Focusing on conservation and protected areas,  I saw a great presentation on an active restoration project in Bali that I would like to share with you.

Being that the oceans have experienced massive amounts of oil pouring into their fragile habitats, I couldn’t help to express further interest when our group presenters spoke of Bali and its local efforts to maintain their coral reef.  I continue to be amazed at our near meaningless efforts to care about the impacts we, as a race, are placing on the environment.  How is it that there are millions of tons of toxic waste pouring into our oceans by the minute, yet it seems to be yesterdays news?  Individually, we has become so wrapped up in our own projects and goals in life, there is very little effort spent on thinking, let alone making an effort to change what we have done to mother nature.

When most people see and hear about these destructive occurrences continuously happening throughout the world; such as the reoccurring earthquakes in Chile, as well as the numerous oil spills over the years, there seems to be a temporary sense of loss and regret for what has happened.  In a few days there is more recent news to focus on, and such a horrible catastrophe is forgotten and expected to be “taken care of” by “someone else.”  The disconnect between the environment and everyday life, I believe is going to continue to be apparent until we take responsibility for our actions and prevent them from occurring again and again.

The people of Bali, have taken it upon themselves to revive and save one of the most unique ecosystems on earth.  Ever since 1998 there have been environmental issues causing the coral reef off the coast of Bali to diminish, further forcing divers and tourists to travel elsewhere to experience such an extraordinary environment.  Due to Bali being apart of the coral triangle in Southeastern Asia holding around 75% of all the known coral species, there was immense support from the local Pemuteran communities to sustain it, because they knew the importance of maintaing such an environment.  An active restoration project was created, as well as their own protected area in 1999 that practices no fishing zones, and strictly ecotourism that would cause very little damage to the fragile habitat.  Structures are created by electrically charging rebar with low voltage, in order to promote calcium build that coral is able to grow on without the threat of disturbance.  Not only is this revolutionary “mineral rock”   permanently attached to the ocean floor, but grows coral 2-6 times faster and 16-50% more resilient than when grown in the natural environment.

This community has found a profound way to save their environment that has had a positive impact on their lives for generations.  The Balinese people are known to emphasize culture and basic needs, and have created a location for ecotourism that encourages travelers to become involved in their attempt to save one of the most diverse habitats in the world.  In sponsoring a coral structure, ones name is created out of rebar both to remember the donation, as well as encourage ecotourists to revisit the area to check on its progress, further bringing in support for the community.  With the largest number of bio-rock structures at 57 off of the coast of Bali, other communities within the coral triangle, as well as around the world, are successfully participating in the active restoration of the coral reef.

This revolutionary, inexpensive way of reestablishing our oceans ecosystem leaves hope for future generations to able to experience such a remarkable habitat as long as future destruction is avoided at all costs.  Now that I have seen a light at the end of the tunnel for restoring the damaged coral reef, I am somewhat lost in how we are going to eliminate further spread of the current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  When any solution in placed in water, it is known to spread at alarming rates and being that it is as toxic a substance as crude oil, it is shocking that we aren’t doing all we can to absorb it as soon as possible.  Something that I would like to look further into is why various oil absorbing materials aren’t being used constantly, in order to avoid further damage to the ocean’s species and habitat.  I came across a site focusing on a product called Spill-Sorb, that is able to collect oil particles to the surface to then be removed from the affected area.  “Spill-Sorb is an all natural 100% organic, lab-tested, field proven, industrial absorbent that is economical, efficient, non-toxic, non-leaching and in it’s natural state is already biodegraded (http://www.spillsorb.com/).”  I am puzzled as to why if such products are available, aren’t they used in massive amounts to prevent further destruction to the environment.

Our entire society has been centered around the longevity of our environment, and what we can do in order to improve our individual lifestyles no matter what the loss or gain impacts entail.  Since the beginning of the industrial boom, our nation has been striving towards creating bigger and better products to appeal to the average buyer in order to make the most money possible.  Our economy’s image of capitalism allows for open opportunities for anyone to get ahead in life as long as one works hard towards a successful long term goal.  This has both created many people to explore different opportunities to inspire longterm advancement, as well as opened the doors to exploiting our environment’s resources and capacity to points of possible extinction.  In our readings of Paul Hawken’s Commencement Speech, he emphasizes that “we have an economy that tells us that it is cheaper to destroy earth in teal time than to renew, restore, and sustain it.” (Hawken, 3)

I would support the statement of; the technological advancements that took place when machinery created astronomically increased the ability for humans to accommodate themselves as well as creating easier access to a higher quality of life.  But, where was a line drawn to where enough is enough?  It is difficult to understand how people have known of the extreme damages access levels of such things as carbon, or the abundant extraction of oil, and natural resources is causing eternal damage to our environment and limiting opportunities for future generations.  I also understand that there has been various highlights among the protection of the environment starting in the 1970’s by president Nixon.  The Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, as well as the Endangered Species Act, were all expectations set for regulations of large companies that were oblivious of the impact they were causing the environment.  These efforts further encouraged other organization creations towards the same movement such as the Canadian-born Greenpeace in 1971.  Unfortunately under the reign of President Reagan in attempts to boost the economy and refocus attention to advancement and production, his anti-regulation message took over the country in 1980, therefore enforcement of conservation and pollution laws took a cut very quickly.

The longterm affects of this massive lack of environmental consideration have become common knowledge, and something that most citizens simply expect to happen.  After the increasing negative affects of global warming, and the widespread clear cutting of the worlds lush rain forests it became a concern that needed immediate action.  In the early 90’s a more pragmatic approach through marketing incentives, was used in order to entice businesses to become more green and fight for the longevity of the environment.  As is commonly known, it is also difficult to strictly encourage corporations and business to become involved in such movements without public effort and support.

The use of environmental nonprofits has created an outlet for organizations interested in one of the various sectors; environmental justice, nuclear and smart growth, recycling, and green living, as well as touching on these issues internationally that need to be addressed.  It unbelievable that there are so many open opportunities for people to step in and alter the current patterns of what is ruining the environment’s chance for survival.  Knowing that there has been successful alternatives found for oil, and electricity that do not impose upon the longterm workings of our ecosystem such as  solar panels, or hydrogen cars is increasingly difficult to wrap ones head around.

I am continually amazed to hear of people following their hearts and becoming involved in the efforts of improving the lifestyles of people many of whom they have never met.  This type of compassion often times have religious origins, but much stems from the early beginning ideas of the abolitionists in the 1830’s believing and standing for equality.  Being that there are about 27,000 environmental nonprofits in the United States, draws a line of hope for the survival of thousands of plant and animal species.  It  also causes me to question the longterm goals of our various policy makers and government officials, isn’t the most important need to be met for all species survival?  According to the idea of humans being the species of the highest potential and intelligence, wouldn’t it be in our best interest to manage the damage done to the environment and continue to strengthen our sustainability?  These questions will continue to be unanswered until it becomes a human standard, that we need to sustain ourselves in such a thriving ecosystem.

It has become time in our class that I begin to pick a topic for my final paper.  I came into this class knowing very little about the nonprofit sector of our society, and had the image of connecting my dream of renovating communities through the works of NGO’s to support environmental projects throughout the country.  It has come to my attention that the subject of conserving our planet and saving the environment as a whole, is not the only thing that needs to be focused on to better our quality of life and longevity of survival.
As a child I grew up in a small community where I had support from various teachers and adult mentors that encouraged me to become engaged in my education, and ask questions about what I am interested in.  I was enrolled in a homeschool community that had the capabilities of supplying teachers for specific subject 3-4 times a week, in order to participate in classroom activities as well as engage with other students.  The one on one learning I received from this institution, I believe has allowed me to open the doors of appreciating my education and encouraging myself to exceed my own expectations for what I want to do with my life.
It has been continuously frustrating to me when students are continuously rebellious to education, and are put off by the idea of sitting in a classroom in order to meet the requirements to graduate and move on to the next level.  I understand that the expectations for moving beyond high school education is becoming increasingly mandatory, being that most companies won’t even glance at your resume if you do not have a college degree of some sort.  Without individuals being properly prepared for the high expectations that college education exhibits from the very beginning, the expectations are continuously being lowered in order to maintain a positive grade curve without much work or effort done by the involved educators.

I believe that in order to better the quality of life for the future of America, there needs to be encouraged positive education among the younger grade levels to promote further growth.  It is near impossible for me to imagine a life in my younger years, where I am placed in a desk and expected to become engaged with what I am learning.  I have come to the conclusion over the years through my own research, as well as evaluating those around me that not every child has the capability to learn when expected to sit still in a desk for 5+ hours a day.  I think that it should be a requirement to accommodate the younger generations with various opportunities for  education, in order to better the quality of college education as well as encourage individuals to do and accomplish everything they can with their education.  Nonprofit organizations have the ability to focus on specific learning styles, to engage their students in order to promote positive education and learning development.
I decided that my final paper needs to reflect the topics I have explored through this class, as well as something that I feel need to be altered and focused on.  I decided to focus on how the varying opportunities that education innovation programs give to individuals, whom are searching for the right direction to set foot in life, is irreplaceable.

My hope in exploring this topic is that I will further understand what the future could possibly hold for our future rulers of America.

Internationally, there are a few organizations that I can think of that are consistently active and focus on meeting the basic needs of people around the world.  Of those I can  name off; The World Bank, which offers loans advise and a wide array of customized resources to more then 100 developing countries, USAID that provides US based economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years now, as well as the Red Cross that donates blood for use of preventing and relieving suffering across the world.  It is apparent that there are many people concerned about the social well being of individuals throughout individual countries, as well as the entire world.

It is common that most of our nations nonprofit organizations tend to focus on the needs of the countries own local people, such as efforts towards rehabilitation or providing support for local low income families.  This effort helps provide significant support in continuing to maintain the overall quality of life for our citizens.  One of the amazing opportunities that people of the United States experience, is the ability to find help through various organizations in order to better ones opportunity for success.  This quality has a positive affect on people traveling into the country searching for different successes that might not have been offered to them previously.  There are private colleges and universities that are highly ranked, and continue to host thousands of foreign students as well as support scholars from other countries to educate and become apart of out society.  There are also various social service agencies that assist immigrants and refugees advocating for continuous globalization and support.

There is an image of the United States being the “land of opportunity” that has been indoctrinated into the thoughts of anyone that has heard of the continuous right of choice offered in this country.  This has both encouraged people wanting to migrate into this country, as well as shown our citizens that there are many ways to improve ones life that would change the world if available to all those in need.  Through the attempt towards globalization, advocacy organizations shape policy on international issues that continues to become a major reality in American nonprofit work.  Nonprofit charitable organizations as of 1998, that focus on foreign affairs that support activities beyond the boarders of the United States, account for 2,078 organizations.  Not only are they focusing on student exchange and aid, but there is a continuous strive for an international understanding of economic development, agricultural and economic development, and national human rights.  With $6.1 billion in total assets, $5.8 billion in revenue and $5.4 billion in expenses, it is clear that it is not very difficult to encourage support for such organizations even if they are not local to our country.

It was interesting hearing a different perspective of nonprofits in other countries, from one who has spent many years in China operating in their NGO sector.  In imagining the purpose NGO’s stand for in our country, being the local support for a problem that is not well enough addressed for the citizens in our country.  I assumed that their would be a similar comparison between the two, as well facing similar entrance issues.  I was mistaken.  In China, there is continuous difficulty with defining the legal boundaries, leading to a lack of laws clarifying what can and can’t be done.  Because of the known control placed on the country by the government officials, the unknown regulation leads to fear, and intimidation.  In addition to unclear legal boundaries, the barriers to entry China faces when attempting to start a nonprofit or an NGO are astronomical in comparison to the United States.  The largest problem the people are faced with, is the requirement for a government sponsor in order to provide oversight and regulation of the organization.  With such strict rules and regulations, it is near impossible to establish an NGO that is for the people, and by the people.

In thinking about the way nonprofits are organized and implemented by individuals finding alternate ways to to accommodate various peoples needs, seems like a form of democracy where people choose what they want to support.  There is a underlying passion behind nonprofit organizations that are focused on the long term success of citizens that are in need services that might not be easily accessible or even available to them.  Last week I discussed the benefits and struggles of nonprofit healthcare, I now want to bring to your attention the pros and cons of the education sector being driven towards nonprofit organization structures.

As our society has progressed there has been an increasing number of individuals delving into the world of higher education and accepting that college is what you do in order to succeed after high school.  It is true that this is beneficial in order to better anyone’s chances in obtaining a successful occupation to support a family with the typical lifestyle we see in American society.  But is it right to assume that every child is capable of achieving the highest standard of college education?  From using my experience in college and comparing it to the expectations my mom had to amount to when she went to school 30 years ago, it seems like much less is expected of current generations.

Education has become an assumption of what to do after high school in order to ‘figure out’ what to do with the rest of your life.   Because of the drastic increase in competition for job opportunities, college has become a requirement to to achieve any sort of goal that one might have.   I would imagine, that from a glance this seems to be nothing less then an improvement for our society, but when you look further into where the students are receiving their primary education from nothing has changed as far as preparing students for college-ready standards.  This has caused professors over time to lower their expectations of students in order to maintain evenly distributed grades within public schools.

I believe that undercutting the quality of higher education because of the lack of preparation among the younger K-12 grade levels, is not sufficient.  In order to increase the number of children interested in continuing with their education, not just because it is what is expected after high school, more focus and individualized attention needs to be placed on younger generations.

Because not all children are interested in the same subjects it is difficult to engage entire classrooms sparking some sort of involvement or curiosity within each student.  I think the biggest problem with public education is that the individual is standardized in order to fit the expectations of the government funded education systems.  Starting at Kindergarden, children begin to develop their impression of learning and often times deemed to be “useless” or “a waste of time” depending on their individual experiences.  If we are able to specify what is beneficial to each student, we could open doors for more students to be interested with the process and result given from extended learning vs. seeing it as an expectation.

Nonprofits have the ability to explore various options for students that have difficulty learning in a public school environment.  There are many children with difficulties such as ADD or  ADHD, who are thrown into a classroom for 5+ hours a day expected to learn just as fast as other students and if they are unable to concentrate they are judged strictly upon their performance.  The assumption that all students learn on the same level is simply impossible, there are various learning styles that need to be understood and focused on in order to encourage continuous successful education.  Nonprofit schools allot for specialized one on one education, where the educator is genuinely passionate for the success of the individual student, so they can further better their education and retain all the success and accomplishments as possible.

Up until now I have based the image of nonprofits to be a service that is seen as an important contribution to our society, and something that the government is unable to provide sufficient support.  From looking at the religious integration of nonprofits, to discussing the education sector, the initial starting point comes from a passion in wanting to provide beneficial support to those in need.  In being able to focus on what is what is beneficial to our society as a whole, we are able to also increase overall quality of life for individual persons.  When a person has acquired the basic human needs, as well as the ability to pick and choose where to concentrate individual efforts and interests, it encourages a sense of leadership and the desire to contribute to a better cause.

With the extensive variance of insurance companies, as well as the constant importance of health care, one would think there would be little need for nonprofit health facilities.  Assuming survival to be a human need, one would imagine general health care should be provided through the government to insure the safety and longevity of its citizens.  This is only partially true, through nonprofits the government has been able to fund and support various programs such as; home-care services, mental health institutions as well as addict centers.

Nonprofits account for 2/3 of the general healthcare revenue and employment, as well as half of all specialty hospitals.  By funding health programs through nonprofits, the people have been able to be in charge of what services would be beneficial to our society.  During the last half of the century, the health industry has become more bureaucratic in the sense that the people are choosing when and where to put their money, but resulted in the government looking towards tax revenue for funding and support.  This further caused changes in health policies and support ending in increased health expenditures.  Medicare and Medicaid are both programs administered by the United States government in order to help families with low incomes and resources, attempting to limit individual spending.

Because health care accounts for 1/7th of the nations economy, the nonprofit health universe encompasses many institutions all focusing on supporting its citizens.  Various programs such as; family planning, research institutions, blood and organ banks, as well as addict centers help contribute to the betterment or our society.   Since the benefits outweigh the losses, why wouldn’t government assistance be a requirement?  It is difficult to decide what programs would receive what kind of funding due to variance in size, as well overall importance to society.  Because there are many interpretations of what should be provided to our citizens, nonprofits have multiplied and often times overlapped values and goals they offer.  In order to limit the number of nonprofits created to benefit individual communities it is important for smaller entities to become apart of larger ones so they are not lost and forgotten.

Throughout history of the human population we have various ways that Religion has been incorporated into our culture.  Before the formation of the Thirteen colonies, and before people began to migrate over to the America’s, there were very limited opportunities to experience and practice different religions.  Religious regions were defined by previous inhabitants of an area.  For example, Southern Europe in the 1800’s was primarily dominated by Catholicism through the rulings of previous monarchs and leaders, when individuals disagreed with various practices of the said religion, some were isolated from the rest of society in order to not “corrupt” others with such ideas, and often times condemned to death.  As time progressed, and people began to explore the idea of relocating to a new country, the idea of being able to make their own individual decisions became a primary goal for a newly developed system of government.  Thus gives us the introduction to the Constitution through the Articles of Confederation, and the bill of rights that protects the social, and civil rights of the people.  The founding fathers believed it to be important to separate church and state, in order to promote individualistic freedom, as well as respecting all establishments of religion.
Having such freedoms encouraged the introduction of smaller religions into society, as well as stimulated religious congregations to become involved in making positive social impacts for their local community.  A religious congregation is summed into “a community of people who meet together for worship, for fellowship, and for service to their members and the larger communities in which they live” (O’Neill, 54).  Although many churches are quite small, their followers and donations from private sources have played a central role in social movements that have improved the inner workings of our society.  Unlike other non-profits, religions organizations are not required to submit annual reports to the IRS or state agencies, and receives the majority of its revenue through donations and contributions.  This allows the organization to be very versatile in its philanthropic expenditures, as well as encourages participation towards a larger good.  Churches are responsible for a large portion of the social aid given to the citizens of our economy, such as health care, education, social service, and international aid.  Without such organizations like the Red Cross, there would be little funding for boosting our economy after devastating life alterations like the World Wars.
In understanding that religious congregations are for non-profit, and has no obligation to the government, the ability to have an organization that supports ones internal belief system could be completely invaluable.  It is a common in our society for people to be ‘lost’ in the whirlwind of opportunities being tossed at us left and right.  Religion and faith can offer support from both the scriptures, as well as the strength derived from the unity of worship in a community.  Churches provide an important backbone for civic skills, civic norms, community interests, and civic recruitment.  Having the strength of such a powerful foundation, encourages individuals to become more involved in secular organizations and focus more on the beneficial outcome of our society as a whole.

Until now I have had very little knowledge of the nonprofit sector of our society, and to be honest I didn’t think it was something that I wanted to get myself into, because of the simple fact that they didn’t work for profit.  I was under the impression that there were various small organizations all geared towards saving the environment, with little room for expansion or making a possible career choice out of it.  I was mistaken in thinking that such an opportunity would not be worth my time.

Nonprofit organizations have been around for hundreds of years, fighting for causes deemed important by members of society due to various concerns of what has become valuable, and worth conserving for future generations.  I think that as a society we have become so attached to the value of money, and our personal quality of life, that we have lost what should be important to us as humans.  Due to the massive economic expansion we have experienced through technological advances and the idea of what success looks like in our country, we have tunneled our vision towards whatever is going to make us the most money is what we should do with our lives.  Through nonprofit organizations, we have allowed ourselves to place concentration on what we as people are directly interested in such as; the environment, social service, heath care, and mutually beneficial sectors that will provide services to our entire population.

There are various factors that have brought ideas to the existence of nonprofits, such as; demographics, fundamental human needs, specific events, or concern of the legal and political system.  In being able to pick and choose what we as individuals are involved in, and where our efforts are the most helpful to our society, it gives a sense of ownership and desire to continue to contribute to a better cause.

The idea of a business economy has created barriers as to what is profitable and stimulating our economy, strictly focusing on revenue made by an organization.  When one thinks of starting a business, most would focus on what would get them the most money the fastest no matter what that entailed in the long-run.  Nonprofits are concerned with the quality and longevity of an organization, and has continuous support through the help of a board of directors to stay true to its vision and purpose. Without the help of such organizations where would the world stand on being able to provide food, water and shelter for each person who deserves the right to live and survive.

I value the understanding that in order to create a harmonious world, we as a race need to become more connected to what motivates people to help others rather than strictly self-interest.  There seems to be no limit to what a nonprofit can provide in a society, I am very interested in trying to incorporate the movement towards sustainable development into a nonprofit organization, to meet the human need of development with saving the environment as a whole.