Joshua Wilkins

1. Colby – Sustainable Development

   Latin America (Mendoza, Argentina)
   http://personal.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/wat-arg.html

The problem discussed in this case study is the water management in the city of Mendoza, Argentina, and how the system is not sustainable or efficient for the people in the area. For an area that receives very little rainfall every year (about 7.8 inches annually), the distribution of the exploited groundwater to supply farms and citizens with usable freshwater is commanded by a system that is designed for its own destruction. The taxation system, which is the main source of revenue for the government organization in charge of the water supply, does not produce enough money to sustain adequate service or regulation for future generations. This region would be considered a region of non-sustainable development. Better regulation of the water supply in this region could dramatically change the economy of the region and the life of its citizens.

2.) Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/africa

This webpage highlights the many, vast problems that plague the entire continent of Africa, and the general steps that the UN would like to take towards aiding the people of this area. It describes how while some of the continent is considered to be developing, other areas show issues with poverty, hunger, education, and sanitation. Some of the specific problems the continent faces are problems with child mortality rates and also citizens’ lack of access to sanitation facilities. 41% of the people living in Africa live on less than $1.25 per day, and over half of the global out-of-school children can be found in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is another example of a non-sustainable developmental system in a region with many issues to address in the future.

3.) Both of these case studies show the polarity between life in the United States and countries which are considered to not have reached the same level of development. In State College, Pennsylvania, the area which I currently reside, there is never a shortage of water or a mismanage of the freshwater sources. There is never a time that I can think of that the water supply in the future was predicted to be worse or less accessible. Also, the poverty in this area is significantly lower than that of the areas discussed in Africa, and there is most likely not a child that is not enrolled in some sort of educational system. The development of my area is much higher in many aspects than that of the areas discussed in the case studies. What we can take from these case studies is examples of how not to run our systems in this area. It is clearly evident how these systems do not work and how their practices need to change.