Landfills: Threatening Both the Environment and Cities

  (Picture of Landfill in Beetham)

Glimpse of a Polluted Future

Where are the birds that used to dot the sky?

They're not here anymore, and I have to wonder why.

Where are the fish that used to swim in this stream?

I can't see them anymore. What does that mean?

Where are the frogs that used to croak around this lake?

I can't hear them anymore. There must be some mistake.

I wish there was a clock whose hands I could rewind.

We might have saved these creatures if we'd just had more time.

Time to make people see how we're damaging our Earth,

Time to realize what it all was truly worth.

But the animals are disappearing at an alarming rate.

If we don't finally band together, it may really be too late.

                      - Anonymous

Cities are a threat to the environment. According to Hall and Barrett they are major contributors to global environmental problems including pollution, resource depletion and land take (2012). In this post I will be focusing on landfills in the city and how this affects the environment. The landfill that is located in the Beetham (very close to Port of Spain) is not the only landfill in the world that is in or on the periphery of a city. This occurs worldwide and has most of the same consequences. The Beetham landfill is located in that specific area due to it being accessible by a very good road network, there is a large area of land to available for use and it is very convenient for waste from businesses and industries in the surrounding urban areas to be deposited. Urban areas generate a majority of a country’s pollution and this ends up in landfills where it results in unsustainability. In this case unsustainability implies that at some point in the future development will be compromised or threatened and environmental capacities will be reached (Hall and Barrett 2012).

Sites to locate landfills should undergo site suitability analysis to ensure that it is in the appropriate areas. In Trinidad there are three landfills and they are located in the Beetham, Guanapo and Claxton Bay but I will be focusing on the one in the Beetham, which is on the periphery of POS. This area is not suitable for a landfill since the land is reclaimed. Therefore pollutants from the landfill can penetrate the soil and enter the sea. In addition, clay soils are needed to restrict drainage to prevent water from the landfill from passing through the soil and entering the water table. So this landfill that services the city is in a wrong location and the waste coming from the city and being deposited there is affecting the environment. Also, local landfills are not sanitary because the area is lined to retain the lechate that is produced from decomposition of waste and this gets into water sources near these sites (Baboolal 2012).

Landfills cause two major groups of problems and they are: atmospheric and hydrological effects. But before I get to those; it is important to note that the Beetham landfill destroyed mangroves for it to be placed there so it directly contributes to environmental unsustainability. The atmospheric effects mostly come from methane, which is produced from rotting organic matter in landfills. Methane is capable of trapping 20 times more heat than carbon dioxide hence contributing to the greenhouse effect and also an urban heat island since in this case the landfills are near to the city. In addition chemicals such as bleach and ammonia affect the air quality in the vicinity of the landfill. The hydrological effects come from toxic chemicals that may accumulate over time, leach into soils and get to water tables to contaminate the water present. Also, these chemicals can harm any organism that it may come into contact with. Waste from the city (residential, commercial and industries) is greatly contributing to the destruction of our natural environment. Fires also occur at landfills due to the gases present and this is problematic.

So the landfill is in that location to “benefit” people but it is causing more problems for city dwellers than it is solving. Here the environment can be viewed as a threat to the city since, environmental problems generated near or in cities are felt most severely within cities (Hall and Barrett 2012). Pollution in the core or periphery cities greatly affects those in the city whether they use the city to live, work or recreate. This can be seen where both the atmospheric and hydrological effects result in social problems especially affecting one’s health. Poor air quality results in respiratory illnesses and lung diseases.  While hydrological pollution can result in communicable diseases such as: cholera, typhoid and viral infections. Also, land contamination of the land actually used for the landfill and areas around it (due to leaching) prevent urban development on it since it poses a threat to health.

This threat of landfills to the environment and cities does not necessarily have to occur. Take for instance the city of Curitiba in Brazil. This area has a population of about two million and there is no sprawl, heavy development, traffic or most importantly for this post pollution. The reason for this city’s success in achieving small levels of pollution is proper plans, which are being carried out in the way they are meant to be. Firstly, there are strict guidelines about recycling of cans, plastic, paper etc to ensure that there is no non-biodegradable waste in landfills to take up space and cause health and aesthetic problems. Recycling costs no more than landfills and the city is cleaner and jobs are provided. Then for waste that cannot be recycled there are specific, licensed landfills that are to be used. There have been great attempts to locate these landfills in appropriate areas and on the most suitable soils to reduce environmental and social problems associated with landfills. Some waste such as medical waste, will still cause problems if placed in the landfills available are incinerated to minimize the problems. All of these initiative taken by Curitiba to reduce pollution results in a city that is not messy, very livable and has a mostly happy and healthy population. 

The chief executive officer of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), Dr. Joth Singh says that there are plans to close down the Beetham and Guanapo landfills (Baboolal 2012). With the closing down of those two landfills there is plans to create a sanitary landfill in Claxton Bay to meet the needs of the country and ensure that all the problems associated with landfills are addressed. These plans are still ongoing.

References:

Baboolal, Yvonne. 2012. Beetham, Guanapo Dumps to Be Shut Down-EMA Boss. Guardian Newspapers.

Hall and Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. 4th Edition. London and New York: Routledge Publishing.

Skye, Jared. 2013. Environmental Problems: Landfills. http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Environmental_Problems: Landfills

UNEP Convention on Biological Diversity. 2012. City of Curitiba Brazil. http://www.cbd.int/authorities/casestudy/curitiba.shtml#waste1

Industries in the City

                                 (Picture of Powergen Located on Park and Flament Street Port-of-Spain)

Some may wonder why there are industries located in the city…..with even some in the middle of the city. The location of industries in cities is due to historical factors. In Trinidad most of the industrialization began with Sir Arthur Lewis’ idea of industrialization by invitation. This idea focused on the creation of a manufacturing sector to remove some of the dependency on agriculture. These manufacturing sectors couple with the oil and gas sector made up the bulk of the industries in Trinidad. Most of these industries were located close to ports to allow for the import and export of raw materials and goods. According to an urban model done by T.G. McGee, ports are important when considering the growth of cities. Also, Hoyt’s sector model states that cities can emanate from ports (Hall and Barrett 2012). These two models provide the evidence to substantiate the claims for the location of some industries in urban areas. In Trinidad, two major of the major ports for industries are in Port-of-Spain (POS) and Point Lisas. Obviously Point Lisas does not have city status as POS but it can be considered an urban area. The port in Point Lisas is mainly used by the oil and gas and steel industries. In POS the port is used for a variety of reasons including manufacturing.

Cities contribute greatly to global environmental problems such as pollution (Hall and Barrett 2012). Industries can be very unsustainable since their actions destroy the environment in various ways. Even industries that are focused on sustainability (biofuels) can present environment problems (unsustainable) [ Read more here http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/07/10/brazil-report-reveals-unsustainable-practices-of-biofuel-industry/]. Firstly, pollution associated with industries is immense. Various gases are emitted from industrial processes and they include: ozone, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, lead and mercury. Those gases have impacts on the environment and some of them may include: damage to vegetation, ozone (smog) effect, acid rain and harms some organisms.

Those already listed are only the effects associated with air pollution. But land and water pollution also occurs. Some industries may dump their waste in areas of lands that are not landfills hence contributing to land pollution. These areas with the waste are eyesores, attract rodents and smell horrible but more importantly they occupy land that could be used for other purposes such as: housing (to decrease some of the high density especially in urban areas due to population pressure) or agriculture. Since the waste is usually associated with toxic materials people cannot live or plant there so the land basically goes to waste. Pollution on land like this could also lead to water pollution due to the leaching of the pollutants into ground water or run-off from these areas. The polluted waters interfere with the ecological habitat present in waterways such as ponds and the diversity is usually lost. Also, solid waste from the industries may get into the water and degrade the water quality and affect life.  

To expand on air pollution associated with industries is the fact that they emit tons of gases and heat. These gases contribute to the greenhouse effect and overall global warming. Everyone knows about global warming so I won’t talk about it too much but some information on it can be found using this link. http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/

As we all know global warming in a major problem in today’s society and if it is not addressed in some way the damage that can be done will be catastrophic. In addition, the heat produced from industries that are located in urban areas contribute to the urban heat island. As stated in a previous blog post urban heat islands are metropolitan areas that are warmer than the areas surrounding it (National Geographic 2013). Heat from industries when combined with that from concrete produces an area that is extremely hot.

The government and private stakeholders claim that industries are for the good of the people with respect to the economy. But when all those negative impacts occur more money has to be spent to fix them. Solutions to improve air and water quality have to be derived, land pollution has to be cleaned up and the effects of global warming also need mitigation plans just to name a few. So in the long run governments may just be putting themselves in situations to spend income (maybe more than what industries provide). To prevent a potentially bad situation for people, countries and government steps should be taken NOW to make industries more sustainable. Industries should implement gas scrubbers and it should be mandatory for all gases being emitted to pass through them. This cleans the gases being emitted and so the effects of them are minimal. As for land pollution certain areas should be dedicated for sanitary landfills to reduce the impact it has on aesthetic of an area, smell and it can also decrease the amount of leaching.  These solutions are just a few and governments should try to implement these and more. However, it may be potentially problematic to implement some of the solutions in the Global South due to them being rather expensive. But it is important that they try to ensure that we have a future to go along with the income produced by industries.

The earth really calling out but it isn't only Wake up America.....the entire world has to wake up! Everything really does matter......everyone needs to do their part!!

References:

Leonardo Academy. Cleaner and Greener. 2013 http://www.cleanerandgreener.org/resources/air-pollution.html

Hall and Barrett,2012. Urban Geography. 4th Edition. London and New York: Routledge Publishing.

National Geographic Education Beta. 2013. Urban Heat Island. http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/urban-heat-island/?ar_a=1

Knight, Franklin and Palmer, Colin. 2000. The Modern Caribbean. United States of America: North Carolina Press. 

First Step to Environmental Sustainability is Social Sustainability

                                             (Picture of Part of Sea Lots Taken from the Highway)

                        

The above photo shows the squalor that some people live in due to the abject poverty they are subjected to. As mentioned before sustainable development is meeting the needs of the present without compromising future generations from meeting their needs (Brundtland Report) but now some emphasis will be placed on development. What does development mean to you and me…..what exactly is development and how it is achieved and measured? Development may have many different definitions that depend on the context it is being used such as; development of one self or development of a firm. In this case it is development of a country and of areas within a country. Development in that case is associated with stages of advancement and evolution (Roberts and Bellone 2005). There are various good outcomes of development and they include: economic growth, national progress, modernization, provision of basic needs and more sustainable patterns of growth and development (so you see no matter where I try to take this blog sustainability always comes up because it is all linked). Like with most other things are also some negative outcomes associated with development and they include: inequalities between rich and poor, some local culture & values are undermined, environment may be unstable and sometimes human rights may be infringed upon and democracy undermined by more developed countries on those that are less developed.

To quantify the outcomes of development and determine the level of development an area had gross national product (GNP) was used in a lot of countries. GNP is the measure of production in a country’s economy with respect to goods and services (Cheveldayoff). But as Cheveldayoff and many others states, GNP is not the most accurate indicator of development since, there is no indication of social and environmental well-being in a country because it is only concerned with the economic factors. However, there are other indicators beside economics that are considered when level development is being determined. GNP is not appropriate because there was a per capita gap between rich and poor countries. Standard of living factors such as: poverty, unemployment, inequality, gender inequality and education indicators began to be used along with GNP to determine the level of development.

One of the negative outcomes mentioned previously, the inequalities between rich and poor is social polarization. According to Hall and Barrett (2012), social polarization occurs both within and between cities on a global scale and they are unsustainable both socially and environmentally. The squalor that may sometimes be seen in parts of Trinidad within cities may be a result of environmental degradation.

*The standard of living of people who live in areas such as the one above is horrible. Unemployment among them is high, education, which is the right for everyone has been denied because eventhough it is free there are still some “unseen” costs associated with it therefore areas such as these within countries are what should be used to determine the level of development and governments should try to improve their lives to move towards developed nation status.

Social polarization in urban areas may occur as a result of patterns of consumption, production and waste disposal in countries. Patterns of consumption and production result in social polarization when some people cannot consume as much of the same things as others and so they are discriminated against. That is more the socially unsustainable part. While, waste disposal takes a more environmental turn where a lot of waste are not disposed properly due to no funds to do so hence impacting the environment negatively. Also, the poorer people may be placed to live closer to these “dump” areas because the rich can never be associated with that sort of thing and so the distinction between these two groups are made more prominent. In addition the definition taken from the Brundtland report that was all a physical notion implies that social equity should always be present but this is not the case due to social polarization, which is dividing communities, countries and the world.

Agenda 21 addresses social polarization a bit. It includes international cooperation, poverty, producer-consumer patterns and the environment just to name a few. International cooperation is a major way to achieve sustainable development and that it can also alleviate poverty. With countries focusing on sustainability and reduction in poverty social polarization can decrease to improve the standard living for citizens. However, this same international cooperation can increase social polarization but this would not occur within a country but between countries that are richer than others so care has to be taken when approaching the situation. Science and technology have the capability of contributing to sustainable development but it may result in social polarization between countries since some may not be able to afford it so they are “left out” of the group.   

All of the above shows that development is linked to inequalities, which is linked to social polarization that is linked to environmental degradation and it can start frm environmental degradation and end at inequalities. They are all connected as is social and environmental unsustainability and the attempt to become sustainable. 

* In Trinidad the poverty level, as stated by Minister of People and Social Development Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh, is 21.8%. Ramadharsingh said the 2008-2009 global economic crisis had a major impact on the region, affecting the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of many countries, and that his ministry was working towards curbing the poverty level. He listed ongoing and future programmes implemented by the Ministry of People and Social Development, such as temporary food cards, bus passes for the disabled, community walkabouts by ministry officials, expansion of counselling services, a task force for social inclusion and a job-coach programme for youths to address poverty (Guardian Newspapers 2012). These initives can be seen as ways to address the social polarization that is occurring in Trinidad and make it a country where all it’s people are treated equally to become a developed and sustainable nation.

If everyone cared about each other there would be no inequalities and the world will be a better place.

http://www.unep.org/documents.multilingual/default.asp?documentid=52
Can read up more on Agenda 21 using this UNEP link. 

References:

Barraclough, Sara. 2005. In Quest Of Sustainable Development. The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. http://www.unrisd.org/unrisd/website/document.nsf/8b18431d756b708580256b6400399775/5ba838e26007676ec12570a1002ee441/$FILE/barraclough.pdf

Cheveldayoff, Wayne. 2000. The Business Page. Canadian Cataloging. United States of America.

Guardian Newspapers. 2012. Poverty Level 21.8%. http://guardian.co.tt/news/2012-05-23/poverty-level-218%E2%80%94minister

Hall and Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. Routledge Publishing. London and New York page 309.

Roberts, J. Timmons and Amy Bellone Hite (eds.). 2007. The Globalisation and Development Reader. Oxford. Blackwell Publishing.

Hypocrisy at it's Highest

                                    
                                                   EMA Headquarters on Elizabeth Street Port-of-Spain 

Do you think it is ironical that the Environmental Management Authority of Trinidad and Tobago have carparks that are fully paved?

Well I think it is extremely ironical. The EMA is a statutory body created by the Government of T&T to address the country’s environmental problems. They write and enforce laws and regulations to manage the environment and they also educate the public about environmental issues to ensure they know what should and shouldn’t be done. So the fact that the EMA gives guidelines on what is environmentally friendly and what isn’t to citizens and they themselves don’t think about employing these guidelines makes me wonder if they really do care about the environment. Eventhough not having fully paved carparks is not a guideline set by the EMA it is just small something that they can do to show that they are fully invested in protecting the environment. It will set the right example for other institutions and businesses so not giving them an excuse to do something that will disadvantage the environment.

People may say what is the big deal with this carpark being concrete. It is small and not causing any damages to. Oh how wrong they will be. Yes the EMA carpark is just one that is fully paved but you should think about how much more of these are there all over the country. You may not think that this will have a big effect but one carpark adds up after a while. The major problem associated with areas of concrete is it impedes infiltration of water, which increases surface runoff and may lead to flooding, soil erosion and water pollution. Concrete also, contributes to urban heat islands forming. According to National Geographic (2013), an urban heat island is a metropolitan area that is warmer than the areas surrounding it. Think about Port-of_Spain, while walking through how hot it usually is and this is reflected more in the night when it’s supposed to be cooler it is still very hot. Concrete is not the only cause of this urban heat island but it definitely contributes to it. There is already so much concrete around the city that all attempts should be made to decrease it wherever possible even it is by a small amount. Lastly, the particles from concrete contribute to air pollution. They provide condensation nuclei for the formation of water droplets and may lead to rainfall that is frequent and intense which may lead to flooding when coupled with the fact that the rainwater can’t infiltrate the soil. 

Unsustainability does not only affect the environment but also society. All those effects of concrete don’t only affect the environment but they have consequences on us. The flooding is a problem for us since it impedes transportation, destroys property and life and costs governments a lot of money to fix damages done. The heat provided by the urban heat island is also a problem since it causes discomfort to citizens and may affect the health of some. While, heavy rainfall leads to flooding and has the same impacts mentioned above.

               The picture on the left is one of mine and was taken in a carpark across from the St.Clair Hospital in POS.
      The one on the right was taken from envirocrete.com to show how the carparks will be when there is grass throughout.

There is a simple solution to this concrete carpark situation and it is seen in the above photo. This solution is grassed pathways grasscrete carparks. This provides a permeable paving solution that is still strong enough to withstand heavy traffic for carparks. It allows water to infiltrate hence preventing flooding, the amount of concrete is less and in small amounts so that there is not a large collective area contributing the urban heat island from carparks and the pollution is less because there are not much loose concrete particles in the small blocks per area. The carparks should have the concrete not only for our connivance but also to ensure that cars do not trample upon the underlying soil and people and hence causing compaction. Compaction will result in the same flooding problems as fully paved carparks because the amount of pore spaces in the soil (stores water) will be reduced and therefore infiltration will also be reduced since the soil cannot store the water.

Grassed pathways are not the solution to all the environmental and social problems listed above because there are other factors contributing. But they are the stepping-stones towards solving those problems.

“Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be inevitable products of democracy, as they undoubtedly are today.” By Mahatma Gandhi

This quote shows that hypocrisy is present in democracy which is represented in my piece where the EMA is laying out environmental laws and regulations but not really attempting to achieve sustainability anyway they can. Hypocrisy is present today as the quote says.

“Hypocrisy in anything whatever may deceive the cleverest and most penetrating man, but the least wide-awake of children recognizes it, and is revolted by it, however ingeniously it may be disguised.” By Leo Nicolaevich Tolsto

What does the above two quotes mean to you?

Can you relate it to what is being said in the above piece and what the EMA is doing?

References:

Environmental Management Authority. 2011. http://www.ema.co.tt/cms/

Grass Concrete. 2012. GrassCrete Carparks. Isle Communications. http://www.grasscrete.com/docs/news/view_story.asp?id=60

National Geographic Education Beta. 2013. Urban Heat Island. http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/urban-heat-island/?ar_a=1

Waugh, David. 2002. Geography: An Integrated Approach. Nelson. United Kingdom.

Unsustainability: Environmental or Economic?

                                                      (Taken at MovieTowne Port-of-Spain)

The Bruntland Report states that even while aiming for sustainability, international economic exchanges should be satisfied to gain economically within regions. The above picture represents an area used for entertainment and relaxation for adults and children, even me. There is a movie theatre, various restaurants, a supermarket, clothes stores, jewelry stores etc. It is an establishment that provides economic gains to stakeholders, owners of businesses within the area and employees.

However, does anyone know what was in that area of land before MovieTowne?

Well I will tell you. That area used for MovieTowne was previously mangroves that were part of the Caroni Swamp that is in Invarders Bay POS. The land used to build this is reclaimed land. Reclaimed land is when new land is created from the sea. Land reclaimed for the purpose of development is often done within estuaries where there is an abundance of flat land accessible by both land and sea and areas where waste can be easily disposed (EMA Coastal Development Guidebook). That area was chosen to construct this complex to cater for the population in the Port-of-Spain area. However, it did not only cater to those as people came from all over Trinidad because it was the only area that offered entertainment of that type.

There are various negative impacts of land reclamation. According to Fortes (2001) land reclamation affect: natural morphology of coastal areas, coastal biological resources such as fishes, sedimentation in the reclaimed location, mangroves and reefs. In the case of MovieTowne POS the ecosystem most affected was the mangroves. Mangroves have a variety of roles that include: maintaining the stability of the coastline, preventing abrasion and intrusion, habitat for organisms and the wood from mangroves can be used for some economic purposes (Dahuri et.al. 2001). The removal of the mangroves along the Invaders Bay may have tremendous impact on the coastline in that area: flooding in that area may increase if there is a slight rise in sea level (which is predicted to happen due to global warming), in the event of a disaster such as a hurricane the coastline is very vulnerable since the mangroves that acted as a buffer is no longer there, habitats destroyed, water quality decreases and there is always the looming potential for the area that was once sea to become the sea again.

I agree that Trinidad was in need of something that could offer various forms of entertainment in one place for both adults and children. But it could have been done in a more sustainable way. An area could have been chosen where less damage to the environment would be done. This project was not only about the people but also about economic gain and an attempt to gain economically sustainability was compromised. It was viewed as a way to maximize revenue being earned by using the idea that to have a good standard of living one’s personal consumption had to be high where in this case it was the activities one took part in. According to Hall and Barrett (2012), there is a conflict between short-term economic development and long term environmental needs. This can be reflected in the fact that rising living standards are defined in terms of increasing levels of personal consumption and this is not compatible with environmental sustainability. So to achieve an economic goal the environment was placed in the background.

Currently there are plans in progress since the Government of Trinidad and Tobago gave it the ok to expand MovieTowne using the available 80acres of land on the Invaders Bay that is behind the land already in use. According to the Express Newspapers, Derek Chin and Jerry Joseph attempt to transform the Invaders Bay into to the entertainment and economic hub of the Caribbean. This will boost the economy of T&T and will be a major tourism pull factor. It will include a bowling alley, ice skating rink, pool, sporting centers, aquarium, a housing complex, the culture of T&T will be on show (Carnival, T&T’s influence from other countries such as; India, Africa and China, sporting heroes), the incorporation of major blockbusters from abroad such as: Disney, Madam Tussaud’s and Ripley’s Believe it or Not.

From the above in all the plans and what will be built there is nothing speaking to the benefit of the environment of T&T. There is only talk about what will benefit the economy and what people want for enjoyment. Nothing about what the environment needs, what could be done to give back to the environment. How much of this neglect do you think the environment can take before it gives up on us? It’s all about what we want to live our lives comfortably and enjoyably and how to make money. It’s never about how to conserve the thing that is allowing us to live and giving us what we need and want. However, I’m not saying that this project is all bad because people need somewhere to relax and have fun while; the government needs to find avenues to sustain the economy. All I am saying is that the environment needs to be considered when plans are being made and carried out. Something in this major plan should have been set up to benefit the environment because it to is important.  

This song Price Tag by Jessie J says, “It’s not about the money, money, money” and it whatever is being done anywhere in the world should never be about money. There are other more important factors to consider.

References:

Dahuri R, Rais J, Ginting SP dan Sitepu MJ.  2001.  Pengelolaan Sumberdaya Pesisir dan Lautan Secara Terpadu. PT. Pradnya Paramita. Jakarta.

Environmental Management Authority. 2011. Guidebook for Hydrodynamic Considerations in Coastal and Marine CEC Applications. http://www.ema.co.tt/docs/techServ/cec/hydrodynamic_guidebook.pdf.

Fortes M. 2001. Loss of Seagrasses and Mangroves in Asia Pacific: Bitingthe Hand that Feeds. Paper presented at the global conference on“Oceans and Coasts at Rio+10”. UNESCO. December 3-7, 2001. Paris.

Hall and Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. Routledge Publishing. London and New York page 309.

Ramdass, Anna. 2012. The Entertainment Capital of the Caribbean. Trinidad Express Newspapers.

You Have Space For Me To??

How much more can the Hills take?

The Northern Range Trinidad (Taken from the Highway)

As the needs of the city keep on growing due to increasing amounts and varied uses the boundaries are continuously being pushed back. The city of POS is surrounded by natural landforms on both sides; there is the Northern Range on one side and the ocean on another. The Northern Range is basically on the outskirts of the city and so from the invent of the city very low income houses were near to or on these hills. This assumption related to lower income houses on the outskirts can be related to Burgess’ model of the industrial city. In his model, Burgess stated that early migrants to the city would seek cheap accommodation, which just so happened to be housing just outside the CBD (which in this case is POS). (Barrett and Hall 2012, pg 40)

So the fact that people now reside on these hills can be due to historical factors. However, in the past the number of houses on these hills has been small and has recently gone on a rampant increase. It seems to be rather obvious that the reason people reside here is because of the ease of accessibility it offers to the city and also because other areas close to the city is already occupied or beyond their budget. So yes it is important that people have homes but when is the point where it just becomes too much for that fragile environment to handle?

The Northern Range is a complex ecosystem that is bounded on the north by the coastal strip, on the south by a main road (Eastern Main Road) and on the north by POS. This range contributes freshwater for Trinidad, controls flooding, is said to be a buffer for natural disasters (hurricanes) also it provides recreation, a form of ecotourism, other economic benefits (agriculture, timber) and most importantly it is the home of thousands of different species of flora and fauna. (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005) It can be seen that the Northern Range is indispensable when it comes to the future of Trinidad and Tobago. This ecosystem is very fragile and can easily be disturbed so when trees are removed for homes to be built it obviously affects various species. Also, the noise and different environmental conditions brought along by the fact that humans now reside there also affects and changes the natural environment which in turn may lead to some destruction.

Again I will ask, how much is too much?

Currently the Northern slope has had an increase in urbanization for luxury homes hence, causing degradation of this ecosystem. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago put some legislation in place to slow down some degradation. The legislation states that construction of houses above 300 feet on the hillsides is now prohibited to regulate hillside development and protect the Northern Range.  (Taitt R 2012) This will decrease the possibility of future damage but what about the damage already done? Who will fix that for future generations?

Consider these questions: 

    Will there be any Northern Range for the future generations to enjoy like we do today? 

    Will there be any Northern Range to provide income and protection that it provides us with today?

What can u do to conserve this ecosystem?

Hall and Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. Routledge Publishing. London and New York (page 40).

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. People and the Northern Range Trinidad. http://www.unep.org/maweb/en/SGA.Trinidad.aspx

Taitt, Ria. 2012. Government Move Against Hillside Houses. Trinidad Express Newspapers.

Pity George Doesn't Have a Tree to Swing From (Concrete Jungle)

The Croisee in San Juan

George, George 

George of the Jungle, 

Strong as he can be. 

(Ahhhhhhhh) 

Watch out for that tree. 

George, George, 

George of the Jungle, 

Lives a life that's free. 

(Ahhhhhhhh) 

Watch out for that tree. 

source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/georgeofthejunglelyrics.html

This picture depicts what occurs in areas when it begins to become "urban". Green spaces are removed and replaced with concrete buildings. I chose this specific picture because it is disturbing that people refer to the destruction of our environment as development. How can something that ruins or have the potential to ruin the quality of life be viewed as being progress and development? I understand needing to use more space to build homes and businesses to meet the needs of growing populations but planting a couple trees between each building will make a world of difference.

I chose the song George of the Jungle to show that with the destruction of plants to facilitate the development of urban areas ecosystems are destroyed and concrete jungles are created. This destruction of ecosystems pose problems for the environment including resource depletion ( Hall and Barrett, 2012) and also increases global warming due to the destruction of trees which act as a carbon sink (Kircher, 2011). Also, with this destruction of ecosystems species diversity is decreased and it will affect life in some way since everything in the environment is interconnected. 

Hall and Barrett, Urban Geography. London and New York, Routledge Publishing. 2012 (pages 305 to 324)

Kircher, J.C, Tropical Ecology. Princeton University Press. 2011

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