Geological Disaster-Tsunami

Living on planet earth geological disasters happen every so often that we cannot control. Geological hazards consist of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and landslides (Cunningham and Cunningham 297-316).  When these natural disasters happen under water it creates a tsunami. A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water ("Wikipedia").  When natural disasters occur it has a tremendous effect on earth’s resources the environment, and all species.

In 2004 a large tsunami hit the Indian Ocean. The tsunami was caused by an undersea mega thrust earthquake that took place Sunday, December 26, 2004 ("Wikipedia").  It was one of the most deadliest natural disasters, hitting India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand ("Wikipedia").  This geological disaster killed over 230,000 people. This disaster was very unexpected for those affected by it. There was nothing that could stop this large tsunami from happening.

The tsunami that occurred was due to the sliding of plates. “An estimated 1,600 kilometers of fault surface slipped along the subduction zone where the India Plate slides under the overriding Burma plate” ("Wikipedia").  The India plate sinked deeper beneath the Burma plate which eventually caused partial melting and the formation of magma ("Wikipedia").  The rising magma causes volcanic activity that created the Sunda Arc ("Wikipedia").  The sea floor rose by several meters, displacing an estimated 30 cubic kilometers of water that triggered the tsunami wave ("Wikipedia")

One of the countries that was hit by this massive tsunami was one of the most overpopulated countries, India. The population of India is extremely large approximately 1.1 billion ("Freewebs").  Many citizens of India are already suffering from lack of food and water. Some people don’t even have electricity in their homes ("Freewebs").  India is a developing country that was already struggling before the Tsunami hit. The tsunami made it much harder for Indian people to survive and have a decent living. Because India is so overpopulated the tsunami affected a large some of people making their living situation harder. Other countries began to help India and other countries that were affected by the Tsunami. In response to the catastrophe a worldwide humanitarian was promoted ("Wikipedia").  Worldwide a total of 14 billion dollars was donated in humanitarian aid ("Wikipedia").

In Conclusion geological disaster is something we all must learn to live with. These catastrophes affect the world in many ways.  One thing we all can do when disasters do happen is come together. We can try to help those in need as we would want others to do for us in the same situation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Citation

"2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 20 2012. Web. 23 Oct 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake>.

Cunningham, Mary Ann, and William Cunningham. Enviromental Science. 12th ed. Newyork: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 297-316. Print.

"Global Issues Overpopulation in India." Freewebs. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct 2012. <http://www.freewebs.com/overpopulation/>.

Restoration Ecology

Many people in the world have not been making great decisions for the environment. As the population increases, more damage will be done.  Thankfully, we have restoration ecology to repair and restore the destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment. There are five main components of restoration removing physical stressors, controlling invasive species, replanting, captive breeding and reestablishing fauna, and monitoring (Cunningham and Cunningham 272-286). All of these activities are done to help nature heal from the damage humans have caused.

            Humans need to be aware of their actions and the damage it can cause the environment.  In 2008 environmental damage caused by humans reached 6.6 trillion dollars (Kropp 1-3).  That is a lot of money going towards repairs that could’ve been avoided with smarter actions. Global environmental costs are projected to reach 28.6 trillion by 2050(Kropp 1-3).  Environmental damage is a serious issue because it affects everyone, whether it’s realized or not. “All organisms depend on their environment for energy and the materials needed to sustain life: clean air, potable water, nutritious food, and a safe place to live.” (Resnik, and Portier ).  The environment is vital for human life; we all should take care of the environment so it can take care of us.          

            As the world becomes more over populated the more it will affect the environment.  Some of the issues we face are water pollution, soil degradation, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity. Water is very important to human life. Humans can only go a week or two without water. The main contributors to water pollution are factories and open mines, the metals, toxic substances, and solid waste are impossible to purify (Stancheva 1-2). These contributors are making it hard for the environment to have clean drinking water. Land is important for food production, but it is estimated that 1.2 billon hectares of land have lost most of their agricultural output capability (Stancheva 1-2).  Forests are also getting destroyed. Deforestation is due to the building of roads, expansion of residential areas, the use of wood as fuel and forest areas getting burned and converted into pastures (Stancheva 1-2).  Loss of diversity leads to the destruction of the natural habitat of many wild life species (Stancheva 1-2). The clearing of Amazon forest has a tremendous effect on many rare tropical species (Stancheva 1-2).  Most of the danger on the environment is long lasting and sometimes permanent.

            Restoration ecology may have different projects and goals they want to achieve. There are different kinds of restoration including revegetation, habitat, remediation, and mitigation(Vaughn).  The restoration is usually locally initiated and done by community volunteers (Vaughn).  The practice began in the early 1900s and is now established as a science and studied in research institutions (Vaughn).  We must continue to restore ecology to help the destroyed environment.

 

            In conclusion everyone can be a volunteer and help restore ecology. As the population increases the more help will be needed. Having a destroyed environment will eventually affect human life.  It is very important to make good decision and help with restoration. Everyone can be a part of the movement.

 

citation

Cunningham, Mary Ann, and William Cunningham. Environmental Science. 12th. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 272-286. Print.

Kropp, Robert. "GreenBiz." GreenBiz. (2010): 1-3. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/10/05/humans-caused-66-trillion-environmental-damage-2008>.

 

Resnik, David, and Christopher Portier. "The Hasting Center." Hasting Center. n. page. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Publications/BriefingBook/Detail.aspx?id=2170>.

Stancheva, Tina. "Swarthmore College Environmental Studies." Swarthmore College Environmental Studies. 2003. (2003): 1-2. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://fubini.swarthmore.edu/~ENVS2/S2003/Tina/overpopulation.html>.

Vaughn, K.J. "Restoration Ecology." Nature Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct 2012. <http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/restoration-ecology-13339059>.

Overpopulation affect on food and water supply

            The world’s population is increasing daily; will there be enough food and water to feed the large population? The world produces lots of food that could feed the whole population plus more.  As much as half the food produced gets wasted either rotting in the markets, the fields and our refrigerators (Walsh 1).  That is a lot of food that gets wasted that could be going to poor countries.  As the years go on we will develop a food and water shortage. It’s like the known saying “You never know what’s good until it’s gone.”  Once food and water supplies get low worldwide, it will have a tremendous effect on everyone.

With human population increasing resources we need to survive such as food and water will eventually decrease. There are many things humans can live without and food and water is not one of them. Individuals can only go so long without food and water before they go into starvation.   According to About.com by year 2030 the demand for food will increase by 50% and drinking water demand will increase by 30% (West 1-2).  What the future entails for the world is very drastic.    Needing food and water may seem unrealistic to think about to people living in the US compared to those in developing countries.   Most Americans take food and water for granted, not realizing how blessed they are to have it. The food shortage is caused by political unrest, economic insecurities, unequal food distribution patterns, decreasing land productivity, and productive cropland shortage (Cordova, Pimentel, Pimentel, and Xuwen 1-4).   About 99% of the world’s food supply comes from the land, which is being lost at high rates (Cordova, Pimentel, Pimentel, and Xuwen 1-4).  To avoid a food crisis, it would be vital to come up with solutions to avoid food shortages from happening.

 

            Developing countries are well aware of the consequences that follow a food shortage.  Worldwide enough food is produced to feed everyone, but unfortuntantly it does not always reach those in need ( Sadik) .  Most developing countries are not been capable of meeting citizens’ basic needs; they are limited on water, land, and food.  The food shortage prediction will hit these countries the hardest.  Nearly 1,000 million people do not get enough food and over 400 million are chronically malnourished (Sadik).  Per caput food production declined in many developing countries, to compensate for local deficits, developing countries are rising food imports ( Sadik).  Developing countries are already struggling for survival, as the population increase it will only get worse.  

            To save lives in the world, plans and strategies must be made. Land is a very important thing to maintain a decent amount of food.   Improved resource management would increase crop yields, prevent land degradation, and provide sustainable livelihoods for millions of rural poor (Sadik).  Also “National population program s should include comprehensive and accessible maternal and child health care programs and family planning services in order to reduce the size of families and improve the health and wellbeing of the entire community” ( Sadik).     Genetic modification and conventional plant breeding should be done to improve drop yields and agriculture productivity as well as developing better water storage (West 1-2).  It is necessary to improve the supply of food and water to avoid a nationwide increase in human deaths.   As the population continues to increase the basic resources should increase as well.

 

Citations

Cordova, Ana, David Pimentel, Marcia Pimentel, and Huang Xuwen. "Impact of Population Growth on Food Supplies and the Environment." Population and Development Review. (1996): 1-4. Web. 4 Oct. 2012. <http://dieoff.org/page57.htm>.

Sadik, N. "Population growth and the food crisis." Agriculture and Consumer Protection n.pag. FAO Corporation Document Repository. Web. 4 Oct 2012. <http://www.fao.org/docrep/U3550t/u3550t02.htm>.

Walsh, Bryan. "Why the Real Victim of Overpopulation Will Be the Environment." Time [Newyork] 26 Oct 2011, 1. Web. 4 Oct. 2012. <http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2097720_2097782_2097814,00.html>.

 

West, Larry. "Population Growth Expected to Cause a Food, Water and Energy Crisis by 2030." About 29 Mar 2009, 1-2. Print. <http://environment.about.com/b/2009/03/23/population-growth-expected-to-cause-a-food-water-and-energy-crisis-by-2030.htm>.