Abstract In this article, the writer notes that the YellowRiver or Huanghe is the second longest river in the world. The writer points out that the river rises in Tibet and journeys for 5,464 kilometers through North China. The writer discusses that the YellowRiver is the source of life for Northern China, where 43% of the population lives. Further the writer points out that it is this river in China, which has been subjected to the strongest influence of human activities. With brisk economic spurts and the expansion of population along the River basin, the writer notes that waste water release has increased in unexpected and unprecedented levels.The writer discusses that today, the lack of adequate water supply, especially in the YellowRiver region, is among China's biggest problems.
From the Paper "The Yellow River is the source of life for Northern China, where 43% of the population lives. Yet it has only 14% of the country's water supply. Cities and communities have crowded along the River, in the hope of partaking with the rewards of growth and prosperity. The national policy also encourages it. The threat of flooding has already characterized the River from the beginning. Recent conditions present a further threat to the River's capability of sustaining the overcrowding and its consequences. The region's major cities are growing rapidly. In Ningxia alone, centuries of irrigation have created an oasis. For centuries, its farmers have believed that the Yellow River is a great gift to them and viewed it as an endless resource. Water demand has risen in the area and air pollution has reportedly reached alarming levels. Today, the lack of adequate water supply, especially in the Yellow River region, is among China's biggest problems."
Abstract The paper discusses the YellowRiver's historical significance to Chinese history and civilization and explains that it has supported the millions of people who have lived alongside it. The paper examines how the river has periodically caused an equal amount of sorrow through devastating floods and course changes throughout history. The paper explores how the river is currently faced with decreased flows due to over-exploitation, pollution from the surrounding industries, and continued silting. The paper concludes that concerted efforts are required on an emergency basis to find a solution to the problems facing the YellowRiver.
Outline:
Introduction
Problems:
Silt Deposition
Floods & Course Changes
Decreased Flows
Environmental Degradation
Chemical and Biological Pollution
Solutions
Conclusion
References
From the Paper "Chemical and biological pollution of the surface and groundwater in the Yellow River Basin and the North China Plain is another serious concern. Discharge of industrial effluent and untreated sewage from cities and villages is common everywhere in China but is particularly damaging for the Yellow River. Surface water contamination is becoming increasingly important as water supplies decline and less dilution occurs. According to Dr. Zhongping Zhu, Principal Researcher with IWMI: "Water pollution in the Yellow River is exceptionally high...in 2000 less than 40% of the water was deemed drinkable after treatment, with 24% being classed as unfit for human consumption." (Quoted in "New Research Could Provide...")"
Abstract This paper explains how all ancient civilizations relied on flowing water to exist. The Egyptians relied on the Nile. To the east, the Euphrates and the Tigris created Mesopotamia. The Indus River nourished ancient Indian civilization, and the great YellowRiver (Huang Ho) made the birth of Chinese civilization possible.
From the Paper "Thus all ancient culture hearths could depend on a steady source of water, which also brought nutrients to the soil and fish as a source of food. Except for the violent Tigris and Yellow, the rivers also served as an easy means of communication. Easy communications facilitated the exchange of ideas and goods while breaking down the culturally retarding barriers of isolation. The size and fertility of the broad valleys made possible a vast increase in the land that could be cultivated, which in turn meant a vast increase in wealth and population; necessary ingredients to the development of large sophisticated social structures. Although great rivers were a common feature of these pioneering civilizations, soil and climate differed, and these differences left a significant imprint on human development. Different climates meant that the rivers nurtured different crops and required different methods of agriculture. Geography and the means by which people turned it to their uses influenced the ways in which societies evolved."
Abstract This paper explains that, in 1853, yellow fever, which today mostly is under control, had been a part of the American landscape for dozens of generations and had shaped life in the Deep South during the nineteenth century. The author points out that the medical community did not know that yellow fever was caused by mosquitoes, which meant that a disproportionate amount of time and resources were devoted to quarantining the sick and to fumigating the mail. The paper relates that the 1853 tragic epidemic forced civic leaders in Mississippian communities to improve vastly their sanitation and water supply systems, as well as increase medical research into the cause of yellow fever and create shelters and "half-way" homes for the orphans.
From the Paper "Ironically enough, at the same time as nineteenth century America found itself being buffeted by one yellow fever attack after another, Biloxi, Mississippi became a popular resort destination for wealthy outsiders seeking to escape that city's oppressive summer heat and frequent yellow fever outbreaks. Furthermore, the middle nineteenth century - at almost the precise time as Biloxi was to be wracked by the 1853 crisis - also saw an ever-growing number of outsiders and tourists flocking to the fledgling city so as to be near the ostensible healing powers of its local waters."
Tags: sanitation, water-distribution, deaths, children, river
Abstract This essay takes a critical look at Chen Kaige's classic 1984 film, 'Yellow Earth'. The main theme that the paper focuses on is that of nostalgia. But the point that the paper makes is that the nostalgia seen in the film not only causes feelings of homesickness, but feelings of homelessness and limbo, as well. It does this through deft use of cinematic tricks, song, and plot.
From the Paper "The term nostalgia comes from the Greek for "return home". Literally, it means a longing to return home, homesickness. In film, nostalgia has long been an important device or means, as well as an end in itself. From the use of nostalgic devices such as relics from the past, old music, or complete period pieces, to the outright longing for a different, if not always better, time that such period pieces or period episodes purvey, nostalgia often dominates film. In either case, the longing and bittersweet feel of nostalgia pervades a film enough that it is not always an innocent or bright return to the past, but often an open and honest examination of what the past was. Often homesickness makes the filmmaker and the viewer realize that home was not really what one thought it was in the first place."
Abstract By the late 19th century, many educated Chinese had become deeply disillusioned with their culture because neither Confucianism nor anything else within the Chinese tradition seemed adequate to meet the challenge of Western and Japanese imperialism. The potent fear that the foreigners would carve up China until it ceased to exist as an independent entity, together with increasing despair over the ineptitude of China's Manchu rulers, encouraged the growth of nationalist sentiment whose ultimate goal was a return to autonomy. This paper examines how, in foreign affairs during the 1860s, 1870s, and 1880s, China suffered a number of setbacks from foreign aggressors. One specific Western power was France, which had had previous relationships with China and then began moving into the area of Annam, or modern-day Vietnam.
From the Paper "The French discovered an alternate route that would facilitate better trading routes within China's Yunnan province. They looked towards seizing parts of north Annam. In 1874 a new treaty was signed which announced French control of Cochin China, the right to control Annamese foreign relationships, and navigation along the Red River. China had other internal and foreign issues occupying its governmental spectrum and took no action against France for stating its control over Annam. China ignored the treaty of 1874 under the pretence that Annam already was a tributary state under its control. French expansion into Indochina met with other foreign approval in Europe."
Tags: French, East, India, Company, Cochin, Red, River
Abstract This paper looks at the Snake River which is part of the larger Columbia River system. The natural ecology of the Snake River has been altered by the placement of dams on the river, altering the way Salmon move through the entire region and raising a number of questions about whether the dams are doing more harm than good. The Snake River is the main tributary of the Columbia River and extends some 1028 miles through both Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. The river originates in Wyoming. The river empowers a number of hydroelectric plants along its route and so is a vital energy source for the country. The ecology of the Snake River has changed as a result of many of the projects along the length of the river, including the aforementioned series of dams and possible pollutants from the hydroelectric plants as well as from other environmental challenges in the region.
From the Paper "The Columbia River system drains a 259,000-square-mile basin covering territory in seven states (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah) and one Canadian province (Columbia River 2005). This river is probably the most significant environmental force in the Pacific Northwest, flowing more than 1,200 miles from the base of the Canadian Rockies in southeastern British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, Oregon, and Ilwaco, Washington. Human beings have inhabited the region along the river for more than 10,000 years, but modern engineering in the 19th and 20th centuries has dramatically altered the Columbia River, so much so that some scientists today believe that the river is environmentally threatened and that drastic action should be taken to reverse the changes made to the Columbia over the last 150 years."
Tags: Columbia, River, environment, sediment, water
Abstract This paper reviews the short story 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. According to the paper, 'The Yellow Wallpaper' is a tale of a woman diagnosed with nervous depression who has relocated for a few months with her husband and child to an ancestral home. The story is told in journal style so the perspective is told entirely from the woman's point of view, and the viewer feels all of the woman emotions quite keenly. According to the paper, it becomes evident to the reader immediately that the woman in question is suffering from a terrible oppression stemming from her physician husband.
Abstract In this paper, the author examines Gilman's motivation for writing "The Yellow Wallpaper" and discusses some of the main themes and characters in the book.
From the Paper "The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman represents a woman suffering from depression in the Gothic era. The woman protrayed in this short story
"plays the inferior archetype, ready to bearchildren on command and ever so eager to placate her neolite of a husband" (Segura) just like every other woman of her era.
There is a difference in this woman, however; "She is independent; still has her mind" (Segura), which creates a depression."
Abstract In this paper the author looks at the painting, "Composition with Red Yellow and Blue" c. 1922 by Piet Mondrian and attempts to bring a sense of purpose to the painting and instill the reader with a sense of appreciation for the message that Mondrian imparts through his art. He concludes by examining the September 11th attacks in relation to Mondrain's art and contends that Mondrain would have regarded it as surreal.
From the paper:
"Mondrian believed that artistic expression should be found in the abstraction of form and color and that his use of vertical and horizontal lines would express the perfect harmony between these two extremes".
Tags: artists, painters, Piet, Mondrian, Composition, Red, Yellow, Blue, Amsterdam, Theosophical, Neoplatonic, Panthelistic, Paris, De, Stijl, Le, Neo, Plasticisme
Abstract This paper discusses how physical and social setting influence the development of both the narrative and the characters in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper."
From the Paper " Where a story takes place has an influence on how the story is perceived by the audience the action that can conceivably take place as well as what limitations the characters may have in acting.."
Tags: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Yellow Wallpaper, setting, literature
Abstract This paper discusses marriage and suppression in the two short stories "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and "Astronomer's Wife" by Kay Boyle. It also looks at the different reactions of the female characters to their marriage.
From the Paper "One of the basic building blocks of society is the nuclear family where one plus one equals three. Contrasting political and social view points, aside if the two sexes did not occasionally ...|
Tags: Kay Boyle, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Yellow Wallpaper, Astronomer's Wife, marriage, suppression
Abstract This paper examines the feminist issues at play in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper." The paper discusses how life in a patriarchal society can suppress a woman's sense of self.
From the Paper "Charlotte Perkins Gilman is largely known as one of the earliest leaders of the feminist movement in the United States. Not only did Gilman lead her life in a way that defied societal conventions, but she also penned a collection of stories and novels that explored feminist concerns and issues in a provocative new way. "The Yellow Wallpaper" is one of the best known examples of Gilman's feminist writings and examines the way in which life in patriarchal society can suppress a woman's sense of self."
Abstract This paper reviews Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper." The author compares imagination versus practicality through Jane and John, the two main characters in the book. Although the paper weighs the advantages of imagination and practicality, the writer concludes that both are necessary in order to lead a healthy life. This was demonstrated in the story through Jane's psychotic breakdown.
From the Paper "The characters of John and Jane in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" can be seen to represent a clear dichotomy of practicality and imagination. As the story progresses we can see that, though the two states of mind can certainly co-exist in harmony, when one tries to repress or overwhelm the other, it can lead to dire consequences. The events of the story turn "The Yellow Wallpaper" into an exaggerated example of how, when a problem is not fully understood, the solution can lead to precisely the opposite of what was intended. "
Abstract This is an examination of the environmental issues surrounding the Patapsco River, Inner Harbor, and Chesapeake Bay. It hints as to where the pollution comes from, and gives solutions on what society needs to do in order to clean up our rivers and save our environment.
From the Paper "The Patapsco watershed, particularly some sections in its upper region, suffers from high levels of nutrients, bacteria, and suspended sediments. The known heritage of close to three centuries of pollution and abuse of the Patapsco's resources seem to blame our ancestors for the low oxygen levels, disease, algae blooms, and excess nutrients that are destructing the water (Alliance, 2). It is unfortunate that little used to be known about the harmful effects resulting from damming, channel dredging, pollution, and dumping and how they have taken their toll on the river."
