Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Journal Entry #17
I have never read an article in any of these books that defined my relationship with nature. Although my relationship is not as extreme as Woody Allen’s; my life is most definitely consumed with shopping malls, freeways and dense suburban areas. I grew up in the technological century where checking your Facebook has become more thrilling then taking a mile kayaking trip. My best friend would put me under the category of being biophobic, but not to such an extreme as the book puts it. 
Owen Barfield’s work proposed that “people once felt “integrated or mortised into” the world..”(Orr, 2011 pg. 188) Biophilia has become more of a choice rather than a decision. This is becoming truer due to children growing up in cities where there are no parks or outside recreation for them to play. Biophobia is not a silly “disease” that naturalists have come up with to scare being into caring about the environment, it is proven that it shrinks experiences and joys and creates an inability to achieve a close and loving relationship with the environment. Also the urge to control nature, has lead to a greater increase in biophobic people. All we want to do is control the situations around us, for example the weather, but in a world like today with so much increased CO₂ emissions, this is not possible.
I enjoyed reading the section about self-interest and how biophobia is not OK because it “violates an ancient charge to replenish the earth.” (Orr, 2011 pg. 192) Earth is given to us humans as a trust for our proper use. Unfortunately we have not lived up to that trust with our destroying of the Earth’s ozone, depletion of oil in reserves, and increased CO₂ emissions. Improper use comes from ingratitude which will proceed to greed, violence and abuse. Journal Entry #16
Going into colloquium I had extremely mixed feelings. Rumors circulate around campus about how boring, time consuming and long this class is giving freshman the ultimate fear of never wanting to take the class. Thankfully we are required, so the fear tends to go away as you reach your junior year. Gordon rule classes also scared me because I am not very confident in my writing skills and to take a class that focuses mostly on your writing, I wasn’t too thrilled.
After having the wonderful opportunity to read the Weather Makers I began to realize how much I do not recycle, how long I leave the water running for, how much I drive my car, and how much time I do not spend outside. That book and this class opened my eyes to the problems in the world, even though they were extremely depressing, and gave me a new outlook on our ever growing problems. Thankfully I attended a school with a deep concern about the environment and ways to protect it. I am proud to say that I am now educated on this subject and not a mindless U.S citizen blaming our environmental problems on others. In the hospitality field, hotels are moving ahead of the game by adopting greener technologies and practices to help the environment. Not only are they instilling greener practices with their employees they are encouraging and educating their guests to recycle, save water, and turn off non-needed electricity.
Although at times this class was stressful I am glad I had the opportunity to take it and become educated about the issues that are happening in our world.
Journal Entry #15
The only times that I’ve ever been to Downtown Fort Myers was to visit my favorite antique store and rummage through all of the treasures. I was extremely excited about this field trip because for once we wouldn’t have to listen to an over energized tour guide lecture about the environment. I was also quite excited to see what this scavenger hunt was all about. 
Upon arriving we were given our rules and questions and sent in our respected directions. I love downtown areas with their hidden histories, brick roads and abundant amount of art galleries. Not being accustomed to the downtown area we were completely flustered when we had to start searching for our clues. When we went towards the port we unexpectedly came across the Olympic Museum which I found to be extremely interesting since watching the Olympics is one of my favorite things to do!
For our lunch break we ate at the Red Rock Saloon, which is now going to be our next stop when we head downtown. The atmosphere and culture in downtown areas intrigue me so much. I love how everyone knew every shop and also others in the area. This field trip showed me and my group all the different bars, galleries and cool shops that inhabit the downtown area. Even though I’m only going to be living on the west coast for my college career, I want to make the best of this area by visiting and experiencing every part of the area. Thursday, June 30, 2011
Journal Entry #13
For my service learning I had the wonderful opportunity to volunteer at the Koreshan State Historic Site. Here I was introduced to air potatoes, which are an invasive plant species that was brought to the area after Hurricane Wilma hit. These plants grow so rapidly and can literally engulf all the natural flora and fauna in the area. The first day we arrived, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Mike, the volunteer coordinator, brought us to a site and showed us how to properly pull air potatoes from the ground. Not only do you have to pull the entire air potato out of the ground but you must make sure to pull out the tubers because this will kill the plant immediately. Four hours of pulling these plants later, I was covered in mosquito bites.
Other than the dreadful four hours, we were able to hike along the paths on the nature trail and went to visit the historic site. This was the most interesting part of the whole volunteer experience. Who knew that there was an entire little city behind 41? I didn’t. Walking around the historical site was at first a little creepy because we weren’t too sure about what we were going to find. We took a break in the Founder’s House where we learned all about the Koreshan religion and how the city developed. Back on the trails we found these bamboos that were growing so high. They were absolutely beautiful and people had begun carving their names into the stalks. I know that it may be mad for the plant, but it was cool to see how far back the signatures went. During another one of our breaks we took refuge on the dock where we saw the cutest blue crabs running around on the lake floor. They would come right up to the dock and stare at you to see who you were. Before we arrived to volunteer for the day, volunteers spotted manatees in the river swimming around.
The second day we went was more of pulling plants, getting bit my mosquitoes, and sweating. This time we filled up four buckets which was an achievement in itself!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Journal Entry #11
“An ethic may be regarded as a mode of guidance for meeting ecological situations so new or intricate, or involving such deferred reactions, that the path of social expediency is not discernible to the average individual.” (Leopold, 2011 pg. 59) Individuals have become interdependent parts of ethic communities, acting on their instincts and co-operating with each other. Land ethics have begun to change the role of man from conquering land to becoming an ordinary member of a community. Ordinary members of a community don’t rely on their general knowledge about the land anymore; reliance on science has become the prime mechanism.
Conservation is the first step in land ethics, although it is taking an extremely long time to catch on. Like I have said countless times in this class, education is the first step to begin successful conservation projects. Conservation projects will not change overnight; internal changes within people will start those changes. If economic values start to increase then the main weakness of the conversation system will become strength.
The pyramid example put into perspective the food chain and how each organism relies on other organisms for life, starting with the bottom layer as soil and the top layer as larger carnivores. Every species relies on the bottom layer of the pyramid with an upward flow of energy in this complex structure. In the beginning of time this pyramid was a simple chain, but now with evolution of new species this simple chain has become extremely complex.
Land ethic is not only an intellectual process but also an emotional process. Conservation is a pivotal aspect of our Earth and with such a low degree of education, the positive outcomes of it is very slim. Attitudes need to change to start saving our planet.
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