Module 2 Human-Environment Systems

MODULE 2

One thing that my diagram definitely explains (that was also talked about in the modules) is the human-environment interaction that can occur in many different ways.  It was discussed in the video how humans used a wood burning stove to cook which affected the environment by polluting it with smoke.  Humans also used work from the environment which negatively affected it (this can be seen by the blue boxes).  Sangha came up with the idea of biogas that humans can use that will lead to a safer environment, and a more healthy option.  The boxes in the bottom left of my diagram depict this.  Another concept my diagram is focused on is stability.  When the wood burning stove was used, there were a lot of negative disturbances such as it being time consuming, harmful to the health, and to the environment.  Through the production of biogas, the disturbances decreased as more positive impacts were seen, and the system became more stable.  Looking at figure 1.5, this system also seems to be stable which is one of the similarities between the two diagrams.  Another similarity is that both diagrams discuss the positive effects biogas has on health/environment and the negative impacts the wood burning stoves had.  Besides the similarities, there are also differences such as Figure 1.5 was divided into social systems and ecosystems and it used solid and dashed arrows to depict how they affected each other.  My diagram is more of a continuous web where actions lead to consequences.  There are similarities and differences between these two diagrams because it depends on a persons outlook and creativity.  Each author can think of the connections in their own way and translate them onto paper differently.  It is interesting that with all of the same facts everyone can come up with their own idea to explain a relevant topic!

3 thoughts on “Module 2 Human-Environment Systems

  1. Hi Madison, my name is Kevin and your diagram really stood out to me as I was scrolling through the different submissions. I really like that you decided to go with more of a “progression” than a direct split between Social Systems and Ecosystems. There are a lot of posts on here (mine included) that are based off the one we had to compare to in our post and I like that you found your own way to do it. Feel free to check mine out at: http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/01/26/module-2-biogas-system-diagram/

  2. Hi Madison
    You did an outstanding job on your system diagram! I really like the stability concept that you added. There is so much good that comes out of a biogas system; especially, the increased health, improved economy, and improved agriculture.

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