Edison and Ford; The trendsetters of Fort Myers Journal #5

Thomas Edison is commonly known, and to many people, solely known for his work in electricity/ light bulbs. But to the people of Fort Myers, Florida, Thomas Edison and his wife Mina Edison were philanthropists, educators, and avid environmentalists.  Thomas Edison originally came to Fort Myers in search for bamboo as well as a summer home and fell in love with the 13 + acres of land right on the Caloosahatchee River known as "Seminole Lodge." At this summer home the Edison family would enjoy many of the recreational activities the Florida climate offered such as swimming in their very own swimming pool,  playing down by the river, and simply gathering on the wrap-around porch of their home. During his time in Fort Myers he decided to invite his best friend down to stay and eventually allowed a home to built on his property  for his best friend; Henry Ford.  Yes, the Henry Ford who built the Model-T.

It is said that Edison and Ford were the main reasons as to why Fort Myers became such a destination and why the city gained popularity. All around downtown Fort Myers there are dedications and buildings/businesses named after them. The most known, however, is the Edison & Ford Winter Estates. At the Edison & Ford Estates, which was donated by Mina for education of the public so that the public could see Edison's life-long work and mainly his laboratory.  At the Edison home, the public can tour the grounds and be enriched with the natural beauty and architecture Fort Myers has to offer and also offers a perfect place for weddings.

Considering I am going to school for Resort and Hospitality Management with a concentration in Event Planning, I intern at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates as a wedding coordinator. I see first hand the impact that Mr. Edison and Henry Ford had on not only SWFL but also the World as we people from all over. Thomas Edison was extremely interested in  the environment and liked to do experiments involving plants. If you have ever been to the Estates, you'll notice the huge Mysore Fig Tree located to the Caloosahatchee and also the Banyan Tree by the laboratory.

I thought it was incredibly interesting to watch the "Untold Stories of Fort Myers" videos and see/hear the different perspectives of people about the history of Fort Myers and how Edison & Ford impacted the city. It is also important to note that the townspeople did not want Edison to electrify the city due to fear of scaring the cattle. Let it be known that in the original home of Thomas Edison and on the porch, the ORIGINAL light bulbs are still intact and still work. It's amazing to think that so long ago they created such a durable and reliable appliance, but today in the 21st Century things break so easily.

Black Gold; What Makes The World Go 'Round #4

I guess I never truly realized just how important oil is and how reliant on it we are. I never really thought much of the rising gas prices, the numerous wars over it, and how many everyday products I use that contain oil. I never thought twice about oil until I saw the video shown in my Colloquium class on Monday March 19, 2012.


A Crude Awakening, a video that has eye-opening information and really makes the viewers think about the future, stated that we don't worship God or any other higher being, we worship oil. Come on, we have actually fought wars over this shiny, black substance. As we learned in the video, the black gold was a huge reason and basically the deciding factor in the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Although this black gold is such a hot commodity, many people are speculating that the gold rush will come to an end and an impending oil crash will take place, putting the economy in a downward spiral (if that is at all possible). 


The 60 Minute video; Pro's and Cons of Shale Gas, shed light on the new technological advances and how drilling for Shale gas could be a useful alternative. One of the biggest issues highlighted in the video is the preciseness that is required in order to successfully drill for this gas and how human error is a common negative when it comes to this process. The most memorable "con" in the video is when this drilling company placed these huge structures on a couples plot of land and essentially ruining it's natural beauty. Now, instead of beholding the 10 acres of natural beauty, the couple beholds an eyesore that is slowly ruining their land. According to the couple, the structures were put together messily and have been leaking and oozing the substance for a good period of time.  This human error is contributing to the ever-growing dislike for oil drilling and does absolutely nothing for the name/idea of Shale gas.


The article; Squeezing More Oil from the Ground  really refers to the oil reserves, the amounts of oil being produced daily, and technological advances and the impact it has on us. 


As with anything in today's society, technology has a huge impact of almost all aspects of life and oil drilling is no different. In all three works stated above, technological advances have a huge prevalence which leads me to believe that things will eventually get better. One of the reoccurring technologies in the Squeezing More Oil from the Ground article is the steam injection ideology. This so called steam injection is among oldest of oil drilling technologies and is constantly reiterated and reinvented. Also, another technology stated in all three works is the idea of horizontal drilling, meaning; you go down two feet then start drilling horizontally. In order to accomplish this, we would need a technologically advanced drill bit capable of completing this task.