I really enjoyed University Colloquium. A lot of my friends complain that they had to take Colloquium. I’m not just saying this, but I really do think that Professor Davis make the class more interesting. Instead of just telling us what to learn and drilling stuff into our head, Professor Davis gave us the microphone and let us talk together as a group. I did not participate in these group discussions as much as I would have liked to because I am a shy person in front of large groups at times. But, I found myself talking to my peers and my parents about topics that we had discussed in class. I really enjoyed listening to what most people in class had to say on the topics. The activities were very interesting and made me think. Ecological Footprint alone helped me be more environmentally significant.
I know a lot of students would disagree with this, but I do think that if students were called on to talk about the topic, it would help everyone get involved. It seemed like the same people were talking. There were times when I had something to say, but I didn’t get a chance to because it seemed like the same people were always talking on the topics. I am not trying to say bad things about them, I give them great respect for participating, but sometimes I would like to hear the opinions of the people that kept quiet. I think these people might hate getting called on at first, but in the long run in the class, I believe they will be glad they got called on.
One other thing that I could suggest for Colloquium would be to get involved more on the field trips. I would have liked to help out at Corkscrew Swamp more instead of walking around and learning. I think that if we learned before the field trip, and then went and participated, students would get a lot more out of the experience. Besides this and the calling on students for class discussions, I really think this class is great. The way Professor Davis conducted class and gave assignments was very fair and made it enjoyable for me to learn. The David Orr articles were good as well. I think Professor Davis should definitely keep the readings and maybe discuss them a little more in class. Like go over his main ideas and quotes. This was a great class and the way class was set up made it fun and enjoyable for me to learn about the environment and participate on the field trips.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Journal #14 - Sense of place interview
Interviewing my Grandmother was very interesting and funny. She is ninety-four years old so I knew whatever she said was going to be a lot different than what is going on today. She grew up in Scranton, PA. While discussing University Colloquium with my Nana, (that is what we call her) she was amazed that there was a class on the environment. She said that one of the main things she has noticed all these years was that there keeps getting less and less trees. She said that in Scranton, no one could go outside without seeing many different types of trees. She told me stories about how her and her brothers and sisters would climb trees all day. Not just as a child, but also in college. This amazed me because I only used to climb trees when I was a child. She told me that she couldn’t imagine growing up in a place like Fort Lauderdale (where my parents live now) because there is very little trees. She explained to me that the beach was not anything compared to the real environment that she grew up in.
My Nana even told me that the beach was more beautiful when it was not all “spiffed up” by humans. All of the fun she told me she had when she was a child really got me thinking. I realized that there weren’t many environmental classes where she was from because people then were in the environment experiencing it every day. I feel like humans in today’s world need to go on trips and take classes to have experience with the environment that people had for free during my Nana’s era. She told me that Colloquium sounded like a really fun class. I told her about our class discussions and the field trips that we have been on. Even though she got to experience the environment so much, i could tell she wished she was out there with me on these trips. She kept asking me questions about the course and was very interested while i was responding with answers. I wish there were classes she could take because i could tell she definitely misses the environement. The world is building more roads and chopping down more trees every day. We as people need to do something about it. And if not, I’d hate to see how little environmental experience my grand children get.
My Nana even told me that the beach was more beautiful when it was not all “spiffed up” by humans. All of the fun she told me she had when she was a child really got me thinking. I realized that there weren’t many environmental classes where she was from because people then were in the environment experiencing it every day. I feel like humans in today’s world need to go on trips and take classes to have experience with the environment that people had for free during my Nana’s era. She told me that Colloquium sounded like a really fun class. I told her about our class discussions and the field trips that we have been on. Even though she got to experience the environment so much, i could tell she wished she was out there with me on these trips. She kept asking me questions about the course and was very interested while i was responding with answers. I wish there were classes she could take because i could tell she definitely misses the environement. The world is building more roads and chopping down more trees every day. We as people need to do something about it. And if not, I’d hate to see how little environmental experience my grand children get.
Journal #13 - Canoe Trip at FGCU Marine Lab
This Canoe trip was one of my favorite field trips in University Colloquium. I used to canoe all the time as a kid and it really brought back memories. The water was so nice and smooth and it was really relaxing being out there canoeing with my classmates. I used to canoe on a lake, and to my surprise it was much different canoeing in these canals. It was much harder to steer and the wind blew our canoe a little at times. The mangroves were all over the sides of the canal. This was way different from the lake I used to canoe on. We would stop next to these mangroves and hang on to wait for our other classmates. But we needed to make sure not to hang on too hard so that we would not harm the mangroves. While on this trip down the canals, I thought of how peaceful it would be to be in my own canoe paddling down the canal with no one around me but nature. This sounded so peaceful to me. The few boats that went by did so in such a polite and peaceful manner. I envisioned boats traveling by fast and not caring for the animals in these canals and others around them. I was wrong. Seeing this really made me see how much most people have respect for the canals.
When we stopped at a sand grove, I got out of the water. I could see fish swimming near my legs and I got a close up look at the mangroves as well. They were so strong. At this point I could see how they are used as a shelter for animals. I do not remember seeing any trash on this trip. This surprises me because I did a Cape Coral Canal clean up and found pounds of trash. It seemed like this was a much more respected area and I liked that. All of these areas should be respected because we as humans are the visitors. That is why I enjoyed cleaning up canals in Cape Coral so much. I felt like my species had disrespected the species that live in these canals and cleaning up after them made it look and feel so much nicer. These canals are very real and peaceful and I hope they stay that way.
When we stopped at a sand grove, I got out of the water. I could see fish swimming near my legs and I got a close up look at the mangroves as well. They were so strong. At this point I could see how they are used as a shelter for animals. I do not remember seeing any trash on this trip. This surprises me because I did a Cape Coral Canal clean up and found pounds of trash. It seemed like this was a much more respected area and I liked that. All of these areas should be respected because we as humans are the visitors. That is why I enjoyed cleaning up canals in Cape Coral so much. I felt like my species had disrespected the species that live in these canals and cleaning up after them made it look and feel so much nicer. These canals are very real and peaceful and I hope they stay that way.
Journal #12 - Urban Fort Myers and Southwest Florida Historical Museum
The Southwest Florida Historical Museum was a very unique museum in my opinion. It had a lot of great art work to display what things were really like in each category. The Egyptian period was my favorite. They had a fake tomb of King Tut which I thought was very interesting. The different instruments that were used in the past were outstanding. I always get excited about things like this. I got excited like this in ECHO as well when they showed us all of the things they built to survive. I love the saying “catch a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime”. This is really what I thought of when being in this museum because there were so many interesting inventions. The ways the rooms were separated were very nice because it was like stepping into a different time zone going from room to room.
Urban Fort Myers was different than I thought it would be. I have only been downtown Fort Myers once and it was at night so pretty much everything was new to me. I pictured it to be more populated than it was. The huge tree that was in the city was something that I definitely did not expect to see. There were a lot of interesting stores and nice places to eat. Like I said, there were not as many people as I was expecting. It seemed like a small town rather than a city area. The courthouses and buildings looked old yet presentable. We stopped and listened to a man that had lived there his whole life and he told us some interesting things about downtown Fort Myers that were not there today. The people there seemed nice and it looked as if most of them kept to themselves. I would like to go on a day when there are more people. But I think it was good that there weren’t a lot of people so that we had a chance to explore as a group. I would make Fort Myers more lively and welcoming so that people would want to go there and become involved with the community. I would do this because it seemed very boring and low key. People like to be in lively places and have fun while being involved with their community.
Journal #11 Energy Usage
a)
12:00 am – 9:00 am
· Cell phone on with alarm clock set
· Air conditioning on
9:00 am – 10:20am
· Alarm goes off
· Turn ceiling light on. Off when I leave the room
· Use bathroom (flushing toilet and turning bathroom light on)
· Brush my teeth – use water for a total of 15 seconds
· Take a shower for only 5 minutes and use hot water
· Turn kitchen light on. Off when I leave the kitchen
· Turn on living room light and television to watch a show while I eat my cereal
· Turn my room light back on to get dressed then turn it off and leave for school
10:20 am – 10:45 am
· Drive to school using gas and electricity for my car lights inside and brake lights outside
10:45 am – 11:00 am
· Walk to class using no electricity beside my phone in my pocket
11:00 am – 12:15 am
· Sit in class using the lights in the classroom that were on when I got there
12:15 am – 2:00 pm
· Make a phone call after class
· Walk to Subway to eat. All the lights on in Subway. Electricity is used to heat my sub.
· Texting while eating (using my phones electricity)
· Walk to the library and use a computer.
· Lights all throughout the library
· I print four pages I need for class using the computers energy and the printers energy.
· Walk to class while making a phone call
2:00 pm – 4:25 pm
· In class using the electricity of the lights on the ceiling
· Get out of class early
4:25 pm – 6:10pm
· After class I walk to the water fountain and get a drink for about 5 seconds
· Then I text my roommate on the way to my car
· Drive to the gym using gas and lights on my car
· I go inside the gym with my ipod on using the ipods electricity
· All of the lights are one inside the gym and I use the bathroom once and consume about two twelve ounce bottles of water from the water fountain
6:10 pm – 8:05pm
· Drive home using gas and electricity in my car
· Get home and turn on my bedroom light and ceiling fan
· I take a 7 minute show with warm water
· I go on the computer to check over my homework and e-mail from 7:25pm to 8:05pm
8:05pm – 9:00pm
· Cook a burger on my George Forman grill
· I use energy by opening and closing the refrigerator
· As well as use the kitchen light
· I watch television while I eat until 9:00pm
9:00pm – 10:00pm
· I usually don’t watch much television, but a good show comes on so I watch it until it is over at 10:00pm
· This whole time using the energy of the television and the ceiling light
10:00pm – 10:05pm
· I go in my room and turn on the light
· I then check my e-mail for 5 minutes
10:05pm – 10:15pm
· I brush my teeth using the water for about 15 seconds again
· I also use the bathroom and flush the toilet
10:15pm – 11:25pm
· I go on the computer and surf the web while talking to friends online and doing online homework until 11:25 pm
· My light and ceiling fan are on
11:25pm - 11:59pm
· I turn off my light and fan (AC still on)
· I set my alarm clock on my phone and my phone stays on all night
b) Meter reading not available.
c) Florida Power and Light
d)
· 32.7 miles on this day
· One person drove with me to the gym after class
e)
· Gas mileage – about 18 miles per gallon
· 11,381 miles driven a year (estimated)
g)
I was surprised when I saw how much energy I used in one day. Ever since we have talked about our ecological footprint, I have been cutting down significantly on resources that I do not need. I have been eating what I order and not ordering too much to eat. I have also been being careful with how much water I use. Taking shorter showers and never leaving the faucet running. I found that after doing this for a few days, it becomes a habit and very easy to do. My main concern was driving. I do not usually drive with people during the week because I am so busy with school and work. I normally drive alone and I do not pay attention to how much I drive. I could not find the carbon output on the website, but I am sure I put out too much carbon into out atmosphere. I did not realize I drove so much. I am going to try and drive less so that I do not harm the environment as much. I feel like I keep making little changes that are building into a big change in my life and it feels really good. It also feels good because I can tell my friends are starting to do the same things I do because they hang around me so much. So I am not just helping the environment myself, I am also getting other people involved.
12:00 am – 9:00 am
· Cell phone on with alarm clock set
· Air conditioning on
9:00 am – 10:20am
· Alarm goes off
· Turn ceiling light on. Off when I leave the room
· Use bathroom (flushing toilet and turning bathroom light on)
· Brush my teeth – use water for a total of 15 seconds
· Take a shower for only 5 minutes and use hot water
· Turn kitchen light on. Off when I leave the kitchen
· Turn on living room light and television to watch a show while I eat my cereal
· Turn my room light back on to get dressed then turn it off and leave for school
10:20 am – 10:45 am
· Drive to school using gas and electricity for my car lights inside and brake lights outside
10:45 am – 11:00 am
· Walk to class using no electricity beside my phone in my pocket
11:00 am – 12:15 am
· Sit in class using the lights in the classroom that were on when I got there
12:15 am – 2:00 pm
· Make a phone call after class
· Walk to Subway to eat. All the lights on in Subway. Electricity is used to heat my sub.
· Texting while eating (using my phones electricity)
· Walk to the library and use a computer.
· Lights all throughout the library
· I print four pages I need for class using the computers energy and the printers energy.
· Walk to class while making a phone call
2:00 pm – 4:25 pm
· In class using the electricity of the lights on the ceiling
· Get out of class early
4:25 pm – 6:10pm
· After class I walk to the water fountain and get a drink for about 5 seconds
· Then I text my roommate on the way to my car
· Drive to the gym using gas and lights on my car
· I go inside the gym with my ipod on using the ipods electricity
· All of the lights are one inside the gym and I use the bathroom once and consume about two twelve ounce bottles of water from the water fountain
6:10 pm – 8:05pm
· Drive home using gas and electricity in my car
· Get home and turn on my bedroom light and ceiling fan
· I take a 7 minute show with warm water
· I go on the computer to check over my homework and e-mail from 7:25pm to 8:05pm
8:05pm – 9:00pm
· Cook a burger on my George Forman grill
· I use energy by opening and closing the refrigerator
· As well as use the kitchen light
· I watch television while I eat until 9:00pm
9:00pm – 10:00pm
· I usually don’t watch much television, but a good show comes on so I watch it until it is over at 10:00pm
· This whole time using the energy of the television and the ceiling light
10:00pm – 10:05pm
· I go in my room and turn on the light
· I then check my e-mail for 5 minutes
10:05pm – 10:15pm
· I brush my teeth using the water for about 15 seconds again
· I also use the bathroom and flush the toilet
10:15pm – 11:25pm
· I go on the computer and surf the web while talking to friends online and doing online homework until 11:25 pm
· My light and ceiling fan are on
11:25pm - 11:59pm
· I turn off my light and fan (AC still on)
· I set my alarm clock on my phone and my phone stays on all night
b) Meter reading not available.
c) Florida Power and Light
d)
· 32.7 miles on this day
· One person drove with me to the gym after class
e)
· Gas mileage – about 18 miles per gallon
· 11,381 miles driven a year (estimated)
g)
I was surprised when I saw how much energy I used in one day. Ever since we have talked about our ecological footprint, I have been cutting down significantly on resources that I do not need. I have been eating what I order and not ordering too much to eat. I have also been being careful with how much water I use. Taking shorter showers and never leaving the faucet running. I found that after doing this for a few days, it becomes a habit and very easy to do. My main concern was driving. I do not usually drive with people during the week because I am so busy with school and work. I normally drive alone and I do not pay attention to how much I drive. I could not find the carbon output on the website, but I am sure I put out too much carbon into out atmosphere. I did not realize I drove so much. I am going to try and drive less so that I do not harm the environment as much. I feel like I keep making little changes that are building into a big change in my life and it feels really good. It also feels good because I can tell my friends are starting to do the same things I do because they hang around me so much. So I am not just helping the environment myself, I am also getting other people involved.
Journal #10 Corkscrew Swamp
During this field trip we did a lot of walking through the wilderness. Half of the group went with an instructor and the other half went with Professor Davis. I was with the half that went with Professor Davis. She pointed out some very interesting things along the way while walking through corkscrew swamp.
There were wide fields at one point while we were walking on the board walk. The path was like a big circle throughout the swamp and could be starte at either end. This particular field trip was not one of my favorites. I love nature, but i like to get out there and partisipate in things instead of just walk around and look at it. I feel like i would have felt a lot better about this field trip if we actually got dirty ourselves and did some work. I know from experience that makes me feel important to the environment.
We saw some interesting spots along the way including a spot for birds. We came up to this spot on the trail and there were people taking pictures of the birds. Everyone was very quiet. I liked how all the people (even people not in our class) were respecting nature and the birds by not disturbing them. This was very peaceful to me. There were sections in the board walk that were cut off so that animals could cut through if they need to. I had never seen this before on any other trail and thought it was very thoughtful. I learned a lot on this field trip, but i feel like i could have learned it even better if i was out there helping out. I'm not sure if we are allowed to be more hands on in these field trips, but if we are, i think this one would be a great one to get dirty and work.
There were wide fields at one point while we were walking on the board walk. The path was like a big circle throughout the swamp and could be starte at either end. This particular field trip was not one of my favorites. I love nature, but i like to get out there and partisipate in things instead of just walk around and look at it. I feel like i would have felt a lot better about this field trip if we actually got dirty ourselves and did some work. I know from experience that makes me feel important to the environment.
We saw some interesting spots along the way including a spot for birds. We came up to this spot on the trail and there were people taking pictures of the birds. Everyone was very quiet. I liked how all the people (even people not in our class) were respecting nature and the birds by not disturbing them. This was very peaceful to me. There were sections in the board walk that were cut off so that animals could cut through if they need to. I had never seen this before on any other trail and thought it was very thoughtful. I learned a lot on this field trip, but i feel like i could have learned it even better if i was out there helping out. I'm not sure if we are allowed to be more hands on in these field trips, but if we are, i think this one would be a great one to get dirty and work.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Journal #9 - Ecological Footprint
My ecological footprint was 8.3.
This means that if everyone lived like me there would have to be more than 8 planets. I have done the ecological footprint before and my score was higher, so I am happy about that. But, my score was still way too high and I would like to improve a lot more next time I take the ecological footprint.
A big thing that I need to change is how i conserve energy. It seems like after taking my last ecological footprint I conserved energy by turning off lights more for about a few weeks, and then I stopped. I need to really try and conserve energy more and do it every day, not just for the next few weeks. I am getting a lot better at recycling, but my roommates do not recycle at all. something I could to to change this would be putting boxes in my house that are marked for recycling and encourage my roommates to recycle. I do understand my ecological footprint is bad, and I am trying to make it better. I can't make it perfect, but I can improve it and encourage other people to improve theirs. And by doing this, I believe it will help the world and if I reduce other's ecological footprint, it will be like making mine even better.
This means that if everyone lived like me there would have to be more than 8 planets. I have done the ecological footprint before and my score was higher, so I am happy about that. But, my score was still way too high and I would like to improve a lot more next time I take the ecological footprint.
A big thing that I need to change is how i conserve energy. It seems like after taking my last ecological footprint I conserved energy by turning off lights more for about a few weeks, and then I stopped. I need to really try and conserve energy more and do it every day, not just for the next few weeks. I am getting a lot better at recycling, but my roommates do not recycle at all. something I could to to change this would be putting boxes in my house that are marked for recycling and encourage my roommates to recycle. I do understand my ecological footprint is bad, and I am trying to make it better. I can't make it perfect, but I can improve it and encourage other people to improve theirs. And by doing this, I believe it will help the world and if I reduce other's ecological footprint, it will be like making mine even better.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
