In 250 words or less, discuss a situation in history that portrays the dangers of biodiversity loss and how this effects the environment and humans.

In Ireland between 1845- 1852, one million Irish citizens died, while one million more emigrated because of the Irish Potato Famine. The potato was a cheap crop in Ireland and about two thirds of the population was depended on the crop for food. The potato crop was infected with potato blight and it affected the rest of Europe as well. It affected Ireland so harshly because the potato was one of the only crops being grown at the time, known as monoculture. This lack of biodiversity truly hurt the Irish population. Not only was there very few other crops being grown, but even within the potato crops, the genetic variability was low as well. When the potato blight came through Europe, it completely devastated the crops leaving the people of Ireland without food. If the potato crop were more diverse, the Irish population and economy would not have had to suffer. This famine demonstrates the importance of biodiversity, and why we as humans should try harder to increase biodiversity across the globe. Not only did the people of Ireland have to leave Ireland or suffer from starvation, but also the economy fell and the government was given the difficult task of resolving the issues for the sake of the people remaining in Ireland. The lack of biodiversity also affects the animals living in these areas, which is another reason why people should take into consideration what they are planting and making sure to increase variability and biodiversity.

Next, please describe in 250 words or less, what is being done to help prevent biodiversity loss in you hometown and surrounding state. Be sure to connect to course concepts.

In my small hometown of Washington, New Jersey, biodiversity loss is a very big issue. First, there are many farms with huge fields that have made a huge loss of habitat for so many animals. In my town there is also targeted hunting of deer and sometime other small game. This over-harvesting disturbs to natural habitat and the biotic components within it. Also within my area, the population is increasing and it is concerning because lots of animals are loosing their habitat to developments as well as deforestation in preparation for these homes. To combat these issues in New Jersey, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ has habitat restoration projects. The foundation is protecting numerous areas in New Jersey so they can grow back to their normal habitat. Along with the habitat restoration projects, New Jersey has programs designed for everyone to help out, known as the Backyard Wildlife habitats. They are as simple as building a brush pile in your back yard to provide cover for animals. The foundation also talks about reforestation and how it is critical for reconnecting the fragmented habitats in New Jersey. There are also many state parks in New Jersey that allow for the state to control and maintain healthy habitats within the state. The Voorhees State parks is an example of one of these parks.

My diagram starts with Climate Change. I believe this emphasizes the need for a global collective action agreement on how to limit green house gas emissions and take responsibility for human action on this planet. I have everything stemming from Climate Change, because ultimately, this is the goal. It is also interesting to see how countries are forgetting this goal and focusing on escaping financial dilemmas. My color scheme moves from yellow to blue. The colors address the connections between the factors and show a cascade from the top to the bottom of my diagram. In a symbolic way, my color scheme shows connection to the colors of the globe including grass, the sky, water and the visibility of the sun. This may not have much effect, but it again draws upon the goal of the Climate Summits, to preserve the world in which humans live. Through the many connections on my diagram, it is easy to see that this predicament is very intertwined and in turn, complicated. Thinking about the links between each factor, it is important to understand that, we as the people may not know everything relevant to this climate issue. My diagram also addresses the fact that the US actions can and have lead to many outcomes that may not benefit the global community. For instance, Japan will not support the Kyoto protocol extension. This not only benefits the US, but it also boosts the Copenhagen Accord. How will this affect the globe? This diagram stressed to me that Climate Change, and environmental issues is highly politicized and in being so, seems to fall victim to strategizing and financial circumstances.

Reading this article, has stressed to me that the countries around the globe have turned climate change into financial issues that each country wishes to avoid. Although I know that money is an important factor in controlling and limiting climate change, it is sad to see such a big issue reduced to politicize, strategic agreements and arguments instead of focusing on the true issue at hand. The US has done a disgraceful thing. To get out of these financial burdens, shows the rest of the world, including the citizens of every country that climate change and the environmental factors as well as how they affect the people of the world, mean less to the politicians than money does. This dilemma also stresses that collective action problems are a real thing. The US uses its abusive powers to control and manipulate the globe to accommodate to their issues. The US doesn’t want to reduce its own emissions, however, looks to put this burden onto the smaller countries that have affected the climate significantly less. This issue speaks widely to ethics. Is it ethical to put these burdens on to the other countries? Is it ethical however, to put the human financial needs above the needs of the environment? When it comes to the Wikileaks, I support total information to the people. I think that if these were not leaked people would feel more positively about the Copenhagen Accord then they actually should have. This information allows for people to rally together and fight to persuade the countries of the nation to actually respond to the needs of the environment and in turn the needs of the people. I believe educating ourselves and doing what we can as a person, and as apart of smaller communities, can develop way to limit our emissions, then these ideals may spread to the larger global community. Starting at smaller communities will make these changes engraved into the world culture and would spread despite the language barriers around the world.

According to the Nathan World Map of Natural Disasters, Washington, NJ, my hometown, seems to be faced with Level 2 Tropical Cyclones that would hit the coast and effect the state. My town may be faced with Level 2 or Level 3 hailstorms, although they are very rare. My town seems to be in the Zone 2 for tornados and Zone 1 wildfires, which are low hazard. My area is affected by El Nino causing fewer storms, and will have more storms during La Nina. Looking at the Nathan World Map of Natural Disasters was quite difficult when looking for information on a small scale. When viewing the whole map it’s hard to decipher what zone my small town would fall under. This map would be useful when looking at global weather perspectives and when trying to learn how the United States is affected by natural disasters.

According to The Hungarian National Association of Radio Distress, there was a power outage in Calloway County, Kentucky early this morning on April 1^st. This power outage affected 15,000 people and was caused by severe weather. Power outages are a very common thing in my town in New Jersey after severe weather. After thunderstorms, tropical storms, snowstorms, and hurricanes the area is crippled with falling wires and trees, damaged telephone poles and blocked roads. The area is very familiar to these issues, and tries to accommodate people as soon as possible, however there were still times after Hurricane Sandy, where I was out of power for fourteen days. My town and Calloway County Kentucky are very similar in scale. My town although spread out, accommodates around 15,000 people as well. Power outages affect most people in our town at the same time. Although, when it comes to restoring power to the homes, they are addressed by township. There are developments in my town that are newly constructed, and the power grids are completely underground. These people are the best off after severe weather. Unfortunately, the people who live in town, where the telephone poles are wires are above ground are more negatively affected by the power outages because of the falling poles, trees, and dangling wires. It becomes a very dangerous place until the area is restored. This gap between the new developments and the people that reside in town also depicts the different socioeconomic classes in my town as well. The people that live in the developments are wealthier than the people that reside in the immediate town. Another factor when considering who is affected by power outages is the electric companies fix the most populated areas first. So those developments and the town get fixed before the farm streets and back roads are fixed. These people are forced to live without power for a longer time. This is what happened to me after Hurricane Sandy. To reduce my towns vulnerability to power outages, it would be beneficial to mimic the new developments and try to get the power grids in the town and on the back roads to be underground as well. This would make it a safer place after a natural disaster, and would save electric companies from having to make so many repairs after disasters.

As I mentioned before the most common natural disasters in New Jersey are severe storms. These storms produce violent rain, wind, and lightning that cause power outages and damage to homes and cars in the area. Sometimes accompanying the power outages is flooding. Many of the rivers in my area such as the Musconetcong river and more devastating, the Delaware river, flood and destroy peoples homes, was away valuable farm soil and make driving dangerous in my area as well. More rarely, according to FEMA records, there are wild fires in my area as well. With the vast protected farmlands and farmer burning away brush, fires can get started in the area after dry seasons. There was a fire documented in 2002 and 2007 and they were minimally destructive to the area however homes were evacuated.

“Disaster Declarations for New Jersey.” FEMA. Ed. New Jersey State Government. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2016. <https://www.fema.gov/disasters/grid/state-tribal-government/37>.

In my town, I think it would be necessary to work on building resilience in non-disaster times. If my town were to convert all of the electric grid systems from above ground to underground, there would be little to plan when a severe storm is to happen. The electrical lines would be protected and the telephone poles would be gone. The only thing the town would have to worry about after a storm is cleaning up the streets because of fallen trees and debris and the damage to homes and cars. However, thinking ahead, the town could work to be prepared, and cut down trees that look like they will inevitably fall during the storm. This could eliminate more of the work after the storms. By implementing the underground electrical grids, the town would also be eliminating socioeconomic differences when it comes to natural disasters. The poor people in my town would feel less worried about their home during a storm, knowing they wont have to worry about fixing it because of fallen telephone poles or, living in a dangerous area until the wires are fixed. My town although not the wealthiest, does have high taxes and I think it would be beneficial to take these taxes and put them towards being preventative to natural disasters. To possibly put this plan into action I would have to speak with the mayor of my town or the officer in the municipal building about emergency protection plans. Obviously, something like this would take careful consideration and policy planning and would involve budgeting and networking with electrical companies.

I live in a town known as Franklin Township. It is located in northern New Jersey, about a half an hour from the Delaware River and a sending district to the regional high school about 15 minutes away. It is a rural town, with neighborhoods that would be considered automobile suburbs. Most of the town does not have sidewalks and the older part of the town consisting of a fire station, a small church, and an old graphite mill are located on the same street. The newer surrounding developments are filled with large, new houses. Franklin Township has a population of over 3,000 people made up of 1,122 households. Large farms separate the developments and the old Main Street. My parents know most of the people in the town and they have lived here since I was born. Like I have said in a post earlier in the semester, I feel that my town has more cows than people however; it’s a peaceful place with lots of space to enjoy life.

My town could take development ideas from the Jamaica Plain in Boston, Massachusetts. This streetcar suburb with “Main Street” style stores and sidewalks are within walking distance from streetcar stops. My town could use this as a model for sustainability. Developing the main street to incorporate more small businesses, a park, and some sidewalks would make it possible for more foot traffic in the town and to help limit the amount of car use within the limits of the town. The Boston suburb is centered on the streetcar. Although the streetcar may be out of the question for my small town, incorporating busses or ways to carpool would be beneficial to decrease the amount of car traffic within the town. Busses could go to the local food store and the school. The town could set up a system for carpooling to take kids to neighboring towns, to the mall, and to recreation fields for sporting activities. These ideas based on the Boston suburb would increase sustainability within Franklin Township.

Another city that could give my town sustainable developments would be Bogota, Columbia. The Bogota Ciclovia happens every Sunday and holiday where cars are forbidden on 120 kilometers of streets. People in Columbia are then allowed to bike, dance, and do activities on the street. This Ciclovia builds community awareness and acceptance. Introducing this idea to my town would benefit the residents greatly. Having maybe a day or two a month where people cannot drive on the main street would give way for the school children, the families and the other people in town to be active and fit and to get closer to the people in town. It would also limit the car traffic and help introduce walking and biking to the culture of my town helping to diminish the amount of automobiles in the area and change the social norms. Bogota, Columbia offers great ideas to incorporate sustainable ideas into Franklin Township, New Jersey.

When I was younger, my relatives from Mississippi came to visit my family up North. Besides the accent, the most noticeable difference between the family norms was the entrée dishes and family recipes. When my relatives cooked dinner, most of the meals consisted of barbeque with unfamiliar seasonings and many fried pieces of chicken. Everything we ate was rolled in flour, tasty, and kept you full for hours at a time. I was also never allowed to have only one helping, the more I ate the happier my relatives felt. One of the norms I noticed through the cooking and eating habits of my southern relatives was what they called “Southern Hospitality.” My relatives were very friendly, outgoing, and warm people and they definitely didn’t want anyone to go hungry. The hearty dishes also made sure of this. The idea behind the greasy-home cooking was to make sure everyone felt at home, comfortable, and well fed. The hospitality in their personalities was portrayed through their desire to serve hearty southern cooking.

Although my relatives’ dishes were delicious, they were not the healthiest. Many of the ingredients they used were high in calories and low in nutrients. These diets that consist of fried food, oils, and fats are some of the leading causes of obesity. The Southern states make up the highest levels of obesity in the country because of the “soul food” that is customary to the southern culture. “Southern Hospitality” is a great feature of the South, but the residents in the South should try and lessen the use of these unhealthy foods. There are ways to demonstrate hospitality while serving healthy foods; for example, serving grilled chicken instead of friend chicken, or lessening the amount consumed at each serving. Because so much of that “Southern Hospitality” is associated with the warm personalities more so than the food they serve, to be able to make the Southern experience about the people you encounter instead of the food eaten would be a great start to limiting obesity in these states.

The case study that I chose was Long Term Sustainable Policies: Sustainable Cities. The city this focused on was Santa Monica, California. Here is a link to the case study: http://personal.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/sc-ca.html The goals of this development focused on the sustainable development of the city and reworked eleven citywide policies focusing on environmental issues and cost effectiveness of each plan. The overall goal being sustainability, lead the city to identify eleven environmentally damaging targets for policy change, some of these being, storm water, wastewater, education, and energy. The city worked towards long-term goals to completely switch to renewable resources. They worked with energy companies to reduce energy consumption by 16%. The city has adapted three projects to work towards their long-term goal of reducing energy consumption. They are, ENVEST, ICLEI, and EPA’s Green Light Program. These focus on the ability to install energy efficient equipment throughout the buildings in the city. The case study also expresses the need to change education and install programs that work to educate students on the importance of gardening and recycling to prepare for the future.

The second case study I chose was Sustainable City Singapore. The information is from Green Growth Best Practice. It address the need for a country wide sustainable development program. Here is a link to the case study: http://www.ggbp.org/case-studies/singapore/sustainable-city-singapore Recently, Singapore has rapidly commercialized and economically prospered advancing them to become a first world country. Their goal is to pursue a competitive economy while focusing on environmental sustainability. To reach their goals, they launched the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint that sets goals until 2030. Within this blueprint they address policy issues regarding land use, transportation, and many other regulations. One of their initiatives is to also address climate change. So far, Singapore has met their past goals of the Green plan in 2005. They also have met transportation goals by introducing a mass public transit system in an attempt to turn away from private cars. These goals that have been met has made Singapore Asia’s greenest metropolis.

At Penn State University Park, sustainability is a large initiative. The Sustainability Strategic Plan sounds similar to the goals behind the sustainable cities in Santa Monica and Singapore. Penn State has three goals: recognize the need for change, put knowledge to work, and inspire others in the common pursuit. Throughout the campus, initiatives have been put in place, like the intensive recycling projects, conservation efforts, and environmental research. Unlike the sustainable cities, one area that has not been touched on is the importance to decrease personal cars and to stress the importance of limiting energy consumption on a citywide scale. However, on a small scale Penn State does work to limit their energy consumption by composting and having volunteers turn lights off on campus. Living on a campus where environmental possibilism is so evident, it’s important that we have these initiatives in place. With the students being so focused on the need to innovate and to become technologically advanced, we still need to recognize that the environment in which we live needs to be protected despite our human advances.

At my home in Asbury, NJ, I have submersible deep water well. When you turn the faucet on in the house, there is a pressure switch that “calls for water” which activates the pump down in the well. It pulls water out from the natural water reservoir, the aquifer. The water enters the holding tank in my basement. In this holding tank, know as the bladder water pressure tank, there is a pocket full of air that maintains the water pressure allowing the water to flow out from the faucets. When the tank is signaled that there is low water pressure, it then “calls for water” again from the pump down in the 400-foot well. After the water is flushed or goes down the drain it enters the septic system in the back yard. The water leaves the house through pipes and enters a 500-gallon cement basin. In this basin, the solids sink to the bottom and the liquids are allowed to pass through a set of pipes into a leech field. These pipes, known as laterals, have holes in them that allow the liquids to drain into the sand and filter out back into the earth where the cycle can being again.

Going a day with two gallons of water truly limited my activities. Looking at my typical day of water use, I realized that doing the dishes and taking a shower was not possible. I decided to only drink 64 ounces that day. I couldn’t go without brushing my teeth but made sure to turn the water off while I brushed. To conserve that water that gets flushed, I suggested to my roommates to only flush the toilet 2 times a day. My roommates could not support this strategy. Overall, I believed this experiment to be unsuccessful. I eventually showered and flushed the toilet, which pushed me well above 2 galloons. I realized just how privileged I am through this experiment. Before this activity, I didn’t even realize how much I use and waste water throughout the day. Knowing that I typically use over 100-gallons of water a day makes 2 gallons a day seem miniscule. Geography matters to water use because to maintain and support the human population, we need to keep the supply of water clean and available. Depending on the country, water use is a luxury and to others water is a privilege. Thinking about how I get water into my home, its important to understand that the earth and the water cycle are connected.

Does the process by which decisions are made matter more than the outcomes of these decisions (procedural justice vs. distributive justice)?

American society seems to place a great deal of respect into procedural justice. We appeal court cases because the manner of the trial was wrong, or we weren’t read our rights and in some cases the idea of making sure we get the procedure right is more important than locking a criminal away. We also see this when it comes to insanity cases. We are so concerned with making sure they get the fair sentencing, but we forget, no matter the person’s mental state that they committed this crime. I personally think that distributive justice should matter more. Why should we care about how we got to a decision, when we know that this decision is the right one? However, from a legal standpoint, without the procedures people would have no rights and wouldn’t be given fair treatment. The television show, Prison Break, depicts the struggle in American politics to weight the options between procedural justice and distributive justice. Two escaped criminals are trying to prove their innocence, but in doing so are committing crimes. Which crimes are the worst and which ones can we turn a blind eye too? It seems to me that people take these justice decisions into their own hands. Judges get to give sentencing and we can see with this which crimes are “worse” compared to others. We see natural distancing between white-collar crimes and violent crimes, where even though crimes were committed in both scenarios the ultimate decision cannot be the same. The idea of “weighing the crimes” seems to be distributive in nature.

Do the pleasure and pain of non-human animals matter as much as the pleasure and pain of humans (speciesism)?

In regards to speciesism, no matter how much of an activist you are, in the end the human race will matter more to you than animals. Think of it this way, who do you save in a fire, your family, or your pet? What is a worse crime, killing an animal or killing people? From a darwin-istic point of view it’s natural to want to protect your species. We as humans do this along with the other species on the planet. There’s a national campaign run by Peta, and animal activists group, that compares animal abuse and the Holocaust saying essentially that “all humans are Nazi’s to animals.” The analogy, which a person can contextually understand as comparable, seems to have many complaints because of how unethical this statement seems. However, the people that are claiming this to be unethical are putting the human race and their own sufferings above the sufferings of animals. Do we, the humans, have a “right” to claim dominance over the animals and non-living things? What makes our species better than the other species on the planet? People may have negative feelings in regards to maltreatment of other species, however the natural drive to preserve themselves and the human species will inevitably override animal activism.

Is it more important to be a good person or to perform good acts (virtue ethics vs. action ethics)?

In the television show, Friends, one of the characters poses the question, “Can good deeds not be selfish?” The characters goes on to explore this idea and tries to find a scenario where doing a good deed doesn’t offer the person doing the deed some kind of benefit. She finds no answer and I believe this to be true. Whether you are a good person or only doing a good deed to benefit yourself, the act still gets done. Does this then make them a good person, is the true question. Being a good person and performing good acts appears the same on the surface. However, I figure, to make a person who performs good acts become a good person would depend on the moral agenda and if they wish to continue with this “do-good” image. We see this issue arise with politicians in American society. Politicians make donations and support activists and positivity of change. No matter the gain for the politician, they are still getting this good deed accomplished and it will help a cause in the end. The character in the television show found that the want to be a good person comes with bettering yourself and doing good deeds for others, so essentially virtue ethics and action ethics are closely intertwined and both end up positively contributing to society.

My system diagram depicts the important detail that everything happening is because of these biogas generators and their insertion into the specific environment. I have all of the ideas from the video linking to the biogas generator, in the center. These generators are having such a positive effect on the environment and the social system in India, and I thought it significant to point out this systems perspective and the connections between the components. There are also clear connections between the environment and the social systems. For example, the cooking fuel that is generated from the biogas generator decrease health issues for the people. There is less smoke inhalation and less eye irritants, both, which would cause issues in the future. These biogas generators are so beneficial to the people of India because they were created to aid in the very issues that were present. The creator, being a person from India, understood the perceived issues these rural workingwomen were experiencing. Another positive about the generator, depicted in the diagram, is the constant feedback between all of the components that creates a very stable environment for the people involved and the surrounding biotic factors. However, because this is such new technology, there may be kinks between the components, which could cause times of instability, but in the end, will increase resilience and possibly improve the technology.

My diagram and the diagram in the Marten reading are similar because of the interconnectivity and the basic strong feedback between all of the components. There are biotic and environmental components along with social factors. The Marten system has broader terms in comparison to my system and doesn’t match the centrality of my diagram. Mine has a central point because it was focusing on the biogas generator. The Marten system was the feedback and interconnections between the human ecology, which could explain the broader terms. The differences, again, stem from the different contexts of the systems. Although, it would be possible for the Marten diagram to be explaining the effects of the biogas generator, mine pinpoints the insertion of this technology. Comparing the two diagrams can show that there is more than one way to explain these interconnected components of the environment and the human population. Another outcome is knowing that even the newest technology can fit into the human ecology system that Marten depicted. Overall, there were many similarities and differences between the diagrams: the interconnectivity and the specificity.

My name is Alyssa Gammel and I am a sophomore at University Park. I live in a small town in north New Jersey and it has always been my home. It’s a place where everyone knows and cares for each other and I don’t think I would have enjoyed living anywhere else. It’s a super rural area with probably more cows than people but you learn to love the peace and quiet. I am pursing a career in education. My goals in the future are to become a principal or superintendent and really influence the education system in someway. I am interested in this course because it will be useful in education in the future. I will be able to explain geography concepts to children while engaging in debates about the implications of human change on the environment. Some interesting facts about me are that I used to be a competitive cheerleader in high school and my new years resolution for this year was to become a person that enjoys running and being healthy. I have a long road ahead.

I thought an interesting topic brought up in this module was the idea of ethics in regards to geography and the environment, As new technologies rise and the world becomes more globalized, the human population seems to put the environment on the back burner. An interesting example would be climate change. The negative effects on the atmosphere has been human induced, and yet its hard for the politicians of the world to come up with answers to help diminish the negative effects that we contributed to the earth. The reason its hard to discuss answers is because of the idea of ethics. What is ethical is different to everyone. There is also the debate as to whether be more concerned about the people that live on the earth, or the environment that supports the people. Finding an ethical answer for these global dilemmas is a challenge, but I would enjoy learning more about how these issues are debated about in geographical settings.