Waste in Delaware

I am currently researching Waste in Delaware County, Oh. My partner and I are having trouble finding types of waste in Delaware, but we have located the 4 landfills throughout the county- but it seems that the infromation is outdated as it is from 1997.There is one Superfund Landfill in Delaware, which is located east of Ohio Wesleyan Univeristy. It was first discovered in 1979, and archived in 1990. There has been apparently been a huge problem of illegal dumping at this site.

Superfund landfill in Delaware, OH 

There are also two solid waste landfills located throughout the county, Solid Waste Landfills. These landfills are checked and monitored throughout the year for explosive gases since their proximity to neighborhoods.There are also no NPL( National Priorities List) sites in Delaware that the EPA is cleaning up. Perhaps in the feature? We will see.

I am also having a lot of trouble locating abandonded landfills in Delaware, as well as the types of waste. Hopefully we can call the City of Delaware, or Waste Management (the company that picks the trash up in the area) to find out more information.

Brief PROJECT OVERVIEW 

This semster we are working on a project in which we will be mapping Environmental Justice in Delaware County, Ohio.  Each person in our class has picked from a variety of differnet subjects that we will research and examine throughout the semester.  I am going to research Waste in Delaware, and since it is ssuch a big topic, I will be joining forces with Lindsey Hoffer.  We will examine the types of waste that is produced in Delaware County, how waste is disposed, what and where the superfund sites are in Delaware, what the NPL is, and where other abandoned waste is disposed.  Keep checking back to see the progress we make throughout the semester.  

 

Waste in Delaware, Ohio

I am currently researching Waste in Delaware County, Oh. My partner and I are having trouble finding types of waste in Delaware, but we have located the 4 landfills throughout the county- but it seems that the infromation is outdated as it is from 1997.

There is one Superfund Landfill in Delaware, which is located east of Ohio Wesleyan Univeristy. It was first discovered in 1979, and archived in 1990. There has been apparently been a huge problem of illegal dumping at this site. Superfund landfill in Delaware, OH

There are also two solid waste landfills located throughout the county, Solid Waste Landfills. These landfills are checked and monitored throughout the year for explosive gases since their proximity to neighborhoods.

There are also no NPL( National Priorities List) sites in Delaware that the EPA is cleaning up. Perhaps in the feature? We will see.

I am also having a lot of trouble locating abandonded landfills in Delaware, as well as the types of waste. Hopefully we can call the City of Delaware, or Waste Management (the company that picks the trash up in the area) to find out more information.

Andy Mitchell- ESRI ® Guide to GIS Analysis chapter 1-3

Chapter One: Introducing GIS Anylsis.- GIS technology is now almost 30 years old, but it is still used primarily to make maps although it can do so much more-  By knowing howto use GIS technology, you are allowing your self better, more up-to-date information and even creating new information.  

What is GIS anylsis?     → GIS anaylsis is the process of looking at goeographical patterns in your data and at relationships between the features (11)- To start an anaylsis, you need to fram the question.- There are multiple ways to get the information you need.  Chose the best method for you, whether it is the quickest, or one with more precise information.- Once you have selected your method, do the appropriate steps in GIS to get the results.  -  There are multiple ways in which your results can be displayed, whether it is in a map, table or a chart.  

Types of Features: there are multiple features that can be place in a map.- Discrete Features: the actual location is pinpointed. - Continuous Features: can be measured anywhere. -Features summarized by area: represents the counts or density of individual features.

Map Projections and Coordinate Systems: you need precise map projections in order to draw on top of each feature.- A map projection translates the locations on the globe, onto a flat map.- A coordinate system specifiest the units used to locate features in 2dimentional space.

Chapter 2: Mapping where things are            

Chapter 2 discusses about mapping where things are, and by mapping where things are it lets you find places that have features you are looking for.  You are able to take action when you know what you are looking for. This chapter talks about why you map where things are, how to decide what to map, and the data you should use when you map, how to prepare your data to make sure that you are mapping the correct geographic features, how to make you map; as well as the features you would like to display, and lastly, analyzing geographic problems.  This chapter really explained each different section and allowed easy understanding on how to map where things are.

Chapter 3:Mapping the Most and Least         

 Chapter 3 paints the picture extremely well about how important mapping the most and least is in GIS.  It lets you compare places based on quantities so you acn see which places meet your criteria, or allow you to understnad there relationship between one or more places.  In order to create an effective map, it is imporant to understand what you need in the map, and if you have the correct quantities, as the chapter explains, then it is easy to focus on an area within your map. You can use ratios and ranks that shows the relationship between two quantities.  This chapter describes how chosing the most effective mapping is relatively easy, although when it comes to my personal maps, it never seems to be that way!

Today, the first group presented chapters 2 and 3 of Nadin Shuurman’s GIS: a Short Introduction.   We also discussed Environmental Justice.  I was assigned to research Waste in Delaware, County OH. 

Shuurman chapter 4 and 5

Chapter 4- Bringing it all Together: Using GIS to analyze and Model Spatial Phenomena 

- Data and data models are important consituents of GIS, but the real power of the GIS technology emerges from the ability to tell us more about the spatial world than is possible from pieces of data stored in a data model.

- GIS is different from cartography by this ability to analyze data.     

— Traditional maps present a static picture of phenomena and their relationships at one point in time.

This chapter was very informative about connecting cartograghy with GIS.  GIS today is used to query spatial data, analyze spatial relationships, and characterize regions as well as over time and space. I enjoyed reading this chapter because I feel my knowledge for GIS has increased a lot more with a greater understanding of analyzing spatial phenomena

.Chapter 5-  Where Do I go From Here? GIS training and research

This chapter elaborates on the training necessary to use the software that constitutes GIS and emphasizes the skills required to use GIS correctly.- Both GISystems and GIScience are very essential for the continued use and improvement of this very important area of Geograghy.

-  This chapter is very interesting beause it explains in depth the relationship between GISystems and GIScience.  Though they are so closely related they are still very different,I really enjoyed the section on ontology and epistemology.  It was a very in depth section that I found extremely interesting because I didn’t quite grasp these concepts back in chapter two.  Their revelance to GIS is so important.

Lastly, I thought the section on GIS and feminism was very cool. It was cool to see the differences in GIS between the genders, and how they respond to it. This chapter was a refreshing way to end the book.  It touched base with a lot ideas that were either new to me, or ones that I did not understand at first.  I feel that I was able to grasp those subject areas much better and that will take me a long way in using GIS.

Shuurman Chapter 2 and 3

Mind the Gap

 -          Later in the 1980’s people (human/cultural geographers) started paying more attention to GIS.

-          Early critiques of GIS perceived methological shortcomings.

-          Human geographers thought that GIS failed to accommodate less rational, more initiative analysis of geographical issues.

-          Even though there were good and bad views of GIS, it will still part of the social process.

-          Human geographers often use terms like “mapping” “space” when discussing cultural and social phenomena.

-          Cultural Space and Knowledge mapsEpistemology and Ontology

-          Epistemology refers to the methods that we use to study the world and the lenses it entails

.-          Ontology refers to what something really is in a foundational essence

.-          Epistemology is not a “solvable” point of contention but  examination.

-          Pragmatism is an approach to knowledge that incorporates changes as necessary to accommodate new evidence technical difficulties.

Looking for the Social in GIS

-          Ernst Mach first challenged the disciplines of ontology and epistemology.

-          He said science should be designed to help society.Cultural Differences of the Development, theory and technology in GIS

-          Technology is developed for social purposes and social goals.

-          Generalization theory began to evolve in the 1970’s; an era which geographically features sever symbolized lines

Human Geography and GIS in the New Order

 -          Human geographers have pivotal in bringing ideas from STS and social theory into the GIS over the past 20 years.

-          Critical GIS is an internal movement is an internal ‘movement’ that includes scholars who have research interests that fall within the realm traditional GIScience.

-          Feminism and GIS is a fledging outgrowth of GIS with many of the same goals but with particular research  emphasis that involves women as subjects as well as an examination of the extent to which women shape GIS  at the research and implantation stages.

Shuurman Chapter 3: The Devil is the Data

-          GIS is a social process and complex combination of hardware and software.

POLITICS AND PRACTICALITIES OF DATA COLLECTION

-          The first part of obtaining data starts with collection

 -          Data=POLITICAL

-          Census data represents one form of data collection. It is used mainly for sciences.

-          Other types of data are collected using measurement tools and other techniques.

-          Physical Geographers collect field data with reference to known control points

-          GPS- developed for the military.  It has contributed for the accessibility of spatial information, and by implication, the ability of researchers to collect primary data.

ORGANIZING DATA

-          GIS data are stored in tables.  

-          List the attributes of spatial phenomena including Location.

LOCATION

-          Without location, spatial analysis is not possible.Attribute Data

-          Attributes are characteristics of spatial objects defined in GISMetadata: Data about Data

-          As people and organizations started to share data became extremely important.

-          Without metadata it is very difficult to combine data sets that are collected by different organizations.Conclusion: Data are useful stories about the World

-          Data compiled with a purpose

.-          Information is very important.  

Longley et al- chpt. 1 & 2

Longley et al: GiSystems & GIScience: Ch. 1 & 2 Chapter 1: Systems, Science and Study

-Everything that happens, happens somewhere. Geographic Problems: problems that involve an aspect of location, either in the information used to solve them or the actual solutions.3 ways to classify Geographic Problems:

    1. scale, level of geographic detail on property

    2. purpose: practical nature, must be solved at minimum cost.      

♦ GIS is able to bridege the gap between curiosity-driven science and practical problem solving  (7)

    3. Time scale: operational required for smooth functioning of an organization

√Spatial is SpecialGeographic refers to Earths surface and near-surface. Spatial=any spaceGeospatial- a subset of spatial applied specifically to the Earth’s surface and near-surface

√Data, Informaation, Evidence, Knowlodge, Wisdom GIS allows us to manage what we know by organizing, storing, manipulating data and coming up with solutions.

Data: refers to the most dull information to the most substansive. It consists of many numbers and textsInformation: a term used in a narrow and broad sense. It is easy to add value through processing.Knowledge: considered information that has been added by interpretation.    

→ knowloedge is harder to detach from the knower than informaation and requires much more assimilation.Evidence: considered half way between information and knowledge.

  The Technology of Problem SolvingGIS is much more than a technology and there are many misleading conceptions about it. It is a tool for revaling what is invisible in geographic informations.Used as: Mapping tool, problem solver, inventory storage device

.GISystems, GIScience, GIStudies

• GISystems: software, hardware, data, training
• GIScience: concepts, theories, research.Coined by Michael Goodchild in 1992.   → geoinformatics, spatial infromation science= all the same meaning

GIS & Geography• Similar ties to: spatial analysis, theories, cartography, remote sensing, and concepts. Academic discipline of geography
• particular phenomena (easily measurable) and perspectives (normative, business, government) dominate
• experts & dominant social, economic, and cultural perspectives
• techno-centric approach to human problems
• top down  technology as opposed to bottoms up
•very few sets of concepts

Chapter 2: a Gallary of ApplicationsThis chapter touches base on the many ways that we can interact with GIS in our every day lives. 

For example:    → your alarm going off- an everyday occurance for most people.  The energy to power the alarm comes from the local energy company that uses GIS to manage all its devices, conductors, etc., so that it can deliver electricity continuously. ( 36) Throughout the day, many of your other activities are GIS stimulated such as travelling to work, or reading a newspaper on the train

.- There is a large range of diversity of GIS applications in both environmental and social science.

- The 5 M’s of GIS application are mapping, measurement, monitoring, modeling, and management ( 41). 

 - The government is among the biggest users of GIS, as they were also one of the first to discover its value as well.  Since it has become such a cheap tool, it is used in a lot of governemnt decisions from the nation to neighborhoods.

3 GIS Application

Today, we are supposed to locate 3 GIS applications that are used in some major industries. 

1. Real Estate  is the first Application I located.  The real estate is finding that GIS is becoming more and more useful with maps that are extremely accurate.

2. Defense and Intelligence is the next application that I found.  I think this is a very important one because GIS plays a crutial role within the defense community.

3. Economic Development is the last application that I looked at. GIS helps promote economic development by gaining access to all different types of data for a certain area.  The data is also much more accurate then it would have been with out GIS.

Getting to Know ArcGIS chapter 3-7

Although I have some experience using these tools, I did enjoy reading and doing the tutorials for chapter 3-7 because it allowed me to get more familiar with everything ArcGIS has to offer.  There were some really interesting tutorials that I came across such as labeling different animals all over Africa as well as the stuff in Mexico.  All these tutorials I went over were easy, and extremely fun to go over. I look forward to putting what I read to work soon!

Today we went through the class blogs. Everyone presented and briefly talked about their blogs.  Dr. Krygier also introduced the first chapter of GIS: A Short Introduction by Nadine Schuurman.