Overall Feeling Of The Class

Overall, Honors Colloquium was a well taught class. I would only recommend it to those with an open mind, eager to learn. Those with closed-minded viewpoints about nature will be furious with the class and will not have a good time. This class is not going to get me running around outside 24/7 preaching about saving the environment, but the things I learned broadened my horizons of the issues going on in today's world. It makes me worry for my future, as there is much more trouble than just our current economy.

During the last class, we also debated over the rigidness of the current school system and the pros/cons of it. It was very interesting to point out how schools are moving further from pushing creativity, but rather extremely keen to pushing sameness (almost Communistic if you will). It makes me worry what kind of schooling system my future kids may have to go through at one point. Now that schools aren't even realizing the importance of recess scares me, which was a blessing when i was in elementary school. It truly is disappointing.

Downtown Fort Myers Field Trip

The field trip to downtown Fort Myers was our final field trip of the year. It was supposed to give us an outlook of an urban setting. Seeing as almost everyone in college resides in an urban environment, it was an extremely pointless field trip. Personally, I just went to the local bar to eat lunch since I hadn't eaten earlier that day. The bar I went to was very clean and technologically up to date (the televisions and furniture looked brand new). On my way there though I did point out how so many of the buildings looked so new compared to the looks of an older city, such as Boston or Chicago. The town had sort of a rustic, yet new atmosphere to it, making it easy to feel the best of both worlds, so to speak. The setting was nothing new to me, however. If it had been my first time to an urban setting such as this, I would have been in much more wonder and awe. However, this was not the case. Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera for this trip, so I have no picture to post.

Burning the Future: Coal in America

During the course, we watched a documentary called Burning the Future: Coal in America. This documentary focused on the issue of mountain-top removal in West Virginia and the citizens impacted by it. Mountain-top removal is a efficient replacement to coal mining due to less workers required, cheaper costs, and quicker execution. However, the results of the coal extraction pollute the environment around it, making it unsafe for citizens to inhabit the area. These issues were ignored since government passed clearance on the procedure. This is because the economic impact of coal extraction was deemed greater than the environmental impacts. I feel sorry for the people that had live through these horrid conditions, but the situation was out of their control. They tried immensely to persuade others, but nobody else cared because they were too content with their own lives and receiving the benefits of the coal. As unfortunate as the situation was for the West Virginians, I feel the government could/should have stepped in to compensate these people for their losses. They would still have to move, but they could start anew elsewhere for generations ahead of them. Its tough, but its a cycle of life that has been going on for centuries. Even before this, we moved the Indians off of the land that they had rightfully deemed theirs.

Week 10 - Economic Malthusianism

In week 10, we discussed the concept of Economic Malthusianism, where food growth is arithmetic, while population growth is exponential. If population growth is not kept in check, it brings about problems globally. China instilled a principle to limit their population growth, although their population and growth are both already massive compared to the rest of the world. Population growth has really only been a problem within the last few centuries. Population began to skyrocket after the Industrial Revolution because of innovations in technology. This goes back to the technology vs. nature argument. If technology expands, then human lifespan will increase, leading to increased rates of overpopulation. If this happens, more land will be destroyed to support these people as more homes and businesses will emerge. Although it is an issue it is certainly not the only issue affecting nature globally.

Week 8 - ECHO Field Trip (Pictures 3)

Some additional pictures taken on the trip. There were more animals here other than the goat shown here, but I regrettably did not get any photos of them. These animals are used in farming villages to supply food and assist man in farming (such as manual labor).

Week 8 - ECHO Field Trip (Pictures 2)

 The guide then went on to explain the importance of simple machines in a farming community. These lessen the workload on each villager, allowing increased efficiency at particular tasks. This allows more people to be available for other tasks with more energy. This also allowed the proper cooking of certain foods and medicines, increasing life longevity and healthiness.

Week 8 - ECHO Field Trip (Pictures)

At the beginning of the tour, our guide explained the importance of the proper techniques of planting seeds. The proper techniques for planting seeds allow the maximum yield of crops. Teaching these techniques to poorer villages allow them to not only be fed, but also properly preserve nature.