Kyoto Protocol

While thinking about a topic to write about for this journal entry, a thought popped in my head about the environmental condition of the United States. I decided to research the bigger issues concerning the environmental condition of this nation. In researching for the information I was able to pull together a long list of serious issues. The issues that I was able to locate but not limited to were, climate change, conservation, deforestation, energy, invasive species, mining, nuclear, pesticides, air pollution, water pollution, marine pollution, solid and hazardous waste, over population and consumption waste. Reading about climate change the US is listed second behind China as the world largest emitters of carbon dioxide. This issue is largely created due to the burning of fossil fuels and helps contribute to the global warning problem. It was noted that the United States is one of two countries that has not signed up for the which is an attempt at fighting global warming. This group of countries consists of 37 that are considered industrial countries. They are referred to as Annex I countries and have agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by five percent from the 1990 level. I truly believe that as the world’s number one and two economies, United States and China, need to aggressively remodel their industrial blue print and foot print to help preserve this would. Instead it seems that they are focused on competing with one another at the expense of other people lives. There is no salvation if there is no hope of a future.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol

Reflecting on Service Learning

            It has been about one to two weeks since completion of my service learning hours at the Calusa nature center. In reflection on my experience there, I must admit that it was rather pleasant. I did have to overcome a couple of my phobias in order to be of productive help to the works. The day started early as I arrived at 8:45 AM in the morning to offer my volunteering services. I was given two options to select from to designate how my services would be rendered. The options were helping the counselors with the summer camp kids or help with animal care. Having great interest in animals that decision was not very difficult, animals it was without thought. At that point, I made my way to the area where they house the ducks. I was really excited since I am a big fan of ducks of any kind. These ducks were so small and cute. There were 5 of them and they had energy. I ended up joining them on their terrain in order to be able to rake up and turn over their soil. This process helps bring hidden forms of food and much needed nutrients to the surface for the ducks. It did not take long for the ducks to feel somewhat comfortable before they gathered cautiously around me. After the cleaning up the ducks area I was asked to help clean the area of a huge hog named Elvis. This hog was incredibly big and extremely friendly. The workers showed me how much Elvis loves his belly to rub by them using a broom to rub his belly. He harmlessly lay down while getting is personal massage. Much of the day was just as exciting as the beginning. As one of the guides explained most of these animals have been given the opportunity for a longer life since most are there due to serious injuries they suffered. As long as I have been in this area I never realized that Calusa Nature Center was somewhat of a sanctuary for animals. The experience of volunteering has encouraged me to help support their causes in aiding injured animals who on recovery are released back into the wild. Initially I thought I was going to help offer my help, in reflecting on my experience I feel as though I needed those moments more that it needed me. I am very fortunate and grateful to have been exposed to it and plan on being part of their purpose in many other ways that are possible.

Indigenous tribes

An article that I ran across recently reminded me that we have to help preserve not just the life of plants and animals but also attempt to preserve the life of uncontacted indigenous tribes hidden deep within nature. In Brazil there recently was a tribe located that has managed to remain hidden from modern civilization. The tribe was described as consisting of about 200 members. The article shows that the members attempt to capture the airplane flying over their camp by firing arrows at the aircraft. Many dangers are presented if modern civilization were to establish contact with the native people. The article mentions that there is danger of disrupting their natural habitat or spreading germs that the tribal people were not immune from. In a previous attempt to establish contact with the same type of tribe, 45 tribe members ended up dying from lack of immunity to what we would consider common gems. By introducing both common and advanced deceases to these tribes we would like help contribute to an expedited process of their extinction as well. It is of great concern that this tribe including many other unknown tribes risk contact through aggressive logging activity with the country forest. It is sad to see that regardless of who, what and where on this earth much of this earth risk being contaminated by our modern hands.

http://sanfrancisco.ibtimes.com/articles/169552/20110625/uncontacted-lost-amazon-tribe-brazil-great-discovery-amazing-rare-photos-ancient.htm

Personal Consumption

This week was a bit different as far as my consumption concerned. For this week my consumption increased by tenfold. The reason for this was complete house cleaning. My residence consists of about 1300 square feet and needed a complete scrub down. Prior to beginning with cleaning I did some shopping for chemicals I needed in cleansing by house from any bacteria. I purchased 4 gallons of Bleach to help make sure that all bacteria would be removed. It is funny but I actually was considering getting more, however at the time of filling up my cart I recalled my ecological footprint from the quiz I had taken and decided to lower my targeted quantity. With that frame of mind I continued to purchase additional items needed for cleaning but on a more conservative basis. While cleaning the bathrooms I found myself also being extremely conscious of the quantity of water that I was utilizing. I constantly found myself trying to evaluate my behavior to see if it was the most efficient and effective method available in using the least amount of resources. I must say that spent a lot of mental energy throughout the day trying to reinvent my regular processes of cleaning in order to be more conservative with chemicals, water and electricity. I remembered while shopping the “Story about Stuff” also influencing me in the fact of how many items I ended up purchasing compared to my initial estimated amount. I would say that the colloquium experience definitely served its purpose and influence as it changed my behavior for what I consider an important task.

Fight for survival

            In reading some of the online news, I ran across an article that caught my interest. The article correlated with some of the readings and chapters in our course book “State of the world.” The location of the story occurs in the Kenya area on the African continent. Currently the area is experiencing the worst drought since the 1950’s which is largely created due to human hands. Many of the animals are competing with humans for water and other small quantities of natural resources. The article depicts a depleted area of resources as the carcasses of 27 cattle and 1 giraffe are counted within a three hour period all due the inability of the land to sustain them. Some local believe these poor conditions are due to the lack of rain which can also be a contributor from the global warming effect. The article offers a more in-depth analyzes which adds the influence from humans hands through the means of war. It is through war that many of the resources become scarce and prices are driven up out of common people reach. The support of AID agencies also seems to have little impact as both the growing population and continuous war activities are dwindling the impact these organizations are having on the local people. It is documented that the targeted goals of donated AID for one organization is around $80 million to help support about 12 million people who are fighting for survival. There are so many variables that need to be controlled and changed for this area to progress in a positive direction. Many of the cultures also thrive on the creation of large families as it is a cultural belief that large families create more successful families. The older generations anticipate the younger generations to prosper and actively support the parents when grownup. This cultural belief greatly helps increase the dependency of mouths in need of the aid. The issue of war existing on African soil has remain present since my younger days. With lack of progress in their efforts to extinguish these efforts my believe lack optimism that this issues will be resolved in my lifetime.

http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/07/07/7031757-worst-drought-in-60-years-12-million-africans-face-fight-for-survival

Urban Environment

In visiting downtown Fort Myers, the incorporation of new urbanism into the community is very evident. Many of the roads are paved of red brick to give a homely feel and encourage pedestrians to travel through the community. Many planters have been added along the right of way helping integrate the added vegetation that had long been missing in the area. Majority of the selected vegetation is the state plant, the palm tree. Visually that common type of scenery gets old in my opinion. The spacing for the area also remains extremely poor. It feels as though everything is clustered together as there is no large area of open space. Much of the open space has been dedicated to parking. In the past, limited parking during business hours made downtown Fort Myers a stress inducer and extremely congested. The atmosphere for the downtown area changes depending on the time of day. Recently two large parking garages were constructed to help alleviate some of the parking demand and issues that haunted the image of the area for several years. In the morning and afternoon times, the area is overwhelmed with business activity as much of the traffic is due for the most part to the activities from the court houses. Many of the businesses located in the downtown area consist of government services, bond offices or lawyer’s offices. The county jail is also located right next to the court house which in my opinion gives off an eerie feeling of discomfort. For much time the city of Fort Myers has also been trying to change the visual image of downtown Fort Myers caused from the deteriorating historic buildings to a combination of social friendly environment and historically preserved surroundings. The difficulty of the task was greatly increased with the presence of the neighboring east Fort Myers area, which had a reputation of severe and frequent hard crimes. As far as the landscape is concerned, majority of it as mentioned previously is reserved for parking or asphalted. There are small areas of grass landscape that can be found, the main area being the Centennial Park. In traveling through the area, I did felt out of place. I was not able to determine if that feeling was due to lack of connection I was able to form with the surrounding or the selected theme that the city selected to represent the downtown area. Perhaps the weather played a role also as a thunderstorm was moving in. During the night life the area has a couple of night clubs and bars that function during that time period. The area visually is dark and gloomy. Much of the area remains in the dark including many of the side roads and paths. In the past many homeless people sought cover under the Centennial Park pavilion or rested till the morning hours on the boardwalk which also painted a rigged image of the downtown area. The city has made huge efforts to change the image of the area including overhauling many of the major roads leading to the area, mainly Martin Luther King Boulevard. Their efforts have been rewarded with more confidence from the local residents in frequently partaking in activities surrounding the area. The city need to focus on sharing the whole area with more than just their human counterparts are much of the area still remains naked in lack of many plants and even more animals.

Social or environmental degradation

          The article that I decided to read involved social and environmental degradation to the country of India. From an economic perspective I am aware that the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are in strong competition to secure many global business opportunities locally with investors. With China becoming the world’s second largest economy this year I believe they are no longer an emerging country but should be considered a developed country. I am also aware of China’s population and control rule of one child per household. In reading this article I was dumbfounded to learn that estimations anticipate India to overtake China in the year 2050 as the most populous civilization. Currently India has eighteen percent of the world’s population which places a heave burden on all of it natural resources. For India, their available water supply and sanitation issues create majority of their environmental issues. Most cities dump untreated sewage and partially cremated bodies directly into the Ganges River, which is located upstream used as a main source for usable water. The water there after flows downstream and is used for activities including drinking, bathing and washing. That sounds like a bad situation all together. There will be last effects and emerging diseases as outcome from these activities. Approximately, half a billion people live along the Ganges River which greatly increases the percentage of negative events. Many countries need to be held responsible for blindly turning their eyes away from significant issues. In bidding for opportunities countries need to be given a weighted placement based on humanitarian issues addressed. In any scenario, where accumulation of success and wealth at the direct expense of the local population is present should be discouraged.