Sunday, May 15, 2011

Journal Entry #1

As I embark upon this new class, my “sense of place” in the environment is probably much different than my other classmates. I, unfortunately, am minimally educated on environmental sustainability.  This, however, is not a true disadvantage.  I am walking into this class with an open mind and a willingness to learn as much as I can about the environment I live in and ways that I can help.

Growing up my family never recycled, therefore sustainability was never a factor in my decision making. The only way that I am somewhat environmentally cautious is with my electricity bill. Since moving out of the dorm and living in an apartment, my roommate and I have became very aware of how long we leave our lights on and not to keep our air conditioning on a low temperature.  Obviously, we began this practice to keep our expenses down but it is also a means of energy conservation.   

 In my freshman year, I took a Global Studies class which taught us about people around the world and their interaction with the environment. In that class we took a field trip to ECHO farms, educating us about world hunger and the various agriculture resources people can use to feed themselves. At the farm I was assigned the extremely dirty job of making mulch from compost that had decomposed. We had to sift through the dirt to make sure that no rocks were present and then shovel huge piles of dirt into bags. Working at ECHO began to open my eyes to environmental sustainability and I am anticipating that after taking this course I will create many new habits that will benefit our planet and help in my own little way.

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