Soil Erosion Essays (Examples)

The sediments that are deposited in the stream cover up these areas, sometimes even entombing young fish and eggs." (DEP, 2008)

The lack of vegetation also does not act as a sieve to capture the soil. Muddy water also created an environment where the water temperature increases killing any micro organisms that feed at the river bed. Faster movement of water also creates deeper channels and creates wider rivers during storms. (Sotir, 1998) Excessive run off and soil are creating downstream flooding conditions that have been unprecedented when compared to the past. Homes and businesses have been significantly impacted by the new problem as insurance rates and the cost of maintaining a house or business is also on the rise.

irds and animals that depend on the river's ecosystem are also impacted by the new stream flow and quality of water. Excessive silting of rivers might cause flooding in traditional…

Rainfall Simulation Studies to Estimate Soil Erosion as Influenced by Rainfall Intensity and Slope in Four Distinct Soils

(1) To investigate the effect of slope angle and rainfall intensities on soil erosion under controlled conditions using four (4) distinct soil types; (2) To compare this data with that for a cropped plot; and (3) To highlight an approach at estimating erosion risk and nutrient loss.

Soil erosion or the wearing away of soil due to the effects of water, wind, tillage and other factors. Rain erosion is the wearing away of soil and this is known as 'splash erosion'. If the rainfall has sufficient intensity then the kinetic energy of raindrops as they hit the bare soil detaches and moves soil particles. Considerable amounts of soil may be moved by rainsplash however, the soil is stated to be "redistributed back over the surface of the soil" although there will be…

ainfall Simulation Studies to Estimate Soil Erosion as Influenced by ainfall Intensity and Slope in Four Distinct Soils

Conservation of soil and other natural resources is critically important for all stakeholders in today's society. The work of Dumanski (2009) reports that soil conservation importance along with the control and mitigation of land degradation are more highly recognized now than at any time in the past." The significance of this study is first, the additional knowledge that will be applied to the already existing base of knowledge on soil conservation practices. This study specifically examines the estimation of foil erosion rates based on (1) rainfall intensity; and (2) slope in four distinct soils. This study has three primary objectives: (1) The first objective is to conduct a study of soil conservation in the Caribbean through investigating the effect of slope angle and rainfall intensities on soil erosion under controlled conditions using…

Sugar and leaf litter appeared to have an inhibitory effect, except in the area of root mass. These results were similar to those obtained by Levy & Taylor (2003). Their study also found an inhibitory effect in treatments with municipal wastes and pulp mill wastes. Similar to the results of this study, their tests found that horse and mink manure resulted in the greatest improvement in plant growth. However, Muenchang and associates (2006) found the sugar mill by-products improved the nitrogen fixing ability of plants by encouraging the development of certain bacteria on the roots.

There are many field trials that are similar to those conducted in this study. Tuber yield and size were not affected significantly by the application of straw mulch on potatoes (Doring, et al., 2005). However, La Mondia and associates (1999) found that straw applied to potatoes increased yield in tubers exposed to certain potato pathogens.…

These human actions that alter the living and nutrient conditions of soil organism include the repetitive tillage or burning of vegetation, soil erosion, overusing the land without replenishing it with humus or plant compost, clearing of forests. What can be done to solve this problem is to replenish the land with humus or plant compost, give the land rest after excessive use, planting of trees to reduce soil erosion etc. The soil organic matter is linked to the atmosphere; hydrosphere, biosphere and climate change in that the carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere of the earth.

The following are the strategy that I feel should be taken to restore the regions of Udaipur in India. In this area it is evident that the unnecessary human activities of over grazing, slash and burn farming, and activities causing soil erosion have…

Streambank Erosion and Restoration

Streambank erosion is one of the important and often neglected environmental problems. If not properly maintained the river and the stream banks can be easily eroded by the sheer force of the flowing water during the heavy raining season. The precarious situation, which results as a consequence of erosion, cannot be taken lightly. It is these stream and rivers, which replenish the water needs of the people. Conservation of this vital natural source is an important task and the responsibility lies with man. Let us now briefly analyze the problem of Streambank erosion and the remedial solution.

Factors causing Erosion

Stream bank erosion is a common natural phenomenon, which occurs during the heavy flow of water. While erosion to a certain extent is natural and cannot be avoided what is disconcerting is the uncontrolled erosion. This has a disastrous effect on the water quality, soil fertility…

Clay and materials similar are more readily subject to the environmental and atmospheric meteorological conditions that can impact the sustainability of a clay-based foundation.

Another problem that can cause problems for a foundation subject to weak soil characteristics is "subsidence" (Shabha, Kuhwald, 1995). According to Shabha & Kuhwald (1995), "Subsidence can be defined as a downward movement or a soil on which buildings stand from causes unconnected with loading from the building. Examples are underground mining, clay shrinkage (especially due to the action of tree roots) and erosion due to water passing through the subsoil, but excluding the compaction of made-up ground or infill

." (Shabha, Kuhwald, 1995)

Subsidence is in part a natural process but yet is also in part a man-made process. Throughout millennia, the process of water creating soil erosion has changed the landscape of particles that comprise the rocky granular landscape, such as silica and including…

Rural poverty is a concerning matter in many areas mainly because farmers there have had access to limited education concerning attitudes they need to employ in order to be successful in their field of work. Conserving soil is not only beneficial for the environment, as it also plays an important role in helping individuals in rural areas. "Reducing land degradation is more likely to be achieved by supporting NGOs that focus on agriculture and the environment, promoting nonfarm activities, and controlling population growth or facilitating emigration from the highlands, thus reducing soil erosion and nutrient depletion" (Nkonya x).

In many cases cultural values are extremely important in influencing locals to take on a more respectful attitude toward the environment. By being provided with education emphasizing nature's dependence on them concomitantly with their dependence on nature, individuals are probable to acknowledge that it would be in their best interest to fight…

Strip Mining Project

Strip mining has long attracted the attention that "fracking" is now due to the proven or at least theoretical environmental impacts and issues that can or definitely arise when the practice is engaged in. Not unlike similar industries like timber, anything that destroys or alters wetlands/marshes, anything that leads to increase erosion and so forth is hotly contested and debated. Even basic things like irrigation of crops can raise a proverbial stink if the water is denied to people or states that happen to be downstream and they feel they need/deserve it so as to provide drinking water, their own crop irrigation or other environmental concerns. While strip mining, especially that which relates to energy like lignite and lithium, is here to stay and largely cannot be stopped, the real and tangible impacts it can and does have need to be taken seriously before the lignite-harvesting project…

lowland Maya decimation is much more than at any time before, and there are currently several studies that concentrate on the period from roughly A.D. 750 to A.D.1050. Previously, researchers have had a tendency to sum up clarifications of the decimation from individual locales and areas to the marshes in totality. Later methodologies push the extraordinary differences of changes that took place over the swamps amid the Terminal Classic and Early Post classic periods. Along these lines, there is presently a general agreement on the view that Maya culture and civilization in general did not fall, albeit numerous zones did experience significant change

Present scenarios are the result of the long haul elements of human-environment interplay. The fact of the matter is that, we have a long-term viewpoint, keeping in mind the end goal to best comprehend continual changes in ambient environs we observe in present times

. Analysis of…

clarion call for the people and leaders of El Paso to better focus (or at least start focusing) on the subject of soil erosion, water runoff and sedimentary issues relating the land and material around the roads and bridges of our town. While some may treat this subject as relatively or completely unimportant, this could not be further from the truth. As shown by what can happen with things like flash floods, landslides and so forth, the proper management of waste and rain water runoff is very important and should be handled in an evidence-based way rather than a cobbling together of a budget line item here and there. While a lot of the calls for more infrastructure funding and better infrastructure management are over the top, this is not one of those messages and not one of those subjects that should be easily dismissed or set aside.

Analysis

The…

Tehran's geography makes air pollution worse: the Alborz Mountains at its north side trap the increasing volume of pollutants and lead these to remain and hover over Tehran when the wind is not strong enough to blow them away. Furthermore, Tehran's high altitude makes fuel combustion inefficient and adds to the problem. Its altitude is between 3, 300 and 5,000 feet and it is in this space that the pollutants are trapped since the destruction of orchards and other vegetation especially in northern Tehran in the past decades by rapid development and human activity pressures. These natural and man-made factors together have made Tehran one of the most polluted cities in the world. Air pollution reached critical level in December 1999 when high levels of carbon monoxide and other pollutants filled Tehran for many weeks. Deaths, diseases and skin conditions are attributed to extreme air pollution. Records say that more…

" (Coates, et al., 2003) Solutions that are know to be effective are "co-management approaches in the fishery sector which are already in use and highly effective on a local basis.

There are 1200 known species of fish and it is thought that there are as many as 1700 living in the Mekong River Basin. High diversity is present due to plant groups and other aquatic animal groups. The Mekong's ecosystem is one of complexity with variations in climate, geology, terrain and water flow." (Coates, et al. 2003) the results of these variations are a rich habitat that is said to 'rival that found on tropical coral reefs. The pictures below show the impact of the flooding of the Mekong.

Figure 2.0 Figure 2.1

Source: (Coates, et al., 2003)

III. Cultural Significance of the River

Diversity is important for the following reasons:

Direct Use Value: biodiversity is used directly as…

20). This observation suggests that the addition of gypsum for erosion-control and soil-stabilization purposes may be more effective during some phases of the soils' evolution compared to others. In this regard, the Australian Soil Health Knowledge Bank adds that, "Soil slaking or dispersion is evident in soils with a high content of fine sand and/or silt (loamy soil) and low organic matter levels, with crusting and hardsetting most common in soils with 10 to 35% clay" (Soil stability, 2011, para. 3). In addition, the crusting and hardsetting processes can in turn affect the infiltration rate that determines a soil's composition, and infiltration rates are highly affected by the concentrations of saline that exist near the surface (Cochrane et al., 2005).

Although soils with high concentrations of saline may be responsive to gypsum applications, the gypsum will likely be required to be reapplied from time to time in order to remain…

From the point-of-view of the variation and flexibility of the species such cultivated woody crops rank as no more than cornfields. While the tree farms are conveniently be stretched on the private lands, national forests those are considered priceless reservoirs of most of the biological diversity of the nation cannot expand so easily. The commercial logging is considered as the greatest danger for survival of the national forest system. The timber sales are growingly concealed beneath the post fire recovery and fire prevention missions, forest health initiatives and restoration programs. (Endangered Forests: Endangered Freedoms)

Wetlands disappearing

Declining wetlands and reservoir construction are having spectacular influences on a global scale. (the Importance of Wetlands and the Impacts of eservoir Development) the data of USF & WS reveals that the United States added 2.3 million acres in ponds and inland mudflats during the period of mid 1950s and mid1970s. The country added…

Riparian Buffer Management

Current Knowledge and Standards

Most bodies of water, both running and standing, have a flood plain known as a riparian area. hether the waterway is a large river or a small, intermittent creek, the water directly affects and is affected by this adjacent land. The riparian area serves as a transition between aquatic and land habitats. It is the link between land and water. hen this area is planted in such a way to protect the waterway from negative impacts of the adjacent land use, it becomes a buffer, specifically, a riparian buffer. Recently, we have become aware of several important functions of the riparian areas. They are vital to the conservation of valuable farmlands and essential to the removal of harmful chemicals from our water supply.

Since the turn of the century, during the beginning of the industrial area, lands in the riparian area have been…

Another consequence of the exploitative use of water resources is the destruction of mangrove forests and the fragmentation of the habitats of endangered species. The United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna listed 189 endangered species in China among the 740 in the world.

Sand content is quite high in the Yellow iver. In the dry season, sand rises and flies up with the wind and soil desertization becomes severe. In addition, the iver's dri-up directly reduces the quantity of water for farmland irrigation. The supply of ground water decreases while the exploitation quantity of ground water increases. The results would include a deep crescent of ground water, a decrease of land evapo-transpiration, local climate drying, soil desertization, a reduction of biotic population and a simplification of biocommunity structure.

Another serious problem confronted in the Yellow iver is nitrogen contamination. A study found…

Societal Collapses

Environmental determinism has long been out of favor among historians and social scientists, although well into the 19th Century even the majority of Westerners were highly dependent on the climate and environment for their survival. Since the entire world economy was based on agriculture, a shortfall in harvests meant famines, epidemics and death for those who were at or below subsistence level. Such famines were a primary cause for the overthrow of the monarchy in France in 1789, for example, and they led to rebellions, riots and instability wherever they occurred. As late as the 1840s in Ireland, the great potato blight led to the death or immigration of half the population, and the near-destruction of Irish society. In the case of Easter Island, Norse Greenland and the Classic Maya civilization, climate change combined with deforestation and agricultural practices that destroyed the environment led to the total collapse…

However, it was changes in technology that originally made the cultivation of the land possible, and marked a shift from earlier methods of production, as practiced by Native Americans. hile small Okie farmers might have hated the larger agricultural conglomerates, they too had benefited from technology in past and paid the price when technology destroyed the land. And it was, in the end, technology that also saved such subsistence farmers, in the form of new cultivation methods -- introduced by the federal government.

orks Cited

Cooper, Michael. Dust to Eat. Clarion, 2004.

Davidson, J.R. "Interview." itness. The Dustbowl. PBS. May 1, 2010.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/interview/dustbowl-witness-jr-davison/

"Dust bowl." The Great Depression and orld ar II. May 1, 2010.

http://memory.loc.gov/learn//features/timeline/depwwii/dustbowl/dustbowl.html

"The Dust Bowl." U.S. History. May 1, 2010.

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1583.html

Egan, Timothy. The orst Hard Time. Mariner, 2006.

"Hugh Hammond Bennett." The Dustbowl. PBS. May 1, 2010.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/dustbowl-bennett/

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of rath. Penguin,…

Government Solicitation

Developing a Federal Acquisition Team: everse Engineering a Standard Forestry Project to Determine Team equirements

FA Provisions

The selected project is controlled by the Forestry Department, which is part of the Department of Agriculture, placing the project under the auspices of Chapter 4 for the Federal Acquisition egulations, which themselves make up Title 48 of the Code of Federal egulations (e-CF, 2012). elevant paragraphs include a provision that all Head of Contracting Activities (HCAs) comply with FA 7.103, detailed further below (e-CF, 2012, Title 48, Chapter 4, Part 407, par. 407.103). In addition, paragraph 407.503 of the same chapter provides provisions for the determination of whether or not a proposed contracting function is "inherently governmental" according to FA 7.503(e), and also sets out rules for settling disputes when there is not agreement on this issue (e-CF, 2012). It is not expected that this will be of issue in…

Gorges Dam

The Chinese government believes that construction of the Three Gorges Dam has helped produce solutions to the country's energy needs, and to flood control (of the Yangtze, the third largest river in the world). The arguments used by the Chinese as to flood control have some validity when a researcher realizes that over the past 2,000 years, there have been "200 catastrophic floods along the Yangtze's banks" (Watson, 2005). Also, because 70% of China's electricity comes from the burning of coal -- which causes choking smog in the big cities and contributes to the greenhouse gases that are causing climate change -- hydroelectric development seems like an alternative to coal-fired power plants.

Six Specific Risks with the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) in China

Meanwhile, what are six risks that the Chinese were willing to take when they built the dam? Certainly one is environmentally related, and Chinese scholars…

S. History, 2011).

Only after aggressive government intervention did the Dust Bowl conditions improve. The government, even before the drought was broken in 1939, was able to reduce soil erosion by 65% through the actions of the Civilian Conservation Corps, which planted 200 million trees to "break the wind, hold water in the soil, and hold the soil itself in place" ("Disasters: The 1930s," U.S. History, 2011). Farmers received instruction by the government on "soil conservation and anti-erosion techniques, including crop rotation, strip farming, contour plowing, terracing and other beneficial farming practices" ("Disasters: The 1930s," U.S. History, 2011). For the first time, the government took an interest not simply in preserving some of its land from development in the form of national parks, but gave counsel to farmers how to use the land.

The gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots,' already wide even before the Great Depression, grew into…

A farmer in each year can produce enough food to feed a hundred people, according to Pollan (2001), but this productivity comes with a heavy price: "The modern industrial farmer cannot grow that much food without large quantities of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, machinery, and fuel. This expensive set of 'inputs,' as they are called, saddles the farmer with debt, jeopardizes his health, erodes his soil and ruins its fertility, pollutes the groundwater, and compromises the safety of the food we eat" (Pollan, 2001, p. 190). These accrued costs accumulated through generations may lead to catastrophic consequences such as global warming and scarcity of edible food and drinkable water.

The drive to industrial efficiency blinded us to several hidden costs of food production. Orr (1994) identifies six of the costs that, if we intend to maintain sustainable growth, need to be curbed. The first obvious cost of industrial food production is…

S. production value. Exports account for approximately half this amount (Binnquist, Lopez, and Shanley). Figure 2 portrays three views of bamboo. One: A bamboo forrest; Two: A bamboos shoot; Three: A bamboo grove walkway.

Figure 2: Three Views of Bamboo (adapted from Stickman).

As bamboo production levels have risen, the amounts of raw materials needed to facilitate the production have simultaneously increased. The bamboo industry in Anji predominantly harvests bamboo from plantations, as it primarily grows a fast growing and easily cultivated, bamboo species, locally known as "maozhu" or "moso bamboo" (phyllostachys heterocycla) (Binnquist, Lopez, and Shanley). .

Currently in Anji, the cultivation of moso bamboo encompasses 60% of the forest area, with the percentage rising as plantations expand. Along with the hefty production of bamboo, the intense cultivation bamboo industry uses mammoth amounts of fertilizers and pesticides; which contributes to negative environmental effects. In reference to the bamboo production…

The sediment that could run off into streams and rivers due to the burn was estimated to be 13,440 cubic yards per square mile.

The USGS executive report -- well after the fire was extinguished -- asserted that the "greatest threat are to life and property from increased erosion and sedimentation, flooding potential, rockfall, and increased debris flow potential." That having been said, the USGS report went on to explain that "given the slope steepness, vegetative recovery, and amount of potentially treatable acreage within a sub-watershed there are no land treatments (hillslope treatments)" that could possibly be "effectively implemented" in order to provide cover to help reduce soil erosion. In other words, when the rains fall in winter -- as they do every winter season from roughly December to April -- there will certainly be rockslides, mudslides, and potential flash flooding as well.

It should be mentioned that the rugged…

Farmland to Deserts

A lot of arable land is increasingly turning into deserts nowadays. Many reasons are attributed to this tendency. According to UNESCO (2011) in a new technique to halt desert encroachment, taking a close look at China for instance, the rate of desertification has risen to world environmental organizations concern. This is because the rate of farmland deterioration has risen in china to 2460km2 per year. Among the causes of farmland deterioration to deserts are:

Intensive agriculture; overproduction from the same land is causing arable farmlands to convert to deserts as a result of nutrients in the soil being exhausted and not being replenished. The ultimate result has been the farmland becoming unproductive thus explaining desertification is on the increase.

Population pressure; UNESCO (2011) points out one this as one of the causes and effects of desert encroachment, too many people in a small piece of land results…

" The wildlife result of raising the usual row crops such as corn is well-known. The greatest impact of enhanced corn ethanol would be that much more land would be converted to agricultural use as well as the additional erosion and fertilizer application that goes hand-in-hand with agricultural production. Increasing ethanol production through the use of corn may lead to negative effects on wildlife, the degree of which this occurs based on production levels and if the land put aside for this enhanced production had previously been idle, in a natural state, or planted in other row crops.

Bies (1205) sees the strengths of the ethanol use. However, the use of the product and how it is produced are two different things. President Bush signed the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 that included a provision concerning the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC), in addition to other biofuels provisions.…

Angola

The African nation of Angola is poised for a major change in its economic and social development. However, the nation will need programs for prevention, care, and treatment of there biggest threat - HIV / AIDS. ith the current ceasefire between the Angolan government and the UNITA rebels, the country must address its greatest problem HIV / AIDS. "The death of insurgent leader Jonas Savimbi in 2002 and a subsequent cease-fire with UNITA may bode well for the country." (Angola) But the process of fighting the horrible disease takes money. This report focuses on the African nation of Angola and some possible financial solution to the constant healthcare threat from AIDS. Even after twenty-seven years of civil war, Angola as a nation has an opportunity today to transform its future. But the war on Aids will take a concerted effort by the Government of Angola, international donors, and the…

Loans needed to buy the equipment and seeds create indebtedness to Western banks. Western professionals are needed to intervene and to manage. The productivity of monocrops (e.g., rice or maize) undermines other native crops. Routledge writes, "The project destabilized traditional farming methods, which further rationalized the use of new technologies from the West, and the displacement of traditional foodstuffs by the HYVs" (316). The whole agro-food system has damaged the soil fertility and made dependent the poorer nations, who are compelled to use the seeds of the manufacturers and their means of industrial growth (fertilizer, experts, credit, etc.). People are viewed as irrational and a hindrance to progress. State control over natural and financial resources consolidates the power of the national ruling party who serves the interests of transnational corporations. Routledge writes, "In the process, traditional subsistence economies and their associated cultures are being destroyed; people face displacement from their…

Pro Veganism

A strictly vegetarian diet is best suited to the human body's needs, mankind's ability of survival on earth, and our inherent compassion. Switching to such a diet is fairly simple and creates the opportunity to lead a healthier, happier, and gentler life (Marcus, xi).

For numerous reasons, humanity has been increasingly taking to veganism since the last few years. Some vegan supporters assert their participation in a dietary regimen wherein consuming or utilizing animal products is unethical, according to their religious beliefs or values. Meanwhile, others put forward the argument of animal consciousness's ethicality and the industrial farming process. Those who claim to be vegans most probably do so owing to environmental, animal rights, or personal health concerns, which can alter with time. Several vegans begin as vegetarians, gradually ceasing consumption of milk, eggs and other animal by-products. Meanwhile, others turn purely vegan right from the outset. In…

Diamond disagrees on two counts: The first is that technology has created "an explosion" of problems and the potential for solving them. Yet, the first thing that occurs is technology creates the problem and then maybe later it solves it, so at best there is a lag (or as noted above a reaction, rather than a proactive stance). Second, an environmental lesson repeated again and again is that it is much less expensive and more effective to prevent a problem from the start than to solve it by high technology later on.

Environmentally, much of the world is in both of these situations noted by Diamond. First, people are just beginning to recognize the environmental problem. Years of concerns by environmentalists did not influence the average consumer. Al Gore's movie and other media pushes have put the idea of global warming and the need to be "green," into the forefront.…

Inca Empire, or Inka Empire, was the biggest empire in pre-Columbian America. The organizational, political and military center of the empire was situated in Cusco in modern-day Peru. "The Inca civilization came about from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century. From 1438 to 1533, the Incas used a variety of methods, from conquest to peaceful assimilation, to incorporate a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean mountain ranges, including, besides Peru, large parts of modern Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and north-central Chile, and southern Colombia into a state comparable to the historical empires of Eurasia" (Inca Civilization, n.d.).

The Incas were a powerful group in South America from the 1200s until the middle of the 1500s. Then Spanish conquistadors, who had better weapons than the Incas, arrived and defeated them. Diseases arrived, too, and killed many Incas. Incas…

mass tourism on the culture of Ibiza

Ibiza in Spain is one of the best-preserved medieval islands in Europe. The island is closest of all the Balearic Islands to mainland Spain and has a 200 km coastline. Although it has a reputation as a party island, there is much more to it than nightclubs. There are many small coves and over 50 beaches. One can view other Ibiza attractions, museums, events, festivals and travel. Ibiza has earned the title of "Clubbing Capital" of the world. The temperatures range from 20 degrees Celsius in May to around 27 in August. The population hovers around 110000 while the language spoken is Castilian Spanish. The currency accepted is the Euro. During the 1990's, tourism was boosted in the island when it earned the Guinness ecord as the entertainment industry in the world. Since it has around 300 days of sunshine throughout the year,…

He describes how wild grains and animals were domesticated, as well as the new technologies that made farming possible (sickles, baskets, pestles, gourds, irrigation, the wheel, the plow). He uses a chart to plot these movements. His evidence is mainly archeological, historical, and botanical with heavy doses of appeal to imaginary scenarios. Its power to convince is narrational. His ultimate point in cataloguing this change is to assert how, for first time in history, humans become a prime factor in altering earth's natural landscapes. Land was now exploited and degraded through deforestation for crops and soil erosion.

Summary: Ruddiman summarizes the history of how humans began to shape the earth through technology and landscape transformation. He relies on the credibility of his narrative.

Ch. 8, pp. 76-83: His main claim is that humans rather than nature have created a rise in atmospheric methane. He presents several lines of argument, beginning…

but, one must wash the towel. The cycle continues and the family member has to choose the way of washing this cloth towel. it's embodied net energy is less than that of the paper towel. Another way of reducing the amount of energy a house expends in the window setup in that house. The larger the windows, the more light that comes into the home, and the less lighting is need to keep the house comfortable. (Steffen)

There are many ways in which humans could quicken -- in a humane way -- reindustrialization from the petroleum based overshoot industrial society of the present to a more diverse, efficient and flourishing society based on energy sources such as solar, wind geothermal, water, resource production, and creativity, as well as on such values as compassion, altruism and fairness.

Rainwater harvesting, a well-known practice in the poor economies of the world, is catching…

Deforestation can also lead to soil erosion, and more silt in rivers, streams, and behind dams throughout the deforested area. Biological diversity, including many unique species and ecosystems are lost, as well.

IN order to stop deforestation, people must be more aware of the problem and stop using products made from wood, such as paper, cardboard, and other products. We also need to find alternatives for wood products, such as the recycling of paper and wood products, and building materials such as steel, and products like Trex, which is a non-wooden material used for outdoor decks and such. To stop deforestation, we have to stop cutting down trees. eplanting deforested areas does not help, because it takes too long for the trees to grow, and the damage cannot quickly be repaired.

eferences

Collins, Jocelyn. "Deforestation." University of the Western Cape. 2001. 26 May 2008. http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/envfacts/facts/deforestation.htm

Stock, Jocelyn and Andy ochen.…

Technology and Global Ecosystem

An Analysis of the Implications of Technology and the Global Ecosystem

The 21st century promises to usher in innovations in technology that cannot yet be imagined, and the advancements to date have provided many in the world with unprecedented standards of living. Improved methods of transportation and communication, combined with more leisure time than ever in which to spend it has resulted in many people developing a keen appreciation for technology and what it promises for mankind; an unfortunate concomitant of these innovations in many parts of the world, though, has been an intensive assault on the globe's ecosystem in an effort to bring emerging nations into line with the productivity being experienced in the developed nations of the world. As a result, a debate over whether or not technology threatens the integrity of the global ecosystem has emerged in recent years, and pundits warn that…

Aldo Leopold and Environmental History

In answering the question of whether the United States has improved on environmental policy since the 1930s, the cyclical nature of the political system must be considered. A generational reform cycle occurs every 30-40 years, such as the Progressive Era of 1900-20, the New Deal of the 1930s and the New Frontier and Great Society of the 1960s and early-1970s. All of the progress that the United States has made in conservation, wilderness preservation and other environmental issues has happened in these reform eras. Barack Obama represents yet another reform cycle and his environmental record is better by far than any other president over the last forty years, although much of what he attempted to accomplish has been blocked by the Republicans and the corporate interests that fund them. In conservative eras like the 1920s, 1950s and 1980s and 1990s, almost nothing worthwhile happens with…

The 1980s (the period when onald eagan was the U.S. President) witnessed a series of government measures targeting environmental regulations. This resulted in public outrage against the anti-environmental policies of the government leading to a renewed interest in nature clubs and groups and the formation of radical groups who led strong movements to protect the environment. (vii) the post- eagan resurgence (1990s onwards) - President Bush and President Clinton did not take the radical stance of their predecessor. However, President George W. Bush has taken many measures which have weakened the environmental movement instead of strengthening it. This includes opposing curbs on greenhouse emissions via the Kyoto Protocol, supporting oil drilling in the ANW or Arctic National Wildlife ange, weakening clean air standards and lifting the ban on logging in forests.

3) How does economics determine the public's opinion regarding environmental issues? Discuss the values of the dominant social paradigm…

Fo instance, appoximately 33 pe cent of Thailand's wate souces ae categoized as having poo quality and the phenomenon is consideed a seious envionment poblem. Moeove, Thailand is anked among the last Asian counties based on amounts of fesh wate available pe capita (WWF, 2010).

In this context, the Thai govenment and the Thai people have commenced to pay moe attention to the effect of the envionmental poblems, as well as to the adjacent economics of the poblem. People make an effot to buy poducts which ae envionmentally hamless and, though them, to minimize the negative envionmental implications of consumption. A fist effot in this diection was the intoduction of the Thai Geen Label Scheme in 1993 and its fomal launch one yea late (Geen Label Thailand, 2010). In shot, the scheme suppots the development of the geen poducts secto by intoducing infomation fo consumes and standads fo businesses. Moe…

The net effect of these trends on the environment is mixed. According to Kohler and Erdmann (2004), the expanded use of ICT applications will ultimately result in both benefits to the environment, as well as some new problems associated with their use. The extent to which the negative effects are mitigated will ultimately depend on the foresight that is used today to develop long-term energy and waste management policies that will control the development of ICT infrastructures and how they are used in the future (Kohler & Erdmann, 2004).

According to Lan and Thomas (2009), there is no escaping the fact that information and communication technologies are fundamentally changing the nature of commerce and hold important promise for economic development in the future. These authors are quick at add, though, that proceeding with these technologies is a complex enterprise and there are still a number of unknowns involved concerning how…

The genocide and a high HIV / AIDS epidemic rate (recent estimates by the Ministry of Health suggest that 8.7% of the rural population is infected) has severely disrupted the population demographics, weakened human resources development, and resulted in reduced availability of agricultural labor ("ural Poverty in wanda," 2007).

Due to the reasons stated above, the World Bank estimates that 65.7% of the rural population of wanda lives below the poverty line and even a greater percentage (83.7% of the total population) of the country lives on less than $2 a day (Ibid.).

eferences

ural poverty in wanda." (2007). ural Poverty Portal: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). etrieved on January 10, 2008 at http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/rwa/index.htm

wanda." (2007). Encyclopedia Encarta Online. etrieved on January 10, 2008 at http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560996/wanda.html

The total area of the country is 26,338 sq km (10,169 sq miles). Source: Encyclopedia Encarta

wanda has a population density of 397…

Urbanization

The Madagascar population is quite dispersed (UNHCHR 1993). The urban centers and other vital sectors, such as the deltas and alluvial plains are populated. ut the rest of the land is thinly populated. Only a few regions are enclaved and have roads, but these are in a deteriorating state because of the lack of material and financial resources. The growth rate of Madagascar went up from 1.59 to 3.5% between 1960 and 1970. In 1990, the population was estimated at 11 million and evenly distributed. There are 171 live births per 1,000 women of child-bearing age. The crude mortality is 17.6 per thousand with life expectancy at birth at 54.5 years. The natural increase in population is 2.7 to 3.2% per year or to double within 22-26 years. The population is 46% for those below 15 years old and only 3% for those over 60. The dependency ratio is…

For example, the soil in the Loess Plateau area is notoriously erodable and it is difficult to revegetate the steep slopes with a sufficiently dense cover of plantation and grass. Moreover, rainfall in the area is generally insufficient to support the growth of trees and plants even after their plantation; grazing by animals worsens the situation. Silt retention dams and structures in the silt-carrying gullies and valleys have proven more effective and thousands of dams have been built. As these dams are gradually filled up, the dam heights have to be raised. Such high retention dams, however, are a double-edged sword. Heavy once-in-a-century rains or powerful earthquakes could cause dams to break and initiate catastrophic landslides that would create even bigger floods that would do immense damage. Similarly, the Chinese have managed to control floods in the river by periodically raising the levees and the dykes but the unrelenting silt…

Social Ecology of Health Promotion

Preservation of the existing ecosystems

Accumulating evidence suggest that sustainable agriculture should be promoted. The growth and development of agriculture will still be the driving force of the loss of ecosystems in the 21st century. In specified areas, the growth and development of agriculture poses a danger to ecosystems, establishment, evaluation, and technological diffusion. This could see the rise of the food production sustainably per unit area with the absence of trade-offs relating to excessive water consumption or nutrients and pesticides use, would lessen pressure significantly to ecosystems. For many cases, the required technologies are in place, and they could be implemented in a wider variety, but the nation is facing financial constraints and lacking intuitional capabilities to use and gain the stated technologies. In areas where technology is predominant of the landscape, maintenance of ecosystems within the landscape is a very significant constitute of…

Pastorilism

The way humans eat affects the globe in many ways. The balanced ecosystem requires a homeostatic process that achieves cooperation and will allow the environment to thrive. It is possible that humanity may very well eat its way into extinction if certain practices are not curtailed. Smil (2013) wrote " this increased demand was met by a combination of expanded traditional meat production in mixed farming operations (above all in the EU and China), extensive conversion of tropical forests to new pastures (Brazil being the leader) and the rise of concentrated animal feeding facilities (for beef mostly in North America, for pork and chicken in all densely populated countries)."

The purpose of this essay is to address the finer aspects of pastorilism as a reasonable means to address the eating problems that appear dire. This paper will suggest that new approaches are necessary that address the elitist attitudes that…

Tourism vs. The Environment

Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries. In fact, it is believed that tourism will grow at approximately four percent per year through the year 2010. Tourism is usually good for the economy but is it is not always good for the environment. Mankind does have a way of messing up whatever we touch. Whenever something is taken out of its natural environment and placed elsewhere, there is an effect on something. Hikers generally stay on paths. Every so often a hiker just must have a photograph of a flower in the middle of a field and trounces off to get it. In doing so, rare vegetation might be killed. Destroyed vegetation, air pollution, water pollution and refuge are just a few of the problems irritated by tourism.

Sprawl is - no pun intended - a growing problem. In Lancaster ounty, Pennsylvania, sprawl and relative…

Sanctions in the OPEC World

What sorts of sanctions and punishments should an OPEC nation -- whose petroleum production bring riches almost beyond imagination, and hence is a player on the world's economic battleground -- receive if it launches programs aimed at acquiring nuclear weapons? That is the central question for this paper to review and critique. The best example for what would happen to an OPEC nation that works towards building a nuclear weapon can be viewed by examining what has happened to Iran and its fledgling nuclear program. This paper delves into the sanctions against Iran, and reports the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal consequences of the sanctions that are now being rescinded. This paper also projects what those painful economic and social / political realities would impose on other oil-producing nations planning a nuclear program. This narrative leads to a clear understanding of the question…

Some of the key examples of where geospatial information can be important are during emergency responses during natural disasters especially for purposes of evacuation arrangement, and damage estimation assignments. MarcFarlane (2005) indicates that it is important to use geoinformatics to prevent disasters rather than try to deal with them after they happen. Geoinformatics assists those involved in the emergency processes by providing the necessary data and giving appropriate plans on how and from what point the hit areas should be approached. This makes the whole process convenient and effective since there is no time wasted in guessing the steps to take and the actions taken are accurate and appropriate (Oosterom et al. 2005). It has to be noted however that there are a number of difficulties that are faced in using geoinformatics to manage disaster as explained by Zerger & Smith (2003).

The transport network in any region is highly…

he introduction of various kinds of technology for the railroad, cattle ranching and mining of gold and silver, and ecological disturbance resulting from agrarianism were among the major factors in the near-extinction of the buffalo. Permanent railroad tracks, the depletion of trees for railroad ties and bridges and the decrease in wild animal population marked the lasting foreign presence in the Native West. Recent estimates revealed that there were 15-60 million buffaloes before the Europeans settled in 1500s. he animal population was severely depleted by the construction of the transcontinental railroad to the Western homeland of Plain Indian tribes. he buffalo was said to have reach near-extinction by the end of the 1870s when it numbered less than 1,000. Rapid American expansion in less than 50 years was behind it and other dismal results to the Continent (Fixico).

IV. Cost: But more and more evidence has been coming up, which…

To avoid all these hassles, corporates should take the lead. They should ensure that the environment is not harmed in any way and people are treated with respect and dignity without exploiting the people or the environment in any unfair way. Such initiatives get publicity too and this has a positive impact on the company's business interests. Therefore, technology has been another driving factor that induces companies to take the right steps to preserve and protect the environment and the people who depend on it.

Steps that should be taken by the company

Companies should have a clear strategy of how they are going to address their issues and this should be decided after taking into account its impact on the environment as well as its business interests. ecent years has seen more importance being given to shareholders and so company executives do everything possible to increase the returns for…

Slide 9: Technological innovations in emergency management

The starting point in the creation of a plan on how to improve our program from a technological standpoint has been constituted by the review of the it industry. The scope of this research has been that of identifying the innovations in the field and their relevance for our agency and its mission. The results of the research endeavor are briefly presented below:

GIS is an important tool to use in the collection of data necessary and its usage is credited with overall successful emergency operations as it allows the intervention teams to gather data pivotal at all stages of the emergency management process.

emote sensing technology is enhancing the quality of the emergency management act at the stages of mitigation and preparedness and it has proven efficient in the management of both natural hazards as well as man made disasters.

The NOAAPort…

All this may lead to instigate cultural disharmony within the nations (Knight, 2006, p. 2). On economic front too, often globalization is attacked as a view that it supports excruciating imperialism and colonization.

It is undeniable fact that globalization has improved the world to a greater degree, yet the negative effects of some consequences cannot be denied. It has led to wide increase of socio-economic disparities within societies, nations and between different regions of the world. The phenomenon has also empowered the relatively poor people across the world to migrate away with the means of moving from one country or continent to another. Migration has its positive effects that can be easily seen in the nations that are suffering from slowing birth-rates. Many European countries are running out of people. Migration helps these countries to maintain the workforce. On the other hand, migration leads to difficulties caused due to brain…

ibliography

2006 report to Congress on China's WTO compliance (2006, December 11). United States Trade Representative. Retrieved at http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2006/asset_upload_file688_10223.pdf brief chronology of China's intellectual property protection. Retrieved at http://www.american.edu/TED/hpages/ipr/cheng.htm

alfour, F.(2008, March 18). World sneezes, China's just fine. usinessWeek. Retrieved at http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/mar2008/gb20080318_747713.htm?chan=globalbiz_asia+index+page_asia+investing

China. The World Fact ook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html#Econ

Economic reform in the People's Republic of China. Wikipedia. Retrieved at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_economic_reform

Gupta, a.K. (2008) the quest for global dominance. p. 239..Jossey-ass. ISN978-0-470-19440-9

Navarro, P. And Chien, E. (2006, April 21). China's devalued yuan: Hu won't budge; ush doesn't get it. New America Media. Retrieved from http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=3bd87bd1fb3eb56a29a5759f349165f8

Patten, C. (2005, September 26). Comment & analysis: Why Europe is getting China so wrong. Financial Times. Retrieved at http://search.ft.com/ftArticle?queryText=China+the+world%E2%80%99s+largest+economy+for+18+of+the+past+20+centuries&y=6&aje=false&x=14&id=050926000484&ct=0&nclick_check=1

The real great leap forward. (2004, September 30). The Economist print edition. Retrieved at http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=3219418

But after local wastewater plants were "...upgraded and farms' management practices were improved, the amount of phosphorus declined and the copper sulfate was no long considered necessary" (Royte, 2007). The Times' story reports that to prevent the dumping of partially treated sewage water into the waterways, septic tanks need to be upgraded and "cleaning the water in sewage treatments plants even more thoroughly before it is discharged into the watershed..." is necessary. That will be quite a job, because "more than two dozen of the roughly 100 wastewater treatment plants that discharge into the city's watershed use a suboptimal cleaning process."

TO: The flooding problem. hy has it become a more serious problem in recent years? Taking New York City as an example of the problem and its roots, the New York Times article alluded to in the previous section points out that recently, as developers began clearing more and…

" There is also a problem with deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion and over-fishing, and because of the clear-cutting of forested areas in Senegal, a process of "desertification" is well underway. The problem of desertification is significant because according to United Nations' information (Thompson Gale / Nations Encyclopedia) 46% of Senegal is classified as semiarid. There has been "inadequately controlled cutting of forests for fuel" and there has also been significant overgrazing of existing grasslands (which are dwindling away). The capital of Dakar suffers from "improper sanitation" according to Nations Encyclopedia; but on the positive side of urban life, 92% of city dwellers have access to safe drinking water. Still, wherever you look in Senegal, you can't escape the fact that this is a third world country; to wit, 35% of people living in rural Senegal do not have access to safe drinking water.

Those above-mentioned facts having been presented, there…

During the period from April to June2003, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak had a negative impact on Thai economies. The total revenue from tourism was 10% lower than expected.

Seenprachawong U.)

However many studies of the tourist industry in the country point out that it is extremely resilient and " in the tsunami disaster, a quick recovery process began after a deep sentiment of sadness. Investment recovered very quickly with a view to cleaning up the destruction left behind. Following recent years of strong growth, the economy of Thailand should be in a strong position to recover from this tragedy." (Seenprachawong U.)

4. Conclusion

There is little doubt that the Thai tourist industry is one that is extremely dependent on changes in the natural environment and influences on the culture from the outside. While the resilience of this industry have be shown in the face of natural disasters,…

International tourism reinforces the idea that all persons are a part of a world community and act as a reminder of how precious the natural resources of the world can be for all persons, regardless of where they call home. Finally, tourism can provide local populations with employment in ways that do not tax the natural resources, such as rampant industrialism, or force them to abandon their local customs and culture ("Socio-Cultural Impacts of Tourism," Environmental Impacts of Tourism, 2002).

orks Cited

Three Main Impact Areas." Environmental Impacts of Tourism. 2002. Last updated 2001. [17 Feb 2006]

http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/sust-tourism/env-industry.htm

How Tourism Can Contribute to Conservation." Environmental Impacts of Tourism. 2002. Last updated 2001. [17 Feb 2006]

Socio-Cultural Impacts of Tourism." Environmental Impacts of Tourism. 2002. Last updated 2001. [17 Feb 2006]

http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/sust-tourism/env-conservation.htm

http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/sust-tourism/social.htm

Marketing (Water Fans, India)

Industry outlook

The market in India for water fans or misting fans as they are also called is problematical at best. Without doubt, the climate (except in the northern mountains) is hot; the problem is, it is also quite humid. Still, the Indian people have been looking for ways to stay cool for centuries. It was India that gave the world the slatted shutter; when air comes in through small spaces (as in shutters, adopted in the American South before air conditioning, or in lattice-work walls as in parts of India), it is cooled. Still, they did not develop a cooling system like that of that ancient omans, which did use water running through channels to create condensation. The reason, of course, is the problem of water quality. While industrial pollution has now added immeasurably to the water quality problems in India, the sluggish flow of…

Ecuador is a country full of beauty and culture. It also has an interesting history. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the country of Ecuador as it relates to Geography, Natural esources, Political and legal System (past & current), Culture, major Trading Partners (past & present), Export, labor forces and Technology. Let us begin the discussion by discussing the history of the country.

History of Ecuador

The history of Ecuador is amongst the most interesting in all the world. Most of the nation that is now known as Ecuador was captured by the Peruvian Incas in the 15th century (Ecuador 2001). The conquest of the Incans is described in more detail by Meggers (1966). The author asserts that the Incan conquest of Ecuador was commenced between 1463 and 1471, when the southern highland basins of Loja and Cuenca were integrated into the Empire by Topa Inca. The author…