Desertification Essays (Examples)

In "Dynamics of the Southern Collective: Developing Countries in Desertification Negotiations," Adil Najam refers to the Earth Summit and how it impacted anti-desertification programs. The 1992 Earth Summit, officially the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), reinforced the "North-South" conceptualization of environmental politics. Using the "North-South" framework, Najam notes that in spite of its geographic and cultural diversity, the conglomerate of G77 nations that comprises the South does share several features in common relevant to global environmental policy. Those features include risk aversion, shared mistrust of the "prevailing world order," and "low expectations," (Najam 128). The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification highlighted some of the commonalities among G77 states.

The G77 did promote desertification as a critical issue in the United Nations, spearheading the Convention to Combat Desertification. This fact made the Convention to Combat Desertification unique as well as historic: for the first time, so-called South…

Yet, there have been transplant successes in sheltered embayments. One of the major conclusions that have been seen is that the cost of reef repair and coral transplantation is generally high but effectiveness is usually very low. Protection and conservation, rather than restoration of damaged reefs, is the preferred priority. However, there have been a number of successful mitigation efforts in Hawaii (Jokiel, ).

Disorder is a natural structuring force in both terrestrial and aquatic communities, with disturbed patches undergoing cycles of removal and recovery leading to spatial heterogeneity. Whether uproar is acute or chronic has significant implications for the disturbed ecosystem's time frame for recovery, with lower chances for recovery after chronic, long-term disturbances or after a phase shift from one major community to another like from coral-dominated to algal-dominated reefs. Hard corals mainly Scleractinia form the biological and structural foundations of coral reef ecosystems, and can recover rapidly…

Farmland to Deserts

A lot of arable land is increasingly turning into deserts nowadays. Many reasons are attributed to this tendency. According to UNESCO (2011) in a new technique to halt desert encroachment, taking a close look at China for instance, the rate of desertification has risen to world environmental organizations concern. This is because the rate of farmland deterioration has risen in china to 2460km2 per year. Among the causes of farmland deterioration to deserts are:

Intensive agriculture; overproduction from the same land is causing arable farmlands to convert to deserts as a result of nutrients in the soil being exhausted and not being replenished. The ultimate result has been the farmland becoming unproductive thus explaining desertification is on the increase.

Population pressure; UNESCO (2011) points out one this as one of the causes and effects of desert encroachment, too many people in a small piece of land results…

The Leblanc alkali production processes were especially pernicious, but they followed along the lines of previous industrial processes. In other words, the first British environmental legislation was a response not so much to a qualitative change in industrial processes and their environmental impact but more to a quantitative increase in sources of pollution that had up to that point been (if only barely) tolerable.

Legislation Arising From Public Anger

At the center of the first British environmental legislation was the Leblanc process, an industrial process that produced of soda ash (which is chemically sodium carbonate) that came into use in the first decades of the 19th century. Named after its inventor, Nicolas Leblanc, it replaced an older process in which soda ash had been produced from wood ash. However, as the availability of wood ash declined (because of deforestation, a process that was occuring both in Great Britain and across…

particularly using multicriteria analysis model of land use planning and land use management and how it affects the future of land management. It has 10 sources in APA format.

Issues pertaining to land use management, and land use planning are as varied in nature as their challenging existence. Taking diversity as one challenge, it is noticed that ascertaining the various goals, values and techniques of the land user have remained a crucial task. The intention of this paper is to detail some methodologies on selected issues of land use management and land use planning, and present relevant literature review that give credence to these methodologies.

The determination of how our land is or will be used is coined as land use planning and land management. Seeking to create a vision for use and management of lands and the natural resources, the land and resource management plans requires the involvement of…

Water in Sub-Saharan Africa is of special interest because of my background but water is a fascinating issue in general, one that I think will play an increasingly large role in the 21st century, as the effects of population growth and climate change bring about significant changes to our water usage and availability. A lack of water in particular has a substantial destabilizing effect.

Water as a social issue combines a lot of different elements. As an issue, water sits at the intersection of social justice, politics, economics and agriculture are all areas weather. This is probably because water is so essential to human life. We drink it, we use in for domestic purposes, agricultural, industrial, transportation. Yet clean water is not always easy to come by. Some feel that access to clean water is a human right. So there is a significant importance attached to water in most parts…

" There is also a problem with deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion and over-fishing, and because of the clear-cutting of forested areas in Senegal, a process of "desertification" is well underway. The problem of desertification is significant because according to United Nations' information (Thompson Gale / Nations Encyclopedia) 46% of Senegal is classified as semiarid. There has been "inadequately controlled cutting of forests for fuel" and there has also been significant overgrazing of existing grasslands (which are dwindling away). The capital of Dakar suffers from "improper sanitation" according to Nations Encyclopedia; but on the positive side of urban life, 92% of city dwellers have access to safe drinking water. Still, wherever you look in Senegal, you can't escape the fact that this is a third world country; to wit, 35% of people living in rural Senegal do not have access to safe drinking water.

Those above-mentioned facts having been presented, there…

Marketing (Water Fans, India)

Industry outlook

The market in India for water fans or misting fans as they are also called is problematical at best. Without doubt, the climate (except in the northern mountains) is hot; the problem is, it is also quite humid. Still, the Indian people have been looking for ways to stay cool for centuries. It was India that gave the world the slatted shutter; when air comes in through small spaces (as in shutters, adopted in the American South before air conditioning, or in lattice-work walls as in parts of India), it is cooled. Still, they did not develop a cooling system like that of that ancient omans, which did use water running through channels to create condensation. The reason, of course, is the problem of water quality. While industrial pollution has now added immeasurably to the water quality problems in India, the sluggish flow of…

Technology and Global Ecosystem

An Analysis of the Implications of Technology and the Global Ecosystem

The 21st century promises to usher in innovations in technology that cannot yet be imagined, and the advancements to date have provided many in the world with unprecedented standards of living. Improved methods of transportation and communication, combined with more leisure time than ever in which to spend it has resulted in many people developing a keen appreciation for technology and what it promises for mankind; an unfortunate concomitant of these innovations in many parts of the world, though, has been an intensive assault on the globe's ecosystem in an effort to bring emerging nations into line with the productivity being experienced in the developed nations of the world. As a result, a debate over whether or not technology threatens the integrity of the global ecosystem has emerged in recent years, and pundits warn that…

8).

Likewise, the Institute of Agriculture required a quorum of two-thirds of its members for voting purposes and for the balancing of votes according to the size of the budgetary contributions (owett, 1970). While this analysis of these early forms of public international unions is not complete, it does suggest that they were beginning to identify the wide range of interests involved in modern international commerce and what was required to mediate disputes rather than war over them. According to owett (1970), despite the growing body of research into the history and purpose of international public unions, the authorities have not reached a consensus on their classification; however, the constitutional developments and innovations made by the public unions are important considerations for policymakers today because they presaged those made by contemporary inter-governmental organizations (owett, 1970).

In the first instance, the trend towards permanence of association was distinct, no matter whether…

causes of Climate Change?

It is ideal to focus on the primary causes of climate change with the aim of understanding the influence or implication on the growth and development of the planet earth. This paper seeks to unveil the major or primary causes in relation to climate change. This is through evaluation of natural and artificial events/activities with massive implication on climate thus changes in the climatic conditions within the modern society. I have chosen this topic because of its sensitivity to the growth and development of the humanity. Modern society associates itself with constant debates on the concept of global warming. This is a reflection of the significance of the topic of the research with reference to the examination of the primary causes of climate change. It is ideal to understand the primary causes of climate change with the aim of adopting and implementing various critical issues in…

Cultural Geography

The two countries that I have selected are Nauru and Niger. Nauru is an island in the South Pacific, which formerly had significant phosphate resource but those have now been depleted. There is some limited arable land around the fringe of the island, allowing for minimal crops and coconuts. Fishing is a main source of locally-produced food. There are limited fresh water resources and Nauru is far from any markets (CIA World Factbook, 2015). Niger is an African nation that straddles Saharan and sub-Saharan (Sahel). In Niger, there is 11.79% arable land, which should be enough to support the country's relatively small population. However, there are recurring droughts as desertification extends the Sahara farther into the country. The country is landlocked, so has limited access to markets, and none of its neighborhoods has much wealth either. There are limited water resources in Niger, with nearly 80% of the…

Progress Career Planning Institute

Strategic Analysis

Strategy Formulation

Analysis of Mission & Vision

Vision

Values

Services Portfolio

External Factor Evaluation Matrix

Porter's 5-Forces Analysis

Bargaining Power of Suppliers -- Medium

Bargaining Power of Buyers -- High

Threat of New Entrants - High

Competitive Rivalry -- Medium

Threat of Substitutes -- High

Internal Factors

SOT Matrix

Strengths

eaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

BCG Matrix

Strategy Implementation Draft

Measurable Objectives

Organizational Structure Proposed Objectives

Strategy Justification

Product Positioning Map

Strategy Evaluation

Balanced Score Card Categories

Financial Perspective

Customer Perspective

Internal Perspective

Learning and Growth

Conclusions

orks Cited

Executive Summary

The company being analyzed is known as PCPI, Progress Career Planning Institute which represents an organization that emerged from humble beginning in 1996. It has grown from strength to strength and has the ingredients to go for another 20 years; however, while it may have the ingredients, I am not sure of the current recipe…

Sustainability More About Politics Than Science?

The environment is a word which refers to the natural effects around us including the atmosphere, seas and oceans, rocks and mountains, plants, ice formations, human beings, stars and several others. These effects are best left in their natural state because when they get disturbed, they could have serious consequences on the atmosphere, electricity, water, weather, fire and the earth's magnetism. Sadly, this is the situation of things now and these consequences are real. Several problems are facing the environment causing global adverse effects and putting the people in it at risk. This research studies these problems and determines if the scientific and political measures put in place are effective in mitigating them

Environmental issues facing the world

The disturbances in the environment have brought about noticeable changes in climate and high frequencies of natural disasters. Take for example; the problem of global warming…

but, one must wash the towel. The cycle continues and the family member has to choose the way of washing this cloth towel. it's embodied net energy is less than that of the paper towel. Another way of reducing the amount of energy a house expends in the window setup in that house. The larger the windows, the more light that comes into the home, and the less lighting is need to keep the house comfortable. (Steffen)

There are many ways in which humans could quicken -- in a humane way -- reindustrialization from the petroleum based overshoot industrial society of the present to a more diverse, efficient and flourishing society based on energy sources such as solar, wind geothermal, water, resource production, and creativity, as well as on such values as compassion, altruism and fairness.

Rainwater harvesting, a well-known practice in the poor economies of the world, is catching…

The infant mortality rate is of 8.97 deaths per 1,000 live births. This rate places Kuwait on the 160th position on the chart of the CIA. The adult prevalence rate of HIV / AIDS is of 0.1 per cent.

In terms of economy, Kuwait is a relatively open, small and wealthy economy. It relies extensively on oil exports -- petroleum exports for instance account for 95 per cent of the total export revenues as well as for 95 per cent of the federal income. The Kuwaiti representatives have recently set the goal of increasing the oil production per day. Currently, Kuwait is facing the pressures of the internationalized economic crisis -- which however, due to recent economic surpluses in Kuwait, affects the economy to a lower extent.

Simultaneously with the increase in oil production, the Kuwaiti authorities are also focusing on diversifying the economic activities in the sense of supporting…

The net effect of these trends on the environment is mixed. According to Kohler and Erdmann (2004), the expanded use of ICT applications will ultimately result in both benefits to the environment, as well as some new problems associated with their use. The extent to which the negative effects are mitigated will ultimately depend on the foresight that is used today to develop long-term energy and waste management policies that will control the development of ICT infrastructures and how they are used in the future (Kohler & Erdmann, 2004).

According to Lan and Thomas (2009), there is no escaping the fact that information and communication technologies are fundamentally changing the nature of commerce and hold important promise for economic development in the future. These authors are quick at add, though, that proceeding with these technologies is a complex enterprise and there are still a number of unknowns involved concerning how…

In the past few years, there have been a number of key meetings of about environmental issues. The ongoing discussions with regards to the fate of the soon-to-be extinct bluefin tuna illustrate the frustrations of trying to reach environmental agreements. Nations responsible for the management of the resource ignore scientific advice and pursue their own interests to the detriment of the common good, and resist any effort to change the practice (Gronewald, 2009). Other conferences trend along the same line -- small groups of nations meeting to hammer out specific policy details. The Environmental Law Roundtable of Australia and New Zealand is one such example. The UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) chemicals roundtable was a conference that discussed specific areas of concern with respect to chemical pollution.

There are many international agreements that govern the environment. The best-known is the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change,…

S. production value. Exports account for approximately half this amount (Binnquist, Lopez, and Shanley). Figure 2 portrays three views of bamboo. One: A bamboo forrest; Two: A bamboos shoot; Three: A bamboo grove walkway.

Figure 2: Three Views of Bamboo (adapted from Stickman).

As bamboo production levels have risen, the amounts of raw materials needed to facilitate the production have simultaneously increased. The bamboo industry in Anji predominantly harvests bamboo from plantations, as it primarily grows a fast growing and easily cultivated, bamboo species, locally known as "maozhu" or "moso bamboo" (phyllostachys heterocycla) (Binnquist, Lopez, and Shanley). .

Currently in Anji, the cultivation of moso bamboo encompasses 60% of the forest area, with the percentage rising as plantations expand. Along with the hefty production of bamboo, the intense cultivation bamboo industry uses mammoth amounts of fertilizers and pesticides; which contributes to negative environmental effects. In reference to the bamboo production…

The genocide and a high HIV / AIDS epidemic rate (recent estimates by the Ministry of Health suggest that 8.7% of the rural population is infected) has severely disrupted the population demographics, weakened human resources development, and resulted in reduced availability of agricultural labor ("ural Poverty in wanda," 2007).

Due to the reasons stated above, the World Bank estimates that 65.7% of the rural population of wanda lives below the poverty line and even a greater percentage (83.7% of the total population) of the country lives on less than $2 a day (Ibid.).

eferences

ural poverty in wanda." (2007). ural Poverty Portal: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). etrieved on January 10, 2008 at http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/rwa/index.htm

wanda." (2007). Encyclopedia Encarta Online. etrieved on January 10, 2008 at http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560996/wanda.html

The total area of the country is 26,338 sq km (10,169 sq miles). Source: Encyclopedia Encarta

wanda has a population density of 397…

Island nations may be beautiful, but their isolation makes them vulnerable to outside forces that increasingly threaten their survival. Rising sea levels linked to global warming could submerge some altogether. Tuvalu, a est Pacific nation whose peak height rises just 5 meters over sea level, could be uninhabitable within 50 years, some experts say. A similar fate could also doom the Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, and Tokelau. Of all the threats facing island nations, the rise in sea level could be the most catastrophic....in the early 1990s, satellites began generating more comprehensive profiles of global sea level. Thanks to these orbiting systems, scientists now know that the average global rate of sea level rise has increased 50% during the last 12 years -- up to 3 millimeters per year from a 50-year annual average of 2 millimeters,...NASA..

Schmidt 605)

hen we discuss this issue we often slide back to…

" (2007) Recommendations of this report include those as follows:

China should learn from the successes and failure of the U.S. And other developed countries in reducing the influence of energy use on air quality;

Continued dialogue and information exchange among U.S. And Chinese scientists and policy-makers should be promoted through professional organization, government support programs, and the National Academies in both countries to promote joint development of energy and pollution control strategies." (Committee on Energy Futures and Air Pollution in Urban China and the United State, Policy and Global Affairs, 2007)

Other findings of this report include the fact that "an important lesson learned is that air pollution damage imposes major economic costs, through premature mortality, increased sickness and lost productivity, as well as in decreased crops yields and economic impacts." (Committee on Energy Futures and Air Pollution in Urban China and the United State, Policy and Global Affairs,…

However, in the case of Sudan, it may be said that none of the above theories applies. This is largely due to the fact that there are specific internal factors which determine the orientation of the economy in a certain direction. These are most of the times related to the historical evolution of the country under discussion.

In the Sudanese case, the end of the war and the independence from the British rule marked the slow evolution of an autonomous economic system. However, the lack of experienced personal and the poor investment plans made these attempts fail. Also, the internal turmoil and conflicting situation between the North and the South aggravated the rift between the two regions of the country. Therefore, a sustainable development plan could not have been set in place because there was no cohesion both at the level of the political authority and the social one. (Country…

Repatriation of profits have proven to be a problem as well. Fourth, as stated by Staff (2004) is the challenge presented by poor training in the sector which is stated to be "...weak both at a practical level as well as at a higher strategic level" and the problem has only been exaggerated due to the government and other regulatory authorities in China to promote logistics programs." (Staff, 2004) the fifth challenge stated is in relation to "information and communications technology" in China characterized by a: "...lack of it standards and poor systems integration and equipment. At a very basic level, the consistent supply of energy is also problematic leading to interruptions to communications through power outage." (Staff, 2004) Sixth presenting in the way of a challenge is the "undeveloped domestic industry" due to fragmentation of the logistics sector in China that is: "...dominated by commoditized and low quality transport…

Ecuador is a country full of beauty and culture. It also has an interesting history. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the country of Ecuador as it relates to Geography, Natural esources, Political and legal System (past & current), Culture, major Trading Partners (past & present), Export, labor forces and Technology. Let us begin the discussion by discussing the history of the country.

History of Ecuador

The history of Ecuador is amongst the most interesting in all the world. Most of the nation that is now known as Ecuador was captured by the Peruvian Incas in the 15th century (Ecuador 2001). The conquest of the Incans is described in more detail by Meggers (1966). The author asserts that the Incan conquest of Ecuador was commenced between 1463 and 1471, when the southern highland basins of Loja and Cuenca were integrated into the Empire by Topa Inca. The author…

While on one hand, the Nile gets the highest discharge from rainfall on the highlands of Ethiopia and upland plateau of East Africa, located well outside the Middle East region; on the other hand, discharge points of the other two rivers, Euphrates and Tigris, are positioned well within the Middle East region, prevailing mostly in Turkey, Syria along with Iraq. In other areas, recurrent river systems are restricted to the more northern upland areas of Iran and Turkey, in common with the coastline of Levant (Peter eaumont, Gerald H. lake, J. And Malcolm Wagstaff, 1988).

The conflict in the Future

It is widely believed by many experts that those who control the waters in the Middle East; control the Middle East; and those who control the Middle East; control the oil supply of the world (David M. Hummel, 1995). From the above mentioned facts it is clear that the water…

These crops are usually luxury high profit items such as flowers, beef, shrimp, cotton, coffee, and soybeans cultivated for export to well-fed countries. In addition, monocultures are notoriously vulnerable to insect blights and bad weather, and greatly contribute to soil infertility."

Saving Farms - Feeding the Hungry

The answers to this dilemma in feeding the hungry masses are various and diverse depending upon whom is inquired of. However, the only credible solution is to develop sustainability in the local communities, towns and villages of the world. Empowering local individuals in the cultivation and harvesting of their own food. This will take initiatives that until now are only in the imagination of a few and the reality of even fewer.

In the years long gone the family farmer was the backbone of the structure of the world's food supply chain. Planting each year in the spring and toiling through the changing…

Tehran's geography makes air pollution worse: the Alborz Mountains at its north side trap the increasing volume of pollutants and lead these to remain and hover over Tehran when the wind is not strong enough to blow them away. Furthermore, Tehran's high altitude makes fuel combustion inefficient and adds to the problem. Its altitude is between 3, 300 and 5,000 feet and it is in this space that the pollutants are trapped since the destruction of orchards and other vegetation especially in northern Tehran in the past decades by rapid development and human activity pressures. These natural and man-made factors together have made Tehran one of the most polluted cities in the world. Air pollution reached critical level in December 1999 when high levels of carbon monoxide and other pollutants filled Tehran for many weeks. Deaths, diseases and skin conditions are attributed to extreme air pollution. Records say that more…

Global Warming

Since its first mention at the UN General Assembly, global warming has come to be regarded the greatest human development challenge for the 21st century (McInerney-Lankford, Darrow, ajamani and Banque, 2011). This has prompted multiple studies, conventions and policy development meetings aimed at arresting the situation. One such study was the Fourth Assessment eport of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Findings released in 2007 showed that global temperatures were unequivocal and accelerating. The magnitude - an average increment of 0.74 degrees centigrade in the past century, was notably the highest warming trend in recent times. The worrying aspect is that the warming trend is bound to continue with a predicted increment of about 1.8-6.4 degrees centigrade in the coming years (McInerney-Lankford, Darrow, ajamani and Banque, 2011). The increasing temperatures will have profound effects on life on earth as it is expected that the warming will disrupt…

Country Analysis - Jordan & Saudi Arabia

Country Analysis: Jordan

Labor -- Jordan suffers from chronic high rates of unemployment, poverty, and a huge budget deficit. Since 1999, significant economic reforms have been implemented, included a trade regime, elimination of fuel subsidies, and the privatization of state-owned companies. This has resulted in job creation and has attracted some foreign investment. Jordan's labor force was estimated at 1.719 million in 2010, distributed across services (77.4%), industry (20%), and agriculture 2.7% (2007 estimate).

LANGUAGES - Arabic (official), English (widely understood by upper/middle classes)

Capital -- GDP (purchasing power parity) was estimated at $33.79 billion in 2010. Jordan's GDP is depressed because of the global economic slowdown. The budget deficit is at 5-6% of GDP. The financial deficit requires foreign assistance in 2011. The global financial crisis had a limited effect because of low exposure to overseas capital markets.

natural resources -- Jordan's…

Social Ecology of Health Promotion

Modern day examples of human modification of an ecosystem

Module 01 Question 01: Preservation of the existing ecosystems

Various measures have been put in order to modify and contain the natural state of the ecosystem. Preservation is one of the approaches that have been used to foster equitable management of the ecosystem. Through preservation, it has become evident that the ecosystem has taken a different understanding from the avenue of human perception. For instance, rules and regulations that help to protect the ecosystem have changed the entire perception of the ecosystem globally. Initially before the establishment of preservation approaches, the ecosystem was getting devastated gradually. Nonetheless, modification has come with the introduction of laws and regulations that work towards protection and preservation of the available avenues in the market.

Through the rules and regulations created, the ecosystem has achieved a new state of protection in…

This study will incorporate consumer perceptions and attitude green products, green values, green label and green environment. Finally, it will provide insights on areas of green buying commitment and green purchasing intention (Biel, Hansson & Ma-rtensson, 2008).

eferences

Abele, E., Anderl, ., & Birkhofer, H. (2005). Environmentally-friendly product development: Methods and tools. London: Springer.

Ahvenainen, . (2003). Novel food packaging techniques. Boca aton, FL: CC Press

Biel, a., Hansson, B., & Ma-rtensson, M. (2008). Individual and structural determinants of environmental practice. Aldershot: Ashgate.

Charter, M. (2009). Greener marketing: A global perspective on greener marketing practice. Sheffield: Greenleaf.

Denison, E., & en, G.Y. (2007). Thinking green. Hove: oto Vision.

Farnworth, C., Jiggins, J., & Thomas, E.V. (2008). Creating food futures: Trade, ethics and the environment. Aldershot, England: Gower.

Grunert, K.G., Thogersen, J., & O-lander, F. (2005). Consumers, policy and the environment: A tribute to Folke O-lander. New York: Springer.

Hoyer, W.D.,…

Societal Collapses

Environmental determinism has long been out of favor among historians and social scientists, although well into the 19th Century even the majority of Westerners were highly dependent on the climate and environment for their survival. Since the entire world economy was based on agriculture, a shortfall in harvests meant famines, epidemics and death for those who were at or below subsistence level. Such famines were a primary cause for the overthrow of the monarchy in France in 1789, for example, and they led to rebellions, riots and instability wherever they occurred. As late as the 1840s in Ireland, the great potato blight led to the death or immigration of half the population, and the near-destruction of Irish society. In the case of Easter Island, Norse Greenland and the Classic Maya civilization, climate change combined with deforestation and agricultural practices that destroyed the environment led to the total collapse…

Technology on the Environment

e do not tread lightly on the earth, we children of this high-tech age. All of our machines, which we have designed to help us live longer and more enjoyable - and more carefree - lives have damaged the world we live in, in some cases to the extent that the very good life that we have tried to engineer into being is itself in danger. e have for millennia increased the sophistication of our machines, but we have now come to a point in our historical and biological evolution that technology can most certainly not be counted upon to save us and we must ask ourselves very serious questions about what the relationship between technology and the environment is and what the future may hold for us.

hen considering the impact of human technology upon the environment, we should look to the centuries just before…

finance and financial entrepreneurship. The basis of the article is on a discussion that was held on this subject among four leading lights of financial entrepreneurship in the United States - Michael Milken, Lewis Ranieri, Richard Sandor and Myron Scholes. These people are famous in their own right and have had a sizeable role in financial entrepreneurship in the U.S. over the last 20 years. We have first discussed their achievements to get a clear idea about their personal achievements. This would certainly give a clear idea of what is possible in the U.S. today. They are of course interesting characters and one has to remember that the ideal entrepreneur of the 21st century cannot be thought of as an updated version of Henry Ford. After the discussion of the people, the meeting and the discussions held there are summarized. ased on the total information collected, we have come to…

Angola

The African nation of Angola is poised for a major change in its economic and social development. However, the nation will need programs for prevention, care, and treatment of there biggest threat - HIV / AIDS. ith the current ceasefire between the Angolan government and the UNITA rebels, the country must address its greatest problem HIV / AIDS. "The death of insurgent leader Jonas Savimbi in 2002 and a subsequent cease-fire with UNITA may bode well for the country." (Angola) But the process of fighting the horrible disease takes money. This report focuses on the African nation of Angola and some possible financial solution to the constant healthcare threat from AIDS. Even after twenty-seven years of civil war, Angola as a nation has an opportunity today to transform its future. But the war on Aids will take a concerted effort by the Government of Angola, international donors, and the…

Inconvenient Truth

Greenhouse gases thicken the Earth's atmosphere trapping solar light waves that reach the Earth as a form of radiation. The solar rays are typically good for the planet as it keeps Earth's temperature habitable for life, but the extra levels of heat are warming up the planet. The heighten temperature is causing catastrophes on a global scale. The heat is sucking the moisture out of the land, causing desertification in certain regions, particularly Africa. Other places are experiencing higher levels of moisture and storms; a result of this is Hurricane Katrina.

The Montreal Protocol is treaty that is meant to protect the ozone layer by eliminating chemicals responsible for depleting the ozone layer. It was successful by helping to significantly reduce levels of chlorofluorocarbons and other harmful substances. It is a good example of how the nations of the world can unite for a common goal and institute…

Leadership

Phase 1 Discussion Board

Sustainability science is the study of sustainability. This starts with defining sustainability, and then figuring out how to apply this concept to different types of human activity. My research falls into sustainability science is that it is related to the issue of water management. Water is a critical resource for survival, and it is important that we find ways to manage the supply of water better in order to ensure survival. There are many people in Africa who do not have clean drinking water (most people, actually) so this is a very important issue.

I see sustainability as an interdisciplinary science. Transdisciplinary goes beyond interdisciplinary, where researchers work outside their own specialty to tackle holistic problems. Sustainability certainly qualifies as holistic but it is a massive issue that affects all life on earth, so it is not something that a scientist, politician or any other…

Human Condition

hat Caught My Attention

Hannah Arendt is a German philosopher who has refused to call herself a philosopher, but her work has been praised as being influential and brilliant (though controversial) in its originality and in its bold departure from what other philosophers have written about the human condition. hat I found most compelling, and even appalling, is the way in which Arendt differentiates between "labor" and "work"; those are words that are most often used interchangeably but for Arendt, they are worlds apart in their true meaning.

ork vs. Labor -- a rather radical position by Arendt

In The Human Condition Arendt describes work and labor as two vitally different things. The laborer of today is similar to the slaves of ancient Greece, she explains. In fact those individuals whose whole lives totally revolve around labor (perhaps an example would be the farm laborers who toil in…

components to the principle of uniformitarianism: the first is that the principles that can be applied to the Universe nowadays have always been applicable in the same manner. The second implies that these principles occur and are applicable everywhere in the Universe. With this in mind, if occasional catastrophic events such as the ones described have occurred in the past on Earth, they could occur again, in a similar manner, today or in the future. So, if the dinosaurs became extinct following a meteorite impact, another such impact could hit the Earth in a similar manner, leading to another large scale extinction.

Geologic processes include diverse ways in which the Earth's surface is modeled. These include soil erosion or desertification. If an area has been significantly eroded, this could lead to devastating floods. At the same time, other geologic processes can lead to tsunamis. As a consequence, it is obvious…

Climate Change -- Chapter Hall

Effect Of Climate Change On Tourism

Effects of Climate Change on Tourism

What are the potential impacts of climate change on tourism?

Climate leads to increased intensity and frequency of extreme storms, flooding and other unpredictable weather conditions. The result is the destruction of tourist facilities like residential areas and the attractive scenery become inaccessible. Tourists also face higher insurance costs and interruption costs due to loss of insurability (Schweiger, ingo & Gonzales, 2006). In some cases, weather adversities lead to increased evaporation and reduced precipitation in various regions. This causes the shortage of water resources in various tourist facilities and other sectors, desertification and increased wildfires. This threatens the infrastructure and affects demand in this sector.

Why climate change is a greater security threat than terrorism?

Unfavorable climatic conditions such as extreme heat and continuous rainfall cause drastic implications to tourism as compared to…

Environmental Politics

There are several reasons why countries find it difficult to reach an agreement on climate change. These are the ecopolitics of oil, the ecopolitics of the atmosphere, the ecopolitics of land and water, and the fact that national leaders tend not to make choice that will be perceived as harming their countries, a point related to the sort of individual selfishness that leads to the tragedy of the commons.

The ecopolitics of oil are a critical factor. Many of the world's major nations depend on oil either for their economic strength as the result of production, or consumption. Given that climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels, this is an important factor. The same economic growth that gives comfort to our lives was created when we began using motors to do work. Thus, we need fossil fuels for our lifestyles and are relatively incapable of living well…

U. (Website of the European Commission, 2007).

Educational institutions have also taken an interest in the matter. Stanford University for instance has been engaged in promoting responsible behavior of the consumers. They have also conducted studies to reveal the impact of global warming and the performances achieved in reducing its negative effects. They have also promoted the sources of alternative energy (Stanford University, 1995).

The governments in several American states have also formed alliances to fight off the malign effects of global warming. "As more and more states band together to fight global warming, their efforts are moving beyond mere symbolism and becoming big enough to make a real dent in the problem [...] More than half of the nation's 50 states -- including populous California, Texas and New York -- have joined together in regional coalitions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, boosting the use of…

Improvement" is not necessarily implied, because humans do not currently possess an understanding of the environment sufficient to ensure that "improvements" do not become counterproductive; however, attempts to correct human damage is at times appropriate, when the scenario is simple enough.

The necessity of accepting this precedent transcends the mere logical. In truth, it is the only precedent that can be accepted, because for all that humans revel in their marvelous gray lumps of forebrain, the bulk of their processing still takes place in a far more animal portion of their mind. "High ethical thought," defined for the moment as thought which contradicts animal reaction, will almost certainly be dismissed. The majority of listeners will applaud the lofty sentiment, and then dismiss it as implausible -- implausible, in this instance, defined as "undesirable" -- and the remaining minority will not be the bourgeoisie, who have already acceded that the lofty…