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Environmental ethics

The 3 R’s song is a song that I always listened to growing up. I watched Curious George growing up, and this song was commonly used. Because the words are so catchy, and the song so upbeat, I remember it to this day. This song positively effected my environmental ethic, because of its promotion of reduce, reuse and recycling. I like to think that this song has helped me to realize my intentions towards the environment and be more cautious of my decisions

Phones have now become a necessity in every ones life. Ads like these have been playing for almost all my life, encouraging all of the public to buy new ones. This in my opinion is damaging on my environmental ethic. It is negative because the more new phones come out, the more I want to buy new ones. The need for constant new technology harms the environment because of the new materials that we are in constant need of. We take from the earth to get these new products, and use in for our benefit.

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Cascadia Subduction Zone Response

1. This documentary used several pieces of evidence to support their claim that we are in a dangerous location. What were those pieces of evidence? List them.

The initial piece of evidence was that it was in a subduction zone, meaning there must of been some sort of past activity, but that wasn’t enough. 

First nation told stories about the thunderbird that struck the land, shaking the earth, but scientist didn’t believe its credibility, for it was told verbally.

Found evidence of a forest that is now a marsh. This means, that before the ocean came and created the mud banks, there used to be a spruce forest, miles away from the salty water. Above that was a layer of sand that would have rushed in all at once, and the only logical explanation, was that there must have been a major earthquake that killed the forest and brought a layer of sand with it in tsunami form

Evidence of major tsunami in japan have happened before many times. Have evidence that the trees in a land by Cascadia died at the same time as the tsunami in japan, concluding the potential magnitude of the earthquake, that happened at the same time causing Japan to suffer.

2. Using the list of evidence above, explain why one of those pieces of evidence alone is not enough, but why together they make the documentary’s argument credible.

Just one source of evidence may not be conclusive, and easy to believe. By hearing one piece of information against it, for example that we have no written proof of this happening before, viewers might turn a blind eye. By knowing that there is multiple pieces of evidence, people will be able to see the bigger picture and have more potential to believe what may be happening. The proof of the forest which is now a muddy bay, shows us a visual representation of what happened to strongly support the theory.

3. This documentary comments on the destruction a seismic event could have on Vancouver. Describe what you learned from this documentary on how Vancouver could be impacted.

In Vancouver we have and continue to build buildings to our standards of earthquake safe. We don’t yet know what would happen to the many tall building that line the streets of Vancouver. Some conclude that they would sway in the pressure, and gradually lose there structure. Some may fall down killing thousands, or they may only be effected a little. Nothing like this has happened during this century here so we don’t know exactly what might happen. Older buildings that are un-reinforced in earthquake safety are almost guaranteed to collapse in the immense pressure from the earthquake. The earthquake would last around 5 minutes severely damaging everything that is hit by it. Land slides of hills would destroy everything below and there will be many fatalities. Next a tsunami will come into the area. Since Vancouver is tucked in behind Vancouver island, the tsunami is likely not to reach us but if it did, everyone in its path would suffer.

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Geography in Action

Super Typhoon Mangkhut, Philippines

 

Image result for super typhoon mangkhutSuper Typhoon Magnkut hit the northern tip of the Philippines September 15th 2019. The wind speeds of this typhoon stretched to 285 km/hr devastating the entire country as a category 5 typhoon. Tens of thousands of people have evacuated the coastal area’s because of this frightful storm, and threaten more than four million people. People have said, it was one of the most intense storms this year.

Super Typhoon Mangkhut Effected people living in the Philippines, and people around the world experiencing it second hand, as well as the ecosystems and animals living near by. Widespread floods and power outages came through the islands and stranded people through the massive wind storm. Communication was lost between people from the damage of cellular towers, and modes of communal transportation. Ferry systems were shut down in to the storm due to the high winds and waves, so people on the island were left stranded within. From this storm, ecosystems have been destroyed, and animals were left without their habitats and a limited food source. The typhoon caused trees to be blown over, and flooding within parts of the island destroying habitats of native animals in the Philippines. Houses and towers were blown out in the winds and some are completely destroyed.

The geological aspect of this storm were very prominent in my research of super typhoon Mangkhut.Image result for super typhoon mangkhut The heavy winds in the Atmosphere picked up tremendous speed, and picked up moisture from the ocean below. As it build up, it traveled to the Philippines, collectively growing larger by the hydrosphere. As it got closer to the Island, the typhoon teared up the lithosphere and the biosphere, ruining almost everything in its path. Typhoon’s only happen in the Northwestern Pacific Basin, which is referred to as 180° and 100°E in the northern hemisphere.

Image result for super typhoon mangkhut aftermathThe Philippines is hit by about 10 typhoons a year, so they are used to the destruction that they may cause. However, Super Typhoon Mangkhut was one of the strongest typhoons they have had this year. Since they are well experienced with typhoons near their land, the country was prepared ahead of time with precautions prepared encase catastrophe struck. The people in the country were sad by the loss of their homes, and destruction all around them, but as it was somewhat expected, they knew what might be coming. There is not much that the people may be able to do to improve the situation than they already have done. They could have built stronger structures, and backup drainage systems for net time a storm that size comes through, and even have food rations prepared. What is controversial would be the building of stronger buildings. Better structures could help with some of the weaker storms, but if something big came along, there is know way to know if these structures could withstand it. This then leads to the controversy if they were to spend more money on them or not. I feel depressed for the people who live in the Philippines that were effected by this typhoon, and more like it every year. They experience this devastation so much that they are almost used to the effects. Hearing some of their personal stories through videos has a huge effect on me, for connecting to it on a personal level. I now understand how the people that it effected aren’t just numbers, but people trying to survive, and help make their families and friends survive. I couldn’t even imagine what would happen if a storm like that hit Canada. Some solutions to the problem that I personally propose would be to advise some sort of plan for the water flow, to divert it from flooding the streets. I would also create a shelter from the wind, to shield some of the wind flow from the people. Super Typhoon Mangkhut was a devastating typhoon that depressed everyone effected by it.

 

 

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/12/asia/super-typhoon-ompong-mangkhut-wxc-intl/index.html –  By. James Griffen, CNN

https://globalnews.ca/news/4453119/super-typhoon-mangkhut-hits-philippines/ – By Global news

https://globalnews.ca/news/4453119/super-typhoon-mangkhut-hits-philippines/ – By Bard Wilkinson and James Masters, CNN

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Volcanoes lab

  1. when I watched my volcano erupt, the pyroclastic flow was slow moving as it traveled down the volcano. It didn’t quite reach the city, but traveled down the side.
  2. when I watched the current eruption in Hawaii, the lava flow interrupted the natural and physical aspects of the landscape. As it flowed, the rocks destroyed everything in its path, creating a deserted landscape where everything was gone in its wake. where there used to be houses and green landscapes, are now all lava rock, from the eruption.
  3. Hawaii was created by volcanic eruption in the first place. The volcanoes were created by holes in the tectonic plated by hot spots. This means that the islands were once non existent. Volcanic eruption is vital for this islands to grow and stay on the map, because if it didn’t happen, Hawaii would be non existent
  4. People respond by evacuating the area and studying the effects of the lava. Since the flow is slow, they have time to evacuate and move somewhere else. The lava flowing from the volcano is so destructive, that it slowly wiped out peoples houses, and now they are left without a place that they call their own.
  5. If a mountain near here erupted, so many people would be effected because of the densely packed communities with house after house. However since there are so many hills and valleys within our area, it would funnel out some of the lava flow, keeping some of our cities safe.
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Triangulation Lab Questions

1. What was wrong with today’s lab? List all the variables that disturbed our results and create a solution to make the outcome more accurate.

In today’s lab, the results varied because of the different wave speeds and steps of each particular person. Everyone had a different time when they traveled across so the results were inaccurate. A solution to this problem would be to only have one person go from each group to create an even and consistent time, so the results would be more accurate

2.  Why do you need more than one seismometer station to find the epicentre of an earthquake? Why is one not enough?

A siesmometer determines where an earthquake is based on the radius of the wave to find how long it takes to read it. By only using one, the earthquake could have occurred anywhere along the one seismometer based on its radious. When you add two more, where each radius meet, is the exact location where the epicenter of the earthquake happened

3. Why do you think identifying an epicentre location is important for our  society?

Identifying the epicenter of an earthquake helps us to determine where along a fault line it is and how the tectonic plates are moving. We can see where below the earth it may have been and maybe what plate movement would have caused it.

4. How could we use this data in an emergency response situation?

The epicenter is usually where the earthquake hit hardest, so in an emergency response situation, they may use this to know where to look for survivors, of watch out when passing in case an aftershock may occurs

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My Personal Thoughts on the Indonesian Earthquake

Prompt 2

Dear Cousin Michael

I recently learned about the devastation than occurred in Palu and immediately wondered how you were doing. I was watching the news here in Canada and I feel how lucky I am to be here right now in the safety of my home. I heard about the collapse of the hospital and the hardship that this earthquake has caused on all it’s people, and how unfortunate that it was. I can’t imagine living without electricity, and even proper medical care in which you are forced to endure. Even not being able to stay up past dark limits the ability to be able to conquer your hard ship. This has made me feel anxious that it may happen to us where I live. We are due for a major earthquake to occur, so a devastation like this is yet to occur here How is your son doing in this catastrophe? Now that the schools aren’t open, I was wondering it he is holding up on his dream on becoming a doctor? Unavailable education must be extremely difficult for him with high hopes like he has. I know that if I couldn’t receive the higher education that I have been saving for all my life would bring down my optimism, but I can’t even imagine what it would be like for him who loves his academics. I was wondering if your house was still standing, or was it swept away from the tsunami and the liquefaction in the ground. I know you never give up, and will strive for the best for you and son in whatever situation that you are in. I am worried about you and I almost feel guilty for being safe in the warmth of my house when you would be struggling to even find a blanket in the cold of the night. I sincerely hope that you are safe, and are able to stay healthy for as long as you can in the condition that your city is in. I could only imagine how stressed I would be if an earthquake of that magnitude came to Port Coquitlam, I would be devastated, and worrying about finding everyone who is missing. I am so sorry for everything that has happened and everything you must be going through. I hope help comes your way soon and you get food and water, and healthcare. I hope your safe and healthy and good thing come your way soon.

 

From: Jayna