Louv Nature Deficit Disorder

"In the United States, as the federal and state governments and local school boards have pushed for higher test scores in the first decade of the twenty-first century, nearly 40 percent of American elementary schools either eliminated or were considering eliminating recess." (Louv 2011)

This seems crazy to me especially for elementary school children. Young kids cant sit inside all day and expect to focus 100% of the time. Recess allows them to almost reset their minds and allows them to be more focused the rest of the day. I remember when I was in elementary school we had a big open field to play on along with a jungle gym and basketball courts. It would allow us to go outside and explore outside instead of sitting indoors all day looking at the whiteboard. Every elementary student should have recess and not just them running to the fence and back. 

Kids at recess posted on PinStake

"Some researchers now recommend that parents and educators make available more nature experiences-especially green places to children with ADHD, and thereby support their attentional functioning and minimize their symptoms." (Louv 2011)

I like this way of treating disorders such as ADHD. I think in the modern age we are quick to recommend medicine to kids because how readily available we can get them. These medicines can cause all sorts of problems to the children that take them. If we take kids away from all the technology and distractions that modern technology has given us and put them back into nature I think it will have a calming effect in most cases. Just taking a walk in the park, going for a hike, or going fishing seem to have a calming effect on people that do it. I know when I get stuck on homework or get frustrated with something just taking a walk by myself calms me down. I agree that we should explore this for kids with ADHD instead of medicating them right away.

Lynn Canyon Vancouver, BC, Canada by Zachary Frederick

"Another parent reported that his son could hit golf balls or fish for hours, and that during these times the boy was 'very relaxed' and his attention-deficit symptoms minimal." (Louv 2011)

I think a lot of this is because when you are out fishing or hitting golf balls you only have one thing to focus on. While Im writing this blog post I have Facebook open, Netflix going, my phone sitting right next to me, and Im reading my book. Young kids these days also have all these distractions. They are worried about what is happening on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram 24 hours a day. This may not be the total cause of ADHD but it doesn’t help. When you are fishing or golfing you don’t care what is happening on Facebook or watching the next episode of The Office. It simplifies life for you and it allows you calm your body. 

Child Fishing posted on http://blog.kidobi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/child-fishing.jpg

"For years, Ybarra had dreamed of puling at-risk kids out of their urban environment and exposing them to nature. with the blessing of the judge, he acted." (Louv 2011)

 I think this way of rehabilitation will only work for a certain type of person. They have to be willing to change or realize what they have been doing to get in this position is wrong. I know a lot of people that haven’t traveled outside the town they live in or the city they live in and that is wrong. I think everyone needs to travel and experience what true nature is. This past summer I went to Lake Joffre in British Columbia and when we hiked to the top of the mountain I saw a glacier for the first time. You always hear about them on TV or in books but when you see them in person it is a different story. I think if kids who are troubled go into nature or travel to a remote village they see what they are doing to get themselves in trouble really doesn’t make sense and they  can begin to change their way.

Lake Joffre Glacier Pemberton, BC, Canada by Zachary Frederick

Louv, R. (2011). Nature-Deficit Disorder and the Restorative Environment. In University Colloquium: A Sustainable Future (pp. 1-14). Acton, MA: Copley Custom Textbooks.

Orr Biophilia

"Moreover, it is possible to adopt the language and guise of biophilia and do a great deal of harm to the earth, knowingly or unknowingly."(Orr, p 193)

I would assume that this is where most of the people of earth fall. You have the people that do everything they can to save the environment, you have the people who don’t care about the environment and they knowingly do stuff that will hurt the environment, but most of the people want to help the environment and they don’t know how to help it or they don’t know what they are doing hurts the environment. Everyone knows the basics, like recycling and biking instead of driving places but unless they take a class in environmental protection they most likely don’t know what else to do. Either our society needs to teach more classes on how to protect our environment or we will continue to, either knowingly or unknowingly, hurt the environment.

Photo Taken by Zachary Frederick at Lake Joffre in Pemberton, BC, Canada

"We also have reason to believe that people can lose the sense of biophilia." (Orr, p 196)

I agree with the fact that people can lose a sense of biophilia. I think this happens when a tribe or a culture that hasn’t experienced modern technologies finally experiences them. They see how hard their lives were before they got these technologies and how easy it got after. I think this happens a lot in many cultures. People stop worrying about others when their lives get easier. They will in turn stop worrying about the environment. This paints a picture of a selfish society but I think that’s what we have turned into. It will take reeducation and a separation from technology to truly force people to care about the environment. I also think that since people can lose a sense of biophilia, they can also gain back that sense of biophilia. If societies begin to move make into nature instead of cities, people will begin to appreciate the environment. This will help improve our environment.

  

Photo taken by Zachary Frederick at Lynn Canyon in Vancouver, BC, Canada

"It means rebuilding family farms, rural villages, towns, communities, and urban neighborhoods. It means restoring local culture and our ties to local places, where biophilia first takes root." 

(Orr, p 206)

I think that this would be the best start to changing the environment and changing people’s mindset about the environment. If a town or culture truly has to live off the land they will be more willing to pay attention to what they are doing to the environment. Family farms will promote ways to use the environment to our advantage without ruining it. If a farm ruins the environment they are working in, then their farm will no longer produce the crops they need.  Urban neighborhoods will allow us to keep the modern technologies that we all love while still living around and in the environment without running it. This will teach future generations how to appreciate the environment while still using it to our advantage. If we continue to move into cities and distance us from the environment, we will continue to destroy the environment.

Photo Taken by Zachary Frederick at Lake Joffre in Pemberton, BC, Canada

Orr, D. W. (2011). Love It or Lose It: The Coming Biophilia Revolution. In University Colloquium: A Sustainable Future (pp. 186-211). Acton, MA: Copley Custom Textbooks.

What is Sustainability?

"The third 'E' represents equity, that is, social equity or equality. Equity includes freedom from unhealthy living conditions and equal access to food, water, employment, education, and healthcare. Equity means providing opportunities for all people, not just a privileged few, to grow and flourish in their own way." (Robertson 2014)

I think the third E might be the most important E of the three. Most everyone agrees that restoring the ecosystem and improving the economy are good steps to achieving sustainability, but when it comes to equality we have not taken appropriate steps to begin to achieve it. The gap between the poor and the wealthy in the United States seems to grow every year with no solution in sight. This is even worse in other parts of the world. If everyone can work towards equality it will help us achieve the ultimate goal which is sustainability.

The Three E's of Sustainability posted by Luis Camargo

"the ESA is also intended to help threatened or endangered species recover. once a species has done through a listing process and has been listed as threatened or endangered, FWS and NMFS are required to create a detailed recovery plan... Existence of this law has not prevented species from going extinct at an accelerating rate..." (Robertson 2014)

I think it is interesting that these laws has not at least slowed down the extinction of animals. I know just recently that honey bees has been added to this list. I know that the US cannot regulate outside of there borders so these laws are not in affect everywhere you go. The whole world needs to come together and figure out a plan to slow down the extinction of animals. It will be interesting to see what becomes of this once cloning is figured out. Through cloning you would think that they would be able to reverse at least some of the affects of extinction and would maybe be able to bring some species back. Scientist are already try to extract DNA from fossils to see if they can bring back animals that have been extinct for thousands of years. This could get dangerous though and should be regulated on what type of animals are allowed to be brought back. We should learn our lesson from the Jurassic Park movies.

Jaguar, Endangered species, Costa Rica by Jose Lino

"Many of the agreements made at the Rio Earth Summit have not been realized...Their report found progress was uneven and identified trends including widening economic inequalities and continued deterioration of the global environment." (Robertson 2014)

I think this sections perfectly sums up why we are not moving faster as a planet to obtain sustainability. It seems that every nation person/country is out for themselves and do not really care how that affects anyone else. All these countries come together and agree on certain rules to follow to help better the environment and instead of following these rules, these countries do whats best for them. This has widened the economic gap between the rich and poor and it has further hurt our environment. That is going against all three E's that we learned about. Within the past month you have seen reports from China about the smog levels in their cities. It is almost to the point where you cant see anything when you are driving. Its going to take something irreversible to happen to the environment in order for these countries to start taking steps towards sustainability and by that point it will be to late.

A view of air pollution over the CCTV building in Beijing, China by Sean Gallagher

Sources

Camargo, L. (2013, June 13). The Three E's of Sustainability. Retrieved January 17,2017, from  http://www.sustainabilitycoalition.org/the-three-es-of-sustainability/

Gallagher, S. (2012, January 20). Behind the smog that ate Beijing – Sean Gallagher – photographer, Beijing, china. Retrieved January 17, 2017, from Sean Gallagher Visuals, http://gallagher-photo.com/2012/01/20/behind-the-smog-that-ate-beijing/

2013, j. (2013). Jaguar, endangered species, Costa Rica. Retrieved January 17, 2017, from http://joselino.photoshelter.com/image/I00002gnJhKMozpg

Robertson, M. (2014). Sustainability principles and practice. Abingdon,Oxon: Routledge.