Abstract This paper looks at the problems of deforestation and desertification in Africa. It examines the causes of the problem and some of the measures being taken to address the problem. It looks at the problem of deforestation in some other countries, and how they are managing the problem.
From the Paper "Deforestation means the clearing of trees and woodlands and in Africa this is leading to a loss of the rainforests. The main African rainforests are located from Senegal to the eastern part of Somalia with ..."
Abstract Desertification, which is the degradation of arable lands into deserts, is one of the very many environmental dangers that are facing us today, although desertification seems to be the most dangerous in relation to its immediate effect on human populations. The paper examines the phenomenon of desertification and analyzes it from the economic and humanitarian perspectives. The paper includes an annotated bibliography.
From the Paper "The point thus becomes the need for developed countries to provide the underdeveloped ones with such resources that would allow them to implement sound farming practices, without being effected in terms of drop in food production. The solution is to control the problem before it grows to critical levels. In the end, we all live on a single planet, and our food resources are negatively influenced by desertification. That is, it is a common problem, effecting us all, with the greatest responsibility for a solution lying with the developed countries due to the fact that they have both the financial means and technology to combat desertification."
Abstract Soil is an incredibly important resource and maintaining the fertility of our soils is a pressing issue at the forefront of environmental science as we try to feed an expanding global population. Queensland, Australia is one area of the world where soil is being depleted and degraded at an alarming rate. Through an examination of this specific resource management problem, this essay analyzes the concept of impact assessment to develop fair, efficient and effective solutions to this environmental problem.
From the Paper ?The preservation and conservation of the worlds soil is a serious resource management problem. The sustainable use of our soil will be a major challenge for the human species for many years to come. When assessing the impact of any resource management problem and developing feasible solutions to that problem certain factors must be taken into consideration. Examining the fairness, efficiency and effectiveness of a proposed solution is paramount to its potential success. A solution for soil loss that is completely unfair to farmers or ranchers will be rigorously opposed and impossible to implement.?
From the Paper "During the first fifteen centuries of the Christian era, the world's population grew at a rate of 2 percent to 5 percent per century. The rate today in many countries is between 3 percent and 4 percent per year - meaning an increase of more than nineteenfold in the next century if nothing changes. It now takes less than a decade to add a billion people to the earth's population. The consequences of this unprecedented growth are the grounds for controversy. Continued growth at current levels will quickly outstrip the world's food supplies. Figures show global hunger has increased inexorably in recent years. One can look at the rates at which global food production has risen, outpacing population growth in recent years, and deduce that hunger is merely the result of the inequitable allocation of food supplies. A 1983 United Nations Food and Agriculture (...)"
Abstract This paper discusses how Peru faces many problems common to many developing countries around the world, including economic difficulties. The problems include underdevelopment in its infrastructure, including underdevelopment in its health, education, industrial, and transport sectors, and environmental difficulties, including deforestation, overgrazing, desertification, pollution; there is severe air pollution in Lima and river pollution from unregulated industries. It also examines how Peru has the added problem of coca and the illicit drugs trade. The paper looks at three global issues, in particular, the struggling economy, deforestation, and the illicit drug trade, and discusses how they directly affect the country of Peru. It also analyzes these three issues in relation to three other countries, Colombia (an Andean neighbor), Uganda (an African example of a developing country), and India (an Asian example of a developing country).
From the Paper "In terms of the problem of illicit drugs, Uganda and India are not fair comparisons with Peru, as these two countries do not suffer from such a problem: Uganda has problems with smuggling of precious stones, but not drugs. The direct comparison here will therefore again be Colombia. As we have seen, those connected with the illegal drug trade in Colombia import coca leaves from Peru for processing to cocaine, for export to drug-users in the US and Europe. The same problems, i.e., falsely inflated economies, leading to unemployment and economic difficulties upon the collapse of this economy, also apply to Colombia. Businesses and communities in the heart of Cali have been destroyed by coca dollars, and again through their withdrawal from the local economy."
Tags: coca, columbia, india, uganda, developing, countries.
Abstract This paper provides an analysis of "Cadillac Desert", by Marc Reisner. It incorporates ideas of environmental justice, social justice. It explores the purpose of the book, which is to show the historical mismanagement of water in the American West. The author also addresses the issue of the scarcity of water.
From the Paper "John Wesley Powell was an early visionary regarding the ecology of the American West. He believed that cities should not be built in deserts and that the only development that should take place in an area was that which could be ..."
Tags:desertification, water, Olgalala aquifer, dam construction, environmentalists, development
Abstract This paper explains that Iranian population continues to increase at a rapid rate because of the establishment of public health preventive services, which have significantly reduced maternal mortality and raised life expectancy at birth. The author points out that, as the population increases wildly, Iran fails to address its environmental crises and now faces deforestation and desertification of its arid areas, over-fishing of lakes and rivers, industrial and urban waste, continued destruction of wetlands and reservoirs and pollution of the Persian and Caspian Seas by spilling chemicals and oils into them. The paper states that Iran must phase out leaded gasoline, require its people to use catalytic converters, assume a serious long-term approach in environmental protection and focus their direction on developing gas fields and reducing dependence on oil, not only to reduce pollution but also to diversify and strengthen its economy.
From the Paper "Poisonous carbon emissions in Iran have steadily increased in the last two decades by 240% since 1980 or from 33.1 million metric tons in 1980 to 80.8 million metric tons in 2000. The uncontrollable growth of the population has clearly meant an increased and constantly increasing number of cars. The volume of automobile exhaust in Iran alone constitutes 1.3% of the world's total of carbon emissions. While Iran's carbon emissions are lower compared with those in the United States and other industrialized or developed countries, its rampant use of leaded gasoline and the volume of cars without catalytic converters account for the massive levels of carbon monoxide in Iran's urban areas."
Abstract The paper illustrates in detail how industrial development, political changes and war in the Middle East have created a train of environmental and health problems today. It discusses the problems and notes that there have been efforts at addressing environmental degradation in the region. The paper maintains, however, that the complexity of the issue requires stronger commitment, especially in relation to legislative frameworks, resources, coordination between policies and strategies. It also points out that environmental degradation, such as wetland destruction and water depletion or loss, is also critical in countries in Asia and in Europe.
From the Paper "Already scarce arable land is getting lost to desertification. Hazardous wastes, sewage, agricultural and other chemicals are polluting fresh water, while oil pollutes coastal zones. Coastal zone pollution, in turn, puts coral reefs, wild fowl and fishing areas at great risk. Massive and unprecedented urbanization, migration from the rural areas and resettlement of political refugees and foreign workers drain city services (VanderMeer). The great oasis of the Middle East, Mesopotamia, has lost 93% of its wetlands and what remains is now threatened to be blotted out by a war."
Abstract This writer sees the world changing in part due to extreme temperature changes. The writer points out that anyone up to date and paying attention can see the ongoing degradation of animal habitat and the ongoing loss of plant and animal species; there are the realities of deforestation, desertification, and it appears there are increasingly high-powered natural events like hurricanes caused by climate change that are disrupting human lives. The approach for this paper is to review existing research in scholarly journals that embrace issues and ideas - along with attitudes and emotions - relevant to eco-psychology and humans interacting in changing ways to the changing planet. In conclusion, the responsibility for educating people of all ages falls on schools, communities, political leaders, and mostly importantly, it falls on the shoulders of families. The writer maintains that more families should turn the television off and have discussions about what is being written in magazines, newspapers, and other publications about the fragile condition this earth is truly in at this moment in history.
Outline:
Introduction
Article One:"Thinking About The Future: A Psychological Analysis," Tonn, Bruce E., & Conrad, Fred
Personal Reaction to the Article
Article Two: Effects of Brief Wilderness Programs in Relation To Adolescents' Race - Pamela M. Orren and Paul D. Werner
Article Three: Situational Influences upon Children's Beliefs about Global Warming and Energy. Patrick Devine-Wright, Hannah Devine-Wright and Paul Fleming
Article Four:Psychotherapy of the Lived Space: A Phenomenological and
Ecological Concept - Thomas Fuchs
Article Five:Attitudes to Environmental Education in Poland - Kobierska, Hanna, Tarabula-Fietak, Marta, & Grodzinska-Jurczak
Summary of Articles
From the Paper "It is encouraging to know that so many young people are becoming aware of the challenges of global warming, and of the need to preserve what is left of the natural world. But it is somewhat troubling to learn that only a small portion of people (those with education and who are well-employed) are thinking about the future in a big-picture framework. The fact that most kids in Poland get their environmental information from television and not from home is also troubling; and knowing that attitudes about the wilderness are not significantly altered when young people go into the woods on overnights is worrisome. Overall it would appear there is much work to be done when it comes to educating people (young and old) about the ramifications of climate change."
