The first case study I have chosen is from Colby College, and it takes place in Japan dealing with bicycles as transportation policy. This is the link to the case study: http://personal.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/trans-jap.html .This case study focuses on how Japan has adopted the bicycle as an essential component of transportation. In order for bicycles to be accepted as a mode of transportation, the atmosphere for cycling must be appropriate. Gasoline in Japan costs 3.1 times the rate in the United States. A sixty-mile trip in Japan can cost close to $60. The government of Japan were highly in favorable of bicycle transportation. Due to favoring bicycle transportation, the government raised automobile registration to $1,000 a year and parking fines up to $1,500. By doing this, the government achieved their goals by restricting pollution-emitting vehicles. This study and ideas relates to term unsustainable development discussed in the module. Unsustainable development is defined as things that we are doing today that we cannot continue to do in the future. We are harming our environment by all of the use of automobiles daily.
For the second case study, the location of the development study is in China. In this case, the focus is on water scarcity and climate change. This is the link to the case study: http://chinawaterrisk.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Chinas-Water-Crisis-Part-1.pdf . China‘s water pollution is a result of industrial waste water discharges, untreated domestic sewage and non-point source pollution mainly from agriculture. Water-stressed environments such as those in China face difficult times as climate change threatens to exacerbate an existing water crisis. China‘s population is estimated to increase by around 10% to a population of 1.46 billion over the next 20 years. The pressure on already scarce water resources resulting from rapid urbanization coupled with the demands of quadrupling per capita GDP by 2020. The government in China decided to take action by constructing a project which involves three phases with routes in the west, east and centre of China, which will ultimately transfer 36 billion cubic meters of water per year from the South to the North. The Eastern and Central line was completed in 2014, and the Western line won’t be completed till 2050. This study relates to the term sustainable development mentioned in the module. Much of our development depends on natural resources that either cannot be replaced such as water.
Currently, I live in Pottsville Pennsylvania. In my hometown, we do not use bicycles as transportation and we have a sufficient supply of water. My town is vastly different from Japan. We strictly rely on automobiles to get us from point A to point B. It’s rare to see a person riding their bike down the highway to get to their destination. Japan’s government raised their automobile registration and fines to help save the environment. Fortunately in my hometown, water scarcity is not a problem. My water supply comes from a reservoir on the Gordon Mountain which is about 20 minutes from my house. This reservoir provides water to surrounding homes and areas. There was a storm that occurred in my hometown Wednesday night. There is still a lot of flooding in surrounding areas, and these areas may be experiencing dirty water. Examining where and when these case studies takes place is important because we can gather information from other resources and see what materials are and are not available. It’s important to look at case studies like the ones I’ve listed because we learn more about our own environmental issues and how we can help fix them.
Hi Kelsey! For my blog post, http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/25/fishing-in-norway-farming-in-sri-lanka-kyle-hoke/, I talked about how Norway is working to sustain their fish populations for food. I also talked about how the government is Sri Lanka is helping to sustain the farm industry.
I like your first case study that you discussed because it shows how governments can take action to support sustainability. The main reason for bicycle riding might be because gas is so expensive, but the added side effect of it being better for the environment is definitely a good thing! Your second case is definitely interesting because it draws the question of how sustainable is it to just take water resources from elsewhere, rather than working to improve the water sources closer to the urban centers. I like how you draw contrasts to your more rural hometown where it may not be as much as an advantage to ride bikes.
Hello! In my post I talked about alternative energy efforts in Kenya and around the world as well. I talked about how the impact of unsustainable habits can cause us to change our ways in the future. Here is a link to my post! http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/26/case-studies/
You first paragraph interests me tremendously. The use of bicycles is becoming more predominant throughout the world. Through your paragraph I can see that the main reason that the people of Japan are using bicycles is because of the price of gasoline. Although it helps the environment. I can relate to your hometown differences between these two countries as well. There are barely any people riding around on their bicycles to get to their destinations. I think we as humans and the environment would benefit greatly if we were able to get to our destinations on a bicycle rather than in a car.