Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Plan B Journal


What I consider the most important environmental concern would be Climate Change and the Energy Transition section of Plan B 4.0. I think this issue is important because the earth’s temperature is rising and it is reshaping the earth’s ecology and geography such as declining oil production and causing agriculture to be out of sync. The best way to work towards a sustainable solution as an individual as well as a society would be to stabilize the climate and in order to do so we need to stabilize the population, eradicate poverty and restore the earth’s natural systems. Sustainability plays a role in the solution since Plan B is not based on what we have done in the past but what we need to do for the future; and yes, these solutions are taxing yet we have gotten into this mess so it is our responsibility to get ourselves out. In other countries, such as China, cancer is now the leading source of death due to a growing concern of coal and air pollution. The air is so bad over in China that locals have to wear masks to avoid breathing in the toxins in addition to black lung disease and birth defects is very common. The cold reality is that China is becoming richer and sicker.

Where I would want to live if I had a choice would be in the city of Dubai. I like living in warm climate weather all year around and I believe that Dubai would be a great opportunity for me in terms of experiences, cultural diversity and employment. I feel that living in an environment like Dubai will allow me to enjoy an outdoor-centric lifestyle and not have to rely on indoor air conditioning as much as the average household would. Also, since Dubai is such a populated city that public transportation is very common so this will save me on gas and the environment from consuming oil. Dubai is full of activities, events, services and facilities that I would be constantly out and about; thereby, diminishing my use of resources within my home and as a result contributing to sustainability. Some barriers I may come across to living this way would be the expense of living in such a high quality city as well as sacrificing comfort to live in such a populated city. Still, I plan to overcome these barriers by working hard in the job that I have now and saving as much as I can. Furthermore, getting around Dubai is challenging as well as potentially dangerous so I might try to find a place to live right outside the city so that I can avoid any hazardous accidents or stressful situations.

Land Remembered Journal



I chose the character Tobias. He became rich after cattle herding and later an orange grove which was very helpful for the environment. However, after the ‘skeeters’ attacked him. Miami Billie, an Indian medicine man, temporarily healed him. Tobias eventually died from being too weak from the cold to fight malaria. Before he died he tried his hardest to save the orange groves which means he truly cared about the environment. He didn’t want the oranges to freeze. We can tell that Tobias had sense of place in his orange groves. He felt safe there and felt responsible for them. Even in his last moments he fought to save his orange groves from freezing.
The legacy he left behind is that you have to fight your hardest to save the environment and sometimes go out of your comfort zone to help make a difference. I selected this character because I liked that he was wealthy but also selfless. He valued his orange groves more than the profits that he got form them. He did it for the fact that the orange groves were beneficial to the environment. I also like how passionate he is. He is so passionate that he continues to care even when his death is slowly approaching from the malaria. I admire his perseverance and passion and I think that is something that we all need to have. We need to gain passion for the environment and find ways to take that passion and mold it into something beneficial. The future generations were thanking us if we start acting now. It’s time to start getting passionate and stop being selfish.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Koreshan State Park Journal


The forces that drove the founder to develop his ideas were his narcissism and delusional thinking. Dr. Cyrus Teed and the Koreshan Unity Movement was a very interesting time in history. He believed that woman and men were equal during a time where that idea was not normally agreed with. This is how he charmed so many women into joining the Koreshan movement and following his ideas. This was a deviation from established scientific knowledge. The illumination was when Dr. Teed claimed to see God and that God was a woman. He said the beautiful woman, God, which he saw explained to him the earth and that he would explain the symbols of the bible for the scientific age. The concept of the concave earth was a concept that the earth was not round, and this has obviously been proven wrong by science so his ideas were a deviation from established scientific knowledge. The success of the community was obvious. They imported all sorts of plants, some useful and some useless. They also had many profitable businesses as well that made them extremely successful. Dr. Cyrus Teed believed that women and men were equal and he also believed that everyone should be celibate which eventually led to the end of his Koreshan movement. Some weaknesses in the community would ironically be the increasing prosperity of the group. His communistic way of life was also a weakness. Younger members gradually began leaving the following.

                I initially thought that this tour was interesting and the story was very captivating. However, now I think that the whole thing is completely weird and I do not understand it at all. The Koreshan state park is beautiful and is definitely a great place to take a colloquium class or even have a fun day with the family or friends. The history in the park is very extensive and interesting. The whole Koreshan movement is a huge part of the history of southwest Florida / Estero. I really enjoyed this field trip and I think it was a good trip to end the class with. However, I left very confused about the entire story and what went on there. I think that maybe Dr. Cyrus Teed was a bit crazy and I would have definitely not listened to him or been one of his women. It’s also funny to me that people even listened to him. He was claiming to be the chosen one and be re-born as immortal. It’s all just a bunch of crazy talk. However, he does keep me interested to say the least.