For my assignment, I will create a systems diagram about how the bee population affects humans, and present some solutions to the problem. I have chosen this assignment because it relates to my final paper topic as well as biodiversity. After completing the systems diagram, I will include a short paragraph of 150-200 words that explains the concepts presented.

In the systems diagram, I outlined the initial causes of the decline in the bee population: pesticides, parasites, pathogens, and poor nutrition. This then leads to higher food prices, especially on certain fruits, vegetables, and nuts. It also leads to growers having to put more land into crop production to ensure they can grow enough food. Some possible solutions and ways we can help prevent more loss of the bee population is to increase the diversity of pollinator habitats, utilize ecological farming, and plant more flowers for the bees to feed on. These are all actions we can take and we should care about the bees. Without bees pollinating our crops, we will loose a lot of food. Many people don’t realize the variety of crops the bees pollinate for us and how their decline will significantly impact our species. With the move toward this issue becoming an anthropocentric problem, I expect more individuals to view this as something that will affect their daily lives.

2. I created the diagram so that it explained how the Copenhagen Accord came about and the effects it had on different countries. Because climate change was receiving more global attention, the UNFCCC created the Copenhagen Accord, after the Kyoto Protocol was largely unsuccessful. The United States needed other countries to support this accord because it would benefit them. In order to gain support, the United States went about it in a questionable manner. For example, they spoke with Saudi Arabia to discuss their alliance. Saudi Arabia agreed but needed money from the United States to make the transition and to diversify their economy away from petroleum. The U.S. also threatened some countries, such as Ethiopia, saying they should “sign the accord, of discussion ends now”. Lastly, the United States gave money to Maldives to gain support. There was also a “spear phishing” attack on Todd Stern, in which hackers were given access to individual’s computers through emails with malicious codes. Because of all of this, getting trust from poorer countries proved difficult, but not impossible for the United States. Various countries were concerned about where this money would come from and if it would come in the form of cash. Nevertheless, in the end, 75% of the 193 countries involved associated with, or intended to associate with the accord. This means the world is getting closer to achieving success with this collective action problem. However, it is a question of ethics whether or not the ends justified the means.

3. I believe that climate change is a very important issue, one that needs attention right away. However, large amounts of people do not think about the effects of greenhouse gases and how they may be contributed to their abundance in the atmosphere. Because of this, I think it is important that the UNFCCC is working on mitigation efforts and to reduce emissions around the world. I also think that the cables being made available to the public may actually be a good thing. Although making threats may not have been the best way to gain support, I think the United States is doing the right thing. Working towards gaining support means fixing an issue that many people do not want to adjust their lives for. For example, most people would agree that it is in our best interest to reduce emissions but it is in our individual interest to keep emitting. Therefore, this raises the question of whether or not the United States could have gone about this in any other way. For instance, if the U.S. simply asked for support by explaining why this accord will help the world as a whole, we may not be where we are now. The changes that need to be made cost money, and by offering this money, it makes it nearly impossible for nations to say no. In this way, I think the ends justify the means. Now, there are many countries in support of this accord and the UNFCCC continues to work toward adapting our way of life so that generations can live on.

1. My hometown of Harrisburg, PA was difficult to locate on the maps. What I did find was that because of climate change, we get an increase in heavy rainfall. We don’t experience many hailstorms or extratropical storms. We do, however, experience a low-moderate intensity of tornados. If there is a tornado near Harrisburg, we usually experience high wind speeds and rain. My house specifically doesn’t experience a lot of intense weather during tornados because I live at the foot of a mountain, which breaks up the wind. Lastly, we are in a low zone for wildfires. In terms of El Nino and La Nina effects, we don’t seem to have any major changes to our normal weather patterns. The Nathan map was difficult to read because I couldn’t locate the exact location of Harrisburg, PA. Therefore, what I observed with the naked eye may not be entirely accurate.

2. On March 28^th, at 4:18 pm, an earthquake hit Pakistan. Most people indoors could feel movement. Objects that were hanging may have swung and windows and doors rattled. A few people outside may have felt it also. My hometown typically does not experience earthquakes of large intensity. However, in 2011, we felt a 5.8 earthquake. Some risks of this type of disaster can be property damage and even death. This may happen because of the earth’s tectonic plates moving underground. When this happens, we feel a shake and movement. This may cause buildings to fall and other damages. These risks are not likely in Harrisburg though because we do not experience many earthquakes. We have felt 19 total since 1931. When we do get hit with an earthquake, they typically are not large enough to cause much damage.The earthquake that took place in Pakistan was a magnitude 4.7. This is lower than the one felt in my hometown. Therefore, I expect that there were very minimal effects of this earthquake. If this were to take place in Harrisburg, we would likely not experience anything other than rattling doors and windows. In PA, specifically Huntingdon, state departments are monitoring how our drilling is affecting the earth. So far, there is not evidence of human-caused earthquakes in the area, but officials continue to observe and record how we are affecting the ground. In order to reduce my towns vulnerability to this disaster, we would have to spot drilling completely. This would then decrease any possible risk there once was that we could create an earthquake.

3. Other natural hazards my town experiences are tornados. These tornados do not have significant effects but they do have the potential to cause some damage. For example, in the summer of 2014, my town was hit with some effects of a tornado nearby. We had to go down into our basement because of high wind speeds. We remained there for a few hours until the storm died down. When we came back upstairs, some trees were knocked over and our outside furniture had blown around. This tornado caused minimal damage to our property. I believe its effects were not that bad because of the location of my house. We are seated at the foot of a mountain, which means the winds cannot reach dangerous speeds before being broken up. Therefore, I live in a very low risk area for natural hazards other than the ones previously discussed.
4. In order to reduce vulnerability in my hometown, meteorologists can work on predicting storms days before they occur, using new technology. Then, the people who live in Harrisburg can stockpile any food and water they may need in preparation. This will also help people who need to retreat to basements or other shelters if necessary. To reduce vulnerability, I can become more educated and informed of natural hazards so that I am properly prepared when they occur. Lastly, we can work on our emergency response, in the event a disaster hits and causes more damage than usual. We can do this by volunteering for Red Cross Associations and other relief organizations. In doing this, people will become educated in how to properly respond, attend to injuries, and distribute food and water.

My hometown is Harrisburg, PA, about 80 miles from State College. This city was originally constructed for trade along the Susquehanna River from North to South, but as technology progressed, train tracks were constructed for trade East to West. Today, the city can be considered “streetcar suburbs” because there are railroads, sidewalks, and car travel. There are also shops and restaurants within walking distance of residents. The total population in the city of Harrisburg is 49,528. While it may not be the most exciting city in this area, I enjoy spending time in the metropolitan area. My father works in the city and I enjoy visiting him to walk along the sidewalks and eat at the easily accessible restaurants. However, in recent years, the city has made efforts to fix our rainwater runoff issue. When it rains, the water travels along the surface of the roads, gathering pollution along the way, and polluting the river. The city would like to develop a system where the water soaks into the ground and not along it.

I found Copenhagen’s initiative to calm traffic very interesting. I really liked how pedestrian-oriented their city is. In particular, I liked their ideas of social and economic benefits to limiting the amount of traffic permitted. The video talked about how local stores initially thought this car-free lifestyle would hurt their business, but has actually proven to benefit them greatly. Incorporating more areas for walking and cycling in Harrisburg may benefit local businesses and boost the economy. The absence of cars will also improve the air quality. This is turn may help to resolve the rainwater runoff issue in that without cars, the roads and streets may not be as polluted. In addition to economic and environmental benefits, Harrisburg would benefit socially. Copenhagen was able to create a sense of community and the people shown in the video appeared very happy. More opportunities to socialize in the city would help to build a stronger community.

Urban farming in Detroit, Michigan has become more popular. Growing food locally can have many environmental benefits. For example, there is less transportation needed, better air quality, and more rainwater management. If Harrisburg were to introduce urban farming, just as Detroit did, our rainwater runoff issue may resolve itself. With more areas and land for farming, or just more plant life areas in general, the city can reduce the amount of polluted rainwater being carried into the river. Implementing these ideas, however, may be difficult because of the physical infrastructure and the cognitive transition. Rebuilding parts of the city for farming will cost a lot of money, but will be worth it in the long run. Nevertheless, people are turned off by this idea because of the change in habits and social norms it requires. Hopefully, in the near future, the people of Harrisburg can learn from Detroit and promote locally grown foods.

1. Many times when I go out to lunch or dinner with friends or family, my choice of food is largely determined by what everyone else is getting. For example, if I am out with my friends, I choose meals that have relatively the same amount of food and type of food. If they order a meat product, I normally do too. If they choose to just order a salad, I will too. After reflecting on why I may do this, I have realized that I feel uncomfortable eating more or less than those I am dining with. The social norms this is connected with may be those dealing with portion control and body weight. I do not want to seem like an overeater, or in contrast, a light, stingy eater. In the same way, I do not want to make people feel like they are over or under eating either.

2. Societal issues connected to my food choices are obesity and food waste. Overeating is just one cause of obesity. Other causes include genetics and lack of exercise. Obesity has gotten a lot of media attention recently, specifically childhood obesity. Just as I may feel pressured at times to eat more than I would like, others may be in similar situations, contributing to obesity statistics. However, if people are under-eating, food waste becomes the issue. When this is the case, issues of distributive justice become apparent. Distributive justice is the idea that one chooses foods that leave food for others. For example, it is not uncommon to be reprimanded for not finishing the food on your plate and how this is wasteful to people who cannot afford food. The social norm of portion control and body weight should be adjusted so that body shaming isn’t involved. The norms should center more around the proper nutrition for your own body type and less on desired body types.

1. In the case study I have chosen, scientists compared 344 plots from Latin America, Africa and Asia and discovered that crop yields were lower in farming plots with fewer bees present during flowering season. This study can be found in All Africa’s website: http://allafrica.com/stories/201602220806.html. The goal of this development is to notify the public of the positive effects of using bees to help one’s crop yields. Researchers studied these effects and concluded that a variety of bees present are good for the environment and for food security. This relates to the “end uses” definition of the term development, in which development can be measured by the “ultimate purpose of the specific economy”, In this case, the purpose of the economy focused on food production of developing, or low-income countries. This study also focused on the biodiversity of the areas in which research was conducted, as well as the environmental factors that affect the bee population.

2. This next case study deals with oil companies polluting the land, air and water in the Nigerian Delta. The study focused on one company, Shell and the spills they caused, which had tremendous effects on the surrounding environment, home to the Ogoni tribal group. More details can be found at http://www.umich.edu/%7Esnre492/cases_03-04/Ogoni/Ogoni_case_study.htm. The goals of the development are to stop Shell from destroying their land. They have been partially successful because through a series of non-violent protests and growing support from large international organizations, Shell withdrew. However, oil continues to spill onto farmland, and air and water are still polluted. The Ogoni tribe and Shell are working together to aid development of the area, but much progress needs to be made. This case study relates to the environmental justice movement. The Ogoni people lived in poverty during the drilling of oil and continue to live in such conditions. At first, their voices could not be heard, but through continued media attention and international support, their protests had positive effects for a short period of time.

3. In my hometown of Harrisburg Pennsylvania, there has been a lot of talk about lead in our water coming from buildings that house the water system. The lead also affects plants and animals in the area used for human consumption, which can cause disease. With this has come a lot of talk about how to reduce any chronic effects of lead exposure and how to encourage a cleaner environment. This new public scare relates to the Ogoni tribe case study because in both locations, there is some kind of contamination to the water. There is also a call to action to spread awareness of some kind of issue. These two cases differ in that their susceptibility to contamination relates to the location. For example, in a poor environment such as the home of the Ogoni tribe, there are less resources available to prevent contamination of the air and water. However, Harrisburg has the resources to inspect our water and take preventative steps to decrease the amount of lead in our water.

The water supply chain in my hometown of Harrisburg, PA in my specific neighborhood (Linglestown) comes from United Water Pennsylvania. While other homes in my neighborhood use well water as their source, my family’s water comes from the Susquehanna River, about 20 minutes from my house and with a watershed encompassing 24,000 square miles. Our water can also come from Stony Creek, which has a watershed encompassing 115 square miles. It is taken from the surface water of the river and the creek and then goes through United Water’s treatment plant at its Sixth Street Water Treatment Plant to be cleaned of contaminants. It then goes to my home for usage. After we use the water, it goes down the drain and into the sewage system. It then ends up at the treatment plant again and the process of cleaning the water and sending it to my house is repeated.

Usage of water per day:

1. Teeth brushing twice = 5 gallons
2. Face washing = 1 gallon
3. Drinking water (about 4 glasses a day x 8 oz per glass) = .25 gallons
4. Washing the dishes: 15 gallons x 3 times a day = 45 gallons
5. Shower 5 gallons/minute x 30 minutes = 150 gallons
6. 7 toilet flushes all day x 3 gallons = 21 gallons

After calculating my water usage in gallons, I found out I use about 218.75 gallons of water per day.

If I were living in an environment where I only had 2 gallons/day, I would have to cut back on water significantly (individual action). I do not use much water for cooking so I would instead use one gallon of water to bathe. The other gallon I would reserve for drinking. Realistically, I could never accomplish this. What I can do is cut back my shower time. Instead of a 30-minute shower I can use 5-minutes, making 150 gallons, 5 gallons. Because my shower is where I use the most water, cutting back would reduce my usage/day to 73.75 gallons. While this will make a small difference environmentally, I think real change would happen when people watch me reduce my usage. This might cause collective action within my friends and hopefully their families. However, water usage right now can be a collective action problem because many people want to act selfishly even though it would benefit society to reduce. Different places in the world have different resources, which affects their water usage. For example, people in Haiti do not have a large water supplier, and therefore, do not use nearly as much water as we do here in the U.S.

Question 1: I think it is more important to perform good acts than it is to be a good person. I feel this way because actions can have a significant impact on the world, whereas values and beliefs without action may not make much of a difference. For example, being a good person may mean you do not support animal testing for cosmetics and other beauty products. However, in order to create a real change in the situation, one must take action and do something, perhaps a protest or petitioning, that can lead to a positive outcome. Being a good person may make a difference in the long run, but actions stir up change quicker. Although it may be argued that people who perform good acts may not have the right intentions, their actions will most likely have a positive impact on others, indirectly making them a good person. Therefore, one who performs good acts can qualify as a good person. One who qualifies as a good person, doesn’t always perform good acts.

Question 5: I believe that the pleasure and pain of non-human animals does not matter as much as the pleasure and pain of humans. Although it pains me to take this stance as an animal lover, I see the value of human life and intelligence as more important. As I reflect on this further, I question whether I feel this way because humans directly impact me more in my day to day life and I do not always see the effects non-human animals have on my life. This may lead me to believe human life is more important. However, if I were to focus just on the pain of non-human animals, I see that as possibly just as important as the pain of a human. I feel this way because non-human animals provide us with food and clothing, without which, survival would become difficult. We need to make sure there are healthy non-human animals so that we can live a pleasurable life. This is a very difficult question to answer because in some situations, such as human survival, non-human animals pleasure and pain is just as important.

Question 6: I think my own life is worth the same as the lives of others. Each individual adds to the society in which we live and has value. However, it can be argued that some individuals do not contribute to the betterment of society (i.e. criminals) and their lives are not worth as much as those who do. While I understand this argument, I feel that who we become is a matter of choices we make along the road. One is not born a criminal with a life of lesser value, but falls into that path based on previous choices made in life. However, when looking at the big picture, I think it is very important to keep in mind that if one person is hurting others in society, something needs to be done to help that individual and prevent them from hurting more people. For example, if a man or woman murders many other men and women, there should be some kind of intervention. Again, this question is difficult to answer because I believe all lives have equal value but there are circumstances in which my beliefs alter.

The core idea of my diagram is that the Biogas in India has had many positive effects and has fixed many environmental and health issues. I wanted to create a straightforward diagram that illustrated its causes and effects. For example, one cause of this creation was that deforestation was beginning to become a threat. An effect of this creation was far better health circumstances for those living in this environment. This system could be considered both a positive and negative feedback loop. It is a positive feedback loop because through the selling of compost to farmers, women are able to send their children to school. With the continuing success of the biogas technology, additional compost is needed, creating a bigger profit for women, allowing for more education. It is a negative feedback loop as well because of its effects on human health. For example, before Biogas Technology, smoke created from cooking caused respiratory issues. After Biogas Technology, the air was cleaner and the issues decreased. When comparing my diagram to Marten’s there are several differences and similarities. Both diagrams have separated the social system from the ecosystem, but Marten’s diagram uses more broad categories within those systems, (i.e. human population). He also was more detailed with his descriptions of the arrows while I used short phrases. Both, however, show the positive effects of this new technology. I believe there were differences in our diagrams because of the difference in perspective and knowledge of the subject. From Marten’s diagram, I have learned how many different causes and effects there are from this technology, including the numerous positive outcomes for the human population.

Hi everyone! My name is Alyssa Massaro and I am a sophomore at University Park. I grew up in Harrisburg, PA, about an hour and a half from State College. I have never lived anywhere else and have seen very little of our world. I hope to travel after I graduate and experience other cultures. I am studying Elementary Education and hope to become a 3^rd or 4^th grade teacher. I hope that after taking this course, I can bring this knowledge to my future classroom and spark their interests in our world. I am very interested in this course because like most students, I have never been exposed to a geography class. Specifically, I am interested to learn more about sustainability and how we impact the environment.

I think a topic that is very relevant today is climate change. This issue continues to gain more media coverage and more people are aware of the road ahead of us. While there are some people out there who believe we are in immediate danger, I believe we have some time to change our way of life. In the “Human – Environment Interactions” section of Module 1, I really liked how it was mentioned that our decision-making in terms of sustainability of the environment should incorporate our “human needs at the expense of non-human needs”. I think many times people forget that we have become accustomed to this way of life and getting people to change how they live may be very difficult. If we can help people understand what is needed to survive and what is not, I think we may be one step closer to decreasing the effects of climate change.