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.

Week 8 - ECHO Field Trip

The ECHO field trip was one of the better field trips we went on (in my opinion). ECHO is an organization that teaches people from poorer villages how to farm and yield crops efficiently from their land. It helps increase the amount of food available to villages and it teaches them techniques that can be passed on to future generations. When we first got there, we watched a documentary which explained the above information. After this short film was over, we were toured around the area. It was structured similar to a small farm with trees, plants, crops, animals, etc. These will be pictured in the next post.

Week 7 - Nature and Government

During Week 7, we began to discuss the controversy between the economy, governmental structure and their impacts on nature. Of course government/economy and nature can co-exist, but they must be monitored carefully. If nature is sacrificed too much, the economy will expand, but it could lead to devastating impacts in our future. This was a very interesting topic, and it was one that I thought applied to the outside world the most realistically. When it comes to this argument of economic impacts on nature, I feel that for the advancement of humans some nature will have to be sacrificed. However, some of it is completely unnecessary. Many products and knockoffs of other products are just wasted in the economy, not being bought and increasing the waste generated.

Music and Nature

Recently I was listening to a song called Kingdom of Loss by Pain of Salvation which touches on the pointlessness of certain aspects of urban society. It got me thinking about how much we waste as a society. For example, the song quotes "Could someone please just tell me what happened? I mean, first we paid for fast-food that will make us all fat and tired. So then we pay for elevators, so we won't have to climb the 3 stairs up to our apartments. Then we buy freaking stairmaster machines so we can burn away while watching someone make real food on TV. Now if that doesn't make us winners, I don't know what will." Urban society wastes more resources than we know for very pointless reasons. This pointless waste is the cause of many landfills everywhere, which could have been preserved. Although we do recycle also, recycling is pointless since most of it just get trashed anyways due to the negligence of people recycling the wrong goods. It is things like this that make me worry about not only my future, but also the future of generations ahead of me.

Week 5 - Gifts of Nature by Richard Louv

In week 5, we discussed the article "Gifts of Nature" by Richard Louv. In this article Louv expressed his naturalistic views pertaining to how others should view nature as a child views the world: in awe and wonder. Yes, children see the world like this because they are smaller and less-informed of the world, experiencing things for the first time. Realistically, however, not everyone is going to see the same thing the same way as everyone else. What one person views in awe, one person may not care for. This can be related to the saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure". There may be some aspects in nature that I will be in awe over, such as the view off of a mountaintop. But I will probably not stare in wonder over a tree or bush. I find myself much more in awe of a subway transit system or the view off of the Sears Tower.

Week 4 - Sense of Place (continued)

The second "sense of place" I exhibit is a bit more biophobic than the previous one. The second sense of place I exhibit is through my computer. Although this doesn't really to pertain to the stereotypical view "nature" at all, it is a place where I can either isolate myself within the vast information of the internet, listen to music without any disturbance, or interact with other people via messaging or video games. If I have never been to a particular place before, I can observe high definition pictures of that place or even watch videos of other people doing it. Although it is not the first-person approach, in today's society traveling is not always an option. This is the next best alternative in my opinion. Deciding which of my two "sense of places" is the more realistic one is up to other ecologists to determine, but I believe the balance between nature and technology is key to my sense of place.

Week 4 - Sense of Place

In week 4, we had our first class in the actual classroom (not including the first day of class). In this class session we discussed the meaning of the term "sense of place". Sense of place is defined by different ecologists in different ways. The way I see it is that it is a love or a reverence for a particular aspect of nature. This aspect of nature can exist in everything from swamplands of the Everglades, to a particular tree in your backyard, to even a place within an urban setting (such as listening to an mp3 player or using a computer, surprisingly enough). I did much thinking and I came to the conclusion that I have a sense of place in both rural and urban settings.

My first is the environment of the northwestern states (such as Illinois). I am originally from Chicago, Illinois , now presently living in Florida. Although people may not find the experiencing the change of seasons that remarkable, it is not present in Florida. Seeing the leaves fall off of the trees in autumn and snow fall in winter is a feat that one can only see with their own eyes. However, I am not particularly fond of the winters up north. My optimal times of the year for this climate are late spring through early autumn. I had fond memories of this growing up in the suburbs of Chicago and I go back every summer.

Week 3 - Matanzas Pass Preserve Field Trip (Pictures)

Week 3 - Matanzas Pass Preserve Field Trip

For this class session, we went to Matanzas Pass. When we arrived, we went into the Matanzas Pass Historic College, where we learned of the history of Matanzas Pass. The lecture was given by a very kind elderly woman who had lived out there her entire life. She had watched the environment transform rapidly around her over just a few years. The area became a very popular spot for fishing, so its population rapidly increased. After the lecture, we went out and followed a trail which circled around the area. Overall, the path was less remarkable than the previous field trip. The only thing of notable importance (in my opinion) were the mangroves and the dock which overlooked the water. Overall, this was my least favorite of the field trips we went on. Someone who was studying the ecology of Floridian mangroves would have been much more fascinated than I was. I will post the pictures I took in my next post.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Pictures (Wildlife) Continued

The bird pictured in the previous post is a Grey Heron. There were many other birds at the Corkscrew Sanctuary, but their nests were stationed in areas that I could not get pictures of. On the path we walked, there was a list of the observable birds for that day. I saw the heron pictured, and some egret.

The family of tortoises was a very surprising find. The area they were in was very close to the area that the alligator was resting in. The alligator pictured looked to be between 9 and 12 feet long. It was resting on a ledge next to a small pond.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Pictures (Wildlife)

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Pictures (Trees & Plants)

Week 2 - Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Field Trip

In the second week of class, we went to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary to witness wildlife in its natural habitat. When we arrived, a student who was volunteering there explained how the sanctuary preserves the wildlife. She also went into great detail about the many species of birds that nested there. Our class split into two groups: one went with our professor and one went with the student guide. I was in the group with the student guide.

The beginning of the walk looked like the typical Floridian environment i was used to: many palm trees with brush accompanying it. Some of the other plants I saw will be posted later. Later on in the walk, we encountered bird nesting grounds, which included ibises, egrets, and many other types of birds. While observing these birds i was surprised to see a family of tortoises and even an alligator! Overall, it was an interesting trip, and I learned about certain species of plants and birds I had not known of before.

Introduction

Hello everyone!

My name is John Theobald and I am junior at Florida Gulf Coast University pursuing a bachelor's degree in Mathematics. The purpose of my writing this blog is to better understand my place in the environment and obtain a better understanding of the many aspects of nature that many may not acknowledge in their everyday lives. Whether I agree or disagree with the issues debated in the class is for future postings but for now, I will say that I tend to favor science/technology over nature in most circumstances. However, I do believe there is necessity for a balance between the two. I will describe field trips and further class debates in future postings.