It's Nice to Stop and Smell the Roses!

Normally I stay indoors.  Don't get me wrong, I love nature and the outdoors.  But who has time to "stop and smell the roses?"  For my Environmental Biology class I had to make time to do so for an assignment.  It was so peaceful to be outside, listening to all of the different sounds around me.  I was able to use all of my senses to absorb my surroundings, and my experience was very enjoyable.

Pebbles in my backyard

 Some of the abiotic things I observed while sitting outside were the air, dirt, and rocks.  Although people may take these aspects of nature for granted because they may not necessarily be visible or aesthetically pleasing to the eye, they all play an important role in the biosphere.  Living things depend on these abiotic aspects of the environment, and they interact with one another everyday.

Nice view :)

There were a lot of bees pollinating these flowers!

Some of the biotic things I observed included the grass, plants and trees, flies, birds, lizards, flowers, and insects.  I saw two humming birds, one lizard, over 60 plants and trees, and a plethora of ants.  I even saw a birds nest that some birds had built towards the roof of my house!

One of my favorite plants in my backyard!

Found this little guy on the side of my house.

Bird's nest!

This assignment really made me realize that there is so much going on in the world around us that we take for granted every day.  I am definitely going to make a better effort to explore my surroundings from now on!

My dog enjoying the outdoors with me!

My Ecological Footprint

After going on the website www.footprintnetwork.org/calculator I found out that we would need 4 Planet Earth's to provide enough resources if everyone lived like I do!  According to the pie chart, services account for almost half of my ecological footprint.  In addition, I rely heavily on energy land, probably due to my high usage of electricity and electronic devices.

When I explored different scenarios to see how I could reduce my ecological footprint, I found that if I implemented all of the changes suggested we would need only 3.2 Planet Earths to provide enough resources if everyone lived like me.  This is still a lot, but if everyone participated in these activities, the earth would be sustainable for our population for a much longer period of time.

Some of the suggestions for reducing my ecological footprint included using solar panels to provide most of the electricity for my house, purchasing products that use less packaging or that are made out of 100% post-consumer recycled content material, using only energy efficient appliances, and using public transportation once a week instead of driving my car.  It was amazing to see how some of these small changes could reduce my ecological footprint by such a substantial amount.

After taking the ecological footprint quiz I realized that I rely too much on electronic gadgets and gasoline to get places.  From now on I want to try to reduce the amount of time per day that I am on my electronic devices.  This even includes turning lights off when a room is left, and maybe opening up a window instead of turning the air conditioner on.  I also want to try and carpool more often so that I am not contributing to the air pollution from driving my car so much.  If I am able to walk or ride a bike somewhere, I will try to do so instead of driving my car.

This quiz was very informational and extremely eye-opening for me, and I am glad that I got the opportunity to pinpoint the ways in which I can contribute to a better Planet Earth!

Biography

My name is Tim Parks, and I was born in Phoenix, Arizona in October of 1987. I lived in Arizona for about two years before moving to Corona, where I lived for about 20 years.  In 2010 I moved to Riverside, where I am currently residing. I am a student at RCC, and I plan to earn my AA in Marketing before transferring to a four-year college to earn a Bachelor's Degree. I currently work for a classic truck company where I sell parts for Chevrolet trucks, but I plan to pursue a career in Marketing after getting my Bachelor's Degree.

One of my favorite hobbies is working on my truck. I have an award winning custom show truck that I have been working on for about four years now. Another one of my favorite hobbies is playing the trumpet.  I have been playing the trumpet for over 10 years, and I am very passionate about music.

I am taking this class because the current state of the earth's environment is something that really interests me. I also would like to learn what steps I can take to help the environment by eliminating some of my habits that may be harmful to it. A question that I would like to know the answer to pertains to the earth's population level. How many people can the earth hold before resources are depleted to the point that life can no longer be sustained?