Author Archives: Samarth Arora

Module 10 – Biodiversity

Posted on by
2

Module 10 Geog030

 

  1. Draw a diagram using the article “Climate change turns conservationists into triage doctors” discussed in this module to show how it helps the current biodiversity situation

 

Untitled document (3)

  1. Explain the diagram above in 250-300 words on how it links to the article and explain the core ideas in relation to what is drawn.

 

The diagram above shows ways to prevent the reduced biodiversity of species living in the British Columbia habitat. The article includes discussions from various scientists with suggestions on how to protect the wildlife in the area. The basic concept behind the diagram states that due to climate change wildlife is being heavily impacted and causing different species to be endangered. Melting ice caps causing an increase in water levels means there will be less area for animals like grizzlies and wolves therefore a method to protect them was suggested by a scientist. The method involves dividing the land into 90 square meters and analyzing each area in terms of how it will be affected by the climate change, in doing so they will be able to identify what areas of land will be suitable and safe for the wolves and grizzlies to flee to and survive, this way they will be able to protect the species for a certain period of time. Another prevention method listed in the article and in my diagram involves migrating the animals in the habitat by us, as they would not be able to do so due to cities built around them. This however is an extremely difficult task and in my opinion should not even be considered as it will be very difficult to move them and it may come to a situation where decisions are being made on which particular species are to be saved, which in my opinion is not a decision that lies in our hands. Lastly, moving them to other swampy areas that suit their survival methods, which to me is a good way to go about it as only one species is being moved, can save the endangered species of the western swamp tortoise.

 

  1. Finally, describe the biodiversity in your town or city and how it is different from what is discussed in the article. (In 150-200 words)

 

Since Dubai is a desert and there aren’t many animals there, except for camels most importantly reduced biodiversity isn’t that big of an issue. However Dubai does have a turtle rehabilitation center where injured turtles are taken and taken care of until completely recovered. Once, recovered they are sent away back into the wild where the habitat is suitable for them. Apart from this camels have the tendency to graze the land, therefore endangering certain plant species. However in areas where camels do not exist vegetation regeneration has been considerable and therefore protected by the government. The biodiversity in Dubai is considerably different to that of the British Columbia habitat as there aren’t that many species in the area, however the species that do exist are well taken care of as the area is a lot smaller in comparison to that of the forest in B.C., and also a lot less in number compared to that in the forest making it easier to control the animal species in Dubai.

 

 

 

Module 7

Posted on by
3

I live in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is an urban city located in the Middle East. The city is divided into several small districts. Each district has residents and some of them also have malls, restaurants, and other recreational facilities. The neighborhoods and districts in Dubai are all automobile suburbs and urban downtowns in relation to the descriptions in the module. I live in an area called Jumeirah, which is an urban suburb. It is located right in the center of Dubai, Jumeirah is divided into three parts and many people live here from the common public to the sheikhs of Dubai. The population of Dubai is approximately 2.6 Million however the population in Jumeriah is approximately 50,000 – 60,000 people. This place is extremely close to me as I have lived here for the most part of my life. The place is the center of Dubai, which makes it easy for me to easily travel.

 

The first city I chose is Manhattan located in the center of New York. Manhattan can be compared to Dubai as a whole, as they are both one of the most popular cities in the world. The reason this comparison can be made is due to the small size of Dubai. Comparing Jumeirah and Manhattan becomes slightly difficult as Jumeirah is a very small residential neighborhood in Dubai, where as Manhattan is much larger in terms of sustainability and population. The population of Manhattan is approximately 1.6 Million, which is much larger than that of Jumeirah. Both these places are urban areas located in a large city. Jumeirah’s residential area consists of buildings and villas, where as Manhattan has tons of buildings everywhere. In Manhattan people use buses, trains, and walk to get to their destinations. However, in Dubai the most common means of transportation is in cars. Due to this Manhattan is a lot more sustainable in terms of pollution and emissions.

 

Rocinha in Rio de Janeiro is another city that I will be comparing to Dubai. The population of Rio de Janeiro is approximately 6.1 Million people and is a lot larger than Dubai. The population of Rocinha is about 60,000 people, which is similar to that of Jumeirah in Dubai. The area Rocinha has a lot of houses and buildings similar to that in Jumeirah however, there are mountains and hills in Rocinha, which makes the layout of the area a lot more different from Jumeirah. Rocinha is a lot less developed than Jumeirah in terms of sustainability due to crime rates for example. Also, the conditions of these buildings and houses in Rocinha are much worse than those in Jumeirah that are much more cleaned and modern.

Food and social issues module 6

Image

3

Family norms and beliefs come from our backgrounds and ancestors. My nationality is Indian and my family beliefs differ from those all around the world. I was a vegetarian and had been one all my life. These beliefs and norms have been with me ever since I was born. When I turned 17 I tried convincing my parents to allow me to change and start eating certain types of meat with a lot of convincing I was finally able to however on certain days of the week, Monday and Thursday, I am not allowed to eat any meat products. I questioned this belief to my parents for a long time and never really got a certain or 100% answer to this question and so I just continued following what I was told. Personally I never really adapted to the taste of meat so I turned vegetarian again. Also health issues were another factor that led me to change back to vegetarian.

 

This module links to my eating habits, societal issues, and the social norms I follow. Along with certain religious beliefs/ values that my family follows health issues and nutrition is a big part to why I follow a vegetarian diet. The module has a health/ food pyramid that shows eating plants and more vegetables compared to meat, eggs, and certain dairy products is a better option. The diet I follow includes vegetables and salads almost on a daily basis apart from ‘cheat days’ where I tend to eat more fats such as cheese and at times fried food. To get a decent amount of protein in my body I eat nuts, tofu, and certain types of cheese. Also after I started eating meat I started seeing videos of animal slaughter and factories where these animals were cut and sent for sale this was another great cause to me changing my habits back to vegetarian diets.

 

Geog 030 module 6

 

Water Supply

Posted on by
2
  1. The case study I chose to describe is ‘India’s greatest planned environmental disaster: The Narmada valley dam projects’ the link to this case study is: http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/Jones/narmada.html

This case study discuses the build up of many large and small dams throughout the Narmada River in India. The Indian government was unable to plan this project properly and this caused them a lot of money, time, and disasters. The dam runs across three states and the purpose was to provide sufficient and clean water to the people and better improve the water system/ supple. Unfortunately in trying to do so and without properly evaluating the project there were problems faced. The large dams causes natural disasters such as floods and also many people ended up getting sick, diseases were spread and so this project was clear unsuccessful.

 

2. For my second case study I looked at ‘Provision of Sustainable Water Supply System in Nigeria: A Case Study of Wannune-Benue State’ the link to this case study is: http://pubs.sciepub.com/wjee/2/1/1/

This case study discusses the water supply in Nigeria. A large water treatment plant was created in order to provide safe and better water supply to the people. About 53% of people in the rural areas have no access to safe and clean water, which again was a cause of several diseases spreading throughout the country. The water treatment plant contains several units to help purify all the water in order to obtain the WHO guidelines in Nigeria. Similar to the case study above lack of concern and poor maintenance led to a failure in the systems as they were not developed properly. However, the calculations and results say if the plant is to be successful it will solve majority of the water problems for both rural and urban areas in Nigeria.

3. Coming from New Delhi, India both the case studies above have similar outcomes as to what its like in New Delhi. Delhi is the capital of India and so there are obviously a lot more improvements and lesser problems compared to the two case studies above. Most of the urban areas in Delhi have access to good and clean water supply; however, the rural areas and villages still do suffer. They have access to groundwater and wells etc. The first case study is similar to what happens in Delhi, as there are many water plants and different supplies that provide water to its citizens. The water system in Delhi is a lot better compared to Narmada Valley and Nigeria. The water supply in Delhi runs all over the state. However, the water supply in Delhi does get damages from time to time due to the excess pollution and dirt in the state, which causes diseases.

 

Module 4 Samarth Arora

Posted on by
2

Water Supply in India

 

1a) India is a developing country and so the water supply and water sanitation isn’t the best there. India lacks the financial resources to obtain the best possible system and sanitation. Water is extracted from the rivers in India but before doing so the area is checked whether it is economically possible to build the irrigation system to collect water. Then after barriers like dams are built to stop the excess flow of water. After this process the water is collected using intake structures such as a siphon, reservoir bottom valve, or outlet sluice, which is attached to the dam, then the water is supplied to pipelines through which they enter houses or areas where the water is required. Water is also collected from small water bodies like ponds using smaller intake structures. However in certain small towns and villages large and small water bodies don’t exist and so a large reservoir is connected underground with power stations generating power and electricity to allow the flow of water from pipelines to the small towns and villages.

 

1b) I chose a weekday Tuesday as it is one of the days where I use most of the water.

 

Activity Number of times/ minutes Amount of water
Shower 15 minutes 20 Gallons
Flush/ Hand Wash 5 28 Gallons
Tooth Brush 2 4 Gallons
Drinking 6 1 Gallon
Laundry 1 25 Gallon

 

Total: 78 Gallons

 

1c) This was a difficult experiment to conduct as I was trying to limit myself to only two gallons of water the whole day. It was nearly impossible for me to last the day with only two gallons. Brushing my teeth and washing my face used up about quarter of a gallon and another gallon and a half went on drinking. Using the toilet is a necessity and so flushing used up a lot of the water. Flushing itself pushed me over the two-gallon limit and so I was unsuccessful with this experiment. Even without using the flush and taking a shower I feel like I wouldn’t be able to survive on only two gallons. After calculating and realizing that I use an average of 78 gallons a day I knew it would be difficult to survive on two gallons. Therefore, on average I use 39 times more water than the average person in Haiti. Geography plays an important role in terms of water as it discusses the way to transfer the water from places and uses certain resources that are available in only certain areas. The location matters a lot when it comes to water and all these points come under Geography.

Module 3

Posted on by
2

1.Is it more important to be a good person or to perform good acts (virtue ethics vs. action ethics)?

I feel like it is important perform good acts rather to be a good person, as people have the tendency to show or portray someone they are not. Performing good acts shows the kind of person you really are. Although being a good person is important it is easy to fake the kind of person you are. Performing good acts is not only beneficial to oneself but in fact it can help other people tremendously as well, which is where I feel like ethics really lies, doing good to your own people and to the people around you. Also, performing good acts in some way makes you a good person although not necessarily it still gives the intentions to people that you are a good person and are doing good thins for the benefit of other people. The actions you take always stand out which is the main reason I would choose performing good acts over being a good person.

 

 

3.Does the process by which decisions are made matter more than the outcomes of these decisions (procedural justice vs. distributive justice)?

Yes in my opinion they are, the decisions we make and actions we take are usually calculated similar to procedural justice. I feel like the importance lies in the decision making part of the process. When making decisions we analyze the possible actions we can take and the possible consequences or outcomes of those decisions. Although the possible outcomes may not be certain and predictions may vary it is still important to address all the decisions and outcomes when making decisions. The process is also important as it gives the person making the decision a sense of relief, that all outcomes have been analyzed and the consequences of each action were discussed. Also the level of the decision to be made makes a difference for example converting a land you bought into building or keeping the nature aspect of it, decisions like this take vital analysis. From a geographical perspective one would like to maintain the nature aspect however, from a business perspective you would want to build on that land. Therefore, the decision-making aspect is the more important.

 

 

  1. Is my own life worth more than the lives of others, the same, or less (selfishness vs. altruism)?

This question is a lot harder to answer than the rest, however the answer to this question will vary a lot from what people are actually thinking. Obviously people would say they are selfless and their lives are worth equal to others but when it comes to a life or death situation I feel like majority of people would put themselves above others most of the time, I know I would. However, the importance of ones life depends a lot on the other person’s life you are comparing it to. For example if there are two robbers and one is doing it for fun but the other is doing it due to unfortunate circumstances in his life, whose life would be worth more? Well for me obviously the one with unfortunate circumstances in his life. Also when it comes to family or one of my close best friends the importance of my life deteriorates for me. I would give more importance to my family and all the close people in my life depending on the situation. So finally, the answer of this question varies a lot depending on the people and the situation.

 

Biogas Module 2

Posted on by
2

My diagram shows the effect of the social and environment with and without the use of biogas. The arrows and the information next to it are to show what the boxes connected to the arrow are about. For my diagram I looked at the landscape part of module 2. I looked at how the introduction of biogas to India has helped improve the landscape and what the negative impacts were without the use of biogas. The introduction not only reduced the time for cooking but also reduced pollution, as firewood was not widely used anymore thus reducing deforestation. These aspects of the biogas helped prevent destroying the landscape.

Martens diagram has a lot of similarities to the diagram I have created with some minor differences. We have both discussed about the biogas technology and looked at the human/ social and environmental effects. However the difference I find between our diagrams is that he has looked more into the links between the social and environmental uses where as I have gone into more detail about how biogas has helped improve the environment. The similarities have occurred due to the fact we are discussing the similar topic of social and environment links to biogas. However, the differences occur as I have gone more into detail about the positive benefits to social and environmental factors using biogas.

biogas_sza5469