Abstract The naturalresources of Africa are defined, explained, and considered in this paper with respect to economics, free trade, and the United States. It looks at the importance of Africa's mineral and fuel and discusses key minerals of each region.
From the Paper "Africa like most continents is a pastiche of topographies, climates and landscapes - as such its stores of natural resources are varied. Harsh ecological conditions throughout much of Africa account for the fact that agriculture is often labor intensive and few opportunities exist in many rural areas. Wildlife reserves and the ivory trade are consistently monitored throughout the continent with mixed results. In many respects it is Africa's mineral and fuel stores that are of value to the rest of the world. Exploring Africa region-by-region will render ..."
Abstract The concept that countries that are endowed with naturalresources such as oil, natural gas, and gold should exploit them to promote economic growth and development has long been recognized as one of the fundamental principles of development economics. The principle of comparative advantage also maintains that countries should exploit those factors that they hold in greatest abundance. The revenues that are generated by naturalresources can be used to assist in the promotion of economic growth in this view, which will then allow the economy to diversify and produce the kinds of higher value-added goods that are necessary to further accelerate economic development. The resource curse theory. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of peer-reviewed and scholarly literature to determine the relationship between economic growth and human capital, and what current theories and models provide insights into this process. A case study of Nigerian underdevelopment is presented to determine how, in spite of abundant naturalresources, the country has failed to fully realize the potential of many of its naturalresources. Further, research on the role of western nations in conflicts in Africa as an indirect factor for the mismanagement of naturalresources in Africa is also provided. A summary of the research, salient conclusions and timely recommendations are presented in the concluding chapter. The paper includes tables and graphs.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1
Introduction
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of Study
Importance of Study
Scope of Study
Rationale of Study
Overview of Study
Chapter 2
Review of Related Literature
Chapter 3
Methodology
Description of the Study Approach
Data-gathering Method and Database of Study
Chapter 4
Data Analysis
Chapter 5
Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations
From the Paper "While petroleum products are a relative newcomer to Nigeria's "resource curse" mix, coal and tin have been mined in the country since the early colonial period; however, coal production decreased following World War II, as a consequence of the redirection of resources to the potentially more lucrative oil industry. Nevertheless, substantial coal reserves of varying quality remain throughout Nigeria's south-central states (see map at Appendix B) in a strip of country that stretches from Benin to Cameroon. Furthermore, columbite and tin can be found in the Jos Plateau and there are iron-ore deposits in the Lokoja area (situated close to the Ajaokuta steel complex in the lower Niger valley)."
An in depth look at the potential of future conflict over the scarcity of naturalresources. A look at conflict over the scarcity of naturalresources. The author investigates the conflict over: the degradation of fossil fuels, forests and agricultural la
1,805 words (approx. 7.2 pages), 7 sources, 2001, $ 58.95
Abstract A look at conflict over the scarcity of naturalresources. The author investigates the conflict over: the degradation of fossil fuels, forests and agricultural land as well as pollution of fresh water and depletion of fisheries. The author argues that scarcity of these will lead to environmental stress and increased economic deprivation leading to social turmoil and conflict, both inter and intra-state.
From the Paper "The debate over whether environmental scarcity is a crucial factor in conflict and therefore worth paying close attention to in what is perceived as a world of diminishing resources is contentious. In many respects it seems logical to conclude that since so many wars in history have had economic causes then something like the scarcity of natural resources would in all likelihood be a source of conflict in the 21st Century."
Abstract This paper will examine the evolution of the economy in British Columbia and demonstrate that it is no longer too reliant on its naturalresources. Although British Columbia's export of naturalresources is important to its economy, the service sector of the economy is increasing at an enormous speed.
Abstract In this article the writer discusses how the world's scarce naturalresources often lead to conflict within nations and between nations. The writer also looks at how, despite a tendency to promote democratic institutions in such nations, such efforts are usually in vain.
Tags: Middle East, South Africa, U.S., politics, environmentalism, security, war, Iraq, Hussein, economies, values, oil, minerals
Abstract This paper discusses the role naturalresources played in the peopling of the Pacific Northwest, including the naturalresources that became commodities and how the commercialization of those resources affected interactions between various groups. It looks at what impact the exploitation of naturalresources had on the region's environment. The Pacific Northwest is a diverse area full of naturalresources that helped it grow and prosper as the population moved west. The writer concludes that many of these resources have been exploited for years at the expense of the area and its people.
From the Paper "Comprising the areas of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Canada's British Columbia, the Pacific Northwest is an area known primarily for its natural resources and relationship to the environment. The area is primarily broken into two parts by the ridge of the Cascade Mountains. To the west lies the humid and lush western coast, and to the east lies the drier, arid eastern plains. These environmental areas can be broken down into smaller, more detailed regions that relate to their own specific resources. One Northwest historian notes, "Principal resources include: soils, grasslands, minerals, fisheries, water for power and irrigation, forests, wildlife, and scenic attractions" (Freeman and Martin 119). From the explorations of Lewis and Clark to the first trappers who visited the area, it was quite clear it was an area rich in resources and wildlife, and abundant potential."
Abstract This paper examines how much pressure is on some tribes to give up their naturalresources. It explains that tribal lands across America are covered with a wealth of naturalresources, and because of this, tribal lands have always been vulnerable to attack from outsiders and the federal government. It explains that if the resources are valuable enough, they are worth fighting for. It discusses how many Native American tribes have had to fight hard for their rights and the rights to their own naturalresources.
From the Paper "In Idaho, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's ancient tribal lands were overrun with silver mines in the nineteenth century, and when the mines played out, all that remained was the environmental damage, as this writer notes. "Over a one-hundred year period, the mining industry in northern Idaho's Silver Valley wiped out most natural life in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin by dumping seventy-two million tons of mining waste into the Coeur d'Alene watershed (Althouse, 2001, p. 721). In 1991, the tribe began their own restoration project, and also filed a lawsuit against several mining companies which resulted in the largest ever natural resource damage suit in U.S. history. The Coeur d'Alene are also fighting about who controls the waters and the water quality of Lake Coeur d'Alene, and they were awarded control in 2000 by the courts (Althouse, 2001, p. 721)."
Abstract This research examines Julian Simon's "The Ultimate Resource 2", a book that deals with the ecological conditions of humanity and nature prevailing on the planet. The paper sets forth the general pattern of ideas contained in the work and then focuses on Simon's views of three issues in particular-- population, pollution and natural-resource capacity. After reviewing the different issues raised in the piece, the writer provides a conclusion which includes the opinion that Simon tends to select his issues with some care, highlighting those that tend to support his own viewpoint.
From the Paper "Simon's argument on population is built around a refutation of Malthusian theory, which concludes that the power of population is far greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for humanity. Malthus expressly insists on a direct connection between population and food supply; Bongaarts makes the point that Malthus predicted a increasing deprivation and starvation as growing populations outstripped the food supply" (Bongaarts 37). Simon makes the case that history has never borne out this dire prediction and that all previous predictions that population would overtake food have been wrong. In a modern, technology-driven society, it would be impossible for the world to contain too many people."
Abstract This research will examine Julian Simon's The Ultimate Resource 2, a book dealing with the ecological conditions of humanity and nature prevailing on the planet. The plan of the research will be to set forth the general pattern of ideas contained in the work and then focus on Simon's views of three issues in particular: population, pollution, and natural-resources capacity.
From the Paper "This research will examine Julian Simon's The Ultimate Resource 2, a book dealing with the ecological conditions of humanity and nature prevailing on the planet. The plan of the research will be to set forth the general pattern of ideas contained in the work and then focus on Simon's views of three issues in particular: population, pollution, and natural-resources capacity.
Simon's argument in general is that the full range of environmental/ecology issues and the advocates they rode in on are pretty much a sham. His position is that the world is not overpopulated, that it is not in danger from pollution, and that there is not a finite supply of consumable natural resources, including energy resources. Simon gives expression to the view that economics should be separated from the political arena where..."
Abstract This paper discusses the importance of managing naturalresources, particularly natural gas. It discusses the need for management to address extraction, processing and distribution of natural gas within the United States, as well as to constructively interact with the demands of the rest of the world to secure natural gas imports. The paper also addresses economics, politics and environmental concerns that are relevant to natural gas management.
Table of Contents:
Abstract
Economic Importance
Availability of Natural Gas
Management of Natural Gas
Conclusion
From the Paper "Holistic management of a complete ecosystem is a highly ambitious goal. It requires enormous effort in developing critical knowledge of the area and how to manage its biological health. It requires conscientious assessment and management of the human activities present in that area. It also requires constructive cooperation between all political entities involved in the use of that ecosystem. This is a tough model the Norwegians have created. It is also very doable. It will test the ingenuity of all involved. If successful it is a model that could be transported anywhere in the world, including the United States."
Abstract The following discussion will focus on problems with cost-benefit analysis in the context of naturalresource policy and development. In order to achieve this goal certain fundamental premises must be outlined and accepted. The cost/benefit approach to naturalresources holds that naturalresources-from clean water to sub-surface minerals-are commodities that ultimately have a value. It also asserts that economic theories and principles can, therefore, be applied to decisions relating to the disposition of naturalresources. As a consequence of these first two premises it does not accept any moral arguments: Notably those that assert that conservation is morally superior to extraction or development as costs and benefits cannot be quantified in this paradigm.
Abstract This paper analyzes forestry as one of Canada's most important naturalresources and focuses on the questions whether or not Canada's forest resources can supply the world's increasing demand for wood and wood products in a sustainable manner and what effect it will have on the Canadian economy.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. History
3. Spatial and Temporal Distribution of the Resource
4. Key Processes and Relationships of the Resource
5. Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Resource Demands
6. Factors Influencing Resource Demands
7. Resource Use Patterns and Management Systems
8. Biophysical, Social and Economic Impacts of Use
9. Use Sustainability.
From the Paper " The social impacts from the use of forests as a resource are also of major concern. There are many groups in Canadian society whose interests in the forest are based more on long term rather than short-term economic considerations. Included among such groups are aboriginal people, nature based tourism operators, rural water users, ranchers, trappers, small business owners in forest based communities, wilderness users, scientists, artists, educators and future generations of Canadians (Draper, 1998). Governments are expected to manage forests for the long term to benefit all of these people. If this does not happen the implications for these groups of people will be catastrophic. Already land settlement claims are pervasive throughout Canadian courts as aboriginal people attempt to claim the land they require to maintain their culturally distinct lives. "
Abstract The paper shows that the U.S. has viewed oil, along with other national resources, as an item of national security for a very long time. Because the demand for naturalresources is so high and the U.S. relies so much on imported oil and other resources, resource wars will undoubtedly be an important part of U.S. affairs. The paper discusses how the U.S. has organized its foreign and military policies so much around the protection of oil and other naturalresources that it often gets itself involved in other countries? affairs, which turn into turbulent resource wars.
From the Paper "This war was actually started in Saudi Arabia, through ploys by anti-government extremists like Osama bin Laden to overthrow the royal family and install a more doctrinaire Islamic regime. Due to the fact that Saudi Arabia is the world's leading oil producer, the United States would suffer if it allowed these extremists to overthrow the Saudi regime. This is why the U.S. is so involved with the war, which is obviously, for us, a resource war."
Tags: Carter, Persian, Gulf, Afghanistan, Nations, in, Conflict
Abstract This paper studies the social issues for the Circumpolar North, with its thin population and great wealth of naturalresources. The paper explains how there are growing social and economic dislocations, coupled with scientific concern over anthropogenic stresses, on the environment and resources. This paper therefore studies the complex series of shared problems related to: (1) climate change, (2) economic globalization, (3) international scrutiny of the peoples of Arctic North, (4) conflicts over the use of naturalresources and (5) health,education and environmental concerns for the indigenous communities.
Outline
Introduction
Background
An Overview of Social Issues
Social Issues in the International Context
Sustainable Development and Self-Determination
Health Issues: General Overview
Indigenous Health Issues
Education as a Social Issue
The Environment-Health Nexus
Conclusion: The Impacts of Change
Challenges Facing Arctic Communities
From the Paper "The interaction of climate, landscape, human migration and cultures has been fundamental to the development of the circumstances local communities now find themselves in. Indigenous northern peoples developed many similar methods and techniques for coping with the extremes of environment in which they lived and the effects of contact on northern Indigenous peoples, in the long run, were somewhat similar across the Circumpolar North. National governments, understanding it was their role and duty to integrate northern Indigenous peoples into the nation, to define national borders and assume responsibility for the people inside those borders, applied thinking rooted in cultures vastly different from those of the northern Indigenous peoples. A form of what we would now recognize as cultural imperialism, colonialism, or ethnocentrism often underlaid the relations between government representatives and northern peoples. The results of often well intentioned programs were the decline in the use and health of Indigenous languages, the erosion of cultural elements that no longer served to make sense of the changing northern world, and the undermining of national and individual identity."
Abstract This paper examines how one of the fastest growing divisions of the tourism industry is a type of tourism that is nature-oriented and how the term "ecotourism" refers to tourism that involves travel to areas of natural interest for the purpose of observing wildlife and learning about the natural environment. The paper also discusses how environmental organizations as well as park agencies have supported the travel industry in endorsing nature travel as the trendiest environmental activity available that does not alter or harm the naturalresources. The paper then argues, however, that ecotourism is far from being environmentally sound, and in fact does irreparable damage to the ecosystem.
From the Paper "Along with the increasing number of tourists that the system ecotourism draws to destinations, comes a high level of noise pollution. The tourists must get to the vacation area by either air travel or car transportation, both of which contribute greatly to noise pollution, especially in formerly desolate areas (Evans 229). Tourist areas also have an increased crime rate, as well as a high rate of drug use and prostitution (Evans 229). Local communities have the most to gain and the most to lose. Ecotourism can provide opportunities for communities to materially profit from their accommodations, food and guide services that they provide for the tourists, but the natives must protect their local environment. "
