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William Cohen
CBE 5772 HW#1
1/21/2015
1. Ecosystem services are benefits that we get from nature. These ecosystem
services provide us with the resources we need to produce all of the goods
and services that humans use. Ethanol is one good that is used every day in
the United States as it is a required additive in gasoline. The first step in the
production of ethanol is the agriculture to grow the corn which will later be
used to create ethanol. There are many ecosystem services that are needed
in order to grow corn at the rate that we need. These include provisioning
services such as water, sunlight, and minerals for fertilizers, as well as
supporting services like soil formation and net primary production. Our usage
of these ecosystem services has a vast impact as we continue to use them.
Fresh water is needed to grow corn, which is a resource that depends on the
water cycle to be renewed. If we use the water faster than it can be replaced
by natural cycling, then we will deplete the fresh water source and then will
not be able to grow more crops. Additionally, we need fertilizers to grow the
corn, which needs certain minerals to be effective. These minerals are used
by the plants and then must be replaced.
2. A) Based on our current consumption of the cod, it is not a renewable
resource. Although cod can reproduce and therefore may seem to be
renewable, the rate of consumption is much faster than the rate of
reproduction, which is why the cod population is decreasing. There are also
other causes that are killing the population including climate change.

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B) The catch of cod has gone down overall since the mid 1800s, however
there have been multiple local maxima peaks due to technological advances.
The resource peak hypothesis applies here because as the demand for cod
increased prior to the peak, the cod population was not able to keep up with
demand. This could have been because there was not enough resources like
food or water availability for the cod population that was needed to be
sustained. As technology advances, small peaks in fish catch have occurred.
One example of this is when steam engines and large nets were introduced
instead of using fishing poles. By using new technology, we were able to
increase the amount of cod we could catch, however this only lasted a short
time because the reproduction of the cod could not keep up with the
consumption rate and therefore the population decreased.
C) Global oil production should follow a very similar trend. The demand for oil
continues to go up as the world uses more and more energy. However, we
must start using less because we are running out of oil. Technological
advancements will allow us to briefly increase the supply of oil, however
since oil is a nonrenewable resource, this increase will only last for a short
time. One example of this is the extraction of shale oil by fracking, which has
been an advancement allowing us to extract oil from places we couldnt
previously get oil from.
3. A) The Great Black Swamp was drained because it was extremely difficult to
travel through the swamp. The Maumee road is just one example of a travel
path, which only lasted a year before becoming impassible. The draining of

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the swamp allowed roads to be created that did not get destroyed by the
mud.
B) Draining the swamp allowed for travel to occur from Ohio to Michigan.
This created easier transportation. Additionally, the new wet lands could be
farmed which allowed for agriculture to grow. Corn was one of the main crops
that was grown. The land was also used for hay and cattle farming. These
new uses for the land helped the economy grow because the land was now
inhabitable and profitable.
C) The idea that the algal blooms in Lake Erie could be related to the draining
of the Great Black Swamp is completely viable. Since the swamp was
drained, the land has been cultivated and used for a large amount of farming.
Nutrients, mainly phosphorus, that are used in fertilizers for farming have
been found in Lake Erie. The nutrients have been carried to the lake through
runoff from the agricultural fields. These algal blooms are not the only
problem that is created by the runoff. Oxygen depletion and toxicity of the
water have also occurred which is killing the fish population.