Hello, my name is Ben Calhoun. I currently live in Port Orchard, Washington, but for a significant portion of my childhood I lived in southern California. I love the idea and practice of sustainability and green energy. My home and property are largely chemical free and organic, from the food we grow to even how we clean we truly strive to make a minimal impact. I am by no means a “hippy”. I  hunt, I fish and my family and friends all seem to enjoy pointing out that I’m still quite the “type A knuckledragger”.  Because of my passions for the environment and sustainability, I would like to end up working somewhere in conservation or green energy. I don’t have a specific goal at this time. Aside from this course being a requirement for my degree, I have always been interested in geography. It seems to be the most multidisciplinary inclusive subject I have ever encountered. We all seem to have some type of information or experience to add to the larger picture.

In regards to my thoughts on issues that geography would be well suited to address, I have one that stands out strongest in my mind. In my county, all of our water is sourced from groundwater which is provided nearly entirely from rainfall, as we have no snow pack. In order to maintain an adequate and sustainable supply of water we depend on natural features like wetlands to maintain the supply. As the population in the county increases (and it has been for several years), residential development has grown ever closer to these sensitive ares and in some cases, they have even been filled and built over. I can see geography being incredibly important in identifying these areas (including potential and seasonal wetland areas) to help put policy in place to restrict building and land use in these areas.