Boom towns are always going to bust. The premises in which created them will always break them. Uranium will never be in full time demand unless we are in a nuclear war. Even the way the writer J.B. Jackson writes about “Discouraging rumors of solar energy being about to replace nuclear energy” is a clear sign of how the economy and the livelihoods of the surrounding population depends on the lands resources. Jackson talks about the Mormon enclaves in the area and besides polygamy it also makes me think about the Christian belief that nature exists for man to manipulate and control for his own good. This ethnocentric view is strictly religious in origin and it was part of the burgeoning moto of the United States which was” Manifest Destiny.” Mobile homes are probably better than putting up homes with a foundation. Homes with a foundation are there for a long amount of time but since this area is known to be a boom bust area it would make sense that these easily moveable structures would be the main living space. Besides being movable they are also in expensive. And in an area where most of the money is used for industrial infrastructure the last thing to receive money is public infrastructure.
The one term I found to be interesting was when Jackson used the term “Thousands of prosperous trailer owners” which in my mind sounds a little off. Prosperous and trailer owners should never be found in the same sentence. Jackson speaks on how the trailer is a symptom of far reaching changes not only in family life but in the evolution of towns. I couldn’t agree more, but I do not agree with Jackson who sounds as if he supports them. I for one would have hated growing up in a trailer because the truth is that trailer living comes with a huge stigma that is hard to get away from. Not only could growing up in a trailer hurt one’s self esteem, it could make a person more prone to living in a trailer all their lives.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
"The City As a Growth Machine"
Many of these ideas that are cited in this article are very outdated. Many are from the early 1960's. Only ten years earlier did the United States really start booming in terms of population and of urban growth. After World War II AMerica prospered and ideas arose about how to spur growth. The largest factor that was found to add to growth was the number of elites in that growing community. Urban development looks to be more about personal gains that are defended by the common good of the public at large. A shopping mall that is given the ok, because it will enhance the living of those that will live around it. The only problem is that I guarantee no one from the nearby neighborhood is lobbying or contacting their congress person to initially start the project. Developers are fighting on behalf of the community with their own rents and wealth in mind.
External players that want growth are for personal gains as well. Politicians are payed more based on the tax bracket and the tax base that he is responsible for respresenting. It is in his interest to get more money and more projects to his area because this will always translate as wealth. Local media as well as utility companies depend on expanding their services in order to prosper. It is in both of their interests to attract more people to their community increasing the amount of money that will be spent on utilities as well as newspapers and advertising. Many of these things that a large city covets can be a gauge to measure the propserity of a city. If a city has museums, theaters, and shows, it means that that city has invested enough money into its infrastructure to focus on more then just the basics (strips malls, supermarkets, Wal-Marts) which should be assumed to already exist. These small spaces set aside for enhancing the quality of life come after the development of businesses and money markets in that community. Showing exactly what is important in Amercian Life and Culture. Even the common working man works for most of his healthy life then gets to enjoy his older life when he or she could never do what they could have done when they had been younger. In Nature I don't believe man worked to accumulate wealth only to die from his efforts. More, the "Growth Machine" is something to keep the masses preoccupied while a certain few live a lifestyle that could fund millions of lives. It is foolish to think that the United States as well as other countries following our lead can grow forever and keep expanding.
External players that want growth are for personal gains as well. Politicians are payed more based on the tax bracket and the tax base that he is responsible for respresenting. It is in his interest to get more money and more projects to his area because this will always translate as wealth. Local media as well as utility companies depend on expanding their services in order to prosper. It is in both of their interests to attract more people to their community increasing the amount of money that will be spent on utilities as well as newspapers and advertising. Many of these things that a large city covets can be a gauge to measure the propserity of a city. If a city has museums, theaters, and shows, it means that that city has invested enough money into its infrastructure to focus on more then just the basics (strips malls, supermarkets, Wal-Marts) which should be assumed to already exist. These small spaces set aside for enhancing the quality of life come after the development of businesses and money markets in that community. Showing exactly what is important in Amercian Life and Culture. Even the common working man works for most of his healthy life then gets to enjoy his older life when he or she could never do what they could have done when they had been younger. In Nature I don't believe man worked to accumulate wealth only to die from his efforts. More, the "Growth Machine" is something to keep the masses preoccupied while a certain few live a lifestyle that could fund millions of lives. It is foolish to think that the United States as well as other countries following our lead can grow forever and keep expanding.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Commentary GIScience Ten Years After Ground Truth
I have not read Ground Truth but from this article I can imagine what it stated. I believe "Ground Truth" made the use of GIS by the masses a secondary concern in the use of the system. It was brought about because the government used this system to keep tabs on other countries. So the fact that the government let us have their left overs is the way I see it now. The fact is that the government still dictates how much detail that can be seen in digital satelite images. The government has the ability to read a license plate from a satelite yet the resolution that is given to the public is barely clear enough to see your back yard. If GIS is a public good why is it so heavily policed. Even area 51 shows up as a blank area because of its supposed non existence.
When GIS was first introduced to the public the expert system was thought to be a superior system to the human brain which was weak and fallible. The initial reaction in the science world was one of complete acceptance with the thought that GIS would replace human interventions. As time went on GIS developed into a tool that further enhanced human's abilities, but would never be seen as a replacement. GIS and Information Science go hand in hand since much of the demographics and spatial data that is used in GIS are from Information Science. In fact Information Science is used everyday to track your movements and daily routines. Anytime you use a form of ID, credit card, or debit card transaction that information is stored in a network that tells, where you were shopping, how much you spent,and what you bought, and then to top it off, there are companies that map all these locations so they can be seen Geospatially. The reason they do this is because they can package your information and sell it to others. For example credit card companies are large purchasers of private information, this information can tell them how much you normally spend and what your credit limit should be. All of your personal information can be bought and resold with out you even knowing about it. I don't understand why people's personal information is still being bought and sold when ID theft has risen almost every year. To me the most important concept in this commentary is the destruction of personal rights fought for by our forefathers. And so easliy taken away for the cost of security and convenience. Yet the article seems to be more concumed by the fact that GIS was initially a military used system. Of course it is, the government would not invest in something that woudn't directly advance the agenda of the military or the government as a world authority.
When GIS was first introduced to the public the expert system was thought to be a superior system to the human brain which was weak and fallible. The initial reaction in the science world was one of complete acceptance with the thought that GIS would replace human interventions. As time went on GIS developed into a tool that further enhanced human's abilities, but would never be seen as a replacement. GIS and Information Science go hand in hand since much of the demographics and spatial data that is used in GIS are from Information Science. In fact Information Science is used everyday to track your movements and daily routines. Anytime you use a form of ID, credit card, or debit card transaction that information is stored in a network that tells, where you were shopping, how much you spent,and what you bought, and then to top it off, there are companies that map all these locations so they can be seen Geospatially. The reason they do this is because they can package your information and sell it to others. For example credit card companies are large purchasers of private information, this information can tell them how much you normally spend and what your credit limit should be. All of your personal information can be bought and resold with out you even knowing about it. I don't understand why people's personal information is still being bought and sold when ID theft has risen almost every year. To me the most important concept in this commentary is the destruction of personal rights fought for by our forefathers. And so easliy taken away for the cost of security and convenience. Yet the article seems to be more concumed by the fact that GIS was initially a military used system. Of course it is, the government would not invest in something that woudn't directly advance the agenda of the military or the government as a world authority.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Week 6
What’s Your Consumption?
The article What’s Your Consumption brings up great pints to argue about why people in third world countries are much more likely to feel resentment towards first world countries and consumers. However, I do not agree with writer Jared Diamond when he insinuated that all third world countries want to have the first class lifestyle. Everyone wants a better lifestyle but to live as most of the first world is killing our planet. It is unfair to keep the undeveloped world in poverty while all the resources are greatly depleted by the developed countries. A good idea would be to keep consumption at a constant rate never increasing. As our population increases and developing countries start becoming more and more advanced our consumption must stay the same. This means new technologies have to be developed and should be developed in the already developed countries to solve consumption problems.
First world consumers should be decreasing to make up for developing countries that don’t yet have the resources for solar or wind technology. Coal is the cheapest source of power but one of the largest polluters. Since coal is so inexpensive many developing countries see it as a viable source of energy and power. Yet coal is still being burned for energy in the developed U.S. where they have the resources and the technology to use much ore efficient and eco-friendly forms of power. Consumption must decrease in order for life to be sustainable.
One line in this article really stood out to me. The fact that if the entire world was put upon a level playing field with all consumption that of the First World that it would translate to consuming enough resource for 72 billion people when the world only has about 6.5 billion people right now. This statistic alone should relate how piggish people are in the developed countries. I don’t want to sound as if I am not one of these first world consumers, because I am very likely as guilty as the next but it about a broader change, a change in perception and lifestyle that will precipitate throughout the world.
The article What’s Your Consumption brings up great pints to argue about why people in third world countries are much more likely to feel resentment towards first world countries and consumers. However, I do not agree with writer Jared Diamond when he insinuated that all third world countries want to have the first class lifestyle. Everyone wants a better lifestyle but to live as most of the first world is killing our planet. It is unfair to keep the undeveloped world in poverty while all the resources are greatly depleted by the developed countries. A good idea would be to keep consumption at a constant rate never increasing. As our population increases and developing countries start becoming more and more advanced our consumption must stay the same. This means new technologies have to be developed and should be developed in the already developed countries to solve consumption problems.
First world consumers should be decreasing to make up for developing countries that don’t yet have the resources for solar or wind technology. Coal is the cheapest source of power but one of the largest polluters. Since coal is so inexpensive many developing countries see it as a viable source of energy and power. Yet coal is still being burned for energy in the developed U.S. where they have the resources and the technology to use much ore efficient and eco-friendly forms of power. Consumption must decrease in order for life to be sustainable.
One line in this article really stood out to me. The fact that if the entire world was put upon a level playing field with all consumption that of the First World that it would translate to consuming enough resource for 72 billion people when the world only has about 6.5 billion people right now. This statistic alone should relate how piggish people are in the developed countries. I don’t want to sound as if I am not one of these first world consumers, because I am very likely as guilty as the next but it about a broader change, a change in perception and lifestyle that will precipitate throughout the world.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Consumer Culture
It does not surprise me that the middle 20 percent of people, blue collar workers mostly, had consumption that fell from 2 to 1 percent because these people are the hardest hit by taxes, loans, and credit. They make too much to get financial aid, they are charged more on loans because they don't make as much, and credit cards usually charge a lower waged worker more in interest rates. It does not make sense to me why our society punishes and heavily taxes the working class. Even many rich people are astonished at the tax breaks and loop holes that are provided for them. Consumption is consumtion, no matter if your rich or poor, in this country of playboys and Calvin Kleins their will never be a shortage of consumers. Credit cards will keep maxing out and bankruptcy will still keep plagueing the lower 40 percent of the economic population.
This article talks about the top 20 percent of incomes but what about the top 1 percent of the population that controls over 90 percent of the wealth in this country? You know the owners of Wal-Mart, the CEO's of Haliburton, what about those guys that are profiting off the ignorance of an uneducated people, that are only trying to get cheaper stuff to pile up in thier homes, apartments, and trailers.
This article talks about the top 20 percent of incomes but what about the top 1 percent of the population that controls over 90 percent of the wealth in this country? You know the owners of Wal-Mart, the CEO's of Haliburton, what about those guys that are profiting off the ignorance of an uneducated people, that are only trying to get cheaper stuff to pile up in thier homes, apartments, and trailers.
Walter Prescott Webb
I admire most about Walter Webb was his extensive travels of the United States. He traveled again and again to review changes in the landscapes and the people. His questions about "man versus nature" and how westerners keep their sense of identity really open the door to examining people thouroughly in all parts of the west. I noticed, as he made his away around the west, that he noted specific land marks like the Great Salt Lake that give the people of Utah a World wide recognizable icon. What is most interesting is the fact that he calls the west "an oasis civilization" (Webb p.90). Going into depth about water shortages in the 1960s shows how far ahead Webb had been looking. I could only imagine the water problems in another 40 years.
Characterizing the West into three seperate sections: the Pacific west, middle desert, and right flank Great Plains is more then characterizing the land but it characterizes a large part of the people that you find living in these areas. It takes a special blend to endure the desert climates as well as for someone to endure the neverending boredom of rolling praire in the Great plains, but I don't for the life of me see why any one would want not to live in envigerating Northwest rain forests.
Characterizing the West into three seperate sections: the Pacific west, middle desert, and right flank Great Plains is more then characterizing the land but it characterizes a large part of the people that you find living in these areas. It takes a special blend to endure the desert climates as well as for someone to endure the neverending boredom of rolling praire in the Great plains, but I don't for the life of me see why any one would want not to live in envigerating Northwest rain forests.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Air Apparent
"Air Apparent" started out, in my opinion, as a simple idea of predicting the weather then after each chapter and each new contributer a new piece of the meteorological puzzle comes out. The first need of course was for farmers, but farmers did not need a a day to day weather report as we find ourselves recieving today. They needed climate maps that would track weather and environments over a much longer period of time. This would enable farmers to plant their crops at the right time as well as the right places. In the early years of the United States, knowing these climate zones would be the difference between life and death.
It seems that meteorology came about bit by bit with different climatalogists as well as meteorologists contributing critiques that enhanced weather maps, as well as the science of weather. no one contibuted more then the Bjerknes, Vilhelm and Jacob, a father and son duo that basically made weather maps and cimate maps what they are today. Jacob discovered the rotations of cyclones and anticyclones as they occur in th southern hemisphere as well as the northern hemisphere, which eventually led to the dicovery of the Correalis effect. He even found that because a cold front became an omen for rain being able to recognize these storms would be a great benefit for farmers and herdsmen. Jacob found that the warm front just ahead of the rain giving cold front would rise causing cirrus clouds, these are the clouds that are high and whispy. These Cirrus clouds usually annouce the arrival of a cold front. As technology increased so did the complexity of understanding weather as well as predicting it.
Weather concerns many diferent aspects of our lives today, more then just the growth of food. In the world of today weather is examined for poisons, pollutions, as well as small scale time durations for jet traffic. Air Quality Control has developed an entire science on how pollutants are transported using prevailing winds. Time duration as well as concetration levels have been studied to design a warning system for the safety of the public. If a disaster did happen, ans for example a huge plume of chlorine gas is released into the atmosphere, it doesn't disipate, it moves and travels. and recognizing how pollutants travel with winds and weather could save millions of lives.
Jet traffic is much different to predict, then the weather for the next couple of days. Pilots only need to know the weather for a duration of hours instead of days as before. Such a small duration of time to predict the weather meant that new technologies had to be developed. Doppler Radar was the miracle invention that is still in wide use today. The radar beams out to catch rain falling from clouds effectively tracking active precipitation. This greatly enhanced the ability of pilots to safely avert danger as was associated with weather.
In closing I find that the last few lines of the book strictly pertain to GIS or spatial data analysis. The way Mark Monmonier forecasts that crime, disease, as well as other phenomena will be predicted just as weather has, is a direct call upon GIS. Statistics that can be tracked and mapped can alwasy be predicted. The thing is is that we already have the ability to forecast these anomallies, the problem is, they have about the same accuracy as the weather man's predictions.
It seems that meteorology came about bit by bit with different climatalogists as well as meteorologists contributing critiques that enhanced weather maps, as well as the science of weather. no one contibuted more then the Bjerknes, Vilhelm and Jacob, a father and son duo that basically made weather maps and cimate maps what they are today. Jacob discovered the rotations of cyclones and anticyclones as they occur in th southern hemisphere as well as the northern hemisphere, which eventually led to the dicovery of the Correalis effect. He even found that because a cold front became an omen for rain being able to recognize these storms would be a great benefit for farmers and herdsmen. Jacob found that the warm front just ahead of the rain giving cold front would rise causing cirrus clouds, these are the clouds that are high and whispy. These Cirrus clouds usually annouce the arrival of a cold front. As technology increased so did the complexity of understanding weather as well as predicting it.
Weather concerns many diferent aspects of our lives today, more then just the growth of food. In the world of today weather is examined for poisons, pollutions, as well as small scale time durations for jet traffic. Air Quality Control has developed an entire science on how pollutants are transported using prevailing winds. Time duration as well as concetration levels have been studied to design a warning system for the safety of the public. If a disaster did happen, ans for example a huge plume of chlorine gas is released into the atmosphere, it doesn't disipate, it moves and travels. and recognizing how pollutants travel with winds and weather could save millions of lives.
Jet traffic is much different to predict, then the weather for the next couple of days. Pilots only need to know the weather for a duration of hours instead of days as before. Such a small duration of time to predict the weather meant that new technologies had to be developed. Doppler Radar was the miracle invention that is still in wide use today. The radar beams out to catch rain falling from clouds effectively tracking active precipitation. This greatly enhanced the ability of pilots to safely avert danger as was associated with weather.
In closing I find that the last few lines of the book strictly pertain to GIS or spatial data analysis. The way Mark Monmonier forecasts that crime, disease, as well as other phenomena will be predicted just as weather has, is a direct call upon GIS. Statistics that can be tracked and mapped can alwasy be predicted. The thing is is that we already have the ability to forecast these anomallies, the problem is, they have about the same accuracy as the weather man's predictions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)