our time down under (:

Yesterday we walked across the Sydney Bridge and then toured the oldest part of Sydney, the Rocks... It is located on the southern shore of Sydney right below the bridge itself... and is very historical; the site of Australia's first European settlement in 1788. We walked thru awesome markets, and saw some of Sydney's first buildings, homes, and streets. Then we went back to Sydney University and discussed our assigned readings for the course on different sustainability issues which included the following four readings; Laboratory Earth, Natural Capitalism, Roadway to Natural Capitalism, and Revenge of the Gaia. It was really good to discuss all our readings together and to expand our knowledge to be all on the same page as a group. Preston, Emily, and myself were assigned Road Map to Natural Capitalism which issues that have only become more urgent since 1999. This reading is a reconceptualization of how we think and feel about the environment and economic value. It went further into the value of the economy of the services provided by the earths ecosystem; natural resources we extract from it and the fact that the value of such runs into tens of trillions of $ annually... Free resources which big business consistently make money off. We discussed further as a group how as a world we make money off natural resources and the environment and we are not taking care of it in return... We need to realize that our resources are not endless and we have got to preserve our world to be able to maintain our lifestyles. I really enjoyed our conversation, as well as took a lot away from it; and look forward to continuing the conversation along the rest of our trip! (:

Today was our free day; and some of us took off to Manly Beach to relax and have some fun in the sun! It was a great day, but i cant wait to take off for Hunter Valley tomorrow and see more of the land down under!!!