Pop Quiz

What is the concept as told by Kraut et al?

A. Metaverse Theology
B. Internet Paradox Theory
C. Gingerbread Houses

Fish Game Raction Paragraph

After playing the Fish game and having the results of the game juxtaposed against the populations of real fisheries made the game more effective. More than a just a game of Monopoly with fish rather than property. As in real life, the competition in humanity has wiped out populations of fish to settle the market demand of the product. Though the game was very simplistic on its basis(only having two available areas for fishing and only one type of boat,) the game still accomplished decisions that firms must make according to the population growth and competition.

State Overview: Maryland

Maryland is a state on the East Coast of the United states that has a population of 5.6 million people and contains about 6.4 percent of the total population of the country. A large portion of the economy is based on the Chesapeake Bay, which is the major harbor for the East portion of the state. On the Eastern Half of the state is: Baltimore, which is the largest city in the state with a population of 628,670, Annapolis, the state’s capital has a population of about 36,178, and Washington DC, the countries capital is bordering the Northeast portion of the state. About one million people live on or around the bay making the health of the bay crucial to the industry of the state. The annual federal spending is about 6.4 Billion.

Maryland as a total land area of 9,773.82 square miles, and has a population density of 541 persons per square mile. It contains about .003 percent of the nations total landmass and has above average population density compared to the national average of 79.5 per square mile.

Of the state’s population about 2.9 million are actively enrolled in the workforce therein. The unemployment level of the state is 12.8 percent with 111,536 citizens, where the national level of unemployment is 8 percent. The mean income per capita is about $25,614 with 9.2 % of the population is under the poverty level. The amount of the population that has high school degrees past the age of 25 is 83.3 percent.






The city of Baltimore is the largest and yet one of the most problematic in Maryland. The decade between 1990 and 2000 the city experienced a loss of 11.3 percent of the population, whereas statewide the population grew by 10.3 percent. Other reasons for this can be attributed to the poor economy in the city compared to the rest of the state. The high school graduation rate is 68.4% and the college graduation rate is only at 19.1 percent. Also the poverty rate is twice as high the rest of the state (22.9 percent compared to 9.2 percent,)and mean income is $16,978.

On the other hand Rockville (population 55,213) is quite different compared to Baltimore. In the two year period between 2001 and 2003 the city's population grew at 16.5% The education standard is higher with a high school graduation rate of 89.1 % and a college graduation rate of 52.4%. The amount of people under the level of poverty is 7.8% and the mean income is 30,518.

National Geograghics view of Mountian top removal

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0603/feature5/index.html

In the article, "When Mountains Move" by John G. Mitchell, the author exposes the atrocities committed by the Energy and Coal Mining industries that have corrupted a picturesque portion of Americana. Mountain top removal, which is the process of using high explosives to boar into a mountain and sifting the debris was first used in the 1970's as a quicker and more efficient way of extracting the bituminous coal from the Appalachian mountains in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia. Although this is a major portion of the economy for these rural areas, on the other hand they are causing more harm to the locals than the benefits. Residents describe constant blasting shaking their homes and no stop traffic of convoys overladen with coal, but worse are the floods, sterile landscapes, and lagoons of black slurry as a bi-product of washing the coal.

When the coal companies first used the process of mountaintop removal, it was a method that was able to boost the production of coal in the area and keep money in the economy flowing. However, this caused an initial loss of over 100,00 jobs in the area. Mountaintop removal is bringing more money to the states' economies but it is taking away from the local economy. Another example is when the slurry lagoons have been breeched due to excessive rainfall or poor design. Without accounting for the hundreds of people that have been killed, the runoff of this substance caused miles of stream bed to be ecologically hazardous. All of these instances happened after the Clean Water Act which created the impounds of slurry in the first place. The only real bonus of destroying the mountains is the land available for development after the mine is empty

The externalities raised the production and amount of revenue, but it also caused societies' benefits to be outweighed by the costs. With all of the health hazards, damage to property, and ecological damages to the areas; the process of mountaintop removal is a burden to the Appalachians economies.

Economics 203 movie time

With a new class comes a new section of information flood my log on the web. The Economics 203 class is something required for my UNM Sustainability studies minor.
Without further adieu, I exclusively present the Natural Resource Theater bringing the cost of American Black gold.

Hidden Destruction of the Appalachian Mountains

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jGqwQm0jJo


Though I am not from the East Coast nor have really any connection to that side of the country, I find the process of mountain topping, or literally striping off the entire top of a mountain to mine for coal and other minerals , appalling. it truly shows that American industry does not give any regard for the fragile sense of of an ecosystem. by eliminating any part of it can disrupt the balance of nature by killing certain species or overpopulating another. Since coal mining is such a large portion of the Appalachian economy little action is done to reduce or stop the terrible act. One of the acts that helps their community the most is also a something that hurts their lifestyle as well.