How we know what we know about the environment?

For me, I know about the environment because of what I've given taught through school, volunteer activities and the media. When I was little I always used to watch the Magic School Bus and it was one of my favourite shows. They talked about various topics that related to the environment such as exploring the ocean, the world of animals, weather and the environment in general. I think that these types of shows are really beneficial to have when growing up because they make us more aware and educate us about the world around us. I think that if I didn't watch the Magic School Bus, I wouldn't know how certain parts of the ecosystem work. For example, I remember watching one show where they explained beehives and how they work. The episode starts off with them questioning whether or not they should be taking honey from beehives. Tim argues that the bees have honey so that we can take it. This relates to the reading from last week which talks about the environment being there for the human taking. The MA Board released 10 key messaged after the assessment which basically outlined how humans were living beyond their means and what it was doing to the environment. After analyzing the beehive in the show, the characters later identify that the flower pollen is put into the honey combs and then they fan and stir the nectar until the water evaporates. After which it becomes thick honey and lasts longer for bees. They also mention how bees need honey to feed themselves and their babies. Although in the end of the episode they do take honey away from the beehive, I think what they were trying to communicate was that we need to take care of environment otherwise we shouldn't be taking a part of it away from them. With little messages such as this in shows like the Magic School Bus, I think we begin we know what we know about the environment at at very young age. However, I don't think we fully understand it until we get a really older and actually understand what was being communicated to us. Nonetheless, shows like this are key components to understand the role the environment plays for us everyday and they help us understand that our relationship with the environment is a give and take type of scenario. This relates to what was being discussed in class in regards to FernGully and what message the movie was trying to put out. The media plays a huge role in educating us about the environment. However, as we become older I think we reply too much on technology to teach us instead of experiencing the environment and understanding it's value.

Episode Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gLRdxJPvOU