Question: Sustainability Essay - Potable Water Desalinization
The following is the details of the Essay:
Essay #1: this essay is to demonstrate that you know how to differentiate between sustainability problems and other problems.Given your topic of potable water desalinization in the UAE and Gulf Coast Region (GCC) as a sustainability problem you need to address. This has been select a case that is relevant to you, try to link this sustainability problem to an ongoing initiative, program, or project! Remember that you will develop a problem-solving strategy over the course of the semester (and present it in Essay #3).
Content and Structure: For this essay, using your assigned sustainability problem, provide basic information about the problem, and elaborate on why it is a sustainability problem. Your problem should stay focused on specific location identified (UAE and the Gulf Coast Region). This essay should apply the concepts we have covered in this course (SOS 320). Pay close attention to the following criteria as the essay should be structured according to the following four parts each with their own header:
1) The first part (introduction) is only 1-2 paragraphs: briefly describe the manifestation of the problem and the context of the problem you selected (extent, location, history, etc.). This should include any relevant background information.
2) The second part of the essay should explain the sustainability features of the problem (why this is a sustainability problem) each with their own header:
a) Is the problem significantly harmful over the long term - does it threaten collective goods (ecosystems, human wellbeing, livelihoods, justice) that are essential for the long-term viability, vitality, and integrity of the society in question? A problem is significantly harmful when it threatens the majority of the following goods, and all of these should be explicitly discussed:
i) Viability or Integrity of Ecosystems.
ii) Human and Social Wellbeing.
iii) Equitable Opportunity for Livelihood and Economic Activities.
iv) Justice across Societies (Inter-regional Justice).
v) Justice from one Generation to the Next (Inter-generational Justice).
b) Is the problem urgent? Does it display features of irreversibility in the short-term?
c) Are there dispersed effects? Do the adverse effects of the problem spread across different sectors and across different spatial levels (from local to global)?
d) Are there complex causes? Are the underlying causes of the problem manifold and characterized by long and indirect cause-effect chains?
e) Is the problem contested? Is the problem controversially discussed and even willfully obscured?
3) The third part of the essay should explain the need for sustainability problem solving by discussing the legitimate stakeholders of the problem:
a) Does a group of legitimate stakeholders recognize and judge this situation as negative or adverse, in terms of sustainability, on justifiable grounds? Who are these stakeholder?
b) Is a group of legitimate stakeholders honestly interested in doing something to resolve and mitigate this situation? Who are these stakeholders?
4) fourth part should describe in one short paragraph who can benefit from your essay series (who will be interested in the results of your analysis and solution study). It is not sufficient to use general categories such as "the public." Instead, you need to identify a specific group, organization, association, agency, company, or the like that might be interested in your work!
Formal Aspects:The essay must be written from a professional perspective for a general audience. You are expected to use credible sources to substantiate your ideas (Note:Wikipediais not an acceptable source for this purpose), and to fully reference those sources both in the text and reference section of the paper. Each essay should be typed, spell-checked, and no more than five pages long - single-spaced, size 12 font. Please refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA Manual) as your style guide.
Note#1: This essay should NOT describe necessary transitions or solutions. It should SOLELY focus on the problem at hand.
Note#2: The essay must not exceed 5 pages (plus references)!
Note#3: The work will be checked by the program for any plagiarism, of your own work or someone else's.
There will be three other assignments to follow on the same subject and I am willing to award and pay the same for each based on the quality and timeliness of the first essay.
Essay #2 should demonstrate your ability to apply the concepts learned in this course to the sustainability problem you have identi?ed in Essay #1. This essay allows you to build your expertise as a future sustainability professional - here, you demonstrate that you know how to analyze the core components of a sustainability problem (from adverse effects to root causes).
Poster #1:With Essays #1 and #2 you demonstrated your ability to identify a sustainability problem and to analyze the key components of a sustainability problem. In Poster #1 you will create a sustainable solution vision that envisions a future state where the problem you identified and analyzed in your previous essays is actually solved. For this, you will use the visioning tool you learned in this course. Be aware that Poster #1 does NOT address the strategy to achieve the vision - this will be the topic of Essay #3! This poster will allow you to develop additional skills for solving sustainability problems and to gain hands-on experience by applying the knowledge acquired in class.
Essay #3: you will build a sustainable solution strategy on how to transition from the problem to the vision. For this, you will use the strategy-building tool you learned in this course. Be aware that Essay #3 does NOT describe the vision (you have done this in Poster#1!) - you need to describe the strategy to achieve the vision. That means you need to describe all the main steps and actions that need to be taken to make the vision become a reality!