Closing Reflection

In the beginning of this class, I expected the course to be mind numbingly boring and useless.bTo the contrary,l I've learned quite a bit. there are things I've also applied to my everyday life. I am now more aware of the carbon footprint I leave behind due to my daily activities

Monorail

Matt's presentation is about a monorail system that can be implemented in swfl. The goal would be reducing congesting and placing an emphasis on public transportation. This will in the end reduce our carbon footprint. It would be a three train track which would all come to a Grand Central Station type place. This will be at RSW.

Pollution in FGCU

This group spoke of the pollution. Apparently the parking garage is interfering with thte natural habitat of our campus. There are too many cars in the worild which is leading to our parking problems.

Solutions
More park systems
Buy a parking spot
Riding a bike
Using public tansportation

Recycling

I like the powerpoint. It looks very "green". They went through the history, including the history of the sign. It's important ecause it's the best mean to counter damage made by natural resources being consumed. It also reduces poisonous emissions into the atmosphere.

Living on Local

First things first, I do not think I can live on local. One bite of shrimp and I got sick. Not for me. Kudos to the prestenter though. She has explained what's locally grown and how it can be very benefical to us. It's quite close to home for her it seems since her sister has a chicken coop.

Here are some you can't get:::
Bread
Oils
Vinegars
Salt
Pepper

Curriculum

This was a pretty good presentation. They developed a curriculum surrounded around environmental studies. I love that they presented something for middle school aged children and something that seems to be elemtary friendly. I was mostly interested in the art section, especially the animals built by recycled paper. Over all it was interesting.

Global Warming: Fantastic Four

This group began by speaking of the greenhouse effect. The sun's radiation i reflected into space, , and the earth radiates heat which is absorbed by greenhoue gases. That prevents the earth from losing too much heat. They also spoke of the Great Conveyor elt. When warm water evaporates out of the North Atlantic, then saltier water is left. If it stops flowing, catastrophe happens such as a permanent winter in the eastern coast. Temperature changes are another factor of global warming. Since 1880, average temperatures incresed 1.4 degrees Farenheit regularly. The last two decades have been the warmest. This group was overall kind of lacking energy except the last speaker.

Sustainability: Whose Job is It?

John's presentation seems to be good but I feel as though it is more of a lecture than anything else. His main question is whose responsibility is it to maintain sustainability? His main focus is on corporations. Corporations need to take the lead in facilitation of moving toward sustainability and must make sure employes buy into practicing it.

According to his presentation, Publix is extremely green. They have this program named The Green Routine which involves the associates and the customers. When it comes to transportation, they have reduced their truck routes by 28,000 miles, and they are still able to continually open stores. For more info on Publix's sustainability::Click Here

Museum of History

This trip was... interesting. Though I did not see the connection to the class, it was a good trip. For one thing, I did not know there was a war in Fort Myers. The train was pretty interesting also. Personally, I do not think I could travel in such a small space. The tour guide said that was luxurious to people back in the day. Another part that was interesting was the King Tut exhibit. The amount of gold these people used back in Egypt is ridiculous!! Here are some photos from the trip.

The Power of Social Movements

Social Movement: a grassroots movement to implement change. The Civil Rights Movement was a social movement and look what it accomplished. If there were plenty of social movements today that were more environmentally focused, there would be more people living sustainably. One can be cutting work hours. Less time at work leads to more time with family and friends, and more time to rest and concentrate on the environment.

We can also try to let people know that using fewer resources can make everything else last longer.

Media: Broadcasting Sustainability

This group spoke of media and how it can help promote sustainability. Marketers use media to tie into our emotions and make us want to buy whatever it is they are selling. For the past 40 years, messages have been sent through radio, television, or print, and the broadcast model. Social networking has come to replace that. Facebook alone has 250 million active users. 70 percent of them live outside the US. I must say I too, am a proud facebook user! =)

Oe resource the group used which I really liked was the use of commercials. They made sure to show the influence of these messages over us consumers. My favorite one has been the Diesel commercial. I love how it began asking the viewer if they were ready for global warming then continued the commercial with pictures of jeans models. That one showed how little we are realizing the impact on our environment. On the other end, we have music that tries to obtain sustainability.

Business and Economy

Back in the day, the world ran on what we call "cheap" fossil fuels. We now must have technologies built day by day which never seem to get less complicated. Because of the way we abuse our world, the current regime can no longer serve humanity. There are three reasons. The first is because unlimited increases in resource and energy use are physically impossible on the planet. The second is because unlimited increases in resource and energy use do not continue to increase well-being. The third reason is because today's institutions are designed to maximize energy and resource use and are poorly adapted to the needs of a full world.

Traditions Old and New

This chapter spoke about the influence of religious leaders and how this can be used to make us all aware of the environmental problems going on. What was interesting was the fact that the factors of consumerism such as wealth and possesiveness are things many religious leaders warn their congregation about because it is as if serving a false god. Things religious traditions can do to help the environment include:

• Educate about the environment
• Educate about consumerism
• Educate about investments
• Express the sacredness of the natural world in liturgies and rituals
• Reclaim forgotten assets

Though there are religious rituals, we take part in consumer rituals also. For example, the amount of money spent on weddings, funerals, bar/bat mitzvahs and even quincaneras is outrageous.

-Christie ♥

Chapter 3: Education of Sustainability

This group presented pretty well.
One thing the world needs to be taught is susttainability. Who do we start with? Young children. If you teach somebody something early in their childhood, it sticks with them longer. Education should include the 7 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Respect, Reflect, Repair and Responsibility.

Children are also very important when it comes to Commercialism. Kids believe they are entitled to get what they want and marketing companies spend millions of dollars targeting children.

One thing that is getting reformed is school food. Children grow up eating school food for the first 12 grades of their lives and through this, sustainability can also be taught.

Ft. Myers Beach Part Deux

Then... the tour started. Personally, I would have loved staying in the AC listening to the old lady speak. That's just my opinion. Our tour guide was nice. He didn't stop as much as previous guides did. We did get a blast from Swamp past when seeing the lycra on the one tree. Here are some pics from our walk.

Fort Myers Beach.... Part I

The lady who began our trip with a brief history of the island was so nice! She was like everyone's grandmother with her lemonade and cookies. It's interesting how she's been on the island ever since many of the buildings were first formed. In a way, she herself was a part of the history she was telling us.

I knew hurricanes could make their own extent of damage (ex. Katrina), but creating yet another island? In this case, San Carlos. It kind of makes me wonder how Ft. Myers Beach would have been if that part was never cut. I kind of wish we were able to see the neighborhood school. I haven't seen one of those in a very long time.

-Christie ♥

Nutritional Facts for 05/26/2010 Food Intake

BREAKFAST: 2 Buttermilk Waffles
Calories: 180
Total Fat: 6g
Cholesterol 5mg
Protein: 4g

Maple Syrup
Calories: 230
Total Fat: 0g
Protein 0g

Orange Juice
Calories: 90
Total Fat: 0g
Protein: 0g
Vitamin C: 100%

LUNCH
Half a box of Goldfish
Calories: 140g
Total Fat: 5g
Protein: 4g
Cholesterol: Less than 5mg

Rice and Beans
Calories: 414
Total Fat: 12g
Protein: 12g
Cholesterol: 30mg

Baked Chicken
Calories: 112
Total Fat: 10g
Protein: 18g
Cholesterol: 60mg


-Christie ♥