Mass Wasting - China

The devastating landslide in Zhouqu, China that killed many and made many homeless has a lot of causes and ways that could have some what prevented it. China is one of the worlds hot spots for landslides, the ground is very shaky. The main issue is that the region has gone through about 50 years of unrestrained logging. Many mountain tops have been stripped bare by the logging. Each year, forests have declined and the environment has been damaged beyond its capacity to recover. By the time local governments started to plant trees to stabilize the soil, the vegetation was unable to form on the steep, thinly soiled slopes. There have been efforts to help restore the way of life in the western part of China. The restoration of a permanent water supply started in Zhouqu county in northwest China's Gansu Province as the rebuilding of the mudslide-battered area picked up and has mostly been completed now. Safe drinking water will be available within five months of being completed. Zhouqu's main water supplies were cut after the mudslides and emergency water containers had been used to provide safe water for a while after the disaster.

Agricultural Water Use

Drip Irrigation:
Pros - Concentrating the irrigation to specific plants can prevent weeds from germinating nearby. Also, when you spread your tubing around the plants, the subsequent irrigation provides an even distribution of moisture. As a result, you will sustain a healthy soil environment for optimal growth.

Cons - If your drip irrigation installation is done poorly, it could result in poor root development and die back. For example, looping your tubing too wide or installing a small quantity of water emitters creates drought conditions where the roots grow.

Sprinkler Irrigation:
Pros - An irrigation sprinkler system is a competent and fast system designed to meet the water needs for your plants. It is a form of simulated actual rainfall to water your plants. You can place them on pretty much every surface which gives you a lot of options.

Cons - The efficiency of sprinkler irrigation can be affected by wind. Also, with regards to crop sensitivity, some crops are affected from leaf scorch, fungal disease, along with other damage which may be caused by salt being deposited about the leaves. They also cost a ton of money to install.

Surface Irrigation:
Pros - Minimal capital investment or energy costs, and less affected by climatic and water quality factors. Easy to see the effectiveness of the system and how much it helps. They help a lot with floods and help keep the plants healthy for the most part.

Cons - They tend to be less efficient than other systems, and are very labor intensive and sometimes could be difficult to engineer. There can be high possibilities of disease pressure in the case of flooding. Drainage can also be a problem in some circumstances, if doesn't drain properly it will start to flood which can cause some diseases to get into the plants.

Land Subsidence Case Study

a) Overdrafting of aquifers is the major cause of subsidence in the southwestern United States, and as ground-water pumping increases, land subsidence also will increase. In many aquifers, ground water is pumped from pore spaces between grains of sand and gravel. Land subsidence is the lowering of the land-surface elevation from changes that take place underground. Common causes of land subsidence from human activity are pumping water, oil, and gas from the underground. It happens in nearly every state in the United States of America.

b) Land subsidence causes many problems including changes in elevation and slope of streams, canals, and drains. Also, there is damage to bridges, roads, railroads, storm drains, sewers, and canals. It can cause damage to private and public buildings. In some coastal areas, subsidence has resulted in tides moving into low-lying areas that were previously above high-tide levels.

c) In an effort to prevent further land subsidence, we could establish alternate ways to deal with water underground which will help cut down the risk of subsidence becoming an issue. If we cut back on projects like digging holes and uprooting tress it would hopefully help prevent the possibility of subsidence. There's no real way to stop subsidence that we know of, all we can really do is try new things to avoid being enveloped by the Earth in a sad ending to humanity.

Earthquake in Vancouver

1. There hasn't been a major earthquake since 1700, known as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake, there could be another major earthquake soon especially with a bunch of more recent earthquakes in other subduction zones.

2. Our area is very close to sea level making it vulnerable to a tsunami and feeling major affects of a monstrous earthquake. There are tons of trees and loose rocks on mountain sides and lots of tall sky scrapers in the major cities.

3. a) Liquefaction would be a major issue in the South Delta, Richmond and Tsawassen area because they are at sea level and the ground can easily become liquefied.

Landslides would be a major area in the North Vancouver and Vancouver Island and Gulf Island areas because of all the forests and hill sides and mountains with loose rocks all over them.

A tsunami would be a major concern for Victoria and other cities along the coast of B.C. because they aren't a major land mass and can easily be swept under water and many peoples lives would be destroyed.

Flooding would occur along Vancouver Island and all the cities and towns along the Pacific Ocean like Vancouver and Richmond. The sea level would rise causing these areas at sea level to flood.

b) The social impact would be major as lots of lives would be in danger and the people who do survive would have a really long tough time of going back to a normal life.

Economic impact would be huge as many buildings would be damaged and destroyed and lots of roads and bridges and many other man made structures would get obliterated causing a huge price tag for our province and country.

Impact on our provinces infrastructures would be huge as it would take tons of time to repair and rebuild especially since the most expensive things are right at sea level. Also, it would take almost a whole generation to rebuild the affected areas to what they are today.

4. Metro Vancouver is preparing for this major earthquake by putting in earthquake proof pipes in downtown Vancouver and other sea level cities and some skyscrapers mainly in downtown Vancouver are getting earthquake proof structures causing them to be able to sway slightly without getting major damage.

 

Aquaculture

1. Aquaculture is the rearing of aquatic animals or the cultivation of aquatic plants for food.

2. It effects humans because it can be unhealthy with all the different types antibiotics in the fish and different types of dyes, and fungicides and pollutants that the food can attract. Also, farm fish foods have a lot lower protein levels and other things you benefit from fish. Although it can be very beneficial as it provides humans with fish to eat. The environment will be affected because there's lots of degradation and a lot of suspended solids. Therefore the nutrient and organic enrichment of recipient waters resulting in build-up of anoxic sediments and the eutrophication of lakes. It can help the environment if people are very responsible and help stop the amount of pollution being emitted. It affects the economy because they cost a lot of money to create and keep running, but they're very cheap to buy from and they help create jobs giving lots of people good money.

3. I believe aquaculture is a good thing to have in our lifetime. Mainly because it helps prevent extinction to some extent, but in order for it to be very effective we as a society need to stop fishing as much. Also, it provides more jobs for people helping people be more financially stable which is also beneficial to the economy. As we evolve as a generation I believe we can fix the problems of how aquaculture works today. For example, I believe we can cut down a huge amount of the pollution emitted today and I believe we'll be able to figure out a way to make the fish healthier and better for us to eat. Overall I really think aquaculture will be needed in the future in order for us to keep the fish around we love and still being able to benefit us when they give us the great nutrients they contain.

Deforestation

1.
Deforestation has created agricultural or pastoral land in Madagascar but it has led to water resource degradation, biodiversity erosion and habitat loss, and soil loss.

2.
Environmental Impact: The only positive aspect of this method is a slight, quick rise in agricultural production. But there are many negatives. Obviously with less trees there is more pollution or CO2 let into the air but there is one major problem with deforestation in Madagascar which is that it effects the biodiversity which is the wealth of life on earth. A reduction in biodiversity is bad because biodiversity is important for future advances in industry, medicine, agriculture and other fields. They may also suffer with land erosion and river contamination.

Social Impact: The communities may benefit from the rise in agricultural production in the short term after deforestation. But over time, a loss in biodiversity will affect the beauty of the country and will definitely cause a drop in the tourism industry for Madagascar.

Economic Impact: Deforestation has incurred a number of problems. This has led to a poorer standard of living and a decrease in the GDP. Short-term economic gains made by conversion of forest to agriculture, the exploitation of wood products, leads to loss of long term income and long term biological productivity. Also, there has been a decline in timber harvests in Madagascar, which has led to a lower revenue.

3.
I feel like deforestation is a greater threat in Canada because even though our country is huge we have lost lots of our forests. Even though now there are lots of efforts being done to restore our forests it wont be the same to what it was in the past.

Rhine River Case Study Harjan + Owen

1. The Rhine River is called the "Industrial Heartland" for many reasons. It connects the largest seaport with the largest inland port. Many of the industrial complexes are built along the river. It is the longest river in Europe and it cuts through 6 countries which makes it a good route for transporting raw materials and goods.

2. The river has been involved in a straightening process due to
improved navigation which means that water moves downstream more quickly. Urbanisation in the Rhine catchment area has also helped flooding because the concrete and tarmac send more water to the river than the fields they replaced.

3. Some solutions could be that they put up barricade's or dam like structures to slow down the flow of the water and help keep a lot of the trash out of the river. They could also create sewers that lead else where so less pollution goes into the river and the water would become a lot cleaner. In the river they could make filtration systems that will help stop trash from flowing down the river and also slow the flow.