ECHO

• Explain the relationship and the complexity of production, marketing, distribution and consumption of the product (s).

The ECHO or Educational Concerns for Hunger Organizations is by far one of the most innovative things I’ve ever seen. They model household products after some of our most advanced efficient agricultural tools. These models are then presented to developmental countries with fewer resources then needed to create the real thing.

• Explain the key relationships between the soil, water, and climate that influence this agribusiness.

As agribusiness is literally the business of growing and selling foods (whether crops or animals), the natural ecosystem/weather/climate can be the difference between a successful year and complete disaster. Part of ECHO’s mission is to educate on the correct conditions to prevent further losses.

• What is the economic relationship of the agribusiness on the state, nation, and world?

Agribusiness is a supportive aspect to many different groups of people. First off agribusiness is by far one of the largest imports next to oil, and consumer goods. State exports increase revenue significantly. Then on national scale they can be taxed locally to create monetary benefits for the federal government. Now the largest scale, the world in tern is able enjoy the contents of another nation. This is especially invaluable in areas of droughts or malnutrition. Agribusiness keeps the world spinning.

• What are the economic and environmental issues concerning this business in this area?

Reed Scott answers this question best, “You must give to get, and you must sow the seed, before you can reap the harvest.” This could not me true when it comes to creating a successful agricultural project. The largest economic system is funding the initial project. In the U.S. were corporations control our agriculture market money is not a problem, but in a third world country where crops are grown for survival money is lacked. These methods ECHO creates are economically feasible because it can be made from scraps, or left over composite that no one wants.

Environmentally speaking if these methods spread on a mass scale a large chunk of waste would be removed from waste and recycled into something efficient. If there were a demand for trash it would no longer be trash-helping shrink the global waste pool.

• Identify the person(s) you interviewed in this field experience and state their perspective concerning the environment, food production and distribution.

I interviewed Bill Hooth the ambassador progam coordinator of ECHO. He explained ECHO is sparking new ideas. The limit of our potential is our own imagination. He works closely with anthropologist that travel the world to teach them simply “how to teach others”. He is a seven year ECHO veteran.

• How can you become involved in finding solutions to feed the hungry?
• In your opinion, is this activity sustainable? Explain.

The first thing that comes to mind for me is canned food drives. As cliché as they are the job gets done. Many soup kitchens run off the donations of these goods. On a larger scale something like ECHO is also an extremely great idea. Not only does it create food for those in need but also it creates a constant flow of food. This is absolutely sustainable because the product is being grown; there is no wrapper to be recycled.

• What do we have to do to feed the one billion people (one sixth of the world’s population)? Or is this the solution? If not, what is?

You can give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a meal, but give a man a fishing pole and he’ll eat for a lifetime. Self-productivity is our main solution to this hunger problem. Obviously there are more extreme conditions where nothing can be grown do to weather/soil/climate this were humanitarian aid is the only method that will make a difference. Even with a percentage of outliers, this is our most promising method to ended majority of the worlds starvation.  

Field Trip Two - Matanzas Pass preserve

The Matanzas Pass Preserve one a few natural preserves still in existence was a sample of what Florida used to be. Pass the populated over developed stretch of Fort Myers Beach lies a haven for the mangroves that once bordered the entirety of Estero Bay. Bordering a small elementary lies one portable, and a wooden post with "Matanzas Pass Preserve" inscribed in all bright yellow text. Upon entering you receive your first taste of this bookmark in time. A small bridge takes you over what is mainly red mangroves. In this environment I feel an calmness, or serenity. The noises I hear are rustling of leaves with small animals making their way through the daily routine.

The landscape has been shaped in many ways. The preserve has been split into three main categories Mangrove Loop, Coconut Trail, and Caloosa Loop. Each area shapes it's environment differently. The Mangroves work as a gate between land and Estero Bay. The Mangrove tree is and adaptation of a normal tree with the ability to take in ground water and saline water. A normal tree could not process saline therefore this tree could be looked at as a guardian. For the most part Matanzas Mangrove Loop looked very lively and healthy.

After I passed the Overlook I saw the livelihood of the Mangroves sharply declining. From the research I gathered this was caused by hyper salinity. Hyper salinity is an over abundance of saline water pushing freshwater back. The Mangrove relies on an balanced intake of both forms of water. Another strong factor to condition of the Mangroves was that it was filled with water, a few  weeks before summer/rain season was here this area would be very dry. The typography allowed a healthy separation of woods from mangroves as the underground water filtration needs to change. Unfortunately spoil piles which were extremely elevated allowed the growth of exotic plants that effected much of the preserve's life forms. These would be removed in 1996.

The five tree species I saw were Oak Hammock, West Indian Mahogany. Australian Pine, Groundsel Tree, and Portia Tree. Five non-woody plants I saw were the mangrove spiderlily, Chandelier plants, Tree seaside oxeye, Devil's Backbone, and Sea grape. A list of five birds I saw included Great egret, Blue heren, Osprey, Mockingbird, and a White Ibis. I did not see any fish, or amphibians. I did however see many Green anoles, and Mangrove tree crabs.

A unique fact I found is that the name origin of the name Matanzas has been lost in time. The word literally translates to slaughter in spanish had I known that I might have selected a different location. As one of the guides I read explains this name could be derived from Ponce de Leon's troops battling local natives Calusas. I experienced my own personal slaughter on this site as mosquitoes, and sand flies tore me apart.

From what I have read online the Matanzas Pass was never threatened to be built upon, the only human presence was the creation of Foot trails. The preserve eventually was modified to start dealing with mosquito breeding control by draining of canals. In 1996 Lee County took control of the preserve from the Nature Conservancy group. At this time removal of exotic plants that were pushing away native lifeforms were removed.

Eco Footprint

The eco footprint exercise was created by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees, two professors of British Columbia. I believe this was an extremely impactful  way to educate people on the state or world is in. I was personally shocked by the result I received from this process. I consider myself fairly resourceful and I imagined I would be the medium on the scale of wastefulness. To my surprise I was only .3 off of the actual norm 5 planet earths. Many of the options I selected were in the middle, and none were the extreme. 


I admired the accuracy of this graph, because it removed the anonymous value of our global statistics. I myself viewed the worlds waste statistics as a problem distant from myself. I quickly learned I too was not only part of the problem, but I played a large role. Before when looking at the statistic its an average of the whole human race, you think more of corporations doing the damage. This quiz puts your face as part of the problem saying "look this is what you've contributed to the problem". Another strong point is earthday.net allows you to create a login to edit and update your footprint. This is extremely valuable due to the fact it encourages people to progress. If there was particular category I scored extremely low on I can do something about it and overtime work my way to becoming a more earth safe consumer. 

Nature Deficit Disorder

I have to admit I entered this class with a very strong bias against the whole concept of environmental awareness. I felt as if nothing I read would relate to me, or effect me enough to change. Opening the first chapter of A Sustainable Future I was shocked to already have been proven wrong. Richard Louv author of Last Child in the Woods is a strong advocate of classroom learning. I couldn't agree more that we must shy away from this danger type of learning. Dangerous ? You might ask. Yes, the process of learning has become a numb/dull experience. When limited to four walls the mind becomes very distant. Why do so many people have a problem day dreaming ? The answer is by nature we belong in the outdoors. We are longing for something more real, more interactive.

As Louv explains (pg.2) scientist are seeing amazing progression in concentration of victims of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Simply being outside has been shown to increase concentration and remove  aggression. Mental Medications have become over prescribed and our youth is becoming over medicated. The problem that Louv is getting at is we have become over stimulated. The television, movies, and video games we play have created more stimulation then ever before. This data overload has been proven to be escaped best by experiencing our roots, nature. I myself have quite a difficult time concentrating reading inside, but if I step outside on my dock I find concentration much easier. I believe Louv is onto something great.