Earthquakes

A) Write a summary of an article on the environment that was published in The New York Times between 1/22 and 1/28. This assignment is for 150 words. ANCHORAGE — The people of Alaska, spurred by the threat of a massive underwater earthquake which could result in a tsunami, evacuated the safety of their homes at midnight. Authorities had transformed schools into temporary evacuation units and citizens flocked there, parking their automobiles at Walmart and Safeway parking lots. Several rushed to the safe higher ground provided by Pillar Mountain.

However, fortunately, the tsunami didn’t occur and in 4 hours’ time, the tsunami warning issued between Alaska and the Mexican-American border was lifted (Burke, Blinder and Fountain 17). This sudden panic across the Pacific coast commenced following US Geological Survey reports of an earthquake of magnitude 7.9, half an hour after midnight (Alaskan Gulf time).

While authorities claimed nobody reported any immediate loss of life or property, according to the US National Tsunami Warning Center, a minor tsunami (wave height <8”) occurred in Kodiak, Seward and some other Alaskan cities (Burke, Blinder and Fountain 17) The quake took place roughly 175 miles to the Kodiak Island’s southeast, in an area that comes under a major subduction zone, in which a huge plate or section of the world’s surface (the Pacific floor, in this instance) is sliding gradually below a second plate, namely, the continent of North America.

This earthquake transpired almost 7 years following a 9.0 magnitude quake in Japan, which is the most severe quake recorded in that region to date. The Japanese quake triggered a massive tsunami which overcame coastal Japan’s sea walls, triggered the well-known Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power plant crisis, and took no less than 15,000 lives (Burke, Blinder and Fountain 17).

B) Based on the total range of energy options you read about in the book, what direction do you think the United States (or any other country you choose) should be heading toward for its future energy requirements? 200 words. It is vital for America’s economy to initiate a shift towards renewable energy, founded on inexhaustible sources like solar energy and hydrogen. Stewardship, or managing ecosystem, marketable natural resource and ecosystem capital, proves crucial to attaining a future of sustainable energy.

Target Earth International, a Belizean NGO (Non-Government Organization), has adopted renewable energy sources in all cases possible, thereby establishing an example for other companies. The nation ought to consider adopting such a strategy as well, envisioning a future where all school- and church- tops will have solar panels, all college campuses will hold wind turbines, and initiatives will be implemented for biogas energy system delivery (Locklear).

Scientific circles are contributing to measures adopted for practical implementation of this goal through bringing about improvements in solar photovoltaic cell technology, for decreasing its price and ensuring its competitiveness with traditional sources of energy; solar dish and trough manufacture; consideration of low-speed wind turbines and biomass technology; and considering hydrogen technology to achieve a future dependent mainly on renewable energy. Ecosystem capital represents an expensive trade-off if one employs hydroelectric power.

Maintaining massive reservoirs of water behind dams serves to destroy natural habitats and leads to the destruction and displacement of local species, including human beings. Dams hamper natural water flow, hindering natural fish travel and simultaneously leading to downstream destruction owing to variations in water flow. Ecosystem and related services and products constitute an expensive hydroelectric power trade-off, undermining this.