A Changing World

Friends, classmates, colleagues, professors, welcome to my blog. Throughout this semester I will be reflecting upon the readings and my coursework in my Climate Studies class this semester in addition to my trip to Paris France in December when myself and 14 other classmates and colleagues attend the UNFCCC conference. Who am I? I am many things; I am a student, skier, lover of the outdoors, team captain, leader and motivated individual. Not only will I reflect upon my coursework, but I will connect my reflections to my own college life. My home in St. Joseph, my work at the Outdoor Leadership Center and St. John's Outdoor University, my post class ski practices and my passion for the outdoors. So how are they related? As an avid outdoor enthusiast and adventure seeker, our changing climate has impacted and will continue to impact the outdoor spaces and natural environment that many of us love. I am just coming off of my final trip to the boundary waters canoe area wilderness with CSB/SJU's Collegebound program. After more than 7 months of planning and preparation, all 87 of us safely returned from our wilderness experience. The reason I bring up the boundary waters is due to its fragility and future outlook. The changing climate will impact those lakes, forests and rivers. Future projects predict that it will one day be drastically different turning into an oak savannah. An oak savannah is a grassland with dispersed mature oak trees, typically Burr oaks. Not to say that an oak savannah landscape is bad, but it is just different, and would entail a much different environment for the species that call it their home, for recreationists, and for the area economy. This short video shows how the area is predicted to change: http://video.startribune.com/climate-change-may-turn-bwca-into-oak-savanna/228079981/

If it changed, myself and many others would still travel there no doubt. After all, change is inevitable, but if these are the kinds of changes in store for us, something is causing them, and something can be done to stop them. I would say something can be done to limit their effects, but then i would have to call myself a climate denier after reading Naomi Klein's article from the Guardian. Limiting the effects is only denying the problem, or pushing it off for the next generation to stop. A problem exists and we must change to stop it!