Read 'n' Seed 5: Fourth Quarter and Final Review of "The Fate of Nature."

For the fourth quarter of "The Fate of Nature," I read Part VI of the book which covered chapters 33-38 and pages 329-368.  The main focus of this last part dealt with "the problem and hope."  The problem, is not so easily defined.  In simple terms, the "problem" is human's thoughts about and treatment of nature.  So, what is the "hope?"  What can we do?

Hope for the Future

In chapter 33, Wohlforth tells the story of a woman named Antonia who he felt had a special drive and a special passion for the environment.  Wohlforth sat down with her and asked if she thought she was a special person since she deeply cared for other people, animals, and the environment.  Antonia said, "I wish more people were that way.  And I think there are a lot of people who are that way.  And I think the more other people see it, the more they will become that way too."  Wohlforth states that this is the very meaning of "hope."  He also stresses that with hope comes change.  Can we change social norms?  Can people themselves change?  The answer is yes.

Change

Change can be predicted and planned, it can result from desire and hope, or it can be accidental or unintentional.  The relationship we have with the earth is changing.  It can be changing for better or for worse.  Wohlforth stresses that it is our decision in what direction we go.  Chapter 34 discusses that climate change is the biggest threat to our oceans.  It is one of the root causes for death of an entire species or even an entire habitat.  Wohlforth further reinforces that it is our sense of community and connectedness to nature that will make a difference.

Celebrations

The final chapter is titled "Celebrations" and discusses hope for the future.  We can have hope because more people are deciding to choose community over competition.  Wohlforth says that we all have a lot to learn, but that in growing, we can make positive changes in our environment.  He ended up recapping some of the stories he had previously told and leaves us with the image of two killer whales moving a spirit from the blue sea to the "blue, starry sky," further stressing the connectedness of humans and the environment.

Book Overview

In this book, Charles Wohlforth discusses many aspects of the environment and more specifically, his experiences in Alaska.  He draws on personal stories and philosophical discussions to provoke the reader's thoughts.  He challenges the reader to define themselves and their relationship with the environment.  As stated in earlier posts, he discusses some of the history of Alaska and its people, goes into great detail about the Exxon Valdeez Oil Spill, and what this means for the future.  In the first part, he talked about the Chugach people who live in Prince William Sound.  He discusses their beliefs and their connectedness to nature.  The Chugach people place value on every part of nature: rocks, grass, trees, animals, the ocean, etc.  What they took from nature, they gave back.  The book also stresses the importance of reviewing this mindset and why we should care.  Then, we moved on to the oil spill and all of the power big corporations had over the media and how strongly the influenced communities.  This was very shocking to read.  Finally, he brought up the discussion of hope and change.  

Three Important Points and Their Significance 

Of the many concepts discussed in this book, there were a few topics that really stuck with me.  One is looking back to the past.  In the stories of the Chugach people, it brought me back to the talk we had in the first couple weeks of class about the blade of grass and the shining star.  We metaphorically and literally walk all over the resources that we have and use every day.  It made me think about different aspects of the environment, and when I walk outside, I see things differently.  A second important point is to raise the critical eyebrows when we hear new information.  When Wohlforth talked about the oil spill, I was surprised at all of the behind the scenes things that went on.  Is something true just because someone tells us it is?  Should we believe everything we see on the news?  Who is behind this project/research/advertisement and how much funding are they providing?  All of these questions and more need to be asked to determine source credibility.  

Both of these combined bring me to my third point of interest or importance.  This point, is to spread hope and create change.  As people who are educated and people who may be leaders, we have to know how to use our resources and our power to spread the word.  Whether it is environmental health, or other related topics, we need support and a channel.  We need to understand that there is hope and we can make a change.  Many of us in this blog group and in this class are already taking great strides to reduce our footprints.  We can enhance this by spreading the word to others that we come in contact with, and telling them the impact of their actions.  Overall, I really have gained a new perspective of myself and the decisions I have to make.  This has put some fuel on my fire, and I hope I will continue to feed it as I progress in our major and the profession.  

Final Thoughts

I hope you have enjoyed learning about this book as I have.  It has been great to see every one's topics and learn from each of you without having to buy a textbook.  

"I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars."

-Walt Whitman

Read 'n' Seed 4: Third Quarter of "The Fate of Nature"

For the third quarter of "The Fate of Nature," I finished up the second half of Part IV and completed Part V as planned.  This included pages 234-325, covering chapters 24-32.  Part four finished up talking about conservation, but in part five, Wohlforth really digs in to the Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill.  He was in Alaska when it happened and had the rare opportunity to do some research and reporting on the issue.  Wohlforth surveyed the Sound and talked to many people in the government and the nearby towns and he discovered some very shocking facts.

Wohlforth starts off by discussing the oil spill itself and the lack of resources, a protocol, or even a general game plan when it came to cleaning up the massive "stain" in the ocean.  In a meeting with Dan Lawn, the State of Alaska's pipeline regulator, Lawn said that for years he had criticized the lack of preparation for a catastrophe such as the Exxon Oil Spill.  However, he was punished by his superiors and was no longer allowed to look into the matter if he wanted to keep his job.  Then, when the oil spill actually did happen, government officials and people involved were running around trying to think of ways to prevent something that had already happened.  It was too late at that point.

The oil spill also had many economic implications.  The people who depended on the ocean life as a source of food were now without resources.  Many natives quit their jobs because Exxon, the company that they were furious with, paid them nearly $2,000 per week to help in the cleanup.  However, this ended up giving more power to Exxon and most of the earnings were spent at the pubs and bars.  Exxon hired drunks off the street for as long as they could until they got their urine tests back.  Because of this, there was a snowball effect and the whole community shut down.  Meanwhile, the oil was not going anywhere.  Not to mention the marine animals that were effected.  Wohlforth pointed out that some animals were dying off because the oil had reached their brains and that cleaning the oil off of the fur/feathers was pointless.  Seals, otters, birds, and more had already been effected by the toxins.  One of the more shocking things that went on during this time was the research and media coverage of the situation.  All that the general public saw was good things about the cleanup efforts and the research SOMEHOW matched the ideals of its funding corporations.  This just goes to show how much power large corporations, the government, and the media have.

As far as implications for the future, there are many.  A main implication comes from Lawn's example.  He had been trying to fight for some organized preparation for an oil spill, but no one wanted to listen because it was not a good investment at the time in their minds.  Well, we can do the same thing about the environment.  We don't care because right now, we are not seeing the dangers of our actions.  I still have running water so I will use it, I still have trees so I can cut them down.  It is this way of thinking that gets us into trouble when we DO run out of resources.  What happens when something that is essential to human life just vanishes?  Is THAT when we start caring?

Another implication goes with the whole concept of the government and the media.  This is not to say that the government is bad or media is bad, but we must raise the critical eyebrow as we hear new things.  Who is conducting the research, who is paying for this, how can we be sure this is a reliable source, etc?  We really need to focus on what kind of information is being told to the general public, and utilize our skills as educators to spread the word to those around us.  We need to fight back for a little power of our own to shed light on issues such as the oil spill and the manipulation of the media.  This is not an overnight task by any means, but we should keep it in mind as we continue our education and our careers.

Read 'n' Seed 3: Second Quarter of "The Fate of Nature"

I had originally planned to read Parts III and IV of the book but I only ended up reading Part III and then about halfway through Part IV.  This entailed chapters 14-23 (pg. 119-233).  I think I will still be able to stay on track because I had planned to read Part V for the third quarter and Part VI for the final quarter.  So, I will just finish up the last few chapters of Part IV for next week!  Most of what was covered in the sections I read for this week discussed conservation and the history of conservation.  Through discussions of the gold rush, the Civil War, World War II and a specific look at Alaska, Wohlforth details the evolution of land conservation and discusses the ownership of water bodies which he names the "liquid world."  Wohlforth goes into even greater detail about the debate of property lines, and ownership of land.

There were a few things in the text that stood out in my mind.  One directly relates to what we have been talking about in class.  Wohlforth is discussing how we can maximize our resources while still benefiting from them.  He talks about an experiment at Indiana University in which students played a Pac Man-Type game where they had to munch up all of the little tokens.  Each token was worth a certain amount of money and the students could actually go home with $22 each.  The students played at the same time on the same screen for a total of four minutes.  After a token was eaten, it would take a while for it to regenerate, much like our natural resources.  However, because each student only thought of themselves and wanted to maximize their resources, the tokens were gone within the first minute of the experiment and the students ended up earning about 1/3 of the potential $22.  The experiment was done again, this time with a higher institution stepping in and dividing the screen into quadrants that each student "owned."  This time, the students ended up earning more of their money because they were not worried about others munching up their tokens.  In a third round, students did not have "property lines" but were allowed to communicate to each other.  This third round ended up being the most successful in the allotted four minute time period. Students actually had resources left over at the end of four minutes so that if there was more time, the game could have continued.

I found this to be a very important part of what I read.  If we think of the earth and how we can best preserve it, cooperation is the key.  Obviously more factors go into it than the Pac Man Experiment can demonstrate, but if we simplify it, it relates.  We as humans are not maximizing our $22 of resources and, as we saw in the Star Wars Activity, we are using up our resources way too fast.  Another important thing that was pointed out in this experiment was government intervention.  Later in the text, Wohlforth hints at the importance of having power and resources.  But, he points out that we must not be blinded by the government because they do have so much power in our society.  I think this is important because one of our responsibilities is to advocate for health.  If we can't do that, there is not much we can do.

This section was less philosophical and more historical so I hope that this post is easier to follow than the last.  I am anxious to see where the reading takes me.

Read 'n' Seed 2: First Quarter of "The Fate of Nature"

For the first Read 'n' Seed, I completed Part I and Part II of "The Fate of Nature" by Charles Wohlforth.  This ended up being 13 chapters and 116 pages.  The first part mainly discusses some history of Alaska and attempts to define humans and human nature.  In the first seven chapters, Wohlforth challenges the reader to really think about themselves and think about past events that have lead us to where we are today in terms of our relationship with the earth.  In Part II, he moves on to discuss the Enlightenment period in Alaska and influences of that time.  He tells the story of Captain Cook discovering Alaska and ends with a preview discussion based on conservation.  The next part of the book will go in depth about how conservation started and why we should care.  All of this is a philosophical way to look at how we treated the earth in the past, and the implications for the future.

While I was reading, I found myself thinking in a metaphysical way.  Wohlforth almost drew it right out of me.  What is reality?  How do we know?  What is human nature?  In the beginning, one topic that stood out to me the most was the Chugach people the inhabited Prince William Sound.   They believed in the spirit and connection of everything in life.  As we might walk over the grass and rocks as if they are nothing, the Chugach people see each blade of grass and each pebble to have a life, a meaning, a purpose, and a connection to us.  Even driftwood was viewed as a gift from a higher power because it could be reused in a new way.  This mindset really stood out to me in Wohlforth's illustration because I wanted to know how we grew so far away from that school of thought.  I began to realize why this book is important to read and how I could learn from it.

Wohlforth writes about cultures such as the Chugach people so that we can learn from their history.  He stresses that we need to look into our past as a nation and an environment if we want to move forward.  I have only skimmed the surface so far in the text, but I see where he is going with it.  We cannot just be selfish and pretend that what we do does not impact the world around us.  Wohlforth talks about people being blind and living in a state of their own "blindness."  We are all blind to certain things, simply because we do not know or have not discovered them yet.  However, we have evidence and proof of how the environment is crumbling because of our every day actions.  How can we be so blind to something that we have seen?  Because it is easier to be blind than to open our eyes and make a difference.  This is such a simple concept, and yet, it is so essential for us to understand, especially in the context of this class.  We must take the blinders off to look into the past and the future and understand that we are connect and we do make a difference.

I am excited to see where Wholforth take me in the following chapters.  I know it seems a little bit like rambling and is more philosophical than factual, but that is his style when he writes.  I hope you all can follow what I said and pull out the main message.

Read 'n' Seed 1: The Fate of Nature

1. The title of the book I chose is The Fate of Nature by Charles Wohlforth.
2. In this book, Charles Wohlforth seeks to answer the question "What capacity for good lies in the hidden depths of people?"  In his quest, Wohlforth looks at our relationship with the earth both past and present to discuss future implications on the environment.  He uses science, personal stories, history, and more to show why we all should care about the ocean and the life-giving qualities it has.  Wohlforth illustrates his story through his time spent in Alaska and shows that our immediate environment has an effect on the environment as a whole.  He ends the first chapter of his book with a quote that puts this into perspective from Diane Selanoff, an Alaskan native.  Selanoff says, " 'The ocean is the source of all life for our people.  Not only for our people.  For everyone.' "  I hope to learn from Wohlforth's poetic and philosophical writing about how much we do impact the environment and how to become more aware of myself and my surroundings.  
3. I originally chose another book off of the list, but the library did not have it.  While searching at the library, I happened to stumble upon this book and thought it fit well with the theme of my blog.  I was drawn to the fact that even though the book contains research and science, it is still written in a way that makes you want to keep reading until the end.  It will be interesting to learn about the Alaskan shore line and what lies below the surface of the ocean.  In reading the reviews and the intro, I have found myself more intrigued by a book for homework than I have been in quite some time.  I hope this continues throughout as I dive deeper into Wohlforth's unique way of thinking.  
4. The first link contains many sections including about the author, reviews and more.  The section I enjoyed most was the video/audio section.  Click here to go to the home page.  The second link I have is an online review that highlights Wohlforth's writing but criticizes some of his tangents.  For the third link, I have chosen another review.  It is a bit lengthy but worth reading.  I will also include links to his facebook page which has pictures of Alaska and a few research trips.  
5. The book is split into six parts with about six to seven chapters per part.  I plan to read the first two parts for the first quarter, the third and fourth parts for the second quarter, the fifth for the third and the sixth for the fourth.  

Stay tuned!

Welcome to Kristen's Coral Reef!

Dead fish due to oil pollution, toxic materials, runoff and more.

Hello everyone!  My name is Kristen and I am a sophomore at the University of Minnesota Duluth.  I would like to welcome you to my coral reef.  This blog was created for my Environmental Health class and will be updated weekly.  I chose to make mine a coral reef because they are beautiful to look at, but we are also on the verge of losing them because of our actions.  For this class, we will be posting different assignments and commenting on our group members' posts as well.  I hope to gain a better understanding of my immediate environment, as well as the earth as an environment, and how I impact the environment every day.  This blog will be a great tool to do so as we learn from each other.  

There are 6 possible types of posts on my blog.  They include:

1. Advocacy Project
2. Eye Openers
3. Reflections
4. Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change
5. Read 'n' Seed
6. Share and Voice

If you notice at the bottom of this post, the categories will be listed as labels.  This post has been labeled with all six kinds of posts.  You will also see the number of each kind of post in my Labels Gadget at the top of the page.  All post titles from now on will begin with one of the categories above.  

The members of my web group are:

1. Samantha@Samantha Green with Envi
2. Adam@Adam's Outdoor Connection
3. Alyssa@Treeific Time with Alyssa
4. Emily@Eco-quest with Emily
5. Katie@Through Green Eyes with Katie
6. Carly@Go Blue Too with Carly

You can subscribe to my blog by clicking the subscribe gadget in the gadget column.  You can also follow my blog by clicking "Follow This Blog" in the gadget column.  I am subscribed to all the blogs in my blog list gadget.  You can see my complete profile and all the blogs I am following by clicking on "See Complete Profile."

I am excited to see what you all come up with as we begin our journey and I hope you are too.  (I am also already looking forward to next week's eco-chic snack).  Thanks for swimming by and checking out my coral reef.