The Nature of the Everglades

I apologize for not doing this chapter last week!

Arial of the Everglades. Photo by: water.columbia.edu

"There are no other Everglades in the world." (Douglas, 104)

This quote is the first line of this chapter and it definitely caught my attention. The Everglades are very different from any other land in the world. So open and welcoming but dark and mysterious at the same time. So much space but it is unkown what we can do with it. The Everglades are mostly made up of sawgrass and water. The weather, like much of Florida, is hot, humid, and wet. The area is right in the middle of Florida and has gone down in size due to humans making changes to it over the years.

Saw grass. Photo by: sofia.usgs.gov

"They call is saw grass. Yet in the botonical sense it is not grass at all so much as fierce, ancient, cutting sedge." (Douglas, 108)
Saw grass is one of the main reasons people are so scared of and don't mess with the Everglades. This 'grass' is terrible, it is majorly painful and there is nothing you can do about it. The name is completely self explanatory. The blades of this grass are literally like a saw, it you walk through this you will be bleeding all over. It's been said that saw grass cuts feel like "paper cuts from hell."

Rain in the Everglades. Photo by: adventuresfrombehindtheglass.com

"Here winter and spring and summer and fall blend into each other subtly, with nothing like such extremes of heat and cold. Here, actually, there are only two seasons, the wet and the dry, as there are in the tropics." (Douglas, 112)
The Everglades, like most of Florida, does not have seasons. Leaves don't change, it does not snow, and there are rarely any dramatic changes in the weather. Most people say Florida's seasons are hot and hotter but Douglas say they are wet and dry. Both statements are completely accurate.Usually around the end of August, Florida begins having sunny mornings and afternoon rain. This is cause by the heat and humidity. We usually do not have droughts because there is almost always rain.

Alligator in the Everglades. photo by: www.miamiphotoblog.com

"The otter has been seen to swim and flirt and turn among a crowd of thrashing alligators from whose clumsy attack he has only to dive and flash away." (Douglas, 145)

Animals are such fearless creatures sometimes. It's amazing how well the animals and other living things work together. Humans are the only living creatures that cannot just live in harmony with the world. This otter is fearless, it is able to swim around a group of predators and it doesn't even seem to phase him. I wish I had the courage of that otter.

Endgame

Wildlife of the Everglades. Photo by: policy.audubon.org

“Smith was a devout Roman Catholic, and he believed in the sanctity of life—not only for unborn children but for egrets and otters too.” (Grunwald, 79)

It is interesting that someone’s religion is influencing them to make such important decisions about the environment. Many people forget about the creatures when they are talking about the environment. The animals that live in certain habitats are very important. People tend to think of the land by itself and think that animals will take care of themselves. Luckily people like Smith and other organizations pay attention to these animals, so not all animals will go extinct.

Arial of the Everglades. Photo by: wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu

“The Everglades was really ‘America’s Everglades,’ as the Florida senators kept calling it, then a threat to the everglades was America’s business.” (Grunwald, 82)

I think it’s important to think of land as something we share. Such as the Everglades, they do not only belong to Florida, they belong to the USA, North America, the World , and the even the galaxy. Many people think that a creator owns the land as well. Our society bases many things on what you own and many arguments start because of this. Having an area that we all share is important for many reasons. It’s great to have an area that everyone shares.

Pollution in the Everglades. Photo by:jrosedaly.wordpress.com

 “He wasn’t convinced tht the airport was central to the plumbing problems that were destroying the everglades.” (Grunwald, 84)

People always want to place blame for problems, especially if they have history with the other party. Even if it’s obvious they are not the ones to blame. It is people like Gore who think of both sides of the argument and and don’t make a decision until all the facts are straight that keep our country going. When it comes to pollution, there are many people and things to blame; they should not have picked the closest large company/building to blame. When the politicians looked into the complaint, they realized that the problem was more with the noise than the actual pollution.

Everglades. Photo by: www.merid.org

 “Senators Mac and Graham—as well as Vice President Gore and Governor Bush—believed that passing CERP depended on maintaining a consensus among Florida’s interest groups, and there was a consensus among every group, except environmentalists that the Clinton administration had unfairly elevated nature over people.” (Grunwald, 84)

It’s weird to think that almost all of the interest groups  in Florida were against CERP (The certified Everglades restoration plan) but that still went on with it without actually addressing the public’s concerns. I’ve heard things about the government doing this but I always thought those were rumors but this is actual evidence. It’s completely wrong of them to not at least take these concerns into consideration.

A Land Remembered

Photo by: rickpowersartist.com

While reading the book "A Land Remembered" by Patrick D. Smith one of the characters that really caught my attention was Emma. She is Tobias's wife and Zech's mother. Her role is the role of a typical woman in the 1800's. She cooks, cleans and usually stays home. I found her to be an amazing person though. She traveled with her husband and stayed by his side, no matter what. She was often the voice of reason and stood her ground when she knew something was right. She made the most of everything that happened and was always supportive of her family, no matter how difficult things got. She always found something good out of a bad situation and made the best of what she had.

Emma spent most of the time in the beginning of the book in the house or in a wagon. When things would happen, Zech usually had to go fill her in on what was going on because she couldn't leave the sheltered area. Although, she prepared meals from things in nature, those things were usually brought to her. She also experienced nature when traveling to different areas in the wagon. She did some work outside but was usually inside the house, unlike her husband that was almost always outside.

Emma's sense of place would be he kitchen. That is where she would feel the most "at home". She enjoyed cooking for her family and others along the way, although it got more difficult when they didn't have much to prepare. She also was great at sewing and fixing things. I believe she was a lot less scared then most women in that time would be if they were put into some of the situations that she was forced into, such as, almost being attacked by bears or watching her house get burned to the ground. Her sense of place would be anywhere with her family. She was content with let herself go in order to help her family. She was a very family oriented woman.

There are many ways that I relate to Emma. Yes, I cook and clean but that's not all. I feel in relationships I have with people, I am often the voice of reason. I try to be respectful and quiet when I don't have something nice to say but when someone needs to hear it, I will talk some sense into them. I wish I was able to be as humble and accepting as she was though. She went through so much more than someone should but she stood with her family and never complained. She put off having more children, she left all of her friends, and she lived and traveled in terrible conditions without ever complaining. I hope someday I can be even close to as amazing as Emma was in this book.

The Land Ethic

"A land ethic changes the role of homo sapiens from conquerer to plain member and ciitizen of it." (Leopold, 60)

Leopold explains his land ethic as a way that humans can be one with their environment. If the land ethic was reality people would respect the land around them. They would take care of it and not ruin it by exterminating plants, filling areas with sewage and promotions, or killing off animals. I think the world is far from a land ethic. We ruin areas without even thinking twice about it. Many people are trying to be more conscientious about these issues but fail to make a difference. I am definitely not one to judge because I am also guilty of this. Although recycling and avoiding littering are a good start, they are not a solution and not a way to conserve and love our world. I believe people should be more aware of what is going on in the world around them. This article was written sixty eight years ago and not much has changed since then.

Some of the pollution ruining our world. Photo by: foe.co.uk

"Despite nearly a century of propaganda, conservation still proceeds at a snail's pace; progress still consists largely of letterhead parties and convention oratory." (Leopold, 62)

Governments seem unconcerned with conserving the environment and the world around them. So my question is... Do they not care or are they just not informed about the world around them. While I was growing up teachers, parents, and other leaders taught me about conserving our world and explain how important it is. It's basically common sense to know that the world needs to be taken care of. So, if everyone knows it is  problem why do they refuse to do anything about it? I understand that some companies may loose a decent amount of money but in my opinion making the world a better place for us as well s future generations is much more important than the amount of money you have at the moment. Who gave humans the right to ruin the world and kill things just to make their own life better? There are plenty of other living things that are dying because of our selfish ways. I wish one important official would stand up for the world and help or even force the world to make the change.

Our environment affects us everyday. Photo by: commondreams.org

"In some instances, the assumed lack of profit in these 'waste' areas has proved to be wrong, but only after most of them had been done away with." (Leopold, 66)

People in this world make changes and do things without thinking of the consequences for the future. This is just one of many examples. This topic reminds me of what people say about the butterfly effect. This is the thought that if people were able to travel back in time, if they changed one minor detail, the entire world would change. I think every little thing we do to our environment effects the future of the world. So when we change things in the environment, we are ruining more than just the physical object. If we kill off one species, it could mess up the entire food chain. Killing one type of plant could do the same.We must be careful what we do to this world, we have no idea how much influence we have on it.

We must protect the environment. Photo by:reformjudaism.org

Nature Deficit Disorder

“In the era of test-centric education reform and growing fear of liability, many districts considered recess a waste of time or too risky.” (Louv, 1)

I cannot imagine thinking that taking physical activity would be good for children. We live in a world of constant worry. The adults are constantly worrying about things that they cannot control. Taking way recess will cause students to have too much energy and not pay attention in class. So, the test scores that people are so worried about will actually end up being worse. Also, children get hurt no matter what, not just while doing physical activities so people should not think of that as the problem.

Failed test. Photo by: www.thedeal.com

"Studies suggest that nature may be useful as a therapy for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), used with or, when appropriate, even replacing medications or behavioral therapies." (Louv, 2)

This study is extremely interesting to me. I am always supportive of ways to help the body without medication and things that could possibly harm the body. It also seems like nature could be a more long term solution, unlike medicine that is usually only a temporary fix.Especially when it comes to children, medication should only be used when absolutely necessary. It is also interesting how many more people are being diagnosed with ADHD these days. Could this be because many people are spending less time outdoors and more time inside in front of screens? I believe so. I think people could be the ones causing ADHD.

Medication is not always the answer. Photo by: www.bloodsugarsolution.com

"The boy was hyperactive, he had been kicked out of his school, and his parents had not known what to do with him--but they had observed how nature engaged and soothed him." (Louv, 5)

It's amazing how so many different people have noticed the difference when children with ADHD are exposed to the outside more. I would love to do an experiment on this information since I plan to work with children in the future. The proof behind these findings is extraordinary. I wonder why more people lean toward medication rather than trying nature first. While reading this, I was thinking about my future classroom. I hope to have windows in my classroom and have the ability to take my students outside often. In addition to that, I will also do many of my lessons outside and have plants in my classroom, I will teach children about taking care of plants and the 'green' in the room will help children with different types of disabilities to concentrate, hopefully.

The outdoors. Photo by: www.chaplingonet.com