JOURNAL #4-ECHO GLOBAL FARM

FACT #4: ECHO originally stood for "Educational Concerns for Haiti Organization" but as ECHO grew, their vision did too. ECHO became Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization under the direction of Dr. Martin Price because he believed that ECHO could multiply the organization's efforts several times by locating in the U.S. and offering agricultural services to people all over the world. [source: ECHO]

On our trip to ECHO Global Farm, I had the opportunity to learn so much about alternative ways of living! Before traveling to ECHO, I had no idea that plants and vegetables didn't need soil to grow. We got to see all sorts of plants being grown in tires using pea pebbles, household rugs, corn cobs, soda cans and plastic bottles.

In the garden, lettuce was being grown with rugs, corncobs and soda cans. The buckets in the corners hold vital nutrients and promote the growth of the plants!

I really enjoyed getting to see all of the alternative lifestyles for people in third world countries! It was definitely a harsh reality check to see some of the things that other people have to go through to have luxuries that we come by so easily. I couldn't imagine having to use a barrel of manure to cook a meal for my family, or harvest and maintain my own crops! We complain too often about trivial things in life such as trips to the grocery store or having to stop and get gas, when in reality, these everyday tasks for us would be great benefits to people on the other side of the world.

Something else that was really neat was the rice pond:

In the above pond alone, over 80lbs of rice can be produced which can double the average salary for a family!

Though I enjoyed the above stated items, the most amazing thing to me was the moringa powder. I couldn't believe that a plant could fully purify the most contaminated water and cure some of the most devastating illnesses! According to Naturalfoods.com, "Ounce for ounce, moringa contains seven times the Vitamin C found in oranges, four times the beta carotene of carrots, three times the iron of spinach, four times as much calcium as milk and three times the potassium of bananas. Moringa also contains all 8 essential amino acids and is rich in flavonoids, including Quercetin, Kaempferol, Beta-Sitosterol, Caffeoylquinic acid and Zeatin.

Some of the possible health benefits of the Moringa Leaf:

* Boosts the natural defenses of the body.
* Nourishes the brain and eyes.
* Helps regulate a healthy metabolism.
* Promotes healthy cell structure.
* Promotes healthy cholesterol levels.
* Supports healthy function of the liver and the kidneys.
* Beautifies the skin.
* Increases energy.
* Aids in proper digestion.
* Contains powerful antioxidants that reduce the risk of tumors and the effects of aging.
* Possesses strong anti-inflammatory properties.
* Promotes a healthy circulatory system.
* Supports the normal sugar levels.
* Helps detoxify the body
* Effective against nervous system disorders including normal and migraine headaches.
* Gives a feeling of general wellness.

Moringa is sometimes referred to as the "Miracle Tree" because all parts of the plant are edible and medicinal. It can also thrive in tough climates and poor soil. It's combination of high nutrition, sustainability and hardiness has caused it to be promoted widely in Africa to help fight hunger, malnutrition, and disease."

ECHO is an amazing place full of the most passionate and selfless people I have ever met. I learned a lot and I hope to be able to travel more in the future and help others!

JOURNAL #3-AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

FACT #3: There was a 2004 survey, by Naomi Oreskes of 928 peer-reviewed scientific articles on global climate change published between 1993 and 2003. The survey, published as an editorial in the journal Science, found that every article either supported the human-caused global warming consensus or did not comment on it. [source: Wikipedia-An Inconvenient Truth]
I thought this fact was very interesting because, so often we hear that global warming or climate change is bogus, but here lies a group of well-versed and highly knowledgeable authors and not one of 928 articles denounces possible climate change.

Before watching 'An Inconvenient Truth', my knowledge on global warming was not up to par. Not because I wasn't interested in learning more, but rather the difficult language and half truths used to describe the ongoing issues were discouraging and confusing. It's sad to acknowledge, but when watching network news programs, the audience is often deprived of necessary information needed to draw concise and accurate conclusions due to biased right and left winged programs.

Though all are entitled to their own opinions and reasons for forming them, I personally feel that it is difficult to denounce climate change when presented with such statistics. The world will change over time and I understand that, however, when discussing issues of environmental sustainability, and we are told that there are things we can do to prevent or at least significantly delay our planets pending fate and we choose to ignore them, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

In An Inconvenient Truth, a statistic that really shocked me was when Gore discusses the possibility of the collapse of a major ice sheet in Greenland or in West Antarctica, either of which could raise global sea levels by approximately 20 feet, flooding coastal areas and producing 100 million refugees. I was most surprised by this statistic because, 100 million people is about the population of Lee and Collier County combined... MULTIPLIED BY 100!

When I first started taking Colloquium, I wasn't sure what to expect but I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to learn more about environmental sustainability. Before Colloquium and An Inconvenient Truth, I (like most people) just preferred to not think about the distant future of our planet, but rather live happily today....

Me Before Colloquium

Me After Colloquium

I am now realizing that not only is this inconsiderate, but it's also irresponsible when there are so many easy alternatives to the poor environmental decisions we make today. I believe that one of the easiest, yet most over-looked resources we have today are green bags. According to Sharon Jacobsen "Plastic bags are difficult and costly to recycle and most end up on landfill sites where they take around 300 years to photodegrade. They break down into tiny toxic particles that contaminate the soil and waterways and enter the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them. But the problems surrounding waste plastic bags starts long before they photodegrade. Our planet is becoming increasingly contaminated by our unnecessary use of plastic bags. Big black bin liners, plastic carrier bags carrying advertising logos, clear sandwich bags and a variety of other forms are all polluting our environment. They're lightweight, handy and easily discarded. Too easily discarded." Not only are plastic bags bad for our future, but they are detrimental to our marine animals today.

A sea turtle is shown here struggling with plastic bags
that have entered it's habitat due to our negligence.

Not only do I wish that everyone had an opportunity to take a class on environmental sustainability, but I also wish that people had an open mind about the facts presented to them and that we could all realize that there are things we can do to change these serious problems.