History - Page #21

The PBB contamination in Michigan

Question 2

The PBB contamination in Michigan

The PBB contamination in Michigan is a historical disaster whose consequences have spread up to over forty year lifespan since 1970. This contamination led to various consequences which are majorly classified under political, health, environmental and economic. From the health and environmental perspective, these were the effects of PBB contamination both in animals, humans and the environment. Some of the young ones were born with deformities, chicks were hatched with twisted legs and some of them had weak immunity (United States, 1977). They also had little immunity to withstand simple diseases and so they died often. The most common human health problems were interference of the normal body’s hormonal system and the development of the endocrine system of those children whose mothers were affected before their birth. Those women with high levels of PBB infections were at the risk of getting breast cancer. According to a research done, women also had miscarriages of their pregnancy. Infertility problems were also experienced as a result. The newborns were also affected by this contamination and so all generations down the lifespan of forty years were affected.

From an economic perspective, farmers had to undergo a financial disaster after all farms were shut down. Large plantations were burnt down and crops and cattle were destroyed. Thousands of cattle were gathered in a ranch and all were shot dead. People could not bear the pain and loss of shooting all they had which formed the basis of their lifestyle. There were large tracks of land that were made dumping sites which would have been used for better and productive means (United States, 1977).

Michigan had three dumping sites: one in Kalkaska, in Mio and the municipal damp. All the affected animals were dumped in this site which later caused massive environmental pollution. Soil around these damping sites was tested positive of PBB which meant that the land no be no longer productive. Wells, water streams, and boreholes were affected by this contamination causing all other aspects of the environment to be polluted.

Politically, PBB had become a public issue that called the attention of the government and intrusion of the private sector. Individuals started turning this issue into a political controversy in their efforts to handle safety, illnesses and disposal (United States, 1977). These controversies came up when the environmental policies were being defined. The stability of the political body was triggered off when the scientists put across questions that had to be attended to in handling the disaster.

Flint’s water crisis

Flint’s water crisis originated from the government’s decision to replace pure and safe water with a cheaper alternative of lead contaminated water. This crisis has brought health, environmental, political and economic disorders to the residents of Flint as discussed below (Calabrese, 1989).

First, lead water have brought health and environmental consequences. Exposure to lead on continuous basis may cause abdominal pain, constipation, memory loss, depression and irritability among other health problem. Children, fetuses and infants are the most affected age group by the lead water. Children were born with deformities; some had poor immune to fight diseases while some died in the process due to the effects of lead water (Calabrese, 1989).

Economically, lead water has apparently improved the economy of Flint. This is because the government had tried to go for a cheaper alternative in its efforts to reduce the cost incurred in bringing importing the water. However, there has been a big economic problem of bringing things back to normal. The government has invested so much in offering treatment to those who have been affected by this water. This cost surpluses that which would be saved from buying cheap poisonous water (Calabrese, 1989).

Politically, the effects of this water lead to declaration of a state of emergency in the state. The government has lost the trust from its citizens for choosing to endanger their lives for cheap water. The county councils are also to be blamed for their carelessness because despite them being in knowledge of the effect of this water, they still supply to the residents.

Comparison between the two disasters

Both disasters have significant effects on the residents of Flint and Michigan at large. However, the PBB contamination was more devastating considering the widespread of the effects, duration through which the effects lasted and the political and economic loss that was experienced in both cases.

Question 4

Problems associated with regulating nonpoint source pollution

Nonpoint source pollution regulations are restrictions that tend to safeguard water sources from pollution that comes about due to diffusion of chemicals that are found on the land. This pollution majorly comes from agricultural areas where a lot of farm chemicals are used. Runoff from the nearby rivers splash all these waste and drain it into the water bodies such as lakes swamps and seas. Indoor air pollution comes about due to small practices that pollute air within the buildings (Haab, Whitehead & Caviglia, 2014).

The governments have put several regulations so as to stop water and air pollution through this mean. However, these regulations have caused problems to those who release the pollutants in all dimensions including political, economic as well as technological.

Economically, the farmers, industrialists and other contributors of nonpoint pollution are disadvantaged. Under the regulation of WPR, those who release water pollutants are required to register. The registration comes with a registration fee which overloads small scale farmers and producers. Farmers are also restricted from applying certain chemicals which are thereafter washed by rains and drained in to the water bodies (Haab, Whitehead & Caviglia, 2014). This may reduce the productivity of the work since those chemicals are necessary for the production and farming to take place.

Politically, the law enforcers get assigned a difficult work of ensuring that these regulations are followed accordingly. The government is also forced to invest so much in maintaining the water resources. It also has the obligation of giving alternatives to the producers on better methods of safety on pollution.

Technologically, these regulations hinder the introduction of new and advanced mechanisms that tend to cause the nonpoint pollution. Newly introduced chemicals such as farm inputs are at times rejected by the government and hence this many slowdown the technological development.

To some extent, point sources and outside air have successfully handled by the pollution regulations. However the threat to environmental pollution still remains since nonpoint and indoor air pollutions are still effective. This occurrence is due to various reasons explained as follows. First, nonpoint source pollution is difficult to control than point source pollution. This is because, cleaning in urban areas, farming in the rural areas and reticulated sewage systems are very important practices that cannot be done with. The only measures that are taken are only to minimize the effect otherwise it is not possible to stop them (Haab, Whitehead & Caviglia, 2014).

The licensing and registration of nonpoint and indoor air pollution is not done directly. The management has to work with those bodies that cause pollution in tackling some of the issues. Some of these nonpoint pollutants come as a result of leftovers of the point source pollutants. For instance, when large hips of waste and sewage are collected, the remains get washed away into the water bodies. This is uncontrollable hence becoming difficult to stop it. Controlling the nonpoint pollution and the indoor air pollution is also difficult because it is not attributed to a single source (Haab, Whitehead & Caviglia, 2014). Unlike the point source pollution whereby the origin of waste is defined, nonpoint source pollution comes from collection of waste over a large area. Controlling this would be difficult.

Reference

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Haab, T. C., Whitehead, J. C., & Caviglia, J. L. (2014). Environmental and natural resource economics: An encyclopedia.

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United States. (1977). Toxic substances: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, Ninety-fifth Congress, first session. Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off.

Calabrese.E.J, (1989) Safe Drinking Water Act

1348 Words 4 Pages

Past, Present Future of Martin Luther King

INTRODUCTION

Saint Augustine created a certain concept to try and explain the various reflections in a human being’s memory. Time can be expressed in three ways which are past, present and future. The past is usually a memory of things that have already taken place; the present is an experience of things taking place at the moment and the future is the anticipation of things yet to come. Psychological time travel is normally used to create situations which utilize the memories of things that occurred in the past, the set up at the present time and what is to be expected in the future (Augustine, 1998). This is a strategy that is normally used by many writers to invoke their readers to remember the events and the emotions that took place in the past. With psychological time travel, a reader is also able to imagine what the future might hold depending on the context of the writing. Continuity experience can only be achieved through and by memory alone thus this paper will seek to establish the notion of time subject in mental travel of time based on Martin Luther’s speech.

DISCUSSION

Martin Luther King Jr. is popularly known for his speech “I Have a Dream” which he conveyed during an organized march in Washington Dc in the year 1963. This speech placed him on the American spotlight and the whole world in general as one of the greatest speakers.

In the speech “I have a Dream”, Martin Luther takes his audience on a psychological time travel by mentioning various events that occurred in the past and even those taking place in their present time. He further encouraged the people to be hopeful by mentioning the events he believed will take place in thefuture. The theme of the past, present and future is clearly evident in Martin Luther’s speech.

Table 1: Past, Present Future of Martin Luther King

PRESENT	MLK’s STATEMENT
Past
· The main idea was to Express the unfulfilled liberation declaration · Shame of discrimination 100 years after signing the proclamation decree.	· ‘Five scores ago, a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed Emancipation and Proclamation’
Present
· The main idea was American history of freedom · He argued that the right time to acquire freedom and equal rights among all citizens is the preset moment.	· ‘I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation’ · ‘Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy’
Future
· The main idea was acquiring a Peaceful and just nation · He also expressed the idea of attaining a racist free nation.	· ‘I have a dream that one day in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with his governor having his lips dripping with the word of interposition and nullification, one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers’ · ‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character’

PAST

The popular speech by Martin Luther king was delivered on 28^th August in 1963 at the famous Lincoln Memorial. The audience is taken down the memory lane to crucial events that took place 5 years ago. This was a time in the past that most of his audience could relate to as it was the time when the African-American generation believed that they could finally have their freedom back with the signing of the freedom declaration. The declaration specified that the all individuals will be entitled to equal rights regardless of their race, color or origin. Despite this the nature of the declaration was continuously ignored and the African Americans were still subjected to discrimination. “Five scores ago, a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed Emancipation and Proclamation” (Martin Luther King, 1963). He however expressed his regrets that this did not came to pass as a hundred years later after the decree was signed, the African-American were still regarded as slaves and living in shame due to the on-going discrimination.

PRESENT

The speech by Martin Luther was an important mark in history that demonstrated the beginning of a race to freedom by the African-American generation who for years had been oppressed and discriminated against. “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation” (Martin Luther King, 1963). In the speech there is a rather smooth transition to the events that were occurring 100 years later which was the time the speech was being delivered. “But a 100 years later the Negro is still not free” (Martin Luther King, 1963). His mention of the historic demonstration that was taking place during the speech is an illustration of a present time. The present eventssadly expressed the lack of change in the way the African-Americans were being treated. The people were still discriminated against and they lived in deplorable conditions due to poverty and slavery. The issues that the people had hoped would be solved with the signing of the proclamation were still rampant. The present time was dark and the people continued to face injustices. “It is obvious today that America has defaulted on his promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned” (Martin Luther King, 1963). Police brutality, lack of the democratic right to participate in elections, slavery and high poverty levels were just among the many tribulations that the people faced. In his speech he urges the people not despair despite the many challenges that they faced at the present time.

In his speech, Martin Luther urged and emphasized that it was about time America provided freedom and equal rights to all its citizens. “Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy” (Martin Luther King, 1963). Martin Luther was a very peaceful leader and this is clearly expressed in his speech when he pleads with his fellow citizens to fight for their right in a disciplined and dignified manner without hate and vengeance. “In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds… We must not allow our creative protests to degenerate into physical violence” (Martin Luther King, 1963).

FUTURE-PAST

In the speech, King Luther passionately pleads on behalf of the African- American generation by condemning all the evils being done against them. In a message of hope, he expressed confidence that someday America will rise against inequality and everyhuman being will be treated the same way despite of their various differences and that America will not know peace until that happens. “There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights” (Martin Luther King, 1963)

FUTURE

The speech elaborates the American dream, which is to have a peaceful and just country in the future. In the speech he is confident that Mississippi which was a state that was faced with the most cases of discrimination will achieve justice and the people will acquire their freedom. The spiteful racists living in Alabama will in the future embrace their fellow human beings without discriminating. “I have a dream that one day in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with his governor having his lips dripping with the word of interposition and nullification, one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers” (Martin Luther King, 1963). He also expressed a bright and hopeful future for his four children whom he believed will not be criticized for being black. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (Martin Luther King, 1963). Martin Luther saw a future where the slaves and their former owners will reconcile and live together peacefully.

CONCLUSION

The strategy of psychological time travel as used in King Luther’s speech invokes the various events that happened in the past, the events that were happening in their present and those that the people hoped would occur in the future. Recalling the events of the past enabled the audience to understand the events that led to that particular day. The mention of the issues at the present time invoked the desire of the people to fight for their freedom. The recount of various events happening at the present created a passion in them to make changes and have a better America. The mentioning of future on the other hand instilled a lot of hope to the people who were in despair due to the many tribulations.

1508 Words 5 Pages

History of slavery

American History

The book A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki’s, has represented the history of slavery by stating that America started with a huge colonist number who come as indentured servants who were required to work for other individuals for a particular time period in order to be able to pay their travel expenses back to their origin country (Takaki, 2012). Most of these servants were outcasts from their societies and since America was not based on traditional practices they come in order to start a fresh life. However, this was unfortunate for them because in America they also experienced discrimination from the wealthy persons who were whites. After realizing that those their land and wealth dreams failed in coming true they took arms. The shipping of the servants was increasing in America but they never acquired the same rights as the whites because the laws were made that developed the black slaves. The elite white individuals were, therefore, afraid of low-class whites as they would be permitted to hold arms. Therefore, the brought less white servants as they could fully control them. The book also holds that slavery resulted to war in America (Takaki, 2012). This is because after the slavery was continuously exposed to torture they started rebelling which later becomes war. This war was aimed at solving the social, politician and the economic issues which were in the state. This I because they blacks were viewed as inferior and therefore the whites would not accept that they were capable of holding equal rights. This was based on the differences that were seen between the whites and the blacks which included skin color, and the level of intelligence as the whites were considered to have higher intelligence level than the blacks. The inferiority view is what generate cold war which later developed into cold war (Takaki, 2012).

According to Takaki (2012), the whites said that they wanted to end saver but they actions failed in expressing what they said. They did not want to end slavery because of the profits that were associated with slavery. This is mainly because the slaves would be involved in activities which were aimed at generating income to the nation (Takaki, 2012). In addition, the whites did not want to end slavery because they were afraid that the nation would be occupied by more white’s individuals which made them insecure. According to the different mirror throughout the history of the nation, the wealthy are fully involved in the improvement of the own well-being as well as their social status. This can be illustrated by Jefferson which claimed that he wanted to end slavery in order to seem as a good Christian but he did not want to end t because of the associated benefits. The book has also succeeded in illustrating the history of integration between the whites and other groups in periods of slavery and during the world war where the Americans were able to interact with the Japanese, this is a form of multicultural interacting which was generated by the happenings of different events (Takaki, 2012).

However, according to Brinkley (2003), slavery in the southern was different from the western existence. Unlike Brinkley, the book holds that slavery was regulated by law and every that was suspected to have an African black was termed as a black and the slaves codes forbade teaching, congregation, and property of slaves. Despite the existences of the slave’s regulation as the white individuals handled conditions, transgression and conditions of the farms with the variance of slaves. The majority of whites who owned slaves were the small farmers as the majority of the black slaves lived in middle and large farms and the relationship between the slaves and their owners was characterized by less intimacy relationship (Brinkley, 2003).

In regard to, Takaki, (2012), life under slavery was less unfortunate because the saves would receive adequate necessities which would enable them to work properly. This is unlike in the book by Brinkley where the slaves were not provided with tools to work because the whites feared that the slaves would take over. According to Alan slaves were provided wit quarters which provided shelter. In addition, the activities that they were supposed to accomplish were divided in regard to gender where the women were involved in field labor and other domestic chores while the men were involved in farm activities and other technical duties (Brinkley, 2003). Slavery was also associated with high mortality rate where most of the children were unable to make it t adulthood. This is mainly because they were involved in dangerous tasks that would lead to unhealthy status which they would have to do in order to secure investments .This, therefore, made the slaves unhappy which lead to resistance as they wanted to acquire their freedom (Brinkley, 2003). This is similar to the book the different mirror where the slaves got tired of being subjected to torture and they, therefore, needed their freedom back. However according to Alan the slaves tried to resist the treatment by escaping while according to Brinkley the slaves resisted by fighting back the whites which resulted in war (Brinkley, 2003).

References

Stefoff, R., & Takaki, R. T. (2012). A different mirror for young people: A history of multicultural America. New York: Seven Stories Press.

Brinkley, A. (2003). American history: A survey. Boston, Mass. [u.a.: McGraw-Hill.

898 Words 3 Pages