Final Blog Post

Natural Resource Conservation Course NRM 12 at Santa Rosa Junior College

With increasing human pressure and a growing need to balance competing demands, we need new and better ways to manage society’s impacts on the environment. The natural resources management (NRM) program prepares students for careers requiring an understanding of the social, economic, biological, and physical aspects of solving problems associated with the management of natural resources for their highest and best uses for society while maintaining the integrity of life-sustaining ecological systems

The NRM course is part of the classes for your Natural Resource Sciences at Santa Rosa Junior College. The course is a management-oriented, interdisciplinary course that integrates the social, economic, physical, and biological aspects of natural resources. The course draws upon the courses and resources across the various colleges at the JC. An undergraduate program leading to a Bachelor of Science, a graduate program leading to a Master of Science, a doctoral program leading to a Doctor of Philosophy, as well as a professional degree program, called a Master of Natural Resources Management are available to continue to study in.

In looking at the syllabus, the topics covered in this class I recommend to continue in the NRM 12 on-line courses should be the same subjects as what we have covered in class. Those subjects are as follows:

1.  Evaluate and prioritize sustainable management principles for forests and other natural resources. 

2.  Recommend sustainable uses of wood, water, forage, recreation and wilderness resources. 

3.  Summarize and discuss contemporary issues affecting the management and preservation of the nation's renewable natural resources for future generations. 

I highly recommend the subject on water conservation and sustainability in our local areas. I don’t want to remove anything as I have learned so much in this class. 

Examples which I can use to apply in my everyday life is being more sustainable in recycling and renewing certain products at home more than I would normally. I’m able to conserve more in my environment with my parents as we are watching our energy usage and how we are doing things to help with sustaining the environment.

Through the NRM course, students acquire a broad background in natural resources, as well as in-depth study in one or two emphasis areas of interest. The course exposes students to many disciplines—exactly the interdisciplinary approach society must take if it is to find solutions to complex environmental problems. I would see this as a future program to an Associate degree in the future.

The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Century’s Sustainability Crises

The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Century’s Sustainability Crises

How do issues related to people, water, power, nutrition and environment impact each other? What can we do without making the others worse to tackle one problem?

The Post Carbon Reader presents reflections on the key issues defining our new century from renewable energy and urban agriculture to social justice and collective resilience by some of the world's most influential thinkers. Here is a chapter out of the book Post Carbon Reader that talks about ways to be resilience:

RESILIENCE: Personal Preparation by Chris Martenson

How to make sense of the challenges that society is facing now. What are the systemic underlying forces at stake? What brought us here? It is like placing a band-aid on a life-threatening injury to act without this understanding.

How to establish resilience in the family. While we also need to behave as national and global citizens in our individual lives, building our societies ' resilience is an integral response to the numerous sustainability crises of the 21st century.

Resilience: Personal Preparation by Chris Martenson is meant for anyone, everywhere, who is worried about the unstable course that society is on and who wants to understand better why we are here and what we can do about it. Participants included entirely new people and people who have been studying these issues for decades.

To start with, a sustainability project is about creating and maintaining a change you can be inspired and excited about in your life.   Climate change conferences have encouraged the international community to take action over the past few years. 

To keep it simple, a green lifestyle is about choosing and taking eco acts and can be classified in different areas of our lives.

• Natural resource protection: begin by rethinking energy and water consumption patterns and finding ways to curb excessive consumption.

• Reduce waste: start with the elimination of food waste.  Preplanning your meals, ordering in bulk, and storing what you need.  Compost and make healthy soil for your old food.

• Purchase products with an eco-conscious mind.  Buy products with minimal packaging or sustainable packaging.

• More environmental value is offered by products that can be reused before recycling. 

• Buy local produce, purchase fair trade and buy items from green companies. 

• Inspire others: take a green stance.

How can you go from information to personal action to the next step?  Here is where the tried and true adage applies: "What is calculated is handled." While more commonly articulated in a business setting, it also refers to our personal lives.  For example, you need to know how much you weigh to benchmark your success if you want to lose weight. Similarly, you first need to learn the areas of your environmental impacts in order to measure your progress in living a sustainable lifestyle.