Blog 2: Nicole L

Consider one 30 minute period of day yesterday
How did I rely on the environment in physical ways?

Yesterday, for definitely more than 30 minutes, I was studying. I was relying on the environment for the air I was breathing, for the water I was drinking and for the food I was eating. I was also counting the environment for the electricity for my laptop and for the paper I was writing on. Not only that, but the environment provided me with the resources to have the laptop and the furniture I was using made for me. It’s easy to forget how much we depend on the environment in physical ways each second of everyday, no matter what it is we are doing.

What promotes human connection to nature? What connects me to nature?

I feel what promotes human connection to nature is trying to be an actively environmentally conscious consumer. I know that for me, this is something that really helps remind me that I’m a part of the natural world and that I need to do my part to keep it clean and safe. Even if I’m just remembering to bring my reusable bags to the store, for that moment I remember that I’m connected to nature. I asked a friend what connected her to nature, and she felt camping every summer for a few weeks definitely brought her back to the environment. I agree, I don’t camp as much but by being only a tent away from the outdoors, it definitely promotes a connection to nature.

What promotes disconnection from nature? What disconnects me from nature?

I think spending too much time around technology helps to disconnect someone from nature. Being on the computer all day or cooped up inside on the couch watching television, it would be easy to forget that you are part of the environment as whole. I find this is the biggest way I disconnect myself from nature. For example, it’s hard to connect to nature during a walk outside if I’m busying listening to music on my MP3 or texting on my cell phone. I asked my boyfriend what takes him away from nature and he felt that the hours he’s lost to video games has affected his connection.

I also think that being taught that nature exists only to serve humans wants promotes a disconnection from nature in a big way, if your personal beliefs are that you are, in a sense, better or greater than nature I believe you would become truly disconnected in the worst possible way.

Is a deeper connection to nature likely to influence our decisions?

I think a deeper connection to nature would really influence our decisions in a positive way. If we thought of the environment before we made a decision, we would likely think harder about how our actions always have consequences that affect the world. A deeper connection might lead to second thoughts about a decision or an action if it will have a negative impact. Such as if we decide to throw things away instead of recycle them. A deeper connection may also alter how we manage our natural resources, perhaps protecting them instead of trying to find ways to exploit them. We watched a film in class where during one part some congress men were trying to get the vote to open up the protected area in Alaska for oil drilling. Maybe if those congress men had a better connection to the environment, they might have tried to keep the area under protection instead of exploiting and destroying it.

Where do your environmental ethics lie?

My environment ethics definitely lie with the protection of the environment and a move toward a more sustainable world. I think it’s really important that the world, and especially North America, starts taking steps to being more sustainable. For example, I took this quiz that calculates your ecological foot print (http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/personal_footprint) and mine was 8.3 global hectors. I would love to have resources available to me so that I could live as sustainably as possible.

Online Activity:

I really enjoyed the concept behind Andy Goldsworthy’s art. Using objects found in nature to create art would have to be something else that connects people to nature. Normally, when I think of art, I picture a picture painted from oil or acrylic paint hanging on the wall of a climate controlled museum. It’s kind of a foreign concept to see art as something impermanent or made from completely nature materials found in environment. Andy’s art is definitely a new addition to the list of things that connect me to nature.