Entry #20: Final Impressions 7/16/2011

Knowing these things, my first thoughts about this class were why do I have to take a class that does not have anything to do with my major and that has no interest to me? I went into this class already having my presumptions about it. I took no particular interest in the subject. I thought that 10 weeks of this class would be a little too much when I found out I had to write papers. This class definitely had a bad rep from the beginning, hearing from students and my teammates that it was a waste of time and simply why do we have to take this class. This was a summer class that I thought was going to be hell, taking up a lot of my time and stressing me out, but my have the tables turned. Colloquium turned out not to be such a big deal after all even though each week the work started to get very repetitive and arduous at others. I found the content of the class to be helpful and intriguing. Going into it I don't think I would have recommend this class to anyone, however not only do I recommend this class, I also recommend professor Hoekenga because she took this class and made it work. Professor Hoekenga was a good teacher and made the experience well worth it and the content seem bearable. Overall though it was not bad at all, a lot of work though and my overall impression of being in Colloquium was completely different than I had initially anticipated. I learned a lot, more so than I could have, in my Environmental Science class. I found that our online discussions were more helpful to me, because I got to actually see other student’s ideas and opinions on the topics that we discussed. I much rather have a discussion, than learn from a text book or listen to professors’ lectures, “with the online environment, I interact without having to feel that all eyes are on me” and being a “visual and kinesthetic learner”, I much prefer to go on field trips. Overall, I enjoyed the discussions we had together and I am happy to have such knowledgeable, interesting and reflective classmates to share the experience with.

Entry #19: How Do Humans Contribute to the Greenhouse Effect? 7/14/2011

While the greenhouse effect is an essential environmental prerequisite for life on Earth, there really can be too much of a good thing. The problems begin when human activities distort and accelerate the natural process by creating more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere than are necessary to warm the planet to an ideal temperature.

1. Burning natural gas, coal and oil —including gasoline for automobile engines—raises the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

2. Some farming practices and land-use changes increase the levels of methane and nitrous oxide.

3. Many factories produce long-lasting industrial gases that do not occur naturally, yet contribute significantly to the enhanced greenhouse effect and “global warming” that is currently under way.

4. Deforestation also contributes to global warming. Trees use carbon dioxide and give off oxygen in its place, which helps to create the optimal balance of gases in the atmosphere. As more forests are logged for timber or cut down to make way for farming, however, there are fewer trees to perform this critical function.

a. One of the man-made causes of the Green House effect is deforestation. Deforestation increases the amount of carbon-di-oxide in the atmosphere. Also, due to the disappearance of trees, photosythesis cannot take place. Deforestation causes of the greenhouse effect. Deforestation is rampant today due to the increase in human civilisation. The levels of deforestation have increased by about nine percent in recent times. Also, the burning of wood causes it to decay,therefore releasing more carbon-dioxide into the atmosphere.

5. Population growth is another factor in global warming, because as more people use fossil fuels for heat, transportation and manufacturing the level of greenhouse gases continues to increase. As more farming occurs to feed millions of new people, more greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere.

a. With the increase in population, the needs and wants of the people increase. Therefore, this increases the manufacturing processes as well as the industry processes. This results in the increase of the release of industrial gases which catalyse the green house effect. The increase in population also results in the increase of agricultural processes. Most man-made machines, like the automobile also contribute to the green house effect.

b. Another man-made causes of the increase in the Green house effect due to the emission of such gases are any all electrical appliances. Even the humble refrigerator in the house emits gases which contribute to the Greenhouse effect. These gases are known as Chloroflourocarbons (CFCs) and are used in refrigerators, aerosol cans, some foaming agents in the packaging industry, fire extinguisher chemicals and cleaners used in the electronic industry. Some processes of the cement manufacturing industries also act as a cause towards the Greenhouse effect.

Entry #18: Colloquium has opened my eyes 7/12/2011

The Colloquium class really helped me realize how I am affecting the environment in my everyday life. I have been able to take a step back and think about my impact and how I need to change how I do certain things in my personal, academic, and future career. Before starting this class, I never considered the amount of energy I used in day to day activities or how much paper or other things (such as water) that I waste on a daily basis. As the class begun, I begin to look at nature a little differently; the fieldtrips were great because it allowed me to see how beautiful and precious nature is and that I have to take an active role to save it. It has been a long time since I really stop to look at nature and the habitats of plants and animals (I have not thought about this since Girl Scouts). Since I took the class online, I was in Georgia for most of the class where my mother now lives. She and I or my sister and I went on these fieldtrips and enjoyed nature. My family already recycles and does a lot of things to conserve energy. My mother is conscience of these things but she admits that she has only recently become more conscience of it due to the environmental impact; in the past she was more focused on it as a way to save money on bills. I am now shutting off my lights more, as well as unplugging electric outlets when they are not in use. I conserve water a lot more at home, especially when I wash the dishes and shower. I think about how much water I am actually wasting. I let it air-dry a lot more often instead of taking an hour to blow-dry my hair. In class, when I take notes, I used to always use only one side of the lined paper; now I use both sides or take notes using my computer. I also take online classes because I feel that taking them can help with the environment since students do not have to drive to class daily or take the shutter.

Entry #17: Conservation 20/20 7/11/2011

Looking over the website, I got a good sense of what 'Conservation 20/20' really means and stands for. It was started by a group of people that were worried that time was running out, in Lee County, to preserve our land, and they decided to make a big deal about it, which turned into a whole program. The main objectives of this plan is to protect and preserve natural wildlife habitat, as well as to protect and preserve water quality and supply. Two other main objectives include protecting developed lands from flooding, and providing resource-based recreation. This was my only opportunity seeing a Preserve through this program, but I would absolutely support using tax dollars for land preservation, given how important it is to preserve the land. I am currently not aware of other programs, but I do think that this act is a huge help, and they deserve all the support they can get.

Entry #16: Saving our Forest 7/08/2011

I read an article, "Saving forests one of the most efficient climate remedies: WWF Sweden," dated 2 years ago about how saving trees is better for the environment than carbon capturing and storage techniques. I find this article interesting because countries like Sweden are being persuaded by money in order to keep thier forests.

In the article there's an organization called REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Desegregation) that wants Sweden to keep its forests intact. REDD turned out to be fascinating because they want to encourage most countries to keep the trees, but they also want to make it worth the country's time, so that means money and more money! I think its all very interesting and complicated. REDD cant buy these forests, at least they probably can not pay Sweden what they are worth in development costs, so there needs to be a big sacrifice on the part of Sweden. I think keeping tress around is the best solution to carbon problems, and they say the trees soak up five times more carbon than the carbon capturing and storing process does. Even though trees are great, they are worth a lot of money, in other words their priceless. The trees themselves are worth quite a bit as lumber or furniture then the land that is under those trees can be built on by businesses, or used for farmland, or just about anything else. So there is a lot of money to be made in destroying forests, and almost none to be made in preserving them. I think that REDD is going to have their work cut out for them, and they are going to need a lot of money to try and convince some of these countries to keep their forests around. I think its a noble idea but I also think it sucks that thats what it have to come down to. I think some countries will get on board just because they care about the environment and they want to see this program succeed, but some countries will only get on board if there is money to be gained. As they say "Money make the world go round" and I'm a firm believer of that because that's all this world care about.

Entry #15: What I use Today 7/05/2011

Today I have used my:


Computer, to write my journals up

A Plastic Cup, it came in a plastic bage

My Clothes, came on hangers

TV, Came in nothing

Publix wings, came in card broad box

Sweet tea, came in a bottle, 1 gallon

Sweet rolls, came in a plastic box

Soap, Carees, came in a plastic tube

Paper plate, came in plastic paper package

Water (4), came in bottle


This is a list of things I have used since I got up (1pm-6pm) a 6 hour span. It shows the waste that this stuff have produced. I think recycling would help with the bottles, and I also recylced the plastiv bages, etc. Just using stuff again is good because then you don't create more waste.

Entry #14: Earth Carter 7/03/2011

After reading the Earth Charter, I found that although the idea behind it was positive, it was not as realistic as they thought it should've been. The idea behind the Earth Charter was that people will get along, there will be no descrimination, ect. Although certain issues such as these would make it a lot easier to live, there is no way that we can accomplish all of the issues it suggested, due to different people's viewes, and beliefs. It is quite unfourtunate, because if the Earth Charter could accomplish all of what it wanted to, our world would be near perfect. And there's no such thing as perfect. There would be no littering, everyone would care about the Earth, and that could eliminated some of the major problems that the world faces each day. I relate the ideas to a class discussion we had, on religion. Lets take religion as an example, a discussion on religion could go on for hours. Religion brings up a lot of debate, and usually people fall on one side of the fence or the other. People can say what they feel and others may feel the complete opposite. However, nobodys right or wrong, everyone just has different beliefs and opinions based on personal experience, and the way they were raised. Relating an issue such as religion, to the Earth Charter, I feel that there could be a few different ideas, both of which may be right, depending on who you ask, and that will lead to failure, since the Earth Charter gives only one main objective. I feel that although for communities as a whole, it may not be realistic, I think on an individual level, it would be a great concept for people to go off of, so that they can take each step into their own ideas, and personally become better people, in their own right, and without someone else having the ability to tell them that it is wrong, or that the Earth Charter meant something else. I think it is an excellent concept, but not one that we can totally rely on to better our World as a community.

Entry #13: FGCU 7/03/2011

I think our school does a good job of living up to the whole sustainability thing a.k.a "green" theme. I think building the school in the middle of a panther sanctuary, and destroying the swamp area around the school was an interesting idea though. The air conditioning system that uses ice is pretty efficient, and the solar panels that are up and running has been really good for energy, but at the cost of more trees and land was a bit much not mentioning the hug financial cost. I think the shuttles are a great idea to keep people from driving that live on campus even though we still have some people that still drive to campus but the fuel use is still cut down. I think the school is doing what it can with recycling on campus and at the dorms so that every thing does not get tossed in the dumpster. I think the school has a high goal with the sustainability aspect, but they are still a school. The school is much more greener then other schools, not just because it has less people than most schools but because they are actually implementing rules and policies that students need to follow. Their not quite totally there but I think that we may get there eventually. Because right now it seems like every good and sustainable thing we try to do is countered by something that isn't good for the environment with them trying their best to keep their promise that they made at the beginning of all this. That is just my personal opinion, people my have other opinions and concerns about the situation but for now this is what I think about what FGCU is trying to accomplish.

Entry #12: The Urban Experince "Fort Myers" 7/02/2011

For my last field trip I went to the historic part of downtown Fort Myers because I had to come back down for summer B term. It was interesting even through it was raining. I still got to see all sorts of things down there. I liked the statues; there were statues of Edison, Ford, Firestone, and Civil War guys. There was also this cool mural, and it looked like it was made up of tiles or something like that. It depicted the history of the Fort Myers area, it had civil war soldiers, a train, and a bunch of other historic figures and things. I saw the old post office are, now there are all sorts of restaurants and things in there, not just a post office anymore, and there is a hotel near it. The theatre is still in use, and people still put on performances and things, so that's pretty cool to see something like that still in use. We saw the courthouse too. I actually been in the court house a when I was in high school (2008) my senior year when we was runner ups in State's for basketball two years in a row. We all thought we was goning to be receiving a key to the city because we was the only team that did such a thing and boy was we wrong. But besides that disapointment, I thought it was pretty crazy that its made of some type of rock that's endangered and cant be used anymore. I think the rock must be made of some kind of coral or something, because that's what it looked like, and that's the one of the only explanations I can think of and plus it's close to the water so why not. Overall it was a good trip, we got to see historic buildings and statues, and I got to walk around downtown.

As far as my visit around Downtown Fort Myers, I had never experienced a day-time historical walk around this area nor any other area. I was pleaseantly surprised by all the neat landmarks, such as the two huge trees that are held up by a wire, to ensure that they do not fall down. Also, the buildings are so old and beautiful, even I, who has no interest in History, wanted to learn more about them. All of the small and unique little coffee houses, and restaurants made me want to come back and try out one day and I don't even drink coffee but I would like to try some of the restaurants and hopefully I enjoy them. Also I heard the night life is crazy and I'm looking forward to that one day. Over all the whole experince was something I did not expect and it's something I would do again and again!