1. I live in Little Silver, NJ, which is about west of the central New Jersey coast. As seen in the first map, my area is very susceptible to flooding. The combination of low-level wetlands and a close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean  contributes to the frequent flooding in the area. Moving on, my area also appears to be in the higher frequency for hailstorms, although I personally do not recall experiencing many growing up. Further, Little Silver appears to be in “Zone 0” regarding extratropical storms. My area does appear to be in the zone 2 or 3  for tornados, and finally in zone 1 regarding wildfires.
2. The disaster I choose is a power outage in Loudoun County, Virginia. This is an event that does in fact happen in my home town every now and then. My whole town would be vulnerable, save for those with backup generators. Most importantly, emergency establishments would need to be prepared for a power outage such as this one. The report says that 15000 people were affected by the outage. This is a much larger scale compared to my town, which features a population around 2,000. While I am not familiar with this part of Virginia, I do know that an outage on this scale would impact multiple schools, hospitals, and other public institutions.If it occurred at the same scale of my home town the results probably would have been less severe, as the population is lower.
3. One of the major environmental issues that faces my town is local flooding, which is something I have noticed first hand. Because my town is at sea level and contains multiple rivers and estuaries that lead directly to the Atlantic Ocean, coastal flooding is common when there are torrential rains or nor’easter’s. Other than the occasional flooding, there is little environmental concern in my hometown. According to www.tornadohistoryproject.com, there have been 146 tornadoes in New Jersey since the 1951. However, they were all low category tornadoes and have resulted in only one fatality total. Further, by using earchquaketrack.com as a source, almost every single recorded quake feel under 2.0 magnitude.
4. Considering the major vulnerability in my area is flooding, residents should take steps to avoid damage caused by such hazards. Many residents have made great strides to avoid flood damage post hurricane Sandy, which occurred in 2012. Residents and buildings within a certain distance to the ocean were required to be raised a number of feet, at a great cost to local insurance companies. In the case of severe flooding, preventative effectors should be taken all the way from the choice of construction material and building design to taking geographic limitations into consideration. Policy makers and public leaders should work towards making the Monmouth County less prone to flooding, as there is only so much individual citizens can contribute. The public can, however, raise awareness to public officials about these issues.

My hometown is Little Silver, NJ. This is a small town located on the eastern edge of Monmouth County, and is about 5 miles from the coast and 50 miles south of Manhattan. The town is made up mostly of individual neighborhoods, with a central downtown area. There is a train station in town that is part of the NJ Transit line. As of the 2010 census the population is 5,950. With 2.7 square miles of land, the town itself is physically small. Most people drive in general, although many people do bike or walk when heading to a local destination. There are a couple local parks which are popular destinations, as well as the train station, which is most popular with those who commute from New York City for work. I personally feel connected to this town because I grew up there and went to school in town for many years.

One city I choose to compare my hometown to is Rochester, NY. Both towns are examples of automobile suburbs. For example, there are quite a few streets in my town that do not have sidewalks (mine included). While there are sidewalks in the downtown area, the town itself is designed to encourage automobile travel. Also similar to Rochester is the fact that my town includes a number of neighborhoods that feature a variety of appearances. These two features could be changed to make Little Silver more sustainable. For example, more sidewalks could be implemented. This could be effective in my town because the land area itself is quite small at 2.7 square miles. Better sidewalks or paths between individual neighborhoods could encourage more foot traffic and increase land available for gardens and planting. Further, future neighborhoods could be designed from the ground up to encourage more sustainable activities, such as public gardens and less automotive traffic/travel.

One interesting city to compare to my hometown is Copenhagen, as this city has a very high cycling population. I feel that my town, as well as most other automotive suburbs, could be transformed into cycling towns and cities quite easily. There is a lot that can be learned from Copenhagen’s practices, especially urban design concepts and the influencing of traffic laws to accommodate safe cycling. Car free streets would be extremely helpful, and would be useful for children as well. There are a lot of children in Little Silver and a few schools as well; making safe walking or cycling paths could be beneficial for these children in a number of ways. Slow-speed zones would not be quite as effective in my town as the speed limits are low already,

Part A

I live in Little Silver, New Jersey. To begin my research I looked up my water company’s website to find my local water sources. New Jersey American Water gets its water from one groundwater source, and a number of surface water sources. The Potomac-Raritan-Mogothy Aquifer is a large aquifer that includes portions of New Jersey and Maryland, and is the sole groundwater source for NJ American Water. Their surface water sources are more numerous; they include: the Glendola Reservoir, the Manasquan River and Reservoir, the Shark River, and the Swimming River and Reservoir. Water is pumped throughout these reservoirs in order to meet local water demands. My local wastewater treatment plant is the Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority, which is located in Monmouth Beach NJ. Water that is treated in this plant is brought to my house via the main line below the street and travels throughout the house in copper and PVC pipes, depending on the application. Wastewater is then brought back to the plant in Monmouth Beach to be treated.

Part B

Like most others, there was no way I could live on two gallons of water in a day. I go to the gym every day so I absolutely need to bathe at least once a day. Even a short shower will obviously top the two gallon limit. I normally try to drink about a gallon of water a day, though I had to cut this way down to get close to my goal, shower excluded. Although it is debatable exactly how much water one should drink every day, I definitely did not feel comfortable drinking less than a half gallon for the day. I used disposable plates for the day to avoid using the dishwasher, and ate out most meals. I also did not drink coffee like I usually do.
Further, I do believe that geography plays a large role in water usage. Some areas of the country have limited access to water, while other areas have plenty of water. This is further complicated by the varying water demands of each geographical location. In my case, I am lucky enough to live in an area with wide access to water, which includes numerous sources. This is exemplified in Part A.

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

I believe that overall, it is best to perform good acts rather than simply be a good person. Performing physical action may be more beneficial and show more positive results than just being a person who truly believes in the cause behind these actions (though does not perform these actions themselves). When considering crime, a person who has good moral values and is a “good” citizen may still commit crime, whether motivated by a lack of money, opportunity, etc. This type of person would be fully aware that the crime they are committing is wrong, but makes the choice to proceed anyway. A person who regularly performs good acts, however, would avoid committing a crime no matter the motivation. In short, the most important aspect is physical action, as this is what will produce tangible results.

2. Do the ends justify the means (ends ethics vs. means ethics)?

In my opinion this concept goes hand in hand with the debate between virtue and action ethics. In this case, I find the fundamental issue to be how to judge the means (action) as compared to the ends (consequences). There is often a need for sacrifice or compromise in reality, and this concept considers this idea thoroughly. Continuing with the crime example, if someone robs a store (action) in order to feed his family (consequence) was he/she wrong to do so? We must analyze each aspect of the scenario, and determine whether the situation could have been solved without the use of crime. While we do not have any actual details, we can ask a few questions that may help us: did this person have a job; if not, did they have access to one? Did this person have any money at all, or could they have contacted a friend or family member for help? This type of analysis is critical in determining whether the ends justify the means.

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

This is an interesting situation which considers a persons own ethics and the outcomes of their decision making process. I believe this to be a more complex example of the ends vs means debate. We must consider what brought a person to commit the acts that he or she committed as well as the outcome (or consequence) of the act(s). If whatever brought the actor to commit the act did not have any physical effect, then the result of the act would be all that matters. However, if whatever motivated the actor to commit the act had a negative impact on someone or something, then the process by which the decision was made is more, or just as, important as the consequence of the act.

My diagram follows the relationship between the environment and the population of India; focusing on the induction of the biogas generator. It shows that as the population uses wood burning stoves for heat and cooking, harmful byproducts are released. These have an effect on the environment as well as the human population. The diagram goes on to show that the introduction of the biogas generators have had a positive contribution on these same aspects. When compared to Marten’s diagram 1.5, we can see that my model follows a more linear layout while Marten’s shows more specific factors overall. I attempted to give a simplistic, overarching view of these relationships.

My name is Brian Barnhart, and I currently live at The Retreat at State College; about a mile from campus. I lived downtown at Campus Towers for two years prior to this year. I grew up in South River, NJ until the second grade, when I moved to Little Silver NJ. This is
a small town in Monmouth County, about 5 miles from the beach. Because of my proximity to the ocean, I like to fish quite often and just visit the beach in general. I go boating a lot in the summer as well. I’m interested in a job within the IT field, with a focus on data security. I hope to learn the historical origins of different cultural regions, specifically in the Middle East and Asia.

One issue I find myself interested in is climate change and its continued impact on Earth. There is a portion of the population that does not believe climate change due to human factors exists, or has any impact on the Earth. I think we should focus on showing more visual impacts to others, and begin to invest more money in reversing or at least maintain the current climate. This would include spreading more ways to increase sustainability in order to influence the governance people have on the environment.