Last Field Trip/ Downtown Fort Myers

Downtown Fort Myers, was a beautiful place. Our first stop was under the great big tree. Dr. Morris explained to us the history of the tree and how actual Native Americans ust to use that area as their home. It was actually a paradise. It had all the resources they needed. The benches we were sitting on once was just water. The entire down town Fort Myers area was mostly just water. I was amazed to learn the history of the Seminole Indians and the Caloosahatchee River.

Waste

Waste in our society has become a huge issue. Liter can sometimes be decomposed improperly. This is due to laziness and loss of care. It is doped because companies don't want to pay the fees. Waste can become toxins which will be carried into the air and create green gases. Waste can have an effect on our air. It can turn into air pollution. It can create diseases and breathing issues, we must start to control this issue and start finding a better way to control our waste.

Overpopulation

Overpopulation has become a very serious issue around the nation. The world now in some countries has reached its capacity with people. Specially in our school system. Many children are not getting the education they deserve due to over capacity of children. Classes become to crowded. Health insurance has become to expensive for families,because of this issue as well. We also have overpopulation with immigration. How is this going to help America instead, it is hurting us in my opinion.

Volunteering

Volunteering for the environment is very important because it helps our planet. I never knew that volunteering would be that important. Last week I volunteered at Camp Caloosa and I felt like I was doing something for my community. I at first did not want to be there because, it was hot and I was sweating really badly. But all that didn't matter because I was helping the girls scouts and the forest. I started to realize all that hard work mattered. I felt joy after that day.

Is there something besides just paper and plastic?

Paper and plastic are the most common choices in the grocery store. When your done paying for your groceries the cashier says paper or plastic. Many of us say plastic because it is more environmental. But have any of us ever thought that their is something better than plastic? Well the answer is yes there is, it is called reusable bags. You see this is way better than plastic. You have to continue to recycle a plastic bag and sometimes it ends up as litter. With a reusable bag its more reliable and you can use it over and over again. It saves the environment. The material of the bag doesn't harm animals and it is a strong lasting material. It is worth your money and it is not that expensive. So the next time your asked paper or plastic say neither.

Five ways to save your planet

There should be a list to save our planet that everyone makes. I decided to make one myself. Think about it, if everyone took the time to make a list of five ways to save the planet do you know how better our planet would become. It doesn't even have to be complicated. It should be something simple that you know you would have time for. My list is unplug items so that I can save energy. Ride a bicycle as much as I can instead of driving to campus or even taking a ride if I don't need it. It's good exercise and can save you money. Not buying as much. Eating more healthier things that are organic. Recycling and making sure I don't litter. You see a simple list like this is betting our environment and it took less than 5 minutes.

Cell Phone Recycling

You know its 2010 and currently there is always a new type of phone out. The technology now is completely different than how it ust to be. We have smart phones now. Everyone wants either a i phone, or black berry or even a touch screen with sliding key board. So, if all these phones are replacing the old traditional flip cell phones, what are we to do with them? Recycling your unwanted phone is the solution. A non profit recycling company called Call3recycle offers consumers a way to recycle their phones if they don't know where to put their phones at. Most stores like Radio Shack and Office Depo offer this service. Its a great way for us to get rid of those old unwanted phones.

http://environment.about.com/od/recycling/a/cell_phones.htm

Flying VS. Driving

I always asked myself what is better for our environment flying or driving. Well when I researched the answer it turns out that driving is more fuel efficient. A car uses up to 25-30 miles per gallon. Which is fewer than flying believe it or not. It also usually generates fewer green gas emissions than flying. Even though flying, has more people , car pooling is also environmental friendly. Driving can also save more money than flying, as well as gas. Instead of flying everywhere we should start using our cars more.



http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivingdesign/a/fly_vs_drive.htm

Conserving Our Energy

It is important to make sure you set up goals to preserve our energy consumption. Everyone should make an effort because it can have a tremendous effect on our environment for the good. Start with simple goals, for example the Zero- Volt Challenge. All it requires is that you walk through your house and unplug every appliance until your electric meter stops running. The re plug all appliances that need to run 24/7. This will help with conserving anyones energy. I tried this myself, by unplugging my microwave, phone charger, television and also my lap top charger all of these things can help if we make an effort.

http://www.globalstewards.org/conserve-energy.htm

Why it is important to reduce, reuse, and recycle

The first step is to reduce. Reducing waste prevention is very important because it can simply your life specially with unnecessary things you don't even need. It can also save your money. Why keep items you don't even need? It just makes your living more complicated. Reduce on what your buying. Such as buying the latest and newest gadgets. There is a new way of coping with this the 30-day trial. Wait at least 30 days before you decide to buy something it will save you money! Reuse whatever you have that can be used again. Like a cell phone. Don't go out and buy a new item when you can just reuse it. If you don't need something learn to recycle it! These easy steps will help our entire planet and keep money in anyones pockets. I myself have started this plan.

Does Recycling Work or Not?

When I read this article I thought of course recycling works. But the real truth is it may not always work believe it or not. You see many people feel recycling uses more energy. Many also agree that recycling is costly. Many environmental groups feel that recycling is doubling energy consumption. It is also said to be doubling pollution. Who would ever think that recycling would be doing all this. Ta payers do have to pay more to recycle because it is different from garbage. I feel that it is important to recycle because, recycling can have a greater impact on our society. If we were not recycle we would be worse off. All that garbage can be reused. Who cares that it is going to cost a little more at least it is helping our country.




http://environment.about.com/od/recycling/a/benefit_vs_cost.htm

Earth Day!!!

I really never payed much attention to Earth Day until I researched more about it. Its pretty funny how on that day I took part in a New Movement to better our environment. Earth Day is a new stand to fight for our environment. Earth day is a day to bring awareness to Earth beautiful natural resources, things we take for granted. This day takes place every April 22. The entire world takes in this day. It is beautiful because it shows how people really do care about our planet.On this day there are several g all around the world to bring awareness to the cause.

Going Green

Going green has now become very popular all around the world. There so many ways to go green and it can be easy as well. I myself thought going green was not a big deal. But it is because it is saving our environment. So many things are going green such as choosing plastic instead of paper at the grocery store. Also celebrating Earth Day. My school even celebrates this day. It is amazing and can be a lot of fun also. You can also even have a fuel efficient car. Instead of buying those pricy cars that cost a fortune. Why not buy a car that is environment friendly and also can save you money. Recycling is also going green. Turn off your lights if your not using them and also drinking tap water. All these little things are going green so join the trend everyone else is!

Not Littering

Littering now in America is against the law and you can be fined for doing so. Yes, we all have littered before but it is majority important not to do it. You see our planet is already going through so much, we do the little things like littering makes it even worse. Little things can cumulate to a large amount. Think about it this way. What if every person in the world were to litter? Our entire planet would be destroyed. Why be lazy and throw something on the ground when you can just throw it in the garbage. Our planet was here before us so, what gives us the right to not take care of it? About 75% of Americans admit to littering. People litter because they don't care, are to lazy , and aren't aware of the danger our country is in. So lets try to be the solution to this problem instead of the problem.

http://www.greenecoservices.com/littering-facts-and-statistics/

Saving Water

Our water supply is running very short around the world. We need to start saving our water so that in the future we have enough. Its important to start listing ways in order to save our water supply. I decided myself to make a list to start doing so I can be a solution instead of the problem. Here are some important ways anyone can do to save the amount of water they use. First never put water down the drain. You use it for watering plants or even to clean with. Make sure you fix any leaking faucets, believe it or not this can add up. You should hurry and repair it. Check your entire house hold for leaks. Please avoid over flushing your toilet. If you have something to throw away just put it in the trash can thats why it was designed. Turn the water off when your brushing your teeth, that is very wasteful. These little things I have taken into action and so far so good!

Bottles of Water

I never knew that bottled water was sometimes the same as regular tap water. In class we watched a video that explained why bottled water isn't always a way to save our environment. In fact this can worsen our environment. You see so many bottles we drink on a daily bases can accumulate and from there it is send to the land fills and recycle. But this recycling is hurting our environment. It is overly populating our environment. We must learn the truth between bottled water and tap water. We did an experiment in class between bottled water and tap water. Many students did not even know the difference between the two. This just goes to show our lack of knowledge for the truth about bottled water.

BP Oil Spill

The BP Oil Spill is one of the worse tragedies that has ever hit America. It has become a huge ethical issue and also deadly. The explosion was on April 20, 2010 . This explosion caused the death of 11 people and also its spread all over the beaches close to the Gulf of Mexico. It is endangering our environment and also our water. The water has now spread to Florida. Our land is soon going to be in danger and that is bad for us as well. It has killed several of our sea creatures. Many beaches are closed due to the oils impact on the water. We must hurry and control this problem before it is to late.

Pollution!!

Pollution is another environmental issue our country suffers from. Pollution affects over a billion around the world. When I read more about it I was shocked. A billion is a large figure. I couldn't imagine that many people in the suffering from this. It is our fault as a society that this even happening. It estimated by organizations that 25 percent of all deaths are caused by air pollution. Also researchers estimate that exposure to pollution causes 40% of deaths. People who are exposed to air pollution are more likely to catch diseases more than anyone else. The most at risk is children and women. Children are more vulnerable than adults. So, they have a higher exposure. Children take up 10% of the worlds population. About 40% of the global burden of disease fall on them. This a serious issue because children are the way to the future. You have to stop and ask yourself do you care about your future?
http://www.worstpolluted.org/pollution-facts-2009.html

Land Use

Do we ever look at land use as being an environmental issue? I know I didn't before but it really is an issue. You see land use has a impact on all our planets natural resources such as water, soil, plants, and animals. If we over use our land it will effect everything around use tremendously. We need to learn how to protect our land by just not building everywhere we see fit. We need to develop solution for our natural resource management. Such as our water quality. Our water because of so much land use can have erosion. The animals will not have a habitat for living, and that means no food for us. The same with plants. Many of our resources comes from plants. Not only is that an issue but our Global Climate is effected as well. Factories and business spread pollution. It can cause green house gases. This literally will kill our climate and natural resources. We must start to care more about our land because our planet is in danger and so are we.
http://www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/ProgramElements/land.htm

Energy in the World!

The more and more I watch the videos in class the more I learn how low our energy resources are in the world. We overly consume our resources. Burning to much of our fossil fuels is a epidemic. Our climate change is also a huge issue. Over using our fossil fuel is going to cause global warming. That means our energy resources will down grade worse and worse. We need to consume our energy by not using so much of our resources. It is ok for us to use our resources but we don't need to over use them this is causing global warming. We need to wake up and stop burning through our fossil fuel. Our planet is in danger and it is up to us to fix this environmental issue before it is to late.
What will be left for our children? Our planet is already in the danger zone. It is not always important to have the fancy car or gadgets. It is more important to have a healthy green planet. Were always trying to update our technology. This to me ust to be important, but not anymore I care more about my environment. When I became more aware of the damage we were doing to our environment thats when I was more aware of bad our energy level really is.

Why we should recycle glass

Many of us are so ust to recycling bottles, so why on earth would someone even decide to recycle glass? Let me explain why. Recycling glass is sustainable because glass containers are 100% percent recyclable believe it or not. It can be recycled over and over like a bottle can. Who would have thought this would ever would be true. It is also processed just like a bottle. It is sent to a landfill. It is also efficient to recycle glass. It can also help as a energy resource. Since America is already dealing with loss of energy, this is another alternative to gain our resources back. So, the next time we have glass we don't need anymore we should remember to recycle it.

Lovers Key State Park

I have attended Lovers Key State Park only once and now it is my second time. I loved the beach scenery, it upset me to think about the BP Oil Spill because the oil could spread to this beach. I could not imagine this beautiful place being destroyed because of a carless mistake. Lovers Key State Park has been around for since the early 1900s. The islands are only accessible by boat. It is known as the romantic Island. I saw many people walking and riding their bikes on the trails, it was beautiful to see families taking in the beautiful environment. This a must see spot for tourist. The overall experience I had was unforgettable. I feel that this trip has taught me to care more about my environment, such as not littering.

Echo

When I attended Echo it taught me more about growing organic fruits and vegetables. I never new how much I took for granted specially when it comes to food. It taught me to appreciate what resources I have more because not everyone is fortunate. There are so many people all over the world without food and the only way they can have food is to grow it. Its very sad that our resources are shortening around the world. That is what Echo was created for. Echo is a non-profit organization that teaches people how to grow and also it provides no-formal education, internships, and workshops.