Journal Entry 4

Its amazing how we live our lives day by day and not even question where our food has come from or how it was so neatly packaged. Well, my eyes were just opened by taking this online ecological footprint calculator. According to the quiz, if every person on earth lived my lifestyle it would require 4.2 earths to provide enough resources to support that life style. That is amazing. Honestly, I thought I lived quite humbly, drive an Eco friendly car, don't eat out much, and I even car pool if I am able to. 

Turns out that my humble life would be a grave life for our earth if we all lived like me. I do believe that some changes could be made. It seems that my food consumption of poultry, dairy, and eggs has had a large impact on the earth due to its farming process and excess land take up. I suppose if i changed my diet I could help make a difference. However, a lot of these changes are difficult because of the demands my life calls for. Most often I make my daily decisions based around my responsibilities. Work, school, family, are demanding and the clock on the wall gives us no justice. Time is proving to be quite an enemy. These are reasons its hard to make some life changes. 

I have taken a look at my daily activities over a 24 hour time span. My daily energy intake seems to be low. I am very conscious of my energy bill therefore I am conscious of how much I use. My biggest energy flaw would probably be the air conditioning. I am a huge advocate for a cold room for a good nights sleep. However, I am very good at unplugging and turning off unneeded items. 

I am also very conscious of my fuel intake. I drive a 2012 Honda civic. Its quite technological. I have display boards on my dash that break down every miles per gallon down to the last drop. My fuel take is aprox 11-12 gallons it usually can get me about 400+ miles. I have been noticing that just about every time I use my car it is about 10 miles per usage. Therefore, after about 40 or so trips in my car I am re filling another 11-12 gallons for another few weeks of guzzling. 

MY food intake is in my opinion not terrible. I think That I do not waste foods, but I am guilty of many pre packaged items such as hummus, juices, cheeses, egg cartons, etc. and ( don't tell anyone) while I am here at school I do not recycle. My water intake is generally normal. Showers, teeth brushing, face washing, and dishes. That's about all the damage. 

Journal Entry 3

Today we visited Mantanzas Pass on Fort Myers Beach and it was fantastic. After our bus ride we all slowly but surely loaded into the small cottage where we found rows of chairs and our host, Mrs. Hughes. She was a fascinating woman who had countless unforgettable stories about the town of Fort Myers, her childhood growing up on the island, and the differences that she now sees on the island. It was refreshing to hear these amazing stories. Mostly, because the only stories I hear about Fort Myers Beach are the drunken Saturdays and spring break extravaganza.

Mrs. Hughes even offered us her very first batch of sea grape jelly that she homemade. I tried some and it was great! I even went back to West Palm Beach this weekend where I saw slews of sea grapes and I couldn't help but tell all my friends about my experience with Mrs. Hughes and her stories.

The Sacrifice Leaf

When I was walking the board walk on Mantanzas Pass I felt so privileged to be walking in the sunshine towards a beautiful bay, through red, white and black mangroves. I happened to pick a leaf off of one of the black mangroves so I could write about it in my journal. The leaf I picked was yellow, unlike all the other green leaves on the clustered branches. When I was in my marine biology class in high school we took a camping trip to Big Pine Key. This is a pretty prevalent Key among the Florida Keys, its home of state parks and tons of historic sights to see. Anyways, I learned that mangroves are submerged in salt water all their lives, and the salinity of the water can be harmful. The plant has learned to adapt over several thousand years by sacrificing one of its leaves (per cluster) to absorb all of the salt in the branch and die. Therefore we call these yellow leaves, sacrifice leaves. Pretty neat!

Picture of the Mangrove with a few Sacrifice leaves

I was intrigued to see the dolphins feeding along the mangroves across the bay. Also It was very interesting to learn what an estuary was! A combination of salt water and fresh water from rivers run together. Another fact I thought was interesting was the history of these swamp lands, where invasive plant species threaten the wild life and its environment. I believe that using our tax dollars towards preservation of beautiful areas like this is money well spent. Mantanzas Pass was really a fun experience for me. I also had to go to work directly after class, I thought it was going to be a dreadful day. However, I actually felt more energetic and lively regardless of the long day. Lets get a hoo-ra for nature! HOO RA!

Journal Entry 2

You know what, this is beginning to be quite frustrating. As soon as I begin reading our journal entry prompts I have an "a-ha!" moment and I know exactly what to write. But then, the next sentence in the prompt is exactly what I was going to say. Great minds think alike I suppose.

I am so thankful that I have found serenity in nature quite early in my life. I can say with confidence that our generation of kids born in the late 80's to the mid 90's are the last "outside kids.". Technology was present but not as widely accepted, therefore our parents would force us out of the house. Because of this upbringing I think that I have become closer with nature with out even being aware of it. 

Just walking from class to class on campus I immediately feel relaxed and revived. Sometimes I close my eyes and listen to the buzzing and crickets in the swampy areas (always aware of those long boarders though). It brings a wave of calm energy from the top of my head straight through to my toes. almost like a filter, just grabbing all the tension, stress, and anxiety that has flooded my thoughts. I have no clue how some students can spend hours upon hours studying in the library. I prefer to study at my apartment, where if i become overwhelmed with stress I can hop in the pool, for for a run, go fishing in the lake, or even tend to the herbs in my garden.

 I myself am a Spiritual person, and I believe that God made us specifically for this earth. It is a vital combination, humans and the earth, because we were made specifically for this world. All made of the same chemicals and molecules.

I am always ecstatic to go on vacation where cell phone service is unobtainable. I've been on cruises, fishing trips, and other countries where cell phones seem alien. These are the best vacations, where you focus on yourself, the company you have, and nature. The three basic human needs for a connection to this world. It is exciting to turn on your phone upon landfall but it makes you realize the time and experiences you're missing out on by consuming your brain in a 2x4 block of technology we call a phone.  

Journal Entry 1

First off, I would like to applaud Florida Gulf Coast University for being as smart as they are for requiring it's students to take a class on sustainability and finding our sense of place. I would also like to applaud the genius that decided only upperclassmen could enroll in this class.

I do not believe that I would be able to understand this subject if I were any younger. When I say, understand, I really mean it in the context of "appreciate." The realization that we are one with the environment comes to a person when he or she can be humble enough to realize that we are not the center of the universe. It comes to a person when they can realize that feeling small is extraordinary and not diminishing.

On my first trip to New York City two summers ago I believe I found that dwarfing moment. Walking out of Grand Central Station for the first time I took a moment to stop and look up into the skyscrapers and feel like I was apart of these thousands of people around me, regardless that I was traveling alone. I know, New York City is probably the worst example of environmentally friendly but, that was my moment. I think it takes those few extra candles on your birthday cake for a person to truly recognize beauty.

That's what this world is to me, beauty! Everything in it is beautiful, fascinating, and has a purpose. So needless to say, I was actually pretty excited to take this course. Still, even after the first day I am excited! I am very eager to go on our field trips. Its amazing that our University is one of the few who understand that hands on learning is most effective and environmental education should still be valued.  I hope that I can learn about our environment through my new eyes; These eyes that have been opened and flood fascinating information into my mind. I have been pretty proactive about our first assignment, Richard Louv's article on Nature Deficient Disorder. Let me say that I am fascinated already. Even the first assignment is a attention capturing subject that every one of us students could relate to. Perhaps a family member, a friend, or even ourselves have seen this first hand.
This is the perfect relation to my major as well. I study Health Science with a minor in Spanish and Marketing. Yes, off the wall, but I am here to better myself and I feel that I am accomplishing just that.

Becoming a well rounded person is the ideal concept of college; at least in my opinion. Some people have different views, views that focus on money as the success indicator. Please, do not call me a hypocrite. Of course I would like to make loads of money and live the good life on Palm Beach with Jimmy Buffett. However, If I could become well rounded enough, educated enough, experienced enough, I could share conversation with amazing people and learn from them as well. I crave this type of rich. Rich in culture and experience. I hope I can find these values in this class to carry me on in my future endeavors, even if its just to pass on the lessons learned.