Downtown Fort Myers

The word "downtown" make you think a secrete place where the adults goes to be free. A place where everybody with different background and with one common goal is to relax and let loose. A place where you are not judge by the color of your skin, gender, and sexual preference.

Some of the “nods to history” that I saw in the tour was the homage to the Olympians, the only museum in the world that displays the artworks of past Olympians.  Several monuments dedicated to Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone, the great inventors, who all once resided in Fort Myers.  There are even several historical plaques, which mark a certain time in history involving the Calusa natives, amongst other significant moments in time, placed throughout the downtown area. One of my favorite art work was the tile mosaic depicting the history of Southwest Florida. The images included, the Seminole Indians, frontiersmen, and the World War II infantries positioned in this area.

A lot of the building built in WWII is being used today.  This is sustainable when thinking about the cost and environmental effects of new construction.

Sustainable meal-orgainc cornbread

 8 tablespoons unsalted organic butter (1 stick), divided
 1 1/4 cups finely ground stone ground organic yellow cornmeal
 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
 1 teaspoon baking powder
 1 teaspoon baking soda
 1 teaspoon fine salt
 2 large eggs
 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, shaken before using
 Heat the oven to 450°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
 Place 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large (10-inch) cast iron skillet; set aside. In a small saucepan or using the microwave, melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter; set aside.
 Place cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
 Whisk eggs in a medium bowl until frothy, then whisk in buttermilk until incorporated. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and, using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir until dry streaks are just   incorporated. (Do not overmix.) Fold in the melted butter until just combined, then let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.
 Meanwhile, place the skillet in the oven until hot, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and swirl the melted butter around to coat the bottom of the pan.
 Pour the batter into the hot skillet and bake until golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Place the skillet on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before   serving. To serve, cut wedges directly from the skillet or let the cornbread cool for another 15 minutes before inverting onto a plate.

Genetically modified eucalyptus

1. Ecology of the Eucalyptus tree.

• EucalyptusAustralian trees are good for making paper. They are terrible for just about everything else – soil, insects, plants, and waterthe trees from down under support fewer insects, birds and other animals endemic to the United States. Worse, they create toxic conditions in the soil and their canopies block out sunlight for underlying plants. They hog water and yet easily catch fire, relying on fire to spread their seeds.

http://news.discovery.com/earth/genetically-modified-eucalyptus-trees-ignite-controversy.html

2. Benefit of this technology

• ArborGen points out that the high growth rate will allow the company to grow more wood on less land, which could provide a boost to the region’s timber exports. What’s more, the wood could potentially serve as a biofuel feedstock.
  http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/02/01/will-genetically-modified-eucalyptus-trees-transform-southern-forests/

3. Intrinsic Concern

• Eucalyptus are internationally known for their devastating impacts–from invasiveness to wildfires to their ability to worsen droughts.  Massive wildfires in Australia earlier this year were fueled by eucalyptus, which contains a highly volatile oil. Additionally, eucalyptus grandis, one of the species in the GE eucalyptus hybrid, is also a known host to Cryptococcus gattii, a fungus that can cause fatal fungal meningitis in people and animals that inhale its spores. 

http://bigteaparty.com/genetically-modified-eucalyptus-trees-threaten-southern-us/

4. Extrinsic Concern

• ArborGen would likely revolutionize the timber industry and the Southern landscape by becoming the first company to roll out bioengineered trees on a massive scale.By adopting eucalyptus as a tree stock, the United States would simply be catching up with countries like Brazil, which has leveraged vast tree plantations in recent decades to pivot from a net wood importer to an exporter.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=eucalyptus-genetically-modified-pine-tree-southwest-forest

peak oil and green energy



"Conservation a Dirty Word"

Farming Methods

• Use of chemicals on the land
• The effects of felling trees and uprooting hedges
  

Recreation

• Killing animals and plants (e.g. plant collection, over fishing, over hunting, egg collecting, insect collecting).
• Blood sports (e.g. fox hunting, badger baiting, hare coursing, wildfowling, game bird shooting).
• Accidental killing of plants and animals (e.g. careless fire lighters and campers, flower pickers, litter
  spreading etc.).

Industrialisation

• Building houses, factories, towns, cities and roads.
• Disposing of the by-products of industry such as slag heaps, waste heaps, air and water pollution, dangerous
  chemicals and nuclear waste.
• Using renewable materials (e.g. trees for making paper, crops, animals for food etc.).
• Using non-renewable resources (e.g. minerals, coal and oil).

"Methods of Conservation"

By law
Giving protection to animals and plant species or special areas of land or water.

Restoration
To restore unsightly countryside (e.g. waste tips and slag heaps etc.).

Alternative Energy
A need to find alternative resources to replace coal and oil etc.

Nature Reserves and Zoos
Of special value in preserving rare animal species.

Recycling
Reprocessing of unwanted products (e.g. newspapers, scrap metals, glass and sewage etc.).

Education
Making more people aware of the need to protect and preserve the environment through schools, youth organizations and the media.

http://www.ypte.org.uk/environmental/what-is-conservation-/5



I would inform Jimmy Cardigan on the reason renewable energy is not are main source of energy. Renewable energy has generally been more expensive to produce and use than fossil fuels. Renewable resources are often located in remote areas, and it is expensive to build power lines to the cities where the electricity they produce is needed. The use of renewable sources is also limited by the fact that they are not always available — cloudy days reduce solar power; calm days reduce wind power; and droughts reduce the water available for hydropower.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=renewable_home

I agree with the government intervention to steer us away from fossil fuel. Fossil fuel are use more than can be produce. It known to release greenhouse gases which cause pollution. Scientist believe it the leading cause of climate change. Different source of energy such as solar and wind power use less energy.

Renewable energy

 

Sustainable Agricuture

8 Major Element of Sustainable Farming
1: Sustainable Crop Production
2: Ecosystem Management and Protection
 3: Resource Conservation and Energy Efficiency
4: Integrated Waste Management
 5: Fair Labor Practices
 6: Community Benefits
7: Product Quality
8: Product Safety and Purity
http://www.scscertified.com/fff/sustainable_agriculture.php

The ecological principles woven into this framework is that Sustainable farming is healthy for the environment. protect the natural resource base on which agriculture depends.reduce air, soil and, above all, water pollution from pesticide residues and from fertiliser and livestock effluent run-offs.biotechnology breeding plants with genetic resistance to diseases, pests and broad-spectrum herbicides, but also in developing traits that deliver clear benefits for food/feed processing, consumer, industrial and pharmaceutical applications.
http://www.agronomica.org/SF.htm

No, I  don't buy organic or naturally labeled food because they usually expensive. I'm disconnect with the current food system because I don't know the facts of the food system agricultural production and consumption pattern.

The "Third Frontier" is genetitic engineering in food and environment.

Yes I would be interested in growing my own vegetable and fruits if I was giving a space on campus to do so.

 

Introduction to Colliquium

I was expect to learn and understand the definifition of the word colliquium and why we are require to take in FGCU and not the other universities in Florida. My personal behavior that are unsustainable are using more energy from renewable source .Wasting water by taking fiften minute to take a shower and five minute to brush my teeth while letting the water run. Not using any public transportation to get to school or work; and flying four time out of the year.

Political Science relating to sustainability or ecology
1.Examines the politics of environmental degradation in countries of the global south, a.k.a. the developing world, through case studies of topics including Amazonian deforestation in Brazil, international development projects in India, and oil drilling in the Niger Delta.

2.Considers the special problems posed by environmental collective action for international policymakers; some of the primary actors and organizations involved in addressing environmental problems; and selected international environmental issues such as global warming, ozone depletion, and rain forest destruction.

3.An intensive investigation into the history and theory of environmental ethical and political thought.

4.Examines the politics of environmental transformation in Florida, including issues of water supply, growth management and Everglades restoration. This course supplements the department's offerings in environmental politics.

(http://www.registar.ufl.edu/catlog/programs/courses/political.htm)

Eco footprint

According to Eco Footprint calculation if everyone lived like me we would need 3.8 Planet Earth to provide enough resources and it will take 16.8 global acres of the Earth productive area.To reduce my footprint by 0.6 to 3.2 Planet Earths I could eat fewer animal-base foods, purchase products that use less packaging or are made out of recycled material , use more energy from renewable sources, switched to more energy-efficent appliances, use more public transportation instead of driving my car, and take a local holiday instead of flying.  If the average American ecofootprint is 4.6(earth)  it will take 20.3 global acres of the Earth's productive area to sustain there lifestyle. To reduce the foot print by 0.7 Planet Earths to 4.6 Planet Earths is to eat more local food and fewer procressed foods, and use other source of transportation.( http://www.footprintnetwork.org/)