Examine the “hometown” you included in previous learning activities, considering whether or not it has been affected by loss of sustainability. Look back two hundred years and compare that “hometown” to what exists today.  

My birthplace of Newark, N.J. has the third-smallest land area of the major cities in the Unites States. The city is essentially a large basin which flows into the Passaic River. It is bounded on the east by large marsh areas. Two hundred years ago Newark had a number of small farms and undeveloped areas with a great deal of wildlife. Obviously, there were no automobiles, its population was measured in the tens of thousands and much of the “city” was unspoiled with little pollution

When I first considered this question I thought I would look back 100 years, but I found that even at that point Newark was starting to have difficulties. First, a few things that were done properly.

Newark hired Frederick Law Olmsted in 1867 to design and build Branch Brook Park, 360 acres of parkland, with now 4,000 cherry trees (largest collection in the US.) and a 24 acre lake. A very fortunate oasis. Newark also set aside land for several large parks in what is now the ‘downtown’ area. Though much of these parks are “lawn,” mown grass, a good portion is left ‘natural’ – with diverse habitats, and supports a good deal of wildlife.

How has it changed and what caused that change?

Beginning in the mid 1800’s unfettered industrial development created massive amounts of pollution – both of the ground and waterways. Over time Newark saw the following substances dumped: dioxin (which in many cases has not been removed, but ‘capped”) Agent Orange, oil (from the huge Exxon Bayway refinery) mercury, and other chemicals used in the factories which lined the Passaic, which was once thought of as the first ‘dead’ river in the country, having been thought to be past its point of resilience. Much of this pollution was, and still is, experienced in the poorer sections of Newark. Many people, even today, live literally on top of polluted sites. Certainly an example of environmental injustice. This situation, coupled which incredibly dense development (New Jersey is the most densely populated sate in the nation) results in a loss of non-human habitat, a loss of vegetation, poor air quality and enormous environmental health hazards.

Imagine what your “hometown” will look like, in terms of sustainability, and biodiversity, one hundred years from today. What actions, individual or community, would lead to this new reality?

We have a choice, don’t we? We can choose to be willfully ignorant of the effects of ‘our’ actions (the actions taken many years ago to cause this situation are an example of ignoring procedural justice and sustainability) and continue on this path, or we can take action to correct problem.

A multiple billion dollar cleanup project has just been announced for the Passaic River. A good start but certainly much more is needed. We can advocate for the recapture of “greenspace” through conversion of abandoned property.. Newark has lost population and there are a great many empty lots. These can be converted to urban farms or other types of greenspace, habitat for animals, birds, etc. “Green roofs”  are a particularly interesting idea for this densely developed city. Also to be considered are infrastructure changes and a change from an automobile-centric lifestyle to mass transit. What is needed is intelligent development which balances human and non-human needs and long-term sustainability. Only if drastic action is taken will we have a ‘livable’ city in another one hundred years.

How will we get all of this to work? The primary ingredient is an educated, involved citizenry!

Mike Evangelista

In my earlier post I wrote about my birthplace, Newark, N.J. which is situated in northeastern United States. The Nathan map indicates that this part of the country may be faced with increases in heavy rains, the threat of rising sea levels and tropical cyclones (or hurricanes). The size of the Nathan map and the fact that the scale of the map could not be adjusted, made it somewhat difficult to locate these hazards in my specific area. Also, the color gradients used to distinguish intensity (zones) is not easy to interpolate. However, given the recent weather history of this area, I agree that the trend predictions seem reasonable.

A power outage occurred in Western Kentucky earlier today, which affected close to 14,000 customers, including the entire city of Murray. Murray State University cancelled all evening classes. The cause of the outage was a lightning strike which hit a TVA substation. Could this type of event happen in Newark? It has in the past and could happen again. Lightning strikes are one cause of power outages, but there are others. Hurricane Sandy certainly caused a massive power failure, affecting millions of people and causing enormous commercial losses. A power outage in this part of the country is particularly damaging due to population density. This density magnifies the effect of the outage, wreaking havoc on mass transportation (NJ Transit railroads, and the PATH lines which link New Jersey to New York) as well as automobile and pedestrian traffic. We have had two extremely large scale power outages in the past: in the late 1960’s the entire eastern seaboard went dark and in the 1970’s New York City and northern New Jersey were blacked out. I experienced both of these and they were no picnic. The underlying cause of both blackouts was infrastructure failure. Improvements have been made, but are not nearly sufficient to deal with the increase in demand, so this area remains vulnerable.

New Jersey, and Newark in particular, remains vulnerable to natural hazards. Weather is always a topic of discussion since Superstorm Sandy; rising sea levels are a concern as much of Newark lies at sea level; extreme events (again Sandy) have caused massive gasoline shortages and disrupted the already “strained” infrastructure. The Rutgers School of Public Affairs has published an excellent report “The Impact of Superstorm Sandy on New Jersey Towns and Households” which details the enormous impact of this event. One of the most interesting sections deals with the social justice aspect of citizens’ resiliency. Using the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) measurement, they found that low income families were more severely affected by the storm and had fewer resources to use for recovery.

The Rutgers study, and my personal experience, conclude that Newark, and New Jersey’s future vulnerability and resilience will depend on how much we are willing to invest in improving our infrastructure. Elements such as our power grid, mass transit and roadways need massive improvement. However, though the need is recognized, the social and political “will” does not always exist. Most importantly, this investment in our future must include investment in Newark’s most vulnerable human assets, providing more secure employment with better wages and safer, more affordable housing. Only if we meet all these needs will we be truly “Jersey Strong.”

Mike Evangelista

Sources:

Halpin, Stephanie Hoopes, PhD. The Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration, Newark, NJ 2015 The Impact of Superstorm Sandy on New Jersey Towns and Households.

United Way of New Jersey, ALICE, Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, A Study of Financial Hardship in New Jersey, 2012. Morristown, New Jersey

GEOG 030: Module 7- Urban Planning

Paragraph 1. Newark, New Jersey

I was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, the largest city in the state, with a population of 277,000. Newark lies eight miles west of New York City. The city would be considered an urban downtown environment though not necessarily pedestrian.  It has a ‘locational’ advantage which makes it a prime transportation hub with a major international airport, rail lines and an extensive highway system. It is a business hub with major corporate headquarters, performing arts venues and educational institutions. More than 100,000 people commute to Newark each day from the surrounding streetcar suburbs. Despite that fact, most of the roads and trains go through Newark, not to Newark. One third of the city’s population live below the poverty line and much of it is considered a food desert. While the city’s population has declined by one-half over the past fifty years and its manufacturing base has declined significantly, it is still one of the most densely populated cities in the most densely populated state in the country. More than one-third of its residents live below the poverty line and, of course, it has a reputation for being a high-crime area.

Detroit, Michigan

Newark has, unfortunately, many similarities to Detroit. It has a high poverty rate, a declining population and inadequate sustainable food sources. Much of Newark is considered a food desert. Few major food store chains have stores in the city.  Urban agriculture such as described in the video would provide a vastly improved source of food to Newark. Previous city administrations had tried to start an urban agriculture program but a subsequently-elected mayor proceeded to sell off most of the properties targeted as growing areas. (That official eventually ended up serving time for illegal land sales.) This is another aspect of why transitioning to sustainability is difficult. We need to have the ‘will,’ both politically and socially to make the changes required.  It is also interesting to note that industrial urban farming, which would compete with smaller, private farms, is coming to Newark. AeroFarms, backed by several large investment groups, has begun a $30 million renovation of an old steel factory to build the largest indoor vertical urban farm. While this may bring some jobs to Newark, it is not certain if the produce will be made available locally.

Bogota, Columbia

The image, in fact, the self-image, of Newark is not very positive. The city’s air quality is poor and the general health of its residents is not good. However, many positive elements have developed in recent years: entertainment venues, improved parks and access to waterways (a multi-million dollar cleanup of the Passaic River has just been funded.) An event similar to Bogota’s Ciclivia would be a great boost to Newark. Closing many of the streets would give the residents of Newark and the surrounding towns access to safe cycling, skating and walking and provide a way for them to become exposed to the positive aspects of Newark. The health benefits of these activities is obvious.  Such events can provide an uplifting experience with regard to the general psyche of a town.  And it just seems like so much fun!

Mike Evangelista

Section 1: Food Choice Influenced by Social Norms
I grew up in an Italian household in the North Ward of Newark, New Jersey. That meant Italian food – lots of pasta, but also sausage, salami, ham and other cured meats. I was not a picky eater, so my food choices were influenced by the social norms of the neighborhood and especially my grandmother, who made sure I sat next to her at the dinner table. These social norms were imported from another culture – Italy – which knew little of, and cared little for, considerations such as effects of industrial farming and the health consequences of diet. I should mention that I am talking about events which took place a long, long time ago. I have recently been speaking to a friend who adheres to different social norms. She is a vegetarian, introduced to that lifestyle in college by her roommates and friends. She has been observing a vegetarian diet for quite a few years and at one point even tried a vegan lifestyle. However, without any “reinforcement” (no social norms present) from other vegans, she found this to be complicated and difficult to maintain. She has, though, endeavored to be a conscientious locavore, consuming only locally grown foods. Taking her cue, (from her norms) I have been ‘migrating’ to a more vegetarian, local-oriented diet.
Section 2: Societal Norms Connected to Food Choices

The choice by my friend to become a vegetarian, aside from being influenced by social norms, was also informed by the consequences of her previous diet. She was definitely troubled by the element of speciesism evident in a carnivorous diet. The ethics of eating non-human animals, especially when other, healthier alternatives are readily available was troubling. Also, as a vegetarian, she consumes fewer products of industrial farming and contributes to a reduction in greenhouse gases (methane) ammonia, and chemical fertilizer. As a locavore, she consumes only locally grown products, which, in general, have higher nutritional value (they are eaten closer to harvest), less likely to use preservatives, and more diversified (since she is only eating what is in season). Locally grown foods contribute to a better standard of health in general.
I consider all of these arguments informative and very convincing.

Section 3: System Diagram Linking the Social Norm, Food Choice and Societal Issue.

GEOG 030: Module 4: Learning Activity: Water Tracking and Usage
Part 1-a: Water: Where It Comes From, Where It Goes To.
I live in the Township of Nutley, New Jersey, located in the northeastern section of the state. Nutley purchases most of its’ potable water from the Passaic Valley Water Commission (PVWC) which has its main facility, the Little Falls Water Treatment Plant, located about 10 miles away in Wayne, NJ. The PVWC secures most it is water from the Passaic and Pompton Rivers, both of which run through this part of the state. This water is treated, disinfected and filtered at the Little Falls plant. Other, lesser, sources of water are the Point View Reservoir in Wayne, NJ and The North Jersey District Water Supply Commission’s Wanaque reservoir. A United States Geological Survey (USGS) water quality monitoring system is located just upstream of the Little Falls plant and just downstream of the confluence of the Passaic and Pompton Rivers. Water from these sources is mixed at the PVWC’s main pumping station and then flows to Nutley, through underground pipes, to four “intake pit areas” – main connections, after which it enters the local distribution system. There is a small area of Nutley which purchases water from the City of Newark, New Jersey, that water coming from the Pequannock Reservoir.
The Nutley Water Department operates solely on revenue generated from the revue it collects from its’ users, and not upon tax dollars. One might consider the system a ‘collective’ approach, organized through government regulation, to the problem of supplying clean, safe water to the Township.
Wastewater from the Township flows into a 100-mile sanitary sewer system and through one main pumping station, which serves the entire town, to a regional treatment plant at the Passaic Valley Sewer Commission, located in Newark, New Jersey. This waste water is treated and then returned to the Passaic River. In addition to this system, Nutley also has a storm water sewer system which collects storm water runoff (unprocessed and unfiltered) from streets and directs it to several streams and rivers – The Third River runs through the entire length of the Township.

Part 1-b: Keeping Track of the H2O!
Water Usage: Michael Evangelista

Number of Person in the sample: 1
Amount of Water Usage per
Activity Occurrences Duration per Occurrence Activity / Gallons
Toilet 3 1.6 gals / flush 6.0
Brushing Teeth 2 1 minutes 1.0 gals / minute 2.0
Shower 1 6 minutes 2.0 gals / minute 12.0
Washing Dishes 1 4 minutes 2.0 gals / minute 8.0
Shaving 1 1 minutes 1.0 gals / minute 1.0
Tea 3 0.4 gals 0.4
Hand washing 4 1 minute 1.5 gals / minute 6.0
Dish washing 1 4 minutes 1.5 gals / minutes 6.0
Cooking 1 1.0 gallon 1.0
Clothes washing 1 25 gallons 25.0

Total 67.4
Part 1-c: Initially, I wanted to title this segment “Wow! Am I Thirsty!” but after going through this experience and considering that other people have to live on this little water all of their lives, I should title it “Wow, am I lucky!”
Lucky enough to live in a geographic landscape that affords easy, plentiful access to water.
I made an honest attempt to reduce my water usage and live on as little as possible. I live alone, in a rather small apartment with no dishwasher and no other water-guzzling appliances. However, I found that I failed miserably at reducing my usage to two gallons per day. My approach to the effort was as follows: concentrate water usage on drinking, bathing, brushing my teeth and dishwashing; reduce the water used for bathing by taking a “Navy shower” (get wet, then turn off water, lather up, turn on water and rinse) which would limit the shower time to about one minute. I tried to limit the water used for washing dishes by using a pan to soak the dishes and then rinse. I only had one cup of tea. When shaving, I turned on the faucet only to rinse the razor and tried to keep this to a minimum. I did not cook anything that required water. I calculate that I used approximately not less than 7.5 gallons, a far cry from two gallons.
Though this was only a one-day experiment, I did give me a little insight into the struggle that the rest of the world experiences with water usage. The EPA calculates that approximately 1% of the world’s available water is potable. Areas of the world where geography and landscape severely limit the availability of water must, of necessity, drastically alter the behavioral patterns of the people who live there in order to for them live with just the water available.
Our little experiment in using less water might amount to just an individual action of each of our parts, in a situation which can easily fall prey to the Tragedy of the Commons. However, if enough of us take this approach, and advocate that others do it as well, it’s possible that someday using minimal water resources could become a social norm.

Question # 1: Is it more important to be a good person or to perform good acts (virtue ethics vs. action ethics)?
It is more important to do good acts. What is “good” about being a good person if that quality exists only internally, within the person? It may lead to a feeling of contentment and possibly happiness, but that state of being has no manifestation, no realization. In order to truly be a good person, one must interact with other entities, in a way that benefits each of them. Good deeds on the other hand, confer benefits on others, whether they be humans, non-humans or even institutions. Consider this, also: can one be a “bad” person and do good deeds? If so, does that not make them, in the final judgement, a good person? Some argue that just doing good things does not make one a good person, that the inherent tendency to view actions as good and preferable must be a core value, deeply held. Is it possible to accurately judge such a level of values in another person? I do not think so. We must also consider that there is a cultural component to values. What one culture judges to be good may not necessarily coincide with the values of another culture. A further consideration is that of “conflicting” values. Virtues often point toward different actions. Do I tell the truth (honesty), even if it may (uncharitably) hurt another person’s feelings? In the final analysis, I think the doing of good deeds, as opposed to simply being a good person is a better choice.

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

The end results of actions can never fully justify not considering the means which led to those ends. Focusing solely on the “ends” could lead one to make immoral decisions that will presumably lead to greater benefit to more people. The danger in this approach is that it may lead to us to undermine the rights and privileges of individuals, in favor of the effect on the overall group. Consider, though, that it may appear that an end is favorable on its face value. If I steal a ladder being used by a man to exit a burning building, in order to use it to save twenty people in another burning building across the street, is that justifiable? If I use ‘extraordinary interrogation techniques” (i.e., waterboarding) to obtain the action plans of terrorists, am I serving the greater good? Again, the danger here is that one can never know, with any degree of certainty, what the ultimate ‘favorable end’ will be. Our actions, though intended to bring about a greater good, may not turn out to deliver that objective. We should always consider doing the “right thing,” even if the short term results may not be desirable.

Question #5: Do the pleasure and pain of non-human animals matter as much as the pleasure and pain of humans (speciesism)?

The simple, straightforward answer to this question is “Yes,” these qualities of life matter as much for non-humans as to humans. However, we, as humans, have become accustomed to an anthropocentric point of view by thousands of years of conditioning and acculturation. Speciesism is a form of prejudice towards “others.” Our society has made enormous strides (though I would argue, not enough) in fighting prejudice based on ethnicity, race and gender. Speciesism is a prejudice against non-human animals. It allows us to view these “others’ in terms of how useful they are to us humans. By what construct do we presume to value human experiences over those of non-humans? Communication? Whales can communicate over many, many miles, using intricate, non-repetitive ‘songs.” Feelings? It is well-known that elephants mourn their dead. Technology? Birds can fly thousands of miles and navigate to the same breeding grounds year after year. Some argue that because we, as humans, are able to dominate and control other species that we are pre-ordained to do so. We assign value using a measuring stick which is a reflection of ourselves. We need a better tool.

Michael Evangelista

GEOG 030: Module 2: Coupled Human-Environment Activities
The diagram included below examines the interaction of various components of an ecosystem which is exposed to new technology and the effects of positive feedback on the lives of villagers who have access to that new technology. The positive feedback results from the improvements in the type of fuel used for cooking, generated biogas as opposed to harvested wood and other forms of “burnable” materials. The decreased use of wood, allows the increased growth of trees and vegetation, reducing destructive deforestation. This, in turn permits increased retention of ground water and therefore more fertile fields with better crop yield. All of this results in a more stable, resilient, sustainable ecosystem. Resultant outputs of this new technology are a reduction in pollution, improved health of the villagers, less need for children to scavenge for fuel which allows them more time for education, and by-product compost which can be sold to improve the economic standing of the villagers who have more income with which to improve their education and lives. My diagram focuses solely on the processes of the human – environment activities without much differentiation between the social system and the ecosystem. The Marten diagram does more to categorize these activities by placing them on opposite sides of the diagram, therefore visually displaying the amount interaction inside each system and also between the two systems. It would be interesting to be able to measure the overall, collective effect of all of these biogas generators in terms of the IPAT equation for the country.

Hello everyone! My name is Michael Evangelista. I am a returning student, having been away from the academic world for a number of years. I am considered a junior and I am a political science major. In my earlier ‘incarnation’ at Penn State, back when the University was still known as The Farmer’s High School (just kidding!) I was a business major. After leaving school I worked for many years in the brokerage industry, not as a broker, but on the ‘clearing’ side of the business, everything that happens after you make your trade. I now work for the world’s second-largest insurance company, in the annuities division, helping brokers and agents with their new business problems. I was born in Newark, NJ, one of the garden spots of the world, and now live in Nutley, which is seven miles north. New Jersey, as some of you may know, is the Superfund capital of the country, having 113 sites on the EPA’s National Priorities List. Nutley does not have any sites on the list, but does have several toxic sites as identified by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Yikes! Why do I still live here? I think you can see some of my motivation for taking this course. On the more personal side, I am an avid fan of jazz and I do a lot of walking. In fact, last September I walked the exact route of the Boston Marathon, all 26.2 miles, to raise money for cancer research.
I am interested in the ‘intersection’ of geography and politics. For example, sudden, extremely heavy rains after years of drought in Afghanistan have led to flash floods and the displacement of large numbers of people. The migration of these people to nearby countries has placed enormous strain on the recipient countries’ resources and political structures. These situations affect the overall political atmosphere of the Middle East and, in turn, our domestic politics. As a political science major, and a person interested in politics in general, I want to understand the impact of geography on our political policies and structures. Closer to home, I want to learn about the effects of climate change on our daily lives and what I can do to combat its negative effects.

Good luck to everyone and study hard!