Journal Entry #5 Debriefing

I can honestly say that I went into this course not truly knowing what to expect out of it. I knew that it would be pertaining to sustainability and have environmental education but I did not know to what extent. Professor Muldoon told us on the first day of the course that he would make this class be one of our top five favorite classes here at FGCU. I did not believe him, I thought to myself that being a History major, this course was a useless amount of credits to me. In all honesty I was wrong. I enjoyed this course greatly and learned a great deal of information from it. I have always considered myself a person who is concerned with the environment. I have always recycled and have tried my best to conserve energy and water. I realized that although I did this myself, I really never educated anyone else on doing it or why they should. I often got discouraged as I saw myself as one person trying, and thought how much of a difference can one person make? This course taught me the importance of educating others about our fragile world. Yes, I said world. We need to know what is happening all over the world, especially the global food crisis and the crisis in Africa. These concerns are our responsibility as a whole.
I am graduating college with a degree in History, a subject that I am educated well in and that I have learned about all my life. This course may not seem to be related to my major, but I realized that it is actually related to all majors and professions. None of us will be able to to what we want to do in the future if we cannot come to terms with what is happening to the natural world. I was astonished to learn about the economic crisis of 2008 and I feel that this information will help me as a History major, as well as to help all of us understand the economic crisis that our country lives in currently.
I found the videos that we viewed in class awakening yet difficult. We became aware of issues that some of us probably did not even know existed. So then becomes the question of how we can help solve these issues. Weather they be overfishing in Africa or carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels. We leave this class with something very powerful and that is awareness, we also leave with hope. I say this all the time to everyone I know, hope is essential because once you have given up hope you have done just that-given up. I am so proud to be a future graduate of a university with a reputation for care of the environment and sustainability.

Journal Entry #4 The Financial Crisis and the Future of our Children

What about the future of our children?

The films that we viewed in class this week were truly an eye opener for me. We are all being affected by this economic recession , yet the average person has no idea how we got here to begin with. It is hard to believe that the start of the fall of our economy took place during the 1980's with the Reagan Administration, and even before that. We have seemed to carry on these bad seeds from one administration to the next. I cannot see how deregulation can possibly be a positive thing, the government basically allowed these companies to do whatever they wanted. They gave them too much freedom and they let things go way too far. I enjoyed watching To Big to Fail and I think this is a movie that every American should watch and can learn from. This gives us a behind the scenes perspective on what happened to our country's financial system and how it ultimately failed us. The documentary that we watched broke it down for us so we could understand how these corporations operated and how they acted illegally. It makes me wonder how Paulson could have been so shocked about the situation when he was involved with these acts during his time as CEO at Goldman Sachs. In my opinion it is hard to blame the general public for the economic recession. It is true that individuals did receive loans that they should not have been approved for. However, these people were basically misled. They thought if they were being approved then they must have the means to make the payments. The teaser rates were not explained properly and many people did not even know that these rates were adjustable or how much they would be going up. It is true that no one expected the housing market to fail, but honestly they should have seen it coming. We have the average person who is able to make his monthly mortgage payments because he does well and owns his own construction business, all of the sudden the recession hits and he losing his business. In turn that family no longer can make their monthly mortgage payment and the family has to foreclose on their home. These are the reasons I feel that we cannot blame this crisis on the American public. Certainly people took advantages of the massive credit options provided to them, but these corporations did not have any regulations in place and just gave out a loan to just about anyone. They invited this to happen. The question now is how to fix it, as it seems the loans are again being approved for low credit scores. I believe we need to have some regulations put in place I am worried about the future of our country and for the future of my son.

Journal Entry #3 Beginnings of Fort Myers

The first part of the History of Fort Myers was quite interesting. I am a History major, so I was very curious to hear of the beginnings of Fort Myers. I was born here in Florida and was raised in Sarasota and Englewood. I now live in Port Charlotte, but I have a close bond with Fort Myers. My son attends a private school off of McGregor and I of course attend Florida Gulf Coast University. I really enjoy the city and all that it has to offer. The first part of the film was quite interesting as it gave the involvement of Fort Myers starting with the Civil War and ultimately ending with World War II. I liked how the film mentioned the different backgrounds of people and their lives. The first school and movie theater were mentioned as well as the beginning of the Boy Scouts and their affect on the city. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were mentioned as well, and this is quite interesting because I loved the Edison and Ford Estates when I was growing up. The film mentioned the bond between the citizens and their churches but they failed to mention any other religions besides Christianity. It would be interesting to know if there were any Synagogues at this time. I have a love for World War II history, and I remember discussing Paige Field and Buckingham Field in a prior history class. It is amazing how the city was transformed during the war.

Boating in Fort Myers

The second part of the film focused on the city of Fort Myers after WWII, this includes segregation in the sixties as well. The segregation issue seemed to me a bit disappointing as it is mentioned that Lee County was one of the last counties to integrate the races.  I think it is a great thing that the city council renovates and preserves the Edison Ford Estates and that people still come to visit and explore the grounds. My son has been to Imaginarium and he loved it, things like this really encourage and help children think about science and invention. Both Edison State College and Florida Gulf Coast University have great meaning to me. I graduated from Edison this past fall and the ceremony was held at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall. I like how the city has put a lot of focus on education for both children and adults; I remember attending a play in elementary school at Barbara B. Mann. The historical society at the previous train station was a wonderful idea and a great way for people to come and learn about the city and its growth. I know that Fort Myers has a lot of meaning to me and I hope that the city continues to grow and preserve its history.

Journal Entry #2 Saving our Coral Reefs and the Asperger's Child

Reading about the ocean's coral reefs was quite awakening. I have known for some time, as I am sure many others have that this underwater world is in danger. Exactly how much danger, was something that I did not know. 2050: The Great Stumpy Reef? brought this issue to my attention and seeing as how it is already 2012, 2050 does not seem to be all that far off. It was quite interesting to learn how much biodiversity is in these reefs when they lack so many nutrients and the author used a great example of the plains of South Africa's Cape Province to explain just how diverse they are. It was a little discouraging to read about Ambon Harbour and it's description of brilliant colors, clear water and beauty in 1857 versus it's description of cloudy smelly water and garbage in the 1990's. It is obvious that the coral reefs are very sensitive and that there are some things, such as climate change that we cannot avoid. However, we can avoid and watch carefully the things that do effect our coral reefs that we can control. These being runoff of land-based agriculture and as the reading mentioned, the CO2 emitted by Australia. It is a good thing that the Australian government is willing to protect the Great Barrier Reef, but it isn't enough as they are doing nothing about their CO2 emissions. This is another issue that the world needs to wake up and see before it is too late and we lose this beautiful and diverse ecosystem that we need as much as the species that thrive in it.
The excerpt from Last Child in the Woods was something that hit very close to home for me. My son is going to be seven years old in August and has recently been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. He is a very bright child, but he suffers from social/emotional issues as well as mood swings and ADHD which all tie in with the Asperger's. I really could not agree more with Louv that children need more outside and "green time". Physical activity is a very important aspect of education in my book and I do not think that schools should cut that time away from Elementary students. They need that outlet and time to be outdoors to help them think clearer and concentrate better. I am a believer in the modern medication however, as my own son is on some medication and would not be able to function in a school setting without it. He is a true outdoor boy and he loves to spend time outside and would prefer to do so rather than inside. He rarely watches television. He attends a private school where he can get more one on one attention and is actually able to spend more time outside. They take the children out in the morning before classes start, midday for recess and again after school while waiting for pickup.  I truly believe that this helps my son concentrate better. Now, do I think that just being outside and having "green time" will cure my son of his disorder? No I do not. He still needs medication, but in combination with the outdoor activities he does much much better. A large part of Judaism is loving and respecting nature and we even have a holiday to celebrate it called Sukkot. Instead of giving a gift we may have a tree planted in Israel. It makes sense why we need nature so much, its where we come from, its where we belong.

Journal Entry #1 Saving our Biodiversity

I could not agree more with the article written by Vandana Shiva. It seems to me that as humans we are so busy looking at the small things around us that we tend to forget the small things. In this case the small things being something that we do not even see, such as the microorganisms  that hold basically everything together. It is just sad to me that our world tends to care more about industry than environment. That a tree can be a home to several species and we thing nothing of it when we cut it down. The comment about saving the tigers vs saving the microbes really made me think. Why do we spend so much time and effort into saving these animals (not to say that this is wrong as they have a right to live and flourish as well) and we put basically no effort into saving the small things? I agree with Shiva, what right to we have as humans to force species into extinction? The answer is none. It is a right that we do not possess. We also do not have the right to exploit the resources of Third World countries for the benefit of our own. Our country does not have the right to get richer as the poor countries continue to get poorer. This article is one that should be read by all. It is an eye opener, we need to realize that as humans we are not the only species on this planet. The soil that we walk on contains many life forms and provides nourishment to many species. Biodiversity is life and is something that we must cherish and preserve.
Reading Healing Earth's Scars was much more promising and provided much needed hope for the future. If there is something that we all need as human beings it is hope because without it we are basically left with nothing. It is amazing to read about a six year old child who made a promise to put trees back in the mountains that were destroyed from his father's mine, and even more amazing to discover that he would in fact succeed. We are given hope for China, a country that is destroying itself, and a country that so many have given up on. If we can hold on to hope then we can hold on to the future and China has a future they are beginning to see. TACARE provides us with hope for the future for the women in Third World countries and has improved the lives on the people in villages, restoring and protecting the forests. These are things that provide us with the hope that we need and the little extra push to convince us that things can and will get better if we are willing to do something about it.
As far as saving endangered species I am an advocate for saving all species. I believe that a beetle that is being threatened to be extinct is just as important as a large mammal that is endangered as well. These creatures have every right to live on this planet and I feel that as human beings we have a right to protect them and keep them safe. A big part of my religion (Judaism) is about protecting all creatures and providing them with the respect that they deserve. We share this planet with them and we do not solely own it. This part of the book was encouraging and I hope that it convinces those who do not understand saving endangered species that it is essential to our planet and our ecosystems.