The Agricultural/Food Technologies that will Sustain Globalization – 2016 to the Future

Introduction

Unarguably, sustainability is one of the most debated phenomena in modern society both in the United States and globally. As noted by Qaim (Chapter 1) Rapid population growth alongside income increase integrated with consistent urbanization, globalization and rapid technological development have resulted in major dietary transformations and amplification of food today in the developing and undeveloped nations a trend that will continue into the future by 2050. Sustainability in this context can best be interpreted as the ability to meet the food needs and demands of the current population while ensuring that the ability for rising generations to meet such needs are not affected. Meanwhile, the climatic change being one of the most controversial subjects in contemporary society based on its unappealing effects has posed rather newer abiotic and biotic difficulties towards the general production of food. It is anticipated that in the next 30 or so years there will be even more rising concerns in the developed nations with regard to environmental footprints of contemporary farming methods such as the use of GMO technologies. While the ability to meet the growing food needs of the population is important, it is worth noting that the most effective methods are those that adhere to safeguarding the three sustainability spheres being economic, environmental and social compositions. Meanwhile, consumers are cumulatively demanding and will to purchase a product based on their specific characteristics such as mineral content, freshness and attractiveness which is usually classified as quality.   

It is rather apparent that farming land in the United States similar to other developed nations has significantly decreased over the past couple of years while the population has doubled due to globalization. This, therefore, possesses the challenge for meeting the demand with low supplies. As asserted by most researchers and policy developers, Genetically Modified (GM) foods and livestock provide an important solution to the growing problem. However, these technologies are highly opposed based on their potential environmental adversities and health defects. Actually, GM technologies fall under some of the most controversial subjects with regard to global agricultural development in the last two or so decades. However, with the increasing demand for more food production, it is highly agreed on the potential of these contemporary techniques of genetic modification in the acceleration of agricultural productivity, increased yielded and minimized the application of agrochemical inputs.  Thus this report offers an in-depth discussion of the implications of the present and potential future of GM agricultural techniques and demonstrates how these technologies are likely to contribute considerably to agricultural development sustainability as well as food security.

Goals of Agricultural Development

Agriculture remains to be one of the most essential issues as it relates to sustainability, economic growth, environmental conservation and social development (Denison 9). Thus, universally the priorities of agricultural development include food security, famine reduction, poverty eradication, protection of the climate, conservation of the surrounding, animal welfare, landscapes protection, biodiversity maintenance and so on (Godfray et al. 814). Actually, people in developed nations have different goals with regard to agricultural development when compared to those in the developing states. In that famine and starvations are more common in the economies with fewer resources than the developed ones. It is rather surprising, however, that developed nations tend to source most of their food supplies from the developing states based on their substantially large farming lands and low cost of their supplies. The main priority of agricultural development entails the production of adequate food supply and other food items to meet the growing needs and demands of the rising human populace. This does not, however, imply that the world is able to meet the demand for food but globalization and international trade has been useful in creating a desirable balance amid supplies and deficits across all regions. This, therefore, demonstrates that national sufficiency of food is not always a well-organized goal since the growth of population and farming land reduction differ in regions. Internationally, however, adequate food production is an essential precondition for guaranteeing food security. This is mainly described as the situation in which every individual has access to adequate and nutritious food supply to promote a fit and active lifestyle (Denison 9). Thus in the case that the increase in food demand outweighs the supply within the global scale, then the prices are likely to go up which leads to the inaccessibility of food to the poor individuals particularly those with low incomes.

An additional priority of agricultural development involves improving the living standards of the persons who are directly engaged in agricultural production which includes farmers and laborers. With comprehensive economic growth, the proportion of active individual in agricultural production goes down since servicing and industrial sectors develop rapidly in terms of economic significance (Denison 9). Thus, GM technologies are focused on obstructing such structural changes that threaten the sustainability of food supply (Qaim Chapter 1). However, in the developing state's agriculture remains to be one of the main employment sources particularly for the poor due to the fact that they lack the necessary skills to participate in the industrial sectors. However, due to the scarcity of resources, most of these agricultural activities are done in small scales which therefore implies that they only derive a small income share which is not enough to accommodate the needs of their large families. Therefore, most of these people are not just poor but also suffering from malnourishment. Consequently, agricultural development within the existing small farms remains to be one of the most vital grounds for achieving sustainability through a reduction of the poverty level, improving diets and food security.

Sustainability within the global sale is the other priority of agricultural development. Sustainability normally demands the application of natural resources and environmental conservation to ensure that humans are able to consistently increase food production in the long term. In other words, this involves the production of adequate food without interfering with the potential of future generations to meet their food needs (Denison 9). In other words, this promotes the notion that agricultural technologies such as the application of GM will lead to sustainability within the global scale in the future as food demand continues to rise. The last few years have obtained impressive growth with regard to increasing agricultural productivity to meet the growing population’s food demand globally. In that, the use of GM for instance in 2016 outweighed the growth of population which highlights the potential of such technologies on increasing food supplies while promoting sustainability. Historically speaking the rise of agricultural production are mainly obtained through the use of extensive lands for farming (Qaim Chapter 1). However, it is without a doubt that over the years the land has become even scarce and thus the focus has shifted towards rising yields per the available land. Agricultural research and development progress, particularly with relation to plant and animal breeding, pest control, plant nutrition as well as engineering, has resulted in an extensive yield rise across most regions globally over the last few decades which is likely to continue into the future.

In the 21st century similar to the situation experienced in the 20th century, the size of land that is particularly used for cultivation has not increased while the global agricultural production has tripled. This production rise is grounded on the fact that farmers have moved from the conventional farming approaches to rather contemporary high production crop varieties as well as the high use of chemicals, fertilization and irrigation approaches. In the mid-20th century over half the global population were subjected to poverty when equated to about 15 per cent as indicated by 2010 reports (Qaim Chapter 1). By 2016 this population has reduced since the application of GM technologies had increased rapidly. Even though the reduction in poverty level is mainly influenced by a combination of factors such as education and economic growth it is without a doubt that agricultural activities usually provide adequate resources for those that are involved leading to increased growth. It is worth noting that environmental issues are still a major challenge that affects agricultural development. It is highly argued that the application of external agricultural inputs such as fertilizers has lowered drastically thus promoting a more friendly production approach towards the environment. Some argue that organic farming is highly connected to sustainability and should, therefore, be upgraded. However, the argument ignores the fact that with globalization the need for agricultural sustainability is rising while the global population is increasing rather rapidly and such moves would affect production. Conventional farming methods are an ineffective way of promoting sustainability because they cannot provide food to the growing population (Denison 10). Based on the above findings I conclude that GM agricultural technologies will lead to globalization sustainability and food security while compared to organic farming techniques.

Use and Impacts of GM Foods

According to Limayem and Ricke (450), Genetic modification technology refers to the scientific development of crops and animal for human consumption while following the most recent biological techniques. In basic nature, the production abilities of the plants are enhanced through genetic alteration which in most cases involves the integration of genes from other plants. Over the years through the development of agricultural research some plants which are highly resistant’s to pesticides and demonstrates high growth rate have been identified. Thus, the genes of such plants and livestock are used in improving the general performance of other organisms. In the actual basis, the modification is done within a laboratory setting with the objective of improving the general nutritional levels of crops through scientific breeding methods. On the other hand, conventional agriculture relied on crop and animal breeding approaches as a way of increasing the level of nutrients and productivity levels. These methods are, however, time-consuming and in most cases prove to be ineffective based on the inaccuracy of the approach. The fact that such methods are not well supported by scientific research also exposes them to the risk and have therefore proved to be unreliable in promoting agricultural sustainability in the world where population growth is utmost. On the contrary, the use of genetic engineering techniques has increased the ability to generate crops and animals that are rapidly exhibiting the actually desired traits with high reliability and accuracy. For example, through GM technology it is now thinkable for the scientist to eradicate drought tolerant gene of a certain organism and use it in another (Denison 10). As a result, the plant that has been modified genetically ends up becoming drought resistance as well since it has obtained the needed gene for this adaptation. In addition, it has also become possible to make the transfer of genes that are not from plants into plants organisms thus making them more enhanced. In that, these technologies have thus worked to ensure that there is adequate food for all even though farming lands have reduced drastically. Actually, the technologies are mainly focused on producing organisms with the ability to mitigate agriculture-related challenges like pests while at the same time generating high levels of output for human use within the shortest time possible.

Specialized organic agriculture is only responsible for covering not more than 1 per cent of the global farming lands, shapes on ecological standards while ruling out the application of high fertilizer levels as well as chemicals such as pesticides. However, it is a common notion that since sustainability holds the goal of conserving the surrounding that the ability to minimize the application of chemicals is a beneficial thing. In that based on sustainability notion, the surrounding can only be protected by using the least amount of chemicals in the quest of promoting economic and social wellness. However, the use of these technologies differs from a region to another based on the applied regulations. Both in the United States and Europe, the application of chemicals such as pest controls and fertilizers is particularly high but it has reduced gradually since the late 20th century. It has been established that farmers use even less than a quarter of the chemicals that were been applied in conventional farming which highlights the difference while demonstrating how modern farming supports sustainability. In some regions farming soils is normally depleted of nutrients and in such cases further lowering of the application of fertilizers might not lead to sustainable production (Limayem and Ricke 450). On the other hand, increasing the application of farming chemicals is not a possible solution for increasing the levels of yields. However, this might result in some notable environmental advantages as the weight of agricultural development to environmentally delicate regions would be minimized. This scenario illustrates that there is no single solution that can address all the issues that relate to agricultural development and sustainability that seek to make general production within the agricultural sector even more sustainable.

Further, than reducing the environment related footprint in relation to production, there are other dominant barriers with regard to agricultural development and global sustainability. The growth that has been achieved in the last decades with respect to starvation and poverty reduction is supposed to result in satisfaction because the objective is not clearly outlined. It is estimated by FAO that close to one billion persons still suffer from malnourishment which implies that their access and use of calories is inadequate (Prasad, Vivek, and Suranjit Prasad 706). However, with regard to sustainability, the fact that most individuals are not able to access adequate food is a major issue. In that, the general demand for food normally rises with the growth of population and income gain. The chain should mainly focus on the production of high food levels while at the same time reducing wastes to ensure that every person has access to adequate and nutritious food. This means that the global production of agricultural commodities has to be increased considerably to match with the growth of the population over the next few years while ensuring that there are food availability and accessibility in the future.

With respect to agricultural evolution, genetic modification of livestock and foodstuffs remains to be one of the most controversial public issues across the globe. There have been rising doubts with regard to the safety of GM foods especially while focusing on human health as well as environmental destruction. Most individuals are concerned that human health is likely to experience unexpected defects because the technology works by altering the general genetic composition of plants and animals in the effort to increase production rapidly (Prasad, Vivek, and Suranjit Prasad 706). GM might have originated from the rising of plants that are highly tolerant to pesticides but to most of these technological applications holds threatening health defects that will affect the stability of the environment. In fact, it is widely acknowledged that the use of greenhouses that supports GM technologies have significantly contributed to the high levels of gases emissions. However, based on the evolution of agriculture since the 20th century it is arguable that this technology application has resulted in increased yield and crops that are high in nutrients levels that support human wellness. Besides the use of fewer chemicals is a beneficial aspect of sustainability as the environment is guarded against any form of dominant degradation.

Genetically modified (GM) foods have been utilized extensively in the 21st century in an effort to meet the growing demand for more food production. In developed countries such as the United States and across Europe it is undeniable that globalization has resulted in population growth. This, therefore, means that with the population growth more in terms of food production will be required to sustain the population as a whole. Pressure groups and environmental organizations have increasingly been involved in active protests against the use of GM technologies for food production based on the argument that they lead to more harm to the environment and humans which is not desirable. Such measures have resulted in the enactment of active regulations to ensure that the foods are suitable for consumption and that such agricultural activities adhere to the set guidelines as a way of ensuring that the environment is guarded against any harm.

In this context, the implications of GM technology are both positive and undesirable with respect to the scenario of examination (Rotman 1). For the developed countries, this is rather positive more because it promotes sustainability by increasing food production while ensuring that natural resources are protected for other generation. Actually, in developed countries, the amount of land that is available for farming is minimal meaning that more effort is needed to ensure that the growing population is fed sufficiently. In fact, the human society is mainly sustained by its general capability to generate adequate food for use by the general population while still not exhausting the resources and ability to consistently make adequate food produce that sustains the current and upcoming generations.

On the contrary with respect to agricultural development, it is undeniable that genetic modification for plants and animals remains to be one of the biggest development so far. This is based on the fact that the applications of these technologies have been essential in overcoming the issue of farming land scarcity and well as the high for high agricultural production to meet the food demands of the growing population. However, since the technologies are highly used in developed nations the negative implications cannot be ignored as well. In that, developed countries amount for the highest level of harmful gases emission such as carbon. These gases, are needed but they are generated in excess which therefore implies that they subject humans and the surrounding to major defects as a whole. GM technology according to the argument by experts leads to reduced agricultural related emission based on the use of minimal gases. In that, farmers are now able to reduce the level of environmental footprints based on the general ability to utilize lower levels of inputs leading to low emissions levels. In this context, GM has been an essential force in minimizing the levels of Carbon Dioxide levels in a level that is equal to the eradication of about 12 million vehicles from use (Prasad, Vivek, and Suranjit Prasad 706).

Besides this has increased the ability to minimize soil erosion and increasing the levels of conserved water. Unlike before farmers are less involved in tilling the land since GM technologies ensure that they are more efficient and effective when it comes to controlling weeds within the least time and expense when compared to traditional cropping systems. Rather than tilling framers are more engaged in spraying weeds while protecting the soil. The leftovers then generate organic matters that fertilize the soil for other crops (Denison 10). GM increases the general capability of the soil to increase water retention thus reducing the demand for water. By becoming drought tolerance this characteristic assists crops in coping with the environmental pressure. In other words, while these technologies help in reducing the number of chemicals used but it also has the ability to improve the lives of people in the growing nations. Thus, GM technologies are the most suitable tools that can help in increasing food production while creating opportunities to achieve global sustainability, growth, health stability as well as other environmental, social as well as economic implications to safeguard the current and future generations as a whole.

Why GM Foods will lead to Sustainability

The current, as well as future generations, need the applications of GM agricultural technologies as the means of increasing agricultural productivity. Climate change is likely to create major difficulties in feeding the world as a whole. Besides the challenge is likely to be intensified by the growth of technology and globalization. These aspects have ensured that the world population and particularly that of the developed countries intensifies rather rapidly thus causing a major strain on the existing food system (Rotman 1). This implies that while the demand for more food is high, the supply is particularly low and responsible bodies have to come up with strategic measures to deal with the issues. In this context, as the population continues to increase and the land for farming becomes even scarce it implies that Biotech food will play a vital function in ensuring that agricultural productivity is adequate to feed the existing population without destroying resources to be utilized by future generations.

The climate has changed across the globe means that the environment is being affected based on its ability to produce adequate food. With the harsh weather, it is challenging to make the goal of increasing productivity possible. The production of GM foods has been controversial in the United States and Europe for crops such as maize and potatoes. However, the controversy lies on whether the modification is likely to lead to negative implications on the surrounding such as the composition of the soil thus affecting the general productivity. The objective of following a sustainable approach is to ensure that the current global populace is able to acquire adequate and nutritious food conveniently without causing defects on other resources. Thus, the existing achievement of GM technologies offers a fascinating demonstration on the manner in which modified plants are likely to assist in protecting the food supply within the global scale. In this case, disease resistant crops represent one of the leading foods that are genetically developed to integrate defenses against and illnesses. According to Rotman (1), it is believed that plants diseases are responsible for destroying about 15 per cent of global agricultural production. Besides, pests and harsh weather also play a critical role in this development which therefore implies that to achieve food security then such issues must be addressed (Godfray et al. 814). Over the last few years, plan diseases have emerged in abundance and most of the existing chemicals have not yet been able to address the issue. This is further extended by the emergent of pests that are resistant to chemicals which therefore implies that there is even a bigger challenge with regard to agricultural development objective of increasing productivity. Even with the high levels of fungicides application in dealing with a wide range of crop diseases a significant amount of produce is still affected globally. These diseases are threatening the future of agriculture in the regions that engage in large scale production such as India and Africa. This means that about 50 percent of the product will be negatively affected leading to drought and creating pressure on the existing production settlements. In this context, it becomes clear that genetic modification has the possibility of creating food varieties that are more enhanced to overcome the obstacles while focusing on agricultural development within the global scale particularly for the developed nations as they are characterized by farming land scarcity and rapidly developing population courtesy of globalization.

Global sustainability cannot be achieved in the absence of adequate food supply. Both social and economic development is highly dependent on food security and thus it is only by meeting the needs of the world while protecting resources for the future that this can be achieved. In this case, GM foods can make it possible for the development of a rather new set of biotechnology foods that will be sold directly to the buyers. Despite the fact that transgenic crops that are mainly modified to play high resistance on pests and herbicides have been cultivated highly in the late 20th century across the United States, they end up in animal feeds, cooking fat and biofuels (Rotman 1). It has been established therefore that there are no generically created varieties with regard to wheat, rice as well as potatoes that are grown extensively based on the fact that farming of such crops in the developing nations has highly been opposed thus deterring investment. In this case, organizations are unable to use their resources in the development of crops that will be rejected in the market. This is even though adequate resources to support GM technologies are highly accessible in developing nations. This norm seems to be delaying the general concept of sustainability and agricultural development within the global scale because while scientific findings indicate that GM technologies are the solutions to the growing issue of sustainability globally, controversies surrounding the issue have deterred development. The globe needs GM technologies because the growing population appears to be demanding for more food while the production system is constrained to achieve this objective.

As the global population is anticipated to increase to about 9 billion in the next 30 years, it is possible that the world will be in need of varieties (Rotman 1). With respect to agricultural production, there is a possibility that as the global population continues to grow this will also imply that the preferences and demands of the diverse populace will change as well. Even with the expectation of such changes, it is clear that the world will also be facing the pressure of adequate production to meet the needs of every person. Apparently the existing resources particularly land is not adequate to support such changes. This implies that the use of technologies remains to be one of the most feasible solutions to the existing issue because drought, harsh weather and destructive storms have already taken over on the current crop production levels. The problem is likely to intensify in the future and the approaches and choices that will be taken today towards supporting agricultural development will determine if sustainability in achieved globally in the future.

Despite the fact that agricultural production both in the United States and globally have improved drastically in the last five decades. Economists project the concern that such developments have started to diminish at a period in which the demand for food that is driven by the high population increase as well as the desire for growing wealthier standards is anticipated to grow amid 70 and a hundred per cent in the middle of the 21st century (Rotman 1). Specifically, the rapid growth in the production of crops such as rice production that have played a critical role in feeding the globe for years are displaying some signs for slow growth and thus cereals production will necessitate more than double the production by the year 2050 to sustain the growth. In other words, there is a necessity to strike a balance amid agricultural production, growing population and demand for more food to feed the universal population at ease (Rotman 1).  If this trend goes on, there is a likelihood that production will not be adequate to meet the growing global food needs unless humanity begins to utilize more land, chemicals and water like in the past. This is not guaranteed that sustainability will be achieved because the production of organic foods normally requires more investment in terms of resources and time. With this, it is not possible to strike a balance amid production and supplying of foods globally.

Climatic change holds the potential of making the situation even worse by creating high temperatures and in most regions promoting wetter weather that is characterized by the trait of creating a potential surrounding for spreading illnesses and pests in the affected regions. In addition, drought destructive storms in addition to hot weathers have taken control of crops production and thus the frequency of these incidences is anticipated to rise as the climatic conditions become even warmer (Rotman 1). For farmers across the globe, the implication of climatic changes leads to the notion that climatic shifts are not predictable and thus life-threatening weather is highly common. In this case, the main benefit of applying genetic modification is to ensure that crops are able to adapt to the sudden climatic and environmental changes. Therefore the creation of crops varieties via the use of traditional breeding for instance usually consumes fifteen years in minimum while the production of genetically created ones might take less than six months. Apparently, genetic modification permits crops breeders to create more accurate transformations because it borrows from a range genes option that is acquired from plants with high levels of resistance. Scientists have consistently indicated that there is no form of a mystic gene that can be used in crops to ensure that they are resistant to harsh weather while at the same time increasing productivity without engaging in constant and variety centered genetic modifications. This derives the assertion that genetic modification is not only a versatile but highly important agricultural technique that promotes increased production levels.

The overwhelming and practical thing to be done is to ensure that more sustainability centered approaches are adapted to focus on promoting agricultural development. This is a technology that promotes high production levels while at the same time eradicating the issue of diseases spread on crops leading to low production. The increasing pressures on increasing the levels of agricultural production globally are relevant and are likely to affect millions of people particularly in the low economic nations.  This is a perspective that is shared widely by the individuals who are mainly accountable for facilitating the growth of crops varieties. However, in order to save lives and ensure that there is food available to all those that are in need genetic modification technologies would serve as the most feasible and produce yielding instruments. Even though in the view of most individuals the world has adequate food to feed everyone if wastes are eliminated, it is apparent that in regions that are subjected to harsh weathers food production is still low (Qaim Chapter 1). This means that when the population rises to 9 million in the next 3 decades it means that more lives will be lost due to the lack of adequate food supply.  Currently, the use of GM is helping in feeding millions of individuals mainly in the developed nations and these approaches have the ability to be of more help if they are applied strategically to address the need of agricultural productivity as a whole.

In the developed nations GM foods are a major source of commercial success. The argument that the crops are contaminated because the genes are borrowed from other plants is not valid because based on evidence the genes create enhanced traits. These traits that are given to the plants are the ones that would not be obtained in any case while still promoting high productivity levels. It is estimated that more than a hundred and seventy millions people are currently reliant of GM foods (Rotman 1). The effectiveness of the technologies helps in positioning the crops strategically. Based on the evidence it can be concluded that we need these technologies in achieving sustainability in the future.

Future of GM Agricultural Technologies Applications

According to Nesbit (1) GM, agricultural technologies are the future for global food sustainability. Today more inset and herbicide resistance remains to be the most commonly engineered traits and this means that engineering crops with the same traits will change the situation in the market as a whole. This will be beneficial for both developed and developing nations noting that sustainability is a comprehensive that that must be achieved globally without bias. The commercialization of GM foods is the main break that has been made in the agricultural industry over the years. There is a fast-growing production of GM foods even though there are still high levels of regulation due to the concern of health defects that is connected (Curry part-one). In the future, this might lead to both social as well as economic benefits. Actually, GM foods are available in the market within half the production time that it normally took conventional organic foods to produce and these products normally demand less time and resources. In recent years scientists have been working on developing livestock and crops that are highly resistant to drought and illnesses and their success has played a role in increasing food security.

Back in 2016, it is estimated that about a hundred and eighty-five hectares of land were covered with biotech crops (Nesbit 1). The majority of these crops mainly consisted of maize, cotton and soybean because they represent most of the most consumed crops globally. Thus, over the last couple of years, rapid developments in modifying crops with unique characteristics with resistance abilities have been created. In the near future, there is a possibility of producing crops with the utmost production abilities. An additional trend that will be dominant in the future is the development of crops with increased resistance to insects and weeds. GM crops are highly tolerant chemicals but they are mainly reliant on the use of chemicals which leads to an increasing reliance on herbicides that leads to the high levels of weed. Similarly, the prevalence of insect resistance plants implies that pests on their own are gaining resistance to this technology which makes the crops highly vulnerable to such attacks (Nesbit 1). Even though scientists are increasingly involved in the developments of new genes to fight the dominance of insects and diseases, pests are gaining the same resistance which means that there should be continuous development of technology. In addition, proper control of the application of this technology is needed.

Conclusion

In summary, it is apparent based on the above discussion that agricultural technologies for food production will lead to global sustainability. Sustainability entails the ability to meet the food needs of the current populace without altering the potential for future generations. In this context, as the global population continues to increase because of technological development and globalization then the demand for food is increasing as well. Production land has reduced rather significantly in the United States and globally and to substantially meet the growing demand, more strategic approaches are required. GM technologies applications have proven to be essential sources of food security and thus their adoptions would lead to a more sustainable future that is characterized by social, economic and environmental conservation. In general, such approaches will be required in safeguarding the future while protecting social wellness and the surrounding.

References

Curry, Helen A. Evolution Made to Order: Plant Breeding and Technological Innovation in Twentieth-Century America. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2016. Print. Top of Form

Denison, R F. Darwinian Agriculture: How Understanding Evolution Can Improve Agriculture. Princeton, N.J: Princeton Univ Press, 2016. Internet resource. Top of Form

Godfray, H. Charles J., et al. "Food security: the challenge of feeding 9 billion people." science 327.5967 (2010): 812-818.

Limayem, Alya, and Steven C. Ricke. "Lignocellulosic biomass for bioethanol production: current perspectives, potential issues and future prospects." Progress in energy and combustion science 38.4 (2012): 449-467.

Nesbit, Rebecca. The Future of GMO Food. Observations. 2017. Retrieved from: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-future-of-gmo-food/

Prasad, Ram, Vivek Kumar, and Kumar Suranjit Prasad. "Nanotechnology in sustainable agriculture: present concerns and future aspects." African Journal of Biotechnology 13.6 (2014): 705-713.

Qaim, Matin. "Benefits of genetically modified crops for the poor: household income, nutrition, and health." New Biotechnology 27.5 (2010): 552-557.Top of Form

Qaim, Matin. Genetically Modified Crops and Agricultural Development. Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. Internet resource.

Rotman, David. Why We Will Need Genetically Modified Foods. Business Impact, 2013. Retrieved from: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/522596/why-we-will-need-genetically-modified-foods/

Appendices

Appendix 1: Present and Future of GM foods

Retrieved From: https://www.nap.edu/read/23395/chapter/12

Appendix 2: GM Crops

Retrieved from: https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/agriculture/genetically-modified-gm-crops-techniques-and-applications-0-710/

The Decline of Honeybees

Introduction

Validating conservation via ecology functions assumes that ecological services can sincerely deliver fundamental advantages to human wellbeing and economic progress. To keep in mind reliability, conservationists ensured construction of ecosystem information, believable and applicable to the general public. Against the backdrop of ecosystem functions and services, pollination is an indispensable ecosystem function that causes agrarian output and triggers management of various aspects of the natural environment. To emphasize the importance of pollination further, the decline in the number of honeybees raised concerns among conservationists and environmentalists. According to scientific research, an estimated 80-85% of cultivated harvests rely on pollination from insects and honeybees are of most value of all the pollinators. This essay will critically analyze the economic, social, and aesthetic effects of decline of honeybees, why people should care, and the impact it makes in the daily lives of people.

Reasons for the Decline of Honeybees

 More than 100 nations gave out evidence to FAO information base, which revealed an alarming declining trend in honeybee colonies over the past years (Potts et.al, 2010). The declining rate was by 60%. Even though the variability among the countries was wide, the trend was a constant decline. For example, from a continental scale Europe had the largest and notable decline in the number of honeybees between the years 1989 and 1995.

 One of the main reasons behind the decline was social alterations. Most of the honeybee decline coincided with end of socialistic forms of government in Eastern European nations later in 1989 (Potts et.al, 2010). Linking honeybee decline with political alterations within east and central parts of Europe is relevant and believable given that changes among different countries demonstrates and correlates with land use.

In addition, recent decline in honeybee colonies is due to a number of non-exclusive elements such as pests and parasites and other poisons, which kill honeybees (Potts et.al, 2010). Even though decline in honeybee colonies may affect agriculture, artificially managed honeybee colonies are safe from external interference due to immediate replacement after a loss.

As stated earlier, pesticides chemicals meant to kill pests, heavily utilized in the natural surroundings, especially near crops affect honeybees directly. Thus, activities connected to Industrial agriculture contribute to the decline in their numbers (Moritz, Härtel, & Neumann, 2005). Without pollination, foods humans consume would be less if an alternative method of pollination were not found. Moreover, the ability of honeybees to fight infections and parasites depend on a number of factors such as nutrition status which industrial agriculture does not provide. In the end, they end up dying from the adverse changes caused by heavy cultivation of land.

Natural or managed pollinators cannot avert the immense effects of industrial agriculture. They suffer from the obliteration of their natural habitations and because pollinators’ environments unavoidably overlap with industrial agricultural land regions, the negative effects and practices (Moritz, Härtel, & Neumann, 2005).The division of wild and semi- wild habitations, extension of monoculture and reduction of diversity all contribute to the decline of honeybees. Damaging farming practices that hinder bee nesting capabilities and spraying herbicides make agriculture one of the main contributor to the alarming decline of the honeybee worldwide.

 On the other side, farming structures may facilitate biodiversity without utilization of poisonous chemicals. Examples of environmental friendly farming methods are ecology farming structures, which can have a positive effect on honeybees and other pollinators populations. Increment of habitation’s heterogeneity for instance, ecologically mixed vegetation structures can deliver surplus flowers for honeybees (Moritz, Härtel, & Neumann, 2005). Incorporation of ecological friendly farming practices results into numerous benefits for pollinators especially honeybees.

 Apart from industrial agriculture, climate change causes a shift in temperature, rainfall patterns alterations, and extreme weather condition, which then impacts pollinator populaces all over the world (Moritz, Härtel, & Neumann, 2005). Most of the climatic changes negatively affect pollinators, in this case honeybees. First, it affects individual pollinators before the effects spread to the entire pollinator communities.

Some unverified speculations blame the declining numbers of honeybees on colony failure disorder and according to most researchers; the decline directly links to industrial farming. A thought-provoking fact about collapse disorder is that it fails to point to a specific herbicide or fungus (Byatt et.al, 2016). Yet, based on environmental studies, scientists found some living honeybees have viruses in their body systems, an indication that their immune system weakened over time hence causing the decline.

Commercial honeybee populaces seem to be under immense pressure to the point where, their immune systems take a negative toll (Byatt et.al, 2016). Various aspects of industrial farming take part in creating the pressure, for instance, genetically modified vegetation, poisonous chemicals coupled with the manner in which the commercial bees handling and supervision.

 The last factor that causes Honeybee decline is rather subtle. Generally, bee keeping seems natural but with scrutiny, it is a form of industrialization (Byatt et.al, 2016). Pesticides cleanse beehives and farmers administer antibiotics to the honeybees to fight off illnesses. Beehives placed further from one field to the next thus increasing exposure to poisonous chemicals farming sites consequently increasing their stress levels.

Reasons Humans Should Care About the Declining Of Honeybees

Honeybees are not just for making honey; they have fundamental environmental functions that protect, maintain, and assist in conservation efforts. In the Unites States only, pollinations associated actions account for more than $20 million dollars annually (Byatt et.al, 2016). Some of the vegetation honeybees pollinate are fruits, tubers and other foods humans consume for a healthy diet. In fact, honeybees cross-fertilize consumable vegetation commonly eaten around the world. Simply put, honeybees are unique insects whose functions benefits, many people.

 Human activities can alter atmospheric conditions on earth consequently reducing the number of honeybees in ecosystems but one thing remains clear, hindering ecosystems functions has a long lasting negative effects with an spiral impact on the lifestyles of humans all over the world (Byatt et.al, 2016). A bee is small in size thus more sensitive to the degrading environmental changes and poisonous elements. Moreover, they cannot adjust and also keep up with daily technological changes that take place hence they end up dying.

 In the last decade, honeybee had it rough despite their pivotal role in sustaining biodiversity worldwide through ecological services to both managed and wild plants. There is glaring evidence revealing the declining number of wild and domesticated honeybees (Byatt et.al, 2016). On the other hand, plants associated with honeybees are fewer in number indicating a stronger adverse negative effect.

Reasons Why the Decline Is an Environmental Subject

Apart from cutting down trees and replacing natural land with industrial farming, other manmade actions affect nesting sites hence exhausting honeybee communities. Scientists do not dispute the fact that some honeybee species prefer man made surroundings and high trees for their habitats while other live in bushy areas and some prefer making their own nests under rocks or tree trunks (Byatt et.al, 2016). Nevertheless, no matter the diverse habitats, the decline continued persistently without delay. In summary, loss of honeybees indicates a deteriorating natural environment that cannot sustain their lives.

Economic Consequences

 Insect pollination especially by Honeybees is essential for most human consumed crops globally. Even though most crops such as rice and wheat depend on wind agents for pollination, most fruits rely on honeybees for hence decline in honeybees has the potential of decreasing stocks and yields (Byatt et.al, 2016). In short, there is a need to retain honeybees to increase stocks thus increasing stocks amounts.

Mitigation Measures

Honeybees pollinate most food supplies thus the rush to control their numbers and normalizing their ecological functions. Both the private and public sections of the society joined efforts to raise awareness on the vital roles played by these tiny yet important creatures. Some European administrations have initiated movements that facilitate funding of honeybee keeping and carrying out researches on emerging factors causing their decline (Basavarajappa, 2010). Specialist scientists came together to review progress made and other new steps meant for implementing procedural conservative measures with the main objective being. Combining efforts makes the restoring process simpler, actionable, and accurate.

Some conservative programs aim at initiating systematic evaluations of the sum total of colonies across all continents and unveil specific causes, which then make it easier for generation of workable strategies such as replanting honeybee vegetation and reclaiming land that once belonged to honeybees (Basavarajappa, 2010)..

 In summary, comprehensive research reveals reduced honeybee populations all over the world. The causes are not definite and keep showing variation due to integration with other factors within the ecosystems. Therefore, the need for a multiple mitigation approaches to the problem. To emphasize further, combined efforts ensures slow but sure restoration of the numbers back to normal.

Reference

Basavarajappa, S. (2010). Studies on the impact of anthropogenic interference on wild honeybees in Mysore District, Karnataka, India. African Journal of Agricultural Research, 5(4), 298-305.

Byatt, M. A., Chapman, N. C., Latty, T., & Oldroyd, B. P. (2016). The genetic consequences of the anthropogenic movement of social bees. Insect’s Sociaux, 63(1), 15-24.

Moritz, R. F., Härtel, S., & Neumann, P. (2005). Global invasions of the western honeybee (Apis mellifera) and the consequences for biodiversity. Ecoscience, 12(3), 289-301.

Potts, S. G., Biesmeijer, J. C., Kremen, C., Neumann, P., Schweiger, O., & Kunin, W. E. (2010). Global pollinator declines: trends, impacts, and drivers. Trends in ecology & evolution, 25(6), 345-353.

Social impact paper (proposal)

The social impacts of genetically engineered crops

Summary

Genetically Modified crops are organisms that are scientifically made through the insertion of a gene into the crop that has been obtained from external sources such as bacteria, plants and animals. The aim of this technology has been to give human the ability to overcome intractable barriers (psychological) through having sufficient food for all humanity in the world.  As human population in the world is expanding, there has been a reasonable increase in production of food but also an increase in prices. By having crops with more favorable trait the natural ones, humanity can produce large quantities to feed everybody. The technology has attracted much attention especially from the media and there has been increased need for public to understand its psychological, social, cultural, financial and environmental effects.

Significance of the research

There is a feeling among many people in scientific community who feel that the positive impacts and safety of Genetically Modified crops have clearly been established. Other individuals feel that information on risks associated with this technology has been highlighted.  The issue of genetically Modified crops is very important because it affects all humans around the globe.  Given the increased pace with which the genetically modified crops production is advancing all the stakeholders including the farmers , policy makers and  consumers face the challenge of having one vision on the role of this technology in food supply.  Of more importance has been ethic issues result from human consumptions of foods that have been genetically been modified. There is a possibility that the introduction of new genes into plants may pose risks to human health, and other far reaching impacts, thus highlighting the need to focus on this topic. It does not help that information published in the media may be scientifically unfounded but believed by the most in the world population nevertheless.

Moyers & Company: Time to Get Real on Climate Change

According to Suzuki, climate change has posed a real threat to the world by affecting the ecosystems, the communities as well as the economy.  First, it is important to understand that climate change emerges when the climate patterns are altered through human activities. The problem is that climate change has caused global warming  (rise of the global temperature), and as a result,  the increase in surface temperature has caused flooding due to the rise in sea level, and it has caused  destructive hurricanes,  intense heat waves,  violent storms,  costly health impacts  and, other  costly effects (Suzuki, 2018).  Even though the climate has affected the entire globe, a significant impact has been observed in Canada.  Climate change has destroyed the Arctic ecosystems in Canada where countless species get support. Scientific and economists have reported that climate change has also contributed to the economic change regarding property and infrastructure damage due to flood, loss of productivity, mass migration and coping costs for climate impacts (Suzuki, 2018)..

Regarding climate change and environmental issues, I agree with Suzuki that the environmentalists, scientists, decision-makers and the government have failed.  These sectors acknowledge that human activities are the leading cause of climate change but, they are accountable for the climate change impact due to their reluctance (Suzuki, 2018). They also focus on inventing systems and technologies and human-created ideas without measuring their consequences.  I agree that the capitalist should be blamed for the global warming since the economic system is profit motive, it has a minimal governmental intervention, and it focuses on the exploitation of the natural resources (Suzuki, 2018). The politicians in Canada and U.S do not address this issue, but instead, they refuse to acknowledge the man-made global warming with willful blindness.

We can effectively address the problem of climate change by implementing a rational solution. Such solutions include; use of renewable power, reduce oil sands production to reduce the emission of greenhouse gas, eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and increase royalties. The government, scientists, and individuals in the community should take immediate action to tackle the global warming and make a difference (Suzuki, 2018).

Reference

Suzuki D. (2018). Moyers & Company: Time to Get Real on Climate Change. Public Square Media, Inc.

Plastic pollution and debris accumulation

According to Choy and Drazen plastic pollution in oceans has rapidly increased hence leading to an increase in environmental concerns. In the recent past, scientists have prepared numerous reports of plastic debris accumulation in marine surface waters. In particular, much of these plastic debris accumulations have been found in the marine surface waters of Central North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. As a result of the increased debris accumulation, incidences of plastic ingestion by the various marine organisms have been reported.

The authors therefore investigate the ingestion of plastics and some of the other anthropogenic debris in pelagic predatory fish species from the open ocean waters. In order to examine the level of plastic ingestion in the fish species, the authors carried out a laboratory test that involved collecting of pelagic fish stomachs from the sea. Fish specimens were randomly and opportunistically sampled where all the stomach samples went through a laboratory examination (Choy and Drazen 156). The experiment focused on determining the difference in the prevalence of plastic and marine debris accumulation between shallow and deeper habitats of pelagic fish species.

According to the results it is quite clear that all of these pelagic species contained a considerable amount of marine debris mostly in plastic form. It is for this reason that the authors conclude that the number and scope of plastic ingestion needs to be given more attention as it has a great food web implication. Authors’ recommends that a further research should be carried out so as to determine whether the large pelagic species carry a high chemical toxins weight that may be in the end pose a great health risk to the sea-food public consumers.  

Work cited

Choy, C. Anela, and Jeffrey C. Drazen. "Plastic for dinner? Observations of frequent debris ingestion by pelagic predatory fishes from the central North Pacific." Marine Ecology Progress Series 485 (2013): 155-163.

E-Waste

The most important reason to care about e-waste is that it’s being generated at an alarming rate. Presently, e-waste generation is occurring at an accelerated speed and the effects are quite enormous. E-waste is not just a problem within the American state but rather a global crisis that must be addressed.

Ongondo et al, (2011), claims that there are about 40 million of tonnes of e-waste is being produced worldwide. This includes more than 5% of the total municipal solid waste. This has resulted in an e-waste crisis which has turned out to become a huge problem. Actually, the problem does not originate from the considerable amount of e-waste but it’s the toxic materials contained in these electronic wastes that cause such problems. There are hundreds of different toxic materials used in the manufacturing of these electronics and their components. As a result of these toxic materials, e-waste has become the leading source of pollution across the world. These materials are hazardous and pretty severe. They can cause serious health problems with common ill health ranging from increased cancer chances, serious reproductive issues, and developmental disorders.

It is for this reason that we need to have well-structured regulations put in place to ensure e-waste safe handling and disposal. All stakeholders ought to become interested in combating this crisis. Educating the e-waste generators about the negative effects of these materials will help in combating this problem. Convenient means of disposal will be of the essence as it will encourage the public to take the right course of action thus resulting in a reduction in poor e-waste disposal. It is the role of every individual to ensure that they are good stewards of their environment.  

References

            Ongondo, F. O., Williams, I. D., & Cherrett, T. J. (2011). How are WEEE doing? A global review of the management of electrical and electronic wastes. Waste management, 31(4), 714-730.

Air Pollution in Africa

The project majored on air pollution in Africa, since it has become more deadly compared to malnutrition or dirty water. The pollution is growing at a fast rate, especially in West Africa where my project volunteered in overcoming the dangerous levels. Despite the higher pollutions known for China and India, in Africa it have increased thus; causing pre-mature deaths. The team first attempt was calculating on all human as well as financial cost, the pollution opts to have destroyed yearly. African environmental hazard seem to be improving with time thus; causing more destruction of national infrastructure.  Air pollution is an important topic for my project because; I found it as the most arguably among environmental sociologist today. In terms of sociology I would regard the new phenomenon of air pollution in Africa as the byproduct of modernity as well as development (International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Air Pollution, Longhurst & Brebbia, 2012).

The major sources of air pollution are several and, from my research I was able to discover a few; wood burning, garbage burning, and vehicle exhaust. The project volunteered on ways to deal with the 0environmental hazard though, it was not even obvious on what source to tackle first. I was able to discover that the modern society in Africa entirely depends on the technology invention, which mainly causes harshness of the forces of nature. New scientific discovery has badly affected the environment thus; impacting to problems on ecological crises. In relation to sociology, the project discovered that the environment assumes that human are part of it therefore; it can be fully unstated by the society by understanding their relation (Mehta, 2015).

According to my report, air pollution on the sociological environment provides a possible insight into areas of public opinions thus; able to influence the environmental behavior. In the field of sociology, my volunteer project in Africa examined various associations and structure, which involved; law, political, economic plus their connection to the environment. With a close interview with some groups such as the waste disposal as well as recycling organizations, I was able to discover their relationship to environmental conditions (Mehta, 2015).

Despite the scientific discovery of more nations with increased pollution due to their emerging economies, in Africa pollution is causing danger in the economic sector. In Nigeria most of its population is exposed to air pollution which exceed what the World Health Organization refers to be safe. The project discovered that more deaths have resulted. Due to high usage of diesel generators as well as fuel stoves thereby; my team deals with the situation by campaign on the usage of electrical generators. The pollution has affected the society negatively whereby; when interacting with individuals most of them complained of pulmonary as well as respiratory diseases such as asthma, heart and lung cancer plus stroke. The project mission was to volunteer on reducing the environmental hazard as well as problem impacted. However, I thought of engaging the government to ensure the victims of the air pollution are in good conditions thus; reducing the death rates. In sociological sector, I opt at being concerned with the surrounding as well as the human’s relationship in it. With a visit in the economic sectors, I advised them on the importance of learning from experience of the industrialized countries. The present day African is seen with synchronization of several environmental challenges and, the society should learn on ways to tackle them all rather than focusing on one at a time (International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Air Pollution, Longhurst & Brebbia, 2012).

Lagos faced a serious environmental pollution whereby, in urban areas it was stern causing thousands of premature deaths. Africa air pollution condition is worse as compared to other continents and, it has been caused by higher assumption from the economic sector. However, usage of wood for cooking and insufficient clean water in Africa has become a tread thus; leading to the problems on human. My project decides to inform the government and other non-governmental organization, on solutions for solving the environmental degradation. I was issued with financial support to eradicate the large indoor air pollution, by encouraging people to switching from solid fuels top cleaner and more efficient fuels (Innes & Hassan, 2010).

In the poor rural areas the access to alternative fuels opts to be access thus; biomass remains as the most used fuel. The pollution levels can be reduced even, in the rural areas by educating individuals on using improved stoves with chimney. My project with the help of the government was able to design these improved stoves and, offered them to the poor individuals thus; enhancing reduction of smoke for better combustion. The stoves are aimed at lower smoke emission levels thus; venting smoke through fuel as well as shorter cooking times (Mehta, 2015).

The project has a relation to sociology since it majors on individual’s change of behavior, by playing the role of reducing pollution as well as exposure. The campaign my project conducted also encouraged the society, on drying fuel wood before usage to improve combustion thus; decreasing smoke produced. Children being the most affected by the air pollution were part of our agenda whereby; we encouraged parents on keeping them away from reducing smoke exposure. In sociological field change of behavior is used in environmental issues thus; the project considered it in reduction of smoke by switching to essential measures (Innes & Hassan, 2010).

The one reason why the Nigeria government has not solved increased air pollution is that it was unable to react promptly to this serious environmental issue. It lacked the best organization which could provide security on nature. The other major cause of air pollution is that, the Nigerian government lacks a system reliable on giving environmental information’s hence, offer support to government while making decision. In relation to sociology, my venture used the media on influencing individuals, of how their behavior is important on the environment (Innes & Hassan, 2010).

Today’s sociology reflects several issues as well as, the concern of postmodern or rate modern period. Sociology study has been able to provide solutions in dealing with environmental issues. However, these solutions should be possibly applied, to the affected area especially in Africa where air pollution has highly increased. Study shows that people survival is determined by nature thereby; if the nature is alive we are alive as well though, in Africa the environment is now fragmented by various forces of technology as well as developments (Mehta, 2015).

 In today’s world all society activities depends on modern inventions, thus causing harshness on forces of nature. Sociologist’s discovery has badly affected the environment thus; impacting to problems on ecological crises. In relation to sociology, the project discovered that the environment assumes that human are part of it therefore; it can be fully unstated by the society by understanding their relation (Mehta, 2015).

References

International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Air Pollution, Longhurst, J. W. S., & Brebbia, C. A. (2012). Air pollution XX. Southampton: WIT P

Mehta, M. D. (2015). Environmental sociology: Theory and practice. North York: Captus Press.

Innes, J. L., & Hassan, H. A. (2010). Air Pollution and the Forests of Developing and Rapidly Industrialising Countries: IUFRO Research Series, No. 4. Wallingford: CAB International.

Envirofit Case Summary Assignment

Envirofit is a social enterprise given that its main goal is to tackle problems affecting the people’s lives and the environment. The problem the enterprise focuses on included the emission by motorcycles and the product is aimed at improving the fuel economy and thus facilitate environmental conservation.  The product-kit also aims at serving the customers at the base of the pyramid since they are not able to buy the 4-stroke newer motorcycle engines. Through this the Retrofit kit aims at addressing the social well being of low income earners, environmental sustainability and hence their economic performance. Envirofit approach to shared value involves maximizing on the competitive value, seen in the need not addressed by the newer 4-stroke engines, hence targets the lower income earners whose motorcycles also contribute to emissions. Therefore, by addressing this issue the product aims at soling the issue of environmental pollution through emissions. The application offers returns on investment gotten through addressing the social needs in the market.

Envirofit motorcycle engine kit addresses the needs of those customers who cannot afford to buy the 4-stroke motorcycle engine that reduce emission hence the description of base of the pyramid market target. To accommodate this group’s unique characteristics lower purchasing power and lack of access to resources, hence the application should be geared towards addressing the problems of sustainable development and low income (Kuratko, 2008). A strong strategy is to engage this group so that they are able to create a symbiotic relationship where both parties can benefit. An aspect to be observed is that at the base of the pyramid, there can be a huge pool of clients who can drive the success of the product. In essence, as profit is being made from this project, the target group must feel they are benefiting socially.  

For the 2-stroke motorcycle engine to be launched successfully, the main obstacles include start-up financing and uncertainty regarding the ability for the product to break even. To finance the product means turning it into something feasible and tangible in terms of being accepted by target market. The funds will be necessary for popularizing the product to the intended users and sensitizing them on the need to have such a product to reduce emission. The other issues are the need to ascertain that the product will be acceptable which is important for convincing investors that it is viable.

Determining whether to be a team member of the venture requires an evaluation of viability of this idea. Hence I will embark on carrying out a thorough research on the market in terms of size and viability and the sustainability of the venture while serving customer at the base of the pyramid. I would also access the risks involved in the venture in terms of profitability and future growth. Assessing the venture on all fronts will expose any risk for an individual who wants to b part of the venture.

For the purpose of funding this idea would require approaching lenders and venture capitalist that are willing to take higher risks. The venture capitalist would be preferred in this case since they do not necessarily require security for the funds they lend to a business (Kuratko, 2008). Fewer funds would be obtained from peer-to- peer lending where few risks are involved.

Reference

Kuratko, D. F. (2008). Entrepreneurship: Theory, process, practice. Australia: South-Western.99-242

Letter to congressmen supporting funding for conservation and parks

Dear governor George and congress members,

I am writing to thank the congress for their continued support in funding our conservation teams who are interested in ensuring the available parks in Washington State are conserved. The funds have ensured that the parks remain conserved though some challenges have risen since the parks need more funds this year for the conservation measures to continue being put in place. The parks are important tourist attraction sites and ensure our state remain beautiful hence more conservation measures which need more funds need to be put in place.

The National Park Service has suffered over the past years since the congress has not been providing enough funds to ensure the parks remain conserved and protected. The parks need proper and thorough maintenance since the congress needs to provide enough funds failure to which park conservation will not be possible. The American people are proud of the parks hence some donors have come up in ensuring they help in the process of conserving the parks. The congress should therefore join hands with such people and provide enough funds so that the parks can remain protected, conserved and be in good shape always.

The different parks available require different amounts of funds therefore the congress should consider the amount of funds they give towards park conservation processes. Parks are important and thus should be treated with much importance since they not only act as tourist attraction sites but also help in curbing environmental pollution.

Again, I would like to thank the congress for their continued support but please ensure the parks get more funds so that thorough conservation measures can be put in place this year.

Sincerely,

Georgea Stephen

The case of missing reservation

1. Were the hostess’s actions consistent with a customer-focused quality philosophy? What might she have done differently?

    The hostess’s dealings were incoherent with a client attentive eminence values. This is due to the fact that the hostess failed to obtain any responsibility for the loss of the reservation that Donna and Mark, customers had made over the telephone. Moreover, Mark and his entire family unit were not be supposed to stay until other parties with bookings were accommodated but rather they would have settled by the hostess at their right planned reservation period. The hostess having claimed that she was the manager in charge, she would have restructured other bookings so as to accommodate Mark and his relatives alongside other bookings that were made for mealtime at the hotel (Evans 2016). This possibly will have involved the reorganization of the already on hand tables so as to produce open tables that would accommodate for more reservations. She should have also arranged for new tables to be added and be set up so as to ensure that more space for reservations was made. Her conduct to Mark and his relatives clearly demonstrated that the hostess was not client oriented entirely as she went nonstop with her other roles right away after pointing out that she was the supervisor. She failed to give the customers all the attention that they needed and thus delivering poor quality performance and hence representing a poor reflection of the entire hotel company. The hostess should have done things in a different way to ensure that her customers were offered quality services (Evans 2016). She should have offered them some drinks as they waited for her to find a way to fix the issue that was at hand that time. She should have taken the time to explain and apologize for the inconveniences that she caused and this would have demonstrated a good image of the hotel.

She should have been more friendly and polite in handling Mark and his family and this would have made them feel welcome and appreciated at the hotel.

Thus they would have been able to understand the situation and thus they would have been patient with the hostess.

2. How would you have reacted to the letter that Mark received? Could the Total Quality Lead have responded differently? What does the fact that the hotel manager did not personally respond to the customer tell you?

    I may possibly have perceived the letter in two dissimilar ways. First is that they were justifying their mistake by trying to put the blame on me as they clearly stated that still, Mark had no reservation recorded? This meant that according to the company Mark and his family had not booked a reservation and this was not true. On the other hand, the quality lead confirmed their concerns on the same and explained that they were going to look into the problem and ensure that they have a continuous improvement thus avoiding such a scenario in future.

    The total quality leader would have reacted differently despite that he wrote back to Mark, he should have also offered to make it up for their mistake through welcoming them back for a free reservation. This would have acted as a strategy for winning back their customers’ trust. He should have also offered to speak to the hostess on her conduct. They could have refunded the time that they wasted waiting for a table and for the bad experience through welcoming them back to the hotel for a meal treat from the hotel’s management as a way of apologizing for their shortcoming. Any of this action to Mark and his family would have made it up for the bad experience at the hotel (Evans 2016).

    The hotel director failed to in person react to the complaints of the client means that they did not take seriously the accusations and that he or she did not think that the hostess did any wrong. This also shows that the management cared less about what Mark and his family felt in regards to the experience at the hotel.

 The fact that he delegated the work to the quality lead employee shows that this was a minor issue that he or she thought was not worth correcting. This shows that the hotel is facing a poor management as clearly demonstrated by the manager himself and this has been transferred to the junior employees and this has in general contributed to the poor quality performance.

3. What other tools of quality would you use to solve the problem? And why?

    It is always important to realize the essence of having a good culture in the business. A good culture that is that is embraced and practiced well by the administration down to the employees is important as it acts as a guiding principle to the organization and it determines the vision and the actions of the organization; in this case, a review of the hotel’s culture was important as it would ensure that the hotel shifts into becoming more customer oriented. This would involve calling in all the employees and laying out a plan on how they would improve their services towards their customers. The employees need to be having an on the job training where the company organizes for workshops where the employees are trained on customer services that they ought to deliver and how they should deliver those services. This would make them understand the role of customers in their business as the promotion of business starts from the customers. Thus good service delivery is essential as it ensures that the customers are happy with the way they are served at the hotel and hence they are able to recommend others to visit the hotel.

This improves customers rating on the hotel and with a good rating; there are high chances of increment in the number of visitors into the hotel. Thus the customers are always right even if they are at times wrong.

Hence, the administration should have acknowledged the mistake of their staff, the hostess and then fix the issue with the reservation through giving Mark a call and apologizing for their mistake. Communication is very is key to the success of every business, thus the hotel should ensure that they have a workable communication with a skilled employee in communication who should call a day or two before the reservation date so as to confirm the reservation date and time (Evans 2016). The hotel should also advocate for employing of the best employees in the hotel as a method of learning to improve on other’s skills. This will ensure an improvement in customer satisfaction in the hotel.

References

Evans, J. R. (2016). Quality and performance excellence: Management, organization, and strategy.

Case study on noise pollution

The issue in this case can be framed into a legal question for proper identification. Why are the streets of the neighborhood surged with noise yet it is unconstitutional? In order to analyze a case explicitly, correct issue identification is the most important. It follows a precise process of strategic steps. The first step involves a general question concerning the case. The next step requires the identification of necessary elements that can trigger of an action under the law. Thirdly, involves the application of the law elements to identify specific facts of the case. The last step requires the identifier to assemble the law elements and the key facts that have been raised in the preceding steps.

In this case, the solution is to hold every member of the community accountable of any noise produced contrary to the law. This calls the law enforcers to get on toes for the implementation of the law. It is an open fact that noise pollution has been prohibited in the constitution. It is also clear that the some of the citizens are ignorant of the law while the police officers have become reluctant in enforcing it. As a result the public points the blame towards the government for failing to arrest the law breakers.

In this regard, my recommendation is that the municipal council should write an ordinance. This is because an ordinance usually constitutes the subject matter of the municipal law. Based on this fact, a written ordinance would help in minimizing public noise as part of public safety (Robinson & Reilly, 2002).

Reference

Top of Form

Robinson, N. A., & Reilly, K. (2002). Environmental regulation of real property. New York, N.Y: Law Journal Press.

Bottom of Form

Response

I agree with the chapter 40 on the environmental laws that aim at protecting the environment and all the resources of the environment. There are various environmental concerns that have been raised globally since the environment that was previously unharmed but currently the environment has become endangered. Environmental concerns that have been raised include pollution, extinction of species and waste disposal problems. Air pollution has been caused mainly by burning fossil fuels which end up causing global warming. Green house gases have been produced which too result to global warming since the gases harm the ozone therefore resulting to environmental problems. Because of these environmental concerns and problems environmental protection agencies and movements have come up that ensure environmental management and protection takes place. Pollutants have damaged the environment until organizations have come up in order to save the environment. Pollution damages the health of other people, the environment, animals and result to global warming. Sources of pollutants have been known to be factories, motor vehicles and power plants that are targeted by the environmental management agencies so that they can reduce the pollution levels.

In order to curb pollution the environmental protection organizations came up with the Clean Air Act of 1963 that aimed at setting the standards for ensuring pollution levels were minimized by the known sources. The act therefore ensures the environment is protected through encouraging use of gas instead of fossil fuels in motor vehicles. In addition green house gases which result to air pollution were discouraged through the Kyoto protocol that aims at setting the standards for the levels of green house gases. Water pollution is another major environmental concern that has caused a number of health problems to the people and aquatic species. Water pollution is from effluents from industries and factories. However, the clean water act of 1985 ensured that no discharge or effluents was directly disposed in water before being treated in order to protect not only the people but aquatic species as well. It is rather sad since some industries still dispose polluted water directly to the water resources since the act has not been well implemented. Regardless of the act being there, important grounds for water recharge such as wetlands have been reclaimed therefore leading not only to surface water pollution but ground water pollution as well.

Waste disposal is another key area of environmental protection since waste management is a key global issue and concern. Poor waste disposal methods have resulted to illegal dumpsites and this interferes with the drainage systems especially in most cities. Waste should be well disposed especially hazardous waste that is harmful to the health of the people. Most of the companies are suffering with the problem of hazardous wastes since they have failed to comply with the steps to be followed when disposing off hazardous wastes. Wastes should be well disposed in order to avoid health problem, surface and ground water pollution. Use of pesticides is clear under the federal insecticide and rodenticide act which requires manufactures to ensure they register the insecticides so that the levels of pollution can match with standards of the regulations. The endangered species act also ensures that endangered species are protected and conserved. In conclusion environmental law ensures that the environment is conserved and all the things found in the environment.