The main purpose for my diagram and what I was attempting to portray and put an emphasis on the effects (mostly positive) that the biogas generator has had on the Indian population as well as its environment and ecosystem. India is a very large country with a population that is either very wealthy or very impoverished. The video focused on issues that affected poor family households before biogas. These issues include but are not limited to the over-use of firewood to cook, which would produce excessive smoke and cause health disparities for individuals; child labor; children not being able to go to school and get an education because they spend their days helping their mother’s collect firewood; deforestation and pollution; the excessive use of landfills. With the introduction of biogas, a lot of these issues could be resolved or at least reduced. Indian families have healthier and more sustainable livelihoods, with the production of compost and the economic improvement in the country, more job opportunities have become available especially for women. There is less child labor and children are able to acquire more of an education.

My diagram and Gerry Marten’s diagram have a couple of similarities, for example, both of our diagrams portray the effect that biogas has on the social system and the ecosystem of India. Both of our diagrams also briefly focus on labor and deforestation (how the amount of firewood and cooking fuel lead to this). This is because these are two very important topics that come into play when talking about the need for biogas generators in the population. Unlike my diagram, Gerry Marten’s diagram touches upon the effect that biogas generators would have on farm fields. Gerry Marten’s diagram also seems much more general than mine as he focuses on general topics such as the human population, biogas technology, animals and plants etc. and I get more into details without looking at the bigger picture in my diagram. The reason for those specific differences could be due to the fact that I based my acquired knowledge and diagram on a very short 5-minute video that listed details rather than general outcomes. Gerry Marten probably has more background knowledge and context about biogas generators in India. Comparing my diagram to Gerry Marten’s diagram helped me realize and understand that the introduction and use of biogas generators also affects farm fields, animals and plants. That’s something that I briefly overlooked as I was mostly focused on the human population. I also found it interesting how he mentioned that mostly the wealthy in India would benefit from the social and ecological advantages that biogas generators bring, simply because that is what I mostly believed myself. I believe it is something that has the ability to further expand the gap between the rich and the poor in India.