Entry #3

I was recently reading the local News Press online and came across an article that concerns our environment and also our health. The title of the article was "Asbestos gets Lee County's attention." This article was about the discovery of asbestos on the construction site of Summerlin and College Parkway. The commissioner Brian Bigelow is pointing the finger at Posen Construction, who is responsible for the material that was used. Back in 2008, this company was responsible for asbestos being found on the construction property of the Alico Road widening in San Carlos. It is now their responsibility to clean up the mess and have the material disposed of properly.
As for the current project taking place on Summerlin Road, the commissioner is now concerned that there is asbestos in the already paved portions of the road. As of right now, the project has been halted to discuss further actions.
This is a very serious environmental and health issue. Asbestos has a known linkage to mesothelioma, a deadly lung cancer that takes years to develop. There were countless numbers of people exposed to the asbestos. Construction workers, drivers, and residents of near-by developments have run the risk of becoming ill because of the project. Symptoms of asbestos exposure, such as the development of mesothelioma, don't surface for 30 years and are worse depending on how long a person was exposed to the material. A question that needs to be answered is where do we go from here? How do we mitigate these exposures? These are some of the questions that the commissioner is hoping to answer in the very near future.

Entry #2

1. The house is 6 years old.

2. The house is made of concrete block, wood trusses, and tile shingles.

3. The house is not very well insulated and there are a lot of windows and no ceiling fans, so we run the AC almost constantly; same with the heat in the winter.

4. 1200 sq ft under AC; 3 people live here.

5. My home is about 10 minutes from school and work and about 30 minutes from my clinical sites.

6. St. Augustine grass, lots of bushes and trees that are kept manicured.

7. I live on less then a half acre lot. The community maintains the yard for us, but it requires chemicals such as pesticides and gasoline to mow the grass.

8. No pool.

9. We store bleach and cleaning products under the sinks.

10. No inside pets. Outside: rabbits, gators, fish, birds, snakes, lizards, raccoons.

11. I think a "natural"environment is one that is undisturbed by man. Therefore, I believe I live in an unnatural enviornment. All of the scrubery and lakes were man-made or planted; nothing is natural.

12. I do not think I am "of nature." I enjoy a natural environment, but I also enjoy driving my non-hybrid car, living under AC, and sleeping in a bed every night.

My home/community reminds me very much of the movie "Pleasentville." If you look around, every yard is perfectly manicured, as are the people. My neighbors are your picture perfect single family. All of the houses are 1 of 4 different styles that can be chosen from. All of the grass is perfectly mowed at the same time every week; all of the scrubs, trees, and bushes are cut back at the same time every week. As out of place as I feel, the neighborhood fits its environment well. All of the communities in this area are deed-restricted and HOA controlled. My home is conservative in some ways and not in others. It is wasteful because the insulation is not very thick, so when it's hot (which it always is, lets be honest) the AC is running. As in winter, the heat is running. Our house has 2 big sliding glass doors and a ton of windows so the heat gets in easily. On a conservative note, all of the houses in the community have gas, so we save on electricity there. As far as our natural neighbors go, they fare surprisingly well. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't see at least 2 or 3 rabbits in someones' yard. There are always birds flying, lizards all over the house, and alligators sunning themselves on the banks of the lakes. This makes me happy to see that man hasn't ran them all off by developing their environment.

The picture at the top is of my boyfriend and I in my house :)

Entry #1

I've been fortunate enough to have several experiences with the outdoors. When I was 12, my parents took me on a 2 month RV trip over summer. We travelled all over the United States and I got to see many different masterpieces of nature and the environment, such as Old Faithful, the guyser, the Badlands of North Dakota, and Yellowstone National Park. These are a few places that I will never forget. The scenery and animal was fascinating. I hope some day to return to these places. I love travelling and being outdoors.
My personal goals for this class are to understand the environment better and how I can do my own part to help keep the Earth healthy. I'm a nursing major so I like to fix people and make them better; I could apply that characteristic of myself to this class to help make the environment a better place to be. And the fact that I love being outdoors, this class will also help me to see parts of Lee County that I've yet to see with the field trips we will be taking. I've only lived here for 3 years, so I have yet to see even part of the environment in this area. Looking forward to an educational and rewarding semester!