A Delicate Balance: Constructing a Conservation Culture in the South Carolina Lowcountry Discussion

After reading the required text from A Delicate Balance: Constructing a Conservation Culture in the South Carolina Lowcountry, I now feel the urge to read the entire book. I thoroughly enjoyed the small passages I read concerning Charleston and it’s efforts to maintain sustainability, stability, and overall balance. These readings easily elicited feelings of happiness to call Charleston home, sorrow for what fellow residents of society and myself are doing to our beautiful land, and a mixture of guilt and curiosity as to how we can stop major issues dead in its tracks. As our discussion in class on Tuesday entailed, land use is the bulk of our issue. If we are using a majority of our valuable land for livestock and all of the necessary components that go into keeping livestock alive and well, then how are we able to help our land flourish to its full potential?

While Halfacre certainly talked up Charleston, South Carolina to the best of her ability, that shouldn’t dim the light on the serious problem of overpopulation in Charleston, improper use of the land, and total destruction to the natural habitats found through the city simply for greedy human pleasures. Yes, humans may be at the top of the food chain, but what gives us the right to degrade and exploit innocent natural resources and ecosystems within a community? Absolutely nothing, in my opinion.  Prior to this assigned reading, I had absolutely no idea of all the many components of farming and maintaining rich, prosperous land. What really seems to bother me is that organic, locally sourced healthy foods are all the talk these days, but our expectations have been cut short recently due to the inability for farmers and restaurants to provide these healthy meats, fruits, and vegetables to the consumer in Charleston. We are limited on our locally sourced options due to no incentives for farmers to grow such foods considering it’s more expensive in the long haul and little if any benefit comes from growing local, organic foods. If the people want to be healthy, then we should be doing everything in our power to provide them with that opportunity. I believe that’s a great way to begin tackling the rampant obesity rates seen all around the United States.

 

One thought on “A Delicate Balance: Constructing a Conservation Culture in the South Carolina Lowcountry Discussion

  1. Beautiful post, Natalie. I think there are so many opportunities for you to connect what you’re learning about in this class to public health issues. There are so many hidden costs to health and the environment that aren’t reflected in price tags on produce from conventional agriculture. Consumer awareness and demand are spreading, however, and there are more and more farmers that find there are actually quite a few incentives on going organic.

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