Urban Solutions from Brazil

Ishadeen Abreu-

I really enjoyed watching the first movie in class called “Urban Solutions from Brazil.”  
The way they went about doing things was very smart and I wonder when the rest of the world will catch up and adopt the ways of Curitiba, before it is too late.  Their road system seems flawless. They have exclusive lanes for buses and emergency vehicles, that way the flow of traffic is smooth.  I really liked their bus system with the “tube stations”. They pay for tickets ahead of time so they can jump on the bus right away.  They promote public transportation as the best way to travel for convenience of the individual and for the safety of the environment.  The use of more public transportation will, indeed, mean less cars on the roads.  Also, paying people in bus tokens for their trash is genius in order to keep the city clean!

Alexandra Maclean-
 
This week i liked the movies we watched in class.Both movies were good, but “Urban Solutions from Brazil” held my attention the most. I really liked the way their transportation system works. More places should start looking into this bus system. It reminds me of Boston and all the buses that people can take to get to work and school. Over the week i have started to change some of the things that i do.  At work i have started making my co- workers use rags to clean,instead to paper towels. I think as time goes by i will change more in my life.





Lauren Jump-

The tube stations for the bus stops in Curitiba Brazil seems like a very brilliant, yet simple, system to reduce wasted time entering and exiting buses.  Lauren Jump is really surprised cities in the US do not implement this system.  Their different color bus codes also seems like a simply brilliant idea, considering other transportation systems- it’s very forward thinking.Lauren enjoyed the flood zone park design segment of the video the most.  Not only is it intelligent to have the sheep cutting the public grass, but the park design was purely brilliant.  The increased tourism and, above all, increased property value was sustainable business in action.  It is so wrong that ghettos are made out of flood zones all over the world when a well planned parks can control flooding and increases the value of land around the parks.  Politics are greatly to blame, but at the same time good politics can be beneficial in the future.

Anna Dyson-

I loved learning about the forward thinking city of Curitiba. In "Urban Solutions from Brazil"  we are shown how planning a city around people (not cars) is not only friendly to the environment, but to the economy as well. My favorite part of the video was when the mayor acted quickly by making a pedestrian only street, finishing the project over the weekend. At first store owners along the street were furious  claiming they would loose business. It turned out that this was not the case, business increased. This lead to more pedestrian only street and more money in local businesses pockets. Humans are creatures who enjoy beauty. A clean green environment, large parks, and less cars everywhere is a wonderful direction to start heading in. 

Calvin Thornton-

I find it almost heartbreaking to know that the majority of the steps taken in the two videos are both completely possible to implement,yet, most likely never going to happen. At least not here. I am just as guilty as the rest of the population, but we have more of a, “Think locally, act globally” type of mentality which means that instituting any sort of public transportation system or rerouting of highways will be re-construed not as a step towards progress and away from waste, but instead as an attack on individual choice and freedoms. Also, after watching what they did in Cuba with such success in conjunction with the food forest that I’ve seen, when all is said and done and I start to develop an income, I feel confident that I will grow at least a portion of my own food.

A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil

FGCU Trails and Food Forest Field Trip

Lauren Jump-

I enjoyed the FGCU campus field trip.  The nature trail was nice but the food forest is what I appreciated the most.  I hope I can find an available time to volunteer at the Food Forest.  The ice making facility was not as interesting as I had imagined.
Hey Popeye:  Moringa has much more iron than spinach and more impressive attributes than olive oil.  How do you like that Popeye?  




Above from:
<http://miracletrees.org/>



Alex Maclean-

Okay, so the field trip to me was a bit boring, but I did like some of the plants that we got to  touch,smell, and eat. At first it was a bit odd, eating the plants right from the garden. The plant that stuck with me the most was the American Beauty Berry,  the bright purple berries are pretty.







Calvin Thornton-

I enjoyed the field trip. If the food forest is nearly as self-sufficient as we’re made to believe, it’s a wonder that this type of agriculture has not become more popular. I’m not quite convinced that it is completely self sufficient as some of the fruits are wrapped in plastic and we’re currently waiting for a replacement tree form the place it was purchased in pine island (I’m forced to wonder what the carbon footprint is for that tree). I am impressed that the university is 18% reliant on solar energy for it’s power and the cooling power used for inside temperature is generated by producing ice in off-peak hours. It’s a much more efficient system.


Isha Abreu-

I was very shocked by the results of my ecological footprint quiz.   5.7 planet earths  would be needed to provide enough resources if everyone lived like me.  I learned that by eating fewer animal based foods, as well as purchasing products  that use less packaging, would reduce my results by about one planet earth.  That little assignment was a real eye opener and has had an immediate effect on how I live my life day to day. I have recently starting going to farmers markets and now I am recycling in my own home. It does not seem like much now, but I know I will adopt more new ways to be more earth friendly.







Anna Dyson-

I greatly enjoyed getting out of the classroom and taking a walk around campus. The Food Forest was fun and interesting, but it was hard to hear everything that was being said. I'm sure if the group of students was smaller the Food Forest walk-through would have been more educational. My favorite plant in the Food Forest were the sweet potatoes. They do well in the Florida environment, are easy to take care of, and (best of all) taste way better than any other kind of potato. After the field trip I started buying from the local farmers markets every Sunday. So far i have bought: sweet potatoes, tomatoes, pears, brussel sprouts, and honey. Its cheaper, fresher, and helps out the local economy. Now that's a win-win for everyone!