World Water Day

Girl rising discussions

Why not both boy and girl rising?

Nick: It too insensitive and if it just boy rising people would think we do not care for girl

Sun: Because girl has lesser right than guy in some countries.

Eve: Because she thinks that if the film were both genders, it will just be titled for poverty.

What do you think about Roksana?

Me: Her spirit is very strong and it's really nice to see that she stood up for herself.

Nick: This reflects the poor life and the danger of living in the street.

Eve: realistic thing that happen with the poor in Indian but I don’t think it just in Indian but every place that has the poor.

Would the world be a better place if our parents donate the money to the poor than sending us to an expensive school?

Nick: It will be better for the poor.

Eve: Yes, It will be a better place but who would should the poor education over their kids’ education.

Me: I think that it will affect so much on our world's economy in a positive ways.

Semester 1 reflection

Responsibility 
-In the early part of semester 1, I missed most of the assignment but I catch up on the later part of the semester. I think that I will behave myself better at handing in the assignment on time.

Participation 
-I come to class regularly, and on time. I answer question and interact with the class frequently.

Collaboration 
-I believe that I'm good at working with groups, I always try my best to be a good teammate.

Class policy revisit 
-I believe that I follow the rules and regulation

New Year's resolution 
-I will try my best to hand in works and get a better grade.

POLAR VORTEX 2014

            Polar vortex is a cyclone but in a form of a cold wave that can cause an extreme cold weather. The polar vortex strengthen during winter and weaken during the summer. In this year of 2014 there is not only one vortex but two polar vortices that is active in the northern hemisphere of our world, and due to the extreme cold weather, the economic of the world has dropped down. Not only the economic that have been affected but also the environment that have been affected from such an extreme weather.

Citation:

"North America Zoom-in Surface Weather Map". National Weather Service. 8 January 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2014."

"Cost of the cold: 'polar vortex' spell cost US economy $5bn". The Associated Press. The Guardian. January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2014."

"U.S. polar vortex sets record low temps, kills 21". CBC News. January 8, 2014."

San Arzarni 11A

Sustainability compass

Kaori: renewable resources. It is very eco-friendly source of energy, economy good for long. It can reduce the war that may occurs because people wont fight for energy anymore.. It is a human friendly source of energy.

Mos: coal, it produces smoke, and harm the environment. It is a cheap resource of energy. It is harder to use than other source of energy.

Gyuri: petroleum, it can cause air pollution, economically, people spent a lot of money on petroleum. Too many people are using petroleum and they wont stop using, and it can cause damage to health

Bag it reflection 2

    Most of the products we are using in our daily life are made of plastic. I found it quite shocking how plastic can do so many damages to the environment and our body. Plastic is one of the most common things that can be found anywhere, scattering all over the places. Plastic is a single use product which is cheap and easy to use but people use it only once or twice. People found that it is very easy to just use the plastic and throw it away, so the amount of plastic being produced increases over time.

    Plastic are made up of fossil fuel as one of the main factor to make the plastic. Fossil fuel is anun renewable  resource and we are running out of it. Some other fact that I found out during the video is that plastic can be very harmful to our health. For example the DPA that use for making water bottle can be harmful. This DPA can lead to some health issue such as less sperm for men, smaller genitals, and many more damages to our bodies. Human consumes water every day and the easiest way to drink water is to buy a water bottle. So we eventually absorb DPA every time we drink water from the bottle. So the last thing that I want to say in this reflection is that to try to rethink the way you live your life.

Bag it reflection

As I was watching the documentary, I have learn a lot of thing that when we put our plastics in the recycle bin, they didn't not going to recycle all of it, they have to sort out of it. What they do is they just gather it and put in the trash land or they send to Asia to let them destroy it. If we don't stop wasting plastic bags, the amount of the plastic bags going to increase and when you combine it, we will have no land to live and sources to use anymore. Plastic made from oil which is fossil fuel, it is also one of our important sources. Everything is connected. 

Over-fishing vs TOC

Over fishing and the tragedy of common are related because when people are unconcern that by changing themselves would not make much different so they continue to do what other people does, so is the fishing business, people thinks that if they catch a little bit more, it won't do much harm to the ecosystem and keep on over fishing. We can start to make a difference by starting small, by starting to do the right thing at ourselves.

Jim: He thinks that they are related because people compete to get something even if they knew that it will destroy the environment


Gyuri: She thinks that they are related because they both are related to the bad doing and the evil mind within every person.


Cindy: She thinks that they are related because they both are about over-doing  something, and taking more than you need, and it is related to ESS because over-fishing effects the organism and ecosystem.

Notes on page 331-351

There are 2 main types of sampling Spatial sampling Temporal sampling. Spatial sampling The samples that had many possible chance about where they can from. Temporal sampling The samples that are discovered in different period of time. Random sampling The sample that being pick by random set of numbers Systematic sampling The way to pick sample a more faster and easy way, choose by the same time. Stratified Sample Dividing items into groups and sampling random items from each group. Sample Size Selecting appropriate samples. It depends on nature, aims of the investigation, and time available.Mean or average Descriptive statistics There are many types of descriptive statistics:Maximum, minimum and range between them(Maximum-minimum) Mode: a group or class that occurs most often. Median: middle value when numbers are in ascending and descending order. (add up all numbers and divided by the amount of numbers) Three different types of data Nominal data: Objects that have names. Ordinary or ranked data: Place in ascending and descending order. Interval or ratio data to real numbers: Interval data has no true zero except for temperature. Ratio data has a true zero such as rainfall. Sampling error or standard error When the the result actually near the true result or not. Confidence limits The idea based that people assume that date sample had a normal joining/grouping. Clustered Being close and in order together. Bar charts Using multi colors bars to compare something Pie charts a circle chat that is good to dividing sections into separate sections. Standard deviation  A measure of the processing of a set of data from its mean. Dispersion diagrams Imagined a gram upward line with dots and like the temperature monitor. Kite diagram           Lines graph that with points it can be drawn as a kite and many other shape shapes.

Endangered wildlife

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1ofDlxU_XMQSlNLam92SDY2bkU/edit

Systems Thinking

Notes on SYSTEMS AND MODELS

Outline the concepts and characteristics of systems

• Holistically – together or viewed as a whole
• A system consists of different parts and relationships which are interrelated through the transfer of energy and matter
• A holistic approach is to understand the way systems operate.
• Systems consist of:
  • Storage
  • Flows
  • Processes
  • Feedback mechanisms that maintain stability and equilibrium.
• System Diagrams consist of:
• Boxes that show storages
• Arrows that show flows

The systems concept on a range of scales

• An ecosystem is the biological community of organisms and environment they inhabit.
• Local scale is an ecosystems with inputs, outputs, and stores. (Ex: forest)
• Global Scale is the ecosystems in the the world that have similar climatic conditions called biomes. (Ex: tundra, desert, rain forest, etc.)
• Water, soil, rock, atmosphere, and the living component called the biosphere.

Open, closed, and isolated systems

• These 3 types of systems are depending on the flow of energy between the system and its surrounding.
  • Open Systems
  • Matter and energy are exchanging in the system.
  • Organic so it must interact with its surrounding to obtain food and to remove waste
  • Closed Systems
  • Only energy is exchanged
  • Isolated Systems
  • Neither energy not matter is exchanged

Laws of thermodynamics and environmental systems

• Heat can be converted to other forms when there is a temperature difference.
• Thermodynamics are the behavior of energy in systems.
  • First law or law of conservation of energy - Energy can neither created nor destroyed, but it can only changed its forms. Heat is released because of the inability to transfer the energy.
  • Second law states that the end of the process, the available energy is less usable than the available at the beginning of the process.
  • As there is less energy, there is higher entropy
  • Matter can be recycled within the system.

The nature of equilibria

• Open systems are in the state of equilibrium which means that if there is any
  changes in the system, there is no sudden changes.
  • A steady-state equilibrium – There is the stability in inputs and outputs in the system. If there is any change to a stable system results, it will return to the original equilibrium.
  • Static equilibrium – There is no inputs and outputs of energy or matter. So there's no changes in the system.
  • Stable and unstable equilibrium – It's stable if the system returns to the original state after the disturbance. On the other hand, it's unstable if the system doesn't return to its original equilibrium.

Positive and negative feedback

• Systems require feedback mechanisms to return to the original state.
  • Positive feedback (Instability) – An increase in size of the system's outputs can change the state of the system away from its original equilibrium.
  • Negative feedback (Stability) – Reduce the outputs and it maintains the steady-state equilibrium.

Transfers and transformation processes (Both types use energy)

• A transfer is when the movement doesn't involve a change of state/form. → Use less energy and more efficient.
• A transformation is when the movement does involve a change of state/form. → New end product.

Flows and storage

• Basically, flows are inputs and outputs in the forms of energy and matter. It sometimes stores in the form of stocks.

Models and flows of storage

• A model shows the structure of a system.
• Biomass is all the living things in the ecosystem.

Evaluation of models

• The models can be represented by computer models or diagrams or whatever that can represent the real system.
• For example, the complex computer simulations (examine about the climate).
  • The advantages of these models are:
    • Simplify the complex systems.
    • They can change the inputs and they don't need to wait to see the outcomes for real events.
    • They can share the results to public.
  • The disadvantages of those models are:
    • The result might not be accurate.
    • Different people have different interpretations.
    • They can use the same data in many different forms of models.
    • The results depend on the people who use them.
    • A good model can be looked from the data.

Pleasanton Case Study Chart

Should Valley County Set Aside a Nature Preserve? No
	Environmental	Economic	Recreational
Positive Short-Term Consequences	None	Investor can earn from the visitor.	Visitor can come and enjoy the county
Negative Short-Term Consequences	Pollution that can cause by visitor	None	None
Positive Long-Term Consequences	None	Investor can earn much more from the visitor by creating a resort or a mall in the area	Visitor can come and enjoy the county.
Negative Long-Term Consequences	Increase the chance of the extinction of the warblers.	None	None

Unit 7 Reading Notes

Environmental Value System is a certain perspective that shapes the way people observe and judge environmental issues.

- Consist of inputs and outputs, a particular worldview.
- Shapes the way an individual perceive and evaluate environmental     issues.
- Shapes the way groups of people perceive and evaluate               environmental issues.
- Incorporates systems thinking
- Influenced by culture, religion, economic and social/political context

EVS has three groups:

1. Technocentrist – people who believe that technology should be used to help save the environment.

2. Ecocentrist – people who believe that they should save the environmental naturally, without any help of modern items.

3. Anthropocentrists – people who believe in a mix of technocentrism and ecocentrism

Making environmental decision

Our group definition of making environmental decision

-thinking green and making decision that can heal or destroy the environment, the example would be like, to recycle or keep repurchasing the product that can permanently hurt the environment.

-by making people understand the situation of the environment, people can make a decision that can heal the environment

-to help not only yourself but also the environment

Definition of sustainability

What is Environmental Systems & Societies?

" It Was Beautiful
It was Green and Clean.
The smell of Fresh Air
The sound of the river flowing
I love everything happening there.
I pinched myself to see if it was real.
That was .........."
- Surega Rajan

My learner profile

About me

Hi, I'm Sun, Im currently in grade 11A. I am originally from Myanmar, I have been in Thailand for almost five years. This is my third years in Wells International school, this page will be use as an e-portfolio for evironmental science class