Renewal Fim Response

I really enjoyed the Renewal mini-films we watched in class. When you think environmentalism, you usually don't think of religious affiliations, and I liked this different approach. I believe religious organizations could be extremely powerful in the "green" lifestyle movement (I'm not a hippy or anything, but unless you lack a significant amount of brain cells, you know some action is necessary for the human race to survive.) Think of all the things religion has moved people to do in the past (some of these things not so great, I know, but if we think positively...) Imagine what religious leaders could accomplish if they incorporated the idea of protecting the planet in their teachings. Yes, some people might be turned off by environmental preaching, but if they used some of the techniques shown in the films we watched, there could be spectacular results. Focus on the show, not tell idea. I know I mentioned this in class, but I want to reiterate: Religious groups receive 43% of all funds donated to nonprofits by public and private sectors, which is the highest of all nonprofit groups. Environmental groups get 3% of all charitable contributions, which is the lowest of all nonprofits. If we can find merge religion with environmentalism I think it could help create a better tomorrow for future generations.

Response to Morton's Ecology After Capitalism

In his work, Ecology After Capitalism, Timothy Morton explains that the concept of "nature" is an ideological construct. We created it, deeming it "other" or something that is "over there" and this is why we have trouble protecting it. He also says words like "environment" are just small upgrades of the word nature, created by our capitalist society. He believes that everything is connected and because of this we are a part of "nature" too and that this idea alone should justify saving the environment. Apparently, because we exist, we should feel responsible for taking care of the planet.

This "setting the bar low" idea, where we care because we are, seems all well and good in theory, but how do we put it into practice? How, after years of being trained to think of nature as "nature" can we accomplish this? I mean Jeez, sometimes humans can't even treat those who are in our own species with respect. With this in mind, how do we get people to treat something like a dandelion as we do ourselves? I just don't see it working in the real world. I believe small steps are the key.  Educating people on how to recycle, use less, be energy efficient, save the whales (polar bears, rhino's, trees, whatever) is a practical solution, something we can actually DO. I know it will take much longer to get people to a point where they consider nature to be the "same" as themselves (if they do at all), but it is a way more realistic goal. Maybe it isn't enough to stop environmental tragedy in its tracks, but hopefully it can stimulate a change for the better. I don't think capitalism is going anywhere any time soon, but I think we can strive to make sustainable changes in our current global state.

Brown Cuban Anoles

Yesterday, I was at the pool and I noticed a whole lot of lizards hanging around. They were mostly big, brown, male ones that were missing their tails (I know they are male because they had those strawberry things popping out of their neck). I guess it is Anole mating season because all of a sudden these two lizards just went at each other. They had their mouths open and were biting each other and wrestling right in front of me on the concrete. It was insane! One had the other in a death grip and right when I thought to myself, "holy shit this lizard is gonna die right here in front of me," I watched him finally wriggle free. He scampered up the iron fence and high tailed it out of there. The winning lizard, who I appropriately names Thor, flexed his strawberry thing a few more times and just chilled there in front of me, probably daring the rest of the lizard world to take him on. At least the losing lizard, Henry, will grow his tail back and hopefully take Thor on again next month.

I now know the brown Anole's I saw fighting are called Cuban Anole's and they are an invasive species here in Florida. They are cannibalistic and are killing off a lot of the native Florida lizards, like the Green Anole. I can totally see this happening because they are mean, hardcore fighters. And if they aren't eating the Green Anole, they are making it hard for it to find living space. Pesky little buggers, apparently.

Spanish Moss

"My thoughts are weighed down by you
lightly
like lace curtains, or Spanish moss on live oaks
Beautiful in their mourning veils
filtering the sunlight"
- Nicola Turner


I have always has a sort of infatuation with Spanish Moss. It has a sort of magical, take you back in time, element to it. I always think of the Old South, you know, with plantations and Victorian era homes with wrap around porches, that kind of thing. When I would ride my horse on the trails behind the barn, I would often grab it off of the oak trees as I passed by. Sometimes, I would find little red bugs crawling all over the moss, and I would quickly fling it on the ground. Other times I would drape it over my painted gelding, pretending he had a mane made of the stuff.

Now I know that Spanish Moss isn't actually a moss, but an angiosperm (strange name) and it is a type of air plant because it doesn't have roots in the ground. It absorbs nutrients from the air and the rain. Because it lives on the limbs of various trees, it stunts the trees growth because it doesn't allow a lot of light get to that trees own leaves. It is also known weigh trees down and make them more likely to fall during high winds or hurricanes. So while Spanish Moss is beautiful, it is a silent killer. Interesting.

Jimmy Buffett Saves the Manatees

I was working on an assignment for my Nonprofit Public Relations class, where we had to find a celebrity endorsed nonprofit organization, and I stumbled across the Save the Manatee Club. It was co-founded by Jimmy Buffett in 1981. Their mission is "to protect manatees and their aquatic habitats for future generations." I used to go to the Lowry Park Zoo and observe the injured Manatees all the time with my family. It is horrible that they are subjected to such cruelty through boating accidents and waterway pollution. Right now, the club is in the middle of a fundraiser where they are encouraging people to 'adopt' manatees for Valentines Day. Funny, because my girl scout troop "adopted" a manatee back when I was a kid. His name was Tiny Tim. I also thought it was an awesome idea to get Jimmy Buffett, someone who is known to hang around these parts, to participate in this organization. I totally love it. Go Jimmy!

Here is a public service announcement for the Save the Manatee Club featuring Jimmy Buffett...

Response to Richard Louv's "Gifts of Nature"

This was probably my favorite of all the readings assigned this week. It was also the one I agreed with most. Louv is very poetic in his narrative concerning children and nature. It was an engaging read that brought me back to my own childhood.



I remember when I was young living in New Jersey. We lived in a very rural part of the state, with farmland and woods all around us. Most of my childhood memories consist of playing out in the field behind our house or climbing the trees in the backyard. Once, we even had a babysitter who wouldn't let us in the house until the sun went down (a little extreme, but we slept well on those nights). Even when it was freezing outside, with a foot of snow on the ground, we were out building snowmen, snow forts, and having snowball fights. I was hardly ever in the house.

It makes me sad that this new generation of children are more concerned with their iPods and computers. I know that times have changed, and it is more dangerous for children to play outside unsupervised, but time in nature played an important part in shaping who I am today. What will happen to those kids who don't have that kind of influence?

Great Blue Heron

This is one of my favorite native Florida birds. When I was little I used to call it the Grandpa bird, and to this day I do not know why I started doing that. Maybe I thought they looked old compared to the snowy egrets I always saw them wading near. Regardless, the name "grandpa bird" stuck with me until middle school, when I learned it was actually called a Great Blue Heron.   

Fun Facts:

• They are the largest North American Heron.
• They are wading birds and use their beaks to spear their pray.
• They can be found on shorelines and in wetlands (or pretty much anywhere there is freshwater in the state of Florida).
• They are also found in states more northern than FL, the Caribbean and parts of Central America.
• Their diet consists of small fish, insects, crabs, amphibians, rodents, reptiles, and other small birds.
• They swallow their prey whole and are known to choke on their food.
• Solitary feeders
• Breed in colonies next to lakes or other wetlands
• Build bulky stick nests and lay 3-6 eggs at a time that usually take 28 days to hatch

Gotta love the Great Blue Heron!!

Oh, hey there, Lichen

I feel like this stuff is everywhere on the trees around campus. I saw a lot of it on the Corkscrew Swamp tour as well.

• Lichen is called the pioneer of nature because it paves the way for other species to grow.
• Lichen can be found in very extreme conditions, from the arctic tundra to the Sahara.
• They are a cross between a a fungus and an algae.
• They live on either dead organic materials or on living organisms because the fungus part of them lacks  chlorophyll and can't produce their own food. This is where the algae comes into play.
• Lichen comes in a wide variety of colors and textures. Some even look similar to mushroom fungus.
• They are extremely drought resistant and can lay dormant without water for a long period of time.
• There are over 15,000 species of lichen.

In this photo you can see red and green lichen. The red lichen is sometimes called Christmas lichen because it is reminiscent of the holidays. These are both considered a "scaly" variety of lichen.