Now
it’s time to reflect on my experience in this Colloquium class from both a
personal and an academic perspective. I
can begin be saying I found that, by going through the assignments, I obtained
a better insight into what was going on in our world. Before I began this class, I had knowledge of
endangered species. However, one thing I
didn’t know was that endangered species are on a few restaurants menus. I also hadn’t given much thought about how eliminating
a predator species would have such an enormous effect on a food species - even causing
some to grow immensely population wise.
I developed a better understanding of world hunger issues, just how
severe the issue actually is, along with what great things different
organizations such as ECHO are doing to help the situation at hand. The readings, video clips, and power point
slides really opened my eyes to what is happening in the world every day, and
how some of the simplest things can make an enormous difference with respect to
the effect on our climate.
Isn’t
it ironic that we are creating large scale CO2 emissions which speed up the
process of global warming on our planet, yet we are doing so very little to
curb our output of carbon emissions?
This is quite disheartening, and encourages me to seriously consider all
the technology that could be utilized as a cure for our addiction to fossil
fuels. Yes, we are getting better at
removing the existing and remaining oil out of the ground, but our focus needs
to change towards working on better solutions to use less destructive energy
sources.
These
last 10 weeks have stirred a desire within me to get more involved to make our
planet a better place to live. As I move
closer towards attaining my degree, one means by which I can get involved is to
focus my job search on companies that are more environmentally aware, and which
actually implement strategies and mission statements that take care of the
planet in as many ways possible. I may
not be able to directly affect change at my chosen place of future employment,
but one thing is certain – my future employer can do business with our
environment in mind, and my efforts will be fruitful.
I
further enjoyed the many adventures and quality time I was able to spend with
my wife on several of the required field trips. ECHO farm is my choice as favorite
field trip. Witnessing the many things being
done locally, as well as globally, was pretty terrific. It was also really good to visit the natural
environments such as the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, and be able to reconnect
with nature – something we seem to do less and less of as a society. These wonderful natural parks and preserves
are something we should all hold dear to our hearts and not let disappear. I had forgotten how peaceful and serene these
places can be, and what a sense of place they can provide.
The
subject of sustainability and our environment is one that I believe every
school and college should teach and require of their students. I found the most difficult part of this class
was trying to keep up with the workload.
At times, it felt like information overload, with all the readings and
writings required. But overall, this
class is so informative, up to date with the information provided and studied,
and having the best practical application to real everyday awareness, making it
out to be a lot of fun in the long run!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with me!!
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