I live in an off campus house with two of my closest friends, Camila and Kannie. Every morning when we leave there is a beautiful Morning Glory Vine that wraps around our front porch. Most morning glory flowers unravel into full bloom in the early morning. The flowers usually start to fade a few hours before the “petals” start showing visible curling. By the time we come back from our afternoon classes, the flowers have faded. The petals fall off and collect on our front porch. This magical vine overtakes the man-made structure that is our house.

(taken on an iPhone 6)

Sculpture by Isaac Cordal in Berlin, Germany is called “Politicians Debating Global Warming”

1. Confluence– Ice cutting operation, log drives on Delaware, Getter’s Island

The Confluence is a hidden gem of Easton’s edge. Where the Bushkill meets the Delaware, there is piece of crumbling infrastructure that now acts as a partial dam. To the south, there is a homeless person’s paradise. It is complete with a practice target, a rope swing and a fire pit. The home is made up of blue construction tarps along with fallen trees that offers a great deal of protection from the elements. The ground is rocky until it meets the water edge. The water is calm off the Bushkill tributary; it appears to be no deeper than a foot.

Getter’s Island is in the middle of the Delaware River. It would be impossible for us to get there without swimming across. The island shores are rocky, and it is covered in various varieties of trees and shrubs. We see no wildlife, but you can hear the birds in the trees.

As we walk North towards 611, the cars pass us, speeding to their destination. The riverside of the highway is covered in litter. We pass another homeless person’s campground, carful not to disturb them. We come to the end of Getter’s Island, the entire landmass can be no more than half a mile long and 200 feet across at its widest point.

Observing Getter’s Island would have been much different if we were able to physically get on the Island and experience it. We would have been able to be up close to the nature, but instead we observe from a distance.

Erik Better, Tessa Broholm, Bethany Rack

My mom is an avid watcher of House Hunters and our TV at home rarely strays from Home and Garden TV Station (HGTV). She forwards me emails weekly of houses around our area in New Jersey because “it never hurts to look.” She has a platinum card to Pier One Imports and a box of decorations for every season change and holiday that she adorns throughout our home.

Needless to say, wherever I go, I look at houses. This includes going down the Delaware River. The majority of the homes here are on stilts, built up to protect them from flooding when the river rises. After Sandy, a large portion of the houses along the Delaware were swept away, but a lot of people chose to rebuild despite the risks.

A lot of things draw people towards the river. It’s peaceful, it’s nature, and it’s a chance to get away from society. When you live on the river, all your problems seem to flow away. None of the homes along the Delaware were mansions lined with white picket fences and flowery beds, but there is a certain thing that draws people to the water. Be it the beach, lakes, streams or rivers, the allure and magic of water appeals to people.

For those unfamiliar with Lafayette’s campus, there is a collection of toddlers that attend daycare on the hill. They are often seen roaming around the quad, struggling to balance their bodies, wobbling as they go. For this trait of being toddlers on the quad- they have been designated as “Quadlers” by Lafayette’s students. These Quadlers bring great joy to Lafayette, running around carefree on the quad. We see them on our way to class, or when we are staring out at the quad when we are in Skillman and should be doing homework.

These little humans are just starting to appreciate the world- the distinction between nature and civilization means nothing to them. They have no concept of weather patterns, why the sun comes up every morning, or why the grass is green. For a variety of reasons, children today are spending much less time outside than the previous generation did. This means that children have fewer opportunities to enjoy the sensory and learning experiences of feeling a breeze or squishing mud through fingers and toes.

Going outside is the highlight of the day for Quadlers. A great deal of learning is happening as the children watch and interact with their environment. The classroom is not the only learning environment, and it is important to go outside and be able to recognize this.

Global warming may be an issue for all of America, but it’s happening twice as fast in the Alaskan Arctic. President Obama is on a historic mission this week to highlight climate change in Alaska

An issue that is getting much less attention than the official changing of the name of Mt. Denali, is the possible relocation of the native people of an arctic village who’s home is melting away every day.

Shishmaref is a three square miles island on the state’s western edge and just 20 miles from the Arctic Circle. It is a collection of more than two-dozen villages that are washing into the ever-rising sea, making their residents the nation’s first real climate change refugees.

This Article from NBC highlights the costs that would be associated with relocating the refugees. The government estimates it would cost $300,000 a resident to relocate each villager — if they even can find a suitable inland site. There are just under 600 residents.

As the water continues to rise and homes are lost to the arctic sea, the federal government must decide how much they are willing to pay to preserve Alaska’s costal islands.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/obamas-arctic-trip-buoys-climate-refugees-n413726