Urban Dog Parks

Reports from the National Institute of Health indicate that owning a pet, such as a dog can have  number of health benefits for individuals and families. These benefits include lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, increasing serotonin levels, and reducing anxiety. With all of these benefits, it is no wonder that households with pets now outnumber households with children in the US. The difficulty with owning a dog, of course, comes in the fact that an owner needs a space adequate to take the dog for exercise and socialization. This is especially difficult to find in urban areas that are typically consumed by streets, buildings, and traffic. This has led to an increased demand for urban dog parks that allow dog owners to bring their canines to a safe and friendly environment to exercise, play, and interact with other dogs and people. Having a park in an urban area that allows the dog to run off the leash and interact with other canines helps to keep the dog content and happy, which in turn would improve it relationship with its owner. This also creates a place where pet enthusiasts can gather together and create a greater sense of community. This sense of community and togetherness applies to both the humans and their pets, as well. Having a central urban dog park also possesses environmental benefits in that it saves urban dog owners the trouble of having to travel outside of the city to exercise their dogs. This saves on fuel costs and the adverse impact on the environment that comes with increased automobile traffic.

For more information, visit the links below:

http://www.montgomeryparks.org/PPSD/ParkPlanning/Projects/site_selections/dog.park_silver.spring.shtm

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-12-07/dog-parks/51715340/1

http://www.nrpa.org/blog/meeting-demands-of-our-two-and-four-legged-residents/

Community Gardens

Community Gardens provide an excellent vehicle for promoting local food production, community interaction, and sustainable food growth for local communities that may not have otherwise been able to provide such an outlet. As a bi-national effort in the US and Canada, community gardening provides spaces for neighborhoods to produce sustainable produce that is free of pesticides or other factory-produced by-products. This allows citizens to maintain a level of knowledge about the produce they consume that is not always possible when purchasing from a store. This allows bring the citizens together as a community in an effort to mutually benefit one another by working together to produce the optimum quantity and quality of produce possible. This also gives this community an incentive to behave and farm responsibly and in a sustainable manner.

In terms of moving towards environmental sustainability, the Community Garden movement gives these communities the incentive to produce their gardens and crops in a responsible and sustainable manner. By creating a garden that gives ordinary people a responsibility and incentive to farm sustainably, this movement gives the ordinary person a reason to take interest in responsible environmental practices. In essence, by putting the farming in the hands of the communities, you create a network of groups that have an incentive and a vested interest in practicing responsible and sustainable farming.

For more information please visit the link below:

 https://communitygarden.org/

Global Climate Change

           The Medieval Global Temperature Optimum, also know as the Medieval Warm Period, was a period of time from approximately the 9th to 13th centuries in which Europe and neighboring North Atlantic regions experienced temperatures comparable to, or even exceeding those of the late 20th century. With these higher temperatures, various plants and crops were grown and harvested in regions that are well north of their limits today. This is exemplified by the growth of grapes in northern regions of England that are not able to produce such crops today. Subtropical growth, such as fig and olive trees, was seen in regions of Italy and Germany that are well north of their current growth limits. Another outgrowth of this increase in temperature was the settling of Greenland and Iceland by Norse colonizers, who used these lands as places of agricultural growth and trade with mainland Europe due to the favorable climate conditions. Though theories differ slightly, it is strongly believed by some academics that this warm period did not impact the entire globe, and many believe that Europe and other regions in the North Atlantic were the primary areas in which this temperature increase took place.
          On the opposite end of the spectrum, from approximately 1300 to approximately 1870, much of Europe and North America experienced a period of lower temperatures and harsher winters known as the Little Ice Age. The exact cause of this dip in temperatures is unclear, but some academics have proposed that it stemmed from lower sunspot activity. This would result in less energy output from the sun that could warm the Earth. With less favorable climate conditions for subsistence farming, this era saw a great expansion of European trade, colonialism, and the rise of sea-born imperial powers, in particular that of Great Britain. With greater trade and expansion of global markets, there came a rise in specialization for international markets. The advances in technology that accompanied the later part of this era eventually culminate in coal and other fossil fuels becoming the main sources of power for industrial activity.
          These two counter-balancing periods of time impacted agriculture and trade in extremely different ways. Both drove trade to new heights and created stronger connections between the nations of Europe. It also epitomizes the idea that every time the pendulum of the climate swings one way, it will eventually swing that momentum back in the opposite direction.

For more information on these two eras, check out the links below:

http://www.eh-resources.org/timeline/timeline_lia.html

http://www.meteo.psu.edu/holocene/public_html/shared/articles/medclimopt.pdf

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/globalwarming/medieval.html

Pollution in Tianjin

           With a rating from Real Time Air Quality Index Visual Map of 677, the city of Tianjin ranks as one of the most polluted locations in China, which is no small accomplishment given the rampant air pollution present in the People's Republic. The Chinese government is hardly oblivious to this situation and has mandated traffic and industrial restrictions in the city on days of particularly poor air quality. As a nation focused almost exclusively on economic growth, the emergence of industrial cities like Tianjin have become common throughout the country, but recent complaints about the poor air quality and levels of pollution have stirred the government to pursue a reversal of the environmental degradation this has caused. As an industrial center for steel, thermal energy, and cement manufacturing plants, coupled with the increased use of automobiles and urbanization, it is not particularly difficult to understand why air quality is so poor in this particular region. The more interesting questions surround the attempts to curb continued degradation of air quality. First, will traffic and industrial restrictions actually significantly impact or improve the air quality in Tianjin? Then, how will these restrictions impact the economic growth that China has enjoyed so greatly in recent decades?

Below are links to more detailed information on Tianjin and its air pollution:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/19/uk-china-pollution-idUSKBN0DZ19O20140519

http://aqicn.org/map/china/

Nickel

          Nickel (Ni) is the fifth most common element on earth and is abundantly found in the earth's crust. Due to its abundance and extractability, it is used in nearly 300,000 products around the world. The majority of the applications of nickel involve the creation of alloys, especially with the element chromium in creating equipment that is extremely resistant to heat.

 

          The ore that is necessary for the production of nickel is mined in 23 countries around the world, including Russia, Greece, Brazil, South Africa, and China. While the naturally occurring oxide is mined in these places, the refineries are often located elsewhere, in such places as Japan, France, and the United Kingdom. All told, 25 countries house refineries or smelting plants for the post-mining process. Over 1.4 million tons of primary nickel are produced each year, which is relatively little compared to the same statistic for copper and steel. Below is a map that indicates the geographic distribution of nickel production:

          The metal ore of nickel is extracted from the earth's crust through a process that involves roasting and reduction which brings it out in its purest possible form. It is finally extracted when it reaches a purity of 75% or greater. Below is an image of the Mount Keith Nickel Mine:

          Once the nickel ore has been extracted and refined, the process of creating an alloy is the most common next step in terms of material production. Due its exceptional resistance to heat, corrosion, and its toughness, nickel is often used for a number of items used in our everyday lives, including transport, household equipment, and power generation. Alloys of nickel, chromium, and iron are frequently used to make stainless steel, accounting for 65% of nickel production. These types of alloys are used in items ranging from kitchen appliances and medical equipment to technical and specialist engineering purposes. Nickel also has uses as a catalyst for chemical reactions, as well as serving as a key part in rechargeable battery systems used in many modern appliances.  

Below is a link to my source material from The Nickel Institute's website:

http://www.nickelinstitute.org/NickelUseInSociety/AboutNickel.aspx



         

Materials Timeline

           Above is a timeline comparing major historical periods, events, or discoveries against a graph showing resource dependence over the course of human history. On the left side, major historical periods, eras, and events are listed that have shifted the course of human history. On the right, major discoveries and inventions are listed with the year in which they occurred. This offers some historical context to the raw data and allows readers to view some of the major events and discoveries that have shaped the shift in dependence from renewable resources to non-renewable resources. It also gives a visual representation to the events that have been pivotal in our shift in dependency from renewable to non-renewable resources.

Drought and Sustainability in Rajasthan, India

Here is a Google Earth map of Rajasthan, India:

With a population that comprises approximately 16% of the world's population, "unsustainable use of natural resources" is an issue that has plagued the nation of India for several generations now. One current issue of sustainability centers in Rajasthan, where deforestation and desertification have resulted in severe drought and shortages of safe, reliable drinking water for the citizens. Without safe and reliable sources for drinking water, these people struggle with the spread of disease, lack of water for livestock, and issues of food security. Currently, efforts are being made by numerous NGOs to combat the problem in the area. Among these programs is an innovative rain-water harvesting and storage system that would make up for some of the shortage of water sources.

Below is a link to the article I used to research this issue:
http://www.fsdinternational.org/country/india/envissues