History of Materials and Events Occurring Simultaneously

The timeline below shows the history of materials on the left side; I added a column on the right to show events, discoveries, and periods in time that were happening simultaneously. Although the timeline spans for too much time to discuss all of it, there are certain trends that it shows. One trend that is obvious from the timeline is that growth on earth is occurring exponentially. Very little development occurred prior to 0 BC, but it greatly increased in the 1700s.  It is also clear that the development of materials is heavily affected by events happening around the world. For example, during periods of great innovation such as the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution, many new materials were discovered. During difficult times, such as the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and the Crusades, very few materials were discovered.

 

 



Crisis in Cambodia

"In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind even to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference."-Rachel Carson

Over the last month, hundreds of thousands of people have poured buckets of ice water onto their heads and then shared their experience with friends via social media. While these videos may have been created with purely good intentions, Rachel Carson's words seem to be more applicable than ever. Most Westerners fail to consider the implications of a few buckets of wasted water. Unfortunately, people in lesser developed countries would watch these videos in disbelief of such blatant misuse of one of the world's most precious resources.

Cambodia, pictured below, is one country that faces constant strife due to its inability to provide sufficient drinking  water to all of its citizens. The issue does not come from a lack of water; the Mekong river flows through Cambodia. However, Cambodia does not have infrastructure in place to efficiently distribute this water. Furthermore, the water that people do have access to is not purified; it stagnates, and parasites invade the water. People drink from the same source of water in which they defecate. This leads to epidemics of diseases, such as malaria. Climate change has also made water a less reliable resource to come by. Water levels are constantly changing, and farmers are forced to move many times a year in order to preserve their crops. Water is valued because it is never guaranteed. In Cambodia, a bucket of ice water could make the difference between whether or not someone lives another day.

Want to help combat the water crisis in Cambodia? Learn more here.