Imagine a future (probably a long time from now) in which human beings have achieved environmental sustainability on a global scale. That means that we as a species have figured out how to maintain a lifestyle that can go on indefinitely. Humans will exist in harmony with their environment, not needing more resources than can naturally be replenished. What would such a world be like? How might we get there from here?

In this final assignment, you will play the part of science-fiction writer, imagining and describing what a sustainable Earth, inhabited by humans, might look like in the distant future. You will need to provide examples throughout to support your descriptions. You should include all the terms that you have researched during Weeks 1 through 4 of this class, underlining each term as you include it. Be sure to expand on your terms and include other concepts that you learned in the course. Provide as detailed a picture as possible of how that future world might function on a day-to-day basis. In your paper, use grammar and spell-checking programs to insure clarity. Proofread carefully prior to submitting your work. Finally, you will submit the document to Waypoint.

Your paper will consist of seven paragraphs using the format below to address the elements with the assumption that environmental sustainability has been achieved:

·  Paragraph 1:

o  Describe how the human relationship to nature will be different from what it is at present.

o  Examine how humans will cope differently with the ways that natural phenomena like hurricanes affect lives.

·  Paragraph 2:

o  Describe what Earth’s biodiversity and ecosystems will look like in a sustainable future.

o  Explain what humans have done differently to enable biodiversity and ecosystems to function sustainably.

·  Paragraph 3:

o  Examine how agricultural production will be different in a sustainable future.

·  Paragraph 4:

o  Differentiate between how humans will manage water resources (fresh water and ocean) in the sustainable future compared to how it is done now.

·  Paragraph 5

o  Examine how humans will meet their energy needs in the future in a way that will enable maintenance of a sustainable, habitable atmosphere and climate.

o  Indicate the changes that humans have made that are enabling them to maintain a healthy atmosphere and climate for all.

·  Paragraph 6:

o  Describe how waste management will be different in a sustainable future.

o  Indicate the changes have been made to how humans think about and treat what is currently called “waste.”

·  Paragraph 7:

o  Summarize some of the major social, economic, political, and ecological choices and tradeoffs that will need to be overcome for this sustainable future to arrive. What are some of the major issues and challenges humans will have to face in order to achieve sustainability on a global scale?

The Journey to Sustainability final paper

·  Must be seven paragraphs in length (350 to 700 words) (not including title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.)

·  Must incorporate all four of your previously selected terms.

·  Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.

·  Include two scholarly sources including the course text.

o  The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.

·  Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.).

·  Can include, as an option, a separate references list that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the APA: Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.

Introduce yourself to your classmates with your name, location (Memphis Tennessee current employment Laboratory Corporation of American (Labcorp), and future goals. In the event of a natural disaster such as Hurricane Matthew in 2016 or Hurricane Katrina in 2005( my home state is Louisiana I was affected by Katrina) identify and explain which two specialized fields of toxicology would be most involved in assessing the health risks and environmental issues involved in the aftermath of the storms. What do you think their main role would be?

ALSO REPLY TO ANOTHER STUDENTS COMMENT BELOW

Adam:

Hello, my name is Adam, I currently live in a small town called Visalia California where I am originally from but, lived in San Jose for 7 years. I currently work at UPS where I transitioned my poisition to health and safety supervisor however, recently I am also learning about processing hazardous material and recovery as well. My future goals is to gain experience in the feild of health, safety, and hazardous material and advance my career to the best of my ability. I also strive to be the best health and safety professional I can be keeping employees, the environment, and infrastructure as safe as possible.

In the case of a natural disaster such as a hurricane, there are many components of toxicology that would need to be considered to assist in the recovery process. This would include what and who were exposured to toxic substances and in what quantity? What are the impacts that this toxic material can have on factors like human health, air, water, soil, and infrastructure? What are the adverse effects of this toxic substance? Can the damage done be mitigated or reversed? These are some of the questions that would be asked in most cases related to exposure to a toxic material.

A descriptive toxicologist would be involved in assessing these factors in relation to human health. This would be the people who focus mostly on toxicity testing of chemicals and identifying the hazards associated with the harmful effects on human organs. This would also include understanding of how toxic material in absorbed through the human body and figuring how to remove it. The other toxicologist would be a applied toxicologist who study how chemicals interact with real world situations. They would help determine exposure limits associated with the level of toxic material present in non-laboratory environments. This would also include understanding the pathways of how a toxic material can be absorbed into the human body or environment. I believe these two studies would be the best in understanding toxicology impacts in the case of a hurricane.

First, review the purpose of 500mb charts and how to read wind barbs.

1 (+1): Analyze the 500mb chart above. If a low-pressure system is located in Texas (find the yellow “X”), what direction will the low-pressure system most likely move: East, North, South, or West?

2 (+1): Over California, examine the movement of air using the 500mb chart.

What direction will the low-pressure system (marked by the yellow “X” in the image) most likely move: Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, or Northwest?

3 (+1): Now let us connect Module 5’s work on air masses to this week’s work. Identify the air mass (marked by the yellow “X” in the image) that will be moving over California. Hint: go back to the last module for this and connect the topics

4 (+1): Using the characteristics of the air mass you indicated in the question above, make a general weather prediction for California (rainy or clear, hot or cold will be good enough, no more detail is needed).

Part 2 Surface Map Analysis

This is a surface weather map:

See all the symbols? They tell a story about the weather at each location. First, we have to decide what they mean.

Examine the following table (all temperatures in Celsius)

Station 1

Station 2

Station 3

4 (+1): The temperature at station 1 is __________

5 (+1): The dew point at station 2 is __________

6 (+1): The air pressure at station 1 is __________ Hint, it is not 986, go watch the video lesson

7 (+1): The air pressure at station 3 is __________ Hint, it is not 002, go watch the video lesson

8 (+1): What is the wind direction at station 3? Hint: remember, we name winds based on where they come from

9 (+1): Think back to relative humidity and the relationship between temperature and dew point. Which station has the highest relative humidity?

10 (+1): The wind speed at station 1 is __________

Examine the following image

11 (+1): Identify which location is closest to the center of the low-pressure system AND indicate the pressure reading. Hint: the location with the lowest pressure will be closest to the center of the low-pressure system

12 (+1): Identify which location is closest to the cold front and describe your reasoning in one or two sentences.

13 (+1): Identify which location is closest to the warm front and describe your reasoning in one or two sentences.

14 (+1): You are a forecaster and handed the map above. Which of the four locations would most likely experience strong thunderstorms? Identify the location and describe your reasoning in one or two sentences. Hint, think back to cold and warm fronts.

Part 3 Hurricane Forecasting

In hurricane season, Floridians are very familiar with these types of images often called “spaghetti models.”

15 (+1): “Spaghetti models” represent a type of forecasting called __________________.

16 (+1): Describe how these types of forecasts are made and describe their importance in weather forecasting, especially hurricanes.

Part 4: Optical phenomena

17 (+1): Most tornadoes in the United States move towards the east due to the movement of mid-latitude cyclones and prevailing wind patterns. Assume it is nearly 4:30 pm (Note, the time is important, think about where the sun would be in the sky) and you walk outside and see the following:

Using your knowledge about how rainbows form and the movement of tornadoes (usually move towards the east), identify if the tornado is heading away from you, towards you, or can you not determine the direction of the tornado based on this image and describe your reasoning in one or two sentences?

18 (+1): Provide a general description of rainbow formation.

19 (+1): Examine the image below:

This image shows the optical phenomenon of (a/an) _________________.

20 (+1): Review how the optical phenomena shown in #19 forms. Identify which season this image was most likely taken (choose: Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter) and describe your reasoning in one or two sentences.