Journal #14

Eliminated.

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!

Journal Entry #12

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.

Journal Entry #10

Squeezing More Oil out of the Ground brought to attention how much oil we have in our reserves and the many different techniques that we researches have come up with to drill for more oil. The author predicts that by 2030 we will have used up 1,600 billion barrels of oil in our 4,500-5,000 billion barrel reserves.  Now we must act responsibly and not waste this oil that we have become so dependent on.  The United States consumes more oil than any other country in the world and we are doing everything in our control to keep sucking the earth dry. The problem arises that will the depletion of oil reserves, the prices of barrels increases leading to a huge hole burning in American’s wallet at the pump.

Oil is the bloodstream of world’s economy and has become a magnet for war. The Crude Awakening video showed dramatic footage of oil graveyards in McCamey Texas, Baku, and Venezuela where once there was an abundance supply of oil and now the reserves have been sucked dry. The energy exerted from producing oil is equivalent to 12 men working all day long resulting in the most invaluable resource that we have. 70% of barrel oil is converted into transportation oil, leaving only 30% of the oil to be produced into various other items. The United States was once the biggest oil producer, where oil discovery was peaking in 1930’s and the drilling of oil was peaking in the 1970’s. Now there are 58 oil reserves physically producing less than they have ever produced. Having all the technology in the world may only be beneficial for the time being, since we are depleting oil reserves around the country at a rapid pace. Thankfully though, the middle-east has not peaked in their oil production giving hope that our addiction to oil will not end.

Journal Entry #9

Despite the heat, deer flies, and the long bus ride, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary was nothing compared to what I was expecting. Never would I imagined that there was this huge sanctuary filled with wildlife and housed one of the main water sources in south west Florida. 

We had the opportunity to tour the sanctuary with one of FGCU’s student naturalists Erica, which gave us a more positive look on what’s happening in our planet. Erica was able to point out almost every single plant that we saw, which I thought was very interesting.

When we first arrived Erica told us a story about the wood storks and how they depend on the sanctuary for the future of their species. I never realized how much animals depend on certain areas of the world to reproduce and provide for their families. Unfortunately this year, Florida has been experiencing a drought and the population of wood stork for reproduction has decreased. During our walk we were able to see some wood storks that had migrated, but since we are in such a drought they were unable to provide for their family.

 

I was surprised to find out that the swamp is normally filled with about 3 feet of water, because when we visited the sanctuary there was absolutely no water. The only water that we came across was about a 2 foot puddle of mud, and there I saw the saddest sight I have ever seen. Fish were trying desperately to swim underneath the mud for oxygen and the ability to survive. Vultures were hoping around picking at all the dead animals. Other than the sad sight of the dying animals we saw so many cool insects, hawks, and frogs which made our 2 mile hike a little less boring!

Journal Entry #8

“The twentieth century had been an era of mess-making; the twenty-first century could be a time to clean up the messes.” (Grunwald pg. 100)

Politics have to be hands down my least favorite thing to ever talk about. I find it to be a popularity contest, where the richest most self-centered people are the ones who win. I always root for the underdogs, the ones who fight for what they believe in and despite their popularity they still push through congress with hopes of winning their fight. Before reading this article I never knew that The Everglades were in danger and such extremes were taken to make sure that restoration was possible. 

After such an intense battle during the elections the bill was passed. Now The Everglades had the opportunity to become the “model” of restoration for all other natural treasures we have in our country. Even though the Everglades were still faced with many challenges at least it now had a bill to back it up. Saving something like the Everglades shows that we are able to accept nature for what it is and make sacrifices for our future.

The rejection of the Homestead airport is a milestone in the saving of the Everglades, despite all the arguing around the airport. In my opinion, I believe that Al Gore should’ve stuck to his beliefs, or what we all think he believes in and publicly opposed the airport. It kills me how politicians steer away from their beliefs just for a single vote; but I understand that politics are much more complicated than that.

Journal Entry #7

My family moved to Florida about 11 years ago to a place where everything seemed to be a tropical paradise. We frequently enjoyed playing on the beach and basking in the Florida sun. As I grew older I began to learn about the Everglades, mainly recognizing the vast lands with air boats and alligators. I had no idea that the Everglades stretched as far as Lake Okeechobee or that it possessed two different names. 

The Everglades is comprised of so many different types of wildlife and different plant species such as the saw grass which covers most of the Everglades and makes it the river that we all know today. As stated in the book, most men have never hiked the entire length, due to thick mud and the extreme growth of saw grass. If man were ever to hike across the Everglades they would find themselves lost in a sea of saw grass with no visible sight of land. As the saw grass die and decompose in the mud underneath, the decomposition of the plant helps nurture future plants and areas surrounding. The Everglades have proven to be a tough river, being able to withstand almost everything that it has encountered. Even hurricanes cannot break down huge areas of saw grass; but not everything is resilient. Fires have become the Everglades kryptonite.

The rock, which holds together the borders of the Everglades, stretches miles across the state of Florida, either under the sea level or above. This rock has created what we call today as “Miami Limestone” which is not to be mistaken with coral reefs. These rocks have created the Everglades Keys, which were thought to be where the Indians hid when the “blossoming of the sea grass” occurred to indicate a hurricane was approaching.

The Everglades is Florida’s true history book; land that we now walk on was once under water and millions of years ago came up from those salty waters. It is filled with hidden mysterious and shows how Florida really was before we all moved in.