Post #7: Cognitive Dissonance

I really enjoyed this article and found it to be very interesting. It made me think of many times that I have fallen subject to cognitive dissonance, as well as others I know. I found it interesting how some people almost subconsciously fabricate things to excuse their behavior or make themselves look better with out thinking about it, or even so much as considering that what the other person said is true. I guess that it's considered such a social norm to respond that way when things reflect negatively on you, that I never really thought about in any sort of depth. I liked how the author talked about it from two different angles as well. He first talked about cognitive dissonance in terms of responding negatively to something that makes you look foolish and hurts your pride, for example, finding out you have been wasting your time stretching when it is not necessary. Then, the author talked about it in terms of something you are shameful of, like smoking. In both cases you got basically the same reaction, but for two different reasons. The author also talked about the difference between responding rationally and rationalizing. Responding rationally is when you welcome the information, look into the data yourself, and methodically choose to either accept or disregard the information. Rationalizing would of course be making excuses for, or rationalizing, your behavior, which is what most people do. Although most people would read this article and agree that kind of behavior is ridiculous and immature, we are all guilty of cognitive dissonance. This just shows how important our egos are to us Americans. However, I must say that I think men, as a whole, partake in this behavior more frequently than women. I believe that it is safe to say that males have a harder time admitting they are wrong than females do. Therefore, more often than not, men rationalize and women respond rationally :-)

Post #6: Global Warming

Global warming has been a debated topic for quite some time now. Some realize the dangers we face if we don't do anything about it, while others believe it does not exist at all. Before watching the National Geographic videos on the subject I really did not know the severity of the issue. I thought that it was something that we didn't need to worry about for quit awhile. I was wrong. If we do not start changing our behavior now it will be too late. It was very scary to see what will happen to our planet if the earth gets one degree warmer let alone two or three. Just knowing that the melting of Greenland will cause so many major cities to flood is enough to start making changes. Not to mention the effects of rising temperatures in Alaska and parts of Canada is having on the disappearance of polar bears, caribou, and on many other animals that live in these colder climates. We, as a planet, need to find alternative sources for burning carbon fuel, which is what is causing the global climate change. Right now the planet is warming too quickly for the animals to adapt to the change. If we do not stop the earth's temperature form rising it will be the end of many species, which could inevitably result in the end of our as well. Global warming is in fact very much a reality. If we continue to go on as we have been there will be detrimental effects on our planet that are irreversible. We will be forced to make change at that point, but it will be too late.

Post #5: A Tale of Two Farms

I think that it is ironic that this article was published in 2005, before the United States went into a recession. Hopefully The U.S. is only going through a minor decline, as opposed to a full-fledged collapse, as described in the excerpt. This idea had me wondering if in the future people would travel to the U.S. to experience what people today experience when traveling to Myan cities, Greece, and Zimbabwe. Will people visit the U.S. wondering what happened to us? Jared Diamond talks about these societies and how the abandonment was more often than not, triggered by ecological problems: "people inadvertently destroying the environmental resources on which their societies depended". This sounds like something that could definitely lie ahead in the future for the United States. We have been doing this for many years now and everyone seems to be ignoring all of the red flags and warning signs. Mr. Diamond also discusses climate change, both natural and unnatural, and how that has an affect on falling societies.  Global warming is an example of unnatural climate change because it is being inflicted by humans. I believe the earth can more easily bounce back from a natural climate change, like the Ice Age, than from global warming because a natural climate change occurs much slower. This gives the earth more time to adapt. Global warming is increasing at a rapid pace and neither the earth, or it's animals are going to have time to adapt. 

Post #4: Hope for Animals and Their World

I really enjoyed this reading by Jane Goodall, Gail Hudson and Thane Maynard. Their stories of restoration of wildlife is absolutely inspiring. This excerpt gives reality to the idea of must needed restoration all over the world. Not only do they provide the reader with heartfelt stories but also an idea of how to make it happen; repeating is easier than doing it the first time. Many times they spoke of the high cost of restoration, which is the reality of it. Restoration is extremely expensive but I think that  companies who destroy the land should be responsible for restoring it. One of my favorite stories was "The Man Who Restored Forests to a Mountain". In this story a young boy had a dream to restore the forest to Mountain that had lost all vegetation to an copper mine. After many years of dedicated work the man was able to get the Kennecott Company to clean up their mess. The Mountain now flourishes with trees and other vegetation single-handily planted by him and has brought back forest life. They went on with many stories of restoring life to fresh water sources such as lakes, rivers and streams. The dedication of the people involved in these stories has brought animal life back from near extinction. "The Amazing Return of the Coho Salmon" is a great example of how there is hope for these animals in the future, but that it is up to us to make it happen. When I read "Why Save the Endangered Species?" I'm not ashamed to say that I cried... numerous times. I guess what hit me the most was these peoples passion and dedication to the survival of these animals. How fulfilling their lives must be to experience what they have experienced and accomplish what they have accomplished thus far. It really makes your heart hurt reading these stories. How desperate these animals are for our help, and also how important their survival is for all walks of life. The more I read and the more I experience in this class, the more I cannot believe how disconnected I am to the earth and so connected to materialistic things. This class has really got me thinking how the majority of us live very shallow lives. I have to share the most heart wrenching words, by Rod Sayler, I found in this excerpt that really woke me up. "We are treading too harshly on the earth and consuming and degrading too much of the planet. If we allow extinctions to happen through ignorance and greed, then with the loss of each endangered species and unique population, our world becomes less diverse and strikingly less beautiful and mysterious. Our oceans, grasslands, and forests will echo with silence, and the human heart will know that something is missing- but it will be too late".

Post #3 Biodiversity

According to Vandana Shiva, Biodiversity means "the diversity of life". In other words, biodiversity is the variety of all life on earth. Biodiversity is very important because it boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no mater how big or small, play an important role in sustaining life. Shiva states that the destruction of biodiversity will lead to none other than the destruction of livelihood to people of third world countries that make their living by farming or fishing. I found Shiva's words to be very powerful. I especially liked when he stated that "all life forms have an intrinsic worth and a right to evolve freely on their own terms". This is very true, and so, humans have absolutely no right to disrupt the natural cycle of things. Shiva states that we are just one of millions of species on this planet, therefore, we have no right to "push other species to extinction, or to manipulate them for greed, profit and power without concern for their wellbeing". This was very well stated, unfortunately that is precisely what we are doing. Shiva brings up another good point when discussing how people in the biotechnology business, as well as most of North America, do not respect plants and animals as they should. They merely see them for how hey benefit us and not as how important they are as part of our ecosystem. For example, in relation to farming, we view animals as food for consumpion. The lack of respect is initially what is ruining biodiversity in the first place. Biodiversity is also diminishing in an agricultural aspect as well. There are fewer crops because mankind has decided that only the appetizing ones are important to keep sustained. For example, in the Netherlands a single potato variety makes up 80% of potato growing. This shows that as a whole, humans are shifting closer towards monoculture and uniformity as opposed to diversity. This does not look good for our biodiversity.

Post #2 Predators

Not until recently was I informed of the importance of predators in our ecosystem. Most people view them as a threat when they are actually quite the opposite. Predators can be intimidating when they come too close to our habitats but are vital in keeping the ecosystem balanced and acting as it should. Most of us know that our technological advances, such as commercial building and road construction, have caused wildlife to diminish in numbers, but do not understand how it is detrimental to us. The extinction of wildlife in certain areas has disrupted the natural cycle of the environment by knocking it off balance. This happened in Yellowstone National Park in he 1930's when the wolves were hunted to extinction throughout the park because people viewed them as a threat. The depletion of the wolves caused changes to the park that no one ever thought possible! Because the wolves were gone the elk increased in numbers consuming all the vegetation because they lacked a predator. The lack of vegetation in the soil caused the trees to stop growing which impacted the whole ecosystem tremendously. Without growth of new trees there was no beavers building dams, which is very important in creating a healthy downstream ecosystem. Most people don't understand that the depletion of one thing in an ecosystem causes a domino effect disrupting the entire system. What happened in Yellowstone in the 1930's is beginning to happen now in our oceans. We need to start changing our behavior now or we are going to suffer the consequences later.

Post #1: Sense of place and the great outdoors

I believe that my "sense of place" is no different than the average college student my age, and that is what I like to call "in transition". At my age life is changing a little bit every moment. Everyday I'm a little bit older, smarter and well... wiser. The years of carefree play and zero responsibility are over. Back then having a sense of place came naturally, without having to define it, or even necessarily knowing you embodied it. College can be hectic, but even in the most confusing times everyone has things that they are sure of, for me, that's God, family, education, and life itself... all life. These things that I hold dear to me will always give me a sense of place, even when I'm unsure of everything else. Being a college student, it's easy to say that I value education, but not everyone can honestly say that they have a passion for it. I am not be a tree huger, but I do believe that education of our planet is important in order to protect and sustain the life on it, including ours. When I was young my parents couldn't keep me inside. I have always been intrigued by nature and other forms of life. There is endless knowledge to learn about our planet so why not start with southwest Florida? In today's world of chaos, confusion and uncertainty I find my "sense of place" in the things I love, and that includes the great outdoors!