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Social change is known as the "transformation of culture and social institutions over time" (pg. 489). This can range from technological changes to growing cities and so on, and I chose this new article to represent society creating a technological advancement to help the environments. This article plans on putting sensors in our soil and trees to detect any polluted water, so that the city can improve their local water and air quality. This really connects to social change characteristic #4 stating that " some changes matter more than other", because this is not some fashion trend it is an advancement to helping our world as a whole battle the dangers of pollution and global warming.

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New York City nonprofits are using a cloud-based service from the start-up Temboo that helps monitor storm-water runoff and other environmental factors.

The Gowanus Canal with Downtown Brooklyn in the background. Credit... John Taggart for The New York Times

This article is part of our continuing Fast Forward series, which examines technological, economic, social and cultural shifts that happen as businesses evolve.

For those working to mitigate climate change - whether globally or hyper-locally - the coronavirus pandemic has raised existential questions. Will the environment still be considered critically important so that philanthropic and venture funding continue to be plentiful?

Several New York City nonprofit organizations, relying on cloud-based technology, are hoping to show that their efforts can, at a relatively modest cost, improve local water and air quality. The Gowanus Canal Conservancy in Brooklyn, the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance in the Bronx and the Hudson Square Business Improvement District in Lower Manhattan are in different stages of piloting a cloud-based service offered by Temboo, itself a TriBeCa-based technology start-up that captures data from sensors to help monitor a range of metrics in environmental and manufacturing sectors.

Temboo does not manufacture the sensors; those come from National Control Devices, an electronics manufacturer based in Osceola, Mo. Instead, it provides a cloud-based platform, known as Kosmos, to capture data they generate. It is what is known as a no-code approach that allows clients to use questions and answers - not unlike TurboTax - to create a system to collect data from sensors.

Temboo's platform showing readings from soil-moisture sensors in tree planters on 14th Street in Brooklyn, near the canal.

One of the sensors. The sensors are part of a trial by the Gowanus Canal Conservancy to monitor six trees' absorption of polluted rainwater. Credit... Photographs by Michael Kirby Smith for The New York Times

The goal is to incorporate the sensors as part of a green infrastructure, the use of plants and soil for pollution control in urban centers. It is not a new concept; the Clean Water Act recognized the practice almost 50 years ago. But even as pollution mitigation techniques have become more sophisticated in the intervening years, organic solutions, like plantings, still matter. Tree beds, for example,can still effectively "soak up storm water that flows off the streets or the sidewalk, which is often contaminated from cars and buses," said Andrea Parker, the executive director of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy. "The soil acts like a filter. It's a very effective way of treating that contamination."

At one gathering, the staff met with representatives of the Gowanus conservancy. The group then purchased sensors to monitor six trees' absorption of polluted rainwater before it could seep into the canal, which has been polluted since the 1800s and is a Superfund site. The small trial, covering the trees on a single block abutting the canal, began last fall. A handful of volunteers oversee moisture levels at individual trees, while one volunteer in the neighborhood hosts the so-called gateway device, which receives the sensors' readings and then transmits them to Temboo's platform using Wi-Fi. The trial confirmed that "stewardship of the trees appears to improve storm-water retention," said Amy Motzny, the conservancy's watershed manager.

Even before the preliminary results were in, staff ofthe Hudson Square district learned of the technology from the Brooklyn organization at the New York City Urban Forest Task Forceorganized by the Nature Conservancy. The Hudson Square group, devoted to an area west of SoHo, plans to use the sensors with trees to monitor storm water and other concerns like ambient temperature.

Temboo sought out the Van Cortlandt alliance, an organization focusing on the park of the same name in the Bronx. John Butler, an ecological project manager, was intrigued; he thought that the sensors could help measure debris and emissions flowing from nearby roads into the park. The alliance was already monitoring water quality in the park's namesake lake as well as Tibbetts Brook, which runs through the park, the city's third largest, but he now plans to install sensors in the underground pipes that carry the tainted water as well.

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The Gowanus conservancy's tree-monitoring trial on 14th Street confirmed that "stewardship of the trees appears to improve storm-water retention," said Amy Motzny, the group's watershed manager. Credit... Michael Kirby Smith for The New York Times

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Helping the Environment, One Small Sensor at a Time

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New York City nonprofits are using a cloud-based service from the start-up Temboo that helps monitor storm-water runoff and other environmental factors. This article is part of our continuing Fast Forward series , which examines technological, economic, social and cultural shifts that happen as businesses evolve.

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Collective Behavior is known as any activity that involves a large group of people which is normally unplanned and brings about some change. I chose the "Fad" aspect of this topic which is "an unconventional social pattern that people embrace briefly but enthusiastically"( pg.492). An example of this is the childhood toy back in the 80's known as the cabbage patch kids, shoppers camped over night and there was huge craze about these dolls. Many spent countless dollars on them because they were so "popular". These toys "captured the public imagination but quickly burned out"(pg.492). Now you rarely even hear about them anymore, this is a fad something that everyone gets excited about and wants but the need and craze for it goes away.
link: https://timeline.com/cabbage-patch-craze-867ce8d076c

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3. Modernity as a Mass Society ( Structural- Functional Perspective)

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3. Modernity as a Mass Society ( Structural- Functional Perspective)

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The mass society is "a society in which prosperity and expanding bureaucracy have weakened traditional social ties. One of those social ties being "communication", and in our fast pace modern society with technology being the number one advancement that we see all around us; life is not the same as it was 100 years ago. In the past there was more personal relationships and neighbors would all know each other. Now, our society has a "weak kinship and impersonal neighborhoods, leaving individuals to feel socially isolated" (pg.501). I chose communication because that is a very important factor in maintaining relationships and connecting with others. Now like the image I chose, the phones have taken over our face to face communication and many are living life through these screens. Especially in children, in the picture instead of developing social skills and playing with each other, they are all on their phones not paying attention.

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4. Modernity as a Class Society ( Social- Conflict Perspective)

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4. Modernity as a Class Society ( Social- Conflict Perspective)

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In a class society is focuses more on the worlds social inequality, and has ranks of people starting from the rich to the poor. In a capitalist world " people are transformed into commodities, being a source of labor and a market for capitalist goods" (pg. 503). In reality, the people who are not rich are powerless in the face of the rich elites. I chose this picture that shows a business man about to eat the hard work that the farmers and workers are doing to show how the rich live off of the poor, and in the eyes of capitalism there needs to be this persistent inequality and unequal distribution of wealth, so the rich can stay where they are at.

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5. Modernity and the Individual ( Symbolic Interactionist Perspective)

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5. Modernity and the Individual ( Symbolic Interactionist Perspective)

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In the Mass society theory it states that "so much social diversity, widespread isolation, and rapid social change make it difficult for establishing an identity"( 504). Many people can't seem to make any choices or they "try and different selves almost like new clothing, seek out role models, and engage in varied performances as they move from setting to setting"(pg.505). I chose this short film titled Happiness by Steve Cutts because I think it perfectly describes how many of us are persuaded by modern society that the latest trend is going to be what we need to be happy. This mouse throughout the film is happy until the next "new" trend or gadget comes out and then he drops whatever he has to chase the next thing labeled "happiness". This sends out a strong message that like the mouse, many individuals in America link material possessions to their identity and sense of self.

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Postmodernity is a transition from modernism in the way that people are not questioning or looking for deeper meaning anymore. Life is simply what it is and nothing more. "Members of a postmodern society, are less confident about what the future holds"(pg.508). Modernism had many individuals hopeful, always looking for meaning in life. This cartoon shows how in postmodernism thinking art is exactly what it is there is not much meaning to it, as the lady observes the work she is trying to look for a deeper meaning, but the artist is saying how there is not much to it the lines are just lines and to stop trying so hard to look into it.

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Modernization theorists "claim that rich nations should help poor countries grow economically" (pg.509). In America,  we use other poor countries to help us with our famous clothing brands, but many of these fashion factories have underpaid workers and dangerous working conditions since they do not have the same building standard codes that we have. Since we our so advanced can that be possible for other countries? Some say no, because of the domination of the rich capitalist societies, and because the "poorest countries remain locked in a disadvantageous economic relationship with rich nations, dependent on wealthy countries to buy their raw materials and in return provide them with whatever manufactured products they can afford" (pg.509). I chose this video depicting just that, we can see the horrible working conditions these poor countries live through just to supply out nations consumer demands.

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Rana Plaza Collapse Documentary: The Deadly Cost of Fashion | Op-Docs | The New York Times