Personal Interest: Water & Sanitation

Personal Interest: Water & Sanitation

At the beginning of this course, we were asked to share an area or topic of personal interest as it related to global environmental health. Personally, I am concerned with the global population's access to clean drinking water and suitable or healthy sanitation levels. Water and sanitation are some of the very most basic needs for humans, yet as many as 1.1 billion people lack access to clean, safe drinking water and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.  (http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/monitoring/jmpfinal.pdf ).

                                                                  Picture from http://www.unep.org/dewa/vitalwater/article50.html

 It is incredibly troubling to know that there are some countries, such as the United States, where the vast majority of the population has readily available access to clean drinking water to the point that it is used in excess or wasted, and yet there are countless other populations in countries that are forced to ingest unsafe or polluted water because they simply have no other alternatives. Another concern is that without basic sanitation, there is a significantly higher risk for these populations to be exposed to preventable diseases. These diseases include but are not limited to: ascaris, dracunculiasis, hookworm, schistosomiasis, and trachoma, not to mention fatalities due to diarrhea. It is imperative that we utilize low cost, sustainable efforts to rectify the situation, so that we may positively impact the populations who are significantly affected by these issues. Everyone should be able to have access to such basic needs and the overall health of our global population would be greatly improved by doing so.

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

Jena Palmer

Silent Spring was a very pertinent and relevant book written and released in 1962 by environmentalist Rachel Carson. She held a significant impact upon both environmental and human health by raising awareness concerning the widespread usage of pesticides. Her research demonstrated the negative effects associated with these pesticides. She faced considerable opposition from the government when she attempted to expose and eradicate their DDT applications due to the detrimental effects to the environment. However, her perseverance and dedication to her cause led to the government enforcing a ban upon the usage of pesticides such as DDT. Rachel Carson has truly made a remarkable contribution for the overall health and preservation of our environment.

Representing Data through Maps

Dot Density Map
In this map of China, a single dot represents 50,000 individuals. This is effectively used to show the distribution of China's 1,338,300,000 individuals. From this map, we can see that the central plain and eastern coast is where population is most dense. 



Choropleth Map
This map thematically represents the percentage of a country's population with either type 1 or 2 diabetes. Using a yellow (lowest %) to red (highest %) color ramp, we can quickly determine how other countries compare to the US.


Proportion Symbols Map
This map uses relative land area size to depict the proportion of all people over the age of 15 living with diabetes.



Topographic Map
In this map of Stowe, Vermont, the physical terrain (e.g. elevation, territories, rivers, lakes, etc.) of the city is emphasized with the use of dark contour lines against lighter earth tones as well as the use of blue to represent water. 


Environmental Sensitivity Index map
This map shows part of the Point Reyes National Seashore. Color codes are used to show ecological sensitivity to petroleum releases. We can see that areas along the coast highlighted with red are especially susceptible to petroleum contamination. In addition, the symbols of wildlife represent areas of concern in regard to breeding/nesting grounds whereas AQ represents aquaculture and an umbrella represents  recreational areas. 

First Blog Assignment

Apalachicola, Fl

Hey group! I am fairly new to blogging so please bear with me. For my location, I picked Apalachicola, Fl, which is quite possibly one of my favorite places to visit with my family. We recently went for vacation this summer and had a great time! It's on the Gulf Coast and the water is always incredibly blue and full of different types of fish and other sea life. Fishing, shrimping, and harvesting oysters are a very big part of life in this community. Apalachicola has been labeled one of the best places to harvest oysters. This area was affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig spill and has finally received compensation that was distributed from the BP company to help them cope with the aftereffects the oil spill caused for their community.

Thanks guys and hope everyone's having a great week!

-Jena Palmer