HIST 100: Engineering The Past

World Fair Reflection

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During this time period in the United States, one of the biggest problems can be associated with the declining global economy. Specifically focusing on Chicago, the city has taken many blows as they recently suffered from a cholera and typhoid outbreak due to dirty water that took the lives of ten percent of the population (Pg.109). The city wanted to create revenue and also innovate an idea that would give Chicago an attractive look. The World Fair was the perfect way to generate mass revenue and attract various cultures and lots of tourism. At the end of chapter ten, Larson seems to be foreshadowing problems for Burnham. The economy was declining and union workers are creating unrest for better pay and working conditions. These challenges facing Burnham could affect the success of the fair, but chapter ten revealed a turning point for Burnham, his pride has bolstered after grieving the death of John Root. His pride bolstered to prove he is equally capable of building the fair without Root.

 

Many reasons could be attributed for intertwining the story of Holmes and Burnham. The story of Holmes is based on a true story that occurred in the World Fair and is also referred to as America’s first serial killer. This aspect alone creates a thrilling story to fuse with the creation of the fair. I also think Larson is using Holmes to amplify similar characteristics with Burnham and the city itself, while drastically different actions are taken between both characters.

Water Woes

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If I could travel back in time and advise a country in the Middle East on their water management I would choose Syria. Constant water problems have plagued this country since the first documented water war that occurred in Syria at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. An argument could also be made that the civil war occurring in Syria can be attributed to water problems in the country. My advise to the Syria would first be to stop depleting their freshwater aquifers. Groundwater is a renewable resource, but takes time to recharge their supply of freshwater. My next advice to Syria would be to create a system of recycling wastewater. Rather than relying on aquifers, the people of Syria should focus on recycling their wasted water to lessen the burden on their surrounding watershed and groundwater. Syria relies heavily on water coming from the Euphrates River and its tributaries; with increasing urbanization and high population growth the pressure has greatly increased the pressure on water resources. Resulting in over-pumping of groundwater that has led to pollution in many aquifers in the country. Syria has focused on more efficient irrigation systems and wastewater treatment plants, but has placed these as a higher priority than supply management. In the U.S. many states have committees dedicated to monitoring the water levels of aquifers and constantly check the quality of water to ensure over-pumping is limited. A committee such as this would benefit greatly for Syria. Currently, Syria is in a civil war and although their water problem will not disappear I believe the government has bigger tasks on making their country more stable. The ideas may have worth to the leaders of Syria, but at this time I doubt any action would be taken.

 

To better understand the problem facing Syria and creating a positive solution would require more information. I would focus on finding policies Syria implemented over the years in regards to water management. I would also look into Syria’s conflicts that are attributed to water scarcity and see what is sparking these uprisings. Another piece of crucial information would be analyzing the technologies that Syria has used to combat groundwater depletion and water scarcity. I believe I could find a majority of this information through Boise State’s online database and if further searching is needed I would use the National Archives to find primary sources.