Water

“Irrigation of the land with seawater desalinated by fusion power is ancient. It is called Rain” (Kinkade-Levario 2007, 1). 
Wow, we have to use big words to make it seem that it's something new. My husband is the landscaper and gardener of my house. He does depend on the rain to water our grass and his plants but unfortunately has to use a hose sometimes. Actually, one of the bills that I do keep a close eye on is our water bill. I think how can we be using so much water when our bill goes up. Then my husband hears it. :) I think a lot more of us have to really consider having rain barrels to use for plants and landscape. Actually my husband does re-use rain water from a bucket that he keeps by our pool. As it fills up he pours it on the plants by the pool, at least we are making some type of effort. It's a shame the we don't take water shortage as serious as we should. It's like the saying goes, "you don't know what you have until you lose it."

Photo by physics.stackexchange.com

"El Laguno del Espiritu Santo" (Stoneman Douglas, 105).

"The lake of the Holy Spirit" is what it translates to. Is it spiritual? Godly? Why did the Spaniards see it as such? Mysterious is how the book describes the Everglades and to it is mysterious. Having lived in Naples all of my life I have yet to take a boat ride through them. I have driven passed them but have never taken the mysterious ride. Maybe it is spiritual because no one can really see what ALL of the everglades is really like unless you're floating above them, under them or through them. I don't think we will ever know what all lives with in what is know as the Everglades. The beauty is breathtaking and maybe that is why the Spaniards considered them spiritual.

Photo by visittheusa.com

Water Footprint:

Not to bad on my results, below the US average. So I'll take the results as a plus, especially since my last footprint I was consuming 2 1/2 planets. My highest area was in virtual water, meaning in everything that isn't in or around my house but instead what we drive and eat. I'll credit my results to my husband as he's the one that takes care of our landscape and makes sure that we turn the water off instead of just letting it run when washing dishes or brushing our teeth. Every bit helps. I keep an eye of the bill and let him know if it's increased so that he can watch how he uses it outside. 

Sources:
Robertson, M. (2017). Sustainability Principles and Practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
"The Nature of the Everglades" (p. 104-122) in the Colloquium Reader. 

Ethics/Biodiversity

"The balance of nature" (Leopold, 68).

In order to keep our world in order we must have a balance of some sort otherwise we will suffer in the area that is unequal. I myself am not the best when trying to keep our balance in reference to sustainability. We recycle our plastic and bottles, however it makes no sense because we buy bottled water. We have a water purifier but we don't really use it. I drive my husband's truck which uses more gas per mile when I also have a small car that would use less gas. We shower more than once a day and it usually isn't a quick one, I have to wash my hair everyday and that takes some time as it's so thick, so in all honestly I don't think I'm contributing that much to sustainability. Do I need to do more yes and I say I will but then just don't follow through. How can I expect others to have a balance with nature when I can't do it myself. Growth and expansion for our people is good thing but we need to find how we can have a happy medium or my grandchildren may not be able to enjoy the outdoors like I did.

Photo by jri.org.uk

"The fish need the forest, the forest needs the fish" (Suzuki, 1999).

I think what Suzuki means here that although we may not be directly connected we are directly connected. We need each other in order to keep the planet in line. People and animals eat the trees or fish that eat the bacteria in the water that creates a cycle of needing from one another in order to survive. When the extinction happened hundreds of years ago was mainly because some of the resources that were needed for the dinosaurs and plants to survive was missing, creating the extinction. Am I part of the cycle? To me I am but maybe not in the right way. I'm meat eater and not a plant eater, no type of salad or vegetables even and if I do eat vegetables it's a very short list. The same with fish no way, no how so my contribution isn't that great in that part either. Slowly I'm seeing why my contribution to helping the planet showed that I would need two and a half planets if I was too keep surviving the way I currently am. 

photo by camping-muenstertal.de

Biophilia or Biophobia

"As civilization advances, the sense of wonder almost necessarily declines" (Heschel, 1990).


Could that be true? What is your opinion on that? Mine is that yes, it can be true. We are slowly losing the beauties of the world as civilization advances. It seems as developers believe that everything has to have something built on it otherwise it's useless. However, I don't think they take into consideration that there is already something "built" there. The trees, the plants, the ecosystem is all built from our natural resources. So it doesn't have to be built by hand or machine in order to be considered developed. Let's develop on what is already there to ensure that we will have something to enjoy otherwise all of the building will be standing with no one in them.

Photo by history.com

"You could say that the kids who had greener setting were just richer" (Kuo, 9).

I couldn't agree more with quote. They are richer because they are able to experience what life is really like. They get to feel the grass under their feet, the air that we breath and the sun in our face. Indoors not only do you lack all of those but also physical activity as well nutrients provided by the outdoors. I feel that kids who haven't felt the grass haven't lived. I mean how will you know that it's ok to fall as you won't get hurt. Opposed to falling on gravel or pavement you will more than likely injure themselves. You get to see the life that comes from the grass, the ants, the plants, worms and even the dirt that is in the grass. Greener doesn't always mean the paper kind but instead the kind that actually feels like something. 

Photo by Cavan Images

Wiggins Pass

The place I chose to draw is the beach. Wiggins Pass beach to be specific in Naples. I chose it because this is where I spent many of my weekends when I was little. My family is very big and we are all close and because of that we spent a lot of time together. This was one of those places. Our parents would cook on the grills and we would enjoy the water and the sand. We also spent many Easter Sundays here as one big happy family. I hold it dear to my heart especially since we don't go that often anymore. Everyone has their own family and decides to spend the time amongst themselves. Sometimes here just not the big group as it was before. I really miss the times that we spent here, it brings back so many memories of all of us especially my dad now that he is gone.

Drawing by Lourdes

Sources: University Colloquium Reader. (2011)

Biosphere and Human sphere

"The great book of nature lies ever open before our eyes" (Margulis and Sagan 1997, 39)

Is what our eyes see all of what nature really is?  How can we say that it is if there is so much more that isn't seen by the human eye. We can absorb nature through simply breathing the air, admiring the view of a good rainfall and yes, seeing everything in bloom. I guess nature is what we make of it as there is so much of it. The book and continue to be great and views be grand as long as we do our part in conserving it.  If we don't take care of it what will we be seeing? The view will be gloomy and dark and the book will no longer be great but instead a short story.

Photo by exclusifvoyages.com

Photo by adsoftheworld.com

"The demographic bonus" (Brown 2009, 185).

Being able to live in the United States, to me is considered a demographic bonus. Just think of it we have everything that we could want. Clean air, free to roam around the country without worrying about a bomb, trees that we can admire, beaches that we can swim in, and food that we can eat at any time. We are lucky for sure. Can you imagine living in any other country? A country that lacks any of things that I mentioned? Although we aren't fully sustainable we are considered as stable, a bonus for sure. That is why so many people are dying to come to this place, not because they hate where they live but because our country is a bonus in the eyes of many.

Photo by wisegeek.com

Ecological Footprint

Results from Ecological footprint calculator

I'm in shock as to how I live impacts the Earth. 2.5 Earths leaves me speechless. I mean I have heard that one shouldn't eat meat everyday due to it impacting one's health but this is also saying that it's impacting how my kids and grandkids will be living as well. Eating greens for me has never been an option, I don't like them so I don't eat them but I can see how those are produced much easier than a cow for my meat. No wonder animal farmers are using steroids to keep up with the demand that we as a people are putting on the farmers. They can't keep up if they just use the natural way of raising the animals. I should seriously consider changing my eating habits. I don't travel far but I also don't own a newer vehicle therefore my truck isn't fuel friendly so the fact that I don't travel far doesn't really matter. However, I can't just say I'm getting a new car either. I do use my daughter's car when we do go further or ride with my sisters in effort to not use so much gas. We try to do conserve in some ways. We don't throw away our paper and plastic that gets recycled. We definitely need to improve and we will work on it little by little as every bit helps.




Source: Sustainability Principles and Practice, (Robertson, 2017)