Category: Environment

Introduction

Water is among the most valuable natural resource found on the earth. The human body can survive for a number of days without food, but its systems will fail without water. The ecosystem requires water in order to supply human beings with food, energy and other resources essential for survival (Miller and Spoolman 312).

Similarly, water is critical for transforming the earths surface. Furthermore, water is a key component used in moderating and controlling the weather patterns (Maxwell 3). In this case, it purifies the environment by removing and adulterating impurities and wastes. On an economic perspective, water is a critical resource because it determines the poverty rate. Water supply problems affect health and food production (Saddleback 15).

This paper examines how population growth affects the water system and concerns related to drinking fresh water. The paper further looks into the shortage of clean water, and how the second law of thermodynamics can be used in explaining energy conservation in a source- separation designing program.

What role does population growth play in water supply problems?

Population growth is a key element determining water supply problems. As the population increase, demand for water also increase. This is because water is required for; household, agriculture and industrial use. Miller and Spoolman (313) illustrate that excessive use of water leads to low water tables, dwindling lakes and dying wetlands. In addition, the amount of waste-water discharged increases pollution. This ultimately threatens the ecosystem because the hazardous waste finds their way back to water.

Urbanization is a consequence of population growth. The growth of large cities subsequently affects the climate and hydrological system. Urbanization requires using resource like; timber, wood, paper and water in building houses, offices and schools. Besides building, more than two billion people use firewood and charcoal for cooking and heating (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 26).

The demand for timber has contributed to deforestation, reducing the vegetative cover. Since the ecosystem of the natural forests determines the hydrological cycle, deforestation has led to water supply problems. It has created a heat island due to reduced evapotranspiration.

Gupta asserts the human settlement pattern due to population growth is not in tandem with the hydrological cycle (399). It is based on water catchment areas. Also, Gupta cites urbanization has a phenomenon creating an impervious cover on underground water and watersheds (399). The Impervious cover leads to impervious upsurge which modifies the drainage system and changes the microclimate. Furthermore, urban settlement affects water supply through water distribution and sewer systems.

Identify three ways in which humans are negatively impacting the water cycle

Human beings have negatively affected the water cycle through various activities. Gupta indicates pollution as a serious consequence brought about by human activities (248). Human beings pollute water at a point or non point sources. According to Gupta (346), it is easy to monitor point source pollution.

However, non point pollution originates from diverse sources making it difficult to track. In less developed countries, pollution is on the rise because they do not have resources to build effective waste management systems. Moreover, developed countries lack policies that regulate pollution (Gupta 535).

The water cycle is polluted by industrial, agricultural and household wastes released to water. Agricultural pollutants include; pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, and fertilizers. When these chemicals are washed down by rain or irrigation water, they end up in lakes, rivers or other water sources. The first impact is that pollutants can disrupt the life system of organisms living in water (Maxwell 3). Secondly, the chemicals used have a high percentage of phosphorus which alters the nutrient content of water.

When the water system is loaded with nutrients eutrophication occurs (Gupta 399). In hot weather, the excess nutrients promote the growth of bloom, duck weed or water hyacinth. Hence, their increase hinders the growth of useful water life such as fish. Industrial pollutants also contain harmful substances, for example, coal ash, which is produced in power plants. When coal ash is dumped in water, it causes contamination.

Most containers are made of plastics. The polymers used to produce plastics take years to decompose. When disposed carelessly, plastics pollute waterways and systems. Apart from pollution, humans affect the water cycle through wastage. If people would use water efficiently, there would be no need for excessive withdrawal of water. The other activity that negatively impacts the hydrological cycle is mining. Mining contaminates and destroy underground resources.

Summarize the public health concerns related to fresh drinking water worldwide

The lack of fresh drinking water appears to be a critical environmental challenge worldwide. Franks, in his book Water: A Matrix of Life claims that diarrhea, schistosomiasis, and cholera claim about three million lives every year (197). Statistics from the World Health Organization show there are about 3-5 million cases of cholera reported annually (World Health Organization). Miller and Spoolman also claim that 3900 children under the age of five years die daily from waterborne diseases (World Health Organization).

United Nations reported that waterborne disease lead to more deaths compared to war and violent acts (Miller and Spoolman 532). Other statistics from the World Health Organization reveals that more than one billion people have no accessibility to clean water and sanitation.

In countries facing drought or famine, people have no option, but to drink the available water. To access drinking water, they probably have to walk for a long distance. In less development countries, fuel is a scarce resource. Most people cannot afford to waste this precious commodity to boil drinking water.

Why is there a shortage of clean water for the worlds population to consume?

According to Miller and Spoolman, fresh water is being used unsustainably. The population is either wasting it or polluting it (123). Additionally, water management authorities are charging the citizens too little for the valuable resource. With the increase in population, more water is required for economic activities such as irrigation and industrial use.

These activities in turn contribute to waste production, hence, contaminating water resources. Furthermore, the lack of clean water is caused by an imbalance of water use and resources (World Water Council). The imbalance created contributes to water stress. Consequently, the quality and quantity of water deteriorates because of overexploitation and eutrophication respectively. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Forest and mountain ecosystem supply the largest quantity of fresh water (World Water Council).

The increase in human population endangers these ecosystems due to urbanization an economic development. The effluents and emissions from industries cause acidic depositions in the air. Acidity alters the pH levels of water which consequently impairs water resources (Maxwell 3).

Water wastage also contributes to the shortage of clean water. Water is wasted by luxuries such as showers and sprinklers. Miller and Spoolman assert that the low cost of water promotes wastage (328). The low cost water leaves consumers with no incentive to conserve water or invest in technology that saves water.

The appropriateness of the second law of thermodynamics, and why a well-designed source-separation recycling program use less energy and produces less pollution than a centralized program that collects mixed waste over a large area and hauls it to a centralized facility where workers or machinery separates the waste for recycling.

The second law of thermodynamics describes the loss of heat during energy transformation. Buckingham and Turner 69 allege that When energy changes from one state to another, heat is lost. The transformation of energy moves from order to disorder, a state known as entropy.

Therefore, thermodynamics nullifies perfect recycling due to degradation of quality. Through recycling, waste products lose energy or heat. A properly designed source- separation recycling system, use less energy. This is because human populations are engaged in the process of separation (Last). The garbage is sorted in different categories before the waste is collected. Compared to source separation systems, centralized systems use machinery which requires fossil fuel (Buckingham and Turner 69).

The fossil fuel used in these systems emits hazardous chemicals. Thus, the chemicals emitted pollute the air affecting the ecosystem. However, despite this effect, centralized systems play a critical role in reducing environmental waste at the cost of pollution. This means centralized system move from a source of order to disorder (Buckingham and Turner 69). In addition, it is expensive to buy the equipments required to sort waste in a centralized system.

The other challenge of a centralized waste separation facility is the use of machinery to separate the different components. A machine may not be successful because it lacks the ability to separate component like plastics such as hard and soft plastic. Moreover, some of the waste components may be contaminated and, therefore, may not meet recycling specifications. When the users of these materials discover that the specifications have not been met, they have to return the products. This action is uneconomical as it wastes time and resources in the process.

Works Cited

Buckingham, Susan and Mike Turner. Understanding Environmental Issues. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, 2008. Print.

Franks, Felix. Water: A Matrix of Life. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2000. Print.

Gupta, Sushil K. Modern Hydrology and Sustainable Water Development. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. Print.

Last, Steven. What is Recycling  Source Separation and Mechanical Sorting of Household Waste, 2007.

Maxwell, Steve. Business of Water: A Concise Overview of Challenges and Opportunities in the Water Market : a Compilation of Recent Articles from Journal Awwa. Denver, CO: American Water Works Association, 2008. Print.

Miller, G T, and Scott Spoolman. Living in the Environment. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 2012. Print.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Ecosystem and Human Well- being: Our Human Planet: Summary for Decision-Makers. Washington, DC : Island Press, 2005. Print.

Saddleback.Water Conservation. Irvine, CA: Saddleback Educational Publishing, 2009. Print.

World Water Council. Water crisis. 2010.

World Health Organization. Cholera. 2011.

Due to excessive use in agriculture, organophosphorus (OP) pesticides are one of the most widely occurring pollutants in the environment. They inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and cause serious nerve problems in animals and humans, particularly affecting the nerve-muscle junction. Sensitive OP detection and monitoring of degradation are the two challenges of analytical chemistry. Broadly, two detection methods have evolved: Gas chromatography (GC) hooked to a suitable detection system as the compounds are volatile in nature, and more recently, the immobilized biocatalyst systems, detecting by AChE inhibition chemically linked to spectrophotometric or electrical conductance changes. Traditionally GC-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and its improvised version, ion trap GC-MS/MS have been used as highly sensitive detection methods for OP. Due to the non-availability of proper standards, the oxidizing products of native OPs, particularly the oxon compounds remained undetected. A more recent approach is based on triple quadrupole mass spectroscopy as the detection device for GC (GC-QqQ-MS). This method helps detect traces of a large number of OPs and also the derivatives in fruits and vegetables before being marketed. This is based on a principle that once the pesticides are separated by GC they are ionized both positively and negatively under ion trap and then fragmented in QqQ MS in MS/MS mode. The structure of OP and products can be deduced from the fragmentation pattern in the spectrum. It is possible to quantify the OPs so that biosafety levels can be marked. Although chlorination is practiced for water purification, the process leads to oxidation of thiono (P=S) form of OP to active oxon forms (P=O), which are more harmful. Simultaneous detection of parental and oxon forms of OPs was possible by GC-MS if the water samples were passed through solid-phase extraction prior to GC-MS. In SPE-GC-MS special DB-5 column was used to separate the parental and oxon forms of the OP.

Electronic sensory devices have been developed later to screen OP in a large number of environmental samples. In one of the methods, electric eel AChE-mediated variation in current, due to OP-caused inhibition of the enzyme, was recorded using a tetracyanocyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ)-modified graphite electrode as against Ag/AgCl reference electrode. A sol-gel was prepared to immobilize AChE in the SiO2 network, resulting in tetrameric mesh capturing the enzyme. This enzyme biosensor had very high thermal and photochemical stability in aqueous and organic phases. Acetylthiocholine was used as a substrate that got catalytically converted to thiocholine, and this reacted chemically with a redox modulator, TCNQ (reduced) to dithiocholine resulting in the formation of oxidized TCNQ and charge (electrons). The reaction is as follows:

CH3(C=O)S(CH2)2N+(CH3)3 + H2O ’ CH3COOH + HS(CH2)2N+(CH3)3 2HS(CH2)2N+(CH3)3 + 2TCNQ (red) ’ [S(CH2)2N+(CH3)3]2 + 2TCNQ (ox) + 2H+ + 2e-

A constant potential difference between TCNQ-coated graphite and Ag/AgCl electrodes gives current proportionate to catalytic activity. The presence of OPs would quantitatively inhibit the enzyme and thereby the current flow. The advantage is that both parental and oxon forms of OPs can be detected in this method. A relatively new approach utilizes photothermal detection of OPs using thermal lens spectrophotometry in conjunction with a bio-analytical flow injection analysis system. This method is particularly suitable for monitoring the photolytic degradation products of OP compounds mediated through reactive oxygen radicals. This method is developed by immobilizing the eel AChE to the controlled pore glass and then packed in a column and azinphos-methyl is used as standard OP. The carrier mobile phase contains acetylthiocholine iodide substrate and 5,5-dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoic acid). The catalysis generates 5-to-2-nitrobenzoate absorbing at 410 nm. Since this irradiance also generates heat conductance, thermal lens spectrophotometry is employed as a superior detection system. The presence of OPs (parental and oxons) would reduce the catalysis rate and decrease thermal conductance.

These chemistry-based application methods have revolutionized the pesticide detection system than the conventional bioassays. Further innovations in new chemical techniques or adaptation of existing techniques would be highly desirous to detect new generation pesticides in the environment.

Sources

Badea, M., M. Romanca, C. Draghici, J.-L. Marty, C. V. V. C. O. Marques, D. R. Mendes, O. P. Amarante Jr. and G. S. Nunes. Multidisciplinary Collaboration for Environmental Protection using Biosensors. Detection of Organophosphate Insecticides in Aqueous Medium. Journal of Brazilian Chemical Society 17.4 (2006): 807-811.

Franko, Mladen, Mohamed Sarakha, Anja Cibej, Ales Boskin, Mojca Bavcon and Polonca Trebse. Photodegradation of pesticides and application of bioanalytical methods for their detection. Pure and Applied Chemistry 77.10 (2005): 17271736.

Frenich, Antonia Garrido, Manuel J. Gonzalez-Rodrýguez, Francisco J. Arrebola, and Jose L. Martýnez Vidal. Potentiality of Gas Chromatography-Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry in Vanguard and Rearguard Methods of Pesticide Residues in Vegetables. Analytical Chemistry 77 (2005): 4640-4648.

Tahara, Maiko, Reiji Kubota, Hiroyuki Nakazawa, Hiroshi Tokunaga and Tetsuji Nishimura. Analysis of Active Oxon forms of nine Organophosphorous Pesticides in Water Samples using Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometric detection. Journal of Health Science 52.3 (2006) 313-319.

Introduction

The bottled water industry cannot be stopped today because of the great awareness of people about drinking only bottled water so that they will not be ill. Another reason for the rise of the use of bottled water is because of the convenience that it offers in terms of portability. Unlike tap water, bottled water can be purchased anywhere be it in the supermarket or from vendors on the streets.

The problem that arises is that people do not appear to care for their actions upon finishing drinking the bottled water. For most of them, the litter bin is always home for the used bottles. What they seem not to care is the overall environmental impact of these bottles.

This report will present a rational argument about using bottled water and disposing of the containers. The research project shall seek to amplify the need for regulation of the used water bottles. It is quite obvious that water bottles are the highest in a number of all bottles thrown away after use. This stems from the fact it has a high consumption base which includes both adults and young people (IBWA, 2009).

The research shall take into account the contribution of lack of environment culture towards the increase of environmental degradation. This culture contribution shall be examined in the context of individuals as well as companies and corporations.

Big companies such as Coca Cola and Pepsi shall be featured in the report to show the involvement of companies in the bottled water industry and the environmental effect to it. There is a need to come up with a quick solution as to how these impacts shall be reduced.

Background

Environmental conservation is a duty bestowed to both individuals as well as corporations. The bottled water industry has been on the rise. This stems from the fact that drinking water is important for everyone. People have to drink water, and bottled water offers a convenient way for people who are moving from one place to another.

Packaging of bottled water is normally done in plastics. Most of these plastics are normally disposable and therefore often litter the environment. Apart from littering the environment, they also have adverse effects on the environment generally. This is because plastic is made from inorganic material and therefore cannot decompose.

While there is a need to drink water, there is also a need to ensure that the environment is conserved. There is a need to strike a balance between the two. People trust bottled water because they believe that they are safer than tap water. This stems from the fact that bottled water had undergone different treatment procedures when it was being processed.

Scope of the Report

The main objective of this research shall be to find out how bottled waters contribute to environmental degradation. While it is axiomatic that people have to drink bottled, there is a need for regulation of the same. The research shall seek to examine the impact that bottled water has on the environment. Furthermore, the research shall delve into how utilization of water shall be done properly to curb the excessive usage of bottled water.

There is a need to critically examine the global approach of drinking bottled water and peoples lack of environmental awareness. The research is expected to show how the unregulated use of bottled water negatively affects the environment. It also seeks to come up with effective suggestions/recommendations as to how a rational use of water and the utilization of bottles can be of benefit to the whole society.

The research embarks on proving the dangers that unregulated usage of the bottled pose to the environment. It also seeks to share knowledge of how people can be able to respect nature and the environment as a whole. The report shall also come up with proposals and recommendations on how to improve the existing situation. The report has some suggestions that if implemented to the latter shall improve the culture of environmentally mindful.

Why people drink bottled water

There are several reasons why people have stuck to drinking bottled water. These reasons range from safety to other reasons such as taste. Below is a graph showing what percentage and the reason for their choice of bottled water.

From the American Water Works Association Foundation, the Consumer Attitude Survey on Water Quality Issues, p. 19 (1993)

Bottled Water and Their Impact To the Environment

There has been a great controversy on the issue of regulating the bottling industry. The major controversy is among the economically-minded proponents against the environmental-minded proponents. Environmentalists have been calling for strict measures to regulate the packaging in plastic bottles.

They argue that the adverse effects that are to be suffered because of the environmental degradation are far-reaching and dire. On the other hand, there have been arguments of impacts that would be drastic and have far-reaching implications to the society as a whole.

These people look at how strict regulation in the bottling industry shall reduce the production of bottles. This will then lead to a loss of jobs, and the overall effect will also affect the economy. These people argue from the economic point of view and do not concern themselves with environmental issues.

Bottles as an environment degradation agent

Bottles are mainly made of plastic and glass. These are made out a complex combination of elements and inorganic substances (Barrett, 2009). The overall material for manufacturing these bottles are normally inorganic and therefore cannot decompose. This trait is what makes bottles to be environmental hazards.

Most people use these bottles and then throw them away with apathy as to what shall happen to these bottles later on. Findings on the level of recycling have shown laxity on both the bottling companies as well as individuals to recycle these bottles.

Plastic bottles are also made of resins. These are always not bio-degradable. This makes them hazardous to the environment. While there are laws requiring the recycling exist, they do not require total recycling. As a result, there are always residues which normally transform into dust particles. These particles sometimes find themselves in the sea and affect marine life adversely.

Most single-serve bottles are either buried in landfills or burned in incinerators, or they make their way to the far corners of the earth: blown underneath train platforms, into the back of caves and alleys, along roadways, onto beaches, and out to the middle of the ocean, where the containers break into tiny pieces that sea creatures mistake for food, (Royte, 2008).

Energy Consumption and waste in manufacturing Bottles

It is evident that the manufacturing of a bottle of water comes with its costs as well. These costs transform into multi-billions in a year bearing in mind the number of bottles being produced annually. The three main areas of consumption of energy in the bottle industry are in transport, production, and materials to be used.

In the manufacture of plastic energy, especially oil plays a very important role. As a country, the preservation of oil is very important since it is a non-renewable form of energy. This is important especially now that the worlds population keeps on increasing drastically.

Oil as a form of energy is used in the manufacture of plastics. Furthermore, treatments such as ultraviolet radiation, micro or ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and ozonation, all require added energy (Gleick & Cooley, 2009). Additionally, machines must rinse, fill, cap and label the bottles. The average machine can clean, fill, and seal around 15,000 bottles per hour (Gleick & Cooley, 2009).

Contribution of cultural influence To The Impact Of Bottled Water On Environment

Imperative to note is that the culture being contemplated in the context of this report is the apathy that is connected with the used bottles. Immediately, one quenches their thirst they are no longer concerned with the final destination of the bottled. Some just throw them away on the streets and in the process end up littering the area around them.

Cultural Behavior, Bottles and their contribution to environmental degradation

Bottled water is common in many social places. These include sports, political functions to mention but a few. It is convenient to carry around. It is also easily available in retail shops as well as other vending and hawking suppliers. The lack of concern of what happens after using the bottles has developed into a culture (Donahue & Johnston, 1998).

Even the seller companies such as Coca-Cola have developed a culture of selling their drinks in plastic bottles, cans as well as glasses. Recycling is only insisted where the glass bottles are being used. The same level of recycling in bottles made out of glass is not the same for plastic.

Branding has led to a culture that associates some drinks with sports. For instance, Coca Cola is a big sponsor of soccer events in many countries. The same company is also known for its product Sprites link to the basketball game  other sports where bottles of water are very common to include tennis and rugby.

The sad part is that while the corporations have done a lot in promoting their brands, not much effort has been put to ensure recycling of the bottles used. Companies such as Coca Cola and Pepsi find it cheaper and more convenient to package their product in plastics. These plastics also find it easier to brand these plastic bottles. The companies should develop a culture of sensitizing their customers on the importance of environmentally friendly behaviors such as recycling.

Challenges Facing Environmental Concerns about Bottled waters

There are many factors that lead to the promotion of the usage of bottled water. These factors play a crucial role in fighting back the efforts intended to curb the environmental degradation from bottles. Below is a cursory analysis of the challenges that hamper the efforts to protect the environment from the bottled water.

Another challenge stems from the fact that the production of bottles is increasing day by day. It is estimated that in the United States every second, there are more than one thousand people opening a plastic bottle of water (Gleick, 2010). It is also at the same rate that bottles are being thrown away.

This translates to around eight five million bottles in one day and more than thirty billion bottles in one year. It is also worthy of note that these cost consumers billions of dollars too. Manufacturers have to meet the consumer demand, and therefore this means that more bottles are produced. At this rate, there is a huge challenge posed to the environmentalists who seek to put efforts against bottles.

Recommendations

There is a need for a culture shift from apathy on the impact of bottles on the environment with a culture that is mindful of the environment. The report appreciates that this is quite an uphill task but believes that it is achievable with good effort. The report, after an in-depth analysis of the culture of not caring for the environment, comes with the following recommendations.

First and foremost it is important to teach the general population on the importance of conserving the environment. During this public education, emphasis should be pinned to bottles and their effects. Education shall bring to the attention of people the desire to have a clean environment as well as how to achieve such an environment. Most people are sometimes unconscious of the implications of their acts.

Through educating people about the impact on the environment, these people shall be made aware of the implications and therefore decide to change (Corbett, 2006). Engaging the stakeholders in campaigns for environmental conservation is also recommended. The manufacturers, as well as the consumers, should try and figure out a solution.

For instance, the manufacturers may decide to offer their beverages in an alternative form of packaging. The manufacturers can also provide recycling centers in all the major consumer areas. For instance, there should be at least a bottle collection point in public places such as parks, campuses as well as stadia.

Apart from that, as part of the campaign to keep the environment clean, the manufacturer can decide that they write a message about being environmentally friendly. In this way, the consumers who are loyal to certain brands may decide to follow that message and recycle these bottles rather than littering the environment.

Recycling rates throughout the world are not extraordinary, and the United States rates look even more dismal. The average international recycling rate for beverage containers for the world is 50%, but the United States is 20%, and this number has been declining.

Another recommendation is for the government to intervene. Most government agencies lack the required means to fully execute the role of protecting g the environment from bottles (Royte, 2008). Before issuing licenses to any manufacturer, there is a need for a proper assessment on how the manufacturer of that bottled water is planning to deal with the used bottles.

The government authorities can also issue a directive to the management of social places where these bottles are likely to litter the environment such as schools, campuses, and stadia to have a proper plan on how to deal with these bottles.

Conclusions

Bottled water is part and parcel of todays society. People have to drink water and other beverages too. The environmental concern is supposed to everybodys business. For this reason, we need to join forces between the consumers as well as the manufacturers. The duty to preserve the environment can be efficiently observed if each member of the public appreciates the need for conservation.

There is also a need to engage companies in these bottled water industry in the campaign to have recycling done at its optimal level. The benefits to be attained, if this is to be done to the latter, are many. Everyone stands to benefit from a clean environment. Therefore it is everyones responsibility to make the environment clean. Therefore the consumers of bottled water should be responsible with the empty bottles.

References

Barrett, J. R. (2009). Endocrine Disruptors. Estrogens in a Bottle? Environmental Health Perspectives, 117 (6), A241.

Corbett, J. B. (2006). Communicating nature: how we create and understand environmental messages. Washington, DC: Island Press.

Donahue, J. M. & Johnston, B. R. (1998). Water, culture, and power: local struggles in a global context. Washington, DC: Island Press.

Gleick, P. H. (2010). Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water. Washington DC: Island Press.

Gleick, P., & Cooley, H. (2009). Energy Implications of Bottled Water. Oakland, CA: IOP Publishing.

International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) (2009). IBWA website. Web.

Royte, E. (2008). Bottlemania: Big Businesses, Local Springs, and the Battle over Americas Drinking Water. New York: Bloomsbury USA.

Description of the Community

Overview

West Kendall is home to hundreds of people that have both been born here or have migrated from different countries through the years. As of today, Hispanics make up a big percentage of the population in Kendall. We have immigrants from all over the world who practice their religions, customs, and beliefs freely. There are now about 37,959 people currently living in West Kendall only, with about 19,000 females and about 18,000 of males.

As we interact with one another we are able to learn and teach each other. We come from different places and although we grow up with different beliefs we have found a way to come together and live happily in this area.

History and Type of Community

West Kendall is considered to be an urban community. In order to get a better understanding of West Kendall, its history should be taken into consideration. It is worth highlighting that the mortgage corporation bought the territory from the state (Florida). It happened in 1883. As a matter of fact, the title Kendall is linked to the surname of a director of the mortgage corporation, namely Henry John Broughton Kendall.

He moved to this territory in 1900 in order to manage the land of his company. First and foremost, it should be noted that West Kendal did not experience rapid development at first, and it was related to the fact that the territory was not open to homestead. In 1914 and 1929 the first post office and school were founded. It should be stressed that Kendall as well as the territories close to it, suffered from Hurricane Andrew. This natural cataclysm destroyed a lot of buildings that had to be rebuild. However, further development and the process of rebuilding was very slow.

Physical Environmental Considerations

Location, Topographical Features, Climate, Area

Kendall is located at 25°40203N 80°212243W According to the United States Census Bureau, the Kendall region has an approximate total area of 16.3 sq mi (42.3 km²); 16.1 sq mi (41.8 km²) of it is land and 0.23 sq mi (0.6 km²) of it (1.35%) is water. Hurricane season is a little scary do to the fact that many places around West Kendall tend to get flooded very easily and it creates a problem for the cars to move around and people to walk.

Is composed of a combination of apartments, townhouses, condominiums, hotels, and houses. As I walked around I can see that the structures are very modern and show barely any signs of decay. It has parks like Hammocks Parks with recreational areas for both kids as well as adults. It has a soccer field and a playground together with a track field to walk or run around. West Kendall has over 200 gas stations, restaurants like Bahamas Breeze, La Carreta, Pollo Tropical, Polo Norte, Flanigans, Chills, and Meal on Wheels on 88 street and 137 Ave.

A mall called Dadeland Mall composed of stores and restaurants inside of it like Cheesecake Factory and Earls Kitchen and bar. There are stores like New York and Company, Nordstrom, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Bloomingdales all around different shopping centers with the main movie theater on Kendall drive and 120ave.

Environment

There are a number of aspects that should be taken into consideration:

1. Sanitation: the territory is supplied with water; there are the following suppliers, namely Crystal Springs Water, Miami Water, Aqua Shop, and others. There are a number of drain services and no problems with sewage. Trash and recycling centers can be found as well.
2. Pollutants. The air is polluted as well as water (50 out of 100). The higher is the score the better is the air.
3. Air quality. According to recent research, the quality of air in West Kendall is 56 out of 100 possible (Kendall West, Florida Health, n.d.).
4. Food supply. There are a number of restaurants and food services as well as stores.
5. A potential disaster in the population. The climate peculiarities contain a potential danger of cataclysms.
6. An extent of disaster preparation in the population. A lot of buildings were destroyed by Hurricane Andrew, and now people take into account this experience building shelters to survive a potential disaster.

Housing

According to statistical data, 67% of citizens own a house, 33%  rent a house or apartment. The majority of the houses are private. There are shelters for people who do not have homes and centers for the elderly.

Big department stores like Walmart, Kmart, Marshalls, T-jmax,Best Buy, and grocery stores like Publix, Winndixie, Presidente Supermarket, Sedanos, Tropical Supermarket spread all throughout West Kendall. There are also a lot of fast food places like McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King, and Wendys that are open late into the night. With a famous night club called, Blue Martini that features different kinds of music and all sorts of exotic drinks is the highlight of the night to anyone living in Kendall.

As I walked into different dry cleaners like Westburry Cleaners& Shirt Salon and Dryclean USA Florida I noticed they were kind of empty but very clean and equipped with high-class machines. The working personal was very friendly and helpful and answered all of my questions without any problem.

Leading Industries

The leading industries in West Kendall are:

1. Retail trade;
2. Construction;
3. Transportation;
4. Health care;
5. Management and marketing.

The People of the Community

Population Profile

Almost 36,000 people live in West Kendall. Analyzing people in the community, the following factors should be taken into consideration:

1. Population density. According to the research, the population density is 14,060 (Kendall West Florida Demographics Data, n.d);
2. Population changes in the last 10 years. Over the past 10 years, West Kendall had developed greatly, and it is reflected in population growth;
3. Population per square miles: high density 14,060;
4. Mobility: a number of families have houses (81%); however, people are flexible and mobile;
5. Types of families: the majority of families consist of 4 people.

Biological Considerations

The following elements should be taken into account:

1. Age composition: median age (female  43, male  36);
2. Sex distribution: male  48%; female  52% (Kendall West Florida Demographics Data, n.d).
3. Race distribution: Caucasian  94%; African-American  3%; Asian  3% (Kendall West Florida Demographics Data, n.d).
4. Ethnic groups: Hispanic or Latino  89% (Kendall West Florida Demographics Data, n.d).
5. Mortality characteristics:

   1. Birth and death rates. The tendency shows demographic growth, so the death rate is less than the birth rate;
   2. Age-specific death rate. A lot of people die because of cancer and heart-related problems;
   3. Infant mortality rate  13 infants in 2014;
   4. Maternal mortality rate  1%.
6. Cause-specific death rate: a lot of people die from neglect. Obesity causes significant heart-related issues. Moreover, people die from cancer, especially smokers. Every year a lot of people dies because of these health issues:

   1. Cardiovascular disease  880;
   2. Cancer  2580;
   3. Other problems  1250.
7. Leading causes of morbidity: the unhealthy way of life and nutrition problems.

Psychological Considerations

Significant Historical Events

West Kendall played an important role in historical context because of geographical location, good climate, and appropriate conditions for living. However, West Kendall experienced slow development, and only nowadays shows a stable growth index.

Future Economic Prospects

The primary economic perspective is considered to be the development of a tourist segment.

Formal and Informal Communication Networks

One of the most significant elements in shaping a future economic success of West Kendall is the establishment of relationships and communication between officials, companies, organizations, and citizens. It is essential to react to problems and create comfortable conditions for life. Informal communication relates to the development of social media and the establishment of a friendly atmosphere.

Rates of Suicide

A criminal situation in West Kendall is related to suicide and homicide. A lot of people commit suicide because of some issues with alcohol, drugs, and poverty. Criminal elements contribute to the popularity of drugs. Thus, fight with criminal elements is the fundamental approach on the way to the reduction of suicide and homicide rates. Crime rate  4,263, suicide  75 (Kendall West, FL Crime, n. d.).

Adequacy of Protective Services

Protective services aim to reduce the index of criminality, however, the situation remains difficult.

Sociocultural Considerations: The Community As a Social System

In order to analyze sociocultural system, it should be noted that some elements should be taken into account:

Socioeconomic status

1. The income of family  $39,600;
2. Major occupations:

   1. Management  14%;
   2. Sales  13%;
   3. Administrative support  11%;
   4. Transportation  9%;
   5. Construction  7%;
   6. Installation and maintenance  7% (Kendall West, Florida, n.d.).
3. Estimated level of unemployment  8%;
4. Percent below the poverty level  18,4%;
5. People retired  15%.

Educational level

1. Religious distribution: people who are religious  40%

   1. Baptist  5%;
   2. Catholics  22%;
   3. Jewish  2%;
   4. Other religions  11%.
2. Marriage and divorce rate:

   1. Never married  30%;
   2. Married  50%;
   3. Divorced  14%;
   4. Widowed  7%.
3. Language:

   1. Spanish  85%;
   2. English  13%;
   3. Portuguese, Creole  2%.

Government and Leadership

West Kendall does not have municipal authorities and is managed by higher authorities. Hotlines are available 24 hours a day. However, other services were created for the citizens to address:

1. Miami Dade County Intergovernmental Affairs;
2. Center for Violence Prevention.

Education

All throughout it creates a comfortable environment for families from all over the world to live in. The streets remain clean at all times, surrounded by beautiful flowers and palm trees. There are thirty-five schools that include elementary schools like Hammocks Middle school and Howard A. Doolin Middle School. High schools like Felix Varela Senior High, John A. Ferguson Senior High School, and G Holmes Braddock Senior High School. Private schools like Florida Christian School, and colleges and universities like Keiser and Kaplan.

Services for Special Population

1. Pregnant teens  4%;
2. Adults with special problems  13;
3. Children and adults who are developmentally disabled  5%;
4. Children and adults who are blind or deaf  2%.

Transportation

Throughout West Kendall, it is common the use of buses and Metrobus. Buses go until late at night and throughout the weekend. Traffic is very hectic at all times composed of cars, motorcycles, school buses, and regular service buses. It has 1 police station and 9 fire stations( station numbers 13, 17, 2, 23, 29, 3, 30, 35, 36). Although West Kendall is not too big it is the home of rehabilitation centers like The Palace, West Kendall Rehab Center Inc, and Medi Max Rehabilitation Center.

They provide a place for the elderly to be comfortable at all times with health staff supervision, they have activities and field trips to entertain them. There are also domestic violence centers like Abuse Counseling & Treatment and Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse. These places provide support to people who have gone through some problems in their life and need some help and guidance. They not only give support to the patients but also to the family members. There are also over ten churches like, Christ Fellowship and King Jesus Ministry in which everyone can express their religious beliefs freely.

Consumption Patterns

According to recent statistics, many people in West Kendall have health-related issues because of nutrition problems:

1. Preschool obesity  16%;
2. Overweight  36% (Kendall West, Florida Health, n. d.).

Leisure Pursuit

People in West Kendall have an opportunity to visit football games, restaurants, cafes, and cinemas.

Health-Related Behaviors

1. 49% of people have issues with teeth;
2. 8% have diabetes.

Healthcare

West Kendall has five main hospitals with other smaller clinics. Some examples are Kendall Regional Medical Center, West Kendall Baptist Hospital, Baptist Health Urgent Care, Baptist Hospital of Miami, and West Kendall Animal Hospital. There are dentist clinics like West Kendall Associates, A New Smile Dental Care, and Miami West Kendall. They have high degree doctors that not only just treat you like a patient but also as a family. They take their time to get to know you and when you come back they remember who you are and they dont just treat you like another customer.

Conclusion

In conclusion, West Kendall is a great place to live in. It has all sorts of restaurants, stores, recreation centers, clinics, hospitals, and fast food places. At the time it does seem like it is overcrowded and traffic in the morning is horrible but somehow it works out. Restaurants are open till late and nightclubs bring an end to the night.

References

Kendall West CDP QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. (n.d.). Web.

Kendall West Florida Demographics Data. (n.d). Web.

Kendall West, FL Crime. (n.d.).

Kendall West, Florida Health. (n.d.).

Kendall West, Florida. (n.d.).

Local Center Services. (n.d.). Web.

Your Geography Selections. (n.d.). Web.

Abstract

Evolution refers to the change of properties of a living organism from one generation to the next over a period of time. Human has impacted both negatively and positively during the evolution period, a time when man was also undergoing evolution. Such positive changes include the preservation of some plants that were considered as weeds during the advent of agriculture, the use of stem cells, and genetic modification technologies to modify the properties of the organisms. Negative changes include the use of weapons of mass destruction, destruction of water towers thus spread of deserts as well as the extinction of some indigenous organisms. The way forward to all these is to do re-afforestation, use irrigation for crop production, and technology to produce high-quality plants for food besides diversification of eating habits.

Introduction

Evolution refers to change from the original status of a material: biological evolution, therefore, refers to the changes in the properties of the same living organism from one generation to the other (Futuyma, 1986). From the other quarters, however, it has been defined as the change in the allele within a pool of genes from one generation to the next over a period of time (Helena and Barnes, 1989).

Most of the evolutions that have been recorded have been accredited to the continued changes that the organisms seem to experience within their surroundings whereby they acquire new properties or organs that can make them survive while those that they no longer require are shed off or simply become extinct. Some evidence of evolution was postulated by Darwin in his theory of survival for the fittest where the giraffes developed long necks as a way of out-competing each other for the limited food reserve thus leading to the extinction of the short-necked giraffe species. There are however many lingering questions as to how the actual evolution really happened but with a common understanding that evolutions happened within the history of living organisms.

The behavior of Human Beings from the Stone Age to Modern Times

Human beings (Homo sapiens) have never been left behind in the evolution theory; it said that human beings at one point had a tail, just like the primates e. g the chimpanzee, gorilla, and bonobo but since their lifestyle made little use of this feature, it became vestigial and can only be noticed when doing the human skeleton anatomy. This evolution, marked by a sharp difference between these animals in terms of their behaviors, psychology, and even morphology, has taken place over millions of years. During the Stone Age, human beings, otherwise called man, were mainly hunters and gatherers who lived in temporary nomadic residences called band societies. Over the years and with the advent of agriculture, food became surplus and they developed rather permanent structures compared to the previous ones. This provided them with the opportunity to start domestication of animals, to use metal as well as trade amongst themselves. It resulted in the springing up of the modern complex society; complete with the military to guard the territories and the formed states competing for the diminishing resources causing conflict between some of the so formed states. Developments in the 18^th and 19^th centuries led to the advent of such transport systems like the railways and automobiles as well as the use of electricity and coal as energy sources. By the 20^th century, otherwise termed as the information age, there was the innovation of such technologies like mobile telephony with people living in an increasingly globalized world where people are interconnected through the internet. This allowed for information to be shared more freely at an increased frequency. Technology has enabled man to inhabit all the continents and has subsequently adapted to the locally prevailing conditions. With the population increasing to unprecedented levels of up to over six billion in 2008, up from one billion in 1800 (Whitehouse, 2008), man has continued to explore chances of relocating some population to other planets and most notably, the moon.

The diets of man have also evolved with the changing lifestyle; from the days before the advent of fire when they ate raw food to the post-fire advent era. Man being omnivorous, they eat both animal and plant products. The exact types varied based on the locally available materials. Their eating habits have evolved such that in the 21^st century, they not only eat more refined foods but also more diverse with stress being laid on the nutritional values.

Over the periods, man has transformed from the ancient days when the population didnt undergo any formal education to the present day when there is not only a system for formal learning but also there is a standard language that people from different cultural backgrounds can use to communicate, referred to as the National Language. Also, it has moved from the days when people used to worship their ancestors under trees they considered sacred or on top of mountains while facing the sun to the present day where there are formal worship places (churches) with the pastors leading the prayers in a more civil and organized manner.

As much as the evolution story of man is welcomed, it has come with a baggage of its own kind: by starting to live in more permanent settlements, states complete with governments emerged and so the scramble for resources with each state using her military power became the order of the day. This resulted in wars between different governments; Increased population also meant more of the forest cover had to be cleared to give way for human settlement and this spelled doom to the environmentalists who forever have seen this as the cause of the current unpredictable weather with high drought frequencies and the once flourishing water sources drying up at alarmingly high rates. Change in the dietary trends has brought mixed fortunes to some people. In some cases, restrictions on what to consume have led to an upsurge in levels of deficiency diseases. What to or not to consume purely lay on the culture adopted within the locality. Interestingly, the number of obese has also risen to catastrophic levels leading to health complications and increased mortality among the populations. This is especially true within the developed countries.

Every country in todays world is striving to develop and being at one level with technology. However, more industries would mean more pollution to the environment thus threatening the delicate ecosystem balance; moreover, the emissions from such industries have a direct relationship with the current big issue of global warming. The effect of the destruction of the forest cover could not be overemphasized since water is life. Lack of rainfall would just compound the already bad situations of food insecurity that is experienced across the globe.

Impact of Human on Evolution

In a perfect situation, natural factors are supposed to influence the nature of the environment. However, this is hard to achieve since man has a stake in determining the state of the environment due to his supremacy. Many people have directed all their blames about the environmental changes to the advent of new technologies and the continued expansion of human knowledge, forgetting that man started to influence the environment as early as the stone age era when they used fire to clear their farms and also not only to communicate but also to clear vegetation cover in the areas they wanted to settle in (PhysOrg, 2005). This, without realizing it, signaled a chain of other events that would influence the future evolutionary processes of humans. The impact of humans on evolution can either be deliberate or unintentional whereby other factors drive the whole process only for the result to cause some sort of evolution. This can be demonstrated by a case in point when the affection human had for certain flowers which led him to start their cultivation. This could not have been the case since these flowers could have been extinct since they could be considered as weeds when the people embraced the agricultural settings. But due to their beauty, humans not only tolerated them but also took good care of them. This was purely driven by the mans inborn attraction to flowers and not a deliberate move to preserve the flower species. In some instances, however, the movie has been deliberately just to alter the evolution process like in the case of stem cell technology due to the better understanding of such a complicated progression (Farber, 2007). Human stem cells are unique cells that can transform into all the parts needed to create a living being. There are different types of stem cells. Brain stem cells in a human fetus, for example, morph into the neurons and all other cells needed to make a mind (Britt, 2005).

The stem cell technology has the advantage of producing organisms that resemble the parent (cell source), thereby retaining all the desirable and undesirable features of the donor organism.

Another instance of human impact on evolution is the production of genetically modified food that conforms to the desires of mankind. In such a situation, they take a gene that is responsible for some desirable quality of a particular organism and introduce it to the other. This way, it is as good as saying that the same property shall have been transferred to the target organism. As much as this technology is plausible, the jury is still out especially in cases where its used to control pests and diseases yet over a period they develop resistance and the comparative effect of the newly introduced genes on the final consumer of the products. On the brighter side, however, there is a great potential using this technology especially on improved yield output and improved quality, only if these concerns are properly addressed.

It is an open secret that there is a population surge over the years with the same amount of land as was there in the 19^th century. What this means is that the forest cover has to be cleared to create room for the extra population; water catchments are destroyed in the process. Destruction of these sites means the spread of desertification thereby driving the indigenous trees into extinction and instead a new species that is well adapted to the created microclimate shall emerge. The fires used to clear the same end up killing even the soil microorganisms that are responsible for the decomposition of the organic matter thereby positively contributing to soil fertility. What this portends is widespread soil infertility. New plant varieties that can do well under this condition shall come up to replace the indigenous ones. If this continues unchecked, it could completely transform the local environment and even the use. The rundown water towers across the globe mean water shortage and even unpredictable rainfall patterns. This limits food production activities and or reducing yields.

Human activity has not spared parasites and other disease-causing microorganisms: for long periods man has tried to come up with a cure for such diseases as malaria. Once they get the same and after a while, these drugs become ineffective since malaria-causing pathogen shall have evolved from the previous strain such that the previously developed one has to be improved on. This meant the introduction of a combination of treatments or going back to the laboratories to get a new set of cures. This could not be true if the status quo were left and thus the evolution was induced by mankind in his quest to cure himself.

Way Forward

Some if not all human activities have been meant for the well-being of mankind with little regard to the side effects on the environment. Interestingly, if mankind becomes extinct, all other components of the environment would be delighted because of assured prosperity. Since this seems not very possible, man needs to take corrective measures to check on the deteriorating condition of the planet. Towards this end, there should be the massive restoration of the depleted forest cover by re-afforestation while at the same time protecting the endangered indigenous plant species. The trees would play their role as water catchment towers while the falling leaves of the plant materials would undergo natural decomposition processes thereby improving the soil fertility.

Since there has been an upward increase in population over the years, there has also been an equivalent increase in food requirement by the populace, yet the rainfall levels have ever been diminishing and since there are no alternatives on the issue, new food production techniques like using irrigation as well as the planting of drought-resistant crops should be embraced. People should also diversify their diets to avoid over-reliance on particular foods. There should be a concerted effort to make people comprehend the demerits of land subdivision into smaller parcels in light of food production.

Emissions from automobiles and industries have spelled doom to the environment. It is blamed for global warming and the continued depletion of the ozone layer. A depleted ozone layer would mean more UV radiation reaching the earth and this has the potential of causing cancer of the skin. Moreover, it leads to pollution of the air that we breathe and may lead to the falling of acid rain. In this regard, more pressure should be put to regulate the number of industries in a locality, and the automobiles that are worn out should be removed from the roads to reduce the exhaust fume emissions.

One of the reasons for the much pressure that the world finds itself in is due to the unprecedented high population growth. Even though a high population means cheaper labor and the accompanying increases in economic growth, its negative impact on the ecosystem very much outweigh the positives. Therefore, different countries should invent motivational packages for parents who keep the number of their offspring as low as possible while at the same time setting an upper limit to the number of people that a family can have: failure of which a fine charged.

Researchers should use their research work to develop plants that are more resistant to the local pests and diseases, drought, and of high yield. This would help improve food security for the high population. However, before releasing any new technology to the people, tests must be done with the same to check on the possible side effects they might have on the local person who shall adopt the same technology. Also, they should launch a campaign strategy so as educate the people on how the so said technology is used in the simplest terms possible.

References

Britt, R. R. (2005). Human Affection Altered Evolution of Flowers 

Curtis, H. and Barnes, N. S. (1989). Biology, 5th ed. Worth Publishers, p.974

Whitehouse, D. (1999). Worlds Population reaches Six Billion. BBC News.

Farber, B. (2007). Human Impact on Evolution. Evolution Literature; paper no.1.

Moran, L. (1993). What is Evolution? 

Futuyma, D.J. 1986. Evolutionary Biology. 2nd ed. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, Massachusetts. PhysOrg. Study: Ancient humans altered climate 

Introduction

The planet earth is home to more than 9 billion people. Most of these inhabitants believe in God, in the frameworks of the religions their ancestors professed for thousands of years. Interestingly, all religions, including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, offer similar approaches to explaining why people should protect the environment. This paper aims to discuss the connections between the reverence for creation from the Christian perspective and the necessity for social justice, and provide some useful insights regarding the topic from other world religions.

Creation and Social Justice in Christianity

Christianity is a complex religion that has brought together many European and non-European nationalities. Although the Bible is seen as a universal source of wisdom, there are many canonical Christian texts written by canonized saints and prominent figures of the church. For example, the Canticle of Creation written by the Francis of Assisi was widely recognized in the Christian world and subsequently inspired later works, such as an encyclical letter Laudato Si, written by the Holy Father Francis for his contemporaries.

In this letter, the Holy Father fully explains the vicious circle of environmental pollution in terms of economics and ecology. He also makes references to the Canticle of Creation, written in the early 13th century. In this work, Francis of Assisi lays down the ethical principles of Franciscans. Francis sees Gods world as a universal, unified whole, inspired by the divine spirit. He refers to every element such as the sun, water, air, and fire, to the stars and the moon as brothers and sisters created by God. Francis found peace and tranquility in the contemplation of nature, the world, and the earth as the most enjoyable mystery.

Christianity presents a connection between the ideas from Genesis about the early days of creation, and the responsibility that Gods children bear. According to the Bible, after God created Eden, he offered Adam and Eve dominion over all the living things, which initially meant responsibility, but was later misinterpreted as domination. This responsibility, according to Laudato Si, should be at the core of Christians attitude towards the environment. This concerns responsible consumption, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the need to create a normal waste cycle that will benefit the entire ecosystem.

Holy Father Francis addressed his contemporaries with an explanation of the truth that all people are equal before God, and poor people suffer the most from the effects of pollution and climate instability. Notably, in the United States, waste disposal companies tend to landfills near the places where African American and Latino communities live, and localization decisions are made primarily based on this factor, which is called environmental racism. Likewise, pollution of the coastal areas and groundwater leads to animal migration and the destruction of plants, forcing communities to move.

Insights on Ecology and Social Justice from other Religions

Religious pluralism is a concept that is accepted by the Christian religion today. However, tolerance towards other religions has not always been a virtue of all Christians, especially considering the massacres committed during the Crusades, by the Inquisition, and during the Holocaust. Therefore, in the Second Vatican Council of 1962-1965, the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions was adopted. This document recognizes all religions as worthy of respect and calls for mutual support and understanding between representatives of religions. The document pays special attention to the relationship between the Christian and Islamic religions and Christianity and Judaism, asking God for forgiveness for the atrocities committed during the Holocaust.

Today, representatives of Islam, and this is 1.6 billion people, signed a petition to participate in the fight to protect the environment. The recognition of the importance of environmental protection is based on the Knowledge of Creation defined in the Quran. Notably, one of the most important congresses IFEES / EcoIslam and Islamic Relief World Wide was held in 2014, with the later symposium in Istanbul on August 17-18, 2015. Participation of such Islamic organizations as Islamic Relief Worldwide, and the Climate Action Network marked the forging of partnerships and strengthening dialogue based on mutual respect and commitment to preserving the environment.

Buddhists present insights about the need to protect nature, citing examples from the Buddhas teachings about the interconnectedness of all phenomena and events. At the same time, Hindus pay particular attention to how technology disrupts harmonious farming, including the use of artificial and unsafe chemical fertilizers and the destruction of the top layers of fertile soil. Hinduism also offers the unique religious concept that Vishnu, the creator god, lives in the human heart, while Shiva, the destructor god, lives in the mind. Using this concept, Hindus warn against trusting only the mind in making decisions, and explain that only through love coming from the heart can humanity establish peace on earth.

Conclusion

Thus, the concepts from the major world religions regarding environmental protection were discussed. Franciscan Christians see nature and the world as the prototype of the Garden of Eden, a place filled with harmony, where all the elements are connected. The creation myth also implies that humans are responsible for protecting Gods created world. Islam also uses the idea of creation as a mystical basis for protecting the environment. Then, Buddhists say that social justice is related to the principle of compassion, and the protection of the harmony of nature follows from understanding the interconnection of all phenomena. At the same time, Hindus emphasize that the creative and preserving divine principle is in the human heart and we must listen to the heart when making decisions.

Low cost and rapid performance displayed by the whole-cell biosensor technology has led to increased interest in them. In addition bacterial biosensors are highly accurate, simple and easy to manufacture. Today, the technology of bioluminescent and fluorescent biosensors can, for example, be applied in the sensing of toxic metals and organic pollutants. In general whole-cell bacteria biosensors consists of a bacteria that has undergone genetic modification and carrying reporter gene. These bacteria, with the help of a promoter that responds to specific type of stimulation, encode the conspicuous phenotypes such as bioluminescence and fluorescence which is available for collection, analysis and interpretation (Sørensen, & Nybroe; cited in Development of new protocols for improved performance of whole-cell bacterial biosensors for determination of environmental quality).

The toxicity of soil, atmosphere and water can therefore be assessed through biosensors. A system to continually monitor water consisting of mini-bioreactors in a two-stage setting was developed. This system is multi-channel where each of the channels has a different stress-responsive strain. In a system to assess the toxicity of gas, the biosensor is made to come into contact with the toxic gas in a sensing chamber through an immobilization technique while a soil biosensor was used to assess soil toxicity. In the latter soil system, recombinant bioluminescent bacteria were immobilized. The bacteria so constructed are activated at different levels of toxicity (Lichtfouse, Jan & Didier).

Determination of the total concentration of a pollutant in a sample has been used in pollution risk assessment. This particular assessment may include, traditionally, assessment of the whole product may be done while only a portion or very small amount is what is problematic to living organism. Thus an incidence of overestimating the risk by considering the total amount is likely (Harmsen). Bacterial sensor-reporters used in determination of bioaccessibility and bioavailability have been advantageous over biological and physico-chemical means which may alter fate of pollutants through biodegradation and reaching, for instance. The pollutants toxicity nature is associated to its bioavailability (Tecon, & JanRoelof).

In the constructing of bacterial-sensor reporter cell, the following parts are required. Principles of Genetic engineering can be used to combine together these parts. These parts include;

• DNA parts used in the making of circuit responsible for sensory and reporting (sensor-reporter circuitry). An example includes a case where sensing is through a single regulatory protein. The compound which is being examined is bound by this protein which also induces transcription of the reporter gene. Thus the signal is amplified.
• Component genes that is responsible for sensing and outputting (regulatory and reporter genes). The regulator for example may be separated from the sensor mechanism utilizing a protein (for instance a periplasmic receiver) and the signal is conveyed to the regulator mechanism which would induce the reporter after it is activated.
• Components for controlling the gene expression. These include ribosome binding sites, terminators, and promoters.

The conditions that are necessary for effective working and continual response of the biosensors include the following;

• Keeping the Microbe-based sensors (MBS) alive in an active state. This requirement imposes a difficulty in developing or producing them.
• Need for retention and development of specific optimal environment.

Most of the modern models consist of a reporter gene induced by the directing of a transcription factor from a DNA site such as promoter, and this means that the reporter protein synthesis is under the control of the transcription factor. The use of reporter protein depends on the application. While luciferases reporter proteins have been applicable at high sensitive areas in the bulk measurement of Micro-based sensors (MBS), eukaryotic luciferases has limitations because it requires permeabilization of cell membrane of bacteria and addition of substrate (7, 14).

The primary sensor protein and the transcription must be made to avail the specificity of the target to be detected. Protein synthesis may provide amplification of the signal sensed. In addition, RNA polymerase may be utilized in the interaction with the targeted perceptions transmitted by an internal effectors-binding domain. The sensory function may be provided by a sensory protein transmitting the perceived event through a signaling cascade.

Measuring of arsenic contamination in portable water can be done through use of biosensor cell through developed measures. Stocker, Denisa, Monika, Hauke, Jessika, Sylvia, Khurseed & JanRoelof used Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), ²-galactosidase, and bacterial luciferase as reporter proteins, Escherichia coli and its resistance to arsenate and arsenite, which is natural. After exposing the sensor cells to test sample in aqueous form for 3 minutes incubation, light emission was then measured. Plain media was used to resuspend sensor cells, which could also be stored in frozen forms. For arsenite concentrations of 8 ¼g/L and above, visible blue color was noticed in ²-galactosidase-containing sample and a field testing achieved.

Elsewhere, the development of systems bioavailability and bioaccessibility assays that assess exposure of organisms to pollutants has been explored. Bioavailable portions of chemicals are those that are at the present freely available to cross from their place of inhabitance into the organism while bioaccessible ones only have potential for crossing into organism at this time. When the bioassays are immersed into the solution they detect the compound and report a signal.

A group of components that have been described as major pollutants of environment are the BTEX compounds found in crude oil-Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene. In addition to the carcinogenic effects of benzene, these chemicals affect respiratory and reproductive systems, may lead to arousal of blood disorder and affect the central nervous. These compounds may be ingested through drinking water.

There have been MBS developed for the BTEX such as the one using TodST sensor-regulatory proteins P todX promoters and the one using XylR and the P u promoters. Dissolved chemical concentrates may provide a model for the reactions that take place between the MBS and other components in the soil-water concentrates except in instances where metabolic interference takes places. Metabolic interferences may occur for example in cases where sensor-reporter cells may be limited to access the compound solution.

A polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) which consists of more than a hundred components that are poorly soluble in water may be found in grilled meat, cigarettes, and may accumulate in tissues of animals. The number of aromatic rings and the chemical nature determine rates of biodegradation of PHs and this means that there is necessity to determine the bioavailability and bioaccessibility accurately in a varying environment. The knowledge of the degradation genetic details of PAHs in water has influenced the formulation of bacterial MBS and the designing has mostly favored Naphthalene.

MBS for Multi-target biosensor and toxic organic compounds

There is possibility of designing biosensors that target more than one target components. This is through use of bacteria such as Escherichia coli which has the possibility of acting as a host strain for sensor-reporter models and construction of variable reporter strains. This is because the bacteria have an easily controllable and maintainable growth. Construction of various models for different target components may entail testing of sample against different sensors. To determine whether MBS is reporting satisfactorily, there may be need to use an inducer of specific concentration added to the samples (Tecon & Beggah).

Phenols and their derivatives are compounds used as disinfectants, fungicides and herbicides that may be toxic and cause health damage over a long duration of exposure. Bacterial degradants of phenols have been developed. In this case, DmpR, TfdR, as the regulatory proteins and the P o P DII promoters have been applied. Modification of the sensor domain in the DmpR category made possible development of the more sensitive and models that can detect on broader ranges.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and oils

Although PCBs have been indicated as possible causers of negative health, lack of known bacterial systems for sensing them has hampered development of MBS systems for these compounds. One solution to this difficulty is the use of co-induction technique. This involves activation with uncharacterized proteins for example in the development of pUTK60. Other ideas explored includes use of PCB metabolites 3-Chlorobenzoate to detect PCBs in a bio-sensor-reporter and detection of hydroxylated PCBs in human serum using the HbpR system (Boldt, Sørensen, Karlson, Mølin, Ramos). Use of Pseudomonas oleovorans, AlkS regulatory protein as a control in producing bacterial luciferase and P alkB promoter (Sticher, Jaspers, Stemmler, Harms, , Zehnder, & van der Meer) have been used to build systems for alkane detection.

With the environmental pollution control slowly becoming a necessity and its awareness being expanded from governmental activities to a more publicized activity even in the production and manufacturing sector, what could be expected is a brighter future in the development of biosensors in the areas where difficulties and challenges have been identified.

There is need for continued research to determine the way forward to this kind of technology that is advantageous in some way, compared to the biological and physico-chemical means of assessing toxicity. In addition, evolution of technology presents an opportunity for more positive development of newer and better forms of biosensors. The possibility of expansion of application of biosensors through mutation to result through improved systems is an opportunity for development of better and improved forms.

In conclusion, interest in whole-cell biosensor technology due to their low cost and rapid performance. There are systems that have been developed to access environmental pollution and toxicity. The biotechnological techniques are used in the combination of particular components of these systems which would also require stringent conditions to function properly and continuously. The systems offer advantages over biological and physico-chemical means which may alter fate of pollutants through biodegradation and reaching, for instance, and which may offer inaccuracy determination of toxicity through overestimating.

Another advantage is that they are more accurate in determination of toxicity. Development of biosensors is favored also by the fact that mutations may be evolved to result in more better-for instance more sensitive, and diverse applications.

Work Cited

Boldt, T.S.; Sørensen, J.; Karlson, U.; Mølin, S.; Ramos, C. Combined use of different Gfp reporters for monitoring single-cell activities of a genetically modified PCB degrader in the rhizosphere of alfalfa. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 2004, 2, 139-148.

Development of a Set of Simple Bacterial Biosensors for Quantitative and Rapid Measurements of Arsenite and Arsenate in Potable Water. 2003. Web.

Development of new protocols for improved performance of whole-cell bacterial biosensors for determination of environmental quality. Web.

Harmsen, J. Measuring bioavailability: From a scientific approach to standard methods. J. Environ. Qual. 2007, 5, 1420-1428.

Lichtfouse Eric, Jan Schwarzbauer and Didier Robert. Environmental Biosensors Using Bioluminescent Bacteria.

Sørensen, J. and Nybroe, O. Reporter genes in bacterial inoculants monitor in vivo life conditions and functions in soil. In: Nucleic acids and proteins in soil (Eds. Smalla, K. and Nannipieri, P.). New York: Springer (2006).

Sticher, P.; Jaspers, M.C.M.; Stemmler, K.; Harms, H.; Zehnder, A.J.B.; van der Meer, J.R. Development and characterization of a whole-cell bioluminescent sensor for bioavailable middle-chain alkanes in contaminated groundwater samples. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 1997, 10.

Tecon and Jan Roelof. Robin Bacterial Biosensors for Measuring Availability of Environmental Pollutants. 2008. Web.

Introduction

Human & Environmental Security and Agenda for Change is a powerful collection of essays that reveals the problems of human and environmental insecurity nowadays. Felix Dodds and Tim Pippard are the two editors, who make an attempt to recognize the most crucial issues concerning human security and use the ideas of prominent authors to prove to the reader that this question is worth paying attention to.

The book answers the question of what may be done to improve the already spoiled security and how global governance may influence human development. Being a mettlesome activist and futurist, Felix Dodds offers the promotion of new ideas to unite the possibilities of different stakeholders with the United Nations intentions on the basis of the Report of the UN Secretary Generals High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change introduced during the Rio Conference (Dodds and Pippard 1).

Dodds cooperation with Tim Pippard results in the creation of a book Human & Environmental Security and Agenda for Change and proves that many governments have already made the mistake to offer an agenda for engaging more stakeholders in foundations building and turned a number of environmental issues into serious security dilemmas.

Structure of the book

It seems to be a difficult task to gather 19 different thoughts and introduce them as one complete idea that encourages the reader to think about the future, understand the question of human and environmental security, and consider possible global challenges and realities. The structure of the book is properly chosen and does not confuse the reader, follows clear logical conjunctions, and elaborates on one issue by means of another.

The essays are grouped into three logical parts: Peace and Security, Sustainable Human Development, and Global Governance. It is also supported by an introductory part with the main goals and ideas identified. At the beginning of the book, the editors provide a brief still informative overview of all authors, whose essays are introduced in the book. The reader gets a wonderful possibility to learn better the experience of the experts and understand why a particular concept is chosen for consideration.

The authors of the book admit that the objective of promoting the conservation and sustainable use of environmental resources for the betterment of mankind will only be achieved through international cooperation on a broad scale (Dodds and Pippard 1). This phrase prepares the reader to the fact that much work has to be done to promote human security and introduce a powerful agenda for change. It is not enough to take one particular problem and think about how to solve it.

It is necessary to identify a challenge, touch upon all aspects that may influence its development, and mind the urgency of globalization that cannot be neglected. This is why the editors of the book divide the essays of the experts into three logical parts to promote human and environmental security by means of peaceful relations, human development, and global governance.

Part One of the book is a conversation about the ideas of international peace and the peculiarities of the war on terror that takes place nowadays. It begins with the work by David Hannay, who introduces hard and soft types of threats to peace and security. Timoshenko admits that this author mentions all threats in rather a marginal manner, and only in the narrow context of post-Kyoto arrangements (111).

Therefore, it is hard to create some general idea about the issue under consideration, but it is possible to get the first impression about the problems of human security (e.g. poverty, pandemic disease, or environmental degradation). Other essays of this section describe different aspects of the same problem. For example, Liden and Enestrom say about the role of the UN in peacebuilding, Richmond and Franks discuss the future of human security through the war on terror, Hobbs thinks about the improvement of the climate of nuclear disarmament in New Zealand in particular, and Heyzer focuses on the role of women in the peacebuilding process and their attitudes to global justice.

Part Two aims at discussing the conditions of sustainable human development. Each author introduces from one to three issues that may contribute to the development considering human and environmental improvements. Pronk offers the creation of the intergovernmental machinery and the relevant global institutions but does not leave the process of poverty targets implementation to experts, bureaucrats, and diplomats (90).

This part of the book helps to understand that such minor concepts like climate change, water use, migration, and even food security may be combined into one big topic and define the level of human security. For example, Benns essay shows how access to the western markets may change the attitude of women from Sri Lanka and cause violence and social tensions within a short period of time. Reading this part is a chance to catch some slight connections between the issues, which seem to be rather controversial or have nothing in common with each other. The editors perfectly combine the ideas that help to understand the global nature of human security.

Finally, Part Three is devoted to the ideas of global governance. Talking about governance in a global format, it is impossible to neglect the role of the United States of America in human security. This is why it is not a surprise to see that the author of the first essay in this part, Jim Garrison, identifies America as a global leader. The events of 9/11 have considerably knocked down the country and caused a number of unpleasant and unpredictable emotions and outcomes.

Even the question of global security has been raised. The countrys ability to solve problems, overcome challenges, and improve living conditions turned it into a great leader in the world arena. At the same time, the power available made America unable to develop equal dialogues with other countries and decide whether America or the United Nations should be the center of the international relations. At the end of this part, the editor of the book, Felix Dodds, introduces his own essay about the ideas of democracy and defines the world, people live in, as uncertain.

Conclusion

In general, the book turns out to be a powerful source of information about the different elements of human security, environmental problems, and solutions that have to be made to involve stakeholders in developing foundations and promoting human security as the main goal for all nations. The book teaches that such diversities like ethnicity, race, religion, gender, or age should not prevent the development of peace on the earth, and people still have all chances to avoid environmental degradation if certain precautionary measures are taken.

Works Cited

Dodds, Felix and Pippard, Tim. Human and Environmental Security: An Agenda for Change. London, UK: Earthscan, 2013. Print.

Pronk, Fan. Globalisation, Poverty and Security. Human and Environmental Security: An Agenda for Change. Ed. Felix Dodds and Tim Pippard. London, UK: Earthscan, 2013. 71-91. Print.

Timoshenko, Alexandre. Human and Environmental Security: An Agenda for Change  Edited by Felix Dodds and Tim Pippard. RECIEL: Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law 16.1 (2007): 111-114. Print.

Research in environmental public health plays a vital role in the development and maintenance of healthy working conditions in modern society. This paper provides a critical analysis of the research on Hearing impairment among workers exposed to excessive levels of noise in ginning industries by Dube, Ingale, and Ingle.

Firstly, it is critical to understand that this research has a global level of significance as it focuses on the safety of the working environment. Such organizations as the National Institute of Occupation Safety and Health also focus on various safety regulations and security of the working conditions (Centres for Disease Control and Preventions, 2014). The United States Department of Labour is also concerned about the working conditions and tries to eliminate the damage, which the workers might get (The United States Department of Labour, 2015). It can be said that the monitoring of the working conditions is pivotal for various organizations. Consequently, the health significance of this paper is on the global level as there are numerous companies around the world, which specialize in ginning industries.

In my opinion, the study fills an important gap, as it provides a detailed analysis of the ginning industries and the influence of the noise effect on it. It is critical to understand the noise impact, as the other research studies do not provide enough information regarding this matter. Moreover, other labor safety organizations primarily focus on the other issues in the working environment and the monitoring of the implementation of the safety regulations. Furthermore, it provides a comprehensive and detailed description of the possible problems, which might occur due to the noisy environment.

The qualitative method was used to gather the information. Firstly, the self-administered audiometric screening test was conducted (Dube, Ingale, & Ingle, 2011, p.349). The key objective of the test was to understand the hearing abilities of the workers (Dube et al., 2011). Secondly, a simple questionnaire was also introduced to collect demographic information about the participants (Dube et al., 2011). The right focus group of relevantly healthy people participated in the research (Dube et al., 2011). This fact helped to avoid bias in the evaluation of the results. However, even though the chosen research method can be considered relevant, there are some factors to be done differently in the future. The main limitation of the research includes the sample size since only 200 workers participated in the study. Including more companies would help to collect reliable information. Another factor is that the tool used for the audiometric test might show some deviations in the results.

Firstly, the author provides information about the general working conditions. Moreover, different frequencies and levels of noise were analyzed. According to these two assessments, it can be concluded that the workers experience hearing impairment from different levels and frequencies. It is clear the hearing of the workers is strongly affected by noise. I agree with the interpretations provided by the author as he provides a clear comparison of different aspects and shows the interdependence between the factors.

The main goal of this research is to provide data about the influence of noise on the hearing abilities of the workers. Various labor security control organizations should be concerned with this matter. Additionally, the workers have to start wearing safety equipment and showing high-level responsibility for their health. The positive change of this issue has to be the improvement of the working conditions in ginning industries.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Preventions. (2014). The national institute for occupational safety and health. Web.

Dube, K., Ingale, L., & Ingle, S. (2011). Hearing impairment among workers exposed to excessive levels of noise in ginning industries. Noise & Health, 13(54), 348-355.

The United States Department of Labour. (2015). Occupational safety & health administration. Web.

Environmental justice entailsequal distribution of environmental harm and benefits to all beneficiaries (Pavlich, 2010). It revolves around environmental health by trying to ensure that there is access to a good environment for habitable living. Impacts on health will look at how environmental justice affect health of individuals (Freudenberg, Freudenberg, Klitzman & Saege, 2009).The access to healthcare facilities and information is also enhanced by environmental justice by removal of racism and tribalism (Sandler & Pezzullo, 2007). This allows everyone to access the facility despite the race or tribe of such individuals. Environmental justice balances tribes and races in the fact that all of them are equal and have equal rights to access healthcare services irrespective of their tribe or race (Arnold, 2007). Environmental justice concerns itself with raising the barriers put by ascribed statuses of individuals such as race to provide an equal platform for all people where rights to access several basic needs are based on the fact that people are equal as opposed to racial stereotypes and prejudices.

Environment justice allows for access to better housing conditions for all people (Eyles & Williams, 2008). People from various tribes, race, and class among others should be allowed to have equal rights to housing either provided by government, NGOs or self-construction (Harding, 2007). This provides access to better health and hygienic conditions to all as well as access to quality food tailored to meet the desired dietary needs. When people feed on the right quantities of food and balanced diets, they reduce their risk of attack by diseases.Therefore, everyone should be allowed to eat what they want and in balanced form which will reduce impact of diseases on them thereby they continue to be healthy. On the other hand, environmental justice concerns itself with ensuring that peoples access to required commodities is based on the fact that they are human as opposed to their ascribed statuses such as race.

Access to clean water and air is another important point of environmental justice. When justice prevails in an environment, all humans living in that environment should equally access clean water and air (Frumkin, 2010). Dirty water and air are areas cause microorganisms thrive. Everyone should be allowed to access clean water safe for drinking and clean air in the areas they live, work or pass by in their daily activities. Environmental justice also advocates for ethics and mental needs to all people (Gerrard, 2008). Any person is expected to live in a beautiful environment that pleases him/her and which also brings about mental satisfaction. A good environment makes one happy and feel comfortable reducing stress which is a result of many diseases affecting human beings (Elliott & Thomas, 2009).This reduces prevalence of diseases to people because they appreciate and feel comfortable in the environment they live in.

According to Freudenberg et al, (2009), poor communities are considered to be unimportant and are unable to access health facilities due to lack of environmental justice in many countries. Most of them live in marginalized areas away from information and health facilities such as in rural areas or slums in town. Their access to healthcare is mostly limited by either lack of information about importance of healthcare or means of transport to the facility to access health solutions. When environment justice prevails and corrects this problem, even poor people living in these marginalized areas will access healthcare facilities. They will be able to get treatment, drugs and advice on disease prevention from health facilities.

References

Arnold, C., A. (2007). Fair and healthy land use: environmental justice and planning. New York: American Planning Association.

Elliott,M. & Thomas, I. (2009).Environmental Impact Assessment in Australia: Theory and Practice.Sydney: Federation Press.

Eyles, J. & Williams, A. (2008).Sense of Place, Health and Quality of Life.London: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.

Freudenberg, G., Freudenberg, N., Klitzman, S. &Saegert S. (2009). Urban Health and Society: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Research and Practice.

Frumkin, H. (2010). Environmental Health: From Global to Local.New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Gerrard, M. (2008).The Law of Environmental Justice: Theories and Procedures to Address Disproportionate Risks.Chicago: American Bar Association.

Harding, A. (2007). Access to Environmental Justice: A Comparative Study. Martuni: MartinusNijhoffPublishers,.

Pavlich, D., J. (2010). Managing Environmental Justice.Upper Saddle River, Cengage.

Sandler, R., D. &Pezzullo, P., C. (2007).Environmental Justice and Environmentalism: The Social Justice Challenge to the Environmental Movement.Cambridge: MIT Press.