Consumption... Is There Any Limits

One of our videos in class the semester had to do with the state of consumption in our nation. Until the beginning of the movie, I had no clue that pretty much 51 percent of our country was ran by corporations and the remaining 49 percent our GOVERNMENT! After hearing it though and seeing what has gone on in this country that past 10 years, it almost does not surprise me. I also learned that our consumption level has doubled in the last 50 years! And, 99 percent of the things we purchase is thrown away in 6 months? Hard to believe. If we keep increasing at the speed we are now, there is no telling how much trouble we will be in such a short manner. Sustainability is key, and it needs to be!

Turtles Freed Near Marco

Recently seven turtles were treated, for injuries related to fishing lines and hooks, at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Mississippi. After being treated, animals are usually release back to where the were originally found. This being impossible due to the carnage in the Gulf, they were brought to Ten Thousand Islands near Marco Island. With the turtles being Kemp Ridley's sea turtles the brackish waters and the ample food supply near the mangroves make it much easier for the turtles to adapt. Whether they stay and live a new life or find themselves drawn away, no one knows for certain.

Another New Idea on Helping Oil Spill - July 13, 2010

The latest idea on choking off the spillage has come to public. A new "tighter-fitting cap" was lowered over the blown out well on Monday. The idea is to slowly start closing the valves on the geyser of oil. The plan is to methodically slow the pressure of the oil pumping in hopes the the cap will hold on long enough to build the reserve tank that is said to be done in late August. The hope is that the oil with travel through the machinery which acts as a stopper, or it will travel through pipes and be taken to collection ships. Who knows if this will work? This is another attempt that will be proven right or wrong in a short time. With 180 million gallons pumped into the Gulf thus far, let's hope that this will be better than the previous attempts.

Oiled Birds Released On Sanibel

Just before noon on Monday, July 12th, 32 birds were released oil free onto Sanibel Beach. There were 21 brown pelicans and 11 gannets that got to enter the oil free water. The birds had been rescued from the waters of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi where the oil is way worse. They were rehabbed at the Fort Jackson Wildlife Center in Buras, Louisiana, and the Tri-State Bird Rescue Center in Theodore, Alabama. They were then brought to Sanibel and where they are safe from the the disaster. There has no sightings of returning birds and lets hope they stay out of that danger.

Field Trip to Fort Myers River District

As a born and raised citizen of Fort Myers I was embarrassed that I did not know things that were brought to conversation the other day. I knew things like Thomas Edison's want for bamboo and that Firestone was looking for rubber trees, but i was unaware of the type of Indians that were there and that the city was actually part of the union (Civil War). The trip turned out to be the most knowledgeable of all of are trips because it was my home. The entire trip was very educational and I loved learning about the past. It could not have ended any better than with the mural we saw. I was amazed by the artwork, and was in disbelief that I had not know about it. Great Trip!

Reducing Work Time As A Path To Sustainability

My topic for our class presentation from State of The world book was "Reducing Work Time As a Path To Sustainability" It talked about the idea of reducing peoples work hours to help them focus on things other then just money. Wanting money just leads to wanting of more and more consumption. Consumption is one of the leading causes of the deterioration of our world. The author also talked about by working more, that we limit our time to enjoy the environment. We constantly rush through it like it will always be there. I agree with much that I presented and think that with certain ideas brought up, that a better plan could be implemented.

Field trip to Lover's key

Our field trip to Love's Key turned out to be a good one. We were lucky enough to have perfect weather. I was ashamed with myself that I had not been there in years and that i was not aware of everything the beach had to offer. I new of different kind of mangroves, but actually did not know that there were different purposes and jobs that they each had. There were many different things that go unnoticed with beaches and we were all able to give examples depending on out majors. I enjoyed the relaxing few hours of time and will make sure that I will be there sooner than my layoff last time.

Shark Fishing In The Gulf

Wednesday evening I went on a boat trip out about 2 miles in the Gulf of Mexico off of Fort Myers Beach. We were headed out looking for sharks. One of my favorite parts of these type of trips is the time of day you leave (about 7/8 o'clock) and the drive to your fishing hole. It is so nice and relaxing to feel the cool breeze on your face and enjoy what the natural air feels like. As we were on our way out i found myself thinking about my colloquium class. So many more things now run through my head now when thinking about the world around me. I could not get out of my head how lucky we were, and how crazy a mess we could potentially be in with the oil spill. The night went to fast, and the sharks were hungry. It was a great trip and hopefully things get corrected in the gulf soon.

Response To Charlie Crist's Letter

On the same day that Florida Governor Charlie Crist's was written, there was an immediate response. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. “Today I signed a fishery disaster declaration for Florida for the same reasons I declared a fishery disaster in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama." Locke wrote. In less than a day he responded that there would be help and money set aside to help Florida's fisheries, from commercial all the way to recreational fisherman. A supplemental amount of $15 million for a backstop, and $5 million for economic assistance was the amount that was said to be available. I think that it is really great that this is being done, and the rapid response shows that proper people are in place. Now if we could only get that kind of efficiency to stop the oil spill?!

A Letter From Governor Crist To Secretary Gary Locke

I recently came upon a letter from Charlie Crist to Gary Locke. He had written a letter on behalf of the fishing industries and other businesses in Florida affected by the deep horizon oil spill in the Gulf. He asks that Secretary Locke make a determination of a commercial fishery failure under the provisions of section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. He writes that through misinformation of the spill has affected tourism and the seafood consumption in a whole. "It is by a mistaken impression from the news that the entire Gulf has been tainted," he states. He asks for help as we try to help preserve the fishing industry as whole and and to keep more peoples jobs from being lost.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill trajectory hindcast/forecast based on the Navy GOM HYCOM

I recently received an email with very interesting information on the oil spill in the Gulf. It is trying to predict and track the trajectory of the oil that is spilling. With joint effort between the Ocean Circulation Group and Optical Oceanography Laboratory of the University Of South Florida they are using ocean currents and simulated drifter particles. Vertical particles were released every 3 hours which simulated the continual oil spill. The movements of the particles were not perfect observations, but rather by estimations. Nothing can be a definite due to unknown forecasts. Those tests along with other combined tests are really cool and also scary at the same time.

ECHO: After The Field Trip

After attending my field trip to ECHO I have developed a much better understanding of what they are all about. I am ashamed to say that I really never knew about them or what they are all about. I was entertained and amazed right off the bat when we first entered their work place. To see the amount of plants and animals they had working together blew my mind. I am excited to try some of their techniques that I learned in my household, and can see myself interning or helping out at their complex in the future. It was a great trip and would recommend it to anyone!

ECHO: Before The Fieldtrip

Tonight I was looking through the website for ECHO (Educational Concerns For Hunger Organization) and am looking forward to my trip tomorrow. To see something with this positive of a message and mission, I do not know how anyone could not be. The mission satement "is to equip people with resources and skills to reduce hunger and improve the lives of the poor," with the vision of "honoring God through sustainable hunger solutions." Thee idea has been around since the 70's, which was started in Haiti, and continues to thrive today. Tomorrow should be exciting, and I should learn much more about the organization.

Next Attempt To Fix Oil Spill Could Be Even More Costly

From what I have read in the paper and have seen in the news, BP is still struggling to fix their oil spill dilemma. The attempt to dump heavy material on top of the well has failed, and their next attempt seems to be costly. The next plan of action is to cut the pipe to give it a clean circumference. They would then "cap" it in hopes of stopping the spill. The problem with this though is that the bigger hole is going to release the flow of oil to another 20 percent! Will this work? Who knows, but their needs to be something done fast...

A Walk Through Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Wednesday was my classes first field trip of the semester. I was not too thrilled about having to get up as early as I did, but I would later find out that everything would be alright. We arrived around 8:30 a.m. and our journey started shortly after. half of us went with a representative of the sanctuary and the other half (including me) went with our professor Dr. Morris. We started first at the pine flat-wood. This is the highest of terrains in Southwest Florida and where most of our mammals reside. Our second stop was the wet prairie, the middle terrain, which is mostly dominated by tall grasses. The Third and final terrain was the Cypress swamp. This was what I considered the most interesting. Now although it was more wet than usual at the sanctuary, we (I) still managed to learn a lot about where we were. We even saw two alligators which were one of the main highlights of the trip. All in all I considered it a successful trip and learned much about where I have been living all my life. I did have to wake up early , but in the end it was worth it and I can see myself visiting the "swamp" in the future.