The theme of these two papers is water management, and each presents different aspects of this issue. The paper by Fratini, Elle, Jensen, and Mikkelsen (2012), presents a case for developing a new system to implement sustainable technology to combat climate change. This system includes examining macro knowledge first through understanding institutions, secondly understanding the meso level of knowledge by interpreting networks, and finally understanding the micro level of individual opinions. This theory was mainly formed through reviewing current literature and doing filed work in Denmark and Norway. The second paper by Barbosa, Fernandes, and David (2012), mainly focuses on the complexities of stormwater management and presents various solutions …show more content…
This complements the findings of the other paper, as it too advocated for a multifaceted approach to stormwater policy. Both sets of authors believe that there is a need for integration of not only science and policy making, but also different fields that contribute to stormwater management (Barbosa, Fernandes, & David, 2012). The articles have a common element as neither specifically focuses on a particular case study, allowing them to make conclusions drawn from many examples. This aids in making theories more applicable to many different situations. The articles differ in the theories that they present, as Barbosa, Fernandes, and David indicate that stormwater management should be through different water treatment strategies, whereas Fratini et al uses the approach of creating a system based on incorporating various levels of opinion on how stormwater should be managed. Both of these approaches have strengths and weakness, which will be assessed in the following sections. The assumptions made by Barbosa, Fernandes, and David are not about how the system should work, unlike Fratini et al, rather it speaks to how it currently works. In this analysis, however, Barbosa, Fernandes, and David do not acknowledge the role of public participation in stormwater planning. While it does show …show more content…
The theoretical framework that they present aims to address this issue by incorporating various levels of knowledge that they refer to as macro, meso and micro (Fratini et al, 2012). On the surface, this system appears to be able incorporate the knowledge of man parties by ensuring that they will have a chance to voice opinions at a particular level of idea development (Fratini et al, 2012). However, by using an ordered system where the macro level is understood first and then the micro level last, it appears to make the macro level the most important. Additionally, using this system may only work well if officials could be truly objective. If there is ever conflicting opinions on stormwater best practices management, the officials who are implementing this system may be more inclined to agree with discoveries produced by macro analysis since these analyses may be what the researchers were led to initially believe. A different problem with this approach is that it relies on officials or researchers to both produce a large amount of data and then analyses it to determine the optimal solution (Fratini et al, 2012). This is reminiscent of the rational systems theory, which too assumes that officials, in that case
What we have seen in late January has proved that the city of Phoenix needs one more water treatment facility. The tax revenue that will be lost if a water crisis every happen again will pay for the building of the new facility. The water department has known of this problem for years but has chosen not to rectify the hazard. City officials chalked up the high levels of sediment in the water to Mother Nature, but they acknowledge that a series of decisions by water officials could have worsened the problem. (Villa, Fehr-Snyder, 1) The water department knew and Frank Fairbanks knew that maintenance was required on rotating bases, on each facility and chooses to take two offline during the “winter” or “rainy months”.
Hurstville Council drainage map record shown there is no Council’s drainage pipe or easement within the mentioned property.
Water is a quintessential element of all life on Earth. Of all the water on Earth, about three percent is fresh and can be used immediately for human consumption. Perth’s climate is drying, yet Western Australia is still consuming relatively high amounts of water. This problem of high consumption of water in a drying climate is far from straightforward There are many elements contributing to water consumption in Western Australia. Broadly, these factors fall under the three pillars of sustainability: social, economic and environmental. Each of these pillars are made up of many components, and all those components are intricately and numerously linked. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Using Systems Analysis to examine the interlinked factors of water consumption in Perth and Western Australia is a good way to uncover hidden root causes of the issue of water consumption in WA and start to apply leverage in the most serviceable places.
The Mexican government has been ineffective in addressing the ecological issues associated with the water shortages in Mexico City because of its institutional fragmentation. Currently, forty-five percent of the water used in the greater Mexico City is supplied by over-exploiting the aquifer because the current water extraction rate from the aquifer is one hundred and eighty-four percent greater than the sustainable level. (Pina, 2011 ) Since Mexico City receives seventy percent of its water from the aquifer, its depletion poses a significant problem to the government of Mexico and its people. (Pina, 2011 ) In Mexico City, the federal, regional and local government levels all play a part in determining water management policies. While the local government of Mexico City sh...
The two essays by Michael Pollan and Curtis white talk about climate change in regards to the relationship between the environment and human beings. Although the two essays share the same topic, they take the subject and engage the readers in totally different points of views. Pollan’s essay talks about global and ecological responsibility being a personal virtue while Curtis discusses the socio-economic or political issues underlying sustainability (Pollan; White). These two essays are very different in terms of voice; however these pieces of writing are both important for people all over the world to read. Climate change and environmental disasters are a real issue. Just this year, there have been more storms, cyclones, earthquakes and typhoons all over the world. One cannot look at the state of many developing counties where the majority of the population is exposed and vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This issue on developing a viable solution for the problem of anthropogenic gases and global warming is long from being found. Not only this, many people do not want to hear about this issue since they do not think it is real. Unless people have tangible proof that their cars, thermostats and aerosol cans are contributing to climate change, they are not going to give up their lifestyles. By synthesizing the two essays, one can see that there is a need for change and that it is not an issue which should be dealt with in terms of ecological factors or even personal virtue. The social, economic and political factors affecting this problem and the move towards real sustainability should also be a topic that will raise awareness.
By educating the youth, permanent behavioral changes can be made that will have long term positive effects on the overall water quality The program will be designed to educate the youth on what is considered to be stormwater pollution, what they can do to help control stormwater pollution and encourage them to help educate others in preventing further actions that contribute to stormwater pollution. Program Description – Public Participation – Volunteer Waterway Cleanup Groups Organizations within Tuscaloosa County recognize the need for waterway trash cleanup along the lakeshores and stream banks. With the groups taking ownership in the solution to the problem of waterway trash a substantive reduction in the amount of floating and submerged
However, such a program contradicts the nature of a private system. Here arises the fundamental problem with privatizing water utility. A private entity is more responsible for profit to itself than it is quality to its customers. In fact, private water utility companies often forgo efforts which could improve quantity and quality of the water if the problems are long-term or do not prevent the accumulation of profit in the short-term. , An alternative to a private water utility company are “independent, special-purpose water agencies or districts [which] can have technical and financial capacity equal to private corporations,” meaning they function similar to private entities, but are owned publicly.
"Water Pollution." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 May 2014.
Walkerton a small town in Ontario was brought into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. When a major rain storm caused E. coli from manure to seep into the towns drinking water contaminating it. This disaster happened because Walkerton has had a dark past with not following proper rules and regulations. However, the Walkerton Clean Water Centre (WCWC) makes the future look bright. The future looks bright because the Ontario government learned from its wrongs of the past. By firstly, how the Walkerton Public Utilities Commission (PUC) managed the drinking water systems prior to the 2000 E. coli outbreak. Secondly, how the E. coli outbreak happened and how it effected drinking water regulations across Ontario. Finally,
Background: Waste water treatment plants are essential to communities of all sizes and must work efficiently. Waste water treatment plant primary priority and responsibility is the treatment of incoming sewage water by the removal of biological and chemical wastes so it can be treated and recycled for future use. There are many government agencies and standards set forth to govern and observe the successful treatment of sewage, such as the Department of Environmental Quality, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and the Clean Water Act of 1972. Compliance and constant monitoring of the treatment plant’s operations are important as they protect the surrounding community. A spill or backflow of sewage due to a complete system malfunction could potentially be detrimental to the environment and local community.
Irrigation is a method to reach the sustainable agriculture as it supplies deficit water to the crops where rainfall cannot fulfil the crop water requirement. An irrigation system facilitates by supplying required amount of water at desirable head at proper time and duration to the agriculture fields through a network of canals. And the design, operation and management of these irrigation system play a vital role in keeping the system achieve its aim for sustainable agriculture. Moreover, this can only be achieved when there is adequate, equitable, reliable and efficient irrigation system, however, due to various reasons like sedimentation, it has greatly affect the performance of the irrigation systems.
This report aims to discuss and to enrich the reader’s knowledge on the proper desludging and disposal of waste accumulated from septic tanks. The information gathered here is vital as it provides a culture of awareness to everyone on how wastewater is disposed of. Wastewater comes from everywhere; from our residences to our workplaces, even public places. Filipinos as we are, have been known to be hygienic yet we know little of what happens when our used water is flushed to the drain until it’s carried off to treatment plants. It is imperative that we, as citizens, must have an idea on how the whole process works and how beneficial/ detrimental it is to the people and to our environment.
Many scientific studies also show increases in the intensity, duration, and extent of droughts, higher atmospheric temperatures, warmer sea surface temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, and diminishing glaciers and snowpack. The bottom line is that causes of climate change, such as greenhouse gas emissions, will have to be minimized if people want to do as much as possible to solve the water crisis. Works Cited Water demand management: the case of Zaragoza, Spain Web 25 Nov. 2014. http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/swm_cities_zaragoza_2010/pdf/final_report_swm_cities.pdf.
This research paper is about climate change with the concept of sustainable development, meaning that it will approach the climate change problem with an economical way and try to solve it with the new growth theory. New growth theory argues that innovations, population growth, new technology, and creative destruction are connected to each other and that these connections will solve the climate change problem. The exponential technology growth, improved international private rights and improved use of human capital are some of those key terms what the theory is all about. The most important thing towards the solution is human capital. Improved human capital will lead to a better efficiency of industry and therefore improve the environmental friendliness. Government plays as an important role even though the regulations of market are set in minimum. Government’s job is to create a good business atmosphere with attractive incentives. These incentives and good private property rights will help to achieve this business atmosphere and new innovations will come out. The biggest barrier for plan is the theory itself. An example of this is the neoliberal revolution in Argentina during 1989-1999 when Carlos Menem was the president of the country. His neoliberal and market liberal politics, which are one of the corner stones of new growth theory, achieved big victories in the start of 90s but when the economy started to slow down and the unemployment exploded the problems doubled up. To avoid this kind of market overheating, corporate leaders and politicians had to be liable for their decisions. If those people manage to be liable for markets, the markets will repair themselves and also the pr...
The problem of water scarcity has increasingly spread throughout the world as of yet, The UN reports that within the next half- century up to 7 billion people in 60 countries which is more than the whole present population will face water scarcity (Sawin “Water Scarcity could Overwhelm the Next Generation”). As well the demand for freshwater has tripled over the past 50 years, and is continuing to rise as a result of population growth and economic development. 70% of this demand derives from agriculture which shows the influence of water on food supply globally as well not just drinking water (Sawin “Water Scarcity could overwhelm the Next Generation”). But increasing water use is not just a matter of the greater number of people needing it to drink and eat; it also comes from pollution and misuse of water supplies, by either dumping or runoff of bacteria or chemicals into water. This also “causes other pollutions as well such as soil and air pollution, accelerating wetland damage and human caused global warming” (Smith and Thomassey 25). According to UN report, recent estimates suggest that climate change will account for about 20 percent of the increase in global water scarcity in coming decades.