Ground Zero for C limate Change Essays - Environmental Justice

Ground Zero for C limate Change Essays - Environmental Justice Ground Zero for C limate Change Anything having to do with the physical world and developing a deeper understanding of it has always enthralled me. Accordingly, the field of biology, specifically climate c hange biology, is one which is I follow with keen interest . The independent writer Wen Stephenson 's article tackles the issue of climate change biology in a way that I found to be unique. His article " Ground Zero For Climate " discusses the sphere of climate chan ge and environmental conditions but through the lens of racial inequality . It was written out of a need to bring attention to "environmental racism"the disproportionate burden of pollution on communities of color, especially African-African communities in the South. The article was published in The Nation , which covers political and cultural news, opinion and analysis. As such, one can assume that t he audience to whom this article is aimed at is aware of climate change, its effects and dangers a s well as the need for environmental reform. T h e article opens with a description of the devastation wreaked on a once bustling small town by pollution. The opening line, " In the br ight sun, the streets at midday on a Friday were ghostly quiet. " serves to highlight the loss of activity, both social and economic, within the town of West Port as business closed down and citizens left to escape the onslaught of s moke from the nearby refineries. Stephenson goes on to describe the systematic and structural placement of toxic waste, incineration facilitie s, petrochemical plants and refi neries and polluting power plants within the vicinity of low income minority town. He also addresses the legislative war against environmental racism and the need for the spread of information regarding climate justice. The article opened with interviews from persons that had lived in West Port for decades. This is followed by highlight ing the presence of the problem, stating the thesis then giving historical data as well as facts to defend his thesis. In concluding, he amended his thesis. The thes is of the piece was stated and can be found towards the end of the article. "The central mission and purpose of the climate movement is to prevent runaway, civilizati on-destroying global warmingin other words, to create the n ecessary political and economic conditions for a las t-ditch, all-out effort to keep enough fossil fuels in the ground which is already about racial, economic , social and generational justice." The placement of the thesis allows the author to provide background regarding environmental justice and racism, cite examples where the phenomenon had taken place such as West Port Arthur and Carver Terrace as well as provide facts and figures from sources to prove the reader with an understanding of the thesis . It also gives him leeway him to expound upon his thesis and broade n its scope to include the present day world as the climate disadvantaged , not just lower class communities as seen in the following quote. " The question now is whether climate justice can be defined broadly enough to encompass everyonenot only our own commun ities, our own children, but everyone, ev erywhere, including generations not yet bornin ord er to keep even the possibility of justice alive on Earth. The idea of environmental racism is controversial as many persons choose to ignore the link between social issues and race, choosing to explain it away as a coincidence or as a result of a myriad of other plausible factors . However , the writer supported this concept by outlining facts supporting the prevalence of environmental disadvantage that poorer communities of color face , and citing reknown authorites on the issue such as Robert Bullard, the celebrated sociologist and activist , called the father of the environmental justice movement to confirm the existence of a racial link to the issue . T he use of emotive language and the presence of facts and figures to prove the writer's argument also made the article an impressive one . He used several real life examples, narrative strategies, presented facts, quoted authors and made commanding statements such as likening living in the

Black Robe - Movie Review essays

Black Robe - Movie Review essays "Black Robe" is a movie that tells the story of the first contacts between the Huron Indians of Quebec and the Jesuit missionaries from France who came to convert them to Catholicism, but ended up delivering the Indians into the hands of their enemies. The Jesuits saw the "Savages", as they called them, as souls to be saved. The natives saw the Black Robes, as they called them, as destroyers and "demons" threatening the gods and sorceries, which ordered their lives. Out of that, a big conflict between two cultures is shown. Those first brave Jesuit priests did not realize that it was not the right thing to do, because a burning faith and an absolute conviction drove them. Only much later it was apparent that the European settlement of North America led to the destruction of the original inhabitants, not their salvation. Father LaForgue, a Jesuit, undertakes a long and arduous journey in winter, guided by the Algonquins, threatened by the Iroquois. It is a torturous experience, and "Black Robe" visualizes it in very realistic depictions of Indian life. Throughout the movie we can very well find details of the housing of the Indians, their methods of hunting and food procurement and the way they use absolute trust and cooperation of each other to fight against the deadly climate. It also becomes clear that the Indians had their own religious and belief systems already in place, and that none of them had much use for Jesus and the other gifts of Christianity. This is clearly shown in a scene when the Jesuit priest is trying to explain the advantages of going to Heaven, and the Indians he is with laugh at him - the cultural context is incompatible and communication with understanding is impossible. On the other hand, for the white people it is hard to understand the brutality and torture that is part of Indian life. When Iroquois are torturing the Jesuit priest and his party, the young Frenchman says: "They are Iroquois, they are a...

Strategy in the International Enveronment Essay

Strategy in the International Enveronment - Essay Example The study will also look to prepare a business plan for the proposed business. Population of Lagos In order to properly recognise the demographic factors prevalent in Lagos the population of the area will be evaluated. Lagos is a small state in Nigeria. It is one of the highest populated areas in Nigeria which contributes about 5% of national estimate. The population of Lagos was 17 million in the year 2006. The growth rate of population is approximately 6, 00,000 per annum and the population density is about 4,193 ‘persons per square kilometre’. UN (United Nations) estimates that if this growth rate continues then by the year 2015 Lagos will turn out to be the ‘third largest mega city’ in the whole world after Tokyo, the capital of Japan and Mumbai in India. 85% population of Lagos is in metropolitan area and only 37% population is in ‘land area’ of Lagos. According to World Bank’s demographic analysis the growth rate of Lagos was 8% in the year 1996 and in Nigeria the growth rate was 36.8%. That means population of Lagos is increasing ten times quicker as compared to New York as well as Los Angeles (Lagos State Government, 2011). Statistics of People with High Disposable Income The real GDP growth rate of Nigeria was recorded at 7.4% in the year 2010 and annual gross income of people was approximately 130,095.4 USD. The annual disposable income of people of Nigeria was 115,976.9 USD in the year 2010 thus the purchasing power of people on that period was 356,475.9 USD. The following table shows that people’s purchasing power and disposable income has been increasing since the year 2007 (Euromonitor, 2011). Year GDP Measured at Purchasing Power (Million international $) Annual Disposable Income (Million USD) 2007 292,409.20 97,329.80 2008 310,743.60 113,613.30 2009 328,915.70 101,762.00 2010 356,475.90 115,976.90 2011 387,999.60 117,355.00 Source: (Euromonitor, 2011). According to report of 2006, less than ha lf of the households are employed. The average unemployed persons per household were less than 3. It reveals that there were more unemployed persons in the household than employed. From the perspective of household heads almost 92.6% was employed and 0.8% was unemployed. House heads earn more than their spouses and other members of household. The number of spouses and other household member in the income group between 10,000 ? to 30,000 ? is higher than household heads. In this income group, the proportion of household head was only 34.3% compared to proportion of spouse which was 61.7%, and other household member’s proportion was between 67.9 % - 80.9%. Proportion of household head whose income level was 90,000 ? and above was 8% and spouse’s proportion was only 2% (Lamata, 2005). Average household income of Household Member (in %) Average Monthly Income (in ?) Household Head (%) Spouse of Head (%) 10000 – 30000 34.3 61.5 30001 –