In Josie Glausiusz article, “Land Divided, Coast United,” she talks about the problems that the Gaza and Israel people face due to their conflicts between each other. The drinking water of the two countries is at risk of pollution after the dumping of a lot of human waste. Also, there is electricity shortages. This is a result of the war between the two countries. To resolve these vital issues, it is important for the two countries to work together so that the people can meet their basic needs to live a healthy life. This situation is similar to when people were using fertilizer that was seeping into a nearby lake which polluted the water and killed a majority of the fish. However, unlike Gaza and Israel, the community worked together to switch the kind of fertilizer they used that had the least impact on the ecosystem surrounding the lake.

Matt Klein                                                            approximately 250 words

mgk6@geneseo.edu

INTD 105-19: Science Writing

“Land Divided, Coast United” Response

By Matt Klein

            In her article “Land Divided, Coast United,” Josie Glausiusz demonstrates how political tension can blind national leaders from the needs of the people. Due to the conflict between Israel and the Islamic organization Hamas that controls the Gaza Strip, Gaza is unable to obtain the resources it needs to maintain a clean water supply. As a result, “over 90,000 cubic meters of raw or partially treated sewage [is dumped] into the Mediterranean Sea every day.” This leads to serious problems as the sewage pollutes beaches and the water supply, leading to disease. The sewage is also wasted because it is too saline for agriculture. Though Gaza is working with outside organizations such as EcoPeace, Israel refuses to cooperate, denying Gaza the proper equipment because it could also be used for military purposes. Those struggling with the water problem argue that Israel should look past the political situation and realize that, since they share the same coast, what is good for one country is good for the other.

Although there is no major political conflict in the United States, the issue of pollution control is similar to Gaza’s water issue. US manufacturers produce lots of waste in the form of chemicals and greenhouse gases that need to be disposed of properly. If the government allows these businesses to have their way, there is a much larger chance of global warming effects and damage to the environment. Our government does work to prevent this, though, in the form of controlling how much waste factories produce and how it must be disposed of.

Alec Toufexis

agt9@geneseo.edu

INTD105-19

It is evident in this article that even though two countries are in conflict they need to come together in attempts to meet their basic needs. As a result of war, water treatment plants have been destroyed and a large amount of human waste is being dumped into river beds that, with the rains, will ultimately end up polluting ground water and and seeping into the ocean. It is a shame that Gaza and Israel haven’t been able to work together on the issue but hopefully in the future they will realize that their collaboration could eventually be in the best interest of both parties. This situation is similar to that of a park near by my house. There is a significant amount of pollution in it and there seems to be no action to clean it up or stop the act all together. The community needs to act together in order to resolve the problem.

Emma Cooke                                                                 Approximately 150 words

erc8@geneseo.edu

INTD 105 Science Writing

“Land Divided, Coast United”

            In this piece on the state of water and sewage management in Gaza, Josie Glausiusz discusses the specifics of the problems face by the people of Gaza and the involvement of the Israelis. According to Glausiusz the biggest issue Gaza faces presently is Israel’s refusal to provide additional electricity for an already constructed water treatment plant. Despite funding from the World Bank and assistance from other international organizations, the main problem in Gaza is Israel’s refusal to assist. However, the current state of Gazan water, where “today, about 72 percent of the population [of Gaza] is serviced by a poorly maintained sewage system” (Glausiusz 6) and “[the dumping of sewage into the Mediterranean] can pose a risk to not only humans via recreational water use but also to marine mammals” (Glausiusz 7) suggests to me that this is an international crisis. While I have never seen such devastating pollution in my area, I do live on the coast of Lake Ontario where the condition of the beaches and the lake itself have deteriorated for years.

Juniper Tremper
Scientific Writing 105-19
Geneseo, NY
~165 words

Juniper Tremper

We take for granted the plumbing and treatment systems we have in America, because in Gaza, the coasts are polluted with fecal matter and sewage that need to be treated and disposed of properly. In such locations where there are inadequate financial resources to establish waste systems, the residents need to work together to form the “coast united” as suggested by the article’s title, “Land Divided, Coast United.” The author speaks of how people living in Gaza are unable to utilize the filtration plant that they have because the political zones around them are not allowing them to proceed, but there is potential for the sewage problem to be resolved: if Israel approves Gaza’s requests for supplemental electricity and access to hydrogen peroxide. Political disputes are often the explanation for our inability to enact change, because the Gaza citizens recognize the need to keep the water clean and are simply denied resources, but to make progress on any issue, we need to work together.

Simon Lee                                                                     Approximately  150 Words

Shl5@geneseo.edu

Scientific Writing 105-19

Land Divided, Coast United

This article was about how although two countries are under constant conflict, they can come together to help one another. Therefore the title of the article “Land Divided, Coast United” Although physically and politically they are divided in many way, both Israel and Gaza are able to give a helping hand and even be give some leeways to certain border laws when it comes to the coast which is shared by all the people of .

One question I had while reading this article was, why couldn’t the government of Israel make and sell a sewage plant to Gaza? It would mean Israel wouldn’t have to worry about people from Gaza using the duel-use tools in order to try and infiltrate Israel and they could make a profit by selling the plant.

Rachael Natoli                                                                                                  10/25/16

INTD 105-19: Scientific Writing                                         About 200 Words

Josie Glausiusz wrote about the effects overtaking of Israel by an Islamic militant group called the Hamas has had on the Gaza Strip in her article “Land Divided, Coast United”. She focuses mainly on the poor quality of the water due to the limited number of sewage treatment plants and the inadequate amount of electricity required to power the plants. Glausiusz explained that Israel restricts the materials that are allowed to be transported into the Gaza Strip due to the fear that certain materials can be used to make military weapons. Materials that would be used to build better treatment plants are banned from entering the region making it impossible to improve the quality of the water.  

She brought up the very horrifying fact the people in Gaza dump “90,000 cubic meters of raw or partially treated sewage into the Mediterranean Sea everyday.” This sewage seeps in the drinking water and the infectious bacteria found in the water can live for an extended period of time and cause water-borne illness. This problem is similar to the problem of illness due to the poor disposal of power plant waste that a very recent and and major concern in the United States.

Alexis Baer                                                                                        about 150 words
anb8@geneseo.edu

Student, INTD 105-19: Writing Science

“Land Divided, Coast United” Response
by Alexis Baer

Author, Josie Glausiusz was awarded for the article, “Land-Divided, Coast United” that exposed several issues Gaza faced. The polluted Mediterranean Sea has invaded into the populations drinking-water making the salt content high. As a result of this; humans have been experiencing illnesses such as single-celled protozoans, viruses, parasites, bacteria, and death. Humans are not the only ones affected, marine mammals are forced to live in this type of unhealthy environment and it also allowed viruses to continue growing. Gaza also has a shortage of electricity and needs hydrogen peroxide, Israel originally denied their request for help and would not let any chemicals pass the border due to past conflicts between the two territories. This case is similar to Long Island in terms of beaches being polluted; individuals realize they are damaging the waters and the life in it, but will not stop. Humanity must come together as one and begin preserving the environment that we live in.

Justin  D’Souza                                                              About 170 words                   INTD 105 Science Writing                                                                                           SUNY Geneseo

Water: A Basic Human Need Regardless of Culture

Regardless of politics, religions, and cultural differences, all humans are the same when it comes to our basic need for life giving water. Josie Glausiusz portrays a land, the Gaza strip, where warring Israeli and Hamas forces have clashed over control of the territory. Unfortunately, because of this conflict, the water treatment plants there have fell into disarray, and now 80,000 cubic meters of raw sewage flows into the sea, and onto beaches “where children play.”  Unfortunately, both sides are understandably more concerned with the threat of wartime attacks to help solve the crisis, even with the help of multinational organizations like EcoPeace. If the two sides could share ideas, the crisis may be resolved.

I can see these ideas connecting to global warming in America. Although we are not in a major war, politicians have made the issue into a political one, and both parties are at odds over the extent and scale of the problem. However, the tale of Gaza shows that we cannot solve anything when such polarization exists.