User:Marijnekramer/sandbox

Week 1: Article Evaluation

Acid Rain:

- Everything is relevant to the topic.However, it distracts me that there is only a subsection for the United States, and not for other countries or continents.

- The article seems very neutrally written.

- The United States part is definitely overpressed in this article. Real life examples are underpressed. In my opinion, it would make it stronger than, accept from the lake, mention some other examples to show the urgency of the issue.

- There are a lot of citations which make the article strong. They seem to be accurate and they work well

- There is a wide variety of sources used, going from scientific articles to books to pdf files. Their relevance is ok and scientific.

- No source is newer than 2016, so it wouldn't do any harm to update the article here and there, since a lot has happened in the passed 2 years.

- The Talk page of the article shows some suggestions of improvement of the text or images that should be added. It is more about the intention of the language, rather than the actual content itself.

- It is a good article nominee, and is part of WikiProject Environment and Wikipedia Version 1.0 Editorial Team / v0.7

- we didn't talk about it in class yet.

Week 2: Make a change

I added a sentence on the acid rain page, which needs more expansion, on the fact that acid rain has an influence on international politics and policies since it travels over boarders.

At first the main focus in research lay on local affects of acid rain. Waldemar Christofer Brøgger was the first to acknowledge long-distance transportation of pollutants crossing boarders from the United Kingdom to Norway.

Week 3: Possible topics

I selected the following potential topics to my interest:

Meat industry https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Meat_industry

The meat industry is causing multiple environmental issues. The article posted on wikipedia is In my eyes not enough up to date and does not explains some of the issues occuring well enough. In the talk section most critics are also on the lack of accurate information useful for wiki readers. I would like to add information to the critism section, explaining more in detail what this means. Also, I suppose it would be interesting to expand a section on politics and policies, and the local and international effects and spread of this industry. I am slightly biased, so I like the fact that it is going to be an inter sting challenge to edit as neutral as possible.

Dutch Delta works

The Dutch delta works is sucha gret phenomenon in my home country. Since I am able of reading sources in Dutch, I will have access to a wide variety of sources. The talk section describes how the information is minimalistic and also not well cited and I agree on this. Also, I think this article could usesome more factial and numeric data, relevant to people who want toknow more actual facts on the impacts and sizes of these dikes. The article should also be updated on politics and policies, and it would be interest to add some more on the environmental impacts and how they have changed from before to after completion of the project.

Waste hierarchy

Floating solar https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_solar

This is such a new and exiting topic, and you can tell by the wiki page. It is relatively short and has not yet the scientific explanatory information it needs. There are no discussions on the tlk page yet, so supposely someone is also thinking of setting up this page just recently. I would like to add more scientific and factial information, to bring is topic to the surface and explain to people what it is about.

Week 3.1: Finalize topic

Taking the professor's advice on what topic to work on, I will work on the Delta Works page, describing the large engineering project that has been implemented in the Netherlands to defend our nations against the water and a rising sea level. I have read through the page and have also compared it with the Dutch version of the page. These are interestingly quite different. These are the suggestions that I have on what I want to work on:

- Eventhough the Dutch page is very brief about it, it does include a bit on the environmental consequences of building these large dams. The English version of the article however, does not go into any detail on any of these impacts on the environment and how environmental politics and policies were involved during the making of the dam and still now. I think therefore, there are some serious contributions to be made here, with a specific focus on the Oosterschelde kering which has been built to take these environmental issues into account.

- In general, I think a lot of the statements can and should be supported by scientific sources. A lot has been written on delta areas and how they deal with water, and so has there on how the Dutch handle this problem. I will mention a few possible sources below.

- Another part I want to work on, is the fact that they mention in the article that due to climate change the dams had to be adjusted and that work would be finished in 2015. Obviously we are far beyond 2015 now, so I would like to update the 'current situation' section to include the current environmental, climate and policy issues that this engineering project is facing now.

Suggested sources:

- van Staveren, M. F., & van Tatenhove, J. P. (2016). Hydraulic engineering in the social-ecological delta: understanding the interplay between social, ecological, and technological systems in the Dutch delta by means of “delta trajectories.”. Ecology and Society, 21(1).

- Klijn, F., Maarse, M., Kok, M., van Loon-Steensma, J. M., de Moel, H., & Mulder, J. (2015). Wat te doen tegen de toename van overstromingsrisico's in de toekomst?: handelingsperspectieven voor beleid en beheer afgeleid uit het onderzoek naar toekomstbestendige overstromingsrisicobeheersing van Kennis voor Klimaat (No. 2015-33). Stowa.

- Van der Brugge, R., Rotmans, J., & Loorbach, D. (2005). The transition in Dutch water management. Regional environmental change, 5(4), 164-176.

- Kabat, P., Fresco, L. O., Stive, M. J., Veerman, C. P., Van Alphen, J. S., Parmet, B. W., ... & Katsman, C. A. (2009). Dutch coasts in transition. Nature Geoscience, 2(7), 450.

- VanKoningsveld, M., Mulder, J. P. M., Stive, M. J. F., VanDerValk, L., & VanDerWeck, A. W. (2008). Living with sea-level rise and climate change: a case study of the Netherlands. Journal of Coastal Research, 367-379.

- Haasnoot, M., Middelkoop, H. (2012). A history of futures: A review of scenario use in water policy studies in the Netherlands, Environmental Science & Policy, 19(20), 108-120.

- Van der Steen, M., Chin-A-Fat, N., Vink, M., van Twist, M. (2016). Puzzling, powering and perpetuating: Long-term decision-making by the Dutch Delta Committee, Futures, 76, 7-17.

Week 4: First suggested improvements

- as suggested in week 3 already, there is definitely a section missing on the environmetal impacts of the deltaworks. I would want to address this first with something like this:

"Environmental consequences" 'After all Delta works were installed, the tide of numerous sea streams dissapeared due to complete closure. This had an impact on flora and fauna within these sea streams, resulting in the dissapearense of species which weren't able to reach the rivers anymore. Birds also chose other locations to nest since the water wasn't refreshed anymore due to the closing dams. Blue algues had the opportunity to grow due to the stationary waters.(De vos, 2006).

I also want to add something about the National Water Plan (NWP) that has been published in 2016, which includes the national strategy from 2016 tot 2021. Since the last update on standards and policies on water in the Netherlands are based on older national plans. It states that assessments show that major adjustments need to be made, but not how this policy is shaped and what it is built on. (Section current situation). In addition, I want to add what the entire project costed so far, and what they thought of in the beginning:

'In 1958, when the Delta law was accepted, the total costs were estimated on a 3.3 billion guilder. This was at that time equal to 20% of national GDP. This amount was spread out over the 25 years that it would take to complete the massive engineering project. The Delta works were mostly financed by the national budget, with a contribution of the Marshall-aid of 400 milion guilder. In addition, the Dutch natural gas discovery contributed massively to the finance of the project. Nevertheless, at completion in 1997, costs were set on 8.2 billion guilder. '

Week 4.1: Expand your draft

In order to be more clear, I show my additions or changes in Bold. The original text is still as it was, and just pasted into this sandbox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works <-- link to the original page

Delta law and conceptual framework

I figured that here the new information needs to go on the changes in the Waterwet. The Delta Project (of which the Delta Works are a part) has been designed with these guidelines in mind. All other primary defences have been upgraded to meet the norm. New data elevating the risk assessment on expected sea level rise due to global warming has identified ten 'weak points.' These are currently being upgraded to meet the future demands. In 2016, the bill to change the Waterwet got approved in what a new water protection policy was to be implemented, assuring all habitants that live behind a primary flood defense, will be met with a protectionlevel of 10^-5. The aim of this system, is that both the change on flood as the consequences of actual flooding are taken into account at once, to assure protection to further rise in sea level (kamerbrief, 2016). the new norms for primary flood defenses are accompanied with new regulations on assessments for these defense mechanisms which are to be exectued by the provincial water boards and Rijkswaterstaat. The integrated policy approach aims at implementing more knowledge on early exploration of dyke reimforcements. In addition, the bill to change the waterwet also consists suggestions on early availability of subsidies to reimforce primary flood defenses when the signaling value can already not be met. This allows the water boards to reimforce the flood defenses forehanded before the lower bound is to be met. The lower bound indicates the minimum criteria the dyke has to meet in order to provide the set level of protection.

History

A large part of the Netherlands is below sea level. Throughout history, the inhabitants have built dykes and other flood defences in order to protect themselves against the sea. The estuaries of the rivers Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt have been subject to flooding over the centuries. After building the Afsluitdijk, the Dutch started studying the damming of the Rhine-Meuse Delta. Plans were developed to shorten the coastline and turn the delta into a group of freshwater lakes. By shortening the coastline, fewer dikes would have to be reinforced. Due to indecision and the Second World War, little action was taken. In 1950 two small estuary mouths, the Brielse Gat near Brielle and the Botlek near Vlaardingen were dammed. After the disastrous North Sea flood of 1953, a Delta Works Commission was installed to research the causes and develop measures to prevent such disasters in future. They revised some of the old plans and came up with the "Deltaplan". Unlike the Zuiderzee Works, the Delta Plan's purpose is largely defensive and not for land reclamation.[1] The plan consisted of blocking the estuary mouths of the Oosterschelde, the Haringvliet and the Grevelingen. This reduced the length of the dikes exposed to the sea by 700 kilometres (430 mi). In addition, other engineering structures were built, like the surge barrier in the Hollandsche Ijssel and the sluices in the Haringvliet. The mouths of the Nieuwe Waterweg and the Westerschelde were to remain open because of the important shipping routes to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. The dikes along these waterways were to be heightened and strengthened up to delta level which is set on 5 metres above AOD. The works would be combined with road and waterway infrastructure to improve water management, stimulate the economy of the province of Zeeland and improve the connection between the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.

Project costs 'In 1958, when the Delta law was accepted under the Delta Works Commission, the total costs were estimated on a 3.3 billion guilder. This was at that time equal to 20% of national GDP. This amount was spread out over the 25 years that it would take to complete the massive engineering project. The Delta works were mostly financed by the national budget, with a contribution of the Marshall-aid of 400 milion guilder. In addition, the Dutch natural gas discovery contributed massively to the finance of the project. Nevertheless, at completion in 1997, costs were set on 8.2 billion guilder . Nevertheless, in 2012 the total costs were already set on around $13 billion

Alterations to the plan during the execution of the Works

During the execution of the works, changes were made in response to public pressure. In the Nieuwe Waterweg, the heightening and the associated widening of the dikes proved very difficult because of public opposition to the planned destruction of important historic buildings to achieve this. The plan was changed to the construction of a storm surge barrier (the Maeslantkering) and dikes were only partly built up.

The storm surge barrier The Delta Plan originally intended to create a large freshwater lake, the Zeeuwse Meer (Zeeland Lake).[1] This would have caused major environmental destruction in Oosterschelde, with the total loss of the saltwater ecosystem and, consequently, the harvesting of oysters. Environmentalists and fishermen combined their efforts to prevent the closure; they persuaded parliament to amend the original plan. In 1975, instead of completely damming the estuary, the government agreed to build a storm surge barrier. This essentially is a long collection of very large valves that can be closed against storm surges, while it also conserves the ecosystem. The storm surge barrier closes only when the sea-level is expected to rise 3 metres above mean sea level. Under normal conditions, the estuary's mouth is open, and salt water flows in and out with the tide. As a result of the change, the weak dikes along the Oosterschelde needed to be strengthened. Over 200 km of the dike needed new revetments. The connections between the Eastern Scheldt and the neighboring Haringvliet had to be dammed to limit the effect of the salt water. Extra dams and locks were needed at the east part of the Oosterschelde to create a shipping route between the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. Since operating the barrier has an effect on the environment, fisheries and the water management system, decisions made on opening or closing the gate are well overthought. Also the safety of the surrounding dykes are affected by barrier operations.

The opposition against the closing of the Oosterschelde was the first sign of growing environmental awareness that affected the policy process. The Dutch government in response came up with an integrated water management plan that does not only takes into account protection against flooding, but also covers water quality, leisure industry, economic activities, shipping, environment and nature. Whenever possible, existing engineering constructions would be replaced by more 'nature friendly' options in an attempt to restore natural estuary and tides, while still protecting against flooding

Environmental effects

Nevertheless, the Delta Project has caused numerous irreversible effects on the environment. Due to sea closure, flood security was provided, but it also let to major changes in the water systems. For example, the tides disappeared, which resulted in a less smooth transition from sea water into fresh water. Flora and fauna suffered from this noticeable change. In addition, rivers got covered up by polluted sludge, since there was no longer an open passage to the sea.

The battle against climate change

Concerns on how to protect the Netherlands against the water rose again with growing awareness of climate change and the rising sea level. --> I want to add some more on policies and risk assessments here!

Environmental policy implementation

In an attempt to restore and preserve the natural system surrounded by the dykes and storm-surge barrier, the concept 'building with nature' was introduced in revised Delta Program updates after 2008. Building components of the reinforcements are designed in a way that they support flora and fauna or create entire ecosystems . The Room for the River projects as the name suggests enable nature to occupy space by lowering or widening the river bed. In order to establish this, agricultural flood plains are turned into natural parks, excavated farmland is used for wild vegetation and newly digged lakes and bypasses create habitats for fish and birds . Along the coast, natural sand is added each year to create a more free dune landscape instead of having it held in place by planted vegetation or revetments.

Week 5: Edit draft in response to peers

Maybe it was me, but I didn't see any comments in my sandbox nor talk page, so I am just continuing working on my additions below, taking into account what the professor suggested and how I would reflect on my own work following the peer review guidelines. My edits are made in the same part of week 4, otherwise I would have had to copy everything again.