Environmental studies and Forestry

Environmental studies and Forestry

1. From online sources, provide contemporary examples of environmental activism. Has the initiative or activity of the group or individual been effective? Why or why not?

Environmental activism involves groups or individuals coming together to work together in the field of social scientific collaboratively, political or conservation with their primary purpose being to address the concerns of the environment. The collaboration forms a green movement, green living as well as environmental sustainability and has got a common agenda, which is to protect and preserve the environment. These groups and individuals share ideas and ideologies coming up with ways of solving problems that are encountered in the case of the environment. This, therefore, means that environmental activism has different parts that rely on the primary definition considering that it is segmentary, polycentric, and also networked. For segmentary environment activism, it is the one that has got diverse groups with common interest coming together. Polycentric, on the other hand, means that people and groups have got multiple and, most of the time, temporary centers of influence.

Environmental activism is networked as it has loose, integrated, and network that is reticulated and with many connections that are formed through membership overlapping. The main aim of environmental activism, especially in the 21^st century, is to deal with nuclear power, acidic rain, road building, and toxic wastes. There are various categories of environmental activism whose categorization is solution-driven, revolutionary, and change- focused activism. All these activists might aim at conserving the environment or even oppose the activist groups.

Environmentalism Activism

Rinkesh notes that environmentalism is a movement that is aimed at protecting and improving the environment. The main focus of environmentalism is to change the activities of humans by using different organizations. Activists stand for the idea that when enactment occurs between different policies and the natural environment, on the other hand, should as well be considered. Activists who existed in the years 1960′ s and ’70s had a belief in “apocalyptic environmentalism.” They seemed naturally pessimistic and acknowledged that surviving on earth for the future was bleak chances. However, in the years 1970’s, the activists shifted to “emancipatory environmentalism,” whose aim is to advocate for different ways of limiting degradation of the environment. For example, the Human Welfare Ecology functions by ensuring that there is a clean and safe environment for the life of a human. In early 1980, different institutions, including Green Peace and the World Life Fund, had gone ahead to adapt the environmentalism and had already started establishing their offices globally. Global organizations were formed with the offices that they established acting as the headquarters where reporting took place. These movements on the environment had a significant impact on politics internationally and also in favor of conserving the environment; they influenced various policies. Binder, Martin, and Ann-Kathrin (15) notes that this was followed by the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment coming to the point of including different environmentalism aspects in the treaties of endangered animals’ protection and the aim of conserving the hazardous waste.

Individual and Political Action

This is a form of environmental activism that helps in ensuring that the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases is reduced. These groups aim to reduce the climatic change effects that are caused by greenhouse gases. In this case, the activist’s look considers the climate justice ethical aspects regarding the adaptations of change in the climate. Rinkesh notes that the stance and action that is taken by activists is to change all the laws and the regulations that are related to the change in climate (DeLuca 740). These individuals and groups working for change realize solutions that are aimed at ensuring that the emission of greenhouse gases is reduced to the minimal point. Among the solutions which are recognized include that taxation of carbon emission or even the pricing of carbon. For instance, some groups of activists in the United States, such as the Bipartisan Legislative Climate Solutions Caucus, have gone a step ahead in supporting the proposed solutions concerning the greenhouse gas emission problems. Other groups who are engaged in this issue include the Citizens Climate Lobby as well as other NGOs which were formed under the coalition in the year 2005, which is known as Stop Climate Chaos. This coalition was launched in Britain with its objective being to deal with issues related to climate change.

Conservation Activism

This form of environmental activism is aimed at protecting natural resources, plants, and animals. The movement encourages sustainable use of natural resources that conserves biodiversity and preserving the wilderness. For example, there existed a group of activists who protested for the building of the Reventazon Dam in Costa Rica. Different surroundings had not been met, and this could endanger the survival of Jaguars, which existed in the region. Other organisms could be affected, including various species of birds and some species of amphibians, mammals, and reptiles.

Environmental justice activism

This is, in other words, defined as the socially enabled movements that focus on the distribution of burdens and benefits related to the environment equally and in a fair manner. Rinkesh notes that the activist’s advocates for social justice seeking to ensure that they resolve discrimination that is related to the environmental issues. For instance, many sites associated with waste management are found in areas where minority groups habitats. The activists have got a belief that any form of environmental discrimination acts as a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The movements associated with environmental justice movements have globally and have got a role to play, making sure that ecological equity is treated as a right. Activists of these movements bases their fights in regions where the levels of ecological discrimination are very high, like in New York City. Activists such as the Majora Carter played have worked in this city, creating a project known as the South Bronx Greenway, which allowed open space access for the people.

Ecological Modernization

Rinkesh notes that the growth of the economy has got benefits only when one deals with environmentalism. This was started in the year 1980 by a group of scholars supporting the idea that the economy and the ecology could become a combination through the productivity of environmental. Environmental productivity deals with the philosophy that the utilization of natural resources in a way that is productive can lead to future economic growth (Massung et al. 254). For instance, environment conservation can increase energy efficiency; thus, the industries will have to clean technologies instead of the use of hazardous products.

2. From online sources, provide contemporary examples where water has played a role in international affairs.

Sadoff, Claudia, and David (399) note that international rivers can either elicit conflicts or cooperation with the choice of the two remaining to be a significant part that is resolute by the perceptions of the relative benefits that they bring. There exist dynamics bringing choices between conflicts and cooperation as well as the existing context examining the extent to which the possible aids can underlie the decisions made. There is a broadened choice of the advantages that are known and others less apparent. The context classifies four types of benefits cooperatives with the first one being to enhance better ecosystems management, efficient management of organizations and shared waters development yielding things such as increased production of energy and food.

The third cooperation on international water is the result of reduced costs since the waters act as the tension between the states of co- riparian, which exists with the tensions generating costs. Finally, water can act as a catalytic agent as waters can bring states cooperation, even bringing integration cooperation, thus generating benefits. These four benefits can be attained in all waters internationally, with the relative importance of different types varying greatly between some political, cultural, and geographical circumstances reflection. (Ringleret al. 617). In other cases, the benefit scales might not justify cooperation actions and costs with other state’s benefits being very high. Some benefits are interrelated, which are got from management cooperative and also waters development internationally as it is central for better management and relations among nations that are sharing the waters.

Ecological Benefits

There exists cooperation in the sustainable management of the water ecosystem and borders according to its benefits, which can be unthreatening and valued when it comes to international cooperation. Sadoff, Claudia, and David (387) note that the cornerstone of water management is environmental management and development as it can give the users benefits. There exists a debate about the ecological state of the waters, which is engineered from the river basin, typically incorporating the process of conscious design, ensuring there is the water system that is healthy and which is defined by accounts in different ways for tradeoff inevitables of the development of rivers. A healthy river contains watersheds that preserve soil fertility and reduces the contamination and sediments soil transport conserving the wetlands and groundwater (Gössling et al. 12). Types of cooperation and benefits that water brings internationally are that it challenges the opportunities of increasing the water quality benefits and the improved water quality biodiversity. There is an increased demand for water, the management of suboptimal resources of water, and also the improvement of water sources management for the hydropower and the production of agriculture. The management of food- drought, navigation, the conservation environmental, and other environmental conservation benefits are attained internationally. There have been reduced costs of tense river region relations and other economic effects of political policy, which shifts the development and the cooperation from being disputes and conflicts from the point of security of food and the individual sufficiency. There have as well been increased benefits that are far from regional fragmentation of rivers and the regional infrastructure integration and markets as well as international trade. Sadoff, Claudia, and David (387) note that water policies recharge areas maintaining the natural capacity of buffering the flow and the variation of water quality, protecting the aquatic and the biodiversity of riverine terrestrial. Water has also enabled there to be controlled abstraction of water and discharge of wastewater, thus internationally managing water quality.

Economy Benefits

Cooperative management of water flowing internationally can reap a lot of economic benefits. Management of the basin river from a perspective that is system-wide can improve quality, availability quantity, and the economic productivity of many states that uses the water. Development of river basins seeks in promoting integrated and system-wide perspectives where there are full-range water use opportunities as well as other interrelationships of the individual water uses. Sadoff, Claudia, and David (402) note that uses of water can be optimized in yielding more power and food as well as more opportunities for navigation internationally, thus sustaining environmental integrity. There might exist difficulties when it comes to tradeoffs between environmental conservation and the development of rivers when the assessment is well done. This is very difficult, especially for the national boundaries. International water’s perspective that is system-wide perspective is hard to obtain, and this is achievable through the existence of cooperation international. The gains that one gets is the most apparent gains of economics management and the management of cooperative and shared waters. There exists a perception that water allocation and resources of water are finite, and one nation can use water to impede another nation. Water resources and quantity availability of water can be affected the management actions, practices of the management of good water can effectively increase water resource availability in a system such as the protection of watersheds, which help erosion minimization and maximization of infiltration and extension of the period of the run-off period. There are many non- consumptives uses of waters internationally, as the generation of hydropower, navigation, and also water for recreation (Clarke 143). Water use for all of the highlighted purposes to distinguish the availability of water systems and other systems but instead bring international gains in the economy.

Catalytic Benefits

Sadoff, Claudia, and David (388) note that there being cooperation in the sector of management and development of international waters can contribute to institutional capacities and political processes that open doors for actions that are collective and that enable cross- borders cooperation that surpasses the use of water. The increased assistances of waters enable there to be the growth of the border economy and also the integration of regions that can help in the generation of benefits, even in unrelated sectors. Improved water management can also improve the river system productivity creating opportunities in other sectors through economy forward linkages. Tension easing of riparian states can lead to cooperative ventures which are unrelated to water internationally feasible under the strained relations. Waters also enable improved transport, communication and trade internationally thus the progress of cooperation between the shared river management enabling there to be catalyzed benefits by economy forward relations less directly by the tensions which are reduced and other connections which are improved The economy’s forward linkages impacts the benefits that people accrue from water internationally such energy production. Agricultural surpluses may also grow, leading to international agro-processing and trade (Molden 130). Enhanced production of hydropower, as well as nations’ interconnection, can expand opportunities for productivity-increasing profitability and competitiveness between the enterprises that use power. This might result in international investment in an industry strengthening the relations of trade. Improved networks of infrastructure through water and other relations of trade can lead to additional growth and development of opportunities for nations internationally.

Political Benefits

There exist far-reaching gains from the cooperation of the internationally used waters accruing things such as saving non- cooperation costs arising as a result of waters. The management and control of international waters have always resulted in tension and dispute being a sovereignty issue that strategically brings national pride. Such tensions might divert resources from the color of the regional political economy to economic development. Sadoff, Claudia and David (403)notes that international cooperation can ease tension that comes as a result of internationally shared water providing gains informs of savings which are achievable averting the cost of non- cooperation and disputes; the costs and tension will still be there to some water use degree with others being very high bringing many challenges. This happens whenever the quality of water becomes the major issue where the international contesting claimants commonly perceive a zero-sum game. Riparian states are affected by the sharing of waters, thus the existence of disputes, but cooperation can lead to much international benefit.

3. From online sources, provide contemporary examples of where recycling is net beneficial;

Recycling involves changing old used materials into new ones. Recycling and reusing waste products conserve energy and other raw materials. The increased population has led to increased use of disposable products, thus saving natural resources. Currently, only 25% of waste is recycled while the remaining 75% being buried and incinerated in the landfills. This is seen to be absurd when recycling and reusing more than 70% of the waste produced (Merrild et al. 1012). It is noted that almost everything that we use in this life can be recycled, be it the aluminum cans, aluminum foil, and bakeware as well as tin cans, which are used for coffee and soup. Recycling of waste materials has got its benefits as well as limitations.

Ethics of Resource Efficiency

Recycling is considered as resource efficiency of ethics, which involves the full potential of the use of products. When recycled material is used instead of raw materials, a new product is made, and natural resources, as well as conservation of energy, takes place. This is so because recycled materials have already gone through refinery and manufacturing; thus, the second time of manufacturing remains less- energy-intensive than the first time as it is for new products made from raw materials. For example, recycled aluminum cans are manufactured using about 95% less energy than it is when manufacturing from the immediate raw material. Recycling investment supports a diverse and strong manufacturing industry whose aim is to recycle wastes creating job opportunities, and giving high wages to states and the localities. The collection of recyclable materials is a critical link in the chain of economic activities (Compactor Management Company Inc). It has been noted that investing in the infrastructure of local collection of wastes pays dividends in the activities of recycling economy downwards. Most of the recycling manufacturers rely on recyclable materials generated through the programs of recycling.

Recycling conserves energy, reduces air and water pollution, conserves natural resources, and also reduces greenhouse gases.

Stanford recycled and composted source went down to 62% of waste, and the down surged landfills by 35%. The fresh air-water, as well as less pollution and land that is more forested having a well open space as well as the reduced effect of greenhouse (Witik et al. 94). It is known to everyone that recycling involves less trash to the landfills and more benefits to the environment recycling being conversation recycling and natural resources; thus, pollution prevention generated when the raw material is being manufactured to a product. Production of raw materials using recovered and not raw materials less energy, which leads to fewer fossils burning, such as oil, coal, and natural gas (Compactor Management Company Inc). By reducing pollution of air and water as saving energy, recycling is considered to be very important as it has got many environmental benefits. It decreases the emission of different gases from greenhouse such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and some chlorofluorocarbons, which contribute to the global change in the climate. Co, About Renewable Resources, notes that by use of materials that are recycled from metal ores, minerals oil, trees, and other raw materials which are harvested from the manufacturing recycling-based earth for the world’s natural resources scarcity reducing the pressure of increased deforestation and the mining activities. The economy state has a strong effect on waste generation and consumption. Waste generation practices increase whenever there is strong economic growth, and this, in turn, decreases during the economic decline.

Recycling creates jobs, supports the local community and raises the overall environmental consciousness

Recycling has been recorded to create many job opportunities as many people get jobs in the sector of recycling and in the places where recycled materials are produced. Co, About Renewable Resources, notes that this sector has got many job opportunities for the people of the middle-class and those who have less education. Jobs in these sectors are known as green jobs due to their positive effects that it has on the environment. Green jobs are very good and have an equal hand in making the earth a better place to live in. When materials are locally recycled, this means that there will be many jobs for the local people paid for recycled materials processed. This helps in boosting the economy locally, creating a future that is better for all people (Imteaz et al. 185). The efforts of recycling come up with new businesses like the collection, processing, transportation, packaging, manufacturing, and selling of products that are recycled. Recycling has got positive effects on the environment. Most of the recycling plants use alternative energy through the installation of solar panels, which eventually raises the overall environmental consciousness.

Recycling has upfront capital costs, and recycling sites are always unsafe and unhygienic

Recycling has not cost-effectively; it builds up the unit of new recycling that takes up many resources. All these costs include the purchasing of different kinds of vehicle utility, upgraded units for recycling, waste, and the disposal of chemicals (Compactor Management Company Inc). There is also cost that is incurred of initiating useful programs and seminars as well as schooling on bet ways of recycling materials. When one goes to the recycling sites, there are unhygienic and unhealthy conditions. These locations are where all other forms of waste for debris formation and the spread of some diseases which are infectious. The wastes can have chemicals that are harmful and are very dangerous to the health of an individual (Turner et al. 193).  The whole process of recycling materials poses health risks to the people who do the recycling process. When waste products meet water, it results in some leachate, thus the waterbodies pollution.