Hello class,
My name is Brenton McDonald and I currently live in State College, Pa. I was born and raised in Irwin, which is about 30 minutes outside of Pittsburg. However, I joined the Marines at eighteen and I have not lived in the U.S. for the past eight years. My long-term goal is to become Foreign Service Officer (FSO) for the U.S. Department of State in the management career track. I have worked at various diplomatic missions over the course of my military career and developed an interest in this field. The process of becoming an FSO can take up to two years though. Due to this, I have taken a job with Deloitte as Federal Technology Analyst in Washington, D.C. while I pursue becoming an FSO. My interest in diplomatic efforts directly correlates with my interest in this course. I believe that understanding the relationship between humans and geography will serve me well in my future endeavors.
While reading Module 1, an example from one of the countries I worked in came up as particularly fascinating. Specifically, the capital city of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The first president is known for many outrageous initiatives. These range from requiring all buildings to be cased in marble to the creation of a “green oasis”, which aims to plant 3 million trees in the aired desert land to create a more hospitable city. This initiative started in 2013 and in one day, nearly a million trees were planted. Due to the nature of the land, these trees also need a great deal of water in order to grow. I think the study of geography could be useful in determining the environmental impact of the green oasis initiative. Unfortunately, Turkmenistan is one of the most closed off countries right being Iran and North Korea. Due to nature of present diplomatic relations, it will be hard to obtain information related to the initiative.
Please feel free to skim through the links below. This first outlines basic information about Turkmenistan and the second details the green oasis initiative.
http://palmtreeproduction.com/Hikes%20and%20Climbs/Turkmenistan/Ashgabat/Ashgabat%20gallery.html
http://www.rferl.org/content/turkmenistan-tree-planting-silly-dictators/24925415.html
Thank you so much for your service with the Marines! I find it very interesting that you were able to experience different geographic areas. What you stated about the capital city of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan was my favorite. I like how they took on changing the environment first hand by planting three million trees. This will definitely make a positive on their environment. If you would like to read what I wrote here is a link to mine http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/01/16/getting-to-know-me-4/
Hope you have a great semester and I definitely that this class will help with your future endeavors.