I grew up in a home that always recycled but didn’t talk much about why we should or the problems that would occur if we didn’t. Coming into college I knew nothing about the planets current state and the possible outcomes that are eventually destined to happen. Honestly if you had asked me to define global warming I probably would have made something up about the sun getting too close to the earth. From this one week (two classes) in Wicked Problems I could now tell you that global warming is partially caused by each person’s carbon footprint (which I also just found out what that was too). To say the least I was uneducated on this topic. I have enjoyed learning what makes a problem wicked. It has blown my mind how many of these wicked problems, mysteries, or problems that have not been solved there are. Its crazy to think that many of the wicked problems such as asthma, cancer, premature aging are caused by other peoples carbon footprints which I learned from the 11th hour video. It was fascinating to learn that every day we make choices that impact the future of the world. I am so glad that we are learning new ways to be sustainable in our daily lives. A few of the actions I plan to take from experiencing this great awakening will be to first and foremost start recycling. Another action I plan to take is buying reusable bags for the grocery store and I may even get a trash can for my work to recycle as well. From the reading this week I also learned so much! Its truly amazing honestly how much I have learned in just two days. Once again being honest I didn’t know anything about Easter Island other than there were stones. From the reading I now have learned that Easter Island is located in the Pacific ocean not far from South America. I learned that the statues created there are almost a mystery in themselves because hoisting the statues up vertically is pretty much impossible due to their lack of resources. Easter Island at one point in time was inhabited with close to 7,000 people at its peak. There are many ideas on how the people of Easter Island got there but the reason they fell is a little more concrete. The island itself did not have enough resources to support a society of people. There was limited water and people mainly lived off of sweet potatoes. The people of Easter Island eventually broke up into clans and began different spiritual ceremonies in each clan. Something the clans had in common though was that they built these massive statues to either honor ancestors, fallen chiefs, or deities. They all were obsessed with spending time making the monuments that it eventually drove them to collapse. In order for these statues to be built and moved, the islanders had to cut down trees and roll the statues across the land which eventually left them with deforestation and lack of food. They most likely began to fight each other for chickens and other food sources and created the fall of Easter Island. I truly new none of this before reading the story and I found it fascinating how strong the Islanders must have been in order to survive minimally, they almost seemed like a form of superhuman.  I am excited to learn more this upcoming week and grow in my views of sustainability and become more knowledgeable with other wicked problems that have occurred in history.