven that it is effecting us. Two things you can look at that tells us we need to do something is carbon dioxide levels and glaciers melting. Carbon Dioxide levels are getting so high that they are effecting weather. We can also see how much smaller glaciers have gotten and that is already effecting the polar bear population. They have a certain environment that they need for survival and we're effecting it.  

        A big role in any environment is biological diversity. In biodiversity, all the species in that ecosystem has an important role in their environment. If one of these species disappears because a climate change effected by humans, that whole ecosystem can suffer. So one of the biggest problem with effecting ecosystems has got to be people having a lack of education of how they can effect life. I believe that as people who know how we can help our planet, it is our job to educate people who don't know how to help our environment.