Ecosystem Structure, Function, and Change

Ecosystem Structure, Function, and Change
Keyich is a city in Casdonia, located in Eastern Europe. Over the past six years, the city’s population has grown rapidly from 265,000 in 1995 to 650,000 in 2001, resulting in a 145% increase. The continious fast-paced growth estimates that by 2008 the city’s population is expeted to reach 1,600,000. The Keywich City Council has concerns with the excelling growth pattern and possible negative consequences associated with the growth such as cultural, economic, environmental, and social impacts. The rapid increased population could include deteriarting infrastructure, increasing traffic congetion, declining air quality, and loss of space. The city has regularly been awarded the most environment-friendly city in the county; therefore, the growing population could reduce their chances at retaining the title. Cleanup preparation begins with understanding the essential issues that need to be focused on first. It is equally important for council to include the residents in the decision making process. City council has decided to focus on three primary issues, which include pollution, waste management, and energy and has allocated a budget of $44 million Euros.
The first phase of action begins with the reduction of pollution in the environment with an allocated budget of $18 million Euros. The measures selected include pollution control legislation for factories, which seeks to install pollution control devices in factories. The installation of controls will restrict the amounts of pollution entered into the environment. The second measure selected is the random emission testing, whereby vehicles will be randomly checked for exhaust emissions. Emission testing will identify the automobiles that are polluting the environment. And the owners will not be able to drive the vehicles until the issues are fixed. Third selction is to establish green belts, which will mitigate adverse effects of carbon dioxide. The fourth and final sections is to encourage carpools among employees, which will reduce the number of vehicles on the road polluting the air. This plan is within the alloted budget and will reduce pollution by 61 percent and has a popular acceptance of 57 percent. In order for the plan to be successful the people must believe and accept the plan; therefore, it is important to begin with options that are chosen by the people and later move toward option that may not be as people friendly.
The second phase of action will be control of waste management. The landfills and incinerators are increasing due to the increased population and is estimated to increase 8% monthly. City council has allocated a $20 million budget to aid in implementing a plan to tackle the situation. The following measures will be put in place to manage solid waste. Management will use the following disposal methods: Compost organic solid waste, purchase additional incinerators, and employ bioremediation methods at landfills. The following are sources of disposal: promote recycleing of materials and launch campaign to create enviromental awareness. Providing additional composting facilities will allow the city to effectively dispose of organic waste materials. Purchasing more incinerators will help effectively dispose of solid waste. Recycling is an easy way for everyone to contribute to reducing the amount of trash at the landfills, while creating awareness will provide informative information that will educate people in hope for their contribution. This plan was $100 under budget and will reduce solid waste by 65 percent.
The third phase of the action will focus on the issues surrounding energy. The measures selected to reduce consumption of energy and promote alternate soures of energy include: reduce energy usage in companies over a period of time, deploy energy-efficient methods for street lighting, and encourage the use of solar energy. This plan will reduce the use of traditional energy soures by 64 percent. Adopting and implementing energy-savings techniques will lead to