13- Estero Island and Matanzas Preserve

I really enjoyed exploring Mantanzas Preserve. I found the area to be very relaxing and serene. I decided to go to the preserve early morning, which made the walk through the preserve even more peaceful. What I liked most about this visit, was that I saw no one. Nothing but nature was in my path, and this was beautiful. The area is lush with foliage and rich with wildlife. Bird watching was fantastic. The bay was filled with active fish in the early morning. I came across snook popping in the water, and many trout jumping out of the water as they traveled. I saw many Wood Storks as well as three White Ibis. 

The pass as well as the cottage provide travelers and explores simplicity that is hard to find anywhere else. In return, this enhances the quality of life and reminds us to keep it simple. Keeping it simple is something I strive to do, and the morning in this area allowed me to do so.

12- Sustainable Consumerism

"Our needs can be met and we can even thrive in our world using the principles of sustainable prosperity, sustainable consumerism and sustainable economics." Lawrence Wollersheim


Sustainable Consumerism effects the following:

• Quality of life;
• Wise use of resources, and minimisation of waste and pollution;
• Use of renewable resources within their capacity for renewal;
• Fuller product life-cycles; and
• Intergenerational and intragenerational equity.

My definition on sustainable consumerism is: The ability to use less of the resources surrounding us to maintain a high quality of life that can be easily  maintained. 

Consumerists vs. Sustainable living

Green-wash (green’wash’, -wôsh’) – verb: the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.

I would be willing to pay more for local food depending on what it is. For example, if a locally grown tomato was $.50 more expensive sure I would buy it. I am not willing to pay a significant amount more than the item, ex $3.00. As a general rule, I would be willing to pay 20% more for organic, local or fair-trade items. I always go to mom and pop stores and farmers markets before I go to say Publix or Sweetbay. I do not purchase vegetables of fruits or meats from Walmart, so this would be a place I would never visit for foods. The ramifications of shopping at local food markets keeps local farmers in business. If we were to all shop simply, we would all be accessing food that helps support the environment in which we live. In return, the prices we would pay for goods would go down due to the fact that farmers would sustain their businesses better which enables them to provide competitive pricing.

Interesting Fact:

11- Downtown

Downtown is a word that is very familiar in my vocabulary. I grew up in Central New Jersey. The town I grew up in is located in the hills and mountains. Downtown was our town and it was a trip to get there.



Downtown:


In downtown Hillsborough NJ, you can find the local church, the local deli, Italian restaurant  your Chinese take-out and the post office. Exciting huh?

Well... now I am in SW Florida and the downtown we are going to talk about now is Downtown Fort Myers. Here is a collage on my favorite places downtown.

Downtown Fort Myers has changed a lot over the past 7 years I have lived here in SW Florida. I have noticed that many of the buildings have been remodeled to "revamp" the feel of downtown. By touring the area, I  found there to be many more artistic additions to downtown. In the center of my collage I have an amazing metal sculpture that is located right under the main bridge. I also have pictures taken with Edison himself, in statue form of course. 

When traveling through downtown Fort Myers, I noticed that the building fronts have been dramatically improved. By doing so, the small shops look much more appealing from the street and create an environment where you want to walk through and if not shop, definitely window shop these stores.

I am pictured above in Centennial Park and also have a few pictures in there of the Ford and Edison estates.

With some research, I found that the town was originally a base ground to ward off and fight the Seminole Indians.

https://www.cityftmyers.com/River-District.aspx

The link above provides information about the river district, art, music, and farmers markets and festivals. 

Using the information provided in the link above, it is easy to see that Downtown Fort Myers has certainly evolved over time. This area has shown its capacity to endure the good and bad times. The fact that many of these small business have made it over the last five years shows that this district is going strong and with that, is still open and desirable to the public.

10- My footprint is...?

What is my eco footprint?

An eco footprint is a measure of human demands on the Earth's ecosystems. This measure is standardized and measures for the natural capital that may be contrasted with the planet's ecological capacity to regenerate itself.

I live a very simple life. I do not have television, I do not have an airconditioner or a heater. I share a care with my boyfriend. I do laundry once a week, and do not use paper products or buy plastic bottles.

With that said, I thought going into this quiz on my eco footprint, I would come back leaving a small print on our Earth. I was wrong and upset by this! My quiz results say that if everyone lived like me, we would need 4 planet Earths to provide enough resources. The "standard footprint" is 4.6, so I do have some room to congratulate myself, however not as much as I thought!

My footprint breaks down by the global acres needed to support my production as well. To support my lifestyle, it takes 17.9 global acres of the Earth's productive area. This means it takes 18.5 tons or carbon dioxide!

After learning about my footprint and being shocked by the results, I decided I would explore scenarios to see how I can reduce my footprint. What I got from this is that solar panels would help to significantly reduce my footprint. The downside to this is that solar panels are super expensive! Perhaps this is something I can work towards in the future. 

Another way to reduce my footprint is by using public transportation. I have to be honest though, I know I will not do this. Therefore I continued to look at other ways that I could reduce my footprint. Purchasing recycled paper products and computer paper as well as recycled paper for my school binders, is another great way I could reduce my footprint. If every American did this, we would use 645 million fewer global acres, an area that could cover 484 million football fields!

If everyone lived like I do, the maximum population Earth could sustain would be: 7.082 Billion/4 which equals: 1.77 Billion! 

Test your own footprint:

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators

9- Cheap Energy?

The average household spends $3.80 on energy per day. Eventhough every month when I get my energy bill i say, "What!" we have to put this into perspective. Most Americans purchase a coffee at some point during their day. A latte or espresso can range up to $4.00! So as we sit and complain about energy costs we have to compare it to reality.

I do not feel that energy is expensive. Especially because out house if built to use less energy than the normal household. This assignment made me think about ways that we can cut down even more.Jimmy Cardigan gave his first speech on energy in 1977. In 1979 Cardigan spoke out against the different opinions of our countries energy crisis. He said the following,

 ""On the battlefield of energy we can win for our nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny ... . It can rekindle our sense of unity, our confidence in the future, and give our nation and all of us individually a new sense of purpose."

He goes on to say, "Our nation must be fair to the poorest among us, so we will increase aid to needy Americans to cope with rising energy prices ... ."

I would have to say I disagree with Cardigan's fairness towards pricing to those who are less forinuate because fact of the matter is, they use less energy. If we look at the houses in Port Royal, they most likely pay $15.00 a day for energy. My total cost is $1.87 a day. 

Ideally, I would love to be a free marketer, and produce my own energy. One day I will purchase a windmill and be able to be completely off the grid. Until this day comes, I will be spending $1.87 a day, and have no complaints about it.

8- Climate Change

Blog Entry 8- Climate Change man made vs. natural

In my opinion, climate change is natural. However… I feel we do have a large impact on the rate at which the climate is changing. Lets be real, the climates change. We are asked to find information on reputable sources about this issue. I have hit a wall with this because facts are argued, points are debated, and researched is biased to one side or another. 

Mark Twain writes, "Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get."

Climate- The average weather rent over long periods of time

Natural influences of Climate over the last 4.6 billion years: Volcanos, The Sun, The orbit of the sun, The movement of the continents.

Anthropogenic- The rate at which we burn coal, automobile driving, greenhouse gasses.

I could not find concrete data on the effects we have measured on the climate, however scientists are currently doing research to find the extent of the man made climate change.

So how does this alter my lifestyle? I already try to conserve energy as much as I can. We drive one car in my family to reduce pollution. We do not have an air conditioner, or tv and use single light bulbs as lights. So with that, I am very conscious of how my life will impact my children's grand children's. I just wish other Americans were as conservative as I am.

7- Eucalyptus?

Dear FDA:

ArborGen Co. has created a pitch pertaining to planting genetically modified eucalyptus at FGCU. The seeds for this project are genetically modified. The company is testing the ability to grow eucalyptus that is cold tolerant. Below is how we feel about this project. Please get back to us with a counter.

Before I go more in depth about the pros and cons of genetically modified crops, let me first give a definition of what genetically modified crops are.

Genetically modified crops (often abbreviated as GMOs) are simply crops, whose genetical material has been modified.  There are two ways to do this:

1. Traditional selection and breeding (much like breeding animals),
2. Modern, scientific modification of the crops.

Intrinsic Concerns:

Disadvantages of GMOs

• Harm to other organisms. For example genes and their effect included in a crop may turn out to be poisonous to insects (monarch butterfly poisoned by GMO corns).

Advantages of GMOs

• More informed customers, because they need to make more informed decisions in regard to nutrition, agriculture and science.

• Taste of GMOs are not as good or "natural".

• Less pesticide is needed to be used due to insect pest resistant plants.

• Cross-pollination with traditional, organic plants. Cross pollination can occur at quite large distances. New genes may also be included in the offspring of the traditional, organic crops miles away. This makes it difficult to distinguish which crop field is organic, and which is not, posing a problem to the proper labeling of non-GMO food products.

• More economically friendly as pesticides do not go into the air, soil, and water (especially freshwater supplies). Their production hazards to the environment also decreases.

• Decrease in costs of growing and farming, due to the reduced use of pesticides.

• Spread of new, more resistant "super weeds

• Higher crop yields.

• Spread of new, more resistant "super pests".

• Farmers have more income, which they could spend on such things as, for example, the education of their children.

• Major trading countries that obtain most of the benefit from the production and trade of genetically modified crops. This might cause more geopolitical conflicts.

• Less deforestation needed to feed the worlds growing population (UN projections say that the world population will reach 8.15 billion compared to 6.18 billion in year 2000). This decreases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which in turn slows global warming.

• New trade, tariff and quota issues may arise between countries, regions.

• Decrease in food prices due to lower costs and higher yield. As people in poor countries spend over half of their income on food alone, lower food prices mean an automatic reduction of poverty.

• Critics say GMOs may cause health problems.

• Less starvation in the world due to decreased food prices.

• More nutritious. This has been proven and tested many times.

• As the USA is the biggest producer of GMO crops, their exports may rouse more anti-American feeling, due to “Americanization” worldwide.
• Possible damages to the environment.

• Rigorous testing of ALL GMO crops and products. This makes GMOs much safer than organic (the traditional) crops.

• Possible greed of GMO manufacturing firms.
• Unharmonized test-, and safety standards around the world.

• ALL GMOs that are sold in the market, due to the strict tests. If the slightest chance of health hazard, a GMO is NOT allowed to enter the markets.

• GMOs are made because it is possible to make them, not because consumers feel their need.

• Strict and very complex standards that GMOs have to fully meet.

• More thoroughly understood crops due to the rigorous testing.

• Possible creation of new kinds of weapons; genetic food and beverage weapons.

• Scientific development of agriculture, health and related sciences due to the better understanding of the products. For example, the development of new medicines.

• Additional costs of labeling whether products are GMOs or not. This might increase costs of foods.

• Creation of “super foods” due to better knowledge. Super foods are types of food that are cheap to produce, grow fast in large quantities, highly nutritious.

• Widening corporate size gaps between food producing giants and smaller ones. This might cause a consolidation in the market: fewer competitors increase the risk of oligopolies, which might increase food prices.
• Larger companies might have more political power. They might be able to influence safety and health standards (example: less stringent regulations, standards and requirements).

• New products. For examples, scientist identified the gene responsible for caffeine in coffee beans; by excluding this gene, decaffeinated coffee beans can be grown naturally.

• Reduction of sicknesses and illnesses, as GMO crops are more nutritious. Vitamins and minerals can be provided to children and to people, where they were inaccessible before (i.e.: the world’s poorest and/or most secluded areas).

• Activists’ increased ability to boycott and influence food market, food retailing, and food prices.
• Unforeseen risks and dangers due to the complexity of nature.

• Allergies may become more intense, and also, new allergy types may develop.

• Developments of new kinds of crops that can be grown at extreme climates, for example, dry or freezing environments (like deserts). For example, scientist developed a type of tomato that grows in salty soil.

• Reduction of world starvation due to increased production.

• Discrepancies in information flow. GMO producers stress the benefits, but are reluctant to talk about risks and dangers.

• As more crops (plants) can be grown and at more places, this decreases global warming through the increase of oxygen in the environment, decreasing the proportion of carbon dioxide. Two British economists note in a study that GM crops have also made significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 10 million tonnes. This is equivalent to removing five million cars from the road every year. In effect this means that people would have to choose between growing GMOs and giving up their vehicles.

Extrinsic concerns we have about planting new seeds on our campus: The government will have to be a part of this process in the following ways: Measuring for Safety, Testing, Regulation, International Policy and Labeling. (This will be time consuming).

6- Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization

Echo (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) was a pleasure to visit. This past week I made the trip out to Fort Myers to learn more about what this organization had to offer. Before going to echo I did a little research to prepare  me for what I was going to experience. I will include a video that I found that summarizes the intent of ECHO and gives some great information.

I did not grow up in SW Florida, so as a result of that, I am not in touch with farming and the land down here. Because of this, I was eager to learn on the 90 minute guide through the farms. What I liked most through the guide was learning about all of the fruit plants. Of course I saw mangos and bananas, but what interested me the most was learning about the moringa. I had never heard about this fruit before and was blow away when I heard that the plant can be eaten and also be used as a water purification! What a great gift to send to other countries!

ECHO's work is definitely saving the lives of many. Their work is relevant to fighting world hunger and is also amazing how the single farm can represent so many different growing simulations. The technology the staff studies allows them to create environments of high humidity, tropics, rain forests and your normal gardening. The staff was extremely intelligent and their hard work showed through the tour.

What interested me the most out of the tour was the discussion I had with the guide about solar panels. At FGCU, we use solar panels as 85% of three of our buildings electricity. At ECHO, solar panels are  used in another way, to dry food for storage and keeping. 

Although I really enjoyed ECHO, I have no interest in volunteering there. They have many educated helpers, and although the cause is amazing, my heart goes out to helping animals and particularly endangered species!

Extra Info I researched on Solar Panel Drying:

	- Up to 50% of the fruits and vegetable rotten in the tropical countrie - During the harvest the high quantity of food can not be sold! - Drying in the direct sun has the risk of damaging the complete harvest by rainfall - By drying the farmer can have more income and for a longer time

Benefits of solar drying:

• Dried foods are tasty, nutritious, the nutritional value and flavor of food is only minimally affected by drying
• Dried foods are high in fiber and carbohydrates and low in fat, making them healthy food choices
• Vitamin A is retained during drying
• Storage space is minimal, easy-to-store
• Transportation costs are reduced; dried Products weigh only about 1/6 of the fresh food product
• The energy input is less than what is needed to freeze or can
• easy-to-prepare; solar food drying is a very simple skill
• protection of the drying products from contamination by animals or insects
• protection of rain
• Protection of pollution by dust etc.
• reduction of drying time (reduces changes through spoilage)
• longer storage of dried products (because of more complete drying)
• good product-quality
• can open new markets and income and is a good start-up technology
• You can have up to 50% more productivity in agriculture

5- Sustainable Farming

Major elements of sustainable farming-


1- Environment: It is key for there to be bio-diversity in the soil. Healthy soild not only helps the plants to continue to grow and stay healthy, it has a strong effect on air and water quality. Organic farmers using the principles of organic farming are then independent from relying on oil based inputs. This allows the farmer to have a one up on others who have a reliance on these types of inputs.

2- Society: The benefit that organic farmers have on society is that they can offer a product that is untouched by pesticides. This helps to keep the food consumers take in "clean food". Today, a major fad is shopping at health food stores. The produce there can be very pricey  With that, growing local produce can be very cost effective to the ones around us. 

3- Economy: I found out that crops that are organic sell for twice the amount than a conventional crop. What does this do? It gives farmers a more stable income. Also, by farming organic, companies do not need to spend "secret money" on cleanup from excess run off. 

I personally love to shop for produce from my local farmers market. Not only are the vegetables fresh, they are clean. I do not have to worry about cleaning off the pesticides and soaking my fruit in vinegar to  remove the wax coating placed on the produce by the grocery stores to look fresh.

I incorporate 2 full servings or vegetables and four servings of fruit in my diet everyday, so cutting down on costs is an absolute necessity. The photos below are from an amazing farmers market in downtown Chicago. Not only does this market sell fruits and vegetables, it sells meat, seeds, and beans.

I moved into the house I reside in now last June. I had this grand idea that I would grow this fantastic garden. I started off by tilling the area that I eventually wanted to use to grow my garden. I then created two large compost piles. I studied the ratio of green items to waste items to brown items. Having a compost pile was very time consuming. With that said... I have a compost pile but still no garden!

4- Endangered Species

If asked what the most pressing environmental issue, I would respond with endangered species. Because I am such an animal lover, this issue touches close to my heart. Recently, many species have struggled to make comebacks, but more are under threat.

Indicator species, any biological species that defines a trait or characteristic of the environment, such as: whales, elephants, monkeys, cats etc. are the species that right now have to be watched very closely. When these species become threatened, it has a direct effect on the ecosystem and can even cause an ecosystem collapse.

If I was given 100,000.000 to help endangered species I would spend it very wisely. I would take 1/3 of the amount and send it to the school systems in the form of a unit for study. The unit would teach animals that are endangered, and ways we can protect them. Specifically, I would mention the American Alligator, Bald Eagle,Grey Bat, Key Deer, Bobcat, Green Sea Turtle and West Indian Manatee. These are animals becoming extinct right around us here in SW Florida. 

I would use 1/3 of the total amount to fund research. I would send the money to the following foundations that are non profit and strive hard to make advances in this field of study: US Fish and Wildlife, Audubon Society, The National Wildlife Federation and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

The last 1/3 of the money would be saved for natural and very unnatural disasters such as the BP oil spill. 

3- The Corkscrew Sanctuary

Corkscrew Sanctuary was a fantastic hidden gem. Located in NW Collier County lives a beautiful treat from nature. I feel very lucky to have been able to visit this sanctuary. As I entered, I did not know what to expect. I knew at the sanctuary, there was a long boardwalk but had no idea it contained so many different ecosystems and that is was two miles long!

The first ecosystem I came across was the Big Cypress Swamp. I thankfully, was there on a quiet day and had access to many guides along the way. These guides were volunteers and super helpful to answer questions. I learned that the swap land consisted of 11,000 acres. Throughout the acreage I saw many Virgin-Bald Cypress trees. At the Corkscrew Sanctuary live some on the countries oldest Virgin-Bald Cypresses, aging from 400 to 700 years old.

The next ecosystem I entered was the Sandy Pines. This area was prolific in Slash Pines. From reading the signage, I found that this area is very prone to fires, but without fires, the Slash Pines would take over the area. They would become intrusive, so it is actually a positive that their are  many fires. 

I continued through and around the 5,000 acre marsh. What impressed me with this ecosystem was that it acts as a water purification preservation. The sanctuary encompasses many ecosystems, and with that, it supports its own existence.

My boyfriend and I were lucky to see a coiled up Corn Snake as well as many baby alligators. When we ended up back at the beginning there was a group of young students standing by the finch exhibit by the audobon society. All the sudden we heard screaming. A red- hawk swooped down and took a finch. The kids were horrified but it was actually really funny.

Before I left I visiting the interesting "living machine . It looked to me like some old oil containers. I learned that this machine is self sustaining and able to organize, repair, and reproduce itself. The machine was designed by John Todd and is able to filter 15,000 gallons of water a day. Super Neat!

2 - FGCU Campus walk

FGCU CAMPUS WALK:

Before starting this course, I did not know the extent of the trails that surround the Florida Gulf Coast Campus. Before walking the trails, I decided to do some research at the FGCU library. While reading about the campus, I learned that over 400 of FGCU's 760 acre campus is land that is being conserved. Driving by the campus, you can also see the solar panels. I researched the panels as well and learned that the solar panels, visible from Ben Hill Griffin, contribute to 85% of 3 of the buildings on campus' electricity,

If we look at the definition of eco-empowerment, yes, the campus walk is consistent with the mission of the university, it is a trail that exhibits the diverse and changing environment of South West Florida. The empowerment comes more from the research of the trail and its surrounding assets. 

I can't say I went into touring this trail with any expectations. I was surprised that the trail was not maintained better. With all of the students at FGCU needing service learning hours, cleaning up this trail would be a great way to meet their expected hours. I also found that entering the trail alone was not a good idea. What should have been a short tour, turned into a few hours of trying to find my way back! I thought that the trail would be outlined better. Being from up north, I am used to hiking, but also used to a clearly marked trail.

(Something to think about!)

1- Expectations

I have many expectations for this course. 
I have been putting this course off so that I had more time to devote to the curriculum by taking the class over the summer. I expect to learn more about the SW Florida surrounding areas as well as the resources we have available on campus. I am excited to visit the sites we are outlined to visit, and look forward to blogging about the sites themselves.

In my own words, sustainability means the ability to continue regardless of the obstacles placed before you. When researched, the word sustainability directly means the capacity to endure. The places I will be visiting this semester will show the success of the ability to sustain throughout the years. 

As a future special education teacher, sustainability is very important. A healthy classroom environment will be able to sustain any left hook's thrown at it. If the classroom is strong it will be much harder to break down the learning environment into one which is unsuccessful. 

We all have behaviors that can be considered unsustainable. For example, if I keep waking up at five am to create blog posts, my energy for the day will be unsustainable. If we have a behavior that is unsustainable like this, it takes an intervention to help to keep sustainability.


unsustainable-
~not able to be maintained at the current rate or level
~upsetting the ecological balance by depleting natural resources

Welcome

Welcome to my Discover Nature SW Florida Blog!

In this blog you will find information pertaining to many amazing sites in the SW FL area. The commentary will be continuous with feedback, photos, and informative sections. I hope you Enjoy!

In co ordinance with: IDS 3920