Mar
10
Water Diary
March 10, 2021 | | Leave a Comment
Personal Estimated Water Footprint Compared to USA Average:
Per Day: 1, 379 Gallons US Average: 1,802 Gallons
Per Week: 9,653 Gallons US Average: 12,614 Gallons
Per Year: 1905.5 m^3 US Average: 2489.7 m^3
Constraint:
At the time of calculating this estimate, I was on campus, and recognized Dickinson’s use of sustainable energy compared to standard utilities. While at home or travelling, I am sure my water footprint is far higher than what is above. Furthermore, this does not account for weeks where I do a particularly extensive amount of driving.
Tigris/ Euphrates Valley Average Water footprint: PER CAPTIA AVERAGE
Turkey Syria Iraq Iran
Per day: 1,188 Gallons Per Day: 1,532 Gallons No data Per Day: 1,347 Gallons
Per Week: 8,316 Gallons Per Week: 10,724 Gallons Per Week: 9,429 Gallons
Per Year: 1636.9 m^3 Per Year: 2110.9 m^3 Per Year: 1856 M^3
Through taking this class and discussing the role of water in the Middle East, along with my own research specific to the Tigris and Euphrates valley, I have come to realize that I am not nearly as aware of my use of water as perhaps I should be. I am extremely fortunate to have essentially unlimited access to clean water, with the only regular constraint being a water bill.
By simply comparing the water footprint statistics of Iran, Turkey, and Syria to the United States, one can infer that generally, there is a greater sense of awareness of water use in those Middle Eastern countries, than in the US– particularly when one considers that the accepted minimum annual water footprint per individual is 1,100 m^3.
Although these four countries share primary water sources (Tigris/Euphrates), dams have created restricted water flow to certain areas of the countries above, which has caused social, economic, and political disruptions. As a result of restricted water flow due to dams, the water in “low flow” areas has become contaminated, which has necessitated further government intervention which seeks to provide water through alternative means. This plays a large role in the economy of the region.
Politically and socially, nonstate actors have taken advantage of vulnerable areas with little access to water through bribery and threats.
Overall, it is water in the Tigris/Euphrates valley seems to play a more direct and visible role in political, economic, and social dynamics than in the USA.
Feb
16
The ‘others’ in our communities
February 16, 2021 | | Leave a Comment
Although our readings on “orientalism” focused on a more large-scale description of the concept of “othering” a particular group of people, I believe that this same idea can be applied to much more specific and nonobjective circumstances. For example, when I first arrived at Dickinson in 2017, although I did not vary too much in appearance from the rest of the students, it did not take long before I began to feel “out of place”.
Whether it was in mandatory first-year activities, or in class, it seemed as though most students had attended high school at a prestigious boarding, or private school somewhere in the North East, whereas I attended public school in southern Virginia.
I became very self-conscious about my qualifications to be at Dickinson, which resulted in hyper analyzing my comments in class as to not appear as having less academic capability than the other students. Much of this was self-inflicted, however, I had enough experiences to solidify these assumptions that I had made.
The temporary results of this were falsely viewing those who are from wealthy areas, particularly cities, as having unsubstantiated confidence about who they were compared to others, and detached from reality. This of course, was a gross generalization and without firm grounds. It did not take long before I realized that this perspective was false, and subconsciously inducing stress as by “othering” people around me, as I was actually “othering” myself.
Feb
5
“Where I live, Where they Live”
February 5, 2021 | | Leave a Comment
Although I have never travelled to the Middle East, from my experience abroad, it has become very apparent the way in which stereotypes can alter or misguide one’s perception of reality. In other words, we create reasons for certain behaviors or occurrences through the lenses of our own experience. It would be unreasonable to say that in order to minimize barriers of understanding between the USA and the Middle East we must eliminate our predispositions. However, a good start would be to reflect on what our predispositions are. For example, in my experience growing up in the United States, I have come to associate my countries government with leadership and stability. Despite the significant faults that many of us in America recognize within our institutions, I am optimistic about our potential for improvement. However, citizens of many countries within the Middle East might have less confidence in institutions as a result of failing states, exploited governments, and perhaps even negative interactions with Americans.
Another strategy toward understanding is to put an effort toward accepting cultural differences and recognizing that “people are people”. It is very important that we do not simply regard someone as “other” as this can be extremely divisive and unproductive. Sometimes the best way to accomplish this is by becoming the “other” through travel, or other means, and despite the cultural/linguistic challenges, there will be commonalities among all people which will encourage acceptance.