3.3 Blog Post; Research Paper

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So what I’ve collected about the differences between popular sources and scholarly sources is the actual context of the source, which I believe is whether or not there are reporters or actual chemical evidence of contaminated water. I feel like a popular source can be authoritative if there are multiple sources, including an investigation. And the biggest questions to ask is how reliable is the source, is it a ‘.com’, ‘.org’, or a .gov’, does it have a bibliography with different references?

I’ve found another source that I believe is a scholarly source which actually questions the chemical property within New York water and discusses how Long Island has the most contaminated water in the state. This source has numerous footnotes that relate back to other sources that have evidence of nineteen different emerging contaminants were detected in Long Island, and that Nassau County has the highest number of water systems that have detections of contaminated water. The most prominent contaminant is strontium, which I’ve found in a different article from the American Bone Health that ingesting high amounts of strontium can have dangerous side effects. It can cause, to name just a few, liver inflammation and disturbances in thinking. And to think that Long Island’s water system has a high amount of strontium is worrying, especially since Nassau County borders many cities in Queens, NY.

3.3: Too Late to Save Everyone

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Dvarskas, Anthony. “Mapping Ecosystem Services Supply Chains for Coastal Long Island Communities: Implications for Resilience Planning.” Ecosystem Services, vol. 30, 2018, pp. 14–26.

 

Dvarskas discusses enabling economic inputs that are related to coastal ecosystem activities, such as fishing, boating, and recreational beach use. Enabling economic inputs in this paper means the economic industries that may be impacted by changes in the coastal ecosystem. Using natural and human produced assets he analyzes the entirety of Long Island, also known as hot spot analysis, Dvarskas was able to identify which coastal ecosystems may need financial assistance in order to survive changes in coastal ecosystems. Hot spot analysis viewed each part of Long Island and took into account how many people live there, the unemployment rate, the median household income, and the poverty rate, along with industries found in the respective areas into order to see which areas are a priority when defending against changes in the coastal ecosystem.

This peer reviewed journal is meant for those who enjoy or rely on coastal ecosystem activities, such as fishermen, surfers, restaurants, marinas, and sightseeing groups. Dvarskas shows the readers which areas are most vulnerable and which areas need to be protected the most, to allow for the reader to be more prepared for climate change relating to the coastal ecosystem.

This article showed me that climate change is too far gone for us to keep things the way we have it. We need to see what is most important to our economy and our livelihood and protect that with all we have. I feel this source can be a real eye opener for those who are not aware of how bad the situation is showing them how much time and resources are needed to protect what we already have, as opposed to using that time and resources to further our society.

3.2 Change of Plans?

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I walked away from the idea of oysters, because along the way I focused on the plan of building storm surge Pelham Gate and the other alternative plans of NYC protection from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After I’ve spent two days researching the matter from different angles i just discovered RIGHT NOW! that the resiliency study was “indefinitely suspended” on February 24th, 2020.

My research goes super slowly because it’s my first time doing it and I have to familiarize myself with everything from zero: the libraries, research engines. long readings, getting sidetracked… It’s frustrating. I picked first assignment, because I figured it was going to be easier for me. I ended up running in circles. The help came from our President (not the first time) 😉 and from you Professor telling me to get more creative…. You also always tell us to try to have fun with it… So, here it goes and please let me know if it’s acceptable. It pretty much goes along with everything I’ve done so far – just not the oysters ;-))))

Donald Trump tweeted on January 18, 2020:

“A massive 200 Billion Dollar Sea Wall built around New York to protect it from rare storms is a costly, foolish and environmentally unfriendly idea, that when needed probably won’t work anyway. It will also look terrible. Sorry, you’ll just have to get your mops & buckets ready”.

That would change my assignment into developing argument about the tweet by researching and analyzing the variety of critical and theoretical lenses. We have Army Corps of Engineers’ plan put on hold, we have all of the environmental organizations rooting against their plan before and now claiming that any plan was better than no plan, there are citizens of NYC fuming over President’s approach. There is a lot of action going on. Positive and negative.  The truth is that something needs to be done in NYC. Not only about storm protection, but also sea levels rising and high tide flooding. Day by day it’s not getting any better. Building a costly barrier maybe would protect against a super storm but would it protect against sea level rising? Building surge gates would surely destroy environmental efforts to reconstruct the nature. We know President cares about the aesthetics, but now he cares about environment as well? This tweet raises a lot of questions…

 

 

3.2 Blog Post; Research Paper

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This post is a little late because I did not manage my time wisely at all this week as I spent most of it sick (sorry Prof). However, I did find an actual book of the history of New York City’s water supply, titled Empire of Water : An Environmental and Political History of the New York City Water Supply. As great as this find is, it’s about 12 chapters and I’ve just started reading it. I know I have to skim it but it includes a ton of information on everything I need, including the beginnings within the Catskill Mountains to the Delaware water systems to the present (well around 2013). But from the looks of it, it does even include the problems NYC has faced with the water supply, which I’m excited to learn more about. With this large chunk of knowledge, I know I can tie it back to the few articles I’ve found discussing the issues of NYC’s water supply.

I think that this book can serve as a great intro/few body paragraphs of my research paper because it discusses this history (which is what I need to start on). The history is important. I need backbone on the idea of why ‘NYC has the best water on earth’ so that I can debunk the argument and counter it with ‘maybe NYC doesn’t have the best water on earth’. It was harder to find books based on the current talks of NYC’s water supply but there are many, many articles based on Google Scholar sites and articles. A lot of these articles mention hydrofracking, which is a high-pressure injection of ‘fracking fluid’ into a wellbore to create cracks in the deep-rock formations through which natural gas, petroleum, and brine will flow more freely. In other words, it’s digging a hole into the ground so that gas and other fossil fuels can come to the surface faster which is the method people use to operate gas stations. Could hydrofracking be a reason as to why the NYC water supply isn’t as exquisite as the state wants to make it seem? I also know I have to incorporate Long Island’s water issues into this as NYC and Long Island share a very thin line of a border. And Nassau County, which is steps away from NYC’s many cities, have cited to have multiple problems with their water, which is the built up yearly algae I’ve mentioned in my previous post. All in all, I think I have a nice start because I think I have the beginnings all worked out.

3.2: Climate Change and its Effects on Water Resources

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Anonymous. “Climate Change May Impact Water Resources.” Chemical Engineering Progress, vol. 97, no. 3, 2001, p. 12.

 

The author starts the paper off by explaining that the most significant efforts to reduce climate change were made possible by investments and commitments from the private sector. This is followed by a list of achievements of the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) that the American Chemistry Council(ACC) found noteworthy. Afterwards the author explains some of the hardships that the EPA had faced to get where it is today, highlighting its most important downfall as its failure to educate the public and win political support so that they could make the difference that they wanted. Moving onto the next section of the piece which highlights the effects of climate change on water resources, the author starts by listing effects such as rising sea levels which will leave Cape Cod, Long Island, the Carolinas, and Central California especially vulnerable. The author finishes the paper by discussing the lead author of the study, Peter Gleick, and his take on the subject, which in short is water managers’ need to start incorporating climate change into their planning processes and need to increase flexibility in their system in order to survive.

This peer reviewed journal is not intended for the average Joe, as the author alludes when he discusses the lack of public education on the subject. This article is meant for those who are already well versed in the subject of climate change and its effects on water resources. It is almost a warning to those who work with water resources daily, that they need to make a change before it is too late. It is useful because the author lists out many effects and dangers of climate change, so the reader has an idea of what to expect and how severe the situation is.

I feel that the article helped my understanding of the topic by reinforcing certain things I did not have a full grasp on. I knew climate change is going to have a big effect on Long Island, and I was leaning towards the idea that we are not prepared for climate change because we lack the public education to do so. What the author opened my eyes to is the political aspect of things, it had completely blindsided me,that the lack of public education meant that political figures did not worry about it, because at the end of the day all they care about is getting the vote.

3.2 Feasibility Study.

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A feasibility study according to Wikipedia is: “an assessment of the practicality of a proposed project or system. A feasibility study aims to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats present in the natural environment, the resources required to carry through, and ultimately the prospects for success. Should I try “A Feasibility of restoring oyster reefs around City Island (specific area, like: Eastchester Bay etc?) based on the ongoing Billion Oyster Project and the historical dispositions”. 

There is a good article coverage of Billion Oyster Project, they have a website and a blog as well. They link to Living Breakwaters project. Is it important for my research? The fact that marine scientists, landscape architects and divers work together? There is as well an article describing City Island Oyster Project in Bronx Times, they have Facebook account and some video coverage. These could be supporting sources.

For proving biological possibility of such a project i need to look up the past of oyster reefs in New York Harbor and around City Island. Historical background. I don’t think that needs to be a very detailed source because its going to be my supporting one. Probably for the introduction part of my essay. I found today this book:

Waldman, John “2.Vita Marinae”, Hearbeats in the Muck: The History, Sea Life, and Environment of New York Harbor,Revised Edition, Fordham University Press, Empire State Editions, 2013, pp. 7-9.

Waldman gives a pretty tight and to the point description of historical background of oyster reefs in New York Harbor: from the colonists arrival, through the abundance for all, rich and poor, ending with decline in 1830, caused by over harvest and pollution. The book mentions City Island on p. 9 as the place where the first oyster beds were established by the oystermen. How do I need this? Is placing oyster beds where they use to grow naturally increasing the probability of success?

https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2019/01/16/oysters-breakwaters-new-york-mission-ahead.cnn-business/video/playlists/business-mission-ahead/

At this point I think I’m going to contact people involved in City Island Oyster project and see what I can find. 😉

 

 

 

Post 3.3:

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I managed to find another source with an even better solution to this menace of air pollution. The source is written by Crane, Keith, and Zhimin Mao. The title of the source is “Costs of Selected Policies to Address Air Pollution in China”. This source’s question is about three solutions that would reduce or minimize the effects of air pollution in China. It’s responding to the menace of air pollution in china. It’s got various ideas that may be of help as it points out the costs of the environmental problem to the economy and especially names use of coal to be the number one source of pollution. Another idea that I may use is the solutions that this source proposes. The solutions are: using natural gas instead of coal, using cleaner, renewable energy sources instead of coal, and ending the use of old cars or adding new equipment to limit their pollution. I think that what makes sources more authoritative is being published by authors who are highly educated and experienced with the topic in question. I haven’t thought about changing my research question yet as I tend to find even more and more sources as I go on with my research.
Crane, Keith, and Zhimin Mao. “Costs of Selected Policies to Address Air Pollution in China.”
RAND
Corporation. 2015. 5 Nov. 2016 < www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt14bs468>.

Post 3.2:

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Write about your assignment 3 research process so far.

My research process is so far so good. I have read various articles and journals regarding the
effects of air pollution on human and wildlife health. One scholarly source that I found regarding this was written by Hankey, Steve, Julian D. Marshall, and Michael Brauer. The name of the article is “Health Impacts of the Built Environment: Within-Urban Variability in Physical
Inactivity, Air Pollution, and Ischemic Heart Disease Mortality." The source’s research question is focus on the effects of air pollution in relation to physical activity. Their main argument is that different types of neighborhoods contributed to more physical activity and how the different neighborhoods might help the problem of exposure to air pollution. The ideas that I may extract are that if individuals take the step of incorporating physical exercises in their lifestyle, they may help solve or cope with the problem of air pollution. Whereas this may not be an effective solution, it’s one of the articles that I found but may be on the lookout for others which may have even better solutions to this environmental problem.

Hankey, Steve, Julian D. Marshall, and Michael Brauer. " Health Impacts Of The Built
Environment: Within-Urban Variability In Physical Inactivity, Air Pollution, And
Ischemic Heart Disease Mortality." Environmental Health Perspectives 120.2 (2012):
247- 253. GreenFILE. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.

Post 3.1:

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Blog Post 3.1
There are various local environmental problems that I may want to have a look at. These may
include various issue areas such as wildlife and biodiversity, pollution in cities or just in general,
oceans, climate change as well as world population. As of now, there are a significant number of
people tackling these environmental issues.

Climate change

Climate change is the deviation from average weather patterns lasting for an extended period of time. Climate change is one of the problems that I could write about. It can come from either
natural sources or basically careless human behavior which has contributed to a rise in
greenhouse emissions. This is surely something that has been happening gradually ever since the use of fossil fuels. This problem affects people from all walks of life due to an abnormal rise in temperatures and intense natural disasters such as the disappearance of water bodies or wildfires or hurricanes. One of the phenomena brought about by this environmental problem is global warming due to the presence of greenhouse emissions. For instance, we have witnessed wildfires and droughts in California and hurricanes and flooding in Florida and Puerto Rico due to climate change. The impact these events have on communities varies.

Pollution

This is indeed another area that I could look at as it’s an environmental problem that directly
affects public health. It has various effects such as heart attacks, cancer, and even strokes. Air
pollution has been caused by overtime by various chemicals released from manufacturing industries such as food processing plants. One of the worst forms of air pollution is the release of particulate matter which can be inhaled by both humans and wildlife and lead to diseases.
Another form of pollution is noise pollution from loud machines, transportation systems such as airplanes as well as loud music being played in the streets all over. Natural processes are
hampered as a result of noise pollution. Furthermore, there’s also light pollution which to a large extent disrupts natural wildlife cycles and to an extent may cause depression and sleep disorders in humans.
Still, on pollution, I can also look into water pollution. Our water sources are constantly chocked
with chemicals and other waste products emitted from various industries. Some of these are a result of bad agricultural processes. When water is polluted, it becomes unusable by living
beings and this is such a huge public concern. Of the above two areas that interest me, the environmental issue of pollution interests me the most. This is because it directly affects human lives negatively and it comes in many forms be it air, water, or even noise. I could write about air pollution specifically and a driving research question that could provide an annotated bibliography that would be both interesting to me and meet the assignment goals would be “How does air pollution affect the health of people and wildlife”.

3.1 Ocean in distress .

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The ocean our gift from nature an a unique heritage is responsible for almost life on our planet .”it produce more than half of the oxygen in the atmosphere , and absorb the most carbon from it ” by Protect planet ocean.org .

Because of climate change the ocean become at risk , struggling to keep peace , with rising temperature , pollution and the absorption of greenhouse gases .The turtle journey is a short film writing by Wallace and Gromit’s release by Greenpeace trying to teach us how our ocean is in distress and dying by our fault of too much usage of plastic and the necessity to take action now .

Plastic accumulating in our oceans has become a global crisis and have a direct and deadly effect on wildlife . The way human deal with waste is a disgrace to mother nature , people doesn’t realize the importance of the sea and don’t pay attention to the contamination of those living creatures in the ocean .

Questions.

a) How can we save our ocean ?

b) Does the ban on plastic bag can contribute to save the ocean ?

c) How pollution in the ocean can affect our health ?