esci 1110_dinesh adhikari_final_portfolio

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New York City College of Technology 300 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Abstract

This is a portfolio of Mr. Dinesh Adhikari on Environmental Economics I (ESCI 1110).

All projects are based on class study and field trip based on environmental economics.

Environmental Economics is an introductory environmental science course which is typically

available on CUNY First as ESCI 1110. This course covers fundamentals of environmental

science, visualization; GIS and mapping, water quality and hydrology, air quality, wetlands and

many more that covers our environment and surroundings.

Contents

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1

Module 1A: Environment Around Us ............................................................................................. 2

Module 1B: Crude Oil .................................................................................................................... 3

Module 1C: Anthropocentrism vs. Ecocentrism ............................................................................. 5

Module 2B: Soil Types ................................................................................................................... 8

Module 2C: Quiz.......................................................................................................................... 13

Module 3A: Water Footprint ........................................................................................................ 15

Module 3B: Water Consumption ................................................................................................. 16

Observation Report on Gowanus Canal Brooklyn........................................................................ 21

E n v i r o n m e n t a l E c o n o m i c s I | 1

Introduction

My name is Dinesh Adhikari. I am senior Student in New York City College of

Technology. I am majoring in Bachelor in Computer Systems Technology with focusing in

Information Technology track. I am expecting to be graduate by Summer 2016. I have already

done Internship program with Infor (www.infor.com) as Project Manager Scholar and currently

interning at Argus Information and Advisory Services (www.argusinformation.com).

Beside studying, I do like to play sports and do some creative works on my free time. I

am always interest in playing soccer, long tennis, and swimming. When I have free time, I like to

design and build architectural things from scratch, I do basic tailoring and sewing, and mixing

music and playing Disc Jockey. I do enjoy going to park and enjoy nature as well.

http://www.infor.com/

http://www.argusinformation.com/


Module 1A: Environment Around Us

Date: 2/5/2016

Subject: ESCI 1110

Professor: Polat

Group ID: F

Students: Adhikari, Ali, Almas, Joseph

Roles: Ali (Time Tracker), Joseph (Note taker), Almas (Presenter), Adhikari (Document

Uploader)

Key questions:

1. What are the major problems of New York City?

- Air & Noise Pollution

- Crowded People

- Global Warming

- Water Pollution

2. Which of these are environmental issues and why?

Everything above are major environmental issues because it’s related to our environment

- Air pollution is the major pollution of New York City. Nitrogen Oxides are gases

produced by fuel combustion.

3. What may be a problem in future?

- Due to Nitrogen Oxide, people can have affected by respiratory effects.

4. Identify different problems and scale them to different size of geographies

a. Citywide: People who live in Manhattan have problem with getting fresh air.

Nitrogen dioxide is a huge problem for NYC government and environmental

agencies to control air pollution.

b. Neighborhood wide: Because of crowded vehicles and noise pollution people

can’t live in their own home peacefully.

c. Street wide: NYC streets are dirty and filthy. Pet owners should be aware where

their dogs are urinating. It gives bad smell which makes public streets filthy.


Module 1B: Crude Oil

Date: 2/12/2016

Group ID: D

Students: Adhikari, Yingyang, Almas, Alam

Roles: Almas (Time Tracker), Alam (Note taker), Adhikari (Presenter), Yingyang (Document

Uploader)

Key Questions:

1.Why we think this resource is important?

We use it in cars, jet planes, factories, heating, etc.

2.How will it be turned into an asset? (Discuss techniques and methods involved in the process)

Turning crude oil into commercial uses can turn into economy like power plants that can

generate fuels for jets, commercial vesicles, etc.

3.List all the different fields that will be involved during this process.

Crude oil can be transmitted decreasing in density and boiling points

→20℃ LPG

→70℃ used for chemicals

→120℃ gas for cars

Increase of the density of boiling points

→170℃ jet fuels

→170℃ diesel fuels

→600℃ ship factories (chemical heating)

4.How will it change your local environment?

If we are in oil production business/investor

1) Employment

2)Improved economy

3)Industrial society


5.Are there any pros/cons of using this resource, list short and long term benefits and risks?

Pros

Create jobs

Cons

Energy might run out after some years

Pollution, to an environment

Dependency on oil


Module 1C: Anthropocentrism vs. Ecocentrism

Group ID: Group # F Students: Adhikari, Ali, Almas, Joseph Roles: Adhikari (Time Tracker), Ali (Presenter), Almas (Note Taker), Joseph (Document Preparer)

Each group will research about two sets of different approaches within fundamentals of environmental resources. The assignment should be submitted by next class. The format is a short paper (500-600 words). It’s encouraged to work together but you can also use teleconferencing methods to work as a group. Email communication is important. Please keep track of your discussion on record. Your instructor is available to help you during the week if you have any questions.

Learning objectives Students should be able to:

Learn the basic definitions of these terms

Identify their own perception on these approaches

Do a brief written presentation about their discussion

Content

Explain why these terms are important

Explain pros/cons of these approaches towards your own perception

Identify the challenges on both approaches / write about your agreements/disagreements among the group.

Process

Discuss your research findings among your group

Build analogies between your local environment and these terms

Try to build consensus regarding these approaches – If there is no uniform consensus, it’s completely fine. Treat this assignment as a scientific research workshop. You are to submit your findings and your opinions. There are no right or wrong choices!

Prior knowledge

Make a research about these terms and their definitions. Make yourself familiar with the history of environmental issues and environmentalism. Key Questions:

1. What are the basic definitions of these terms? 2. When and how did these different approaches formed? 3. What are the critical problems with these approaches? 4. What is your take on them and where do you stand?


Definitions of Anthropocentrism:

Anthropos is a Greek word which means human and centrism

means center. It is believing that human beings are the central and most remarkable or significant

entity of the universe. Anthropocentrism are human-centered and believe in human supremacy.

They claim that culture, developed manual skills and thinking ability are those features which

make people different from other species. They have simultaneously strong feeling of

community, which is derived from the organized society and make them responsible for other

human beings. Their main aim is to maintain a good quality of live or improve it by new

discoveries. Therefore, one of the most important values in anthropocentric perspective is

development, especially within science, which pushes mankind forward and enriches him with

new solutions. For this purpose, people use, inter alia, the natural resources, very often regardless

of the consequences. Anthropologists claim that relations between people and nature are

historically conditioned; simultaneously, they defend people’s right to exploit the environment.

Their argumentation is based on utilitarian policy, according to which nature is treated as an

important resource of livelihood which people need in order to survive and to develop. Hence,

people should preserve the environment for their own good

Definition of Eco centrism:

Eco centrism derived from Greek word oikos means house and

kentron means center. It is believing that compared to the undoubted importance of human part,

the whole ecosphere is more consequential, more inclusive, more beautiful, more mysterious.

Eco-centrists are perceived as radical idealists who emphasize aesthetical and ethical arguments

in the nature vs. culture debate. They blame mainly Western world, capitalism and development

for the damages done to the environment. Their perspective is more extensive than

anthropocentric one and it puts emphasis not only on human welfare but also on non-human

nature. Although the ideal situation would be if all species were equal, it is sometimes hard to

find a perfect balance. According to the anthropocentrism Niels Einarsson. Some Eco centrists

try to humanize nature in order to protect it.

Definition of Cornucopian:

A cornucopian is related to a cornucopia it is relating to the belief that the worlds natural

and human resources are unlimited. It is a container that is shaped; a curved goats horn which is

full of fruits and flower.

Definition of Malthusian:

Malthusian is relating to Malthus or to his theory that power of population is indefinitely

greater than the power in earth to produce subsistence for man and sooner or later it will be

checked by famine and disease, wide spread poverty and degradation.

According to the Environmental ethics there is a moral relationship between human

(anthropocentrism)and the natural environment (eco-centrism). It is an area of environmental

philosophy that faces a lot of conflict due to the various subdivisions in terms of ethical

perceptions.


The term anthropocentric ethics was first appearing in 1860s.ACCORDING TO THE

Darwin’s theory 0f evolution that human are the center of the universe

The term eco-centric ethics was first coined and comes from the term “bio centric” in

1913by an American biochemist Lawrence Henderson. He represents the idea that the universe is

the originator of life.

In anthropocentrism ethics nature has moral consideration because degrading the nature

can in turn harm or benefit human.

In an eco-centric ethics nature has moral consideration because it has intrinsic value aside

from its usefulness to human.

Anthropocentrism and eco-centrism are two ways of understanding an extension of ethics

of nature. Another distinction is whether the extension word is rights based or responsibility

based? Does nature have the right to be protected or do human has a responsibility to protect

nature?

Some people believe that they were given dominion over natures, plants and animals to

serve their needs. Anthropocentrism has provided the structure to human understanding of the

world while unavoidably expressing the limits of that understanding

Eco-centrism and anthropocentrism are recognized as one of the common moral dilemmas.

People who hold anthropocentrism view acknowledge themselves most significant entities in the

universe while degrading animals and plants unless they provide life necessities such as

nutrition, clothing, shelter and medical benefits.

On the other hand, Eco-centrism recognizes a nature centered system of values in all

living things on earth regardless of their usefulness to human. It is believing that human race has

the responsibility to respect and care for animals and plants for their own sake. Humans ill

treatment towards the environment is not only drastically altering the ecosystem but also

threatening human’s survival. And he is responsible for severe environmental crisis like global

warming, ozone depletion, and water scarcities.

According to the inelastic principles nature and humanity are devastate when anthropocentrism is

practiced and the conversion to Eco-centrism overnight is impossible especially in the developed

societies because of their heavy reliance on resources and generation of waste.

It is concluded that failing to take action towards the betterment of the environment will witness

our irresponsibility over natures species. We can distinguish our nature-consumption outcomes

when the need is vital to our survival and not because it is a desire or interest.


Module 2B: Soil Types

Group ID : N/A Students : Dinesh Adhikari Roles : Soil Tester using Jar test method

The Jar Test:

This one is for all the scientist types out there. It takes a bit longer to do, but the results are much

more accurate and more specific.

1. First, I gather a soil from the front of my house.

2. I separate debris, roots and other particles from the soil.


3. I use Spring Water Bottle as my clear jar.

4. After that, I fill out soil into a clear water bottle.


5. I measure a soil. It’s one inch.

6. I pour two-third of water into a bottle.


7. Add 1 tsp. of liquid dish wash detergent into a bottle.

8. Shake vigorously for two minutes and leave it in my

room in a place where it can’t be moved.


9. After storing a bottle for 36 hours, I got the final result

for sand, silt and clay.

Result:

50% Sand

40% Silt

10% Clay


Module 2C: Quiz

Group ID : N/A Students : Dinesh Adhikari Roles : N/A

This is a brief Quiz to test your understanding of our supplemental readings. It was designed to

be done in 20-30 minutes of time. For your own learning experience, try to answer the questions

without looking to the readings at first, then you can use the readings to locate the information

needed. Please speak up during the class time for the parts that you were clear so we can discuss.

Each question is 8 points summing to 104 points with 4 extra point credits you can earn. You can

use the digital file to answer and email me the file. Let's try to conserve as much paper as we

can! The quiz is due by the end of day March 11th.

1. Other than cell phones, Name 3 items that contain important and valuable minerals.

a. Pencil

a. Wedding Necklace

b. Computer

2. What kind of minerals does these items contain?

a. Graphite

b. Diamond, Gold, Silver, Copper

c. Silver, Aluminum, Copper, Gold, Glass, Iron

3. Does United States rely on to other countries for these minerals? - discuss briefly why

you think this is important or not (not part of reading - your own opinion).

To answer this question, US doesn’t rely on minerals directly but yes indirectly. USA

does all the designing and prototype things but to make the actual product, USA

outsource to China or some other countries for cheaper production. Most of all the

buildings in USA have steels on it which is imported from India and all the other

products like cell phones, watch, batteries, and electronic accessories are mostly imported

from China. In Conclusion, US doesn’t make products but they are consuming those

minerals indirectly.

4. The availability of resources is an indication to the wealth of society. Is this statement

true or false? Write your own opinion in a few sentences.

Resources and minerals are the natural wealth of a society. It’s true if you are using those

resources to make profit out of it and develop infrastructure of society. For example,

Brazil is rich in water resources and they can sell hydro power, India selling steels to

USA, UAE sells oils to USA and generate income out of it.

5. What are the renewable resources? What is our biggest challenge on using them?

Renewable resources are those natural resources that can be replaced and used again.

Some of the examples of renewable resources are Water, Solar, energy, biomass, paper,


etc. Using of those renewable resources like water and solar power can create our

environment carbon-monoxide free. People can breathe fresh air and live healthy life.

6. In recent years, our industry tends to build production facilities closer to metropolitan

areas rather than the areas of natural resources? What is the logic behind this?

The reason behind building those production facilities near to metropolitan areas so

companies can save money on transportation costs and may be government rules and

regulations. New York City is too congested to operate production plant. So, there are

lots of production facilities near from New York City in New Jersey and Philadelphia.

7. Resources are not reserves. Is this statement true or false? Please provide an example to

your answer.

It is true that reserves are not resources because reserves are the actual amount of

resources that are accessible whereas resources are the total amount of an object, energy

or substance that are present which can be accessible or not. For example, Canada is the

third largest nation for oil resources according to World Fact book but due to accessible

technology oil production is inaccessible.

8. How are hypothetical resources different from speculative resources?

Hypothetical resources are based on fact information gathered from different experiment

and speculative resources are not based on research or proven information but notation or

theoretical information.

9. What are the locations you may see toxic lead?

Lead Based Paint, Ceramics, Batteries, Cosmetics

10. What are the specific vegetables we can plant to sites with higher lead concentrations in

soil?

Corns, Beans, Squash, Tomatoes, Strawberries and Apples

11. How is Green-point oil spill different from other oil spills in our history?

There is not any known technology than can recover oil spill on soil around 1978.

12. Why did the wildlife at Newtown Creek suffered? What was the reason behind this

action?

Plants or food crops that grows in Newtown Creek is poisonous due to soil contamination

by oil spill.

13. Apart from the oil spill, what are the reasons of pollution at Newtown Creek?

Soil contamination, polluted water and health problems


Module 3A: Water Footprint

Group ID : N/A Students : Dinesh Adhikari Roles : Water Footprint Surveyor

How Much Water do I Conserve?

A report from a National Geographic Water Footprint Calculator for Mr. Dinesh Adhikari.

According to a survey, the result shows that I use less water than average American people. The result

shows that I use 45 gallons of water for home use, 543 gallons of water for diet, 625 gallons of water for

house energy, 204 gallons for water for my clothing stuff. All combined, it shows that I use 1,417 gallons

of water per day and 517,205 gallons annually.


Module 3B: Water Consumption

Group ID : N/A Students : Dinesh Adhikari Roles : N/A

Water Consumption for Thomas Jefferson Park NYC Olympic Swimming Pool

1. Download Sketchup “Education Version” from http://www.sketchup.com/

2. Open Software and choose Simple Template “Feet and Inches”

3. Go to File menu > Geo-Location > Add Location

4. Search for a “Thomas Jefferson Park New York” and hit on select region

http://www.sketchup.com/


5. Once your desired location is selected, click on grab

6. Select the visible part of the pool that you want to trace. Use lines tool to trace the

line

7. After you trace rectangular format, double click on the object that you want to raise

height


8. Using Push/Pull tool, raise the height accordingly to four feet

9. Select the Color tool and chose blue color for water/swimming pool and fill color to

all sides of the pool.


10. Save the file type as SketchUp Models *.skp

11. Go to File > Export > 3D Model.., and save file as Google Earth File *.kmz


12. Open Google Earth and open the file that you save earlier *.kmz file

13. Finally, make sure it points out to the same location that you get the Geo-Location

earlier from Sketchup software.

From the formula, we know 1 cubic foot = 7.48 gallons

So, the total cubic feet of Thomas Jefferson Park Swimming Pool = (239 * 97 * 4) = 92,732

cubic feet.

Annual Water Consumption to the area of the pool = 7.48*92,732 = 693,635 gallons of water.


Observation Report on Gowanus Canal Brooklyn

Dinesh Adhikari

ESCI 1110

Professor: Soydan Polat

Friday: 2:30pm - 5:00pm

It was a nice and sunny day on April 22, 2016 that our class met up at Carroll Street on F

train line. We gather all together around 3:00 pm

on Carroll Street and start walking towards

Gowanus Canal. It was the first time for me that I

ever get off on Carroll Street station. The

neighborhood was a really nice place with full of

arts and new apartments and residence

construction are ongoing. After we walk for ten minutes, we reach to Gowanus Canal. The first

spot we saw the canal was from dead end on Degraw Street. It was not that bad as I expected.

Water looks clean but it was not that clean in real that you can jump into the water. We saw

canal from different spots. I was curious when I saw a small device near to the canal. So, I ask

professor what that device is doing over there. So, professor told us it must be a water quality

measurement. The device look like water quality measurement because there was a pipe which

goes under the water and it was connected to the device. We went to see the canal from another

spot, Union Street, Bridge. It looks cleaner and the view was amazing from the Union Street

Bridge.

On my way on field trip, I see lots of beautiful arts on

the building walls on streets. Again, we walk for one more

block and come back to Carroll Street Bridge and saw one more

view of Gowanus Canal. I also find out that to live in that place

is pretty expensive. All the new apartments, buildings and new

constructions and a good neighborhood to live in. It was almost the end of our field trip and I

saw that the people in their neighborhood are also conscious on how to dispose different types of

home wastes. I saw there was about four different garbage cans. Overall, it was a great time to

learn and see new things on field trip. And it was also a first time experience for me on going to

field trip from NYC College of Technology.

esci 1110_dinesh adhikari_final_portfolio

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