Nature Literacy

I believe my generation, as apposed to previous ones, is much less nature literate. There has been a gap and/or a lack of connection from the natural elements and I believe we have become much more materialistic, and thus no longer care about the earth and what it has to offer. The fact that most kids nowadays would rather play their Xbox, PlayStation or, any of their other game consoles instead of simply going outside and having fun speaks to the lack of nature literacy in my generation. People no longer leave the comforts of their home unless they are forced too. Part of the reason on why our Earth is suffering so much is that we are constantly polluting it by throwing trash on the ground, putting dangerous chemicals in the air, and smoking etc. Pretty soon we will have no open territory nor land to cultivate, it is constantly being destroyed and having construction done to it. We need to get back to respecting our Earth like our ancestors did and only use it for good and thus extract resources but, also give back to the earth.

I define nature literate as knowing about the natural world around us. To know and appreciate and not to abuse is being nature literate. to understand the 'circle of life" of how plants die, go back into the soil and become reborn again. To appreciate and to know that everything that we have, that we eat, our existence comes either directly or indirectly from nature itself is being nature literate.

On Animals

The reasons why some people become involved in socials movements and others do not is simple. The reasons are centered around culture, social stature, and climate. These are some of the essentials main ingredients that differentiate people, one from another, and why one person would choose to join a social movement, and not the other.

Culture has to do with the environment a person was raised in. For example Micheal Vick with the dog fighting. Vick grew up in a culture was dog fighting was a sport and accepted, almost the norm but, as a general public dog fighting is scrutinized and looked down upon. Vick, at first, saw nothing wrong with this practice because it has been something that has been apart of his lifestyle for his whole life.

Next, is social stature or position in society. I feel people that are not as high in society hence like middle class would be much more likely to join social movements as would a person who has money on money and is living the "high life". This is because people in the middle class have a lot of similarities, common goals, and are much more bound together, as they must be to survive. Therefore, they would be much more likely to have common views and perspectives on certain things, thus, the reason for social movements.

Also, climate will have an effect on who or who doesn't join a social movement. People that live in a extremely hot climate that is getting hotter and hotter will be much more likely to join the global warming movement. As well as someone who livelihood depend on a fur trade of sorts in a colder climate would not be the ones to join the PETA movement against exploiting animals.


Citattions:


Jones,Pattrice, "Toward an inclusive, embodied eco/feminist psychology":Feminism & Psychology. Vol.20, Issue 3.

Third Place

Temple and the city of Philadelphia itself offer endless amounts of "third places". The third place I visit most would have to be the student pavilion where I go to work out and play basketball. I do not have to have a certain time frame nor do I have to see if one of my friends wants to go with me because, I know there will be others there so, thus always opportunities to play. I go here not only to play basketball but, also as a place where i can get away from the daily stress of being a student and catch some relief. When i am playing ball I can lose myself in the moment sort of speak. The student pavilion I can definitely say keeps me sane. If I had all this stress and was working all day with out any relief I would definitely be a a lot more agitated, grumpy, stressed etc. Playing basketball keeps me balanced and keeps my mind at ease. Third places like these are essential, I think, for getting through my everyday routines successfully without feeling overwhelmed or like the world's on my shoulders but, in actuality keeps me on top of things.