Entry #13

Sustainable consumerism is when using goods and services to minimalize the use of resources, waste and pollutants while still not jeopardizing future generations. Globalization and capitalism are negative drivers because everything has to travel farther and use more energy to get to its destination. Greenwashing is the term for when a company’s marketing team mis markets an item as green, when it really isn’t. I would be willing to pay a premium if I felt that particular item would be substantially better for me. I patronize the chain stores in Gulf Coast Town Center, downtown is 30 minutes away from my house. Not worth it. Either way it doesn’t really matter, I waste gas to drive and get it, or it can waste fuel to be flown around the world.

Entry #12

The Estero Island trip was informational, it was a nice preserve, but sad that is all that’s left. What stood about the preserve is that it was all that was left on this fairly large island. Everything else had been destroyed and rebuilt by man. My hometown hasn’t changed much since I was a kid, a few trees removed and buildings torn down and replaced but nothing major and the sense of community is there. If the county offered me 300% market value of my childhood houses value, yes I would sell out and take it. The areas are already developed and ill have the memories which are what count. Wouldn’t be the same as being able to walk around it, but I’d probably get over it. At 80% I probably wouldn’t.

Entry #11

When I calculated my footprint it came out to 4.4, which is below the average, but still horrible. Out of the scenarios I could eat half as much meat I could also make sure I recycle anything I can that is recyclable, I feel most things I throw away most likely could be recycled, that would drop my footprint down to 4 earths.

Entry #10

With the way we are burning through it, energy just might be too cheap. But what can you really do about it? If there is a cheap option people will take it just too save money, and with the way the economy is, the government can’t just step in and start raising pricing, a good chunk of the country can barely survive as it is. Any major change would have to be a slow a tedious infrastructure overhaul and that may just be what we need. With that being said, is it possible to get everyone on the same page? Big business has their own agenda, especially the petroleum/oil companies which are pretty much needed for everything. All of the renewable energy sources have an upside depending on the area you are in. Solar panels in Michigan might be a bad idea.

Too reduce my energy footprint I can do many things:
• Turn off water while brushing teeth and lathering in the shower
• Turn off lights when not in room
• Buy local food
• Drive as little as possible
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
• Reusable water bottle
• Energy efficient appliances

Entry #9

There are 2 types of “downtown” the club area which is where we love to party, and then the ritzy or historic area. Both types of downtown are usually not too far from the ghetto. So the word “downtown” could evoke fear or happiness. I would have to say the stature of the downtown area has probably degraded over time, in a lot of areas the downtown is usually dead or only busy at a few certain times and the economy hasn’t been too hot. Ft. Myers is experiencing something of a renaissance because Lee County decided to put a lot of money into revitalizing it. Some of the prominent architectural features are Neo-Classical Revival style and Mediterranean Revival.

Entry #8

In my opinion climate change is a combination of natural and manmade factors, they planet does go through different climate cycles and we have been adding an alarming amount of pollution and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Reputable sources would be scientist who wouldn’t have a bias due to big business or politics. It depends on where you go in the media but it’s usually portrayed as something that needs to be feared or as nothing at all because the change is so minuscule. The media usually has little effect on my lifestyle, I make my changes based off what I believe is right, not what the media says is the hot new topic. I don’t know what’s in store for our children; we might have other issues besides climate change that will get a lot more attention.

Entry #7

I loved ECHO, an amazing idea, being done by the right people who actually care. Seeing all the different types of plants being grown in one area, in many different methods and for the sole purpose of finding the best and most effective ways to sustainably produce food on a small scale, but still large enough to feed a small community, was mind blowing. What I saw at echo reminded me nothing of America agriculture, echo was small scale, sustainable, efficient, didn’t require unnecessarily large amounts of water, or produce a lot of waste and pollution. This way of farming is very relevant to the developing worlds. They would have an attribute that most people in the developed world don’t, being able to sustain one’s self without any outside help. In America if shit hits the fan and for some reason we couldn’t get food across the county for an extended period of time, people would have no idea what to do, where to get food, or even have the option of growing their own. Appropriate Technology is the simple but effective technologies that are used in these farming operations, such as The Rope and Washer pump. I would enjoy doing service learning for this organization, they are truly trying to help people around the world.