Module 10 Biodiversity- Rachael Donnelly

1.In 150-200 words, how would you categorize the level of biodiversity in your own hometown? What factors cause these levels to be so high or low?

I have been living in Athens, Pennsylvania all my life and have encountered a fairly high share of biodiversity. I live in an area full of farms, hills, forests, and protected parks which expose me to many species of birds, plants, trees, and other forest based life due to the habitat that surrounds me. The Susquehanna River flows through my town and additional creeks, lakes, and streams which means there is a variety of marine biodiversity as well. As the weather changes with the seasons I am fortunate enough to see a variety of diverse species come out during different times of the year. Looking out my back door I come across a variety of different birds chirping, deer wandering past, and I can hear coyotes howling during the nighttime. Over the years I have come to learn that several of the species that were once living in Pennsylvania have gone extinct due to many factors such as habitat loss, invasive species, climate change, human population, ect which saddens me quite a bit.

2. In 150-200 words, explain what are some ways you can protect the future of biodiversity in your hometown?

In order to protect the future of biodiversity in my town we can start by setting more strict laws. There are a lot of activities that should be regulated in order to stop nearby lakes and rivers from getting polluted and wiping out the marine life. These activities include gas drilling, motor boating, or even spreading manure. The run-off of gas, chemicals, and even manure that are involved in these activities can lead to the killing of a large amount of animals living in the water. Gas drilling has become huge in my town which has led to my community becoming more populated. Due to the increase in population, there has been a demand for more hotels. In order to build these hotels, trees have been cut down to open up more land to build on.  If we preserved specific areas and turned them into protected areas, we could save a significant amount of forests. This could lead to potentially saving a high amount of birds, insects, plants that are located there. Such small things being done in my town could ensure the safety of biodiversity that surrounds the area.

3. Some find it hard to grasp the concept of biodiversity. In order to better understand what was explained in Module 10, find an image that represents or illustrates biodiversity and explain in a short description the habitat the species lives in. Make sure to cite any sources that may be used additionally.

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In my picture above is an orange salamander that can be found around the United States. I chose this animal to represent biodiversity because I have caught many of these in the woods behind my house growing up. Salamanders are amphibians that look like a cross between a frog and a lizard and have many species. The salamander’s habitat depends on what type of salamander it is. No matter the species, all salamanders need to keep their skin moist and need to have offspring in water, so a nearby water source is critical. Most species live in humid forests, though there are some exceptions. Salamanders are typically more active during cool times of the day and are nocturnal. During the day they lounge under rocks or in trees to stay cool, and come out to eat at night. We see how many factors such as climate and water sources are required to support the lifestyle of these salamanders that may be living in the woods behind your house. This small amphibian is just one of the many diverse creatures that are trying to hold on to the habitat they live in.

Bradford, By Alina. “Facts About Salamanders.” LiveScience. October 29, 2015.     Accessed April 13, 2016. http://www.livescience.com/52627-salamanders.html.

Module 9- Rachael Donnelly

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I started out my diagram by explaining how greenhouse gases are affecting climate change and the World Powers produced the Copenhagen Accord in order to fix the problem by mitigating climate change. The U.S. needed support for the plan so they set out to get this support by threatening, bribing with money, cyber war faring, and spying on other countries. The United States wasn’t the only country that was using progressive actions in order to gain support. Money was promised and negotiations were made, some countries supported the plan and others didn’t. The major let down to this accord that I didn’t go into much detail with on my graph was that the Dutch refusing to join due to the fact that they didn’t want to use financial aid for political reasons, but on a positive note Saudi Arabia did join the accord which was a major benefit, because they are the number one producer of petroleum. Saudi Arabia agreed that it was good thing and no key economic interests were going to be compromised. The cables attained by the WikiLeaks finished at the end of February 2010. Today 116 countries have associated themselves with the accord, and another 26 say they attend to associate.  In conclusion, according to the article 140 nations represent almost 75% of the 193 countries that are parties to the UN climate change convention and, accord supporters are responsible for well over 80% of current global greenhouse gas emissions which is a huge success.

After reading the WikiLeak article and the module 9 information I have been informed how climate change is a large growing problem, and actions need to be taken in order to fix it. These changes in climate are caused mainly by human emissions of greenhouse gases. Climate change can lead to temperature shifts, shifts in water, and cause extreme weather events. It can sometimes be hard to adapt to these changes. Something has to be done, and the efforts of the U.S. and the Copenhagen Accord were very successful in my opinion, but not the most ethical. I don’t believe they had to threaten and spy on other countries in order to gain support, it was seen as inappropirate. Also, instead of stating in the cable, “sign the accord or discussion ends now,” the State Department could have negotiated differently to make the conditions fair for each side. Overall, compromises could have been made in a more ethical way. I’m not really sure what approach I would have taken, but it could have been dealt with differently with maybe a meeting or press conference where everything could be set out on the table. As I read Module 9 it mentioned how climate change is a collective action problem, this means everyone should be working together to fix the issue and be on the same page. It is affecting us all and it should be in everyone’s best interest to solve these problems in the right way, with the help from all the different countries.

Module 8 Natural Hazards- Rachael Donnelly

1.I live in Northern Pennsylvania in a small town called Athens. After looking over the Nathan World Map of Natural Hazards I have come to find out my town does not get affected by many natural hazards such as volcanoes, earthquakes, or natural cyclones. Northern Pennsylvania is between zone 1 and 2 in terms of winter storms, tornados, hailstorms, and wildfires. Flooding on the other hand is more of a threat in my area. I am located right by the Susquehanna River and the heavy rain fall in my town leads to a drastic rise in sea level. We experience a lot of flooding in our area which leads to soil erosion, flooded fields, contamination, and other issues. In 2011 we experienced one of the worst floods in Pennsylvania since 1972. It destroyed businesses and roads and houses were lifted off the ground. It took some families months to repair the damages. Overall, my town and Pennsylvania in general is a pretty safe place to live with minimal natural hazards. These maps contain a lot of helpful information, but I feel that it was hard to pinpoint my exact location. The maps would be helpful looking at a global scale, but not determining exactly where an individual’s hometown falls on the map.

2. Referring to the RSOE EDIS, Guinea in Africa has been affected by a biological hazard known as Ebola virus disease on March 18, 2016. This disease has affected four people so far. Ebola is viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and there are no vaccines or other treatments available at this time. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a safety gear and equipment such as a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. All air and water service going to and coming from a biosafety lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release. My hometown could most definitely experience the same biological hazard. The U.S has already had six people affected by Ebola and one has died. The hospitals in the U.S. also use very protective gear and strict procedure in order to protect themselves and others from the virus. This bacteria and virus can be attained by many outside factors in the U.S. or brought over from people in other countries. I’m not exactly sure what the scale of the disaster would be relative to my hometown, but since my town is very small, I could see the virus spreading very fast. I don’t see there being a way to reduce my town’s vulnerability besides being very cautious and educated on the disease. It’s not something that one can look out for, but being aware is key.

3. As mentioned before, my hometown of Athens, Pennsylvania has been affected by flooding, tornadoes, winter, and hail storms mostly. Flooding is the main natural hazard that comes to mind when I think of Northern Pennsylvania being located right next to numerous rivers and creeks. Experiencing my first big flood in 2011 was definitely an eye-opener for not just me, but my whole town. I never expected so much damage to be done to a town due to the rise in sea level. The roads, houses, businesses, and schools were destroyed. It took months with hard work from the whole town in order to repair the damages. When it comes to tornados we have had about sixteen hit our town in the last fifty years according to tornadoproject.com. It may not seem like a lot, but for a small town the tornadoes have caused a lot of damage in the past with many repairs to be done. Another common natural hazard in my town is winter and hail storms. We always get at least one or two that hit us pretty hard during the winter. These winter storms don’t cause as much damage as tornados and floods, but we have encountered quite a bit of damage to cars from the hail storms. Overall, my town is becoming more prepared for these natural hazards and more aware of when they may come for the future.

Pennsylvania Tornadoes. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2016, from http://www.tornadoproject.com/alltorns/patorn.htm#Bradford

4. The first step in reducing vulnerability to natural hazards in my hometown is to organize an emergency management effort in order to be ready for any disaster to occur with detailed plans and procedures. I also believe that being educated on specific natural hazards, especially those that commonly occur in my town such as floods, fires, and winter storms is very important. With education, we can learn how to avoid or reduce many impacts. Another thing that should be set up in my hometown is social networks which would empower individuals and my community as a whole to help each other prepare for and respond to hazards. Building more stable and hazard protective buildings can be very useful for future storms. Young and stronger men and women should be on hand to help those who are elderly or sickly to prepare their homes for future disasters. Personally, my hometown has encountered a lot of hazards dealing with water such as flooding and winter storms because of its location along multiple waterways. To reduce vulnerability of these hydrological hazards, it would be helpful to expand floodplains in order to diminish risks of homes flooding. I myself could make more people aware of the importance of preparation through past experiences and educate them on how it can affect our well-being.

 

Food and Agriculture- family farms, safety, advantages to alternate ways

-After learning about the background and many issues of factory farming (large-scale farming) we then turn to alternate ways of farming, such as family farming (small-scale farming) that lead to a safer environment and other advantages not just for the animals, but also the producers and consumers.

MacDonald, James. “Family Farming in the United States.” USDA ERS -. 4 Mar.  2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2016. http://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2014-march/family- farming-in-the-united-states.aspx#.VvMYPeIrLIU

Food and Agriculture- health issues, environmental issues, economic/community issues

-As researchers have looked into factory farming that have found many more issues compared to family farming such as  health, environmental, economic/community, and genetic diversity issues. We see how these issues can have effects on not only the animals, but society as a whole.

“Beyond Factory Farming.” Industrial vs. Family Farms Comparison. Web. 23 Mar.        2016.  http://beyondfactoryfarming.org/get-informed/industrial-vs-family-farms-comparison

“Factory Farm Nation.” How America Turned Its Livestock Farms into Factories. Nov. 2010.Web. 24 Mar. 2016.  http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/wpcontent/uploads/2010/11/FactoryFarmNation-web.pdf

 

Food and Agriculture- public policy, ethics, money/food demand

  • There are many reasons for rise in factory farming in America. Although factory farming leads to many issues the reasons we continue to do industrial/factory farming is becasue of public policy, ethics, money, and the food demand rising. 

“Evolution of Factory Farming.” Evolution of Factory Farming. Web. 24 Mar.           2016. http://www.factory-farming.com/factory_farming.html

Urban Planning- Rachael Donnelly

1.I live in a small town called Athens, Pennsylvania. My family and I live about fifteen to twenty minutes outside of town on a small twenty-six acre farm. The population of my town is about 2300 people. My town is full of neighborhoods that have houses very close together and most places such as stores, churches, movie theaters, gas stations, and schools are walking distance away from each other. The urban density is pretty low, with buildings being three stories high at most. I on the other-hand have neighbors who live almost a half a mile away from me on each side. I am surrounded by fields and other family run farms. I have a great connection to the small town I grew up in. It’s a place where everyone knows everyone and good manners is practiced regularly. I love having a lot of land to do various activities on and there is beautiful scenery all around. Once you hop in a car you can go from seeing hay bails in a field one minute and the next thing you know you’re driving through one town to another all filled with neighborhoods.

2. The first city I chose was Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts which I could see being relevant to my town. The houses in Athens are not as close together as illustrated in the picture, but as mentioned in the article Beacon Hill’s main way of transportation is walking. The transportation mode in my town is mostly walking, especially when there’s warm weather. Since everything is so close together and gas prices aren’t cheap, townspeople definitely take advantage of the warm weather and walking. Athens includes many sidewalks to walk and bike on which makes it easy and desirable just like in Beacon Hill. My family on the other hand doesn’t have the option to walk unless we want to walk two hours in order to make it to town. In order to be more sustainable and be less of a threat to the environment my family and others around me could come up with a carpool system so not as many families need to make the twenty minute drive into town. Although town is far away I do enjoy taking runs and leisure walks during the summer because the scenic views are phenomenal.

3. The second city I chose was Chicago, Illinois relating to the concept on urban agriculture. Although my town would not be considered urban we still take part in a lot of gardening and recreational activities. A lot of families including my own in Athens have gardens in which various vegetables and fruits are grown. Also, a lot of farms in the area provide meat, milk, and other dairy products to local stores and markets which is sold to the local community. As mentioned in the article, gardening can help improve air quality and rainwater management in the town. The foods grown that have lower environmental impacts are often also healthier and tastier. Encouraging others to start their own gardens could make our town even more sustainable. This would also limit the number of times a family needs to drive to a local market to buy food, because it is growing in their back yard instead.

Module 6 Social Norms/Societal Issues- Rachael Donnelly

Throughout my life I was a very unhealthy eater. It wasn’t until last year when I began training for a marathon with a group of five other guys that my eating habits changed. We all had a certain training schedule we followed. I seemed to struggle a lot compared to them. I didn’t understand because I stretched and did everything the same as them to prepare for every run. It wasn’t until we all ate lunch together one day and I ordered a greasy burger and fries with a milkshake that they noticed what my problem was. I was not getting the right nutrition for running the long miles we were running. All the other boys were snacking on fruits, vegetables, eggs, rice, beans, chicken, ect. They always had a lot more energy than me and felt a lot better at the end of our runs because of the nutrients they were getting throughout the day. I began to change my diet to healthy foods such as lean proteins, whole grains, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables, and I drank a lot more after throughout the day. I began to feel so much more energized and lost a lot of fat and gained muscle throughout my marathon training. The food choice I selected for my social norm was a diet consisting mostly of healthy foods. I was influenced by the five other marathon runners and other athlete diets I read about on the internet.

The social issue with having healthy eating habits is it isn’t always affordable to all people. Healthy foods such as organic food can be very expensive. Being a college student and not having a job it is sometimes very hard to afford the foods I want. This social issue can be connected to famines. Famines don’t necessarily involve the lack of food in an area. In many cases, famines have occurred despite there being no overall food shortages. The food may be located in the wrong place, or it may simply be too expensive to be purchased by those in need. I am not saying that healthy food is a necessity I need at this age, but others who are older or have health issues may need certain nutritional diets that aren’t always cheap and affordable for them. I do believe I should continue the social norm of eating healthy, but I can substitute organic food and other expensive foods with less expensive foods that are still healthy and this will reduce chances of obesity.Screen Shot 2016-02-29 at 7.23.25 PMDisplaying Screen Shot 2016-02-29 at 7.23.25 PM.png

Development Case Studies- Rachael Donnelly

  1. For my case I chose to an article from the “AllAfrica-Sustainability- Kenya: Experts Gather in Nairobi to Fight Water Crisis” webpage (http://allafrica.com/stories/201602230603.html) This case deals with water experts from various countries in Africa are in Nairobi discussing ways of ensuring sustainable access to the commodity and sanitation on the continent. Of the 1.8 billion people worldwide who do not have easy access to water, two thirds live in Africa. The issues that is being discussed includes management of sewage, public-private partnerships for financing water and sanitation organization, and help for the poor. The provision of clean drinking water in the country and in Africa remains a great challenge that governments must strive to tackle. Five percent of Africa’s gross domestic product is lost every year due to water quality-related issues that impact health and productivity, pushing the poor further into poverty. Only fifty-six percent of Kenyans have reliable access to clean water and seventy percent have access to sanitation. The livelihoods and the security of African countries are threatened by the shortage of water. These water experts must move fast and effectively in order to make advances in the water shortage of Africa.

 

  1. For my second case study I have chosen to talk about global food loss and waste around the world on the “World Resources Institute” website. (http://www.wri.org/blog/2016/01/champions-call-reduce-global-food-loss-and-waste) Currently, thirty leaders have launched an effort to reduce food loss and waste around the world. The focus is to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns, reduce food loss and waste in order to increase food security, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help lessen poverty. This level of wastefulness has huge economic, social, and environmental impacts. Food loss and waste causes $940 billion in economic losses annually. It worsens food insecurity and malnutrition. Food that is ultimately lost or wasted consumes about a quarter of all water used by agriculture. It is responsible for an estimated eight percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Efforts of reducing food loss and waste, can save money for farmers, companies, and households. Wasting less food leads to feeding more people and lessens pressure on climate, water, and land resources.

 

  1. I am from Northern Pennsylvania in a small town called Athens, Pennsylvania. I live in a rural area where we rely on various resources in order to survive. Although the issues stated above in the two case studies, water or food shortage is not a common problem in the area I live, it is still very possible that due to the lack of other resources, my life and the others around me could easily be affected without the necessary resources that are provided. In Africa and other countries we see how families are struggling to survive due to the lack of water and sanitation in their country. In countries around the world we see how malnutrition is becoming a problem due to food loss and waste. These resources are the key to survival and without the farm’s productions, clean water, and functioning electricity around my area I could easily be having a hard time surviving myself. With the advancements and development in the U.S I have been fortunate enough to have had a healthy life so far.

Module 4- Rachael Donnelly

1-a Since I live up in rural Pennsylvania my water comes from a drilled well. Our drilled well is 200 feet deep and the water comes from underground water into an aquifer. The water from the ground that comes from precipitation and runs off into the soil then become infiltrated eventually goes into the drilled well. From the well the water comes into our house and for each different activity we use water it goes down the drain into a septic tank. The septic tank holds the wastewater from the home until solid debris settles at the bottom of the tank and lighter waste, such as oil, rises to the top to form the scum layer. Between the two layers lies clarified liquid, which flows into an outlet pipe and is gradually dissipated through a drain. The water then goes into a sand mound or leach field where it becomes more purified. The water from there is either evaporated or becomes ground water. The ground water will eventually move into a nearby creek or river. The process will constantly repeat. Some issues that could occur can come from natural gas drilling or cow manure nearby. If either of these substances get mixed into the water and eventually end up in our well, it could pollute the water which could cause many problems, the biggest being no water use.

1-b

Activity                                      Water Used (gallons)

Brush Teeth                                     1/2 gallon

Shower (10 min.)                           50 gallons

Wash Hands (7x)                             7 gallons

Toilet flush (5x)                              15 gallons

Washed Clothes                              25 gallons

Wash Dishes (by hand)                   8 gallons

Drink                                               1 gallon

Total:                                           106.5 gallons        

1-c I thought I could try it out and go a day with only using 2 gallons of water. After a couple hours in I found it to be nearly impossible. I believe hydrating and keeping myself clean are the two most important activities when it comes to using water. In order to properly function throughout the day, I only focused on hydrating myself and staying clean. During my day, some approaches I used to cut down water footprint were shutting off the water while I was brushing my teeth, not washing my hair during my shower, avoiding cooking, washing dishes, and using the washing machine. I also drank less than normal so I wouldn’t have to use the toilet as much. Doing all of these activities still left me using way more than 2 gallons of water. I definitely used a lot less gallons than I did in 1-b, but way more than 2 gallons. I learned from this experiment that based on population and consumerism, geography affects water use significantly. Many countries do not have access to clean water like we do. As a result, they cannot afford to do all the activities that we can on a daily basis. They conserve their use of water and only use it for the necessities, such as drinking and eating. Everything else is not as important. It really opens up my eyes to see how lucky I really am to have constant running water.

Module 3 Ethics- Rachael Donnelly

1) Is it more important to be a good person or to perform good acts?

I truly believe it is more important to perform good acts rather than be a good person. Performing a good act can have a greater impact on bettering society as a whole. Everyone can practice virtue ethics and have good values and beliefs, but without taking action with them, that person is not making much of a difference. For example, a person can talk themselves up and explain how kind and respectful they are, but how are those words going to make a difference in someone else’s life? They aren’t. I also believe that performing a good act means that a person must have some good in them already and their actions can have a positive impact on others. In my perspective, seeing others do good acts motivates me to also want to do something good for society. If others feel the same way then we can build a chain of goodness, which could have an enormous impact on society. Being a good person is one thing, but actually taking action is a power leap in making our world a better place.

4) Do ecosystems matter for their own sake, or do they only matter to the extent that they impact humans?

I believe that ecosystems matter for both their own sake and the sake of humans. Humans are constantly interacting with the ecosystem and without the ecosystem we could not function. I believe that the ecosystem is more important because we need it in order to survive. It provides resources for us in order to build houses, makes clothes, and provide us with food. So yes, the ecosystem is hugely beneficial to human life. It is also important for humans to preserve and protect the ecosystem. If we don’t, human lives can be affected due to poor conditions of the ecosystems, such as global warming, pollution, or too much carbon dioxide in the air. These are very serious issues that begin to make people worry. I agree with the reading that we should manage the cutting down of trees and control the killing of animals. I understand that it is necessary to have these things, but only to a certain extent. Both ecocentric ethics and anthropocentric ethics are very important in everyday life, and they go hand in hand in order to make our world go round.

6) Is my own life worth more than the lives of others, the same, or less?

I believe I see myself as more of an altruistic person. My family and friends are the most important people in my life, and I would do absolutely anything for them whether it be donate an organ or bail them out of jail. I am more afraid of something happening to my family than myself. Helping others is what I’m good at and what I do in my everyday life, but I can also be selfish sometimes too. I think I’m aloud to be selfish and it’s a normal thing for people to be. I’m selfish in the way that I put my dreams and goals before others. There is a certain future I see for myself and there is no way I’m going to get there unless I am selfish and put myself before others. I want to strive to have greatness in my life and in order to do that I cannot have others holding me back. I have a pretty good balance between being an altruistic and selfish person. I would say I see my own life being worth just the same as others, and I am okay with that. As much as I want the best for me, I also want the best for others as well.

 

Rachael Donnelly – Module #2

In my system diagram I focused mainly on the relationship between the ecosystem and the social system. The IPAT equation has focused attention on the world’s poor as causes of environmental problems, which we can see in the small village of India in the film.  One core value my diagram was focused around was the positive effects of Biogas Generators. These Biogas generators are powered through cow dung and water and produces compost. The compost comes from scraps of food not eaten by the villagers. The compost is then sold to farmers by the village women. These farmers grow crops from the compost and sell them off. The compost production increases the villager finances, farming, and children can become more invested in their education. The Biogas generators lead to a safer and cleaner environment. The whole process goes full circle and repeats. Before the Biogas generators the villagers used sticks collected by the children for smoke cooking. Smoke cooking took a toll on the health of the people in the village, the children’s education, and the women’s workforce as explained in my diagram. Compared to Marten’s figure, both diagrams have the social system and ecosystem on separate sides, but each has different linkages that make the process go full circle and intertwine between the two. Our arrows go both ways, which shows the need of forces from both the social end and ecosystem end. The main difference between my diagram and his is that he mentioned a lot about trees, shrubs, hills, and plant residue and made main points around them, while I mentioned nothing about them. He focused a lot on the biogas generators and I touched a lot on the issues of smoke cookers. Each person looks and interprets their diagram in a different way, and each has their own similarities and differences with each other.rld5300

Module 1- Getting to know you

My name is Rachael Donnelly. I am currently a sophomore living in State College and attend school at Pennsylvania State University Park. I come from a small town up north called Athens, Pennsylvania. The career I am hoping to have some day is being an elementary school teacher. I am interested in this course because I want to learn more about the physical features of the Earth and the activities of lifeforms, populations, land, and different resources. This course has been recommended to me by a couple of people and I am excited to learn what it’s all about. Some random facts about me are I really enjoy sports and ran my first marathon last year. Last year I was a Business major and decided to change to Education after my second semester. Lastly, I used to have a pet pig named Lucy.

There are a great deal of concepts that can be learned about the geography of our world, but one subject that I find informative and important is visualization. Visualization through visual imagery has been an effective way to communicate both abstract and concrete ideas. When it comes to learning it can be much easier to have a better understanding of subjects and different concepts when they are in a graphic form or set up so people can virtually see them. Sometime listening to a lecture or having a book full of words in front of you doesn’t exactly help portray the information as well as it should. Some examples of visualizations are maps, videos, charts, diagrams, concept webs, ect. We especially see these used in geography when we are virtually exploring different landforms, calculating different populations through charts and graphs, or trying to identify different areas through map making. Like they say in the Polar Express, “seeing is believing,” and once we get a visual about the stuff happening around us, it really helps to make conclusions about certain ideas that we were unsure about.