social norms on food choice

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Siying Chen

When I was a kid, my mom didn’t allow me to ear instant noodles and other fast foods like McDonalds, because she thinks that’s unhealthy. As a result, most of the food I had when I was a kid were homemade and considered healthy. But when I started college here in U.S., I encountered many unhealthy food I rarely had before. As a student, I don’t have many other choices in food so those fast food places are my main go-to places for food between class. I think it’s a popular choice among students because it’s fast and cheap, but it’s certainly not as healthy as homemade food because it’s mainly meat, and based on the healthy eating pyramid we should consume least of these animal-based food. So during the weekend, I usually cook some nutritious meals that contains both meat and vegetables, and most of my food were provided locally, so it’s sustainable too.

As we all know, fast food is one of the causes of obesity. In my experience, people in U.S. consume a lot more fast food than people from other country, and obesity is one of the leading health issues here. There are many reasons why people like fast food so much, they are cheap, delicious and easy to get. Many people are busy with work and study, so they would like food that can be prepared quickly and also feed them, and fast food stores seems like the right ones to go. The unbalanced nutrition triangle contributes to obesity problems, and obtaining food sources from other places is less sustainable. In order to deal with obesity problem from the aspect of food source, I think we should advocate about eating green food, especially on commercials. As we can see commercials everyday, I think if there’s more commercials about healthy diets, more people would turn to healthy food.

Module 6 – Kevin Hosterman

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Kevin Frederick Hosterman

College is an interesting place to observe social norms and there are a lot of them surrounding food choices. Before I came to college I would cook a lot of homemade meals that were extremely healthy, but took some time. After entering college I realized I didn’t have neither enough time or enough money to support eating like this for every meal. A lot of the time when I am busy at school or at work it is easiest for me to just go eat a quick bowl of ramen noodles or maybe join my friends at a fast food place like McDonalds or Burger King. This is just the norm for my friends and many other students I know to just grab something quick, cheap, and easy. This food definitely isn’t as healthy as a homemade meal with natural ingredients would be, but it is much easier and fits right into many students schedule making it the go to thing for food.

Obesity is a growing problem especially in the United States. One of the major causes of obesity in America is the widespread fast food chains such as McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, and many many more. The food that is made at these restaurants is supposed to be made as cheaply and quickly as possible which causes a lot of problems. To make this food cheaply and fast they are willing to sacrifice how healthy the food is. If people are constantly eating these cheap fast foods then obviously obesity is going to grow right alongside the growing fast food chains. I think the norm should be the very opposite of this. I think people should be encouraged more and more to cook healthy homemade food with local ingredients.

Social Norm and Food Choices

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Zoe Katherine Schulte

Everyday as a college student, my food choices are influenced by social norms. The “freshman fifteen” as we all call it is in fact a real dilemma. It is hard to maintain a healthy diet while incorporating a heavy load of school work and many hours at the library. It is easier for me to stop and get fast food instead of taking the time out of my day or night to cook a healthier meal choice. I think that a lot of college kids feel this way because that is how our society is today. We are given so many options of fast food choices that it is very normal to gain weight during your freshman year and continue on this healthy diet, as you don’t have many other options.

Eating fast food constantly can lead to one very important societal issue that is I think is very overlooked especially here in America. Obesity is so common now days because fast food is such an easy alternative than staying healthy and fit.On major streets in cities you are bound to see a mcdonalds, arbys, or burger king every time you turn the corner, but where are the healthier drive thru options? My point being, there are none to very little.Our social norm instead should be how can we as a society make it more convenient to just add some fruit or vegetables to our diets, instead of a big mac and fries. It is almost disgustingly normal how often we see others start to gain excessive and unhealthy amount of weight just because it is their easiest option.

Food Choice and Social Norms

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Wesley Warren Phipps

As an athlete and especially as a wrestler I am faced with many challenges with my eating habits. Especially since my sport requires extreme discipline in my diet it sometimes clashes harshly with societal norms. I particularly see this when I attend late night festivities with friends especially in a college town like State College. Believe it or not their are not many bars that serve fresh salads at 1am. So the other week I chose to indulge in a few slices of canyon pizza on our way from one bar to the other as it did not seem quite socially acceptable to run back home to grab a fresh snack while bar hopping with my friends. This is just one of many instances where social norms have forced me into making a decision on my food consumption I was not particularly fond of. After cutting weight though that pizza did taste pretty good though.

So some of the societal issues I could derive from my first paragraph is first of all accessibility. As I said the access we as citizens of this country have to fast/junk food is second to none, it’s everywhere and at all times. The second is price it is just so hard to eat healthy when you can for slices of pizza for the same price as a “cheap salad” a good salad would actually cost you much more. Both of these are huge issues we face as a society and they ultimately affect our health, our wallets, and how we manage our time. The thing is is that we have created this problem. We as consumers have made these cheap unhealthy choices our main choice and so that is what companies invest in. If we pushed for the healthy options they would have to develop ways to produce them cheaper or else their businesses would suffer as nobody feels good about buying 5$ worth of lettuce and some veggies.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-bXnN6E38VcJiBlVZq6aPznTLm2WlWWI8rgQ_en2b4A/edit

Module 6: Food Choice & Social Norms

Posted on March 2, 2016 by bwb5245

My food choices have been influenced by social norms in two distinct phases: pre-college, and my current time away at college. While living in a home family environment, I was more likely to have a sit-down dinner each night, and more likely to eat nutritionally balanced meals. There was also a higher chance that I would eat breakfast, as my family tends to eat in the mornings in a social setting. While at college, I have less time to prepare meals, and do not have as easy access to wholesome, home made foods. Because I usually have class in the morning, there is a low chance that I eat breakfast on a regular basis. If I do, it tends to be something quick such as a granola bar or just a piece or fruit. Further, because of the social setting I am placed in, I am more likely to get fast food or order delivery than I am at home.

Food Choice is a major component of this module, and it is something that influenced my experience. The food choices we are able to make is a significant societal issue today. In my case, I need to balance proper nutrition and convenience, as well as low cost. Low cost is even more influential in my food choices at school because many of my meals at home are purchased and cooked by members of my family. Convenience also has a massive impact on my food choices; at home I can count on having a healthy dinner at night, at school I need to balance putting a meal together while keeping within my time constraints. This will usually impact the nutritional quality of the meals I make (or order). Overall we must balance these aspects as best we can, which is what I believe the societal norm should be.

Module 6: The truth of food.

Posted on March 2, 2016 by srl5262

I’m part Polish, Slovakian, and Irish. I grew up on bread, meat, cheese, and potatoes. I’m also Roman Catholic so during lent I don’t eat meat on Fridays. It’s hard on Fridays to not eat meat because when you live off meat, especially red meat, and you can’t have it, you want it more than anything. On days that I don’t eat meat I go against the norm. I go against the norm that most people, at least in America, eat meat. I also go against the norm for people who are atheist or of another religion than mine. People find it strange that I don’t eat meat on Fridays during lent. Whenever I bring it up to someone new who does not practice it, I am questioned as to why I do it and I always receive a judgmental, strange look from them. It hard for people to understand the reasoning behind my beliefs and my upbringing. It’s against their norm and their beliefs or habits, but to it’s always been normal to me.

On Fridays I have an impact on societal issues, like vegans and vegetarians do everyday of their lives. By not eating meat we effect the production of greenhouse gas and environmental pollution produced by the livestock industry. Eliminating meat results in a decrease in methane gas used to produce burgers and meat products. It also cuts done on the fossil fuels used to transport the meat from farm -> industry -> store -> plate. The fossil water usage can also decrease because less water will be needed to produce feed for the animals as it takes more than one plant unit input to produce a single beef unit product. It is also much easier to obtain nutrients from plants than it is to get them from an animal source. It is a more direct line of consumption of nutrients from plant -> human, than from plant -> animal -> human. Especially since the animal uses up some of the nutrients decreasing the initial nutrient content that could have been obtained.

Module 6: Devin Walk

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Devin Walk

I’m a very picky eater. This makes it challenging to find places or even home cooked meals I actually would enjoy and eat. However, there are select fast-food places I do enjoy eating at, and I used to eat there on a somewhat regular basis, mainly because I knew what I would be fed at home wasn’t something I would like. I do become frustrated that no one in my home thinks of me when preparing meals. Please do not tell me to try new foods, I have tried foods and I just do not like them, that’s isn’t going to change. So I choose the fast-food because it’s something I know I will eat and it’s convenient for me.
The food choice in my above paragraph relates to the nutrition portion of this module. I know I am clearly not getting enough of the nutritional needs I need. I hate vegetables and fruit, so I know I’m really not getting the vitamins and minerals I need from them. I myself am not obese, I am at a lower weight for my height in fact, but eating fast food does lead to obesity if eaten on a more frequent occasion and in high amounts. I only eat it maybe once or twice a week. Obesity is also connected to industrialized agriculture, mainly in the systems that produce large quantities of grains. Those are high calorie crops which in turn lead to high calorie foods. Picky eaters aren’t a normal thing you encounter every day, but I have to admit that most restaurants do try to have a “wide range” of food, even if it’s similar food. They also have kids menus which are nice because most kids aren’t willing to try new foods so it’s convenient for them, and picky eaters.

Joe Carlamere_Lesson 6

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Joseph

The years leading up to high school were tough at times; some might say that I was kind of a late bloomer. At the end of the eight grade I stood a robust 5’3” tall and was overweight. When hanging out with friends I would always try to not partake in food consumption, not because they would make fun of me, but I felt self-conscious about what they might have been thinking. Over the summer months I grew 5 inches making me slightly taller than the average high school freshman and because of the growth spurt my weight problem worked itself out. I think many people have the same struggle as a preteenager and now looking back I can laugh about the whole thing. However, the need to fit in to what society says is the norm is not always easy; I think many of us still find ourselves worrying about social norms and spending much of our time thinking about what others might be thinking.

It is astounding that we are in the 21^st century and famine still exists, for a community, city, or country to not to have access to food is deplorable. Additionally, for famine to be accepting to the point that it becomes a social norm is criminal. I am not discussing famine caused by environmental conditions or plight, but the famine caused by large agriculture commodity trader that are buying up much of the farmlands causing food riots in the Middle East and South Asia. This problem is going to take collective action to solve; there is no excuse for a company to purchase land to grow food and not provide the community in which the farm is located with that food. These same companies are recording triple profits on the backs of the people that are suffering from starvation. Swift action must be taken and it is up to all of us to make it happen.

The Impact of Oil – Peter Han

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Peter Lee Han

The Effects of Oil Drilling

http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/cases_03-04/Ogoni/Ogoni_case_study.htm

My first case study references the Nigerian delta and talks about how the drilling of oil has affected the community there. Shell Nigeria and the Nigerian government have been excessively drilling for oil in this community and the Ogoni people who live there have been directly affected. The drilling of oil has caused the threat of oil spills and also the pollution of air and the Niger River Delta where the tribe does a lot of their fishing. The government of Nigeria is using this oil for the development of the country because they are able to sell it as it holds monetary value. However; by doing this they are endangering the community and affecting its development as the quality of life in this area has decreased. The goals of the Ogoni community are to unite with the government and form some kind of agreement that will help aid the community and the government. As the demand for oil increases, so will the demand for Nigerian oil and this are could be of huge profit for them.

Poverty in Ecuador

http://www.developmentprogress.org/publication/sharing-fruits-progress-poverty-reduction-ecuador

This case study talked about Ecuador and their decreasing rate of poverty. In 2000, about 20% of the population lived in extreme poverty, but only 4% do today! Ecuador has become more economically stable because of the increase in oil prices. In the end, this development helped grow the economy and provide jobs for the some of the poorest people and caused the unemployment rate to decrease. This countries development started from the production of oil. They face many challenges today in maintaining and furthering this development. Their goals are to overcome the decreasing oil prices and advance the progress that they have already made in an economic standpoint. They also want to further reduce poverty. Also, oil will eventually become very scarce and they will have to come up with ways to sustain their economy without the aid of natural resources.

I currently live in Niles Michigan where oil prices affect everyone’s daily lives. I have always lived in the United States where we import about 20% of our oil. In the two case studies I chose, they both talked about the drilling of oil and the impact that they had on their own community’s. Nigeria and Ecuador have both counted on oil to further their development even though the specific community of Ogoni people in Nigeria saw the bad impact that it could have. The city of Niles was founded on the St. Joseph River, which played an integral part in its development as well as the rich and fertile soil. Farming was a big part of how this community developed. Even though both communities developed in different ways, they both used the land that they were founded on to do this. In Nigeria, the community played a huge role in their development, as they had to come together to protest and make the government aid them. Every community, specifically my hometown, could use this as an example of a way to further their own development.

Module 5

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Ashlee Rene Hammonds

The case study that I selected is The Navajo-Hopi Struggle to Protect the Big Mountain Reservation. This case study was written by a student from the University of Michigan. The link to this case study is http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/parker.html. The goal of this development is to stop the Peabody Mining company from expanding its operations, which would threaten the reservation environment and force 300 families to relocate. This case relates to ideas discussed in the module because it is an issue of environmental justice. The Navajo and Hopi are poor and also a minority and according to the text, these populations are more likely to live within close proximity to facilities that have negative health effects. In the case study, if the Peabody Mining Company expands the Navajo and Hopi will see a decline in water quality as well as a depletion in their water supply, devastation of land, and desecration of their sacred lands.

The second case study I chose is the East-West Expressway Environmental Impact Study. This case study was provided by the Office of Planning, Environment and Realty in the U.S. Department of Transportation. The link to this case study is http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/environmental_justice/case_studies/case3.cfm. This case is about an expressway being planned near the business district of Durham, North Carolina that would go through an African American neighborhood. The neighborhood is called Crest Street. The goal in this case study is to oppose the building of the expressway so that the neighborhood wasn’t forced to relocate. This study relates to ideas discussed in the module because this is also an issue of environmental justice. The expressway is being built through the neighborhood of a minority, and although the population is not affected in ways like health effects, they still had to relocate.

In my hometown of Waynesboro, PA there is a lot of construction and growth happening and in the past couple years a Walmart and Lowes have been built on what used to be farmland. Ever since the building of these two stores there has been a horrible increase in the amount of trash outside. When you drive by Walmart there is a hill just plastered with plastic bags and other litter and it’s ridiculous. It is an awful sight. Although nobody human had to relocate, it still has affected the land like in these case studies. By looking at these case studies we can think of how relocating can effect minorities and how the land is effected. Sometimes growth is not a good thing and I have seen that in my hometown.

module 5

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Chloe Coy

The first case study I have chosen is from AllAfrica, discussing the shortage of food supply in Ethiopia and how it affecting the environment and health of the citizens. The article talks about how the country of Ethiopia is running out of food and if an emergency food supply does not arrive in time, there will be serious problems with the food aid supply pipeline. In addition, the El Nino weather phenomenon has cause serious damage to the environment, causing drought and flooding. This has caused the people of Africa to be in greater need for food and water supply. The international community is in attempt to provide $245 million to the country of Ethiopia, which is the amount needed to end their need for food, which should last them about 3 months. In the module, it discusses how throughout the world, countries are very different when it comes to agriculture and the environmental issues and benefits. For example, in the United States there is not an insufficient supply of food and water, whereas in Africa, that is the main concern for their country.

The second case study, found from an article on http://maps.unomaha.edu/Peterson/geog1000/Sidebar/ChinaPop.html, talks about the population control in China. China has the highest population in the world with approximately 1.2 billion people living in the country. The overpopulation of the country has led to problems with resources and living conditions from the decrease in land and pollution. The Chinese government has used several methods to control the growing population, one of them being the 1 child per family method. This policy allowed each family to have only 1 child. The citizens had to have a birth certificate before having their child and they were offered special benefits if they only had 1 child. This issue relates to the development and how it is difficult for the country of China to continue to develop when the population is still growing, which is also becoming an economic issue.

These two examples of development cases show how other countries deal with issues that are a lot more severe than those in the United States. I am from outside of Philadelphia, and I have never had to experience living in a country that had a limited supply of food. In addition, our country is privileged enough that the citizens do not have to worry about overpopulation and having to only have a certain amount of children per family. As opposed to these countries, they have to worry about extremely serious issues that affect the way they live. In order to advance development where I live, I think it is important for our country to maintain a sufficient food supply. This is also an example of why an overpopulated country can be an issue because when it comes to food, there is not enough to supply to everyone. In addition, the United States needs to keep the population of citizens in control in order to prevent economic issues.

Module 5 Jonah Kim

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Jonah Kim

The location for the first case study is Halifax County, North Carolina, USA. The case study was done by the Michigan- Environmental Justice and undergraduate students at the University of Michigan. Here is the link to my case study page: http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/statter.html. Essentially Halifax County in the 90’s had to decide if the development of hog farms would be good for the community. The goals of this development were to establish hog farms throughout North Carolina, making money for the state while also protecting the environment and the right of individuals. This case study relates to a number of topics from the module. Sustainable development relates to this case study. The many new hogs in North Carolina produce a lot of waste that in turn can harm local water sources. And so to keep the state’s water clean they use “Hog Lagoons” to keep waste away from water. Hog Lagoons are supposed to act as natural trash bags with heavier sludge sinking to the bottom and forming a seal that prevents waste from going in the ground.

The location for the first case study is Maine, United States. The case study was done by the Colby- Sustainable Development and undergraduate students at the Colby College in Maine. Here is the link to my case study page: http://personal.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/Informal.htm. This case study’s goals were to see if establishing informal property rights to fisherman would help to preserve the ocean ecosystem that plays such an intracle role in Maine’s economy. The idea was that other than discounts providing fishers with exclusive access will create a more sustainable style of commercial fishing in Maine. Overfishing wouldn’t be as big of a problem and fisher’s would have a specific place to fish and it would help boost the overall GDP, another form of development. At the same time again a focal point of this case study too is sustainable development. The case study proposes to protect the ecosystem and future generations of fish, but at the same time takes care of the needs of the people now.

The location being compared to the two previous studies is Lansdale, Pennsylvania. For my first case study there is one similarity. In Lansdale, there is a good amount of farms with livestock around. In particular Hatfield Meats Packaging plant is very close to where I live. I can smell whenever the factory is working. However, the farms are not that plentiful and my town was actually a farming town first so locals don’t care about the smell as much. Lansdale is also different from the second case study because Lansdale is landlocked so fishing is not a source of GDP. Lansdale has a very different economy than a fishing town in Maine might. However, I think observing these case studies can be important to help Lansdale even though the location is very different. These case studies taught me that it’s never too late to think about sustainable development. Lansdale is home to Merck, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. I wonder what Merck is doing to provide now but protect the future.

Module 5 – Kevin Hosterman

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Kevin Frederick Hosterman

Containing the Heat in Austin!

The first case study I looked at took place in Austin, Texas and was dealing with the idea of solar power and its uses. In this particular situation they were using solar power to heat water in order to reduce energy use. They installed solar power water heating systems in three different locations around Austin, Texas and studied how they performed compared to the old system using the typical route of fossil fuels for power. The study was fairly successful and saved all three locations hundreds of dollars each year from using solar power instead of paying for it as usual. This is directly related to the module because it is pushing for more sustainable development. The use of fossil fuels as an energy source will not be sustainable forever, while on the other hand getting it from a source such as the sun will be sustainable for many generations to come. I think this is just the first step in the right direction and studies like this will prove that it is a valid option that more people should consider over fossil fuels.

http://personal.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/ener-tx.html

Catching the Rain in Buckinghamshire!

The second case study I looked at deals with collecting rainwater. In Buckinghamshire, UK at Fulmer Infant School they are trying to become a more eco friendly school. To try and take a step in the right direction they installed a $3,000 rainwater collection system on the side of their school. The purpose of this system is to collect rainwater naturally and use it to flush toilets, wash clothes, and water the garden. The system collects water from the roof of the building and then automatically filters it to remove any sort of debris that may have been collected as well. According to the study it rains heavily and often in Buckinghamshire which was why they thought it was a great place to try this new system. Once again this relates back to module five because of its sustainability. Collecting water from the ground or lakes and filtering it and pumping it places is a long process and wastes water. If the water is collected directly after rainfall it is much safer, faster, cheaper, and easier. This creates a much more easily sustainable system. This is a great way to collect and save water by doing it naturally when it rains. According to the school it has saved them lots of money on water bills and they are looking for more ways to become a more eco friendly place.

http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/show_case_study.php/00266.html
Both of these case studies happened in very different locations for very specific reasons. The first study, taking place in Austin, Texas, was done so because it is very hot and the sun is out almost all year long their. This makes solar power very efficient as it is constantly soaking up energy from the sun to be used for our needs. This might not work as well in a place like State College because we experience all four seasons distinctly here and lots of times throughout the year we don’t have lots of sunlight. Overall it just isn’t as hot here as it is in Austin. The second case study as well was done specifically in Buckinghamshire because of how much it rains there. This system make work better here than the solar power system due to the decent amount of rainfall that we receive here in State College.

GEOG 030: Module 5: Learning Activity: Development Case Studies: (MAE26)

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Michael Anthony Evangelista

Case Studies in Development/mae26

Case Study #1: WBCSD Action 2020: Restore Productivity to Degraded Land “Go Zones”
The source of this information is The World Business Council for Sustainable Development and their Action 2020 program which they describe as a “Platform for business to take action on sustainable development.” The site is:
http://action2020.org/business-solutions/restore-productivity-to-degraded-land-go-zones
I found this to be an intriguing approach to sustainable development and remediation, since business is so often seen as being on the other side of the equation.
The most interesting project is Restore Productivity to Degraded Land “Go Zones.”
They identified numerous “Go Zones,” areas ready for development around the world. It is interesting to compare these locations with some of the maps contained in the course material and note the correlations -see website for these locations. WBCSD defines land degradation as “Any reduction or loss in the biological or economic productive capacity of the land caused by human activities, exacerbated by natural processes, and often magnified by the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss (UNCCD 2013).” That is, the land has been pushed past its point of resilience. The aim of these projects is
to restore the degraded land to its natural state or prepare it to be used for farming, social or residential use. WBCSD seeks to outline the basic parameters for these projects and support businesses around the world in engaging in them.
Case Study #2: Effects of Land Degradation on Soil Fertility: A Case Study of Calabar South, Nigeria

Compared to the first case study, WBCSD, this case takes a much more ‘granular’ approach. It identifies the primary causes of land degradation in the area (among them, land clearance, poor farming practices, urbanization and improper irrigation) as well of the extent of the problem (nearly 60% of the regions land is considered degraded) and the net effects (a 60% loss of farming productivity.) An examination was done of the specific underlying reasons and a chemical analysis of current soil properties of several areas.

The author, Emoki Eni, also drew specific conclusions and pointed out lessons to be learned from the agricultural practices being used in the area. One of those conclusions was the importance having a master plan for development. This parallels, somewhat, the work being done by WBCSD in case study #!.

The source of this information was the following:
http://www.intechopen.com/books/environmental-land-use-planning/effects-of-land-degradation-on-soil-fertility-a-case-study-of-calabar-south-nigeria
Case #3: Roche Nutley Environmental Remediation

I live in Nutley, NJ. The Township was, for years, the U.S. home of Roche Pharmaceuticals, a producer of synthetic vitamin C, Valium, other drugs and consumer cosmetics. These were developed, tested and produced at the Nutley site. It was well-known in the 1950’s and 60’s that much of the by-products of this testing and manufacturing was disposed of on-site and dumped into the Third River, which flowed through the Roche property and, literally, through the entire length of the Township. Therefore, many toxins were ‘distributed’ through the neighboring area. Though it cannot be definitively proved, as kids we were all sure that Roche’s dumping was the reason that frogs in the “Mudhole” – a small pond fed by the river – had six legs! Yes, two sets of hind legs!
When Roche vacated their property and put it up for sale a few years ago, it was determined that a massive remediation project was needed to make the area safe for new development (businesses and housing). Years of dumping had thoroughly polluted the property. A master plan was drafted for a comprehensive investigation and ultimately a remediation effort.
Although the use to which this land will be put is different than that dealt with in the two earlier cases, the need for restoration of the degraded land is similar.

Mike Evangelista

Water Supply

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Samarth Arora

The case study I chose to describe is ‘India’s greatest planned environmental disaster: The Narmada valley dam projects’ the link to this case study is: http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/Jones/narmada.html

This case study discuses the build up of many large and small dams throughout the Narmada River in India. The Indian government was unable to plan this project properly and this caused them a lot of money, time, and disasters. The dam runs across three states and the purpose was to provide sufficient and clean water to the people and better improve the water system/ supple. Unfortunately in trying to do so and without properly evaluating the project there were problems faced. The large dams causes natural disasters such as floods and also many people ended up getting sick, diseases were spread and so this project was clear unsuccessful.

2. For my second case study I looked at ‘Provision of Sustainable Water Supply System in Nigeria: A Case Study of Wannune-Benue State’ the link to this case study is: http://pubs.sciepub.com/wjee/2/1/1/

This case study discusses the water supply in Nigeria. A large water treatment plant was created in order to provide safe and better water supply to the people. About 53% of people in the rural areas have no access to safe and clean water, which again was a cause of several diseases spreading throughout the country. The water treatment plant contains several units to help purify all the water in order to obtain the WHO guidelines in Nigeria. Similar to the case study above lack of concern and poor maintenance led to a failure in the systems as they were not developed properly. However, the calculations and results say if the plant is to be successful it will solve majority of the water problems for both rural and urban areas in Nigeria.

3. Coming from New Delhi, India both the case studies above have similar outcomes as to what its like in New Delhi. Delhi is the capital of India and so there are obviously a lot more improvements and lesser problems compared to the two case studies above. Most of the urban areas in Delhi have access to good and clean water supply; however, the rural areas and villages still do suffer. They have access to groundwater and wells etc. The first case study is similar to what happens in Delhi, as there are many water plants and different supplies that provide water to its citizens. The water system in Delhi is a lot better compared to Narmada Valley and Nigeria. The water supply in Delhi runs all over the state. However, the water supply in Delhi does get damages from time to time due to the excess pollution and dirt in the state, which causes diseases.

Waste Management

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Wesley Warren Phipps

In my one case study I learned of how Ireland is addressing its growing problem of waste management, particularly reducing its absurd usage of plastic bags by placing a 15 cent levy on each bag is hopes of reducing their use. This levy was brought about because Irish officials recognized both its environmental effects as well as economic. Their waste management problem was driving away tourism and affecting Ireland’s overall “green image”. I think you can take away a lot from this study as Ireland is a developed country but it faces problems to continue developing such as more efficient waste management as well as educating its citizens about the affects of their waste consumption on their very own economy and well being. Also as their population continues to grow they will have to continue to develop strategies to handle the increasing population of both citizens and tourist.http://personal.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/litter.htm

My second case study talks about how a Lebanon city renewed an are that was once a trash mountain and turned it into a beautiful park. The recycled as much materials as they could, while also using old rubble dumped at the site to build up a sea wall and reclaim beach front property. Waste that couldn’t be removed was covered in a safe and modern landfill site that will be able to be used by the public in a few years after its materials have decomposed. This project has created a park that residents can use to improve both physical and emotional well being and quality of life in general. The Seawolves created from this project will open up development revenue, as well as more room for residents in this high value real estate.http://phys.org/news/2014-12-lebanon-garden-blooms-trash-mountain.html

Currently in my town of Grove City there has been a debate/ legal battle for the development of a trash mountain in our town. Currently we have a landfill that has been full for a number of years so tri-county industries uses it as sorting station as garbage from Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania are trucked in then sent to their other landfills. They propose a huge mountain of trash that would apparently bring in huge sums of tax revenue as well as jobs which is important to our area if we want to continue to develop. Our town folks though like our small quiet town and don’t want all the increased track traffic on our small roads as well as we are concerned about the small from the trash mountain as well as other potential environmental effects such as damages to fresh water supplies and toxic was should the protective lining of the dump become ruptured. So though my town recognizes the need to address our waste problem like the previous two articles. We our less concerned with the development of our area to sacrifice some of the current attributes that our town gives us because of being a little under developed, such as tons of space and some peace and quiet.
Continue reading →

Development Case Studies: Madison Halbom

Posted on February 24, 2016 by mbh5193

Part 1:http://allafrica.com/stories/201602101757.html

For my case study I chose the article, Ethiopia: Ticking Clock on Ethiopia Drought, this particular case was retrieved from the AllAfrica- Sustainability link found on the webpage. The goals of development for this case study is to survive the drought that they are currently suffering from. This article discusses the outreach of the Ethiopian government to other nations for help and aid in this difficult time. The Ethiopian region is experiencing the worst drought they have had in 50 years. Other countries however have been reluctant to aid the country, who at the end of April will be entering their “hungry season” in which they are likely to face a loss of thousands of individuals. I find that this article relates to the module because it discusses how the wealthier and more developed countries where the environment not effecting so harshly are not coming to aid the “developing” county who is in dire need of their help.

Part 2: http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/rich-poor

For the second case study I chose “Rich/Poor Conflicts” which I was able to find via, beyondintractability.org. In this case study the author discusses the conflict between the richer populations of society and the poorer populations. It discusses how the rich tend to not want to aid the poor in need so they are able to maintain there economic stature and not jeopardize their financial standing in the overall view of the richer society. This relates back to the idea of developed countries and people not aid the developing and growing people. This article refers more to the people themselves but I believe it can be easily applied to the “developed vs developing countries” idea. I also want to relate the idea of “end uses” to this article. I believe this idea is also connected because the idea of the growing and developing people or countries is to prosper which is the main concept behind end uses, to achieve the ultimate purpose of the production process.

Part 3:

I live in an area known as Bucks County, PA. Although it is not the most wealthy area in the country it does have a mixture of prospering populations as well as people in need. The area itself is in no way considered a poor region and on a larger scale would most likely be referred to as a “developed” region. In relation to the first article the county no where near the difficult financial state or need that the Ethiopian government is experiencing, but we are neighbored to the city of Philadelphia who often has areas struggling in times due to weather, lack of work, etc. The Ethiopian region is suffering due to drought conditions and some Philadelphia regions are sometimes suffering due to lack in work and are often not aided by wealthier regions. In relation the case study 2 my region in which I live often do not have large conflicts due to economic standing. Although their are definitely areas in which are not as well off as others the overall economic standing of the region is prosperous. Although when compared to other regions there is conflict in the spreading of wealth amongst residents.

Ian Duchene Module 5 Development

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Ian Michael Duchene

In California, USA attempts to reduce the amount of air pollution were started in the ‘80’s by creating incentives for automotive manufacturers. Article can be found here: http://personal.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/air-cal.html. The article gives a thorough description of the government attempts to develop Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEVs) in order to dramatically improve the air quality in California. While ZEVs are now available for consumer use, the costs to first purchase and then maintain are very high due to new technologies used in the batteries. The tax incentives available for both the automotive manufacturers who make ZEVs and the few consumers able to afford them are minute. This article relates to both the downsides of development as well as sustainable development. The vehicles needed to be produced because there was and still is a substantially high amount of air pollution in California. In order for Californians to sustain stable living conditions for not only themselves, but also plants and animals this development is a good beginning.

Plastic bag impact in Ireland leads to a Plastic Bag Environmental Levy on all plastic bags http://personal.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/litter.html. Due to the lack of landfill sites, illegal dumping and litter became more prevalent in Ireland. The Irish Government developed a Levy limiting the amount of plastic bags a consumer could get with their groceries or clothing while shopping. This development is an example of sustainable development; plastic bags made up 99.5% of garbage in their landfills or litter so in order to reduce the amount of littered plastic, they banned the use of plastic bags with exception of use for specific grocery items. The affect of these bags on the physical appearance of the country was not desired, but it more importantly affects the surrounding plants and wildlife.

Both of these developments relate directly to my hometown of Rochester, PA. Rochester being a suburb of Pittsburgh was impacted by the amount of pollution being produced by the surrounding steel mills. Laws were put in place requiring vehicles to pass not only vehicle inspection, but also an emissions test. Unlike in California however, there have not been tax incentives for the automotive manufacturers to produce these low emissions vehicles. In order to sustain suitable living conditions however, cars still need to meet a standard. With most of the mills closed, air pollution is not what it once was in Pittsburgh and the surrounding towns like Rochester, but all vehicles must still pass inspection proving this to be a beneficial sustainable development. Also relating to Rochester is Ireland’s Plastic Bag Environmental Levy. Though a much smaller scale, Rochester has made readily available plastic bag recycling deposits available for those in the community at the local grocery stores. This is not quite as large as the ban that Ireland put in place, but it dramatically reduces the amount of plastic waste and litter in our community.

Module #4

Posted on February 11, 2016 by mcb5605

After living in Branchburg, New Jersey for 18 years I’ve never quite known where my water came from. Being close to New York my town used city water. The city water originally came from rivers including the Raritan River, Millstone River, Delaware and Raritan Canal and about 130 wells. The water treatment center from American Water pumps approximately 145 gallons to the surrounding towns. This water goes through a series of underground pipes connected to the water plant. Before the reservoir, however, the water must go through a series of filtration systems in order to remove any contaminants. This filtration system often includes the use of chlorine and magnesium and calcium ions to bond with and capture biological contaminants. After the water comes from the tap, toilet (etc…) water is used and disposed of down the pipes it is taken to the regional sewage treatment plant, in my case Somerset Raritan Sewage and properly disposed of from there.

When figuring out how much water I use each day, I found that I use the most during my showers. However, since downtown State College apartments tend to be quite old I would assume my shower head is not water saving, therefore letting out 16 gallons per minute..(“Ouch”, says the Environment). So taking a 30 minute (more or less) takes up about 150 gallons. After cutting that out, I asked my roommates to refrain from running the dishwasher until it was completely full, that saved about 16 gallons. Next, I made sure I turned the sink on as little as possible during tooth brushing and hand washing which required some major quick reflex usage. Luckily, I don’t drink much water anyway, just because I am forgetful, so that was easy to cut down…I will admit I was pretty thirsty and just sipped on the water to make it seem like I was drinking more. The final usage was the toilet… however, I am not sure the “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” way to live is for public spaces in my mind. In conclusion, in order to cut back on water more, I can use more quick reflexes to turn the water off quickly as well as try to cut down of luxury showers/taking one every day. As for toilet water usage, many of the toilets in my building have 2 settings for “how much water needs to be used”, so making sure I use the correct option can really make a difference.

Daily Water Usage – K. Leimkuhler

Posted on February 10, 2016 by kwl5211

a). I live in Chester County, Pennsylvania. More specifically, I am from Paoli, a smaller town within Chester County. This area is approximately twenty miles west of Philadelphia. Using http://www.chesco.org/158/Water-Resources-Authority I was able to get a wealth of knowledge about the source of water for not only my county, but my town specifically. I also gained an understanding about the treatments that it goes through to get from the source to my faucet! Chester Country has approximately 2,438 miles of streams, creeks, and tributaries, and 780 square miles of underlying watersheds. These aquifers and streams exist as 21 watersheds. Paoli resides within the Valley Creek watershed. A water shed is bordered by natural boundaries (mountains, hills, etc.) that keep precipitation and runoff within that area. It is from this watershed that Paoli sources its water supply. After the water collection process, it goes through the the seven main steps of the water purification process: Coagulation, Flocculation, Sedimentation, Disinfection, pH Adjustment, Fluoridation, and Filtration. These steps are pretty integral to all water purification processes and after seeing these steps outlined on CCWRA I was able to look online for a more in-depth explanation about what each step was responsible for.

b). Below is my water usage chart for a single day. Obviously this can change with the day if I happen not to run the dishwasher, need to do laundry, or anything else. I think this demonstrates a fairly accurate day.

Water Use	Occurences	Total # Gallons
Teeth Brushings	2	2
Hand Washings	4	4
Face Shavings	1	1
Showers (10 mins.)	2	100
Toilet Flushes	4	12
Water I Drank (8 oz.)	8	0.5
Dishwasher Loads	1	10
		129.5

c). Living on two gallons would be quite the drastic change to my daily habits! I always take take a shower in the morning, and I always take a shower when I get home from practice. Eliminating these showers would take me down to 29.5 daily gallons. I would continue to eliminate all forms of hygiene (teeth brushing, hand washing, and face shaving) so that my daily gallons would decrease down to 22.5. If I was in a location like Mozambique or Haiti, I would imagine I wouldn’t have access to toilet flushing as easily or dishwasher loads. After that I’m pretty much at my .5 gallons of drinking water and any additional water for washing my clothes/dishes. I think this example is extremely dependent on your location; 2 gallons with normal human interaction (not smelling bad) in a place like Pennsylvania would be very disruptive.

From my daily water usage today my main water usage came from showering, dishwasher loads, and toilet flushes. I think priority wise, this is a fairly decent water usage table. Its under the average water usage for someone in the United States, and even though two showers represent 83% of my water usage, two showers is perfectly normal especially after exercising. I think if I were to look at cutting down my water usage, I would eliminate my shower in the meaning (thus cutting my water usage by 60%. To reference the paragraph above, I think two gallons a day in the location I am would fail. Not using water on any hygiene would be extremely noticeable to my peers and would simply be disruptive to my daily life. I think this really highlights how geography accounts for water usage. The area that I live in (both geographically and economically) allow me to use the water that I do. I were in a different location such as Mozambique or Haiti, this would be a totally different situation.

Module 4- Personal Water Supply and Usage

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Sabrina Ann Hecht

I live in a town called South Brunswick in central New Jersey I happen to live very close to our water supply. We get our supply of water from underground aquifers usually in Elizabethtown. I have never realized, but as I drive on Miller Road and through the places bordering my town I have passed by places that we get our water supply from. Most places in my town get there water from aquifers and our water is all underground. However, I do know that there is an older part of South Brunswick that only get their water from personal wells. There are around four places in South Brunswick that has wells, one on Jamesburg Road, Georges Road, Broadway Road and Miller Road. The South Brunswick Water Division owns all of the wells in the township. They have a range of depth from 118 to 170 feet and they were all completed in between 1963 and 1998.

TOTAL: 67.3 gallons

The top three areas of water use that I prioritize for this experiments are cooking drinking and washing. The biggest struggle to cut down water use is definitely coming from my morning shower. I like to take a shower in the morning to wake myself up, however with restricted water it can not nearly be as long as usual, in fact I could not even take a shower I have to change my shower to more of a sponge bath since showers use 2 gallons of water per minute at least. Not only do I have to cut down my morning shower to a sponge bath but I have to make sure that there is enough water to cook and clean the dishes after. Instead of boiling my broccoli as I sometimes like to do I would have to bake it or pan fry instead since most of my water will be used up by bathing. At first I thought that I could scratch having cooking water so that I could add water to my sponge bath however once I thought about it I realized that if I didn’t clean my dishes then I could potentially get bugs or have mold form and I also had to use the bathroom. Overall my whole day is dependent on water and depending on my geography I may feel the need to use more water especially in a much hotter climate.

Module 4 Samarth Arora

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Samarth Arora

Water Supply in India

1a) India is a developing country and so the water supply and water sanitation isn’t the best there. India lacks the financial resources to obtain the best possible system and sanitation. Water is extracted from the rivers in India but before doing so the area is checked whether it is economically possible to build the irrigation system to collect water. Then after barriers like dams are built to stop the excess flow of water. After this process the water is collected using intake structures such as a siphon, reservoir bottom valve, or outlet sluice, which is attached to the dam, then the water is supplied to pipelines through which they enter houses or areas where the water is required. Water is also collected from small water bodies like ponds using smaller intake structures. However in certain small towns and villages large and small water bodies don’t exist and so a large reservoir is connected underground with power stations generating power and electricity to allow the flow of water from pipelines to the small towns and villages.

1b) I chose a weekday Tuesday as it is one of the days where I use most of the water.

Activity	Number of times/ minutes	Amount of water
Shower	15 minutes	20 Gallons
Flush/ Hand Wash	5	28 Gallons
Tooth Brush	2	4 Gallons
Drinking	6	1 Gallon
Laundry	1	25 Gallon

Total: 78 Gallons

1c) This was a difficult experiment to conduct as I was trying to limit myself to only two gallons of water the whole day. It was nearly impossible for me to last the day with only two gallons. Brushing my teeth and washing my face used up about quarter of a gallon and another gallon and a half went on drinking. Using the toilet is a necessity and so flushing used up a lot of the water. Flushing itself pushed me over the two-gallon limit and so I was unsuccessful with this experiment. Even without using the flush and taking a shower I feel like I wouldn’t be able to survive on only two gallons. After calculating and realizing that I use an average of 78 gallons a day I knew it would be difficult to survive on two gallons. Therefore, on average I use 39 times more water than the average person in Haiti. Geography plays an important role in terms of water as it discusses the way to transfer the water from places and uses certain resources that are available in only certain areas. The location matters a lot when it comes to water and all these points come under Geography.

Module 4 – Devin Walk

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Devin Walk

I live in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania specifically in Benner Township. We get our water from the Spring Creek watershed. It flows into the well in my backyard, where it then goes through our water softener and then through the facets. From there, the water flows down the drain to the main water line that is under the Bellefonte Wastewater Treatment Area.

Here is my table depicting my activities for one day that I used water.

Activity	Use	Estimate
Drinking Water (Acadia water)	Two 16 ounce water bottles	32 oz
Shower	Once, 7 minutes	12 gallons
Use the restroom	Four times	2.5 gallons x 4 = 10 gallons
Brush Teeth	Twice	16 oz total

In order for myself to live on two gallons of water for a whole day, I would have to change my daily activities. Two gallons would equal 256 ounces. I would continue to drink two 16 oz water bottles, leaving me with 214 ounces. I would change how long I shower and only take like a one minute shower, only turning the water on to get myself wet and then turn off the water and wash my hair and stuff then turn it back on to rinse myself off. Hopefully that wouldn’t use more than a gallon of water. According to the USGS, a one minute shower uses two gallons of water, but that’s with continuous use. So maybe my method would consume less water. If I were to try this I know I would fail just because flushing the toilet once loses 2.5 gallons of water and I’m not just going to not flush because that’s gross. Geography matters to water use because in areas that are well developed, such as first world countries, we are able to drill deeper into the ground for water, irrigate water, and/or filter water from lakes/streams to use in our water supply. Whereas third world countries don’t have the money or resources to do that and they tend to be in more arid climates which makes finding a water source more challenging.

Zoe Schulte – Water Usage Post

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Zoe Katherine Schulte

1-a Water Supply Chain
In my hometown, Erie, PA our water is sourced from the lake. It is then taken from the lake to the waterworks industry that filters it and clarifies it for drinking/its other uses. It is held there in different piping systems that are then directed to where it needs to go for use.If you don’t use a water well system, it is then sent through other piping systems that direct it to homes for use.After the water is used, it is drained and set to a sewage system.

1-b Daily Usage
1 shower- 30 gallons
Brush teeth- 2 gallons
Washing dishes by hand- 40 gallons
Washing hands-2 gallons
Flushing toilet- 15 gallons
Drank at least 6 glasses of water-50 ounces
Total= 89.40 gallons of water a day

1-c Living on Two Gallons of Water
Living on two gallons of water per day seems nearly impossible. When you put it into a visual perspective it makes it even harder to imagine how those in developing countries or anywhere where water is a restricted source can live efficiently. In my life it doesn’t seem as though anything could get done with using only two gallons of water. Necessities such as bathing and brushing your teeth have to be well thought out in order to use such a small amount of water.I cook everyday, drink many bottles of water, and take 1- 2 showers a day. In order to cut down on my water use I had to think about every move I made regarding water. When brushing my teeth I made it a priority to shut off of the water while brushing my teeth and only kept the faucet running when I really needed it on. Instead of taking up to 40 minute showers I cut that down to at most 20 minutes and also washed the dishes in smaller loads instead of washing over 30 dishes at once while leaving the faucet on the whole time. This experiment shows that it is almost impossible in my life to use only 2 gallons of water. Just showering uses more than 2 gallons even if I cut down my time by 20 minutes. This experiment was a failure to me because I do a lot of things through out my daily routine that I need water for.Geography matters to water use depending on many things. If the location is a desert, there will clearly not be as much water as there would be somewhere that has a lot of rainfall. It can also depend on the temperature of the region. If the location is warmer, often times the water can have more bacteria in it then colder water. Those that live in areas that are constantly warm could be using more contaminated water.

Module 4 – Kevin Hosterman

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Kevin Frederick Hosterman

I am from right here in State College and live only about ten minutes away from main campus. The water supply to my house comes from the State College Borough Water Authority. The water is collected by SCBWA through their 7 Well Fields and the Shingletown reservoir. The water is piped from these two sources into a 6 million gallon per day water treatment plant. In this treatment plant it undergoes the process of fluoridation to prepare it for households. The borough owns over 270 miles of water mains in the State College area and neighboring areas. Through these water mains the water is pumped to each customer’s household such as my own into water tanks. Excess or wasted water is pumped back to the water treatment plant in which the process begins all over again.

One Day of Water

Flush toilet: 4 times = 12 gallons

Wash hands: 8 times = 8 gallons

Take shower: 2 times/15 minutes each = 150 gallons

Drinking water: 8 cups = .5 gallons

Brush teeth: 2 times = 1 gallon

Dishwasher: 1 time = 10 gallons

Total = 181.5 Gallons

I don’t think I could ever live off of two gallons of water a day because I use almost 100 times that on a daily basis. If I had to live off of that with no other option my top three priorities would be drinking water, cooking water, and water to wash my hands. All other things although very nice, are not absolutely necessary in order to get by. I tried for a day to cut down my water usage by taking only one short five minute shower, and turning the water off when brushing my teeth. My experiment of living off of only two gallons failed when I had used up my entire two gallons in the first half of the day and couldn’t go on without washing my hands.

Geography is extremely important to water use because depending on where you are water can be a very scarce or very bountiful. For example if you live in the desert there obviously isn’t a lot of extra water due to it almost never raining. While on the other hand if you live near a freshwater lake or mountains where rainfall is regular then you could be free to use it when you need it.

Lexie Gersbacher, Syracuse Water Supply

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Alexus Marie Gersbacher

1a.) The primary water supply for the City of Syracuse is Skaneateles Lake, a “Finger Lake” located approximately 20 miles southwest of the City. Skaneateles Lake has a relatively small watershed of 59 square miles along with a water surface area of 13.6 square miles. My county, known as the Onondaga County, their agency, known as the Metropolitan Water Board (MWB), constructed a water line between Lake Ontario and Syracuse. As a result, the City is able to supplement its Skaneateles Lake water supply with Lake Ontario water when necessary. The City normally relies upon Lake Ontario water during times when drought conditions limit the available supply from Skaneateles, during emergencies, or during periods of high consumption. The Syracuse water system is made up of over 500 miles of pipelines to deliver water from Skaneateles Lake to the City and to distribute the water throughout the City. The water supply system consists of water storage in Woodland and Westcott Reservoirs on the west side of the City. Water is also stored in two standpipes and in the three tanks that comprise Morningside Reservoir. After usage, water is then returned to a WasteWater Treatment plant. There are six different WasteWater treatment plant locations around the city of Syracuse.

1b.)

1c.) When given the challenge of only using 2 gallons of water, I knew I was going to fail. Besides the huge water usage for showering, my second largest water usage activity was toilet flushing and my hand washing water usage was right behind that. I counted that I washed my hands 10 times the day that I tracked my activity. I am a huge germ-a-phone so I am constantly washing my hands. Also, the day I recorded my activity, I was at work which is in a restaurant, so that calls for a little more hand washes than usual. Clean water is such a norm for majority of people in the U.S. I feel like we tend to forget how fortunate we are. Being limited to only 2 gallons a day, like they are in Mozambique and Haiti, is not a to of water at all. I use nearly 2 gallons of water alone just to wash my face on any given day. I don’t let the water run when I brush my teeth, that’s one of there very few ways I’m proactive in cutting down water usage. If I was limited in my usage, cooking and drinking would be my main priority, followed by cleaning. Geography plays a huge role in water use because not all places are in a spot where water can easily get to them, therefore limiting the usage amount per person. Even though I live in a city, as explained above, we have a lot of pipes that bring our water into us.

Module 3

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Samarth Arora

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

I feel like it is important perform good acts rather to be a good person, as people have the tendency to show or portray someone they are not. Performing good acts shows the kind of person you really are. Although being a good person is important it is easy to fake the kind of person you are. Performing good acts is not only beneficial to oneself but in fact it can help other people tremendously as well, which is where I feel like ethics really lies, doing good to your own people and to the people around you. Also, performing good acts in some way makes you a good person although not necessarily it still gives the intentions to people that you are a good person and are doing good thins for the benefit of other people. The actions you take always stand out which is the main reason I would choose performing good acts over being a good person.

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

Yes in my opinion they are, the decisions we make and actions we take are usually calculated similar to procedural justice. I feel like the importance lies in the decision making part of the process. When making decisions we analyze the possible actions we can take and the possible consequences or outcomes of those decisions. Although the possible outcomes may not be certain and predictions may vary it is still important to address all the decisions and outcomes when making decisions. The process is also important as it gives the person making the decision a sense of relief, that all outcomes have been analyzed and the consequences of each action were discussed. Also the level of the decision to be made makes a difference for example converting a land you bought into building or keeping the nature aspect of it, decisions like this take vital analysis. From a geographical perspective one would like to maintain the nature aspect however, from a business perspective you would want to build on that land. Therefore, the decision-making aspect is the more important.

Is my own life worth more than the lives of others, the same, or less (selfishness vs. altruism)?

This question is a lot harder to answer than the rest, however the answer to this question will vary a lot from what people are actually thinking. Obviously people would say they are selfless and their lives are worth equal to others but when it comes to a life or death situation I feel like majority of people would put themselves above others most of the time, I know I would. However, the importance of ones life depends a lot on the other person’s life you are comparing it to. For example if there are two robbers and one is doing it for fun but the other is doing it due to unfortunate circumstances in his life, whose life would be worth more? Well for me obviously the one with unfortunate circumstances in his life. Also when it comes to family or one of my close best friends the importance of my life deteriorates for me. I would give more importance to my family and all the close people in my life depending on the situation. So finally, the answer of this question varies a lot depending on the people and the situation.

Ethics Opinions

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Ryan Michael Kramer

4) Ecosystems matter for their own sake rather than on humans because in the end, nature has more control than the human race. Looking back in time, there have been several instances where the Earth has gone through mass extinctions. In these time periods, a large majority of the Earth’s species were eliminated all at once. With that in mind, it is somewhat selfish to think that the human race will be able to withstand nature. Human’s need ecosystems to thrive; however, it’s a one way street since ecosystems don’t need humans. Ecosystems have been around for billions of years which is significantly longer than the time humans have been alive. In conclusion, if the entire human race was to disappear, nature would thrive retaking over the planet. If ecosystems were to disappear, humanity would be quickly extinguished due to their dependence on nature.

5) As a human, I think it is natural to believe that the human species is more important than all other species. You see that with today’s society because even though we know pollution is harmful to other species, humans continue to pollute the environment. For example, it is well-known that both coral reefs and rain forests are the most bio diverse places on earth, yet for some reason people still have no remorse in destroying the sacred ecosystems. Not all human’s hate the environment. Some believe that humans are not the most important species and because of that they try to protect other animals. For example, it isn’t in our best interest for species to go extinct. This is why national parks exist, in hope to preserve nature and support the needs of other species. In the end, I think half of human population believes that humans pleasure and pain is more important than any other species, and the other half feels the opposite way.

6) Of course generically speaking most people will say that their own life is worth more than someone else’s. It’s a natural tendency to be confident in yourself and believe that you are greater than you actually are. With that being said, there are rare cases upon which someone truly thinks of others before themselves. Personally I think that depending on the other person, I could value my life as greater than, less than or equal to another person’s life. In my mind, I’d rate this based off of productivity in society. If there was someone smarter, more creative and hard-working than me I would value their life higher than mine. On the opposite side of the spectrum, if the person was lazy and careless I would like to believe that I am more important than that person.

Getting to Know You-Madison Halbom

Posted on February 1, 2016 by mbh5193

Hello fellow Geog 030 students!

My name is Madison Halbom, I am a junior studying Environmental Systems Engineering at University Park. I transferred here this school year from the Abington campus. I was born and raised in Perkasie, PA about an hour outside of Philly. I plan on pursuing a job in the field of environmental engineering hopefully working in the area of water treatment. My interest in this course is to learn about the other nations and societies in the world and differences between my culture and theirs. I have only been out of the country to Mexico so I find other countries very interesting and would really love to travel to many places when I get older. Some fun facts about me is that I am a twin, my sisters name is Darby and she goes to Kutztown University located also in PA. I also have an older sister that teaches first grade in a low income area in North Carolina and a brother who is studying Civil Engineering at San Jose State in California.

Now with an introduction to various perspectives of geography, I consider a very interesting topic in the area of geography to be the interactions of the environment on humanity and the effect of humanity on the environment. A concept to consider is Governance, how people are forced to take into consideration the environment and how it may limit there choices. An example of this is the water resources in California, they are very limited, this being the case residents in areas of California needs to consider the risk of wild fires and lack of water in the earth and available to them. Also another concept is how human activities and humanity can exist and prosper without hurting or taking negative effects on the environment is known as the concept of sustainability. When I consider this concept I think of the efforts in rural PA working to preserve farmlands from being bought and developed with town-homes. This is a big issue in my home county of Bucks and we are constantly working to preserve the farmlands as much as possible to we maintain so of the environments integrity while living in the same community.

Module 3 Blog Post

Posted on January 30, 2016 by Zoe Katherine Schulte

Is my own life worth more than the lives of others, the same, or less (selfishness vs.altruism)?
It is easy to believe that when it comes down to it, you would do anything to help the others around you. You would put aside your own basic wants and needs to help the ones you love, but would you help them if it affected something important in your own life? Would you sacrifice something that meant the world to you to the people who mean the world to you.This is what I personally believe altruism is. If my family and friends were in need and what I had to do would effect me drastically forever I would choose my family and friends over anything.This doesn’t just regard my family and friends. Being unselfish can effect anything around you. It is easy for anyone to say that when it comes down to it, the last thing you would be is selfish, but in my case I will always mean it. The people, places, animals, regardless of poor or sick mean something to our earth and lives and sacrifices will always have to be taken to protect them. I think that the way you perceive this view (selfishness vs. altruism) is what really makes you who you are and what your character is. No ones life will ever be worth more than another. It is important to look at each individual as human and know that they impact the world just as much as you do. They have every right and reason to be living on this planet as you do.

Is it important to be a good person or perform good acts (virtue ethics vs. action ethics)?
The first thing that comes to mind when you talk about virtue vs. action is our present day society. I believe that if you think something is truly important to you, you will take action to help that issue or solve that problem. If you simply say “This world issue means a lot to me” but don’t take any action to back that up, does it really mean anything to you? Many people today can put their views all over social media, but never do anything to show why they really feel that way and help society out.If you care about something you should be able to take action to attribute your view and get your opinion across to society. Feeling strongly about something and taking action towards what you feel strongly about are two entirely different things. It is more important to perform good acts than to just think about being a good person.
Do the pleasure and pain of non-human animals matter as much as the pleasure and pain of humans(speciesism)?
Speciesism is a major concept of ethics that I think can get entirely overlooked. As it said in the module, speciesism can relate to things such as racism and sexism and in that case it is more present in our lives because we are always being educated on it. But, we often overlook the feelings and emotions of animals compared to humans. This is one thing that makes it easy to understand what speciesism is. Animal cruelty is an issue that unfortunately spreads across our whole world. Some humans don’t take into consideration that these animals or as they see it “non-humans” don’t have emotions. Scientific research has conducted that animals feel emotions just as strongly as we do, but people will unethically throw them out on the streets, abandon them, or beat them because of their own views. The pleasure and pain of these animals matter just as much as if you saw someone getting beat up on the street or feeling emotional about walking by someone who might be homeless. Each living thing has emotions and feelings and no matter the circumstance, each human, whether person or dog feels pain and pleasure and they all matter.

Module 2-Jason Brown

Posted on January 28, 2016 by jrb6147

My diagram shows what the original problem was and how it was solved to help the community. It started off with the stoves. The people were worried about the negative impacts that the smoke had on their health and how damaging it was to the environment. Trees had to be taken down for firewood and the kids were missing school to help their mom cook so they could eat. Then, a positive feedback loop was created with the introduction of the biogas system. People started to recycle cow dung which polluted the village and turned it into usable methane gas. This not only stopped the killing of trees, but it lead to no more smoke. Also, the leftover mixture could then be used to fertilize the fields and sold to other local villagers for profit. Now because of this, there will be more waste in the future. Profit will rise. There will be more jobs to keep this running. The loop will keep going and the village’s health will greatly improve.

The diagram that the book showed had very specific terms just like mine did. I tried to put mine into social and ecosystem like the book and it kind of worked. We both connected everything together and showed how one box lead to another.The main difference is mine not having as much info as the books. I could have connected more items. These similarities and differences exist because we both looked at this system in different ways. We saw how different activities connected to each other. We can see how the bigger issues break off into smaller subtopics by looking at these diagrams and see the true drivers of the system.

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Sabrina Ann Hecht

One of the core ideas in my diagram is that with the advancement of biogas the health of this specific indian community was vastly helped. I also tried to show how the wealth of the community is almost solely based off of the compost or in other words, part of the ecosystem. This community started their journey for a stove fuel by using firewood which then started to cause problems with being exposed to dirty air. This could be an example of a positive feedback loop because every time they burned firewood the dirtier the air that they lived in became. This community then showed its resilience in that it searched for a new way to better their air and livelihood as a community by using biogas to power their stoves. The organization of my diagram is actually very similar to figure 1.5. I also decided to split up my diagram into two separate sides instead of making one large map. they are different in that I happen to have an equal amount of boxes on both sides of my diagram where as in figure 1.5 there were much more topics on the social systems side. I think that in the future I could perhaps focus more on the connections between the ecosystem and social system rather than focusing on matching one ecosystem topic per social system topic.

Biogas Module 2

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Samarth Arora

My diagram shows the effect of the social and environment with and without the use of biogas. The arrows and the information next to it are to show what the boxes connected to the arrow are about. For my diagram I looked at the landscape part of module 2. I looked at how the introduction of biogas to India has helped improve the landscape and what the negative impacts were without the use of biogas. The introduction not only reduced the time for cooking but also reduced pollution, as firewood was not widely used anymore thus reducing deforestation. These aspects of the biogas helped prevent destroying the landscape.

Martens diagram has a lot of similarities to the diagram I have created with some minor differences. We have both discussed about the biogas technology and looked at the human/ social and environmental effects. However the difference I find between our diagrams is that he has looked more into the links between the social and environmental uses where as I have gone into more detail about how biogas has helped improve the environment. The similarities have occurred due to the fact we are discussing the similar topic of social and environment links to biogas. However, the differences occur as I have gone more into detail about the positive benefits to social and environmental factors using biogas.

Diagram on Biogas

Posted on January 27, 2016 by klt5326

The idea of my figure is supposed to show many positives of the biogas and negatives of having to use firewood. Many children loose valuable school time due to their time spent looking for wood in order to have food to eat. In addition the firewood and cooking on the fire stove can lead to health issues for the children and family. Although it is only in a diagram I tried to illustrate that the ecosystems and social system interact with each other which leads to affects on both sides. The poor ecosystem in India leads to human health depravity, and as a result humans affect the ecosystem adversely by chopping down trees and other such things. There is some good benefits to the biogases. As we learned in module 2 there are benefits of coal technology because it reduces deforestation however increases air pollution. The biogas not only produces energy to stop deforestation but also uses gas that is already being given off even if it were not used! My diagram is somewhat different than that of Figure 1.5 in some categories. Their diagram has a lot of farm and tree boxes and mine has more of the elements that have to do with fuel. I think both diagrams do show the positives of the biogases by showing effects and the processes of them. I feel as though both are more the same because biogas seems to have the same effect in all areas. I think we can learn through both diagrams that it is beneficial to use the biogases for not the country of India but the whole world!

Blog Post – Module 2

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Zoe Katherine Schulte

System Diagram

The core ideas behind my diagram incorporate the way humans effect their environment systems. The video shows how biogas is changing the way people are effected in India and the way its also effecting their ecosystem. The system diagram shows how they all relate and how one effect from the biogas leads to another, but in the end they all benefit each other. My diagram is similar to the one from the “What is Ecology” reading because the social system and ecosystem main points relate to the ones in the video. On the social side of the diagram, you see why and how the biogas is effected the values of the people such as more time for studying and working which then effects how their society can make a better income. Whats different about my diagram is the way it is set up. I think that each diagram relays the same information, but can be set up differently depending on the way you want to share your topics or what you might think is most important compared to someone else. This is also why there are similarities and differences. What I thought was most important to take from the video could have been a minor issue to someone else making the same type of diagram.By comparing both diagrams, you can learn what equally effects a social system and an ecosystem.

Garrett Webster Diagram

Posted on January 25, 2016 by gcw5036

Introduction

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Dustin J Welch

Hi. My name is Dustin Welch. I am 32, married with one child, and I live in Texas. I grew up in the Seattle area for most of my life. I joined the Marine Corps in 2006 to help cover my college expenses and spent 9 years in the service. I have since joined the Texsa National Guard to continue to serve. My early career goals were to become an attorney, as I focused my first BA in Law & Society. That changed as I was nearing the end of my military obligations and I ended up as a logistics & Project manager for a company that builds stadiums and bleachers. I love my job and all the perks that come along with it. As an avid sports fan, I get to be hands on with numerous projects and talk sports with customers. This course is not required for my current degree, International Relations, but I have always been interested in human impact on the environment. In my line of work we have to work within regulations set by various environmental agencies.

One thing I hope to learn more about in the course is sustainability. Before moving to Texas, I was stationed in Twentynine Palms, CA. When I left California in 2014, they were in the one of the worst droughts in many decades. Water was, and still is a premium commodity. To do their part, the base I was stationed on recycled water to use for irrigation. Although it was not potable and smelled terribly, it reduced the amount of water waste, while also keeping everything green. Although this is a small example, I feel like communities could implement something similar to allow homeowners to use recycled water to water lawns (my HOA requires our grass to be green even though we were under water restrictions until 2 months ago).

Getting to know Peter Han

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Peter Lee Han

My name is Peter Han and I am currently a freshman at Penn State University Park. I live in Niles, Michigan but grew up in Saint Joseph, Michigan. My intended major is mechanical engineering. Within this major, I will be able to look at the way things work and explore many different areas. I am not sure what field of mechanical engineering that I would like to go into yet. I love playing and watching sports especially hockey and football. I passionately support all Detroit professional teams. I decided to take this course because I have been interested in the impact humans make on the earth since a class I took in high school. I also wanted a chance to get away from endless math and physics courses that I have been taking.

Natural hazards have an impact on human activity everyday and were discussed in this module with the introduction of the drought in California. These types of hazards have a major affect on humans living in the area. The topic I am discussing is human-environment interactions. Much of the California’s drought is caused by climate change, which has been shown to be a result of the burning of fossil fuels and release of pollutants into the atmosphere. Humans and the environment affect each other. Because of this drought, California is suffering because their farmers cannot irrigate properly in order to grow produce, which is widely shipped and traded throughout the United States, thus affecting the economy. Humans are also suffering water shortages in California. Climate change caused by humans impacts the environment and wildlife that requires water. These issues can be addressed through sustainability, where humans can work to rebuild the environment and California’s water supply.

Chase Sandler, Overpopulation

Posted on January 20, 2016 by ces5545

Hi all. My name is Chase Sandler and I am a senior in the Information Sciences and Technologies program here at Penn State. Currently, I live in the Centre Court apartment building. As a kid, I grew up in Long Island, New York, in a town called Plainview. I have had some internship experience as a Systems Analyst at two different software companies. I would like to work my way up to a Project Manager level position after some experience as a analyst. In this course, I hope to learn some new things that I did not have prior knowledge of. I do not have too much knowledge of the topics in this course, so I am excited to find out what it is all about. As a side note, I am in the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity, I love to watch football, my favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys, and my dog is 16 years old.

Based off of this lesson, scale is a major factor within the field of geography. Scale determines how big or small something is. This factor can decide whether certain events are catastrophic, minor, or something in between. One example of an issue that relates to scale is overpopulation. Overpopulation is an issue that has plagued our world for decades. Each year the world population exceeds that of the previous year. This can have an effect on food/water scarcities, disease, economies, and just plain old space to live. The scale of this issue is becoming larger each day.

Getting to Know You

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Zoe Katherine Schulte

Hello GEOG 030! My name is Zoe Schulte and I am currently a freshman at Penn State Behrend in Erie, Pa.I currently live in New Jersey, but I consider Erie my hometown as I have lived here almost my whole life. My major is Early childhood education and I am also pursuing a minor in psychology. My dream is to travel abroad and be able to educate those who are less fortunate and living in countries that don’t have the proper foundations to have the type of education we are lucky to have. I am taking this course for a general education requirement, but one topic that interests me is the way humans impact our world and would like to continue expanding my knowledge on that topic!

As mentioned in my first paragraph, the one topic that interests me the most is human-environment interactions. Something that has had a lot of attention quite recently is global warming or climate change. This has been something that is very interesting to learn about because there are so many factors that go into why the world is being shaped the way it is, and how we as humans are doing so. It is very important to start bringing awareness to those who don’t know much about the decline of our worlds ecological systems and how our living styles can change the way they work or even eventually disappear. Seeing the photo in Module 1 of the drought in California was very impacting and its important to understand how that drought will start affecting the world around it.

Module 1 – Getting to Know You

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Ashlee Rene Hammonds

Hello, my name is Ashlee Hammonds. I am from Waynesboro, Pennsylvania which is right along the Maryland border and I have lived there my whole life. I am a sophmore at Penn State, however this is my first semster in World Campus. My current major is IST and I would like to major in Geography. I am hoping to get a job in the PA DCNR because being involved in the outdoors is my favorite thing. I would like to do something along the lines of GIS or mapping, I’ve always had a tough time deciding what I really wanted to do as a career. I am interested in this course because geography is one of my favorite topics. There are so many different aspects to geography and I want to learn as much as I can about all of these different subjects.

One area of the class that I really want to learn about is the human and environment interactions. The way we interact has so many causes and effects and we need to know/understand how the way we are interacting with the environment is hurting or helping it. I want to understand how decisions are made that involve very important changes to our environment. I am excited to learn more as we continue through the class and I am sure I will still enjoy geography just as much if not more when the semester is over.