What's a physics major to do in Ecuador?

One of my friends spent this summer in Togo on a trip that attracted anthropology students. Of course, Rui is a chemistry major and had to explain her reasons for traveling to Africa. Eventually, she addressed this in her blog, and I have decided to follow her lead.

First, I go to a liberal arts school. When I applied to colleges, I definitely considered science schools like Caltech but ended up not even applying to them. Despite my strong preference for math and science from preschool (and no that is not an exaggeration) onward, I also love Russian history (thanks, Dr. Hendrick) and studio art. I wanted to be able to explore these while still majoring in a science. I listed a strong study abroad program as a requirement for college, too. Exploring another culture and learning to live in a foreign environment for an extended amount of time had been dreams of mine since two of my best friends and I decided that we were going to attend University of Glasgow and live in a flat. However, I realized that studying abroad would be close to impossible at many schools, since science classes must be taken in sequence and often cannot be pushed off until the next term or year. Now that I am a liberal arts student, my schedule has still been dominated by math and science classes, though I must say it is my own fault. If I have not been able to take all of the humanities and art courses that I would like, I still wanted to study abroad.

So if I want more history and art classes, why did I choose a program where I will still be doing science? Well, I realize that conservation biology is definitely science, but for me, it is still rather liberal artsy--something different than my normal classes. My college schedule has been filled with physics, chemistry, computer science, and math--but no bio. In fact, I have not taken biology since being required to take AP Bio in high school, which I put off as long as I could. This is not to say that I hate biology, just that my main focus has always been elsewhere. In elementary school, I loved math and always wanted to do science that involved math, so I've been inclined to do physics from before I knew what physics really was. Biology filled the role of being an extra science that involved some cool things like animals. In seventh grade, I only claimed to want to be a marine biologist because box jellies are relatively unknown but incredibly fascinating, and it was the "cool scientist." Even then I realized that my intense fear of sharks would not bode well for such a career path.

Although biology is not one of my passions, it is not unexpected for me to choose a program related to environmental studies. When I was six, my sister and I saved our minute allowances and donated them to the Children's Rainforest. Then, in fourth grade, when I learned how many fast food hamburgers are made from cattle raised off off of burned rainforest land, I immediately extricated pre-shaped hamburgers from my diet. Granted, that was not too difficult considering how rarely my family ate fast food. I've always loved hiking as well, and family vacations were, as often as not, trips to National Parks. On one such trip in South Dakota, I even kept a record of all of the animals that we saw, including date, time and number. My parents were wise enough to estimate the number of buffalo in a herd as a thousand before I tried to count them. Now, when I hike in the Southern Appalachians, I cannot resist rattling off the names of the plants that surround me, and while I may have never taken an environmental studies class, I have read many of the classic texts and care deeply about the welfare of the Earth.

Conservation biology in Ecuador may not fit in with my studies of physics, but it still fits my passions and desire to help actual environmentalists. And although I did not mean to write an entire essay on the fact, I believe that this should have addressed any lingering questions as to my choice to study abroad.

Various Forms of Conservation

As a physics major, I often use conservation laws--Conservation of Energy, Conservation of Momentum, Conservation of Electric Charge--to solve problems. But soon, I am embarking on a completely different set of problems involving conservation biology. However, the conservation of physics aligns more closely with preservation than ecological conservation.

Of course, Hetchy Hetchy Valley is the prime example of the difference between conservation and preservation. Gifford Pinchot, Theodore Roosevelt's chief forester, declared that "conservation means the greatest good to the greatest number for the longest time," meaning that resources are meant to be used wisely but in many cases still used. John Muir wanted to preserve the northern California valley in order to save the natural beauty for future generations. Both views are contribute to the current conservation movement, and of course, they are not always in opposition like they were over Hetchy Hetchy. Preserving a wildlife refuge may lead to the conservation of buffalo or bald eagles.

This semester, I will be learning to apply these methods in the highlands of southern Ecuador. Among the projects that I am assisting is conservation of Andean bears, hence the title of this blog. I'll attempt to update this blog so that you may follow along on my adventures. But first I have a few disclaimers:

• I will not have continuous access to internet, so I do not promise regular schedule. In fact, this blog may end up with only four or five posts, though I will attempt to post when I can.
  
• I am writing for a variety of audiences, and as always with a public blog, I may not be aware of all of my readers. Thus, you may not understand every reference I make, or I may explain something in greater detail than you as an individual need, since some of you have already traveled to Ecuador and others know more biology than I ever will.
• The picture at the top of the page is clearly inaccurate. Of course, bears do not live in the Galapagos, but I did take the picture on my previous trip to Ecuador and preferred it to those of Cotopaxi. At least it is the correct country.
  
• As my internet access will be limited, I might be rushed when typing an entry. Thus, I will suffice it to say, "Any instances of non-standard spelling, grammar or punctuation are hereby declared intentional and should be considered jokkes."