BBS水木清华站∶精华区

发信人: cheungche (高校魔影), 信区: AdvancedEdu
标  题: sample(1)
发信站: BBS 水木清华站 (Sat Dec 26 20:35:13 1998)

Sample Essay 1
(The Environmental Studies Student)

Two scenes stand out in my mind from my visit to Brazil's Wetland: Forests burning

before seed planting and trees as hedgerows. Before the planting season, I could

see the leafless remnants of burnt trees still standing. The burning of pristine

forests destroys both the habitats and countless species which depend on and thrive

in these habitats. The few remaining bare, scarred trees silently convey the cost

to our natural resources of pursuing our economic interests. Some forests are

preserved by government edict issued in response to international pressure. But most

of this preservation occurs alongside major roads - not to protect the ecosystem,

but to prevent disturbance to ranches and farms along the highways. The clash between

economic and environmental concerns that I witnessed in Brazil fascinates me and

attracts me to the Environmental Studies Program.

Two courses in my geography department increased my interest in the connection between

the environment and economics: Conservation of Underdeveloped Countries and

Environmental Impact Analysis. In the former, we studied the problems of natural

resource management in developing countries. The balance is always tilted toward

economics growth at the expense of environmental preservation. For example, because

the Pantanal Wetland could become a highly productive agricultural system once it's

drained, it is drained regardless of the destruction that drainage causes to the

ecosystem. Only portions of the wetland are preserved for tourist purposes.

The other course that piqued my interest is an interdisciplinary course called

Environmental Impact Analysis in which we, as a group, created matrix and flow

diagrams discussing the economic and environmental impact of logging and

preservation of old growth forests. I was able to use tools that I acquired in my

economics and environmental studies classes. In general, logging creates economic

benefits at the local level. It increases employment in the timber industry and

subsequently in related non-timber industries; it also benefits local government.

Yet, it has great deleterious environmental effects: soil erosion, watershed

destruction, and a decrease in specie diversity due to loss of habitat. The logging

industry represents the classic clash between economic and environmental interests.

I also took two sequential classes in the economics department that are related to

Resource Management - Theories of Growth & Development and Policies for Economic

Development. Because the courses were taught by a professor who is concerned chiefly

with economic growth, I learned the standard economic rationalizations for

development unrestrained by environmental concerns.

In addition to my interest in resource management policies, I have a specific interest

in Geographical Information System (GIS), a powerful tool for natural resource

management. After taking several related classes in GIS, I began interning for the

National Park Service (NPS). After I learn how to use ARC/INFO, a leading GIS package,

I will assist the NPS in constructing projects. Some of my duties include spatial

and non-spatial data analysis, digitizing themes such as fire locations, vegetation,

wildlife habitats, etc., and tabular and graphical presentation of results. I hope

to use the tools I acquire during this internship in my continuing study of our

environment.

I would like to study the social and economic factors that influence environmental

policy formation. For example, because people worry more about pollution than

endangered species, laws and regulations concerning environmental pollution are more

numerous and stricter than for bio-diversity. Within the School of Environmental

Studies, I have a particular interest in the emphasis: Economics, Policy, and

Management. This emphasis deals with how economic factors can create negative

externalities, such as pollution, and need to be regulated. This emphasis also tries

to consider non-economic values, such as aesthetic pleasure and specie diversity.

It also discusses tools like GIS and system analysis that apply to environmental

management. Because of my interest in GIS, economics, and environmental studies, this

emphasis suits me perfectly. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary approach of the

School of Environmental Studies attracts me since it combines social science's

strengths with a knowledge of the natural sciences necessary to protect and preserve

the environment.

After completing my masters program, I would like to continue my education and obtain

a Ph.D. in natural resource management. This degree would enable me to combine a

teaching career with advising business and government on natural resource management

issues. Teaching college students is more than a one-way channel; I would also learn

from their questions like my professors have from mine. In advising business and

government, I can help them strike a balance between economic and environmental

concerns. GIS will be a useful tool in helping me give them crucial information.

I have enjoyed an interdisciplinary approach in my environmental studies major and

become fascinated by the clash between social interests, especially economics, and

environmental needs. I pursued an additional major in economics to better understand

this conflict. Furthermore, my work for the NPS will train me in the latest techniques

in natural resource management. I would like to continue exploring this clash and

resource management in the School of Environmental Studies. Ultimately, I would like

to teach and work in natural resource management. Ideally, I would like to find ways

for allowing development while preventing the burning of beautiful and valuable

Eco-systems like the Pantanal Wetland.

--
你心里明白  我不必多讲
我就是不说  你也猜得到
我做的一切  你全都知道
  我就是想瞒也瞒不了

※ 来源:·BBS 水木清华站 bbs.net.tsinghua.edu.cn·[FROM: 166.111.49.45]