Blog #13: Estero Island Cottage & Matanzas Pass

Upon entering the Estero Island Cottage, I was amazed to see the rich history of SW Florida. The vivid pictures and historical relics helped me to visualize what I have read during the developmental stages of the early 1900s. It was a great introduction to the area before heading out into the Matanzas Pass walkway. Matanzas Pass was lush with a variety of tropical flora. It was very interesting to see that certain plants grew closer to the intercostal due to the salt water. Crossing through some parts of the pass, you could look to the left and see a variety of salt water flora, and to the right would be many different fresh water type planes. I also noticed mini crabs scurrying into their burrows as my footsteps hit the boardwalk. I still enjoyed the scenery despite the fact that there weren't many wildlife such as alligators, birds, and such like the other field trips I participated in. When I rounded the Calusa Loop, I was bombarded by mosquitoes since it was early in the morning during my visit. By coincidence I had just finished reading the chapter in the Land Remembered when the mosquitoes hatched and attacked the cattle drive. Matanzas Pass had been a relaxing walk before this, and I was happy to have experienced such a nice place. Since the time that of my childhood to the years of young adulthood I am at now, I noticed that my hometown has been experiencing somewhat of an overpopulation problem. Each year I go back there seems to be more traffic when I get off my exit into Pembroke Pines, Florida. There definitely is still a sense of community, but the overly saturated city may cause some tension between too many people. Traffic problems, over populated schools and marketplaces would cause these people to become restless overtime.

This has me thinking that if a developer offered me 300% of the market value of my childhood home to develop into condos, I would most likely take it. The need of more living places for people would outweigh any selfish means to supporting my own childhood memories. If I had to choose between selling my home for condos or to the government under the 20/20 program for 80% of market value, I would have to go for the condos due to the blatant overpopulation problem in my community. I am a firm believer for "building up" instead of splaying many living communities throughout vast amounts of acres. If there wasn't any overpopulation problem going on in my community, then I would give it up for 80% market value for conservation. My community is already a developed suburb filled with community homes, building condos instead of the single family homes seems to be the best route to take in my understanding.

Sustainable Consumerism

What is “sustainable consumerism”? Are globalization and capitalism positive or negative drivers in this phenomenon? What is greenwashing? Would you be willing to pay a premium for foods labeled “organic”, “local”, or “fair-trade”? Do you prefer to frequent mom and pop stores in downtown Ft. Myers or patronize chain stores at the Gulf Coast Town Center? What are the ramifications of your behaviors either way? Think holistically.

Sustainable consumerism is the purchasing of sustainable goods that are manufactured with the principles of environmental sustainability. I feel that globalization and capitalism are negative drivers in furthering sustainable consumerism in society. A focus on a local marketplace will help fuel the local economy, which in turn has many sustainable advantages such as: less packaging required for transportation, products do not have to travel long distances which results in less carbon emissions, and family-run farms who tend to be good stewards to their lands preservation. I already purchase organic, fair-trade foods when they have the alternative. These foods are fresh at the market, and seem to have a better quality of taste to them. Purchasing from "mom and pop" stores helps to support the local farmers and the local economy by also keeping jobs local. There are also fewer middleman in the process, and you are also able to find out more information about how your food is being grown from the source.

Downtown Fort Myers

The concept of the a "downtown" refers mostly to the heart of a city consisting of large buildings surrounding the area and usually where the central financial district is found in most large cities. Downtown evokes lights, music, and culture of the surrounding area full of people. Downtown Ft. Myers has grown very quickly these past couple years and it does seem to have created a cultural revival. The events I have heard of, along with the art-walk every other week has created this renaissance feel. Most of the architectural features I witnessed in my field-trip consisted of statues, villa styled buildings, and an overall ocean-side feel. I especially liked all the different colors splayed out across the streets. Downtowns are mostly very pedestrian friendly by featuring many walkways and sidewalks across the city. The various parks also are a great opportunity for people to walk around the city and enjoy the scenery. The city of Fort Myers is fast becoming a city of diversity. The Southwest Florida Museum is presently featuring it's "Mambo Man" Exhibit which is a tribute to a Cuban Mambo dancer originating here in Fort Myers. The museum was a great portal to view the past Fort Myers to the present day city we see today. I learned a lot about the history of Ft Myers and it's culture through the museum visit that helped my appreciate this city more than I did when I moved here 3 years back. It is great to have an understanding of what built this city. The economy of Fort Myers seems to have been built from agriculture and fisheries leading up to this day. The abundance of seafood restaurants around the area is a great "past-time" for this area. The city of Fort Myers is sustainable in the way the city is built with its parks and natural preservation sites. I found it very interesting to learn so much about this city's culture and how it became what it is today.

Satirical Picture on "Mother Gaia"

My Personal Ecological Footprint

According to the footprint calculator, if everyone lived like me, we would need 4.2 Earths and 18.6 global acres to sustain my lifestyle and provide enough resources for everyone. As I completed the quiz, I figured some simple behaviors that I could modify that would help decrease my footprint on the world. I learned that I should recycle more of my paper waste and bottles instead of using the trash. FGCU has a recycling trash for bottles and cans next to nearly every trash can. I would also like to decrease the amount of animal products I eat, maybe by half if I am adamant about it. If every American did decrease their consumption of animal products by half, we'd use 645 million fewer global acres. The max population that the earth could sustain if everyone lived like do is 1,750,000,000.

Blog Entry #9: Alternative Energy

Energy in the near past has been very cheap, especially here in the United States compared to other nations.  It just started to become more costly, and maybe it will drive industry towards alternative methods.  Conservation may be a dirty word to people of progress and biophobia, but to people aware of global environmental issues, I would believe it is something the world needs.  No one really knows the ramifications of using up all the land for construction and progress, and it would be better off if we kept some of the earth's natural forests for future generations to witness and feel.  Jimmy Carter was one of the most environmentally focused president that the US has seen, and his views on energy policy should have been implemented and continued after his presidency.  I feel like alternative energies should be discovered and marketed by scientists and implemented by the government.  We need the most technologically advanced alternative sciences to be started, and if business takes part in the industry, then profit will become involved.  If profit is involved, then the "Steve Jobs Syndrome" will also take part in it and the best product won't be released until the next edition comes along.  Using solar, wind, and current simultaneously would be the most beneficial uses towards alternative energies, but geothermal energy would reap the most benefit.  Geothermal (earth-heat) energy is using the heat from the inner core of the earth to power electricity and generate heat.  This type of energy may be the most powerful and efficient source of energy according to some scientists.

To reduce my ecological footprint on the planet, there are many ways I could start.  Using economical light bulbs, riding my bike to school and/or work, and taking shorter showers are some easy ways I could start right now.  Reduce the usage of resources, reusing resources, and recycling are also great ways to take part in the "Green Movement."  

Blog Entry #8: Climate Change

The earth goes through cyclical shifts of cooling and warming in different periods of time.  Various factors contribute to the climate changing during these shifts.  The speeding of technologies that allow the extraction of resources and burning of fossil fuels may one day become an apparent cause to climate change, but present day obviously are in debate if this is a man-made issue.  It could be possible that the usage of earth's resources are causing this warming of the stratosphere, and it is up to environmental specialists and scientists of all concentrations to acquire scientific facts and numbers on climate change.  A reputable source cannot be the main media outlets as there have been many biased opinions.  Climate change is just another fad that society will eat up that could boost ratings.  Al Gore is a perfect example of how the media and politics converge.  I have read Al Gore's "Our Choice" book, and the way it is written is very convincing.  The statistics and numbers seem accurate in that it is based off of scientific data (claims the book).  The problem is that I feel it has to be a total collective effort in the global participation in order to make a difference to what we may have done to the climate.  One person, city, or state can't make a huge difference in the global climate change, everyone in the world has to be aware of the ramifications our human footprint holds.  In my opinion, I feel that governments should create the polices that completely change society's views on how we use fossil fuels and natural resources instead of creating more waste.  Knowing that the media and the government both have hidden agendas would make someone less likely to alter their lifestyle for environmental sustainability, but self-education should be important in taking action and being pre-active.  Climate change has possible repercussions to generations to come if it is anthropogenic, and before we take action for future generations, I believe we have too many to deal with present day to fix before we focus tomorrow.