Post 10

Currently it is now sea turtle season. This is when the baby turtles hatch from their hatch lings and set toward their sea life. The problem is there is Enterococcus bacteria that is inhabiting our local beaches. We are not aloud to go on the beaches, but what does that mean for the sea creatures on shore. There needs to be protection for these creatures. They warn us to close shutters so light does not reach them so they can make safely onto the beach. Regardless of taking this precaution, the sea turtle population will be taking a major hit from this bacteria. We should make extra efforts to save these babies lives. If possible, maybe they can be relocated without being harmed so they can be able to live. The population for sea turtles has been down, so it has been imperative to protect them. Whatever we can do to help them survive the circumstances of their habitat being destroyed the better.

Post 9

The Florida panther is a majestic animal that we know is becoming or on the verge of being extinct. So many of these panthers are getting run over by cars speeding through not paying attention. We all have busy lives and are always living a fast pace life, but that gives us no excuse for so many of these fatalities. Around FGCU I have noticed they have crossing signs for wildlife. I think that is great that we can be cautious of the areas we need to drive slower. There needs to be stricter regulations of the areas where the cats take habitat. People aren't going to change their ways unless you put ticketing in action. If we are honestly concerned for these panthers, then we need to take action. We can't simply just want change without being proactive. If we have more strict policies on speeding and take more action on watching our surroundings and then we will be able to see a decrease or all together eliminate these fatalities.

Post 8

In our community there have been a rise in bear sightings in Lee County. Residents are concerned and want the bears to flee from the area. The thing is that they are leaving their garbage out, which is attracting the bears. If you are leaving your trash out to where it is easy accessible to the animals, then you will a more abundance of them. I think another reason they may be locating to our area is because we are tearing down natural habitats that they call home. I travel I-75 everyday to get to school and all you see is constant construction. If we keep building up and don't leave allotted land to the creatures, then they will invade our area to find food. There are simple ways to prevent the outcry of the bear population invading rural and urban areas of Lee County. Keep trash away from area they can get to and conserve area for these magnificent creatures. We all have our area on this planet, so let's protect it one person at a time.

Post 7

One of our class periods we looked at the website www.myfootprint.org. It showed how much land and ocean would need to be required to retain our consumption lifestyle and what percentage the earth absorbs our waste. What an eye opener! As Americans we consume so much it's crazy. We rely on so many things to be here, yet we might not even be able to have these resources in the future. We are constantly consuming and wanting more. I know it costs me $60 for gas and makes me think of all the emissions are going into the earth every time I fill up at the gas station. If we can take simple precautions to make sure when we die we leave a lasting legacy for our children and grandchildren. We need to step up as a nation and world so this can happen or we will be headed toward a lethal direction. Simple things we can do to change can be recycling, walking instead of using gas, unplug outlets we aren't using and donating items we no longer use. It was stated that at least 25 acres is needed for a typical person in North America. That's a lot of space and if we can simple make small changes to decrease our ecological footprint the better it will be in the future.

Post 6

On Thursday June 27th we took a field trip to down town Fort Myers. There we got to experience and learn about the beautiful city we live in. First, we stopped by the market they were having. Local people came to sell things such as fresh produce, flowers, other foods and an abundance of  other products. It was a cool scene to see locals getting together to sell fresh natural products and have you support local businesses. After that we learned about Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone. Thomas Edison is the creator of the light bulb, Henry Ford the automobile and Harvey Firestone the creator of tires. These three gentlemen have had such an impact on our world that we forget about. It's great to have such history here locally in our back yard. The architecture of the buildings down town are very urban. I was fascinated by the Sydney & Berne Davis Art center. It is made out of limestone and illuminates in the night time. I hadn't really taken the time to realize all the unique infrastructures. The one thing I liked most was the ceramic tile mural Fort Myers: An Alternative History. It is a mural of depicting what the history of our community looked like. It wasn't what I thought our town would be like. Our area was known for cattle. Chief Bowlegs was an important figure in our town as well before he fled to Oklahoma. This history shapes us as a town. I just found it interesting and really enjoyed this field trip and learning the roots of our town.

Post 5

On Thursday we took a field trip to Lover's Key State Park. It was nice having class at the beach for sure, but I also did learn and was able to explore with my friend Kelsey. The area is roughly 293 square miles and called an estuary environment. Learned about the different kinds of mangroves. Red mangrove the roots look like hands or walking trees. Black mangrove have roots that look like fingers sticking out of the ground. White mangrove roots look like trees with no special roots. If you were to plant any other tree in this environment it wouldn't survive. Most tress are not able to survive in salt environment. The mangroves collect the salt through the roots and use fresh water to then excrete the salt. Most trees have seeds but the mangrove has something that is called a propugle which is a seed attached with nutrients that is free standing and wiggle its way and plant itself. We saw some wildlife such as an osprey and a seagull. There was a plethora of shells and also we found sand dollars, starfish and hermit crabs. We take for granted living in Florida. There is so much out there to be explored. I enjoyed this field trip. We should have class at the beach every class period. 

Post 4

In class on June 6th we watched a video on a cycle that humans go through and how wasteful we are as human beings. It showed a diagram how we as consumers go from sitting on the couch and watching a TV ad, to going out and buying the product, to then using the product to finally then toss it. The video said we throw out and stop using 99 percent of what we initially buy. That is a scary statistic. I know the video has made me more conscious as a buyer. We always buy in the moment and don't consider the lasting effects in making the purchase. When I shop I always do a need verses want before making a purchase. We all go through our "stuff" very fast, but instead of just throwing our purchases out we need to be more conscious of recycling. Recycling whether it be donating to a thrift store or sending it to a designated place to be recycled. If we can make these efforts to change as a society, then we will be able to make a difference in ecosystem of our world. I know I am always conscious about recycling, but this brought it into a new light for me. I will definitely show people the video so they can make an effort to change their habits as well.