Guarding Our Ecosystems - Marshlands and Wetlands Essay Example for Free

Guarding Our Ecosystems Marshlands and Wetlands Essay In the last decade, the conservation of our ecosystem has gained high importance. The last few years have seen a considerable jump on awareness of the conservation of marshlands. Marshlands or wetlands are areas which are transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems. Here the water is usually at the surface. The land is covered by stagnant water that does not exceed 6 meters. They are considered important as they are home to various species of flora and fauna. Wetlands covers 6 %of the earth`s land surface. This includes marshes, mangroves fens, swamps, lagoons etc. They store water for a long period of time and help keep floods in check. They also prevent coastal erosion. Despite the fact that these marshlands are important the reduction in the levels of these areas are very apparent .The government, in a census, has identified 648,507 hectares of wetlands in India and it has estimated that freshwater wetlands constitute up to roughly 20% of the biodiversity in India. Studies have proved alarming levels of marshland destruction in India. This level has been estimated by experts at up to 2-3% reduction per year. Pallikaranai Marsh Pallikaranai is locally known as Kazhiveli (a generic Tamil name for marshes and swamps). It is situated in Chennai and is one such important marshland which has been in the preview of the government and NGOs alike. This marshland is a 50 km wetland located in the South of Chennai. Pallikaranai Marsh has the most diverse natural habitats of the country with over 330 species of plants and animals. According to a census taken by an NGO group Namma Pallikaranai, the heterogeneous ecosystem of the marshland supports about 337 species of flora and fauna. Of the faunal groups, birds, fishes and reptiles are the most prominent. Further it has been identified that Pallikaranai marsh is home to 115 species of birds, 10 species of mammals, 21 species of reptiles, 10 species of amphibians, 46 species of fishes, 9 species of molluscans, 5 species of crustaceans and 7 species of butterflies. About 114 species of plants are found in the wetland including 29 species of grass. The problem Pallikaranai is facing the problem of reduction of the marshland. The area of  the Pallikaranai marshland has been reduced to a mere 600 hectares from the original 6,000 hectares. The government, however, has protected only 317 hectares Construction of buildings in the surrounding areas of the marsh has been one of the factors to this reduction of the levels of the marshlands. The marsh is also contaminated with millions of liters of untreated sewage. The main problem, however, is the dumping and burning of garbage. Over 250 acres of the marsh is covered by the citys garbage as this is one of the major dumping grounds. The garbage is dumped in the marsh and later burned. According to a survey conducted by the pollution control board, the levels of respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) is double than the permissible level of 100 micrograms per cubic meter. This could cause harmful effects to the residents near the marsh area. Burning the garbage also kills the different plants and animals in the marsh. There have been a significant number of birds and animals which were found dead due to the spreading of fires. â€Å"We have complained several times. But garbage is still being burnt in the marshes. The pollution when the garbage is being burnt is affecting us a lot†, says Uma .P, a resident of the area. Government steps A project on ‘Inland Wetlands of India’ commissioned by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India had prioritized Pallikaranai Marsh as one of the most significant wetlands of the country. The government has taken various steps to preserve this marsh. The High Court of Madras has passed laws regarding the preservation of Pallikaranai marshland, which in its rulings have stated provisions to conserve the marsh The High Court has also stated that an alternative place must be decided by the corporation for a place to dump the corporation waste. Further, the High Court has prohibited burning of waste in the marshlands. The main proposal of the Tamil Nadu government notification, 320.17 hectares (790.82 acres) of Pallikaranai marshland as reserved forests and to evict occupants who are not authorized to be there from the reserved area has been implemented. Some parts of the marsh have come under the forest department and have been recognized as a reserve by the government. This has come after a delay in providing the land since 2011. They have provided the 170 hectors to complete the restoration of the marsh. Restoration of these marshes has  started. This move of the government has been welcomed by the residents of the area. â€Å"I hope no more garbage will be dumped and burned in the marsh as this has caused major pollution problems in this area. The government must ensure that such problems don’t occur in the future† Says Rashmi.G , a resident of Pallikarnai Experts have stated the need to establish a single coordination agency with all stakeholders like environmental activists, government officials and researchers to establish the restoration of this project. The government, with the agenda of conserving the marsh has sanctioned a programme to take up a restoration project which is estimated to cost Rs.15.75 crore along with this a boost of R.s 5 crore has been provided to increase and restore the Pallikarnai marsh. The conservation plan according to an official report by the environment ministry states that the restoration plan includes the removal of weeds, formation of bunds, dredging water courses and forming a nature trail alongside the boundary of the marshland. This will take around 5 years for the government to complete its restoration plans for the Pallikaranai marsh.

Animal Farm Relating To Russia :: Animal Farm Essays

Greed for Power, and Cruelty: Making Followers In Animal Farm, George Orwell demonstrates the danger of unquestioning acceptance of ideas and actions that are “supposed to represent'; a better way of life. Throughout the book there are many examples of hatred and evil undermining what sounds like a great utopia when introduced, but not when they are lived. The ideas are very familiar because they are based on those that drove the Russian Revolution, and what went wrong with it. The difference between a nice Utopian idea and what goes wrong in real life has to do with human nature. Greed is real, in that it drives people to do things. There is greed for power, greed for food, and greed for whatever a greedy person might want. While not everyone is greedy, some people are very much so. The very greedy people make life difficult for the rest of us. This is not such a big problem in democracies, which are constructed to balance any action with the ideas of many groups and rights. In a dictatorship, like the Soviet Union, a person like Stalin can determine every key aspect of most individuals’ lives. The more violent a Stalin is, the more power a Stalin has; and the farther from Utopia are the lives of the common people. Napoleon’s ideas and actions in Animal Farm were similar to those first of Lenin and later of Stalin during the development of the Soviet Union, which resulted in the deaths and terror that deeply affected the lives of tens of millions of Soviet citizens. For example, Napoleon had made other high-status animals confess to things they had never committed. When the eggs of the three hens were crushed really by Napoleon’s dog, they were forced to confess, “…Snowball had appeared to them in a dream and incited them to disobey Napoleon’s orders'; (93). The dogs were then murdered, making Napoleon the only ruler. Even though Napoleon clearly killed the hens’ eggs, they still confessed to something that was untrue, which made Napoleon’s “appearance'; better to those who had no direct knowledge of the incident. Joseph Stalin had appointed government officials, controlling their income, what they said, and of ten their death. Soon he made them confess to things that were untrue, such as being spies. Government officials were exiled, thrown in jail, or killed. Soon Stalin was the one, true ruler of

Simple Harmonic Motion Dominic Stone Lab Partner

Experiment 1: Simple Harmonic Motion Dominic Stone Lab Partner: Andrew Lugliani January 9, 2012 Physics 132 Lab Section 13 Theory For this experiment we investigated and learned about simple harmonic motion. To do this we hung and measured different masses on a spring-mass system to calculate the force constant k. Simple harmonic motion is a special type of periodic motion. It is best described as an oscillation motion that causes an object to move back-and-forth in response to a restoring force given by Hooke’s Law: 1) F=-kx Where k is the force constant.Then using two different procedures, we calculate the value of the force constant k of a spring in our oscillating system. We observed the period of oscillation and use this formula: 2) T=2(m/k) Then we reduced the equation to solve for the value of k by: 3) k=4^2/slope â€Å"Slope† represents the slope of the graph in procedure B. k is then the measure of the stiffness of the spring. We can then compare k to that of a vertically stretched spring with various masses M. By using the following equation: 4) Mg=kx Where x is the distance of the stretch in the spring.To find the value of the constant k we take the data from procedure A and graph it. Using this graph, we use equation: 5) k=g/slope We can compare the two values of the constant k. Both values should be exact since we used the same spring in both procedures. Here simple harmonic motion is used to calculate the restoring force of the spring-mass system. Procedure Part A: First, we set up the experiment by suspending the spring from the support mount and measured the distance from the lower end of the spring to the floor.After, we hung 100 grams from the spring and measured the new distance created from the stretch of the spring. We then repeated this step for masses 200 to 1000 grams, by increasing the weight by 200 grams each time. Then we took this data and plotted them on a graph with suspended weight Mg versus elongation x. After plott ing this data we were then able to evaluate the force constant k from the slope of the graph. Part B: First, we suspend 100 grams from the spring and let it lay at rest.When the spring was naturally set in its equilibrium position, we slightly pulled down the weight and recorded the time it took for the weight to complete 10 oscillations and calculated the average period of each oscillation. We then repeated this process for masses 100 to 1000 grams by increasing the weight by 100 grams each time. After we completed this process we plotted a graph of T^2 verses suspended mass m with the data. When then found the intercept at T^2=0 to see how it would compare with the value of negative one-third the mass of the spring.We then also determined the spring constant k by calculating the slope of the graph and compared it with the spring constant k in part B. Data Part A: Mg(Kg/s^2)| X(m)| 1. 96| 0. 39| 3. 92| 0. 63| 5. 88| 0. 86| 7. 84| 1. 11| 9. 8| 1. 36| Part B: M(Kg)| T (s)| T(s)| T^2( s^2)| 0. 1| 8. 24| 0. 824| 0. 679| 0. 2| 9. 87| 0. 987| 0. 974| 0. 3| 12. 74| 1. 274| 1. 623| 0. 4| 14. 57| 1. 457| 2. 123| 0. 5| 16. 23| 1. 623| 2. 634| 0. 6| 17. 49| 1. 749| 3. 059| 0. 7| 19. 21| 1. 921| 3. 69| 0. 8| 20. 26| 2. 026| 4. 105| 0. 9| 21. 69| 2. 169| 4. 705| 1| 22. 89| 2. 289| 5. 24| Data Analysis

Obesity And Its Effects On The Field Of Public Health

Problem Statement: Diabetes Management brings substantial financial and social burden through its short and long term effects on individuals’ life. According to American Diabetes Association, diabetes has affected 29.1 million Americans in 2012, with $176 billion direct medical costs (American Diabetes Association, 2014). Such increasing trends in incidences of diabetes and its associated comorbidities has raised many concerns on quality of health care and has placed this disease as the main target for behavioral lifestyle interventions and diabetes management programs in the field of public health. Brief Literature Review: The prevalence of diabetes has increased exponentially in the past few decades. It is estimated that each year,†¦show more content†¦It is therefore not a surprise that the current guidelines for treatment of diabetes has placed emphasis on lifestyle counseling, self-management education, and diabetes control support as the key components for improving clinical outcomes and quality of life in a cost effective manner (American Diabetes Association, 2015). Moreover, these guidelines underline the fundamentals of informed decision-making, self-efficacy, and active collaboration between healthcare providers and patients. Highly structured educational programs and intensive behavioral interventions are crucial in empowering patients to self-manage their metabolic panels, sustain healthy lifestyles, and adhere to medications (Cauch-Dudek et al., 2013). Furthermore, research has shown that weight loss obtained by utilization of these programs alone have led to reduction in medication use, lowered risk of cardiovascular disease, and successfully recuperated diabetes control (Delahanty et al., 2008; Gregg et al., 2012; Wadden et al., 2007). However, other studies have indicated that several barriers such as lack of awareness and misapprehension about the programs have made these educational and diabetes management programs to become significantly underused (Graziani et al., 1999; Forjuoh et al., 2011).