My first blog entry

I will admit, this is a little strange. Submitting my assignments in a way that not only can my entire class see what I am saying, but also the world, should they choose, can see what I am saying. It's a little intimidating.

With that, and with some hesitation, here I begin.

What are my expectations for this class?

I expect to earn my 3 credits. I expect (thanks to my Type-A personality) to get an A. Beyond that, I am not completely sure what to expect from this class. Colloquium, I believe, will allow my "granola crunching tree hugger" side to show. Coming from Seattle, Florida is years behind what I am used to regarding environmental and sustainability practices. In elementary school, I was part of Earth Corps. A group of students who presented, usually in a musical manner, the benefits of the late 80's slogan of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!" Almost 20 years later, I still die a little inside when I see a pop can in the trash. Living in an Earth conscious fashion is part of me. I hope that this class will allow me to continue my dialogue with my friends and family who aren't as "green" as my little family is.

In your own words, what is sustainability?

Maintaining our current life with minimal impact so that our future generations may survive.

How does sustainability (or ecological sense of place) relate to your chosen field of study?

As someone who will be pursuing her Ph.D. in Physical/Forensic Anthropology, sustainability will play a role in my future with regards to laboratory practices. Labs, depending on their size, are huge energy consumers. When it comes to an Anthropology lab for Forensic case work, we constantly have things plugged in and "cooking and cooling" (refrigeration and hot water maceration processes) in order to achieve the clean bones necessary to successfully complete a case. In the future, I may be responsible for maintaining a lab, where if possible, I will be researching alternative energy sources to keep us up and running.
Another factor that we can look at with regards to forensics research is the potential change in decomposition rates in areas of the country or world that do or do not use sustainable items in and on their land. Changes in soil may alter the rate that a body goes through the decomp stages and should it alter it significantly, the outcome of the case my change depending on a possible time since death estimation.

Can you identify and personal behaviors and/or attitudes that are unsustainable?

James Watt, Presidents Regan’s Secretary of the Interior. "We don't have to protect the environment; the second coming is at hand." I cannot think of a more unsustainable comment. He firmly believed, at this point in time at least, that the return of Christ was imminent, so why the heck should we even think of protecting our planet when it will be destroyed anyway?